Terms Relating To Forms And Styles

132. A form in music is a specific arrangement of the various parts of

a composition resulting in a structure so characteristic that it is

easily recognized by the ear. Thus e.g., although every fugue is

different from all other fugues in actual material, yet the arrangement

of the various parts is so characteristic that no one who knows the

fugue form has any doubt as to what kind of a composition he is

hearing whenev r a fugue is played. The word form is therefore seen to

be somewhat synonymous with the word plan as used in architecture; it

is the structure or design underlying music. Examples of form are the

canon, the fugue, the sonata, etc.



Speaking broadly we may say that form in any art consists in

the placing together of certain parts in such relations of

proportion and symmetry as to make a unified whole. In music

this implies unity of tonality and of general rhythmic effect,

as well as unity in the grouping of the various parts of the

work (phrases, periods, movements) so as to weld them into one

whole, giving the impression of completeness to the hearer.



133. The primal basis of form is the repetition of some characteristic

effect, and the problem of the composer is to bring about these

repetitions in such a way that the ear will recognize them as being the

same material and will nevertheless not grow weary of them. This is

accomplished by varying the material (cf. thematic development), by

introducing contrasting material, and by choice of key.



134. The student should note at the outset of this topic the difference

in meaning between the terms form and style: A form is a plan

for building a certain definite kind of composition, but a style is

merely a manner of writing. Thus e.g., the fugue is a

form--i.e., it is a plan, which although capable of variation in

details, is yet carried out fairly definitely in every case; but

counterpoint is merely a style or manner of writing (just as Gothic

architecture is a style of building), which may be cast into any one of

several forms.



135. The material found in the following sections is an attempt to

explain in simple language certain terms relating to forms and

styles which are in common use; in many cases the definition is too

meagre to give anything but a very general idea, but it is hoped that

the student will at least be set to thinking and that he will eventually

be led to a more detailed and scholarly study of the subject. (The

article Form and the separate articles under each term here defined,

as found in Grove's Dictionary, are especially recommended. For examples

of the various forms described, see also Mason and Surette--The

Appreciation of Music, Supplementary Volume.)



136. In a very general way there may be said to be two styles of

musical composition, the monophonic (or homophonic)--the

one-voiced--and the polyphonic--the many voiced. The polyphonic[32]

style antedates the monophonic historically.



[Footnote 32: Polyphonic music flourished from 1000 A.D. to about 1750

A.D., the culmination of the polyphonic period being reached in the

music of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750). Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven,

and the later writers have used the monophonic style more than the

polyphonic, although a combination of the two is often found, as e.g.,

in the later works of Beethoven.]



137. In monophonic music there is one voice which has a pronounced

melody, the other voices (if present) supporting this melody as a

harmonic (and often rhythmic) background. An example of this is the

ordinary hymn-tune with its melody in the highest part, and with three

other voices forming a four-part harmony. The sonata, symphony, opera,

modern piano piece, etc., are also largely monophonic, though

polyphonic passages by way of contrast are often to be found.



138. In polyphonic music each voice is to a certain extent melodically

interesting, and the harmony is the result of combining several

melodies in such a way as to give a pleasing effect, instead of treating

a melody by adding chords as an accompaniment or support. Counterpoint,

canon, round, fugue, etc., are all polyphonic in style. The word

contrapuntal is often used synonymously with polyphonic.



(Sections 139 to 143 relate especially to terms describing

polyphonic music.)



139. Counterpoint is the art of adding one or more parts or melodies

to a given melody, the latter being known as the cantus firmus, or

subject. It may therefore be broadly defined as the art of combining

melodies.



The word counterpoint comes from the three words punctus

contra punctum, meaning point against point. The word

point as here used refers to the punctus--one of the neumae

of the mediaeval system, these neumae being the immediate

predecessors of modern notes.



Both vocal and instrumental music have been written in

contrapuntal style. The familiar two- and three-part

inventions by Bach are excellent examples of instrumental

counterpoint, while such choruses as those in The Messiah by

Handel illustrate the highest type of vocal counterpoint.



140. Imitation is the repetition by one part, of a subject or theme

previously introduced by another part. If the imitation is exact, the

term strict imitation is applied, but if only approximate, then the

term free imitation is used in referring to it. The repetition need

not have the exact pitches of the subject in order to be strict; on

the contrary the imitation is usually at the interval of an octave, or a

fifth, or a second, etc. Fig. 57 shows an example of strict imitation in

which the third part comes in an octave lower than the first part.



141. A canon is a contrapuntal composition in the style of strict

imitation, one part repeating exactly (but at any interval) what another

part has played or sung. The term canonic style is sometimes applied

to music in which the imitation is not exact. An example of three-part

canon is given in Fig. 57.







The word canon means law, and was applied to this

particular form of composition because the rules relating to

its composition were invariable. It is because of this

non-flexibility that the canon is so little used as a form

at the present time: the modern composer demands a plan of

writing that is capable of being varied to such an extent as

to give him room for the exercise of his own particular

individuality of conception, and this the canon does not do.

For this same reason too the fugue and the sonata have

successively gone out of fashion and from Schumann down to the

present time composers have as it were created their own

forms, the difficulty in listening arising from the fact that

no one but the composer himself could recognize the form as

a form because it had not been adopted to a great enough

extent by other composers to make it in any sense universal.

The result is that in much present-day music it is very

difficult for the hearer to discover any trace of familiar

design, and the impression made by such music is in

consequence much less definite than that made by music of the

classic school. It is probable that a reaction from this state

of affairs will come in the near future, for in any art it is

necessary that there should be at least enough semblance of

structure to make the art work capable of standing as a

universal thing rather than as the mere temporary expression

of some particular composer or of some period of composition.



142. The common school round is an example of canon, each voice

repeating exactly what the first voice has sung, while this first voice

is going on with its melody. The round is therefore defined as a

variety of canon in which the imitation is always in unison with the

subject.



143. The fugue (Latin, fuga = flight) is a form of contrapuntal

composition in which the imitation is always in the dominant key,

i.e., a fifth above or a fourth below. The imitation (called the

answer) may be an exact repetition of the subject (sometimes called

the question), but is usually not so.



The fugue differs from the canon also in that the subject is

given in complete form before the answer begins, while in the

canon the imitation begins while the subject is still going

on. The fugue is not nearly so strict in form as the canon

and gives the composer much greater opportunity for expressing

musical ideas. A canon may be perfect in form and yet be

very poor music; this same statement might of course be made

about any form, but is especially true in the stricter ones.