Chapter 12

CHAPTER VII

THE OLDER RONDO FORM

One of the earliest instrumental forms to be worked out[77] was
the Rondo, which is merely an extension of thethree-partprin-
ciple of “restatement after contrast” and which, by reason of
its logical appeal, has retained its place to this day. Originally
the Rondo was a combination of dance and song; that is, the
performers sang and danced in a circle—holding one another’s
hands. The music would begin with a chorus in which all joined,
one of the dancers would then sing a solo, after which all would
dance about and repeat the chorus; other solos would follow,
the chorus being repeated after each. The characteristic feature,
then, of this structure is thecontinual recurrence to a princi-
pal motive after intervening contrasts—hence the name Rondo
(French, Rondeau); exemplifying a principle found not only in
primitive folk-songs and dances but in literature,e.g., many of
the songs of Burns and the Rondeaux of Austin Dobson. For it
is obvious that the form answers to the simplest requirements of
unity and contrast. Frequent examples of the Rondo are found
in all early instrumental composers: Bach,e.g., the charming
one in C minor in his third Partita; Couperin, Rameau, Haydn
and Mozart. It is found also in vocal works,e.g., Purcell’s well-
known song “I Attempt from Love’s Sickness to Fly.” From the
standpoint of modern taste, however, Beethoven was—with few
exceptions—the first to treat the form with real genius; and