🎹 Jayden's Grade 7 Piano Study

Key Facts

About Cimarosa

• Italian, born Aversa (1749), died Venice (1801)
• Studied at Conservatorio di Santa Maria di Loreto, Naples
• Pre-eminent Italian comic opera composer before Rossini
• 60+ operas — most famous: Il matrimonio segreto
• Composed 80+ keyboard sonatas
• Similar single-movement sonata style to Domenico Scarlatti

Structure (Bars)

• b.1–4: Intro fanfare, A major
• b.5–14: 1st theme, A major, gigue rhythm
• b.15–26: Transition → modulates to E major
• b.27–39: 2nd theme, E major (dominant)
• b.39–44: Closing theme, E major
• b.45–74: B — F♯ minor → E major → A major
• b.75–92: 2nd & closing themes in A major

Musical Terms

Style

• Clear, light textures (1–2 voices)
• Diatonic harmonies — tonic + dominant 7th
• Modulations up/down a 5th (closely related keys)
• Clearly articulated — detached notes, short slurs
• Constant rhythmic pulse
• Like Scarlatti: binary form, sequences, hand crossing

Title Meaning

A sonata = piece played on an instrument (Italian suonare = "to play/sound").

Each Cimarosa sonata is a single movement, like Scarlatti's. Numbering varies between editions — no original manuscripts survive.

Key Facts

About Haydn

• Austrian, born Rohrau (1732), died Vienna (1809)
• Studied with Nicola Porpora; learnt from Fux's counterpoint treatise
• Served Esterházy family from 1761 as Kapellmeister
• Mentor & friend to Mozart; teacher of Beethoven
• Established symphony, string quartet & piano sonata as major genres
• 100+ symphonies, 60+ string quartets, 50+ sonatas

Sonata Form Structure

• Exposition: 1st subject D major (b.1–14); Transition; 2nd subject A major (b.21–49); Closing theme
• Development: 1st subject in D→G→B minor; 2nd subject in B minor
• Recapitulation: Both subjects return in D major; transition omitted
• Surprise interrupted cadence (V7–vi) at b.141–142

Musical Terms

Style

• Short, balanced phrases (question & answer)
• Homophonic — melody + Alberti bass accompaniment
• Diatonic harmonies — I, IV, V7 triads
• Modulations up/down a 5th
• Steady but not rigid pulse
• Clearly articulated; thematic development

Title Meaning

Allegro = fast and lively — the tempo of this 1st movement.

"Hob." = catalogue by Dutch musicologist Anthony van Hoboken. XVI = keyboard sonatas.

Dedicated to Prince Nikolaus Esterházy, composed 1773.

Key Facts

About Séverac

• French, born Saint-Félix-de-Caraman (1872), died Céret (1921)
• Studied in Toulouse, then Paris Schola Cantorum
• Studied with Vincent d'Indy; mentored by Isaac Albéniz
• Settled in Céret (southern France); church organist
• Known for short character pieces and songs
• Completed Albéniz's unfinished piano piece Navarra
• Awarded Legion of Honour (Chevalier) 1920

Structure

• b.1–2 (Intro): Left hand ostinato, B♭ major, tonic pedal
• b.3–10 (A): Main theme — 2 identical 4-bar phrases; hexatonic; all treble register
• b.11–15 (B): Episode — D minor; dorian mode
• b.16–19: New melody — descending chromatic scale in C minor
• b.20–26: Dominant pedal (F); écho bars
• b.27–36 (A): Main theme (octave higher) → morendo as box winds down

Musical Terms

Special Features

• Hexatonic scale — 7th degree (A) never used in Section A
• Left-hand ostinato (repeating pattern) throughout
• Tonic pedal (long B♭) at the start of each bar
• All in treble register — imitates the musical box
• Dorian mode in b.13–15
• Movement by 5ths in bass through episode: D–G–C–F–B♭

Style

• Late Romantic character piece — descriptive title
• Extensive use of both pedals for tone colour
• Conveys nostalgia and childhood memories
• Unusually for Romantic: constant pulse, restricted dynamics, simple diatonic harmonies in Section A
• From En vacances — dedicated to young relatives

Key Facts

About Takács

• Born Cinfalva, Hungary (1902), died Eisenstadt (2005) — aged 103!
• Studied at Academy of Music & Dramatic Art, Vienna
• Mentor: Béla Bartók
• Professorships in Cairo, Manila, Cincinnati
• Interested in folk music (ethnomusicology)
• Wrote many pieces for student pianists
• Awarded Austrian State Prize, Bartók Medal, Kodály Medal

Structure

• b.1–4 (Intro): "Vamp" style — tonic/dominant bass; bitonality introduced
• b.5–28 (A): Main theme — 3 pairs of 4-bar phrases; D major + bitonality; brief F major b.18–20
• b.29–42 (B): Episode — slower, capricious, centred on G; lamentoso; quasi cadenza
• b.43–67 (A): Main theme returns; accelerating at end

Musical Terms

What is Bitonality?

Bitonality = two different keys played at the same time.

In Merry Andrew, the left hand often plays in D major while the right hand uses notes from D♭ major. The clash sounds comical — like a clown's silly antics!

The main key of D major is never in doubt — bitonality is just for comic effect.

20th Century Style Features

• Bitonality (two keys at once)
• Playful dissonance
• Parallel chords (consecutive 4ths or 5ths)
• Syncopation — off-beat accents
• Steady rhythmic pulse (Section A)
• Tempo/meter changes (Section B)
• Wide keyboard & dynamic range
• Ostinato accompaniments; percussive style