Ioannis
Fulias, “Sonata forms
and their theoretical evolution: 19th-century theorists (I)”, Polyphonia 11, Athens 2007, p. 89-118.
The
fourth part of this
extensive survey of the theoretical
evolution of sonata forms from 18th to 20th centuries opens with a
presentation of Jérôme-Joseph de Momigny’s viewpoint on this
matter, which gives special emphasis on thematic aspects of form, pushing
tonal-functional and macrostructural questions out of the limelight. Much more
significant, however, is Antonín Reicha’s contribution, the first in
which the basic ternary sonata type is presented as a normative schema,
appropriate for didactic purposes. This systematisation has negative and
positive aspects, of course, particularly in relation to possibilities of a
versatile reconstruction of the recapitulation.
Another novelty in Reicha’s theory is the allusion of sonata form without development, while the binary sonata
type has been completely assimilated by the ternary. Heinrich Birnbach’s
approach to sonata form preserves many features of the late 18th-century (especially
Koch’s) theory, although enriched by several tonal and thematic observations
related to early 19th-century compositional developments. Very interesting is
the clear distinction of three structural parts in the ternary sonata form, as
well as the treatment of the other sonata types that can be applied in slow
movements.
© Ioannis
Fulias