In
music
Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...
, arch form is a
sectional
structure
A structure is an arrangement and organization of interrelated elements in a material object or system, or the object or system so organized. Material structures include man-made objects such as buildings and machines and natural objects such as ...
for a piece of music based on
repetition, in reverse order, of all or most musical sections such that the overall form is
symmetric
Symmetry () in everyday life refers to a sense of harmonious and beautiful proportion and balance. In mathematics, the term has a more precise definition and is usually used to refer to an object that is invariant under some transformations ...
, most often around a central
movement. The sections need not be repeated verbatim but must at least share
thematic material.
It creates interest through interplay among "memory, variation, and progression". Though the form appears to be static and to deny progress, the pairs of movements create an "undirectional process" with the center, and the form "actually engenders specific expressive possibilities that would otherwise be unavailable for the work as a whole".
[Wilson, Paul (1992). ''The Music of Béla Bartók''. . p. 32.]
Béla Bartók
Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as Hunga ...
is noted for his use of arch form, e.g., in his
fourth and
fifth string quartets,
Concerto for Orchestra, ''
Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta'',
second piano concerto, and, to a lesser extent, in his
second violin concerto.
Samuel Barber
Samuel Osmond Barber II (March 9, 1910 – January 23, 1981) was an American composer, pianist, conductor (music), conductor, baritone, and music educator, and one of the most celebrated composers of the mid-20th century. Principally influenced ...
's ''
Adagio for Strings'' and Shostakovich's
String Quartet No. 8 in C minor also use arch form.
The most popular arch-form structure is ABCBA.
See also
*
Chiastic structure
Chiastic structure, or chiastic pattern, is a literary technique in motif (narrative), narrative motifs and other textual passages. An example of chiastic structure would be two ideas, A and B, together with variants A' and B', being presented as ...
*
ABACABA pattern
*
Sonata rondo form
Sonata rondo form is a musical form often used during the Classical and Romantic music eras. As the name implies, it is a blend of sonata and rondo forms.
Structure
Sonata and rondo forms
Rondo form involves the repeated use of a theme ...
References
Musical form
Symmetry
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