Le 1er juillet 2017
de 10h00 à 10h30
Le Patio (université de Strasbourg)
22 rue René Descartes, 67000 Strasbourg
amphithéâtre 4
Séance - Formenlehre, Old and New
Pré-acte / Acte
Auteur : James DiNardo
Charles Rosen has argued that aspects of sonata form transcend the genre, featuring in all musical forms throughout the common-practice era. He writes “every one of the formal characteristics that were later to define the sonata is, almost without exception, to be found in all forms, textures, and genres of music from 1750 on—aria, rondo, concerto, mass—even the fugue and variation did not remain untouched.” (Rosen, 1980). Among these genres, however, instrumental music has received the majority of scholarly attention. Although recent studies have notably expanded the purview to opera (Martin 2010, 2015) and lied (Rodgers 2014), sacred vocal music continues to be neglected. This paper complements these studies by analyzing two movements from Mozart’s C-minor mass “Great,” K. 427 (Kyrie and Quoniam), appropriating both sonata-theoretic and form-functional tools. Each movement presents a number of analytical and interpretive challenges. Although the Kyrie divides neatly into an ABA plan, the intrathematic organization of the outer sections is more complicated, as Mozart seems to be imitating an earlier, pre-classical musical style. The Quoniam features a monothematic exposition composed primarily from material introduced in the opening bars. Here, too, the polyphonic texture and use of imitation complicates the application of formal theories designed for studying the high-classical style. Nonetheless, I conclude that the New Formenlehre suggests fruitful interpretive paths through this music, and, more broadly, may offer comparatively rich insights into sacred, vocal music in the late-eighteenth century.
