Professional Documents
Culture Documents
24/II
Author(s): Christopher Wintle
Source: Music Analysis, Vol. 1, No. 1 (Mar., 1982), pp. 73-99
Published by: Blackwell Publishing
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/853992
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CHRISTOPHER WINTLE
73
CHRISTOPHERWINTLE
74
WEBERN'S CONCERTOOP.241II
75
CHRISTOPHERWINTLE
classicismhave alreadybeen aired by analysts- and will certainlybe considered afresh later in this paper- then the influenceupon the music of an
implicit Beethovenianperformingpractice can also be demonstratedin a
numberof ways.
First of all, Ex. 1 shows the Concerto movement reproducedas a short
EX.1
SehrlangsamJ-ca.lO
rp
Va
3)
un
Ob.
Fl.
Si
mp
9 t fmp
wigder
getroger
lando
pp t
4]
>
7
P
m
#J
v/Tb.
bt
Hrn,
Pk
pk
tempo
geethragen
Xf
4T+ Zj
p
'
Hrn.
p
4>;L
tempo
(;@)
mp
71
j
mp
t'';1
>
tempo
D+9
mp
9sS\ >
catando
4gf
_@
4,<
p
t>
Ob.
Ob
calando
Fl.
+
Cl.
z uf
i rnpr t
-L
ctl
catando_______ tempo
Ob.
t
f.
P
t
__
p
2
<4
2 4S
9<
9 t
wt-jU
rgj
WEBERNS CONCERTOOP.24/ II
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ternpo
sehrgetragen
*=
Trp.
mp
Trb.
calando________ __ _sehrgetragen
Fl.
mp
,_>:
Va.
,_+
Hrn.
pp
Cl.
77
CHRISTOPHERWINTLE
mezzo (although the keyboardrange might feel a bit limited). It is a restriction, furthermore,that affects the strategy of the composition. Here
the simple homophonic circumstance of tune and accompaniment,coloured by what Wildgans has describedas a 'pointilliste' instrumentation8
(a more appropriateterm than Klangfarbenmelodie),
is adheredto throughout: in the hands of another composer, the situation whereby several instrumentsarticulatea single line might well have given way to one where
several lines are each articulatedby single instrumentswith a consequent
contrapuntalelaborationof texture.
There are plenty of biographicalaccounts of Webern's own use of the
piano to suggest reasonsfor this restriction.Throughout his life, he made
piano reductionsof his own music (Opp.1, 8, 13, 14, 15, 19, 29 and 31) as
well as that of Schoenberg,Wagner-Regeny,Schoeck, Casellaand others.
That some of this was enforced labour should not disguise the fact that
these reductionsmet the demandsof the times, not only for rehearsalpurposes, but also for concert ones (in our own timbre-conscioustimes, the
arrangementper se has fared extraordinarilybadly). Apart from this, he
introduced new works to his friends at the piano, taught analysis at the
piano, played student exercises at the piano, and- most pertinently perhaps - coached conductors from the piano. To meet the last of these
needs, therefore,the layout of the Concertocould hardly be more suitably
arranged.
On the other hand, the caveatsthat Scherchenissued regardingthe interpretativelimitationsinherent in a keyboardtrainingraise another, and
important, practical consideration: that of the articulation of line. He
writes in the Handbook:
The piano as an instrumentused in the home has acted on music as a
plague and wrought terrible havoc. Even in orchestras,people are to
be encounteredwhose musical traininghas taught them to decompose
melodic relationshipsinto small parts. Just as the guileless pianist conceives a bass which merely signifies a harmonicdisplacementas a division of structuralarticulation,so do other players hack periods in 4
into half bars, and partition live melodic entities into metric
fragments.9
In his book, this issue is pursued in more detail than can be entered into
here, though one comparisonwill demonstratewhat it is that Scherchen
has in mind. Ex. 2 shows the famous melody from Weber's DerFreischutz
Ex.2
a.
4t1Jr .sl
lf .> 1r
21
21f
r g
b.
4
w1F
tension-crescendo
78
Just how importantthis sense of the shaping of line was to Webern also is
conveyed by Steuermann's description of his conducting of Bach: 'he
combined a projection of the motivic structure, which made the music
vibrant with inner life, witha senseof thegreatline,always supported by
simple and clear dynamics' (my italics). However much Baroque performing practice may have evolved over the last forty years or so, these
remarks are especially illuminating about Webern's compositional priorities. Ex. 3 shows, through a basic formal analysis, how the various sections of the Concertomovement are all in effect articulationsof the great
line spanning the entire 78 bars, and how each section is itself delineated
by 'simple and clear dynamics'.
The formal partitioning shows, within the context of a binary-ternay
form, the 'Beethovenian',classical scheme. The divisions of Part 1 follow
those of Leopold Skinner11 (who in turn respondedto the teaching in this
matter of Webern and Schoenberg)in describinga period, comprisingan
antecedent (in two sections), a consequent (in two sections with an extension), and a prolongationof the consequent which leads the period from
its climax to its conclusion. Each of these three parts concludes with, and
is articulatedby, a tapering, calandophrase. For Part 2, Webern invokes
the classical Model and Sequence principal,offering seven versions of the
Model, which itself comprises three elements: a sehrgetragenopening,
invariably marked pp; a temposection; and - as in Part 1 - a calando
conclusion, articulatedhere, as there, by a fall in dynamics.Three of these
(Schoenberg'spreferredterm for
models are allotted to the Durchfuhrung
the Development), whose 28 bars balance the 28 bars of Part 1: three to
the Recapitulation(which, as will be explained in due course, is not seen
as synonymous with the recapitulationof the sets of Part 1, which return
at b. 452); and one to the Coda, where the calandoconclusion is replaced
by the more all-embracinginstruction,morendo.
As far as the dynamics are concerned, it is striking that the scale on
excludes the degree mf. This is also the
which they range,f-mp-p-pp-ppp,
case in the other movements (both of which include the only other dynamic degree X). The reason for this exclusion is probably as much biographicalas it is musical. Webern, always so anxious to please his teacher,
would have been only too aware that Schoenberg (the dedicatee of the
work) discouragedstudents from using this indication,on the groundsthat
MUSIC ANALYSIS 1: 1, 1982
79
CHRISTOPHERWINTLE
Ex. 3
D YNAMICS
FORM
Part 1
Exposition
Antecedent
of the Period: 1.
of the Period: 2.
Consequent
of the Period: 1.
OfthePeriod: 2.
(extended:) 3.
Prolongation
of the
1.
Consequent:
(a)
(b)
(c)
pp
pp
pp
mp p
p
mp p
{
BARS
mp p
mp p
PP
>)
*
f mpp
-5
6
ll2_ 16
17 - 211
212 _ 231
ppo
232 _ 28
Part 2
Durchfuhrung
Model 1:
Model 2:
(extended:)
Model 3:
PP+
PP+
pp+
mp
mp
mp
f mp
p*
p*
p*
p*
29 - 33
34 _ 39
392 _
432 _ 56
57 - 63
64 - 68
69 - 73
74 - 78
Recapitulation
Model 4:
Model 5:
Model 6:
pp+
pp+
p
p
p*
pp*
pp(-)
pp+
pp/m
ppp/m
pp+
mp
Coda
Model 7:
Key
* denotes a phraseending calando
+ denotes a phraseplayedsehrgetragen
m indicatesa generalinstructionmorendo
(-) indicatesthat there is no calandoat the close of Model 6, i.e. in column
(c). This may be an omission, but it probablyreflectsthe attenuationof the
music at this point, where only a single piano chord would be subsumed
underthis indication.
In line 3 of the consequentof the period, the two dynamicvalues subsume
and replacethe expecteddynamicvalue in column (c) of line 2.
WEBERN S CONCERTOOP.24/II
consequent is this p): a move to a higher dynamic (here, p); with a falling
away to a lesser one, sometimes (as here, with the pp) to that with which
the phrase opened. As we have already seen, it is this paradigmthat assumes an even more concrete form in the Models of Part 2 of the piece.
Subsidiary phrases (the second parts of the antecedent and consequent,
the extensions and prolongations)use only the second and third elements
of this paradigm.And the general shape of the movement can be observed
by comparingthe second elements of each line of the example (in other,
words, by reading down column (b)): a growth in Part 1 from p through
mp to a brief moment of f at the beginning of the prolongation of the
consequent,with an immediatefall back to mpand p before the calandopp
close. In the Durchfuhrung
of Part 2, the central column shows a growth
from mpin Models 1 and 2, to an extended climacticf in Model 3. This
'works out' the f dynamic level, and in the recapitulation and coda,
Models 4 to 7 show a gradualfall in the column: mpto p and finally pp,
mirroringthe gradual dispersal of energy and increasedfragmentationof
ne 1nt l1S SeCtlOn.
Indeed, the compositionaltension in the work resides in the opposition
between extended linear arches on the one hand, and the fragmentationof
the instrumentationthrough which the arches reveal themselves on the
other. These kinds of melody, Scherchen said, 'cannot be performedcorrectly unless each player mentally sings the whole of them as they are
played, and contributeshis share in accordancewith the conceptionof the
whole thus formed'. 'To sing', he explained, 'is the life function of
music... all singing is concentration and release.'12 A singing quality
could be achieved not merely through the use of surreptitiouscrescendi
and diminuendi,
and by sustaining notes with tension-crescendi,
but by introducinga sense of the 'onwardurge' - for 'the correctdeterminationand
achievement of this onward impetus is the whole secret of good performance'.But if the general shaping of each section, and, indeed, of the
whole piece, is indicated by the dynamics, an 'onwardurge' presupposes
motion to and from specificmusical goals. What are these goals? And how
are they articulated?These questions bring us back to our opening ones,
and demand that the issues of performance now become those of
analysis.13 But first, some preliminaries.
*
2: Analyticpreliminaries
Accordingto Hans Moldenhauer,this movementwas composedat the end
of July 1934, in 'less than one week'.14In March of that year, Webernhad
completedthe Three Songs, Op.23, for voice and piano to texts of Hildegarde Jone. These texts show how a sense of grace may be achieved in a
number of ways: through contemplating the dependence of life upon
death; by arrivingat a self-denying awarenessof nature; and through recognising what it is that nature has to offer man. That he was still involved
MUSIC ANALYSIS 1: 1, 1982
81
CHRISTOPHERWINTLE
{fol
EXPOSITION
Ex.4a
I.
, ANT.
9 J
-
PROL.
1f | If
i+SSlf B 1
i' b: 14 r 1;
*_
rr lf I J
1(
r| 2 r I
!Aw1
1 t: 1^t
ff -
|ir )
iD: | >: l |
zy
tf
rt
t t
L-
Jk
(So10t
- -
1t
r |ll r g
1
Ex.4b
c)
b)
M1.a)
It1
4 tj
1 t ,[
ItJ,/
c)
b)
M2.a)
'9l Z 14 (t +, ]J IJ j
t f
41
B
tt U
b)
a)
bs t J 1t b; ,J b:
1ir im
Ir
4:
i-
1iMJ Itry
,,
,
ji l''l<
I$Jij
(t
f1 1
c)
IJ
,:
83
M5
a)
b)
c)
CHRISTOPHERWINTLE
b)
$ji
*-
r7Jlwrlit trJ4Is
It
19t t it : 41t
t(
it t I
] t [ 7 rr
M6 a)
[) t $r 1t
Q
4t
b;
11
; 1r?e
I
)
c)
Je<_J
b/c) {'
,J, g
('
J 12 w; It.9,>
K
12 , ,1
l
'
MUSIC ANALYSIS 1: l ,
1 982
|A,
_W
-1
AS
=t
=,
1e
--
11
WEBERN S CONCERTOOP.24/ II
Ex.5
(014)
PO
yOl4):
p.c.
content
(014)
RI
hexachord 1
( PRIMARY)
'
(jil=
tritone ,
\ related/
hexachord 2
(SECONDARY)
85
CHRISTOPHERWINTLE
e rtt. [t-$4
'--W#=:
1s,
:-
1ts
i,
1---o-
,t
F 2-_-$#
t>-t
- = -= =
-_-1
------
WEBERN S CONCERTOOP.24/ II
Ex.6
(014) ANTECEDENT
CONSEQUENT
$+
tJ4,+|J$+,*J>,,0iJ*J>,,lls0J
0 , IJWJ- X-
PD
I4
RB
RIg= ftXts)
____________________
pO
Plexachord
Hexachord 2
P4
fi
!,
1-w_
VS -
tt--L' -w--1--Wdl4JzJ
NOT
-#
-o--v--
i-fHlElfL--'*-FA
(014)
-1
-2--
*-
zxe
$*
f--
F-F--4
(015)
NB
87
CHRISTOPHERWINTLE
Ex.7
Is ,$ jiz
e.g.
1+
IF
t---
-X-*
---
--
"--'
--'
1<sH,'d
Ex.8
ANTECEDENT:CONSEQUENT:
Trp
Trh
fJ
,
(,
jJ
PROLONGATION:
Trp.
( Q
(9
-,
'
and B), all of which are (functionally)scored for brass instruments, also
spell out, not merely an augmentedtriad, but the same one that formedthe
structuralbasis of the antecedent (cf. Ex. 6(b)): notice, in Ex. 8, that a
differentpitch occupiesthe downbeatin eachcase.
All this showsthreeattributescentralto the pitch syntaxof the movement:
first,that (014) triochordsmust be seen in the broadercontext of augmented
(048) trichords;second,that the G-Eb-B trichordmarksout a 'tonic'areain
the exposition;and third, becausethe (04) dyad- in other words, the 'major
third'or 'minorsixth'- is commonto both (014) and (048) trichords,it may,
as is the caseat the openingof the consequentand its prolongation,partakein
both triadssimultaneously,though at differentstructurallevels in each case
(the G-Eb at bs 11-12 is locallypart of the (014) trichordG-Eb/E, as is the
Eb-B of bs 2>24 part of the (014) trichordEb-B-C).
The tension between slowly unfolding 'background'events and relatively
rapid, though different, 'foreground'events creates the sense of directed
motion in the music following b. 28. And ratherthan pursue any further
detailsof the Expositionat this stage, we shall at once follow the large-scale
events in the Durchfuhrung
and Recapitulation.
(b) Thebackgroundto bs 2F56.
To arrive at the backgroundstrategy for the Durchfuhrungsection of this
88
57
tiv)
WEBERN S CONCERTOOP.24/II
Bars:29-30
RECAPITULATION
(i)
(048) trichords
t
PO
W: i-,
S
t
(}d
|
v
,,,
hexachord1 pitch content
(014)
trichords
l
I
n.b. tritone-related
|
t
L11
l
I
Durchfuhrung,
and of the first Model that establishes the Recapitulation.
The two systems below the music examples show how the 'major third'
figures (derived, it will be remembered,from the close of the exposition cf. Ex. 4(a)) have a presence both in the augmentedchords that comprise
the two hexachords of the source set (PO), and in the more immediate
(014)-based set-successions of the 'foreground'. It is important to see
that, whereasin the first three of these sections there are just four pitches,
in the fourth, the 'goal' of the directed motion, there are six, comprising
the first hexachordof PO, the 'source set'. The rhythmic articulationhere
is also significant. In the first three sections, the 'major third' figure is
placed alternatelyon weak, strong and weak beats. In the fourth section,
MUSIC ANALYSIS 1: l, 1982
89
CHRISTOPHERWINTLE
,Lo,5'.>
'u'
r w s_
sehr
64 gseet)rragen
tempo
57getragebn
I9tJ
lo$vitJ
tF
ltj
lt
lt
'echo'
il
r jrisrlt
SgeeVra>
r l
tempo
er
'b
if
2t
Ic
f
9o
*: C
ccntE^t
WEBERN'S CONCERTOOP.24/ II
Ex.12
(EA
(y
heschckrd 2
Po hexachord 1
,)
, r
Pf.
lT
is
'
if
iS
hS
.
Ntritone-reLated
(d) Harmonyandextraction.
The three preceding sections of analysis have laid out the 'background'
structure of the music, indicating the goals that are being pursued, and
how, more locally, they are prefiguredand, in the Coda, summed up. An
awareness of these articulations is essential to a properly balanced interpretationof the movement. But before turning to some of the minutiae
of the 'foreground', we must consider one other area in which form is
articulatedon the large-scale,that of harmony.
We have already designated b. 57 as the point at which the Recapitulation begins, since this is the point at which the tonic augmentedtrichord
- and by extension, the first hexachordof the source set - is stabilized. It
is also the point where the process of extractingthe first, fourth, seventh
MUSIC ANALYSIS 1: l, 1982
91
5b&zit0i':t
*
159'
CHRISTOPHERWINTLE
and tenth pitches of each set to form the melodic trichords - a process
replaced by different principles in the Durchfahrung-is restored: this
means, of course, that the melodic pitches found between bs 57 and 73 are
the same as those found in the Exposition between bs 11 and 24. On the
other hand, we have also said that the Recapitulationof the set-forms of
the opening begins earlier than this, on the second beat of b. 46. These
two observationsare not necessarilyopposed. It is by no means an axiom
analyticallythat in Classicalmusic the return to the opening thematicmaterial must at once be supported by a return to the tonic tonality, or vice
versa. Nevertheless, the return of PO at b. 46 does have its own articulation, one that needs to be seen in the context of the harmonic organlzatlonot tne entlre movement.
Let us look at the figures found throughout in the piano accompaniment.
In the Exposition, all the figures connect a 'majorseventh' dyad with a
'majorthird' dyad by means of a slur (Ex. 13(a)). The only exceptions are
Ex.13
a
1-28
etc. 29-46
t KIIe
Dt
1lS- ti--[
C)1)-(04)
_f(04)-(01)
48
etc.
(01)
etc. 46
t_
(01) 64),(04)
(01)
(01)/ (04)
(01)
(04)
the piano 'echo' phrases that terminate the antecedent, the consequent,
and the prolongationof the consequent, which comprise 'majorsevenths'
only.
In the Durchfuhrung,
however, these two intervals - 'sevenths' and
'thirds' - are isolated and developed separately.From bs 29 to 46, there
are only 'major sevenths', which are presented either singly, or slurred
(Ex. 13(b)). The figure at b. 46 that heralds the return of PO (Ex. 13(c))
has a further function: as it unites a 'majorseventh' with a 'majorthird'
dyad, it connects the preceding 'major seventh' area (bs 2946) with the
succeeding 'majorthird' one (bs 47-51): see Ex. 13 (d). This is also the
function of the figure at bs 51-52, whose slurred 'majorthird'/'majorseventh' (Ex. 13(e)) leads the music back from the 'major third' area to a
resume (bs 53-56) of the 'major sevenths' of bs 4143(Ex. 13 (f)). (Note
that the F-Db of b. 51 not only recalls the registrationof this dyad at b.
48, but confirms a position this dyad had taken at b. 17, and which it
resumesat b. 63, and takes againat b. 71.)
The Recapitulationdoes not simply reproducethe piano figures as they
were found in the Exposition, but, Classically,extends the processesof the
92
o 1s i J o.
t hJ S
@tS 9
L-
WEBERN S CONCERTOOP.24/ II
Durchfahrung.
Following the sehrgetragenof bs 57-58, the dyads are now
regrouped, so that, roughly speaking, pairs of 'majorthirds' and pairs of
'majorsevenths' alternate(Ex. 13(g)).
These means of articulatinglarger musical areas of the piece harmonically - so simple, yet so telling - would seem to have determined the
patternof melodic extractionin the Durchfahrung.
Ex. 14(b) from the next
section shows that this pattern differs from one set to the next, and that
with the melodically extracted pitches (stemmed notes) new intervals
emerge that had not been heard in the Exposition. This is redolent of
EXPOSITION
Set
Ex.14a
Forrns
1 ANT.
4 ;,
-1
s8 l<;j
-tl--J-1=0
10
'Echo'
(=SsL4--,--,--l}9
CONS.
l,X, . l-J---,,
bJ o
13- -^
eg L4--,
---a *=-1
j -? 1-*--d--^-1--J
--4--2
15
1A--;-
.--,-.--
^li-;-21
.--1-F
---,
- *J
See footnote 20
-t--S,
=------
t 8--1
'Echo'
(R18)
1+We t-.@-10*j-1J--22
,Ext.
PRDL
b il--=--^------l--q-h---l.9t
27
-i6)
4i
'Echo
,t
| iF
--,;110
hexachoF i
93
P8
,Clj>
1.
L(02)(04)
=_
t_
..
CHRISTOPHERWINTLE
DURCHFUHRUNG
Ex.14b
Set
Forms
Piano
dyads
Extracted dyads
cmd trichords
(01)
(04)
- itCE
>=r-i
f;bt5)
hexachord 2
-
(ol)
I:
,
. (05?
E (016)(01)
1+9--[
I6
-1-------------
j--'j - - 1
?*---j --
38
$
(ol)
_
_ __=_
r
41
____
--1--
t-S,-n
-*
>
(01)
E (02)
=-
,9
,$-
1g
<
Recapitulaticn
d s#S 46 jE
50
4
-i
Xr
.(04)(04)(0m)
LDS-
t1
-bJ;
,q
---1L=--=<
4---i>C=i-?<r=-ll
CE
55w
1-
(04)101)
(01)(014)
(ol)
(014)
- - - -1- (01)/(04)
t-
- : 1-
43
',
'
(01)
(01)(04)
(01flN)
(ORo)l$--3-J-tt^---it9--!---;2>-lil-41
"RECAPITULATION
(04)(04)(01)
--=1-
Key:
Unstemmed note-heads relate to the piano part; stemmed and beamed notes
relateto the melodicallyextractedpitches; double beams designatethe (04) dyads
that are part of the sehrgetragensections.
E denotes an elision between the terminal pitch(es) of one set and the initial
pitch(es)of the next.
* denotes those extracteddyads and trichordsthat do not belong to classes (01),
(04) or (014).
(s) denotes a secondaryset formation (e.g. PO(s) is equivalent to PO, with the
successionof the two hexachordsreversed:this form is equivalentto RI9).
MUSIC ANALYSIS 1: 1, 1982
94
WEBERN S CONCERTOOP.24/II
(e) Theforeground
sets,bs1-29.
In section (a) of the Analysis,the 'background'network of augmented
trichords was shown to derive in part from the 'cycle' of transpositions
PO-I4-P8-PO(s) which provided the structure of the antecedent, and in
part from the intrinsic propertiesof the set. In section (b), the sehrgetragen dyads E-C (bs 29-30) and A-Ct (bs 34-35), themselves implicitly
members of augmented trichords, were then shown to derive registrally
from bs 13-15. Although these dyads were said to foreshadowthe 'modulation' to the tritone area at the opening of the Durchfahrung,
the overall
context of the Exposition was seen to be determined by the opening
pitches of the three principalphrases (G, SEb, Eb-B respectively)which
outlined the 'tonic' augmentedtrichord (see Ex. 4 (a)). We may now see
how this structure is reflected in, and supported by, the organizationof
the 'foreground'sets, which are laid out in Ex. 14(a).
The following plan shows the strategystandingbehind this Example:
ANTECEDENT CONSEQUENT
PROLONGATION
(048): PO-I4-P8-PO(s)hi/hii(159)
P9-P1P5-P9(s)
(37.11):
P7-P 11(s)hi-P 11By following the second hexachord of PO(s) by P9, Webern ensures, as
Skinner observes, that the first four melodically extracted pitches of the
antecedent (GEb-E-C) are reproduced at the beginning of the consequent. He also effects a shift to a new 'cycle' of set transpositions,P9-P1P5-P(s). As before, this cycle (the first pitches of which are E-G$-C-E)
ends with a secondaryset form (equivalentto RI6). This means that the
first hexachordof P9, by following the second hexachord,comparablyinauguratesa new section, in this case the Durchfahrung.
Ex. 15(b) shows
how this overlapping of the P9 cycle into the Durchfahrung
gives substance to the assertionthat the E and C of b. 13 prefigurethe structurally
more significantE and C of bs 29-30: for both dyads stand at either end
of this cycle. (Cf. also the layout of the dyads Ab-G and SEb in bs 13-14
and 30-32.)
The plan also shows that the P9 cycle, unlike that of the antecedent, is
extended through the interpolationof elements of a third cycle, based on
the succession P3-P7-P11 (the first pitches of which are Bb, D and FS
respectively), though only the P7 and P11 forms are used. P11 in fact
occurs twice: first as a secondaryset, markingthe end of the consequent
with an 'echo phrase' in the piano; and then in its proper form, as a short
MUSIC ANALYSIS 1: l, 1982
95
(3
ll)
>CONDARY
t
,Issss
CHRISTOPHERWINTLE
Ex.15
a
ct
P a
vnf:
18;244 Fl.
' PRIMARY
HEXACHC8D
J -- -- vo
(CONSE()UENT)p
7
(PROLONGATION)
1t1
p Ju
j -
TJ
|9' tJ
>
S
+'
13-30
?o
HEXACHCRD
19 r Is4IJi-1
1#W10
t8-24 1lt
1J-ld[J-1
structure:
UL
extension of the consequent (its first hexachordis elided with the second
hexachordof P1 l(s), as shown in Ex. 14(a)).The significanceof this interpolation is shown in Ex. 15 (a). The Pll forms give a special emphasis to
the 'tonic' augmented trichord, GB-Eb, both in the 'echo phrase' of bs
21-22, which picks up the B-G in the violin of b. 20, and in the Eb-B of
the trumpet in bs 2924. (The extension to the consequent, in bs 22- 23,
which is based on the first hexachordof P11 proper brings the Ft and D
in the trombone: these pitches, which also belong to the primary hexachord of the 'source set' PO, also preceded the Eb and B at b. 6.) All this,
then, serves to anchorand aff1rmtonic qualitiesat this point.
The corollary to this is shown in Ex. 15(b). The remaining extracted
pitches of bs 13-30 (which mark the beginning and end of the P9 cycle)
belong to the secondaryhexachordof the 'source set' PO. This is not fortuitous. Just as the primaryand secondaryhexachordsof PO are relatedat
the tritone, so too do the sets that are interpolatedinto the P9-P1-P5 cycle
stand in a tritone relation to the sets they adjoin. In other words, P7
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97
CHRISTOPHERWINTLE
Conclusion
This analysis could, of course, be extended to take in further details of
melodic structure, registration and (especially) instrumentation. But it
should by now be clear that, while Webern deploys the twelve notes in
regularrotationto achieve a formalizedatonality,the twelve notes are not,
from a larger point of view, related equally to one another at all. On the
other hand, the designation of a tonal centre, of a 'tonic' augmented trichord, and of primaryand secondaryhexachordswithin the 'source set,'
does not in itself imply that Schenkeriantonal operationsneed be invoked.
While there is a parallel here between the larger deployment of a single
hexachord to embrace an entire section, and the concept of Stufen,and
while there is also a pattern of (set-)substitutions, there is more significantly no sense of motion towards a cadenceper se, no Auskomponierung,
and no voice-leadingby stepwise movement. And it is part of the aesthetic
of Webern's twelve-note music that the expressivepower is achieved precisely by denying the assurancesthat these conventionaltonalmeansoffer.
It may still be the case that a conductorneed not acquire all the information assembled in this paper before lifting his baton. Nevetheless, it is
striking that in the available commercialrecordings of the Concerto, so
little comprehensionof structureis evinced. Dynamics are ignored, phrasing is under-articulated,tempo gradationsare over-ridden,and the whole
deprivedof the sense of directedmotion that alone can bring this music to
life. Instead, we are offered too often that which is chic, clean, inorganic
and dead. If this analysis can do anything to reverse this state of affairs,
then it will have achievedsomethingof its purpose.
It will have achieved another part of its purpose if it helps composers
and historians of contemporarymusic to re-assess their attitudes to the
neo-classical aspects of Viennese twelve-note music. It is quite apparent
from this account that the various dimensions of structure are all highly
integrated,and that there are no discontinuities: the trichords of the set,
the extractedtrichords,the pivotal natureof (04) dyads between (014) and
(048) trichords, the hexachordalstructure that embraces (014) and (048)
trichords alike, the tritone-relatednesswithin the sets, the deployment of
larger tritonally- related areas in the melodic dimension, the transpositions of sets either through 'cycles' of augmented chords, or from a
tritone area to a tonic area: all these things are extraordinarilyenmeshed.
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