ROMANTIC STYLE TRAITS IN SCHUBERT’S SYMPHONY NO. 8, 1^ST MOVEMENT

Melodic Treatment

· Classical “Norms” – main melodic ideas clearly express a key, remain in that key, and stay essentially within the diatonic scale of that key

· Schubert – main melodic ideas suggest uncertainty of key, may modulate from their opening key, and often contain striking chromaticism that disrupts the sense of tonality

Phrase Structure

· Classical “Norms” – balanced (symmetrical) phrase structures based on measure groupings in multiples of two; phrases organized into periods based on regular occurrence of cadences and half-cadences

· Schubert – tendency toward irregular, unbalanced phrase structures (often with uneven numbers of measures); no periodic organization due to infrequent and unpredictable cadences

Harmony and Tonal Organization

· Classical “Norms” – music based on diatonic harmony and essentially consonant chord structures in clear major or minor keys; small- and large-scale tonal organization based on tonic-dominant relationships

· Schubert – chromaticism and dissonant chord structures are everywhere evident, from the beginning of the movement onward; tendency to rapidly alternated or even mix the major and minor modes; new harmonic relationships are frequently substituted for the tonic-dominant relationship

Rhythmic Techniques

· Classical “Norms” – unambiguous sense of meter and downbeat; phrase organization based on twos

· Schubert – occasional suspensions of the feeling of meter; frequent syncopated patterns and occasional metrical ambiguity, phrase organization based on uneven groupings

Orchestration

· Classical “Norms” – strings lead the orchestra, and first violins lead the strings; winds used either as distinct solo colors or as a “band”; orchestration remains fairly constant within individual themes

· Schubert – winds and brasses are as prominent as the strings (or even more so); lower strings are, if anything, more prominent than the violins; fondness for new and unusual mixed timbres; orchestration may shift often from instrument to instrument and from section to section within individual themes

Overall Form

· Classical “Norms” – clarity of thematic areas and of their functions within the overall structure of a movement; sonata-allegro (and other) forms built on fixed harmonic procedures

· Schubert – “incomplete” theme of ambiguous function opens the movement; new harmonic patterns overthrow the “rules” of Classical sonata-allegro form