Aida Marc

Analysis of Expressive Elements in the Dante Sonata Aida Marc

The book is a reflection upon Liszt?s most important piece the ?Dante Sonata? from the cycle Années de pèlerinage . The first chapter presents the incorporation of literature and visual arts in the settings of Années de pèlerinage,similarities and contrasts of the Dante Sonata and the other character pieces from the second book of Years of Pilgrimage. The second chapter describes the historical context,circumstances and origins of the Dante Sonata. The programmatic implications of the work associated with Dante?s Divine Comedy and the relation to the poem of Victor Hugo Après une Lecture de Dante from the Poem collections Les Voix interieur. The third chapter includes an assertion about the original and progressive aspects of the work?s form: ?fantasia quasi sonata? and how the formal structure is related to the B Minor Sonata, tracing the sonata and fantasy principle to their origins. The last chapter analyzes the four musical elements comprising the piece: the tritone motive,the thematic transformation of the main themes, selective harmonic analysis, the dotted rhythmic patterns.