9

EXAMPLE 9.7

SONATA FORM: AN OVERVIEW

Continued
standing on the dominant (part 2)

91

93

94

95

277

decresc.

[RECAPITULATION]
[Main Theme]
b.i.
b

97

cresc.

Example 9.7: the final part of the core contains an extensive standing on the dominant, made up of two parts. The first part continues the steady eighth-note accompanimental patterning but brings a new motive, one that was not featured at any point
up to now in the work. Various versions of the motive are collected into a 4-m. idea
(mm. 8285), which is repeated with variations (mm. 8689) and then followed by
fragmentation into 2-m. units, leading to the dissolution of texture in mm. 9394.
The second part of the standing on the dominant begins at m. 95 and signals
the imminent return of the main theme by reintroducing the sixteenth-note triplet figure (motive b) from the opening basic idea.
SENTENTIAL GROUPING STRUCTURES

The grouping structure of a core often strongly resembles an extended

(compound) sentence.
But be careful.There is one important functional difference that should
prohibit us from regarding a core as a sentence theme type: the opening model and its sequence together do not prolong tonic harmony of a
key, and thus they cannot legitimately be identified as forming a genuine
presentation.
The grouping structure of a standing on the dominant may also
resemble a sentence.Yet here, the idea of a genuine sentence must be
completely rejected because of the lack of any real harmonic activity and
cadential articulation within the standing on the dominant.
Many formal units of a classical movement present a grouping
structure that resembles the sentence but do not truly create this
theme type.The term sentence is best reserved for (relatively) tight-knit
themes featuring clear presentation and continuation phrases.