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THE
PIANOFORTE SONATA
ITS ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT
BY
J.S. SHEDLOCK, B.A.
[Illustration: MONUMENT OF BERNARDO PASQUINI IN THE CHURCH OF SAN
LORENZO IN LUCINA ROME
SKETCHED BY STRITCH HUTTON]
METHUEN & CO.
36 ESSEX STREET, W.C.
LONDON
CONTENTS
CHAP. PAGE
I. INTRODUCTORY 1
II. JOHANN KUHNAU 38
III. BERNARDO PASQUINI: A CONTEMPORARY OF J. KUHNAU 71
IV. EMANUEL BACH AND SOME OF HIS CONTEMPORARIES 82
V. HAYDN AND MOZART 111
VI. PREDECESSORS OF BEETHOVEN 130
VII. LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN 160
VIII. TWO CONTEMPORARIES OF BEETHOVEN 192
IX. SCHUMANN, CHOPIN, BRAHMS, AND LISZT 207
X. THE SONATA IN ENGLAND 221
XI. MODERN SONATAS, DUET SONATAS, SONATINAS, ETC. 235
INDEX 241
PREFACE
This little volume is entitled "The Pianoforte Sonata: its Origin and
Development." Some of the early sonatas mentioned in it were, however,
written for instruments of the jack or tangent kind. Even Beethoven's
sonatas up to Op. 27, inclusive, were published for "Clavicembalo o
Pianoforte." The Germans have the convenient generic term "Clavier,"
which includes the old and the new instruments with hammer action;
hence, they speak of a _Clavier Sonate_ written, say, by Kuhnau, in
the seventeenth, or of one by Brahms in the nineteenth, century.
The term "Piano e Forte" is, however, to be found in letters of a
musical instrument maker named Paliarino, written, as we learn from
the valuable article "Pianoforte," contributed by Mr. Hipkins to Sir
George Grove's _Dictionary of Music and Musicians_, already in the
year 1598, and addressed to Alfonso II., Duke of Modena. The earliest
sonata for a keyed instrument mentioned in this volume was published
in 1695; and to avoid what seems an unnecessary distinction, I have
used the term "Pianoforte Sonata" for that sonata and for some other
works which followed, and which are usually and properly termed
"Harpsichord Sonatas."
I have to acknowledge kind assistance received from Mr. A.W. Hutton,
Mr. F.G. Edwards, and Mr. E. Van der Straeten. And I also beg to thank
Mr. W. Barclay Squire and Mr. A. Hughes-Hughes for courteous help at
the British Museum; likewise Dr. Kopfermann, chief librarian of the
musical section of the Berlin Royal Library.
J.S. SHEDLOCK.
LONDON, 1895.
THE PIANOFORTE SONATA
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTORY
In history we find certain names associated with great movements:
Luther with the Reformation, or Garibaldi with the liberation of
Italy. Luther certainly posted on the door of the church at Wittenberg
his famous Theses, and burnt the Papal Bull at the gates of that city;
yet before Luther there lived men, such as the scholar Erasmus, who
have been appropriately named Reformers before the Reformation. So,
too, Cavour's cautious policy paved the way for Garibaldi's brilliant
victories. Once again, Leonardo da Vinci is named as the inventor of
chiaroscuro, yet he was preceded by Fra Filippo Lippi. And in similar
manner, in music, certain men are associated with certain forms.
Haydn, for example, is called the father of the quartet; close
investigation, however, would show that he was only a link, and
certainly not the first one in a long evolution. So, too, with the
sonata. The present volume is, however, specially concerned with the
_clavier_ or pianoforte sonata; and for that we have a convenient
starting-point--the Sonata in B flat of Kuhnau, published in 1695. The
date is easy to remember, for in that same year died England's
greatest musician, Henry Purcell.
Before studying the history of the pianoforte sonata, even in outline,
it is essential that something should be said about the early history
of the _sonata_. That term appears first to have been used in
contradistinction to _cantata_: the one was a piece _sounded_
(_suonata_, from _sonando_) by instruments; the other, one _sung_ by
voices. The form of these early sonatas (as they appear in Giovanni
Gabrieli's works towards the close of the sixteenth century) was
vague; yet, in spite of light imitations, the basis was harmonic,
rather than contrapuntal. They were among the first fruits of the
Renaissance in Italy. But soon there came about a process of
differentiation. Praetorius, in his _Syntagma musicum_, published at
Wolfenbüttel in 1619, distinguishes between the _sonata_ and the
_canzona_. Speaking generally, from the one seems to have come the
sonata proper; from the other, the suite. During the whole of the
eighteenth century there was a continual intercrossing of these two
species; it is no easy matter, therefore, to trace the early stages of
development of each separately.
Marpurg, in his description of various kinds of pieces in his
_Clavierstücke_, published at Berlin in 1762, says: "Sonatas are
pieces in three or four movements, marked merely _Allegro_, _Adagio_,
_Presto_, etc., although in character they may be really an
_Allemande_, _Courante_, and _Gigue_." Corelli, as will be mentioned
later on, gave dance titles in addition to Allegro, Adagio, etc.
Marpurg also states that "when the middle movement is in slow time it
is not always in the key of the first and last movements." This,
again, shows intercrossing. The genuine suite consisted of several
dance movements (Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, Gigue) all in the
same key. But we find occasionally in suites, a Fugue or Fuguetta, or
even an Aria or Adagio; and in name, at any rate, one dance movement
has formed part of the sonata since the time of Emanuel Bach.
In 1611, Banchieri, an Olivetan monk, published at Venice his
_L'Organo suonarino_, a work "useful and necessary to
organists,"--thus runs the title-page. At the end of the volume there
are some pieces, vocal and instrumental (a Concerto for soprano or
tenor, with organ, a Fantasia, Ricercata, etc.), among which are to be
found two _sonatas_, the one entitled, "Prima Sonata, doppio
soggietto," the other "Seconda Sonata, soggietto triplicato." They are
written out in open score of four staves, with mezzo-soprano, alto,
tenor, and bass clefs. To show how the sonatas of those days differed
both in form and contents from the sonata of our century, the first of
the above-mentioned is given in short score. It will, probably, remind
readers of "the first (_i.e._ sonatas) that my (_i.e._ Dr. Burney)
musical inquiries have discovered, viz., some sonatas by Francesco
Turini, which consisted of only a single movement, in fugue and
imitation throughout."
[Music illustration]
Turini was organist of Brescia Cathedral, and in 1624 published
_Madrigali a una, due, tre voci, con alcune Sonate e a tre, Ven.
1624_. Between Turini, also Carlo Farina, who published violin
sonatas at Dresden in 1628, and Corelli (_b._ 1653), who brought out
his first work in 1683, one name of great importance is Giovanni
Legrenzi.
In the eighth volume of Dr. Burney's musical extracts there are two
sonatas, _a tre, a due violini e violone_, by Legrenzi (opera ottava,
1677). The first is in B flat. It commences with a movement in common
time entitled _La Benivoglia_.
[Music illustration]
An Adagio in G minor (only six bars) is followed by an Allegro in D
minor, six-eight time, closing on a major chord; then eight bars
common time in B flat (no heading); and, finally, a Presto
(three-four) commencing in G minor and closing in B flat. None of the
movements is in binary form.
The 2nd Sonata, in D, has five short movements. No. 1 has an opening
of thirty-seven bars in common time, fugato. There is a modulation in
the ninth bar to the dominant, and, later on, a return to the opening
theme and key; in the intervening space, however, in spite of
modulation, the principal key is not altogether avoided.
Sonatas of various kinds by Legrenzi appeared between 1655 and 1677.
Then there were the "Varii Fiori del Giardino Musicale ouero Sonate da
Camera, etc.," of Gio. Maria Bononcini, father of Battista Bononcini,
the famous rival of Handel, published at Bologna in 1669, and the
sonatas of Gio. Battista Vitali (Bologna, 1677). Giambatista Bassani
of Bologna, although his junior by birth, was the violin master of the
great Corelli. His sonatas only appeared after those of his
illustrious pupil, yet may have been composed before. Of the twelve in
Op. 5, most have many short movements; some, indeed, are so short as
to be scarcely deserving of the name.
By the time of Arcangelo Corelli, who, as mentioned, published his
first work (Op. 1, twelve sonatas for two violins and a bass) in 1683,
sonatas answered to the definition given by Mattheson in his _Das neu
eröffnete Orchester_ (1713), in which they are said to consist of
alternate Adagio and Allegro. J.G. Walther, again, in his dictionary
of music,[1] which appeared at Leipzig in 1732, describes a sonata as
a "grave artistic composition for instruments, especially violins."
The idea of grouping movements was already in vogue in the sixteenth
century. Morley in his _Plain and Easy Introduction to Practical
Music_, printed in 1597, speaks of the desirableness of _alternating_
Pavans and Galliards, the one being "a kind of staid musick ordained
for grave dancing," and the other "a lighter and more stirring kind of
dancing." Contrast was obtained, too, not only by difference in the
character, but also, in the measure of the music; the former was in
common, the latter in triple time.
With regard to the grouping of movements, Corelli's sonatas show
several varieties. The usual number, however, was four, and the order
generally--slow, fast, slow, fast. Among the forty-eight (Op. 1, 2, 3,
and 4, published 1685, 1690, 1694, and 1700 respectively) we find the
majority in four movements, in the order given above[2]; of the twelve
in Op. 3, no less than eleven have four movements, but--
No. 1 (in F) has Grave, Allegro, Vivace, Allegro.
No. 6 (in G), Vivace, Grave, Allegro, Allegro.
No. 10 (in A minor), Vivace, Allegro, Adagio, Allegro.
There are, however, eight sonatas consisting of _three movements_; and
as this, a century later, became the normal number, we will give the
list:--
Op. 1, No. 7 (in C) Allegro, Grave, Allegro.
(Middle movement begins in
A minor, but ends in C.)
Op. 2, No. 2 (in D minor) Allemanda (Adagio)
Corrente (Allegro), Giga
(Allegro).
Op. 2, No. 6 (in G minor) Allemanda (Largo), Corrente,
Giga.
Op. 2, No. 9 (F sharp minor) Allemanda (Largo).
Tempo di Sarabanda (Largo).
Giga (Allegro).
Op. 4, No. 8 (D minor) Preludio (Grave).
Allemanda (Allegro).
Sarabanda (Allegro).
Op. 4, No. 10 (G) Preludio[3] (Adagio) and Allegro.
Adagio and Grave (E minor).
Tempo di Gavotta (Allegro).
Op. 4, No. 11 (C minor) Preludio (Largo).
Corrente (Allegro).
Allemanda (Allegro).
Op. 4, No. 12 (B minor) Preludio (Largo).
Allemanda (Presto).
Giga (Allegro).
It is interesting to note that each of the two sonatas (Op. 1, No. 7,
and Op. 4, No. 10), most in keeping with its title of sonata, has the
middle movement in a relative key. Op. 1, No. 7, begins with an
Allegro in common time; and the short Grave is followed by a light
Allegro in six-eight time. The first movement, with its marked return
to the principal key, is very interesting in the matter of form. The
other sonatas with suite titles have all their movements in the same
key. Locatelli in his _XII Sonate_ for flute, published early in the
eighteenth century, has in the first: Andante, Adagio, Presto; also
Nos. 3, 5, etc. So, too, in Tartini's Sonatas (Op. 1) there are also
some in three (No. 3, etc.). But Emanuel Bach commenced with that
number, to which, with few and unimportant exceptions, he remained
faithful; likewise to the slow movement dividing the two quick ones.
The three-movement form used by J.S. Bach for his concertos and
sonatas no doubt considerably influenced his son. But already, in
1668, Diderich Becker, in his _Musikalische Frülings-Früchte_, wrote
sonatas for violins, etc. and _continuo_, in three movements. (No. 10,
Allegro, Adagio, Allegro. Again, Sonata No. 19 opens with a movement
in common time, most probably an Allegro; then comes an Adagio, and,
lastly, a movement in six-four, most probably quick _tempo_.) These
sonatas of Becker _a 3_, _4_ or _5_, with _basso continuo_, are
unfortunately only printed in parts. As a connecting link between the
Gabrielis and Corelli, and more particularly as a forerunner of
Kuhnau, Becker is of immense importance. We are concerned with the
clavier sonata, otherwise we should certainly devote more space to
this composer. We have been able to trace back sonatas by German
composers to Becker (1668), and by Italian composers to Legrenzi
(1655); those of Gabrieli and Banchieri, as short pieces, not a group
of movements, are not taken into account. Now, of earlier history, we
do know that Hans Leo. von Hasler, said to have been born at Nuremberg
in 1564, studied first with his father, but afterwards at Venice, and
for a whole year under A. Gabrieli. Italian and German art are thus
intimately connected; but what each gave to, or received from, the
other with regard to the sonata seems impossible to determine. The
Becker sonatas appeared at Hamburg, and surely E. Bach must have been
acquainted with them. Becker in his preface mentions another Hamburg
musician--a certain Johann Schop--who did much for the cause of
instrumental music. Schop, it appears, published concertos for various
instruments already in the year 1644. And there was still another work
of importance published at Amsterdam, very early in the eighteenth
century, by the famous violinist and composer G. Torelli, which must
have been known to E. Bach. It is entitled "Six Sonates ou Concerts à
4, 5, e 6 Parties," and of these, five have three movements (Allegro,
Adagio, and Allegro).
Corelli was the founder of a school of violin composers, of which
Geminiani,[4] Locatelli,[5] Veracini,[6] and Tartini[7] were the most
distinguished representatives; the first two were actually pupils of
the master. In the sonatas of these men there is an advance in two
directions: sonata-form[8] is in process of evolution from binary
form, _i.e._ the second half of the first section is filled with
subject-matter of more definite character; the bars of modulation and
development are growing in number and importance; and the principal
theme appears as the commencement of a recapitulation. We should like
to say that _binary_ is changing into _ternary_ form; unfortunately,
however, the latter term is used for a different kind of movement. To
speak of a movement in sonata-form, containing three sections
(exposition, development, and recapitulation) as in binary form, seems
a decided misnomer.
The violinists just mentioned were the last great writers of sonatas
in Italy. Emanuel Bach arose during the first half of the eighteenth
century, and, henceforth, Germany took the lead; Bach was followed by
Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. The influence of the Corelli[9] school
was felt in Germany and also in England. Sonatas were published by
Veracini at Dresden in 1721, and by Tartini and Locatelli at Amsterdam
before 1740. Again Veracini was for a time solo violinist to the
Elector of Dresden (1720-23); Tartini lived for three years at Prague
(1723-26), while Locatelli, during the first half of the eighteenth
century, made frequent journeys throughout Germany. Emanuel Bach, the
real founder of the modern pianoforte sonata, must have been
influenced by their works.
In a history of the development of the sonata generally, those of
Corelli would occupy an important place, for in them we find not only
fugal and dance forms, but also hints of sonata-form.
Dr. Parry, in his article on "Sonata" in Sir G. Grove's _Dictionary
of Music and Musicians_, has named the Corrente of Corelli's 5th
Sonata in Op. 4 as offering "nearly a miniature of modern binary
form." The well-known Giga Allegro of the 9th Sonata (Op. 5), and the
Allemanda Allegro of the 10th Concerto in C, also present remarkable
foreshadowings.
Handel, however, furnishes a very striking illustration--
In the six "Sonatas or Trios for two Hoboys with a thorough bass for
the harpsichord," said to have been composed already in 1696, we find
quick movements in binary form. In some, the first section offers both
a first and a second subject, while in the second section, after
modulation, there is a return to the opening theme, though quite at
the close of that section. A brief description of one will make the
form clearer. The second Allegro of No. 4 (in F) has two sections. The
first, which ends in the dominant key (C), contains forty-six bars.
The opening theme begins thus:--
[Music illustration: _a_]
At the twenty-ninth bar, a passage leads to the second theme--
[Music illustration: _b_]
This second theme is, in a measure, evolved from the first. In any
case, it is of subordinate character; and it differs slightly as given
by first or second oboe, whereas the principal theme appears in
exactly the same manner for both instruments.
The second section opens with developments of _b_, and modulation from
C major to D minor; _a_ also is developed, the music passing from the
last-named key back to the opening one. There is a full close in that
key, and then modulation to F. The remaining twenty-two bars give the
first section in condensed form: first and second subjects and
coda.[10]
It would be interesting to trace the influences acting on the youth
Handel at the time when he wrote these sonatas. Most probably they
were Johann Philipp Krieger's[11] sonatas for violins and bass; N.A.
Strungk's sonatas published at Dresden in 1691; and more especially
Agostino Steffani's "Sonate da Camera" for two violins, alto, and
bass, published in 1683. An opera by the last-named, which appeared at
Hanover in 1699, has an "Air de Ballet," which contains the first
notes of "Let the bright Seraphim"; besides, it is known that Handel
culled ideas and "conveyed" notes from works of other composers; also,
that he turned them to the best account.
In the same year in which Corelli published his Op. 1 (1683), Domenico
Scarlatti, the famous harpsichord player, was probably born; in the
history of development his name is the principal one of importance
between Corelli and Emanuel Bach. In the matter of technique he
rendered signal service, but, for the moment, we are concerned with
his contribution towards development. Scarlatti does not seem to have
ever considered the sonata in the sense of a work consisting of
several contrasting movements; all of his are of only one movement.
The title "sonata" as applied to his pieces is, therefore, misleading.
Whether the term was actually used by the composer himself seems
doubtful. The first thirty of the sixty Scarlatti sonatas published by
Breitkopf & Härtel appeared during the lifetime of the composer at
Madrid. They are dedicated to John the Just, King of Portugal, and are
merely entitled
_Essercizi per Gravicembalo._
In editions of the eighteenth century the composer's pieces are styled
Lessons or Suites. However, twelve published by J. Johnson, London,
are described on the title-page as _Sonatas modernas_.
From the earliest days of instrumental music dance tunes were divided
into two sections. The process of evolution is interesting. In the
earliest specimens, such as the _Branle_ given in the Orchésographie
of Thoinot Arbeau, we find both sections in the same key, and there is
only one theme. The movement towards the dominant note in this
_Branle_ may be regarded as a latent modulation. In time the first
section was developed, and the latent modulation became real; then,
after certain intermediate stages, the custom was established of
passing from the principal to the dominant key (or, in a minor piece,
to the relative major or dominant minor), in which the first section
closed. But in Corelli,[12] and even in Scarlatti,[13] we find,
occasionally, a return to an earlier stage (_i.e._ a first section
ending in the same key in which it commenced). In most of his pieces
Scarlatti modulates to the dominant; in minor, to the relative major.
Some exceptions deserve mention. In the Breitkopf & Härtel collection,
No. 26, in A major, passes to the minor key of the dominant; and No.
11, in C minor, modulates to the minor key of the dominant, but the
section closes in the major key of the dominant.
Scarlatti's sonatas consist, then, of one movement in binary form of
the early type. Only in a few of these pieces is there a definite
second subject; in none, a return to the opening theme. [Music
illustration] In No. 26 there is just a return to the first bar (see
second section, bar 11), but the previous ten bars show no modulation,
and one can scarcely speak of thematic development. After the few bars
of development and modulation, in some cases, the second section is
found to consist merely of a repetition of some part of the first
section, the key being tonic instead of dominant. This is,
practically, embryonic sonata-form. The tonic and dominant portions of
the first section are becoming differentiated; but the landmark,
_i.e._ the return to the opening theme in the second section which
divides binary from sonata form, is, in Scarlatti, non-existent. His
first sections often consist of a principal theme and passages, also
phrases indirectly connected with the opening one; sometimes of a
chain of short phrases more or less evolved from the opening thought
(see Nos. 1, 21, 29). (These and the numbers which follow refer to the
Breitkopf & Härtel edition of sixty Scarlatti sonatas.) The composer
often passes through the minor key of the dominant (in the first
section) before arriving at the major; sometimes the major is
introduced only late in the section (Nos. 7, 17, etc.), or minor
remains (No. 26). We meet with a similar proceeding in Beethoven.
Minor pieces often pass to the dominant minor, but end in major
(_i.e._, first section). In Scarlatti there is, for the most part, no
second subject, but frequently (Nos. 5, 7, 9, etc.) a concluding
phrase which can, at times, be traced to the opening theme. Sonata 6,
in F, shows a second subject of a certain independence. The best
examples are to be found in Nos. 24 and 29 (in A and E); in these the
character of the second subject differs from that of the first, and it
is also in a minor key, which offers still another contrast.
And now a word or two respecting Scarlatti's method of development. He
alters figures (Nos. 12 and 54), extends them (Nos. 9 and 54), but
often merely repeats passages on the same degrees as those of the
first section, or on different ones. He makes use of imitation (Nos. 7
and 36). Sometimes he evolves a phrase from a motive (No. 11). In No.
19 the development assumes a certain importance. It commences, not, as
in most cases, with the opening theme or figure of the first section,
but with a group of semiquaver notes which appears later in that
section. In No. 20 Scarlatti preserves the rhythm, but with total
change of notes (No. 20)--
[Music illustration]
The same number gives another interesting specimen of change of
rhythm. In No. 48 he picks out an unimportant group of notes, and
works it by imitation and sequence. There are some interesting
specimens of development in the thirty sonatas printed from
manuscripts in the possession of Lord Viscount Fitzwilliam by Robert
Birchall. Scarlatti's development bars are seldom many in number.
After modulation and development, the music slides, as it were, into
some phrase from the first section,[14] and allowance being made on
account of difference of key (there the music was passing, or had
passed from tonic; here it is returning to that key), the rest is more
or less a repetition of the first section. _More or less_: sometimes
the repetition is literal; at other times there is considerable
deviation; and shortenings are frequent. With regard to style of
writing for the clavier--a few canonic imitations excepted--there is
no real polyphony. Most of the sonatas are in only two parts. The
composer revels in rapid passages (runs, broken chords, simple and
compound), wide leaps, difficult octaves, crossing of hands, and, of
course, short shakes innumerable. Domenico Scarlatti was indeed one of
the most renowned _virtuosi_ on the clavier. Handel met him at Rome in
1708, and Cardinal Ottoboni persuaded them to compete with each other.
We are told that upon the harpsichord the victory was doubtful, but
upon the organ, Scarlatti himself confessed the superiority of his
rival.[15]
Johann Kuhnau published a sonata for clavier in 1695, and this was
followed up by a set of seven sonatas ("Frische Früchte") in 1696, and
a few years later (1700) by the seven "Bible" Sonatas. That he was the
first composer who wrote a sonata for the clavier is a point which
cannot be overlooked, and in the evolution of the sonata he occupies
an interesting position. In the "Frische Früchte" there is, as Dr.
C.H. Parry truly remarks in his excellent article "Sonata" in Sir G.
Grove's _Dictionary of Music and Musicians_, an awakening sense of the
relation and balance of keys; but in the "Bible" Sonatas the form and
order of the movements is entirely determined by the Bible stories. As
specimens of programme-music they are altogether remarkable, and will,
later on, be described in detail; they do not, however, come within
the regular line of development. It was, of course, natural that such
a new departure should attract the notice of John Sebastian Bach, who
was Kuhnau's immediate successor as cantor of St. Thomas' School,
Leipzig, and Spitta, in his life of Bach, refers to that composer's
_Capriccio sopra la lontananza del suo fratello dilettissimo_, and
reminds us that "Kuhnau as well as so many others had some influence
on Bach." Of course, among the "so many others," Froberger's name--as
we shall see later on from Kuhnau's preface--deserves a prominent
place. In addition to what Kuhnau says, Mattheson has recorded that
"Froberger could depict whole histories on the clavier, giving a
representation of the persons present and taking part in them, with
all their natural characters." When writing the Capriccio above named,
Spitta believes that Bach was specially influenced by the last of the
"Bible" Sonatas (we may perhaps add that Spitta tells us that Bach
was intimately acquainted with Kuhnau). He indeed says: "We might
doubt the early origin of the Capriccio if its evident 'dependence' on
Kuhnau did not solve the mystery." Then, again, in a Sonata in D by
Bach, published in the Bach Gesellschaft edition, Spitta calls
attention to the opening subject in D, and does not hesitate to
declare that "it is constructed on the pattern of a particular part of
the story of Jacob's marriage" (the 3rd of the "Bible" Sonatas). His
description of the Bach sonata would, doubtless, have attracted more
notice but for the fact that copies of the Kuhnau sonatas were
extremely rare; they were, we believe, never reprinted since the
commencement of the eighteenth century. The first two have now been
published by Messrs Novello & Co. The Kuhnau influence on Bach seems,
however, to have been of short duration; for, after these juvenile
attempts, as Spitta observes, "he never again returned to this branch
of music in the whole course of a long artistic career extending over
nearly fifty years." The fugue form absorbed nearly the whole
attention of that master; and the idea of programme-music remained in
abeyance until Beethoven revived it a century later.[16] Emanuel Bach
inherited some of his father's genius, and he may instinctively have
felt the utter hopelessness of following directly in his footsteps.
J.S. Bach had exhausted the possibilities of the fugue form. It was
perhaps fortunate for Emanuel Bach that, while still young, he left
his father's house. After residing for a few years at
Frankfort-on-the-Oder, he entered the service of Frederick the Great;
and at the court of that monarch he came, at any rate, directly under
Italian influence.
An interesting link between Kuhnau and E. Bach is Mattheson, who
published at Hamburg in 1713 a sonata dedicated to the one who can
best play it (_derjenigen Persohn gewidmet, die sie am besten spielen
wird_). The work itself not being available, the following description
of it by J. Faisst (_Caecilia_, vol. 25, p. 157) may prove
interesting:--"It (_i.e._ the sonata) consists of only one movement,
which, considering its evidently intentional wealth of technique,
might be named a Toccata. But in form this one movement clearly
belongs to the sonata order, and, in fact, holds a middle place
between the tendencies towards sonata-form (the term taken in the
narrower sense of form of one single movement) noticeable in Kuhnau,
and the more developed shape which this form has assumed within recent
times. We have here three sections. In the opening one, the theme,
after its first exposition in the key of G, forms the basis of various
passages, and then appears in the key of the dominant, followed again
by passages of larger extent and richer contents; finally, in
abbreviated form, it reappears in the tonic. The second section
commences in the parallel key, E minor, with passages which recall
those of the first section, and continues with the theme in the same
key; afterwards theme and passages are developed through the keys of A
minor, C major, G major, D major and B minor; in the last, in which
the theme occurs, there is a full close. As third section the first is
taken _Da Capo_." It is evident from a remark made by Mattheson in his
_Der volkommene Capellmeister_, which appeared at Hamburg in 1739,
that some of the sonatas written during the transition period, between
Corelli and E. Bach, are lost, or, at any rate, have not been
discovered.[17] Mattheson says: "During the last years successful
attempts have been made to write sonatas for the clavier (formerly
they were for violins or instruments of that kind); still, up to now,
they have not the right form, and are capable of being touched (_i.e._
played) rather than of touching: they aim at the movement of fingers
rather than of hearts."[18]
A little later than Mattheson (_i.e._ in 1721), Pier Giuseppo Sandoni,
husband of the famous vocalist Cuzzoni, published at London "Sonate
per il Cembalo," dedicated to the Duchess of Pembroke. No. 1, in D
minor, has three movements, an Allemande, Largo, and Giga Presto; they
are all short, and in two sections; and, as a rule, the writing is in
two parts. No. 2, in F, opens with an Allegro of peculiar form. It
has four sections, each of which is repeated; the first (seven bars)
modulates to the key of C, closing thus--
[Music illustration]
The second section (also consisting of seven bars) soon modulates to D
minor, closing in that key in a manner similar to the first. The third
section (ten bars) consists of modulation and slight development, and
closes in A minor. The fourth section (fifteen bars) passes by means
of broken chords (in imitation of the last bar of the previous
section) through various keys, ending in the same fashion as the first
section, only, by way probably of intensification at the end, there
are seven instead of four quaver chords; the section, of course, ends
in F. This movement in the matter of form offers an interesting link
between Kuhnau and E. Bach. The second movement is a minuet, with
variations; it certainly has a beginning, but seems endless. The 3rd
Sonata, in A, resembles No. 1 in form, also in grouping of movements.
And in addition to the sonata of Mattheson, the Sei Sonatine per
Violino e Cembalo, di Georgio Philippo Telemann, published at
Amsterdam in 1721, will give us an approximate idea of the clavier
sonata between Kuhnau and Emanuel Bach. Each number, by the way, is
headed--title-page notwithstanding--a sonata. No. 1, in A major,
consists of four movements, Adagio, Allegro, Largo, Allegro, and all
the four are in binary form. The second is naturally the most
important; the others are very short and simple. In this Allegro,
besides the allusion in the dominant key to the theme at the opening
of the second section there is a return to it, after modulation, in
the principal key. Some of the other sonatas are longer, but No. 1
represents, roughly, the other five as to form and contents. No. 6, in
F, by the way, has only three movements: Vivace, Cantabile, and
Presto.
The "Sonate per Gravicembalo, novamente composte," published by
Giovanni Battista Pescetti in 1739, deserve notice, since they
appeared three years before the six sonatas dedicated by Emanuel Bach
to Frederick the Great. They are nine in number. In style of writing,
order, and character of movements, they bear the stamp of the period
in which they were written. Most of the movements in binary form are
of the intermediate type, _i.e._ they have the principal theme in the
dominant at the beginning of the exposition section, and again, later
on, in the principal key. There is considerable variety in the order
and number of movements. No. 1, for instance, has an Adagio, an
Allegro, and a Menuett with variations. No. 2, in D, has four
movements: Andante, Adagio, Allegro, Giga; the short Adagio is in D
minor. No. 3, in G minor: Presto and A Tempo Giusto (a dignified
fugue). The influence of Handel is strong, also that of Scarlatti.
Bars such as the following--
[Music illustration]
foreshadow, in a curious manner, the _Alberti_ bass.
A great number of clavier sonatas were written about the time during
which Emanuel Bach flourished: his first sonatas appeared in 1742, his
last in 1787. An interesting collection of no less than seventy-two
sonatas (sixty-seven by various composers; five anonymous), issued in
twelve parts, under the title _Oeuvres mêlées_ (twelve books, each
containing six sonatas), was published by Haffner at Würzburg,
somewhere between 1760 and 1767. And another collection of symphonies
and sonatas, principally by Saxon composers, was published at Leipzig
in 1762 under the title _Musikalisches Magazin_. We will give the
names of some of the chief composers, with titles of their works,
adding a few other details. It is difficult in some cases to ascertain
the year of publication; and it is practically impossible to say when
the sonatas were actually composed:--
BACH, Wilh. Friedemann. Sei sonate, No. 1,[19] D
major (Dresden, 1745). Sonata in C (published in Litolff's
_Maîtres du Clavecin_), and others in D and G (autographs),
and in F, A, and B flat (manuscripts).
BACH, Joh. Ernst. Two sonatas (in _Oeuvres
mêlées_).
NICHELMANN, Christoph. Sei brevi sonate, etc., Op.
2; Nuremberg (between 1745-1756).
HASSE. Two sonatas in E flat and B flat
(manuscript; on one is the date of 1754). Two sonatas, one
in D minor (only one Lento movement); the other in D major
(only one Allegro movement in old binary form). These are
both in the Leipzig collection named above.
BENDA, Georg. Sei sonate (Berlin, 1757). Sonatas in
G, C minor, and G, also seven sonatinas (Vermischte
Clavierstücke, Gotha, 1780).
WAGENSEIL, Georg. Sonata (_Oeuvres mêlées_). Six
sonatas for the harpsichord (with accompaniment for a
violin).[20] Opera prima. (A. Hummel, London.)
SCHAFFRATH, Christoph.[21] Six sonates, Op. 2
(published by Haffner, Nuremberg, 1754).
MOZART, Leopold. Three sonatas (_Oeuvres mêlées_).
MÜTHEL, Joh. Gottfr. Three sonatas, etc. (Haffner,
Nuremberg, about 1753); three sonatas (autograph).
UMSTATT, Joseph.[22] One sonata (_Oeuvres mêlées_).
Sonata consisting of only a Minuetto, Trio, and Gigue
(Leipzig collection). And the two Italians--
GALUPPI. Sonate per cembalo (London); and
PARADIES, P. Domenico. Twelve sonate di
gravicembalo (London).
GRÉTRY, Belgian composer (1741-1813), wrote "Six
sonates pour le clavecin" (1768), to which, unfortunately,
we have not been able to gain access.
From the two collections, etc., may be gathered many facts of
interest. First, as regards the number and character of movements in a
sonata. Emanuel Bach kept, for the most part, to three: two fast
movements, divided by a slow one.[23] In the second of his Leipzig
collections (1780), there are two with only two movements (Nos. 2 and
3; a few bars connecting the two movements of No. 3). But among other
composers there are many examples; in some sonatas, the first movement
is a slow one; in others, both movements are quick, in which case the
second one is frequently a minuet.[24] All twelve sonatas of Paradies
have only two movements.
Of sonatas in three movements, some commence with a slow movement
followed by two quick movements.[25] (In one instance, in E. Bach's
sonatas, the 1st Collection, No. 2, in F, we even find two slow
movements followed by a quick one, Andante, Larghetto, Allegro assai.)
But the greater number had the usual order:--Allegro or Allegretto,
Andante or Adagio, and Allegro or Presto. Thus Hasse, Nichelmann,
Benda, and other composers. Now in E. Bach's Würtemberg sonatas we
found all three movements were in the same key, and there are similar
cases in Hasse, Fried. Bach, Joh. Ernst Bach, etc.; but for the most
part, the middle (slow) movement was in some nearly related key; in a
sonata commencing in major--in the relative, or tonic minor, or minor
under-dominant; and even (as in a sonata by Adlgasser) in the
upper-dominant. Joh. C.F. Bach, in one instance, selected the minor
key of the upper-dominant, and there are examples of more remote keys
(E. Bach, Coll. of 1780, No. 1). With sonatas commencing in minor, the
key selected for the middle movement was generally the relative major
of the under-dominant, or that of the tonic; sometimes even tonic
major. A very extraordinary example of a remote key is to be met with
in Bach's Collection of 1779, No. 3: his opening movement is B minor,
but his middle one, G minor.[26]
It should be mentioned with regard to sonatas in three movements
commencing in a minor key, that the last generally (in works of this
period) remains and ends in minor. In modern sonatas the major is
often found, at any rate before the close (see Beethoven, Op. 10, No.
1, etc.).
Baldassare Galuppi, born in 1706 on the island of Burano, near Venice,
was a pupil of Lotti's. Two sets of six "Sonate per il cembalo" of
his were published in London. We cannot give the date, but may state
that a sonata of his in manuscript bears the date 1754 (whether of
copy or composition is uncertain; anyhow, the year given acts as
limit). The variety in the number of the movements of the published
sonatas (one has four, some have three, some two, while No. 2 of the
first set has only one) points to a period of transition. This alone,
apart from the freshness and charm of the music, entitles them to
notice. Much of the writing is thin (only two parts), and,
technically, the music far less interesting than the Scarlatti pieces.
Some of the phrases and figures, and the occasional employment of the
Alberti bass, tell, however, of the new era soon about to be
inaugurated by Haydn. There is one little feature in the 1st Sonata of
the first set which may be mentioned. In the second section of the
Adagio (a movement in binary form) of that sonata, the theme appears,
as usual then, at the beginning of the second section, and, later on,
reappears in the principal key, but it starts on the fourth, instead
of the eighth quaver of the bar.
There was great variety in the order of movements. Sometimes a slow
movement was followed by two quick movements;[27] and the third
movement was frequently a minuet. The quick movement sometimes came in
the middle (Galuppi, Sonata in B flat), sometimes at the beginning
(E. Bach, Coll. 1781, No. 3), sometimes at the end (E. Bach, Coll.
1779, No. 2). Then, again, sometimes all, but frequently two of the
three movements, were connected, _i.e._ the one passed to the other
without break.
So much for sonatas in two or three movements. But among the _Oeuvres
mêlées_ there are no less than twenty which have four movements--some
in the old order: slow, fast, slow, fast; others in a new order:
Allegro, Andante or Adagio, Minuet, and Allegro or Presto.[28] Thus
Wagenseil,[29] Houpfeld, J.E. Bach, Hengsberger, and Kehl. Sometimes
(as in Seyfert and Goldberg) the Minuet came immediately after the
Allegro[30] (see Beethoven chapter with regard to position of Minuet
or Scherzo in his sonatas). In a sonata by Schaffrath, the opening
Allegro is followed by a Fugue. Again (in Spitz, Zach, and Fischer)
the following order is found: Allegro, Andante, Allegro, Minuet. In
Fischer all the movements are in one key; only the Trio of the Minuet
is in the tonic minor. In Spitz the Andante is in the under-dominant,
the other movements being in the principal key. In Zach the Andante is
in the minor tonic, and the third movement in the upper-dominant. It
is well to notice that _in none of these four-movement sonatas are the
movements connected_. The same thing is to be observed in Beethoven,
with exception, perhaps, of Op. 110. In the _Oeuvres mêlées_ there is
only one instance of a sonata in _five_ movements by Umstatt. It
consists of an Allegro, Adagio (in the dominant), Fugue Allegro (in
the relative of dominant), a Minuet in the principal key, with Trio in
relative minor; and, finally, a Presto. By way of contrast, we may
recall the two sonatas of Hasse, in one movement, already mentioned,
and also the last of Emanuel Bach's six sonatas of 1760.
The works of many of the composers named in connection with
differences in the number and order of movements are forgotten; and,
in some cases, indeed, their names are not even thought worthy of a
place in musical dictionaries. Yet these variations are of great
moment in the history of development. And this for a double reason.
First, many of the works must have been known to E. Bach, and yet he
seems to have remained, up to the last, faithful to the three-movement
plan. One or two of his sonatas have only two movements, none,
however, has four. Secondly, the experiment of extending the number to
more than three, practically passed unheeded by Dussek, Clementi,
Mozart,[31] Haydn,[32] and by all the composers of importance until
Beethoven. The last-named commenced with sonatas in four movements;
but, as will be seen in a later chapter, he afterwards became partial
to the scheme of three movements.
Let us now consider, and quite briefly, movements in binary form;
again, in this matter, some instructive facts will be gathered from
the works of Bach's contemporaries. As in Scarlatti, so here we find
the first of the two sections into which such a movement is divided,
ending in one case[33] in the tonic, but, as a rule, in the dominant.
There is, however, an instance of the close in the under-dominant
(Müthel, No. 2 of the Sonatas of 1780), and in E. Bach, in the
relative minor of the under-dominant (Sonatas of 1780, No. 3, Finale).
In a minor key, the first section closed either in the key of the
relative major, or that of the dominant minor[34]--much more
frequently the former.
Now, in proportion as the second part of the first section grew more
definite, so also did the approach to it. Everyone knows the pause so
frequently to be found in Haydn and Mozart, on the dominant of the
dominant, _i.e._ if the key of the piece were C--
[Music illustration]
It is instructive to compare the less formal methods of approaching
the new key in E. Bach and his contemporary Paradies; with them it was
generally by means of a half-close. It must be remembered that E. Bach
frequently has a movement quite on Scarlatti lines, _i.e._ without a
definite second subject;[35] also that the second subject in Bach's
time was, as a rule, of secondary importance. But, curiously, in the
Finale of a sonata written by Leopold Mozart (father of the great
genius), after a half cadence on the dominant of the dominant, _tempo_
and measure change (from Presto two-four, to Andante three-four, the
latter remaining until the end of the first section), and the same
occurs in the recapitulation section; by this means the second theme
was made specially prominent. In a sonata of Scarlatti's, in D,
commencing
[Music illustration]
there is a definite second subject in, by the way, the minor key of
the dominant, and it is divided from the first by two bars in common
time (a descending scale and a shake on a semibreve). And then again,
in No. 12 of the "Libro de XII. Sonatas Modernas para Clavicordio,"
the second subject is divided from the first by two bars of common
time (the piece is in Scarlatti's favourite measure, three-eight), an
ascending scale and a shake. There are clear examples of a second
subject, besides E. Bach, in Eberlin, Fleischer, J.C. Bach, and J.C.F.
Bach. Yet even in Haydn's sonatas one cannot always speak of a second
subject. The further history of the development of the contents of the
second half of the first section shows, as it were, a struggle between
two ideals. One was _kinship_, _i.e._ the endeavour to present the
secondary matter in strong relationship to the opening one (the
opening notes or bars of a real second subject were, indeed,
frequently the same, allowance being made, of course, for difference
of key); the other was _contrast_, _i.e._ the endeavour to obtain
variety. Haydn was more affected by the first; Mozart by the second.
In Beethoven the two are happily combined. It is important to notice
the closing bars of many first sections of the period of which we are
speaking. For instance, in E. Bach, the first movement of the sonata
in each of the Collections of 1781 and 1783 has a concluding theme
(as in the sonata of Scarlatti, and frequently evolved from the
opening theme). Though in the complementary key, it cannot count as
"the second subject." It appears after the complementary key has been
ushered in by one cadence, and after having apparently run its course,
it has been wound up by another. Then, again, the portion between the
cadences just mentioned is at times filled with a true theme, so that
the concluding one, like the cave of Abraham's field of Machpelah, is
in reality an appendency. _Sometimes there are several_: the
enlargement of the exposition section by Beethoven, and still more
modern composers, so that it contains sometimes three, and even more
themes, is practically an exposition section on Scarlatti lines, only
on a larger scale: the figure has become a phrase, mere connecting
passages have acquired organic meaning. The second section of
Scarlatti's movement in binary form contained a few bars of
development and modulation. Then a return was made to the opening key
of the piece, _but never to the opening theme_; and in that key a
portion more or less great, more or less varied, according to
circumstances, was repeated. That return to the opening theme is, as
we have already said, the landmark which divides binary from sonata
form.
In sonatas of the middle of the eighteenth century the modulation
section (in a major key) ended in various ways,--on the dominant
chord (of the principal key), on the tonic chord of the relative
minor, the under-dominant, or even on the tonic itself of the
principal key. Later on, Haydn and Mozart kept, for the most part, to
the dominant chord. Beethoven, on account of the distant, and often
abrupt, modulations of his middle sections, generally marked the
approach to the recapitulation by clear, and often prolonged, dominant
harmony; sometimes, however, the return of the principal theme comes
as a surprise. The recapitulation always remained more or less
faithful to the exposition. It is interesting to note how little the
character and contents of the recapitulation section have been
affected in modern times by the growth of the development section. In
the matter of balance the two sections of movements in binary form are
more satisfactory than the two sections (two, so far as outward
division is concerned) of modern sonatas. The grain of mustard-seed in
the parable grew into a tree, and so, likewise, have the few bars of
modulation of early days grown into an important section. However
difficult to determine the exact moment at which a movement in
sonata-form really ceased to be binary, there seems no doubt that that
moment has now passed. We have already noted when the change
commenced.