What it is
Many first movements of Classical and Romantic symphonies, quartets and sonatas begin with a slow section (Adagio, Largo, Grave, Poco sostenuto) that precedes the Allegro in sonata form. In Caplin's terminology it is a framing function "before the beginning": it is not part of the exposition, but prepares it. It is not repeated with the exposition repeat (with some exceptions).
The functions of the slow introduction
- Creating anticipation and solemnity: broad tempos, extreme dynamics, unisons.
- Making the tonic unstable: it often starts from the tonic but slides quickly toward the minor, toward distant keys or toward chromatic harmonies (diminished sevenths, Neapolitan sixth).
- Landing on the dominant: the introduction almost always ends on a half cadence or a long dominant pedal, with a fermata or a pause, so the attack of the Allegro on the tonic sounds like a release.
- Anticipating motivic material: intervals or rhythms that will return in the Allegro (sometimes transformed).
Examples
- Haydn, "London" symphonies (Nos. 93–104, 1791–95): almost all have a slow introduction. In No. 103 "Drumroll" the material of the introduction (with the opening drumroll) returns before the coda, an early cyclic gesture. No. 104 "London" begins with a solemn Adagio in D minor that lands on the dominant before the Allegro in D major.
- Mozart, Symphony No. 38 "Prague" K. 504 (1786): long Adagio introduction with shadows in the minor that foreshadow Don Giovanni.
- Mozart, "Dissonance" Quartet K. 465: the Adagio introduction is famous for its chromatic false relations before the Allegro in C major.
- Beethoven, Symphonies Nos. 1, 2, 4 and 7: in No. 4 the introduction in B♭ minor remains suspended and mysterious before the explosion of the Allegro vivace; in No. 7 the Poco sostenuto is almost a movement in itself, with modulations to C and F major, and the transition to the Allegro takes place over a repeated note (E) that becomes the dactylic rhythm of the Vivace.
- Beethoven, "Pathétique" Sonata op. 13 (1798): the Grave in C minor returns at the start of the development and before the coda: the introduction enters the formal discourse.
- Schubert, Symphony No. 9 "The Great" D. 944: the horn theme of the introductory Andante returns triumphantly in the coda.
- Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 6 "Pathétique" (1893): the bassoon's Adagio introduction anticipates the first theme of the Allegro non troppo.
Typical scheme
| Section | Tempo | Harmony | Function |
|---|---|---|---|
| Introduction | Adagio/Largo | i or I → chromaticism → V (pedal, fermata) | framing, anticipation |
| Exposition | Allegro | I → V (in minor i → III) | first theme, transition, second theme, closing |
| Development | Allegro | unstable → V | elaboration, retransition |
| Recapitulation | Allegro | I | themes in the tonic |
| Coda | Allegro (sometimes with return of the introduction) | I | closing, possible cyclic return |
Writing example (D major)
- mm. 1–2: forte unison on D, then a D minor chord piano (i).
- mm. 3–8: chromatic sequence with diminished sevenths and a Neapolitan sixth chord (E♭/G).
- mm. 9–12: arrival at the augmented sixth (B♭–D–E–G♯) that resolves to V (A); A pedal with trills in the strings, fermata.
- m. 13: Allegro, first theme in D major.
Modern production analogue
The cinematic intro of a pop or EDM track (slow pad, ambient, no drums, ending with a riser on a dominant or suspended chord) has exactly the same function: framing, anticipation, landing on the dominant, explosion of the first groove. The return of the intro at the end (outro with the same pad) is also a "cyclic" gesture à la Haydn 103.
Related topics
Sonata form, Caplin's formal functions, Monothematic sonata form and other variants, The symphony: structure of the movements, Cadences (half cadence), Pedal point and ostinato.