Mozart - Piano Sonata in Bb, K. 333: Movement I

Revision cards for Mozart A2 Set Work

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Background

  • Composed 1783
  • The first movement of a CLASSICAL three-movement sonata
  • Intended for domestic, teaching, or concert
  • Solo instrument

- Classical features - Sonata form, periodic phrasing, melody-dominated homophony, broken chord/alberti accompaniment, clear light textures, clear harmonic progressions, regular cadences

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Rhythm and Metre

  • Simple-quadruple time (common time)
  • Allergro 
  • Repetitive rhythmic patterns in the melody
  • First subject starts with an anacrusis
  • Syncopation in the first subject
  • Continuous semi-quaver movement in the later stages of second subject

- increased momentum

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Melody

  • Periodic phrasing at opening of second subject

- Contrastingly - First subject has a four bar phrase, answered by six bar passage

  • Movement opens diatonically, but chromatic inflections are frequent
  • Melodies often extended by sequence
  • Ornamentation - appoggiaturas, turns, cadential trill
  • First subject developed with fragmentation, bars 68-69
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Harmony

  • Functional, with regular cadences - perfect and imperfect
  • Classical cadential 6-4
  • Appoggiatura chords e.g. bar 63
  • Diminished 7th chords e.g. bar 69
  • Augmented 6th chords e.g. bar 80
  • Tonic and dominant chords
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Tonality

  • Clearly defined, with modulations that delineate the structure
  • First Subject: Bb major 
  • Second Subject: F major (dominant)
  • Modulations to related (Cm, Gm) and unrelated (Fm, Ebm) keys in the development
  • Recapitulation has first and second subject in tonic key
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Structure

Sonata form:

Bars 1-63: Exposition:

- Bars 1-10: First Subject, Bb major

- Bars 10-22: Transition, Bb major

- Bars 23-63: Second subject with codetta, F major

Bars 63-93: Development. Through F major, F minor, C minor, Bb major, G minor. Dominant preperation for...

Bars 93-165: Recapitulation, Bb major

- Bar 119: Second subject at bar 119, now in the tonic rather than dominant.

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Resources

  • Early wooden framed piano (fortepiano)

- Five octave range

- Replaced harpsichord as the instrument of choice for concert hall and home

- The piano was able to show off Mozarts' virtuosity, and capable of delicate dynamics

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Texture

  • Melody dominated homophony, with the right hand carrying most of the melody throughout
  • Lean textures, often consisting of two lines
  • Occasionally, the right hand plays octaves
  • The left hand uses broken chords (occasionally Alberti bass)
  • The densest chords occur at the start of the second subject, to emphaise tonality at these points)
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Comments

Emilie Sanders

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Excellent! Everything is covered! I'm going to print this out and test my friends! :)

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