Music: An Art and a Language

by Walter Raymond Spalding

The beginning of Mozart's Overture to Figaro is also well known, e.g.

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The elision of a measure often takes place in the middle of a phrase as may be seen from the theme of Mendelssohn's familiar Spring-Song.

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Just as in the case of the systematic insertion of an extra measure, which produces "five-bar rhythm," so when a measure is omitted in each phrase which would usually consist of four measures, we have "three-bar rhythm." This gives an effect of great concentration and intensity and is a prevalent feature in Scottish and Hungarian folk-music, e.g.

Scotch