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The present manual treats of the structural designs of musicalcomposition, not of the styles or species of music. Read our AFTERWORD.
It undertakes the thorough explanation of each design or form, from thesmallest to the largest; and such comparison as serves to demonstratethe principle of natural evolution, in the operation of which theentire system originates.
This explanation—be it well understood—is conducted solely with aview to the Analysis of musical works, and is not calculated toprepare the student for the application of form in practicalcomposition. For the exhaustive exposition of the technical apparatus,the student must be referred to my "Homophonic Forms."
The present aim is to enable the student to recognize and trace themental process of the composer in executing his task; to define eachfactor of the structural design, and its relation to every other factorand to the whole; to determine thus the synthetic meaning of the work,and thereby to increase not only his own appreciation, interest, andenjoyment of the very real beauties of good music, but also his powerto interpret, intelligently and adequately, the works that engage hisattention.
The choice of classic literature to which most frequent reference ismade, and which the student is therefore expected to procure beforebeginning his lessons, includes:—
The Songs Without Words of Mendelssohn; the Jugend Album, Op. 68, ofSchumann; the pianoforte sonatas of Mozart (Peters edition); thepianoforte sonatas of Beethoven.
Besides these, incidental reference is made to the symphonies ofBeethoven, the sonatas of Schubert, the mazurkas of Chopin, and otherpianoforte compositions of Mendelssohn, Beethoven, Chopin, and Brahms.
PERCY GOETSCHIUS.
BOSTON, MASS., Sept., 1904.