Download Beethoven Septet in Eb, mvt

Poulenc: Sonata, mvt.1(p.242)
Structure & Tonality
Structure
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In most 18th and 19th century sonatas the first movement is a substantial piece
in sonata form (cf. Mozart K.333)
Poulenc composed against this Classical/Romantic background and under the
influence of Satie who had specialised in a satirical take on Romanticism in
music
Instead of a sonata form, the first movement of Poulenc’s Sonata is basically a
ternary form, quite short and put together from concise, self-contained sections
b. 1- 25
b.26-57
b.58-85
b. 86-89
Section A
Section B
Section A
Coda
Fast
Slow then fast from b.40
Fast
Gradually slowing down
But is it that simple?
The fast section from b.40 does not really feel as if it belongs with the slow music from
b.26 as a single section, and the tune (played by the horn) is a simplified version of the
opening melody from section A
On the other hand, the music does return to the original key in b.58 and the original
music, so that does feel like the reprise of section A
So, although the movement is clearly some sort of ternary form, Poulenc is playing
games with the standard structure (a bit like Haydn did in his Quartet). It is ambiguous,
which is part of the charm, because the structure is not predictable
Melodic structure
Section A
b.1-8
b.9-17
b.18-21
b.22-25
Tune 1. Based on descending major triad. 2 x 4 bar units, each in
balanced 2 bar phrases
Tune 2. Based around a descending scale figure (b.9) and a varied
version of the same pattern (b.10). 4 x 2 bars going over the same idea
with a few changes, plus b.17 which is a varied repeat of b.8
Tune 3. Fanfare-like repeated note figure plus scale pattern similar to
tune 2. 2 bar phrase repeated an octave lower
Coda to section A. Opening triad figure from tune 1 passed around,
slowing down in a comical manner and changing from G major to G
minor
Section Bi
b.26-35
b.36-39
Section Bii
b.40-47
b.48-57
Section Ai
b.58-65
b.66-72
b.73-81
b.82-85
Coda
b.86-89
Tune 4. Flowing melody, rather unpredictable in contour. 2 bar units
with the first (b.26-7) repeated exactly in b.30 and b.34 (phrase pattern
therefore ABACA, like a mini rondo)
Cadenza-like passage for trumpet (wide leaps and fast scale) with
accompaniment pattern continuing from the previous bars (horn)
Paraphrase of tune 1 in straight quavers (and in Bb major)
Tune 5. Uses repeated notes and scale figures as tunes in section A, but
it is a new idea. 2 bar phrases x 3, then fragments and slows down with
descending scales (b.55-7)
Exact repeat of b.1-8 (tune 1)
Return of tune 5 from section Bii
Repeat of tune 2, with horn and trombone parts exchanged
Repeat of b.18-21 (tune 3)
Descending chromatic scale in trombone, repeated notes on trumpet for
two bars, then a reminder of triadic type of figure and a final G major
triad
Tonality
NB. the horn transposes down a perfect fifth.
The basic key centres are clear and quite simple:Section A
G major
Section Bi
Eb major
Section Bii
Bb major
Section Ai
G major
The harmony is largely diatonic and triadic, and there are clear perfect cadences, e.g.
b.4
But:
This is 20th century music, and Poulenc has a distinctive take on traditional harmony,
derived in part from Stravinsky’s Neo-Classical scores such as Pulcinella (Anthology
p.139) in which standard chords are sometimes spiced with free dissonances to give a
familiar yet piquant effect (b.4, beat 1: C in horn clashes with B-D in other parts)
This has been referred to as the ‘wrong note’ style by detractors, but there is nothing
accidental or incompetent about it. Both Stravinsky and Poulenc were reinventing the
traditional harmonic language for the new(ish) century. Several artists were doing
something similar at the time, painting familiar types of picture, but with surprising
colour schemes, for example.
Section A
G major, with a modulation to the dominant in b.8 (cf. Corelli/Haydn/Beethoven).
Tune 2 (b.9-17) vacillates between major and minor chords – note the Bbs in the horn
part
There are a lot of perfect cadences, outlined by the notes D-G in the trombone, which
interrupt the flow of the music in a comical way (b.11, 14, 15, 17)
Section Bi
Eb major, but tending towards Bb major (note the A naturals)
Largely straightforward harmony created by the bass and accompaniment figure, but the
tune sometimes collides unexpectedly with the other parts
Section Bii
Bb major tending towards F major (E naturals = B natural in the horn part)
b.55 suddenly shifts to V7 of Db major, then back to G major with the horn scale in
b.56-7
Coda
Chromaticism unlike the rest of the piece for a couple of bars, then the tonic chord
returns the music to its real home
Question
Compare and contrast the composers’ approach to composing the first movement of a
sonata in Mozart’s Piano Sonata K.333 and Poulenc’s Sonata for Horn, Trumpet &
Trombone. (18)
Notes:
 Structure – sonata form, ternary etc.
 Use of themes and thematic contrast
 Tonality – modulation and contrasts of key