''Homotonal'' (same-tonality) is a technical musical term that describes the tonal structure of multi-movement compositions. It was introduced into

musicology Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, ...

by Hans Keller. According to Keller's definition and usage, a multi-movement composition is 'homotonal' if all of its

movements Movement may refer to: Generic uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Movement (sign language), a hand movement when signing * Motion, commonly referred to as movement * Movement (music), a division of a larger c ...

have the same tonic (keynote). 'Homotonality' is common in compositions of the

Baroque era The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from the early 17th century until the 1750s. It followed Renaissance art and Mannerism and preceded the Rococo (i ...

: many Baroque multi-movement works based on dance-forms manifest the same tonic—and even the same ''mode'' (major or minor) – throughout. Thus, for example, J.S. Bach's solo violin partita BWV 1004 is homotonal '' ll movements in D minor', as is his solo flute partita BWV 1013 '' ll movements in A minor'. Similarly,

Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist, impresario of Baroque music and Roman Catholic priest. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lif ...

's sonata for oboe and continuo RV53 (n.d.) is homotonal '' ll movements in C minor'. Homotonality is even encountered in some Baroque concertos: examples include Vivaldi's Cello Concertos RV401 (n.d.) '' ll movements in C minor' and RV416 (n.d.) '' ll movements in G minor', as well as the second concerto of his most famous work The Four Seasons ("Summer" RV315) (1725) '' ll movements also in G minor', and Jean-Marie Leclair's Violin Concerto Op.7 No 1 (1737) '' ll movements in D minor'. With the

Classical era Classical antiquity, also known as the classical era, classical period, classical age, or simply antiquity, is the period of cultural European history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD comprising the interwoven civilization ...

, however, the situation changes. Outside of two-movement works (which, classically speaking, will maintain the same tonic for both movements and will thus be homotonal by definition), classical-era homotonality is relatively rare: a classical work in three movements will normally move to a different tonic for its middle movement, and a classical work in four movements will normally have at least one of its middle movements in a key other than the original tonic. The classical composer most closely associated with the homotonal principle is

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

. Keller himself was keen to emphasise that different classical composers showed differing degrees of interest in homotonal structure: Keller's coinage and concept have not become standard among musicologists. Musicologist William Drabkin, for example, asked the question "doesn't 'homotonality' sound a trifle queer?" William Drabkin, review of Hans Keller, ''The Great Haydn Quartets: Their Interpretation'', Musical Times, Vol. 127, No. 1726 (Nov., 1986), pp. 624–625 The term 'homotonality' (referring to ''the manifest retention of a tonic'') should not be confused with ' monotonality' (the theoretical position according to which a tonal structure has only one 'real' tonic, and all

modulation Signal modulation is the process of varying one or more properties of a periodic waveform in electronics and telecommunication for the purpose of transmitting information. The process encodes information in form of the modulation or message ...

is superficial or illusory).

Examples

Examples of 'homotonal' works (in more than two movements) from the classical era and afterwards are:

1750s

*The

Toy Symphony The Toy Symphony (original titles: ''Berchtoldsgaden Musick'' or ''Sinphonia Berchtolgadensis'') is a symphony in C major dating from the 1760s with parts for toy instruments, including toy trumpet, Ratchet (instrument), ratchet, bird calls (cucko ...

'' ll movements in G major' *Haydn's Symphony No. 37 (c. 1758) '' ll movements in C major or C minor'

1760s

*Haydn's Symphony No. 4 (1757–60) '' ll movements in D major or D minor' *Haydn's Symphony No. 19 (1757–61) '' ll movements in D major or D minor' *Haydn's Symphony No. 17 (1760–61) '' ll movements in F major or F minor' *Haydn's

Piano Trio A piano trio is a group of piano and two other instruments, usually a violin and a cello, or a piece of music written for such a group. It is one of the most common forms found in European classical music, classical chamber music. The term can also ...

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

Sonata in C major for keyboard four-hands, K. 19d The Sonata in C major, Köchel catalogue, K. 19d, is a work for piano four-hands once thought to be composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1765 when he was nine years old in England. Composed in the traditional sonata form, it is one of the very f ...

(perhaps spurious, 1765?) '' ll movements in C major' *Haydn's Piano Trio Hob. XV/37 (1766) '' ll movements in F major' *Haydn's Piano Trio Hob. XV/38 (1766) '' ll movements in B-flat major' *Haydn's Piano Trio Hob. XV/C1 (1766) '' ll movements in C major' *Haydn's Piano Trio Hob. XIV/6 (1767) '' ll movements in G major or G minor' *Haydn's Symphony No. 49 'La Passione' (1768) '' ll movements in F minor' *Haydn's Symphony No. 59 'Fire' (c. 1768) '' ll movements in A major or A minor'

1770s

Michael Haydn Johann Michael Haydn (; 14 September 1737 – 10 August 1806) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period, the younger brother of Joseph Haydn. Life Michael Haydn was born in 1737 in the Austrian village of Rohra ...

's Symphony No. 23 (c. 1779) '' ll movements in D major or D minor' *Mozart's Symphony No. 32 (1779) '' ll movements in G major'

1780s

*Haydn's Symphony No. 63 'La Roxelane' (1779–81) '' ll movements in C major or C minor' *Haydn's Piano Sonata Hob.XVI:37 (1780) '' ll movements in D major or D minor' *Haydn's Symphony No. 62 (1780–81) '' ll movements in D major' *Haydn's String Quartet Op.33 No.5 (1781) '' ll movements in G major or G minor' *Haydn's String Quartet Op.33 No.6 (1781) '' ll movements in D major or D minor' *Mozart's Serenade for winds K.375 (1781) '' ll movements in E-flat major' *Haydn's Piano Trio Hob. XV:5 (1785) '' ll movements in G major' *Haydn's Piano Trio Hob. XV:7 (1785) '' ll movements in D major or D minor' *Haydn's Piano Trio Hob. XV:10 (1785) '' ll movements in F major' * Hoffmeister's Viola Concerto No. 1 (1786) '' ll movements in D major or D minor' *Haydn's String Quartet Op.50 No.6 (1787) '' ll movements in D major or D minor' *Haydn's String Quartet Op.54 No.2 (1788) '' ll movements in C major or C minor' *Haydn's String Quartet Op.55 No.2 (1788) '' ll movements in F minor or F major' *Mozart's Violin Sonata K.547 (1788) '' ll movements in F major'

1790s

*Haydn's String Quartet Op.64 No.2 (1790) '' ll movements in B minor or B major' *Haydn's Piano Trio no. 37 in A major, Hob. XV:18 (1793) '' ll movements in A major or A minor' * Dussek's Piano Concerto No. 5, Op. 22 (1793) '' ll movements in B-flat major' *Haydn's Piano Trio no. 38 in D major, Hob. XV:24 (1795) '' ll movements in D major or D minor' *Haydn's Piano Trio no. 40 in F-sharp minor, Hob. XV:26 (1795) '' ll movements in F-sharp minor or F-sharp major' *

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

After 1800

*Beethoven's Piano Sonata Op.26 (1800–01) '' ll movements in A-flat major or a-flat minor' *Beethoven's String Quartet Op.18 No.4 (1801) '' ll movements in c minor or C major' *Beethoven's Piano Sonata ''Quasi una fantasia'' Op.27 No.2 ('Moonlight Sonata') (1801) '' ll movements in c-sharp minor or D-flat major' *Beethoven's Piano Sonata Op.28 (1801) '' ll movements in D major or d minor' *

Clementi Clementi may refer to: People * Aldo Clementi (1925–2011), Italian composer * Carlo Mazzone-Clementi (1920–2000), Italian actor and mime * Cecil Clementi (1875–1947), British colonial administrator, Governor of Hong Kong and Straits Sett ...

's Piano Sonata Op.40 No.2 (1801–02) '' ll movements in b minor' *Clementi's Piano Sonata Op.40 No.3 (1802) '' ll movements in D major or d minor' *Beethoven's String Quartet Op.59 No.2 (1806) '' ll movements in e minor or E major, although the finale deceptively begins in C major' *Beethoven's

Op.70 No.1 ('Ghost') (1808) '' ll movements in D major or d minor' *Beethoven's Piano Sonata Op.79 (1809) '' ll movements in G major or g minor' *

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

's String Quartet D.87 (1813) '' ll movements in E-flat major' * Paganini's Violin Concerto in E minor (ca. 1815) '' ll movements in E minor / major' *Schubert's Piano Sonata No.7 in D (D.567/568) (1st version, 1817) '' ll movements in D-flat major or c-sharp minor' *Beethoven's Piano Sonata Op. 109 (1820) '' ll movements in E major or e minor' *Clementi's Piano Sonata Op. 50 No.3 'Didone Abbandonata' (1821) '' ll movements in g minor' *

Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include symphonie ...

's Viola Sonata in c minor MWV Q 14 (1824) '' ll movements in c minor' * Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1 Op. 11 (1830) '' ll movements in e minor or E major' * Friedrich Kalkbrenner's Piano Concerto No. 4 in A-flat major, Op. 147 (1835) '' ll movements in A-flat major or a-flat minor' * Alkan's Piano Trio No. 1 in g minor, Op. 30 (published 1841) '' ll movements in g minor or G major' *Mendelssohn's Organ Sonata Op.65 No.2 (1844) '' ll movements in c minor or C major' *Mendelssohn's Organ Sonata Op. 65 No.6 (1845) '' ll movements in D major or d minor' *

Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...

's Symphony No. 2 Op. 61 (1845–46) '' ll movements in C major or c minor' * Brahms' Piano Trio No. 1 Op. 8 (1853-4; rev. 1889) '' ll movements in B major or b minor' * Smetana's Piano Trio Op. 15 (1854–5) '' ll movements in g minor' *Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 1 Op.15 (1854–9) '' ll movements in d minor or D major' *Brahms' Horn Trio Op. 40 (1865) '' ll movements in E-flat major or e-flat minor' *Brahms' String Quartet No. 2 Op. 51 No. 2 (1873) '' ll movements in A minor or a major' * Dvořák's String Quartet No. 5 Op. 9 (1873) '' ll movements in F minor or F major' *

Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the leading Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use of N ...

's Holberg Suite Op. 40 (1884) '' ll movements in G major or g minor' *Brahms' Piano Trio No. 3 Op. 101 (1886) '' ll movements in c minor or C major' * Christian Sinding's Suite im alten Stil Op. 10 (1888) '' ll movements in a minor' * Dvořák's Sonatina for Violin and Piano Op. 100 (1893) '' ll movements in G major or g minor' *Brahms' Clarinet Sonata Op. 120 No. 2 (1894) '' ll movements in E-flat major or e-flat minor' * Scriabin's

Piano Concerto A piano concerto, a type of concerto, is a solo composition in the classical music genre which is composed for piano accompanied by an orchestra or other large ensemble. Piano concertos are typically virtuosic showpieces which require an advance ...

Op. 20 (1896) '' ll movements in f-sharp minor or F-sharp major' * Zemlinsky's String Quartet No. 1, Op. 4 (1896) '' ll movements in A major or a minor' *Roffredo Caetani's Piano Quintet Op. 4 (1897) '' ll movements in f-sharp minor' * Satie's

Jack in the Box Jack in the Box, Inc. is an American fast food restaurant chain founded on February 21, 1951, by Robert O. Peterson in San Diego, California, where it is headquartered. The chain has over 2,200 locations, primarily serving the West Coast of t ...

(1899) '' ll movements in C major'

After 1900

* Arne Oldberg's Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor (1909) '' ll movements in B-flat minor or B-flat major' *

Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...

Cello Sonata A cello sonata is piece written sonata form, often with the instrumentation of a cello taking solo role with piano accompaniment. Some of the earliest cello sonatas were composed in the 18th century by Francesco Geminiani and Antonio Vivaldi, and ...

(1915) '' ll movements in D minor' *Debussy's Sonata for flute, viola and harp (1915) '' ll movements in F major or F minor' *Debussy's

Violin Sonata A violin sonata is a musical composition for violin, often accompanied by a keyboard instrument and in earlier periods with a bass instrument doubling the keyboard bass line. The violin sonata developed from a simple Baroque music, baroque form wi ...

(1916–17) '' ll movements in G minor or G major' *Britten's '' Sinfonia da Requiem'', Op. 20 (1940) '' ll movements in D major or D minor' *Britten's String Quartet No. 2, Op. 36 (1945) '' ll movements in C major or C minor' * Miriam Hyde's Trio for Flute, Clarinet and Piano (1948) '' ll movements in G major or G minor' *Miriam Hyde's Clarinet Sonata (1949) '' ll movements in F minor or F major' * Mikhail Goldstein's Symphony in G minor, attributed to Mykola Ovsianiko-Kulikovsky as his "Symphony No. 21" (1948) '' ll movements in G minor or G major' * Nikolay Myaskovsky's String Quartet No. 13, Op. 86 (1949) '' ll movements in A minor or A major'

After 2000

* Christopher Norton's Clarinet Sonata (2012) '' ll movements in C major'

References

{{Music theory lists Musical analysis Musical keys