Rounded Binary or Ternary? A 32-Bar Minuet with a Thematic Return
A candidate is analyzing a 32-bar keyboard minuet in B-flat major, 3/4. Bars 1–8 form the first strain: a four-bar phrase on I (bb.1–4) is answered by a four-bar phrase (bb.5–8) that ends with a half cadence on F at b.8; the strain is repeated. Bars 9–16 begin on F major, move through G minor and C minor in a circle-of-fifths sequence, and close with a half cadence on F at b.16; there is no double bar at b.16. Bars 17–24 restate the opening four-bar phrase in B-flat major, then extend it sequentially; bars 25–32 end with a perfect authentic cadence in B-flat. The second strain is through-composed, so the return at b.17 is heard only once. The melody's opening motive (an anacrusis to scale degrees 5–4–3) returns at b.17, but the accompaniment is varied. The candidate must choose a form label and defend it in an exam commentary.
1. Draw a form diagram with bar numbers, repeat scheme, and cadence types. Then decide whether the movement is best labeled simple binary, rounded binary, or ternary, and justify the label.
Read the worked answer
Diagram: ||: A (bb.1–8): a (1–4, I) + a' (5–8, HC in F) :|| B (bb.9–16, sequence, HC in F) + A' (bb.17–32, return of a, PAC in B-flat).
Reasoning: Simple binary is too weak because the opening material returns after the B section. Ternary would require a closed, independent B section that establishes a contrasting key and cadences there before the return; here b.16 is a half cadence on F and the music continues without a structural close. The return at b.17 is embedded within the second strain, not a separate reprise after a closed B. Therefore rounded binary is the best label: the second strain contains a tonic return of the opening material before its final cadence. The varied accompaniment does not weaken the return because the melodic identity and tonal function are preserved. If b.17–32 were a complete, closed restatement separated by a double bar, ternary would become defensible.
2. A classmate argues that b.17 is a recapitulation because the opening motive returns in the tonic. Evaluate that claim using tonal closure and formal function.
Read the worked answer
The claim uses sonata terminology too loosely. A recapitulation normally follows an exposition that has established a secondary key and a closing section, and it normally brings back the principal and subordinate material in the tonic. Here there is no exposition with a secondary key, no closing group, and no sonata-level tonal conflict. The event at b.17 is a return of the A phrase within a binary design, sometimes called a recapitulation-like return. It is tonic and thematically marked, but its formal function is to close the second strain, not to resolve an exposition's tonal opposition. Calling it a recapitulation would obscure the minuet's binary repeat structure and overstate the movement's sonata features.