[Music]
the rising and falling inflexion of which he typifies by what is
called a “torculus” ([torculus symbol])! Whether such minute
analysis is necessary for the listener may be open to question;
but it is true that in hearing the work one is struck by the
homogeneity of the material. The first movement is an impas-
sioned kind of revery—in a mood more often associated with
the slow movement, in character somewhat like the beginning of
Beethoven’s C-sharp minor Sonata. After some preludial ninth
chords the dreamy first theme is given out, molto dolce, by the
violin, supported by rich harmonies on the pianoforte, the use
of the augmented chords being prominent,e.g.
[Music]
[Footnote 280: See hisCourse in Composition, book II, pp. 423-
426.]
Some natural expansion and development lead, in measure 31,
to the broad and vigorous second theme, sempre forte e larga-
mente, announced by the pianoforte,e.g.
[Music]
This ends in F-sharp minor and is at once followed by a closing
portion,i.e., a repetition of the second theme with an elabo-
rate arpeggio accompaniment and some fragmentary phrases of
the first theme on the violin. Its last measures[281] are striking
for the bold use of augmented chords and for the wide spacing
which gives an organ-like sonority. The recapitulation, begin-
ning in measure 63 with still richer harmonization, is almost
identical with the exposition; the second theme appearing logi-
cally in the home key. The closing measures of the coda, which
starts in measure 97, illustrate Franck’s genius in the chromatic
alteration of chords.
[Footnote 281: Note the correspondence between these measures
in the first part and the measures just before the end in the
second part.]
The second movement, in a structural sense the most normal
of the four, speaks for itself. It is stormy and dramatic, with
a number of passages marked passionato and molto fuoco, and
presents a rather unusual side of Franck’s quiet nature. The
two themes are strong and well contrasted: the first for the