Thread by @AntonPrince7

𝐎𝐧 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞; 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞

By connecting motives, we arrive at the next structural unit; the phrase. The definition of what exactly a phrase is in music is rather flexible...

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...for the purpose of this thread, I shall define it as follows: a phrase is a musical unit punctuated by a cadence; rhythmically, harmonically or both.

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This is a rather broad definition, does not exactly correspond to any linguistic equivalent and many themes we shall not be able to categorise in this way—I therefore claim the right to be wrong and to stand corrected whenever I am.

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We are scarcely able to define the long melodic strands spun out by Mahler in many of his movements with this term.
But even in Mahler we have themes we can analyse as a phrase; take the theme of the Andante from the Sixth Symphony:

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This phrase is ten bars long; if you listen and look carefully you may note that the phrase is constructed in two parts; parted along the middle of the fifth bar and each complementing the other.

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Such a structure is called a PERIOD and it is commonly used in many pieces. In its most common guise, a period is eight bars long, each half having a point of repose at its close. In Schumann’s “Album für die Jugend”, we find the following theme:

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Note how the two halves are almost exactly the same. A feature of periods is that the second half constitutes a variant or—as is the case here—exact repetition of the first.

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Harmonically, we see that the first half ends on the dominant, the second on the tonic. The reverse is also often seen, as in this piece from the same album:

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Recording:

Of course, in living Art, many periods deviate from this basic model. The model can serve as a basis, however, through which we can understand both simple and more complex variants of this form.

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Mahler‘s phrase was an extended period, but quite organic and it is therefore difficult to trace the extension in this particular phrase. However, in older music we find examples of extensions which we can more easily explain.
Consider the following:

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In this example from Schubert we find an extension of the period through a “written-out ritardando”. Notated slightly differently, it would fit neatly into the model of eight bars.

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In this example from Mozart, the extension is a little flourish of two bars; essentially prefiguring the material that is presented at that point in the first half.

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Recording (0:00-0:11)

In the following example of Beethoven, the first half (the so-called “antecedent”) is extended to five bars and the second half (consequent) to seven. These extensions are interwoven into the thematic material itself and are barely recognisable as such.

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Recording (0:00-0:52)

A second common phrase structure is the SENTENCE; which differs a little in its construction from the period, but differs most strikingly in that it consists of one half in which a statement is made, and a second half that already starts some kind of development.

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For this reason, one will see this type of phrase most often in forms like sonatas and symphonies; though smaller forms can likewise feature a sentence.

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A few examples will quickly make clear the structure of such a phrase; here is the opening of Beethoven‘s first piano sonata:

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The first two bars feature an arpeggiated tonic chord and a little flourish supported by staccato chords. These two bars are repeated in what Arnold Schoenberg calls the subject‘s “dominant form”, in which the exact same statement is transposed to the dominant degree.

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The second part of this statement is subsequently developed; it is repeated twice and followed by a little “melodic residue”.

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This example from Haydn reveals a similar structure; and opens the trio section in the minuet from his Sonata no. 27.

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Recording:

Of course, here too there are often deviations from the basic model and the sentence structure lends itself quite well to such extensions—after all it features a type of development in its second half.
The theme from Mozart‘s overture to “Le Nozze di Figaro“ is seven bars.

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Recording:

Another example from Mozart is this sentence, in which coherence is generated through the repetition of a small, two-note rhythmic cell.

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Recording:

Even on the level of a phrase, it is already becoming impossible to create a general overview—there are too many variables, and there are many opening gestures that can not be analysed through these simple models.

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Nevertheless, I believe that these simple models shed light on an enormous amount of themes in Western Classical music nonetheless and that they are a useful next step in explaining musical form.

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If you have followed my thread until here; thank you for your patience and have a wonderful evening.

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