Britannica AI Icon

Quick Summary

In music, recapitulation refers to the third section of a sonata form. This section restates the musical subject matter that was initially presented in the exposition. While the exposition typically moves from the tonic key to a new, related key, the recapitulation brings the musical ideas back to the original tonic key, creating a sense of resolution. This restatement, often in the main key, is a crucial part of the sonata form structure, which also includes an exposition and a development section. The term "recapitulation" can also generally mean a concise summary of main ideas.1234

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.