Ioannis Fulias, “Towards a reappraisal of the ways of construction and functional integration of the second ritornello in sonata-concerto forms of the classic period, with reference to Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach”, in: Ioannis Fulias, Magdalini Kalopana, Theodore Karathodoros, Tassos Kolydas, Katerina Levidou & Nick Poulakis (ed.), 15th Musicological Conference: “From currency to timelessness: Maria Callas, 100 years from her birth” (Conference proceedings, under the auspices of the Hellenic Musicological Society, Athens, 9-11 November 2023), Hellenic Musicological Society, Thessaloniki 2024, p. 24-40.
This study focuses on the compositional methods which Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach applies to all (one hundred) movements among his 52 concertos that have been written in any sonata-concerto form aiming, in particular, to shape the second ritornello (R2) out of the referential thematic contents previously presented in the opening ritornello of the movement (R1). It is ascertained that both the undeviating return of the orchestral main theme at the beginning of the second ritornello and the alternative ways in which this orchestral section succeeds in being functionally assimilated into the overall form (usually concluding the larger exposition, but also directly marking – in many other cases – the starting point of the next part after the exposition) seriously challenge the current research conclusions on these issues, namely W. Caplin’s (1998), J. Hepokoski’s & W. Darcy’s (2006) or Ch. Rosen’s (1988) theoretical views, which, despite all their differences, treat the role of the second ritornello in sonata-concerto forms of the late 18th century in a rather one-dimensional or even entirely aphoristic way that is anything but consistent with the flexibility and the structural efficiency that characterises C. Ph. E. Bach’s practices owed also to the older tradition.
© Ioannis
Fulias