AN EXAMPLE OF A SONATA ALLEGRO FROM THE EARLY CLASSICAL PERIOD: HARMONY AND FORM ANALYSIS OF THE ALLEGRO MOVEMENT FROM FRANZ JOSEPH HAYDN'S HOB. XVI NO.1 IN C MAJOR SONATA
Abstract
The Classical Period occupies a central position in musical history, witnessing significant stylistic and formal transformations. Unlike the ornate, rhetorically complex language of the Baroque era, classical music favoured clarity, balance, and formal coherence. Alongside genres such as the symphony and string quartet, the sonata allegro form emerged as one of the period's most prominent formal structures. This form was employed to great effect by Viennese classical composers such as Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, and forms the basis of much of their instrumental output. This study focuses on the allegro movement of Franz Joseph Haydn’s Sonata No. 16 in C major, Hob. VI/1, examining its harmonic and formal organisation. Content analysis is employed to conduct this analysis, supported by the theoretical frameworks of sonata theory (Hepokoski & Darcy) and formal function theory (Caplin). Rather than treating harmony and form as separate parameters, the study evaluates their interaction to gain insight into the characteristics of the sonata allegro form during the early classical period. The findings suggest that this early phase features asymmetrical sentence structures and tonic-centred harmonic organisation, as well as stylistic remnants of Baroque figurative writing. This reflects a transitional aesthetic between the Baroque and Classical styles. The formal components of the sonata allegro form, as well as the tonal regions and scale degrees employed in the piece, were identified and quantified as a percentage. These results were then interpreted in the context of the broader stylistic practices of the Classical Period.
Keywords
References
- Birson, A. M. (2020). What Haydn teaches us about sonata form: The da capo aria and the early keyboard sonatas, Hob. XVI:1 & 3. Eighteenth-Century Music, 17(2), 245–264. https://doi.org/10.1017/S147857062000010X
- Boran, İ., & Acar, K. Y. (2022). Kültürel tarih ışığında çoksesli Batı müziği (5. bs.). Yapı Kredi Yayınları.
- Bulur, E. (2019). Müzik analizinde Schenker yaklaşımı. Konservatoryum, 6(1), 21–46. https://dx.doi.org/10.26650/CONS2019-0004
- Caplin, W. E. (1998). Classical form: A theory of formal functions for the instrumental music of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. Oxford University Press.
- Doğanay, A., Ataizi, M., Şimşek, A., Salı, J. B., & Akbulut, Y. (2018). Sosyal bilimlerde araştırma yöntemleri. Anadolu Üniversitesi Yayınları.
- Harutunian, V. L. (1989). Haydn, Mozart, and the tonic. Journal of Music Theory, 33(2), 229–247.
- Hepokoski, J., & Darcy, W. (2006). Elements of sonata theory: Norms, types, and deformations in the late-eighteenth-century sonata. Oxford University Press.
- İlerici, K. (1974). İş halinde üçlü sistem: Armoni. Millî Eğitim Basımevi.
Details
Primary Language
English
Subjects
Composition in Western Classical Music, Theories of Music
Journal Section
Research Article
Authors
Emirhan Karabüber
0009-0008-7549-9535
Türkiye
Publication Date
March 16, 2026
Submission Date
January 15, 2026
Acceptance Date
March 12, 2026
Published in Issue
Year 2026 Volume: 9 Number: 1