In sonatas of the middle of the eighteenth century the modulation section (in a major key) ended in various ways,—­on the dominant chord (of the principal key), on the tonic chord of the relative minor, the under-dominant, or even on the tonic itself of the principal key.  Later on, Haydn and Mozart kept, for the most part, to the dominant chord.  Beethoven, on account of the distant, and often abrupt, modulations of his middle sections, generally marked the approach to the recapitulation by clear, and often prolonged, dominant harmony; sometimes, however, the return of the principal theme comes as a surprise.  The recapitulation always remained more or less faithful to the exposition.  It is interesting to note how little the character and contents of the recapitulation section have been affected in modern times by the growth of the development section.  In the matter of balance the two sections of movements in binary form are more satisfactory than the two sections (two, so far as outward division is concerned) of modern sonatas.  The grain of mustard-seed in the parable grew into a tree, and so, likewise, have the few bars of modulation of early days grown into an important section.  However difficult to determine the exact moment at which a movement in sonata-form really ceased to be binary, there seems no doubt that that moment has now passed.  We have already noted when the change commenced.

CHAPTER II

JOHANN KUHNAU

This remarkable musician was born, April 1660,[36] at Geysing, where his grandfather, who, on account of his religious opinions, had been forced to leave Bohemia, had settled.  Already in his ninth year young Kuhnau showed gifts for science and art.  He had a pleasing voice, and first studied under Salomon Kruegner, and afterwards under Christian Kittel,[37] organist of the Elector at Dresden.  His next teachers were his brother Andreas Kuhnau, Alexander Hering,[38] and Vincenzo Albrici.  In 1680 the plague broke out at Dresden, and Kuhnau returned to his parents.  He then went to Zittau with a certain Erhard Titius, who had been Praefectus at the Kreuzschule, Dresden, and received help from the court organist, Moritz Edelmann, also from the “celebrated” Weise.  A motet of Kuhnau’s was given at Zittau under his direction.  After the death of Titius, Kuhnau resided for a time in the house of J.J. von Hartig, judge at Zittau.  In 1682 he went to Leipzig, where D. Scherzer endeavoured to obtain for him the post of organist at St. Thomas’; Kuehnel, however, was appointed.  The latter died in 1684, and was succeeded by Kuhnau, who in 1700 also became cantor of St. Thomas’.  He devoted much of his time to jurisprudence.  Among other things, he wrote a curious satire, entitled Der musikalische Quacksalber, published in 1700.  There remain in manuscript, Tractatus de tetrachordo and Introductio ad compositionem musicalem.