Aspects of Musical Form

Any functional form must be regarded in relation to the inner, constructional principles that support it. Musical form considered in a functionalist context should thus not be seen only as a static construction being realized through clear-cut contours and simple proportions. It should also be associated with the constructive, dynamic processes that constitute a sounding piece of music over a certain period of time. Le Corbusier's belief that the interior of architecture is revealed by its exterior illustrates the complexity of the concept of functionalist form. Complexity also characterizes ideas of form in music.

The introductory chapter of this study included the romantic vision of architecture as frozen music. Hindemith was one of the composers who recognized parallels between these two kinds of artistic expression. He considered intervals as “building stones” and linked musical composition to the art of building in several ways. There is a long tradition in the musical metaphor of connecting what is flexible with sound, the visual impression with the aural. The analogy between musical form and architecture often includes a view of form as the outline, framework, or skeleton of a musical work. The structuring forms of architecture are thus associated with musical forms seen as schemata. This correlation is emphasized through the didactic history of musical form: The practical-theoretical focus on form has its roots in the instruction of composition, whose primary aim has been to teach the technical conditions of the craft of composition. This in turn has encouraged the use of certain directives, initially meant as tools of the craft rather than as a straitjacket constraining the act of composition. The never-ending problem is to reconcile such devices with artistic creativity. Some rules may be deduced from Bach's contrapuntal technique, but this knowledge alone hardly provides one with the ability to create a work of art as Bach did. However obvious this notion may be, this problem has raised its troublesome head with a vengeance as composition directives have also become tools for theoreticians and analysts. Consequently, some may wish to consider and evaluate a work of art on the basis of presupposed “laws” and regularities.