DICTIONARY OF MUSIC - El Atril

3G FIGURE FIQUEE
It is in fact the shortest complete idea in
music ; and in subdividing musical works into
their constituent portions, as separate movements,
sections, pei-iods, phrases, the units are
the figures, and any subdivision below them will
leave only expressionless single notes, as unmeaning
as the separate letters of a word.
Figures play a most important part in instrumental
music, in which it is necessary that a
strong and definite impression should be pjroduced
to answer the purpose of words, and convey the
sense of vitality to the otherwise incoherent suc-
cession of sounds. In pure vocal music this is
not the case , as on the one hand the words assist
the audience to follow and understand what they
hear, and on the other the quality of voices in
combination is such as to render strong characteristic
features somewhat inappropriate. But
without strongly marked figures the very reason
of existence of instrumental movements can
hardly be perceived, and the success of a movement
of any dimensions must ultimately depend,
to a very large extent, on the appropriate development
of the figures which are contained in
the chief subjects. The common expression that
a subject is very ' workable,' merely means that
it contains well-marked figures ; though it must
be observed, on the other hand, that there are
not a few instances in which masterly ti-eatment
has invested with powerful interest a figure
which at first sight would seem altogether de-
ficient in character.
As clear an instance as could be given of the
breaking up of a subject into its constituent
figures for the purpose of development, is the
treatment of the first subject of Beethoven's
Pastoral Symphony, which he breaks up into
(a) (h) (c)
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three figures corresponding to the first three
bars. As an example of his
may be taken—
treatment of (a)
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