A symphony typically refers to a large work for an orchestra that was usually in four movements. During the 18th century, the symphony had been developing and by this point most composers had established a pattern of four sections that became known as movements. Generally the movements contrasted in terms of mood and tempo but were usually linked by the same or related keys. The first movement was categorized as being lengthy and weight, often led by a slow introduction.
Symphony no.104 was the last of the twelve London …show more content…
This opens with the first subject of the exposition and uses two four bar phrases in the tonic key. This subject is answered by using a chain of suspensions found in the second violin part. These two phrases are then both repeated, with the repetition of the first phrase remaining completely unchanged but with the repetition of the second phrase rising instead of falling. The bridge passage that follows from this has a purpose to transport us to the dominant key. It begins using an orchestral tutti, meaning all together, where the orchestra uses a tonic pedal with chords I and IV, in both root positon and second inversion. The G# on the downbeat of bar 52, where underneath this we hear an E7 chord highlighting a subtle second inversion which moves to the first inversion halfway through the bar, pushing the music away from D major and closer to its dominant relation of A major. Thus, this highlights we have reached the transition within the exposition. The modulation to a new key is delicately introduced with the use of many accidental notes that hide the idea of a modulation but the use of E in the bass, being the dominant of our new key, gives us an understanding that the modulation is definitely happening, exactly as expected from a sonata from exposition. Towards the end of the passage Haydn expresses the structure of the passage by including a silence before the start of the second