Tarantella—swift Italian dance in sextuple measure.
The allemande is especially interesting to students of music form because of its relation to the sonata, it being the prototype of the sonata-allegro (i.e., the first movement of the sonata). The sarabande and courante are likewise interesting as the prototypes of the second movement, and the bourée, minuet, etc., for their connection with the third movement.
152. The scherzo (lit. musical joke) is a fanciful instrumental composition. It was used by Beethoven as the third movement of the sonata instead of the more limited minuet, but is also often found as an independent piece.
153. A sonata is an instrumental composition of three or more movements (usually four), the first and last of which are almost always in rapid tempo. Each of these movements is a piece of music with a unity of its own, but they are all merged together in a larger whole with a broad underlying unity of larger scope. The composition receives its name from the fact that its first movement is cast in sonata-form. (See [Sec. 157] for description of sonata-form.)
When the sonata has four movements, these are usually arranged as follows:
1. A quick movement (allegro, presto, etc.), often preceded by a slower introduction.
2. A slow movement (largo, andante, adagio, etc.).
3. A minuet or scherzo, often with a trio added, in which case the part preceding the trio is repeated after the trio is played.
4. A quick movement—the finale, sometimes a rondo, sometimes another sonata-form, sometimes a theme with variations.
These movements are all in closely related keys, but in a variety of contrasting rhythms.