Cyclic form is a technique of musical construction, involving multiple

sections Section, Sectioning, or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sig ...

movements Movement may refer to: Generic uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Movement (sign language), a hand movement when signing * Motion, commonly referred to as movement * Movement (music), a division of a larger c ...

, in which a

theme Theme or themes may refer to: * Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos * Theme (computing), a custom graphical appearance for certain software. * Theme (linguistics), topic * Theme ( ...

melody A melody (), also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of Pitch (music), pitch and rhythm, while more figurativel ...

, or thematic material occurs in more than one movement as a unifying device. Sometimes a theme may occur at the beginning and end (for example, in

Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include symphonie ...

's A minor String Quartet or Brahms's Symphony No. 3); other times a theme occurs in a different guise in every part (e.g.

Berlioz Louis-Hector Berlioz (11 December 1803 – 8 March 1869) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer and conductor. His output includes orchestral works such as the ''Symphonie fantastique'' and ''Harold en Italie, Harold in Italy'' ...

's ''

Symphonie fantastique ' (''Fantastic Symphony: Episode in the Life of an Artist … in Five Sections'') Opus number, Op. 14, is a program music, programmatic symphony written by Hector Berlioz in 1830. The first performance was at the Paris Conservatoire on 5 December ...

'', and Saint-Saëns's "Organ" Symphony). The technique has a complex history, having fallen into disuse in the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

and Classical eras, but steadily increasing in use during the nineteenth century. The

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

cyclic mass In Renaissance music, the cyclic mass was a musical setting of the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Mass, in which each of the movements – Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei – shared a common musical theme, commonly a cantus ...

, which incorporates a usually well-known portion of

plainsong Plainsong or plainchant (calque from the French ; ) is a body of chants used in the liturgies of the Western Church. When referring to the term plainsong, it is those sacred pieces that are composed in Latin text. Plainsong was the exclusive for ...

as a

cantus firmus In music, a ''cantus firmus'' ("fixed melody") is a pre-existing melody forming the basis of a polyphonic composition. The plural of this Latin term is , although the corrupt form ''canti firmi'' (resulting from the grammatically incorrect trea ...

in each of its sections, is an early use of this principle of unity in a multiple-section form. Examples can also be found in late-sixteenth- and seventeenth-century instrumental music, for instance in the canzonas,

sonatas In music a sonata (; pl. ''sonate'') literally means a piece ''played'' as opposed to a cantata (Latin and Italian ''cantare'', "to sing"), a piece ''sung''. The term evolved through the Music history, history of music, designating a variety of ...

, and suites by composers such as Samuel Scheidt, in which a

ground bass In music, an ostinato (; derived from the Italian word for ''stubborn'', compare English ''obstinate'') is a motif or phrase that persistently repeats in the same musical voice, frequently in the same pitch. Well-known ostinato-based pieces inc ...

may recur in each movement When the movements are short enough and begin to be heard as a single entity rather than many, the boundaries begin to blur between cyclic form and variation form. Cyclic technique is not typically found in the instrumental music of the most famous composers from the Baroque and "high classical" eras, though it may still be found in the music of such figures as

Luigi Boccherini Ridolfo Luigi Boccherini (, also , ; 19 February 1743 – 28 May 1805) was an Italian composer and cellist of the Classical era whose music retained a courtly and '' galante'' style even while he matured somewhat apart from the major classi ...

and

Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf (2 November 1739 – 24 October 1799) was an Austrian composer and violinist. He was a friend of both Haydn and Mozart. (webpage has a translation button) His best-known works include the German singspiel '' Doktor un ...

. Nevertheless, in the Classical period, cyclic technique is found in several works of

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

: In String Quartet in D minor K. 421, all the four movements are unified by the motif, "F-A-C-C-C-C". In String Quartet No.18 in A major K. 464, different rhythmic motifs of the concept "long-short-short-short" of the first movement and second movement combine in the finale. Mladjenović, Bogunović, Masnikosa, and Radak state that Mozart's Fantasia, K. 475, with its multi-movement structure inscribed in a one-movement sonata form, started something later finished by Liszt in his B minor Piano Sonata.

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

uses cyclic technique at the end of the Symphony No. 31, where the music recalls the horn call heard at the very opening of the work. In sacred vocal music of Baroque and Classical periods, there are several examples of cyclic technique, such as

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

's Mass in B minor and Mozart's Mass in C major, K. 317, Spatzenmesse in C major K. 220, Litaniae de venerabili altaris sacramento K. 243, and especially Requiem in D minor K. 626, where the "DNA" of the Lutheran hymn motif, "D-C#-D-E-F", permeates the entire work. Although other composers were already using this technique, it is

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

's example that really popularised cyclic form for subsequent Romantic composers. In Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, a large part of the

scherzo A scherzo (, , ; plural scherzos or scherzi), in western classical music, is a short composition – sometimes a movement from a larger work such as a symphony or a sonata. The precise definition has varied over the years, but scherzo often r ...

movement is recalled to end the finale's development section and lead into the recapitulation; the Ninth Symphony's finale rapidly presents explicit reminiscences of the three preceding movements before discovering the idea that is to be its own principal

; while both the Piano Sonata Op. 101 and Cello Sonata Op. 102 No. 2 similarly recall earlier movements before their finales. In the 1820s, both

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

and the young

Felix Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions inc ...

wrote numerous important cyclic works: Schubert, in the ''

Wanderer Fantasy The Fantasie in C major, Op. 15 ( D. 760), popularly known as the ''Wanderer Fantasy'', is a four-movement fantasy for solo piano composed by Franz Schubert in 1822. It is widely considered Schubert's most technically demanding composition for th ...

'' (1822) created a "4-in-1" double-function design that would leave its mark decades later on

Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic period. With a diverse body of work spanning more than six decades, he is considered to be one of the most pro ...

, while Mendelssohn, in such works as the Octet (1825) and String Quartet No. 2 (1827) created highly integrated musical forms that proved influential for later Romantic composers. Another significant model was given by

Hector Berlioz Louis-Hector Berlioz (11 December 1803 – 8 March 1869) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer and conductor. His output includes orchestral works such as the ''Symphonie fantastique'' and ''Harold en Italie, Harold in Italy'' ...

in his programmatic ''

'' of 1830, whose " idée fixe" serves as a cyclic theme throughout the five movements. By the 1840s, the technique is already quite established, being found in several works by

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...

, Fanny Hensel,

Niels Gade Niels Wilhelm Gade (22 February 1817 – 21 December 1890) was a Danish composer, conductor, violinist, organist and teacher. Together with Johan Peter Emilius Hartmann, he was the leading Danish musician of his day, in the period known as ...

, Franz Berwald, and the earliest compositions of

César Franck César Auguste Jean Guillaume Hubert Franck (; 10 December 1822 – 8 November 1890) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher born in present-day Belgium. He was born in Liège (which at the time of h ...

. Mid-century, Franz Liszt in works such as the B minor Piano Sonata (1853) did a lot to popularize the cyclic techniques of thematic transformation and double-function form established by Schubert and Berlioz. Liszt's sonata begins with a clear statement of several thematic units and each unit is extensively used and developed throughout the piece. By late in the century, cyclic form had become an extremely common principle of construction, most likely because the increasing length and complexity of multiple-movement works demanded a unifying method stronger than mere key relation. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Vincent d'Indy, a pupil of Franck, promoted the use of the term "cyclic" to describe the technique. The term is more debatable in cases where the resemblance is less clear, such as in the works of Beethoven, who used very basic fragments. Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 is an example of cyclic form in which a theme is used throughout the symphony, but with different orchestration. The "short-short-short-long" four-note motive is embedded in each movement.

Examples

Examples of cyclic works from the classical era and afterwards are: *

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

** Symphony No.40 in G minor K.550: similar descending chromatic pattern shared by two outer movements in their second themes ** Symphony No.41 in C major K.551: similarities in the principal rising dotted-rhythmic motifs of the first movement and the second movement; the dotted-rhythmic motif of the second movement develops into a theme that resembles one of the five themes of the finale; the minuet foreshadows the "C-D-F-E" motif of the finale ** String Quartet No.15 in D minor K. 421: "F-A-C-C-C-C" motif heard in all four movements ** String Quartet No.18 in A major K. 464: different rhythmic motifs of the concept "long-short-short-short" of the first movement and second movement combined in the finale. ** Fantasie & Sonata for Piano in C minor K. 475 & 457: motivic similarities between the preceding fantasie and the sonata ** Piano Concerto No.20 in D minor K. 466: The entries of the soloist in the outer movements share the same chord structure ** Spatzenmesse in C major K. 220: theme of the Kyrie recalled in the Dona nobis pacem ** Litaniae de venerabili altaris sacramento K. 243: theme of the Kyrie recalled in the Miserere ** Mass in C major, K. 317: theme of the Kyrie recalled in the Dona nobis pacem ** Vesperae solennes de Dominica K. 321: A setting of the Minor Doxology (Gloria Patri et Filio) concludes all movements, with a rhythmic similarity in "Gloria" ** Vesperae solennes de confessore K. 339: A setting of the Minor Doxology (Gloria Patri et Filio) concludes all movements, with a rhythmic similarity in "Gloria" ** Mass in C minor K.427: The soprano melody of Quoniam tu solus in measure 96 (F-E-D-C#-C-...) resembles that of Cum sanctu spiritu in measure 98 (G-F#-E-D#-D-...) *

** Symphony No. 31: material from start of first movement recalled at the end of the finale ** Symphony No. 46: material from the menuetto third movement recalled in the finale *

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

** Piano Sonata No. 13: the opening theme of the sonata is recalled at the end of the finale ** Piano Sonata No. 28: the transition from the third movement to the finale quotes the main theme of the first movement ** Piano Sonata No. 31: the fugue subject in the finale is derived from the main theme of the first movement ** Symphony No. 5: material from scherzo movement recalled in the finale ** Symphony No. 9: all three movements are briefly revisited in the finale *

**''Divertissement a la Hongroise'' **''

'': entire piece based on thematic transformation ** Piano Trio No. 2: materials from the second movement recalled in the finale ** Piano Sonata No. 20: the final measures of the sonata quote the beginning of the first movement, but played in reverse. *

** Piano Sextet: material from scherzo movement recalled in the finale ** Octet: material from scherzo movement recalled in the finale, plus allusions to first and second movements **Piano Sonata in E, Op. 6: opening of first movement recalled at end of finale ** String Quartet in A minor, Op. 13: introduction to first movement recalled at end of finale, first movement and second movement recalled during finale. ** String Quartet in E-flat, Op. 12: first movement recalled in finale ** Symphony No. 3: thematic transformation across all four movements *

**''

Symphonie Fantastique ' (''Fantastic Symphony: Episode in the Life of an Artist … in Five Sections'') Opus number, Op. 14, is a program music, programmatic symphony written by Hector Berlioz in 1830. The first performance was at the Paris Conservatoire on 5 December ...

'': "idée fixe" heard in all five movements **'' Harold in Italy'': "idée fixe" heard in all four movements *

** Symphony No. 2 ** Symphony No. 4: thematic transformation across all four movements ** Piano Quintet *

**Symphony No. 1: first movement recalled in finale *

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic music, Romantic period. With a diverse List of compositions by Franz Liszt, body of work spanning more than six ...

** Sonata in B minor **''

Faust Symphony ''A Faust Symphony in three character pictures'' (), List of compositions by Franz Liszt (S.1 - S.350), S.108, or simply the "''Faust Symphony''", is a choral symphony written by Hungarians, Hungarian composer Franz Liszt inspired by Johann Wolfga ...

'' *

Joachim Raff Joseph Joachim Raff (27 May 182224 or 25 June 1882) was a German-Swiss composer, pedagogue and pianist.James Deaville'Raff, (Joseph) Joachim' in ''Grove Music Online'' (2001) Biography Raff was born in Lachen, Switzerland, Lachen in Switzerland. ...

** Symphony No. 4: first movement recalled in finale **Symphony No. 11: first movement recalled in finale * Saint-Saëns ** Symphony No. 3: thematic transformation across all four movements ** Cello Concerto No. 1: two key first movement themes repeated in finale *

** Symphony in D minor **

Violin Sonata A violin sonata is a musical composition for violin, often accompanied by a keyboard instrument and in earlier periods with a bass instrument doubling the keyboard bass line. The violin sonata developed from a simple Baroque music, baroque form wi ...

String Quartet The term string quartet refers to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two Violin, violini ...

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period (music), Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, oft ...

** Piano Sonata No. 1 ** String Quartet No. 3 ** Symphony No. 3: The melody opening the first subject in the first movement is recalled in the codas of the first & fourth movements. ** Clarinet Quintet: The melody opening the first movement is recalled just after the 5th variation in the fourth movement, but in the subdominant. The codas in the first & fourth movements are almost the same, except for how it finally closes (first movement closes with quiet B minor chords while fourth movement closes with a loud one and then a quiet one). *

Bedřich Smetana Bedřich Smetana ( ; ; 2 March 1824 – 12 May 1884) was a Czech composer who pioneered the development of a musical style that became closely identified with his people's aspirations to a cultural and political "revival". He has been regarded ...

**''

Má vlast (), also known as ''My Fatherland'', is a set of six symphonic poems composed between 1874 and 1879 by the Czech composer Bedřich Smetana. The six pieces, conceived as individual works, are often presented and recorded as a single work in si ...

'', cycle of 6 symphonic poems: The opening from the first work ''Vyšehrad'' recalled in the second ''Vltava'' and the sixth works ''Blaník'', shortly before the latter two end. *

Anton Bruckner Joseph Anton Bruckner (; ; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer and organist best known for his Symphonies by Anton Bruckner, symphonies and sacred music, which includes List of masses by Anton Bruckner, Masses, Te Deum (Br ...

** Symphony No. 4 - the opening perfect fifth motif is recalled in the finale. ** Symphony No. 5 - the finale recalls themes from both the first and the second movements. ** Symphony No. 8 - during the coda of the finale, the main themes of all four movements are played simultaneously. *

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popula ...

** Symphony No. 4: "motto" of first movement recalled in the finale **'' Manfred Symphony'': Material from the beginning of the first movement recalled halfway in the third movement. Material from the ending of the first movement used in the middle section of the second movement, and just before the organ sounds in the fourth movement. ** Symphony No. 5: "motto" of first movement recalled in all later movements; first movement's first subject recalled in the finale ** Serenade for Strings (Tchaikovsky): Opening chorale in first movement is recalled in the coda of the finale *

Anton Arensky Anton Stepanovich Arensky (; – ) was a Russian composer of Romantic classical music, a pianist and a professor of music. Biography Arensky was born into an affluent, music-loving family in Novgorod, Russia. He was musically precocious and ha ...

** Piano Trio No. 1: Material opening the first movement recalled shortly before the finale ends. Material in the middle section from the third movement recalled halfway in the finale. *

Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8September 18411May 1904) was a Czech composer. He frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia, following the Romantic-era nationalist example of his predec ...

** Symphony No. 9: the theme of the first movement returns in all four movements *

Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian and American composer, music theorist, teacher and writer. He was among the first Modernism (music), modernists who transformed the practice of harmony in 20th-centu ...

–

Violin Concerto A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble (customarily orchestra). Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up thro ...

, Op. 36 *

Carlos Chávez Carlos Antonio de Padua Chávez y Ramírez (13 June 1899 – 2 August 1978) was a Mexican composer, conducting, conductor, music theorist, educator, journalist, and founder and director of the Mexican Symphonic Orchestra. He was influence ...

** Symphony No. 3 ** Symphony No. 4 *

Edward Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

** Symphony No. 1: "motto" theme from the 1st movement returns in the scherzo and finale ** Symphony No. 2: "motto" theme from the 1st movement returns in the slow movement and finale *

Sergei Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and Conducting, conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a compos ...

** Piano Sonata No. 1 ** Piano Sonata No. 2 **'' Trio éléguiaque No. 2'' ** Symphony No. 1 ** Piano Concerto No. 3 - the opening theme of the first movement is briefly quoted in the other two movements. *

George Enescu George Enescu (; – 4 May 1955), known in France as Georges Enesco, was a Romanians, Romanian composer, violinist, pianist, conductor, teacher and statesman. He is regarded as one of the greatest musicians in Romanian history. Biography En ...

** Chamber Symphony in E major, Op. 33 ** Octet for Strings in C major ** Piano Quartet No. 1, Op. 16 ** Piano Quartet No. 2, Op. 30 ** Piano Quintet in A minor, Op. 29 ** Piano Sonata No. 3, Op. 24, No. 3 ** String Quartet No. 1, Op. 22, No. 1 ** String Quartet No. 2, Op. 22, No. 2 ** Symphony No. 1, Op. 13 ** Symphony No. 3, Op. 21 ** Symphony No. 4 ** Symphony No. 5 ** Violin Sonata No. 2, Op. 6 *

Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''. , group=n ( – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor who l ...

** Piano Concerto No. 1: Main opening theme reappears midway and at end of work, differently orchestrated each time. ** Piano Sonata No. 6: The opening of the first movement recalled in the "Andante" of the fourth movement. ** Symphony No. 6: A theme from first movement is recalled in the finale. ** Symphony No. 7: Both the second and third themes from the first movement return at the climax of the finale. * Vasily Kalinnikov ** Symphony No. 2 *

Dmitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his First Symphony in 1926 and thereafter was regarded as a major composer. Shostak ...

**Suite for 2 Pianos in F-sharp minor, Op. 6: The main theme of the prelude is used in every movement. ** Suite for Variety Orchestra: Material opening the March is recalled at the very end of the Finale. ** Symphony No. 7 "Leningrad": The opening theme of the symphony is briefly recalled at the end of the fourth movement. ** Piano Trio No. 2: The finale recalls material from the first and third movements. ** Symphony No. 10: The finale incorporates both material from the Scherzo and the "DSCH" motiv from the third movement. ** String Quartet No. 8: The "DSCH" motif is used in all four movements as a unifying aspect. *

Ralph Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams ( ; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...

**'' A London Symphony'' (Symphony No. 2) ** Oboe Concerto ** Symphony No. 4 ** Symphony No. 5 *

Heitor Villa-Lobos Heitor Villa-Lobos (March 5, 1887November 17, 1959) was a Brazilian composer, conductor, cellist, and classical guitarist described as "the single most significant creative figure in 20th-century Brazilian art music". Villa-Lobos has globally bec ...

** Symphony No. 2 ** Symphony No. 3 (cyclic only with relation to the following Symphony No. 4) ** Symphony No. 4 * Benjamin Yusupov **Cello Concerto

Sources

* * Footnotes

Examples

Sources

Further reading