L6 - Recapitulation and Coda

• In sonata form, the recapitulation (also known as recap) is a repeat of the exposition with the main difference being that the 2nd subject should now be in the tonic.

• This will mean the transition will change as it is no longer needs to change key.

• The recap starts in the tonic, C minor, and the first 12 bars are exactly the same

• The transition is now altered and is shorter. In the exposition, the end of the transition stressed the note Bb as it is the dominant of Eb, leading to the 2nd subject being in Eb minor.

• Now, the note C is stressed, the dominant of F minor. The 2nd subject ‘should’ be in the tonic for the recap, but Beethoven, yet again, is breaking all the rules!

• The 2nd subject begins in F minor rather than the tonic, C minor.

Beethoven soon conforms with 3 bars of the dominant 7th chord (G7) of C minor, bringing us back to the tonic.

The rest of the 2nd subject remains much the same as the exposition but now firmly in the tonic, C minor. This section ends dramatically at bar 294 with a ff (very loud) sustained, diminished 7th on F#.

Do you remember this chord from the introduction?

The coda begins with Beethoven bringing back music from the slow introduction for 4 bars. He takes the dotted rhythm motif from the opening bar in a rising sequence.

These bars end on a pp (very soft) G7 for the final return of the 1st subject ‘rocket’ melody, gradually building from p to ff

• The movement ends with 5 ff chords and a bars rest

• Lets look at these last few chords, which includes a cadentional 6/4 progression.

• This is a perfect cadence (chord V to chord I) but with a chord (Ic or 2nd inversion of the tonic chord) before it.

The diminished 7th, which has played such a key role in this movement, begins this sequence of chords. The first diminished 7th is spaced far apart, covering nearly the entire range of nearly 5 octaves. The 2nd diminished 7th is compressed, covering just under 2 octaves.

• The recap begins in the tonic, C minor, for the 1^st subject, as expected

• The transition is shorter and ends on a dominant C

• The 2nd subject, which should be in the tonic is instead in F minor

• Finally moves to the tonic, C minor, for the end of the 2nd subject

• The rest of the recap is very similar to the exposition

• The recap ends on a dramatic diminished 7th chord

• The coda begins with music from the introduction before the 1st subject returns

This builds to ff for a sequence of 5 chords with 2 diminished 7ths followed by a cadential 6/4 perfect cadence in C minor and a bar of silence