Variation (music)
In
music,
variation is a formal technique where material is altered during
repetition;
reiteration with changes. Changes may be
harmonic,
melodic,
contrapuntal,
rhythmic, and of
timbre or
orchestration. Variational sections depend upon
one type of presentation of material, while
developmental sections use many
different presentations and combinations of material.
Variation forms include
ground bass, passacaglia, chaconne, and
theme and variation (Copland 2002, p.115).
Theme and variations is a
musical form where a theme is repeated in altered form or accompanied in a different manner.
Passacaglias and
chaconnes are forms in with a repeating bass line or
ostinato is heard through the entire piece.
Fantasia variation is a form which relies on variation but which repeats and incorporates material freely.
Works in theme-and-variation form have been written through most of the history of
classical music. A favorite form of variations in
Renaissance music was
divisions, a type in which the basic rhythmic beat is successively divided into faster and faster intervals. The basic principle of beginning with simple variations and moving on to more elaborate ones has always been present in the history of the variation form, since it provides a way of giving an overall shape to a variation set, rather letting it just form an arbitrary sequence.
Two famous variation sets from the
Baroque era, both for
harpsichord, are
George Frideric Handel's
Harmonious Blacksmith set, and
Johann Sebastian Bach's
Goldberg Variations, which together with
Beethoven's late variations is widely considered to represent the pinnacle of the form.
In the
Classical era,
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote a great number of variations, such as the first movement of his
Piano Sonata in A, K. 331, or the finale of his
Clarinet Quintet. Mozart favored a particular pattern in his variations: the penultimate variation is in slow tempo, often acting as a kind of extra slow movement in a multi-movement work; and the final variation is fast and in bravura style.
Joseph Haydn specialized in sets of
double variations, in which two related themes, usually minor and major, are presented and then varied in alternation; one example is the slow movement of his
Symphony No. 103, the
Drumroll.
Ludwig van Beethoven wrote many variation sets in his career. Some were independent sets, of which the most substantial are considered to be the
"Diabelli" variations, Op. 120. Others form single movements or parts of movements in larger works, such as first movement of the
Piano Sonata Op. 26, or the variations in the final movement of the
Third Symphony. Variation sets that listeners often consider to be among Beethoven's most profound musical utterances occur in several of his late works, such as slow movement of his
String quartet Op. 127, the second movement of his final
Piano sonata, Op. 111, and the slow movement of the
Ninth Symphony.
Franz Schubert wrote five variation sets using his own
lieder as themes. A highlight of these is the slow movement of his string quartet
Death and the Maiden (
Der Tod und das Mädchen, D. 810), an intense set of variations on his somber lied (D. 531) of the same title. Schubert's
Piano Quintet in A (
The Trout, D.667) likewise includes variations on
The Trout (
Die Forelle, D. 550).
In the
Romantic era, the variation receded somewhat in importance, but many composers nevertheless created variation sets. A standout was
Johannes Brahms, whose Classical tendencies perhaps naturally inclined him to writing variations; some of Brahms's variation sets rely on themes by older composers, for example the
variations for orchestra on a theme (thought in Brahms's time to be) by Haydn and the variations for piano on a theme by Handel.
Edward Elgar's
Enigma Variations (1899) is probably his best-known full-length piece.
Variation sets were also composed by 20th century composers, including
Arnold Schoenberg (the
Variations for Orchestra),
Anton Webern (the
Variations, Opus 27 for piano and
Variations, Opus 30 for orchestra),
Paul Hindemith,
Benjamin Britten (including the
Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra (Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Purcell) and the
Variations on a Theme by Frank Bridge), and
Sergei Rachmaninoff (
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini).
In the 1920's,
Igor Stravinsky composed an
Octet, part of which contains an example of a flute theme and several variations on that theme (the title of the said piece is "Tema con Variazioni", literally "Theme with Variations").
Skilled musicians who know a theme well can often
improvise variations on it. This was commonplace in the Baroque era, when the
da capo aria, particular when in slow tempo, required the performer to be able to improvise a variation during the return of the main material.
Musicians of the Classical era also could improvise variations. A minor work by Beethoven, his
Fantasia in G Minor Op. 77, is almost certainly a written transcription of an improvised performance, at the core of which is a series of variations on a short theme. The great number and somewhat stereotyped character of Mozart's stand-alone variation sets for piano suggest that these, too, may be written-down improvisations, or at least were composed in haste.
Improvisation of elaborate variations on a popular theme is one of the core genres of
jazz.
*
Tune-family*
Matrix (music)*Copland, Aaron (2002).
What to Listen for in Music. ISBN 0451528670.
*
Classical Music Pages: Variation
