Introduction

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Set Works included:

Set Work No. 2: Symphony No.40 by Mozart

 Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 in G minor, 1st Movement Mozart [1756-1791] 

Mozart [1756-1791]

Mozart  was  a  musical  genius  and  toured  Europe  as  a  child,  playing  the  violin  and  piano. Following  employment  as  Konzertmeister  to  the  Archbishop  of Salzburg,  Mozart  moved  to Vienna in 1781 where he spent the rest of his life composing and performing.

He composed operas such as The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni and The Magic Flute. Other works included sonatas, concertos, 41 symphonies, string quartets, string quintets, masses [a setting of the church service in Latin to music] and the incomplete Requiem Mass.

Context:

The  new  classical  style  was  clear,  symmetrical  and  balanced,  as  evident  in  the  classical symphony, string quartet, concerto and solo sonata. The main composers of the classical period were the 3 Viennese composers, Franz Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven. Symphony No.40 was composed in the 1780’s [late eighteenth century] and was meant to be performed in a concert hall.

The four movements of a symphony were usually:

1 Fast and in Sonata Form [also called First Movement Form]

2 Slow

3 Minuet and trio [or scherzo and trio]

4 Fast and in rondo, sonata form or theme and variations.

The Classical Style

Periodic  [regular]  phrasing:  Well  balanced,  graceful question and  answer  phrases of equal length.

    Texture: Mostly melody dominated homophony [a melody accompanied  by chords].     Some polyphony occasionally used.

Symmetrical structure e.g. sonata form

Functional harmony [harmony emphasizing the key] based on chords I, 1V, V, II, and VI

Strong sense of tonality [clear sense of key]

    Perfect cadences used frequently to emphasize the key

Clarinet added to the orchestra

Music graceful and clear

The orchestra became a standard instrumental ensemble

Harpsichord no longer in orchestra

New forms included the string quartet and symphony

More gradation of tone than Baroque music [crescendos and diminuendos] More modulations than Baroque music

The bass line not as prominent as in Baroque music

Structure

 

Sonata form:

Exposition: [NB.

 [There is no introduction in Symphony No. 40] First subject in Gm

Transition modulating from Gm to Bb

Second Subject in Bb [the relative major]

The codetta [ending] of the exposition ends in Bb. The exposition is then repeated.

Development: The music, based on the first subject, modulates [ visits distant keys]. Modulations from Gm to a chromatic chord [ G#dim7 ] to the remote key of F#m . Then a circle of 5ths progression of  Em – Am – Dm – Gm – C – F – Bb.

 

Recapitulation: First subject in Gm

Transition  Gm – Eb – Fm – Eb – Gm [longer than in the exposition] Second subject in Gm

Coda in G minor [longer than the codetta in the exposition to reinforce the tonic Gm key]

 

The phrases are in balanced periodic 4 or 8 bar units

 

Instrumentation:

 

Strings [ violin 1, violin 2, cello, double bass ], 1 flute, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 1 horn in Bb, [ to give the Bb notes of Bb and F], 1 horn in G [ to give the Gm notes of G, Bb and D]. NB. Unusually, no trumpets or timpani used!

 

Because horns could produce only a limited number of notes in Mozart’s time, they mainly add to the harmonies, play pedal notes and reinforce the texture in the loud sections. However, Mozart increases the range of the horns by asking for one to be crooked in G and the other in Bb [the two main key centres of the movement].

 

The woodwind are also sometimes used to sustain the harmonies, but they also play the melody [sometimes doubling at the octave or in two different octaves]. They play linking phrases, share the start of the second subject in dialogue with the violins, and play the opening motif of the first subject when it returns in the closing sections. The bassoons sometimes double the string bass in loud sections, but elsewhere have an independent part.

 

Groups of instruments sometimes play:

 

The theme [sometimes in octaves] A chordal accompaniment

Antiphony [a musical conversation between strings and woodwind with these sections sharing the

theme and then reversing their roles]

Pedal notes [long held or constantly repeated notes]

Sound colour is also varied by doubling the melody using several instruments in different octaves e.g. In bars 14-16 the clarinet phrase is doubled by the flute an octave higher and the bassoon an octave lower.

 Dynamics

 The first subject is quiet, apart from a few bars of loud cadences in the middle. The transition is loud and is followed by the second subject which starts quietly, but increases in volume towards the end. The closing section of the exposition contains contrasts of loud and soft dynamics.

The development begins and ends quietly, but has a long loud section in the middle.

The dynamics in the recapitulation are similar to those of the exposition, but the loud transition

section is longer. There are clear contrasts between forte and piano throughout, without many crescendo or diminuendo markings.

 

Terms: Molto Allegro [very fast].

 

Melody

 

NB Much of the piece is based on the first 3 notes.

 

First part of first subject: The opening 3 note motif consists of a descending semitone step followed by a repeated note. After the 3 note motif is repeated 3 times the melody then rises a 6th and is followed by a descending stepwise pattern. This phrase is then repeated as a descending sequence.

 

Transition [Bridge passage]: Loud and confident rising leaps between notes of chords emphasizing the first beat of the bar.  The purpose of the bridge is to prepare for the entry of the second subject in the relative major key of Bb.

 

Second subject: the first 3 notes descend in semitones [chromatically]. [relaxed sighing motif]. They are followed by 5 notes of the Bb major scale descending from dominant to tonic, the last note repeated twice before ascending stepwise a 4th. There is then a longer chromatic descending melody. Falling, descending chromatic phrases were associated with ‘sighing’ or sadness and characteristic of the graceful ‘pathetique’ [ melancholy] mood.

 

Second part of second subject: Unison violins play chromatic ascending quavers followed by strong rhythms emphasizing the main 1st and 3rd beats of the bar then a scalic descent.

 

There are occasionally ornaments such as trills.

 

 Texture Summary

 Mostly  homophonic  [a  melody accompanied  by  chords],  but  with a  section  of counterpoint [overlapping melodies] in the development. The melodies are often doubled in octaves, and the start of the second subject is shared between the woodwind and violins in a musical dialogue.

Texture in more detail: homophonic and contrapuntal

 

The music is sometimes homophonic  [at  the beginning of the exposition the first  subject  is accompanied by chords]. There are contrasts in texture when the second subject is shared between strings and woodwind and then their roles are reversed. In the development section at the end of bar 114 Mozart introduces a contrapuntal texture in which the first subject is played by the low strings and bassoons and the violins have a staccato countermelody. The roles of these groups of instruments are then reversed to create further contrast. During this section the woodwind supply the supporting chordal harmonies. At bar 138 the first subject is presented in imitation between the first violins and woodwind. The texture is lightened here by the absence o f low instruments. The texture then thins as the first subject fragments until only 3 notes are left.

The  transition  in  the  recapitulation  has  a  contrapuntal texture  with  the  melody  in  the  bass

accompanied by a countermelody in quavers in the violin 2 part and the first violins imitating the bass part.

Whilst the texture of music in the Classical era is mostly  melody dominated homophony [a melody accompanied by chords], Mozart has proved in symphony No. 40 that he is a master of contrapuntal texture  [polyphonic music where two more melodies occur at the same time]. The texture also varies when the loud tutti transition contrasts with the quieter and more refined first and second subjects which have fewer instruments playing at the same time.

Texture and sound colour are also varied by doubling the melody using several instruments in

different octaves e.g. in bars 14-16 the clarinet phrase is doubled by the flute and bassoon.

 

 Harmony and Tonality

 The harmony and tonality are functional [with clear cadences] to emphasize the keys upon which the sonata form structure is based:

 Exposition

 First subject in the tonic key of Gm Transition modulating from Gm to Bb Second subject in the relative major of Bb

 Development

 The music modulates [visits distant keys]. Modulations from Gm to a chromatic chord

[ G#dim7 ] to the remote key of F#m . A chromatic passage leads to a circle of 5ths progression

of Em  –  Am  –  Dm  –  Gm  –  C  –  F  –  Bb.  There  is  then  a  dominant  preparation  for  the recapitulation.

 

Recapitulation: First subject in Gm

Transition  Gm – Eb – Fm – Eb – Gm

Second subject in Gm

 NB In the recapitulation and coda Mozart adapts material from the exposition to remain close to the tonic key until the end of the movement.

Harmonic features include:

 

Frequent perfect or imperfect cadences [to emphasize the key]

 

Dominant pedal notes [to indicate a new section is about to begin e.g. from bar 153 towards the end of the development to announce the arrival of the recapitulation]

 

Circle of 5ths [in the development section]

 

Lush 7th chords [changing the F# to F when the first subject is repeated in the exposition leading to the transition.]

 

Dramatic chromatic diminished 7th chord [bars 63 and 246]

 

Chromatic rising bass with diminished 7th chords [bars 247,249 and 251]

 

Discords between the pedal [long held or constantly repeated note] and rising chromatic notes towards the end of the recapitulation

 

 Periodic phrasing [question and answer phrases]

 The opening four bars of the first subject which don’t have a conclusive ending [question] are answered  by the  following  four  bars which  have  a strong  perfect  cadence ending  [periodic phrasing]. This example of balanced question and answer periodic phrasing is typical of the classical style. The melody is accompanied by constant quavers and on-beat crotchet bass notes.

 The second subject is shared between the strings and woodwind. The melody is accompanied by simple chords. When repeated, the order of entry of the strings and woodwind is reversed. This musical dialogue between strings and woodwind is antiphonal [contrast and conversation between different groups of instruments].

 What you need to know

 1.   It is unusual that no trumpets or timpani are included in the orchestra for Symphony No.  40

 

2.   Two ways that the first and second subjects differ in the exposition are:

o First subject is in G minor; the second subject is in Bb [the relative major].

o Both subjects have different melodies [as described above]

 3.    The development section develops ideas from the first and second subjects, and explores keys other than those in the exposition [avoids the tonic and relative major keys]

 4.    The bridge section makes the music modulate from the G minor first subject to the Bb major second subject

 5.    During the recapitulation the second subject is in the tonic key of G minor so that the movement can end in the tonic key

6.    The first subject is developed in the coda [final section]

7.    The mood of the first movement is exciting, serious and dramatic. It has a fast tempo and is  in a dramatic key of G minor.  The first  subject  melody is powerful with insistent repeating notes and a leap of a sixth. The second subject has more pathos with a descending chromatic ‘sighing’ motif. There is dialogue between the strings and woodwind.

 8.   The two horns reinforce the musical texture at important moments, especially at the ends of sections, cadences etc. Horns at this time had no valves, so had to use crooks. The G crook and Bb together gave the notes G, Bb, D [G minor-first subject] and Bb, D, F [Bb major second subject]. The horns sometimes play dominant pedal notes or repeated notes.

 9.   The two types of musical texture in Symphony No. 40 are homophonic and polyphonic

 10.  There are 3 other movements in the rest of the symphony

 11.  Different woodwind instruments sometimes play in octaves [an octave apart]

 12. The instrumentation is changed by strings and woodwind swapping parts, using different octaves  and  by  the  lower  strings  either  playing  or  dropping  out;  there  is  sometimes imitation between instruments, and falling or rising sequences and inversion when the strings and woodwind echo each other

 Possible Section B Questions

1 ‘Comment on how Mozart uses the following musical elements in this movement’

 Structure Dynamics Tonality Texture

Use of Wind Instruments

 2 ‘Compare the melodies of the first and second subjects’

 3 ‘What features of Symphony No.40 are typical of the Classical Era?