Pathétique, Piano Sonata No. 8 In C Minor (Ludwig Van Beethoven) Flashcards
Era
Classical-Romantic
Showed adventurous harmony and extended structures
Romantic era features
Powerful emotions - Pathétique is suffering
Minor keys, dramatic chords, accented notes, strong melodies, romantic harmony, diminished sevenths
Piano
Was undergoing development - larger range
Fundamental ideas
Repetition ( repeats intro) and contrast (subjects in devlopment)
Structure
Developed sonata form - intro (unusually slow) - exposition - intro - development - recapitulation - intro - coda
Key
C minor
Time signature
4/4 - 2/2 - 4/4
Intro
Homophonic, right hand (florid melody), left hand (chord accompaniment), heavy, dramatic chords (diminished 7th - chromatic + unstable - romantic)
Grave - unusually slow
Extreme dynamic contrast - romantic
Diatonic - functional harmony
Exposition - first subject
Fast tempo, 2/2
(C minor)
scalic, ascending,
murky bass, diatonic (PC),
chromatic bassline (classical to romantic),
Bflat pedal (dominant of Eflat minor - preparation)
Exposition - second subject
Eflat minor - weird since normally relative major
hand crossing, acciacatura, mordent
New theme 1 - Eflat major, contrary motion (right goes up/left goes down), continuous quavers, Alberti bass
New theme 2 - scalic descending melody, stepwise, high tessitura
Repeat - classical - 2nd dominant to dominant will then go to tonic (Cminor)
2nd intro
Same as 1st
Unrelated G minor
Eflat written as Dsharp - enharmonic equivalent
Development
Unrelated E minor
develops 1st + 2nd subject (distant keys)
Rhythmically augmented version of intro
Modulates to G minor - dominant pedal in C minor - dominant preparation to C minor
Recapitulation
1st subject (C minor) - tonic pedal, perfect cadence, functional 2nd subject (F minor - subdominant) - hand crossing, high tessitura, scalic + descending, four bars from intro - same Coda - based on 1st subject
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Write me a paragraph about the melody in Star Wars.
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The main A theme can be broken down as follows: Bar 1 contains a rising perfect 5th
(tonic to dominant) which creates a heroic feel. Bars 2 and 3 are identical, including a
leap of a minor 7th. Bar 4 uses an auxiliary note (not in the main chord) to reach
the note C, preparing for the repeat of the 4 bar phrase.
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Write me a paragraph about the Tonality in Star Wars.
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As the planets are revealed the piece switches to C major (with
an added Ab) for a short while.
When the spaceships appear the music is more based around
the note C, which is heard as a bass pedal.
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Write me a paragraph about the Texture in Star Wars.
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The piece uses pedal textures, such as the inverted tonic pedal
(repeated Bb note played by the violins) during the introduction and A theme, and the dominant pedal (repeated 5th note
played by the brass) in the B section.
At the end of the rebel blockade runner, when the action
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Write me a paragraph about the Instruments/sonority in Star Wars.
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The instruments used are a full string section, plus:
Wind: flute, piccolo, oboe, clarinet, bass clarinet,
bassoon
Brass: Horn, trumpet, trombone, tuba
Percussion: Timpani, triangle, tam tam (gong),
vibraphone, glockenspiel, cymbals.
Plus a piano, celeste and harp
The orchestra is used in the style of a traditional
romantic-era orchestra, with much doubling of
parts an octave or more apart.
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Write me a paragraph about the Harmony in Star Wars.
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The theme does use some chords not in the key of Bb major, such as the Ab major at
the end of the first A theme (before the imperfect cadence). The B section also uses a
Db major, which is not in the key of Bb major.
In the intro and A theme there is an inverted tonic pedal played tremolo in the violins.
In the B theme there is a dominant pedal played by the brass instruments.
During the “star filled sky” section, the harmonies mix unrelated chords together (like
Db major and C major) to create strange, unstable effects.
When we see the two planets, the strings and the brass are playing in two different
keys.
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Write me a paragraph about the Rhythm, Tempo and Metre in Star Wars.
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Both themes use an anacrusis.
The main theme (A) is accompanied by syncopated block
chords which create excitement.
When the large spaceship appears, the time signature
changes to 3/4
The tempo changes during the “rebel blockade runner”
section of the piece to emphasize the action on screen.
The “Mars” like chords when the large spaceship appears are
homorhythmic (all playing the same rhythm).
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