#cyclic form

[biology-geology-beaches-india]

The Science Notebooks of Satyendra Sunkavally, page 29.

[mozart-1053]

Cyclic Form: Mozart String Quartet in D Minor K.421 and its Thematic Transformation

[zesty-leamonde]

The second movement of Gabriel Fauré’s second Piano Quartet op. 45.

As a whole, the quartet makes use of a unifying technique called “cyclic form,” where thematic material is shared between movements. It’s safe to assume that the material is going to be borrowed from earlier movements--though I do imagine that a case can be made for retrograde borrowing when considering when the material is used, how much makes up a single movement, and so forth. I haven’t listen to may cyclic pieces so I don’t know how true this is lol.

Regardless, this movement borrows material form the first movement; two themes if I remember correctly. The piano introduces the theme of the second movement while the themes from movement one are performed by the strings (they introduce the themes in the first movement too). Of some picayune interest is the fact that the borrowed material appears in reverse order from the first movement.

I decided to post this movement because it’s easier to digest. Also, It took me a handful of listens before this quartet stopped sounding like a meandering mess lmao. scherzos are fun!