Septet - 4 strign instruments, clarinet, bassoon and horn
Unusual string grouping - violin, viola, cello and double bass
Violin and viola occasionaly use double stopping (bar 1)
Clarinet is 'in Bflat' meaning it sounds a tone lower than written
Horn in Eflat sounds a makor 6th lower than written (Gs in bar 9-10 sound like Bb)
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Texture
Slow intro includes many tutti homophonic chords (bar 1)
monophony - violin alone (bar 2)
Melody-dominated homophony for mostof the piece (begining of the Allegro con brio)
Clarinet and basson play in octaves (bar 128) and sixths (bar 140)
more complex texture at the end of coda - imitation between strigns and woodwind (bars 258-264)
Varited no. of instruments playing - tutti (bar 90-92) contrasting three part passage immediately after
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Structure
First movement of a six movement serenade
Sonata form - with slow intro (intro, exposition, development, recapitulation and coda)
Coda is much longer than expected from classical period
bridge passage between 1st and second subject (bar 40) where modulation between Eflat and Bflat happens
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Tonality
Functional major-minor tonality
modulations to related keys
1st subject in Eflat major (tonic)
2nd subject Bflat major (dominant)
Development mover to various keys including C minor (relative minor), Aflat major (subdominant -bar 124) and F minor (relative of subdominant -bar 132)
All modulations established with a perfect cadence
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Harmony
Functional harmony
Clear perfect cadences (bar 28-29 in E flat)
Diatonic - with mostly root position or first inv. Appart from Ic in a perfect cadence
Occasional chromatic chords - Aug 6th on flattened 6th of E flat major (bar 7)
Introduction ends with dom 7th chord - leading into tonic chord of the beginning of Exposition
Harmonic rhythm is relatively slow (tonic chord of Eflat at benginning of expo. lasts 4 bars) but speeds up towards cadences
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Melody
Mainly diatonic with brief chromatacism - chromatic scale (bar 26 of 1st subject)
Much conjunct stepwise movement - including scalic passages
Leaps are usually small (3rds bar 56) however, it begins with rising major 6th from F to D
Rising sequence based on four note motif (1st subject)
Descending sequence (bar 86 onwards)
Melodies often repeated - 10 bar 1st subject theme immediately played again
Some ornamentation - turn at end of 1st subject theme (bar 28)
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Rhythm
Slow intro is more varied rhythmically than Allegro - including demisemiquavers and sextuplet semi quavers
Accompanyment to 1st subject has distinct continuous repeated quaver pattern in viola. When repeated this is replaced by syncopated idea in violin and viola over constant crotchets in cello
Many themes begin with anacrusis - 1st subject has 3 quavers, 2nd subject has single quaver
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