FORM AND ANALYSIS

Paper 2: The Sonata Principle

• The Assignment

  The assignment is to write an analytical paper on one of the following movements. The paper is due Monday, December 11th, no later than 4:00 P.M.

  • Schubert Quintet for Piano and Strings in A Major, Op. 114, I ("Trout" Quintet)
  • Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 8 in C Minor, I (Sonate Pathetique)
  • Brahms Sonata No. 2 for Violin and Piano, Op. 100, I
• Physical Specifications (please observe these carefully!)
  • Length: 5-7 double-spaced pages (about 1200 words, give or take 200; brief musical examples may be included in the total length, but formal diagrams may not!)
  • Margins: 1.5" on the left, 1" on top, right, and bottom
  • Paper: White, 8-1/2" x 11"
  • Print type: typewritten (elite type) or word-processed and printed with near-letter quality or laser printer (using a 10 or 12 point font).
  • Your paper should include a title page with the title of the paper and your name centered on the page; the instructor's name, course name, and date should appear centered at the bottom of the page.
  • Pages should be numbered consecutively with the first page of text (not title page) being page 1.
  • Turn in your paper fastened with a paper clip--not stapled or in a folder!
• Content Specifications

  Your paper should begin with a formal diagram (with measure numbers), indicating the major formal divisions, subdivisions (phrases, etc.) within those sections, and key areas. Make this diagram as specific as possible. Try to find some new and creative way of illustrating the structure of the movement, possibly with graph paper using different colors or shapes to represent different motives or themes. This diagram does not count toward the total number of pages.

  You should begin your work on this project by listening to the music several times, then analyze it as thoroughly as possible, creating a clear and informative diagram. The written part of this project should focus on the following:

  1. Contrast (thematic, motivic, harmonic, rhythmic, etc.) is an important concept in a sonata form movement. How does the composer establish contrast in the exposition of this movement? Also, are there any elements (motivic, textural, etc.) that serve as a unifying factor?
  2. Discuss the development section. What materials are used, what techniques are used, can it be divided into clearly-marked sections (if so, how?)? How does the composer set up the return of the original key for the recapitulation?
  3. One problem a composer faces in a sonata form movement is how to remain in tonic for S in the recapitulation. By comparing pertinent portions of the exposition and the recapitulation, discuss how the composer solves this problem (i.e., how does the recap differ from the exposition).

  These pieces are relatively complex, and your analysis should be quite detailed. Do not expect things to fall neatly into place immediately. While each of these movements stays within the bounds of sonata form, a number of variants are utilized that extend the basic model.

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• Some Comments on Style

  You should write in formal English, with careful attention to spelling, punctuation, and grammatical construction. I strongly encourage you to complete your paper a day or two in advance so you have a chance to read through the text carefully for good sentence flow, proper phrasing, and the like. Reading a text aloud can be very enlightening! Improper grammar, and misspelled words detract from the quality of your work, and will have an effect on the final grade. I would encourage you to consult the writing center on campus before submitting your final copy.

  Your paper should be organized in a top-down fashion. You should clearly state the premise of your paper, present material to support your main points (including the use of examples), and close with conclusions arrived at during the course of your analysis. In general, avoid the use of the first person (such as "I"), and avoid giving a blow-by-blow description of the piece. Remember, general statements such as "This motive serves as unifying material for the entire movement" must be supported by specific references in the music (a printed example of the motive would also be helpful).

• A Reminder about Borrowing

  For this paper, there is no need to use outside references. If you do, however, please observe the following cautions. Plagiarism is using the words or ideas of others without giving proper reference. Substantial academic penalty may result from falsely representing ideas as your own! Any material, aside from purely factual information (such as biographical data), obtained from other sources and included in your paper must be properly documented. This usually takes the form of an endnote or footnote giving the author's name, title of source, location of source (if from a journal or encyclopedia), and publishing information (if the source is a book), plus the page number or numbers from which the information came (Consult Wingell, Writing about Music, for appropriate citation format). Any analytical information that is not the direct result of your own investigation of the music itself (i.e., material from any other source) must be properly documented so the ones responsible for the analysis may receive the credit.

   

Unit 3