The piano parts make the fortissimo seem more-so. Still, they do all thing things that every other passage does: Support the theme, reveal character, and advance the plot.
Sir, your analogy caught my attention. Everywhere I look, I see novels being compared to a three act play. I never could grasp that one. But I've been a musician all my life (piano and voice), and more and more I see the parallels between music and writing. Especially now that I'm in the midst of rewrites, I find myself thinking of it as a sort of literary sonata.
For those who don't know, a sonata is a solo (usually) piece of music with three or four movements: the classic structure is an
allegro (a fast movement), an
allegretto,
andante or
largo (a slow to middle speed movement) and a
presto (a very energetic movement). Sometimes a fourth movement is added (a
rondo, or dance style movement is common). The order can be rearranged, depending on the time period and the composer's vision.
A famous example that illustrates my point: the Moonlight Sonata, by Beethoven. It has the very famous First Movement, which is an
adagio (slow), and everybody knows it. The second movement is
allegretto (building speed). The third movement, which nobody seems to know, is a
presto agitato (which means VERY fast and energetic). Go YouTube the movements, to see what I mean.
My favorite part is the third movement; my mother used to play it when I was a girl, but I never could get that monster up to speed, myself. She has always been a better musician than me.
I don't know if you are a trained musician, sir, but do you see why I would find parallels? My beginning must catch the attention and set the tone for the rest of the story. The middle must keep the tone and change the pace a bit, but it's mostly the time to fill in the richness of the story. The ending feels like it must be a great roller coaster. The reader dare not let go of the safety handles (as in, don't put the book down), and can't get off the ride until he gets to the crescendo at the end.
I could go on for pages and pages about the other parallels I see (major and minor keys, recurring musical themes, voice, pacing, musical phrasing, not to mention the investment of time and practice to "get good"), but I am TRYING to control myself. But you see where I'm going.
Am I making an error in thinking like this? Granted, I like adventure stories, so
presto agitato is practically a requirement at the end, but still, I think the analogy applies. It's a little weird: classical music is telling a story in sound and emotion; a novel is making music with words.
Okay, that was bizarre, even for me. But it makes a strange kind of sense, to me, at least. does it to you?