Expositions with Two Half-Cadential Breaks

Many Galant expositions are demarcated by two half-cadential breaks—one following a resting point on V and the other following a resting point on the new-key V—each followed by a passage in the secondary key. In several of these cases, neither of the breaks convincingly stands out as the sole medial caesura and neither of the new-key themes convincingly stands out as the sole secondary theme. Modern theory has attempted to discuss such layouts via various proposed paradigms, with mixed results; these include evocations of layouts involving expositions with either a two-part subordinate theme, a two-part transition, or a so-called trimodular block. From the standpoint of eighteenth-century punctuation form, however, this expositional layout is entirely normal: it was discussed by many theorists from the time as a standard structure and is amply reflected in the repertoire from the time. Coming to grips with expositions with two half-cadential breaks, each followed by a new-key theme, helps highlight the difference between the eighteenth-century journey metaphors for form vs. modern container metaphors for form.