The early symphony

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"Among the fundamental changes which took place in 18th-century music, the growing importance of instrumental categories to challenge the previously unquestioned dominance of vocal music plays a leading role. What, indeed, could replace the text in its function as the focal point and cohesive agent in an independent instrumental movement? Musical form took on a whole new meaning. The present study is devoted to an examination of this question from the viewpoint of theorists of the time. As it demonstrates in detail, the whole approach of 18th-century theorists and composers to musical form was, however, by its very nature different from that familiar to us from the 19th century. The story of their attempts to define what they regarded as the most important innovations thus provides some surprising new insights into the music itself."--Publisher's website