Phonograph Monthly Review, Vol. 1, No. 6 (1927-03)

The Phonograph Monthly Review 255 =1<3V From Jazz to Symphony Self-Education in dMusic by Means of the (Phonograph By MOSES SMITH W ITH this instalment I shall complete my series on the subject, and I want, there- fore, to offer a short summary of the preceding articles. The basic elements that make up music are rhythm and tone. Tone, in turn, may be subdivided into melody and harmony. After a discussion of the nature of rhythm and melody and an introduction to the principles of harmony, I described in the last issue some of the devices of composers’ technique and what is known as two-part form. Three-part form consists of the statement of a theme in appropriate setting, introduction of a contrasting theme, and then a restatement of the first theme. If we diagram the three-part form, as I showed in the last issue, the form will look like this: A-B-A. Sometimes the restatement is noted A 2 to distinguish it from the original theme. The importance of the three-part form, to repeat, lies in the fact that it has unity and variety at the same time—a combination which all of the greatest art, no matter what its character, must have. The B section provides the variety, the second A section lends unity by bringing the hearer back to his original starting point. This form, which has been humorously termed a “musical sandwich,” is the pattern for any number of songs, short instrumental pieces, such as waltzes, minuets, marches and so on. When used simply, without any embellishments other than the devices I have already detailed, it can rarely serve as the model for a very pretentious work. Yet with a little flexibility in the form, as I shall explain later, some of the grandest masterpieces of music have been built up. Mean- while let us examine some examples where the form has been used simply. “Charlie is My Darling” is a folk-song built up on the three-part scheme. The first section is stated simply, the contrasting section is then brought in, and the melody closes with an exact duplication of the opening section. “The Last Rose of Summer” has its opening section repeated at once; then the contrasting section and the re- statement after contrast follow. This song varies only slightly from the typical three-part form, in that the first repetition serves to strengthen the impression of the listener. To turn to more serious and extended applica- tions of the principle. There is the minuet of the great Mozart Symphony in E-flat, a piece to which I have already referred in other connec- tions. This minuet, like most pieces of that name, is in three-part form. The middle section, more lyrical in character than the opening and close, is called the trio. And to illustrate even further how much composers are dependent on this principle of three-part form note that the trio itself is composed of three sections, which may be lettered A-B-A. Now the reader must not suppose that the composer consciously worked out the principle, reasoning in a fashion familiar to our explanation of his process of com- position. In the case of the folk-song, it would certainly be foolish to think of the very indefinite person responsible for the piece as mapping out his plan carefully in advance. On the contrary, the form is blundered on, even by the thorough- going composer. Such aesthetic principles are generally the result of subconscious trial and error. Of course Mozart thoroughly understood the form of his music, if he stopped to analyze, but the chances are very much that he did not attempt to do so. The scherzo in Beethoven symphonies and sona- tas is an outgrowth of the minuet, and is in the same form. In his early works Beethoven used the minuet as his predecessors did, although he continued the process of hastening the tempo, a process begun with Haydn. The original minuet was less rapid, more stately. Finally Beethoven discarded the very name of the old dance, and called it scherzo, i.e., play, joking, etc. When he further flavored it with a strong emotional con- tent with the result that was a third movement of thrilling character. But the form remained the same as that of the minuet: the trio is always present. The finest scherzi of Beethoven are in the third, fifth and ninth symphonies. There is also an excellent scherzo in his piano sonata in A-flat (Opus 26). In the so-called “Moonlight Sonata,” which bears a slightly later opus number (27), the middle movement is a return to the minuet manner. While I am on the subject of scherzi let me say a word about a further extension of the form and content, to be met with in Chopin. That Polish composer of French training, who re- mained true to his birthright throughout his short life, wrote six scherzi, four as independent com- positions, and two as movements of the B-flat minor and B minor sonatas. All six are fine works, but of remarkable variety and expression. The scherzo of the B minor sonata is largely the result of the composer’s giving his fancy free rein in the use of arabesque-like figures. The scherzo of the B-flat minor sonata (which has the famous funeral march in it) is a lumbering, almost awkward thing, but very exciting emo- tionally, none the less. Of the four other scherzi it is difficult to choose the best, for all are mas- terpieces. Most musicians, however, would hit