Voice-Leading Procedures in Gallant Expositions

Modern analytic approaches to sonata-form generally take for granted that expositions
normally divide into two large theme groups linked by a transition.1 This two-part analytic model has
much to recommend it, for it helps to highlight the dramatic dialectic that lies at the heart of many
sonata expositions composed during high Classical period. Analyzing an exposition in terms of two
contrasting theme groups can also shed light on its voice-leading structure, since middleground
prolongations often correlate directly with these thematic groupings.

Despite their importance in modern analytic discourse, however, large thematic groups in
expositions went entirely unnoticed in publications throughout much of the eighteenth century. Not
until the last few years of the 1700s was there any published indication that musicians recognized the
presence—much less the importance—of a secondary theme within what would now be labeled as a
sonata-form exposition. Even when they did point to features that today would clearly be associated
with secondary themes, music theorists of the time seemed not to notice the groupings that result.

That eighteenth-century theorists did not discuss such thematic groupings makes much sense
considering the repertoire they dealt with. After all, they examined not only of works from the high
Classical period, but also of works composed earlier, including those from around the 1750s through
1770s. For works composed during this earlier era, the formal descriptions proposed by eighteenth-
century theorists work particularly well. The same might be said even for certain pieces composed
during later decades by composers—most notably Joseph Haydn— who continued to employ formal
procedures that were developed closer to the middle of the 1700s.

Modern analytic approaches to sonata form, in contrast, tend to take as their starting point
procedures the developed in the high Classical period or later. When examined through the
assumptions inherent in modern analytic approaches, an uncomfortably large number of standard
formal layouts of works composed during the third quarter of the eighteenth century appear to be
deformational or departures from the norm. This in turn creates difficulties in trying to come to grips
with the voice-leading procedures in the expositions of such pieces by using modern analytic models.

In the present essay, I examine some paradigmatic voice-leading layouts of expositions from
the Gallant era through the lens of eighteenth-century formal theories, taking as my starting point
concepts and terminology proposed by Heinrich Christoph Koch, the most articulate and
thoroughgoing formal theorist of the time.2 As will be seen, in the expositions of various Gallant
compositions, the formal layouts described by Koch coincide unproblematically with the modern
two-part expositional model. For a number of other expositions from this era, however, applying the
modern formal analytic model creates needless complications. Considering them in light of analytic
models proposed during the eighteenth-century can help better contextual such expositions, as well as
clarify crucial features of both their form and their voice-leading that might otherwise be overlooked.

Resting points and Sätze

Let’s begin with an overview of Koch’s formal terminology and concepts, focusing on his
notions regarding what he refers to as a movement’s first Periode. The first Periode comprises the
section that stretches from what today is labeled as the start of the exposition through the arrival of a
 2

strongly emphasized perfect authentic cadence in the secondary key.3 Koch explains that this section
typically is punctuated by a series of resting points (Ruhepunkte), each of which marks the end of a
complete passage (that is, one that lasts for about four measures or longer and that involves at least
two different melodic ideas). Depending on the specific circumstances, these resting points
correspond to what nowadays are regarded as either as cadences, subphrase endings, or merely
sustained harmonies that appear midphrase.

Koch uses the term Satz (plural: Sätze) to describe a complete passage that leads to a resting
point; he also uses this term to refer to the resting point itself. The Satz that concludes a Periode with
a perfect cadence is called a Schlußsatz, and the Sätze that appear in the middle of a Periode are
called Absätze. Absätze are further categorized by harmonies on which they conclude: an Abataz that
leads to a resting point on a I triad is called a Grundabsatz, and one that that leads to a resting point
supported by V is a Quintabsatz. These terms are summarized in Example 1.

Example 1. Definitions of standard eighteenth-century formal terms.

Periode Large section that ends with a PAC and that

comprises multiple Sätze.
Satz Complete passage (with at least two contrasting
ideas) that leads to a resting point, as well as the

 Absatz
resting point at the end of such a passage.
Satz that concludes in the middle of a Periode.
o Grundabsatz Absatz that ends on I.

 Schlußsatz
o Quintabsatz Absatz that ends on V.
Satz that concludes with a PAC at end of a Periode.

During the course of the exposition the resting points—along with Sätze that lead to them—
follow one another according to standard patterns (Example 2). For instance, in a major-key
movement the first possible resting point arrives over a tonic harmony, and subsequent possible
resting points arrive on V, V/V, and I/V—in that order. Put differently, in a major-key movement the
first Periode consists of a Grundabsatz (I/I), followed by a Quintabsatz (V/I), then a Quintabsatz in V
(V/V), and finally a Schlußsatz in the key of V (I/V). The resting points of the Absätze could be big or
small, strongly underscored or barely hinted at. Furthermore, this basic plan could be varied by
eliding or omitting one of the resting points, or by repeating a Satz or pair of Sätze.

Example 2. Chart depicting standard expositional Satz layout.

Grundabsatz  I Quintabsatz V Quintabsatz in V V/V Schlußsatz  I/V

Leads to resting Leads to resting Leads to resting point Leads to PAC in

point on I. point on V. on V/V (=II#); often V; concludes
begins in key of V. Periode.
● Each Satz label refers both to the resting point at the
end of the passage as well as to the passage itself.
● Any Satz or pair of Sätze may be omitted, elided, or repeated.

In many cases various textural, thematic, and rhythmic features shape the Sätze so as to
suggest larger groupings. Some possible groupings are depicted in Example 3.4 Of particular interest
 3

is how much emphasis the resting point on V receives compared to the emphasis given to the resting
point on V/V. For instance, consider a situation in which the resting point on V/V appears at a
subphrase ending or in the middle of larger Sätze grouping, and the one on V is confirmed by a firm
half cadence, with the half-cadential V then sustained for a number of measures, underlined by
rhetorical gestures, and followed by a sharp change of texture. In such a circumstance the resting
point on V would be more strongly highlighted than the resting point on V/V (as in Example 3a). The
reverse situation is possible as well, in which case the resting point on V/V would be given greater
emphasis than the one on V (as in Example 3b).

Example 3. Some possible ways in which the individual Sätze may be grouped together by textural or
thematic means. (GA = Grundabsatz; QA = Quintabsatz; SS = Schlußsatz; emphasized resting points
are in bold, underlined, or both).

(a)
Last two Sätze grouped together, V at end of QA emphasized.

GA  I QA  V QA in VV/V SS  I/V

(b)
Middle two Sätze grouped together, V at end of QA in V emphasized:
GA  I QA  V QA in V  V/V SS  I/V

(c)
First two Sätze grouped together, V at end of QA emphasized; V at end of QA in
V emphasized even more:
GA  I QA  V QA in V  V/V SS  I/V

(d)
No Sätze grouped together, V at end of QA in V emphasized.
GA  I QA  V QA in V  V/V SS  I/V

Such differing emphases and groupings in turn can color the understanding of the roles these
resting points play in the voice-leading structure. For instance, the design depicted in Example 3a
usually correlates with one of voice-leading paradigms seen in Example 4. According to this voice-
leading paradigm, the V at the end of the Quintabsatz serves as an applied divider, and the V/V at the
end of the Quintabsatz in V is embedded within an Ursatz replica in the key of V. Similarly, the
layouts depicted in Examples 3b-d typically relate to one of the paradigms shown in Example 5. In
both of the voice-leading paradigms of Example 5, the resting point on V marks a midpoint within a
larger motion of ascending fifths in the bass, leading from I to II#.
 4

Examplee 4 Voice-leaading paradiigms that oftten form the basis of exppositions thaat follow the model of
Example 3a.

(a
a) (b)

Examplee 5. Voice-leeading parad

digms that offten form thee basis of exxpositions thaat follow thee models
of Examp
ples 3c–d.

(a
a) (b)

Naturally,
N the design and d voice-leadiing structurees of exposittions do not always line uup so
neatly. Itt is certainly possible, for instance, for
fo one or moore of the ressting points to be subsum med
within a prolongation
p n of a strong
gly emphasizzed harmonyy that begins midphrase. Configurations other
than thosse shown in Example
E 3 are
a possible asa well (as iss the case, foor instance, iif one of thee possible
resting po oints were omitted),
o andd these other layouts alsoo may give rrise to other ppossible voice-
leading structures.
s Nevertheless, the voice-leeading paraddigms presennted in Exam mple 4 and 5 do form
the basis of many exp positions com mposed duriing the Gallaant era, incluuding most oof the ones ddiscussed
below.

Expositions that em
mphasize thee resting poiint on V

An
A example of o an exposittion based on n the model shown in Exxample 3a m may be foundd in the
expositioon from Wolfgang Amad deus Mozart’s Sonata in G, K. 283/i (Example 66). The first ttwo Sätze
of this movement
m (m
mm. 1–16 and d 17–22, resp pectively) arre each fram
med by a senttence that cooncludes
with a firrm cadence followed
f by a short caessura. The nexxt two Sätze, on the otheer hand, are llinked by
texture to
o form a sing
gle sententiaal phrase (mmm. 23–43), w with the Quinntabsatz in V (m. 30) apppearing
at the midpoint of thiis phrase. Th
his grouping in turn sugggests the voiice-leading ggrouping deppicted in
Example 6.
 5

Examplee 6. Wolfgan
ng Amadeus Mozart, Son nata in G, K
K. 283/i (17744): voice-leaading sketchh of
expositio
on (mm. 1–43); cf. Exam
mples 3a and 4a above. ((Thicker barr lines indicaate sturdier bbreaks at
Satz endiings).

As
A suggested d by the text above
a the staaff in Exampple 6, the groouping of thhe Sätze prodduces a
layout that could effeectively desccribed by mo odern sonataa-form terminnology. Thaat is, the Gruundabsatz
could be characterizeed as a stablee first themee, the active Q Quintabsatzz as a transitiion that leads to a
medial caaesura, and the
t Quintabssatz in V com mbined withh the Schlußssatz as an exxpansive secoondary
5
theme. These
T themee groups may y be regarded d to result ass a byproducct of the diffferences in thhe
demarcattions of the various
v restinng points.

Itt might be teempting to arrgue that thee passage of mm. 23–43 is the secondary theme bbecause it
prolongs V. Yet such h a rationale too easily leeads to circuular reasoning, since one can also jusst as
easily claaim that this passage proolongs V beccause it is thee secondary theme. It woould be faireer to state
that the same
s textural, rhythmic, and thematiic features thhat group thee Sätze of mm m. 23–43 toggether to
form a prrolongation of o V likewisse suggest thhat this passaage may be uunderstood aas a secondarry theme.

Not
N every exp position from
m the third quarter
q of thee eighteenth century thatt follows onee of the
paradigmms of Example 4 can so readily
r be deescribed usinng modern soonata-form tterminology,
however.. Consider thhe finale of Joseph
J Hayddn’s Symphoony No. 12 inn E (Example 7). The firrst two
Sätze of this
t movemeent strongly resemble on ne another thhematically, and as such they seem too
establish a single 16--bar group. The
T next two o Sätze (mm. 17–32) aree even more strongly bouund
together, since the V//V is sustain
ned from the end of the Q Quintabsatz in V in m. 224 past the beeginning
of the Sch
hlußsatz. Thhe resulting grouping
g sugggests a voicce-leading laayout that follows the paaradigm
shown inn Example 4b b.
 6

Examplee 7. Joseph Haydn,

H Symmphony No. 12 in E/iii (11763): voice-leading skeetch of expossition
(mm. 1–3
32); cf. Exam
mples 3a and
d 4b above.

Unlike
U with Mozart’s
M K. 283, it is farr from clear iin this expossition wheree—or even iff—one
should loocate a transiition and seccondary them me. Modern concepts of sonata form m assume thaat an
active, transitional-soounding passsage typicallly leads from m the first thheme to the ssecondary thheme. In
this expoosition from Haydn’s Sym mphony No.. 12, howeveer, the transiitional-soundding passagee follows
the big caadential caessura of m. 166. According gly, as show
wn in the textt above the sstaff in Exammple 7,
one could d either readd mm. 17–32 2 as a (deform mational) secondary them me or as a “fused
n/subordinate theme.”6 However
transition H onee decides to pparse this exxposition usiing to moderrn sonata-
form termminology, it should be un nderlined that this layouut is not out oof the ordinaary when connsidered
in the conntext of its era.
e When th his symphony y was compoosed, it was quite comm mon for a trannsitional
sounding g passage to follow
f ratherr than lead too the cadenttial break thaat precedes tthe passage iin the new
key. In anny case, whiichever passage one chooses to labell as the transsition or secoondary them me has no
effect on determining g the groupinng of the Sättze or the vooice-leading structure of the exposition.

Expositions that em
mphasize thee resting poiint on V/V

V end of Quiintabsatz eliided or follo

owed by shorrtbreak

In
n the exposittion of the fiinale from Haydn’s
H Symmphony No. 338, the restinng point on V V/V is
emphasizzed, rather th han the one ono V (Examp ple 8). The rresting pointt on V/V (m. 41) arrives at the
end of a long
l sequenttial section and
a is follow wed by a suddden shift in texture, orchhestration, thhematic
content, and
a dynamicc level. The resting pointt on V (m. 330), by contrrast, is relativvely underpllayed,
coming as a it does witthin the middle of a larg ge sequentiall passage (m more specificaally, at the end of the
first half of a two-parrt sequentiall section). Faar from beingg followed bby a shift in texture or thhematic
content (as was the case with thee resting poin nt on V in thhe expositionns examined in Examples 6 and
7), the reesting point on
o V in this exposition
e elides
e with thhe start of thhe next phrasse. As a resuult, the V
of m. 30 is best undeerstood as ap ppearing in th he midst of a larger motiion leading tto the stronggly
emphasizzed V/V in m. m 41 (cf. Ex xample 5a).
 7

Examplee 8. Haydn, Symphony

S No.
N 38 in C/iiv (c. 1767):: voice-leadiing sketch off exposition (mm. 1–
62); cf. Examples
E 3b and 5a abov
ve.

For this exposition, as forr the exposittion from Moozart’s K. 2883 discussedd above, moddern
sonata-foorm conceptss and terminnology work quite nicelyy (see the texxt above the staff in Exammple 8).
Accordin ngly, the stab
ble Grundab me, the more active
bsatz here maay be characcterized as thhe first them
Quintabssatz and Quintabsatz in V combine to form the trransition, annd the expansive Schlußssatz
serves ass a secondaryy theme.7
Note
N that with hin this expo
osition what is labeled hhere as the seecondary theeme (startingg in m. 42)
is actuallly the second d passage thaat is in the key
k of V. Thee first passagge that beginns and ends iin the
dominantt key is the Quintabsatz
Q in V (mm. 30–41),
3 whicch—taken byy itself—forrms a sentenntial
phrase in
n the key of G. G The analy ysis in Exammple 8 suggessts that a phrrase like thiss—which apppears
entirely within
w the seecondary key y—nonetheleess can preccede the arrivval of the baackground doominant.
As will be
b argued below, such a tonalt structu
ure may alsoo arise in situuations wherre it is less cllear
whether such a passaage should bee labeled (acccording to m modern term minology) as part of the ttransition
or as partt of the secondary themee.
The
T voice-leaading framew work of the exposition
e frrom Haydn’ss Symphonyy No. 43 in E E-flat/i
(Examplee 9) is similaar to that just discussed in
i Haydn’s S Symphony N No. 38/iv. Thhe main diffeerence is
that in Sy
ymphony No o. 43 the restting point on
n V is not eliided with thee start of thee next phrasee, but
rather is followed by a small dem marcation (inn m. 41) and then by a neew melody ((in m. 42; thiis new
melody is clearly a variant
v of thee previous on
ne). Althouggh slightly em mphasized, tthe resting point on V
in m. 41 nonetheless is less firmlly reinforced d than the ennsuing restingg point on V V/V in m. 58, and it
lies withiin a passage embraced by b a single un nderlying texxture that lasts from mm m. 31–58. Ass a result,
the Quinttabsatz and Quintabsatzz in V combin ne to form a group that eextends from m mm. 31–58, with
the restin
ng point on V in m. 41 marking
m a midpoint withiin a larger toonal motion from the opeening
tonic to the
t II# of m. 58 (cf. Exam mple 5b).
 8

Examplee 9. Haydn, Symphony

S No.
N 43 in E-fflat/i (c. 17771): voice-leaading sketchh of expositioon (mm.
1–68); cff. Examples 3b and 5b ab
bove.

Much
M like thee one of Symmphony No. 38, this expoosition can bbe fairly parssed into sepaarate
theme groups using modernm sonaata-form term minology (seee the text abbove the stafff in Examplle 9).8
Here, too o, the first paassage that iss entirely in the key of V (mm. 42–558) appears w within what is labeled
as the traansition sectiion. To be su ure, this neww-key passagge of mm. 422–58 is moree independennt from
what imm mediately precedes it thaan the analog gous passagee of Symphoony 38. Indeeed, had the ppassage
that begin 4 led to a peerfect cadencce rather thaan to a half ccadence in thhe key of V, it may
ns in in m. 42
reasonably have been n labeled as the secondarry theme. Suuch a possibiility is soon pushed asidde,
however,, as it eventu ually becomees apparent thatt the betteer candidate for the secoondary themee arrives
after the half-cadentiial break in mm.
m 58.

Quintabsatz
Q and Quinta
absatz in V both
b followeed by substaantial breakss

Itt is not alway

ys so easy to
o determine where
w one shhould label tthe end of thhe transition ends and
the beginnning of the secondary th heme, howev ver—if one iinsists on ussing such labbels to beginn with.
This is esspecially so in situationss—although otherwise siimilar to thoose seen imm mediately aboove—in
which thee two passag ges in the seccondary keyy are each prreceded by a caesura, as is depicted iin
Example 10. Althoug gh both of th
he new-key themes
t oftenn start in a sttable mannerr in this stanndard
layout, usually the seecond of the new-key theemes is canttabile and more stable, aand the restinng point
on V/V is more stron ngly emphasiized than thee one on V. A As a result, uunderlying vvoice-leadinng
structure of expositio ons based onn this formal layout usuaally follows oone of the paaradigms seeen in
Example 5, much lik ke the exposiitions just disscussed.
 9

Examplee 10. Chart depicting

d com mmon eighteeenth-centurry layout of aan expositioon with two tthemes in
V that eaach follow haalf-cadentiall breaks (cf. Example 3cc above).
Gru
undabsatz Qu
uintabsatz Quintabsaatz in V Schlußsatz

Presents
P Loose-knit, Begins inn V with Begins in V wiith an
staable main transition-like
t stable theeme, ends expansive canttabile
theeme in key paassage, leads to with ennergetic theme, ends w
with
of I. strong HC in I, motion too stronger energetic motioon to
followed by HC in V, followed PAC in V..
caesura. by caeesura.

The
T layout sh hown in Exam mple 10 is unproblemati
u ic from the sstandpoint off eighteenth--century
theory an nd practice. Indeed,
I expoositions that follow this bbasic framew work are offfered as exem mplars in
9
treatises by Koch, Joseph Riepel, Georg Sim mon Lohlein, and Johann Gottlieb Portmann. Thhis layout
evidentlyy was one thaat the theorists of the timme expected their readers to understaand and be ffamiliar
with—no ot as an exceeptional casee, but as a tho
oroughly typpical situatioon. Difficultiies arise onlyy if one
his standard situation by using modeern sonata-foorm terminollogy, which (based on
tries to acccount for th
practices that would be become the t norm onlly in later deecades of thee eighteenth century) asssumes that
expositioons should ty ypically dividde into two— —and only tw wo—large ccontrasting thhematic grouups.

One
O of the maany expositiions from thee Gallant eraa that follow ws the model of Examplee 10 may
be found in Mozart’ss Symphony in F, K. 43/i, written whhen the compposer was 11 years old. The
design annd structure of this exposition is larg
gely similar tto the ones eexamined in Examples 8 and 9. It
has the saame Satz lay yout, with tw
wo passages that
t begin annd end in thee key of V, aand with greeater
weight giiven to the resting point on V/V. As such, similaar to the expositions anaalyzed in Exaamples 8
and 9, thiis one is fram
med by a larrge I–(V)–II#
#-V voice-leeading structture (Examplle 11a; cf. E
Examples
3c and 5bb).

Examplee 11. Mozartt, Symphony

y in F, K. 43//i (1767).

osition (mm. 1–45); cf. E

(a) Voicee-leading skeetch of expo Examples 3c, 4b, and 9 aabove.
 10

(b) Chart comparing possible parsings, (i) according to the Satz layout; (ii)–(iii) according to modern
sonata-form terminology.

m. 1 7 14 23
(i) after Koch GA QA QA in V SS
(1793)
(ii) Brown (2002) 1st theme transition 2nd theme
(iii) Hepokoski/ 1st theme transition “S[econd theme]- “secondary
Darcy (2006) (MC in m. space” (“post- theme space”
13) MC” in m. 22) continues
(iv) another 1st theme transition transition (pt.2) 2nd theme
possible reading: (pt. 1)

Even more so than what is found in the exposition analyzed in Example 9, however, in
Mozart’s Symphony No. 43 the first passage in the key of V (mm. 14–22) is clearly separated from
the passage that immediately precedes it. As such, using modern terminology, one might be more
tempted to label the passage of mm. 14–22 as a secondary theme. On the other hand, since it groups
thematically with the passage that precedes it, one could also reasonably label this as start of the
transition, or as the midpoint of a transition that begins in m. 7, with the cantabile theme (mm. 23–45)
that follows the strongly demarcated V/V in m. 22 as the secondary theme. Example 11b displays
these possibilities (two of which have already appeared in published analyses of this exposition by
other scholars). One may wonder what advantage would be gained by arguing for one of these
readings over the other, however. After all, the manner in which the movement’s design and voice-
leading structure is in dialog with other expositions composed at the time can readily be understood
in terms of its Satz structure. The application to this exposition of the anachronistic concept of a
secondary theme (a term that was invented in a later era to describe music composed in later decades)
seems superfluous at best.

All the Absätze followed by breaks

The voice-leading paradigm of Example 5 also may govern expositions in which there is not
even a single clearly established secondary theme, much less two.10 For instance, consider the first
movement of Niccolò Jommelli’s Trio in D for Two Flutes and Continuo (Example 12a). Although
this exposition includes two Sätze that begin and end in the key of V, neither is fleshed out
sufficiently so as to form a full-fledged theme. The first of these passages (mm. 8–11), which follows
a strong half cadence in the main key, is unstable and leads to an even stronger half cadence in the
key of V. The next passage (mm. 12–16) is even less stable, sounding more like a “continuation-to-
cadence” than a self-contained theme.11 To be sure, one could put forth an argument for labeling a
secondary theme as beginning in either m. 8 or m. 12. But again, it is not clear what benefits would
accrue from such a determination. Here, too, understanding the exposition in terms of its resting
points amply demonstrates how its design and voice-leading structure is in dialog with other works of
its time (Example 12b; cf. Example 3d).
 11

Examplee 12. Niccollò Jomelli, Triosonata

T No.
N 6 in D forr Two Flutess and Continnuo (1751),
expositio
on, mm. 1–19
9: (a) Quotattion; (b) voice-leading ssketch; cf. Exxamples 3d aand 4 b abovve.

(a)
 12

(b)

Standard
d Schenkeriian reading
g

The
T analyses above that area modeled after the parradigm of Exxample 5 deepart from w what in
recent yeears has beco
ome standardd analytic prractice amonng many Schhenkerian reaadings of sonnata
expositio mal designs such as thosse depicted iin Examples 3b–d, it
ons. Specifically, in dealiing with form
has been more custom mary for a coonnection too be drawn bbetween the oopening toniic and the haarmony
mediately precedes the larrge II# chord
that imm d. This connnection eitherr takes the foorm of a largge 5–6
motion or
o a (chromattic) voice exxchange (Exaample 13). A According too this standarrd Schenkeriian
reading, the
t crucial half-cadentia
h al V at the en
nd of the Qu intabsatz is subsumed w within a largeer
12
prolongaation.

Example
E 13. Standard Scchenkerian analysis
a of soonata-form eexposition.
(a) (b)
 13

An exam mple of a readding the follo ows the paraadigm depictted in Exampmple 13 may bbe found in an
analysis by
b Lauri Suu urpää of Mo ozart’s Sympphony in D, K K. 504/i (Exxample 14a).13 Noting thhe arrival
of a them
me in the keyy of V in m. 71,7 Suurpää wonders if ““the A-majoor chord of m m. 71 functioons as the
14
structural dominant, the second background
b harmony
h of the expositioon.” After consideringg the
matter, however,
h he concludes
c th
hat “the clearrly forward-llooking charracter” of thhe II# that folllows
(starting in m. 81.) ulltimately sug ggests “an in
nterpretationn that emphaasizes the II[##] in m. 81 mmore than
15
the A-maajor chord inn m. 71.”

Examplee 14. Mozartt, Symphony y in D, K. 50

04/i (“Praguee,” 1786), vooice-leading sketches off
expositio
on, mm. 37–129. (a) follo
owing Suurppäa (2006); ((b) proposedd alternate reeading.

(a)

(b)

Suurpää’s arggument for favoring

fa the firmly underrlined II# off m. 81 over the V of m. 71 is well
taken. Hoowever, in his
h voice-lead ding analysis the V of m m. 71 is suborrdinated nott only to the II# of m.
o6
81 but also to the weakly affirmeed applied viii of E in m m. 80. This vviio6 of E arisses in middlee of a
sequencee, appears for only a sing
gle measure, and is not eemphasized bby dynamicss, texture, rhhythm, or
thematic content. Thee A chord off m. 71, in co ontrast, is strrongly demaarcated by beeing precedeed by a
sturdy haalf cadence on
o another A chord in m. 69–71 (whhich marks thhe end of thee Quintabsattz, a
pivotal moment
m with
hin the expossition’s desiggn) as well aas by the folllowing them matic entrancee in m.
71, after which the A chord is pro olonged for eight more m measures. Thhese factors argue on beehalf of
the readinng proposedd in Examplee 14b, which h more suitabbly accountss for the strucctural imporrtance of
these A chords
c of mm
m. 69–71 wh hile still acknnowledging the greater w weight givenn to the upcooming II#.
 14

Perhaps the allure

a of an analysis
a suchh as seen in E
Example 14aa results fromm the sense tthat the
large, im
mplied passing tone in thee upper voicee provides a convenient metaphor foor the unstabble,
“passing”” nature of thhe theme thaat enters in m.
m 71. But too what is thiss theme passsing? Is it paassing to
o6
the applieed vii of E in m. 80 (ass in Examplee 14a)? Or too the more fafar strongly eemphasized III#, with
o6
the transiitory vii off E supportin
ng a neighbo or tone in thee upper voicee (Example 14b)?

T be sure, att times the paradigms deepicted in Exxample 13 inndeed might be fairly understood
To
to underllie exposition
ns from this era. This is especially soo when the rresting pointt on V is weaakly
delineateed, or when extra
e emphassis is given to
t the harmoony that preccedes the largge II#. Suchh is the
case in th
he expositionn of Mozart’’s Sonata forr Piano in G,, K. 283/ii , w
where the doominant harm mony at
the end of
o the Quinta absatz thus iss best be und
derstood to ffunction on a lower leveel, embeddedd within a
larger 5-66 motion (Exxample 15).

Examplee 15. Mozartt, Sonata for Piano in F, K. 283/ii (17774): voice--leading skettch of mm. 11–14.

But
B in exposiitions where the V at the end of the Q Quintabsatz is sturdily mmarked, as iss often the
case, onee of the parad
digms depictted in Exam mple 5 shouldd at least be sstrongly connsidered as a possible
structural basis. The importance of the restin ng points wass highlightedd by Koch annd other muusic
theorists who lived at
a the time, an nd for those sensitive to these momeents, the largge-scale voicce-leading
implicatiions of the en
nd of the Abbsätze are nott easy to ignnore. Taking into accounnt the implicaations of
these stan g points ofteen allows forr a better undderstanding of expositions from Gallant era in
ndard resting
their ownn terms, rath
her than judgged by standaards prompteed by normss of music coomposed durring later
decades. This in returrn can pave the way for richer voicee-leading anaalyses, ones that help us to better
comprehend the expo ositions of th
he Gallant erra in a mannner closer to tthat discusseed by those w
who
composed, improviseed, performeed, and listen ned to the muusic during tthis era.
 15

NOTES

1
Even the layout known as the “continuous exposition,” in which there are no separate theme groups, is usually
regarded as one in which the expected two-part division has been suppressed. Regarding the continuous exposition, see
James Hepokoski and Warren Darcy Elements of Sonata Theory (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), 51–64.
2
Heinrich Christoph Koch’s most extended discussions regarding what we now would label as a sonata-form
exposition may be found in his Versuch einer Anleitung zur Composition Vol. 3 (Leipzig: Adam Friedrich Böhme, 1793);
translated (along with sections from Vol. 2) by Nancy Kovaleff Baker as Introductory Essay on Composition (New
Haven: Yale University Press, 1983). In the eighteenth-century, much like today, music theorists differed with one
another regardinhg many particulars. Nevertheless, the basic concepts explained by Koch, especially regarding the
standard order and nature of the resting points within an exposition may be witnessed in either in the writings, musical
examples, or both that are found in other eighteenth-century discussions of musical form; see, for instance, Joseph Riepel,
Grundregeln zur Tonordnung insgemein. (Frankfurt and Leipzig: Lotter, Auspurg, Riepel, Joseph 1755); Friedrich
Wilhelm Marpurg, Principes du Claveçin (Berlin: Haude et Spener, 1756); Georg Simon Löhlein, Klavier-Schule
(Leipzig: Waisenhaus- und Frommanische Buchhandlung, 1779-81); and Johann Gottlieb Portmann, Leichtes Lehrbuch
der Harmonie, Composition und des Generalbasses (Darmstadt: Fürstl. Hof- und Kanleibuchdruckerie, 1789).
3
Put differently, the first Periode comprises the section that corresponds to what Hepokoski and Darcy refer to as
the exposition through the EEC (the “Essential Expositional Close”) that marks the end of the Secondary Theme Zone;
see Hepokoski and Warren Darcy Elements of Sonata Theory (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), 16–18. The first
Periode may be followed by a Nebenperiode, which corresponds to the modern concept of the exposition’s closing
section. The present essay focuses only on the first Periode.

4
It should be noted that within his Versuch Koch rarely discussed such larger groupings or differentiated between
the different weightings of the resting points. The closest he comes to doing so is when he notes that within a first-
movement symphonic Allegro the first “formal Absatz” (that is, the first clearly marked resting point that is not elided)
often arrives only at the end of the Quintabsatz in V; see Koch, Versuch, §147 (translated in Baker, p. 230; see also
Versuch, §101, translated in Baker, p. 199). Not until in his writings published during the nineteenth century does Koch
seem to openly acknowledge the different weightings given to the resting points; see discussion in L. Poundie Burstein,
“The Half Cadence and Other Analytic Fictions,” in What is a Cadence? ed. Pieter Bergé and Markus Neuwirth (Leuven:
Peeters, forthcoming, 2015).
5
A medial caesura (MC) is a textural break (either in the form of a brief silence or a sudden thinning of texture)
that follows the cadence that precedes the secondary theme; see Hepokoski, and Warren Darcy, Elements of Sonata
Theory, 23–50.
6
Regarding the term “fused transition/subordinate theme” (in which the transition and secondary theme combine
within a single phrase), see William Caplin, Classical Form: A Theory of Formal Functions for the Instrumental Music of
Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998), 203. An exposition with a fused
transition/subordinate theme would, in a case like this, be labeled as a continuous exposition according to terminology
proposed by Hepokoski, and Warren Darcy Elements of Sonata Theory (see n. 1 above).
7
A slightly different parsing of the divide between the first theme and transition in this movement is proposed in
A. Peter Brown, The Symphonic Repertoire, Vol. 2 (Bloomington IN: Indiana University Press. 2002): 112, which (based
on thematic layout rather that phrase structure) reads the first theme as extending until m. 22, so that the transition starts
with the sequential passage that begins in the middle of the Quintabsatz. Brown reads the secondary theme as beginning
in m. 42, however, in the manner shown Example 7.
Such disagreements as noted here regarding the dividing line between the first theme and transition are not
uncommon (see also fn. 8 below). Far more noteworthy are disagreements regarding the start of the secondary theme, as
will be discussed in some of the examples below, since such disagreements often challenge the very notion of the bipartite
division of the exposition.
 16

8
Brown, The Symphonic Repertoire, 129, reads mm. 31–41 as the closing segment of the main theme, and the
transition as starting in m. 42. In his reading, as in the one I propose, the first passage in the key of V (that is, that passage
that starts in m. 42) is read as a transition, not a secondary theme.
9
For instance, see Koch Versuch §152, 404ff. (Baker, 238–9); Riepel, Grundregeln zur Tonordnung, 64 (in which
an exposition that has only one new theme in the new key is introduced as a variant of what was evidently considered the
more normative situation in which there are two new-key themes); Lohlein, Klavier-Schule, 183–88; and Portmann,
Leichtes Lehrbuch (example volume), 43–46. Significantly, Portmann proposes a type of background harmonic analysis
for the D-major exposition example, one which is based on a D-E–A (= I –II#–V) structure (cf. Example 5!); see
Portmann, Leichtes Lehrbuch, 41ff.
10
In other words, expositions that would be labeled as continuous expositions; see n. 1 above.
11
Regarding the concept of the “continuation-to-cadence,” see Caplin, Classical Form, 40–47.
12
See, for instance, Roger Kamien and Naphtali Wagner, “Bridge Themes within a Chromaticized Voice Exchange
in Mozart Exposition,” Spectrum 19/1 (1997) 1–12; Graham Hunt, “When Structure and Design Collide: The Three-Key
Exposition Revisited,” Spectrum 36/2 (2014): 247–69; and the analysis by Lauri Suurpää discussed immediately below.
See also Allen Cadwallader and David Gagne, Analysis of Tonal Music: A Schenkerian Approach, 2nd edition (New
York: Oxford University Press, 2007), 35–37. It should be noted that although this reading is standard among Schenker’s
followers, it is not found in the publications of Heinrich Schenker himself: whereas Schenker did comment on 5–6
motions and chromatic voice-exchanges that lead to the a large II# in an exposition, in no published analysis of his is the
resting point at the end of a Quintabsatz subordinated to such a motion.
13
Lauri Suurpää, “The First-Movement Exposition of Mozart’s ‘Prague’ Symphony: Cadences, Form, and Voice-
Leading Structure,” Tijdschrift voor Tuziektheorie 11/3 (2006), 164–77 (esp. 167–8 and 176).
14
Ibid., 168.

15
Ibid., 168. Note that the resting point on V/V in that begins in m. 81does not take the form of a cadence or
subphrase ending, but rather as a strongly emphasized and extended harmony.