The original four-movement structure of The Periodical Overture in 8 Parts by Christian Cannabich indicate that it is an early, composed while he was still under the influence of the late Johann Stamitz and before he took his excursions to Paris. All three of the movements retained by Bremner use the same binary-sonata format that James Hepokoski and Warren Darcy call a “Type 2 Sonata”; it can be diagrammed as an ||: a/I b/V :||: a/V b/I :|| structure.[1] The brisk unison premier coup d’archet chords at the start of the “Allegro ma non troppo” are, unusually, in triple meter, and the rest of the movement is filled with features that are associated with the Mannheim school: “drum 8ths” (especially in measure 17 and onward), dramatic crescendos (mm. 2, 32, 43, etc.), measured tremolos (m. 44), and the quick rising-and-falling motif known as the Bebung (m. 2).[2] Of course, commentators have been noting since 1778 that these characteristics can also be found in Jommelli’s music, so Cannabich would have been influenced from two directions to adopt these gestures.[3] For the second theme (m. 36), Cannabich presents a disjunct call-and-response dialogue between the violins and flutes, introducing a nice timbral variety to the movement.
The “Andante Grazioso” reduces the scoring to strings alone and shifts, unsurprisingly, to the subdominant A-flat major. The violins initially engage in a hocket-like sequential dialogue, but they join forces for longer stretches of parallel harmonies (m. 9). The violins again harmonize in the second theme (m. 22), keeping listeners a bit off-balance with variable phrase lengths.
Cannabich uses a host of devices to enhance a sense of irresistible drive in the “Presto assai.” Steady drum 8ths maintain the propulsion against a quiet, syncopated, rising string melody, with occasional fanfare interjections from the French horns. An upward sequence of Bebung motifs (m. 22) yields to measured tremolos (m. 25), all during an exciting crescendo passage. A series of brief climbing motifs launches the second theme (m. 49), but the flutes are quickly given a more extended solo showcase (m. 53). A robust closing theme (m. 73) plays with sudden dynamic contrasts, helping to make the entire movement seem breathless and exhilarating.
Alyson McLamore
[1] James Hepokoski and Warren Darcy, Elements of Sonata Theory: Norms, Types, and Deformations in the Late-Eighteenth-Century Sonata (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), 353–4.
[2] Hugo Riemann, ed., Sinfonien der pfalzbayerischen Schule (Mannheimer Symphoniker), in Year 7, Vol. II, of Denkmäler der Tonkunst in Bayern, in Series 2 of Denkmäler deutscher Tonkunst (Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel, 1906), xvii.
[3] Wolf, “Christian Cannabich,” 389, note 8.