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    P 05

    Uploaded by

    Cleiton Xavier
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    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 1
    sv rom the Preface tthe Fest Edn | the expense of more critical and decisive elements of form in much recent music education has produced a reaction against the study of traditional forms in many places, but there survives a just appreciation of their importance as flexible and proven frameworks for the solution of structural problems, and as monuments 10 ‘human invention and artistic evolution. 1 believe that the study of traditional forms is useful and valid so long as it proceeds beyond mere identification and classification into the penetrating analysis of all aspects of form in significant works—unorthodox as well as conventional. ‘Such analysis must pursue every detail of form, recognizing that overall schem: design is only a basis, and that the application of a traditional formal plan is no assurance of logic, coherence, and animate substance in music. Therefore. it is cru- cial that analysis be directed into the investigation and understanding of all relevant principles. “The present study is not conceived as an end. A part of the reason for singling cout those forms which are the bases for these essays is their adaptability through changes of musical style and idiom. I choose to deal extensively with fugue, for example, rather than ricercar, which is important for more specialized study. Also excluded are vocal types like the mass, which have no standard musical structure. ‘Thus, [ have rejected the inclination 10 try 10 discuss all musical genres—with a hasty apergu of the motel, a page and a half on the oratorio, and so on—in favor of exhaustive treatment of common forms that afford vivid illustration of principles of musical logic and unity, and which. in their immediacy. are the most useful founda- tion for later, more particularized research. Virwally all Western music derives unity and vitality from one phase or another of a common set of principles, whether for not a conventional total design is employed. Hence, I have been able to draw ‘many illustrations from such genres as the oratorio, he mass. the opera. and the art song, and from a wide historical span which extends well into the twentieth century. ‘The studies in this book are made with a constant awareness of the dangers of, ‘categorization which is too rigid and generalization which is too broad and insistent ‘At the same time, I believe that any observation of traditional practice leads to the ‘delineation of important parallels among forms and styles, and that classification is, therefore possible and reasonable—providing a background of common practice ‘against which o regard the anomalies that are so valuable a source of instruction. Of course, the discussion of classification with respect 1o any given work must often be content merely to point the way to a rationale, while leaving particular questions ‘unanswered. Such. 1 think, is one of the arts of pedagogy. ‘This volume is addressed to the musician—amateur or professional—who has studied basic music theory. In seeking to demonstrate techniques of form and ansiy. sis through careful and searching examination of the most tenacious forms and liter- atures, it does not try to be a history of those forms. nor oftheir rarer antecedents ‘And, in analysis, I have tried to restric myself ta objective discussion of musical anatomy in preference 10 subjective description. ‘The musical examples are intended to encompass a wide variety of styles and media. The music suggested for supplementary analysis. when not listed For its high sy From the Preface tothe First Elton intrinsic value. either has some special usefulness or illustrates some particular de- vice or problem. I have not provided a workbook for what is to me a very important reason: the risk of stagnation in the classroom practice of dealing with the same limited frame of reference in course after course, year after year. It seems altogether feasible as well as profitable to refer to a varied selection of moderately priced edi tions of such indispensable items as Bach fugues and Beethoven sonata in addition to less familiar works, some of them recent, offering stimulation and broad stylistic variety and often meeting the special needs ofa specific situation. Materials for such use are listed throughout this book, and published collections and workbooks ‘be found to be readily available for conditions in which they are deemed essential, and for individual study. My examples from the early eighteenth century and zarliet ae, in many instances, drawn from the Historical Anthology of Music, whose two volumes are convenient and accessible as well as abundant in range of content.’ ‘The exercises are specimens of projects for valuable study beyond the mate rial ofthe text itself. Rare will be that situation in which the reader can tur his or ber attention to more than a few of them, but the listing of many makes possible the choice of an area of investigation of special relevance or special interest. Where {group study is involved, several projects might be undertaken, the results of each to ‘be shared withthe group. In this asin all respec, specific application of the mate- Fial is left 10 be governed by the limitations and demands of panicwlar circumstances. ‘The value of penetrating musical analysis, having more as its end than the

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