Origins, Development And History Of Classical Sonata Genre - Essay Example

Origins, Development And History ical Sonata Genre Introduction The term sonata in the context of music is used to refer to the portrayal of piece that has been played rather than vocally sung. The term has a profound history and this form of music has experienced several changes until the classical period. The meaning of the term and form of music has experienced tremendous changes. During the period marked as the classical era, sonata form of music was categorized as work that is played in different movements. Sonata was not considered as a separate genre initially. It gained the recognized of being a genre during the classical era and during this era it was recognized as the classical sonata genre. This genre of music has experienced contributions made by some of the best musicians that have ever existed. These musicians are said to be the founding fathers of the music that we experience in the 21st century. Body The first contributor of sonata is believed to be Arcangelo Corelli who developed two forms of Sonata including the ones that were deemed as suitable to be played within church area and the second form was considered appropriate to be used in courts in which a dance usually followed a particular prologue and these musical displays were made following the similar key (Bbc.co.uk 1). The sonata that was played in churches usually comprised of playing of one or two violins which usually started at a slower tone. After the slow tone, the tone used to be increased a bit and towards the end the pitch of the tone used to be quite lively to match the tunes of dance. In the beginning the pitch of the tones was not quite clearly to differentiate between different tones but with the use of violin the tones became quite clear. On the other hand the sonata that was considered as appropriate for the church used to be completely based on dance based tunes. Later on a mix of both kinds of sonatas used to be experienced. Major percentage of the sonatas was contributed by Sebastian Bach but his focus was less on this form of music as compared to the others (Geck 585). A major contribution to sonata genre was made by Scarlatti during the baroque period as he managed to add 500 solo based sonatas for the purpose of filling gaps in different harmonies. The Baroque period even witnessed the occurrence of trio sonata which was mainly played with the assistance of two spate violins along with a continuo (Schulenberg 79). Sonata gained its recognition as a separate genre during the era that is regarded as the classical era and dates between 1750 to the period of 1810. During this period sonata was assigned the meaning of piece of music based art in which there are more than 2 movements and sometimes a total of 4 movements. During this era sonatas became quite popular amongst armature musicians and were being developed at home. This period experienced major changes in the way sonata was played. During this period the piano was able to replace the use of harpsichord to a major extent. During this time period sonatas that were especially designed for the piano were developed and composed and these sonatas were mainly created to be played with different single instruments including the violin and most importantly the piano. During this period several different pieces of arts that involved the use of multiple movements came into existence and later by the period of 1770 all of these pieces were regarded as Sonata (Schulenberg 123). Joseph Haydn is considered as one of the major contributors to this genre during the classical period and his sonata were mostly piano based (Bbc.co.uk 1). The multiple movement based form of genre used to be played with a consistent layout. In this layout the sonata started with a fast display of music followed by a much slower period which is marked as the second movement. After the second movement the sonata was played in the form of a trio which is regarded as dance taking place. The final movement included the use of Allegro once again. Joseph Haydn who contributed to this genre focused on sonatas that included two to a total of four movements while majority of his sonatas were in three movements. On the other hand a major contributed to this genre was Amadeus Mozart who developed most of the sonatas based on three separate movements (Schulenberg 123). During the same time Luigi Boccherine mostly developed sonatas containing merely two movements and in certain instances more than two movements were even used (Geck 591). Sonatas that mostly comprised or were developed on the basis of four different movements were highly popularized by Beethoven, but Beethoven even developed sonatas that were based on two as well as three movements such as his work which is called opus 102 pair (Geck 591). Towards the period of the 19th century which is even recognized as the romantic era a huge number of very reputed composers such as the Chopin contributed heavily to the genre of classical sonata (Geck 591). During this period sonatas became quite elaborated in nature and were even used for a full concert. During this period the definitions of sonata were mainly based on the sonatas that were developed during the period of which is regarded as the classical era. Its definition is mostly derived from the works of some of the significant contributors such as Haydn and Beethoven. The sonatas did not come to an end during the 19th century; they were even composed during the 20th century especially by the contributor named Poulenc who even developed sonatas for flute (Bbc.co.uk 1). Conclusion The genre of classical sonata did not gain its recognition in single instant. The genre started developing during the Baroque period with major contributions from Arcangelo Corelli and Sebastian Bach who mostly developed sonatas that comprised of less than three movements. The peak and the recognition of sonatas as a separate genre were experienced during the period which is regarded as the classical era. During this period major contributor including Haydn as well as Beethoven developed several sonatas that ranged between two to a total of four movements. Even the 20th century was inspired by the sonatas of the classical period. Works Cited Bbc.co.uk,. BBC - GCSE Bitesize: The Sonata In The Baroque Period. N.p., 2015. Web. 5 Oct. 2015. Geck, Martin, and John Hargraves. Johann Sebastian Bach. Orlando: Harcourt, 2006. Print. Schulenberg, David. The Music of J.s. Bach: Analysis and Interpretation. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1999. Print. Read More