Learned and Galant Styles

The learned and Galant styles became two opposing musical trends in the 18th century. Each strongly represented contrasting aesthetic choices and cultural standards. The learned style was derived from counterpoint, fugue, and canon complexities. It was associated with churches and educational institutions. Concurrently, Galant music was a simplicity, melody, and harmony style. It was persistent in courts and salons. Thus, it is essential to delve into how Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Piano Sonata in D major, K. 284, demonstrates the learned and Galant styles in its three movements. Analyzing its movements reveals how Mozart carefully composed the learned and galant elements, demonstrating his ability to unite these multiple musical expressions.

The first movement of Mozart’s sonata is in sonata form, a galant structure. It has an exposition, a development, and a recapitulation. The exposition has simple and playful themes. The second one is lyrical and emotionally expressive. The first and the second themes are in D major and A major, respectively. The development explores different keys and modulations utilizing the parts of the themes and new material. It also has a tense episode in B minor. The themes and keys are in recapitulation but with some changes. The second theme is now in D major, not A major. It also has a new episode in G major. The movement ends with a coda in D major. The first movement is Galant, characterized by an appealing tune, a precise harmony, and a graceful style.

The second movement of Mozart’s sonata is in theme and variations form, another galant device. It has a simple and elegant theme, followed by six variations. The theme is in D major and has a binary form. The theme is also divided into four phases. The variations change the theme’s rhythm, texture, ornamentation, and harmony. They also contrast between major and minor modes. The first variation adds trills and grace notes. The second variation uses dotted notes and syncopation. The third variation uses a canon between the hands. The fourth variation uses the minor mode of D minor. The fifth variation uses chromatic and secondary chords. The sixth variation uses fast runs, trills, and arpeggios. The second movement is Galant, with a simple and elegant theme, followed by six variations that show Mozart’s skill.

The third movement of Mozart’s sonata is fugue, a learned form. It is one subject, and the piano in D major introduces it first, and then the left hand in A major imitates it. The subject is developed using contrapuntal inversion, augmentation, diminution, and stretto techniques. The movement has episodes without a subject but introduces new material or changes to a different key.[1]. The movement closes with a coda that combines the subject with a Galant melody. The fugue theme is complex and contrapuntal, containing a chromatic and modulatory harmony and a serious and dignified character. The subject is also a four-part phrase. The fourth subject is also based on the interval. The fugue is taught with a highly complex and contrapuntal melody, a chromatic and modulatory harmony, and a serious and dignified character.

Conclusion

The three movements of the Piano Sonata in D major by Mozart, K. 284, depict the learned and Galant styles. It illustrated how Mozart employed sonata form, theme and variations, and fugue, uniquely harmonizing them. It also supplied musical specimens of the Learned and Galant categories in the sonata. Mozart’s sonata reflects his eclectic mastery of both styles in the extent of fusion they achieve. Sonata of Mozart is a stunning display of musical color and variety of the eighteenth century without question.

Bibliography

Mozart Sonata No 6 in D Major K 284 Full Original Complete Version Music Sheet Download – Sheetmusicku.com.” n.d. TopMusicSheet. Accessed February 10, 2024. http://topmusicsheet.com/mozart-sonata-no-6-in-d-major-k-284-full-original-complete-version/

Rice, John. Music in the Eighteenth Century (Western Music in Context: A Norton History) 1st Edition. W.W. Norton & Company

Appendix

Mozart Sonata No 6 in D Major K 284 ^[2]

[1] Rice, John A., and W. W. Norton & Company. 2013. Music in the Eighteenth Century. New York; London: W. W. Norton and Company, Copyright.

[2] “Mozart Sonata No 6 in D Major K 284 Full Original Complete Version Music Sheet Download – Sheetmusicku.com.” n.d. TopMusicSheet. http://topmusicsheet.com/mozart-sonata-no-6-in-d-major-k-284-full-original-complete-version/