 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Alexis
Date: 2013-02-01 12:11
Hi all,
In the 2nd movement of the Brahms quintet, in the recapitulation after the minor section, the melody is one bar shorter. In the opening, the (clarinet pitch) A F sharp E motive is repeated twice, whilst in the recap there is a only a single bar of this motive.
Has anyone asked if this is a mistake before? Is there a reason for it that I'm missing?
Best wishes
Alex
Post Edited (2013-02-01 12:17)
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Author: TJTG
Date: 2013-02-01 14:00
Well, the first thing is, it isn't exactly a recapitulation. That is a part of sonata form where we would see the second theme return in tonic, and nothing is transposed after the return on the Tempo I in bar 88.
Anywho, Brahms does have the material played twice like in the beginning, but it is in the Violin I part.
The whole Quintet itself is a set of theme and variations with multiple alterations to the themes throughout. Each movement is based ont he same subject matter.S hoenberg called this his theory of "Devoloping Variations" Brahms employed throughout many of his late works. n It was a defense of Brahms being a much more forward-looking composer than his contemporaries (and many historians) gave him credit for.
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Author: Alexis
Date: 2013-02-01 15:47
Hi,
I hadn't noticed that, thanks for pointing out - I think in a lot of a performances I've heard, the semiquavers overshadow that violin line, and the link is obscured. But also the change in instrumentation and return to the opening texture may also obscure it - may not be an entirely successful moment compositionally.
In my defence (!), I was using recapitulation in a very casual sense solely as a means to identify the point in the piece, rather than as a reference to the exact form. Also the large majority of this section is identical to the opening, so it does feel like a return rather than a development.
Post Edited (2013-02-01 15:53)
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Author: TJTG
Date: 2013-02-01 15:52
That's fine. I thought I'd mention it because unless I recognize a person's name on here, I'm not entirely sure where they stand with music theory and forms.
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Author: brycon
Date: 2013-02-01 16:41
Quote:
The whole Quintet itself is a set of theme and variations with multiple alterations to the themes throughout. Each movement is based ont he same subject matter.S hoenberg called this his theory of "Devoloping Variations" Brahms employed throughout many of his late works. n It was a defense of Brahms being a much more forward-looking composer than his contemporaries (and many historians) gave him credit for.
I could be wrong, but I believe this is a misrepresentation of the concept of developing variations as put forth by Schoenberg.
Schoenberg writes of theme and variations: "in such variations there is seldom any other development than velocity and no other change than the figuration of the instrumental style."
This contrasts with the "artistically superior compositions" that are created via the "developing variations of basic features of the theme and its motive, producing thematic material for forms of all sizes: the melodies, main and subordinate themes, transitions, codettas, elaborations, et cetera."
Developing variations is therefore a flexible concept by which the fundamental unit of a composition- the melodic motif- generates the basic shape of the piece rather than a set of discrete variations. In Schoenberg's words: "There is nothing in a piece of music but what comes from the theme."
(Quotations taken from Schoenberg's Style and Ideas)
Post Edited (2013-02-01 16:43)
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Author: TJTG
Date: 2013-02-01 17:41
I misspoke with the term "theme and variations", but the piece is very much derived from the dotted-half tied to dotted-quarter "A" and sixteenth note "BbAGABbG" opening motif. The rest of the piece is a Developing variation of those two bar which derives "the melodies, main and subordinate themes, transitions, codettas, elaborations, et cetera".
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