J.S. Shedlock - The Pianoforte Sonata

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THE

PIANOFORTE SONATA

ITS ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT

BY

J.S. SHEDLOCK, B.A.

[Illustration: MONUMENT OF BERNARDO PASQUINI IN THE CHURCH OF SAN
LORENZO IN LUCINA ROME

SKETCHED BY STRITCH HUTTON]

METHUEN & CO.
36 ESSEX STREET, W.C.
LONDON

CONTENTS

CHAP. PAGE

I. INTRODUCTORY 1

II. JOHANN KUHNAU 38

III. BERNARDO PASQUINI: A CONTEMPORARY OF J. KUHNAU 71

IV. EMANUEL BACH AND SOME OF HIS CONTEMPORARIES 82

V. HAYDN AND MOZART 111

VI. PREDECESSORS OF BEETHOVEN 130

VII. LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN 160

VIII. TWO CONTEMPORARIES OF BEETHOVEN 192

IX. SCHUMANN, CHOPIN, BRAHMS, AND LISZT 207

X. THE SONATA IN ENGLAND 221

XI. MODERN SONATAS, DUET SONATAS, SONATINAS, ETC. 235

INDEX 241

PREFACE

This little volume is entitled "The Pianoforte Sonata: its Origin and
Development." Some of the early sonatas mentioned in it were, however,
written for instruments of the jack or tangent kind. Even Beethoven's
sonatas up to Op. 27, inclusive, were published for "Clavicembalo o
Pianoforte." The Germans have the convenient generic term "Clavier,"
which includes the old and the new instruments with hammer action;
hence, they speak of a _Clavier Sonate_ written, say, by Kuhnau, in
the seventeenth, or of one by Brahms in the nineteenth, century.

The term "Piano e Forte" is, however, to be found in letters of a
musical instrument maker named Paliarino, written, as we learn from
the valuable article "Pianoforte," contributed by Mr. Hipkins to Sir
George Grove's _Dictionary of Music and Musicians_, already in the
year 1598, and addressed to Alfonso II., Duke of Modena. The earliest
sonata for a keyed instrument mentioned in this volume was published
in 1695; and to avoid what seems an unnecessary distinction, I have
used the term "Pianoforte Sonata" for that sonata and for some other
works which followed, and which are usually and properly termed
"Harpsichord Sonatas."

I have to acknowledge kind assistance received from Mr. A.W. Hutton,
Mr. F.G. Edwards, and Mr. E. Van der Straeten. And I also beg to thank
Mr. W. Barclay Squire and Mr. A. Hughes-Hughes for courteous help at
the British Museum; likewise Dr. Kopfermann, chief librarian of the
musical section of the Berlin Royal Library.

J.S. SHEDLOCK.

LONDON, 1895.

THE PIANOFORTE SONATA

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTORY

In history we find certain names associated with great movements:
Luther with the Reformation, or Garibaldi with the liberation of
Italy. Luther certainly posted on the door of the church at Wittenberg
his famous Theses, and burnt the Papal Bull at the gates of that city;
yet before Luther there lived men, such as the scholar Erasmus, who
have been appropriately named Reformers before the Reformation. So,
too, Cavour's cautious policy paved the way for Garibaldi's brilliant
victories. Once again, Leonardo da Vinci is named as the inventor of
chiaroscuro, yet he was preceded by Fra Filippo Lippi. And in similar
manner, in music, certain men are associated with certain forms.
Haydn, for example, is called the father of the quartet; close
investigation, however, would show that he was only a link, and
certainly not the first one in a long evolution. So, too, with the
sonata. The present volume is, however, specially concerned with the
_clavier_ or pianoforte sonata; and for that we have a convenient
starting-point--the Sonata in B flat of Kuhnau, published in 1695. The
date is easy to remember, for in that same year died England's
greatest musician, Henry Purcell.

Before studying the history of the pianoforte sonata, even in outline,
it is essential that something should be said about the early history
of the _sonata_. That term appears first to have been used in
contradistinction to _cantata_: the one was a piece _sounded_
(_suonata_, from _sonando_) by instruments; the other, one _sung_ by
voices. The form of these early sonatas (as they appear in Giovanni
Gabrieli's works towards the close of the sixteenth century) was
vague; yet, in spite of light imitations, the basis was harmonic,
rather than contrapuntal. They were among the first fruits of the
Renaissance in Italy. But soon there came about a process of
differentiation. Praetorius, in his _Syntagma musicum_, published at
Wolfenbuettel in 1619, distinguishes between the _sonata_ and the
_canzona_. Speaking generally, from the one seems to have come the
sonata proper; from the other, the suite. During the whole of the
eighteenth century there was a continual intercrossing of these two
species; it is no easy matter, therefore, to trace the early stages of
development of each separately.

Marpurg, in his description of various kinds of pieces in his
_Clavierstuecke_, published at Berlin in 1762, says: "Sonatas are
pieces in three or four movements, marked merely _Allegro_, _Adagio_,
_Presto_, etc., although in character they may be really an
_Allemande_, _Courante_, and _Gigue_." Corelli, as will be mentioned
later on, gave dance titles in addition to Allegro, Adagio, etc.
Marpurg also states that "when the middle movement is in slow time it
is not always in the key of the first and last movements." This,
again, shows intercrossing. The genuine suite consisted of several
dance movements (Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, Gigue) all in the
same key. But we find occasionally in suites, a Fugue or Fuguetta, or
even an Aria or Adagio; and in name, at any rate, one dance movement
has formed part of the sonata since the time of Emanuel Bach.

In 1611, Banchieri, an Olivetan monk, published at Venice his
_L'Organo suonarino_, a work "useful and necessary to
organists,"--thus runs the title-page. At the end of the volume there
are some pieces, vocal and instrumental (a Concerto for soprano or
tenor, with organ, a Fantasia, Ricercata, etc.), among which are to be
found two _sonatas_, the one entitled, "Prima Sonata, doppio
soggietto," the other "Seconda Sonata, soggietto triplicato." They are
written out in open score of four staves, with mezzo-soprano, alto,
tenor, and bass clefs. To show how the sonatas of those days differed
both in form and contents from the sonata of our century, the first of
the above-mentioned is given in short score. It will, probably, remind
readers of "the first (_i.e._ sonatas) that my (_i.e._ Dr. Burney)
musical inquiries have discovered, viz., some sonatas by Francesco
Turini, which consisted of only a single movement, in fugue and
imitation throughout."

[Music illustration]

Turini was organist of Brescia Cathedral, and in 1624 published
_Madrigali a una, due, tre voci, con alcune Sonate e a tre, Ven.
1624_. Between Turini, also Carlo Farina, who published violin
sonatas at Dresden in 1628, and Corelli (_b._ 1653), who brought out
his first work in 1683, one name of great importance is Giovanni
Legrenzi.

In the eighth volume of Dr. Burney's musical extracts there are two
sonatas, _a tre, a due violini e violone_, by Legrenzi (opera ottava,
1677). The first is in B flat. It commences with a movement in common
time entitled _La Benivoglia_.

[Music illustration]

An Adagio in G minor (only six bars) is followed by an Allegro in D
minor, six-eight time, closing on a major chord; then eight bars
common time in B flat (no heading); and, finally, a Presto
(three-four) commencing in G minor and closing in B flat. None of the
movements is in binary form.

The 2nd Sonata, in D, has five short movements. No. 1 has an opening
of thirty-seven bars in common time, fugato. There is a modulation in
the ninth bar to the dominant, and, later on, a return to the opening
theme and key; in the intervening space, however, in spite of
modulation, the principal key is not altogether avoided.

Sonatas of various kinds by Legrenzi appeared between 1655 and 1677.
Then there were the "Varii Fiori del Giardino Musicale ouero Sonate da
Camera, etc.," of Gio. Maria Bononcini, father of Battista Bononcini,
the famous rival of Handel, published at Bologna in 1669, and the
sonatas of Gio. Battista Vitali (Bologna, 1677). Giambatista Bassani
of Bologna, although his junior by birth, was the violin master of the
great Corelli. His sonatas only appeared after those of his
illustrious pupil, yet may have been composed before. Of the twelve in
Op. 5, most have many short movements; some, indeed, are so short as
to be scarcely deserving of the name.

By the time of Arcangelo Corelli, who, as mentioned, published his
first work (Op. 1, twelve sonatas for two violins and a bass) in 1683,
sonatas answered to the definition given by Mattheson in his _Das neu
eroeffnete Orchester_ (1713), in which they are said to consist of
alternate Adagio and Allegro. J.G. Walther, again, in his dictionary
of music,[1] which appeared at Leipzig in 1732, describes a sonata as
a "grave artistic composition for instruments, especially violins."
The idea of grouping movements was already in vogue in the sixteenth
century. Morley in his _Plain and Easy Introduction to Practical
Music_, printed in 1597, speaks of the desirableness of _alternating_
Pavans and Galliards, the one being "a kind of staid musick ordained
for grave dancing," and the other "a lighter and more stirring kind of
dancing." Contrast was obtained, too, not only by difference in the
character, but also, in the measure of the music; the former was in
common, the latter in triple time.

With regard to the grouping of movements, Corelli's sonatas show
several varieties. The usual number, however, was four, and the order
generally--slow, fast, slow, fast. Among the forty-eight (Op. 1, 2, 3,
and 4, published 1685, 1690, 1694, and 1700 respectively) we find the
majority in four movements, in the order given above[2]; of the twelve
in Op. 3, no less than eleven have four movements, but--

No. 1 (in F) has Grave, Allegro, Vivace, Allegro.
No. 6 (in G), Vivace, Grave, Allegro, Allegro.
No. 10 (in A minor), Vivace, Allegro, Adagio, Allegro.

There are, however, eight sonatas consisting of _three movements_; and
as this, a century later, became the normal number, we will give the
list:--

Op. 1, No. 7 (in C) Allegro, Grave, Allegro.
(Middle movement begins in
A minor, but ends in C.)

Op. 2, No. 2 (in D minor) Allemanda (Adagio)
Corrente (Allegro), Giga
(Allegro).

Op. 2, No. 6 (in G minor) Allemanda (Largo), Corrente,
Giga.

Op. 2, No. 9 (F sharp minor) Allemanda (Largo).
Tempo di Sarabanda (Largo).
Giga (Allegro).

Op. 4, No. 8 (D minor) Preludio (Grave).
Allemanda (Allegro).
Sarabanda (Allegro).

Op. 4, No. 10 (G) Preludio[3] (Adagio) and Allegro.
Adagio and Grave (E minor).
Tempo di Gavotta (Allegro).

Op. 4, No. 11 (C minor) Preludio (Largo).
Corrente (Allegro).
Allemanda (Allegro).

Op. 4, No. 12 (B minor) Preludio (Largo).
Allemanda (Presto).
Giga (Allegro).

It is interesting to note that each of the two sonatas (Op. 1, No. 7,
and Op. 4, No. 10), most in keeping with its title of sonata, has the
middle movement in a relative key. Op. 1, No. 7, begins with an
Allegro in common time; and the short Grave is followed by a light
Allegro in six-eight time. The first movement, with its marked return
to the principal key, is very interesting in the matter of form. The
other sonatas with suite titles have all their movements in the same
key. Locatelli in his _XII Sonate_ for flute, published early in the
eighteenth century, has in the first: Andante, Adagio, Presto; also
Nos. 3, 5, etc. So, too, in Tartini's Sonatas (Op. 1) there are also
some in three (No. 3, etc.). But Emanuel Bach commenced with that
number, to which, with few and unimportant exceptions, he remained
faithful; likewise to the slow movement dividing the two quick ones.
The three-movement form used by J.S. Bach for his concertos and
sonatas no doubt considerably influenced his son. But already, in
1668, Diderich Becker, in his _Musikalische Fruelings-Fruechte_, wrote
sonatas for violins, etc. and _continuo_, in three movements. (No. 10,
Allegro, Adagio, Allegro. Again, Sonata No. 19 opens with a movement
in common time, most probably an Allegro; then comes an Adagio, and,
lastly, a movement in six-four, most probably quick _tempo_.) These
sonatas of Becker _a 3_, _4_ or _5_, with _basso continuo_, are
unfortunately only printed in parts. As a connecting link between the
Gabrielis and Corelli, and more particularly as a forerunner of
Kuhnau, Becker is of immense importance. We are concerned with the
clavier sonata, otherwise we should certainly devote more space to
this composer. We have been able to trace back sonatas by German
composers to Becker (1668), and by Italian composers to Legrenzi
(1655); those of Gabrieli and Banchieri, as short pieces, not a group
of movements, are not taken into account. Now, of earlier history, we
do know that Hans Leo. von Hasler, said to have been born at Nuremberg
in 1564, studied first with his father, but afterwards at Venice, and
for a whole year under A. Gabrieli. Italian and German art are thus
intimately connected; but what each gave to, or received from, the
other with regard to the sonata seems impossible to determine. The
Becker sonatas appeared at Hamburg, and surely E. Bach must have been
acquainted with them. Becker in his preface mentions another Hamburg
musician--a certain Johann Schop--who did much for the cause of
instrumental music. Schop, it appears, published concertos for various
instruments already in the year 1644. And there was still another work
of importance published at Amsterdam, very early in the eighteenth
century, by the famous violinist and composer G. Torelli, which must
have been known to E. Bach. It is entitled "Six Sonates ou Concerts a
4, 5, e 6 Parties," and of these, five have three movements (Allegro,
Adagio, and Allegro).

Corelli was the founder of a school of violin composers, of which
Geminiani,[4] Locatelli,[5] Veracini,[6] and Tartini[7] were the most
distinguished representatives; the first two were actually pupils of
the master. In the sonatas of these men there is an advance in two
directions: sonata-form[8] is in process of evolution from binary
form, _i.e._ the second half of the first section is filled with
subject-matter of more definite character; the bars of modulation and
development are growing in number and importance; and the principal
theme appears as the commencement of a recapitulation. We should like
to say that _binary_ is changing into _ternary_ form; unfortunately,
however, the latter term is used for a different kind of movement. To
speak of a movement in sonata-form, containing three sections
(exposition, development, and recapitulation) as in binary form, seems
a decided misnomer.

The violinists just mentioned were the last great writers of sonatas
in Italy. Emanuel Bach arose during the first half of the eighteenth
century, and, henceforth, Germany took the lead; Bach was followed by
Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. The influence of the Corelli[9] school
was felt in Germany and also in England. Sonatas were published by
Veracini at Dresden in 1721, and by Tartini and Locatelli at Amsterdam
before 1740. Again Veracini was for a time solo violinist to the
Elector of Dresden (1720-23); Tartini lived for three years at Prague
(1723-26), while Locatelli, during the first half of the eighteenth
century, made frequent journeys throughout Germany. Emanuel Bach, the
real founder of the modern pianoforte sonata, must have been
influenced by their works.

In a history of the development of the sonata generally, those of
Corelli would occupy an important place, for in them we find not only
fugal and dance forms, but also hints of sonata-form.

Dr. Parry, in his article on "Sonata" in Sir G. Grove's _Dictionary
of Music and Musicians_, has named the Corrente of Corelli's 5th
Sonata in Op. 4 as offering "nearly a miniature of modern binary
form." The well-known Giga Allegro of the 9th Sonata (Op. 5), and the
Allemanda Allegro of the 10th Concerto in C, also present remarkable
foreshadowings.

Handel, however, furnishes a very striking illustration--

In the six "Sonatas or Trios for two Hoboys with a thorough bass for
the harpsichord," said to have been composed already in 1696, we find
quick movements in binary form. In some, the first section offers both
a first and a second subject, while in the second section, after
modulation, there is a return to the opening theme, though quite at
the close of that section. A brief description of one will make the
form clearer. The second Allegro of No. 4 (in F) has two sections. The
first, which ends in the dominant key (C), contains forty-six bars.
The opening theme begins thus:--

[Music illustration: _a_]

At the twenty-ninth bar, a passage leads to the second theme--

[Music illustration: _b_]

This second theme is, in a measure, evolved from the first. In any
case, it is of subordinate character; and it differs slightly as given
by first or second oboe, whereas the principal theme appears in
exactly the same manner for both instruments.

The second section opens with developments of _b_, and modulation from
C major to D minor; _a_ also is developed, the music passing from the
last-named key back to the opening one. There is a full close in that
key, and then modulation to F. The remaining twenty-two bars give the
first section in condensed form: first and second subjects and
coda.[10]

It would be interesting to trace the influences acting on the youth
Handel at the time when he wrote these sonatas. Most probably they
were Johann Philipp Krieger's[11] sonatas for violins and bass; N.A.
Strungk's sonatas published at Dresden in 1691; and more especially
Agostino Steffani's "Sonate da Camera" for two violins, alto, and
bass, published in 1683. An opera by the last-named, which appeared at
Hanover in 1699, has an "Air de Ballet," which contains the first
notes of "Let the bright Seraphim"; besides, it is known that Handel
culled ideas and "conveyed" notes from works of other composers; also,
that he turned them to the best account.

In the same year in which Corelli published his Op. 1 (1683), Domenico
Scarlatti, the famous harpsichord player, was probably born; in the
history of development his name is the principal one of importance
between Corelli and Emanuel Bach. In the matter of technique he
rendered signal service, but, for the moment, we are concerned with
his contribution towards development. Scarlatti does not seem to have
ever considered the sonata in the sense of a work consisting of
several contrasting movements; all of his are of only one movement.
The title "sonata" as applied to his pieces is, therefore, misleading.
Whether the term was actually used by the composer himself seems
doubtful. The first thirty of the sixty Scarlatti sonatas published by
Breitkopf & Haertel appeared during the lifetime of the composer at
Madrid. They are dedicated to John the Just, King of Portugal, and are
merely entitled

_Essercizi per Gravicembalo._

In editions of the eighteenth century the composer's pieces are styled
Lessons or Suites. However, twelve published by J. Johnson, London,
are described on the title-page as _Sonatas modernas_.

From the earliest days of instrumental music dance tunes were divided
into two sections. The process of evolution is interesting. In the
earliest specimens, such as the _Branle_ given in the Orchesographie
of Thoinot Arbeau, we find both sections in the same key, and there is
only one theme. The movement towards the dominant note in this
_Branle_ may be regarded as a latent modulation. In time the first
section was developed, and the latent modulation became real; then,
after certain intermediate stages, the custom was established of
passing from the principal to the dominant key (or, in a minor piece,
to the relative major or dominant minor), in which the first section
closed. But in Corelli,[12] and even in Scarlatti,[13] we find,
occasionally, a return to an earlier stage (_i.e._ a first section
ending in the same key in which it commenced). In most of his pieces
Scarlatti modulates to the dominant; in minor, to the relative major.
Some exceptions deserve mention. In the Breitkopf & Haertel collection,
No. 26, in A major, passes to the minor key of the dominant; and No.
11, in C minor, modulates to the minor key of the dominant, but the
section closes in the major key of the dominant.

Scarlatti's sonatas consist, then, of one movement in binary form of
the early type. Only in a few of these pieces is there a definite
second subject; in none, a return to the opening theme. [Music
illustration] In No. 26 there is just a return to the first bar (see
second section, bar 11), but the previous ten bars show no modulation,
and one can scarcely speak of thematic development. After the few bars
of development and modulation, in some cases, the second section is
found to consist merely of a repetition of some part of the first
section, the key being tonic instead of dominant. This is,
practically, embryonic sonata-form. The tonic and dominant portions of
the first section are becoming differentiated; but the landmark,
_i.e._ the return to the opening theme in the second section which
divides binary from sonata form, is, in Scarlatti, non-existent. His
first sections often consist of a principal theme and passages, also
phrases indirectly connected with the opening one; sometimes of a
chain of short phrases more or less evolved from the opening thought
(see Nos. 1, 21, 29). (These and the numbers which follow refer to the
Breitkopf & Haertel edition of sixty Scarlatti sonatas.) The composer
often passes through the minor key of the dominant (in the first
section) before arriving at the major; sometimes the major is
introduced only late in the section (Nos. 7, 17, etc.), or minor
remains (No. 26). We meet with a similar proceeding in Beethoven.
Minor pieces often pass to the dominant minor, but end in major
(_i.e._, first section). In Scarlatti there is, for the most part, no
second subject, but frequently (Nos. 5, 7, 9, etc.) a concluding
phrase which can, at times, be traced to the opening theme. Sonata 6,
in F, shows a second subject of a certain independence. The best
examples are to be found in Nos. 24 and 29 (in A and E); in these the
character of the second subject differs from that of the first, and it
is also in a minor key, which offers still another contrast.

And now a word or two respecting Scarlatti's method of development. He
alters figures (Nos. 12 and 54), extends them (Nos. 9 and 54), but
often merely repeats passages on the same degrees as those of the
first section, or on different ones. He makes use of imitation (Nos. 7
and 36). Sometimes he evolves a phrase from a motive (No. 11). In No.
19 the development assumes a certain importance. It commences, not, as
in most cases, with the opening theme or figure of the first section,
but with a group of semiquaver notes which appears later in that
section. In No. 20 Scarlatti preserves the rhythm, but with total
change of notes (No. 20)--

[Music illustration]

The same number gives another interesting specimen of change of
rhythm. In No. 48 he picks out an unimportant group of notes, and
works it by imitation and sequence. There are some interesting
specimens of development in the thirty sonatas printed from
manuscripts in the possession of Lord Viscount Fitzwilliam by Robert
Birchall. Scarlatti's development bars are seldom many in number.

After modulation and development, the music slides, as it were, into
some phrase from the first section,[14] and allowance being made on
account of difference of key (there the music was passing, or had
passed from tonic; here it is returning to that key), the rest is more
or less a repetition of the first section. _More or less_: sometimes
the repetition is literal; at other times there is considerable
deviation; and shortenings are frequent. With regard to style of
writing for the clavier--a few canonic imitations excepted--there is
no real polyphony. Most of the sonatas are in only two parts. The
composer revels in rapid passages (runs, broken chords, simple and
compound), wide leaps, difficult octaves, crossing of hands, and, of
course, short shakes innumerable. Domenico Scarlatti was indeed one of
the most renowned _virtuosi_ on the clavier. Handel met him at Rome in
1708, and Cardinal Ottoboni persuaded them to compete with each other.
We are told that upon the harpsichord the victory was doubtful, but
upon the organ, Scarlatti himself confessed the superiority of his
rival.[15]

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