A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Volta, Prima

VOLTA, PRIMA, SECONDA—First, or second time; more commonly seen in the abbreviated forms, '1ma,' '2da,' or with the numerals alone—an indication that the portion of an instrumental movement which is to be repeated, is to undergo certain modifications at the close of its second repetition, instead of being repeated exactly. In the earlier development of the sonata-form it was soon found that when the first part of the movement closed on the dominant, or—in the case of a movement in a minor key—on the relative major, it was convenient to make the transition back to the tonic, or to the opening subject, by means of some short and obvious figure, which without disturbing the rhythm of the music should prepare for the return to the beginning. In cases where the second half of the movement began, like the first, in the tonic, the transitional figure could of course be retained without alteration, but where the second half began in the dominant or any other key, the transitional figure had, so to speak, to change its direction, so as to lead into such other key; or it might be omitted in cases where the close of the first half and the beginning of the second were in the same key. The transitional figure occupied generally not more than part of a bar; and where it had to be altered, both versions were written side by side, one immediately before the repetition mark, and the other immediately after it. A line was drawn above both, and the words 'Prima volta,' or the figure 1, placed over the first version, and 'Seconda volta,' or simply 2, over the second. At first the player goes straight on to the repeat, but at the second repetition he passes from the beginning of the line where 'Prima volta' stands, to the double bar, so that the portion after the double bar is played instead of that before it. Two very good instances of this simplest form of transition are the Gavotte in Bach's 3rd (G minor) English Suite, and the first movement of his son Emanuel's beautiful Sonata in F minor. In the Scherzo of Beethoven's 7th Symphony, the only difference between the prima and seconda volta is one of force; both consist simply of a long-held A, but the first time it is held out fortissimo, and at the second, there is a diminuendo to the piano with which the trio begins. But as the development of the form went on, the transitional figure followed the example of all the other parts and became longer and more elaborate, often occupying so many bars that the rhythm is no longer strictly adhered to, but is held in abeyance till the transition has been made.

[ J. A. F. M. ]