Strophic and Sonata Form in the Italian Opera Aria of the 1720s and the 1730s

Abstract

Abstract. At present, the theory of musical form is still dominated by the notion that elements
of sonata form in composition began to penetrate into vocal genres or, more specifically, into
the opera aria only by the end of the 18th century, when they had already been fully established
in instrumental music. In the latest studies devoted to sonata forms, both in Russia and in other
countries, there is no mention of the emergence or manifestation of the principles of sonata in
opera and vocal music. Nevertheless, in Italian aria (both in serious and comic opera) the principles
of sonata form have been forming intensively since the end of the 1720s, i.e., long before these
processes were noted in instrumental music.
The article analyzes the composition in a number of arias from serious and comic operas by
Leonardo Vinci, Johann Adolph Hasse, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi and Gaetano Latilla. In these
arias, the sonata principles are reflected in the compositional, thematic and tonal-harmonic planes.
All arias are variants of the early two-part (binary) sonata form enclosed by the outer sections
of the da capo. The conclusions are as follows: 1) sonata form in arias is based on interaction
with the strophic arrangement of the poetic texts containing figurative contrast; 2) sonata form
was established in stages, from a distinctly structured exposition (without clear signs of sonata
in the second section of the form) to a full binary sonata form with thematic repetition and tonal
subordination in the reprise, the priority role in this process played by comic opera.
The article contains musical examples and tables.

Keywords: sonata form, 18th century Italian opera aria, stanza