Beethoven and metre: the minuets from the keyboard Sonatas

Danilo Mascetti

About this exposition

My aim with this research is to connect metrical and phrasing rules from the Classical sources to the compositional elements of Beethoven's minuets from his keyboard Sonatas, with the goal of finding useful tools for interpretation. The research illustrates briefly Beethoven's practical experience of dance as a composer, and it then focuses on a comparative study of the Classical sources regarding metre and phrasing, and their interpretation. The main chapter consists of an illustration of the main features of the minuet, and a detailed analysis of the Minuets and "Tempo di Minuetto" from Beethoven's keyboard Sonatas (as well as the last Variation of his op.120, as an appendix). This analysis, which compares all the elements of metre, phrasing, and dance described above, demonstrates that Beethoven made an active choice of composing minuets that preserve all the features of the dance, at least in his keyboard Sonatas (compared to other symphonic of chamber works). Beethoven preferred to use the minuet for Sonata movements with elegant features (opposed to more lively, stronger scherzos), maintaining the basic metre and counting of the dance, and doing so by means of articulation, dynamics, detailed placing of melodies and phrase building. This study, hence, shows how the minuets from the keyboard Sonatas fall very rightly in the category of the Classical minuet rather than more modern dances, and outlines many important metrical details that can be useful for performance and practise.

type	research exposition
keywords	art of interpretation, metre, Ludwig van Beethoven, minuet, keyboard sonatas, historically informed performance
date	10/12/2022
published	04/07/2024
last modified	04/07/2024
status	limited publication
copyright	Danilo Mascetti
license	CC BY-NC-ND
language	English
url	https://www.researchcatalogue.net/view/1857528/2375141
published in	KC Research Portal
portal issue	3. Internal publication

name	Ritterballet
copyright	Beginning of the Contradanse WoO 14 n. 7, used for later works
license	Public domain
usages	picture

name	Joseph Schütz: Masked ball in the Redoutensaal of the Vienna Hofburg c. 1815
copyright	WIEN MUSEUM
license	All rights reserved
usages	picture

name	Contradanza woo 14 n 7
copyright	Public domain - Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin (D-B): Mus.ms.autogr. Beethoven, L. v., Artaria 140 (1)
license	Public domain
usages	picture

name	Clementi example
copyright	Public Domain - Clementi, 1803
license	All rights reserved
usages	picture

name	Examples chapter 2 grouping
copyright	Public domain - G. Henle Verlag 1976
license	All rights reserved
usages	picture

name	accented tones chapter 2
copyright	Public domain - Henle Verlag
license	All rights reserved
usages	picture

name	lingering tones chapter 2
copyright	public domain - Henle Verlag
license	All rights reserved
usages	picture

name	further articulation chapter 2
copyright	Public domain - Henle Verlag
license	All rights reserved
usages	picture

name	re-interpretation of same material chapter 2
copyright	Public domain Barenreiter + Breitkopf und Hartel
license	All rights reserved
usages	picture

name	stronger feeling of the bar chapter 2
copyright	Public Domain - Henle Verlag
license	All rights reserved
usages	picture

name	Three counting medhods chapter 3
copyright	Little, Meredith and Jenne, Natalie. Dance and the Music of J. S. Bach, Indiana University Press, 2009
license	All rights reserved
usages	picture

name	op 2 n 1 esempi 1
copyright	Public domain - Henle Verlag
license	All rights reserved
usages	picture

name	op 2 n 1 esempi 2
copyright	Public Domain - Henle Verlag
license	All rights reserved
usages	picture

name	op. 10 n. 3 esempi 1
copyright	Public domain - Henle Verlag
license	All rights reserved
usages	picture

name	op. 10 n 3 esempi 2
copyright	Public domain - Henle Verlag
license	All rights reserved
usages	picture

name	op. 22 esempi 1
copyright	Public domain - Henle Verlag
license	All rights reserved
usages	picture

name	op 22 esempi 2
copyright	Public domain - Henle Verlag
license	All rights reserved
usages	picture

name	op. 31 n 3 esempi 1
copyright	Public domain - Henle Verlag
license	All rights reserved
usages	picture

name	op. 31 n 3 esempi 2
copyright	Public domain - Henle Verlag
license	All rights reserved
usages	picture

name	op. 49 esempi 1
copyright	Public domani - Henle Verlag
license	All rights reserved
usages	picture

name	op. 49 esempi 2
copyright	Public domain - Henle Verlag
license	All rights reserved
usages	picture

name	op 54 esempi 1
copyright	Henle Verlag + Abrsm
license	All rights reserved
usages	picture

name	op 54 esempi 2
copyright	Public domani - Henle Verlag
license	All rights reserved
usages	picture

name	op. 120 esempi 2
copyright	Public domain - Henle Verlag
license	All rights reserved
usages	picture

name	op. 120 esempi 1
copyright	Public domain - Henle Verlag
license	All rights reserved
usages	picture

name	op. 120 esempi 3
copyright	Public domain - Henle Verlag
license	All rights reserved
usages	picture

name	op. 120 esempi 4
copyright	Public domain - Henle Verlag
license	All rights reserved
usages	picture

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Beethoven and metre: the minuets from the keyboard Sonatas (2024)

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