Through-composed music

While most musical forms such as ternary form (ABA), rondo form (ABACABA), and sonata form (ABA') rely on repetition, through-composed music does not re-use material (ABCD). This constant introduction of new material is most noticeable in musical settings of poems, in contrast to the often used strophic form (AAA). Through-composed songs have different music for each stanza of the lyrics. The German word durchkomponiert is also used to indicate this concept.^[2]

Opera and musicals[edit]

The term "through-composed" is also applied to opera and musical theater to indicate a work that consists of an uninterrupted stream of music from beginning to end, as in the operas of Wagner. This stands in contrast to the practice, as for example occurs in Mozart's Italian- and German-language operas, of having a collection of songs interrupted by recitative or spoken dialogue.^[4] Examples of the modern trend towards through-composed works in musical theater include the works of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Claude-Michel Schönberg. In musical theater, works with clear delineations between songs yet no spoken dialogue – such as Les Misérables or Hamilton – are usually instead referred to by the term "through-sung".