ement of the sonata which gives the
name to the whole piece. This, as a rule, is the first movement, but
sometimes it is the closing movement, and in some instances there are
three of these movements in the same sonata, so arranged with reference
to one another as to form the necessary contrasts. The sonata-piece is
the form which contains within itself very much of the essence of all
the smaller forms. It generally consists of three large chapters,
beginning with the principal subject, which may be longer or shorter,
according to the fancy of the composer, and may end on its own
principal key or on the dominant, and may be followed by passage work
or not, to any extent the composer chooses; then comes a second
subject. According to Beethoven's almost invariable practice, the
first subject of a sonata form is thematic in its character, and in
developing this theme many of the principles of variation work are
applied. The second subject is almost invariably a lyric melody,
sometimes very charming, and always in a different key from that of the
first subject, usually in the dominant; or, if the first subject is a
minor, this will be in the relative major. Then follows a concluding
paragraph of anywhere from six to thirty measures, and a double bar
with a repeat sign. This forms the first chapter of the sonata-piece.
After the double bar comes the second chapter, which is an elaboration
or free fantasia on the material of the first part. At the end of this
free fantasia, which may be longer or shorter at the fancy of the
composer, comes the recapitulation, or the repetition of the entire
first part, the only change being that the second subject is now in the
principal key. In the elaboration of the sonata all sorts of musical
fancies are liable to appear--queer juxtapositions of motives from the
different parts of the first and second subjects, inversions,
variations, and so on.

The sonata-piece is the type, not alone of the principal movement in
symphonies and chamber quartets and trios, but it is also the type of
all serious overtures, and therefore it has been well designated by
German theorists as the Principal Form of modern music.

Whether longer or shorter, whether serious or lively, all musical forms
have the same conditions to satisfy--viz., those of unity, or the
preponderance of a single idea; symmetry, or just proportion of parts;
and variety, the proper relief and introduction of new material. If