Closed, Closing, and Close to Closure: The Nineteenth-Century “Closing Theme” Problem as Exemplified in Mendelssohn’s Sonata Practice

IF 1.6 1区 艺术学 0 MUSIC MUSIC THEORY SPECTRUM Pub Date : 2024-08-10 DOI:10.1093/mts/mtae009
Benedict Taylor
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Abstract

There is little theoretical consensus on what constitutes a closing theme in a sonata-form exposition. William Caplin’s formal-functional theory essentially rejects the notion, while conversely it is upheld in James Hepokoski and Warren Darcy’s sonata theory. For them, a “C-theme” is defined contextually, as occurring after a decisive cadence. Yet there appear to be exceptions to this rule, more prevalent in the nineteenth century, which concern “apparent C-zones in the absence of an EEC,” or “Sc themes,” in which rhetorical factors override the lack of preceding cadential closure. This concession opens up a theoretical minefield that has until now been barely explored; nevertheless, it speaks to a genuine feature of nineteenth-century sonata practice. This article examines the use of apparently rhetorical C themes in a precedential situation in the first half of the nineteenth century, taking the sonata expositions of Felix Mendelssohn as a case study. Mendelssohn’s music highlights this issue particularly well owing to his customary avoidance of cadential closure and regular recourse to primary-theme material toward the end of an exposition. Combining form-functional and sonata-theoretical perspectives, I identify in his music a characteristic structure whereby the functions formerly reserved for a single theme are expanded to encompass what would have formed multiple themes in the late eighteenth century. Moreover, the P-based closing idea generally functions as a large-scale cadential phrase in an enormous sentence initiated by the secondary theme, thus highlighting a latent terminological ambiguity over whether the word “closing” indicates “already closed” or “in the process of closing.” I argue for the need to refine existing terminology in order to distinguish between these two meanings when applied to the nineteenth-century repertory.
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封闭、结束和接近封闭:门德尔松奏鸣曲实践中体现的十九世纪 "结束主题 "问题
关于什么是奏鸣曲式展开曲中的结束主题,理论界几乎没有共识。威廉-卡普林(William Caplin)的形式-功能理论基本上否定了这一概念,相反,詹姆斯-赫波科斯基(James Hepokoski)和沃伦-达西(Warren Darcy)的奏鸣曲理论则坚持这一概念。在他们看来,"C 主题 "是根据上下文来定义的,即出现在决定性的快板之后。然而,这一规则似乎也有例外,这种例外在十九世纪更为盛行,涉及 "没有EEC的明显C区 "或 "Sc主题",在这些主题中,修辞因素压倒了前一个终止音的缺失。这一让步开辟了一个理论雷区,但迄今为止几乎没有人对其进行过探讨;然而,它却道出了十九世纪奏鸣曲实践的一个真正特点。本文以费利克斯-门德尔松(Felix Mendelssohn)的奏鸣曲展开曲为例,研究了十九世纪上半叶在先行情况下使用表面上具有修辞性的 C 主题的情况。门德尔松的音乐尤其突出了这一问题,因为他习惯于避免快板结尾,并经常在乐曲结尾处使用主旋律素材。结合形式-功能和奏鸣曲理论的观点,我在他的音乐中发现了一种特有的结构,即以前为单一主题保留的功能被扩展到包括在 18 世纪晚期会形成的多个主题。此外,以 P 为基础的结束性构思通常在由次主题开始的一个巨大句子中充当一个大型的终止句,从而突出了 "结束 "一词是表示 "已经结束 "还是 "正在结束 "的潜在术语歧义。我认为有必要完善现有术语,以便在应用于 19 世纪剧目时区分这两种含义。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
2.30
自引率
20.00%
发文量
15
期刊介绍: A leading journal in the field and an official publication of the Society for Music Theory, Music Theory Spectrum features articles on a wide range of topics in music theory and analysis, including aesthetics, critical theory and hermeneutics, history of theory, post-tonal theory, linear analysis, rhythm, music cognition, and the analysis of popular musics. The journal welcomes interdisciplinary articles revealing intersections with topics in other fields such as ethnomusicology, mathematics, musicology, philosophy, psychology, and performance. For further information about Music Theory Spectrum, please visit the Society for Music Theory homepage.
期刊最新文献
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