Elgar 1st Symphony - Movement 2 (Development + Recapitulation) Flashcards
How is the new key of Bb major established at figure 66?
The Harp plays triplet rhythms, creating a cross rhythm, swaying between the tonic and the mediant (Bb and D). There are inverted pedals in the Oboe and Cor Anglais.
Describe the trio melody that enters at figure 66.
It’s played in the Flutes and with a solo Violin. It’s conjunct and it regularly returns to the tonic.
How do the rest of the string section embellish the texture in figure 66?
The 2nd Violins are split into two parts and play in alternation with the Violas which are playing pizzicato block chords.
How is the trio theme treated differently in figure 67 compared to figure 66?
It doesn’t return to the tonic. It’s taken over by the 1st Violins before a crescendo into figure 68.
Describe the middle section of the trio, starting on figure 68.
Begins with a diminished 7th which leads to a Gm tonality, making the piece feel a lot colder. A new Clarinet melody enters in 3rds, accompanied by dominant pedals in the Bassoon and Timpani.
How is the Clarinet melody from figure 68 continued in figure 69?
It’s moved to both Violin parts that play it with interesting harmony in homophony, leading us onto the end section.
What theme returns in figure 70 during the end section?
The melody from figure 66, the start of the trio. It’s played in the Clarinets and Flutes.
How do the 2nd Violins accompany the return of the trio theme at figure 70?
They play an augmentation of the earlier oscillating Harp triplets, swaying between the tonic and mediant.
What theme is reused to end the trio section and how?
The theme from the middle section of the trio, now played on the Violins instead of Clarinets, still in 3rds.
What is different about the tonality of the 2nd subject (march) in the recapitulation?
It’s in the tonic instead of the dominant as it was in the exposition, to keep in line with the principles of the sonata form.
What theme is also present, alongside the scherzo theme at the start of the recapitulation?
The middle theme of the trio, initially in 3rds on the Clarinets.
What happens to the use of main themes at figure 75?
The scherzo and the march theme are juxtaposed and played on top of each other to create polyphony.
