Homotonal

Last updated

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).

Contents

'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

Examples of 'homotonal' works (in more than two movements) from the classical era and afterwards are:

1750s

1760s

  • Haydn's Symphony No. 4 (1757–60) [all movements in D major or D minor]
  • Haydn's Symphony No. 19 (1757–61) [all movements in D major or D minor]
  • Haydn's Symphony No. 17 (1760–61) [all movements in F major or F minor]
  • Haydn's Piano Trio Hob. XV/1 (1761) [all movements in G minor]
  • Haydn's Symphony No. 25 (1761–63) [all movements in C major]
  • Haydn's Symphony No. 12 (1763) [all movements in E major or E minor]
  • Haydn's Symphony No. 33 (1763–65) [all movements in C major or C minor]
  • Haydn's Symphony No. 21 (1764) [all movements in A major]
  • Haydn's Symphony No. 22 'The Philosopher' (1764) [all movements in E-flat major]
  • Haydn's Symphony No. 34 (1765) [all movements in D minor or D major]
  • Mozart's Symphony K. 16a 'Odense' (perhaps spurious, 1765?) [all movements in A minor or A major]
  • Mozart's Sonata in C major for keyboard four-hands, K. 19d (perhaps spurious, 1765?) [all movements in C major]
  • Haydn's Piano Trio Hob. XV/37 (1766) [all movements in F major]
  • Haydn's Piano Trio Hob. XV/38 (1766) [all movements in B-flat major]
  • Haydn's Piano Trio Hob. XV/C1 (1766) [all movements in C major]
  • Haydn's Piano Trio Hob. XIV/6 (1767) [all movements in G major or G minor]
  • Haydn's Symphony No. 49 'La Passione' (1768) [all movements in F minor]
  • Haydn's Symphony No. 59 'Fire' (c. 1768) [all movements in A major or A minor]

1770s

  • Mozart's string quartet K.80 (1770) [all movements in G major]
  • Haydn's String Quartet Op.17 No. 1 (1771) [all movements in E major or E minor]
  • Haydn's String Quartet Op.17 No. 5 (1771) [all movements in G major or G minor]
  • Mozart's Symphony K. 96 "No. 46" (1771) [all movements in C major or C minor]
  • Haydn's Symphony No. 52 (1771–72) [all movements in C minor or C major]
  • Haydn's string quartet Op.20 No. 2 (1772) [all movements in C major or C minor]
  • Haydn's String Quartet Op.20 No. 3 (1772) [all movements in G major or G minor]
  • Haydn's String Quartet Op.20 No. 4 (1772) [all movements in D major or D minor]
  • Haydn's String Quartet Op.20 No. 5 (1772) [all movements in F minor or F major]
  • Haydn's Symphony No. 44 'Trauer' (1772) [all movements in E minor or E major]
  • Haydn's Symphony No. 46 (1772) [all movements in B major or B minor]
  • Mozart's string quartet K.157 (1772) [all movements in C major or C minor]
  • Haydn's Piano Sonata Hob.XVI:23 (1773) [all movements in F major or F minor]
  • Mozart's string quartet K.168 (1773) [all movements in F major or F minor]
  • Mozart's string quartet K.173 (1773) [all movements in D minor or D major]
  • Mozart's Piano Sonata K.280 (1774) [all movements in F major or F minor]
  • Mozart's Symphony K. 208+102 "No. 52" (1775) [all movements in C major]
  • Haydn's Piano Sonata Hob.XVI:27 (1776) [all movements G major]
  • Mozart's 'Serenata Notturna' K.239 (1776) [all movements in D major]
  • Mozart's Notturno for 4 Orchestras K.286 (1777) [all movements in D major]
  • Mozart's Piano Sonata K.331 (1778) [all movements in A major or A minor]
  • Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante for Oboe, Clarinet, Horn, Bassoon and Orchestra K.297b (perhaps spurious, 1778?) [all movements in E-flat major]
  • Haydn's Symphony No. 70 (1779) [all movements in D major or D minor]
  • Michael Haydn's Symphony No. 23 (c. 1779) [all movements in D major or D minor]
  • Mozart's Symphony No. 32 (1779) [all movements in G major]

1780s

  • Haydn's Symphony No. 63 'La Roxelane' (1779–81) [all movements in C major or C minor]
  • Haydn's Piano Sonata Hob.XVI:37 (1780) [all movements in D major or D minor]
  • Haydn's Symphony No. 62 (1780–81) [all movements in D major]
  • Haydn's String Quartet Op.33 No.5 (1781) [all movements in G major or G minor]
  • Haydn's String Quartet Op.33 No.6 (1781) [all movements in D major or D minor]
  • Mozart's Serenade for winds K.375 (1781) [all movements in E-flat major]
  • Haydn's Piano Trio Hob. XV:5 (1785) [all movements in G major]
  • Haydn's Piano Trio Hob. XV:7 (1785) [all movements in D major or D minor]
  • Haydn's Piano Trio Hob. XV:10 (1785) [all movements in F major]
  • Hoffmeister's Viola Concerto No. 1 (1786) [all movements in D major or D minor]
  • Haydn's String Quartet Op.50 No.6 (1787) [all movements in D major or D minor]
  • Haydn's String Quartet Op.54 No.2 (1788) [all movements in C major or C minor]
  • Haydn's String Quartet Op.55 No.2 (1788) [all movements in F minor or F major]
  • Mozart's Violin Sonata K.547 (1788) [all movements in F major]

1790s

  • Haydn's String Quartet Op.64 No.2 (1790) [all movements in B minor or B major]
  • Haydn's Piano Trio no. 37 in A major, Hob. XV:18 (1793) [all movements in A major or A minor]
  • Dussek's Piano Concerto No. 5, Op. 22 (1793) [all movements in B-flat major]
  • Haydn's Piano Trio no. 38 in D major, Hob. XV:24 (1795) [all movements in D major or D minor]
  • Haydn's Piano Trio no. 40 in F-sharp minor, Hob. XV:26 (1795) [all movements in F-sharp minor or F-sharp major]
  • Beethoven's Piano sonata Op.2 No.1 (1795) [all movements in F minor or F major] (dedicated to Haydn)
  • Haydn's Piano Trio No. 44, Hob. XV:28 (1797) [all movements in E major or E minor]
  • Haydn's String quartet Op.76 No.2 (1797) [all movements in D minor or D major]
  • Beethoven's Piano sonata Op.10 No.2 (1796–98) [all movements in F major or F minor]
  • Beethoven's Piano sonata Op.10 No.3 (1796–98) [all movements in D major or D minor]
  • Beethoven's Violin Sonata No. 2, Op.12 No.2 (1797–8) [all movements in A major or A minor]
  • Haydn's String Duo, Hob. VI:Anh. 1 (1798) [all movements in B-flat major]
  • Haydn's String Duo, Hob. VI:Anh. 2 (1798) [all movements in E-flat major]
  • Beethoven's String Trio No. 4 (1798) [all movements in D major or D minor]
  • Beethoven's Piano sonata Op.14 No.1 (1798–99) [all movements in E major or E minor]
  • Beethoven's Violin Sonata No. 4 Op. 23 (1800) [all movements in A minor or A major]

After 1800

  • Beethoven's Piano Sonata Op.26 (1800–01) [all movements in A-flat major or a-flat minor]
  • Beethoven's String Quartet Op.18 No.4 (1801) [all movements in c minor or C major]
  • Beethoven's Piano Sonata Quasi una fantasia Op.27 No.2 ('Moonlight Sonata') (1801) [all movements in c-sharp minor or D-flat major]
  • Beethoven's Piano Sonata Op.28 (1801) [all movements in D major or d minor]
  • Clementi's Piano Sonata Op.40 No.2 (1801–02) [all movements in b minor]
  • Clementi's Piano Sonata Op.40 No.3 (1802) [all movements in D major or d minor]
  • Beethoven's String Quartet Op.59 No.2 (1806) [all movements in e minor or E major, although the finale deceptively begins in C major]
  • Beethoven's Piano Trio Op.70 No.1 ('Ghost') (1808) [all movements in D major or d minor]
  • Beethoven's Piano Sonata Op.79 (1809) [all movements in G major or g minor]
  • Schubert's String Quartet D.87 (1813) [all movements in E-flat major]
  • Paganini's Violin Concerto in E minor (ca. 1815) [all movements in E minor / major]
  • Schubert's Piano Sonata No.7 in D (D.567/568) (1st version, 1817) [all movements in D-flat major or c-sharp minor]
  • Beethoven's Piano Sonata Op. 109 (1820) [all movements in E major or e minor]
  • Clementi's Piano Sonata Op. 50 No.3 'Didone Abbandonata' (1821) [all movements in g minor]
  • Mendelssohn's Viola Sonata in c minor MWV Q 14 (1824) [all movements in c minor]
  • Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1 Op. 11 (1830) [all movements in e minor or E major]
  • Friedrich Kalkbrenner's Piano Concerto No. 4 in A-flat major, Op. 147 (1835) [all movements in A-flat major or a-flat minor]
  • Alkan's Piano Trio No. 1 in g minor, Op. 30 (published 1841) [all movements in g minor or G major]
  • Mendelssohn's Organ Sonata Op.65 No.2 (1844) [all movements in c minor or C major]
  • Mendelssohn's Organ Sonata Op. 65 No.6 (1845) [all movements in D major or d minor]
  • Schumann's Symphony No. 2 Op. 61 (1845–46) [all movements in C major or c minor]
  • Brahms' Piano Trio No. 1 Op. 8 (1853-4; rev. 1889) [all movements in B major or b minor]
  • Smetana's Piano Trio Op. 15 (1854–5) [all movements in g minor]
  • Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 1 Op.15 (1854–9) [all movements in d minor or D major]
  • Brahms' Horn Trio Op. 40 (1865) [all movements in E-flat major or e-flat minor]
  • Brahms' String Quartet No. 2 Op. 51 No. 2 (1873) [all movements in A minor or a major]
  • Grieg's Holberg Suite Op. 40 (1884) [all movements in G major or g minor]
  • Brahms' Piano Trio No. 3 Op. 101 (1886) [all movements in c minor or C major]
  • Christian Sinding's Suite im alten Stil Op. 10 (1888) [all movements in a minor]
  • Dvořák's Sonatina for Violin and Piano Op. 100 (1893) [all movements in G major or g minor]
  • Brahms' Clarinet Sonata Op. 120 No. 2 (1894) [all movements in E-flat major or e-flat minor]
  • Scriabin's Piano Concerto Op. 20 (1896) [all movements in f-sharp minor or F-sharp major]
  • Zemlinsky's String Quartet No. 1, Op. 4 (1896) [all movements in A major or a minor]
  • Roffredo Caetani's Piano Quintet Op. 4 (1897) [all movements in f-sharp minor]
  • Satie's Jack in the Box (1899) [all movements in C major]

After 1900

After 2000

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">String quartet</span> Musical ensemble of four string players

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beethoven's musical style</span> Overview of the musical style of Beethoven

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">B-flat major</span> Music scale based on B-flat

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">String Quartets, Op. 50 (Haydn)</span> String quartets by Joseph Haydn

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.

References

  1. Hans Keller, 'Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–91)', in The Symphony (Ed. Robert Simpson; London, 1966), p.58
  2. Hans Keller, 'Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–91)', in The Symphony (Ed. Robert Simpson; London, 1966), p.75
  3. Hans Keller, The Great Haydn Quartets: Their Interpretation (London, 1986), p.39
  4. William Drabkin, review of Hans Keller, The Great Haydn Quartets: Their Interpretation, Musical Times, Vol. 127, No. 1726 (Nov., 1986), pp. 624–625