Annotation for Hoyt, Reed
Rhythmic Process in the Scherzo of Beethoven's Sonata Op. 110: Analysis as a Basis for Interpretation and Criticism
Annotation (by Bill Tilghman):
- The purpose of this article, as its title suggests, is to present
an analysis of rhythmic processes in the Scherzo of Beethoven's
Sonata op. 110, along with implications for performance and
criticism. In the author's view, the apparently straightforward
periodic structure of the movement
conceals underlying rhythmic features of great subtlety and
complexity, contributing to a forward-driving, breathless effect
that is appropriate to the movement's role as a long transition
between the first and third movements of the sonata. Chief among
these rhythmic features is the
Scherzo's hypermetric structure. Following the lead of Riemann,
Tovey, and Hermann Wetzel, Hoyt argues that, in general, the
hypermetric downbeat of each 4-bar phrase occurs at the
cadence; in other words, the movement begins with a 3-bar
anacrusis leading to a hypermetric downbeat at the beginning of
measure 4, and this pattern continues throughout most of the
movement. Hoyt also examines a number of lower-level metrical
features,
including "latent meters" (which may themselves include secondary
hemiola effects) and conflicts among accents implied by harmony,
melody, durational patterns, articulation, and dynamics. The
article closes with a discussion of the movement's tonal
structure, in which the continual avoidance or equivocation of
tonic closure creates a kind of narrative flow that accords
with the movement's transitional role, and which invites
comparison with a number of other multi-movement compositions by
Beethoven and others.
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