Re: Tangentially GG...actually baroque

[Bruce Petherick <b.petherick@pgrad.unimelb.edu.au>]

At 09:36 23/05/97 -0500, you wrote:
>
>     Yes, I agree with this point.  There is no question that 
>     sonata form of the late 18th century grew out of the 
>     brilliant work of Bach and other late baroque composers who 
>     got better and better at organizing their music, and that 

	This is an interesting point. Your statement implies that Baroque
composers were not as good as later composers in the formal organization of
their works.  Why are the Goldberg Variations not as well organized as say,
using your example, Mozart Symphony No 35?  Was it that the composers saw
the need of a more structured composition aesthetic, or is the judgment
based on a later historical point of view?
	I do not think there is one definite answer, as the topic is a tangled web
of knots that involves historicity, performance practice (eg you make the
point that in a "normal" sonata form, there should be a repeat in the
exposition (ie the first half). Yet, so many recordings of works of this
period/form don't have repeats - often upsetting a formal balance in the
text), as well as personal views.  My personal view is that I enjoy the
formal structure of lot more Baroque music than most Classical music.
There is more experimentation in the structures, especially in regard to
architectonic forms, although there is not so much varitation in harmonic form.
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