Chapter 8

FIRST SENTENCE OF

THE FIRST

MOVEMENT OF THE

TWELFTH SONATA.

No difficulty will be found in following the cadences and end-
ings of this sentence, the long-drawn out lines of which give an
impression of repose and tranquillity. Two more excellent exam-
ples of 16 measure sentences may be found in the Adagio of the
Fifth Sonata, and in the Scherzo of the Third; the latter move-
ment is remarkable for the polyphonic treatment of the opening
motive.

Although the three types of sentence just studied,i.e., of 8,
12 and 16 measures are the normal ones, and would include a
majority of all sentences—especially in smaller works—in large
compositions there would be an unendurable monotony and
rigidity were there invariably to be cadential pauses at every
4th measure. We all know the deadening effect of poetry which
has too great uniformity of metric pattern; and verses of “The
boy stood on the burning-deck” type are considered thoroughly
“sing-song.” It is obvious that elasticity may be gained, without
disturbing the normal balance, by expanding a sentence through
the addition of extra measures, or contracting it by the logical