Homotonal (same-tonality) is a technical musical term pertaining to the tonal structure of multi-movement compositions. It was introduced into musicology by Hans Keller. According to Keller's definition and usage, a multi-movement composition is 'homotonal' if all of its movements have the same tonic (keynote).
'Homotonality' is by no means uncommon in compositions of the Baroque era: many Baroque multi-movement works based on dance-forms manifest the same tonic—and even the same mode (major or minor) – throughout. Thus, for example, J.S. Bach's solo violin partita BWV 1004 is homotonal [all movements in D minor], as is his solo flute partita BWV 1013 [all movements in A minor]. Similarly, Vivaldi's sonata for oboe and continuo RV53 (n.d.) is homotonal [all movements in C minor]. Homotonality is even encountered in some Baroque concertos: examples include Vivaldi's Cello Concertos RV401 (n.d.) [all movements in C minor] and RV416 (n.d.) [all movements in G minor], and Jean-Marie Leclair's Violin Concerto Op.7 No 1 (1737) [all movements in D minor].
With the Classical era, however, the situation changes. Outside of two-movement works (which, classically speaking, will maintain the same tonic for both movements and will thus be homotonal by definition), classical-era homotonality is relatively rare: a classical work in three movements will normally move to a different tonic for its middle movement, and a classical work in four movements will normally have at least one of its middle movements in a key other than the original tonic.
The classical composer most closely associated with the homotonal principle is Joseph Haydn.
Keller himself was keen to emphasise that different classical composers showed differing degrees of interest in homotonal structure:
Although Mozart, as opposed to Haydn, tended to work within narrow tonal frameworks, he did not carry the homotonal approach very far into his maturity . . . whereas Haydn did: some of the older master's greatest string quartets adhere to a single tonality" [1]
"[U]nlike the mature Haydn, Mozart never came to write four movements without changing the keynote" [not actually true, but indeed it was much rarer for Mozart than Haydn once Mozart reached maturity] [2]
Just because Haydn is more adventurous in his excursions into remote keys than Mozart, he sometimes needs a rigid tonal framework in order to contain them; unlike Mozart and like Haydn, whose developmental modulatory creative character he produced twinlike, Beethoven in his turn was to indulge in passionate tonal and harmonic contrast within homotonal frameworks. [3]
Keller's coinage and concept have not become standard among musicologists.[ citation needed ] Musicologist William Drabkin, for example, asked the question "doesn't 'homotonality' sound a trifle queer?" [4]
The term 'homotonality' (referring to the manifest retention of a tonic) should not be confused with 'monotonality' (the theoretical position according to which a tonal structure has only one 'real' tonic, and all modulation is superficial or illusory).
Examples of 'homotonal' works (in more than two movements) from the classical era and afterwards are:
The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists, a violist, and a cellist.
Sonata form is a musical structure generally consisting of three main sections: an exposition, a development, and a recapitulation. It has been used widely since the middle of the 18th century.
Sonata rondo form is a musical form often used during the Classical music era. As the name implies, it is a blend of sonata and rondo forms.
Cyclic form is a technique of musical construction, involving multiple sections or movements, in which a theme, melody, or thematic material occurs in more than one movement as a unifying device. Sometimes a theme may occur at the beginning and end ; other times a theme occurs in a different guise in every part.
Ludwig van Beethoven is one of the most influential figures in the history of classical music. Since his lifetime, when he was "universally accepted as the greatest living composer", Beethoven's music has remained among the most performed, discussed and reviewed in the Western world. Scholarly journals are devoted to analysis of his life and work. He has been the subject of numerous biographies and monographs, and his music was the driving force behind the development of Schenkerian analysis. He is widely considered as among the most important composers, and along with Bach and Mozart, his music is the most frequently recorded.
C minor is a minor scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E♭, F, G, A♭, and B♭. Its key signature consists of three flats. Its relative major is E♭ major and its parallel major is C major.
G major is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F♯. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative minor is E minor and its parallel minor is G minor.
D major is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F♯, G, A, B, and C♯. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor.
B-flat major is a major scale based on B♭, with pitches B♭, C, D, E♭, F, G, and A. Its key signature has two flats. Its relative minor is G minor and its parallel minor is B-flat minor.
E-flat major is a major scale based on E♭, consisting of the pitches E♭, F, G, A♭, B♭, C, and D. Its key signature has three flats. Its relative minor is C minor, and its parallel minor is E♭ minor,.
A-flat major is a major scale based on A♭, with the pitches A♭, B♭, C, D♭, E♭, F, and G. Its key signature has four flats.
D minor is a minor scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B♭, and C. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative major is F major and its parallel major is D major.
E minor is a minor scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F♯, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative major is G major and its parallel major is E major.
F-sharp minor is a minor scale based on F♯, consisting of the pitches F♯, G♯, A, B, C♯, D, and E. Its key signature has three sharps. Its relative major is A major and its parallel major is F-sharp major.
E-flat minor is a minor scale based on E♭, consisting of the pitches E♭, F, G♭, A♭, B♭, C♭, and D♭. Its key signature consists of six flats. Its relative key is G-flat major and its parallel key is E-flat major. Its enharmonic equivalent, D-sharp minor, contains the same number of sharps.
The six String Quartets, Op. 76, by Joseph Haydn were composed in 1797 or 1798 and dedicated to the Hungarian count Joseph Georg von Erdődy (1754–1824). They form the last complete set of string quartets that Haydn composed. At the time of the commission, Haydn was employed at the court of Prince Nicolaus Esterházy II and was composing the oratorio The Creation as well as Princess Maria Hermenegild Esterházy's annual mass.
The String Quartets, Op. 50, were composed by Joseph Haydn in 1787. The set of six quartets was dedicated to King Frederick William II of Prussia. For this reason the set is commonly known as the Prussian Quartets. Haydn sold the set to the Viennese firm Artaria and, without Artaria's knowledge, to the English publisher William Forster. Forster published it as Haydn's Opus 44. Haydn's autograph manuscripts for Nos. 3 to 6 of the set were discovered in Melbourne, Australia, in 1982.