FORM IN MUSIC

New Zealand Listener, Volume 17, Issue 436, 31 October 1947, Page 12

FORM IN MUSIC

| ) THE tenth of a series of brief articles

by

BESSIE

POLLARD

Mus. Baca,

Sl on "Form in Music." These articles are closely related to a series of programmes on the same topic now being heard from 2YC on Friday evenings. Each of our articles is illustrated by a few bars of the music under discussion,

10. The Overture N the early stages of instrumental music, the titles Overture, Symphony and Concerto were employed indiscriminately to represent the same formal plan. These terms were then considered sufficiently elastic to denote either compositions for umaccompanied solo instruments or for instrumental combinations, Bach names the

opening movement in his No. 2 Partita for Clavier, in C Minor, "Sinfonie’"on the other hand, in the 4th Partita in D, the correlated movement is subtitled "Overture." The "RitornelHi" (the various instrumental preludes and ent’ractes ‘used in eerly operas and oratorios) were called "Symphonies." As time went on, the opening instrumental Symphony to such works became more established in plan and eventually two forms arose-_ the "French" Overture (of which the 17th Century French composer Lulli became the accepted originator) and the ‘TItalian" Overture, accredited to Alessandro Scarlatti, his Italian near-con-temporary. J. .S. Bach follows the "French" plan in the initial movements of his orchestral Suites. This "French Overture" begins with a majestic, slow introduction, followed by a quicker movemeftt in a loose fugal style. It concludes with a decorous dance movement, such as a Minuet or Gayotte. The "Italian. Overture" on the other hand opens with a quick fugal movement, followed by a slow expressive one, and concludes with a bright finale. _. The name Overture was applied subsequently both to a movement for orchestra employed as a prelude to an Oratorio, Opera or play and to an isolated concert number with no theatrical connotation. Beethoyen’s "Coriolanus" and "Egmont" Overtures may be regarded as the ideal models of the Concert Overture, although they were composed originally as incidental music to Collin’s and Geothe’s dramas respectively. Again, each could be considered the "germ" of the Symphonic Poem (later originated and developed by Franz Liszt) as its subject matter and mood is almost wholly governed by the atmosphere, incidents and personalities of the play it precedes. Numerous 19th Century composers wrote independent Concert-Overtures which are really Symphonic Poems. A rather unorthodox "first-movement" form was emploved by the _ earlier

masters in their Overtures to Operas, Oratorios and plays and in ConcertOvertures. Wagner preceded his Operas with a more curtailed and freer movement called a ‘"Vorspiel" or Prelude, devised as a component section of the music drama and . nearly always (noticeably in the ‘later OperasLohengrin, The Mastersingers and Tristan and Isolde) passing forthwith into the opening scene, THE OVERTURE-the 10th of the series, FORM IN MUSIC-will be heard from Station 2¥C at 9.30 p,m. on Friday, Navember 7.