Narrative Analysis of Paul Hindemith's Sonata for Harp

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2017-12

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Abstract

Hindemith’s Sonata for Harp is a three-movement work with a poem by Ludwig Heinrich Christoph Hölty attached to the third movement. The first and second movements are presented as Type 3 sonata forms with romance archetypes. The third movement is in strophic form and can be viewed as an epilogue that meditates on the attached poem and motives of the previous two movements. The unusual progression of form and tempo between movements and the addition of a poem encourages a narrative analysis. Combinations of theoretical approaches that include both traditional and narrative analyses are applied in this study and draw out the musical intentions of the Sonata while providing a new depth of understanding to both the performer and listener. These techniques include the application of James Hepokoski and Warren Darcy's Sonata Theory, narrative theory, isotopic theory and disability theory as well as the identification of referential pitch collections.

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Keywords

Narrative Analysis, Hindemith, Paul, Sonata for Harp

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