A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Repeat

REPEAT, REPETIZIONE, REPLICA (Ger. Wiederholung; Fr. Répétition, which also means 'rehearsal'). In the so-called sonata-form, there are certain sections which are repeated, and are either written out in full twice over, or are written only once, with the sign

at the end, which shows that the music is to be repeated either from the beginning or from the previous occurrence of the sign. The sections which, according to the strict rule, are repeated, are the first section of the first movement, both sections of the minuet or scherzo at their first appearance, and both sections of the trio, after which the minuet or scherzo is gone once straight through without repeats. The last half of the first movement, and the first, or even both, of the sections in the last movement, may be repeated; see for instance Beethoven's Sonatas Op. 2, No. 2; Op. 10, No. 2; Op. 78; Schubert's Symphony No. 9. Also, where there is an air and variations, both sections of the air and of all the variations, should, strictly speaking, be repeated. Although it is a regular custom not to play the minuet or scherzo, after the trio, with repeats, Beethoven thinks fit to draw attention to the fact that it is to be played straight through, by putting after the trio the words 'Da Capo senza repetizione,' or 'senza replica,' in one or two instances, as in Op. 10, No. 3, where moreover the trio is not divided into two sections, and is not repeated; in Op. 27, No. 2, where the Allegretto is marked 'La prima parte senza repetizione' (the first part without repeat). In his 4th and 7th Symphonies he has given the trio twice over each time with full repeats.

[ J. A. F. M. ]