The smoothing -over of formal junctures as a style element in Mendelssohn's instrumental music.
Item
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Title
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The smoothing -over of formal junctures as a style element in Mendelssohn's instrumental music.
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Identifier
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AAI3144132
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identifier
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3144132
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Creator
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Rapoport, Erez.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Carl Schachter
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Date
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2004
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Music
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Abstract
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This study investigates Mendelssohn's flexible treatment of formal junctures at various levels of tonal structure and form, starting with the overlapping of the smallest formal units (subphrases and phrases), and proceeding to his unusual handling of reprises and recapitulations in small and large (sonata) forms. I then continue to explore the peculiarly Mendelssohnian devices of smoothing-over in other salient formal junctures in sonata forms, as well as his practice of linking together entire movements in multi-movement compositions.;The analysis of formal boundaries in nearly ninety instrumental pieces and movements by Mendelssohn reveals, in the first place, the extent to which he learned from his musical predecessors in this respect. This is not surprising, in view of the well-known conservatism of his musical taste and approach to composition. In the second place however, the extent and manner of his application of these techniques is unusual and bears the unmistakable stamp of his individual musical style.;In the concluding chapter I attempt to assess Mendelssohn's practice in a wider historical perspective, by offering a certain structural and aesthetic rationale for some of the more characteristic musical techniques encountered throughout this study. Thus, his instrumental forms often reconcile a Baroque-like continuity with Classical-style dramatic formal articulation and division. The final chapter also includes analyses of related compositional techniques in music by earlier composers (Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven), who most probably influenced Mendelssohn, as well as by other composers in Mendelssohn's generation (Chopin and Schumann). Finally, I cite one example by a later composer, Brahms. This historical survey demonstrates that while Mendelssohn's ties with the musical tradition of past generations are exceptionally, perhaps uniquely, deep, Mendelssohn's predilections for smoothing-over formal junctures also express (along with other features of his style) an unmistakably romantic compositional practice.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
