Brahms: Exposition - Subject 2, Closing Section Flashcards
What key is S2 in?
G major
How is the theme in S2 accompanied?
With figure X used as an ostinato pattern in cellos and double basses
In S2, how does the theme contrast the ostinato accompaniment?
Disjunct
How does the S2 theme link to figure X?
It’s a disjunct arrangement of the notes from figure X - GF#ED reordered into EDF#G
Means both the ostinato and the melody are built from the same material
How does bar 2 of the S2 theme develop from the first bar?
Decorated version of the initial four notes EDF#G
What key does bar 122 hint at?
E minor (through use of D#) - relative minor of G
How is the S2 theme developed in bars 124-127?
Flute and oboe enter with a continuation of S2 in bars 124-125
Violin 1 returns to the original subject material in bars 126-127, repeating bars 119-120 with slight decoration
What happens in bars 128-129?
Woodwind pick up figure X with chromatic alteration
The descending 4-note motif moves up a 5th in the bass
Violin 1 ascends with purpose
What interval is notable in the ostinato pattern in bar 129?
Augmented 2nd (Eb-F#)
How is a sense of climax reached in bar 130?
High syncopated violin 1 part supported by quirky rhythms
How can the ‘quirky rhythms’ in bars 130-131 be linked back to S1?
Feels like an accelerated version of the dactylic rhythms in S1 (long short short)
What compositional techniques can be heard in bars 130-131?
Chromaticism
Inversion
Contrapuntal working
Contrary motion
Diminution
What cadences can be heard in bars 130-132?
Imperfect cadences (I-V)
Bars 130-131 and 131-132
How can the oboe part from bar 132 be described?
The second section of S2
Material has “developed into a real tune” (Broadbeck, 1997)
Quiet and gentle in character
Includes triplet rhythms as it moves upwards
How is the oboe melody from 132 accompanied?
Viola part adds a distinctive syncopated rhythm which is almost a pedal note
Cellos and double basses play repeated dotted minim - crotchet pattern from 136 onwards
Clarinets and bassoons play slower moving chords from 136
How can the oboe parts in bars 136-141 be described?
Chromatically altered passage
Contrapuntal texture - dialogue between 2 oboe parts
What key is the Closing Section in?
E minor
How is S2 developed at the start of the Closing Section?
S2 transformed in strings using diminution
Staggered entries: viola then violin 2 then violin 1
What happens in bar 146?
Strings join together in a strong descending then ascending unison movement
What does bar 148 reference?
Bars 22-24 of the intro - thematic version of this material
What key does the cadential figure in bars 150-151 suggest?
D major
Where does the music return to E minor in the Closing Section and how?
Bars 154-155
Two imperfect cadences (I-V) in Em, one in each bar
What textural change can be heard in bar 156?
Orchestra subsides to leave the thematic material subdued in the oboe
Which key is briefly suggested in bar 158?
D minor
How does the triplet rhythm in violas in bar 156 grow?
Extends to be heard throughout the strings and in the bassoon
What chord does the music arrive at in bar 160?
V9 in E minor
BDF#AC
9th (C) heard in oboe
What happens in bar 162?
Flute takes over ‘sighing’ transformation of S2
Suggestion of G major
What do bars 164-167 consist of?
Staccato triplets in strings with come imitation
Long-short rhythms in cello and double bass
Describe bar 168
Emphasis on C major
Triplet rhythms harmonised in 3rds dominate the texture
What happens in bars 170-171?
Figure X heard in oboes, clarinets, horns in E, and violas
Imitation in strings and bassoon
What is a noticeable feature that bars 176, 178, and 179 have in common?
Syncopated leap
What is bar 180-182?
Final accented version of S2
What key does the Closing Section end in and when is this established?
E minor
Established bar 183
How does the horn part at the end of the Closing Section reference previous material?
Plays rising 4th reference to opening interval of S1
What chord does the Closing Section end on?
G7
Prepares for the return of the main theme (chord V7 of C major)
