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The Western Classical Tradition (Area of Study A)
Quick questions on Harmony and tonality in the Classical and Romantic symphony - WJEC A-Level Music
5short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What are the four cadences?Show answer
Cadences articulate the structure of a symphony like punctuation in prose: perfect cadences confirm a new key and close sections and movements; imperfect cadences keep the music moving forward; interrupted cadences extend a passage by delaying the resolution before a final perfect cadence.
What is model paragraph?Show answer
Harmony is not decoration in a symphony, it is the structure. The first movement of Haydn's London Symphony makes its journey audible through key: the exposition leaves D major and settles its second subject in the dominant, A major, and that tension, the music living away from home, is what the development then exploits, steering motifs through restless related keys while withholding the tonic. The listener feels the lack of resolution until the recapitulation restores D major and the second subject finally sounds at home, sealed by a perfect cadence.
What is q1?Show answer
Name the four cadences and the chords that make each. [4 marks]
What is q2?Show answer
In a major-key sonata-form exposition, to which key does the music usually modulate for the second subject? [2 marks]
What is q3?Show answer
Explain how harmony and tonality drive a sonata-form movement, with reference to a set work. [12 marks]
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