IB Music – Set Works 2013 - 14
Prokofiev – Symphony No. 1 in D Major – Classical Symphony
Study sheet No. 1
- Introduction to form in Symphonic Music:
Using this worksheet will help you to:
- Learn about the Classical symphonic structure
- Learn how to identify the different sections of the 'sonata form' in the first movement of a classical
symphony.
- begin to become familiar with the first movement of Prokofiev's Classical Symphony.
- propose a structural analysis of the work and provide an argument for your interpretation.
Task 1: Listen to Prokofiev’s Classical Symphony, all the way through. As you are doing so, listen, enjoy and
try to follow the score.
Symphonic Form: Haydn
Many of Haydn’s very early symphonies are in a three movement form which was derived from the Italian
opera overture (sinfonia). About 1700, the overture assumed a three-movement structure in the order fast –
slow – fast: an Alegro, a short lyrical Andante, and a finale in the rhythm of a dance such as a minuet or gigue.
These overtures, as a rule, did not have musical connections with the opera they introduced and could
therefore be played as independent concert pieces. It was a natural step, then, for Italian composers to begin
to writing concert symphonies that followed the same musical plan as the opera overtures.
Haydn, however, soon adopted the four movement symphonic form that has been used ever since. The form
has been developed by composers over the years, but even in the 20th Century it is still recognizable as the
following standard Classical form:
I: Allegro, (Tonic key)
ii: Andante (Subdominant key)
iii: Minuet and Trio (Tonic key)
iV: Allegro (Tonic key).
1st Movement – Sonata Form:
Sonata form is a large-scale musical structure used widely since the middle of the 18th century (the early
Classical period). While it is typically used in the first movement of multi-movement pieces, it is sometimes
used in subsequent movements as well—particularly the final movement. It is not only found in the
symphonic form, but also concertos, sonatas, and string quartets.
Sonata Form is essentially an expansion and development of the ternary form structure (ABA), and is a way in
which composers structured the melodic themes and harmonic direction. Sonata form can be thought of as a
musical journey, starting with the first melodic theme in the tonic key. Along the way the composer also
introduces a second theme, this time in the dominant (V) or relative minor, and takes both of these themes on
a journey of development. During their development, both themes will be transformed into different keys,
possibly even combined, superimposed, extended, diminished, and put through sequences or fugue-like
counterpoints. During this development, the listener should feel a certain amount of tension due to the
ambiguity of the key, and the constant rearranging of the melodic material. All this tension is finally relieved
when both the first and second themes arrive at their final destination, the ‘recapitulation’, back in the tonic
key. The first theme will have returned from its journey largely unchanged, but the second theme will have
been permanently transformed, as it has been transposed from its original dominant key, to the tonic. The
entire first movement will therefore arrive at the coda (the finish line) in the original and triumphant tonic key
(unless it was in the minor key, in which case everyone will be rather sad about the whole thing).
Exposition
1st
transition 2nd Subject
Subject
Development
1st and 2nd
subject are
developed using
a wide range of
techniques.
Tonic key
(I)
Various keys,
Tonic Key
major and minor. (I)
I to V
Dominant
Key
(V)
Recapitulation
1st
Transition 2nd Subject
Subject
(now
modified)
I–I
Tonic Key
(I)
Coda
A section that
makes it
obvious that
the movement
has ended. It
doesn’t always
exist.
Tonic Key
(I)
Task 2: Listen to the following pieces of music, and follow through the scores.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=he-UXIcASc0 - Haydn Symphony no. 56 in C major
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sw_sjhd8LHE - Mozart symphony no. 41 in C major
As you are listening try to mark on the score where you find:
- The first and second subjects (themes)
- The beginning of the development section
- The beginning of the recapitulation.
- The second subject in the recapitulation.
- The coda section, if it exists.
-
Answer these questions:
What key is the 1st subject in during the exposition?
What key is the 2nd subject in during the exposition?
What key is the second subject in during the recapitulation?
Are these observations in accordance with the diagram above? Explain how.
Task 3: Listen to the 1st Movement of the Prokofiev again, 2 or 3 times.
Go through the same process as you did for the Haydn and Mozart. Based on your observations, and by
comparing what you heard with the diagram above, what conclusions regarding the structure have you come
to so far?