Form - Function - Content

Abstract

Arnold Schoenberg's concept of formal function, as formulated by Erwin Ratz, has become a staple of music theory since it was reimagined and systematized by William E. Caplin. However, this concept has been criticized for not speaking to the content of a piece of music, its particularity and meaning. By defining formal components, parts, and functions in line with the conceptual metaphors that underlie musical form, one may establish the inseparability of form and content. The definitions proposed here apply to art music from the eighteenth to the early twentieth centuries, the latter demonstrated through an analysis of Schoenberg's Op. 11, No. 1.