Somerset, Edward Seymour, 1st duke of (b. c. 1500/06—d. Jan. 22, 1552, London, Eng.) English politician. After his sister, Jane Sey¬ mour, married King Henry VIII in 1536, Somerset rose rapidly in royal favour. He commanded the English forces that invaded Scotland and sacked Edinburgh in 1544, and he decisively defeated the French at Bou¬ logne in 1545. After Henry’s death (1547), he was named Protector of England during the minority of Edward VI and acted as king in all but name. When the Scots rejected his appeal for a voluntary union with England, he invaded Scotland and won the Battle of Pinkie (1547). He introduced moderate Protestant reforms, but these provoked Catholic uprisings in western England. His land reforms were opposed by land- owners and the duke of Northumberland, who had Somerset deposed from the protectorate in 1549. He was imprisoned in 1551 on a flimsy charge of treason and executed the next year.
Somerville Vssm-ar-.viR and Ross joint pseudonym of Edith Anna Oenone Somerville and Violet Florence Martin (respectively b. May 2, 1858, Corfu, Greece—d. Oct. 8, 1949, Castlehaven, County Cork, Ire.; b. June 11, 1862, Ross House, County Galway, Ire.—d. Dec. 21, 1915, Cork, County Cork) Irish cousins and writers. Somerville and Martin met in 1886; three years later they published their first novel, An Irish Cousin , under the names E.CE. Somerville and Martin Ross. They cowrote a total of 14 books, including a collection of short stories. Some Experiences of an Irish R.M. (1899), that, with its sequels, was their most popular work. Their works wittily and sympathetically portrayed Irish society in the late 19th century. After Martin’s death, Somerville contin¬ ued to write under the joint name.
Somme Vsom, 'sam, 'sornV Battle of the (July 1-Nov. 13, 1916) Allied offensive in World War I. British and French forces launched a frontal attack against an entrenched German army north of the Somme River in France. A weeklong artillery bombardment was followed by a British infantry assault on the still-impregnable German positions. Nearly 60,000 British casualties (including 20,000 killed) occurred on the first day. The offensive gradually deteriorated into a battle of attrition, hampered by tor¬ rential rains in October that made the muddy battlefield impassable. By the time it was abandoned, the Allies had advanced only 5 mi (8 km). The staggering losses included 650,000 German casualties, 420,000 British, and 195,000 French. The battle became a metaphor for futile and indis¬ criminate slaughter.
Somme River Vs9m\ River, northern France. It rises near St.-Quentin and flows westward 152 mi (245 km) to the English Channel. Canals on its upper valley connect it with navigable waterways that link Paris and Flanders. Its upper basin was the scene of heavy fighting in World War I, particularly that of the Battle of the Somme (1916).
Somoza family \so-'mo-s3\ Family that maintained political control of Nicaragua for more than 40 years. The dynasty’s founder, Anastasio Somoza Garcia (1896-1956), became head of Nicaragua’s army in 1933 and, after deposing the elected president in 1936, ruled the country with a firm and grasping hand until he was assassinated. He was succeeded by his elder son, Luis Somoza Debayle (1922-67), and later by his younger son, Anastasio Somoza Debayle (1925-80), whose corrupt and brutal rule (1963-79) led to his overthrow by the Sandinistas. Somoza looted Nica¬ ragua before fleeing the country; he was assassinated in Paraguay.
sonar Technique for detecting and determining the distance and direc¬ tion of underwater objects by tracking acoustic echoes. The name derives from sound rcovigation ranging. Sound waves emitted by or reflected from an object are detected by sonar apparatus and analyzed for information. In active sonar a sound wave is generated that spreads outward and is
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1784 I sonata ► sonnet
reflected back by a target object. Passive systems consist simply of receiv¬ ing sensors that pick up the noise produced by the target (such as a sub¬ marine or torpedo). A third kind of sonar, used in communication systems, requires a projector and receiver at both ends. Sonar was first used to detect submarines in 1916. Modern nonmilitary uses include fish finding, depth sounding, mapping of the ocean floor, Doppler navigation (see Doppler effect), and searching for wrecks or other objects in the oceans.
sonata Musical form for one or more instruments, usually consisting of three or four movements. The name, Italian for “sounded (on an instru¬ ment),” originally simply indicated nonvocal music and was used for a confusing variety of genres into the late 17th century. In the 1650s two types of ensemble sonatas began to be codified, the sonata da chiesa (church sonata) and sonata da camera (chamber sonata). The former, intended for church performance, was generally in four movements, two of them slow; the latter was usually a suite of dances. The so-called solo sonata (for soloist—usually violin—and continuo) and the trio sonata (for two soloists and continuo) became standard. In the 1740s solo keyboard sonatas began to be written. C.P.E. Bach established the three-movement keyboard sonata as the norm, a status it would retain through the classi¬ cal era. Duo sonatas in the same form, usually for violin and keyboard, simultaneously became highly popular. Keyboard and duo sonatas have remained the standard types to the present day. From Bach’s time onward, the first movement was generally in allegro tempo and in sonata form. The second movement was usually slow. The last movement was gener¬ ally a minuet, rondo, or theme and variations. In a four-movement sonata, the third was usually a minuet or scherzo. In these respects the sonata paralleled genres such as the symphony and the string quartet.
sonata form or sonata-aNegro form Form of most first move¬ ments and often other movements in musical genres such as the symphony, concerto, string quartet, and sonata. The three parts of sonata form evolved from the binary, or two-part, form prominent in the music of the 17th and early 18th centuries. In sonata form the first part, or exposition, presents the basic thematic material of the movement, which is often divided into two thematic groups, the second being in the dominant key or—if the movement is in a minor key—in the relative major key. The sec¬ ond section, or development, generally treats the earlier themes freely, often moving to various different keys. It leads to the final section, or reca¬ pitulation, when the tonic key returns and all the thematic material is repeated in the tonic. Sonata form was the most common form for instru¬ mental works in Western art music from c. 1760 to the early 20th century.
Sonderbund Vzon-dor-.buntX German "Separatist League"
League formed in 1845 by the seven Roman Catholic Swiss cantons. After the Protestant cantons sought to prevent the Jesuits’ takeover of religious education in Lucerne, the Catholic cantons formed the Sonderbund, which further angered the liberal cantons. In 1847 a reformist majority in the Swiss Diet voted to dissolve the Sonderbund and expel the Jesuits. In November 1847 the league took up arms, but its forces were quickly sub¬ dued. The new Swiss constitution adopted in 1848 strengthened the cen¬ tral government.
Sondheim Vsand- 1 hlm\ / Stephen (Joshua) (b. March 22, 1930, New York, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. composer and lyricist. He studied piano and organ and at age 15 wrote his first musical under the tutelage of the musical comedy author Oscar Hammerstein II, a family friend. After studies with composer Milton Babbitt, he made his first mark on Broadway as lyricist for West Side Story (1957) and later Gypsy (1959). He wrote both music and lyrics for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962, Tony Award), A Little Night Music (1973, Tony Award), Sweeney Todd (1979, Tony Award), Sunday in the Park with George (1984, Pulitzer Prize), and Into the Woods (1987), among other works. His stage works are known for their intellectuality, musical complexity, and frequently dark tone.