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1220000019*
MOTIVIC DESIGN AND TONAL STRUCTURE
IN THE MAZURKAS OF FREDERIC CHOPIN,
AS ILLUSTRATED IN GRAPHIC ANALYSES
BASED ON THE THEORETICAL CONCEPTS
OF HEINRICH SCHENKER
NICOLAAS GERT JOHANNES VILJOEN
A DISSERTATION
SUBMITTED TO MEET THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE DEGREE OF
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (MUSICOLOGY)
IN THE FACULTY OF ARTS
DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC
OF THE UNIVERSITY OF THE ORANGE FREE STATE
MAY 1989
UfltvIJnlt61t Vdn die Orani"VrysfC:
BLOEMFONTEIN
'1 'NOV 1989
T 786. 21884092 CHO
I BIBLIOTEEK
DEDICATED WITH ALL MY LOVE TO MY WIFE MARTINA
DECLARATION
00 I HEREBY DECLARE THAT THE DISSERTAT ION SUBI-UTIED BY ME FOR THE
DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (MUSICOLOGY) AT THE UNIVERSITY OF
THE ORANGE FREE STATE IS MY INDEPENDENT WORK NOT PREV IOUSLY
SUBMITTED BY ME FOR A DEGREE AT ANOTHER UNIVERSITY/FACULTY"
N. G. J. Viljoen
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements xi
Preface xiv
GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO CHOPIN AND THE MAZURKAS
SECTION I The Mazurka as a Genre: its Origins and
Characteristics 1
Mazur 3
Oberek 6
Kuj awiak 7
SECTION II A Chronological List of Chopin's Mazurkas 11
Opus 6 11
Opus 7 12
Opus 17 12
Opus 24 12
Opus 30 13
Opus 33 13
Opus 41 13
Opus 50 13
Opus 56 14
Opus 59 14
Opus 63 14
Opus 67 15
Opus 68 15
Mazurkas without Opus Numbers Published during
Chopin's Lifetime 16
- v -
Muzurkas without Opus Numbers Published
Posthumousl'y 16
SECTION III Chopin's Contribution to the Mazurka 19
The nature of Folkloric Material 19
Modality 26
The Application and Development of Folklore 32
Notes 40
PART ONE
SCHENKERIAN ANALYSIS; ITS JUSTIFICATION AND EXPLANATION
CHAPTER 1 Heinrich Schenker and the Analysis of
Voice-leading, Harmonic and Tonal Structures in
Traditional Tonal Music 45
Schenker's Ideas and Concepts on Music and Tonal
Organisation in Music 49
Music as an Art: its Organisation, History and
Elements 50
Composing-out and Prolongation 54
The Concept of Reduction 56
The History and Evaluation of Art Music 57
The Nature of Harmony and Counterpoint 58
The Concept of Tonicisation 61
Preliminary Information about Schenker's Graphic
Notational System 62
Schenker and Some of his Contemporaries 63
A Survey and Assessment of Schenker's Theoretical
Writings 69
- vi -
Biographical Details 69
Schenker's Publications 70
Harmonielehre 71
Kontrapunkt 72
Der freie Satz 73
Complementary Publications to Neue Musikalische
Theorien und Phantasien 74
Literature on Schenker's Analytic Theory and
Method 76
Notes 81
CHAPTER 2 Basic Premises in Schenkerian Analysis 87
Voice-leading Principles 87
Free Composition and Strict Counterpoint 92
The Principle of Consonant Support for Dissonant
Elements 94
Diminution 96
Schenker's Graphic Analytic System 98
The Motive 106
Notes 109
CHAPTER 3 The Background 111
The Fundamental Structure (Ursatz) 111
The Concept of the Background 114
The Content of the Fundamental Structure 116
Elaborations of the I-V-I Bass Arpeggiation 118
Prolongations of the Fundamental Line 119
The Interruption 120
Mixture 124
More Prolongational Possibilities in the
- vii -
Background 128
The Obligatory Register 131
•
The Unsupported Stretch 131
Implied Notes 133
Notes 135
CHAPTER 4 The Foreground 139
The Neighbour Note 143
Linear Progress ions 153
Arpeggiation 167
Unfolding 174
Register Transfer 179
Voice Exchange 185
Reaching-Over 190
The Cover Tone and Boundary Play 193
Linear Intervallic Patterns and Sequence
Constructions 197
Concluding Remarks 201
Notes 205
CHAPTER 5 The Middleground 211
Neighbour Notes 213
Linear Progress ions 216
Initial Ascent (Anstieg) 218
Arpeggiation 221
Unfolding 226
Register Transfer (Coupling) 227
Reaching-Over 229
Linear Intervallic Patterns and Sequence
Constructions 229
- viii -
The Middleground in Selected Mazurkas 229
Notes 242
CHAPTER 6 A Graphic Analysis of the Tonal Voice-leading
Structure of Chopin's Mazurka OP. 33, No. 2 244
PART '!WO
MOTIVIC DESIGN AND TONAL STRUCTURE IN CHOPIN'S MAZURKAS
Introduction 262
CHAPTER 7 Motivic Design as a Unifying Factor 264
Mazurka Op. 33, No. 1 264
Summary 276
Mazurka Op. 30, No. 4 279
Summary and Conclusions 294
Note 296
CHAPTER 8 The Influence of Motivic Design on Tonal
Structure 297
Mazurka OP. 7, No. 4 297
Surrunary 310
Mazurka OP. 17, No. 4 311
Surrunary 330
Conclusions 332
Notes 332
CHAPTER 9 The Influence of Motivic Design and Tonal
Structure on Form 334
A Demonstration of Schenker's Form Theory from the
Mazurka OP. 17, No. 3 335
Mazurka OP. 56, No. 3 341
- ix -
Summary 362
Conclusions 363
Notes 364
CHAPTER 10 The Influence of Chromaticism on Motivic Design
and Tonal Structure 367
Mazurka OP. 30, No. 3 370
Summary 381
Mazurka OP. 17, No. 3 382
Summary 389
Mazurka OP. 33, No. 4 390
Summary 399
Notes 401
CHAPTER 11 The Influence of Specific Modal Elements on
Motivic Design and Tonal Structure 407
Mazurka OP. 68, No. 2 418
Summary 424
Mazurka OP. 41, No. 1 426
Summary 432
Mazurka OP. 41, No. 2 432
Summary and Conclusion 438
Notes 439
CHAPTER 12 The Implications of the Drone Bass for Tonal
Structure 447
Mazurka OP. 6, No. 2 448
Summary 456
Mazurka OP. 6, No. 3 456
Mazurka OP. 56, No. 2 460
Summary 470
- x -
Mazurka Op. 6, No. 4 471
Conclusions 472
Notes 474
PART THREE
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
CHAPTER 13 Summary of Motivic Design and Tonal Structure in
the Mazurkas 477
Typical Motivic Configurations 477
Typical Structural Features 479
Motives and Unification 482
Tonal Structure as Influenced by Motivic Design 482
Form 483
Chromaticism 484
Modal Elements 486
The Drone Bass 488
CHAPTER 14 Conclusions 491
Bibliography 495
Abstract 503
xi -
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My sincere thanks and appreciation are due to the following
persons and institutions for help and support during the seven
years of this study:
My promotor, Prof. David Neumeyer (Indiana University), for
selflessly sharing his vast knowledge and expertise, rendering
invaluable guidance, advice and assistance in the conception and
structuring of this dissertation. The opportunity to study under
Prof. Neumeyer has undoubtedly been the most significant of my
musical career.
My co-promotor, Prof. Japie Human (University of the Orange
Free State), for his keen interest and enthusiastic support.
The Rector and Council of the UOFS for the opportunity given
to me to carry out research in the USA.
The Human Sciences Research Council, the Central Research Fund
of the UOFS and the National Council for the Blind for financial
assistance.
Prof. Charles Burkhart and Prof. Carl Schachter (Queens
College New York) for kindly allowing me to attend their. lectures
on Schenkerian analysis, and, in the case of Prof. Burkhart, for
valuable private tuition in Schenkerian analysis.
Prof. Izak Grové (University of Stellenbosch) who played a
major role in aiding and refining my ideas on analysis, and who
gave expert advice on many matters concerning the dissertation.
Dr. Winfried LUdemann and Dr. Paul Loeb van Zuilenburg (US)
for valuable advice and suggestions.
- Xll
Mr. Nils Kayser ("Musik Hochschule", Heidelberg, West Germany)
for translating an important article on Chopin's contribution to
the mazurka from the original French.
Felicity Grové for expert and artistic editing of the text.
Dr. Clarence Emslie (Department of African Languages, VOFS),
for careful and thorough proof reading of the text.
The music libraries of Queens College New York, Indiana
University, the UOFS and the University of South Africa.
Henle Verlag and Longman Publishers for permission to
reproduce score excerpts from ~hopin's mazurkas and analytic
graphs of mazurkas from Schenker's Free Composition
respectively.
Prof. Gert Berning (Department of Physics, UOFS), who
acquainted me with the computer and word processor which I used
in writing this dissertation.
Mrs. Lisa Hager who, at a time when I had problems with my
printer, presented her own to me as a gift.
Dr. Francois Potgieter (Bloemfontein) who, upon performing two
eye operations on me, enabled me to read ordinary printed letters
for the first time, thus making possible the use of a computer.
My parents-in-law, Prof. and Mrs. Willie Jonker. My
father-in-law instigated the idea to study Schenkerian analysis
in the USA. Apart from valuable advice on many matters
concerning the dissertation, they also provided me with a new
printer at a time when problems with my second printer threatened
the timely completion of the dissertation. I also wish to
express my heart-felt appreciation for their continued thoughts
and prayers for me and my family throughout this difficult period
- xiii -
of study.
My parents, Mr. and Mrs. Willie Viljoen, for their wonderful
love, thoughts and prayers for me and my family, and for the
sacrifices they made over many years for me in order to obtain a
proper education.
Our friend, Vickie Badela, for taking care of our children
during times my wife and I had to work together on the
dissertation.
My children, Willie and Elizabeth, for being satisfied with
less attention at times when they deserved much more.
My wife, Martina, for whom no words are adequate to express in
any way my love and gratitude. Her love and support, and faith
in me demonstrated throughout this period of study has been a
wonderful inspiration. Because of my partial vision, Martina
learned the complex system of graphic notation used in this
dissertation from Prof. Neumeyer. As a result, all the analytic
illustrations were dictated to and done by her alone. She also
read all the relevant material on the Chopin mazurkas and
Schenkerian analysis for me on tape, as well as helped me read
through the entire text, making the necessary corrections and
adjustments. All of this more than fully earn her the dedication
to this dissertation.
Glory be to God through Christ, from where my help comes.
Nicol Viljoen
Bloemfontein May 1989
- xiv -
PREFACE
Relatively little research has been done so far on Frederic
Chopin's mazurkas. This is surprising, since these artistic
stylisations of the mazurka genre not only count among the finest
compositions in Chopin's oeuvre, but constitute some of the most
significant examples of nineteenth century miniatures or
"character pieces" for solo piano. Apart from a small number of
English language writings on the mazurkas, as well as references
or articles in music dictionaries, lexicons and general
publications on Chopin, sources include those forming part of the
Chopin Congress (Warsaw 1960), held in commemoration of the 150th
anniversary of Chopin's birth. A most important Polish
publication on the mazurkas--and the only one of its kind to
date--is a book on Chopin's mazurkas by Janusz Miketta entitled
Mazurki Chopina (published in 1949). Existing analyses of
mazurkas--with the possible exclusion of those done by
Leichtentritt--are either of a purely descriptive nature, or done
with the object of identifying certain style tendencies or
characteristics, or in order to establish the nature and
application of folkloric elements. With the exception of a few
isolated instances, no in-depth analyses of the mazurkas or
selections thereof have as yet been undertaken. especially in
terms of any particular area of investigation.
The purpose of this dissertation is to present a detailed
account of the nature of motivic design and tonal structure in
Chopin's mazurkas and to examine how these factors contribute to
the high degree of tonal-organic unity and coherence achieved in
- xv -
these compositions. Particularly the coordinated interaction of
harmony, counterpoint and motivic design will be emphasised. In
addition, consideration will be given to the influences of
chromaticism and specific folkloric devices--notably, modal
elements and the drone bass--on motivic design and tonal
structure. These findings are presented by way of graphic
analytic illustrations based on the analytic method devised by
the Austrian pianist and music theorist Heinrich Schenker
(1867-1935) .
Schenkerian analysis "has become one of the most influential
tools for analytic interpretation and critical assessment of
music in this century". {i} It is a sophisticated analysis
method designed for traditional European music, that is, music
based on major/minor triadic tonality and its principal
dimensions, namely those of harmony and counterpoint or voice
leading.
Schenker's principal idea of hierarchically ordered levels of
voice-leading structure resulting from successive stages of
voice-leading elaboration (composing-out) on a basic underlying
harmonic/contrapuntal framework or fundamental structural model
("Ursatz"), has several significant implications for analytic
interpretation. Firstly, the content of the Ursatz points to the
equal participation and interaction of harmony and voice leading
in the compositional process, which suggests a more effective and
accurate interpretation of these elements. Secondly, through the
concept of structural levels the function and meaning of tonal
events can be assessed more accurately than before, since they
are no longer interpreted purely on grounds of the immediate
xvi
context, but in terms of their position within the overall tonal
hierarchy of a composition. Thirdly, the identification of
organic levels of structure creates the possibility for all
voice-leading events in a composition to be organically connected
or related to one another and thus for each note to be
effectively accounted for in the analytic interpretation.
Fourthly, the identification of harmony and voice leading on
different levels of structure in turn promotes the similar
identification of specific harmonic progressions and
vOice-leading configurations. This idea forms the basis for the
present investigation into motivic design and tonal structure in
the mazurkas.
At this point it must be noted that the designation "tonal
structure" is understood here in a Schenkerian sense as
essentially synonymous with harmonic/voice-leading structure
rather than in the traditional sense of tonal design. However,
the terms "tonal structure" and "harmonic/voice-leading" or
"harmonic/contrapuntal structure" will be used alternatively
throughout the dissertation, because, although essentially they
mean the same thing, there is nevertheless a difference in
emphasis expressed in them which should be recognised by the
reader; that is, tonal structure refers to the overall result
concerning harmonic and voice-leading activity and interaction in
a composition, while harmonic/voice-leading or /contrapuntal
structure points to tonal structure as the combination of
harmonic and voice-leading activity.
A general introduction to Chopin and the mazurka comprises a
historic overview of the mazurka as a genre, a chronological
xvii
listing of all the mazurkas of Chopin, and an assessment of his
contribution to the mazurka. The latter will also include a
critical assessment of arguments put forth by certain scholars,
particularly on the nature of harmony and tonality, and the
interpretation of some melodic and formal aspects in the
mazurkas.
Part One of the dissertation consists of a justification and
detailed explanation of Schenker's method of analysis. In
addition, information concerning Schenker's own writings on music
and an overview of the most important literature on Schenker is
provided. This would seem to be justified here, especially in
view of the fact that Schenkerian analysis is at present still
relatively unknown and not yet actively practised in this
country. Also, the reader needs to be conversant with the
various analytic techniques and devices of the method in order to
follow the arguments propounded on motivic design and tonal
structure, to facilitate interpretation of the accompanying
graphic analyses of mazurkas. The final chapter of Part One is a
comprehensive model analysis of the mazurka OP. 33, no. 2, with
the object of rendering a complete set of analytic graphs for it,
and thus to present the whole apparatus of Schenkerian analysis
within a single composition. Except for a few abstract examples
of specific concepts and techniques, all other analytic
illustrations during Part One also come from the mazurkas.
The heart of the dissertation is Part Two. Here, issues of
motivic design and tonal structure in the mazurkas are
investigated, each in a separate chapter. These are: 1) motivic
design as a unifying factor; 2) the influence of motivic design
xviii
on tonal structure; 3) the influence of motivic design and tonal
structure on form; 4) the influences of chromaticism and specific
modal devices on motivic design and tonal structure (one chapter
each); and 5) the implications of the drone bass for tonal
structure.
Part Three includes two summarising and concluding chapters.
Finally, the selection of the seventeen mazurkas analysed in
this dissertation is done primarily on the grounds of their
suitability for the various areas of investigation in Part Two,
and does not necessarily suggest that as a group they are
adequate representations of Chopin's compositional development or
stylistic evolution within the mazurkas. Emphasis is not
primarily on matters of style (except for those instances already
indicated, in which influences of chromaticism and folkloric
elements on harmonic, voice-leading and motivic content are
evident), and no particular preference is given to mazurkas of a
specific period or opus number, although earlier and
middle-period mazurkas are used most frequently.
NOTE
1. Felix-Eberhard Von Cube, The Book of the Musical Artwork,
translated by David Neumeyer, George R. Boyd and Scott Harris
(Lewiston / Queenston: Edwin Mellen Press, 1988), v.
GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO CHOPIN AND THE MAZURKAS
SECTION I
THE MAZURKA AS A GENRE: ITS ORIGINS AND CHARACTERISTICS
The Mazurka is a Polish country dance which originated in
Mazovia and has existed since the time that Warsaw succeeded
Krakow as the capital of Poland in 1596. {i} During the
seventeenth century it spread from Poland to neighbouring
countries, as well as Germany and France; it reached England in
the early nineteenth century, and from there the USA. After the
partition of Poland in 1795, the Mazurka also reached the Russian
aristocracy and peasantry. {2}
The common title Mazurka includes three dances: the Mazur,
Oberek and Kujawiak, which differ in tempo, rhythm and character.
{3} These regional variations all stem from the archaic Polska
and are all in triple meter with strong accents on the second or
third beats of the bar. According to Halski and Brown, the folk
mazurka consists of two or four sections, each containing a
number of six or eight bar phrases, which are repeated. {4}
Repetition as such is also common in many guises, such as
sequences, rhythmic ostinati and pedal points, the latter
produced by a drone bass on a single note or on an open fifth.
{5} This developed from the use of the Duda, {6} a kind of
bagpipe used for accompaniment, which produced either one drone
(the tonic) or two (tonic and dominant) .
The melodic structure of the Mazurka is based on such schemes
- 2 -
as AABB. AABC. AAAB, or ABBB. Besides characteristic rhythms,
another typical feature is the use of modality, notably the F
mode with its raised fourth degree, the first six notes of which
were known as the so-called "Polish mode", illustrated in Example
0.1. {7}
Example 0.1. Mazurka Melody in F Mode
,bI~~~L a F' p cj I P G p Jl I ~ P ~ ]I I
, :
~ f •tI
~ ly JJ I .~ t~ L r I;~( PJ EJ [ j~I f?) I
Among other influences are Hungarian (the augmented second used
melodically in the mazurkas), while the proximity of areas under
Turkish occupation may have caused the oriental influences found
in some mazurkas. {8}
It is interesting to note that the point of origin for the
development of the three types of mazurkas was a cycle consisting \
of two slow dances followed by a livelier one, which existed
until about 1900-1915. This cycle was known as the okr~g~y and
survived longest in Kujawia. In the course of time, the okr~g~y
became obsolete and its subsections became independent, with
fixed tempi: Chodzonv , 4.J =100-120 Mm; Mazur, ~ or ~ J (})
=160-184 Mm; the two Kuj awiake. ! J =120-140 Mm; ~ J =130-160 Mm
and the Oberek, i J' -180-240 Mm. {9}
- 3 -
Mazur
In contrast to the symmetry of the Kujawiak, the Mazur
displays a multiplicity of rhythms, frequently using dotted
rhythmic patterns and eighth-note triplets. Often, notes of
shorter value appear at the beginning of the rhythmic figure.
{lO} The accents fall mostly on the weaker beats. At the end of
phrases or periods, an accent is found on the second, or on the
first as well as the second beats {li} (see Example 0.2). {12}.
Example 0.2. Rhythmic Figures typical of the Mazur
( a) >- :>:>-Jl; J
(b) ~ fTJ J J IJ J J 10 J JIJ J J
In the vocal Mazur, the ending is determined by the number of
syllables in the verse and therefore varies accordingly; the
accents occur on the longest note in the bar, or on the last
note, or on the last two notes, or even on all three notes (see
Examp les 0.3 and 0.4). {13}
- 4 -
Example 0.3. Rhythmic Structure of the Vocal Mazur
nnJlnJJIJJJI
> >>- >~=-
Example 0.4. The Vocal Mazur
I' tt t ~ 11 "" J JIG I ; r ( I J: ft j JIJ EH
o ~ wS btyszt::J.á. gdyrrt?- uiru.e swiat ....
I~flt&, j } J Jl). Ii J J I Jl } 1 rif r I
I' '1' 1. J J J I Mb P r r I ]I ft J J 11 F 41
The title Mazur was first used in a work by the German J.
Riepel (1752) and was also used by Marpurg and Kirnberger. The
reminiscences of H. Kol~~taj and the travel descriptions by F.
Schulz (1791-1793) are evidence that the Mazur was already used
extensively during the second half of the eighteenth century,
while letters of M. Oginski establish the fact that mazurkas were
danced in Paris since 1809, in Florence since 1823, and in Russia
during the reign of Alexander II (sic). After 1780, mazurka
rhythms and the Mazur itself were to be found not only in Polish
operas and ballets, but even in Polish masses and ecclesiastical
symphonies. The Mazur was extremely fashionable until the end of
the nineteenth century. Contemporaries of Chopin who wrote
mazurs include Szymanowska and Kolberg, while from the end of the
nineteenth century the best known composers were Wieniawski and
Szymanowski. {14}
- 5 -
As the most significant exponent of the mazurka genre, Chopin
published all three types of the peasant dance as stylised works
without text under the common title Mazurka. According to
Starczewski, {15} not all Chopin's mazurkas which may be
characterised as mazurs, can be designated precisely as such, as
the Oberek and Kujawiak frequently "play" into these versions.
In Chopin's mazurkas Leichtentritt lists the following as the
purest examples of the Mazur type: Op. 7, no. 1, OP. 17, nos. 1
and 3, OP. 24, no. 2, OP. 30, nos. 3 and 4, OP. 33, no. 3, OP.
41, nos. 3 and 4, Op. 50, nos. 1 and 2, OP. 56, nos. 1 and 2, OP.
59, no. 2, OP. 63, no. 1, OP. 67, nos. 1 and 3, and OP. 68, nos.
1 and 2. Example 0.5 shows the first twelve bars of Op. 7, no.
1. {16}
Example 0.5. Chopin, Mazurka OP. 7, No. 1, Bars 1-12
. I tr
_ti I 2"'--;-- 2 5I I • , ~(t .. >.;.. :J;'_' 'h.;' .-..,
t.I ,. .__ . :::- ;:::::.. ::>-f ,r~se.~ ff p schers:s- .J I! 5- ~ $ $: • . .,
* 3 ft* * *
f'l I , I~ •• 'h~ ..~t'-.-.. jr;" :t 1'-' '" ' s--; tn----
t.I ,~ ..~ ===- >- ..::>-
5-5- b~ ~ ~ ~ ~$ 5-5- b~ ~
., .. .,
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * *
u *
ti I n,
I t.I --5-
~ *
- 6 -
Oberek
The Oberek is a faster and more animated dance than the Mazur,
in spite of having similar accents. {17} Rather than dotted
rhythms and abrupt rhythmic changes, this dance displays
uninterrupted light notes. Another characteristic is the use of
repetitive melodic patterns based on major tonalities and
occurring in the form of broken triads or chords. {18} Although
repetitive, the rhythmic structure is not schematic. Accents
occur on the second beat of the eighth bar because of the fast
tempo. The Oberek is an instrumental dance form and has
therefore no text. Usually several obereks follow each other to
form a whole, although these could be in different tonalities,
and not connected through modulation. {19}
Although the use of the Oberek and the Obertas {20} was
reported as early as the end of the seventeenth century, very
little is known about these dances and the only worthwhile
information dates from the nineteenth century. In contrast to
the Mazur and the Kujawiak, stylised renderings of the Oberek
were rare with the exception of a few examples by Kolberg,
Wieniawski, Statkowski and Bacewicz, while Leichtentritt
identifies only three obereks among Chopin's mazurkas, namely,
OP. 7, nos. 4 and 5 and OP. 68, no. 3. {21} Example 0.6 shows
bars 1-8 of OP. 7, no. 4.
- 7 -
Example 0.6. Chopin, Mazurka OP. 7, No. 4, Bars 1-8
/\ I 3,.....,...,
I ..----.. _,.--.. ,. r--:~' 3Z~t
t) "---'-' . --=== .....__3 :>f ., ft p
) t: b. ~ . be ~ ~ ~ ~ $ ~ ~.~
\
leg-alo :> :>
:> :>
Kuj awiak
The Kujawiak exists both as a song and as an instrumental form
with vocal insertions. {22} It is characterised by the use of
the Aeolian and Dorian modes, as well as chromatic changes on the
fourth and seventh scale degrees. It is constructed of periods
consisting of two phrases of four bars each. Both phrases have
identical symmetrically divided rhythmical patterns. The melodic
line is characterised by the use of triplets, while trills or
mordents occur on repeated notes (see Example 0.7). {23}
- 8 -
Example 0.7. Kujawiak
~.A.Ww. W. Kac:zyftski
~"Ëf~blr(£ElWr hit Jirffb I
,..,..._ . -
~r EU IF r r r Et Ir f 111: g ¥ ij 'El f CJ Itt t U I
.. rcrJIP,J 'ftUlE] ,frrrffrlrf I
The character of the vocal Kujawiak is decidely instrumental,
since the role of the vocalist is subservient to that of the
instrumentalist, and therefore merely imitates the instrumental
part. For an example of the vocal Kujawiak, see Example 0.8.
{24}
Example 0.8. The Vocal Kujawiak
The instrumental Kujawiak of the peasants is constructed as
follows: A (4+4), B (4+4), A (4+4). B could be either in the
subdominant or dominant and the rhythmic structure within the
bars is manifold (see Example 0.9). {25}
- 9 -
Example 0.9. Rhythmic Structure of the Instrumental Kujawiak
n J } Im J J Im J nl J. ss: Im J.m IJJ
...~. -' '-l ....r.' V w.,_J.....j ....l-J ,..
'--J-I
Traditionally, the Kujawiak is preceded by an introduction of
four bars, played in fifths or octaves by the violinist. The
stylised Kujawiak developed and became popular during the
nineteenth century.
Although not as rare as the Oberek, the number of published
kujawiaks is also far less than the Mazur. Examples are those of
Mi~czynski, Kolberg and Kaczynski; the most familiar in this
genre is the Kujawiak for Violin and Piano by Wieniawski and the
Kujawiak for Chorus and Orchestra by Nowomiejski. {26}
Mazurkas of Chopin which exemplify the Kujawiak model are: OP.
6, nos. 1, 2 and 4, OP. 7, nos. 2 and 3, OP. 17, no. 2, Op. 24,
nos. 1 and 4, OP. 30, nos. 1, 2 and 4, OP. 33, no. 1, OP. 41,
nos. 1 and 2, OP. 50, no. 3, OP. 56, no. 3, OP. 59, nos. 1 and 3,
OP. 63, nos. 2 and 3, Op. 67, nos. 2 and 4, OP. 68, nos. 2 and 4
and the first of the two A-minor mazurkas published without opus
numbers during Chopin's lifetime. {27} Bars 1-8 of OP. 7, no. 2
presented in Example 0.10, display some of the melodic
characteristics attributed to the Kujawiak:
- 10 -
Example 0.10. Chopin, Mazurka OP. 7, No. 2, Bars 1-8
ft l~. l --..... ..-.-- .~.....______1
'-i >
P =- --
1 ~ • n 3 - ____.?- =.,j.. jL ~
(l ,....;....., ,1 > ..-
'-i - ......__ tt·cresc. V
~ .f streuo
p
~--..." • .. ".
I I ..
Even the most superficial investigation of the contents and
technical features of Chopin's mazurkas reveals that the
composer's stylisation and artistic manipulation of the mazurka
elements obscure a complete assessment as to which particular
dance type each represents. Especially in the late mazurkas, the
degree of stylisation is such that any direct relationship to the
original dance types is almost incidental. Additionally, it was
also pointed out above that elements of all three mazurka types
can play into a single mazurka. The difficulty in relating
individual Chopin mazurkas to the Mazur, Oberek or Kujawiak lies
therefore both in the consistency of elements and in the nature
of the various technical features in the mazurkas as manipulated
by Chopin. It is the development of these features in
conjunction with the basic elements and characteristics of the
mazurka, that must be regarded as Chopin's contribution to this
genre.
- 11 -
SECTION II
A CHRONOLOGICAL ·LIST OF CHOPIN'S MAZURKAS
The majority of Chopin's mazurkas were published in various
numbered sets of at regular intervals throughout his lifetime.
{28} These mazurkas will be considered first. In addition, a
number of mazurkas have been published without opus numbers both
during Chopin's lifetime and posthumously. Although most of
these works were composed before the Op. 6 mazurkas, there are a
few which were written during later years. Accordingly, the
works without opus numbers will be listed separately. It must,
however, be noted that the mazurkas comprising OPP. 67 and 68
(Chopin's last opus numbers), are a collection of works composed
from 1827 up to his very last composition, the Mazurka in F minor
OP. 68, no. 4, composed in 1849.
Opus 6
The four mazurkas of OP. 6 were published in December 1832 by
the Leipzig publisher Kistner, while Schlesinger published them
in 1833 in Paris and Wessel in London, August 1833. This set of
mazurkas, dedicated to Countess Pauline Plater, a pupil of
Chopin's, were composed during 1830 (Binental, Jachimecki, Brown,
Sydow and Hedley cite 1830-1831 as the years of composition).
- 12 -
OPUS 7
The five mazurkas of OP. 7 were composed during 1830-1831
according to Sydow, Hedley and Brown, and dedicated to the
American Paul Emile Johns. They were published by Kistner
simultaneouslY with Op. 6 in Leipzig (1832), by Schlesinger
(Paris, 1833), by Wessel (London, August 1833) and OP. 7, no. 1
was published separately in the Polish edition of Klukowski
(Warsaw, January 1835) .
OPUS 17
Dedicated to the singer Mme. Lina Freppa, this set of mazurkas
was published in 1834 by Breitkopf and Hartel (Leipzig),
Schlesinger (Paris) and Wessel (London) . According to
Kolberg-Hoesick, these mazurkas were completed before Chopin's
arrival in Paris, that is, before September 1831; Brown, Hedley
and Sydow mention the date of completion as 1832-1833.
Opue 24
The four mazurkas of OP. 24 were composed during 1834-1835
(Brown, Hedley and Sydow), and published in 1836 by Schlesinger
(Paris), Breitkopf and Hartel (Leipzig) and Wessel (London).
They were dedicated to Count de Perthuis whose wife was probably
a pupil of Chopin's, and to whom the B minor Sonata was
dedicated. {29}
- 13 -
Opue 30
Composed during 1836-1837 (Brown maintains that no. 4 had been
sketched before 1836), this set was dedicated to Princess Maria
of Wuerttemberg, née Czartoryska, and published by Schlesinger
(Berlin and Paris, 1837) and by Wessel (London).
Opue 33
These mazurkas were composed during 1837-1838 and issued by
Breitkopf and Hartel (Leipzig, 1838), Schlesinger (Paris) and
Wessel (London). The set was dedicated to Countess Roza
Mostowska.
Opue 41
The four mazurkas of OP. 41 were dedicated to the Polish poet
Stefan Witwicki of whom Chopin used several verses for the Polish
Songs, published posthumously as OP. 74. {30} Composed during
1838-1839, they were published by Breitkopf and Hartel (Leipzig,
1840), Troupenas (Paris 1840-1841) and by Wessel (London, either
1840 or 1841, according to Brown). {31}
Opue 50
Composed in 1841 (according to Hedley and Opienski, after 1840
(1841-1842), Sydow and Brown (Autumn 1841 until the summer of
1842), the three mazurkas of OP. 50 were published by Wessel
- 14 -
(London, 1847), by Schlesinger (Paris, 1848) and Breitkopf and
Hartel (Leipzig). They were dedicated to Chopin's friend Leon
Szmitkowski.
OPUS 56
The three mazurkas of OP. 56 were composed during 1843 and
issued by Breitkopf and Hartel (Leipzig) and Schlesinger (Paris)
during 1844. In London they were published by Wessel, but the
date of publication is unknown. They were dedicated to Chopin's
pupil Catherine Maberly.
OPUS 59
This set of three mazurkas was composed in 1845 and published
in Berlin by Stern and Company in 1846 and about the same time in
Paris by Schlesinger's successor, Brandus et Compagnie. They do
not carry any specific dedication.
OPUS 63
The three mazurkas of OP. 63 were dedicated to Countess Laura
Czosnowska. Composed in 1846, these were the last three works
that Chopin published during his lifetime. {32} They were issued
by Breitkopf and Hartel (Leipzig, 1847 (?», by Brandus (Paris,
1848) and Wessel (London, 1847).
- 15 -
Opus 67
Compiled by Fontana as Op. 67, {33} these mazurkas were
published posthumously by Schlesinger (Berlin, 1855) and by
Meissonnier in Paris, 1856. The first, dedicated to Anna
Mlokosiewicz, and third, dedicated to Adelina (?) Hoffmann, were
composed in 1835, while the fourth was composed in 1846 (Fontana,
Brown, Hedley, Jachimecki, Niecks, Opie~ski, Sydow; the autograph
indicates either 1846 or 1848). The second belongs to 1849, the
year of Chopin's death (Fontana, Hedley, Hoesick, Niecks, Brown,
Jachimecki, Opie~ski and Sydow cite 1845, while the
Jedrzejewicz-Verzeichnis and Binental indicate 1848).
Opus 68
The four mazurkas published posthumously as Op, 68
(Schlesinger, Berlin, 1855; Meissonier, Paris, 1856), were
written over a period of twenty-two years. The first in C major
and the third in F major were written in either 1829 (Brown,
Hedley, Sydow) or 1830 (Fontana, Niecks, Jachimecki, Opienski).
The second in A minor dates from 1827 (Jedrzejewicz-Verzeichnis:
1826 (?», while the fourth in F minor was, according to
Fontana's testimony, Chopin's very last composition and composed
in the summer of 1849 (this date corresponds with the information
given by Hedley, Hoesick, Jachimecki, Niecks and Brown; the
Jedrzejewicz-Verzeichnis and Binental indicate 1848, while
Opienski and Sydow state that it was composed in either 1848 or
1849) .
- 16 -
Mazurkas without Opus Numbers Published during Chopin's Lifetime
Two Mazurkas for Piano (G major and B-flat major)
These two mazurkas were composed in 1826 and published in
Warsaw by Kolberg in 1826 and by Breitkopf and Hartel (Leipzig,
1879) .
Mazurka for Piano (A minor)
Composed in 1840, this mazurka was published in Mainz by
Schott (1842), in Paris by Troupenas (1845) and in London by
Wessel (January 1846) .
Mazurka for Piano (A minor)
Dedicated to Emile Gaillard, this mazurka originated in either
1840 (Brown) Sydow: 1840-1841) or 1841 (Hedley and Jachimecki).
It was published by Schlesinger in January 1841 and by Bote and
Bock (Berlin, 1855).
Mazurkas without Opus Numbers Published Posthumously
Mazurka for Piano (D major)
Composed in 1824-1828 (Jachimecki, Szulc); Oscar Kolberg:
1826-1827; Brown, Hedley, Opienski 1829; Breitkopf and Hartel,
Nieeks: 1829-1830), this work was published by N. Leitgeber in
- 17 -
Poznan (1875) and by Breitkopf and Hartel (Leipzig, 1880).
Mazurka for Piano (B-flat major)
According to the autograph, this mazurka was composed on June
24, 1832 and dedicated to Mme. Alexandrine Wo~owska. It was
published only in 1956 by Polskie Wydawnictwo Muzyczne in
Crakow.
Mazurka for Piano (D major)
Composed in 1832, this mazurka was published by Breitkopf and
Hartel in 1880.
Mazurka for Piano (C major)
This mazurka dates from either 1825 (Jachimecki, Sydow) or
1833 (Breitkopf and Hartel, Brown, Hedley, Jachimecki, Miketta,
Niecks) . It was published by Kaufmann (Warsaw, 1870) and by
Schott (Mainz, 1870).
Mazurka for Piano (A-flat major)
Composed in 1834, this work was published as late as 1930 by
Gebethner and Wolff. It was dedicated to Celina Szymanowska.
- 18 -
Mazurka for Piano (D major)
This work was composed while Chopin was still very young;
Polinski and Brown are of the opinion that it originated in 1820.
Facsimiles are available in Kobylanska and Polirtski.
Mazurka for Piano (F-sharp major)
This work was published by Mechetti (Vienna, 1840-1845) and J.
P. Gotthard (Vienna, date of publication unknown) .
Finally, early versions of the mazurkas OP. 7, no. 4, no. 54
in D major and OP. 7, no. 2 are provided in the supplement of the
Henle edition of Chopin mazurkas. Their dates of composition are
given by the editor as: 1824. 1829 and 1829 respectively.
- 19 -
SECTION III
CHOPIN'S CONTRIBUTION TO THE MAZURKA
The purpose in discussing Chopin's contribution to the mazurka
genre is not only to establish the extent to which the basic
features and characteristics of the mazurka were manipulated by
Chopin, but also to establish a general framework upon which
analytic results pertaining to motivic design and tonal structure
in the mazurkas can be verified. Within the basic orientation of
this dissertation, a critical assessment will also be made of
various arguments related either to motivic design or to tonal
structure.
The following points of departure will be taken in examining
Chopin's contribution to the mazurka: 1) the nature and influence
of folkloric material and 2) a stylistic argument with regard to
the application and development of folkloric material thruughout
the mazurkas, relating especially to tonal structure and form
design, as well as the idea of artistic stylisation. The
application of other notable technical features such as
characteristic rhythmic patterns, phrase groupings and so on,
which do not have a bearing on motivic or tonal-structural
characteristics, will not be considered here.
The Nature of Folkloric Material
No other genre of Chopin's work represents nationalism and
folk traditions more obviously and extensively than the mazurkas.
- 20 -
The Polish folk song played such a crucial role in Poland's
struggle for national identity that it can indeed be described as
a means of national expression. As Sula Bennet writes:
A collection of Polish folk customs and folklore is not
merely a collection of superstitions observed by the folk
for the sake of practical results. It is also a record of
national self-expression, deliberately cultivated as an
expression of patriotism and the will to survive. {34}
According to Bieganski, Chopin's attitude with regard to folklore
in his mazurkas'represents a logical process of the perfection of
his skill as a composer, combined with the formation of his
ideological attitude. {35} In order to gain better insight into
the nature of folklore as reflected in the mazurkas, a brief
consideration of some recent writings on this topic would seem
necessary--especially the Polish studies forming part of the
Chopin Congress, Warsaw 1960. {36} (Again, aspects of folklore
in the mazurkas related to rhythm and meter will not be covered
since they do not have a strong bearing on the discussion of
elements related to motivic design and tonal structure) .
Studying the relationship between Chopin's melody and Polish
folk music, Hlawiczka finds that the more important studies
concerning this topic approached the matter essentially with
Chopin's ornamentation as the point of departure. {37} An
exception to this approach is that held by Janusz Miketta, who
discovered the so-called Chopin motif, consisting of the
succession of the dominant and second and third degrees of the
upper tonic. According to Hlawiczka, however, this motif appears
so frequently in the melodic style of several other nationalities
that it cannot be viewed as a specific characteristic of Chopin's
- 21 -
melody. More typical is the figurative ornamentation of the
scheme 3-5-1, discovered by Jachimecki. {38} This schematic
progression can be found in many themes throughout the different
creative periods in Chopin's work. Hlawiczka, however, raises
the objection that, in spite of its frequent occurrence, this
progression has no material bearing on Chopin's melodic style.
Comparative studies concerning the Polish folk melody and
Chopin's melodic style make it evident that the essential element
is the interval of the ninth, an observation made by Polish
ethnographer Oscar Kolberg {39} (see Example 0.11). {40}
Ex~ple 0.11. O. Kolberg, Vol. IV. No. 321
The characteristic colouring of the ninth chord is evident even
in those melodies which contain only a seventh chord on the
seventh scale degree or, in other words, a leading-tone chord or
chord of the ninth without a root (Example 0.12).
Ex~ple 0.12. O. Kolberg, Vol. XII. No. 107
I
- 22 -
Another reminder of the ninth chord found frequently is the
broken chord on the second scale degree (Example 0.13).
Example 0.13. O. Kolberg, Vol. I, No. 88
Characteristic of melodies from the region of Mazowia is a
melodic line reaching a climax on the ninth of the dominant,
frequently displaying a leap of a fifth, as in Example 0.14.
Example 0.14. O. Kolberg, Vol. I, No. 66
Also found in many folk song melodies is a strong tendency to
return to the highest degree of the ninth chord (Example 0.15).
Example 0.15. O. Kolberg, Dobrzyn, No. 155
Tracing Chopin's use of the above mentioned elements, it
becomes evident that these characteristics of Polish folk
- 23 -
melodies are to be found especially in those works of Chopin
based on the rhythms of the Polish national dances, namely, the
mazurkas and polonaises. On the other hand, Jachimecki claims
that these characteristics are also to be found in other works of
Chopin which do not use the dance forms. A few typical examples
of complete broken ninth chords occur in the mazurkas OP. 7, nos.
1 and 5 (bars 7-8), as well as in OP. 56, no. 1 (bars 153-155 and
further), OP. 68, no. 1 etc. Examples O.16a and b shows the two
excerpts from Op. 7, no. land 68, no. 1 respectively.
Example 0.16a. Chopin, Mazurka, OP. 7, No. 1, Bars 7-8
Example 0.16b. Chopin, Mazurka, OP. 68, No. 1, Bar 11
Considering these and other examples of the ninth chord for a
moment, different interpretations of the role of its ninth
element can be observed. This is illustrated by comparing the
two excerpts in Example 0.16. At a, the ninth must be
interpreted as an upper neighbour, resolving into an octave,
whereas at b, it does not imply an immediate voice-leading
- 24 -
resolution to the octave, thus functioning within an underlying
dominant ninth harmony. With regard to OP. 7, no. 1, both
characteristics of the ninth indicated above are traced within
the space of bars 5-8. The ninth as a neighbour note also has
motivic significance in many mazurkas (see, for instance, the
discussions of OP. 30, no. 4 and Op. 33, no. 1 in Chapter 7, and
OP. 7, no. 1 in Chapter 11).
Melodies which contain direct leaps of a ninth may be found in
Op. 24, no. 1 (bars 18-26), OP. 50, no. 3 (bar 76), Op. 56, no. 3
(bar 69), and OP. 63, no. 1 (bar 5). Example 0.17 is an excerpt
from OP. 24, no. 1.
Ex~ple 0.17. Chopin. Mazurka OP. 24. No. 1, Bara 17-20
An example of the replacement of the ninth with a seventh chord
or a seventh interval is to be found in the mazurka no. 57 in C
major (bars 15-17), presented in Example 0.18.
Ex~ple 0.18. Chopin, Mazurka in C Major, No. 57, Bara 15-16
Vivace
A typical example of the compilation of the broken chord on the
second scale degree as replacement for the ninth chord, or merely
- 25 -
the fifth of this chord, is the mazurka no. 58 in A-flat major
(bars 45-52 (Example 0.19».
Example 0.19. Chopin, Mazurka in A-flat Major, No. 58, Bars
45-52
Characteristic of many mazurka themes is a melody or melodic
phrase beginning with a dominant ninth, for example, OP. 7, no. 3
(bars 29-30), OP. 50, no. 3 (bars 51-52), and the mazurka no. 53
(bars 27-28). A striking instance is given in Example 0.20, from
the opening of OP. 63, no. 2.
Example 0.20. Chopin, Mazurka OP. 63, No. 2, Bars 1-4
Il I Lento •t~ ~ -----
ti 4- ...._...
q, , ~ ~ q~ ~ :: ~: .
*
The movement from the ninth to the octave, and from the upper
dominant to the dominant, so characteristic of the folk melody,
may be found in OP. 24, no. 3 (bar 2), OP. 50, no. 1 (bars 3-4),
and OP. 67, no. 3 (bars 7-8).
Resulting from this study Hlawiczka found that the elements
which had the greatest influence on Chopin's melody were those
belonging to what he refers to as the neue Bauernstil. The
- 26 -
conclusion to be drawn from his article is that the Polish folk
melody was of fundamental importance for Chopin's melodic style,
contributing to it the elements comprising the nature and essence
of the national style.
Modality
A central issue regarding the nature of folklore in Chopin's
mazurkas is that of modality. On the importance of folk elements
and their influence on the mazurkas, Czekanowska points out that
modality and specific folk chromaticisms had a direct bearing on
the characteristic features of Chopin's national style. {41}
Studies on the subject of modality in Chopin's work referred to
by Czekanowska point out that in view of the discovery of new
tonalities which are closely related to instrumental Polish folk
music practices, the work of former scholars display a tendency
toward a misconception of modality as it is reflected in Chopin's
work. {42} Several theories have been proposed regarding the
character of Chopin's modality, for example that of
Windakiewiczowa, who views modality in Chopin as a kind of
bitonality, a conclusion arrived at by her observation concerning
the influence of the raised fourth scale degree on the harmonic
character of the dominant. {43} This argument is refuted by
Czekanowska on the grounds of inadequate evidence.
Windakiewiczowa's second assertion is that some chromaticisms in
Chopin can be seen as derived from the national half-chromatic
scale--one consisting of varying intonations of its third and
fourth degrees. To this, Czekanowska claims that there is as yet
- 27 -
no evidence that the authentic half-chromatic scale of the folk
music exists in Chopin's work. Reference is also made to the
complexity of the question of the raised fourth degree which, in
Chopin, must be approached from at least three viewpoints: 1)
varying raised degrees as single inflections; 2) as leading tone
motion to the fifth; and 3) the authentic Lydian element which is
therefore not a real raised fourth degree.
In addressing the question as to the structural consequences
of modality for the mazurkas, Czekanowska also refers to the
influence of various resulting interval-structures in Chopin's
melody. For example, descending fourth motions possess a
structure-building function, as well as being imitative of folk
melodic motions. The mazurka OP. 6, no. 4 is cited as a case in
point: the entire 24-bar structure is derived from what is
identified as two fourth motions: E-flat to B-flat and D-flat to
A-flat.
In determining the structural consequences of modality for the
mazurkas, consideration of melodic interval-structures alone is
too limited. Therefore, any conclusions reached can apply only
to melodic structures, since the combined influence of harmony
and voice leading is not accounted for. Likewise, the
designation structure-building function ascribed to the
descending fourth, for instance, is equally limited, in that no
conclusions can be drawn about a composition's structure without
considering the interaction of its harmonic and voice-leading
events. In addition, the equal consideration of harmony and
voice leading also have an effect on how interval-structures can
be defined; thus, Czekanowska's designation of the second fourth
- 28 -
construct D-flat to A-flat in the OP. 6, no. 4 mazurka, as being
structurally equal to the first E-flat to B-flat motion, is
incorrect. Although from a melodic/motivic point of view, fourth
motions play an important role in this mazurka, from the point of
view of melodic/motivic design as it relates to tonal structure.
only the motion from E-flat to B-flat can be regarded as the main
melodic/motivic figure, since, contrary to the other fourth
motions, it unfolds an interval of the E-flat minor tonic triad.
From a tonal-structural point of view, therefore, the motion from
E-flat to B-flat is at a higher structural rank, being connected
to the main tonality of the piece. {44}
In an article concerning the influence of folk scales on the
harmony of Chopin's mazurkas, {45} Bieganski discusses the modal
idiom in Chopin's work, pointing to their folk rather than church
origin. According to him, Lydian elements are represented the
most liberally in the mazurkas, as divided into three groups:
those with the Lydian mode proper, the Lydian major, and minor
modes. Furthermore, he claims that the Lydian fourth led to new
formations of chords which do not exist within the major/minor
system, and also to new forms of dominant and subdominant
functions which can be perceived as chords proper to the Lydian
mode. The Phrygian mode is used to similar effect. He also
regards ·the GyPSY scale, which appears in two types of
construction, namely, with an augmented second between the third
and fourth scale degrees, or alternatively between the second and
third degrees, as of particular importance where tonicisation and
modulation are concerned. Regarding the influence of folk
chromaticism, Bieganski claims that it can be seen in the
- 29 -
oscillation of the melody pivoting round its centre, the
oscillation of the voices in the accompaniment, and the growth of
chromatic intensity. These phenomena lead to the appearance of
altered forms of functions within one and the same tonality, or
to tonal substitutes, which ultimately become the basis for
afunctional development. The most important conclusion of his
study is that the architectural design of folk songs and their
general stylistic peculiarities exercise a strong influence on
harmonic effects and tonal devices in the mazurkas. These
influences, working in conjunction with the general harmonic
development of that epoch, play an important role in the
undermining of the major/minor system and in preparing the ground
for new harmonic systems. Views related to those of Bieganski on
the nature of harmony and tonality--particularly with regard to
the last-period mazurkas--are held by Schaffer, who even claims
that these and other mazurkas of Chopin exhibit characteristics
of harmony and tonality corresponding to those of Wagner, Debussy
and Bartok. {46} Like Bieganski, Schaffer attributes these
characteristics to the influence of modality and chromaticism,
especially specific chromatic inflections. {47}
Bieganski's arguments concerning the influence of the Lydian
fourth on the character and functions of chord formations and the
implications of folk chromaticisms for functional tonality and
the major/minor system in the mazurkas must, however, be
questioned (the same applies to Schaffer's assertion). An
adequate assessment of the role of modality and chromaticism with
regard to harmonic language and tonal characteristics in the
mazurkas can be made only from the perspective of voice leading.
- 30 -
In its capacity as determinant of chord successions, the function
and character of individual chords and of tonal progressions can
be more effectively evaluated.
In his article on voice leading and chromatic harmony in the
music of Chopin, Richard Parks alludes to an interesting aspect
of Chopin's compositional technique, namely, his use of altered
chords in passages where they do not appear to function in their
conventional harmonic roles. {48} He refers to Gerald Abraham
who, in observing certain chord success ions where only the
initial and final chords of the succession may be related to a
key, states that, in such cases, a temporary suspension of the
principle of tonality must be observed. In response, Parks
asserts that the logic of such passages with regard to tonal
organisation is to be found in the melodic dimension, their
function being explained by voice leading. Concerning chromatic
chord successions, he concludes that they result from the
coincidence of moving parts whose rationale is primarily melodic
rather than harmonic, so that these chords are not functional and
do not require resolution to their conventional harmonic goals.
Heard from this perspective, such passages, as they relate to a
particular tonal scheme in each case, are emphatically tonal.
Parks concludes that most of the chromatic harmonies employed
by Chopin were an integral part of the harmonic vocabulary of the
period. In addition, these harmonies are complex and somewhat
ambiguous in sound, and are frequently enco~ntered as altered
chords as well as diatonic harmonies. Those which appear most
often--the fully diminished seventh and dominant seventh
harmonies--are susceptible to enharmonic interpretation and
- 31 -
depend upon resolution for their functional definition. This
characteristic of functional ambiguity makes them ideal choices
for harmonies which serve a supporting and secondary role in
passages which are primarily melodic in origin. Although Parks's
conclusions were drawn from examples covering several genres in
Chopin's work and are therefore not directed specifically towards
the content of the mazurkas, they point to harmonic and
voice-leading procedures basic to Chopin's compositional style.
The mazurkas, written throughout Chopin's entire creative period,
can thus be regarded as representing his compositional style.
Consequently, modality and folk chromaticism serve primarily
to enrich these procedures and thus influence only the harmonic
and voice-leading character of the mazurkas. Lydian inflections
usually appear in conjunction with chromatic melodic motions
where the raised fourth degree may function either as a chromatic
passing tone or as a chromatic neighbour note embellishment.
Harmonic supports for Lydian elements are thus characterised as
agreeing with the above mentioned characteristics and melodic
functions of the Lydian fourth within the harmonic/voice-leading
framework of a piece, rather than purely from the standpoint of
their different formations and functional alterations with regard
to major/minor tonality. Hence chords involving Lydian as well
as other modal inflections are frequently of a passing or
embellishing nature, that is, resulting purely from voice-leading
motions. In the mazurka OP. 7, no. 1, for instance, the
continued harmony throughout bars 45-51 is the result of support
given to the Lydian fourth (E), functioning as a chromatic lower
neighbour to the fifth degree (F) in the B-flat major tonality
- 32 -
(for a further discussion of this mazurka, see Chapter 11) .
Also, the altered dominant harmony in bar 204 of the mazurka OP.
56, no. 3 results from the stepwise linear motion of the melody,
displaying the Phrygian element as a purely melodic colouring
event. Where Lydian inflections are of a more direct nature,
less involved in chromatic melodic motions, they usually coincide
with drone-bass or pedal point figures which present a static
harmonic situation (as is the case in OP. 7, no. 1 cited above),
thus enabling the modally inflected scale degree to be emphasised
in accordance with its original modal setting. This, however,
does not readily imply that chord formations resulting from these
situations do not exist in the major/minor system or that they
act as functional substitutes, a point which can be deduced
clearly from the examples cited above. In fact, it will be
argued later that in spite of the importance of modality with
regard to harmonic and voice-leading characterisation in the
mazurkas, the major/minor system still prevails throughout these
compositions. Bieganski does, however, consider voice leading
when he alludes to the importance of elements of GyPSY scales
with regard to tonicisation in the mazurkas. For a detailed
examination of the influence of specific modal elements with
regard to motivic design and tonal structure in the mazurkas, see
Chapter 11.
The Application and Development of.Folklore
Having assessed the nature and influence of folkloric material
in the harmonic/voice-leading structures of Chopin's mazurkas, we
- 33 -
now turn our attention to a consideration of the nature of their
application throughout the mazurkas from a stylistic,
evolutionary point of view. As the article of Bieganski
concerning the evolution of Chopin's attitude regarding folklore
in his mazurkas (see endnote 35) is the only study which
systematically traces the development of folklore throughout the
various opus numbers, we rely on his findings concerning this
process, in which he distinguishes three phases, corresponding
with the three periods of composition in Chopin's oeuvre.
Firstly, the mazurkas of Chopin's Warsaw period are
considered. These comprise the earlier mazurkas, published
before 1831 without opus numbers, as well as the mazurkas numbers
1 to 3 of the OP. 68 collection. Especially in the G major and
B-flat major mazurkas of 1825, the A minor of 1827, the D major
of 1829, and the F and C major mazurkas of 1829-1830, three
symptoms of folklore can be traced: the drone bass, chromatic
bridges, and Lydian intonations. The raised fourth scale degree
appears either together with the drone bass, or is harmonised by
a diminished seventh which neutralises its action. Folk modes do
not penetrate the harmonic structure of these works but are
confined to the melodic sphere. This is true also with regard to
chromatic motions in bridge passages. (In view of the fact that
melody can be interpreted as being synonymous with voice
leading--an approach which will be followed in the present
dissertation--the designation "melodic" here should rather be
viewed as synonymous with "thematic". The latter appears to be
preferable because it refers to the application of folk modes
within the thematic content of these mazurkas alone). The Warsaw
- 34 -
mazurkas are also influenced by the city folklore with regard to
their form structures in that the simple structure of a refrain
with a Trio, usually in the subdominant, is maintained.
The four mazurkas of OP. 6 and the five of OP. 7 are linked to
the Warsaw mazurkas by the simplicity of their form construction,
the relatively few complications on the tonal level and the
mechanical adoption of the drone-bass fifths. New elements are
however introduced which have as their source the chromatic kind
of folk song, displaying altered forms of the second, fourth,
sixth and seventh scale degrees and their diatonic equivalents.
Chromatic elements are linked to the harmonic development and
take part actively in the construction of the works. Also
evident is the oscillation of modes so characteristic of the
Polish folk song.
In the mazurkas of OP. 17. the influence of folkloric elements
can be traced by considering the complications of formal
structure and development on the tonal level. Bieganski observes
an extensively developed coda, as well as a change in the
character of the introduction (see Op. 17. no. 4). In the early
mazurkas the style of the introduction differed from the rest of
the piece because of its direct imitation of folk elements.
Here, the character of the introduction changes, no longer being
only the rhythmic announcement of the work. but the beginning of
its harmonic and melodic (thematic) development (see. for
instance. the discussion of OP. 17, no. 4 in Chapter 8). This
implies that these mazurkas are already more distant from the
popular model, having become stylised works of art. There is
also a greater mobility with regard to chromatic motions in these
- 35 -
mazurkas, to the extent that these dominate their thematic
structures.
The four mazurkas of OP. 24 display a revolutionary attitude
with regard to modality. Aeolian, Lydian, and GyPSY intonations
are reflected here (for example, Lydian intonations in no. 2, and
Gypsy intonations in nos. 1 and 4). The structures of the drone
no longer constitute only an imitation of the popular manner of
execution but are amalgamated in the harmonic development. In
its role as pedal point, the drone is the basis for the creation
of the coda, while the fifths of the drone have greater freedom
of movement, thus making possible a variable accompaniment
against the pedal tone (see for instance the coda of OP. 24, no.
4) .
In contrast to the previous works, the mazurkas of OP. 30
display a weakening of modal influences. The most important
factor here is the creative transformation of folk music
repetitions resulting in a constant variability of chord
functions (see for example OP. 30, no. 2 (bars 33-48»
Regarding the mazurka OP. 33, no. 4, Bieganski claims that its
construction indicates the way towards a transformed structure or
through-composed form moving away from the refrain structure.
According to him, it is this transformed structure that also
characterises the mazurkas of Op. 50 and 56. This concept,
together with the use of long passages in unison, is an
indication that these mazurkas are moving away more and more from
original folk song models.
In the OP. 41 collection, Phrygian elements are introduced for
the first time, according to Bieganski (the Phrygian element can
- 36 -
in fact be observed in OP. 7, no. 2, although functioning as a
chromatic rather than modal element there). Examples of Phrygian
elements are cited in nos. 1 and 2 of OP. 41. Bieganski also
observes an element of tonal indecision here, expressed in the
multiplicity of meaning of the harmonic progressions. Here also,
the characteristic traits of the folk dance give way to lyric
expression, pointing to the preponderance of the more lyrical
Kujawiak over the Mazur and Oberek types.
With the mazurka OP. 50, no. 3, Bieganski claims that it
represents a leap in Chopin's attitude toward the whole artistic
conception of the mazurka genre. It distinguishes itself by a
completely mature conception of the so-called through-composed
mazurka. Folk elements are also rendered in a deeply concealed
form.
In the mazurkas OP. 56, polyphonic imitative structures are
found which are used to expose melodies founded on folk music
scales, such as in no. 2 (bars 61-76) .
The three mazurkas of OP. 59 show a constant perfection of the
through-composed mazurka. Folkloric influence manifests itself
here in the thematic imitation of no. 3, the modulations and
irregular phrase periods of no. 1, and in the harmonic
progressions that dominate the codas generally.
Concerning the use of folkloric elements in the mazurkas of
OP. 63 and 67, there is a return to the mazurkas of the Warsaw
period. OP. 68, no. 4 is regarded by Bieganski as a perfection
of the process of evolution in the mazurkas. Although no direct
influence of folk music is manifested in this mazurka, Bieganski
believes that it is the ultimate consequence in the evolution of
- 37 -
the folkloric character in the works of Chopin, as the traits of
the Polish folk song are now transformed strongly and the
national sentiments have reached sublimation through lyrical
expression.
From the foregoing discussion it is evident that folkloric
elements, as realised by Chopin in his mazurkas, not only
contribute to the nature of harmony and voice leading, but are
also instrumental in bringing about some of the tonal and formal
characteristics of these works. It is therefore obvious that any
satisfactory conclusions regarding the influence of folkloric
elements on the harmonic/voice-leading structures of the mazurkas
can be drawn only within the correct perspective concerning
harmony and voice leading. With this in mind, a few
characterisations and assumptions by Bieganski warrant
reconsideration.
In discussing folkloric elements as they relate to the tonal
and formal structures of the mazurkas, Bieganski refers to their
position within the harmonic development of the works frequently.
He also alludes to elements of tonal indecision, created by
changes in the meaning of harmonic progressions. This indicates
that Bieganski takes only the harmonic factor into consideration
in dealing with these problems. Especially with regard to the
latter observation, the result is usually the characterisation of
individual harmonies in a tonal progression according to their
immediate functions within a local tonal context. Consequently,
the meaning of these harmonies with regard to the overall
harmonic/voice-leading structure of a work cannot be assessed
properly. This can cause an incorrect interpretation of the
- 38 -
tonal character of such a passage, especially in chromatic
progress ions where the functions of individual chords can be
ambiguous or related to subsidiary tonal areas. Once again, the
role of voice leading must be considered in conjunction with
harmony in determining the meaning and logic of a progression. so
as to arrive at an accurate assessment of the tonal
characteristics of a composition. In addition, the interaction
between harmony and voice leading emerges as a decisive factor in
determining the influence of folkloric devices on the tonal
structures of the mazurkas. It will be seen that the application
of drone-bass structures, for instance, has a significance in
terms of tonal structure which goes beyond their mere mechanical
adoption (see Chapter 12). Although Bieganski does allude to the
role of the drone bass in connection with formal development, his
assertion as to its amalgamation with harmonic development alone
leads to explanations whereby its association with voice leading
and subsequent influence on tonal structures cannot be assessed
fully.
In connection with Chopin's development of the so-called
through-composed mazurka, it cannot be assumed that the mazurkas
in question exhibit real through-composed structures,
particularly since all of these works are still associated with
the idea of a refrain and contrasting form sections. Development
on the formal level in these works must therefore be seen rather
as the result of a process whereby the stereotypical formal
constructs associated with the authentic mazurka types are
elaborated upon and developed by Chopin, in accordance with the
idea of artistic stylisation. It is the nature of these
- 39 -
elaborations and developments which, in conjunction with the
tonal structures of these works, contributes to their character
as whole entities, as opposed to the more sectionalised character
of earlier mazurkas.
In closing, it will be noticed that throughout this section,
no attention was given to general compositional characteristics
of the mazurkas. Nor has any attempt been made to identify
specific correspondences of such characteristics with features of
the authentic mazurka types. Except for those features deriving
from the influence of folklore already considered, these general
characteristics can be traced throughout Chopin's entire
compositional oeuvre and are therefore not associated exclusively
with his mazurkas or necessarily derived from the authentic
mazurka. Consequently, a careful investigation of them in
connection with Chopin's contribution to the mazurka is
unnecessary. However, certain general compositional
characteristics will play into the detailed analytic
presentations of selected mazurkas to follow (Chapters 6-12), but
again primarily in terms of their significance with regard to
motivic design and tonal structure.
- 40 -
NOTES
1. C. S. Schaffer, The Chopin Mazurkas (Juilliard School,
1973), 4.
2. Czeslaw R. Halski and Maurice J. E. Brown, "Mazurka", The
New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Ed. Stanley Sadie
(London: Macmillan Publishers Ltd., 1980), Vol. 11, 865.
3. Schaffer, 4.
4. Halski and Brown, 865.
5. Schaffer, 5.
6. In an early version of Chopin's A minor mazurka OP. 7, no.
2, composed in 1829, and listed as OP. 7, no. 2a in the
Supplement to the Henle edition of the Chopin mazurkas (Munchen:
G. Hen,le Verlag, 1975), the word "Duda" appears in the first bar
(see the commentary at supplement 3, p. 178).
7. Schaffer, 6.
8. Loc. cito
9. Marian Sobieski, "Mazur", Die Musik in Geschichte und
Gegenwart, Ed. Friedrich Blume (Basel, London, New York:
Barenreiter-Cassel, 1960), Vol. 8, Cols. 1855-1857.
10. Schaffer, 7.
11. Sobieski, Col. 1859.
12. Halski and Brown, 865.
13. Sobieski, Col. 1859.
14. Loc. cito
15. Starczewski as quoted by Hugo Leichtentritt, Friedrich
Chopin (Berlin: Schlesische Verlagsanstalt, 1920), 7.
16. All score examples of mazurkas in this dissertation are
- 41 -
from the Henle edition of the Chopin mazurkas.
17. Schaffer, 7.
18. Sobieski, "Oberek", MGG, Vol. 9, Cols. 1770-1772.
19. This may be compared to the phenomenon of a simple dance
series found in nineteenth century compositions, for example,
Waltzes by Schubert, Chopin and Strauss.
20. Generally viewed as being identical to the Oberek, or
Oberek being a diminutive of Obertas. For a detailed discussion
of the differences, see the above mentioned article of Sobieski
(endnote 18).
21. Leichtentritt, 7.
22. Sobieski, "Mazur", MGG, Col. 1857.
23. Loc. cito
24. Loc. cito
25. Ibid., Col. 1858.
26. Loc. cito
27. Leichtentritt, 7.
28. Information concerning dates of composition, publication
and people to whom works were dedicated is from Krystyna
Kobyla~ska, Frédéric Chopin, Thematisch-Bibliographisches
Werkverzeichnis (Munchen: G. Henle, 1979), 9-285.
29. Herbert Weinstock, Chopin - The Man and his Music (New
York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1949), 210.
30. Ibid., 248.
31. Ibid., 283.
32. In the Henle edition of the Chopin mazurkas, the four
mazurkas of OP. 41 are arranged in the following order: No. 1 (E
minor); No. 2 (B major); No. 3 (A-flat major); No. 4 C-sharp
- 42 -
minor). This ordering was done on the grounds of a comment made
by Chopin in a letter to Fontana dated August 1839 (see Henle, P.
174). The traditional ordering of the OP. 41 mazurkas which is
still found in most editions and publications of the mazurkas,
that is, No. 1 (C-sharp minor); No. 2 (E minor); No. 3 (B major)
and No. 4 (A-flat major), will, however, be maintained here for
reference purposes, in order to avoid confusion.
33. Weinstock, 294.
34. Sula Benet as quoted by Shaffer, 3.
35. Krzysztof Bieganski, "Evolution de l'attitude de Chopin a
I'égard du folklore (suivant ses Mazurkas)", The Book of the
First International Musicological Congress devoted to the Works
of Frederic Chopin, Ed. Zofia Lissa (Warsaw: 1963), 85-99.
36. See footnote 35 concerning the publication which resulted
from the papers read during the Congress, the first of its kind,
and held in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of Chopin's
birth.
37. Karol Hlawiczka, "Ein Beitrag zur Verwandtschaft zwischen
der Melodik Chopins und der polnischen Volksmusik" , Chopin
Congress, 176-184.
38. Loc. cito
39. Ibid., 177. In Kolberg's collection "Lud", the broken
ninth chord and the interval of the ninth was found to recur with
great frequency.
40. With the exception of score examples 0.16b and 0.20, all
other examples in this section are taken from the above mentioned
article of Hlawiczka (see footnote 37).
41. Anna Czekanowska, "Be f t.r ë se zum Problem der ModaliUit und
- 43 -
der sog. Halbchromatischen Leiter bei Chopin", Chopin Congress,
122-126.
42. Ibid., 122.
43. Windakiewiczowa as quoted by Czekanowska, op. cito
44. The various fourth motions traced in the melodic and bass
lines within the sequential passage (bars 9-16), must be
interpreted as surface voice-leading figures in the service of
the larger bass motions E-flat to B-flat, comprising bars 9-12
and 13-16. Reproduced below is an analytic sketch of bars 9-12,
indicating the various fourth motions and their dependence upon
the large fourth motion in the bass. Also reproduced here, is
the melodic line of bar 1, where the organic origin of these
motions can be traced (for a further discussion of this mazurka,
see Chapter 12) .
1 ~.
/r-------------------~
45. Bieganski, "Elements of Folk Scales in Chopin's Mazurkas
and the Ensuing Harmonic Effects", F. F. Chopin, Ed. Z. Lissa
(Warszawa: Uniwerzytet Warszawsksi, 1960), Summaries, 303-304.
46. Schaffer, 48.
47. Ibid., 49-51.
48. Richard S. Parks, "Voice Leading and Chromatic Harmony in
the Music of Chopin " Journal of Music Theory, 20 (1967),
189-214.
PART ONE
SCHENKERIAN ANALYSIS: ITS JUSTIFICATION AND EXPLANATION
- 45 -
CHAPTER 1
HEINRICH SCHENKER AND THE ANALYSIS OF HARMONIC AND VOICE-LEADING
STRUCTURES IN TRADITIONAL TONAL MUSIC
In the analysis of traditional tonal music, attention is paid
predominantly to those elements directly related to the tonal
profile of a composition, namely, harmony and counterpoint or
voice leading. The nature and influence of these elements can be
assessed in terms of aspects such as tonal and formal design,
tonal directional motions, as well as specific features like
motivic design, style traits and so on. It is, however, within
the limits of conventional theory and analysis where problems are
often encountered in determining the meaning, logic and
significance of harmonic and voice-leading events within a given
situation. These problems can be attributed to insufficient
interpretations of the nature of harmony and voice leading,
thereby resulting in inadequate explanations as to their
influence on the structure of a composition. Even in discussions
of a, fairly general nature, the way in which harmony and voice
leading are interpreted can lead to certain analytical
conclusions which are not always convincing, as has already been
observed in some of the findings of scholars concerning Chopin's
contribution to the mazurka in Section III above. In dealing
with specific analytical objectives, as, for instance, in the
topics of this dissertation--an investigation of motivic design
and tonal structure in the mazurkas of Chopin--it is essential to
have the most effective available interpretation of harmony and
- 46 -
voice leading, if one is to arrive at the most reliable and
convincing analytical conclusions.
Voice leading has been mentioned as a determinant of some
chord successions, as well as of the function and character of
individual harmonies and sonorities with regard to the mazurkas
in Section III. It has also been noted that, in order to arrive
at an accurate assessment of the tonal characteristics of a
composition, consideration must be given to voice leading in
conjunction with harmony. It stands to reason that these
conclusions must be based on different concepts of the nature of
harmony and voice leading than have been generally available.
Conventional theory and analysis have treated harmony and
voice leading as separate elements of a composition, not
necessarily depending upon each other for their definition or
correct interpretation; that is, harmony is considered to be
represented by all the vertical elements in a composition, while
counterpoint, as Felix Salzer puts it, is confined to so-called
independent voice leading and to such techniques as imitation,
stretto, canon and fugue, etc. {l} This situation usually has
the following analytical consequences: by failing to recognise
the significance of voice leading regarding the interpretation of
each vertical sonority in a particular progression of chords,
theorists and analysts come to view each vertical sonority in a
composition purely as harmonic. Conversely, counterpoint itself
is effected by the conventional attitude with regard to harmony
to the extent that linear activity or passing significance is
attributed only to those tones which do not fit into a vertical
tertian formation. {2}
- 47 -
The most innovative ideas on harmony and voice leading and
their integration in a musical structure have been advanced by
the early twentieth century Austrian pianist and music theorist
Heinrich Schenker (1868-1935). Schenker's ideas on musical
structure as developed in his numerous theoretical writings, but
especially as demonstrated in his analytic method, may, in spite
of arbitrary philosophical notions and historical biases, be
regarded as presenting the most comprehensive system to address
problems connected with tonal organisation in traditional tonal
music.
By way of a general introduction to Schenker and his concepts
on tonal organisation in music, Schenker writes as follows in the
introduction to his Free Composition:
The cultivation of genius is neither romantic nor living in
the past. Rather it is the cultivation of a contemporaneity
that bridges time; it is a strong belief in the absoluteness
of art and its masters. If, after centuries have passed,
only one person is once more capable of hearing music in the
spirit of its coherence, then even in this one person music
will again be resurrected in its absoluteness. {3}
This forceful conviction as to what constitutes the innate
qualities of a musical work of art and that these qualities could
be perceived and should be reinstated as the true ingredients of
music, may be regarded as central in Schenker's work. Underlying
this attitude are the concepts prominent in nineteenth century
music theoretical writings as influenced by philosophical,
psychological and aesthetic trends of the time, for example,
unity, coherence, wholeness etc.
Concerning music analysis, the preoccupation which the
nineteenth century had with the nature of genius, posed the
- 48 -
question as to what makes a work of art great. rather than the
more general questions as to how it works. {4} From this it may
be construed that since only works of genius possessed the
quality of structural coherence. comparison of a work with an
idealised model of structure or process produced a measure of its
greatness. {5} Further. by adding a more general definition of
the term analysis as: "that part of the study of music which
takes as its starting point the music itself. rather than
external factors". {6} we may gain a picture of the situation of
which Schenker was a part and see how it helped to shape his own
particular ideas and concepts on music. The desire to express
and to codify them within musical instructión through the central
activity of analysis {7} led Schenker to develop and formulate
his unique theoretical principles and analytic concepts embodied
in his theory of musical structure. {8} the main constituents of
which being the fundamental structure or "Ursatz" and the concept
of hierarchically ordered levels of structure. represented in
graphic analyses.
Regarding the nature and purpose of analysis. Schenkerian
analysis. by its very nature. can be seen to fulfill the basic
premises of analysis if one takes into consideration the primary
definition of the latter (that is. "the resolution of a musical
structure into relatively simpler constituent elements. and the
investigation of the functions of those elements within that
structure"). {9} Furthermore. concerning the relationship
between analysis and music theory. Bent points out that the
statements of music theorists can form primary material for the
analyst's investigations by providing criteria against which
- 49 -
relevant music can be examined. {lO} In this regard, AlIen Forte
describes the basic requirements for analysis as established by
Schenker's theory as follows: 1) An analysis should endeavour to
explain the essential relationships within a composition, their
genesis, ordering, interaction and relative importance to the
parts and to the whole of the work, and 2) that as part of the
analytic venture, a representational means and vocabulary should
be developed which accord with the unique characteristics of the
work. {11}
Schenker's Ideas and Concepts on Music and
Tonal Organisation in Music
First of all, the main ideas and concepts underlying
Schenker's analytic system are considered. This will be followed
by a brief survey of his work and the literature on it, after
which the main components and representational means of his
analytic system will be considered in Chapters 2-5.
In addressing some of these ideas and assumptions on music, it
will become apparent that, as already indicated above, they are
heavily conditioned by Schenker's philosophical and historical
attitudes which, at best, can be described as arbitrary and
certainly debatable. This is a danger which must always be taken
into consideration by the Schenkerian analyst dealing with
certain problems to which the method either does not offer clear
solutions, or which it simply cannot address adequately because
of its built-in limitations. In other words, in spite of the
elegant results and rich insights with respect to tonal
- 50 -
organisation in music which can be gained by applying Schenker's
method, one must always bear in mind that the method is
constructed in such a way that it clearly reflects these
attitudes and assumptions. The result is a particularly closed
methodology, possessing an extreme "fragility" in that it can
show only those kinds of analytic results which Schenker intended
it to show. {12} I do not propose to investigate in detail the
implications of Schenker's analytical assumptions for the general
validity of his system. For this, the reader is referred to the
available critical literature. {13} It is, however, necessary to
present some of his ideas on music in order to gain a better
understanding of the origins of his analytic concepts. Apart
from the justification of Schenker's method as the best available
model for the analysis of harmonic and voice-leading structures
in traditional tonal music, this overview will enable the reader
to follow the analytic interpretations of aspects related to
motivic design and tonal structure in the mazurkas which are to
be presented later on, as well as to read and interpret the
graphic presentations and comprehend their meaning and musical
message.
MUBic aB an Art: its Organisation, History and Elements
Firstly, it must be recognised that Schenker's definition of
music as an art underlies all his subsequent views and forms the
genesis of his analytic theories and concepts. To Schenker,
music as an art had to be based on the organisational
possibilities of tones themselves in the absolute sense without
- 51 -
the assistance of any secondary source such as text, programme,
colour, texture etc. {14} This bears out what was already
presented above as one of the basic properties ascribed to music
by Schenker (see the quotation at footnote 3). In his
"Kontrapunkt" 1, Schenker writes the following to this effect:
The absolute character of tones automatically emancipates
the life of tones from every external purpose, be it the
word, the stage, or any kind of anecdote of a program. The
innate calm of tones forces the obligation on the composer
to acclimate himself to the characteristic life of tones,
and makes every purpose with which music can be associated
become secondary. In other words, the arrangement of a
secondary objective must never be the uppermost factor that
would have to be protested through (mostly unwanted) bad
effects of tonal life itself! {15}
Oswald Jonas also makes the following faithful observation
concerning this conviction of Schenker: "Lacking any association
with the outer, spatial world, lacking purpose, the tone conjures
up only the tone itself". {16}
These absolute qualities ascribed to tones are, according to
Schenker, traced back to the chord of nature (the major triad) in
the overtone series, and its compositional unfolding in time by
means of the principles of voice leading {17} as expressed in
strict counterpoint. In this regard, Schenker writes the
following in the foreword to the first volume of his Das
Meisterwerk in der Musik:
The Nature-idea of the triad, the art-idea of the
Auskomponierung of this chord, consummation in the
transformation of a single chord into many by means of
prolongations through voice leading, the emergence of form
by way of the transpiring course of the Urlinie--all this
comprises the masterwork. {18}
(The terms prolongation and Urlinie in this quotation will be
- 52 -
explained shortly, while a brief explanation of Schenker's theory
of form in relation to his concepts of musical structure is
presented in Part Two, Chapter 9.) Schenker must therefore be
regarded as an absolute music purist in terms of the nineteenth
century programme/absolute music debate.
Fulfilling this first prerequisite of music as art, Schenker
believed that music possesses its own inherent associations, that
is, a basis in nature, and the principle of repetition, {19}
whereby musical components could be replicated at various points
within the structure of a composition, not in a successive
manner, but rather as organic out growths of an underlying
fundamental musical structuring component. The principle of
repetition in art is also the main idea behind Schenker's concept
of the motive and how it operates in music (see Chapter 2). In
this regard, he writes: "The motif, and the motif alone, creates
the possibility of associating ideas, the only one of which music
is capable. {20}
From this it follows that music had to be organically
structured, {2l} a process which Schenker demonstrated through
his concept of large-scale structure, {22} comprising the
fundamental structure or Ursatz, and his concept of organically
composed-out levels of structure. The Ursatz represents a
large-scale harmonic/contrapuntal model, signifying the overall
tonal structure of a composition, whereas the levels of structure
represent the further compositional elaboration of this model,
each subsequent level being an elaboration of the previous one
(in this regard, see the complete series of analytic graphs of
the mazurka OP. 33, no. 2 in Chapter 6). As to the general
- 53 -
concept of structural levels, AlIen Forte writes that it provides
a hierarchical differentiation of musical components which in
turn establish a basis for describing and interpreting relations
among the elements of any composition, from the moment-to-moment
events at the surface of the music to the connections of longer
range that ensure continuity and coherence over the span of the
entire composition. {23}
Already from these preliminary observations concerning the
nature of music and its principal means of organisation, the
vital importance for Schenker to demonstrate organic unity or
tonal coherence in music by means of analysis based on new
theoretical perspectives, emerges clearly. In essence, the
notion of organic unity in music as advanced by nineteenth
century music theorists, particularly Moritz Hauptmann, concerned
the characterisation of the whole and its parts achieved by means
of a harmonic/rhythmic architecture based on a general harmonic
plan and the hierarchic differentiation of modulations within
that plan presenting a work which is controlled by a single
tonality. Schenker, in basing his theories on strict
counterpoint and the harmonic scale step (see below), as well as
adhering to the ideas of Hauptmann and others, developed a
systematic analytic method by taking extended patterns of
harmonic organisation and combining them with melodic or
voice-leading patterns in hierarchical structural relationships,
eventually producing a set of stereotypical models for organic
unity in music--his fundamental structure. {24} Once again, in
the introduction to his Free Composition, Schenker writes the
following to this effect:
- 54 -
... I here present a new concept, one inherent in the works
of the great masters; indeed, it is the very secret and
source of their being: the concept of organic coherence.
He then indicates three basic procedures which form an
instructional plan for providing, as he puts it. "a truly
practical understanding of this concept", namely, instruction in
strict counterpoint (according to Fux-Schenker). in thorough bass
(according to J. S. and C. P. E. Bach), and in free composition
(Schenker). Following this, he writes:
Free composition, finally, combines all the others, placing
them in the service of the law of organic coherence as it is
revealed in the fundamental structure (fundamental line and
bass arpeggiation) in the background, the voice-leading
transformations in the middleground, and ultimately in the
appearance of the foreground. {25}
(Further information concerning the role of strict counterpoint
and free composition in Schenker's theory, as well as on
background, middleground and foreground, follow in the course of
the present chapter and in the subsequent chapters of Part One.)
Composing-out and Prolongation
Basic to the fundamental structure and its relation to the
details of a piece are the principles of prolongation
("Prolongation") and composing-out ("Auskomponierung") .
According to Schenker, "composing-out shows voice leading as the
means by which the chord, as a harmonic concept, is made to
unfold and extend in time". {26} Prolongation refers to the
extension of a single note or harmonic entity by means of the
composing-out process.
- 55 -
The simplest and most direct illustration of these principles
is given in Example 1.1, consisting of a major triad, first
presented vertically at (a), and then horizontally in the form of
a descending linear motion filling in the triad at (b). From
this, it is clear that through the linear motion, the triad is
not only prolonged, but also extended in time. In addition, any
note of the triad or notes associated with its elements--passing
tones as in the case of the linear motion at (b)--can be
prolonged by means of further linear figurations, another form of
which is shown at (c). In this instance, each of the notes of
the horizontal linear unfolding of the triad are seen to be
prolonged by means of embellishing neighbour figures, with a
significant further result that the content of (b) can still be
traced at (c), but on a level beneath the musical surface.
Consequently, it is also clear that the content at (c) may still
be regarded as extending the same major triad--but now over an
even longer time span--because of the added voice-leading
figurations to each note of the descending linear motion. At the
same time, there is an organic relationship between the content
of all three examples by means of the prolongation of elements at
more than one level of the musical structure, which itself
demonstrates the process of composing-out.
Example 1.1.
(a) I@ $M
- 56 -
s 4 i 1 i
(b) 14 e t2 e Q e ~
~~ ~ S ~~
(c) ij e I • Q • I 0 I • , I(J • e I
It is therefore through the principles of composing-out and
prolongation that levels of structure can be conceived: all
events are interrelated, and all parts function to the benefit of
the whole, {27} attesting once again to the role of these
concepts in the demonstration of organic unity and tonal
coherence. At this point it must also be stressed that organic
unity, as realised by Schenker, is linked to tonal structure and
its development through the concept of structural levels. Thus,
through the principles of composing-out and prolongation new
perspectives are to be gained not only on the tonal structure and
organisation of a composition, but also with regard to the
meaning and significance of each individual element of that
composition in relation to its overall harmonic/voice-leading
structure and profile.
The Concept of Reduction
In view of Schenker's demonstration of the organically
structured and unified composition, for the moment consideration
must also be given to the concept of reduction, which is a basic
device in Schenkerian analysis, and linked to the concept of
prolongation. The analytic technique of reduction is the process
- 57 -
whereby musical detail is reduced in order to reveal underlying
content. The notion of reduction can, however, not be directly
attributed to Schenker alone; it has been a procedure followed
through the course of Western music history by a great number of
music theorists in numerous theoretical writings. {28} Schenker,
in drawing from this tradition. extended the notion of reduction
considerably in service of the demonstration of organic unity.
{29} For him, reduction became the analytic technique by which
the complex structure of a composition could be traced to its
foundation. that of the strictest diatonic voice leading. The
purpose of this technique then is to retrace the process of
composing-out. The reduction technique has also been described
by Forte as the means by which Schenker revealed and articulated
tonal organisation. {30}
The History and Evaluation of Art Music
Schenker's view of the history of art music also reflects his
bias towards the absolute content of music. In addition, the
concept of organically structured composition was itself a
process of evolutionary development for Schenker, in that a
synthesis of horizontal and vertical elements had to be reached
in order to arrive at a state of absolute diatonic musical
organic synthesis {31} in the history of music. For Schenker,
this culminating period in the development of art music occurred
in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, mainly in the works
of the German masters from J. S. Bach to Brahms. Consequently,
in his evolutionary historical scheme, early music, or the music
- 58 -
before Bach was regarded as still imperfectly evolved, and the
music after Brahms as decadent. ("(Schenker) held that the
history of music before 1700 represents a struggle, largely
unsuccessful, on the part of the creator to free himself from bad
theory, that during the period from 1700 to 1900 the great
composers flourished despite the increase in bad theorists
(exceptions among the latter being C. P. E. Bach and, with
reservations, Johann Joseph Fux), that following the death of
Brahms, music has gone into an infuriating decline, despite the
presence of one inspired theorist".) {32}
The Nature of Harmony and Counterpoint
Schenker's ideas on the nature of harmony and counterpoint
were not only fundamental in the development of his theory of
musical structure, but are of decisive importance for the
interpretation of the harmonic and voice-leading content of a
composition. In developing these concepts, Schenker firstly drew
on strict counterpoint and figured bass practice as presented in
the writings of Fux and C. P. E. Bach, which he associated with
the notion of diminution (figuration of a single, correct
underl y inq harmonic/voice-leading entity (see Chapter 2». The
underlying assumption is accordingly that the complex elaborated
surface of a freely composed work can be understood to rest on
the foundation of the strictest diatonic voice leading.
Secondly, Schenker drew on Fundamental bass theory, essentially
the "Stufentheorie" or scale step theory of Simon Sechter (c
1850). {33} The "Stufe" is a harmony of larger scope and not
- 59 -
necessarily identical with a single chord, especially one that
may simply be the result of linear motions and have no long range
implications. {34} Therefore, according to this concept, some
chords can be understood as passing or linear (that is, as
serving voice-leading or contrapuntal purposes), rather than
purely harmonic ones (that is, chords of cadence-structuring
significance, and chords which procreate new content and/or to
which passing content leads). {35}
To illustrate this idea, Examples 1.2a and b present the
opening bars from one of Chopin's mazurkas (Op. 63, no. 3).
Example 1.2a. Chopin. Mazurka OP. 63. No. 3, Score. Bare 1-4
Example 1.2b. Mazurka OP. 63, No. 3, Harmonic Reduction. Bare
1-4
/II N
o »- $". J
I - ,'-' "
I. 1 l. l
- 60 -
Two dominant seventh harmonies (in second and first inversion
respectively), are seen to embellish a single C-sharp minor tonic
harmony appearing at the beginning and end of the passage, this
tonic being recognised here as a Stufe. Looking at the harmonic
reduction of these bars at (b). it is clear that the two dominant
harmonies result purely from linear voice-leading activity. since
their outer voices function as upper and lower neighbour notes in
relation to the first and third degrees of the tonic triad. This
is also one of the reasons why the passage does not give the
impression of an authentic cadential progression. The two
dominant harmonies can therefore not be interpreted as
harmonically equal to the tonic. At the conclusion of the same
mazurka, the motion from the tonic to the cadential dominant is
effected by several intervening harmonies which are the result of
a descending linear motion in the bass, filling in the space
between I and V (see Examples 1.2c and d). In this instance.
therefore. only the first tonic, the cadential dominant and the
closing tonic are regarded as Stufen. since they constitute the
harmonic framework of the closing bars.
Example 1.2c. Mazurka OP. 63, No. 3, Score, Bars 69-76
:<
71 (l Jj ~ ... =. L -~= ... - gr.'l~.~ z~~
~ ___,
ti qUlr .. z----z ~ v' <::» 1....;1f I,,~~~ • I~ le; r.'I ~ .!I. .. 2,
~ * s ~~ :::::
I ;):'"
* ~.. s * '"
- 61 -
Example 1.2d. Mazurka OP. 63, No. 3, Harmonic Reduction, Bars
69-76
@
(] JY Jr I 1 I . I - I
i -~ IL
I I I ' I "I 'I I r I
Schenker thus distinguished between chords as members of a
harmonic progression (Stufen) , and chords serving some other
purpose to its logical conclusion, and explained the essential
process of all music as deriving on several levels at once from
this idea. Schenker therefore assigns to harmony only the
abstract guiding power of the scale steps, {36} whi le
counterpoint (that is, voice leading), represents the means of
connecting the true scale steps.
The Concept of Tonicisation
A further important consequence of the concept of the harmonic
scale step for Schenker is its role in connection with the
adequate explanation of the function of subsidiary key areas
within the main tonality of a composition. By supplying a
particular harmonic scale step with its own dominant, it can
itself become a temporary tonic--the process of tonicisation
("Tonikal isierung") . This concept of the tonicised scale step
within the tonality, replaces, in Schenker's view, the notion of
arbitrary keys other than the tonic within one composition. {37}
- 62 -
A tonal composition can thus be explained, according to Forte, as
being always within a single tonality within which the process of
tonicisation serves to form coherent and organic surface features
that interact with the deeper musical structure. {38} It is the
principle of the harmonic scale step and the concept of
tonicisation that must be regarded as the corner-stones in the
development of Schenker's concepts of composing-out and
prolongation. A more detailed consideration of these aspects
will be undertaken when dealing with Schenker's analytic system
during Chapters 2-4, as well as in the subsequent mazurka
analyses in Part Two, Chapters 7-12.
Preliminary Information about Schenker'e
Graphic Notational System
At this point it is appropriate to consider briefly the
representational means that Schenker devised for his analytic
system, since there is an important relationship between the
method of presentation and Schenker's overall concept as to what
his analyses represent (in this regard, see also AlIen Forte's
reference to Schenker's representational method as one of the
basic requirements for analysis established by Schenker's theory,
as presented above) .
Schenker demonstrated the musical content of a composition by
means of a system of graphic notation which takes the form of
sets of carefully worked out and often elegant graphs of the
harmonic and voice-leading content of that composition. These
graphic analyses are constructed in accordance with the concept
- 63 -
of structural levels, in that the various stages in a
composition's organic structure can be clearly delineated in the
graph. Especially evident, however, is the relationship between
Schenker's graphing method and his vision of the total
organically structured work of art. With this in mind, Felix
Salzer writes as follows in his introduction to Schenker's Five
Graphic Music Analyses:
An analytic approach which centers on the recognition of
each detail in relation to the totality or total organism of
a work needs a different way of demonstration. {39}
In the introduction to the English edition of Schenker's Der
freie Satz (Free Composition), AlIen Forte also mentions the fact
that Schenker's graphic methods were developed concurrently with
his powerful concepts of musical structure, and that he invested
them with singular importance. The most significant statement as
to the role of the graphic presentation, however, is given by
Schenker himself in Free Composition where he writes: "The
graphic presentation is part of the actual composition, not
merely an educational means". Forte concludes that "they are not
to be regarded as merely pedagogical devices, but rather as
accurate representations of the musical structures". {40}
Schenker and Some of his Contemporaries
Before coming to a survey of Schenker's work and the main
literature in this regard, it will be illuminating to consider
briefly a few aspects related to some of the basic assumptions
underlying Schenker's concepts of musical art, as well as the
- 64 -
main components and representational means of his theory of
musical structure, in the writings of some of his contemporaries,
indicating how his thoughts were appropriate to, or
characteristic of that generation. Although this is by no means
an adequate account of the analytic concepts of Schenker's
contemporaries, this overview will help to give a better
perspective on Schenker's work, especially regarding the origins
of his ideas and concepts, since, in the light of the seeming
revolutionary nature thereof, there is often a tendency
(especially among Schenkerian sc~olars), to exaggerate--even to
the point of absurdity--the uniqueness of Schenker as opposed to
the insignificance of his contempraries.
August Otto Halm (1869-1929), inspired by Schopenhauer,
asserted the autonomy of music, dissociating it from the other
arts. {41} Ernst Kurth (1886-1946), influenced by the ideas of
the "Gestalt" psychologists, saw three levels of activity in
musical creation: 1) the Will, in the form of kinetic energy; 2)
the psychological, drawing from this energy to produce a play of
tensions; and 3) the accoustical manifestation. These activities
were the essential elements of his concept of the Linear,
embodied in his theory of linear counterpoint. According to this
theory, music is seen as a texture made up of 1ines, each of
which is powered by kinetic energy. {42} Although Kurth's
concept of levels did not involve structural differentiation of
musical content as in Schenker's case, the psychological factors
underlying them nevertheless have a bearing on the way in which
musical structure is perceived by Schenker. In Free Composition,
for example, Schenker equates his designation of three broad
- 65 -
levels of musical structure (background, middleground and
foreground) r to "origin, development and present" . {43}
Furthermore, the importance of the linear element in music for
Kurth is relevant to Schenker's notion of counterpoint as
representing an aspect of music more elemental than harmony. {44}
Finally, also influenced by philosophical concepts, notably those
of Schopenhauer, Kurth maintains in his theory of musical form,
for example, that form is not a static pattern, but a creative
process. {45} As will be noted at the beginning of Chapter 9
where a brief account is given of Schenker's form theory, he
viewed form as a similar process as did Kurth, but, in Schenker's
case, as being generated by the various composed-out structural
levels of a composition.
Arnold Schering (1877-1941), in his examination of the
fourteenth century Italian madrigal, employed reduction
techniques closely allied to those applied in Schenkerian
analysis. {46} The work of Hugo Riemann (1849-1919) contains the
beginnings of a view of large-scale linear structure resembling
that of Schenkers', where, for example, in isolating particular
notes from a larger melodic continuum, it served to reveal a more
fundamental underlying linear structure. {47} Riemann's belief
that all significant features of a tonal composition must express
the content of a single underlying key, {48} is basic to the
development of Schenker's fundamental structure and what it
represents in music (see Chapter 3) .
The influence of Moritz Hauptmann and Simon Sechter has been
mentioned with regard to Schenker's notions of organic unity and
the harmonic scale step. It would, however, be interesting to
"
- 66 -
mention a few additional aspects in the work of these theorists
to see how closely these are related to some of Schenker's basic
analytic concepts. In Hauptmann's work one finds, for instance,
the idea of the expansion of the harmonic progression I-V-I to
the level of key area, and the insistence of I-V-I as the only
proper form or framework for modulation, in other words, the
transfer of characteristic chord progressions to plans of
modulation. In Sechter's fundamental bass harmonic theory there
are four points especially significant to Schenker's work, beyond
the obvious taking-over by the latter of the Roman numeral method
of notation of chord roots: 1) Certain chords are understood not
as harmonies, deserving a fundamental bass note, but as passing
chords or chords resulting from a combination of arpeggiation and
passing tones, etc. (see Example 1.3); 2) chromatic chords are
understood to be based on simpler, diatonic fundaments (Example
1.4); 3) a single fundamental can represent a degree which is
"tonicised" (not Schenker's word); its control expanding to
several subsidiary chords (see Example 1.5, where the second and
third examples are derived from the first and have the same
fundamental bass); and 4) a single melodic line can be "reduced"
(again, not Schenker's word) to its harmonic content with voice
leading in several parts (see Example 1.6). {49} The real
significance of these ideas and illustrations for Schenker's
analytic system will become more fully apparent when considering
his system and its application to the harmonic and voice-leading
content of Chopin's mazurkas in more detail from Chapter 3
onwards.
- 67 -
Example 1.3.
Example 1.4.
A 01011 : NO.
~ It f?h, I~ti~.1I~·s1n~~I~. ~I
{p: I~ % I ti;; I'~ Id I ~ I !t@;ll
St. d. f.: I - 1\' Jl Y - Il - V - I - V __
orlcr : V ---,---
Example 1.5.
Ii) ~¥!¥ilml~I~¥ï II
{ k: "I" Ia I ~I· I ~I" I ,d
- ó8 -
,fi aR m-I ~~ii{m IL"J,'=p_+~PJJp,foJ • ~
{ 'sJ: cf rf rel/I E1d lJ If I' f cF EH r I
C Li E
:g~\g I nR ,UR Isg £~itt4
{ty f r d JJ f]j \rFr F'pFr I (r {r r r f r I
.\ F o
(' o If
• q. •
,;
Examp 1el. 6 .
s c- S c- c. - c.
Finally. regarding representational means in analysis. the
work of Lorenz deserves mention for his use of graphic and
tabulatory techniques. as well as special analytic symbols and
diagrams. each of these procedures representing a specific
- 69 -
element of a composition. {50}
A Survey and Assessment of Schenker's Theoretical Writings
Having considered the fundamental principles and concepts
underlying Schenker's analytic system, it should be evident that
these were the results of years of study of the nature and
elements of tonal music. At the same time, Schenker's
theoretical writings reveal a clear picture of the conception and
development of his theoretical principles and analytic concepts,
as well as the concurrent development of a special analytic
vocabulary and representational means. An awareness of the
evolution of all these principles and concepts will facilitate a
better understanding of their meaning and significance and the
analytic perspectives which they can provide. It will therefore
be instructive to examine the evolution and development of
Schenker's theoretical concepts by tracing them through his most
important theoretical writings, while simultaneously offering a
broad survey of these writings. Before coming to this, however,
a brief consideration of a few biographical details of Schenker
is provided, since they reveal the nature of his activities which
were instrumental in the development of his theory of musical
structure.
Biographical Details
Heinrich Schenker was born in Wisniowczyki, Galicia, June 19
1868 and died in Vienna on January 13 1935. As a youth he
- 70 -
demonstrated great talent as a pianist and received encouragement
from Carl Mikuli, a student of Chopin. Having been awarded an
imperial scholarship which enabled him to study under Bruckner at
the Vienna Conservatory, he subsequently moved to Vienna. He
also earned the doctorate of laws degree at the University. He
became prominent in Vienna as a song accompanist, chamber music
performer, critic and editor. In addition, he was also active as
conductor and composer. His compositions gained the approval of
Brahms who recommended them to his publisher Simrock. During the
1890s Schenker wrote essays in musical criticism for various
periodicals in Berlin, Leipzig and Vienna. Two important factors
emerged as a result of these writings: his dissatisfaction with
traditional theoretical training and the unsatisfactory attempts
to define qualities of unity and wholeness in literary terms
alone. These factors led Schenker to the study of the
masterworks, as well as the theoretical literature of the
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, notably the writings of C.
P. E. Bach, Fux, Kirnberger and Rameau who served as points of
reference with which to agree or to reject. It was during this
process that thorough-bass revealed to him the kinship with vital
compositional practices that he had found lacking in the theories
of the Rameau system, which, via Sechter, Bruckner's teacher, had
come down to Schenker. {51}
Schenker's Publications
Schenker's publications may be grouped into three principal
areas, 1) theoretical writings, 2) editions of music and 3)
- 71 -
essays and reviews. A comprehensive list of these publications
has been compiled by David Beach. {52} For the present purpose,
only Schenker's theoretical publications are considered, starting
with the series entitled Neue musikalische Theorien und
Phantasien. {53} This main series in his theoretical output was
published intermittently over a period of about 30 years and
comprises three volumes: Vol. 1, Harmonielehre (published in
1906), Vol. 2, Kontrapunkt 1 and 2 (published in 1910 and 1922
respectively), and Vol. 3, Der freie Satz (published in 1935)
Referring to these publications Beach writes as follows:
This series represents the full cycle of development and
transformation of Schenker's conception of musical
structure. The growth of his most important concepts can be
traced from their initial statements in his Harmonielehre to
their final form of expression in Der freie Satz. {54}
Furthermore, these volumes were also designed to instruct in the
traditional disciplines of harmony, counterpoint and form.
Schenker's innovation, however, is that this instruction is so
designed that it leads step by step to an understanding of the
tonal work in all its complexity. To this Beach writes: "For it
is in Schenker's approach to this material that we find a radical
departure from the past".
Harmonielehre
The importance of Harmonielehre lies in the fact that it
contains many of his less conventional ideas in their initial
stages of development. Of primary importance here are his
concepts of the scale step (Stufe) and the process of
- 72 -
compositional unfolding (Auskomponierung). The application of
these ideas to increasingly broader levels of compositional
structure eventually led to Schenker's concept of the fundamental
structure (Ursatz) in Der freie Satz. Another important
contribution contained in Harmonielehre is the distinction
between tonicisation and modulation, this being a direct
outgrowth of the concepts of scale step and composing-out noted
earlier.
Kontrapunkt
The two volumes of Kontrapunkt, besides being a complete
treatise on species counterpoint, can also be regarded as a
history of counterpoint pedagogy, in that it includes numerous
references to the classical treatises (Fux, Albrechtsberger,
Bellermann, Cherubini), as well as criticisms of the existing
approaches to the subject. Schenker believed that the true
significance of counterpoint and counterpoint pedagogy had gone
unrecognised for years and sought to restore the proper
perspective. Kontrapunkt therefore represents a systematic study
of fundamental problems of voice leading within the framework of
strict composition. Of primary significance here is the fact
that Schenker incorporates his concepts of musical structure and
motion, first stated in his Harmonielehre, into this discussion.
Part One represents two part writing and the various procedures
connected to it, while Part Two begins with a continuation of
these procedures as applied in counterpoint of three, four and
more parts. The final section of Part Two, which Schenker
/
- 73 -
entitled "Uebergange zum freien Satz" (transition to free
composition), is significant in the development of his conception
of musical structure, in that he shows the relation between
strict and free composition by approaching the latter through
so-called mixed species. This section can be seen as the
forerunner of those ideas and concepts presented and formulated
in his final work and culminating statement, Der freie Satz.
Der freie Satz
What was to be Part Three of Kontrapunkt, was published as Der
freie Satz shortly after Schenker's death in 1935. The work is
divided into two volumes, consisting of the text and musical
examples respectively. Although the title might suggest a book
on compositional method, it is in reality a study of structure in
tonal music. In it, Schenker shows how counterpoint combines
with harmony and other musical elements such as rhythm, to form a
musical composition. The concepts presented in this work are the
final synthesis of those contained in his earlier publications.
Of central importance here is his concept of large-scale
structure, described in terms of the Urlinie (fundamental melodic
line), the Ursatz (fundamental structure or composition), and the
most general concept, that of Schichten (structural levels),
these being presented here in their final form. Schenker's
representational devices in the musical example volume have also
reached a degree of refinement which renders lengthy verbal
commentary unnecessary. The book is divisible into three parts,
corresponding to Schenker's designation of three broad levels of
- 74 -
musical structure, background, middleground and foreground. {55}
The final two chapters of Part Three deal with Schenker's
concepts of rhythm and meter (Chapter 4), and form respectively
(Chapter 5) .
Complementary Publications to
Neue musikalische Theorien und Phantasien
Although the concept of large-scale structure may be seen to
have developed primarily through the writings.in this series, the
actual development of the fundamental structure and levels of
structure took place in what may be described as Schenker's
complimentary publications to Neue musikalische Theorien und
Phantasien. These comprise the following: 1) A monograph on
Beethoven's ninth symphony (1912); 2) the explanatory editions of
the late Beethoven piano sonatas (OPP. 109 (1913), 110 (1914),
111 (1915) and 101 (1920 (each of these meant as an extended
introduction to Schenker's new edition of the Beethoven piano
sonatas»; 3) Der Tonwille (consisting of ten issues and
published between 1921 and 1924); 4) Das Meisterwerk in der
Musik (a second set of journals in three volumes published in
1925, 1926 and 1930); and 5) Funf Urlinietafeln (published in
1932 and later translated as Five Graphic Music Analyses) . Some
of these publications will be noted briefly in connection with
their role in the development of the above mentioned concepts.
{56}
The notion of an Urlinie or fundamental melodic line in a
composition was first mentioned by Schenker in the introduction
- 75 -
to his explanatory edition of Beethoven's piano sonata OP. 101
(1920). This melodic structure was initially defined by Schenker
as a diatonic line derived by analytical reduction when the upper
voice elaborations are removed. The Urlinie thus initially
consisted of successions of short melodic progressions, each
spanning several bars and representing a more fundamental
structural component. {57} In Der Tonwille the notion of the
Urlinie was developed quite extensively where Schenker also
quoted most of his introduction from the OP. 101 publication.
This development continued through the essays of Das Meisterwerk
in der Musik. Subsequently the Urlinie was extended to span the
upper voice of an entire composition. At the same time, it was
coordinated with the large-scale structural bass arpeggiation
("Bassbrechung") ascending from tonic to dominant and returning
to tonic, {58} thus forming the fundamental structure (Ursatz),
presented finally in Der freie Satz. Example 1.7 shows one of
the three basic forms of fundamental structure, comprising a
" J\ J\
3-2-1 motion in the fundamental line along with the I-V-I bass
arpeggiation (for more information on the fundamental structure,
see Chapter 3) .
Example 1.7. Fundamental Structure from 3"
I' ) ;z, ",0 0 0 ~.Q ..Q.1- f- -,:.
The concept of structural levels which was basic to the
development of large-scale structure, was first set forth by
- 76 -
Schenker in the analyses of Der Tonwille, {59} this being in
conjunction with the further development of the Urlinie in the
same periodical. At the same time, Schenker's reduction
technique in these early analyses only served to reveal sublevels
within the foreground and to a certain extent the middleground.
This also corresponds with the profile of the Urlinie of 1921
(Tonwille) , the latter being more what Schenker would ultimately
designate a "Zug" (linear progression) at the middleground level.
{60} (In this regard, see Linear Progressions in Chapters 4 and
5.) The subsequent extention of the content and meaning of
levels of structure in a composition led to Schenker's final
formulation of the fundamental structure and its relation to the
details of a composition, as demonstrated in Free Composition and
illustrated in Five Graphic Music Analyses. Thus, the evolution
of the concept of large-scale structure as it took shape through
the initial concepts of the Urlinie and levels of structure,
leading finally to the broadening of the concept of structural
levels and the extention of the fundamental line principle in
conjunction with large-scale harmonic motion, can be seen to have
taken place primarily through these complementary writings.
Literature on Schenker's Analytic Theory and Method
In concluding this survey of Schenker's work, a few details
concerning subsequent publications dealing with his analytic
theory and method are appropriate. This will assist the reader
in coming to terms with the usability and value of these sources
both for further study and a better comprehension of Schenker's
- 77 -
ideas and concepts.
The first publication dealing with Schenker's theory was that
of Oswald Jonas entitled Das Wesen des musikalischen Kunstwerks:
eine Einfuehrung in die Lehre Heinrich Schenkers (1934). {61}
This title is an accurate assessment of what Jonas intended the
book to be, namely, an introduction to Schenker's theories for
the general reader. The importance of this work lies in the fact
that Jonas (a student of Schenker) provides further information
about Schenker's most important concepts in an effort to clarify
and interpret them in his own terms. {62} The book focuses on
Schenker's concept of composing-out and the specific techniques
by which it is executed. There is, however, little detailed
discussion of Schenker's theory of structural levels and no
rigorous characterisation of the three broad categories of
background, middleground and foreground levels. {63}
A second book published in 1945 was that of Adele Katz
entitled Challenge' to Musical Tradition. {64} Although Schenker
was already known in the USA through the teaching of his method
and some reviews concerning his ideas and writings, this book was
the first extensive treatment of Schenker in that country. {65}
It is divided into discussions of a variety of composers in
presenting a picture of the possibilities afforded by the tonal
system, as well as an introduction to the techniques of the
polytonal and atonal systems, investigated in order to find a new
concept of tonality which they express. This latter feature is
important, in that it already predates Felix Salzer's attempts
regarding the analysis of compositions after Brahms (this having
been outside Schenker's own sphere of activities as a result of
- 78 -
his evolutionary view of music history referred to above).
Throughout the book the basic terminology associated with
Schenker's ideas and a sketch technique derived from his method
of graphic representation are both in evidence. {66}
Before coming to Salzer's already well-known Structural
Hearing, attention should be paid to his earlier book Sinn und
Wesen der abendlandischen Mehrstimmigkeit, {67} an interesting
publication in which Salzer explores music before Bach from a
conservative Schenkerian point of view, that is, still taking
Schenker's position regarding the music before Bach as being
imperfect. {68} This is different from the position which he
assumed later in his second book which became widely known,
namely, Structural Hearing. {69} Until fairly recently this book
was the only textbook in English which covered Schenker's
theories extensively. Like Der freie Satz, this book is also
published in two volumes, vol. 1 containing the text, and vol. 2
consisting of numerous analyses of compositions ranging from the
middle ages to the present. Many of Schenker's ideas are used by
Salzer in the discussion and analysis of pre-tonal as well as
modern works. The primary motivation behind Structural Hearing
was the organisation of Schenker's ideas into textbook format.
{70} A large number of concepts essential to Schenker's analyses
are, however, never introduced explicitly in the book, for
example, the idea of structural levels. With this in mind,
Milton Babbitt, in his review on Structural Hearing, stresses
that it was not intended to be a substitute for Schenker's own
work. {71}
The most important recent textbook on Schenkerian analysis was
- 79 -
published in 1982 as Introduction to Schenkerian Analysis by
AlIen Forte and Steven Gilbert. {72} The authors intended it to
serve as a basic textbook on Schenkerian analysis, and present
detailed and comprehensive discussions and illustrations of
Schenker's analytic concepts and techniques. The book is divided
into three parts. Part One presents a survey of basic concepts
of Schenker in connection with harmony and voice leading, while
Parts Two and Three focus on the development and application of
ideas that are more specifically Schenkerian. The book is also
intended to cover basic form structures and this feature has been
used in the organisation of the material. {73}
Finally, two more publications on Schenker deserve to be
mentioned. The first is a comprehensive article by AlIen Forte
entitled "Schenker's Conception of Musical Structure", first
published in the second volume of Journal of Music Theory (1959),
and subsequently republished in Readings in Schenker Analysis and
Other Approaches by Maury Yeston. {74} This introductory article
on Schenker's theoretical activities and analytic system came at
a time when, apart from Structural Hearing, no publications of
this nature were available in English. In it Forte covers the
subject from the influence of previous theorists upon Schenker to
(at that time) yet unresolved questions posed by Schenkerian
theory. Careful def initions- of Schenker' s basic concepts and
terms are presented, as well as a detailed explanation of a
typical analytic sketch. {75} It also gives an account of
Schenker's attitude towards musical performance and music
education, as well as focusing on his pedagogical activities and
his work as editor.
- 80 -
The second publication appeared as recently as 1988, namely,
an English translation of Felix-Eberhard von Cube's Lehrbuch der
musikalischen Kunstgesetz, by David Neumeyer, George R. Boyd and
Scott Harris, published as The Book of the Musical Artwork: An
Interpretation of the Musical Theories of Heinrich Schenker. {76}
Von Cube was one of the very few of Schenker's serious students
who did not emigrate to the United States in the 1930's. No
definitive data can be assigned to the original manuscript which
remained unpublished. The book was begun in 1934, but work on
the main text of its two volumes was executed mostly between 1947
and 1955. Appendices were added as late as the 1970's, and the
authors' final note is dated January 4, 1980. In its character
and effect, Von Cube's book goes far beyond the pedagogical: In
Part 1 (as the material is arranged in the translation), he
develops a careful argument for the acoustical foundations of
Schenker's theory. Part 2 is a concise, tabular presentation of
essential elements of the theory in the context of an
"entelechical" concept of music. Part 3 offers annotated
analytic sketches; it has more complete analyses of pieces,
covering a wider range of the historical repertory, than any
other source. {76}
After this overall survey of Schenker and his work, attention
will now be focused on his analytical system in more detail
during the following five chapters. This is done for the sake of
more direct confrontation with the application of his ideas and
concepts and to assess their meaning and significance for the
detailed analyses of selected Chopin mazurkas, which follow in
Part Two.
- 81 -
NOTES
1. Felix Salzer, Structural Hearing: Tonal Coherence in Music
(New York: Dover Publications, 1982), 14.
2. Sylvan Kalib, Thirteen Essays from the Three Yearbooks "Das
Meisterwerk in der Musik" by Heinrich Schenker: an Annotated
Translation (Northwestern University, 1973), Vol. 1, 422.
3. Heinrich Schenker, Free Composition, translated and edited
by Ernst aster (New York and London: Longman, 1979), xxiv.
4. Ian D. Bent, "Analysis" in The New Grove Dictionary of
Music and Musicians, Ed. Stanley Sadie (London: Macmi llan
Publishers, 1980), Vol. 1, 342.
5. Ibid., 343.
6 . Ibid., 341.
7. AlIen Forte, "Schenker's Conception of Musical Structure"
in Readings in Schenker Analysis and other Approaches, Ed. Maury
Yeston (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1977), 7-8.
8. Ibid.,7.
9. Bent, Grove, Vol. 1, 340.
10 . Ibid., 341.
11. Forte, Yeston, 31.
12. This latter observation about Schenker's method was made by
Prof. David Neumeyer in a paper entitled "Haydn's Last Word on
Text Representation and Organic Unity". delivered at a theory
symposium at Indiana University during July 1982.
13. See Kalib, Thirteen Essays ... Sonia Slatin, The Theories
of Heinrich Schenker in Perspective (Columbia University, 1967),
and Eugene Narmour, Beyond Schenkerism (Chicago and London:
- 82 -
University of Chicago Press, 1977).
14. Kalib, Vol. 1, xiv.
15. Schenker, Kontrapunkt 1, as quoted by Kalib, Vol. 1,
362-363.
16. Oswald Jonas, Introduction to the Theory of Heinrich
Schenker: The Nature of the Musical Work of Art, translated and
edited from the German edition entitle: Einfuehrung in die Lehre
Heinrich Schenkers, by John Rothgeb (New York and London,
Lon~an, 1982), 2.
17. Kalib, Vol. 1, 362.
18. Schenker, Foreword to Vol. 1 of Das Meisterwerk in der
Musik, as translated by Kalib in Thirteen Essays ... Vol. 2.
19. Kalib, Vol. 1, 363.
20. Heinrich Schenker, Harmony, Ed. Oswald Jonas, translated by
Elizabeth Mann Borgese (Chicago and London: University of Chicago
Press, 1954), 4.
21. Kalib, Vol. 1, 363.
22. Allen Forte, "Heinrich Schenker", Grove, 16, 627.
23. Ibid., 628.
24. David Neumeyer, "Organic Structure and the Song Cycle:
Another Look at Schumann's Dichterliebe", Music Theory Spectrum,
4 (1982), 92-93.
25. Schenker, Free Composition, xxi.
26. Schenker, Harmony, ix.
27. David Neumeyer, Guidelines for Analysis of Traditional
Tonal Music using Heinrich Schenker's Method, unpublished
manuscript (Indiana University, 1982), 4.
28. For a comprehensive and illuminating discussion of musical
- 83 -
reduction as part of the theoretical tradition, see Robert P.
Morgan, "Schenker and the Theoretical Tradition: the Concept of
Musical Reduction", College Music Symposium, xviii (1978):
72-96.
29. Neumeyer, Guidelines, 5.
30. Forte, Yeston, 7-8.
31. Kalib, Vol. 1, 384.
32. William J. Mitchell, as quoted by Slatin, Part 2, 518.
33. Neumeyer, Guidelines, 5.
34. Forte, Grove, Vol. 16, 627.
35. Kalib, Vol. 1, 413.
36. Ibid., 420.
37. Forte, Grove, Vol. 16, 627.
38. Loc. cito
39. Heinrich Schenker, Five Graphic Music Analyses (New York:
Dover Publications, 1969), Introduction, 15.
40. Schenker, Free Composition, Introduction to the English
Edition, xix.
41. Alfred Grant Goodrnan, "August Otto Halm", Grove, Vol. 8,
59.
42. Bent, Grove, Vol. 1, 359.
43. Schenker, Free Composition, 3.
44. Forte, Grove, Vol. 16, 627.
45. Bent, Grove, Vol. 1, 359.
46. Ibid., 354.
47. Morgan, 94.
48. Loc. cito
49. See Neumeyer, Guidelines, 176, 180 and 184. The musical
- 84 -
illustrations were taken from Sechter's Grundsaetze der
musikalischen Komposition, as reproduced in Guidelines, 181-183.
50. Bent, Grove, Vol. 1, 359-361.
51. These biographical details have been compiled from the
section on Schenker by Forte, Grove, Vol. 16, 627, the
biographical sketch in Free Composition, v, and Biographical Data
in Slatin, Vol. 1, 9.
52. See David Beach, lOASchenker Bibliography", Yeston, Part 3
275-309, as well as his article entitled "The Current State of
Schenkerian Research", Acta Musicologica, vii/2 (1985): Appendix
1, Schenker's Writings, 299-301. In both pu'blications Beach also
provides listings of secondary literature on Schenker; the latter
publication provides updated information in this regard.
53. Heinrich Schenker, Neue musikalische Theorien und
Phantasien, Vol. 1. Harmonielehre (1906), Vol. 2. Kontrapunkt 1
and 2 (1910 and 1922), Vol. 3, Der freie Satz (1935). All three
volumes in this series were published by Universal Edition.
Vienna.
54. Beach. Yeston, 279.
55. Loc. cito
56. All of these were published by Universal Edition (Vienna)
with the exception of Das Meisterwerk ... which was published by
Drei Masken Verlag (Munich).
57. Forte, Grove, Vol. 16, 628.
58. Loc. cito
59. Forte, Yeston, 18.
60. Ibid., 19.
61. Oswald Jonas. Das Wesen des musikalischen Kunstwerks: eine
- 85 -
Einfuehrung in die Lehre Heinrich Schenkers (Saturn-Verlag,
1934). (This book was subsequently translated into English by
John Rothgeb as An Introduction to the Theory of Heinrich
Schenker, with the original title retained as a subtitle. For
further details see endnote 16.)
62. Beach, Yeston, 287.
63. Jonas. ix-x.
64. Adele T. Katz, Challenge to Musical Tradition: A New
Concept of Tonality (New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 1945).
65. I am indebted to my promotor, Prof. David Neumeyer, for
bringing this to my attention.
66. Beach. Yeston, 293.
67. Felix Salzer, Sinn und Wesen der abendlandischen
Mehrstimmigkeit (Vienna: Saturn-Verlag, 1935).
68. This information was presented at a seminar on Schenker.
given by Prof. David Neumeyer at Indiana University during the
second half of 1982.
69. Felix Salzer. Structural Hearing: Tonal Coherence in Music.
two volumes (New York: Charles Boni, 1952), reprinted by Dover
Publications, New York, 1962, and subsequentlY again in 1982 by
the same publishers. with both volumes bound as one.
70. Beach, Yeston, 294.
71. Milton Babbitt. "Review of Salzer's Structural Hearing",
Journal of the American MUSicological Society. 5/3 (1952):
260-265.
72. AlIen Forte and Steven E. Gilbert, Introduction to
Schenkerian Analysis (New York and London: W. W. Norton and
Company. 1982).
- 86 -
73. Ibid., Introduction, 2.
74. For further information, see endnote 7.
75. Yeston, 3.
76. Felix-Eberhard von Cube, The Book of the Musical Artwork:
An Interpretation of the Musical Theories of Heinrich Schenker,
translated with an afterword by David Neumeyer, George R. Boyd
and Scott Harris (Lewiston / Queenston: Edwin Mellen Press,
1988.
77. Ibid., translators' preface, vi-vii. (In the translators'
afterword (P. 356), however, the dates for the period in which
Von Cube's Lehrbuch was written are given differently as between
1947 and 1951.)
- 87 -
CHAPTER 2
BASIC PREMISES IN SCHENKERIAN ANALYSIS
Chapter 1 introduced Schenker's concept of tonal organic
composition, initiated by the fundamental structure (Ursatz) and
developed through composed-out levels of voice-leading structure
according to the principle of prolongation. Before considering
this concept in more detail, however, it is important to focus
attention on some basic premises underlying this perception of a
composition's harmonic/voice-leading structure. The idea of
compositional elaboration of basic elements, and conversely, the
idea that the complex voice-leading manifestations in a
composition can be traced to simple underlying harmonic and
voice-leading components, depends on these premises for their
definition and clarification. This is also true with regard to
structural levels and their identification in a composition.
Voice-Leading Principles in Schenkerian Analysis
The following observations can be made concerning the tracing
of voice leading in connection with the concept of composed-out
levels of structure. In subjecting the voice-leading elements of
the background or any middleground level to prolongation, it
means that these elements remain effective as the point of origin
or return for the initiation of new voices within the next
composed-out level without having to be literally present all the
time. Accordingly, voice leading following from a particular
- 88 -
level into the next level of the structure has to be recognised
as motion to and from more than one voice instead of motion
within a single voice. Examples 2.1a and b, the score and a
reduction of the opening bars from Chopin's mazurka OP. 67, no.
2, illustrate this idea.
Example 2.1a. Chopin, Mazurka OP. 57, No. 2, Score, Bars 1-2
(\ I ----- .......--
U •
P ~
1 4f'I.""_ ~ e: ....
*
Example 2.1b. Mazurka OP. 57, No. 2. Harmonic Reduction, Bars
1-2
Note firstly how the Dover V7 in bar 1 is maintained in the
reduction over I in bar 2, although in the score, it is absent in
the melodic line from the third beat of bar 1 to the third beat
of bar 2. The fact that the melodic motion does return to D at
the end of the excerpt, together with the fact that D is the
common tone to both V and I, is proof of its prominence as a
- 89 -
prolongational element and its retention in the voice leading at
a deeper level of structure. At the same time, some of the
elements of V and I in the reduction are also present in the
melodic line, notably the fifth degree of V (A) and the third
degree and root respectively of I (B-flat and G). Although these
notes seem to be part of a single voice, they actually belong to
more than one voice in terms of the principles of prolongation
and composing-out; that is, in the case of A and B-flat, their
connection to each other in the reduction clearly shows them to
be a second voice apart from D and its upper neighbour
embellishment (E-flat), while G, the resolution of the leading
tone F-sharp appearing in the left hand, represents a third
voice. This assumption can be made despite the fact that F-sharp
does not appear in the melodic line. Further proof of this
interpretation lies in the fact that, since V and I respectively
support the melodic motions of bars 1 and 2, their elements are
therefore potentially available for utilisation as instigators of
further voices and voice-leading content.
Thus, motion in a particular melodic or bass line can take
place either from an upper voice or bass to an inner voice of a
prolonged harmony in question, or from an inner voice to an upper
voice or bass forming part of the same prolonged harmony. This
can be observed even in the fundamental structure itself as the
first stage in the compositional unfolding of the tonic triad
(the chord of nature), where the upper voice and bass already
represent a horizontalising of the components of the tonic triad.
This idea of more than one voice being generated in a single
melodic or bass line is basic to Schenker's concept of
- 90 -
polyphonic or compound melody. {l} This implies that a melody is
essentially a horizontalising of components represented
vertically in an earlier level, where the latter comprises more
than one voice. Apart from Examples 2.1a and b which already
demonstrate this idea, Example 2.2 offers a more explicit case in
point, namely, a presentation of the technique of unfolding of
voices. By its simplest definition this involves the making of a
vertical interval (comprising two potential voices) into a
horizontal one within a single melodic line. As is the case at
(b) and (c), unfolding usually involves more than one interval
pair, thus making a continuation of their voice-leading
components possible (more on this technique in Chapters 4 and 5
be low) .
Example 2.2.
(,,) ~
~ f F r r f IF
- ~i¥\=v& j @
(C)
.... I@ s ~ , II
Two further factors need to be acknowledged here for a proper
understanding and evaluation of Schenkerian voice leading. The
first is that voice-leading processes at different levels of
structure in a given composition necessarily operate all at once,
since the overall tonal-structural hierarchy of that composition
- 91 -
is a temporal occurrence which necessitates a simultaneity of all
its elements. Because of prolongation, a note assigned to a
particular level, being prolonged in subsequent levels, is thus
also present (active) in every later level. {2} Accordingly, it
is difficult to determine the content and structural position of
a specific voice-leading progression immediately. Therefore,
cognizance has to be taken of the relation of such a progression
to both the fundamental structure and the compositional surface
in order to determine its particular structural position.
Secondly, the determination of voices as to their level of
operation in the tonal structure is subject to the concepts of
strict and free composition, which, in turn, are closely linked
to the concept of composed-out levels of structure. What this
implies is that voice leading, moving from its strictest basis in
the fundamental structure, becomes successively freer with each
subsequent level towards the foreground, whereupon the amount of
new potentially active voices springing forth from voices in
previous levels also increases markedly. This, in turn, brings
about a situation of "Freistimmigkeit", a tendency associated
with free composition and which means that voices may appear and
disappear, since the later levels do not demand that they have to
be followed through in a consistent manner as should be the case
in the earlier levels which are subject to stricter composition
where voices move accordingly stricter and in more definable
numbers.
Therefore, voice leading in Schenkerian analysis entails the
following three principles: 1) horizontal melodic motion does not
presuppose a single voice, but may involve several strands of
- 92 -
voices. 2) the definition of voices is subject to their position
within the overall tonal-structural hierarchy. and 3) the complex
and even ambiguous reality of free surface voice-leading motions
in a given composition must be perceived as relating to. and
resting upon. more strict and correct underlying voice-leading
models.
Free Composition and Strict Counterpoint
In connection with the third principle of voice leading stated
above. it is necessary to reconsider Schenker's notion of free
composition ("freier Satz"). and how it is related to strict
counterpoint. As already mentioned in Chapter 1. Schenker
originally meant to publish the first version of Der Freie Satz
as the third volume of his Kontrapunkt. His intention was to
demonstrate that the voice-leading principles of strict
counterpoint ("der strenge Satz") also underlie the voice-leading
events of actual free composition. that is. of music written in
"freier Satz". In free composition. the original strict laws of
counterpoint are extended and prolonged. not just through freer
treatment. but particularly through the composing-out process and
the inclusion of other aspects of music. notably harmony. {3} In
this regard. strict counterpoint is associated with the concept
of diminution (see below) in order to make composing-out
possible. as well as with the extended harmonic scale step (see
Chapter 1 above) in order to deal with harmonic hierarchies
within the composing-out process. {4}
A simple instance of the relationship between free composition
- 93 -
and strict counterpoint is shown in Example 2.3 from the opening
bars of the mazurka OP. 7, no. 2.
Example 2.3. Mazurka OP. 7, No. 2, Bars 1-4
(a) (b)
® ®
! ... L-J .......... I I_r 1"-",
I
At (a), the controlling background melodic line for bars 1-4
and its supporting bass tones are given. Together, these voices
represent a typical first species model, that is, a one/one
relation between the voices with each note of the cantus firmus
(in this case, a reduction of part of the opening theme of the
mazurka) having its own consonant support. At (b), on the other
hand, the original melodic line for these bars is given together
with a rhythmically simplified bass, resembling the one given at
(a). If, in this instance, the bass were to represent the tones
of a cantus firmus, it is easy to recognise how the upper voice
presents a freer contrapuntal motion against the bass. At the
same time it is clear that this freer counterpoint is the result
of voice-leading embellishments or figurations added to each of
the tones of the melodic reduction at (a).
- 94 -
The Principle of Consonant Support for Dissonant Elements
With regard to the role of composing-out and prolongation in
establishing a connection between free composition and strict
counterpoint, attention must be focused on one of the most
significant features of Schenkerian analysis, namely, the
conversion of dissonant elements into consonant ones. For
Schenker, the only way in which a dissonant element could be
subjected to prolongation, is for it to be made consonant. In
Free Composition he states the following on this phenomenon:
The dissonant passing tone is itself a means of
composing-out. Therefore, as long as it retains its
dissonant quality, it cannot at the same time give rise to a
further composing-out; only the transformation of the
dissonance into a consonance can make composing-out
possible. Such an opportunity was lacking in strict
counterpoint.
He then continues by pointing out that, already in the
fundamental structure, the first transformation of a
fundamental-line tone into a consonance is exhibited, whereupon
he refers to the possibility of subsequent composing-out of these
dissonant tones. Having been initiated in the fundamental
structure, the further significance of this concept--and by
implication also the fundamental structure--is indicated by
Schenker as follows:
This principle continues through all levels of the
middleground, creating more and more. new levels which
present new possibilities of prolongations for dissonant
passing tones either in the outer or in the inner voices.
Finally the foreground, with its greatest freedom, shows
voice-leading events which are not understandable as passing
motions unless one refers to relationships in the
middleground and background. {5}
- 95 -
Finally, Jonas states that a dissonant passing note, having
become part of a composed-out triad, can unfold with its own
passing notes, thus having no relationship to the point of origin
of the passing note. In such cases it can even be subjected to
tonicisation. {6}
Once again, a relatively simple instance of this phenomenon is
shown in Example 2.4 from the opening six bars of the mazurka OP.
41, no. 4.
Example 2.4. Mazurka OP. 41, No. 4, Bare 1-6
( a) (b)
n 1 I I I J
! ,
I I } 1$1 I1, I:!-
( c)
Allegretto Opus 'II Nr
Il I 2/' , , <, ,'1:1 J >- , 2 ,)\ >-
s.
.J
1 J~
b~ ~ ! ! ! -= b.«!: .«!:
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
6
Il I
*
- 96 -
At (a) the controlling background melodic line for these bars
is given together with a single tonic bass, representing the
prolonged background harmony. The result is that the D-flat of
the upper voice is dissonant against the A-flat of the bass.
(Incidentally, this example is reminiscent of a typical third
species model in strict counterpoint.) In the harmonic reduction
of the same bars at (b), note how the D-flat of the upper voice
is now given its own consonant support, firstly in the form of
both D-flat and B-flat (IV and II) in the bass, resulting in its
prolongation and the subsequent composing-out of IV and II in
bars 3 and 4 respectively. Thereafter it is supported by E-flat
(V) in the bass at bar 5, resulting in the composing-out of V,
before it moves to C and I in the bass at bar 6. The score of
bars 1-6 is presented at (c), indicating the composed-out voice
leading for each of the prolonged notes of the background melodic
line.
Diminution
In the traditional manner--especially in the seventeenth
century--diminution refers to the process by which an interval
formed by notes of longer value is expressed in notes of shorter
value. The various kinds of musical events involved in this
"diminishing" process are known collectively as diminutions,
comprising the passing note, neighbouring note and the
arpeggiation, as well as subspecies of these. {7} In Schenkerian
analysis, however, the term diminution means embellishment in a
general broad sense and has nothing to do with diminution,
- 97 -
meaning repetition of smaller note values (that is. the opposite
of augmentation). {8} This is because it is associated here with
prolongation and composing-out. that is. as representing
figurations of underlying voice-leading entities and thus also
the basic mechanism for composed-out levels of structure. The
elementary types of diminution mentioned above. therefore may and
do occur in durationally expanded form and are not restricted to
the durations of short notes. As such. this represents a basic
concept in Schenkerian analysis. {9}
For Schenker. diminution is the basic element in the
achievement of organic relationships. In the process of the
demonstration of organic unity in tonal voice leading. the
background fundamental line represents the first diminution. that
is. the linear composing-out of the tonic triad. (In this case.
the non-triadic tones are passing tones and therefore dissonant.)
By harmonising each element of a line separately. the dissonant
elements. being made consonant. are able to support further
diminutions. {lO} Diminutions therefore become capable of
prolongation. themselves capable of supporting diminutions at
later levels. {li} To this. Schenker writes:
All diminution must be secured firmly to the total work by
means which are precisely demonstrable and organically
verified by the inner necessities of the voice leading. The
total work lives and moves in each diminution. even those of
the lowest order. Not the simplest part exists without the
whole. The establishment of an inner relationship to the
whole is the principal problem not only in the creation of
diminution out of background and middleground. but also even
in its re-creation. where constant reference to middleground
and background must be made. The atmosphere of diminution
is the whole. {12}
Instances of diminution in Schenkerian terms are already
- 98 -
present in the foregoing examples of this chapter, as well as in
the examples of Chapter 1 above, and will continue to be present
in every subsequent example of this dissertation. Therefore, no
additional examples are needed here.
Scherrker'e Graphic Analytic System
At this point in the consideration of Schenkerian theory, it
is appropriate to return to the discussion of his graphic
notational method first brought up in Chapter 1. Apart from its
already referred to link with Schenker's concept of musical
structure and the fact that Schenker accordingly viewed it as
part of the actual composition itself and not merely an
educational means, {13} this particular kind of presentation and
the various graphing methods involved in it need to be discussed
in considerable detail here mainly because a thorough
understanding of Schenker's work requires the ability to
interpret the graphs, as they contain, almost without exception,
information in graphic form not always discussed in the text.
Reading the graphs is complicated by the fact that Schenker's
use of the various symbols is flexible. In addition, it must be
noted that there are basically two kinds of graphs, the first of
which may be characterised as rhythmic. In a graph of this kind,
the basic durational values are retained, but may be enlarged now
and then to eliminate notes of less importance which do not
affect the basic voice leading. The second type of graph is the
structural graph, in which some of the traditional durational
note values are used to represent structural relations among the
- 99 -
musical components. In addition to this, various other graphic
symbols are used, each with its own special significance.
representing tonal relations in a composition. It is the
structural graph that is the subject of the following discussion
of the normative usage of the graphic notation, and which will
also be used throughout the analytic examples in this
dissertation.
In the structural graph, note values are not associated with
durational values but represent hierarchical distinctions. The
order may be described approximately as follows:
o. d (beamed or not), ~eamed), J (not beamed), • (slurred
to a stemmed note), • (slurred to a note not stemmed), • (not
slurred), ) (interesting note. or note of motivic interest rather
than structural significance). {14} It must be noted that the
half note with eighth-note flag usually indicates a bass note
with a special function.
The larger note values, half and whole notes, belong to the
deeper structural levels. that is, to middleground and
background. Beams and stems are used to connect components of
the fundamental line (Example 2.5), and components of linear
progressions at the middleground level, connecting members of
lines which are hierarchically superior to other lines included
in the same context.
- 100 -
Example 2.5. Mazurka OP. 24, No. 3, Background Graph
A A "
~I~
In most such cases, black notes with stems are used (Example
2.6) .
Example 2.6. Mazurka OP. 24, No. 3, Middleground Graph
Beams and stems may also be used to connect the main bass notes
of a span of music. As illustrated in Example 2.5, the scale
degrees of the fundamental line are labeled by arabic figures
with caret marks, while the bass has the customary Roman numerals
below. If a succession of components of a fundamental line
(notes with numbers and carets) is enclosed in parentheses, it
means that the succession replicates a fundamental line, but is
not equivalent to it (thus indicating a replica of that
particular fundamental line at a later level in the structure) .
Slurs delineate structurally cohesive motions involving two or
- 101 -
more components. They may thus be used instead of, or even in
addition to, beams to connect elements of a line (Example 2.7a).
Their various other uses are to indicate a line of unstemmed
notes (example 2.7b), to connect a note with its recurrence, to
connect notes in the arpeggiation of a chord (Example 2.7c), to
indicate transfer of register (often with an appended arrow
(Example 2.7d)), and to connect a note of tendency such as a
dissonance, a seventh or tritone member, passing tone or some
type of auxiliary note, chromatically altered degree, ete, to its
resolution.
Ex~ple 2.7a. Mazurka OP. 24, No. 3, Bara 25-28
I
Ex~ple 2.7b. Mazurka Op, 41, No. 4, Bara 16-18
(~~J
I-0 I• , +-~~ ......--. +..--.~
I' I I
- 102 -
Example 2.7c. Mazurka OP. 41, No. 4, Bar 1
Example 2.7d. Mazurka OP. 41, No. 4, Bar 1
Furthermore, slurs are used to connect the tonic and dominant
degrees in the bass, members of bass arpeggiations, pre-dominant
bass support with the dominant, secondary dominant bass with the
tonicised degree, etc. {15} It must be noted that the doubly
curved slur applied to either the bass line, or the numerals
below it, or both, is a symbol Schenker employs to denote
progression to the dominant by way of a secondary dominant
(Examp le 2.7e)
Example 2.7e. Mazurka OP. 6, No. 1, Bars 1-16
- 103 -
Among the other frequently used graphic symbols is the
diagonal line which serves a number of purposes, the most
important of which are to indicate that the outer parts it
connects because of their displacement in the actual music,
belong together structurally {16} (Example 2.8a). It may also be
used to indicate an octave displacement of a note. Criss-crossed
diagonals point out an exchange of voices (Example 2.8b).
Ex~ple 2.8a. Mazurka OP. 17, No. 4, Bara 104-108
..
_}
o I
I I
Ex~ple 2.8b. Mazurka OP. 17, No. 3, Bar 24
The short double thin barline above the upper staff denotes
the so-called interruption of the fundamental line (Example 2.8c
(see Chapter 3» .
- 104 -
Ex~ple 2.8c. Mazurka OP. 6, No. 1, Background Structure
~ II 1 l'
~ lt .t
I " IL fr @
L_ I I
A long-range connection of some kind between unison-related or
octave-related notes is indicated by a dotted line, while the use
of brackets points either to parallel intervals or motivic
material of interest.
One frequently used graphic device requires special mention:
the crosswise beam connecting the down stem of a pair with the up
stem of the other, or vice versa (Example 2.8d). This is the
symbol for the unfolding, one of the most important types of
prolongations in free composition (see Chapters 4 and 5). To
indicate further structural significance or a note of special
interest, one or both of the notes may have an additional stem
and/or flag.
Example 2.8d. Mazurka OP. 17, No. 1, Bars 1-4
,.....--.-,_
- 105 -
Among the devices less frequently used is the large ~ which
marks a hiatus of some kind, such as a discontinuity in a linear
progression, or a break in an otherwise stepwise motion.
Schenker also sometimes uses large parentheses to delimit
passages that are in some way preparatory to the initial
structural statement.
In addition to the above graphic symbols, Schenker employs
conventional symbols such as figured bass, Roman numerals and
numerals to show contrapuntal patterns and letters designating
form. The Roman numeral symbols (sometimes used at more than one
level) designate the true harmonies on the level of structure in
question, those harmonies being the ones prolonged, those
supporting notes of significant lines, or those involved in bass
arpeggiation, or predominant constructions, etc. Schenker uses
the notation of the Viennese fundamental bass school (Simon
Sechter), in which all symbols are upper-case Roman numerals; no·
symbol is used for the secondary dominant (thus V/V is written as
II-sharp or II-sharp3) and figured bass numbers are not combined
with Roman numerals (thus, inversions are not indicated). {17}
In addition to all these devices, labels are given frequently
to show the type of prolongation in operation at a particular
point, such as initial ascent (Anstieg--a voice-leading technique
associated with the first level following from the background
(see Chapter 5», or to indicate contrapuntal function such as
neighbour or passing note. Finally, the use of the exclamation
mark (of which Schenker was very fond!) always marks an event
that is unusual in some very striking respect, deserving special
examining.
- 106 -
As this survey of Schenker's graphic notation already alludes
to the various manifestations and techniques of voice leading of
his analytic system not yet presented in detail, it will be
useful to refer back to this overview in the ensuing discussion
of the techniques of the method.
The Motive
In completing this overview of Schenker's concepts on tonal
organisation and the basic premises involved, a final aspect must
be considered, since it is regarded as an important feature of
voice-leading organic synthesis, namely, Schenker's concept of
the motive as element of design. In order to trace the
development of its specific nature in Schenkerian terms, we have
to recall a basic aesthetic principle referred to in Chapter 1 in
connection with the view of music as an autonomous art:
repetition. Apart from its relevance to Schenker's idea of
structural levels, repetition also has as its primary expression,
the motive. {is} In its association with structural levels, it
has been observed that, instead of only a literal repetition of
events in a successive manner, this principle involves the idea
that voice-leading elements can be replicated within different
structural levels. With the development of the concept of
structural levels, the nature of motivic repetitions accordingly
also changed from simple exact repetitions to the indication of
motivic life on any level. {19}
In his comprehensive article entitled "Schenker's Motivic
Parallelisms", Charles Burkhart refers to ideas on motivic
- 107 -
structuring more or less similar to Schenker's advanced by other
writers of the twentieth century, notably Rudolf Reti and Joseph
Rufer. He alludes to a basic feature that distinguishes their
approach to motivic ideas from that of Schenker. This is that
both start with the motive or theme, and attempt to derive the
rest of the composition therefrom, pointing to subsurface
configurations of notes, claiming that, by virtue of a vague
resemblance in general shape, these configurations are
organically related. Such an interpretation, however, is not
supported by criteria of a systematic nature, that is, there is
no attempt to relate melodic phenomena to the domains of harmony
and tonal structure. Burkhart then points out that in contrast
to this, Schenker's starting point is a theory of tonal structure
that accounts for both melody and harmony and the interaction of
the two. He continues that, because the melodically particular
arises from systematically defined constants, it can be analised
in terms of those constants with consistency and precision.
Thus, in trying to locate all his specific ideas on musical
organisation hierarchically, Schenker discovered the nature of
one such idea, namely, that in a given tonal composition, a
melodic unit or motive can be subjected to hidden repetitions,
taking the form either of simple rhythmic transformations on the
surface or, more interesting for Schenker, involving subsurface
elements, that is, in which the motive is expressed on different
structural levels in the small or the large. Burkhart designates
this central idea concerning motivic structuring that of "motivic
paraIIe Iisms" .
Although numerous examples of various kinds of motivic
- 108 -
structuring from a Schenkerian point of view are presented in
connection with the detailed discussions of selected mazurkas in
Part Two, mention can be made here of some of the basic
structural characteristics of motives resulting from this
conception of their nature. For instance, motivic statements can
be nested--one within the other--as in Example 2.9, or they can
be temporarily separated as in Example 2.10. In the former, the
two statements are necessarily on different levels, but in the
latter, statements can be on the same, or on different levels as
is the case in Example 2.10. For a detailed discussion of this
mazurka, see Chapter 7.
Ex~ple 2.9. Mazurka OP. 24, No. 3, BarB 25-26
Ex~ple 2.10. Mazurka OP. 33, No. 1, Bars 1-8
lMes~ t
r. 5 >II II z I 3 Z~' I lZ -f-t I't. }-----
tJ ....... f- II • .~ .. H'":::==- ~ r ..--....
I !'-
" T ,r35
- 109 -
The motives themselves can also exhibit a variety of designs,
the most frequent of which are the filled-in third as in Example
2.9, the turn, and especially the upper neighbour note formula
{20} as in Example 2.10 .
All these characteristics of motivic structuring and design,
and more, will be seen to operate in the tonal structures of
Chopin's mazurkas. Indeed, it will also be seen how, in certain
instances, motivic design even conditions the tonal structure of
some mazurkas. By placing the emphasis in this particular study
on both motivic design and tonal structure, it will finally be
demonstrated how the Schenkerian notion of the motive is part of
a process of melodic/harmonic interaction, originating from a
sihgle source, the tonic triad. and codified within its first
diminution, the fundamental structure.
NOTES
1. Forte and Gilbert, Introduction to Schenkerian analysis,
67.
2. Neumeyer, Guidelines for Analysis of Traditional Tonal
Music using Heinrich Schenker's Method, 4.
3. Schenker. Free Composition. introduction to the second
German edition. xii.
4. Neumeyer, Guidelines, 5.
5. Schenker. Free Composition. Pars. 169-170.
6. Jonas, Introduction to the Theory of Heinrich Schenker,
- 110 -
60.
7. Forte and Gilbert, 7.
8. Schenker, Free Composition, 93.
9. Forte and Gilbert, 11.
10. Neumeyer, Guidelines. 9 and 14.
11. Ibid., 16.
12. Schenker, Free Composition, Par. 253.
13. Unless otherwise mentioned, the information concerning
Schenker's notational system has been drawn from the introduction
to the English edition of Schenker's Free Composition by AlIen
Forte, xix-xx.
14. Neumeyer, Guidelines. 41.
15. Loc. cito
16. Such a displacement of parts is associated with free
composition, being the result of composing-out. where elements in
strict voice-leading configurations at deeper levels in the
structure become displaced at later levels (more on displacement
in Chapter 4) .
17. Neumeyer, Guidelines, 42.
18. Schenker, Harmony, xvi
19. Charles Burkhart, "Schenker's Motivic Parallelisms",
Journal of Music Theory, 22/2 (1978): 168.
20. Except for the analytic illustrations which are my own, all
subsequent information regarding motivic structuring in
Schenkerian analysis have been compiled from the article by
Charles Burkhart quoted above, pp. 145-46 and 166-71. In it
Burkhart also gives an account of the growth of the idea of
motivic parallelism in Schenker's writings.
- 111 -
,
CHAPTER 3
THE BACKGROUND
The Fund~ental Structure (Ursatz)
The most far-reaching concept of Schenker's theory of tonal
structure is that of the fund~ental structure or Ursatz. It
comprises a basic harmonic/contrapuntal unit that underlies the
entire structure of a tonal composition (the final result of
successive reductions of the part-writing), {l} and thus may be
said to represent that composition's overall background tonal
structure. Although a distinction is usually made between
fundamental structure and background structure (see below),
Schenker regards the latter as being represented by the former,
since the background of a given composition cannot be determined
without recognising in it a particular form of fundamental
structure.
This phenomenon--which may also be regarded as a codification
of the essential properties of tonal music (harmony and
counterpoint or voice leading)--is not merely the end-result of a
process of evolution that led to the establishment of an overall
controlling harmonic/contrapuntal framework for each tonal
composition. For Schenker, it also came to represent the
starting point for the conception of tonal composition and the
establishment of organic connections and relationships between
its elements.
As to the unifying role of the two basic components of the
- 112 -
fundamental structure--fundamental line ("Urlinie") and bass
arpeggiation ("Grundbassbrechung")--Schenker writes the following
in Free Composition:
The life of the fundamental line and the bass arpeggiation
manifests itself not only in the first horizontal succession
and in the first arpeggiation; it also expands through the
middleground, through what I have called the voice-leading
and transformation levels, prolongations, elaborations and,
similar means, into the foreground. Whatever the manner in
which the foreground unfolds, the fundamental structure of
the background and the transformation levels of the
middleground, guarantee its organic life. The fundamental
structure represents the totality. In it resides the
comprehensive perception, the resolution of all diversity
into ultimate wholeness. {2}
(Once again, it should be emphasised that these views on organic
unity, and indeed the fundamental structure itself, are the
results of nineteenth century philosophical and aesthetic
principles, and as such, have to be understood from these
perspectives.)
The fundamental structure, however, also represents the
ultimate stage of what Wilhelm Furtwangler termed "Fernhoren"
(literally, distance hearing), {3} meaning, the perception of
connections between tonal events separated from each other over
longer distances. Felix Salzer, in writing about Schenker's
distinction between structure and prolongation, gives his own
assessment of how music should be perceived in these terms--a
perceptual concept analogous to that of Furtwangler, and termed
"structural hearing" by Salzer--when he writes:
By means of this distinction we hear a work, not as a series
of fragmentary and isolated phrases or sections, but as a
single organic structure through whose prolongation the
principle of artistic unity and variety is maintained. {4}
- 113 -
In similar vein Oswald Jonas writes:
For Schenker, the discovery of the background ... was
essential to the perception of the continuity of a work of
art. Points separated in time could be heard and understood
as belonging together, because they constituted the initial
and concluding points of an interval, rooted in nature and
grasped as a unity. {5}
The interval to which Jonas refers here is the one spanned by the
fundamental line.
Apart from its indispensable connection to the concepts of
prolongation and composing-out in establishing organic
connections and relationships between its elements and those in
the foreground, the fundamental structure also embodies an
additional factor which is decisive in asserting its power as
tonal-structural unifier, namely, that of tonality. For
Schenker, tonality constitutes the primary means of effecting
unity. Its evolution is rooted in the fact that Schenker's
theory of tonal structure is an example of what is called natural
theory, that is, based on the overtone series or the chord of
nature (the triad). {6} The primordial compositional decision,
then, becomes a revoicing of this chord, {7} and as such,
constitutes its first extention or elaboration in time. This
primordial compositional event is the fundamental structure,
behind which lies the source of its existence, a single
all-embracing tonal spatial entity; the originator of tonality.
For Schenker, tonality is the fashioning and expression in time
of one single chord as given by nature and extended in space. {8}
Through its prolongation and extention in time, it becomes the
constant reference point of the structure as its elements are
- 114 -
gradually and variously expanded or unfolded. {9}
Finally, the establishment of underlying models of tonal
structural origin for surface voice-leading activities rests on
the principle of goal-directed motion, an idea basic to tonal
organisation. In Schenkerian terms this principle is represented
by the motion from one component to the other of a composed-out
interval, which, in turn, implies a point of initiation of
movement in a prolonged tonal space, followed by a directional
motion within that tonal space, leading to a point of conclusion
or tonal goal. Regarding this, Schenker writes: liThegoal and
the course to the goal are primary. Content comes afterward:
without a goal there can be no content". {lO} Consequently, the
fundamental structure, as it came into being through the
evolution of the concept of structural levels, represents the
basic model for, and shape of, goal-directed motion in tonal
music.
The Concept of the Background
An examination of the content of the background requires a
brief explanation concerning the three broad levels of structure,
designated by Schenker as background ("Hinte:r;grund"),
middleground ("Mittelgrund") and foreground ("Vordergrund"), and
the distribution of content across these levels.
Although it is true that the content of a musical composition
unfolds within these three defineable structural areas, the
number of actual levels depicted in an analysis of a particular
compositon is mostly more than three, being subject to the
- 115 -
complexity of such a work. The reason for this is that
background, middleground and foreground each represent a
particular position and role within the overall
harmonic/voice-leading hierarchy of a composition. The
background, as already observed, can be described in essence as a
temporal projection of the tonic triad, {11} while the foreground
represents the first stage of reduction from the musical surface.
In the case of a longer and more complex work, it should be
evident that a considerable gap can arise between the content of
the musical surface and that of the fundamental structure,
unfolding a single triad. In order to bridge this gap, that is,
to make a logical connection of content from background to
foreground possible and thus prevent the fundamental structure
from becoming a mere abstraction of a composition's
harmonic/voice-leading content, various sublevels within each of
the three general hierarchic levels--but most especially the
middleground as the mid-area between background and
foreground--can be produced. For an illustration of the
identification of sublevels within the three broad level
designations of a composition, see the presentation and
discussion of the complete set of analytic graphs of the mazurka
OP. 33, no. 2 in Chapter 6.
With this in mind, a distinction may be drawn between the
fundamental structure as the essential content of Schenker's
conception of the background, and the concept of the background
in toto. Whereas the fundamental structure presents the simplest
and most direct melodic and harmonic unfolding of the tonic
triad, the background may involve initial diminutions directly
- 116 -
related to the components of the fundamental structure; that is,
representing a level of prolongation still dependent on the
fundamental structure. Therefore, in the literature one finds
that the content of what is called background is often equal to
what Schenker designates in his Five Graphic Music Analyses as
"Erster Schicht", that is, first level of composing-out content.
{12} Such a background affords a better connection to the tonal
and formal complexities often encountered in the foreground.
The Content of the Fund~ental Structure
The fundamental structure consists of two parts (bass and
descant or upper voice) in counterpoint with each other; the
counterpoint being strict--as in species--thus making
possible--through prolongation--its connection with the freely
composed compositional surface. The upper voice represents the
large-scale melodic motion of a composition (the fundamental
line. It projects the tonic triad in the form of a descending
linear succession which spans the lower triadic third, fifth, or
octave. {13} The fundamental structure thus presents itself in
1\ A A
one of three basic forms in a tonal composition (3-2-1,
~"'I\JI\'" "'AAA""'''''
5-4-3-2-1, or 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1). The movement of the fundamental
line is always strictly diatonic.
The bass, on the other hand, represents the large-scale I-V-I
harmonic motion of a composition, outlining the triadic fifth,
the tonality-defining interval. {14} It therefore effects an
arpeggiation of the triad through the upper fifth, {15} also
known as the dividing dominant construction {16}
- 117 -
("Dominanttei Ier") . This fundamental bass motion is called bass
arpeggiation. The term bass arpeggiation is, however, usually
understood as an elaboration of the motion I-V-I. {17} The
simplest forms of the fundamental structure, that is, with one of
the three possibilities of the fundamental line, and the
essential I-V-I bass motion, is given in Example 3.1a-c,
representing the fundamental structures of three mazurkas by
Chopin.
Example 3.1a. Mazurka OP. 67, No. 3, Fundamental Structure from
3'"
(J)@@
Example 3.1b. Mazurka OP. 63, No. 2, Fundamental Structure from
II.
5
f r t
Example 3.1c. Mazurka OP. 68, No. 3, Fundamental Structure from
1\
8
CD @@@ @@ @@
- 118 -
Elaborations of the I-V-I Bass Arpeggiation
The dividing dominant construction of the background bass may
be combined in various ways with two other devices--the prepared
dominant and the l-lll-V-l bass arpeggiation--in harmonising the
fundamental line. The prepared dominant may be used as follows:
l~V I. or I~V I. or l~V I. etc. The l-IlI-V
bass arpeggiation is shown in Example 3.2. Although it appears
by far the most in minor key compositions. it also has a place in
major keys {18} (see Example 3.3). The prepared dominant is
often included in the background because it is a simple
prolongation of the dominant over the second scale degree in the
fundamental line. thus helping to effect a complete harmonic
phrase in the ,background. for example. I. followed by a full
cadence--l rs-v-r . {19}
Example 3.2. Mazurka OP. 6, No. 1
Example 3.3. Mazurka OP. 59, No. 2
- 119 -
In the case of the I-III-V-I bass arpeggiation, it already
belongs to the first level of composing-out from the fundamental
structure, since it is, according to Schenker, the space-filling
motion with which the bass goes beyond the I-V-I of the
fundamental structure. {20} It also has formal significance, in
that the middle section of a three-part form structure can be
derived from a prolongation of the third component in the bass
arpeggiation, which achieves the value of an independent root
{21} (see Example 3.4). In Example 3.3, however, the meaning of
this so-called third divider ("Terzteiler") is different, in that
it is still part of the first tonic and as such does not signify
a new key area and an independent form section as .is the case in
Example 3.4.
Ex~ple 3.4. Mazurka OP. 67, No. 2
®®@@®®@@
Prolongations of the Fund~ental Line
So far the only prolongations encountered in the fundamental
structure involved the filling-in of the essential bass motion
I-V-I, leaving the fundamental line intact. The following are
those first order prolongations which actually affect the
- 120 -
fundamental line itself. Of these, the most significant
phenomenon is the so-called interruption ("Unterbrechung"), since
it opens the way to the first division of the tonal structure by
affecting the direct descending and uninterrupted motion of the
fundamental line. It therefore has far-reaching implications for
form design from Schenker's viewpoint (see below).
The Interruption
The interruption is accomplished when the fundamental line
...
descends to scale degree 2 whereupon the expected motion to the
A
final1is interrupted, and there is a return to the first note
of the fundamental line. after which it descends to '1" . This
... . ....
situation occurs only in fundamental lines from 3 and 5. that is.
3"'-2.... JJ 3"'''-'''2-1. or 5"' -4...-. 3""-2 JJ /5\1-\14\1-\13\ -2-1 (see Examples 3.5 and 3.6).
(As in the previous examples. bar numbers will be included so
that the reader can easily locate the point of the interruption
in the music.) {22}
Example 3.5. Mazurka OP. 30, No. 4
e @-{@ 8@®
~.. 1A ~" II
- 121 -
Example 3.6. Mazurka OP. 63. No. 1
@ ®@® ® ®® ® ®
s 4 3 i /I ~ ~ 3 i r
ijhtJi t IJ ;f ~~ ~:r;.. L i f !~)I.- -:::..
Looking at Example 3.5. the D-sharp might give the impression
of a lower neighbour to the E. This is. however. not the case
because the D-sharp in this situation is already in the process
of unfolding the tonic triad and not part of the prolongation of
the first E ("3). It should also be pointed out in this
connection that the interruption was Schenker's means of
accounting for the traditional half cadence. {23} Schenker also
...
explains in Free Composition that. since the first 2 is
associated with the fundamental structure. it ~emains true to the
principle of the passing tone within the space of a third and
therefore never takes on the character of a lower neighbouring
... ...
note. {24} In an interruption from 5. the 5 can sometimes
reappear already over the dominant and even simultaneously with
...
2. without having to be postponed until the re-establishment of
the tonic chord. This is the case in Example 3.6.
1\
In a fundamental line from 8. Schenker maintains that no
interruption is possible. for two reasons. Firstly. the distance
... ...
traversed from 8 to 2 is the interval of a seventh--causing a
.... A ....
dissonance of 2 against the initial 8. Secondly. because 2 would
have to be followed by 8" after the interruption. it would have
created the impression of an upper neighbour to a structural "1
- 122 -
which would seem to have been transferred an octave higher.
Therefore, according to Schenker, the only division possible in a
~ ~
line from 8 comprises a partial descent of the line to 5,
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
followed by a continuing descent from 5 to 1 (8-7-6-5 IJ
"""Jl"
5-4-3-2-1). This version of the 8-line also goes along with two
bass arpeggiations instead of only one, as is the case in
,.. "
fundamental lines from 5 and 3; thus: I-V-I-V-I, corresponding to
the division of the 8-line shown above.
It is interesting to note that the only example of an 8-line
(if perhaps somewhat doubtful) in Chopin's mazurkas, that in OP.
68, no. 3 (see Example 3.lc above). does contain two bass
arpeggiations and some kind of division of the tonal structure.
The fundamental line, however, does not descend to "5" at the
appropriate point, but only to 7", whereupon it returns to 8",
before a complete descent to "1" (see Example 3.7).
Example 3.7. Mazurka OP. 68, No. 3
The reason for this interpretation lies in the mazurka's motivic
design, where the neighbour-note motion F/E/F (representing ,8..-7'"-8'"
in the fundamental line), plays a prominent role in the structure
of this mazurka, not only as a surface feature, but also in
connection with the Lydian fourth which can be traced in the
- 123 -
Trio, and in delineating its form sections (see the further
discussion of OP. 68, no. 3 in Chapter 11) .
As already mentioned, the interruption is intimately connected
to the notion of the half cadence and, consequently, to tonal and
formal design, as it opens up the way to large-scale two-part
division of the tonal structure. From a formal point of view,
this suggests either large binary form structures or the
tonal-structural conditions for sonata form, which, according to
Schenker, is essentially dependent on the interruption. {25} In
~
addition, the prolongation of 2 and V in the middleground can
bring about ternary form design as shown in Example 3.8 from the
mazurka OP. 67, no. 3.
Example 3.8. Mazurka OP. 57, No. 3
A B A
0 @@ @ @@
3 1 U ~• ~ I
~ ,~.
~ fa~
l ~ ~ ~ ~
Finally, it must be noted that the dividing dominant does not
always coincide with an interrupted fundamental line, but also
occurs at particular formal divisions in a composition where the
fundamental line does either not descend. or where it has already
A
descended to 5 in the case of an 8-line (see, for instance,
Example 3.4 above). Also, interruption patterns sometimes occur
in the foreground and in such cases must be regarded as
- 124 -
mini-interruptions, which are removed at deeper levels of the
structure. Example 3.9 shows one such an instance.
Example 3.9. Mazurka OP. 33, No. 2, Background Structure, Bars
1-40
(!,). ® @(j)(i) ®('m) ,.
@) ® @
3 AJ4) II 3 1 ..1. I
OJr I
..J I~r~r
sI f-/~ : f"1- ;t -:r
Mixture
A second category of first order prolongations is the
so-called mixture ("Mischung"). In essence it refers to the
mixing of two tonalities or scale forms, so that tones or
sonorities from the one may be used in the other. {26} More
specifically: mixture is achieved through the chromatic
inflection of a particular note--either a semitone down or
up--and is mostly associated with the major or minor third. In
the background mixture may be applied to a note of the
fundamental line--usually the primary tone--or an inner voice
within the tonal area associated with the first note of the
fundamental line, or to a note in the bass. Three factors are
associated with mixture: 1) mode change (parallel major and
minor); 2) chromatic mediant relationships; and 3) flat-2'", which
1\
Schenker calls the "Phrygian 2" but which applies to the
- 125 -
Neapolitan chord. {27} In the background. the element of mixture
is particularly important as a form-generating device.
Illustrations of the various possibilities and effects of
mixture from the mazurkas are given in Examples 3.10-14. (I n the
case of Example 3.13. the score of bars 1-16 of Op. 7, no. 2 is
also provided in order to show graphically how the notes of the
background--in this case those of bars 1-16--are situated with
respect to the actual music.)
Example 3.10. Mazurka OP. 17, No. 3
e @ ®i'@ @
s 111 1f3 ..2- 'I"
n I 1- , I I 1
..... L~i r J
:t ~:![. ;:.. 1:. j:..
Example 3.11. Mazurka No. 52 (A Minor)
A 8 A
CD @
.. ® @ 8
~3 ~3 ... ,..3 2- I
/I 1.-..1 , 1
J r.......:.»......
::t. 1- 'j:-
- 126 -
Example 3.12. Mazurka OP. 67, No. 4
0@@®®®@
Example 3.13. Mazurka OP. 7, No. 2, Background Structure and
Score, Bare 1-16
- I '. '.=
:>
p =- r 3 ..----?"...J Il~ i.
'1"-'
l' ------i
(\ ,....:.,....., •
l~~-.J1l~ ~_ , -
:> -
CL
~o-.
__ "--- tt·cresc. =- =-fslr~tl9 p :----;~ • -~~ :: I
:I' '1'"--+ ':!~Ii ~~~-t"-"'I~
I I ...
~ 3 dbl;>~ 1 :11
~ ~T " ,~ I1.---- . 1-_____ .:I:11(\ , J .r>. s:>:>----- 1=r1: =
t)
-=3:::::: c_r.e..s--c-..... poco-ratt, -=::::::::
'!~rF i
,f.. r+-«j. , b'
--...
LJ.
~
1 ~ ,,_, lhJ~ r>. Jt':-:'_.~. .1t-.rr- :
2• ~""..~.,.
- 127 -
Example 3.14. Mazurka OP. 68, No. 4, Background Structure, Bars
1-23
0 ® ®
~jJJ..J~.~.
@. ® ® @... ... ....J 7. I
J ]r jt~f~T r I
:t. :!li. 1- -c. :r.
While Examples 3.11 and 12 are clear cases of mode change (in
these instances to the parallel major), the situation in Examples
3.10 is the result of mixture applied to both 3" and VI in the
bass. In the case of Example 3.12, the inner voice C-sharp (the
result of mixture applied to the third of the A minor tonality
(C) in an inner voice), assumes temporary superiority over the
1\
first fundamental-line tone E or 5 in the background, since it is
responsible for generating the voice leading of the large middle
section. Such an inner voice fulfils the role of what may be
termed a structural alto, because it operates at a level in the
structure still under the control of the primary fundamental-line
tone of the composition. In Example 3.13, the correction of
1\ 1\
flat-2 to natural-2 in the fundamental line points to the fact
that the flattened note is an accidental or ornamental inflection
of the natural degree and thus hierarchically subordinate to the
diatonic degree. {28} There are, however, mazurkas in which
1\
flat-2 appears either without support of the Neapolitan chord, or
1\
without its usual correction to natural-2 in the fundamental
line. In these cases the influence of the Phrygian mode will be
seen to prevail over the idea of the purely chromatic derivation
- 128 -
for flat-2" (see the discussions of OP. 41, nos. 1 and 2 in
Chapter 11). Finally, in Example 3.14, the motion of the bass
from F to A within the overall F minor tonality of this mazurka,
operating in conjunction with an upward chromatic inflection of 5"
(C to C-sharp), results in a striking motion from F minor to the
mediant major (A major) .
One additional possibility of mixture in the upper voice must
be mentioned. This involves the chromatic embellishment of 5" in
A
a major key by flat-6 as its upper neighbour. {29} There are,
however, no examples of this in the mazurkas. {30}
In all the examples of mixture cited above, the chromatically
inflected notes do not function as neighbour notes, but as
ornamentations of the diatonic degree which they subsequently
prolong. Notes which are chromatically inflected can, however,
have an additional function, namely, as chromatic passing tones,
but as such, they usually belong to the later middleground or
even foreground. {31} Such chromatic passing motions are a
regular feature in many mazurkas, especially in connection with
motivic structuring (see Chapter 10) .
More Prolongational Possibilities in the Background
Two additional prolongational classes deserve to be considered
in connection with the background. The first is an upper
neighbour note (diatonic or chromatic) connected to the first
J\ "'" ""A"
note of the fundamental line (either 3 or 5), for example, 3/4/3,
;'\ A ,.. A A A
5/6/5, or 5/flat-6/5. Note, however, that this is not applicable
II.
to 8, since the bounds of the octave space would be overstepped.
- 129 -
{32} The importance of these neighbour-note configurations in
the background is again one of formal significance, since a
neighbour note connected to a note of the fundamental line, when
subjected to prolongation, always results in a new form section
being generated from it {33} (see Examples 3.15 and 3.16).
Example 3.15. Mazurka OP. 68. No. 1
@®@ @ @)
A (3) AJ 2. 1
() J J I I I
~ r~t r
::L '£. 1-
Example 3.16. Mazurka OP. 67. No. 1
@ @@ @ @ @ ®
$ 4 J i r
Ou I T I I
'-' r~r
~ 1-- ~
The second prolongational class indicated above is a line
(IZUg") connected to the first note of the fundamental line which
replicates the fundamental line. This situation frequently
occurs in the mazurkas, where, due to the requirements of dance
forms (see Section I), many mazurkas consist of individual
tonally closed form sections. This means that such a particular
section (usually the A section or the Trio) contains its own
- 130 -
internally closed fundamental structure. {34} (Note, for
instance, that the background structures in Examples 3.2 and 3.9
comprise only the first main sections of these mazurkas.) By
including such middleground lines in the background, attention is
directed towards the miniature replication of the complete tonal
structure of a given composition within its main form section (in
this regard, see Example 3.17).
Example 3.17. Mazurka OP. 6. No. 1
Q) ® ®@@@ D.C.® ® @
A i/I A ...3 3 l. 1
1~5:t ,J Z J-:;-s, J J rJ J ItL~f~fr f f
;: 1- 1- -r- :;:.
Finally, it should be evident from the examples that more than
one of the prolongational classes mentioned above may be included
in a single background graph (Example 3.17 offers a case in
point) . It must, however, be emphasised that they do not belong
to the same level, but are indicated according to the specific
needs for establishing a rapport between the background and
foreground, or, in most instances, according to what the analyst
particularly wishes to show in a composition ..
- 131 -
The Obligatory Register
Closing the present discussion of the background. three
additional factors are to be mentioned: 1) the obligatory
register ("Obligate Lage"). 2) the unsupported stretch
("Leerlauf"). and 3) implied notes. Schenker's principle of the
obligatory register dictates that the fundamental line should
present itself within a single octave. The latter constitutes
the primary (obligatory) register of the work. {35} This does
not mean that the fundamental line cannot be affected by a change
of register of some of its elements. but this will be the result
of middleground or even foreground involvement with these
elements. Such changes of register are possible according to
Schenker. exactly because they refer back to the obligatory
register. {36} The obligatory register is an important idea
because it is connected to the notion of the background as a
strict contrapuntal exercise. Thus. the notion of registral
manipulation of voices is understood as a device of free
composition. {37}
The Unsupported Stretch
The phenomenon of the unsupported stretch occurs when
individual elements of a fundamental line do not have proper
contrapuntal support in the bass. This prevents their further
prolongation in the middleground and foreground. a necessary
condition for the fundamental line in order to be connected to
the details of a composition and to assert its influence on the
- 132 -
unfolding of that composition's harmonic/voice-leading structure.
In spite of this, an unsupported stretch is sometimes valid in a
fundamental line, especially when there is a strong conviction as
to its prominence at the close of a work, or when the
middleground and foreground do not attest to further prolongation
of those elements involved in the unsupported stretch. This
phenomenon occurs fairly frequently in the mazurkas, mainly due
to the influence of either drone-bass components or drone-bass
related pedal point constructions, making proper support for
elements of their fundamental lines impossible, or at least
extremely doubtful. In some cases this poses a serious problem
in identifying a legitimate tonal-structural close, and by
implication, a legitimate fundamental structure for these works
(a question which will be addressed in Chapter 12), In other
cases the definite feeling of a genuine structural close--at
least melodically, supported by the formal layout of the
piece--may override the lack of proper support created by the
unsupported stretch. In the meantime, an example may suffice of
the occurrence of such an unsupported stretch in the mazurkas
(see Example 3.18),
Ex~ple 3.18. Mazurka Op, 33. No. 4
- 133 -
Implied Notes
Occasionally, because of rhythmic displacement of a
voice-leading device at a later level, a note of the fundamental
line {or any other middleground line} may be implied rather than
literally represented (that is, actually sounding). {38} See,
~
for instance, Example 3.14 where the B-flat as 4 of the
fundamental line had to be implied, since the B-flat in question
is not present in the music itself. A further justification for
a note to be implied if not present in the voice leading is that
such an implication is necessary when it represents the
completion of a specific voice-leading connection. {39} As
already hinted, implied notes do however also occur at all
subsequent levels up to the foreground, and in fact become more
frequent at later levels, due to greater flexibility in terms of
the number of constantly present (active) voices and of registral
movements.
There are very few instances in the backgrounds of the
mazurkas where implied notes occur at those places in the
fundamental line where they are normally expected--that is,
involving elements of the line which are ultimately dissonant,
such as the passing notes that fill in the arpeggiation of the
tonic triad {40} (see again Example 3.14 as one such instance).
They do, however, fairly regularly involve the first note of the
fundamental line or bass arpeggiation, or both, especially when
there is no definite statement of them, and of the main tonality
at the beginning of a mazurka. A case in point is OP. 6, no. 2,
which starts on the dominant before going to the first tonic.
- 134 -
The first note of the fundamental line ("5) is already present
above the dominant, but, by the time the tonic is reached, has
A ~
moved down to 3, causing an apparent displacement of 5 and I
which normally would have to be corrected in the background
reading. In the present case, however, there is no displacement
A
of 5 and I, since such instances usually present the opposite
situation, that is, a firmly established tonic at the beginning
of the piece without the immediate presence of the first
fundamental-line tone, and a subsequent displacement of the bass
when the first fundamental-line tone is reached. Here the
problem is solved by implying 5" and I prior to the music itself
(see Example 3.19). This action is justified since the implied 5'"
and I indicate the already mentally present main tonality of the
mazurka prior to its actual start on the dominant (for a detailed
discussion of this mazurka, see Chapter 12) .
Ex~ple 3.19. Mazurka OP. 6, No. 2, Background Structure, Bars
1-16
CD CD ®®@ ®
II
1\
A final remark concerns the appearance of 2 in the background.
Although it is supported only by V in the fundamental structure,
it frequently happens that the note involving 2'" will appear first
above a pre-dominant harmony, and then be replaced by an inner
- 135 -
voice--usually the leading tone--at the appearance of the final
J\
cadential dominant. In such cases the original 2 is still
regarded as active in the voice-leading structure and will
therefore not be implied (see, for instance, OP. 68, no. 3, bars
15-16 and corresponding places, where G in the upper voice,
appearing above 116, moves to the inner voice E above V.
NOTES
1. The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Vol. 19,
489.
2. Schenker, Free Composition, 4-5.
3. Wi lhelm Furtwangler, as quoted by AlIen Forte in
"Schenker's Conception of Musical Structure", Yeston, 19.
4. Salzer, Structural Hearing: Tonal Coherence in Music (New
York: Dover Publications, 1982), 13.
5. Oswald Jonas, Introduction to Schenker's Harmony, xix.
6. David Neumeyer, Exercise Manual for Schenkerian Analysis
(Indiana University, 1988), 7.
7. Neumeyer, Guidelines for Analysis of Traditional Tonal
Music using Heinrich Schenker's Method, 1982), 8.
8. Schenker, Harmony, xxi-xxii.
9. Neumeyer, Guidelines, 9.
10. Schenker, Free Composition, 8.
11. Forte, "Schenker's Conception of Musical Structure",
Yeston, 12.
- 136 -
12. Strictly speaking, Erste Schicht is first middleground, but
it is used freely as background in the literature, since it
includes first order diminutions such as the interruption and
initial ascent.
13. Forte, "Schenker's Conception of Musical Structure",
Yeston , 12.
14. Loc. cito
15. Schenker, Free Composition, 4.
16. Neumeyer, Guidelines, 22.
17. Ibid.,9.
18. Ibid., 22-23.
19. In Free Composition, Schenker shows various combinations of
fundamental line and bass, and the harmonic progress ions they
A ~
represent or suggest; in Fig. 15, from 3; in Fig. 16, from 5; in
1\
Fig. 18, from 8.
20. Schenker, Free Composition, Par. 53.
21. Ibid., Par. 55.
22. In connection with Example 3.6, the interruption is read by
Schenker in Free Composition Fig. 53,3 as occurring for the first
time in bar 31, thereby implying that the control of the dominant
in the background structure already extends from bar 29 four bars
before the start of the large middle section of this mazurka
(bars 33-100). In Example 3.6, however, the interruption is not
suggested until bar 39; an interpretation favoured over the one
given by Schenker, since the structural implication of the latter
is clearly contradicted by the surface harmonic motions in bars
31-38, suggesting that these bars are still under the control of
1\
the tonic and 3.
- 137 -
23. Neumeyer, Exerc ise Manua 1, 93.
24. Schenker, Free Composition, Par. 9lo
25. Neumeyer, Exercise Manual, 93.
26. Ibid. , 9lo
27. Loc. cito
28. Neumeyer, Guidelines, 27.
29. Loc. cito
30. There are three mazurkas in which chromatic upper
neighbours to the fifth scale degrees can be identified, but
these are all within the foreground as part of their coda
constructions and involve only inner-voice motions. In OP. 24,
no. 4, G-flat, the upper neighbour of F (the fifth degree)
becomes a chromatic note with the change from B-flat minor to
B-flat major in the coda; in Op. 56, no. 1, the diatonic sixth
degree is operated upon by mixture at the end of the piece, while
in OP. 56, no. 3, a similar situation as in OP. 24, no. 4 occurs
in the parallel C major tonality of its coda.
31. Neumeyer, Guidelines, 27.
32. Schenker, Free Composition, Par. 106.
33. In connection with the mazurka cited in Example 3.16, there
is an imaginative surface parallelism of the large 5'"-6'"-5'"
background motion in its introductory melodic figure during bars
1-4 which may be interpreted as a subtle foreshadowing of the
piece's overall controlling background melodic structure (see the
analytic sketch below) .
- 138 -
34. This is regarded by Schenker, however, as a demonstration
of the principle of repetition, attesting to the organic nature
of a well-composed work. In many instances, these middleground
transformations of fundamental structures have a profound
significance in terms' of motivic structuring or design in a
composition (see also the reference to, and discussion of,
repetition in Chapters 1 and 2) .
35. Forte and Gilbert, Introduction to Schenkerian Analysis,
169.
36. Schenker, Free Composition, Par. 8.
37. This observation was made by Prof. David Neumeyer in a
doctoral seminar on Schenkerian analysis given by him at Indiana
University, fall 1982.
38. Neumeyer, Guidelines, 27.
39. Forte and Gilbert, 119.
40. Neumeyer, Guidelines, 27.
- 139 -
CHAPTER 4
THE FOREGROUND
We continue our overview of Schenker's analytic method by
firstly considering the content, function and devices of the
foreground (the level of composing-out or reduction closest to
the music score itself), before coming to the middleground. This
particular approach is justified on the following grounds:
firstly, since the latter constitutes the intermediate stage or
stages of voice-leading transformation or development from
background to foreground, it requires considerable interpretation
with respect to the correct allocation of voice-leading content
in relation to the background and foreground. To add to this,
the middleground does not necessarily consist of one level only,
but may often be divided into a number of levels (see Chapters 5
and 6), which sometimes makes it difficult to distinguish whether
a particular level is late middleground or early foreground.
Thus, it is better to experience the different diminutions within
a foreground context first, since they are closely associated
with surface elements, in contrast to the middleground, where
there is greater distance between the voice-leading elements that
are prolonged by the diminutions.
Secondly, the foreground contains all the various
voice-leading techniques and devices which need to be considered
in order to understand the idea of elaboration of the underlying
harmonic/voice-leading events. In this regard, the middleground
still lacks the freedom of usage that these techniques and
- 140 -
devices have in the foreground. Thirdly, as part of the process
of reduction from the musical surface to its background, the
foreground represents the most familiar material in terms of the
actual composition. This should facilitate a better
understanding of the various voice-leading techniques and devices
with respect to their prolongational or diminutional role.
because of their association with the immediately perceivable
surface events. Finally, it could be argued that. since the
various techniques and devices are to be discussed with respect
to their prolongational role first, they could conceivably be
addressed here in terms of foreground and middleground together,
since the difference is ultimately one of context. It should.
however. be emphasised that these techniques and devices still
depend ultimately on the various structural levels for their
final meaning, and therefore need to be considered separately
within foreground and middleground contexts.
As noted above, the foreground may be described as the first
level of reduction from the score or the closest to the musical
surface of a composition. Although this may sound like one and
the same thing. there could be a difference in interpretation.
For instance, in Free Composition, the content of the various
musical illustrations presented there as foreground examples are
in most cases still relatively far removed from the score, but in
spite of this, they are designated by Schenker as "foreground".
The reason for this is that, in contrast to his earlier works
where the fundamental structure had not yet acquired its final
form and placement in the overall structural hierarchy of a
composition. Schenker's final formulation of the fundamental
141 -
structure and its relation to the details of the foreground made
him present the content of the structural levels more abstractly
in Free Composition, resulting in middleground and foreground
being submerged more deeply into the music.
On the other hand, in his Five Graphic Music Analyses,
Schenker presents his so-called "Urlinietafeln", in which the
content involves voice-leading elements closer to the actual
composition itself. He did this by combining traditional
foreground events--that is, those events lying beneath the
musical surface--with what may be called a harmonic reduction of
the score, and even a rudimentary melodic/motivic analysis. {1}
This latter conception of the foreground is generally accepted
nowadays over those particular foreground renderings in Free
Composition, since Five Graphic Music Analyses can be regarded as
Schenker's final idea on how a complete set of analytic graphs
should be constructed, thereby also implying the necessity for
the content of each level to be defined more precisely.
In addition, present-day Schenkerian analysts often use their
analytic presentations of a composition for purposes other than a
pure demonstration of organic voice leading; that is, they often
use the method in order to demonstrate specific compositional
aspects, such as motivic design or harmonic language and even the
role of voice leading with regard to specific style periods or
stylistic tendencies. These objectives sometimes require a more
detailed investigation of the musical score, in order to arrive
/
at more conclusive and satisfactory answers with regard to the
particular problem being investigated. This point of departure
promotes a tendency to construct more detailed foreground graphs,
- 142 -
especially since the analyst may wish to concentrate on specific
portions of a composition or movement therefrom.
Before coming to the basic voice-leading techniques which are
employed in the middleground and foreground, and the various
resulting analytic devices, it is necessary to point out the
three main types of melodic prolongational motion through which
the basic types of melodic diminution can be identified. These
are: 1) motion from a given note, normally a descending diatonic
scale segment or arpeggiation (where the prolongation follows the
note that is prolonged); 2) motion to a given note, normally an
ascending diatonic scale segment or arpeggiation (where the
prolongation precedes the note that is prolonged); and 3) motion
about a given note, most frequently by means of upper and/or
lower neighbouring notes (which may in turn be prolonged
themse 1ves). {2}
Within these three categories of prolongational motion, the
three simplest diminutions--and thus the three basic
classes--are: 1) the neighbour note (which gives rise to other
auxiliary notes), 2) the passing tone (which gives rise to lines,
and 3) the chord tone (which gives rise to arpeggiation).
Arpeggiation, in turn, is related to the techniques of register
transfer, voice exchange and unfolding. Additionally the
register transfer and the line combine effects to produce the
technique of overlap or reaching-over of voices. The initial
ascent ("Anstieg") is a special case of the line, {3} as we shall
see later.
With regard to those techniques and devices constituting the
content of the foreground, the function of the foreground in
- 143 -
relation to the middleground can be stated as showing those
lines, arpeggiations, non-harmonic note embellishments,
unfoldings, voice-exchanges (properly only in the foreground),
and other devices that serve to prolong the elements of the
middleground. {4} The three basic diminutions and the various
techniques resulting from them will now be considered separately,
as well as in combination with each other within the context of
the foreground, and by way of suitable examples from the
mazurkas.
The Neighbour Note
The neighbour-note figure belongs to the category of melodic
prolongation where the basic movement is about a single tone, the
latter serving both as the point of departure and the return to
the neighbour note. As a diminutional technique, the
neighbour-note figure may also occur at any level UP to the first
middleground or background {5} (see Chapter 3). There it is
still linked to the notes of the fundamental line only, and the
motion itself is restricted to that of the upper neighbour alone,
the lower neighbour-note figure being prohibited due to its close
involvement with the fundamental line and the interruption. In
addition, neighbour-note figures in the background involve only a
motion from "3 or 5'", and their structural significance with regard
to both background and middleground is of a· form generating
nature (see again Chapter 3, as well as Chapter 9).
In comparison to the background and first middleground, the
neighbour note at the later levels (particularly as a foreground
- 144 -
phenomenon), can be both upper and lower, and may occur with any
tone. Thus, in free composition, the neighbour note may vary in
scope from simple melodic embellishment, as it is found even in
ornaments, up to the condition of greater independence when there
is a simultaneous movement in the bass, resulting in the
neighbour note being given its own chord, which, if identified as
a middleground element, could be subject to further prolongation.
The opportunity is therefore provided for a neighbour note within
a melodic line to become more than a purely ornamental aspect of
the musical surface, even though such foreground triadic areas do
not have to be subject to further composing-out.
To illustrate the use of the neighbour note as diminution, as
well as its expanding or embellishing role, a few excerpts from
the mazurkas are examined. Firstly, to distinguish between the
use of the neighbour-note figure at different structural levels,
Example 4.1a offers a background/middleground graph of OP. 17,
no. 2, where B (the first fundamental-line tone), is embellished
by its upper neighbour (C) in bar 26, followed by a return to B
in bar 38. Note that the neighbour note C has harmonic support
in the form of VI of E minor and V of III of E minor, and that
this opens the way for further composing-out stemming from it.
The same neighbour note also appears as a middleground/foreground
element during bars 1-4 and corresponding places of this mazurka,
now supported by two foreground harmonies, IV of E minor and
again V of III of E minor, as illustrated in Example 4.1b.
- 145 -
Example 4.1a. Mazurka Op. 17, No. 2, Background/middleground
Graph, Bars 1-53
@ ® ® ® @
Example 4.1b. Mazurka OP. 17, No. 2
(i) Score, Bara 1-4
(l II .,...---::::::: > ,........_ ~
I =t) f 2• • tt ~ • j ~... -)--
* *
(ii) Middleground/Foreground Graph, Bars 1-4
Finally, Examples 4.1c and d respectively present the melodic
line of bars 5-12 and 61 to the end, indicating several
appearances of the neighbour note C as melodic surface figure.
- 146 -
Example 4.1c. Mazurka OP. 17, No. 2, Bare 5-12
Example 4.1d. Mazurka OP. 17, No. 2, Bars 61-69
Notice that, in these instances, the connections between Band
I
its upper neighbour C are direct, while in the former two
examples this is not the case; that is, there are other notes
- 147 -
forming part of the composing-out process, intervening between B
and C. This testifies to the fact that even in the foreground
there can already be a distance between the elements of such
neighbour configurations and the actual musical surface as is the
case here, demonstrating that also the foreground presentation of
a work is primarily concerned with tracing the correct voice
leading underlying its surface configurations. This fact in
itself can open up the way for the discovery of further
large-scale voice-leading connections, involving simi lar
configurations derived from the musical surface. An instance of
such a connection is found in OP. 67, no. 1, where the opening
melodic configuration Ca neighbour-note motion D/E/D, must have
served as the initiation for its occurrence in the background of
this mazurka; its subsequent prolongation in the middleground
generating the large middle section or Trio (see Examples 4.2a
and b). In this regard, such a neighbour-note configuration
becomes a structural motive (that is, a specific voice-leading
configuration occurring at different structural levels, and a
phenomenon which will be encountered throughout the discussions
and analyses of mazurkas in Part Two) .
Example 4.2a. Mazurka OP. 67, No. 1, Bars 1-4
- 148 -
Example 4.2b. Mazurka OP. 67, No. 1, Background Graph, Bars 1-45
. ® @ ®
»- S"~I
i~ + .L
L___
'1
Example 4.3a, contains a series of incomplete neighbour notes
in the bass, situated on the musical surface and connected
directly to their notes of resolution. These figures
nevertheless play an important role in the motivic design of this
mazurka. In addition, Example 4.3b offers a passage from the
same mazurka where there is a surface lower neighbour-note figure
in the opening theme, involving the first note of the fundamental
line. They are, however, presented without independent harmonic
support. These particular lower neighbour-note configurations
are also related motivically to the opening bars and related
material of this mazurka (for a detailed discussion, see Chapter
7) .
Example 4.3a. Mazurka OP. 30, No. 4
(i) Score, Bars 1-4
01'''. l() Nr. ·1
r
- 149 -
(ii) Graph, Bars 1-4
Example 4.3b. Mazurka OP. 30, No. 4
(i) Score, Bars 5-6 (ii) Graph, Bars 5-6
1-
I~
c ..J
It should be evident that there is a variety of possibilities
concerning the use of neighbour notes. They may be presented
either as single figures or in combinations of two or more
figures being presented simultaneously. The latter can result in
a neighbour chord or neighbour harmony. Example 4.4 presents
such an instance from OP. 33, no. 4, namely, a 5/3;6/4;5/3 double
neighbour-note figure over tonic in the bass. Numerous other
cases of double neighbour figures can be traced in the
mazurkas--notably, the surface figures in the opening of OP. 67,
no. 1--the top voice of which has been discussed above (see also
the double neighbour-note surface figures in the main theme of
OP. 30 no. 3, Example 10.5 below, as well as in the main theme of
Op. 67, no. 3 in Examples 4.5).
- 150 -
Example 4.4. Mazurka OP. 33, No. 4
(i) Score, Bars 1-2 (ii) Graph, Bars 1-2
Example 4.5. Mazurka OP. 67, No. 3, Bars 9-16
p
*
Special neighbour configurations functioning as diminutions
include, in addition to the incomplete neighbour note, the escape
tone and appoggiatura. These figures usually occur in the
foreground only. The escape tone can, however, also occur in the
middleground. {6} An instance of the escape-tone figure is found
in Op. 33, no. 4 (Example 4.6), where the particular passage
given, represents the foreground melodic motion
F-sharp/G-sharp/E/D-sharp, the G-sharp escape tone being
L- ___j
- 151 -
succeeded directly by the E.
Example 4.6. Mazurka OP. 33, No. 4, Bars 129-133
__J5~_) ~, I "
o IL
The curious--but not uncommon--figure 7/8, in which 8 becomes
subordinate to and embellishes the dissonant 7, is also based on
the escape tone figure {7} (see Example 4.7).
Example 4.7. Mazurka OP. 6, No. 2
(i) Score, Bars 9-10 (ii) Graph, Bars 9-10
A striking example of surface appoggiaturas is Op. 41, no. 3,
where there is an opening appoggiatura figure in the right hand,
repeated four times, and having a delaying function with regard
to the tonal structure and the commencement of the opening theme
period. Although this appoggiatura figure is particularly
- 152 -
striking, it does not seem to appear at all in the rest of the
mazurka's surface voice leading. It does, however, feature in
the middleground, thus giving a larger structural role to the
figure, although not one of any note with regard to motivic
design or tonal structure (see Examples 4.8a and b).
Example 4.8a. Mazurka OP. 41, No. 3
(i) Score, BarB 1-4 (ii) Graph, BarB 1-4
Aui mntn
> > > >
Example 4.8b. Mazurka OP. 41, No. 3, Background/Middleground
Graph, BarB 1-21
e ® @ ®
",
The manner in which the appoggiatura usually penetrates deeper
into the structure is by way of a prefix to a note of greater
structural weight {8} (see Example 4.9) .
/
- 153 -
Example 4.9. Mazurka OP. 63, No. 2
(i) Score, Bars 1-4
(ii) Graph, Bars 1-4
~
b N~ -............ ~
1- 'T '-#- lT .,..
I ......._ _/L
'$
~
Linear Progress ions
Every analysis using Schenker's method will have lines in it.
{9} This is because linear voice leading represents the means by
which composing-out is achieved. Coupled with the concept of
structural levels, it also becomes the principal means of
effecting a connection between a composition's tonal-structural
origin, the tonic triad, and its surface voice-leading
components. In Chapter 3, this process was shown to start with
the fundamental line as the first horizontal unfolding of the
constituent intervals of the tonic triad, out of which further
- 154
linear activity is created through the process of voice-leading
transformation from level to level up to the foreground. Thus it
is that the concept of linear progressions, meaning stepwise
melodic motions, is regarded by Schenker as the basic element of
tonal voice-leading content in a composition. In Free
Composition, he writes:
A linear progression is above all else, the principal means
of creating content in passing motion, that is, of creating
melodic content. {lO}
More specifically defined, the term linear progression
("Auskomponierungszug") refers to the compositional unfolding of
a specific interval, one of the intervals of the triad; the fifth
and third, as well as their respective inversions, the fourth and
sixth. Additional possibilities include inverting the step of a
second into a seventh, which signifies an ascending or descending
register transfer of the second, and therefore an enlargement of
its space, and the octave, which also amounts to a register
transfer, in this case, of the same tone. The hallmark of the
linear progression is the passing tone. {1 1 } The 1inear
progression always presupposes a passing tone; there is no linear
progression without a passing tone, and no passing tone without a
linear progression. {12} Schenker names linear progressions
after the respective intervals that they traverse (third, fourth,
fifth, sixth, seventh, and octave-lines), and they can be either
descending or ascending. {13}
Because the idea of linear progressions finds its original
model in the fundamental line, it happens frequently that a
specific linear progression in a subsequent level from the
- 155 -
background reflects the specific model of fundamental line
operating in a particular composition. This conforms to
Schenker's idea of "repetition" (see Chapters 1 and 2) .
Therefore, as we have already seen, where the fundamental
structure of a tonally closed portion of a composition is
regarded as a miniature replica of the overall fundamental
structure of that composition, this event in itself is a
middleground linear progression. This specific application of
the concept of the linear progression is common to the mazurkas,
and as such, plays a significant role in creating voice-leading
organic unity in these compositions.
It is important to realise that the interval spanned by a
linear progression will be a component of a harmonic function
relevant to the context. {14} Lines of a seventh or ninth are
not true lines; they are rather composed-out steps to which
register transfer has been applied, {15} since there is no
possiblility for an underlying harmonic entity to be prolonged
through the composing-out of an interval of a second.
The essential nature of a linear progression is that it exists
as a bridge between two structural voices. {16} This indicates
that linear progressions (specifically in the upper voices),
actually involve motion at a deeper level from one structural
voice to another. The fact that each component of a linear
progression is usually harmonised, also points to this
observation. {17} The descending linear progression always
signifies a motion from the upper voice to an inner voice, while
the ascending progression denotes a motion from an inner voice to
the upper voice. {lS} Normally the first pitch in a descending
- 156
line is the one that connects to the next deeper level, but the
last pitch in an ascending line. {19} Similarly, this situation
may be reversed, depending on the role of a particular linear
progression within the larger tonal structure, as will be
observed later.
Before considering the individual linear progressions, it is
necessary to acknowledge an essential difference in function
between linear progress ions in the upper voice and those in the
bass, although Schenker labled both "progression" ("Zug"). With
respect to linear progressions in the bass (in particular, the
descending fourth which is perhaps the most common type of linear
progression in the bass), the crucial distinguishing factor is
that the interval spanned by a line of a fourth cannot correctly
be verticalised under normal circumstances. An example of such a
descending line of a fourth in the bass will demonstrate this
(see Example 4.10).
Example 4.10. Mazurka OP. 17, No. 4, Bars 5-12
® @
"~ (.q)
() / I).-N..- --.1 ....,.~ I
1-(, .-c, 1-(,.
J
As seen here, the motion from A down to E supports a harmonic
progression from I to V. While the tonic and dominant notes can
coexist within a single vertical, the harmonies which they
- 157 -
support cannot. Thus, as Forte and Gilbert put it:
the difference between the two main categories of linear
progression, upper voice and bass, resides in the simple
fact that the bass supports, while the upper voices are the
ones supported. {20}
Neumeyer, however, makes a clearer assessment of this problem
when he writes:
Because of its association with the half cadence (thus, with
two chords), the line of the fourth is more difficult to
correlate with its harmonic foundations. This fourth is
explained as embellishment of the first part of a dividing
dominant construction.
(in this regard, see again Example 4.10). He continues by
referring to what he calls "certain otherwise problematic
fourth-lines in the upper voice", explaining their nature also as
depending in part on the dividing dominant in the underlying
bass. {21}
Let us consider the various types of linear progressions
individually. The most common, and also the simplest of all
linear progressions is the line of the third, the simple
passing-tone figure. Third-lines at the later levels can occur
within the interruption figure where, within the prolongation of
~ ~
2 over V, there can be a motion from 2 to the ascending leading
tone as the inner voice, and the neighbour-note figure where a
line of the third results either from a superimposed inner voice
above the controlling background neighbour note, or from the
neighbour note itself to an inner voice, acting as a controlling
structural line for that particular passage. These instances are
illustrated in Examples 4.11 and 4.12 respectively.
- 158 -
Example 4.11. Mazurka OP. 67, No. 3, Middleground/Foreground
Graph
(j) @@@@ @@@
A
I
~ (~hiTcI.) 2- /I .1 L
o I Ol I I II~JJ I I I
.
v
L .,. l_""'" - I I
Example 4.12. Mazurka OP. 67, No. 1, Middleground/Foreground
Graph
Cl>Q) @ Cj) ® ® ® @ @ ® @ @
_---- ...
1
1:-
@ ® ® @) @ @ ® @ ® @ cry @
~ ....5" i4 ..3 ~ 1
o Jf: ~ L ti,. I~, I I I I I J
~ ~ I
/
I'-.:..,../ I
Jj.. f r r r r-;r:. '$.. I ~ ::t:.
In the case of Example 4.11, this is not at all a frequent usage
in the mazurkas, except for a few instances where lines of the
third, resulting from the interruption, are placed rather deep in
- 159 -
the structure (see Example 4.13).
Example 4.13. Mazurka OP. 30, No. 4, Middleground Graph
@r-@-~@@@ @@@(-l~i<tL) I I ~ 3 i tI I I
'- 11
(~-- #)
_II.
Another manner in which a third-line occurs in conjunction with
the interruption figure or the half cadence, is as resulting from
the inner voice within the dominant harmonic area prolonged by
1\ A
the 2 or a 5 (see Examples 4.14 and 4.15).
Example 4.14. Mazurka OP. 33, No. 2, Middleground/Foreground
Graph, Bars 1-24
l I I --- I I
-;: -j:..
- 160 -
Example 4.15. Mazurka OP. 6, No. 2
(1) Score, Bars 17-19
(ii) Graph, Bars 17-19
,
By far the most common way in which third-lines in particular
appear in the foreground is by way of an offshoot from a main
tone into an inner voice, often called "Innenterzzuege" (inner
third-progressions) by Schenker. This frequently gives rise to a
nesting of third-lines at more than one level (see Example 3.6
above), a phenomenon which is often of motivic significance. {22}
In many cases such inner lines are also associated with a
'" 1\ 1\
fundamental line 3-2-1, where the latter is paralleled by the
inner third-line at a later level. This is the case in OP. 50,
no. 3, where the fundamental line 3A-2"-1" .is para lle led at two
different levels (foreground and middleground) in the first
sixteen bars (see Examples 4.16a and b). Note also the
descending third-line G-sharp/F-sharp/E, prefixing the first
- 161 -
fundamental-line tone, and the inner third-line
D-sharp/C-sharp/B-sharp, prolonging the "2 of the middleground
third-line.
Example 4.16a. Mazurka OP. 50, No. 3, Background Graph
() ~..JI;, I I I
-
) "-' 11. 9- ~ +
Example 4.16b. Mazurka OP. 50, No. 3, Foreground Graph, Bare
1-16
e @ @
The line of the fifth (spanning the complete triad, and thus
involving both its outlining fifth, as well as its constituent
third intervals) is also very common and often used for longer
spans of music (that is, middleground) with prolongation of
individual elements. This specific application of the line of
the fifth is especially characteristic in the mazurkas, where
_j
- 162
fifth-lines in particular often fuifill the role as background
line in a tonally closed internal form section of the work (a
situation already referred to in Chapter 3; in this connection,
see also Example 3.13. There, the fifth-line E/D/C/B/A functions
as the controlling structural line for section A of OP. 7, no. 2.
Lines of the fifth are also often divided into thirds (especially
in minor keys) .
Another common occurrence of a line of the fifth is in an
ascending form in the bass (especially in minor), where it acts
in conjunction with the bass arpeggiation I-III-V-I as the
filling-in of its spaces (see Example 4.17).
Example 4.17. Mazurka Op. 63, No. 2, Bars 1-8
Lines of the fourth are usually found where the top voice
starts on the fifth scale degree and descends to the second in
conjunction with the half cadence. Having alluded to problematic
fourth-lines in the bass earlier on, this can be seen as a
similar instance, in that the line again does not span a single
harmony (in this case, the tonic). However, such a line is
acceptable here, since the figure is so common, namely, the half
163 -
cadence; the basis of the interruption. An instance of this
application of the line of the fourth is found in OP. 63, no. 1,
where a parallel version of the same line in the background of
this mazurka was already cited in Example 3.2. This same line,
however, also occurs twice in the foreground of the mazurka,
controlling the opening thematic statement and its repetition an
octave higher (bars 1-8 and 9-16 respectively (see Example
4.18) .
Example 4.18. Mazurka OP. 63. No. 1, Bars 1-16
(!)
~~,'_'_~_' ~(=_A~~ir- _,l)
x..l-. --.-....~ =4 ;) 2-? ,...._F.. I ,.
I'-' '/ - ~ -[ = lUl3 ~ IltJ
I
A second application of the line of the fourth involves the
bass, where it acts like a line of a fifth inverted; the rising
line representing V-I, and the falling line I-V (see the bass
line of Example 4.19). An explanation of the descending fourth
in the bass has already been given in the discussion on the
- 164 -
distinction between linear progress ions in the upper voice and
bass.
Example 4.19. Mazurka OP. 17. No. 4. Bars 5-14
Another possibility of the line of a fourth in the upper voice
which may be mentioned here. is the filling-in of the space
" 1\
between 8 and 5 (see Example 4.21 below).
Two final instances of fourth-lines in two mazurkas may be
offered here (both descending). The first spans two inner voices
(see Example 4.20), while the second represents a motion from an
inner voice to the highest note of the fundamental line, but at
this point. appearing an octave lower (see Example 4.21). In the
latter case, the usual situation with regard to the note being
prolonged in a descending linear progression (that is, its
starting tone), is reversed here, in that the fundamental line
tone is actually the last note of the linear progression. This
illustrates the point that the determination of the priority of
head note or tail note of a linear progression is not arbitrary,
but depends upon the role of that progression in the middleground
and background levels. {23}
- 165 -
Example 4.20. Mazurka OP. 50, No. 3, Bare 17-24
I"3
+-+
L_ I
j:
Example 4.21. Mazurka OP. 6, No. 2, Bare 33-40
@@@ [@ @]
n J- i-. (~'I4M).i" :'.---J...__ +,-'+IL
1"-..+ /' I f
-- -
The line of the sixth is. an inversion of the third-line
~ A ~ A
(commonly 8 down to 3 as the inversion of 1 up to 3). However,
the rising sixth is usually understood as a sixth, and not a
third (as in 5'" up to 31\, or 3" up to 81\) .
Instances of sixth-lines in the mazurkas are found in OP. 41,
no. 2 and OP. 63, no. 3 (see Examples 4.22 and 4.23
respectively) . In the former, there are two sixth-lines; the
first (if perhaps somewhat doubtful due to a lack of proper
harmonic support for its elements), ascending from A3 up to '1", and
the second, descending from "1 down to 3"--a retrograde motion of
" A
the first, while in the latter, there is a motion from 5 up to 3.
This is a most imaginative composed-out structural parallelism
- 166 -
Ex~ple 4.22. Mazurka Op. 41, No. 2, Bare 17-21 and 37-41
(Slxl-k ) (Si"«' )
Ex~ple 4.23. Mazurka OP. 63, No. 3, Bare 45-52
of the ascending melodic motion from G-sharp to E in bars 1-4 of
this mazurka.
The line of the seventh has already been encountered at the
beginning of the discussion on linear progressions, where it was
stated that it is not a true linear progression, but rather an
inversion of the second step with register transfer. These lines
are frequently divided into thirds and used in sequence
constructions. However, if the dominant seventh were to be
included in the class of basic harmonies, it follows that a
linear progression can span the seventh or the tritone, as well
as one of the triadic intervals of the dominant seventh chord.
All of these must, however, be regarded as at or near the
foreground level, thus making their status as linear progress ions
- 167 -
at best questionable. {24}
Finally, the line of the octave also amounts to an ascending
or descending register transfer, in this case, of a single tone.
This complex stepwise register motion is usually divided into
fifth and fourth, or vice versa. A good example of an
octave-line in the mazurkas is OP. 68 no. 3, where it involves
the actual fundamental line itself, as well as its middleground
replications (see Examples 3.lc and 3.7). {25} An instance of an
octave-line in the bass is found in Op. 56, no. 3 (see Example
5.10 below).
Arpeggiation
In Schenkerian terms, the central idea behind the technique of
arpeggiation is that of prolonging or unfolding an underlying
chord or harmonic entity. The most basic of arpeggiated motions
within Schenker's system is that which is offered by the bass in
the fundamental structure, namely, the fundamental harmonic
progression from tonic to dominant and back to tonic,
representing the large-scale unfolding of the overall controlling
tonic triad. This phenomenon, together with certain derivative
types of bass arpeggiation, filling in the space of a fifth
between tonic and dominant, has already been observed in Chapter
3. These arpeggiated bass motions are, however, not the only
form of prolongational usage of the concept of arpeggiation.
Also, the traditional manner of presenting chords in a broken
form, that is, arpeggiated (even when this represents only an
ornamental surface element of the music), can already be seen as
- 168 -
prolongation of that specific chord broken UP into its
constituent voices by the arpeggiation. Therefore, from a
Schenkerian perspective, the idea of arpeggiated chords can be
interpreted on a broader basis to include similar prolongational
arpeggiated motion on different structural levels, involving both
bass and upper voice patterns.
Two basic applications of arpeggiation can thus be
distinguished: 1) the unfolding of the tonic triad by way of the
fundamental harmonic progression I-V-I and elaborations thereof,
and 2) the elaboration of any part of voice leading by way of a
broken chord; both instances involving a vertical configuration
(the chord), which is made linear or horizontalised. {26}
As can already be deduced, arpeggiation may occur at any
level. {27} With regard to the bass, the various models derived
from the background structure are reflected at subsequent levels,
thus establishing a connection between the harmonic progress ions
in the middle- and foreground, and that of the controlling
background. (It is for this reason that the essential
characteristics of the bass arpeggiation and its structural
derivatives are maintained at every level.) Oswald Jonas also
points to the insight provided by the divider (see Chapter 3)
into the hierarchic order of triads--their "stratification".
{28}
With regard to arpeggiation in the upper voice, its structural
initiation can also be traced back to the fundamental structure,
namely, as part of the purpose of the fundamental line. Although
the latter represents a melodic unfolding of the tonic triad,
this line is nevertheless shaped by, and dependent upon, the
- 169 -
basic chord tones of the unfolded tonic triad. This also gives
rise to the fact that, especially in the bass, structural
arpeggiations frequently coincide with passing melodic motions,
thus filling in the spaces of the arpeggiation, for example, the
I-III-V arpeggiation presented with passing tones, as in OP. 63,
no. 2 (see Example 4.17 again). This also accords with the fact
that arpeggiations frequently occur together with other
voice-leading diminutions, or are even elaborated by them.
Like the prolongational line, the arpeggiation (that is, in
the upper voice), normally prolongs its topmost structural note.
Special rank is given to what is known as the first-order
arpeggiation, which ascends through the tonic triad to the
primary tone of the fundamental line, thereby performing a
function analogous to the initial linear ascent (Anstieg); {29} a
concept discussed in Chapter 5. Naturally, arpeggiated motions
can be either ascending or descending.
Apart from the essential bass motions present in every tonal
composition, numerous examples of arpeggiated motions in the
upper voices and the bass are found in the mazurkas. Here are
just a few notable foreground instances.
Firstly, Example 4.24a offers a I-III-V-I arpeggiation in the
bass from bars 1-6 of OP. 17, no. 2. This arpeggiation also
happens to be a foreground parallelism of a large I-III-V-I
arpeggiation running through the middleground of this mazurka,
and presented in Example 4.24b.
- 170 -
Example 4.24a. Mazurka OP. 17, No. 2, Bars 1-6
Example 4.24b. Mazurka OP. 17, No. 2, Middleground Graph, Bars
CD ® @ @
!-1 ....._ I J"'_"~""'__"•
';1: 1lL~ j:
In the mazurkas, especially, arpeggiation figures in the upper
voices frequently comprise an ascending motion through the tonic
triad, ultimately reaching the first note of the fundamental
line--thus more a middleground than a foreground feature as will
be seen in Chapter 5). Nevertheless, most of these figures
actually lie very close, or even at the surface in the mazurkas.
One such instance can be observed in Example 4.25. In addition,
these ascending arpeggiation figures almost all of the time also
involve a registral motion of a particular tone, carried through
an octave by means of the arpeggiation (see register transfer
be low). This is also the case in Examp le 4.25.
- 171 -
Example 4.25. Mazurka Op. 41, No. 4, Bara 1-2
Instances where arpeggiations coincide with other
voice-leading diminutions, especially the line, are also very
numerous. Apart from the filling-in of the I-III-V bass
arpeggiation already cited in Example 4.18, Example 4.26 presents
the opening melodic line of OP. 59, no. 3, containing surface
neighbour-note embellishments of some of the components of the
arpeggiation. {30}
Example 4.26. Mazurka Op. 59, No. 3, Melodic Line, Bara 1-2
Finally, a basic voice-leading principle regarding
arpeggiation in Schenkerian analysis must be noted here, since it
has an important bearing on the continuation of voices. This is
namely that an arpeggiation can indicate s~veral strands of voice
leading, each to be followed carefully if necessary, {31} since
each component of an arpeggiation is a potentially active voice.
- 172 -
Such a situation where more than one component of an arpeggiation
is active in the voice leading. represents the concept of
"polyphonic melody". {32} or "compound melody". {33} the latter
already referred to in Chapter 2. This implies that an
arpeggiated melodic figure or a melodic line itself can actually
involve the simultaneous movement of more than one voice.
Coupled with the principles of prolongation and composing-out.
this idea is central to the Schenkerian interpretation of
melody.
An instance of such a polyphonic melodic structure generated
from an arpeggiated melodic figure is found in the opening
melodic idea of OP. 59. no. 1 (see Example 4.27). Here the
descending arpeggiation figure E/C/A in the right hand of bar 1
(with a tiny incomplete lower surface neighbour embellishment to
C). is followed by BIG-sharpIE in bar 2. Both Band G-sharp are
seen to follow from the preceding C and A of bar 1. while the E
in bar 2 represents an octave transfer of the first E in bar 1.
Thereafter. the same figure of bar 2 is presented in an ascending
form and with filled-in passing tones in bar 3. followed by the
resolution of B to C in the melody and an implied resolution of
G-sharp to A in bar 4. as well as the upward transfer of the E of
bar 2 back to the E of bar 4.
Example 4.27. Mazurka OP. 59, No. 1, Melodic Line, Bars 1-4
- 173 -
Finally, a few more possibilities of arpeggiated bass figures,
particularly present at later levels, not yet covered so far,
deserve mention. These are: 1) A fifth descent--the so-called
dividing subdominant--presented as I-lV-I, or third descent,
normally used to divide the dividing subdominant, presented as
I-VI-IV: 2) an inversion of an ascending third into a descending
sixth, presented as I-VI-Ill or I-V-III; {34} and 3) a filling-in
of the space between dominant and tonic by way of the mediant,
presented as V-Ill-I. There are no examples of the dividing
subdominant in its descending form in the mazurkas, except for a
I-IV-I plagal cadential figure in the closing bars of OP. 56, no.
3 (see example 4.28) .
Example 4.28. Mazurka OP. 56. No. 3. Score. Bars 217-220
~ ......--....
1
* ~ï: * ~
The I-IV-I arpeggiation figure does, however, appear in the
backgrounds of those mazurkas with trio-sections in the
subdominant, as in OPP. 6, no. 3, 7, no. 4, 17, no. 1, 50, no. 2,
67, no. land 68, nos. 1 and 3 (all of these instances, with the
exception of Op. 68, no. 3, coinciding with· the prolongation of
an upper neighbour to the first fundamental-line tone in the trio
of each mazurka). There is one instance of the I-VI-Ill figure
in the middleground of OP. 30, no. 3 (see Example 4.29), while a
- 174 -
most interesting foreground V-III-I figure occurs in the coda of
OP. 24, no. 4 (see Example 4.30). This figure happens to be a
retrograde version (in major) of a I-III-V arpeggiation (in the
tonic minor key of this mazurka) which can be traced in its
middleground structure.
Example 4.29. Mazurka OP. 30, No. 3, Background/Middleground
Graph, Bars 1-79
.p. •
Example 4.30. Mazurka OP. 24, No. 4, Bare 140-145
f ' 1•"---'f"0j.*-$J'"
1 ~~f~
Unfolding
The technique of unfolding ("Ausfaltung") represents the most
basic way of separating the component voices of a particular
- 175 -
interval or set of intervals in order to show their melodic
continuity in composed-out tonal voice leading. Its role in
demonstrating--together with arpeggiation--the idea of more than
one active voice in a given melodic situation, becomes evident.
By its simplest definition, unfolding is the horizontalisation
of a vertical interval in an earlier level. Because of this, two
voices are identified, which, if they are to be structurally
active, have to form part of a complete and coherent progression,
and must have a clear structural role at the foreground and
middleground levels. {35} Accordingly, the unfolding pattern
usually involves two or more interval successions, since, in a
true unfolding, both components have linear continuity. {36}
Thus, what results, is the horizontalisation of an interval pair
formed by the upper voice and "alto" (that is, highest inner
voice), or by the bass and tenor (that is, lowest inner voice) .
{37} There are, however, instances in which an unfolding applies
only to a single interval rather than to a pair of intervals.
This is legitimate, since in such cases, the component voices
will usually continue in a recognisable way in the voice
leading.
In the upper parts, unfolded intervals most often come in
pairs (or longer series) and are most often thirds. The pair
d5-3 or a4-6 is also common. {38} Additionally, an unfolding
pattern may also comprise sixth intervals. Usually both voices
of an unfolded interval succession move stepwise; one voice may
remain stationary while the other moves by step, or one voice may
leap. {39} Unfoldings can occur in both the middleground and
foreground, but are most commonly used in the latter.
- 176 -
The following examples illustrate some of the unfolding
patterns found in the mazurkas. Example 4.31a shows a series of
unfolded thirds in the upper voice, while Example 4.31b shows
another unfolding pattern in the bass. A single unfolded third
in the bass is also present a few bars later in the same mazurka
(see Example 4.31c) .
Example 4.31a. Mazurka OP. 33, No. 4, Bars 129-136
s- c«.
i, j Jf)\ .~ 1. --A .J..
~
1 ' "'J'0
_'--
-j.
Example 4.31b. Mazurka OP. 33, No. 4
(i) Score, Bars 177-178 (ii) Graph, Bars 177-178
Example 4.31c. Mazurka OP. 33, No. 4, Bars 189-193
- 177 -
A somewhat larger scale series of unfolded thirds was already
presented in Example 4.16b above, where the pattern is slightly
obscured by surface diminutions filling in the spaces between the
voices of the unfolded thirds. Another succession of three
unfolded thirds are shown in Example 4.32, {40} while a pair of
unfolded sixths is shown in Example 4.33, a graph based on
Schenker's reading of this section of OP. 30, no. 4 in Free
Composition Fig. 53,3.
Example 4.32. Mazurka OP. 17, No. 1
(i) Score, Bars 1-4
Vivo e risoluto ;. 160
Opu. 17 :'<r. 1
*
(ii) Graph, Bars 1-4
- 178 -
Example 4.33. Mazurka OP. 30, No. 4, Bara 101-139
A
3
~ jl- .Jf \ I
I-.) •. IL ~ \
I I v[~Ifr-~r.r·J
Finally, Example 4.34 offers an instance of a pattern d5-M3,
while at bars 10-12 and corresponding places in the same mazurka,
two unfolding patterns locked within each other also deserve
attention here. The first is a pair of thirds where the last
note of the pattern is transferred an octave down. At this
point, a pair of unfolded sixths appear which concludes just
before the final note of the third pattern. This sixth pattern
is instigated by a neighbour-note figure FIE-flat which appears
frequently in the course of this mazurka, and which is an
important motive in this piece (see Example 4.35) .
Example 4.34. Mazurka OP. 24, No. 3
(i) Score, Bara 1-2 rii) Graph, Bara 1-2
Moderato J'126
co"a'lt'm~
1\1 4 5 I
t) > ::::=.- ......,..,.. ===-1 tt
-#
*
- 179 -
Example 4.35. Mazurka OP. 24, No. 3
(i) Score, Bars 10-12
II
* ~ *
(ii) Graph, Bars 10-12
Register Transfer
In Schenkerian theory, the interplay of registers involving
either structural elements or any other voices generated from
them is a by-product of the process of composing-out from the
fundamental structure in its obligatory register to an
ever-increasing freer association of voices and subsequently also
registers, leading to free composition. At the same time,
registral motion also serves as a means of prolonging a
particular structural voice by way of its connection with another
register.
- 180 -
The term register tranefer denotes a displacement of a note in
the voice leading by an octave, either up or down. It can also
mean, the placement of a note in a different octave, thereby
implying that the transfer may involve not only an octave, but
also a seventh or njnth interval. This device may occur at any
level of composing-out (already implied above), but is perhaps
most common in the foreground. Register transfer is accomplished
in two ways: 1) a direct motion or leap (Example 4.36), and 2) an
indirect motion, that is, through other prolongational devices,
notably arpeggiation (see Examples 4.25 and 4.26 above), a line
(Example 4.37), a combination of arpeggiation and line (Example
4.38), or the technique of reaching-over (see below) .
Example 4.36. Mazurka OP. 6, No. 2, Bare 1-10
Example 4.37. Mazurka OP. 59, No. 2, Bare 85-88
@ ®
- 181 -
Example 4.38. Mazurka OP. 68, No. 1, Bare 1-6
-- --- -+-..
An aspect of voice leading frequently involved in register
transfer is that of displacement, that is, the replacement of a
particular voice by another in a given melodic structure. The
terms transfer and displacement are linked by the basic fact that
the latter is usually the result of the former. If, for
instance, an inner voice moves up an octave while the upper voice
remains stationary, it is likely that the inner voice will
temporarily replace the upper voice as the highest voice at that
particular point in the voice-leading structure (see Example
4.39) .
Example 4.39. Mazurka OP. 17, No. 1, Bare 8-12
/I
I ....
- 182 -
Register displacement as a result of register transfer can also
happen when motion by step is inverted into a seventh (see
Example 4.40), where the descending line of a sixth from C-sharp
to E in bars 33-40 is repeated in bars 43-50 with registral
displacements of some of its elements.
Example 4.40. Mazurka OP. 63. No. 1
(i) Score. Bars 43-46
(ii) Graph. Bars 43-46
Several German terms are associated with the register transfer
technique: "Hoherlegung" and "Tieferlegung", which refer to
moving a note or voice up or down respectively; "Uebergreifen" or
"Untergreifen", which emphasise the leap over (or under) another
voice in the voice leading (see reaching-over below); and
"Koppelung". which is the middleground phenomenon of linear
- 183 -
doubling of a tone or tones of the fundamental line, as in Bach's
Prelude no. 1 in C major from the "Wohltemperiertes Clavier" (see
Schenker's reading of this prelude in Five Graphic Music
Analyses) However, it is important at this point to distinguish
register transfer and coupling of registers more clearly.
Although both terms involve the same procedure, they can be
distinguished from each other in the following manner. The term
register transfer covers the general situation of change of
octave of a specific note. Coupling, on the other hand, is a
term used when two registers (octaves) are linked by a structural
motion at a particular juncture in the music. Therefore,
couplings typically involve components of the fundamental
structure or elements directly related to them, and as a process,
it is obviously one form of register transfer--one that occurs at
a level of middleground very close to the background. Couplings
are also very common in th,e bass. Often the bass line of a piece
begins in a higher octave which is then brought down to its
obligatory register in order to emphasise the arrival of the
first important cadence in the harmony. This is the case in OP.
41, no. 2 (see Example 4.41) .
Example 4.41. Mazurka OP. 41, No. 2
(i) Score, Bars 1-4
Andantino
I'll! .~s .~ s :.::::::::::::,
It.l.- -tl- Ilt.Lt)
p " 1 pr: ti> ,., ~ f ~tI"'-
J I
!=;Ji
2 ~.
- 184 -
(ii) Graph, Bare 1-4
Finally, once registral relations (couplings) have been
established in a composition, it is possible to refer to these in
very subtle and artistic ways and to develop progressions which
incorporate register in a structural way and not merely as an
arbitrary decorative factor. {41} Example 4.42, for instance,
illustrates a situation in Op. 6, no. 1, in which two distinct
registers are identified by means of coupling (bars 16-17). This
distinction of registers has first of all been used by Chopin as
one of the means of creating contrast between the internal
divisions of section A. However, in the Trio, Chopin makes use
of the higher register in the voice leading again, thus creating
a long-range registral connection back to the one exploited in
the second part of section A. Such long-range registral
connections are a common feature of Schenkerian voice-leading
interpretation, being the result of the careful distinction and
artistic usage of the concept of register transfer or coupling.
- 185 -
Example 4.42. Mazurka OP. 6, No. 1, Bare 16-17 and 40-42
I( ~')
n .....ot '<5 :t.nI r::!'\ r:/.- ,--...II:t ~ "I:
l..... ._;./ ~ - S",. ~ - JJ..-'
\ 7 "-._:r-
Voice Exchange
The three remaining devices of voice leading in Schenkerian
analysis, voice exchange ("Stimmtausch") , reaching-over
("Uebergreifen"), and the cover tone ("Deckton"), all stem from
arpeggiated, registral, or linear motion, or combinations of
these motions. The technique of voice exchange is a derivative
of arpeggiation or simple chordal unfolding and consists of a
pattern involving two voices only, in which the voices literally
exchange their pitches, that is, they trade places with each
other simultaneously. As a result, various interval patterns can
be formed between the two voices involved in the exchange, the
most common of these being the 10-6 pattern or its reverse, 6-10.
Other interval patterns which may occur include 5-4 or 4-5 (but
not involving the bass), or--within the dominant seventh
chord--d5-A4 or A4-d5. A voice exchange occurs within a single
chord, though there may be intermediate embellishing chords, thus
making it appear within a single harmony. Usually the outer
voices (bass and soprano) are involved in an exchange of voices,
- 186 -
but it can also occur either between bass and inner voice or
soprano and inner voice.
The purpose of a· voice exchange is to serve the needs of
composing-out and expansion of an interval (the one which is
prolonged by it), or harmony (represented through the specific
interval in question). Like the register transfer, voice
exchange may be a simple prolonging device without effect on the
voice leading, or it may join or connect with continuing voices.
Voice exchanges, like other prolongational patterns, may be
enriched by diminutions, and those diminutions may conceal, to
some extent, the underlying exchange. As it is only involved in
the prolongation of a single chord or harmony over a short time
span, the voice exchange is mainly a foreground phenomenon. {42}
Example 4.43a demonstrates a simple 10-6 exchange pattern
between the melody and inner voice, prolonging the dominant
harmony during bars 9-12 and corresponding places of OP. 50, no.
3, while in Example 4.43b, a double exchange figure is shown,
operating in the Trio of the same mazurka and involving the
dominant of B major.
Example 4.43a. Mazurka OP. 50, No. 3
(i) Score, Bars 9-11
II
- 187 -
(ii) Graph, Bars 9-11
~.
Example 4.43b. Mazurka OP. 50, No. 3
(i) Score, Bars 70-72 (ii) Graph, Bare 70-72
® @
Later on near the end of the piece. a series of voice exchanges
occur, again prolonging the dominant (see Example 4.43c) .
Example 4.43c. Mazurka OP. 50, No. 3, Bars 147-157
..
3
There are numerous other places in this mazurka where voice
exchanges occur--each time involving the dominant, or
- 188 -
embellishing harmonic regions to it. Since the prolongation of V
is seen to be a prominent structural feature of this
mazurka--being associated with form generation, for instance,
where the entire middle section as well as large portions of the
outer form sections constitute a prolongation of V and "2--the
structural and even motivic significance of the voice exchange
device, playing an important role in the various prolongations of
Vand 2", is evident.
An instance of a 6-10 exchange pattern occurs at the opening
of Op. 6, no. 1 (see Example 4.44a), while a 4-5 pattern occurs
in bars 17-18 of the same mazurka (see Example 4.44b) .
Ex~ple 4.44a. Mazurka OP. 6, No. 1
(i) Score, Bars 1-2
(ii) Graph, Bars 1-2
A,
)~[_-
:t.
- 189 -
Example 4.44b. Mazurka OP. 6. No. 1
(i) Score. Bars 17-18 (ii) Graph. Bars 17-18
Chromatic changes may also be applied to notes in the voice
exchange. where the functional relationship is more complex. {43}
as in Example 4.45. Although no clear chord identity is
established by the exchange here. it nevertheless draws together
the intermediate chromatic voice-leading motions into a
prolongational entity which serves as a preparation for the
dominant at the interruption (see also Chapter 6) .
Example 4.45. Mazurka OP. 33. No. 2. Bars 61-66
Finally. Example 4.46 shows a striking application of the
technique of voice exchange at the end of the internal b-section
within the main A-section (bars 23-24) of OP. 17. no. 3.
- 190 -
Example 4.46. Mazurka OP. 17, No. 3, Bars 1-25
A
0- b 0.'
<D <!) @ @ @@ @
n
J -
- -
Here, instead of the impression of a distant key region (with
regard to the prevailing tonal context) being presented by the
first two chords of bars 23 and 24, tonal unity is guaranteed by
a voice exchange operating across these bars, linking the first
chord of bar 23 (a diminished seventh) to the last chord of bar
24 (another diminished seventh built on the same scale degree as
the first), The result is that both bars 23 and 24 prolong a
single diminished seventh harmony, thereby rendering the status
of the intervening chord that of a passing harmony (for more
information on these bars and on the mazurka as a whole, see
Chapter 10),
Reaching-Over
Schenker's term "Uebergreifen", already referred to in
connection with register transfer, has been translated as
"reaching-over" by Ernst Oster in Free Composition, and has
become the accepted translation, although Forte and Gilbert use
the term "overlapping", In an editorial note in Free
- 191 -
Composition, Oster refers to Uebergreifen as literally meaning
"reaching over, or across, the top voice, in order to get hold of
the following higher tone". {44}
A reaching-over occurs when a note of the upper voice is
obliged to resolve downward by step, but, as it does, enters an
inner voice. {45} Putting it differently, as the original top
voice descends by step, an inner voice appears which reaches over
it to become the new highest voice in the structure. Therefore,
a reaching-over essentially results from the superposition of an
inner voice (thus a species of register transfer), bringing about
a motion upward either by step or by leap.
The nature of a reaching-over is seen to yield either an
ascending linear progression, an ascending arpeggiation, an
ascending register transfer, or a neighbouring note. Therefore,
the reaching-over of voices is often subordinate to these
techniques which are effected by it. Voices reaching over each
other frequently occur in pairs where the succession of notes in
the uppermost position alternates among the two or more
structural voices in sequence. For example, if the alto was
placed above the soprano in the first reaching-óver, the soprano
will be restored to its rightful position in the second. {46}
Here are a few examples from the mazurkas in which the
technique of reaching-over occurs. Example 4.47 shows the
opening of OP. 6, no. 1 where the reaching-over aids in effecting
an ascending third-line, moving to the first note of the
fundamental line.
- 192 -
Example 4.47. Mazurka OP. 6, No. 1, Bars 1-2
,,.
Example 4.48, on the other hand. presents a series of
reaching-overs, while Example 4.49 shows a pattern consisting of
three superimposed inner voices. Finally. Example 4.50 presents
an instance in Op. 63, no. 1, where a series of reaching-overs
are functioning in the service of a larger registral motion from
D-sharp to it equivalent pitch an octave higher.
Example 4.48. Mazurka OP. 50, No. 3, Bars 37-41
Example 4.49. Mazurka OP. 41, No. 3, Bars 46-49
- 193 -
Example 4.50. Mazurka Op. 63, No. 1, Bars 52-65
®@
The Cover Tone and Boundary Play
In Free Composition, Schenker defines the concept of the cover
tone as follows:
A cover tone is a tone of the inner voice which appears
above the foreground diminutions. It constantly attracts
the attention of the ear, even though the essential
voice-leading events take place beneath it. {47}
Like a reaching-over, the cover tone is formed by an upward
transfer or doubling of an inner voice and the displacement of
the upper voice by that voice (the upper voice being in this
case, the primary structural tone) . It dif fers from
reaching-over in that the main thread of melodic activity remains
with the displaced voice while the voice that does the displacing
functions as a cover, hence its name. {48}
The nature of a cover tone is two-fold: 1) it can either be an
isolated note above the upper voice with no voice leading
following from it, {49} or, 2) it may be involved in the voice
leading, and yet not form part of the structural voice leading
represented by the motion of the fundamental line or middleground
- 194
replications thereof. Such an instance where voice leading
either leads to or follows from a cover tone is referred to by
Forte and Gilbert as a "covering progression", {50} since it
covers the primary structural tone beneath it. However. in Free
Composition, Schenker refers to such a situation as "boundary
play" {51} ("Randerspiel") . meaning, voice-leading activity above
the primary fundamental-line tone, and at the boundary of the
register of the fundamental structure. Therefore, cover tones
themselves essentially belong to (or near) the foreground, but
can very readily impinge on the deeper structural levels {52}
(see also endnote 54 below). Boundary play itself occurs in
later middlegrounds and the foreground. {53}
A clear case of a cover tone situated above the first note of
the fundamental line with no voice leading following from it, but
nevertheless of motivic significance, is found in the main theme
of OP. 68, no. 2 (Example 4.51 (in this regard, see Chapter 11»,
while another instance of a cover tone with voice leading
following from it (thus boundary play), occurs in the opening
melodic figure of OP. 50, no. 3 (see Example 4.16b). This cover
tone also appears at different points in the same mazurka,
A
notably, together with the prolongations of 2 in the middleground
(see Example 4.52) .
- 195 -
Example 4.51. Mazurka OP. 68, No. 2, Bars 1-4
Il
L--------
"!
Example 4.52. Mazurka OP. 50, No. 3, Bars 13-16
A by now well-known example of the use of cover tones is found
in Free Composition Fig. 75. from the mazurka OP. 41. no. 2.
This figure is reproduced in Example 4.53.
Example 4.53. Mazurka OP. 41, No. 2, from Schenker's Free
Composition, Fig. 75
-- -
\ v 'r-t 'r~I' r t--!-1" r: rnr ... ~,'~ r-----'i( ,:':~) ,
t~~~~~~~~~~(~-8~\§7~1~6)~~~~~~~~M~J~~~§~~I\~~~~~~~~~~~~··················i f' '-._+i I
I I i(RA, ,- B- A,_ - 8~)
- 196 -
Here, we observe two cover tones (B and E), operating above the
fundamental structure. Although no immediate voice leading
follows from the E, it is connected over a distance of four bars
to a D-sharp which appears at the start of section B.
Thereafter. the original E returns in a dramatic way at the start
of A', completing the large middleground covering progression or
boundary play E/D-sharp/E (for more information on this mazurka,
see Chapter 10) .
A cover tone and/or boundary play can also appear at the end
of a composition (usually in the coda), that is, after the
completion of the fundamental structure. Example 4.54 is taken
from the coda of OP. 59, no. 2, where a middleground line of a
fifth is generated from an E-flat, situated above the highest
note of the fundamental line (C). {54}
Example 4.54. Mazurka OP. 59, No. 2, Bars 89-111
!_ ~ A
D I c t0~
eS
" r - ----- - lj 3 i I)..... -'- I J J
,.~ -'- .........,_ ..
'- - -- ......_..
- / (b !)
.r:==
:! ~ ~'
Finally, a cover tone can also be classified as what may be
termed the phenomenon of the interesting note, meaning any note
in the music that is a striking feature on its own, and which may
have motivic interest, but neither play any role in the voice
leading, nor has any structural importance. Sometimes, however,
- 197 -
such interesting notes may. in their double capacity as cover
tones. have long-range registral significance as. for instance.
in the case of the A-flat interesting note found in the main
theme of OP. 7. no. 4 (see Chapter 8). and the G-sharp found in
the main theme of OP. 33. no. 1. where it is also tied UP with
the motivic development in this particular mazurka (see Chapter
7) .
Linear Intervallic Patterns and Sequence Constructions
Apart from the importance of composing-out and prolongation in
establishing relationships between foreground events and their
underlying harmonic and voice-leading constituents at the
middleground and background levels. the ability to extend or
prolong a particular harmonic entity. or to effect a connection
between two harmonies which may be separated from each other over
a larger distance. also depends on the principle of goal-directed
tonal motion (see Chapter 2). created by means of linear
progression. The characterisation of such a directed linear
motion with respect to its prolongational or connective role
calls for the simultaneous participation of both upper voice and
bass within the progression. so as to establish. by way of
intervallic relationships between these voices. the correct
underlying harmonic/voice-leading content. Subsequently. various
patterns of intervals can result from this process. each pattern
demonstrating a particular prolongational motion. These patterns
within the voice-leading design of the foreground are designated
by Forte and Gilbert as "linear intervallic patterns". {55}
- 198 -
Neumeyer also speaks of repeated harmonic/voice-leading patterns
and streams of parallel intervals, which he includes under the
general designation of "sequence", although he qualifies this by
adding that such patterns are not necessarily linked to melodic
sequence. {56} They do, however, occur most often in conjunction
with sequence constructions in the music (this being particularly
true in the mazurkas) .
The constituents of a linear intervallic pattern--the
intervals formed by the outer voices of a voice-leading
design--may be two imperfect consonances (for example, tenths),
two perfect consonances (for example, the octave and the fifth),
an imperfect and a perfect consonance (for example, the sixth and
the fifth), and a dissonance and an imperfect consonance (for
example, the seventh and the tenth). {57} Most of these patterns
derive from the diatonic circle of fifths progression, for
instance, 5-8-5-8 (Example 4.55), 10-8-10-8 (Example 4.56), or
7-10-7-10 (Example 4.57) . Other interval pairs found within
sequence constructions in the mazurkas include 5-10-5-10 and
parallel tenths (see Example 4.58).
Ex~ple 4.55. Mazurka OP. 6, No. 4, Bare 9-12
G)
(M~) <ID
I-/I I~ r-e. I ~ '1~- 'i r - a S' - t S" - Jl
, ,
~ .i-: I
- 199 -
Ex~ple 4.56. Mazurka OP. 56, No. 2, Bare 36-44
Ex~ple 4.57. Mazurka OP. 67, No. 2, Bare 21-24
, - lt> - , - lo _ , _ 10
.L .. -+ ~.1
Ex~ple 4.58. Mazurka OP. 6, No. 1, Bare 1-10
As to the structural allocation of sequence patterns. they are
properly part of the foreground, but may occasionally invade
deeper levels if some of their elements are connected to notes of
those levels. Normally, the first chord and last one or two in a
sequence pattern are the controlling chords and are retained at
- 200 -
the next deeper level (see, for instance, the second sequence
pattern in Example 4.58). However, in other instances, the
context may demand that more elements of the/sequence be carried
into deeper levels. This happens when a sequence is used to
harmonise a line in the middleground (or--rarely--even the
fundamental line) {58} A noteworthy instance of the latter
occurs in OP. 7, no. 3, where the first descent of the
fundamental line, leading to an interruption, is contained within
a sequence pattern, producing the unusual interval succession
4-5-4-5 in the outer voices (see Example 4.59). An additional
reason for including all the elements of the sequence pattern in
this case is to avoid parallel fifths which would otherwise have
resulted in the outer voices.
Example 4.59. Mazurka OP. 7. No. 3. Middleground/Foreground
Graph. Bars 9-76
(V
.. ® ® ® ® ®®®@
4 ..5 3
I I I t? I "
i ' .,_ +_"' ~ .4 - $" 4- $" r - s
To summarise: The essence of the linear intervallic pattern
is that it determines the voice leading of the outer voices of
the passage that it.controls. representing directed tonal motion
with complete precision and without ambiguity once the pattern
has been initiated. Thus it can be said that the linear
- 201 -
intervallic pattern represents the basic voice-leading motion of
tonal music in the most concise and intensive way. Furthermore,
a linear intervallic pattern may effect a connection between two
statements of the same harmony (as in Example 4.55), or between
one harmony and another (as, for instance, in Example 4.57). As
a general observation it can be said that linear intervallic
patterns never serve as primary structural constituents, but
always serve some musical element of larger scale. {59} Finally,
in service of a linear intervallic pattern, sequence
constructions also fuifill a significant role within the tonal
structure of a composition.
Concluding Remarks
Reflecting on the foregoing discussion of the foreground, it
is important firstly to realise that the foreground actually
contains the content of all the levels of structure prior to it,
including the fundamental structure itself. This is because it
represents the culmination of the process of composing-out from
the background, where each prolongational event has become the
initiator of new harmonic/voice-leading entities. As a result,
the various prolongational techniques or voice-leading
diminutions, as well as the basic harmonic/voice-leading motions,
are all capable of being reflected at different points within the
tonal structure of a composition. All the various types of
harmonic/voice-leading patterns represented by the bass and upper
voices, including structural divisions (notably the
interruption), other secondary features such as chromaticism
202 -
(notably mixture and the Phrygian 2'"), and the basic diminutional
voice-leading figures, can thus occur at any level. The
distinction as to the function of a particular
harmonic/voice-leading progression or diminutional figure
accordingly becomes one of contextual differentiation. In his
review of Free Composition, Carl Schachter refers to the fact
that the varied materials within the five chapters of Part III
("The Foreground"), are a reflection of Schenker's belief that
the process of prolongation is partly one of differentiation.
{60} In addition, it has also been demonstrated in the various
musical examples throughout this chapter that the different
prolongational techniques are always to be found in combination
with each other and are never presented as isolated entities.
To end, Example 4.60 presents a foreground graph of the first
32 bars of the mazurka OP. 63, no. 3 (level b), as well as the
A
first I and 3 of the fundamental structure representing these
bars in the background (level a). Most of the various
voice-leading techniques and devices discussed in this chapter
are included in the graph. The apparent level of abstraction
with regard to the organic tonal-structural function of the first
two components of the fundamental structure in relation to the
voice-leading events in the foreground graph indicates the
necessity of a middleground level or levels, serving as the place
in which the knitting together of the disparate material of the
foreground and the underlying components of the background takes
place. This intermediate stage of voice-leading development and
connection between the content of the background and foreground
is the focus point of the next chapter.
- 203 -
Example 4.60. Mazurka OP. 63, No. 3, Bars 1-32
(!-.~. ~,.1~~)
u.v~, __ K~.
~~~-.---,.---~
- 204 -
@
(-I ......I.f) __ ~
®®
- 205 -
NOTES
1. Neumeyer. Guidelines for Analysis of Traditional Tonal
Music using Heinrich Schenker's method. 20.
2. Forte and Gilbert. Introduction to Schenkerian Analysis.
144.
3. Neumeyer. Guidelines. 43.
4. Ibid.. 40.
5. Ibid.• 43.
6. Ibid.. 45.
7. Ibid.. 46.
8. Loc. cito
9. Ibid.. 49.
10. Schenker. Free Composition. Par. 203.
11. Jonas. Introduction to the Theory of Heinrich Schenker.
62.
12. Schenker. Das Meisterwerk in der Musik. Vol. 2. p. 24. as
quoted by Jonas. 62.
13. Jonas. 64.
14. Forte and Gilbert. 237.
15. Neumeyer. Exercise Manual for Schenkerian Analysis. 92.
16. Forte and Gilbert. 243.
17. Ibid. 237.
18. Schenker. Free Composition. Par. 203.
19. Neumeyer. Exercise Manual. 92.
20. Forte and Gilbert. 239-240. (The example given in the
present text is not the one relevant to the information given in
Forte and Gilbert quoted above. but is my own.)
- 206 -
21. Neumeyer, Guidelines, 51.
22. In Chapter 8 below, this mazurka is discussed in detail
concerning motivic design and its relation to tonal structure.
23. Forte and Gilbert, 238.
24. Ibid., 240.
25. Except for details mentioned otherwise, information on the
various individual linear progress ions was compiled from the
relevant sections on linear progress ions in Jonas, 65-81,
Neumeyer, Guidelines and Exercise Manual, 48-49 and 92
respectively, and Schenker, Free Composition, Par. 211-216.
26. The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Vol. 1,
622.
27. Neumeyer, Guidelines, 54.
28. Jonas, 46.
29. Forte and Gilbert, 153.
30. Note especially that the B-sharp in bar 1 is not
interpreted as a passing tone between the third and fifth of the
F-sharp-minor tonic triad, but rather as a lower neighbour to the
C-sharp, since this melodic motion involves an augmented second
interval between A and B-sharp, and, since the latter, being a
raised fourth, is therefore only a semi-tone distance from the
C-sharp, making its structural dependency on the latter all the
more evident.
3l. Neumeyer, Guidelines, 54.
32. Loc. cito
33. Forte and Gi lbert, 67.
34. Neumeyer, Guide 1ines, 54.
35. Forte and Gi lbert, 253.
- 207 -
36. Ibid., 255.
37. Neumeyer, Guidelines, 63.
38. Neumeyer, Exercise Manual, 96.
39. Forte and Gilbert, 252.
40. Schenker has four references to this mazurka in Free
Composition; Figs. 76,5, 83,2, 103,3d and 119,11. With the
exception of Fig. 103,3d, all the others include either
interpretations of bars 1-8, presented in Example 4.33, or its
repetition (bars 17-24). Contrary to Example 4.33, where
unfoldings are suggested in the voice leading, Fig. 76,5 presents
a middleground fifth-line for this passage. Although Schenker
does not commit himself as to the exact bars in which each of the
components of the fifth-line occurs, it would seem as if the line
is suggested only for the first four bars (these being repeated
literally in bars 5-8). This assumption is based further on the
grounds that, both in Figs. 76,5 and 83,2, bars 9-16 are
presented as a prolongation of G (the upper neighbour of F or "5) ,
which, because of the internal descent to B-flat during the
previous bars, will still be present in the middleground. As
opposed to this reading, unfolded thirds for bars 1-8 suggest a
middleground descent from 5A to 3" , followed by an interruption
(bars 9-16). I believe that this latter interpretation is
preferable to that offered by Schenker, because bars 17-24 give a
clear indication that the first part of the large A-section (bars
1-4) and its repetition (bars 5-8) should be read as a motion
from 5" to 3" as suggested by the series of unfolded thirds) .
Thereafter, the motion continues to 2 at bar 9, and only descends
to '1" in bar 24 (the conclusion of section A) . This
- 208 -
interpretation--at least of bars 17-24--is also suggested by
Schenker himself in his sketch of these bars (Fig. 119.11). and
the fact that this final sketch is not compatible with his other
interpretations of the same thematic material is seen clearly in
the various harmonic supports given for each of the corresponding
theme phrases in the different figures. In addition to this.
Schenker's aim. that is. to demonstrate that there is a
parallelism between the second part of section A and the Trio.
A
both involving the prolongations of the upper neighbour to 5
(Figs. 76.5 and 83.2). is not entirely satisfactory. since the
middleground of bars 1-17 produces parallel fifths between the
bass and upper voice.
41. Except for the musical illustrations which are my own. all
the information on register transfer and coupling were compiled
from the relevant sections in Grove. Vol. 3. 814. Forte and
Gilbert. 123. 167. 220 and 260. Jonas. 105. Neumeyer. Exercise
Manual. 93. and Schenker. Free Composition. Pars. 147-149 and
152-153.
42. Except for the musical illustrations and the accompanying
commentaries to them which are my own. as well as a few
additional remarks. all other information on voice exchange were
taken from the relevant sections in Forte and Gilbert. 110-113,
Jonas. 103 and Neumeyer, Guidelines and Exercise Manual. 57 and
94 respectively.
43. Neumeyer. Exercise Manual. 94.
44. See the editorial note by Ernst Oster at the end of Par.
134 of Schenker's Free Composition.
45. Neumeyer. Guidelines. 61.
- 209 -
46. See Forte and Gilbert, 221 and 265, Jonas, 106, and
Neumeyer, Guidelines, 61.
47. Schenker, Free Composition, Par. 267.
48. Forte and Gilbert, 223.
49. Neumeyer, Guidelines, 53.
50. Forte and Gilbert, 224.
51. Schenker, Free Composition, Par. 143 (in referring to the
content of Fig. 45).
52. Forte and Gilbert, 224.
53. Neumeyer, Exercise Manual, 94.
54. In Forte and Gilbert, p. 224, it is pointed out that,
because of the possibility of a cover tone taking part in voice
leading, it is frequently seen to enter into the very basic
decision as to the identity of the primary tone and,
consequently, the shape of the fundamental line. In the mazurkas
in particular, there are numerous instances where cover-tone
activity causes considerable difficulties in establishing whether
Jl. A
a fundamental line runs from 3 or 5. One such case is OP. 6, no.
1. Here, an initial linear ascent from the first melodic tone
F-sharp to C-sharp in bar 4 seems possible, whereupon voice
leading can be traced further from the C-sharp5 down to A (bars
5-10), and finally from the C-sharp (bar 12), down to F-sharp
(the closing melodic tone of section A) at bar 16. Both the
second part of section A and the Trio have C-sharp again as a
prominent note in the voice leading .. These possible
voice-leading motions, together with a fair amount of emphasis on
C-sharp throughout the mazurka, would seem to pose a serious
A A
question as to whether the piece should be read from 3 or 5.
- 210 -
Although a descent from C-sharp to F-sharp (bars 12-16) is
possible, there is no adequate harmonic support for each element
of the line in order for it to be read as a true linear
... A
progression from 5 to 1, except when it is interpreted as
containing an unsupported stretch involving the last three notes
of the progression. However, if the final descent of the
fundamental line (which also resembles the background upper voice
A
motion of bars 12-16), is to be read from 3 (thus a motion from A
down to F-sharp), the role of the C-sharp as a cover tone, and
the subsequent voice leading following from it as
middleground/foreground boundary play, can be argued for.
55. Forte and Gilbert, 83. Forte also uses this term in Tonal
Harmony in Concept and Practice (New York: Holt, Rinehart and
Winston, f nc .. 1962).
56. Neumeyer, Guidelines, 63.
57. Forte and Gilbert, 83.
58. Except for the musical illustrations which are my own, see
Neumeyer, Guidelines, 63.
59. Except for the musical illustrations which are my own, see
Forte and Gilbert, 84 and 99-100.
60. Carl E. Schachter, itA Commentary on Schenker's Free
Composition", Journal of Music Theory, 25/1 (1981): 136.
- 211 -
CHAPTER 5
THE MIDDLEGROUND
The previous two chapters dealt with the background and its
content and with the foreground, where, within its context,
attention was given to the various techniques and devices of
voice-leading prolongation. The credibility of the background as
the logical end result of a systematic process of reduction, or
conversely, that of the foreground as the logical end result of a
process of composing-out from the background, depends on the
middleground: the intermediate stage or stages of voice-leading
transformation between background and foreground. It is this
essential transformational or developmental nature of the
middleground which makes possible the correct identification and
interpretation of both background and foreground, as well as the
establishment of the correct connection between these two
levels.
It follows that the middleground represents that stage of
voice-leading development in a tonal composition where most of
the refinement of voice-leading interpretation takes place.
Without the correct interpretation of voice leading in the
middleground, situations often arise where a particular
foreground may be constructed which may be questioned as to a
satisfactory or even convincing connection of its content with
that of the background. The same applies to establishing the
correct underlying background structure of a composition.
Therefore, this present survey of the various structural levels
- 212 -
and their content will be completed with a consideration of the
middleground, its main functions, specific features common to it,
and finally, its content and role with regard to background and
foreground.
The first function of the middleground is to show those lines,
non-harmonic figuration, unfoldings and other prolongational
devices that directly connect to (prolong) elements of the
background. {1} The second important function of the
middleground is to reconcile what we have in the music (that is,
the score itself), with what is found to be conceptually correct
voice leading in the background. {2} From this, it would seem as
if Schenker's description of the content of the middleground in
Free Composition Part II as being the first level of prolongation
from the background or fundamental structure, is adequate enough.
However, in view of the differences in length and/or complexity
of a composition, it was already pointed out in Chapter 3 how
these factors can influence the structural distance between the
fundamental structure and the music itself--an important
motivation for broadening the range of the background so as to
include also the content of the first level of prolongation.
Because of this, the second or even third levels of prolongation
from the fundamental structure are nowadays frequently regarded
as middleground. Additionally, since the middleground comprises
the underlying voice-leading model for the content of the
foreground, it is likewise expanded, in order to become
associated more closely with the foreground. Therefore, the
accepted practice with regard to the broadening of the
middleground is to separate its content into more than one level;
- 213 -
the number of these being subject to the amount of voice-leading
activity between the background and the musical surface.
Two specific features of the middleground may also be
mentioned here. Firstly, it is in the middleground where broad
tonal and formal areas of a composition can be traced. Secondly,
the middleground is usually the source of repetitions, and thus
of the idea of motivic parallelism which has a direct bearing on
the subject of this dissertation. In view of the possibility for
voice-leading diminutions to be repeated at different points
within the tonal structure of a composition, the middleground,
being the pivot between background and foreground, is the place
where such repetitions occur most frequently. Therefore, the
middleground accordingly often provides the analyst with decisive
information about the origins of particularly striking or
important surface diminutions, or how these diminutions may have
developed out of the background.
Almost all of the prolongational techniques and devices,
except perhaps for voice exchange, may form part of the content
of the middleground. Accordingly, these will be dealt with
again, but in terms of their middleground functions.
Neighbour Notes
In Chapter 4, detailed attention was given to the role of the
neighbour note as a diminutional figure. within the various
structural levels from deep middleground (that is, working
background), to foreground. Concerning the middleground, it was
established that the neighbour note, like any other diminutional
- 214 -
figure which might be included in it, has to be directly related
or connected to the elements of the background. As to its
structural role, the neighbour note was observed to be mostly a
form-generating device in the middleground, but also, able to
play a significant role with regard to motivic design, in that
important surface neighbour-note configurations may frequently
derive, through prolongation, from an underlying middleground
neighbour-note pattern. All these aspects have also been
demonstrated at various points so far. See, for instance, the
role of the neighbour note figure DIEID in establishing the
ternary form division of the mazurka OP. 67, no. 1, and how this
same figure is related to the surface configuration of the
opening bars (Examples 4.2a and b). In addition to this, see
also Examples 3.16 and 4.8b.
One further instance of the application of middleground
neighbour notes in the mazurkas may, however, be cited here: OP.
7, no. 3. Firstly, Example 5.1a presents two middleground levels
of this mazurka, aligned with each other, both containing the
same neighbour-note figure C/D-flat/C, operating at different
points in the tonal structure. In Example 5.1b, the figure
appears in the foreground of bars 9-12, while Example 5.1c shows
it to be on the surface of the introductory bars; this latter
feature being the actual instigator of all the subsequent
structural applications of the neighbour note in this mazurka.
- 215 -
Example 5.1a. Mazurka OP. 7, No. 3, Bare 9-47
('1
.
~
r---
~--- .......1..,.-.;:;--...., /" .. ~I
, ,...._ ,
-
Example 5.1b. Mazurka OP. 7, No. 3, Foreground Graph, Bars 9-12
Example 5.1c. Mazurka OP. 7, No. 3, Bare 1-3
~
rm'tf=tfr~
- 216 -
For the moment this example of middleground neighbour-note
motions will suffice, since it represents an adequate picture of
the ways in which neighbour notes may be applied in the
middleground. At the same time, however, it is by no means
representative of all the ways in which neighbour-note figures
operate in the mazurkas, especially with regard to motivic
design. This latter role of the neighbour note will be
considered in more detail in the chapters on motivic design and
tonal structure in Part Two.
Linear Progress ions
In Free Composition, Schenker makes a distinction between what
he calls linear progress ions of the first order (that is. at the
first level of prolongation from the fundamental structure), and
linear progressions at the later levels. He asserts that "an
ascending or descending linear progression of the first order
must. by definition. be related to a tone of the fundamental
line". {3} Even though in the definition of the middleground to
be used here, at least one or two of the so-called later levels
may be included, this condition for a linear progression to be
recognised as belonging to the middleground. remains valid, since
these levels are still related to the fundamental line.
Therefore, every middleground linear progression will involve
motion between a specific fundamental line tone and an inner
voice.
It has already been noted in Chapters 3 and 4 above that
linear progress ions are often reflections or replications of a
- 217 -
particular fundamental line at different points within the tonal
structure of a composition. This variety of linear progressions
is of particular note in the middleground, since such lines
usually also function as the structural line of an independent
tonally closed form section. With the exception of a few cases,
all the mazurkas contain such individual tonally closed form
sections where the specific linear progression involved also
reflects the fundamental line of the composition. Some notable
instances of these middleground lines already presented include:
Examples 3.13 and 3.17 (OPP. 7, no. 2 and 6, no. 1 respectively).
and Examples 4.14. 4.16b and 4.60 (Op. 33. no. 2, OP. 50. no. 3
and OP. 63. no. 3 respectively). One further example may be
cited from the mazurka OP. 50 no. 1. since it offers not only a
linear progression. acting as the background line of the first 16
bars of the piece. but also a striking example of how such a line
can contain further prolongations of some of its components (see
Example 5.2).
Example 5.2. Mazurka OP. 50. No. 1. Bare 1-16
®@@
- 218 -
Other instances of middleground lines in the mazurkas also
included in the examples of linear progressions in Chapter 4 are
OP. 67. no. 1 (Examples 4.12), and Op. 30. no. 4 (Example 4.13).
In Example 4.12. a middleground line controls the background
structure of the A-section. while another serves to extend an
earlier-level neighbour note which functions as the controlling
element of the Trio in the subdominant key. Example 4.13. on the
other hand. shows a line which forms part of the extension of the
dominant at the point of the interruption. Note that it is only
with the extention of the neighbour note that no direct
connection of the linear progression with a note of the
fundamental line occurs. The validity of the line as a
middleground event is attested to by the fact that the neighbour
note itself is still directly connected to the "5 of the
fundamental line. being its first middleground extention.
Initial Ascent (Anstieg)
A special category of linear progression which belongs
exclusively to the middleground involves an ascending linear
motion from an inner voice to the first note of the fundamental
line, a phenomenon which Schenker terms "Anstieg". translated as
initial ascent in Free Composition. This is, strictly speaking,
the only possible ascending 1inear progression in the
middleground, although there is one other ascending line which
Schenker allows in a second level of middleground. namely. a line
from an established inner voice upward to a note of the
fundamental line. Such a line is most likely to occur in
- 219 -
developmental or transitional areas (examples of which may be
found in Five Graphic Music Analyses). {4} There is, however, no
example of this in the mazurkas.
" ,,/'., A
The Anstieg may begin from 1 to reach 3 or 5, or from 3 to
reach "5, or--rarely--from '3" or '5" to reach "8. Normally each tone
of the Anstieg will have harmonic support; however, this is not
A
an absolute requirement. {5} In an initial ascent moving to 5,
the fourth degree is frequently raised in order to effect a
leading-tone motion to the fifth degree, thus preventing the
fourth degree from becoming more naturally inclined towards a
" ~
resolution to 3, due to the normal semi-tone distance between 4
and '3". {6} This application of the raised fourth degree in an
initial ascent occurs only in the major key.
Strictly speaking, the initial ascent is a line based on an
interval of the tonic triad, but it may also comprise a line,
arpeggio, or combination of both. {7} In fact, the term "initial
ascent" may be interpreted in a broader sense so as to include
any of these prefix-type motions, while the term Anstieg
specifically applies only to an ascending linear prefix to the
first tone of the fundamental line.
Particularly in the mazurkas, initial ascent patterns involve
mostly either arpeggiation or the combination of arpreggiation
and line, frequently including register transfer at the same
time. Examples of these were already presented in Examples 4.25,
4.26 and 4.38. Additional examples will be offered in the
section on arpeggiation below. In the mazurkas there are not
many strictly linear initial ascents: see, for instance Example
4.19, where the motion is from 3" to "5, and 4.47, where the motion
- 220 -
)\ /\
is from 1 to 3. Example 4.19 also illustrates an important
procedure connected with initial ascent, namely, displacement of
/\.
elements. Notice that before 5 is reached in the upper voice,
the bass has already moved away from the tonic degree--which
/\
needs to be presented simultaneously with 5 in the background--on
its way to the dominant via the descending fourth. This
displacement of tonic and '5" is caused by foreground contrapuntal
motion and therefore is corrected in the middleground so as to
/\.
bring tonic and 5 in alignment. Subsequently, it is customary to
use a diagonal line in the foreground in order to indicate which
components belong to each other in the middleground and
background, and incidentally, to show the degree of the
displacement. A clearer picture may be obtained from Example 5.3
from the same mazurka (OP. 17, no. 4). At (a) the initial ascent
is shown only with the tonic bass, while at (b) the foreground
motion of the bass is shown along with the rising line. This
situation demonstrates once again how it is the task of the
middleground to serve as the place where surface voice leading
has to be corrected in order to lead the analyst to the strictest
model of the background. {8}
Example 5.3. Mazurka OP. 17, No. 4, Bars 6-8
(a) (b)
~r- n ~r-A -
f ' !-1--<7"1-: ~~--.
L.__ L___ (.- ?:::::-l
1= j 3-3-
- 221 -
An instance where the raised fourth degree is employed as part
of an Anstieg pattern is found in OP. 63, no. 1, where there is
an ascending surface chromatic motion from D-sharp to F-sharp.
However, the latter note upon which the motion concludes is not
yet the first 5 of the fundamental line, but actually the F-sharp
of bar 10 to which it is coupled in the middleground (see Example
4.17). There is, however, no instance in the mazurkas where the
raised fourth degree is used in an initial ascent in conjunction
with the tonicisation of the dominant, this being a frequent
manner of exposition of the raised fourth in Anstieg patterns.
{9}
An anomaly is the initial descent, a descending linear motion
from a superimposed inner voice or cover tone to the first tone
of the fundamental line. It is not at all as frequent a
phenomenon as is the initial ascent, and usually involves a
A A A ~
motion from 8 down to 5, or 5 down to 3. One instance of such an
initial descent in the mazurkas can be seen in the opening of OP.
50, no. 3, cited in Example 4.16b, where the motion is from the
A
first G-sharp, acting as a cover tone, down to E, the first 3.
Arpeggiation
There are two principal ways in which the technique of
arpeggiation is employed in the middleground: 1) elaboration of
the fundamental bass motion from I to V, becoming I-III-V-I; 2)
in connection with initial ascent.
The first of these has already been presented in Chapter 3,
where it was referred to as the structural bass arpeggiation.
- 222 -
Because of its function, this bass arpeggiation is situated deep
in the tonal structure. Other instances of
background/middleground bass arpeggiations already presented
include Examples 4.24b and 4.29. In addition, it should be noted
that, just as the background line of a particular tonally closed
form section becomes a middleground event in the overall tonal
structure, so does a bass arpeggiation (be it I-V-I or
I-III-V-I), which is involved in the same situation.
Bass arpeggiation figures also function as a middleground
feature within the prolongation of the dominant and 2". This is
the case in Example 4.13, as well as in Example 5.4, taken from
OP. 63, no. 1. Note especially how the distant key region of A
major in the Trio results from the prolongation of the third
degree of the bass arpeggiation within the somewhat unusual
dominant minor.
Example 5.4. Mazurka OP. 63, No. 1, Bars 31-78
® ® @ @
~"-rllio
- - __ .
D..rp.
One additional instance of a middleground bass arpeggiation
pattern within the prolongation of V and "2 is from OP. 56, no. 3
(see Example 5.5, level a).
- 223 -
Example 5.5. Mazurka OP. 56, No. 3, Bars 2-136
"
- 224 -
Here, the descending figure D/B-flat/G appears in the first
middleground, elaborating the harmonic motion from II to V within
the interruption, and causing the two middle form sections of the
mazurka to evolve from the prolongation of the B-flat of the
arpeggiation. Three additional middleground levels of the same
passage from this mazurka are also given in Example 5.5, where
more diminutions appear in conjuction with the arpeggiation. The
first of these (level b) shows a third-line within the
prolongation of B-flat, followed by mixture and interruption at
level c, and another third-line at level d, preceding the one at
levels band c, as well as a middleground unfolding which forms
part of the prolongation of the final G in the arpeggiation. For
a detailed discussion of this mazurka, see Chapter 9.
The second application of arpeggiation in the middleground
mentioned above, is restricted to the top voice only. In
addition to examples already referred to, three further instances
may be cited. The first (Example 5.6) presents an arpeggiated
motion from B-flat4 to F5 ('5" ) in the opening bars of OP. 7, no.
1, {lO} the first B-flat4 being preceded by an A4 as lower
neighbour prefix to it over V in the bass.
Example 5.6. Mazurka OP. 7, No. 1, Bars 1-12
(·NIL)
- 225 -
In addition, the arpeggiation from B-flat4 to F5 is filled in by
passing notes on the surface. This mazurka is also discussed
further in Chapter 11. Example 5.7 shows the opening bars of Op.
33, no. 1, where the arpeggiated motion is from D-sharp4 to
.1\
D-sharp5 (the first 5), with two foreground diminutions in the
form of a neighbour-note figure and a line, connected
respectively to D-sharp4 and G-sharp4. Surface passing tones
similar to those found in OP. 7, no. L then fill in the
continuing motion from G-sharp4 to D-sharp5. Notice that
register transfer is also involved during these bars (for a
detail led discussion of this mazurka, see Chapter 7).
Example 5.7. Mazurka OP. 33, No. 1, Middleground/Foreground
Graph, Bars 1-8
:3 1 1)
-_ --.,...?. IV-~-. - - ..
The third instance of an arpeggiated initial ascent is taken
from OP. 6, no. 3, where there is an arpeggiation figure running
A
from B3 UP to G-sharp5 (the first 3), and involving also a linear
motion at the end of the figure from E5 to G-sharp5 (see Example
5.8, as well as further discussion of this mazurka in Chapter
12) .
- 226 -
Ex~ple 5.8. Mazurka OP. 6, No. 3, Bars 9-12
T
Upper-voice arpeggiations in the middleground may also be
stretched over longer distances in the music, being accomplished
by means of foreground diminutions connected to the various
components of the arpeggiations, and often causing them to be
concealed within the foreground voice leading. There are,
however, no examples of such long-range arpeggiation figures in
the mazurkas, except for those in the bass cited above.
Unfolding
Unfoldings may sometimes be presented on a larger scale,
controlling many foreground diminutions, as well as problematic
foreground passages in which underlying harmonic/voice-leading
derivations are difficult to assess. See, for instance, the
unfolding of Example 5.5, level d above, and how the surface
voice-leading motions may be derived from it. Another more
spectacular instance of such a long-range unfolding is found in a
further passage from OP. 56, no 3. Here, the complicated surface
chromatic motions and melodic diminutions at the point of the
.II.
final 2 in the fundamental line can be traced back to a
- 227 -
middleground unfolding BIG in the bass (see Example 5.9). One
other similar type of unfolding was already presented in Example
4.34, after Schenker's example in Free Composition.
Example 5.9. Mazurka OP. 56, No. 3, Bars 138-189
Register Transfer (Coupling)
Register transfer is usually a foreground device, but it is
frequently involved in initial ascent patterns as has been
illustrated in Example 5.6 above, as well as other similar
instances cited in Chapter 4. Middleground coupling of registers
is, however, a more frequent phenomenon, especially if a note of
the fundamental line is involved. This is the case in Example
5.10, a passage again taken from OP. 56 no. 3. Here, the first
note of the fundamental line (E-flat5 at bar 3), is coupled to
E-flat4 in bar 10 by means of a descending linear motion,
accompanied by an octave-line in the bass, through which there is
a further coupling of C4 to C3. Also involved are tonic and
dominant harmonies--the dominant area being tonicised in the
- 228 -
foreground. {11} Equally so, but functioning in a different
manner, the bass coupling observed in Example 4.41 must be seen
as a middleground event.
Ex~ple 5.10. Mazurka OP. 56, No. 3, Bare 1-10
One more notable instance of a middleground coupling occurs in
the opening bars of the A-section from OP. 41, no. 3. Here, we
....
observe a coupling of D-sharp4 to D-sharp5 (the first 3), acting
A
as the sole element of the middleground initial ascent to 3 (see
Example 5.11). In the foreground, this coupling is filled in by
surface diminutions.
Example 5.11. Mazurka OP. 41, No. 3, Bars 1-7
A
3
- 229 -
Reaching-Over
A reaching-over may also function as a middleground device
whenever it is involved in initial ascent patterns, where it
helps to effect the middleground linear or arpeggiated ascent to
the first note of the fundamental line (see, for instance,
Example 4.47 and the foreground of Example 4.60) .
Linear Intervallic Patterns and Sequence Constructions
In Chapter 4, attention was given to the structural role of
linear intervallic or sequence patterns, where it was pointed out
that, in spite of their being primarily foreground in nature,
these voice-leading patterns may also be involved in earlier
levels of structure when the necessity arises for some of their
elements to be connected to components of a middleground line or
to notes of the fundamental line itself (see, for instance,
Examples 4.55 and 4.59) .
The Middleground in Selected Mazurkas
In the foregoing sections, emphasis has been placed on the way
various voice-leading techniques and devices may, apart from
their diminutional role, also serve as underlying structural
derivations for further composed-out content, that is, how they
are employed in the middleground in order to initiate the content
of the foreground. In concluding this chapter on the
middleground, it will be useful to show how the middleground
- 230 -
functions. firstly. in relation to the fundamental structure;
secondly. in relation to form; {12} and thirdly. in relation to
chromatic foreground interpolations. In addition. the way in
which these illustrations are presented. that is. as a series of
structural levels aligned with each other. will serve as further
preparation for the object of the final chapter of this part.
namely, the presentation of a comprehensive model example in
which all stages of tonal-structural development from fundamental
structure to foreground will be demonstrated in a complete set of
analytic graphs.
A partial set of analytic graphs for the mazurka OP. 63, no. 1
is provided in Example 5.12. Firstly, only the fundamental
structure is presented at level a, while at level b, the first
prolongational device connected to the fundamental structure in
this composition is presented, namely, an interruption of the
fundamental line. The latter is also responsible for creating
the large two-part division of the piece's tonal structure.
Although level b constitutes the first level of composing-out
from the fundamental structure, and thus, strictly speaking, the
first level of middleground for this mazurka. it is nevertheless
regarded as the background here for reasons already explained in
Chapter 3. Therefore, the subsequent level of prolongation from
the interruption is interpreted as the first middleground (see
Example 5.12, level c).
At this level, 5 and I are initially elaborated by means of a
dividing dominant in the bass prior to the first descent of the
A
fundamental line to 2 and the interruption. Note also that the
A A
dividing dominant and the descent from 5 to 2 represent the
- 231 -
Example 5.12. Mazurka OP. 63, No. 1
o .lt t.
"t--
nr .1- ~J---
, r==TT 'F
-c j: -:1-
B
@ ® ® @
4... "~. ~ - _ , r-;-: 3' 3i) J II
n Jt Jf ~6·~~L- -i---" It..--- I~ I J
- +~$ -- ~'-"-- \n.J.
I,
c=r+ . :.::: -I- ~~~sF:-::::r~-~E~Er~
- 232 -
J_
c .D A'
®®®® ® @ CE> ® @
(siá')
-
- 233 -
__It_ 3 .2, I
o k.l: I I j j
I "- IL ~ 0 ~ 0
'$ ~ 1- :J-
A
Lt 3 1. ....I
n Jl. .B:- J I I J
1 ~ •~
1 I I I
1 ~ 1- :x:
5 4 '3 '1 I'
n lt .i. J I
, il .--=1-'"
i I.
I I I I I
CodA.
A I<
4 3
o k.l j I
- J
I
! '" 'If ~Il
-l j I
- 234 -
underlying vOice-leading content of the B-section, while the
A
initial 5 and I represents section A. The interruption at this
level is prolonged by means of an internal I-III-V-I bass
arpeggiation within the dominant minor; the third degree of which
generates section C. while section D is built on V and I of the
A
arpeggiation (see also Example 5.4 above). Thereafter. 5
returns. followed by the final descent of the fundamental line.
Both these events coincide with the reprise of section A and its
~
conclusion by way of a surface elaboration of the final 2,
representing the final bars of A', but also resulting in the
A ~
start of a tiny artful coda which involves the motion from 2 to 1
~
within the final structural cadence. The elaboration of 2 is
represented at this level by the II-V motion of the bass under
~
2.
Finally, at level d of Example 5.12, the next level of
composing-out and final middleground level of this mazurka, the
middleground derivations of the foreground voice-leading events
are presented. The opening thematic statement and its repetition
an octave higher are characterised by an initial chromatic linear
ascent from D-sharp4 to F-sharp4 and the coupling of F-sharp4 to
F-sharp5 already referred to earlier on. This is followed by a
A A
middleground/foreground descent from 5 to 2 within the motion
from I to the dividing dominant, a parallelism of the background
A A
descent from 5 to 2 (see also the foreground graph of these bars
in Example 4.18). The motion from the dividing dominant back to
I is effected by means of a third-line F-sharp5/E5/D-sharp5, a
diatonic retrograde version of the initial ascent pattern. This
line also serves as the underlying melodic motion of the first
- 235 -
eight bars of section B. Therefore, the motion down to D-sharp5
at this point (bar 24) is not yet part of the
A
background/middleground descent to 2. As a result, the voice
leading of bars 17-24 within which the line is effected, still
A
prolongs 5 at a deeper level, and the first descent to 4 or E5
does not occur before bar 25.
The prolongation of the third degree of the I-III-V-I bass
arpeggiation within V is effected at this level by a descending
sixth-line from C-sharp5 to E4, acting as controlling line for
the voice leading of section C, as well as serving to bring the
voice leading back to the original opening register of the piece.
This is followed by a coupling from D-sharp4 to D-sharp5,
representing the underlying voice-leading motion of section D.
In the foreground, this coupling is composed-out by means of a
series of reaching-overs (see Example 4.50) . Incidentally, the
foreground of section C (first part of Example 4.50), reveals
several surface registral motions which clearly derive their
origin from the middleground registal couplings in this mazurka.
Looking at the different levels of harmonic and voice-leading
content cited in Example 5.12, note that the various
prolongational features presented involve either the first note
A
. I
of the fundamental llne, or 2 at the interruption; the one
~
exception is the surface prolongation of 2 during the final
descent of the fundamental line. Although it is often the case
that the other components of a fundamental line or middleground
linear progression are not subjected to further diminutions or
prolongation as they usually form part of the descent of a line
at the point of a structural cadence, this is by no means a
- 236 -
general assumption, as can be seen from the instance above where
~
the final 2 is prolonged (see also Example 5.4). It is, however,
generally the case in the mazurkas; there are few instances in
A
which 2 and the interruption itself is further prolonged. An
interesting feature of the present mazurka is the prolongational
attention given to the inner voice D-sharp during section D
through the middleground coupling. It also continues to be
prolonged during the first nine bars of A', but at an earlier
level of middleground. In the relevant place at level d of
Example 5.12, however, an upper neighbour to D-sharp4 (E4) is
seen to be prolonged in the late middleground and not the
D-sharp4 of bar 69 as expected. The reason for this
interpretation lies in the F-sharp of the bass, situation
underneath D-sharp4 at bar 69. This causes a 6/4 suspension on
the dominant instead of a retension of the previous tonic harmony
at this level, thereby making the D-sharp4 a foreground
suspension element. With the ultimate appearance of V7 at bar
73, E4 emerges in the upper voice as the resolution of D-sharp4.
There is also a further motivic significance for this
interpretation, namely, that the harmonic progression V7-1 in the
late middleground of bars 69-77 is a parallelism of the surface
V7-1 motions during section D.
Finally, in connection with the functioning of the
middleground in relation to form, it has been noted throughout
this discussion of OP. 63, no. 1 how the various middleground
diminutions also generate new form sections. Thus, at the final
level of middleground in Example 5.12, the basic form plan of the
mazurka is already clearly recognised.
- 237 -
In the final illustrations, a few instances are presented in
which it will be demonstrated how basic harmonic and
vOice-leading motions underlie certain foreground interpolations,
specifically chromatic sequence patterns. Example 5.13 comprises
a foreground graph (level a) of the sequential b-section, leading
into the first four bars of the repetition of the first part of
section A of the mazurka OP. 7, no. 2, followed by a middleground
graph (level b) which also takes into account the controlling
tonic harmony of the mazurka. showing the underlying harmonic and
voice-leading content from which this particular portion of the
music is derived.
Example 5.13. Mazurka OP. 7, No. 2, Bars 17-28
@ - - _------® --
(p..)
'" ..,- 8 =- ~lo -= .~., -= c. - .., - 1Co -= ï,-= ,,- 7- C. - ..,j= t: f ï=- f= J: j: 1= f::. j
Notice, for instance, the 1-I7-IV-V7-VI harmonic progression
which is conditioned by the overall melodic motion E/F/D/e in the
- 238 -
upper voice. thus relegating the E between F and D (bar 26) to
that of a passing tone with tonic support. {13} Also. the G
which is the next note from E in the top line of this level. and
the one immediately preceding the F. is a surface embellishment
of the deeper level neighbour note F. and is derived from the
superimposed inner voice motion from B-flat5 indicated in the
foreground graph of Example 5.13.
The next example is taken from the mazurka OP. 6. no. 1 bars
5-8 (a foreground sketch of the first 10 bars having already been
presented in Example 4.58 above). For better clarification.
however. level a of Example 5.14 is a reproduction of Example
4.58. showing also the contrapuntal motion in tenths as
underlying pattern for the voice leading of bars 5-8. while level
b of Example 5.14 comprises the underlying middleground harmonies
for this chromatic sequence.
Example 5.14. Mazurka OP. 6. No. 1, Bars 1-10
I ~I
- 239 -
A somewhat similar situation occurs in Example 5.15, taken
from the B-section of the mazurka OP. 67, no. 2, where the
content of bars 20-26 presented at level a is built on a I-II-V-I
harmonic progression in the middleground (level b). Note the
underlying 7-10 contrapuntal patterns.
Example 5.15. Mazurka OP. 67, No. 2, Bars 20-26
Example 5.16 involves bars 37-44 of the mazurka OP. 56, no. 2
(the graph at (a) having already been presented in Example 4.57
above) . Here, the somewhat unexpected underlying
harmonic/voice-leading content for this sequence pattern shown at
(b) must be seen as conditioned by the· middleground ascending
fifth-line in the bass, a fact already ~lluded to by Oswald
Jonas. {14}
- 240 -
Ex~ple 5.16. Mazurka OP. 56, No. 2, Bare 36-44
In conclusion, one more distinct property of the middleground
must be mentioned here, namely, that it is the main structural
determinant of the familiar coda-section in a composition. This
is so because the coda usually appears at that point in a
composition where the fundamental line has already made its final
A
descent to 1 with the accompanying harmonic close in the bass.
Therefore, the entire coda will be a prolongation of the final "1
and I, and its content will be composed-out either by way of
surface embellishments of the finall, " or by means of a
middleground linear progression and accompanying harmonic
progression. An instance of the former may be cited in Example
5.17 from the coda of OP. 24, no. 4, while the latter situation
has already been cited in the coda of the mazurka Op, 59 no. 2
(Example 4.54) ,
- 241 -
Ex~ple 5.17. Mazurka OP. 24, No. 4, Bars 116-145
-q-- lO -- 't - 10 - I'DJ
J- I --.,- II - ~
Io-S"--S--I.-X
-3--4-lf.-
::t
One instance, however, in which the coda appears within the final
descent of the fundamental line, and more specifically, within
the motion from "2-1"-, is OP. 63, no. 1. The content of the coda'
at this point (bars 95-96) reveals a subtle reference to the
first two bars of the theme of section C (compare the end of
Examples 5.12 levels c and d above to the score of bars 33-34,
the opening two bars of section C, and bars 95 to the end,
presented in Example 5.18). Note, however, that the finalla"nd
I are already reached in bar 96 and continue to be prolonged
throughout the remaining six bars of the mazurka.
- 242 -
NOTES
1. Neumeyer, Guidelines for Analysis of Traditional Tonal
Music using Heinrich Schenker's Method, 39.
2. This observation on the middleground was made by Prof.
David Neumeyer in a doctoral seminar on Schenker, given at
Indiana University, fall 1982.
3. Schenker, Free Composition, Par. 113.
4. Schenker, Five Graphic Music Analyses, as referred to by
Neumeyer in Guidelines, 47-48.
5. Ibid., 62.
6. Additional implications of the raised fourth (both motivic
and structural) for specific mazurkas are addressed in Chapter
ll.
7. Neumeyer, Exercise Manual for Schenkerian Analysis, 87.
8. Again, this observation on the task of the middleground was
made by Prof. David Neumeyer at the Schenker seminar (Indiana
Universi ty, 1982).
9. An instance where the raised fourth does, however, appear
as an important melodic element--but not as part of an initial
ascent pattern--in conjunction with the tonicisation of V, is
found in OP. 24, no. 1 (for a discussion of the structural role
of the raised fourth in this mazurka, see Chapter 11, endnote
4) .
10. SUbsequent registral designations for structural notes and
pitches forming part of voice-leading and motivic configurations
are according to the system of the American Acoustical Society
(C4 = middle C) .
- 243 -
11. This particular example also evokes the concept of a
leading linear progression. What this amounts to is that in
situations like the one in Example 5.10 where two linear
progressions are seen to operate simultaneously and in parallel
motion with each other, one will have preference over the other
as the leading linear progression, since it alone is seen to
represent the linear composing-out of the underlying harmony or
key-area in question, while the other one acts purely as a
counterpoint to it (see Free Composition, Par. 221).
12. A brief account of Schenker's theory of musical form is
provided in Chapter 9.
13. A most ingenious parallelism of the middleground harmonic
progression of bars 1-28 shown in Example 5.13, level b, but with
another I replacing VI, can be traced in the foreground harmonic
motion from bar 32.1--bar 32.2 being an anticipation of the tonal
change to come in the following bars--to bar 34, comprising the
final I of section A and the opening two bars of the Trio of this
mazurka. In fact, this same harmonic progression, but without
the first I, also underlies the voice leading of the entire
Trio.
14. See the discussion of these bars from the mazurka OP. 56,
no. 2, in Jonas, Introduction to the Theory of Heinrich Schenker,
75. The way in which the octave C within the ascending
fifth-line of the bass connects back to the octave B, the one
prior to it in the line, is mentioned specifically.
- 244 -
CHAPTER 6
A GRAPHIC ANALYSIS OF THE HARMONIC/VOICE-LEADING STRUCTURE OF
CHOPIN'S MAZURKA OP. 33, NO. 2
The object of this final chapter in the systematic
presentation of Schenker's analytic method is to offer a
comprehensive model analysis involving a complete composition
(OP. 33, no. 2), for which the tonal structure will be presented
in all its stages of development from the fundamental structure
to the foreground. Not only will this furnish the reader with an
idea of the degree to which the harmonic/voice-leading structure
of a composition can be interpreted from a Schenkerian
perspective, but it will also provide an overview of the
principles and processes within Schenkerian analysis as presented
thus far. In particular, the concepts of background,
middleground and foreground can now be placed in the correct
perspective with regard to one another, since they are presented
within the context of a systematic distribution of the various
stages of composing-out in the tonal structure of OP. 33, no. 2.
In addition, the analysis, being as comprehensive as it is, will
focus on the degree of organic unity achieved in this mazurka,
while it will also provide insight into its tonal-structural and
formal processes. It does not, however, focus on details of
motivic design in the mazurka, except for one instance which
points to the relationship between the background/middleground
melodic profile and the coda. From a Schenkerian point of view,
specific organic voice-leading processes in a composition often
- 245 -
do have motivic significance and as such may frequently be
regarded as part of a composition's motivic structure--this also
being the case in the present mazurka. It should nevertheless be
stressed that the main object of this analytic presentation is to
guide the reader in following through the successive stages of
composed-out voice leading, and once again, to demonstrate the
essential features of the analytic method.
In Example 6, the harmonic/voice-leading structure of OP. 33,
no. 2 is presented in a series of six levels of structure,
aligned with each other and successively arranged in the order of
fundamental structure to foreground. Each of these levels will
be considered in turn, following the model of composed-out voice
leading from the fundamental structure. The number of levels of
voice-leading content in this analytic presentation is greater
than in most published graphs. This is justified by virtue of it
providing a detailed picture of the possible number. of structural
levels, thereby enabling the reader to follow through the various
stages of the tonal structure with as much consistency and
accuracy as possible.
In spite of the present-day convention of presenting first
order prolongations as part of a background graph, the true
fundamental structure ("Ursatz") of the mazurka is presented
alone here, to suggest its essential meaning in the composition
and to show more clearly how the initial prolongations follow
from it. Level a presents the fundamental structure of Op 33,
A 1\ A
no. 2, consisting of the fundamental line 3-2-1 and the I-V-I
bass arpeggiation.
Concerning the prolongational role played by the components of
- 246 -
the fundamental structure in the present mazurka, it will be
~
noted that the 3 and I exert their influence in the background
throughout almost the entire mazurka. It is only in the final
~
structural cadence in bars 119-120 that the descent to 1 occurs
together with the accompanying V-I harmonic motion in the bass.
Although exactly the same cadence figure appears eight bars
later, just before the coda, the latter forms part of a
repetition of the previous eight-bar phrase comprising the
main-theme period of the mazurka. Strictly therefore, this final
repetition of the main-theme period is no longer part of the
tonal structure proper, since it represents purely the structural
ground already covered by the previous eight bars and its
cadential close. From a structural point of view it can thus be
inferred that this repetition represents a final echo of the
main-theme period, a fact cleverly attested to by the contrast in
dynamic levels (ff, pp) marked at this and other corresponding
places in the score. In fact, the same situation is paralleled
in all places throughout the mazurka where the main-theme period
occurs.
The prolongation of the first two components of the
fundamental structure illustrates clearly how the main tonality
is in control in the background across the entire
harmonic/voice-leading structure of the mazurka. In addition,
h
the continued presence of 3 and I throughout the mazurka places
all other voice-leading motions in the service of an overall
controlling tonal entity (the tonic triad). Furthermore,
attention is directed towards the final structural cadence,
assigning it an importance and structural significance far
- 247 -
overriding that of its internal counterparts (those cadences
involved in the closes of each of the various statements of the
main-theme period) . It will become clear as we proceed along the
path of composing-out that the fundamental structure is mirrored
at every subsequent level of structure up to the foreground, thus
representing--together with those prolongational devices directly
connected to it--the most important determinant of voice-leading
organic unity in the mazurka.
Level b gives the first and most immediate level of
composing-out from the fundamental structure: its first division
by means of the interruption. This gives rise to the large
two-part tonal division of the mazurka: first part to the
interruption, bars 1-80; second part after the interruption to
A
the structural close, bars 81-120. Note that the initial 3 and I
now remain effective across the large A-section with its ternary
form division, as well as the first part of the Trio (bars 1-48
and 49-64 respectively), whereupon V and the interruption occur,
being also the determining background structural elements for the
second part of the Trio (bars 65-80), a transitional section
A
leading to A' Although 2 does not occur before bar 72, it can
be seen that the preceding bars of the transitional passage are
already under its control. Bars 73-80 (the rest of the
transition) are merely a repetition of the previous eight bars.
A
The 3 and I, regained after the interruption reassert their
influence till the structural cadence. Note finally that a
pre-dominant chord is included in the final structural cadence at
A
the descent to 2. The inclusion of the pre-dominant at this
level is purely conventional, that is, it is normally included if
- 248 -
A
it supports the 2.
The large ternary form division of the mazurka becomes evident
in the next level of composing-out (level c). Here the principal
~ A
feature is the chromatic inflection of 3 to flat-3, the latter
occuring at bar 49, representing most of the middle part of the
large ternary form design.
A
At this point in the graph, the flat-3 would seem to be a
clear example of the principle of mixture in the background or
first middleground, such as was referred to in Chapter 3 (a
notable case being the background of the mazurka OP. 17, no. 3).
However, the present situation turns out to be different (but not
uncommon) from the normal way in which the mixture is applied;
that is, as a chromatic inflection of the first note of the
fundamental line or of a prominent inner voice associated with
it. While the prolongation of such mixture usually results in an
independent form section with its own self-contained tonal
structure, the mixture functions here as a large-scale chromatic
A
passing tone between 3 and the interruption. This prevents the
large middle-section from being a self-contained structure,
rather allowing it to continue into the transitional area which
~
anticipates and concludes on the dominant and 2 before the
reprise of the large A-section. It is nevertheless interesting
to note that a substantial cadence does occur at the end of the
first part of the Trio, just before the second part, but that it
involves the mediant major (D-flat major) within the opening
B-flat major key region of the Trio. This motion from B-flat to
D-flat major is also effected, interestingly enough, through
mixture, this time involving an inner voice, as can be seen in
- 249 -
level d. The reason for already including the D-flat harmony in
level c is to break up the parallel fifths B-flat;F/A;E, which
would otherwise have resulted at this point.
Within the main tonality of D major, the Trio is thus
represented harmonically as flat-VI, moving to its III (D-flat
major), which, in turn, has to be enharmonically interpreted as
C-sharp, or VII of D, moving to V and the interruption. Thus,
the large-scale harmonic progression operating at this level is
I-flat-VI-VII-V-I-II6-V-I. One additional prolongation is
included in this level: a middleground third-line, supported by a
I-V-I bass arpeggiation, and representing the internally closed
tonal structure of the large A-section (bars 1-48). This is also
the first reflection of the fundamental structure in the
middleground.
In level d, further elaboration is added within the first
internal third-line in the form of a middleground interruption
(bar 17). Hereby a ternary form division is created within the
first 48 bars: A, represented by 3" over I. prolonged through bars
A
1-16; B, by 2 over V, prolonged during bars 17-32; and A',
,..
represented by the regaining of 3 over I (bar 33), with a descent
A
to 1 (bars 38-40). Note that bars 41-48 (the concluding bars of
A), are again a mere repetition of the previous eight bars.
Within the first part of the Trio, which is controlled by the
A
large-scale mixture (flat-3), the next stage of prolongation is
further mixture (already referred to above) involving an inner
voice on the third degree of the B-flat major triad, and
comprising the motion D5/D-flat5, the latter occurrin~ at bar 59.
This is one of the reasons for presenting level d in four-part
- 250 -
harmony. An additional reason is that this indicates the
harmonic change from V to V7 in the first middleground
interruption, since this is the only substantial voice-leading
motion that takes place between bars 17 and 32 at this level.
In a comparison of the first part of level d (up to the
mixture) with the graph at (b), it can be seen that level d
contains exactly the same content as level b, but on a different
structural level. The significance of this tonal-structural
parallellism lies in the fact that, whereas (b) represents the
large background/middleground structure of the entire mazurka,
the first part of the graph at (d) reflects this same
harmonic/contrapuntal underpinning, but on a smaller scale,
representing the background harmonic/voice-leading structure of
the large A-section. This situation is exploited even further in
the subsequent composing-out, as will be demonstrated in the
final two foreground levels (levels e and f).
At this point it would seem appropriate to consider the
structural status of each of the levels up to (d). These may be
classified as follows: The fundamental structure at (a)
represents the deepest level of background, while (b) may be
regarded as the first analytic or working background level. Both
levels c and dare middleground. In another way, only the
fundamental structure may be regarded as background, while all
subsequent levels up to the penultimate one (in this case, level
e), belong to the middleground, followed by the final level as
foreground (in this case, level f). This would conform more to
Schenker's own designation of structural content in a complete
analysis.
- 251 -
Level e may be said to represent the first of two foreground
levels for this mazurka, since its harmonic/voice-leading content
already agrees with the main structural features of the musical
surface. Thus, the difference between levels e and f is on the
whole only one of detail, except for the fact that level e is not
yet an account of each bar of the music, as is the case during
almost all of level f.
The two most significant features in level e are the use of a
third-line F-sharp/E/D over I-V-I in the bass (yet another
replication of the fundamental structure), and the interruption
figure. Whereas the third-line and its I-V-I bass support at
A
levels c and d serve as the prolongation of 3 in the middleground
and at the same time, represent the background structure of the
A
large A-section, they are seen here to prolong 3 on a level
closer to the actual foreground, representing the background
structure for the main-theme period (bars 1-8) and its repetition
(bars 9-16) Likewise, the interruption figure occurs in
conjunction with the controlling third-line of bars 1-8, causing
a two-part division of its tonal structure. It thus operates in
the same manner as in both the middleground third-lines (level c)
and also the fundamental structure. Thus, a most ingenious
network of organic structural relationships or parallel isms can
finally be traced between the structural content of bars 1-8,
1-48 as well as that of the entire mazurka, and even during the
A
middleground prolongation of 2 over V (bars 17-32), involving the
A A A
melodic motion 3-2-1 over I-V-I in the bass in each case,
together with the interruption. With regard to tonal and formal
design within the large A-section, a comparison between bars 1-8
- 252 -
and 1-48 reveals that a two-part tonal division is created in
both instances by the interruption, but that, similar to the
entire mazurka, bars 1-48 reveal a ternary form division due to
A
the prolongation of 2 over V during bars 17-32. Finally, these
structural relationships are also substantiated by the fact that
each of the individual sixteen-bar periods, constituting the
internal parts of the large A-section and its reprise (bars
81-128) is simply the repetition of a single eight-bar theme; the
extension of each occurrence of the main-theme period to sixteen
bars being the result of the literal repetition of this theme.
h
Most notable, however, is that even the prolongation of 2 over V
(bars 17-32, and the parallel place, bars 97-112) is achieved
through the same theme.
In the rest of the graph at (e), the following elaborations of
the previous middleground content may be noted. Within the first
part of the Trio at bar 56, there is a dividing dominant
separating it into two parts (bar 49-56 and 57-64), concluding
with the cadence on D-flat major. The only other prolongational
feature included at this level is a pre-dominant harmony (bar 69)
which immediately precedes the dominant and the interruption at
bar 72.' It therefore acts as a further intermediate harmony
between flat-VI and V within the large middleground/background
structure, as well as in between D-flat (the enharmonic VII of D
A
major), and V (bars 64-72; V and 2, being extended until bar 80
by the repetition of these bars). The foreground bass motion
D-flat(c-sharp)/E/A (bars 64, 69 and 72 respectively) serves as
further confirmation of the fact that the middleground/background
A
Vand 2 are in control over these bars.
- 253 -
Level f is the second foreground level, the final stage in the
present set of analytic graphs. It would be possible to present
even more surface detail than is provided here, especially if the
tracing of surface configurations of a motivic nature is
involved. However, such an effort, within the context and
purpose of the current presentation, would run the risk of
obscuring the most important structural features of the musical
surface. On the whole, level f offers foreground voice-leading
detail additional to that in level e.
Regarding motivic parallelism, there is one specific
diminutional feature at (f) which needs discussion here: the
third-line F-sharp/E/D over the I-V-I bass arpeggiation. Having
already appeared as the reflection of the fundamental structure
at every level from background to foreground, this structural
progression appears now in the first three bars of the main-theme
before the foreground interruption at bar 4, and consistently at
all corresponding places throughout the mazurka, including the
dominant key region (bars 17-32). Another inner third-line
E5/D5/C-sharp5 (bars 6-7 and corresponding places) operates
within the motion from II to V, where in turn it prolongs the
second component of the larger third-line controlling the
main-theme period. Two further instances of third-lines in this
level are the motion from A5 to F5 within the dominant of B-flat
major during the first part of the Trio (bars 54-56), and F5 to
D-flat5 within the internal sharp-Ill of B-flat major at the
conclusion of the first part of the Trio (bars 62-64) .
It should be observed that at the outset of the Trio, the more
immediate structural emphasis is on the inner voice D5 (B-flat:
- 254 -
A A
3), rather than on the background upper voice F5 (B-flat: 5;
~
D-flat: 3). Subsequently, the point reached at bar 52 resembles
the familiar interruption pattern in that D5 descends to C5 over
the dominant. The melodic motions immediately preceding and
following bar 52, especially the third A5/G5/F5 (bars 54-56),
however, still point to the F5 as being active in the voice
leading.
Concerning the voice-leading devices employed at this final
level and their influence on the main elements of the voice
leading at all the places where the interruption figure appears,
the actual pitch involved in each case, E5, is never literally
present in the music. This absence of E5 is most notable during
the internal b-section (bars 17-32), where the foreground melodic
motion follows from the inner voice C-sharp5. The E5 is to be
understood as the note to which the middleground F-sharp5 in the
previous bars must descend. This is also the reason why E5 has
been implied in each case where the interruption figure occurred
in the previous level, including the large
A
background/middleground interruption (bar 72). Nevertheless, 2
may be traced in all instances within the actual music as
situated on E4. From the standpoint of the obligatory register
A
principle (see Chapter 3), this displacement of 2 is to be
understood as the result of the application of foreground
voice-leading techniques--the most notable in this case being
that of register transfer. Already within the first four bars,
this technique operates in the foreground voice leading, causing
the upper voice F-sharp5 in bar 1 to be transferred an octave
down to F-sharp4 at bar 3 and followed by E4, the registrally
- 255 -
...
displaced version of 2 at bar 4. This same principle of register
transfer operates over a longer distance from the middleground
F-sharp5 last represented at bar 5 in the graph, across to E4 at
bar 17, causing the entire voice-leading activity of the
following bars (the dominant repetition of the main-theme period)
to occur in a lower register. Note that the E4, serving as the
1\
local 2 here, plays no role in the main voice-leading motion
during this section, but is present merely within the dominant
sonority. Yet it moves unobtrusively via D4 to C-sharp4 within
the secondary dominant and dominant harmonies of bars 23 and 24.
This motion corresponds with the inner third-line E5/D5/C-sharp5
(bars 3-4) .
Within the presentation of the main-theme period, the
following foreground diminutions may be noted. There is an
ascending surface arpeggiation figure A4/D5/F-sharp5, a
horizontalisation of the D-major triad (bar 1 and corresponding
places) and a surface-level initial ascent to the first 3".
Simultaneously with the arpeggiation there is the beginning of
unfolding patterns D5/F-sharp5;E5/C-sharp5 (bars 1-2), followed
by another pattern D5/B4;A4/C-sharp5 (bars 6 and 7 respectively) .
These unfoldings serve to demonstrate how some of the underlying
vertical intervals within the mazurka's middleground are
horizontalised in the foreground voice leading. Notice finally
the unfolding G2/E3 in the bass (bar 6), representing the
pre-dominant sonority.
Other notable voice-leading devices in the Trio include two
voice exchanges (bars 52 and 64-65 respectively). The former is
only a surface device, prolonging the dominant of B-flat major,
- 256 -
while the latter functions a chromatic exchange figure, lifiking
the D-flat major harmony of bar 64 to the surface chromatic
sonority of bar 65, which serves as a prefix to a local D major
tonic first inversion, itself a prefix to the pre-dominant of bar
69, moving to the dominant at bar 72. Finally, the third-line
A5/G5/F5 (bars 54-56) results from the superposition of an inner
voice A4 by means of a reaching-over (bar 53-54). The second
third-line F5/E-flat5/D-flat5 (bars 62-64) is also derived from a
reaching-over of an inner voice, in this case, the F4 of bar 59.
Although codas are more often regarded as part of the
middleground (see Chapter 5), the coda of this mazurka is purely
foreground in nature, thus shown only in the second foreground
level at level f. The coda begins in bar 129 and consists of
mainly surface chromatic motions over a tonic pedal point or
drone. It does not play any real structural role apart from
1\
being a surface composing-out of the final tonic harmony under 1,
and its significance lies almost solely within the realm of
motivic design, the most important feature being a surface
replication of the large-scale background melodic motion
1\ 1\ /\ "" 1\
3/flat-3/2 JJ 3-2-1, indicated with a bracket in level f.
In spite of the comprehensiveness of the graphic presentation
in Example 6, there are still many voice-leading features of the
mazurka which are not accounted for there, most of them being
related to motivic design. In addition, the influence of
chromaticism--especially mixture and related chromatic surface
motions--on motivic development has also not been fully addressed
here. The present analytic presentation, as well as the
foregoing introduction to Schenker's theoretical and analytic
- 257 -
concepts. does. however, serve sufficiently as a starting point
for the main purpose of this dissertation: an investigation into
motivic design and tonal structure, together with related
stylistic and folkloric issues, in the mazurkas of Chopin.
- 258 -
Example 6. Chopin, Mazurka OP. 33, No. 2
..
~I,*lr [
1-
3
~)I,IW E
~JI~~~~~~~~(.~t •)~~
(f@. ~~~~~~~~¥~~~~
(,j.l (.i i n --7-
-.l. I~A I ("1' __ - -i ') (JIl ~/ 11-.... ~ i - - -t - -..- - - i
J Y
,, --'-- - -' , y , # ..,. "T..,._.-.~. [HI.] [...,-"] --......:__- .:>
;1 • 1- , .. '1'-'
I ~+ T ·1 T~7/~ 1- ~I.~ ::s: -- "1-1
- 259 -
(,.__ ,)
Q'
®
- 260 -
. A
I. I
f II~
~ ~
iD 3 . _..1. l_
J Cf II~ ~~ 1.- 1-i I ,.3 t I
:J ~J II
_j L~~ f
1- :! 1- j-
Á
_1 J "1 '"
Ok. 4~--- -----.._ J ~I
~
~.
.i->
~ I I
1.-
1. II 1 1
o Jr ~~ ~~ ~. J ~I
! ...) ...__
_/ _] l~-l I
b
e @@>
_t a 1. t ,
~g:'f
(}Jr~ ~ ~ I
-
~ ,.- C 1)- lO] [11-11'] [lol'_I,
I . ~ «<:» I
i - LS' - 71 : I - ~, • I - ,.1. ~~'I:' ,- ·~._Ja- .•,. _£ /,,...-_£
_:_)T...__.../ _j I ~'I I "t-h- T__./l':'~i~_-,r-)~~-,-:\(~
PART TWO
MOTIVIC DESIGN AND TONAL STRUCTURE IN CHOPIN'S MAZURKAS
- 262 -
INTRODUCTION
The following chapters will be directed towards the main
object of this study: an investigation into motivic design and
tonal structure in Chopin's mazurkas. In order to assess the
functions and implications of those elements in the musical
content of the mazurkas designated either as motivic or
structural. emphasis will be on the following areas of
investigation: 1) the role of motivic design as a unifying
factor. 2) the influence of motivic design on the content and
character of tonal structure. 3) the role of both motivic and
tonal-structural elements regarding form. 4) the influence of
chromaticism on motivic design and tonal structure. and 5) the
implications of features related to the mazurka genre for tonal
voice leading in the mazurkas. notably. specific modal elements
and the drone bass. Each of these topics will be dealt with in
separate chapters.
It is important to realise that. although the seventeen
mazurkas to be discussed and analysed below are representative of
each of the areas of investigation mentioned above. the motivic
and structural content in each mazurka is by no means restricted
only to that function. For example. specific motives may not
serve only as unifying elements in the structure of a particular
mazurka. but also influence its tonal or formal content. or may
themselves be influenced by specific stylistic or idiomatic
features such as chromaticism or modal inflections. Thus. the
reader should be aware that. in dealing with a specific aspect of
motivic design or tonal structure within the confines of a
- 263 -
particular representative mazurka, additional properties or
influencing factors pertaining to that mazurka's motivic or
structural profile will also necessarily be present and may need
to be addressed at that point in the investigation. In this
regard there is one instance in which the harmonic/voice-leading
structure of a particular mazurka will be presented twice,
firstly in connection with tonal structure and form generation,
and secondly regarding the influence of chromaticism on its tonal
and motivic structuring.
Two final points deserve mention here. Firstly, it will be
noted that the more detailed foreground graphs of mazurkas
presented in the following chapters are supplemented with a
motive chart appearing above the foreground graph in question.
This is done in order to give a clearer presentation of
frequently complex foreground motivic activity. Secondly, all
subsequent references to additional mazurkas which contain
specific motivic, structural, stylistic or folkloric
characteristics similar to those in a particular mazurka under
discussion, will be confined to mazurkas with opus numbers,
except for the two later composed A minor mazurkas without opus
numbers. The reason for this is that the remaining mazurkas
(although included in most editions of the Chopin mazurkas), are
either first versions of particular mazurkas with opus numbers
(see the supplement to the Henle edition of the Chopin mazurkas) ,
or early works not yet in the same category of artistic
stylisation of the Mazurka as those included in the various sets
of opus numbers.
- 264 -
CHAPTER 7
MOTIVIC DESIGN AS A UNIFYING FACTOR
In dealing with motivic design as a unifying factor in this
chapter, the following points of departure will be taken: 1)
motivic parallelisms, that is, the principle of subjecting a
particular voice-leading figure to repetition on a large or small
scale (see Chapter 2); and 2) a continuum of motivic working,
that is, motivic networks involving either a single voice-leading
figure or derivatives thereof.
Although the notion of motivic parallelisms will be addressed
here primarily in terms of its unifying implications, it will
continue to occupy a central place throughout the various areas
of investigation into motivic design in the chapters to follow.
The idea of a network of motives ·is also prevalent throughout the
mazurkas and will accordingly be recognised as a characteristic
feature of their motivic content no matter from which perspective
it is viewed.
Mazurka OP. 33, No. 1
In the discussion of this mazurka, attention will be directed
mainly to the application of a single motivic voice-leading
figure, the neighbour-note motion D-sharp/E/D-sharp), as well as
derivative forms as they occur. The D-sharp/E/D-sharp principal
form of the neighbour motive--henceforth referred to as the
primary motive--first appears at the opening of the mazurka,
- 265 -
involving the first three notes of the melodic line (see Example
7.1) . It is presented as a single melodic figure without
harmonic support thus emphasising its character as a written-out
ornamental melodic embellishment (diminution) of D-sharp4 (the
fifth degree of the tonic). It is this simple embellishing
figure that receives the main attention throughout the
voice-leading structure of the mazurka.
Ex~ple 7.1. Mazurka OP. 33, No. 1, Bars 1-2
In the following bars of section A, presented in Example 7.2a
(a foreground graph of the same bars being given in Example
7.2b), the primary motive occurs in conjunction with aregistral
coupling of D-sharp4 to D-sharp5 (bars 1-3). This coupling comes
about through an ascending arpeggiation in the melodic line,
partially filled in by surface passing tones. In bar 3, E5
appears again as upper neighbour to D-sharp5. with embellishment
by an appoggiatura F-sharp5. D-sharp5 then returns. completing
the first four-bar group. The second appearance of the primary
motive an octave higher therefore embellishes the first
fundamental-line tone. a significant feature with regard to its
further application in the mazurka.
- 266 -
Example 7.2a. Mazurka Op. 33, No. 1, Score, Bars 1-12
- 267 -
Example 7.2b. Mazurka OP. 33. No. 1. Foreground Graph. Bars 1-12
(Mriiv~ )
1~*1f4# . . • I, , I"
--
i I)
Notice also that the neighbour note E5 takes a full beat of the
bar (the third beat of bar 3), while the E4 in the opening
neighbour figure occupies only half a beat of the bar. This
gives the first indication of the repetition of the primary
mQtive on another level of structure.
One additional voice-leading feature deserves comment: the
G-sharp5 cover tone above the main voice leading at bar 4. The
way in which this tone appears gives it the impression of an
expressive ornamental figure on the 5'", thus placing it within the
class of an interesting note (see Chapter 2). However, this
- 268 -
G-sharp cover tone, derived from the G-sharp4 of bar 2 and
therefore also a registral manipulation of that tone, will be
seen to have long-range significance with regard to the voice
leading of section B, in that there is a relationship between the
G-sharp of bar 4 and the same pitch, occurring as part of another
neighbour-note figure at different points throughout the melodic
line of section B. The significance of this relationship will be
commented on later.
Coming to bars 5-12, its main voice-leading motion first
involves two linear descending motions from D-sharp5 to G-sharp4
(bars 5-8 and 9-12 respectively). Bars 9-12, although a literal
repetition of the content of bars 5-8, are interpreted here as a
A A
middleground descent from 5 to 1 (D-sharp5/G-sharp4), acting as
the controlling background melodic line of section A--bars 5-8,
therefore being regarded as a foreground parallelism of bars
9-12. (The same content is also presented at the end of the
mazurka (bars 37-48), where it constitutes the final descent of
the fundamental line.) The reason for this particular
interpretation of the structural content of bars 5-12 will become
apparent later.
Within the voice leading of bars 5-8 three further
applications of the primary motive can be traced. The first
A
appears again as an embellishment of 5 in bar 5, E5 receiving its
own independent foreground harmonic support (IV of G-sharp minor)
with an added sixth A-sharp4. As a result of the additional
harmonic support being given to E5, it may be perceived as
operating at a higher structural level than in its preceding
appearances. The second appearance of the primary motive during
- 269 -
bars 5-8, although a partial one involving only the motion
E4/D-sharp4, is in the inner voice (bar 6). It results from a
registral transfer an octave down of the E5/D-sharp5 motion in
the melodic line of bar 5, and once again involves IV as support
for the neighbour note E. The third appearance of the primary
motive immediately follows in bar 7. It is a direct repetition
of the E4/D-sharp4 motion of bar 6 in the same inner voice,
except that it contains an F-sharp as ornamental figure to the E
as in bar 3. This prevents monotony which might have resulted
from suc~ a direct repetition of the same notes. Together with
the concluding D-sharp4 of the figure in bar 6, it also
constitutes an exact repetition of the very first
D-sharp/E/D-sharp figure at the opening of the mazurka.
Returning for a moment to the neighbour-note figures in bars 3
and 5 respectively, the first may be said to serve as initiation
for the second which heralds the next four-bar group.
Furthermore, the way in which the primary motive is employed
during the first 8 bars is also very significant from the point
of view of design. Whereas bars 1-4 are framed at both ends by
its appearance, firstly in the lower octave and then its
tranference an octave higher, bars 5-8 displays the exact
opposite situation; the transferred figure at bar 5 followed by
its re-adjustment to the lower octave at bar 7. Finally, note
also that the voice leading from the third beat of bar 6 to the
downbeat of bar 9 represents a contraction of the essential
voice-leading motion of bars 1-4.
In the case of section B (bars 13-36), attention must first be
directed towards the transitional chord on the upbeat to bar 13,
- 270 -
serving as the initiating chord for this section, and the
dominant seventh on the first beat of bar 13 (see Example 7.3).
Ex~ple 7.3. Mazurka OP. 33. No. 1. Bare 12-13
@
1-' T .,..
I, ,r--
Three significant features are attached to these chords, all
related to one another and all applied throughout the subsequent
bars of section B. In the first place, note that the
transitional chord harmonises the upper voice B4, which resolves
to A-sharp4 over the dominant of B major (the latter being III of
G-sharp minor) on the downbeat of bar 13. This causes B4 to act
as an upper neighbour to A-sharp4. A second neighbour-note
figure G3/F-sharp3 occurs within the bass motion of the
transitional and dominant seventh chords. This figure can be
related to the opening of the mazurka as a transposed version of
the primary motive within the tonicisation of III.
The most important feature here, E4, serves as common tone to
both the transitional and dominant seventh chords. This E
follows from the inner voice D-sharp4 of the tonic in bar 12,
and, acting as the seventh of the dominant of III (bar 13).
requires resolution back to D-sharp4 over tonic. However. E4
does not properly resolve to D-sharp4 before bar 24. in which the
local B major tonic appears for the first time (see Example
7.4) .
- 271 -
Ex~ple 7.4. Mazurka OP. 33, No. 1, Middleground Enlarged Version
of the Primary Motive
@®@
•
,
This causes an enlarged version of the primary motive in the
middleground structure (bars 1-24). Consequently, the first
twelve bars of section B constitute the prolongation of the
neighbour-note E within the large middleground primary motive,
while the final twelve bars of B prolong its concluding D-sharp.
This presents an interesting tonal/formal situation in that the
prolongation of each of the notes of the middleground primary
motive occupies exactly 12 bars. Thus, the first D-sharp
represents A, while the E and D-sharp represent B, making B twice
as long as A (24 bars). This could explain the expansion of
section A into 12 rather than 8 bars, and why bars 9-12 are not
merely a repetition of bars 5-8 but the actual close of the tonal
structure of A.
The way in which the E and D-sharp of the large primary motive
are prolonged in section B can be observed in Examples 7.5a and
b.
- 272 -
Example 7.5a. Mazurka OP. 33, No. 1, Score, Section B
- 273 -
Example 7.5b. Mazurka OP. 33, No. 1, Foreground Graph, Section B
(Molivr~1
!6lh I '.I. ...Ii 'F? a, I LE I, ,Ii( i "'1 ::::!i
,,
" .1 3 ,1TI
- ~®- - -
The melodic line, having started on B4 (third beat bar 12) and
moved to A-sharp4 on the downbeat of bar 13, then focuses on
A-sharp which continues to be prolonged by means of a similar
coupling of registers and ascending arpeggiation figure as in
section A, resulting in a motion to A-sharp5 in bar 17. Note
also the neighbour figures (derivatives of the primary motive) in
the accompanying inner voices. Most important, however, are the
figures B4/A-sharp4 in bars 12-14 (recurring an octave higher at
- 274 -
the conclusion of the coupling (bar 17» and G-sharp5/F-sharp5 in
bar 16 (an altered version of the G3/F-sharp3 bass motion of bars
12-13). It is the G-sharp neighbour note of bar 16, as well as
the subsequent ones in bars 26 and 28, that can be related back
to the g-sharp cover tone of bar 4. The B5/A-sharp5 motion of
bar 17, together with its accompanying harmonic motion V/V to
V/Ill, is then repeated four times during bars 17-20, each time
involving a direct change of register (a surface application of
the coupling of the two main registers of the mazurka). These
repetitions not only bring about a temporary halt in the voice
leading, but also serve to emphasise the main objective of the
voice leading during the preceding and following bars, namely,
the prolongation of E within the large primary motive, and
consequently also the dominant of III, prolonged throughout bars
13 to 24, of which the E forms the seventh degree. Finally, note
the appearance of the G-sharp/F-sharp figure in an inner voice
during bars 17-20, as well as a surface ornament involving the
same notes in bars 18 and 20.
In bars 21 and following, the G-sharp4/F-sharp4 figure can be
traced again, but at a slightly higher level than before,
spanning bars 21-23. At the same time, G-sharp4 is embellished
on the voice-leading surface by A-sharp4 on the second and third
beats of bar 21 (the latter A-sharp being part of the mordent).
G-sharp4 reappears within the tonic resolution of bar 24, but
once again does not continue directly to F-sharp4 until the next
bar (bar 25), where the dominant of III is again reached. Bars
23-24 are repeated three times to comprise bars 25-28, thus
presenting surface contractions of the overall V-I harmonic
- 275 -
motion of section B. (Incidentally, the V-I repetitions of bars
17-20 within the dominant of III, are parallel to those of bars
23-24 on an even smaller scale.) The resulting E/D-sharp figures
in these repetitions anticipate their final use in the reprise of
section A. Finally, the B/A-sharp figure during bars 13-14 and
17-20 can be traced in its reverse form as A-sharp3/B3 in the
upper voice of the left hand accompaniment during bars 23-28,
signifying the need for the A-sharp of bar 13 ultimately to
resolve to B. This reversed motion from A-sharp to B, in
conjunction with the large middleground motion from E to D-sharp,
is subtly foreshadowed by the sixth degree A-sharp appearing in
the subdominant chord of bar 5, and resolving to B over tonic in
the same bar along with the E/D-sharp of the primary motive.
In bringing the voice leading of·section B to a close, the
octave doublings of the E/D-sharp motions (bars 25-28) capture
both upper-voice registers of the mazurka. Note that bars 29-36
only repeat the voice leading of bars 21-28, except for the
strengthening of part of the bass line through octave doublings.
In closing this analysis of Op. 33, no. 1, one final comment
concerns the last beat of bar 36 and the following two bars (the
start of A'. Although an exact repetition of the opening of the
mazurka, these bars now function within the overall middleground
motion from III to V, followed by I in bar 38 (compare the end of
Example 7.5b to Example 7.1).
- 276 -
Summary
The neighbour-note figure O-sharp/E/O-sharp is employed as the
central unifying motivic element throughout the entire
harmonic/voice-leading structure of this mazurka. The neighbour
note E has the function of foreground or surface embellishment of
the fifth scale degree of the tonic or third scale degree of the
relative major or mediant, as well as being an element subjected
to prolongation in the middleground. Thus it is involved in the
conception of the piece's overall tonal and formal design. The
various derivative forms of the E/O-sharp/E figure during section
B not only create a network of motivic relationships throughout
this section, but, along with the primary motive, serve to unify
the piece's voice leading from its broadest structural outlines
to its tiniest surface details. Finally, the application of the
primary motive and its derivative forms, together with the
coupling of registers throughout the mazurka, causes a close
correspondence in voice-leading content between the A and
B-sections, leading to the entire tonal and formal structure of
this composition being derived from, and unified by, these
voice-leading features alone.
In the course of the several analytic presentations, it will
become clear that neighbour-note motions represent the most
common type of motivic voice-leading figuration in the mazurkas.
Instances of such usage of neighbour notes are to be found
everyWhere. Two notable examples from OPP. 63, no. 2 and 67, no.
2 may serve here as additional references to the motivic
- 277 -
significance of the neighbour note. In both of these mazurkas a
surface neighbour-note figure in the opening melodic line of each
initiates its further application at more than one structural
level. thus. once again. bringing important tonal and formal
unifying implications to the fore (see Examples 7.6a and band
7.7a-c) .
Example 7.6a. Mazurka OP. 63, No. 2, Foreground Graph Bars 1-8
<D ®
A
s-
r-
/) I II I -- N ---. N= 1
IJ IT,--+ lT~ r:$:,""___ • ...__-#- 1
I <..,
J.- 'L---- I:x: r 6,·t/l·)
Example 7.6b. Mazurka OP. 63, No. 2, Middleground Graph, Bars
4-44
A B AI
- 278 -
Example 7.7a. Mazurka OP. 67, No. 2, Score, Bare 1-2
I'l I ,.....----...:h ~
~ - p
1 .~ ..,._ ..~ e..,.
* '(",) *
Example 7.7b. Mazurka OP. 67, No. 2, Middleground Graph, Bare
2-42
A B Af
@ @ @ ® @
Example 7.7c. Mazurka OP. 67, No. 2, Bare 33-40
®
14 ~. iJ" J N N ~ NJIJ t J. f I El) JIG ij Jin • J r f
®
lEf ~ N N N NI~/ j d) IfP r GIcr cr cr f
- 279 -
Mazurka OP. 30. No. 4
A far more complex motivic situation than that in Op. 33, no.
1 presents itself in the mazurka Op. 30, no. 4. Here, motives
will be seen to play an even greater role in the creation and
development of thematic and formal content, and in the
unification of the piece's tonal and formal structure.
Three important voice-leading figures are identified, forming
a network of unifying motives on various levels of the tonal
structure. These are: 1) a neighbour-note figure (complete or
incomplete), involving several scale degrees; 2) a pair of
unfolded sixth intervals, occurring in conjunction with the
neighbour-note figure; and 3) a stepwise descending third-line.
The piece opens with an expressive introduction of four bars,
consisting of a simple harmonic succession II-V within C-sharp
minor, each harmony being prolonged by a version of the neighbour
motive (E3/D-sharp3 and A2/G-sharp2 respectively), which occurs
in the left hand (see Example 7.8a).
Example 7.8a. Mazurka OP. 30. No. 4. Score Bars 1-4
Allegretto
s
tJrr r
The resolution of the dominant to tonic in bar 5 causes another
important version of the neighbour motive, due to the seventh
degree of the dominant (F-sharp), resolving to E (the third
- 280 -
degree of the tonic at bar 5). Example 7.8b is a foreground
reduction of bars 1-5.
Example 7.8b. Mazurka OP. 30. No. 4. Foreground Graph Bars 1-5
Regarding the first part of section A (bars 5-20 presented in
Example 7.9a and graphed in Example 7.9b). all three motives
mentioned above can be traced in the melodic line. Firstly.
there are the figures G-sharp4/A4/G-sharp4, E5/D-sharp5/E5, and
E5/F-sharp5/E5 which are all related directly to those of the
opening introductory bars, since they involve the same scale
degrees within the tonic. Secondly, there are the two unfolded
sixths G-sharp4/E5 and F-sharp5/E4 respectively (the latter
appearing just beneath the melodic surface), as well as the
surface figures F-sharp5/G-sharp5/A5 and its converse. and
F-sharp5/E5/D-sharp5. In fact. it is apparent that the entire
thematic content of these bars is nothing other than a network of
interaction of these motives.
- 281 -
Ex~ple 7.9a. Mazurka OP. 30, No. 4, Score, Bare 5-20
5
>~
- 282 -
Example 7.9b. Mazurka OP. 30, No. 4, Foreground Graph, Bare 5-20
!(,Mo·h~J~*U*I .' .'II "
!@M /<:-(. • , , I I, , t , ;'I I
<iD
--,
E14r-. - Ir~J ~ CoIt
--r T
The highest note of the unfolded sixth in bar 5 (E5),
appearing on the third beat, is first embellished by its lower
neighbour D-sharp5 in bar 6. At the same time, F-sharp3 appears
in the left hand as an upper neighbour fourth suspension over a
tonic drone bass, foreshadowing the subsequent application of
this neighbour note in the melodic line during the following
bars. After bars 5-6 have been repeated in bars 7-8, F-sharp5
appears in the upper voice in bar 9 as upper neighbour to E5, and
- 283 -
again over the dominant as was the case with the F-sharp4 in the
introduction. This F-sharp is prolonged throughout bars 9-12 by
means of ascending and descending thirds, as well as forming part
of the unfolding sixth F-sharp5/A4. A4, appearing in bar 12,
functions as upper neighbour to G-sharp4, appearing first in bar
5 as part of the first unfolded sixth and again on the downbeat
of bar 13. F-sharp5 also resolves to E5 on the third beat of bar
13. Thus, parallelisms of the G-sharp-A-G-sharp figure and its
accompanying inner voice E4/F-sharp4/E4 in bar 5 are established
over a longer distance from bars 5-13. The unfolding pattern is
therefore instrumental in creating both the ElF-sharpIE and
G/A/G-sharp figures, while at the same time, the third-line
F-sharp/E/D-sharp within it causes another D-sharp5 lower
neighbour to E5. (Note also how D-sharp3 is sustained in the
left-hand accompaniment during bars 9-10, highlighting the
surface motion D-sharp3/E3/D-sharp3.)
The second part of section A (bars 21-32), presented in
Example 7.10a, comprises several repetitions of the progression
II-flat-V-I during bars 21-28. The II-flat is prolonged by means
of surface broken chord configurations in the right hand which
are varied at each subsequent repetition by means of surface
registral motions and increasing rhythmic activity. These broken
chord patterns have their origin in the second unfolded sixth of
bars 9-12. The passage ends with a dominant, repeated during
bars 29-32 with surface tonic embellishing chords to it which
results in the occurrence of the neighbour-note motive
D-sharp5/E5/D-sharp5. This is once again a reference to the
E/D-sharp left-hand figure in the opening bars.
- 284 -
Example 7.10a. Mazurka OP. 30, No. 4, Score, Bars 21-34
A more thorough investigation of bars 21-32, however, reveals
further interesting motivic activities (see Example 7.10b).
- 285 -
Example 7.10b. Mazurka OP. 30, No. 4, Foreground Graph, Bars
21-34
~-----------------------------------
1- j: '5
Firstly, a descending third F-sharp5/E5/D-sharp5 appears in
the upper voice within the motion from II-flat to V (bars 21-22
and corresponding places), and is followed by E5 over tonic in
bar 22 and corresponding places. Although E5 and its tonic
support seems to reinstate the tonic tonality, especially through
its numerous occurrences during these bars, it nevertheless
resolves to D-sharp5 on a higher level of structure in bar 29.
The result is the same descending third figure of bars 21-22,
embedded within the surface voice-leading motions of bar 21 to
29. At the same time, this causes the dominant of C-sharp minor
to be prolonged in the middleground throughout bars 22-29. The
descending third F-sharp/E/D-sharp, initially associated with the
prolonged F-sharp5 of bars 9-12, is therefore taken up and
applied on more than one level of structure as the main
- 286 -
melodic/motivic content of bars 21-29. Furthermore, the
prolonged F-sharp5 of the higher-level third ultimately resolve
to E5 in bar 34, causing a large-scale parallelism of the
neighbour-figure E5/F-sharp5/E5 of bars 5-13 which can be traced
across bars 5-34. Examples 7.11a and b present comparative
middleground graphs of bars 5-13 and 5-34 respectively,
indicating the voice-leading and harmonic parallelisms between
these two sets of bars.
Ex~ple 7.11a. Mazurka OP. 30, No. 4, Middleground Graph, Bare
5-13
ID @
Ex~ple 7.11b. Mazurka OP. 30, No. 4, Middleground Graph, Bars
5-34
(j) ® @@ ®
Ir---
o li- J;. ~ ~
! <, ../I~,I.
k-~ <, 7T1- -::r.
- 287 -
A particularly striking connection with the second part of
section A is revealed in the opening melodic idea of the first
part of section B (bars 33-64). It actually comprises, in direct
succession, the notes F-sharp5/E5/D-sharp5. This type of
procedure (that is, where a new thematic idea is derived from a
specific voice-leading configuration applied earlier in the
composition), can also be traced in other mazurkas (see, for
instance, the discussion of OP. 56, no. 3 in Chapter 9). The
F-sharp/E/D-sharp figure not only occurs continuously and in a
transposed form during the first 32 bars of this form section,
but remains present in another permutation throughout the entire
section B, becoming its principal melodic content-creating
element. Example 7.12 gives the score of bars 33-48 (bars 49-64
being an almost exact repetition of the previous 16 bars). There
are also numerous occurrences of the neighbour-note motive
F-sharp5/E5 and a transposed version thereof (C-sharp5/B4) during
bars 33-46, all occurring in conjunction with the descending
third-lines and the accompanying harmonic motion from V to I. As
such, these motions represent surface parallelisms of the V-I
motion and its accompanying neighbour-note and third figures in
the middleground of bars 22-34. Note also the surface
neighbour-note figures in the accompaniment. In addition, a
retrograde version of the unfolded sixth of bar 5 and following
(E5/G-sharp4) can be traced within the descending surface
arpeggiation figure E5/C-sharp5/G-sharp4 in bar 36 and
corresponding places.
- 288 -
Ex~ple 7.12. Mazurka OP. 30, No. 4, Score, Bars 33-48
The second part of section B (bars 65-100) comprises two
similar sequence patterns (see Example 7.13a). Here, note once
again the presence of the motivic third-line as the main melodic
idea within the sequence pattern, but in retrograde form
(ascending), and appearing twice within each sequence. Each
appearance of the third-line coincides with a motion from V to I,
while at the same time, there are surface upper neighbour notes
connected to each of the components of the third-lines. Also,
the resolution of E5 in bar 67 to D-sharp5 in bar 68 results in
the figure E/D-sharp, an exact repetition of the first
- 289 -
neighbour-note motive in the introduction.
Ex~ple 7.13a. Mazurka OP. 30, No. 4, Foreground Graph, Bars
63-100 (Mohlllt»
!~¥; I • , I
•
® @ ~(-ro.o) @
( f) (T_I..."..&. ._J_.....
I
I - - - --:-J
I,~I/J II I J, LJ , " J
@ GD @
,
®
#1rJt, ~IC-t(1:--~,~ N(II)
.,...__.-+'--' ..._. _\.~..=.7"'."'-".'.-.-J1t..~-~
(10 - 10 - Ib) (10 - 10)
In addition to the third-lines mentioned above, notice also
the hidden third D-sharp5/E-sharp5/F-sharp5, running from bars
- 290 -
68-72, and its retrograde form F-sharp/E/D-sharp, running from
bars 76-80 (for a clearer presentation of these hidden figures,
see Example 7.13b).
Example 7.13b. Mazurka OP. 30, No. 4, Foreground Graph, Bars
63-BO
,-
!,lw~ Li I f;t :: fl , "1•
® @ ® @ @ @ @ @ @
( 4~:.()
The significance of the first hidden third is that it can be
traced to a similar use of a third-line during section A, namely,
the ascending motion from E5 to G-sharp5 in the upper voice
during bars 16-18. An ingenious piece of detail concerning the
second hidden third F-sharp/E/D-sharp of bars 76-80, is that it
is already anticipated by the same motion in the middle voice in
the immediately preceding bars (bars 74-76), indicated at this
point in Example 7.13b. There is also a connection between the
two hidden versions of the motivic third-line and the same notes
which appeared in the second highest voice of the right hand on
the musical surface as early as bars 9-12.
During bars 76-79 there is a further nesting of the descending
- 291 -
third motive, involving the F-sharp/E/D-sharp hidden figure of
bars 76-80, and a second ·figure E/D-sharp/C-sharp within the
first, running from its middle note E, and spanning bars 77-79.
Also, in this instance, there are surface neighbour-notes
connected to the components of the latter figure. Note further
the presence of the motivic unfolded sixths G-sharp4/E5 and
F-sharp4/D-sharp5, accompanying the first two notes of the
E/D-sharp/C-sharp nested figure.
Section B closes on a half cadence (V of B major) in bars
95-96, after which follows an almost literal repetition of the
four bars of the introduction. The repetition of the
introductory bars at this point serves not only as a transition
between section B and the reprise of section A, but also to bring
the voice leading back to the original dominant of C-sharp minor.
This is achieved in an imaginative way by the bass motion
F-sharp/E/D-sharp during bars 96-97, serving here to connect V of
B major to the supertonic of C-sharp minor (the pre-dominant)
which then moves to the dominant. Notice also the surface
figures E/D-sharp within this motion of the bass. Furthermore,
the dominant of bars 95-96 displays a surface neighbour-note
pattern D-sharp/C-sharp in the upper voice which already
anticipates the character of those in the four bars of the
transition to A' .
As bars 101-124 constitute merely a repetition of bars 5-28,
they need not be considered again. Bars 125 to the end of the
mazurka, however, deserves attention. Firstly, the original
unfolded sixth G-sharp4/E5 of bar 5 is now succeeded at the
deepest level of structure by its complementary figure
- 292 -
D-sharp5/F-sharp4. This latter unfolded sixth is filled in by
means of a chromatic falling motion, and consists of a series of
parallel fifths and sevenths (see Example 7.14a).
Example 7.14a. Mazurka OP. 30, No. 4, Foreground Graph, Bars
125-133 <@ @ @)
"1
I (s- - 4) (s-N
Referring to this passage in the chapter on strict
counterpoint in Free Composition, Schenker makes the point that
the consecutive sevenths which accompany the fifths make it
necessary to assume an underlying 5-4-5-4-5 contrapuntal
progression for this passage, claiming that "these implied
syncopations justify the fifths". {l} There is, however. also a
motivic justification for this particular interpretation in that
the bass can be seen to display tiny neighbour-note suspension
figures within the chromatic falling motion of these bars (see
Example 7.14b).
Example 7.14b.
- 293 -
Finally, at bar 132, the opening melodic figure of section B
(the descending third F-sharp/E/D-sharp) reappears, functioning
in a coda-like manner as it reflects back on the main melodic
content of section B. This coincides with an A2/G-sharp2/A
motion in the bass, a subtle reminder of the very first A/G-sharp
motion in bars 3-4, but functioning in an inverted manner to it,
G-sharp being a lower neighbour to A in the local context. In
the final bar, however, A does resolve to G-sharp, thus bringing
to a close a large neighbour-note configuration
G-sharp2/A2/G-sharp2, initiated from the G-sharp2 in bar 127,
moving via the A2 in bar 133 to the final G-sharp2 in bar 139
(see Example 7.15).
Example 7.15. Mazurka OP. 30. No. 4. Middleground Bass Graph.
Bars 127-139
f'$,..,~r II
-s: :x:.
Also, the F-sharp4 of the descending third figure is transferred
an octave lower at bar 138, after which it resolves to an E3 in
bar 139, causing the final appearance of the F-sharp/E neighbour
figure.
A final comment concerns the background structure of this
mazurka (see Examp le 7.16). The large-scale interruption
prevents 2" (D-sharp) from being interpreted as a lower neighbour
to E (in this regard, see Chapter 3), but there is a connection
between the D-sharp of the interruption and the D-sharp lower
- 294 -
Example 7.16. Mazurka OP. 30, No. 4, Background Graph
... • I .,..
( '3_-~1,1 --.11_
o ..,jf, I I
I, I!!.::::::::.:J,,- $",,- Ju..
I
neighbour note to E in bars 5-6 and corresponding places.
(Incidentally, the latter are the only places where a lower
neighbour-note configuration appears in the foreground.) There
are, however, numerous instances of surface decorating lower
neighbour notes throughout the voice leading of section B, as
well as the G-sharp lower neighbour of the reversed A/G-sharp/A
figure of the coda). In addition, the particular nature of the
,.. ""
first 3-2 and the interruption within the overall tonal structure
presented here in the motion from E to D-sharp, is anticipated in
an imaginative way in the introduction by the same notes, though
functioning in an inverted manner within the local foreground
context.
Summary and Conclusions
A concentrated network of motives can thus be identified in
this mazurka, resulting in a highly unified
- 295 -
harmonic/voice-leading and formal design. Particularly striking
is the creation and development of its entire thematic content
from the three principal motivic figures alone. The role of
concealed motivic repetitions or parallelisms is specially
significant in effecting both motivic connections and
relationships between different structural levels. as well as
making possible the derivation of surface melodic patterns from
underlying similar ones or the identification of large-scale
patterns related to surface events. A notable instance here is
the relationship of the main thematic idea of section B to a
specific melodic pattern identified on two levels of structure
during the second part of section A.
Motivic design in OP. 30, no. 4 and OP. 33, no. 1 reflects
perhaps more than anything else the high degree of tonal-organic
unity in these works. Motivic voice-leading configurations are
not only tied directly to principal thematic material, but are
also the main elements in the creation of tonal and formal
content. Relationships between form sections are established
primarily through motivic elements. Finally. the unifying role
of motivic elements in the harmonic/voice-leading structures of
these mazurkas is caused by the following three factors: 1) their
appearance on different structural levels, 2) their interaction
with harmony and voice leading and 3) their interaction with one
another as part of melodic/motivic networks.
- 296 -
Note
1. Schenker, Free Composition, Par. 183.
- 297 -
CHAPTER 8
THE INFLUENCE OF MOTIVIC DESIGN ON TONAL STRUCTURE
The previous chapter has established that the elements of
composing-out in the mazurkas in most instances also constitute
the main motivic content. Thus, it is evident that a close
relationship exists between motivic design and tonal structure in
the mazurkas. It follows that motivic design plays a significant
part in tonal-structural development and character, as will be
illustrated in the two mazurkas discussed in this chapter. In
the first of these (OP. 7, no. 4), the influence of motivic
design on its composed-out harmonic/voice-leading structure will
be traced, while in the second (Op. 17, no. 4), the focus will be
on the extent to which specific voice-leading elements regarded
as motivic, can influence its tonal-structural character.
Mazurka OP. 7, No. 4
The central motivic element in OP. 7, no. 4 is the
neighbour-note configuration C5/;D-flat5/C5. In its deepest
structural position, this neighbour-note figure forms part of the
piece's overall background tonal structure, and is also
responsible for delineating the composition's ternary form. The
individual components of this figure are assigned as follows: C5
represents the large A-section (bars 1-24), D-flat5 represents
the large B-section or Trio (bars 25-36), and the final C5
represents A' (bars 37 to the end). Example 8.1 is a background
- 298 -
graph, depicting the large tonal and formal divisions of the
mazurka.
Example 8.1. Mazurka OP. 7, No. 4, Background Graph
A 8 A
@@@@Gf
r- 1. i
11 I~~I T
IJ +-~
.___ .L,
In addition, a further neighbour note D-flat5 can be traced in
the first middleground in bar 16, dividing the tonal structure of
the large A-section into two parts. However, the ternary form
division of the first A-section is not created by the neighbour
note D-flat of bar 16 (analogous to the neighbour note D-flat of
bar 28 in the large form design), but in the following manner.
Firstly, there is a structural close of the first 8 bars
(representing the main-theme period) by means of a middleground
third-line (replicating the overall fundamental line of the
piece) . Furthermore, bars 9-16 (the internal b-section) prolong
3" (C5) which is followed by D-flat in bar 16, ending the section
but anticipating bars 17-24 which repeat bars 1-8. The
third-line which closes sectipn A is of course another
replication of the fundamental line on a higher m idd leor-ound
level (see Example 8.2) .
- 299 -
Example 8.2. Mazurka OP. 7. No. 4. Middleground Graph, Bare 1-24
I~ '1 J Jg
® @ @ @ @-
+
Following the composing-out process from the background to the
foreground. paying particular attention to the structural role. of
the neighbour note D-flat. we may trace two significant
tonal-structural parallelisms (that is. the repetition of an
entire harmonic/voice-leading unit on another structural level).
Firstly. as a result of the neighbour note D-flat in bar 16. as
well as one in bar 23. both situated in the background of bars
1-24. the background melodic configuration
C5/D-flat5/C5/D-flat5/C5/B-flat4/A-flat4 and its accompanying
bass motion now operate as the controlling melodic/harmonic
structure of bars 1-24 (see Example 8.3). Thus. the tonal
structure of bars 1-24 constitutes an exact parallelism of the
entire background structure represented in Example 8.1.
Secondly. by examining bars 1-4 which has a closed tonal
structure due to a middleground/foreground third descent. we see
yet another exact parallelism of the background in the foreground
(Example 8.4) .
- 300 -
Example 8.3. Mazurka OP. 7, No. 4, Background Graph, Bare 1-24
(f'I101,vu)
;t
!~ 9 Ibbb 't • I+ II
I _1
Example 8.4. Mazurka OP. 7, No. 4, Foreground Graph, Bars 1-4
I, • I. •
In terms of tonal-structural design, two functions of the
neighbour-note motive are apparent from our discussion and
illustrations thus far, namely, 1) as an element of prolongation,
and 2) as an element of division. The former creates the Trio
(hars 25-36), and the latter divides the tonal structure of
section A into two parts through the D-flat in bar 16. The
background D-flat in the Trio (Example 8.5a), having received its
own consonant support through the tonicisation of D-flat, is
- 301 -
embellished by its own upper neighbour E-flat which is prolonged
in the foreground by means of a voice-exchange pattern operating
in conjunction with a D-flat pedal point or drone bass. The
result is a dominant suspension harmony over the local D-flat
major tonic of the Trio (see Example 8.5b) .
Example 8.5a. Mazurka Op. 7, No. 4, Foreground Graph, Bars 25-37
•
~~r-,
~-!-
Ij-S -lf'"
Example 8.50. Mazurka OP. 7, No. 4. Reduction, Bars 25-28
I /'I
The prolongation of the E-flat represents the expansion of an
idea first presented in the two opening bars of the piece: there,
A
3 is embellished in the foreground by the neighbour note D-flat5
(bar 2), prolonged in the same fashion as the E-flat in the Trio,
- 302 -
with the exception of a tonic pedal point (see Example 8.6) .
Example 8.6. Mazurka Op, 7, No. 4, Foreground Graph, Bars 1-4
!(/'I1,,4'·VL\ )"6! • , 1...
o ®
1~~~~~--~--~i)
j ...'....----;;--...1
ooU1:
~
7, 1~ ~r s- c. 7t-
If ct 3 3 3 J l" ff J
Furthermore, the D-flat5 in bar 2 is embellished on the surface
by its upper neighbour E-flat5 in the same bar. The foreground
neighbour note D-flat5 in bar 3 (which resembles the middleground
and background D-flats of bars 16 and 25 respectively, and forms
part of the foreground structural parallelism of the background),
is itself preceded by an E-flat5 upper neighbour embellishment.
A
In conjunction with the D-flat5 embellishing 3 (bar 2), a
lower neighbour of the tonic A-flat (G3) operates in the bass
(see Example 8.6 above). Together with the inner voices, this
results in a diminished seventh chord. Apart from the
corresponding places during the various repetitions of the main
thematic material, this lower neighbour and the resultant
diminished seventh chord reappear in the middleground along with
the upper neighbour note D-flat at bar 16 (see Examples 8.2 and 3
- 303 -
above), as well as at bar 36, at the end of the prolongation of
the large middleground/background D-flat. The combined use of
both the lower and upper neighbour notes and the diminished
seventh at bar 36, produces an appoggiatura-like upbeat to bar
37, the start of the abridged reprise of section A (see the end
of Example 8.5a above) .
So far it has become clear how the neighbour-note motive
causes not only a tightly unified harmonic/voice-leading
structure in this mazurka due to its appearance at the various
structural levels, but also how harmonic/voice-leading content is
created through the prolongation of its elements in the
background and its dividing and embellishing roles in the
middleground and foreground respectively. Further unification
and content creation are achieved through the influence of
A
chromaticism and the Phrygian 2 on the neighbour-note motive. as
well as through another neighbour-note configuration in the
middleground. combining both upper and lower neighbour notes.
These influences and additional configurations occur mainly
during the internal b-section, and comprise the main
voice-leading content of this section.
Firstly. there is a double neighbour-note configuration
C5/D5/C5/B4/D5/C5 appearing in the upper voice during bars 9-14
(the first C5 initiated by an appoggiatura lower neighbour B4 on
the surface), while at the same time, there is a somewhat similar
configuration G3/A-flat3/F3/G3 in the bass (see Example 8.7a).
- 304 -
Example 8.7a. Mazurka OP. 7, No. 4, Foreground Graph, Bars 9-17
1.---.------,
(",_.J~~ pl.~) ®
I /I I~I·
J
-
- - :::r.l
The former centers around C5 at a deeper level, while the latter
centers around G3, the dominant of C minor. Notice,
incidentally, that the motions from the first C5 to D5 in the
upper voice of bars 9-12 are composed-out in each case through an
immediate surface register transfer of C5 to C6, followed by a
descending motion which connects with D5. Furthermore, within
the upper voice neighbour-note motions described and illustrated
- 305 -
above, there is an additional voice-leading feature, namely, a
D-flat5 within the local C minor key region, originating from the
main upper neighbour note D-flat, but acting as a chromatic
inflection of D-natural5, the upper neighbour to C5 in the local
context; therefore a Phrygian 2" in C minor. This D-flat actually
becomes diatonic again at a deeper level (bar 16) .
The two double neighbour-note figures also serve to clarify
the somewhat ambiguous tonal situation during bars 10-14.
Firstly, the figure in the upper voice prolongs 3" over the
tonicised III (C minor), whereas the bass figure, revolving
around G3, prolongs that G which represents the dominant of C
minor. However, the impression of tonal ambiguity created by the
surface harmonies, particularly during bars 12-13, as well as the
fact that C minor is not clearly stated until bar 14, can be
explained as the prolongation of the dominant of C minor at this
point, is presented in the manner of a deceptive cadential
pattern.
The G3 from bar 10 onwards is also the lower neighbour of
A-flat3, the tonic bass in the background obligatory register,
hence its similar characterisation in conjunction with the upper
neighbour D-flat5 both at bars 16 and 36. Therefore, the
prolonged dominant within C minor is also motivically related to
bars 16 and 36, as well as to the opening two bars and
corresponding places. This is the result of the occurrence of
D-natural5 (the altered version of the upper neighbour D-flat5 to
C5 in the local context of bars 10-14), and G3 as the lower
neighbour of A-flat3 in the larger middleground context (see
Example 8.7b, a middleground reduction of bars 1-17).
- 306 -
Incidentally, although the original neighbour note D-flat
operates as a chromatic inflection of the diatonic D-natural
within bars 9-15 as mentioned .above. the D-natural in fact
becomes a chromatic inflection of D-flat within the large tonal
structure.
Example 8.7b. Mazurka OP. 7, No. 4, Middleground Graph, Bars
1-17
I, " @ @ 1
3 ~
n I~
.J --,-- ,,'______...
+
(
_.
On the actual musical surface of the mazurka. the various
neighbour-note configurations identified thus far continue to
play a major role regarding the creation. shaping and unification
of foreground melodic content. A striking instance of this is to
be found in the opening main-theme period (bars 1-8). Here, an
imaginative fusion of the different neighbour-note configurations
occur. In fact, the entire motivic activity of the piece is
centered in the melodic line of the first four bars and its
repetitions (see Example 8.8) .
- 307 -
Example 8.8. Mazurka OP. 7, No. 4, Bars 5-8
f
> >
These motivic interactions are also found in the surface
melodic motions throughout the rest of the composition, and
especially in the melodic line of the Trio. Upon careful
examination, it can be seen how the theme of the Trio actually
has its origin in the melodic/motivic configurations of the main
theme (compare Example 8.8 with Example 8.9, the melodic line of
the Trio). Note, for instance, the upper and lower neighbours to
D-flat5, resembling those situated above and below A-flat4 in the
main theme, as well as the upper neighbour to F5 (G-flat5),
resembling the D-flat5/C5 in the main theme.
Example 8.9. Mazurka Op. 7, No. 4, Melodic line, Bars 25-28
2, • , . , #
I 'I , • , , r
I "
Resulting from the interaction between the neighbour-note
motive and chromaticism, yet another motivic configuration can be
identified in the foreground and surface voice-leading motions,
namely a stepwise chromatic motion either between the first and
second, or third and fifth scale-degrees (A-flat/A-natural/B-flat
- 308 -
or C/D-flat/D-natural/E-flat) within the main tonality. Although
these are essentially chromatic passing motions. the derivation
from the chromatic inflection of the neighbour note. especially
with regard to the first figure mentioned above. is clear. Both
these chromatic passing figures are present in the main theme.
occurring as well during the internal b-section and the Trio. and
fulfilling an important role also as content-creating and
unifying elements. In the main theme. for instance. the
A-flat4/B-flat4/A-flat4 surface configuration at bar 1 is
paralleled and slightly expanded in the motion
A-flat4/A-naturaI4/B-flat4/A-flat4 during bars 3-4. Likewise.
the motion C5/D-flat5/E-flat5 in bar 2 is treated in similar
fashion in bar 6. bringing about the slightly varied form of the
main theme during its repetition (bars 5-8) .
The way in which both these motivic figures operate in the
Trio is further evidence of the already established relationship
between the content of the Trio and that of section A. Note. for
instance, the retrograde form of the A-flat4/A-natura14/B-flat4
figure of bar 3 in bars 26 and 30. {l} as well as a transposed
retrograde of the C/D-flat/D-natural/E-flat figure of bar 6 in
bars 31-32 (see the asterisk, Example 8.5a, as well as Example
8.10). Specifically notable, however, is the role of the
A-flat/A-natural/B-flat figure in the conception of the wonderful
four-bar transition between the Trio and A' (bars 33-36 (see
Example 8.11. as well as the end of Example 8.5a». In fact.
- 309 -
Example 8.10. Mazurka OP. 7, No. 4, BarB 31-32
t'l I U 1 IJl 1 ~i~'1
1 ~ I I I I.-t- t- .... e ~
Example 8.11. Mazurka OP. 7, No. 4, Reduction, Bars 32-36
® @ ®
this beautiful chromatic passage is nothing other than an
elaboration of the diminished seventh appoggiatura chord of bar
36 by means of the A-flat/A-natural/B-flat chromatic figure.
Finally, bars 33-36, as well as all other places where these
passing figures can be traced, may be regarded as relating to the
internal b-section, unifying it with the rest of the
composition.
In closing our discussion of Op. 7, no. 4, one additional
feature in the foreground voice leading must be mentioned, namely
the A-flat5 cover tone at bar 4 and corresponding places.
Although it does not form part of the voice leading of the
main-theme period, it can be related to the same pitch occurring
during the internal b-section where it forms part of the
- 310 -
foreground composing-out of the motion from C5 to D5 referred to
earlier (see Example 8.7a above). Additionally, the approach to
the A-flat5 of the internal b-section from above in the melodic
motions of bars 9-12 generates a surface reference to the
fundamental line, in a higher register. Finally, the A-flat
cover tone in the main-theme period can also be related to the
same pitch acting as a cover tone in the Trio.
Summary
From the foregoing investigation into the motivic and tonal
content in this mazurka, the overriding conclusion resides in the
fact that the main motivic elements (the neighbour-note
configuration C/D-flat/C and its subsequent derivations) occur on
all levels of the tonal structure, thus serving to unify the
composition's harmonic and melodic content. A special feature in
this regard was found to be the exact tonal-structural
parallelisms which resulted from the particular application of
the neighbour note D-flat on the various structural levels. More
significant, however, is the fact that these motivic
configurations form part of the composing-out process by way of
the prolongational or embellishing role of the various structural
neighbour notes. Consequently, the neighbour-note configurations
and foreground chromatic inflections, as well as the additional
linear motives that resulted in the process, can be regarded both
as tonal-structural determinant and tonal content-creating
elements in this mazurka.
- 311 -
Mazurka Op. 17, No. 4
In contrast to the role of motivic voice-leading elements with
regard to tonal-structural development and the creation of
content in OP. 7, no. 4, emphasis in the discussion of OP. 17,
no. 4 below will be specifically on the influence of motivic
elements with regard to tonal-structural characteristics. The
enigmatic, ambiguous character of this mazurka's foreground
harmonic/voice-leading design results from the elements of
suspension and displacement which are recognised as part of this
mazurka's motivic content.
Two main motivic elements are identified: 1) the horizontal
unfolding of the interval of a third, with or without a passing
tone, which gives rise to the main melodic motions of the
composition, and 2) a neighbour-note suspension figure which
initiates and subsequently forms part of the piece's contrapuntal
motions. For convenience, these figures will be referred to, and
labeled in the analyses as motives A and B respectively.
The work begins with a tonally enigmatic introduction of four
bars (Example 8.12a) in which there is as yet no indication of
the main tonality due to the absence of the tonic and the
dominant. Rather, the voice leading centers around what seems to
be an F major 6/3 harmony. This is also the harmony on which the
introduction ends. Even at this stage the motions in the middle
voice do not suggest any tonal stability for the 6/3 chord in the
sense of its being a tonic harmony; on the contrary, although the
motion clearly circles around C4 (the middle tone of the 6/3
harmony), there is even a slight hint at a 6/4 chord on A which
- 312 -
Example 8.12a. Mazurka OP. 17, No. 4, Bars 1-4
Lento ma non tropp o eI B-.Cl » 152 r,-1 tsrp_r_tsSlflO ........ /I
-' pp j-" .~ ~ - -
Jl. Jl. _~.II.. Jl. Jl.fI .Jl.
;:\ _is • .. • ~_: ;
sotto VOCI! ,
is in fact the first chord in the left hand at bar 5 (the start
of section A). From what follows in the first part of section A
(bars 5-36), the real function of the F major 6/3 chord is
established, namely that it derives its origin from the
counterpoint, being nothing other than a potential A minor triad
with the suspension of its fifth degree (E) through a neighbour
note F which does not immediatly resolve correctly to E.
With all this in mind, we can now concentrate on the various
occurrences and functions of motives A and B. To recapitulate
the introduction: both motives appear, namely the unfolding of
the third B3/D4 in the inner voice and F4 in the top voice (the
sixth degree above tonic A in the bass). Together with the
subsequent resolution of the B3 and D4 inner voices to C4 at bar
4, this F constitutes the anticipated neighbour-note suspension
of E4 (the fifth degree of the potential A minor tonic triad).
At the same time, the resolution of B3 and D4 to C4 points to the
fact that they also function respectively as lower and upper
neighbour-note suspensions of the C. Example 8.12b, a reduction
of bars 1-4 into two vertical sonorities, is intended to
demonstrate the role of both motives A and B in this regard. The
voice leading of the introduction accordingly consists of just
- 313 -
these two motivic figures, and as such provides the core elements
developed throughout the rest of this mazurka.
Example 8.12b. Mazurka OP. 17, No. 4, Reduction, Bars 1-4
Example 8.13a represents the first sixteen bars of section,A
(the second sixteen bars being a literal repetition of the first,
except for additional embellishing surface melodic motions). The
melodic line of the opening two bars (bars 5-6), consists of two
statements of motive A. The first comprises the motion B4/C5/D5,
which is directly derived from the same figure repeated during
the introduction, while the second consists of another unfolded
third, but without a passing tone (A4/C5), complementing the
first. Due to the nature of bars 5-6, that is, the occurrence of
the same suspension-like version of motive A in relation to the
C5 resolution, as well as the F major 6/3 harmony, these bars may
be regarded as a contracted version of the essential
voice-leading motions of the introduction. Note, however, that
the 6/3 chord of bar 6 is preceded by the already mentioned 6/4
chord on the tonic A in bar 5 (the one also hinted at during the
introduction). It is this chord that may be regarded as the
first indication of the main tonality of the mazurka, since its
expected resolution in bar 6 would have been to the A minor tonic
triad. The fact that it does not resolve in that way lends
- 314
Ex~ple 8.13a. Mazurka OP. 17, No. 4, Foreground Graph, Bars
5-20
- --:l
I
,,
r
0 ---p~ l __,y_...-::::...l _h.--:-.I ~~"'""'.L~.
I , .L.~ _:_r=.--- ..-t.,L...~.,-..~.-;- ...Jr ~ l>:t q ... 4------=~ 1-
r I
- 315 -
further emphasis to F4 as a suspension figure, since it is only
the latter that prevents the harmony in bar 6 from being the A
minor tonic.
With the occurrence of C5 in the upper voice (bar 6), an
initial linear ascending third-line unfolds itself across bars
A
6-8, reaching E5 (5) on the downbeat of bar 8. Apart from its
A
middleground structural function, that is, leading to the first 5
of the fundamental line, this third-line constitutes a
middleground version of motive A. As such it unfolds a
background interval of a third (C5/E5), which, in this instance,
constitutes an interval of the expected A minor tonic triad.
A
However, even before 5 is reached in the upper voice, the bass
has already moved away from A3 (the assumed tonic) to G3 at bar 7
as part of a linear descent ending on the dominant (E3) at bar
11. At the point where G3 enters, the F4 suspension is still
present in the left hand, before resolving to E4 at bar 8 (but
still over G3 in the bass), doubling the E5 in the upper voice.
A
Therefore, the supposed synchronisation of the tonic bass with 5
and the accompanied resolution of the F4 suspension (motive B) to
E4, which would have resulted in the expected A minor tonic
triad, has been prevented. Consequently, the actual tonic
harmony is still avoided, even to the extent that the surface
harmonies of bars 6-8 first bring about the already referred to F
major 6/3 harmony, followed by what seems like a dominant seventh
of C major at bar 7 and an E minqr 6/3 harmony at bar 8, that
seems like the mediant of C major. {2}
The true meaning of this passage, however, lies in the
combined influence of motive B and the element of displacement
- 316 -
brought about by the linear motion of the bass, as well as the
nature of the bass motion itself. What results in the process is
a series of 7/6 contrapuntal or linear intervallic patterns
between bass and upper voice, initiated at the point where the
bass started its linear descent. As the F4 is still present at
that moment, it, together with the G3 of the bass, causes the
apparent dominant seventh chord of bar 7, and with the arrival of
E4 still above G3 in the bass, the result is both the E minor 6/3
chord and the resolution of the first 7/6 suspension figure. The
chromatic sequence passage that follows (bars 9-10), and the
further apparently remote key regions caused by it, {3} are the
result of the continued application of the 7/6 pattern in
conjunction with the still descending bass, and a surface
chromatic element F-sharp3 as part of the linear motion of the
bass. The dominant seventh of A minor is subsequently reached at
bar 11 with E3, the final note of the descending bass motion.
Essentially, it is the suspension element and the resulting
contrapuntal motions that delineate the harmonic/voice-leading
profile, not only of the first 12 bars, but of the entire
A-section, and consequently also of the entire mazurka, since the
overall background tonal structure is represented by the
voice-leading content of section A. At the same time, however,
the foreground voice leading of bars 5-12 and corresponding
places is under the control of the middleground bass motion which
takes the form of a descending fourth-line from A3 to E3. Not
only does this point to the main tonality of the mazurka, but it
also directs the voice-leading from the initial tonic in the
background to the various structural dominants. In addition, by
- 317 -
its particular placing within the tonal structure, this
fourth-line contributes to the initiation and subsequent
continuation of the 7/6 contrapuntal pattern. Stylistically, it
is also a reminder of the typical Baroque practice of a
descending fourth motion in the bass, effecting a movement from
tonic to dominant, and representing the familiar affect of grief.
However, what results from the simultaneous presence of the 7/6
contrapuntal patterns with the bass, is a rich chromatic tonal
elaboration of an otherwise stereotypical diatonic
harmonic/voice-leading model (compare the bars in question of
Example 8.13a with Example 8.13b, a reduction of the same
passage) .
Example 8.13b. Mazurka Op. 17, No. 4, Reduction, Bars 6-12
CG e ® ®
Returning to the surface melodic motions of bars 5-20, a few
additional motivic details deserve comment. Firstly, the
D5/E5/F5 motion at bar 7 is a further diminution of the passing
tone D5 of the ascending middleground third C5/E5. The F5 octave
doubling of the F4 suspension is then embellished by a G5 escape
tone before resolving to E5, the final note of the middleground
third. In the subsequent chromatic sequence passage, the melodic
line consists of two occurrences of motive A, each without a
passing tone and inverted, namely, F-sharp5/D-sharp5 and
- 318 -
F-naturaI5/D-naturaI5 respectively. These result as the
continuation of the escape-tone figure indicated above. Thus.
F-sharp5 and F-natural5 follow from E5 and D-sharp5 respectively
as surface embellishments of the sevenths in the 7/6 linear
intervallic pattern. Secondly, the D5 with which the chromatic
sequence passage closes. is subsequently prolonged during the
following two bars (bars 11-12) by another appearance of motive A
(D5/C5/B4), a retrograde version of the B4/C5/D5 figures which
appeared during bars 1-5. but now at a higher structural level.
The significance of this motivic figure is that along with E3 in
the bass, it serves to prolong the dominant seventh of A minor
throughout bars 11-12. Immediately after this (bars 13-14), the
original B4/C5/D5 figure again appears in the upper voice and
resolves, as before, to C5 (bar 14), along with A4 in the inner
voice. This C5 is at the same time the resolution of the D5
which has been prolonged since bar 10 at yet a higher structural
level. As a result of this, another third-line is identified.
A
starting with the first 5 (E5) in bar 8, followed by D5 (bar 10)
and concluding with C5 (bar 14). This may. in turn, be described
as a retrograde version of the C5/D5/E5 linear progression of
bars 6-8.
Bars 13-20 are a repetition of the previous 8 bars, but the
dominant at the end now resolves to tonic at bar 20: the first
actual appearance of the A minor tonic harmony. The effect of
this structural cadence, particularly in light of the delaying of
the main tonic harmony throughout the preceding bars, suggests
another instance of an internally closed tonal structure and
resultant linear motion from E5 to A4 for bars 1-20. In the
- 319 -
final repetition of the content of section A, the descent from E5
to A4 would constitute the close of the fundamental line. This
is the reading of the background and middleground structure
generally accepted among Schenkerian scholars (see, for instance,
Forte and Gilbert's reading and discussion of Op. 17, no. 4, in
the chapter on structural levels in compound and rondo forms in
Introduction to Schenkerian Analysis, pp. 359-362). However, it
~
is my opinion that there is no descent to 1 at any point during
this composition, be it the fundamental line itself, or a
middleground replication of it, and for reasons that 'are
~ ~
essentially motivic. Instead of continuing to C5 and B4 (3 and 2
~
respectively), at bar 19, the 4 (D5) of bar 18 is transferred
down an octave to become the D4 of the left hand in bar 19,
~
resolving to C4 (3) in bar 20. This interpretation (presented in
Example 8.13a) not only causes a parallelism of the E5/D5/C5
motion of bars 8-14 in bars 16-20, but the latter motion also
becomes the controlling background melodic line for these bars,
for the various repetitions of section A and ultimately for the
entire mazurka.
A second important substantiation for this interpretation is
found in the coda and its relation to the rest of the composition
(see p. 328 below). Here, two additional supporting arguments
may be offered. The first is that the top voice in the left hand
of bar 20 displays a motion from C4 to E4 on the second and third
beats of the bar respectively. This may be regarded as a surface
contraction in retrograde, but without passing tone, of the just
completed motion from E5 to C5. The second argument concerns the
C6 of bar 19, which, in the currently accepted reading of the
- 320 -
background structure, would represent 3". Although it is
prominent in the voice leading due to the emphasis placed upon it
by register transfer, it does not have adequate harmonic support,
since it lies already within the dominant and therefore gives the
impression more of a registrally displaced accented passing tone
1\
between D5 and B4 (the supposed 2). This, in turn, results in
the motion D5/C6/B5, transferred to B4 (the retrograde of B4 to
D5) .
No detailed discussion of the variation procedures in section
A will be attempted, but it should be pointed out that in each
case, the additional surface diminutions may be derived from both
neighbour-note configurations and chromatic versions of motive A,
the latter arising from the chromatic motion in the main theme
during bars 9-10. Two instances may illustrate this dependence
of the variation procedure on the main motivic configurations of
the piece (see Examples 8.14a and b).
Example 8.14a. Mazurka Op. 17. No. 4. Bare 13-18
- 321 -
Example 8.14b. Mazurka OP. 17, No. 4, Bare 29-32
(~~~~~~~~
I~mm~~~
8 *
The middle part of section A (bars 37-44, graphed in Example
8.15), is situated entirely on the dominant: a drone-like E2
pedal point in the bass supports contrapuntal 6/4-5/3
configurations above it. The melodic line consists of a fusion
of the different versions of motive A. Firstly, there are the
repeated descending motions E5/D5/C5, also including the
chromatic note D-sharp5 previously found in bars 9-14 and 17-20.
At the same time, following from the middle notes D-sharp5 and
D-natura15, surface unfoldings D-sharp5/B4 and D5/B4 occur,
retrograde versions of the original B4/D5 figure. Thereupon C5,
the concluding note of the third-line, is followed by A4, causing
a retrograde version of the original A4/C5 motion of bars 5-6 and
corresponding places. Thus, the original pattern of unfolded
thirds (B4/D5;A4/C5) is present in the middle part of section A,
but inverted.
Because of the prevailing dominant harmony, the structural
function of these unfolded thirds differs from that in the
preceding bars of section A. Here, D5/B4 is the more stable
element, while C5/A4 which initially constituted the resolution
of B4 and D5, becomes a 6/4 double suspension above the
stationary dominant in the bass.
- 322 -
Example 8.15. Mazurka OP. 17, No. 4, Foreground Graph, Bare
37-46
(~rh·vu') A A
,4 ,I ,Ji,,§tbI 'I
I J A A
A
jJ AIl £\A
i· .,t J ,, I !,5 ij J ,I' '1 JI' I
I'i A A " I
@) (-f~) A It A@
3 1. _V-
t~i 111) III 0 I I T s-, "- ~
---~-.-----
A few additional voice-leading details in this section also
warrant comment. Firstly, the prominent appearance of D-sharp4
I
in the right hand, together with the F-sharp3 of the left hand at
bar 40, is related to the same notes occurring in bar 9 and
corresponding places. The same also applies to the D-sharp5
chromatic tone within the E5/D5/C5 progressions already noted.
Secondly. the appearance of C6 in bar 42 alludes to the same
- 323 -
pitch as the registrally displaced accented passing tone in bar
19. Finally, in bars 43-44 we encounter the figure
B-flat4/A4/G-sharp4, a partial contracted version of the
inner-voice motion B/A-sharp/A-natural/G-sharp in the left hand
of bars 8-11. Therefore, bars 43 and 44 may be regarded as
surface contractions of the essential voice-leading motions of
bars 8-11 and corresponding places. This is substantiated
further by the fact that the bass motion in these bars (the same
as the original linear descent of bars 8-11) has been placed an
octave higher (G4/F-sharp4/F-natura14/E4) to follow from the A4
inner voice of bar 42.
The Trio (bars 61-92) follows immediately at the point where
the A minor tonic tonality is established again at the end of
section A, and is in the parallel major key (the result of
mixture being applied to the inner voice C5, becoming C-sharp5) .
This form section, along with the opening four bars of AI, is
graphed in Example 8.16. The most striking difference between
the Trio and section A is the fact that the tonic tonality
remains firmly established throughout, in contrast to section A
where, as was shown, it is not stated properly until the
structural cadences, and the middle part of section A, where it
is completely absent.
- 324 -
Example 8.16. Mazurka OP. 17, No. 4, Foreground Graph, Bars
59-93
A
'® @
I I
o , ~'j_ Jt.~"l .lt .Jl;. .>: -- =:::::--.~ A I ......_~ 1---_lil -
! ..J V -- -+--:i'.--- + -I-~ ['Il '}(,.1 -- '~~l. Jf--- ±- ..1.--~---.
+--;;3' ,....____ I I ----- -T
8
~ I I i 6
" ,," '~'I',F? 5? ~i ,
A A
A A A
I I A ~ I I , ~.
I • jl' . ' , • I I, A I I B 5??f~
@
~ y
f • --+
1- , -----
- 325 -
Firstly, the melodic line of bar 61 presents the motion
C-sharp5/B4/A4, followed by D4/C-sharp4/B3 in what seems to be an
alto voice in bar 62. {4} At the same time, there is a motion
from F-sharp4 on the third beat of bar 61 to E4 on the downbeat
of bar 62. Comparing these bars to the opening two bars of
section A, a most ingenious relationship can be traced. The
unfolded thirds in bar 61-62 are retrograde versions of those of
bars 5-6. The neighbour-note motion F-sharp4/E4 is the major
mode version of the original motion from F4 to E4 in bars 5-8.
Examples 8.17a and b show this correspondence.
Example 8.17a.
Example 8.17b.
There is, however, a further important aspect: the opposite
situation emerges in terms of harmonic/voice-leading function.
______________________________J
- 326 -
Together with a tonic drone-bass fifth in the left-hand
accompaniment, the third C-sharp/B/A immediately establishes the
A major tonality of the Trio. This causes the following
D/C-sharp/B figure to represent a motion away from the tonic
instead of delaying it, as was the case during section A.
Continuing with the rest of the melodic line of the Trio, bars
65-67 present a coupling from E4 to E5 filled in by a stepwise
motion which may, in turn, be interpreted as a connected chain of
motivic thirds, the last one also including the chromatic tone
D-sharp. This is followed in bars 67-68 by two foreground
unfolded thirds D5/B4 and A4/C-sharp5, a subtle reference to the
opening of the Trio. Furthermore, the content of bars 65-68 can
be related to that of the middle part of section A, the latter
opening with the same motion from E4 to E5, as well as the D5/B4
and C5/A4 surface unfoldings, and even the condensed chromatic
third E5/D-sharp5/D-naturaI5, but now in the opposite direction
in the Trio (compare the relevant sections in Examples 8.15a and
16) .
After the repetition of bars 61-64 in bars 69-72, bars 73-74
present a stepwise motion from E4 again, but now concluding on
C-sharp5 instead of the coupling to E5. This may be regarded as
a development by inversion of the thematic material of bars 61-62
{5} (these bars being repeated constantly throughout the Trio).
This idea is then developed further by bringing in E5/C-sharp5 in
bar 75 to answer the ascending sixth, and expanding the third
E5/C-sharp5 through the passing tone D5 in bars 76-77 (note also
the chromatic passing tone D-sharp5 at this point in the score).
These thirds are related again to those found during section A.
- 327 -
Finally, the two repetitions of the neighbour figure F-sharp/E
(bars 74-76) are of significance, although now appearing in the
obligatory register of the background, as well as being connected
to the two descending thirds just mentioned. This neighbour
figure is a subtle forerunner of what is to come at the end of
the Trio. Here not only the tonal climax of the Trio, but also
that of the entire mazurka is reached.
After a literal repetition of bars 61-72 in bars 77-88, bar 89
begins with the same stepwise motion from E4 to E5 as in bars
65-67. However, the melodic motion exceeds the previous
registral boundary of E5 dramatically, to reach its final goal F5
in bar 91, doubled by F4 in the left hand. This F5 proves to be
the same neighbour-note suspension of section A. It also appears
significantly at the end of the Trio and on a dominant harmony
above the still present tonic drone bass. The resulting sonority
at this point causes a tremendous harmonic/voice-leading tension.
This is followed by the reprise of section A, once again taking
as its starting point the same suspension of the tonic tonality.
In fact, closer scrutiny of the similarity between the sonority
immediately preceding A' and the ones at the beginning of the
introduction and of section A reveals that, except for the fifth
element in the tonic drone bass and the leading tone G-sharp4 in
the final sonority of the Trio, the rest of the elements of these
sonorities are exactly the same.
Thus, what results at the end of the Trio is the simultaneous
incapsulation of three elements: 1) the reinstatement of the
original neighbour-note suspension (motive B); 2) the dominant
harmony above which it occurs; and 3) the still present tonic
- 328 -
tonality at a deeper level through the drone. which. in turn.
causes the dominant itself to be a suspension harmony. At the
same time. the tones of the initial unfolded third BID of the
introduction and section A are of course also part of this
chord-constellation. and significantly. part of the dominant
suspension harmony. This fact. together with the F5 suspension.
enables the reprise of section A to evolve out of this
tension-filled sonority.
The tonal-structural significance of the F suspension at the
end of the Trio and the start of A" is demonstrated in two ways.
Firstly, it is emphasised through the surface E5/F5 motions of
bars 91-92. and then retained without repetition as F4 in the
left hand until its resolution to E4 and E5 at bar 96.
Thereafter. the rest of A" follows the same tonal-structural
pattern as did section A. namely, presenting a composed-out delay
of the tonic tonality via the motivic contrapuntal suspension
figures in conjunction with the bass motions. until the
structural cadence at bar 108 which closes A" .
The structure of the coda (bars 109-132) is also influenced by
the main motivic elements. in particular. the various versions of
motive A (see Example 8.18).
- 329 -
Example 8.18. Mazurka OP. 17, No. 4, Foreground Graph, Bars
108-132
(\'lIoI,vó) A
I. ---
J , , :I J L£i A
~ ..,..
@ A A T :$:J A
I I
11 1-------.1 L ! J 1
...J rl:il' - 11~]1·1 - ,,<.
-+
(
The essential melodic motion of the coda comprises a
descending linear progression from ES to A4 in the upper voice
over a tonic pedal point in the bass which is related to the
drone bass of the Trio, and accompanied by parallel motions in
the inner voices. However. connected to the final two notes of
this progression (B4 and A4), are the two original thirds
(B4/C5/D5 and A4/C5) of bars 5-6. In fact. bars 115-116 in which
these thirds reappear, not only repeat the essential
voice-leading motions of bars 5-6. but also constitute exactly
that which was originally expected in these bars, namely, a
resolution to the tonic harmony, this being created here by the
still present tonic pedal point. At the same time, an additional
covering progression is created by the upper components of the
two unfolded thirds (D5 and C5), which, connected to the E5 upper
voice of bar 108. produce the motion E5/D5/C5 (a reminder of both
the middleground and background versions of motive A and the
- 330 -
background melodic motion of the entire mazurka) .
At the end of the repetition of bars 109-116 in bars 117-124,
a four-bar extension of the second group of 8 bars appears,
comprising two additional statements of the final third A4/C5,
the second being a retrograde version of the first (C5/A4). Not
only does the latter relate to the treatment of the same figure
in the Trio as well as in the middle part of section A, but it
also serves to counteract the influence of the additional
covering progression by diverting the attention to the final note
of the descending fifth-line. Nevertheless, what follows in the
final four bars of the piece can still be related to the feeling
of incompleteness created by the covering progression.
The mazurka subsequently closes with the four bars of the
introduction, thereby leaving the work in the same tonally
enigmatic state in which it began, with the special note F4 still
sounding at the very end. {6}
Summary
The effect of the two main motivic elements in the tonal
structure of this mazurka may be summarised as follows: through
the suspension element (motive B) and the resulting 7/6
contrapuntal motions which arose from its continued application
along with the element of displacement caused by the bass
throughout the various versions of the main-t~eme period, there
has been a constant delay of the tonic. The latter is only
reached literally once the contrapuntal suspension figures came
to an end at the structural cadences. However, the fact that the
- 331 -
tonic is already implied during these foreground voice-leading
motions is further attested to by the presence of the various
versions of motive A, especially those forming part of the A
minor tonic triad (A/C and C/E and their respective retrograde
versions) In fact, these particular linear motions play a
decisive role in establishing the background control of the
tonic, since, contrary to the other thirds being purely
foreground or surface elements, they are employed in the
middleground, and in the case of E5/C5, as far back as the
fundamental structure itself. Although the first unfolded third
B4/D5 does not form part of the tonic triad, it nevertheless
strongly suggests it, since Band D are themselves neighbour-note
suspensions of A and C, the root and third of the A minor triad
respectively.
I
The need for a satisfactory tonal balance within the
mazurka--that is, where the delaying of the tonic harmony during
the A-sections can be effectively counteracted by a substantial
portion of the music being firmly rooted in the tonic
tonality--is provided in the Trio. This situation is once again
clarified by the motivic structuring, in particular, the
retrograde application of the original unfolded thirds.
Furthermore, while the suspension figure first operated within
the continued contrapuntal motions of section A, its major mode
version in the Trio has only an ornamental or surface
embellishing role. As a result, greater emphasis is placed on
motive A in the Trio. It is only at the end of the Trio that the
original suspension reappears, providing the tonal climax of the
mazurka and preparing the way for the reprise of section A.
- 332 -
Thus, a remarkable feature of this mazurka is the constant
interconnectedness of its tonal processes with the treatment of
motives. {7}
Conclusions
In the foregoing analytic presentations, two conclusions
concerning the influence of motivic design on tonal structure can
be drawn: 1) Motivic elements can play a decisive role with
regard to the creation and development of harmonic/voice-leading
content, and 2) the way in which specific motivic voice-leading
figures operate in a mazurka can influence its tonal-structural
character and design.
NOTES
1. The authenticity of the simultaneous appearances of B-flat
and A-natural in bars 26 and 30 is supported by the original
version of OP. 7, no. 4, appearing as the first mazurka (OP. 7,
no. 4a) in the supplement to the Henle edition of the Chopin
mazurkas.
2. A thorough account of the nature and function of each of
the harmonies in the chord-to-chord progress ions of bars 5-12 is
given by Joel Lester as part of a model analysis of the first 20
bars of this mazurka in the chapter on chromatic practices in
Vol. 2 of his Harmony in Tonal Music (New York: Alfred A. Knopf,
- 333 -
1982), pp. 181-184. In this regard, he refers to the incomplete
resolution of non-harmonic tones which gives rise to chords that
seem about to function diatonically, but then function either
chromatically or enharmonically. He illustrates these
observations by pointing out the initially expected functions
and/or resolutions of the different surface harmonies and how
these subsequently turn out.
3. Lester also provides an explanation of fleeting references
to distantly related keys during bars 5-12 of this mazurka.
4. In fact the D4 of the second unfolded third follows from
the C-sharp5 of first in the upper voice. Therefore, the
unfolded third of bar 62 must be regarded as a continuation of
the upper voice, but placed in the lower octave due to it
following from C-sharp4 which is merely a doubling of C-sharp5.
5. Forte and Gilbert, Introduction to Schenkerian Analysis,
360.
6. Ibid., 362.
7. I am indebted to my Promotor, Prof. David Neumeyer, for
this illuminating observation.
- 334 -
CHAPTER 9
THE INFLUENCE OF MOTIVIC DESIGN AND TONAL STRUCTURE ON FORM
Before determining the influence of motivic design and tonal
structure on form in the mazurkas, it is necessary to give a
brief overview of Schenker's concept of musical form, since it is
intimately associated with harmonic/voice-leading development
and, by implication, with the main topics under discussion in
this dissertation.
In Chapter 5 of ·Free Composition, Schenker presents a cursory
outline of a new form theory (one which was apparently meant to
be presented in full in a separate instruction book on form). {l}
With this essay, Schenker's object was to demonstrate how form in
music is bound up with the notion of organic coherence, achieved
through the concept of voice-leading development from background
to foreground. Thus, in Par. 306 he refers to form as "the
ultimate manifestation of that structural coherence which grows
out of background, middleground and foreground". For Schenker,
therefore, form is not the result of the large scale
articulations and divisions of a work, nor is his theory of form
based on considerations of phraseology or thematic or motivic
relationships. {2} Rather, it is a result of tonal structure,
originating in the background, from where it is developed and
articulated through the various prolongations and diminutions
within the process of composing-out from the fundamental
structure to the foreground. What Schenker describes as "that
structural coherence" refers to the process of hidden repetition,
- 335 -
by which a specific background diminution is "reflected" at a
subsequent level of structure and generates further diminutions
at still later levels. Traditional form categories are
accordingly designated as b~longing to the foreground or late
middleground. Schenker begins Par. 306 by stating that "all
forms appear in the ultimate foreground; but all of them have
their origin in, and derive from, the background".
A Demonstration of Schenker's Form Theory from
the Mazurka Op. 17, No. 3
To demonstrate this concept of musical form, OP. 17, no. 3 may
be considered to see how sectional form is generated by specific
background and middleground diminutions and their subsequent
prolongations. Example 9.1a is a presentation of this mazurka in
three stages of voice leading from background to late
middleground; Example 9.1b is a middleground/foreground graph of
the first sixteen bars.
Level a represents the background, comprising the fundamental
1\
structure plus a first-order diminution, the mixture of 3. The
result is a large three-part division of both the tonal and
formal structure. This comes about through the fact that 3".
being prolonged in the fundamental structure, is replaced by
1\
flat-3, which itself is prolonged at the next level, followed by
A
the return of 3 and its prolongation up to the final two bars,
whereupon the fundamental line closes. In this instance,
therefore, a straightforward correspondence results between the
background tonal structure and the overall form design.
- 336 -
Example 9.1a. Mazurka OP. 17, No. 3
..
3
-t r= -,... I
i-&:~
tA
~:
L__ __.
'1 (~ 1- 11
Cb)
..
li (~1~ "iJ i. t
r-/ -1:,- ~ J I;::::::::; ~ ~II
[-l ~ t: tt
L_-- , ..........
1- -- (t1t -- jJ1-5.
(C) B A, tel.l ~oÁ
Q" b a. Cl b '"
(j)@@ ® @ @ @ @ @
1 r-I (:.3 ~3) i. -;
-~n ~(l ~V'(.i..;",\ "'\I~ (~;~I II,
I #-V ~ -l..J 7(5' - »1: ~ b. b. ~ ~~~ T--
L- I cLiv. I I
1- J- :!
- 337 -
Already at this stage, the role of prolongation and diminution
with regard to both formal articulations and content is clear:
A A
the prolongation of 3 and flat-3 represents the large A and
B-sections respectively, while the close of the fundamental line
represents the broad melodic content of A.
Level b introduces a second diminution, namely, the upper
A
neighbour of 3; its prolongation results in the internal
b-section within A. In addition, an internal third-line,
replicating the overall third of the fundamental line, is
included here, indicating the internally closed tonal structure
of A as well as its overall melodic content. At the same time,
this middleground replication of the fundamental line represents
an instance of hidden repetition, which, in this case, also
attests to the organic and motivic relationships between various
form sections.
A
Level c (a middleground 2) already suggests the formal design
of this mazurka, namely, compound ternary, consisting of a large
ABA structure, with each section containing a simple ternary form
structure that is complete in itself. {3} The ternary structure
of section A was already indicated at level b; level c now
presents a third form-generating diminution operating within the
Trio, namely, the prolongation of the dominant in the bass
arpeggiation I-V-I, resulting in its internal b-section. {4}
Interestingly, yet another neighbour diminution operates in
conjunction with the prolongation of V in the bass, resulting in
A
the overall motion from 5 of the Trio to its upper neighbour and
back, hence the inclusion of this neighbour note along with the
pre-dominant in the bass. The importance of this motion is that
- 338 -
a parallelism is created with the overall melodic motion of the
large A-section, suggesting another organic motivic relationship.
Finally, the descending fifth-line within the prolongation of
A
flat-3 indicates again both the closed tonal structure and
essential background melodic motion of the Trio.
Completing this brief overview of the form-generating
processes in OP. 17, no. 3, Example 9.lb presents a graph of bars
1-16 comprising the first part of section A.
Example 9.1b. Mazurka OP. 17, No. 3, Middleground Graph, Bars
1-16
"J
~)II (." ; i i)
.a I I I
t J
1..::::::.__x.._II.
'---
:r
For the present, these bars will be viewed as if they were a
separate composition, which would therefore have been recognised
as having a unitary form structure in the traditional manner.
However, looking at the score of this section, it is clear
immediately that they represent an antecedent/consequent
construction, and thus, in a sense, a binary form division. In
the graph at Example 9.lb, this division is effected by a
middleground/foreground interruption, appearing at bar 8. The
interruption is viewed by Schenker as the principal means of
- 339 -
creating a two-part division of the tonal structure. hence its
frequent appearance in background structures of typical binary
dance forms of the Baroque era (though it also appears in pieces
in ternary and sonata form) . In the former--and also in the
first sixteen bars of OP. 17. no. 3--there is still a
correspondence between tonal and formal structure. However, this
is not the case in the ternary form, because of the prolongation
of "2, resulting in the contrasting B-section, or in the case of
sonata form, resulting in the development section. One such an
example from the mazurkas in which the prolongation of "2 brings
about a ternary form design, is Op. 67, no. 3 (see Example 9.2).
Example 9.2. Mazurka OP. 67, No. 3, Background Graph
A e A
;---J /1 3 I
"
9- .4~ e- ~ 9-
1 r
- 340 -
Schenker recognises the problem with the form-creating
capabilities of interruption when he states (in Par. 310 of Free
Composition) that division--by which he means not only the
interruption, but also the dividing dominant in the bass--plays
the most important role in three-part form, even though at the
first level it brings binary characteristics to the fore, as a
1\ " " /\ 1\ 1\ 1\ 1\"
consequence of 3-2 II 3-2-1 or 5-2 II 5-1. In her article on
form in the finale of Haydn's string quartet OP. 64, no. 5, Susan
Tepping points out that, in spite of an interruption in the
background structure of this movement, it nevertheless maintains
its three-part form design for several other reasons, including
structural ones. As part of her conclusions, she makes the
following general observation:
Form is reflected here in the foreground and middleground,
but while the form is closely connected with the tonal
structure of the movement, it is not identical with it. {5}
Instead of viewing form primarily as part of the tonal structure,
form and tonal structure are treated as separate, but interactive
elements. This viewpoint, however, will not minimise the
importance of the various diminutions as part of the process of
form generation, and especially those playing an important role
as motivic and organically unifying elements. Form design is
separate, but the degree of interaction can be very high and can
itself be a stylistic feature of the music. {6}
- 341 -
Mazurka OP. 56. No. 3
The analytic illumination of this mazurka focuses specifically
on the role played by motivic design and tonal structure with
regard to formal unification, relationships and content. The
work has a four-part form design with coda; the third part is
subdivided into three sections and the coda into four (see the
form scheme below) .
A: bars 1-48
B: bars 49-72
C: bars 73-136 with the following subdivisions:
a: bars 73-88
b: bars 89-120
a' : bars 121-136
A' : bars 137-188
Coda: bars 189 to the end, with the following subdivisions:
Da: bars 189-204
Db: bars 205-212
Dc: bars 213-216
Dd: bars 217-220.
A
The tonal structure includes a fundamental line from 3 with an
interruption, creating a large two-part tonal division. Section
1\
A is represented by 3 and I while both sections Band Care
represented by the interruption, but with B-flat (flat-VII of C
minor) in the bass, c~using what seems to be a remote key region
for these form sections. This B-flat, however, constitutes the
- 342 -
third degree of a descending V-III-I bass arpeggiation within the
dominant under "2, V itself being reached only in the bass at the
end of section C. Therefore, a unified tonal relationship
between the B-flat key region and the main tonality of the piece
is established, since the former becomes part of the prolongation
of the dominant and "2 in the background. Section A" is
represented again by "3 and I, as well as the close of the
fundamental structure, whereupon the coda follows, prolonging the
final "land I (see Example 9.3, a background graph of the entire
mazurka, indicating the main form sections) .
Example 9.3. Mazurka OP. 56, No. 3, Background Graph
A A'
@ @ 09<®
A A'-' ~
tl 3 bl. bi. IIl --- I I,-J
..J
~
e- 4-~ e- &
I I
The voice leading of each form section reveals a constant
network of specific motivic/melodic configurations, interacting
with one another in a variety of ways, and producing an extremely
economical and tightly unified overall voice-leading design.
Three principal elements can be identified: 1) an upper neighbour
configuration, involving the third of the tonic, or of other
prolonged harmonies, accompanied by a lower neighbour
configuration in an inner voice, involving the root of the tonic
- 343 -
or of other prolonged harmonies; 2) a line of a third (ascending
or descending), related to the fundamental line itself, which
comprises a third; and 3) ascending and descending arpeggiation
figures, appearing either directly or embedded within surface
voice-leading activity, which may be related motivically to the
Á
large structural bass arpeggiation within the dominant and 2. In
the analytic graphs and score examples these configurations will
be labeled in the order of their presentation above as: A, Band
c. Also, only those motivic configurations mentioned above that
do not already appear in the graphs will be indicated in the
score examples. A further prominent voice-leading feature
encountered throughout the mazurka is the interplay or coupling
of registers, effected either through an octave-line or surface
linear motions consisting of success ions of filled-in thirds
connected to each other.
Example 9.4a presents the score of bars 1-24 of section A;
this is followed by a graph of the same bars (Example 9.4b).
This procedure (the pairing of score and graph) will be adopted
here to demonstrate more fully the relation of the many surface
details to one another and to the underlying voice-leading, since
many surface events are often too complex and detailed to be
included in a single foreground graph without destroying the main
purpose of such a graph, namely, to show underlying voice-leading
patterns in a clear manner.
- 344 -
Example 9.4a. Mazurka Op. 56, No. 3, Score, Bars 1-24
%.
l"I,II i. "mp. /'
'I 5
- 345 -
Example 9.4b. Mazurka OP. 56, No. 3, Foreground Graph, Bars 1-24
A
A ,--A -,
... s: :t. i.a.
B
- 346 -
The opening melodic idea of section A comprises an ascending
third in the upper voice, accompanied by two descending thirds in
the bass, filling in the tonic triad. This is followed by the
~
upper neighbour of 3, accompanied by the lower neighbour of the
first degree of the tonic triad in the alto. Note also the
slightly higher level third in the bass as a result of the
voice-exchange pattern. The way in which the tonic triad is
filled in, that is, by two descending thirds instead of a
descending fifth, causes its third element to be emphasised along
with the fifth and root, bringing about the first hidden
appearance of the descending arpeggiation figure. The same
situation also occurs within the dominant harmonies (bars 5-8 and
13), the notes involved being the same as those of the large
dominant arpeggiation in the background, hence the corresponding
minor quality in each case. Apart from the neighbour-note
configuration and ascending third-line connecting to, and
A
embellishing 3, the latter is prolonged further by being
presented in two distinct registers, coupled to each other
through a descending octave-line in the bass along with a motion,
mainly in parallel tenths, in the upper voice. The neighbour
configuration and third-line also appear as embellishments to
some of the tones of the octave-line and its upper-voice
accompaniment.
~
After the first twelve bars in which 3 and I are prolonged in
A
the middleground, there is a motion to 2 and II. Apart from the
hidden occurrence of the descending arpeggiation figure at bar 13
already cited above, there is also the motion F4/E4/D4 in an
inner voice, repeated three times during bars 13-16. The
- 347 -
significance of these notes will become clear shortly. The
section ends with an eight-bar codetta still within II of C
minor, the first six bars of which, consisting of an upper
neighbour configuration involving the fifth degree of the D minor
triad, and the first direct appearance of the descending
arpeggiation figure, which, in view of its resemblance to the
large dominant bass arpeggiation to follow, may be regarded as an
anticipation of the latter. A further significant point
concerning bars 13-24 and its relation to the large prolongation
1\
of 2 is that the motion from II to V during bars 13-24 is
A
expanded within the prolongation of 2. Even this is anticipated
by the unusually long surface prolongation of the pre-dominant
harmony during bars 13-22. Finally, note also the registral
shift from the lower octave back to the obligatory register from
bars 14-15. The content of the first twenty-four bars is then
repeated in bars 25-48, but instead of the dominant resolution at
the end, the music remains within the pre-dominant area, thus
.1\
heralding the large prolongation of 2 and the start of a new form
section (see the score of bars 45-48) .
Examples 9.5a and b respectively, represent the score and a
graph of bars 49-72, comprising section B.
- 348 -
Example 9.5a. Mazurka Op. 56, No. 3, Score, Bars 49-72
.(\,~. 2 11 ,
h'.kl>-
~ ! 7J 'r .: -.
-
v. =::=
br.
l
~. r I , : - ... ;.. ~
z .. ,____.1
*
~ :
*
17 ~", , I 2
(\ Jl H. ~ - t~J __'I , ',.....,.......
-f1r.ë; ,-:.t--
~ dolce r pi, 7T ~~,- I, >- r q ....<L 1=
.. -- - :1=-,
.. " *
(\ 11 Jl . , 13 L ~
I •
~ i UI I~n-r:__ r-.. r >- r-
u q~ S
:
" * •
571\ ,
I •• ! ' • jL 2~_ I -;--...._ 2 r' 1 ~
t)
f - L-I I ~ r . r -"~q~ ::;::r:-J b~ • I J - ;;:--
~ ~ * " 2 I
- 349 -
Example 9.5b. Mazurka OP. 56, No. 3, Foreground Graph, Bars
49-72
(f\1o}ivcs )
Á A ~ B
l@b\ 5J? I! , I I~ , ~I , f • t; I & I,v " : :
® @ e ~@ @ @ @ ® @~ ®@®
Underlying the voice leading of the first eight bars is the
third-line D/E-flat/F, a retrograde version of the one already
encountered in the inner voice during bars 14-16, but now in a
slightly altered form due to the local B-flat major harmony.
Comparing the graph to the score, note how the voice leading is
initiated from D4 in bar 49, and then goes on to prolong E-flat
and F (bars 49-52 and 52-56 respectively, by means of registral
motions effected through chains of filled-in thirds, underneath
which an ascending arpeggiated motion can also be traced. The
result is a coupling from E-flat4 to E-flat5 and F4 to F5
respectively, both notes in the fifth octave being preceded by an
upper neighbour. Note further that D4, which precedes E-flat4,
is not only its lower neighbour in the immediate context of bars
49, but is also accompanied by a motion from A-flat3 to G3 in an
inner voice--the former, an upper neighbour of the latter. This
- 350 -
upper/lower neighbour-note configuration constitutes a reversed
form of the one in the opening bars of section A. Upper/lower
neighbour configurations also occur in the inner parts during
bars 49-56 as a result of the local V-I harmonies supporting both
E-flat and F in the upper voice--a fact which is substantiated by
the expressive surface suspensions in bars 52 and 56.
A complex network of surface voice-leading configurations is
presented in the next 12 bars (bars 57-68), consisting of
filled-in registral motions, hidden ascending arpeggiation
figures and contrapuntal imitations, prolonging an upper
neighbour G-flat3 in the bass, together with a lower neighbour E4
in the upper voice and an inner voice B-flat4, placed above E4 in
the graph due to the motion from F to E effected by register
transfer. {7} Note also the chromatic exchange figure, resulting
in the G-flat of ·the bass becoming G-natural in the upper voice
and E4 in the upper voice becoming E3 in the bass. Section B
closes with what seems to be a fifth-line from F5 to B-flat4 in
the upper voice, but which, in reality, again comprises two
successive filled-in thirds: the first F/E-flat/D, the retrograde
of D/E-flat/F, and the second D/C/B-flat, the background melodic
line of section B. At the same time, this corresponds to the
success ions of thirds in the left hand during section A,
resulting in another hidden descending arpeggiation figure.
What follows in section C demonstrates not only the high
degree of formal and tonal-organic unity achieved in this
mazurka, but also Chopin's unique ability in continuing to
develop new form sections from the same voice-leading
diminutions. Firstly, the D/E-flat/F figure underlying the
- 351 -
surface voice-leading activities of the first eight bars of
section B, is stated in direct succession on the surface at the
start of section C, becoming its opening melodic idea (see
Examples 9.6a and b, the score and a graph respectively, of bars
73-88, the first part of section C) .
Example 9.6a. Mazurka OP. 56, No. 3, Score, Bars 73-88
_, ~,I ;-s em.pr e
"(\ 1--- ,,> ~ -- ,~ , lI I I
~~ ~ .. .". .. r -.I ...:.s:$ •bf· ~ Y r;-:;:.- ~qItSb~I Y·b .,~I
1 I I ,- I 1- - ,
letra10 ' !..' ur 11I"," Uir Cfrr ... , r..:___...., ..
'3 * :i' *
" ~ ..,__
~
1
Jl
1
- 352 -
Example 9.6b. Mazurka OP. 56, No. 3, Foreground Graph, Bars
73-88
(MohulA ')
ia,9' A, ,.... I.... •
I +-..1
c.....r'i"j
- - - - - - -(. J." )-, _..
(1:' )
r- A - - --,
I.AL; I, tI #g é cd J
e
['il - Jl]
--#--
• 13 - 74
Structurally, however, there is something even more remarkable
here. Embeddeë within the opening melodic idea is a motion from
D to E-flat and back, accompanied by an inner-voice motion
- 353 -
B-flat/A/B-flat. Furthermore, the first eight bars of this
A A
section present a motion from 3 to 2 within the local B-flat
major tonality, and are then repeated an octave higher with a
A A A
3-2-1 close in the upper voice. Thus, apart from the local major
key quality, the first part of section C also represents a
middleground replication of the background upper-voice motion of
the entire mazurka. Other features in the voice leading of these
bars include further ascending and descending thirds. as well as
references to the upper and lower neighbour notes G and E,
encountered in section B.
The voice leading of the second part of section C presented in
Examples 9.7a and b, follows from the upper neighbour of D5
(E-flat5) at bar 90, and continues on to reach D-flat (the
mixture of D), at bar 95. Also involved in this process are
again several instances of ascending and descending surface
thirds as well as registral shifts. Notice particularly how the
surface harmonic motions are connected to each other by ascending
thirds in the inner parts. Another important melodic feature is
the combination of upper neighbour notes and descending
arpeggiated figures; a reminder of the surface melodic motions of
bars 17-22 and its corresponding place (bars 41-46). Bars 96-105
then essentially repeat the content of the previous seven bars,
except for a slight alteration at the beginning which highlights
the motion F/G-flat/F, a two-bar expansion at the end, and the
fact that the underlying upper-voice motion is now from D-flat to
C. This is followed by a fifteen-bar extension in which E-flat.
the upper neighbour of D, is once again presented and prolonged
within the two main registers of the mazurka. Associated with
- 354 -
Example 9.7a. Mazurka OP. 56, No. 3, Score, Bars 88-120
~ * ~ * ~ *
10%
~
b
s * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *~
- 355 -
Example 9.7b. Mazurka OP. 56, No. 3, Foreground Graph, Bars
88-120
B B
, I
( ~ .. Pw , 5,II
@ L Ic 8 A
I g
(~I) ~--- -- ------+-~·(~/- I
~,~- El I, Á,
-q-, ' ..
@ ® @)
A
@) @
it are several descending surface thirds and arpeggiations, as
well as the upper and lower neighbour notes G-flat and E. Note,
finally, that other versions of the arpeggiation motive can also
be recognised in the surface motions of this part of section C.
In bar 121, the upper neighbour E-flat resolves to D, thus
L-___________________________________________________________________________________ ~, /'
- 356 -
producing the motion D/E-flat/D in the middleground during bars
73-121. This constitutes a parallelism of the underlying melodic
motion of bars 1-12. Bars 121-136 then repeat the content of
bars 73 and further (the return of the first part of section C),
but instead of closing in B-flat major, the voice leading
suddenly moves back to V, thus completing the large structural
arpeggiation within V and the prolongation of "2 (see Examples
9.8a and b).
Example 9.aa. Mazurka OP. 56, No. 3, Score, Bars 129-136
- 357 -
Example 9.8b. Mazurka OP. 56, No. 3, Middleground Graph, Bars
129-136
However, V is reached initially with its third (B) in the bass,
followed by an ascending chromatic sequence pattern comprising a
succession of surface upper/lower neighbour figures composing-out
the distance of a sixth between B2 and G3 in the bass (the third
and root respectively, of V), hence the unfolding indicated in
the graph at b.
The final sixteen bars of the reprise of section A (bars
A A
173-188), comprise a motion from flat-2 to natural-2 and the
close of the fundamental structure (see Examples 9.9a and b).
However, in view of the complexity of the foreground voice
leading, a further reduction of these bars supplements the graph
at b. Once again all three motivic configurations appear in the
voice-leading elaborations--most notably, the subtle reference to
the opening bars of the mazurka introduced by the upper/lower
neighbour configuration within the momentary prolongation of
/I.
flat-2 in bars 173-175.
- 358 -
Example 9.9a. Mazurka OP. 56, No. 3, Score, Bare 173-189
~ ~.';\~.
"~ I SI~ I I =---- ,
t :C:::t::~! ! r
t.I ~$: ~1*9:' 1r " I I'~ q"' .. ~.==== --,.-~Ib~: ~
+->'r'-'i-
1 _._
ï~ :
I \,
l , I J , I .s-> s
'---.::: -
I" 1'1 ~I I , ~ t~. ',..,.,-,---,-;-
," ,_..._t.I i':!IZ':9. I!>I,~:n",i, ..1 "
1'r• , Ibf"I--=-L 1'Z1 .,2t' >_ YI . ftp lo ....L /" ~.L K,_____:;_- _ s:-~s.....__.... 'r . LJ ~ :. 'r- w _ , ..
*
Example 9.9b. Mazurka OP. 56, No. 3, Foreground Graph, Bare
173-189 (Motives)
A
J
@)@)@
\,,,~ ...
pl 1 1
j~~~~~
(~~~~
- 359 -
The coda is presented in Examples 9.10a and b.
Example 9.10a. Mazurka OP. 56. No. 3. Score. Bars 189-220
53
I\I~ ~. . t= ~ ~
tJ -r ~rr , 'r ~
~I I I ~~ f!: ~~ ..~ b~ ". ~'j 1 ~ t
r,,: -;t ~ I -:l-
* * * * *
202
{ .
- 360 -
Example 9.10b. Mazurka OP. 56, No. 3, Foreground Graph, Bars
189-220
r----- B - --~
(Mo!iUI-\ )
19; .;, , t A
Lr~11'1 - lO1.J'I'f- 11'+
A
I
- 361 -
Looking at its four subsections, we find that, with the
exception of the last, each subsequent section is a contraction
of its harmonic/voice-leading framework; the essential eight-bar
unit with repetition of Da being reduced to a four-bar unit with
repetition in Db, and then to a two-bar unit with repetition, but
presenting only I-V-I, in Dc.
Embedded within the voice-leading motions of the first two
subsections of the coda is the third-line G/F/E, a transposed
retrograde version of the third D/E-flat/F of sections Band C.
This powerful yet subtle form-creating and unifying device occurs
in conjunction with other surface thirds connected to the inner
voice G from where it is initiated, as well as a double neighbour
configuration C/D-flat/C/B/C, delicately embellishing the final
A
1. Note also the ascending arpeggiation figure which prefixes
the G mentioned above. Together with the ascending thirds and
register motion, the melodic content of bars 189-190 and its
corresponding place (bars 197-198), points back subtly to those
motions during bars 49-66 in section B. Furthermore, the
upper/lower neighbour configuration can be recognised in the
inner voices within the plagal motions above the tonic pedal
point. The third subsection then presents the last occurrence of
the upper/lower neighbour configuration, but in reversed form,
A
with the lower neighbour in the upper voice, embellishing 1, and
the upper neighbour in an inner voice, embellishing the third
degree of C major. This is also a reminder of the same situation
at the start of section B. In the closing four bars, there is a
final embellishment of the C major harmony by means of an A-flat
upper neighbour to the inner voice G, and accompanied by IV in
- 362 -
the bass, before the mazurka ends with a C major chord repeated
four times. The tonal quality of the coda CC major), ultimately
also reflects back on the major tonality of the two middle form
sections.
Summary
Three important conclusions may be arrived at from the
foregoing investigation into motivic and tonal-structural content
and form design in Op. 56, no. 3. Firstly, because of the
continued presence of specific voice-leading configurations and
their interaction throughout the mazurka, a particularly high
degree of formal and tonal-organic unity has been achieved, since
there is no single form section that does not relate to the
others in terms of content. In fact, it has been observed how
Chopin succeeded in creating and developing the content of the
entire mazurka from three principal voice-leading configurations,
namely, the simultaneous upper and lower neighbour-note motions,
the third-lines and the ascending and descending arpeggiated
figures. All three configurations have been seen to play a
dominant role in the foreground and middleground, while the
latter in its descending form also played a significant role with
regard to both structural and formal design, by serving as the
basic means of prolonging V in the background, and by making
possible both sections Band C as a result of the prolongation of
the third of the arpeggiation.
Secondly, by concentrating continuously only on specific
voice-leading configurations creating tonal and formal content,
- 363 -
Chopin effects significant relationships between the various form
sections. The most important of these are undoubtably 1) between
sections A and C through the upper/lower neighbour configuration,
and 2) between sections Band C and the coda through the
ascending and descending third-lines. Although there are
apparent differences in content between the various form
sections, they share motivic voice-leading content and some
similarity in structural features. Finally, this mazurka
demonstrates Chopin's ability to utilise specific voice-leading
events as form-creating elements. So, for instance, the
upper/lower neighbour configuration and the third-line are
underlying structural elements and part of the composed-out
voice-leading content for each form section. Most notable is the
use of the third-line as the underlying melodic structure for
section B and its subsequent development towards becoming the
main melodic idea of section C.
Conclusions
It becomes clear that motivic design and tonal structure have
a significant influence on the creation of formal unity,
relationships, and content in the mazurkas. All these factors
are due to the play of specific motivic and structural elements
into formal design. Voice-leading diminutions are not only part
of structural and motivic content, but through their
prolongations and appearances on different structural levels,
they generate both formal content and individual form sections,
and establish organic relationships between the various form
- 364 -
sections of a composition. Particularly in the case of OP. 56,
no. 3, specific motivic voice-leading configurations become part
of the form creating and unifying process, an interpretation
almost in the manner of the nineteenth century conception of the
motive as form creator, except for the fact that it is also part
of tonal-structural development through the process of organic
composing-out. Therefore, apart from the linkage of motivic and
structural elements to formal design, content and unification,
form itself is also seen to be closely connected to, and
associated with, underlying structural events and specific
motivic voice-leading diminutions.
NOTES
1. Allen Forte, "Schenker's Conception of Musical Structure",
Yeston, 9.
2. Susan Tepping, "Form in the Finale of Haydn's String
Quartet OP. 64, no. 5," Indiana Theory Review (Winter 1981), 51.
3. Forte and Gilbert, Introduction to Schenkerian Analysis,
351.
4. Apart from the I-V-I bass arpeggiation, other structural
bass arpeggiation patterns can also play a significant role with
regard to form design. These include I-III-V-I, I-VI-IV-I and
even I-VI-III-I patterns, where the prolongation of some of their
components may give rise to three or four-part forms. An
instance of a I-III-V-I bass arpeggiation bringing about a
- 365 -
three-part form design is found in the mazurka OP. 63, no. 2,
where the prolongation of the third degree of the arpeggiation
gives rise to the contrasting B-section, while a four-part form
design resulting from the same arpeggiation pattern is found in
the mazurka OP. 67, no. 2. Here, sections Band C respectively,
are created by the prolongation of the third and fifth degrees
(see the background graphs of these mazurkas). Another example
from the mazurkas in which the prolongation of VI plays an
important form generating role is OP. 30, no. 3 (see Chapter 10),
while the principal mazurka example of this chapter (OP. 56, no.
3), presents a remarkable instance of a V-III-I arpeggiation
1\
pattern within the prolongation of V and 2, in which the
prolongation of the internal third degree gives rise to two form
sections.
Mazurka OP. 63, No. 2, Background Graph
A B AI
00 @ @
". .3 A4 2. I
I I I I
I~ 9 , .r.f?
l l J
- 366 -
Mazurka Op. 67, No. 2, Background Graph
ABc AI
®® @@):@
J" JAo ",
1 L I I I I
I • ~ ~ lP.
L I I I
5. Tepping, 68.
6. I am indebted to my promotor, Prof. David Neumeyer, for
this observation.
7. Note that in the score, bars 57-68 which involve these
prolonged elements, are written in F-sharp major instead of
B-flat major which is regarded structurally as the underlying key
area for section B, and in which the above mentioned bars
represent the prolongation of an augmented sixth harmony built on
its sixth degree CG-flat), hence the continued use of the key
signature of B-flat major and G-flat throughout these bars in the
graph. The reason for writing this particular portion of section
B in F-sharp major is therefore not based on any large-scale
tonal-structural considerations, but purely one of convenience,
since it presents a clearer notational picture of the immediate
surface voice-leading events.
- 367 -
CHAPTER 10
THE INFLUENCE OF CHROMATICISM ON
MOTIVIC DESIGN AND TONAL STRUCTURE
No investigation into motivic design and tonal structure in
the mazurkas will be complete without a consideration of the role
played by chromaticism. In Schenkerian theory, chromaticism is
understood exclusively as elaboration of a diatonic model. .{1}
and thus it stands to reason that it constitutes an important
element of the prolongational or composing-out process in a
composition. This is especially true of the mazurkas, in which
chromatic elements are not only a regular and prominent feature,
but also play a decisive role in shaping voice-leading, harmonic
and overall formal content. The reader will recognise this as
evident already in the mazurka analyses of the previous chapters.
In fact, there is hardly an instance in the mazurkas where
chromaticism is not associated in some way with either motivic or
structural design, or both.
With regard to motivic design, chromatic elements are most
frequently recognised as part of foreground or surface
melodic/motivic configurations, as in OP. 33, no. 3 (see Example
10.1) .
- 368 -
Example 10.1. Mazurka OP. 33, No. 3, Bare 1-8
OpUI 33 Nr. 3
S'
/'\ Imp
j"Ice
41""---' ~ \.~S Jf.. ~I ~ ~~~I
.> >
p I r , 1 r r
1 fl
> ~ >
tJ r T, r r r ~ r r r
s/'\ J1I~~ 2 ~ J~ ~I F1 ~ '~""""'n
i ~ R_r r- I I , ,.>
1 ~ --J ~ >
>
~/ -
~ r 1'c"l 2 *
In such instances, the various chromatic notes involved are
motivic because of their consistent appearance throughout the
melodic motions of this mazurka. Furthermore, since such
melodic/motivic configurations form part of the composing-out
process, the chromatic elements involved also feature as
important factors. Therefore, surface chromatic features are not
employed merely as inflections or substitutions of their diatonic
equivalents, {2} but also as melodic content-creating elements,
as can be seen in the following excerpt from OP. 59, no. 2
(Example 10.2).
Example 10.2. Mazurka OP. 59, No. 2, Bars 81-89
- 369 -
85
(\, ~~II. ~~ , 5 , 5,.-4 1I 5 .1l~ .~
tJ ~ '....I _I......J '1] ~ ~ 2 I q. '1>* .. Iq" p
~~~~k :'...... 6. Il ,ii ..b.. :6:- ~~
5 I ......._ 5 45 ........I •
*
® ® @
A
3 I,"N
0 1 .. ,
'- __J~:!: b.~-b ,., -
:
I I I
Regarding tonal structure, the most important feature of
chromaticism is its potential occurrence on more than one level
of structure. The significance of this fact is twofold: firstly,
a particular background or middleground chromatic tone may serve
as point of departure for further prolongations in the
middleground and foreground. This, in turn, may lead to the
creation of either complete and independent form sections, or
middleground or foreground interpolations. Secondly, the
opportunity is presented for parallelisms of background or
foreground chromatic figures at earlier or later levels
respectively. The latter motivic and structural implications of
chromaticism will be investigated in the present chapter.
We have already encountered some of the basic elements of
chromaticism such as mixture, the Phrygian 2, (which, as we have
seen, constitutes a further category of mixture) and chromatic
passing and neighbouring notes. In addition, secondary dominants
(mostly forming part of sequence constructions in the mazurkas,
- 370 -
but also acting as principal elements in the process of
tonicisation), as well as augmented sixth chords (although seldom
encountered in the mazurkas), or other altered pre-dominant
sonorities, are likewise the result of chromaticism. Of these,
A
we shall concentrate only on mixture, the Phrygian 2 and
chromatic passing and embellishing events as they relate to
motivic and tonal structuring in the mazurkas.
In terms of tonal structure, the principal element of
chromaticism is that of mixture--a concept already discussed in
Chapter 3. The primary structural significance of mixture is
that it generates large-scale tonal and formal design if applied
to an element of the fundamental line or an inner voice at the
same level. Instances of this application of mixture are found
in several mazurkas. These include Op. 7, no. 2, OP. 17, nos. 3
and 4, OP. 33, nos. 2 and 4, OP. 59 nos. 1 and 3, Op. 63, no. 3,
OP. 67, no. 4, OP. 68, no. 2 and the two posthumous A minor
mazurkas. In each of these mazurkas mixture forms the basis for
the development of the large B-section or Trio. In addition,
mixture appears in the background/middleground structures of OP.
30, no. 3 (see below), 41, nO.land 68, no. 4, but without
large-scale formal significance. Instead, the emphasis is more
on large-scale chromatic voice-leading patterns which form the
basis for further motivic and structural development at later
levels.
Mazurka OP. 30, No. 3
The mazurka OP. 30, no. 3 is one of the most striking examples
- 371 -
of mixture, affecting voice-leading content at every level of
structure. The most immediately noticeable tonal feature of this
composition is the juxtaposition of major and minor elements, as
well as tonic major and minor tonalities in the main thematic
areas. These occur by way of echoing repetitions of one, two,
and four-bar units within the main-theme period. Example 10.3
gives the score of bars 9-24, representing the main-theme
period.
Ex~ple 10.3. Mazurka OP. 30, No. 3, Score, Bare 9-24
risoluto 3
1\ 2 I r- 3I
:
tJ ! ~
1 f :J ~---..____ :t 11---""'":
J( -,t
*
11 Os ~ 5 is1\ 2I ---=0--.., I ~ 3_!.,-..._
tJ ---... -,t ; .___ - bIn,. ..__
s=>: ... ,..-...
>...___ pp ... 14,.--......... ~ :J ,..-......___
1 » "lf "lf.." ~
IS
1\ I - __." '~* - *! ~ $ :Jh5~ I.
tJ .._ .._'*!" > ... > = -
1 .ff :J ,..--.......__ pp :J ,..~
f _'1~ ... ,..~ :J ...---......_
..". ::! "lf ::±
tb) *
eo1'\ I " ~I ~~3I r : L'~!.~53h\h~ $ ~;~I ;
-iT 1....-::2 > ~ ,..~ ... ~.>1 _'1"'~
pp ..~. :t --........ - :J"'~
"lf zr T ::± -,t
* ~ *
- 372 -
Firstly, the echoed repetition of bars 11-12 appears in bars
13-14, the latter containing elements borrowed from the minor
mode. Bar 15 then presents a dynamically forceful restatement of
the content of bar 12, followed by its echoed repetition in bar
16, again with elements from the minor mode. The content of bars
17-20 is echoed in its entirety in the parallel minor key in bars
20-24. In each instance cited above, the result is that of
mixture being applied to specific diatonic degrees within the
tonic key (D-flat major), namely, the sixth degree (B-flat
1\
becomes B-double flat) and the third degree or 3 (F becomes
F-flat) .
Both B-flat and its chromatic alteration form part of the
principal melodic motive, the neighbour-note configuration
A-flat/B-flat/A-flat. The entire introduction (bars 1-8) is
based upon it (Example 10.4), and this motive continues to play a
prominent role throughout the main-theme period where it is also
presented on more than one level of structure (see Example
10.5) .
Example 10.4. Mazurka OP. 30, No. 3, Introduction
- 373 -
Example 10.5. Mazurka OP. 30, No. 3, Foreground Graph, Bare 9-24
1~~9-~~~
r--T---T~T-------- T '--
1-
,
N \J ''1:'---'
Note. for instance. its appearance on the surface during bars
9-10. and then on a slightly higher level of foreground during
bars 10-12 and 12-14. It is the B-flat of the larger neighbour
motive that first becomes the product of mixture in bar 13. Note
also the surface parallelisms of the A-flat/B-flat/A-flat motive
in bars 12. 14. 15 and 16, with mixture applied again to B-flat
in bars 14 and 16. In addition to these activities. there is
also a chromatic surface diminution in bar 9. comprising the
motions F4/G-flat4/G-natural4/A-flat4). and its accompanying
motion in parallel thirds below D-flat4/E-flat4/E-natura14/F4).
Both these motions--and especially the lower one--subsequently
- 374 -
become important motivic and structural elements.
Till now, the mixture of B-flat has had no larger structural
significance apart from having provided tonal contrast in the
various echoing phrase-units. However, the mixture of B-flat,
together with the neighbour-note figure to which it belongs,
becomes closely associated with the motivic and
harmonic/voice-leading development of the large middle part of
the mazurka comprising the sections to be discussed below.
~
Coming to the primary structural tone 3 (F5), it is first
acted upon by mixture during the final four bars of the
main-theme period, in becoming F-flat5, thus establishing the
motion F5/F-flat5 in the background structure of the main-theme
period and the resulting shift from tonic major to minor. Since
the final structural cadence also occurs in conjunction with the
final statement of the main-theme period, and since no close of
A
the fundamental line is evident, the mixture of 3 becomes the
only background feature of this mazurka. Furthermore, after the
last four bars in the final repetition of the main-theme period
(bars 91-94) close in the tonic minor, the work concludes with a
single chord in D-flat major (bar 95), thus reinstating D-flat
~
major and natural-3 in the background (see Example 10.6, a
background graph of the entire mazurka, showing the motion
F5/F-flat5/F5 in the fundamental line) In fact, this is the
only example in the mazurkas in which the chromatic element of
mixture penetrates into the fundamental structure itself, causing
its incomplete form.
- 375 -
.
Ex~ple 10.6. Mazurka OP. 30, No. 3, Background Graph
o
I
In the overall tonal structure, mixture appears in both first
and second middleground levels, where it is involved in
establishing the main prolongational key regions of the large
middle part (bars 25-78) and the generation of its two form
sections (see Example 10.7). As shown in level a, the B-flat
major key region reached in bar 32, becomes B-flat minor in bar
60 through mixture of the third degree (D-natural5 to D-flat5).
In terms of form generation, B-flat major and minor represent the
underlying key regions for sections Band C respectively (bars
25-56 and 57-78 respectively). In level b, the next stage of
voice-leading development between B-flat major and B-flat minor
is an unusually long prolongation of the dominant of B-flat.
Firstly, it appears as the customary major/minor seventh chord at
bar 37, followed by its odd conversion into an F minor harmony at
bar 48, which is then prolonged until bar 59, where a diminished
seventh appears on the leading-tone of B-flat, followed by the
tonic B-flat minor at bar 60. Once again, mixture of the third
(A-flat) becomes the determining factor in effecting this change
from the dominant seventh to the dominant minor and back. Again
in terms of form generation, this mixture is significant, since
- 376 -
the change from A-natural to A-flat coincides with the appearance
of a second theme within section B, dividing it into two parts
(bars 25-40 and 41-56 respectively) .
Example 10.7. Mazurka OP. 30, No. 3
3"
[A9 - AI> - .A~J
~. t ,I I I• ï'~' 4; , 1
"3 ® @ ® @ ® @
- 377 -
--
y -
P !fl
J -- J ------------- J,---. .rh'_ ! ---1; J
i -
-
[1Vl- AP]]
- Ap
v _""'I .._____ r..._ -- --
pS Q~
I --J---~:::::=:::=---=:::---. ----J/"h'J ,-.-
F
~I "--~+ -~-.r'-r--r--r
;:
However, further investigation of bars 25-78 reveals the
additional influences of both the A-flat/B-flat/A-flat figure and
the chromatic third D-flat/E-flat/E-natural/F, the latter
encountered in the opening bar of the main-theme period (see
level c). Firstly, the motion from D-flat major to B-flat major
in the previous level is now effected by means of a chromatic
- 378 -
sequence running from bar 25-32. It emerges out of F-flat5 of
bar 24 (the mixture of F-naturaI5), and moves via E-flat5 in bar
28 to conclude on D5 over B-flat major (sharp-VI of D-flat major)
at bar 32. What results in the process is the motion
F5/F-flat5/E-flat5/D5 in the upper voice, a retrograde version of
the original chromatic motion from D-flat4 to F4 in the inner
part at bar 9. The chromatic passing tone F-flat5 in this
progression therefore originates from the mixture of F5 in the
main-theme period, but instead of the latter being restored (as
would have been expected judging from the background structure) ,
the F-flat5 continues on to E-flat5, becoming part of the
descending chromatic linear progression. In a curious way, the
opposite situation regarding F-flat occurs in bar 9. There its
enharmonic equivalent E-natural, functioning as a chromatic
passing tone in the inner part--also because of its role as
accented passing tone on the second beat of the bar--may be
~
regarded as the initiation of the mixture of 3 which is to
follow.
Secondly, the motion from the dominant seventh of B-flat (bar
37) to the dominant minor (bar 48) is likewise effected through a
chromatic linear motion E-flat/D-natural/D-flat/C. Simultaneous
with this is a middleground motion from the E-flat5 of bar 39 to
E-natural5 (the enharmonic equivalent of the background F-flat5),
resolving to F5 in bar 48.
The influence of the A-flat/B-flat/A-flat melodic motive of
the main-theme period--and especially its chromatic version
(A-flat/B-doubleflat/A-flat)--is not immediately obvious during
the large middle part, since A-flat and any voice leading
- 379 -
following from it is relegated to the lowest inner voiée in the
middleground. However, by considering the main key regions of
the first middleground (Example 10.7, level a), the inner voice
A-flat4 of bar 24 is seen to be followed by B-flat4 at bar 32,
then by A-natural4 (the enharmonic equivalent of B-doubleflat) at
bar 71 and then again A-flat4 at the start of the reprise of the
main-theme period at bar 79. In the second middleground (Example
10.7, level b), the additional presence of V7 of B-flat at bar 39
and its prolongation further results in the motion
A-natural4/A-flat4/A-natural4 already pointed out above.
However, in the context of the main D-flat major tonality, the
A-naturals may once again be viewed as enharmonic equivalents of
B-double flat. By further considering the content of the
sequential passage through which the F minor dominant sonority
continues to be prolonged during bars 49-56 {3} (Example 10.8),
the role of the A-flat/B-flat/A-flat motive becomes more obvious.
Here, it serves as the main component of the upper voice within
the underlying structure of the sequence.
Example 10.8. Mazurka OP. 30, No. 3, Foreground Graph, Bars
49-56
- 380 -
Finally, an imaginative piece of detail concerning the close
of section C (Example 10.9):
Example 10.9. Mazurka OP. 30. No. 3. Score. Bars 71-79
_{j__l_ t-. iïï~'~- ii
ti <,r- 3 ~ ~........... I • ..
~
___./
dim. -
- ~J -t ~
:± "!'" i C ~ ...~ ~ I. ~
*
risoluto~
pp slentando
*
After the dominant of B-flat is once again reached in bar 71.
there is a surface expansion of it (bar 71-78) in which two.
significant events occur. Firstly, note the sustained F3 in the
left hand. underneath which occurs a descending chromatic surface
linear motion in the bass from F2 at bar 73, to the tonic D-flat2
J\
at bar 79. The F3 represents 3 in a lower register at this
point, while the chromatic linear motion is directly related to
the one traced in the upper voice during bars 25-32, as well as
being a retrograde version of the chromatic motion in the inner
part of bar 9. Secondly, the upper voices display a repeated
melodic configuration, involving A-natural4 and C5 (the third and
fifth respectively of the local F major harmony)--which .also
represents III in the middleground--and D-flat5, a chromatic
upper neighbour to C5 within the latter harmony. These motions
can be related to the introduction (which, incidentally, is also
eight bars long, where the same elements occur in relation to
- 381 -
D-flat major, paving the way for their further development in the
main-theme period. Therefore, bars 71-78--a kind of transition,
leading to the reprise of the main-theme period--constitute both
a formal counterpart of the introduction and a subtle reference
to its voice-leading content.
Summary
The two principal elements of chromaticism in this mazurka
~
have been indentified as the mixture of 3 and its inner-voice
~
equivalents in the middleground, as well as the mixture of 6, and
the various chromatic linear progress ions in the foreground and
middleground. Regarding mixture, it was observed how it created
the frequent contrasts between major and minor found at different
levels throughout the composition, as well as the various
prolongational key regions of the middleground. By
counterimposition, the chromatic linear progressions served as
important devices of composing-out, and especially in connecting
the tonic to the main key region of the large middle part. From
a motivic point of view, both mixture and the chromatic linear
progress ions have been recognised as important structural
motives, creating a network of motivic relationships on the
various levels of structure. In addition to this, both sections
Band C, as well as the binary division of section B were also
generated through mixture at two levels of middleground; in the
former, through the prolongation of the third of B-flat and its
mixture, and in the latter, through the prolongation of the third
of the dominant of B-flat and its subsequent mixture.
- 382 -
Mazurka Op. 17, No. 3
The mazurka OP. 17, no. 3 offers an instance of mixture in the
background, combined with a chromatic neighbour-note figure
involving the flat-6 degree of A-flat major (F-flat). This
mazurka was already cited in part during Chapter 3 and again
during Chapter 9. In both instances it was observed how the
large ternary form design is generated through the mixture of the
~
first fundamental-line tone (3) in the background (the background
graph is reproduced in Example 10.10).
Example 10.10. Mazurka OP. 17, No. 3, Background Graph
3(P3)(Q3) ~~ ~I
0 I I
~ • ~
I
~
However, unlike OP. 30. no. 3, no further parallelisms of the
background mixture are to be found in the middleground levels,
A A
although there are references to the mixture of 3 and 6 in the
surface melodic motions, especially during section A, as will be
observed later. Instead, the principal element of prolongation
in both the first and second middleground levels is D-flat, the
A
upper neighbour of both the diatonic and chromatic setting of 3.
This neighbour note becomes the point of departure for the
development of the internal b-sections within section A and the
- 383 -
Trio respectively (see Example 9.1a, levels b and c).
A
The flat-6 degree mentioned above is initially associated with
the upper neighbour D-flat in its various foreground and
middleground settings. Firstly, Example 10.11 shows F-flat4
appearing in the upper voice of the left hand in conjunction with
D-flat4.
Example 10.11. Mazurka OP. 17, No. 3, Bars 1-4
>
.d.
Together with G3, the lower neighbour of the tonic A-flat3, as
well as an additional B-flat4, the result is the poignant
tonic-embellishing diminished seventh on VII of A-flat major,
with which the piece begins. With its tonic resolution, this
diminished seventh constitutes the principal harmonic feature of
the first part of section A (bars 1-16) and its repetition (bars
25-40) . In bars 23-24, F-flat4 reappears, this time as a
repeated inner-voice tone, functioning as common tone to each of
the surface harmonies during these bars (see Example 10.12a).
- 384 -
Example 10.12a. Mazurka OP. 17, No. 3, Bars 23-25
a tempo
4~
>-
However, at a deeper structural level (Example 10.12b), it is
associated once again with the upper neighbour D-flat, now
operating in the middleground.
Example 10.12b. Mazurka OP. 17, No. 3, Foreground Graph, Bars
23-25
,
Together, they form part of yet another diminished seventh, now
functioning as the main prolongational harmony for the internal
b-section (bars 17-24), and, with its tonic resolution in bar 25,
being a middleground parallelism of the principal foreground
harmonic figure cited in Example 10.11.
Returning to the large background/middleground structure
(Example 10.10), there is a most ingenious interconnectedness of
1\ "
both flat-6 and flat-3 (C-flat) with one another and with the
main E major tonality of the Trio (bars 41-80). Firstly, note
- 385 -
that E major is in fact the enharmonic equivalent of F-flat
major, since in the background structure it represents flat-VI of
A-flat major. Thus, C-flat5 is adjusted enharmonically to become
B4, the principal melodic carrying voice of the Trio. Viewing E4
in the melodic line of the Trio as the enharmonic equivalent of
F-flat4, the harmonic progression I-flat-VI-I in the background
reveals a large-scale neighbour-note motion E-flat/F-flat/E-flat
in an inner voice, operating in conjunction with
'" .... A
3/flat-3/natural-3 in the background upper voice.
This functional correspondence of the E of the Trio with the
F-flat of section A and its internal b-section is substantiated
by two significant events. The first occurs during bars 80-81,
the last bar of the Trio and the first bar of the reprise of
section A respectively (see Example 10.13).
Ex~ple 10.13. Mazurka OP. 17. No. 3. Bars 79-81
(l Jl II 5,.., 1. II2. r.-. ~ I ......---::;;-- Z
t) --- ~ _.- __ -.,."-0.;1y>~
1 ,I
~-~
: ~
.... :I I -# >
/}al segno Z
al Fiue
Here, the local tonic (E4) on which the melodic line of the Trio
closes, is repeated in the left hand and then held over into bar
81. At this point, the opening diminished seventh of the piece
appears, resulting in a change of function of E4 from being the
A
tonic of the Trio to reverting to flat-6 of A-flat major, hence
its enharmonic change to F-flat4. Thus, Chopin was able to
- 386 -
effect the finest and subtlest of tonal connections between the
local E major key region of the Trio and A-flat major, by
attributing two different structural functions to a single tone.
Secondly, during bars 57-64, the internal b-section of the Trio
(Example 10.14), several repetitions of the motion E4/D-sharp4
occur in the upper voice of the left hand. These resemble the
foreground F-flat4/E-flat4 motions during the outer parts of
section A, except for the fact that E4 and D-sharp4 now also
constitute a transposed version of the neighbour-note motion
D-flat4/C4 of section A.
Example 10.14. Mazurka OP. 17, No. 3, Bars 57-64
11 ;.I li :> ,;-.4 .. _;.l!;"fl~ F ---. .•. ~ II~"'I ,...
I _. .. . .t) '- 3 3 3 3 :>, ~ ~ :I~ $ ~~ .. I ~ e ,~1I~ .1 ..
:>
N
- 387 -
A
Further evidence of the role and interconnectedness of flat-3
A
and flat-6 can be found in the foreground voice-leading events of
section A (see Examples 10.15a and b).
Ex~ple 10.15a. Mazurka OP. 17, No. 3, Score, Bars 1-40
>-
.d.
[c. - ell
- 388 -
Ex~ple 10.15b. Mazurka OP. 17, No. 3, Foreground Graph. Bars
1-40
(~~V~ ')
~ Vb&b
• lb.___;,
® ®@ (ID@
Firstly, note the numerous appearances of C-flat in both the
melodic line and left-hand accompaniment, functioning either as
chromatic passing tone between C and B-flat, or as chromatic
upper neighbour embellishment of B-flat (the fifth degree of the
dominant of A-flat major). At bars 18 and 20-22, E5 appears in
the melodic line, functioning both as chromatic passing tone
between F5 and E-flat5, as well as being a Lydian inflection
within the momentary B-flat supertonic harmony. However, it also
functions as the enharmonic version of F-flat5, as well as being
a forerunner to the occurrence of F-flat4 in the middleground
- 389 -
diminished seventh harmony during bars 23-24. Also during bars
23-24, the simultaneous occurrence of both F-flat and C-flat
result in the F-flat major passing surface sonority between the
two versions of the middleground diminished seventh. This may be
regarded as a tiny surface glimpse of the same sonority which is
to become the controlling background harmony of the Trio.
A
Finally, there is an interesting correspondence of 3 with
~
flat-6 in the E major key region of the Trio, namely, that in
~
relation to E major, 3 functions as its flat sixth degree, just
~
as the tonic of the Trio again becomes flat-6 of A-flat major at
the start of the reprise of section A. Thus, apart from mixture
A
of 3 alone, being the determining factor in effecting the change
from A-flat major to E major CF-flat major) and back, the
A
phenomenon of the flat-6 degree also comes into play in that both
A ~
3 and the tonic of the Trio acquire the role of flat-6 with
regard to the Trio and the reprise of section A respectively.
Summary
In this mazurka the influence of chromaticism manifests itself
A
in three ways: 1), in the background, through the mixture of 3,
bringing about its large ternary tonal and formal division; 2),
in the middleground and foreground, through the chromatic upper
neighbour of the fifth degree of A-flat major in conjunction with
A
the upper neighbour of 3, bringing about the diminished seventh
prefix to the tonic and its middleground parallelism; and 3), on
the melodic surface, through the numerous surface chromatic
neighbour and passing motions, functioning as important
- 390 -
melodic/motivic elements. Most significant, however, is the fact
that the flat sixth also operates in the background in
A
conjunction with the mixture of 3, where it becomes the tonic of
the Trio. Thus, a cohesive tonal-structural relationship is
established between the tonality of the Trio and the chromatic
neighbour notes in the foreground and middleground structure.
A
The so-called Phrygian 2, having originated from the Phrygian
mode as the name indicates, has come to be a specific category of
mixture with regard to the major/minor diatonic system, as a
result of the so-called Neapolitan chord of which it forms the
basis. In Schenkerian theory, it is primarily associated with
the second degree of the fundamental line or a replication
thereof at a later level, and consequently with structural
cadences or interruption patterns. In the mazurkas, on the other
A
hand, the Phrygian 2 is occasionally encountered as a purely
modal device on the melodic surface (see Chapter 11), except for
one extraordinary instance (OP. 41, no. 2) where it penetrates
into the background structure. {4} However, for the purposes of
the present chapter, we shall concentrate only on the influence
A
of the Phrygian 2 as chromatic device, and in particular, on its
role as prolongational element in the background and
middleground.
Mazurka Op, 33, No. 4
Of the relatively small number of mazurkas containing the
A
Phrygian 2 in their harmonic/voice-leading structures, {5} the
- 391 -
one where it has the most far-reaching tonal-structural
implications is the mazurka Op. 33, no. 4. With reference to
this mazurka in Free Composition, Schenker writes:
The special effect of this whole mazurka depends upon the
A
following fact: that the tension of flat-2 persists until
the last bar, where the diatonic sharp-2 finally appears.
{6}
A
This tension of flat-2 to which Schenker refers, results first of
all from the fact that it appears several times during the
mazurka in connection with middleground interruptions. However,
together with the role of these interruptions in delaying the
A n
final appearance of 2 and its descent to 1 in the background,
A
flat-2 itself is magnificently exploited with regard to its own
A
structural role as chromatic suspension of 2, by being prolonged
A A
prior to each interruption, as well as to the final 2-1 motion of
A
the fundamental line. Furthermore, each prolongation of flat-2
and the subsequent composed-out voice leading following from it,
is directly associated with an important motivic element
appearing throughout the main thematic areas of the piece,
A
namely, the upper neighbour of 5 (G). {7}
~
The first prolongation of flat-2 occurs in bars 17-24 and its
corresponding place (bars 81-88), representing the last eight
bars of the main-theme period. Example 10.16a presents the score
of the first 24 bars, while Example 10.16b is a graph of these
A
bars, also indicating the presence of the upper neighbour of 5 in
the melodic structure.
- 392 -
Ex~ple lO.16a. Mazurka OP. 33, No. 4, Score, Bars 1-24
- OpUI 33 Nr. ·11\ 11 ;.----.. fI..".." •~ 3 143/"- ~ I • >3
-if .... .... -..._. ..p1 ~~ 1l~ ~ ... - .- ----- f,-
* '; I";; • *
fI j - : -- 143
~ --- >~....,;~Ii ~j ..,~ ... .,;...... --.: y F~ ...~ rt"; "'#...
1 . 'I 1 J "r1J J I 1 .d " ~. II } .e ~
I~ I~---- I --ft';";; * s *1\ li ~ /'"-- ~ ~ s~ 1~~ :
~ , ...... 3 - 3
.t- U'" ... ~ sotto voce1 !::"
~ * ~ * ~
.~) q* t ll~-* '''; q* *
20 ~, ,;::;:; - - ------ 2
!10' C>
dim.
1 fill
~ • :f q* '. ~* q* • -¥ •
Example 10.16b. Mazurka OP. 33, No. 4, Foreground Graph, Bars
1-24
CD ® @
" ....i) 4 3
I !"-~-<9--~1-- f3-'1-'- -I
- 393 -
This prolongation is accomplished in a most imaginative way by
means of the thematic content of bars 1-2, now following from D
~
or 3, and accordingly presented in repeated fashion within the
motion from V of C to C major (flat-II of B minor) in the bass
~
register during bars 17-22. Just before flat-2 is converted back
~
to natural-2 (the latter being implied in the graph, since it
does not actually appear in the score), a single octave
comprising G2 and G3 appears in bar 23, moving to F-sharp2 and
F-sharp3 respectively in bar 24. Following from the dominant of
C, both G2 and G3 subsequently become the upper neighbour of
F-sharp, the dominant of B minor. This relates clearly to the
upper neighbour G5 of the main-theme period.
~
The second prolongation of flat-2 involves bars 41-64 and its
corresponding section (bars 105-128). The latter set of bars
will, however, be focused on here in order to make a direct
connection to the opening bar of the Trio (bar 129), since bars
65-128 constitute a written out repetition of bars 1-64. Example
10.17a gives the score of bars 105-128 and Example 10.17b their
middleground and foreground graphs. The first eight bars
correspond almost exactly to bars 17-24. However, instead of the
expected middleground interruption at bar 112, the music
unexpectedly and suddenly by-passes the dominant of B minor in a
dramatic way by moving to the dominant of B-flat major and
subsequently to B-flat major itself at bar 113. This surprising
motion--apparently away from the main B. minor tonality--is
effected by the further exploitation of the G/F-sharp motive.
Instead of F-sharp becoming the dominant of B minor again, it too
becomes an upper neighbour of F-natural, by being enharmonically
- 394 -
Example 10.17a. Mazurka OP. 33, No. 4, Score, Bare 105-128
f·. :
11'1\ I A. I~~ l~ . 1, .. b. b- i ... f ~
t) I I -
>- >- >- >-l >- >-1 .. I~ i . !
.ft >- >-
:
I ..
:
... " 'y 11 .. ~ "-; ~...
*
lU b~ i
1\ I - , Jl ....--21. .!_ b~ .~. .I,~ ~ ~I
:
t)
2
b;' ~~ ~ ~~ ~ #! ,',\ ~
:
"v. ... 2
* * *
- 395 -
Example 10.17b. Mazurka OP. 33, No. 4, Middleground and
Foreground Graphs, Bars 105-128
Il
+
(mol1\U )
I~!J
1\
changed to G-flat. This causes C or flat-2 to remain as an
implied note in the middleground, instead of moving to C-sharp or
1\
natural-2. In the next eight bars in B-flat major (bars
113-120), the foreground voice leading is derived from D5 in the
middleground, the upper neighbour of C5, still present at the
deepest middleground level. Then follows the prolongation of
E-flat5 during bars 121-124, the upper neighbour of D5, whereupon
there is a return to the dominant of B at bar 128.
Two more voice-leading details concerning bars 113-128 need
commenting. Firstly, looking at Example 10.17a and the
- 396 -
foreground graph of Example 10.7b, note the neighbour motive
G-flat5/F5 in the superimposed voices above D5. This is a
continuation of the Gg/f-sharp motion of bar 112. Secondly, at
bar 121, G5 appears in the upper voice, following from F5 in the
previous bars. This is not only the diatonic upper neighbour of
F5 in the local context, but, at a deeper level, also represents
A
the original upper neighbour of 5.
In bars 125-128, there is a remarkable piece of chromatic
voice-leading detail which is of particular significance, since
it relates directly to the principal melodic motive of the Trio.
In the bass during bars 126-127, we encounter the motion
E-flat4/E-natura14/F4/F-sharp4. This is a subtle forerunner to
D-sharp5/E5/E-sharp5/F-sharp5 appearing in the melodic line of
the opening bar of the Trio, being exactly the same pitches,
except for the fact that E-flat and F are now enharmonicalfy
changed to D-sharp and E-sharp respectively in order to fit into
the B major tonality of the Trio. At the same time, a retrograde
version of this motion F-sharp5/F-natural5/E5/D-sharp5 also
appears in the upper voice from the second beat of bar 126 to the
downbeat of bar 129. It is important to recall that the content
of bars 105-128 were already presented previously during bars
41-64.
The Trio itself is rich in surface chromatic details, the most
important of these being the D-sharp/E/E-sharp/F-sharp chromatic
motion of bar 129 and corresponding places, and its various
transposed repetitions (see Example 10.18). {8}
- 397 -
Example 10.18. Mazurka OP. 33, No. 4, Bare 129-136
2
130II ~II II. • 1 • 3~~ 2~ • S -.-.......- ~
.
tJ - >.ft - - IL...----::"
u ~~ ~!L .. _.. ~ , ~- ~
:
q~ ~ ... ~ A"': * * ~ * s *
.---..
!1J~~ 11 I,I ii ~.:a:. ~ ~"
n
~ *
This contrasts with the surface voice leading of the large
A-section where the motion is predominantly diatonic and the
element of chromaticism confined to the deeper structure, except
for bars 5-10 and corresponding places to be commented on soon.
In this sense, the surface chromatic elements of the Trio
contribute strongly to the creation of tonal and formal contrast
between itself and the A-section. However, the most important
factor in this regard is the change from the B minor tonality of
the A-section to B major in the Trio, effected through mixture of
the third of B minor (D) in becoming D-sharp. {9} This idea has
its origin in the opening main-theme period, where there is an
initial motion to the dominant minor at bar 6, after which the
dominant major emerges in bar 11. prior to the
- 398 -
middleground/foreground interruption at bar 12.
A
Finally, the last prolongation of flat-2 is from bars 209-224
(see Examples 10.19a and b).
Example 10.19a. Mazurka OP. 33, No. 4, Score, Bare 209-224
1\ jj ;;....--- - s,..._--;--.......:
t) ..... 3
sotto voce
.," -ry. q..- ~ q~
%11
1~ ......... _:,~ ::::::: .-- ......... ,__ --:---
,
.......
3 dim. . dim .
1 (l II
.t) '7 q* * .. q~ • q* :t q* • ~ .. y q~
%11 ~ risves.r" ttato
" q .. ' --ij'. . . :> 4
(l II
1 . Ijj~J.:ï J
j
:
t) 'y q* i'--i~' q~' ~ r
* r ~
Example 10.19b. Mazurka OP. 33, No. 4, Foreground Graph, Bars
209-224
- 399 -
Again, it starts off by being prolonged in the same manner as
during bars 17-24 and corresponding places. However, instead of
the ensuing interruption, there is an apparent conclusion on
flat-II of B minor at bar 216, after which follows a six-bar
interpolation (bars 217-222). consisting of an evocatively
swaying motion between the two principal structural elements (C4
A ~
and G4, or flat-2 and the upper neighbour of 5 respectivelY).
This unexpected motion in open fifths not only creates a feeling
of expectation in that both elements are left hanging in mid-air,
so to speak, but is also a final reminder of that tension between
A A
flat-2 and natural-2 which persisted throughout the entire
mazurka. After this, the mazurka closes abruptly with the
~
structural cadence, causing the ultimate resolution of flat-2 to
A
natural-2, as well as that of the upper neighbour G to F-sharp.
The directness of this final structural cadence is also
particularlY meaningful, since it symbolises the ultimate
surrender to the necessity for final tonal relaxation which was
so assiduously prevented by both the interruption and the
A A
delaying of 2 through the Phrygian 2 and its prolongation.
Summary
Two principal structure-determining factors have been
A
established in this mazurka: 1) the Phrygian 2, and 2) the upper
A A
neighbour of 5. The Phrygian 2 played a decisive role in the
background and middleground structures as an element of
prolongation from which significant voice-leading and formal
A
development took place. The upper neighbour of 5 not only
- 400 -
assumed importance with regard to the piece's melodic and motivic
~
structuring, but also operated in conjunction with the Phrygian 2
A A
in effecting the motion from flat-2 to natural-2. With regard to
the surface chromatic motions in the Trio, these were seen to
operate in conjunction with the mixture of the third degree of B
minor in the middleground in creating the necessary tonal and
formal contrast between the Trio and the A-section, the latter
consisting of the various repetitions of a single diatonic theme
period.
Throughout this chapter specific chromatic devices and their
implications for both motivic design and tonal structure were
scrutinised. These included the mixture of a specific
fundamental-line tone or inner voice associated with it, {lO} the
A
Phrygian 2, as it relates to the fundamental line or middleground
replication thereof, chromatic upper neighbour embellishments
A
(most notably, the flat-6 degree), as well as chromatic passing
motions. Apart from appearing at different levels of structure,
various chromatic elements were also used frequently in
combination with one another or with other prominent motivic
voice-leading figures not necessarily of a chromatic nature. In
addition to these characteristics of chromaticism, many chromatic
activities in the mazurkas are the result purely of surface
linear motions, serving to compose out underlying harmonies or
diatonic progressions. These often take the form of chromatic
sequence constructions. {ll} However, it is also true that the
voice-leading patterns in some of these chromatic linear motions
sometimes derive their origin from a specific voice-leading
- 401 -
motive (in this regard, see, for instance, the discussion of the
chromatic linear sequence pattern at the end of OP. 30, no. 4 in
Chapter 7). Finally, two important by-products of surface
chromaticism in the mazurkas are its function in creating
thematic variation (in this regard, see the discussion of OP. 17,
no. 4 in Chapter 8), as well as tonal and formal contrast.
NOTES
1. Neumeyer, Exercise Manual for Schenkerian Analysis, 103.
2. These categories of distinction for chromatically altered
tones are given by Felix Salzer and Carl Schachter in
Counterpoint in Composition, 210.
3. Although bars 49-56 are essentially a repetition of the
previous 8 bars (bars 41-48), strictly speaking this repetition
is confined to the melodic line of the latter group of bars
alone, since the accompanying harmonic/voice-leading situation
for the two sets of bars differ markedly from one another. While
the content of bars 48-56 are already within the local F minor
key region established in the previous 8 bars and are based upon
an underlying I-III-V-I bass arpeggiation pattern, that of bars
41-48 is a prefix to the F-minor sonority which does not
literally appear until bar 48. Furthermore, bars 41-48 are based
on the motion from D-flat3 to C3 in the bass which forms part of
the chromatic linear motion from E-flat to C identified earlier
in the text.
- 402 -
4. This mazurka will be considered in Chapter 11 with regard
A
to the implications of the Phrygian 2 as a modal device for its
tonal structure.
A
5. Other mazurkas employing the Phrygian 2 as a chromatic
structural device include Op. 7, nos. 2 and 4, Op. 30, no. 4, OP.
56, no. 3, Op, 59, no. 3 and Op. 63, no. 2. In the latter, the
A
Phrygian 2 is not associated with a fundamental-line tone or
middleground linear progression as is the case in the other
mazurkas cited above, but with an inner-voice tone in the
middleground.
6. Schenker, Free Composition, Par. 194.
7. Some additional melodic/motivic figures in the principal
theme of this mazurka are provided by Schenker in Free
Composition, Figure 119,12.
8. This particular chromatic motion involving the filling-in
of the space between the third and fifth degrees of major or
minor triads can be traced as an important surface melodic
feature in a number of mazurkas. These include OP. 30, no. 3.
already cited in the present chapter; OP. 33, no. 2 (see Chapter
6); OP. 56, no. 2 (see Chapter 12); OP. 59, nos. 2 and 3; and Op.
63, no. 1. In OP. 59, no. 2, it not only comprises the basic
shape of the first four bars of its main theme, but in a most
ingenious way also constitutes the underlying middleground bass
motion of bars 81-88. In addition to this, it can be traced in
transposed forms at several places in the surface bass motions of
these bars (see the score and a middleground bass sketch of bars
81-89 below) .
- 403 -
Mazurka OP. 59, No. 2, Score, Bare 81-89
Mazurka OP. 59, No. 2, Middleground Bass Sketch, Bars 81-89
® .®<l8 ®
I tY éé t,B';f ti I
j:. :t:
Of further significance with regard to this melodic motion is the
presence of the raised fourth degree as chromatic passing tone.
9. The most striking example of this particular role of
chromaticism in the mazurkas is the mazurka OP. 33, no. 2
(Examples 6). There, it was observed how the key-change from
tonic D major to B-flat major of the Trio, and its internal
motions to B-flat minor and D-flat major, coincided with the
1\
mixture of 3 in the background and the third degree of B-flat in
the middleground respectively (see Example 6, level c). Together
with the influences of the above mentioned mixtures in the Trio,
the latter itself also represents an abundance of surface
/
chromatic motions. This is in sharp contrast to the large
A-section, where the surface voice leading is almost purely
- 404 -
diatonic (see the two score excerpts below). This contrast
between the simple diatonic character of the A-section and the
rich chromatic character of the Trio is noteworthy in itself,
since the chromaticism itself becomes a motive in the Trio.
Mazurka OP. 33. No. 2, Bars 1-8
Vivacze '3--'----- s,~ --...._~1 ï 1,J PJ ,...J,_,ft Jl > ,I I Il r'i >• _ 1nl 1-r:J
tJ I 1 If .I> '> ~ I ~ t- r ~ I I>(11. A. ~ A. A. l A. A.1 I
*
ft Jl F)J ,....., 'en -.;, :>I
4J I ~ ~ I t- I l'---
:: :: e. >~ A. ~
c. ..,; I'" *
Mazurka OP. 33, No. 2, Bars 49-64
'9
ft I ~I .. I J. - 2 nl .J. i i I ,A. (ll.A. A. A. AA. ~
~
4J "';1 -=='I , -====- : ----<-'I I .1.'= fT I I ,___,.;;;--.J ~ I1I1 .. .s- ~s ·1 -.=.= f ~• ~~.. .. .'I .. I I
'i3 * 'S
r
~4 'J .. ," w· ... -
*
ss _.ft JI .. ... I. •• r-:: I , 1 ~IïJ 5 'r-= I 1
-iJ ..........., , L....-.:I I f'o .I . I -g; (' I 1~~ ... . ~~~~ .. bs $: b. 4-
Cl
*
•"ort lb. 1.1 b.. A.r- ~~ rz:-: .h~ _-::----- ------...... ....---:--....~
tJ cresc. I ~I I 'L:......:: 1 1 ~ r '1 ~I I
Lb_; ft ff
1 L~
~ ~ ~(II.
I....:lz I b .. br. j Id I .. ~I Z~ .. a ,*' ê' J *
- 405 -
10. Mention must be made of one more mazurka in which mixture
is the central element with regard to tonal structure and form
design, namely, the extraordinary instance of OP. 41, no. 3.
/I
Here, mixture is applied to both 3 and the third degree of the
I-III-V-I structural bass arpeggiation appearing simultaneously
with one another in the background/middleground structure. Apart
from the unexpected change of key from tonic B major to D major,
the prolongation of these two elements also result in the middle
section of this mazurka (see the graph below) .
Mazurka OP. 41, No. 3, Background Graph
@ ® ® ® e
..
3 ~ 3 . Jd , ..1, ,
o lY Jf. I~II r
!... r\ q.,L A! I"'> ~ n
I'
11. Of the many examples of chromatic sequence patterns in the
mazurkas, the most notable instances occur in Op. 6, no. 1, OP.
7, no. 2, Op. 17, nos. 1 and 4, Op. 50, no. 3, OP. 59, nos. 1, 2
and 3 and OP. 67, no. 2. With regard to OP. 50, no. 3, the
sequence in question (comprising bars 157-172), plays a most
remarkable role in the tonal structure, in that it serves as a
means of counteracting the unusually large emphasis on the
A
prolongation of 2 throughout this mazurka (see the
background/middleground graph below) .
- 406 -
Mazurka OP. 50, No. 3, Background/Middleground Graph
@ ® ®@
- 407 -
CHAPTER 11
THE INFLUENCE OF SPECIFIC MODAL DEVICES ON
MOTIVIC DESIGN AND TONAL STRUCTURE
In Section I, mention was made of the role played by modality
in the melodic structures of the folk mazurka, the most notable
being the Lydian, Aeolian and Dorian modes. It was also pointed
out in Section III that modality, as well as specific folk
chromaticisms (the latter resulting from individual modal
inflections), had a direct bearing on the characteristic features
of Chopin's national style. In terms of harmonic and
voice-leading procedures in Chopin's music, it was also concluded
that modality and folk chromaticism serve to enrich these
procedures and consequently have an influence on the
harmonic/voice-leading character of his music, and in particular,
his mazurkas.
In spite of the fact that it is possible to identify a
specific authentic mode or even more than one mode in the melodic
structure of a given Chopin mazurka, the overall harmonic and
voice-leading structure of each mazurka clearly points to the
firmly established presence and development of major and minor
triadic tonality. Thus, instances of specific types of modes in
Chopin's mazurkas must be regarded as purely surface melodic
phenomena, confined to certain portions of the melodic line, or,
at most, to individual form sections of particular mazurkas.
Such modes cannot be assumed to exert any definite influence on
the basic major or minor tonal orientation of these compositions.
- 408 -
{1} In fact, even the authenticity of such modes will be debated
from the perspective of the role played by specific elements in a
particular authentic mode, regarding their function within the
harmonic/voice-leading hierarchy of the major or minor system.
However, this does not minimise the importance of specific modal
elements as significant stylistic or voice-leading features in
the mazurkas. In this sense it can also be deduced that such
elements are emphasised even more with regard to their function
as chromatic or exotic colouring devices, due to their tonally
foreign or alterational status within the major/minor system.
Consequently, modality in the mazurkas really manifests itself
primarily in the form of specific modal devices appearing within
the basic major and minor tonal framework of these works. and
exercising either a chromatic or nuancing influence.
From the perspective of composed-out harmonic/voice-leading
structures, however, these modal devices assume three additional
and distinctive roles as elements of: 1) voice-leading
elaboration, 2) motivic design, and 3) tonal-structural
characterisation. It is particularly the influence of modal
devices with regard to the latter two areas of investigation that
is to be focused on in the present chapter, through a
consideration of the two main elements of modality in the
~
mazurkas, namely, the raised fourth degree and the Phrygian 2.
The principal modal element in the original folk mazurkas and
in Chopin's artistic stylisations is the raised fourth degree.
This derives from the Lydian mode but is also associated with one
of the two types of Gypsy scale (the one containing an augmented
second interval between the third and fourth scale degrees as
- 409 -
direct me Iodic successions). Instances of this particular form
of GyPSY scale in the mazurkas include Op. 24, no. land OP. 68,
no. 2, as well as in fragmentary fashion in OP. 7, no. 1, Op. 17,
no. 3, OP. 59, no. 3 and OP. 68, no. 4. The Lydian mode itself
is, surprisingly enough, found in only two mazurkas, namely, OP.
24, no. 2 and OP. 68, no. 3, although fragments of it can also be
traced in Op. 6, no. 3 and OP. 56, no. 2. A second important
modal element was already discussed in Chapter 10 in terms of its
use as a chromatic voice-leading device: the lowered second
1\
degree or Phrygian 2. This, of course, originates in the
Phrygian mode but is also associated with Hungarian influences
(see Section I) and the second type of Gypsy scale (with an
augmented second interval between the second and third scale
degrees (see Section III above)). One instance of the latter
occurs in the mazurka Op. 41, no. 1, to be discussed below.
The raised fourth or so-called "Lydian fourth" operates in
three principal ways in the mazurkas: 1) as an authentic Lydian
or GyPSY element; 2) as leading-tone motions to the fifth
degree--playing an important role with regard to tonicisation;
and 3) as single inflections--occurring primarily in the form of
chromatic passing tones or neighbour embellishments. An instance
of the raised fourth operating both as Gypsy element and leading
tone is shown in Example 11.1, the opening eight bars of the
mazurka OP. 24, no. 1. /Here, C-sharp5 appears first as the
raised fourth degree of G minor in bar 6, forming part of the
descending stepwise melodic motion from DS and concluding with D4
at bar 8, thus giving to this motion its apparent GypSY colouring
as confirmed by the augmented second interval between C-sharp5
- 410 -
Example 11.1. Mazurka OP. 24, No. 1, Bare 1-8
II I 31 .. 3 ~ •
!~
{ Il) -> - qih >- >"4~ ;.._.--.;.._
~!
I •
I -I-
* ::>
and B-flat4. However, on the second beat of bar 7, C-sharp
returns an octave lower in the accompaniment and functions as a
leading tone to the dominant (D4). In view of the harmonic
content at this point (that is, a motion from I to V via the
secondary dominant of V), C-sharp5 forms part of this harmonic
process through its registral connection with C-sharp4, thus
functioning within the secondary dominant area. Consequently,
C-sharp5 is a subtle anticipation of the C-sharp4 leading tone.
{2} This structural interpretation of C-sharp5 also attests to
the fact that, in terms of structural voice leading, there is no
connection between it and B-flat4, the primary structural tone
("3), which resolves to A4 in bar 8; {3} the tone C-sharp5
resolves in the same bar via C-sharp4 to the dominant D4.
The next two sets of examples (Examples 11.2a-f and 11.3a-d)
show the raised fourth degree both as Lydian fourth and as lower
neighbour figure. In the first instance, Example 11.2a shows the
Trio (bars 33-44) from the mazurka OP. 68, no. 3. Here, E6 in
the melodic line functions as a Lydian inflection within the
- 411 -
Example 11.2a. Mazurka OP. 68, No. 3, Bars 33-44
II
_(bl Poco piu vivo I> 'F F t= "'~f!:
J
'U p
1 : e ~ ~ e e e ~ e e e
>- e e>-
~. e e e e e g
*
B-flat key region, supported by a drone-bass fifth in the
accompaniment. {4} However, the same note also operates as a
significant motivic and structural element on several levels of
structure of this mazurka, functioning as lower neighbour of F5
J\
(the primary tone, or 8)
Examples 11.2b and c present the main-theme period and a
graph, indicating the role of E5 as lower neighbour to F5. On
the other hand, Example 11.2d, presenting the internal b-section
and the opening bar of the repeat of the first part of section A.
shows the opposite situation in that E5 now operates as the fifth
degree within the· local A major key region (Ill of F major),
\
while F5 functions as its upper neighbour in the foreground.
However, at the start of the repeat of the main-theme period in
section A, the situation is rectified in the middleground, where
E4 appears in the accompaniment as a lower neighbour, moving to
F5, since its expected resolution (F4) is not in the score.
- 412 -
Example 11.2b. Mazurka OP. 68, No. 3, Score, Bare 1-16
Allegro mn 110n troppo .J. 132
~
48.) f .r.,...JJ
s * ~ i~
(\ 5 5 r--:: I
~~:
tJ #' T-~ .. _ . .., q..r .:::
-Sr-: ·s- ~ ..
~ ~I I --..........__;~' ~ p
~I --I r-:; I rï: .. .-_ r-:; I J .J J-r.-.='::,-~""-'_t!.:-:=--. --.- I r T ~ I*
11
Example 11.2c. Mazurka OP. 68, No. 3, Foreground Graph, Bare
1-16
ê
1- I
~ ~J I I r I
.._ (t - lo - r_ 10 - i- -...
- +Fl
It)
1 ._. -
'~"""'_ ~-r I '--(
- 413 -
Example 11.2d. Mazurka OP. 68, No. 3, Bare 17-25
" I '~
1 ....
s lJ* * ~ *
Il
Finally. Examples 11.2e and f present a middleground graph of
bars 1-25 and a background graph of the entire mazurka; in the
first graph. E4 of bar 24 is the lower neighbour of F5 in the
middleground and is placed in the obligatory register of the
fundamental line; in the second graph. E4 in the left-hand
accompaniment at the end of the Trio is the lower neighbour of 8""
in the background. again in its obligatory setting.
Example 11.2e. Mazurka OP. 68, No. 3, Middleground Graph, Bars
1-25
- 414 -
Example 11.2f. Mazurka OP. 68, No. 3, Background Graph
1 m (i) ; ~ 5 a , i I'
J,_ I 1 I I
~ ~ - ( >- 10 - B 10 - g 10 - g ID
f _Il J+ e- .£. /I .J~
I I I
Thus, the foregoing examples illustrate how the motion
F5/E5/F5 can be traced at three different levels within the tonal
structure of this mazurka. Although E5 is not associated with
the Lydian fourth, its employment in the Trio--and direct
.1\
connection to F6 (an octave equivalent of 8) each time--is more
than mere coincidence. In fact, the first E6 directly following
F6 is not actually a Lydian inflection, but rather part of yet
another F/E/F neighbour-note configuration. It is really only
the second appearance of the E6 that can be regarded convincingly
as the Lydian fourth.
One final observation concerning this mazurka is warranted
here, since it is related to the presence of the Lydian fourth.
This involves the appearance of B3 at bars 2 and 7 and
corresponding places. Being the raised fourth degree of F major,
it functions not as a Lydian inflection, but as the leading tone
to the dominant, bringing about the momentary tonicisation of C
at bar 8. This structural role of B is emphasised further by the
f act that, in spite of what might be a logical use at bar 4
within the sequence pattern, B-flat is used instead. This places
- 415 -
greater emphasis on B at the half cadence. Also, through the use
of B3 in bar 2, a parallelism is created between the surface I-V
motion of bars 1-2 and the overall motion from I to V during bars
1-8. A further interesting connection exists between the
principal F/E/F motive and the B of bar 7, in that the resolution
of B3 to C4 also introduces the E4 of the melodic line (the lower
neighbour figure). {5} In addition ~o this, C4 also occurs prior
to B3, thus producing the motion C4/B3/C4 in the alto during bars
7-8, a transposed parallelism of the F/E/F motive.
A somewhat similar situation with regard to the use of the
raised fourth is found in the mazurka Op. 7, no. 1. Here, E5 is
a Lydian element above a drone-bass figure in the Trio (see
Example 11.3a). However, in contrast to OP. 68, no. 3 where it
functions purely as an authentic Lydian element on the melodic
surface, it also plays a prominent structural role here, namely,
as the main prolongational tone of the Trio (see Example 11.3b).
This additional structural function of the E shown in Example
11.3b is of particular significance, since it represents an
instance in the mazurkas where the Lydian fourth becomes a
determining structural element and not merely a surface
inflection or foreground figure.
- 416 -
Ex~ple 11.3a. Mazurka OP. 7, No. 1, Bare 45-52
sotto voce
~ -: 2 -.......__ % - ~~ ---~ ~
~:
t)
pp - ,.~ f:::
%
t--'-'.>----'
48
ril _j_ 3 ~ --......., tr ,,__ ---. 2 >- 3
-
tJ ,
~.
....__ ,-
3 ==- r ub ato - J
poco rall.
1 .'_ .- --- >-
>-
1< r·
Example 11.3b. Mazurka OP. 7, No. 1. Background Graph
,. @®®®@>@@
s- 114. ) Il • Aj 1 "I
J tin I J J
,.., t • 0 0:
.___ 1 I
In the main-theme period (bars 1-12; Example 11.3c), E4 (the
octave equivalent of E5) appears as a kind of surface lower
neighbour to F4 at bars 6 and 10 together with strong B-flat
major tonic support, producing a notable surface contrapuntal
clash with the fifth degree of the tonic triad (F3) in the
left-hand accompaniment.
- 417 -
Example 11.3c. Mazurka Op. 7, No. 1, Bare 1-12
Vivace c!...~~5~O_------_
::;:::..
f p scherzo
$ ~--
4-
s s i ft* * ~ * ~ * ~ *
(\ 1 , I ,.. 'h~ ,f,f'-,.-'" t.,-. :;f'-' 1'1'
( - _----
1~1'"
.. ib. ~tJ __:I_ ... ::::- :::::=- ~ ~ol
a::s- -:-=::
:::>-
~ b~ ~ ,,-': $~ b.... ~
\ • :~~sr- . :b~::::
~ * s * s -1', ~ * ~ *
If
1\ I r-':ll
-i_--_--_'-r) tJ
I
I s-
(
~ *
Although E4 cannot be regarded as a directly Lydian element here
due to the strong presence of the B-flat major tonality. it does
anticipate the ultimate use of E5 as Lydian element and as
background structural lower neighbour to F5 ("5). In a more
immediate sense, the E4 also paves the way for the use of E5 as
lower neighbour of F5 during the internal b-section (see Example
11.3d). The latter use of E5 is therefore also related to the E5
of the Trio in its background neighbour-note setting.
- 418 -
Example 11.3d. Mazurka OP. 7, No. 1, Bars 25-32
leg ato
Mazurka OP. 68, No. 2
We now turn our attention to the early A minor mazurka Op. 68,
no. 2 for a more comprehensive illustration of the motivic and
structural implications of the raised fourth. The main melodic
feature of this mazurka is the raised fourth degree D-sharp5,
prominent firstly in the main-theme period, lending to it its
distinctive GyPSY modal character referred to earlier (see
Examples 11.4a and b). Within the voice-leading structure,
D-sharp5 is the lower neighbour of E5 to which it is directly
connected onto the melodic surface each time it appears. What
results in the process is the neighbour-note configuration
E5/D-sharp5/E5, the central motivic element of this mazurka. The
D-sharp or raised fourth in this mazurka thus attains a
significance beyond that of being a purely superficially
interesting modal device, and it points to the fact that Chopin
- 419 -
Example 11.4a. Mazurka OP. 68, No. 2, Score, Bars 1-8
Lento ':'116
01',,5 Ml Nr. 2
_Il :~:--- J 11' ..'" ~ 5 tr ~__...,_ -
- .- .~ .~t.I '1-_.; '-/
P .,.. >• .. .,..~ A. A. .. ..
+r * 't"i * 'c"l
_fL ......'. ir tI' .,..
/ ;;-,""""1
i ~ :___.....-
I .. >• .,.. .. ....... "f#- A. ..
r: * 'c"l * 't"i *
Example 11.4b. Mazurka OP. 68, No. 2, Foreground Graph, Bars 1-8
(t'l1~~)
'4# • IE ' ,. T ., • +1
could fuse such modal properties with the art and objectives of
voice leading, to create a particular motivic and structural
profile.
Example 11.4b shows the melodic line beginning with an
ascending arpeggiated motion which carries E4 up to E5 through
register transfer, at which point the neighbour-note motive
occurs with D-sharp5 delicately furnished with an ornamental
- 420 -
figure on the melodic surface. This neighbour-note figure is
1\
situated above 3 (C5), and serves as a foreground embellishment
of E5, a cover tone. This is a clear instance of boundary-play,
that is, where voice leading is generated from a cover tone (see
Chapter 4) .
The importance of this neighbour-note motive can. be seen in
the way in which it is developed during the rest of the
composition. First of all, note, however, that A5 is placed
above the previous voice-leading activities at the end of the
main-theme period at bar 8, as well as its repetition at bar 16.
The idea of introducing this note is derived from the register
transfer during the opening arpeggiated motion of the main-theme
period. This opens up a new register which is utilised further
in the internal b-section (bars 17-20)--A5 being connected here
to G5, a cover tone placed above the original E5 cover tone; both
operate within III of A minor (see Example 11.4c). The raised
fourth degree reappears as F-sharp5, generated by the G5 cover
tone, and forming, together with it, the motion G5/F-sharp5/G5--a
transposed version of the original E/D-sharp/E motive which
appears with it in contrapuntal tenths in the left-hand
accompaniment.
Example 11.4c. Mazurka OP. 68, No. 2, Foreground Graph, Bars
17-20
@
..... @>' (OWl (: 3
~.......__..
l lo - 10 -l0 ...----
- 421 -
In the Trio (bars 29-44), the E/D-sharp/E motive acquires an
added upper neighbour (F-sharp5) to produce a double
neighbour-note figure E5/D-sharp5/F-sharp5/E5 (see Examples
11.4d, the score of bars 29-44, and 11.4e, a foreground graph of
the same bars). The addition of the upper neighbour F-sharp,
together with a change of mode from A minor to A major (resulting
;\
from the mixture of 3 in becoming C-sharp5), gives a different
complection to the raised fourth degree, in that it is now
distinctly less modal in character.
Example 11.4d. Mazurka OP. 68. No. 2. Score. Bare 29-44
zs Poco piu mosso
r
*
34
(\ li li r::
( -----
,
., ~ ~ I I r-= 3, '1 r:::
tJ
) r t r
ti '
m'f~, -== ====- pp ti "== ::::::=-
~i r i
r==:f', l.egaliss.. r- r- rI -
\ f ____ f r.....___.....r , 1
* * *
39
- 422 -
Example 11.4e. Mazurka OP. 68, No. 2, Foreground Graph, Bars
29-44
®
---~
On the melodic surface, this altered version of the original
neighbour-note motive is transferred down an octave during bars
35-36, but with a change of harmony (Ill of A major). In
connection with this harmonic shift, an interesting
tonal-structural parallelism exists between the Trio (bars 29-44)
and the large A-section comprising bars 1-28. In both sections
the tonal structure is composed-out by means of a I-III-V-I
structural bass arpeggiation (see Examples 11.4f and g,
middleground graphs of bars 1-28 and 29-44 respectively) .
- 423 -
Ex~ple 11.4f. Mazurka OP. 68, No. 2, Middleground Graph, Bars
1-28
(j) e @ @ @@
~ (~1)" (a3 ~ 'i)
!- 1 I I I
.!.
III I
L-- I"$. ,_ ~ j;.
1-
Example 11.4g. Mazurka OP. 68, No. 2, Middleground Graph, Bars
29-44
1'3 ,.
1 - (.1 i)0 I I .J I
f -
l" I
'f.. (ili)"1- '1
In terms of form design, bars 1-16 (the first part of section
A) prolong the first I in this structural bass arpeggiation,
followed by bars 17-20 (the internal b-section), prolonging III.
V is reached on the third beat of bar 20 whereupon I again enters
in bar 21 (the repeat of the first part of section A). In the
Trio, the same bass arpeggiation is not so much a
form-determining factor as a more immediate expansion of the A
maj or tri ad . In both instances, however, III is accompanied by
the primary neighbour-note motive and its derivation respectively
- 424 -
(compare Examples 11.4c and e). There may also be some sort of
connection between the neighbour-note figure and the element of
mixture in this mazurka. in that both are related to the idea of
chromatic embellishment. but. in different ways. For example.
the upper voice of bars 35-36 brings in the double neighbour-note
A
motive. but with C-sharp5 as its central note (the mixture of 3
in the background and primary structural tone of the Trio) .
,As one might expect. the double neighbour-note motive plays a
role in inner-voice activities of sections A-a and A-b. Firstly.
the left-hand accompaniment in section A-a presents a continuous
circling motion around C4. comprising the notes C4/B3/C4/D4/C4
(see again Examples 11.4a and b). This as yet unobtrusive
accompanying figure may be said to be the initiation for the
development of the double neighbour-note motive in the Trio. A
second clue to the later significance of the double
neighbour-note motive is provided in the left-hand accompaniment
of bars 17-20. where the E5/D-sharp5/E5 motive appears together
with the superimposed G5/F-sharp5/G5 figure (see again Example
11.4c). However. in the former motive. an upper neighbour F4
replaces the D-sharp4 at bar 19. Consequently. an overall motion
E4/D-sharp4/E4/F4/E4 is recognised during bars 17-20--a subtle
foreshadowing of the E5/D-sharp5/F-sharp5/E5 double
neighbour-note figure of the Trio.
Summary
What may be regarded as an idiomatic modal feature in the
mazurkas is significantly expanded in OP. 68. no. 2 by being
- 425 -
treated as an integral part of voice-leading activity and
development. The raised fourth becomes part of, and effects, the
main motivic configuration, and acts as a unifying voice-leading
element throughout the entire piece. However, the directness
with which it is still treated within the melodic motions of this
mazurka, and especially during those of the main-theme period,
points to the fact that Chopin had succeeded in retaining the
raised fourth's original stylistic quality as modal colourant,
while at the same time utilising its potential function as a
chromatic elaborational device, by making it the principal
element in effecting the motivically and chromatically rich
surface voice-leading fabric of this mazurka.
A
In Chapter 10, the Phrygian 2 was considered with regard to
its role as an element of chromaticism in the mazurkas. A number
of mazurkas were noted there for containing this element in their
harmonic/voice-leading structures. However, compared to the role
played by the raised fourth as modal element in the mazurkas,
A
that of the Phrygian 2 is limited. In fact, there are only three
mazurkas in which it also functions as a modal element. These
are OP. 41, nos. 1 and 2, and 56, no. 3. {6} Apart from these
examples, there are three other mazurkas (OP. 24, no. 3, OP. 50,
no. 2 and OP. 59, no. 2), containing Phrygian cadences, but which
A
are not derived from the Phrygian 2 itself. {7} For the purpose
of the present chapter, only OP. 41, nos. 1 and 2 will be
A
considered in terms of the influence of the Phrygian 2 as modal
device on their tonal structures, since they offer two extremes
in this regard.
- 426 -
Mazurka Op. 41, No. 1
The only mazurka in which a Phrygian mode can be identified,
is Op. 41, no. 1. This involves the opening melodic statement of
the piece which is first presented in unison during bars 1-4 and
then repeated during bars 5-8 with accompaniment in the left
hand, the latter already commencing on the second beat of bar 4
(see Example 11.5a).
Example 11.5a. Mazurka OP. 41, No. 1, Bars 1-5
1\
Here, the Phrygian 2 (D4), functions as a surface passing tone
within the ascending motion from C-sharp4 to E4 in the melodic
line, plainly confirming its status as an authentic Phrygian
element. This fact is further substantiated by the entering
voices of the left hand, which, together with each subsequent
appearance of the D4, occasion a purely contrapuntal surface
flat-II sonority (F-sharp3;A3;D4) The character of this
sonority is determined by a C-sharp tonic pedal point, repeated
in the left hand during bars 1-8, causing a static harmonic
- 427 -
situation in these bars.
From a tonal-structural viewpoint, however, this apparent
Phrygian tonality established during the first eight bars is only
a momentary tonal feature, since the following eight bars already
bring a further repetition of the opening theme within III of
C-sharp. This implies that C-sharp minor should be present as
the main tonality in the background (see Example 11.5b).
Example 11.5b. Mazurka OP. 41, No. 1, Bara 9-16
13 (l li ~ --- ,...._; 1 1 Z2 F1 1..::i";--. H r-:~~~ L-=
, ~ ~~ ~ cresc ..1 ,. I~lllt- \;f--}U'llll -
*
.1\
In addition, an interesting event occurs at bar 20 where 3 (E5)
is unexpectedly operated on by mixture to become E-sharp5, thus
causing a shift to the parallel major tonality (C-sharp major),
which continues to be prolonged throughout most of the background
structure (see Example 11.5c, a background/middleground graph of
the first 24 bars, comprising the large A-section of the
mazurka) .
- 428 -
Example 11.5c. Mazurka OP. 41, No. 1, Background/Middleground
Graph, Bars 1-24
(jj) ®
Further instances of the Phrygian 2" occur in bars 69-72. 73-80
and 119-126). Examples 11.5d and e present the score and a
middleground graph of bars 61-80 respectively. while Examples
11.5f and g present the score and a middleground graph of bars
119-139 respectively.
Example 11.5d. Mazurka OP. 41, No. 1, Score, Bars 61-80
3 s .._ 4~4
--'." .,
1 1 , • • ----
73 (') Jj H 5 ~ 1 1 ------- ~ ----~In ~~~ .~rr~ r
1 ::
rr * ~-t~
) L J ::
n *~. rr *~.
~ J J #-~.- ~
~ +1*
) I J ml -
1 I. -:: - 1
*
- 429 -
Example 11.5e. Mazurka OP. 41, No. 1, Middleground Graph, Bars
61-80
@ @ ®
Example 11.5f. Mazurka OP. 41, No. 1, Score, Bars 119-139
13 () u li ___
u ....
I f'I p_ L ~~
. t::::-01 r-.. CJ L L::~rri~rjl~ l.~ i'il, -
r r,.... ~f r ~ 'r #f r- .r f r_ I :: 'F- 1= CI >:7 ~ f r F\;.)
- 430 -
Example 11.5g. Mazurka OP. 41, No. 1, Middleground Graph, Bars
119-139
e @
- _----_ A ,..~ 1 I
An interesting structural situation presents itself during
bars 64-72. After the V7 of bars 63-64, a deceptive cadence is
created at bar 65, at which point the reprise of the opening
theme is anticipated in a most ingenious manner by being
presented imitatively within the local A major harmony (flat-VI
of C-sharp major), during bars 65-68. This is followed by two
further statements of its first two bars in the left hand during
bars 69-72. By this time, the prolonging foreground harmony has
changed to F-sharp and D respectively (IV and flat-II of
C-sharp), concluding with VII7 of C-sharp, a dominant substitute,
on the third beat of bar 72, before moving to I on the downbeat
of bar 73. The first of these statements contains a G2 as
1\
Phrygian 2 within the local F-sharp minor harmony, while the
1\
second contains the original Phrygian 2 (here, both D3 and D2),
within flat-II, and becoming a diminished third within the VII7
harmony. Since IV, flat-II and VII7 function within the
1\
prolongation of V and the upper neighbour of 3 in the
middleground, the underlying harmonic progression of bars 63-72
constitutes a motion from V to VII7, an interpretation further
- 431 -
substantiated by the chromatic voice-exchange figure between the
bass and tenor voices. Thus, we have an interesting piece of
voice-leading detail in Example 11.5e, where, contrary to the
~
normal situation concerning the voice-leading role of flat-2,
~
natural-2 is first presented within the dominant, followed by
A A
flat-2, moving to 1 in the inner voice at bar 73.
In bars 73-80, the Prygian element operates again within the
reprise of the opening theme, but now plays into the prevailing
C-sharp major tonality, forming the motion C-sharp4/D4/E-sharp4,
resembling the second form of the GyPSY scale mentioned above.
However, since, in comparison to the opening 32 bars, roughly the
same structural circumstances prevail here (bars 73 and further
A
being the reprise of section A), the role of the Phrygian 2 is
again nothing more than that of a pure surface element, except
for the fact that, compared to its function in the opening eight
bars, it does not represent a surface passing tone here, but
rather an odd surface upper neighbour of C-sharp4.
Finally, in bars 119-126, the opening theme with its Phrygian
element occurs for the last time in octave doubling in both hands
and then in octaves in the left hand only, prolonging E5 in the
A
background (the restored 3). Once again, any deeper structural
A
significance of the Phrygian 2 is ruled out here, since the fact
that these bars are followed by the final descent of the
fundamental line establishes beyond doubt that C-sharp minor is
the ultimate background tonality of this mazurka.
- 432 -
Summary
Two important points emerge from this discussion of Op. 41.
A
no. 1 concerning the influence of the Phrygian 2 on its
harmonic/voice-leading structure: 1) It acts firstly as a purely
modal device within the opening eight bars and its corresponding
places (bars 73-80 and 119-126). thus having no deeper structural
significance apart from being a momentary surface tonal feature;
2) although its appearance during bars 69-72 results in a
foreground harmony similar to the one appearing along with it on
the surface of the opening bars. this harmony. being subsumed
under the middleground dominant of bars 62-72. once again causes
A
the Phrygian 2 to act purely as a foreground harmonic colouring
device.
Mazurka OP. 41, No. 2
A
In contrast to OP. 41. no. 1. the Phrygian 2 in OP. 41. no. 2
penetrates into the background. causing a problematic situation
with regard to the fundamental structure itself. For the purpose
of this discussion. only the last twelve bars of the piece. the
final statement of the main-theme period will be considered.
Example 11.6a is the score of bars 57-68. while Example 11.6b
is a middleground graph of the same bars. Note that there are
two fifth-lines during these bars. the first comprising bars
57-60. and the second. bars 61-64; the final bars present a brief
but significant coda in terms of interpreting the background
A
correctly and determining the role of the Phrygian 2 as will be
- 433 -
Example 11.6a. Mazurka OP. 41, No. 2, Score, Bars 57-68
.r.a.ilent. ~ ~
Example 11.6b. Mazurka OP. 41, No. 2, Middleground Graph, Bars
57-68
@ @®@
(·N~) ..'+
n li- I~ I I
..J .-._..'.if._=f 9" ........ ,...)+
- (!) t=" - s *'-=-~
I-
I "'--T I T~'"
seen shortly. The second fifth-line differs from the first by
1\
means of the appearance of the Phrygian 2 F4, replacing F-sharp4
of the first. Whereas F-sharp4 in the first fifth-line is
supported by V at bar 59, causing a closed harmonic progression
for bars 57-60, in the second F4 is seemingly presented without
surface harmonic support at bar 63, causing a complete absence of
V during bars 61-64, as well as the corresponding closed harmonic
progression for these bars. The reason for this lies in the way
in which F4 is treated in the voice leading. By resolving to E4
1\
(1) over I at bar 64 instead of the usual way, that is, resolving
- 434 -
A
upward to F-sharp4 or 2, it functions actually as an authentic
A
Phrygian element, rather than a chromatic inflection of 2.
This situation poses a problem with regard to the background
structure of this mazurka, in that, if we assume the second
fifth-line and its harmonic support to represent the actual
A
fundamental structure, neither 2, nor V are present as vital
fundamental-structural components. In addition, F4, unlike
F-sharp4, is not part of the E minor tonality, making its role of
part of the melodic unfolding of the E minor tonic triad
questionable.
In Free Composition, Fig. 75, Schenker attempts to solve this
problem by indicating that the first fifth-line represents the
background proper, while the second functions in a coda-like
manner from the perspective of the piece's tonal structure having
already been completed at that point. Thus, he relegates the
Phrygian element and the problematic harmonic situation caused by
it along with the rest of the line to the middleground. {8} This
interpretation is questioned here on the grounds of two important
perspectives, namely, 1) the structural character of bars 61-64,
A
and 2) the prominence of the Phrygian 2 in the latter.
Firstly, the assertion that bars 61-64 already represent the
coda cannot be accepted, since they do not give the impression of
a musical or structural afterthought, so to speak, but rather
serve as a consequent phrase (bars 57-60 being the antecedent).
Even though the latter has a closed tonal structure of its own,
its temporal span is simply too short to justify its
interpretatiQn as representative of the final close of the
fundamental structure. A further important substantiation for
- 435 -
this interpretation is the five-bar extension of the consequent
phrase from the second beat of bar 64 to the end, serving as a
A
final foreground prolongation of 1 of the second fifth-line.
Apart from representing the real coda, this extention itself
A
contains a final reminder of the Phrygian 2 within its plagal
cadential structure. Note further that instead of I being
A
presented in its root position along with 5 at bar 57, thus
connecting back to their first actual appearance in the
background at bar 1, an applied tonic harmony occurs here, moving
to IV6 at bar 58. This is the result of the voice-leading of the
previous bar from which it follows (see Example 11.6c, the final
bars of the large B-section, leading into A').
Example 11.6c. Mazurka OP. 41, No. 2, Bars 53-58
In the graph at Example 11.6b, this foreground harmony at bar 57
is, however, avoided in favour of its original background
setting. In view of these observations, it is clear that the
second fifth-line and its harmonic support must be regarded as
representing the final close of the fundamental structure.
All of this, however, still leaves the problem of how to
A
accept the Phrygian 2 and its particular setting in the voice
leading as part of this mazurka's background structure. Looking
at the second fifth-line and its harmonic support once again,
436
A
note first of all that, although 2 and its essential dominant
support are not present, its character as a significant linear
progression cannot be ignored. Secondly, in spite of the lack of
J\
any definite surface harmony at flat-2, it does have legitimate
background harmonic support as shown in Example 11.6b, namely,
flat-II of E minor, being a substitute for IV. Together with the
final I, a typical plagal cadence structure is thus produced
{9}--a common harmonic feature of the Phrygian mode. Finally,
J\
the fact that flat-2 does have legitimate harmonic support and is
recognised as an authentic Phrygian element in the process.
prevents it from being interpreted here as a chromatic
J\
substitution for 2. Therefore, although in this case the
background does not comprise the usual components of the
fundamental structure functioning within the context of the
unfolding of the E minor tonic triad, it nevertheless still
constitutes a closed harmonic/contrapuntal progression. but now
functioning within the context of the Phrygian mode, consisting
of a descending diatonic linear upper-voice motion along with a
I-flat-II6-I harmonic progression in the bass.
A
In the final analysis, it is the prominence of the Phrygian 2
as a modal element, together with its characteristic harmonic
setting, that justifies its interpretation as part of the
background structure of this mazurka. Thus Chopin was able to
A
utilise the Phrygian 2 in its modal setting in such a way that it
acts both as significant melodic feature and as
tonality-determining element, placing OP. 41, no. 2 within the
category of authentic Phrygian compositions as far as its
background tonal structure is concerned. In fact, it is really
- 437 -
only the voice leading of the last part of section A and its
reprise (the latter, of course, representing the final close of
the fundamental structure), that definitely confirms its Phrygian
tonal status in the background. The rest of the voice leading,
and especially that of the large B-section, functions within the
context of E minor and the tonicisation of its dominant. Also,
1\
apart from section A and its reprise, the Phrygian 2 does not
appear at all during section B. This dichotomy in terms of
tonal-structural character is, however, the result of the
difference between the background and the composed-out voice
leading of the middleground and foreground structures (see
Example 11.6d, a middleground graph of the entire mazurka).
Example 11.6d. Mazurka OP. 41, No. 2, Middleground Graph
, lI-~1 I I
I J ~. '+ I,.'----"'" =F
1'- r
"I PjLl. j..
- 438 -
A
Therefore, although the Phrygian 2 may at first seem to be only
an odd deviation within an E minor tonality--purely for the sake
of providing an interesting modal flavouring--its final placement
in the fundamental structure causes it to influence the tonal
structure of this mazurka in such a way that it ultimately
replaces the E minor tonality in the background.
Summary and Conclusion
The foregoing investigation into the influence of modal
elements on the motivic and tonal structures of the mazurkas
first of all revealed that the Lydian or raised fourth degree
occurs mainly as part of the foreground or surface voice-leading
activity of a given mazurka, except for one instance referred to
above, namely, OP. 7, no. 1, where it was seen to operate as a
significant prolongational and form-creating element in the large
background/middleground structure. {lO} Furthermore, it also
plays an important role as a motivic element, as well as being a
frequent chromatic or modal colouring device. Roughly the same
A
situation prevails with regard to the Phrygian 2, except for the
fact that, compared to the raised fourth, it appears less
frequently in the mazurkas, particularly as a modal device. As a
motivic element it is essentially restricted to those mazurkas in
which it operates as a chromatic inflection of 2 in the
background and middleground structure (see again Chapter 10, in
particular, the discussion of OP. 33, no. 4). Similar to the
situation found in OP. 7, no. 1 regarding the deeper structural
significance of the raised fourth, OP. 41, no. 2 presented an
- 439 -
A
instance in which the Phrygian 2 was actually seen to penetrate
into the fundamental structure itself, thereby causing the entire
mazurka's harmonic/voice-leading structure to be conceived from a
Phrygian oriented fundamental-structural model. {11}
From these observations it is clear that modal elements are
not employed merely as superficial stylistic or folkloric
colouring devices, but that they can constitute an integral part
of motivic and harmonic/voice-leading development in the
mazurkas.
NOTES
1. In this regard, Schaffer, in her dissertation, The Chopin
Mazurkas. P. 21. refers to the mazurka OP. 24. no. 2 as
containing themes in the Aeolian, Lydian and Dorian modes.
alternating with major and minor phrases. However. it is clear
that the overall tonality of this mazurka remains that of C
major, in spite of the fact that the internal b-section is really
in the Lydian mode of F and its Trio-section in the remote key of
D-flat major both key regions being the result of the
tonicisation of F and D-flat respectively (see the background
graph of this mazurka below. and compare it with the score) .
- 440 -
Mazurka OP. 24, No. 2, Background Graph
l ,
0 I ~If---J I { I
'-
(7 U-#-. If + e
-
Although the Lydian mode is more of a tonal reality here because
of the tonicisation of F during bars 21-36, the other modes to
which Schaffer refers are either very fleeting melodic events
(for instance, the apparent adherence to the Aeolian mode during
bars 7-8 and corresponding places within the momentary motion
into VI of C major), or not really existing at all (in the case
of the Dorian mode which I cannot find anyWhere in the mazurka) .
2. With regard to the secondary dominant of V at bar 7, it
will be noticed that the dominant of G minor (D) appears in the
bass at this point. Instead of being a pedal point figure which
would have resulted in the two harmonies of bar 7, including the
secondary dominant mentioned above, already becoming subsumed
under the dominant of G minor, this D is characterised by
Schenker in his chapter on rhythm in Free Composition (Par. 294)
as an anticipation of the dominant at bar 8 (see the reproduction
of Schenker's Fig. 145,2 from Free Composition below).
- 441 -
::
lT
3. In contrast to the present interpretation of the
fundamental structure of OP. 24, no. 1, Schenker, in Free
A
Composition, Fig. 119,21, reads the background from 5, indicating
how it operates in the middleground during the A and B-sections,
followed by its upper neighbour during section C (see the
reproduction of this figure below) .
--A A A A... 5--.4, 3 ~ 1e lj e
The apparent rationale behind this reading is the prominence of
D5 or '5" in the voice leading throughout the composition, and the
fact that the upper neighbour E-flat5 in the large structure can
be related motivically to its occurrences in the foreground and
middleground structures as part of the upper-voice motions of
sections A and B respectively. However, there is little evidence
- 442 -
in the music to suggest a satisfactory final descent of the
A
fundamental line from 5. Therefore, in spite of the arguments
A
deduced from Schenker's Fig. 119,21, the interpretation from 3
A
(B-flat4), is preferred here above that from 5, and for two
A A A
distinctive reasons, apart from the motion 3-2-1 being much more
•
convincing.
Firstly, looking at the opening four bars, the voice leading
plainly suggests an unfolding pattern A4/F-sharp4;G4/B-flat4
A
within bars 1-2, comprising an initial ascent to B-flat4 or 3,
while, at bar 4, there is a return to B-flat4 via C5, acting as
its upper neighbour in bar 3. This interpretation of the opening
bars is contrary to that of Schenker's. where the essential
upper-voice motion of the first two bars is given as a motivic
motion from A to G. Although D5 is presented above B-flat4 in
the voice leading at bar 4, the latter is presented as a dotted
half, occupying the entire bar, whereas D5 occupies only the
first two beats of bar 4, thereby leaving only B-flat4 sounding
in the right hand by the end of the bar. Not only does this
durational situation emphasise the structural priority of B-flat4
over that of D5 in the middleground at this point, but it also
confirms the legitimacy of the B-flat4/C5/B-flat4 motion as the
real structural upper voice motion during bars 2-4. Secondly,
looking at the concluding note of section B and the melodic
motions at the beginning of section C, notice that the former
closes on B-flat4, while the latter contains several repetitions
of B-flat4 in conjunction with its upper neighbour C5 within the
tonicisation of E-flat major (flat-VI of G minor), forming a
motivic link with the upper-voice motions of the opening four
- 443 -
bars (see the two sketches below). Therefore, the appearances of
D5 and E-flat5 in Schenker's figure, and by implication also the
raised fourth (C-sharp5), must be regarded as superposed inner
voices in a very active situation of boundary-play.
Mazurka OP. 24, No. 1, Foreground Graph, Bars 1-4
Mazurka OP. 24, No. 1, Foreground Graph, Bars 32-34
,
@ @ ®
hUI, ®, II~ r: I
-LJ' I I
:f;
4. The significance of such accompanying drone-bass fifths
along with occurrences of the Lydian fourth is that, through the
static harmonic situation rendered by it, the original modal
setting of the raised fourth is emphasised more fully.
5. For another discussion of this mazurka, see Jeffrey
Kresky's presentation of it as one of his Twelve Analytic Studies
in Tonal Music (Indiana University Press, 1978), 81-91.
- 444 -
A
6. Apart from the role of the Phrygian 2 as chromatic device
in both the background structure and the coda of OP. 56, no. 3,
there is one instance during the coda in which it also functions
as an authentic Phrygian element, namely, on the third beat of
bar 204.
7. In the case of Op. 59, no. 2, for instance, the Phrygian
cadence appears during bars 59-60, comprising the end of section
B and the opening bar of a nine-bar improvisatory transitional
passage, before the reprise of section A commencing in bar 69.
The result is a 6/5/3 chord on D-flat in the bass, prolonged
since bar 53 (the upper neighbour of C, III of A-flat major),
changing into an augmented sixth before resolving to C major
(sharp-Ill), which is subsequently prolonged during the rest of
the transitional passage (compare the score of bars 53-69 with
the graph below) .
Mazurka OP. 59, No. 2, Bars 53-69
t
M d)
_II~ ~~I
I --- 1 ..... -.::.. ---..J, _
I - I I
J[I -- 1. --=I~
However, the conception of both the neighbouring harmony and its
resolution--and by implication therefore, of the Phrygian cadence
itse If--is also closely linked with the fact that D-flat
functions as an important neighbour-note motive throughout the
- 445 -
mazurka (in this regard, see, for instance, the opening melodic
statement during bars 1-4, as well as the numerous occurrences of
D-flat as chromatic surface upper neighbour of C during the
transitional passage). In terms of structural significance, the
Phrygian cadence belongs to the middleground, while the D-flats
during the transitional section--all Phrygian elements within the
local C major context--form part of the surface voice-leading
configurations, being responsible for the improvisatory character
of this section, as referred to above.
8. Schenker uses this mazurka as an example of what he terms
in Par. 195 of Free Composition as: "the reverse succession
..... A
sharp-2/flat-2", of which he writes:
Once the diatonic structure of a composition is finally
established, the compo,.,ser can, for the sake of a special
effect, place a flat-2 even at the end, as though the entire
piece were in the Phrygian mode.
9. This harmonic support for the Phrygian element comes about
,.. "...
through an unsupported stretch identified between 4 and flat-2,
..... /" "'-
causing IV under 4 to be retained across 3 to flat-2, with the
"'-
resulting change to flat-II at the point where flat-2 enters in
.....
the upper voice; hence the implied notes of the flat-2 harmony in
the graph at Example 11.6b.
10. Although in OP. 68, no. 3, the E within the large F/E/F
middleground configuration in its upper voice is motivically
related to the Lydian fourth (E), appearing as part of a similar
neighbour-note motion in its Trio, the former is not primarily
associated with the latter, since, in the main F major tonality,
E functions as the normal diatonic seventh degree or leading
- 446 -
tone.
A
11. In its capacity as chromatic inflection of 2, the Phrygian
A
2 has already been seen to penetrate into the deeper middleground
and background structure (in this connection. see the discussion
of OP. 33, no. 4 in Chapter 10) .
- 447 -
CHAPTER 12
THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE DRONE BASS FOR TONAL STRUCTURE
In Section III, a preliminary account was given of Chopin's
treatment of folkloric elements and their implications for
harmonic, voice-leading, tonal and formal characteristics of the
mazurkas. The point was made there that a more thorough
investigation into the role of folkloric elements with regard to
tonal structure wo~ld have to take into consideration an analytic
approach in which harmony and voice leading are treated as equal
and interactive elements to arrive at the correct assessment of
the implications of such folkloric elements in a given mazurka.
These folkloric elements, however, serve first of all Chopin's
artistic idealisations of Polish dance types (especially the
Mazurka and the Polonaise). In this capacity they often create
problematic tonal structures from a "conservative" Schenkerian
viewpoint. This happens when a particular folkloric device
penetrates into the background structure, where it influences
either the fundamental line or the bass arpeggiation or both, to
the extent that the fundamental line may be incomplete or
stationary, or may lack harmonic support. Such alternative
models are not necessarily inappropriate, however, since the
folkloric device itself becomes the determining background
structural element of the particular mazurka.
The present chapter focusses on the relationship between
Schenker's harmonic/contrapuntal model and a specific folkloric
device frequently encountered in mazurkas of each style and
- 448 -
period, namely, the drone bass. This investigation will be
carried out in a way that does not lose sight of the historical
and stylistic significance of the drone or its influence on the
harmonic/contrapuntal model. Two selected mazurkas, one from
Chopin's early period (OP. 6, no. 2), and the second from his
late period (OP. 56, no. 2), will serve as primary examples to be
discussed and analysed below. References will be made to two
other mazurkas from the OP. 6 collection (nos. 3 and 4), where,
contrary to the principal examples in which the drone bass
appears exclusively as a harmonic fifth, it operates also as a
single-note or pedal point figure. {i}
Mazurka OP. 6, No. 2
To begin with, the drone bass--and its relation to the
harmonic/contrapuntal model--suggests a particularly interesting
investigation. Apart from its obvious role as surface
prolongational device, the static harmonic character of the drone
may, depending on its use, seem to minimize the importance of the
harmonic/contrapuntal model. Also, it may be that the position
of the drone in a specific composition serves no other purpose
than to provide an interesting effect or colouring, or that it
may act as a motive central to the tonal structure of a piece.
In the mazurka OP. 6, no. 2. as in the rest of Chopin's
early-period mazurkas, one is immediately aware of the artistic
idealisation of the dance, in spite of prominent folkloric
features such as the drone bass in nos. 2, 3 and 4 of Op. 6, nos.
1, 3 and 4 of OP. 7 and nos. 2 and 3 of OP. 68. With these
- 449 -
idealisations Chopin was able to reveal his artistry at fusing
the art of voice leading with the traditions and materials of his
own native folk music heritage.
At the start of OP. 6, no. 2, the familiar drone bass fifth is
prominent in the left hand and continues until the entry of the
main-theme period in bar 9. Together with melodic figurations of
a more motivic nature in an inner voice (as will be seen later),
this section forms an introduction, prolonging the dominant,
before the entry of the main theme (see Example 12.1).
Example 12.1. Mazurka OP. 6, No. 2, Bars 1-10
J. 63
sotto voce Ol'u.6 Nr. 2
fI II II. > > > >_ > > >
~ ~r.#r. LJ [.!!r~. #~ I~UJ#rU r ~a.r#r LJ
2. ~ p lpgnfo
W
z ......__I •
,I Z ---
-4-l1- -.j.
> > > >
F9=# 5 5II. > > > > > I •.. >....----.!
#. .. .. I
~ [~t rrfa#-. '~u.r#r ~~~ • 3
, .
-.......:::::::
Il •• $ j::
*
At bar 9 (the start of the main-theme period), the G-sharp4 in
the right hand upper voice of bars 1-8 is transposed an octave
higher through register transfer to G-sharp5, and it would seem
to indicate the appearance of the first structural soprano tone
(5). However, a problem arises immediately within the next two
bars. If bars 9-16 were to be viewed as a closed unit with a
1\ A
descent from 5 to 1, otherwise a middleground fifth-line, it will
A A A
be noted that 5 is followed by 4 in bar 9 and 3 in bar 10,
- 450 -
1\
causing an absence of tonic harmony support under 5. To solve
this structural problem, the long dominant introduction would
/\
have to be preceded by an implied 5 and I in order to achieve a
satisfactory background solution (see Example 12.2, a background
graph of the entire mazurka) .
Example 12.2. Mazurka OP. 6, No. 2, Background Graph
o Jj. ::i:l:. Ic lA--. J I I
..)
1 / I
\ / r ~·---r
1
From this example it is clear that the tonal structure is not
minimized by the drone and that the dominant prolongation of bars
1-8 conforms more to the static nature inherent in such a device
than to prolongation through voice leading. There is thus a
prolonging effect, but purely temporary, created by the drone.
The drone itself with the melodic activities around it can, at
this stage, be regarded only as a surface event of lesser
structural significance (see Example 12.3, a foreground graph of
the opening 16 bars, showing the position of bars 1-8 in the
tonal structure of this part of the mazurka) .
- 451 -
Example 12.3. Mazurka OP. 6, No. 2, Foreground Graph, Bare 1-16
The question at this point is whether more justification could
not be found for these opening introductory bars than pure
folkloric effect or a sudden surface "prolongational whim".
Further investigation delivers cause to believe that more ideas
occurring during the piece derive their origin from this opening
than may meet the eye--or ear--at first.
Looking firstly at bars 13-16 (the second four-bar group of
/\
the main-theme period), 2--which is reached after a fairly rapid
descent from '5"--is momentarily prolonged through a tiny
third-line D-sharp5/C-sharp5/B-sharp5. together with a register
transfer from D-sharp5 to D-sharp4, effected through a descending
arpeggiation, before "1 (C-sharp4) occurs in bar 16. As a
middleground event. these bars still represent the '5" of the
background, but with prolongation of '2" in the middleground
descent with the same dominant harmonic support as in bars 1-8
(see Example 12.4. a middleground graph of bars 9-16) .
- 452 -
Example 12.4. Mazurka OP. 6, No. 2, Middleground Graph, Bare
9-16
-
. IL
In the internal b-section (bars 17-24), however, a much more
extensive dominant prolongation occurs in spite of the fact that
it involves the same number of bars as the dominant prolongation
in the introduction. This is effected through prolongation of
the background structural alto in its dominant harmonic setting
(see Example 12.5, middleground and foreground graphs for bars
17-32) . Many features related to bars 13-15, as well as bars
1-8, are presented here. Firstly, there is a reverse of the
register transfer of bars 13-15, effected through the same
arpeggiation, followed by an identical tiny third-line as in bars
13-14, accompanied by a contrapuntal 10-10 movement in the tenor
voice. Thus. bars 17-24 can be said to be an expansion and
development of the essential voice-leading content of bars 13-15.
Also. the third-lines during bars 17-24. as well as the one in
bars 13-15, stem from the linear surface motions between B-sharp3
and D-sharp4 in the inner voices of bars 1-8. Furthermore. a
A
middleground register transfer of 5 (G-sharp5) an octave
downwards to G-sharp4 is corrected back to its obligatory
register in bars 23-24. The repetitive registral motion of the
surface forms a striking parallelism to the initial motion from
- 453 -
Ex~ple 12.5. Mazurka OP. 6, No. 2, Middleground and Foreground
Graphe, Bare 17-32
l~)
o 11- lf, J --:~-, ----
f J
lo ~
1 II- '--~I(b)
. 0 ~ lf. r-, ,._
]
,,J ',,fl.@ +@ I
I ___!,fr, II
Jl- !,_ ~ <, n0J +~ ,J 1/ <,
.... :.~.o~1\ (-H..;~J.) ~.L ... Il .i~ •
I~-r
I -/~~-T- ,
1.
G-sharp4 to G-sharp5 in bars 8-9. Bars 25-32 present an exact
repetition of bars 9-16, bringing about a parallel structural
situation between the first and second sixteen bars of the piece
in that a similar dominant prolongation (bars 17-24), is followed
1\ 1\
by a middleground descent from 5 to 1 (bars 25-32).
Comparing the second sixteen bars to the first, the only
difference from a middleground point of view lies in the manner
in which the prolongation of the dominant is achieved--in the
first sixteen through the drone and in the second sixteen through
voice leading. It is also interesting to note that the dominant
1\
prolongation in bar 17-24 is preceded by 5 over I in the
middleground. At a deeper structural level bars 1-16, in
- 454 -
relation to bars 17 and further, may be regarded as fulfilling
the same structural function as did the implied tonic before the
first dominant prolongation in bars 1-8.
One may argue that, although the drone is not in itself part
of the voice-leading activity, its effect upon the tonal
structure of the first eight bars might have been a suggestion
for Chopin to create parallel situations of dominant prolongation
for reasons of symmetry. The dominant prolongation of bars 17-24
therefore balances the seemingly heavy emphasis on the dominant
in the introduction. However, the dominant prolongation of bars
17-24 contrasts with that of the introduction in it being
achieved through voice-leading means rather than through a drone.
In addition, the numerous registral changes together with the
neighbour-note and escape-tone motives, indicated in the various
relevant examples so far, suggest a thematic-motivic relationship
between these passages. Finally, further balance with the
dominant sections during bars 1-32 is achieved by a tonic
prolongation in the background which runs through bars 33-40
(comprising the first half of the Trio), a total of eight bars.
In the second half of the Trio (bars 41-48), there is yet
another prolongation of the dominant in the middleground,
preparing the way for the introductory material which is once
again presented, followed by the final statement of the
A
main-theme period and the background structural descent to 1 (see
Example 12.6, middleground and foreground graphs for bars 33 to
the end) .
- 455 -
Example 12.6. Mazurka OP. 6. No. 2. Middleground and Foreground
Graphs. Bars 33-72
(a..)
n ~.lt:. IJ \ •lol ---.---.......----.....
.J
It. ~
"
I~ + +
r ~r
I it>, ,: 1 ..
1
• 1}
, .l.®
, O~.j:-.
- JP'I N I ~ ~~ ~~J1-J
I
~l I
IJ ·..._,.T "+....__..+~ " ............ +...J! ,.~ (+kirot) , -é
f - " [,n.·LlO -1000. (," ...--. " ..... Jl In.I
I .... T T--+ I~ f'---.-/ ~ ~ -,
Of certain significance. however. is the correspondence
between the essential upper-voice motions of bars 33-48
(particularly bars 41-48. because of the harmonic similarity) and
those of the introduction--the former constituting a reversed and
slightly embellished version of the neighbour-note and linear
motions in the latter (compare Example 12.6 level b with Example
12.3). Apart from the repetitions of motives found in previous
sections. an interesting parallelism on a higher structural level
is shown in Example 12.6a where the neighbour-note figure in the
middleground resembles the many tiny neighbour-note motives found
in the foreground of the entire work. And lastly. a small motive
outlining a perfect fifth and occurring more as an ornament on
- 456 -
the surface may be interpreted as a melodic derivation of the
drone.
Summary
The static harmonic situation and subsequent surface
voice-leading events created by the drone do not have a marked
influence on the harmonic/contrapuntal model apart from delaying
the structural events somewhat. In this instance, we have an
introductory passage where the drone functions as an interesting
folkloric characterisation and where various melodic motions used
later as unifying motivic elements are displayed. The drone,
however, necessitates further dominant prolongational situations,
but this time within the harmonic/voice-leading structure of the
work, effected through voice leading. In turn this creates
parallel compositional events making repetitions of various
motivic surface events possible, so as to knit the musical fabric
in the composition together more closely.
Mazurka OP. 6, No. 3
An additional example from the OP. 6 set, namely, no. 3,
offers a similar instance of the influence of the drone bass on
voice-leading prolongation. Like no. 2, this mazurka starts with
an eight-bar introduction in which the drone features
prominently, this time, however, prolonging the tonic (see
Example 12.7)
- 457 -
Ex~ple 12.7. Mazurka OP. 6, No. 3, Bars 1-8
In bars 9-14 (the first six bars of the main-theme period),
there is a continuation of the drone in the left-hand
accompaniment, turning eventually into a single-note pedal point
figure against a surface I-V7-I harmonic motion. Coupled with
this is an arpeggiated initial ascent, followed by a tiny
1\
third-line leading to 3 (G-sharp5) in bar 12 (see Example 12.8, a
foreground graph of bars 9-12).
Ex~ple 12.8. Mazurka OP. 6, No. 3, Foreground Graph, Bars 9-12
1\
After a sudden motion to the dominant and 2 in bar 16, a four
bar interpolation, consisting of bars 5-8 of the introduction
- 458 -
within the dominant key region, suggests the likelihood of an
interruption. However, in spite of the further prolongation of
the dominant during bars 33-38 (bars 21-32 being a repetition of
1\
bars 9-20), the middleground voice leading continues on to 1 and
I in bar 39 (see Example 12.9, a foreground graph of bars
24-40) .
Example 12.9. Mazurka OP. 6, No. 3, Foreground Graph, Bars 24-40
Once again this points to the provocative influence of the drone
in necessitating a balance of those phrases under its static
harmonic influence, with complementary phrases in the same
harmonic region. A parallel tonal-structural situation exists in
bars 29-38 and 1-14: in both instances, a surface prolongational
phrase created through the drone is followed by a prolongational
phrase influenced by it. It is also interesting to note in
A
passing how the unusually strong emphasis on 2 in the
- 459 -
/\ 1\ /\
middleground 3-2-1 descent in section A is contrasted at the end
1\ 1\
of the mazurka by the unexpected rapidity of the final 2-1 motion
of the fundamental line (see the score of the finall0 bars) .
Two final observations can be drawn concerning the drone bass
in this mazurka: Firstly, during bars 49-56 (a transitional
passage leading to the Trio), the voice leading is again pinned
to the tonic by way of the single-note figure in the bass and
results in the same surface harmonies as in bars 11-14 (see
Example 12.10). Secondly, a reverse situation is encountered in
I
the Trio (bars 57-76) with regard to the drone-bass introduction
and the fOllowing first six bars of section A. Situated entirely
on the subdominant as a result of the prolongation of an upper
neighbour to G-sharp5 (AS) in the background, the Trio is not
followed immediately by the reprise of section A, but by another
four-bar interpolation consisting of the last four bars of the
introduction, now also in the subdominant and functioning as a
prefix to A', as well as a suffix to the Trio (see the score of
bars 57-76) .
Example 12.10. Mazurka OP. 6, No. 3, Bars 41-46
(l 4Jj II IL ~';:b~ .. ~jj"' ..
:
-.J _: _. :::.:=u ..=- e ~ ~
:
- 460 -
Mazurka OP. 56, No. 2
A strikingly different and extreme application of the drone
bass is found in the mazurka OP. 56, no. 2. Although Chopin's
later creations in this genre are characterised by stylistic
refinements, freer stylisation of the dance, larger dimensions, a
deepening of poetic content and greater voice-leading
complexities (see Section III above), OP. 56, no. 2 offers an
unexpectedly prominent--and so seemingly less
sophisticated--drone bass. Nevertheless, it belongs more to the
later category of mazurkas than might be expected from a work
with such explicitly rustic character; its stylistic maturity is
evident in the subtle variety of content, sophisticated
melodic/contrapuntal techniques and variation and developmental
processes in its material.
Like OP. 6, nos. 2 and 3, this mazurka also starts with an
introduction--four bars based on the now familiar drone. This is
followed by a similar registral shift as in OP. 6, no. 2, an
octave higher in the upper voice from G3 to G4 during bars 4-5
~
(G4 being the first 5). Example 12.11 gives the score of bars
1-20, while Example 12.12 is a middleground graph of bars 1-6.
- 461 -
Ex~ple 12.11. Mazurka OP. ~6, No. 2, Score, Bare 1-20
UPU!;)-6 •~T. -.)
ti Vivace 3 2 1 2~ , -~- ~ . -
tJ ?:J. ~.-:;..-:;. ~. .... I" .... tf~ ~- ;;- 1-~-- ~1- f>' r r I r r r r·~r·~. -; ~. :;~:; ~-. --• ;:; ~. • .;*
9
ti ~ ~ - • ~ 2';;;"'-" 1 I ,..., ..... 5 ~ r-.. -
t) i rf .r·rt i r i I"r .. rt
.
dim.
1
~. ~ ... -; 6' -~--...
I' r T
p i-- (1' rr ttJ!
~. ... ..... l~· • • I.
*
111t~i 2_ I I ,..... .....
~
t) I •
===- r r r;~i' r r r l~1 =:==
:
-6' 1... I. 1... -6' ; ;1..
* *
Ex~ple 12.12. Mazurka Op. 56, No. 2, Middleground Graph, Bars
1-6
,...
S'
f} (/A. I
..J .,.
f •
~T
I
The first four bars consist only of a drone. repeated in a
rhythmic pattern without any voice-leading motions. Furthermore.
it prolongs the tonic again--however, strictly within the realm
of rhythm--its explicit use contributing to the true "duda"
bagpipe sound (see Section I above). Except for a slight
- 462 -
adjustment in the rhythmic pattern from bars 14 onwards and the
addition of another voice in the left hand (mainly doubling some
of the voices in the right hand in the corresponding passage),
the drone is continued right through section A (bars 1-28),
causing the entire section to remain harmonically static. This
results in a controlling harmonic entity in which the voices move
practically nowhere (see Example 12.13, a middleground graph of
bars 1-28, consisting of the static sonority with the controlling
A
5 and inner voices from which voice leading presumably follows.
Example 12.13. Mazurka Op. 56, No. 2, Middleground Graph, Bars
1-28
T
A ~
What seem to be partial middleground descents from 5 to 3,
embellished by the striking raised fourth degree (F-sharp4), have
in no instance any harmonic support. This suggests that there is
A
no structural descent from 5. Thus, the drone generates a static
harmonic/voice-leading structure again with voice-leading
activities strictly confined to the foreground and serving as
motions to and from stationary inner voices. In another sense,
this static character is also middleground because of fairly
little content in the foreground. This is suggested because
- 463 -
there is really no motion even in the middleground in that the
material is mostly repetitive. Therefore, in terms of structural
levels, neither the background nor the middleground has any
motion (or real voice-leading content), which means that all
voice-leading activities occur in the foreground. This situation
is reflected further in the melodic surface events of the opening
A-section in that it seems to be an accumulation of small
embellishments around the drone. For example, an escape-tone
A
figure embellishing 5 in bar 5 is followed by a cover tone C5
A
with an odd escape tone B4 to the 5 in bar 7. An appoggiatura
D5 follows with its own escape tone E5 to the cover tone C5 in
bar 13, after which a descent from C5 to E4 in bar 15 may be
possible--again without harmonic support.
In a curious larger-scale way, what is presented here as a
tonal structure echoes the bagpipe drone because it encompasses
all the content of the piece. Taking Schenker's cue further in
presenting the background as a two-part species counterpoint
model (see Chapters 1 and 3 above), the result in this case is
only two notes outlining a perfect fifth--thus, the drone! In
Example 12.14a the background of the entire mazurka is given in
two parts which can also serve as a middleground for section A,
whereas Example 12.14b is a foreground graph of the first
twenty-eight bars. It is, therefore, perfectly conceivable that
the drone bass is acting here as a structural motive in the
design of the whole piece and that the entire voice-leading
activity reflects the drone as the background structural
component. In Example 12.14b, the already mentioned partial
A
descents from 5 are also bracketed in the graph as motives
- 464 -
because of their regular recurrence and prominent role in the
melodic contour of the piece. Also utilised in the process is
the raised fourth degree (be it more as a chromatic feature) in
giving the piece its distinctive Lydian colouring.
Ex~ple 12.14a. Mazurka Op. 56, No. 2, Background Graph
I' Afe l~I
Ex~ple 12.14b. Mazurka Op. 56, No. 2, Foreground Graph, Bars
1-28
- - - I -®_ _ _ ® +.
1- _~----_
r~T~f~f'--
:J:
---------1+
----- '---.+ rzt: II- 'Ir,-' Tf= --;;;;4~ .lI -,u
~__---"..---~- -........ _ f <~r_ =/3-Jo '"'"
- 465 -
In the Trio (bars 29-52), material is presented which
contrasts strongly with the voice-leading threads of section A,
moving in peculiar directions (see Example 12.15, the score of
bars 24-36, which represents the end of the section A and the
first eight bars of the Trio) .
Example 12.15. Mazurka OP. 56, No. 2, Bars 24-36
Notice first of all that the drone is absent, allowing the
music to break away from the static harmonic situation in section
A to real voice-leading motion with harmonic support and realised
on different levels of structure. This structural change in
itself perhaps manifests the greatest contrast to section A. An
upper neighbour A4 to the background G4 acts as the principal
element of prolongation, and thus also presumably the main melody
carrying voice of the Trio in the middleground. Taking the Trio
by itself, however, A4 appears only in the right-hand
accompaniment to the main melodic material ih the left hand in
bars 29-36. Therefore, apart from register changes connected to
it in bars 36, 44 and 52, no voice leading follows from this
voice through the entire section" An interesting situation
- 466 -
presents itself here in terms of voice-leading activities: in
tracing voices from section A, C4, which has not been accounted
for in that earlier section, is now the main melody carrying
voice, while the structural alto E4 in section A acts as a cover
A
tone and 5 moves by step upward to become the middleground
neighbour note A4 in the accompaniment. However, this situation
prevails only during the first eight bars of the Trio and its
repetition.
In the next eight bars (bars 37-44), a sequential passage is
presented with no repetition of previous material. Here, the
cover tone E4 becomes the principal melodic carrying voice
through register transfer to E5 in bar 36. after which the
structure of the Trio is closed through a middleground fifth-line
E5 to A4. which descends by bar 44 (see Example 12.16a. a
middleground graph of the entire mazurka. and Example 12.16b. a
foreground graph of the Trio) .
Example 12.16a. Mazurka OP. 56. No. 2. Middleground Graph
- 467 -
Example 12.16b. Mazurka OP. 56, No. 2, Foreground Graph, Bars
29-52
1 W, 9 ~sQ:j- ,
T-- T "-.V "--"+
!~
j (,- ~J
.:» ~
Three further important voice-leading features of the Trio
warrant brief comment before continuing to the reprise of section
A. Firstly, together with the descending fifth from E5 to A4 in
the middleground. there is a contrary motion from A2 to E3, as
well as a surface reverse motion back to A2 in the bass. The
merit for this interpretation of the bass has already been given
in Chapter 5. Not only are these motions in the bass motivically
related to the descending middleground line. but in view of the
central structural motive of this mazurka. the origin of both
- 468 -
these lines (representing filled-in fifth intervals), can be
traced back to the fifth of the drone which is now composed-out
in accordance with the contrasting emphasis on voice leading in
the Trio. Secondly, as in the thematic material of the first
twenty-eight bars (Example 12.14b), there is also evidence of
broken fifth and fourth motions, coupled with octave transfers.
These again (as in Op. 6, no. 2), can be motivically related to
the influence of the drone. Finally, the descending sixth
motions on the surface during bars 18-20 and corresponding places
in section A are ingeniously worked into the opening melodic line
of the Trio in the bass. The latter in fact comprises a surface
retrograde motion of the descending sixth in section A, the only
differences being that of register, the absense of the Lydian
inflection and the necessary adjustments made to the elements of
the line in order for it to fit into the local A minor tonality.
The first part of the reprise of section A (bars 53-68)
constitutes an expanded and embellished version of the
corresponding part of the first A-section (bars 5-12) (see
Example 12.17) . The more elaborate foreground motions may
accordingly be traced to the voice leading of A. For example,
the registral changes involving 5'", together with the
melodic/contrapuntal technique of imitation, represent a
variation of the opening material. From a design point of view,
this variational process is particularly interesting in that it
avoids what could in fact have been a monotonous effect, had A'
been an exact repetition of A. This clearly shows Chopin's
command of stylistic resources and his feeling for proportion and
contrast, confirming the suggestion that this mazurka adheres to
- 469 -
Example 12.17. Mazurka Op.56, No. 2, Foreground Graph, Bare
53-68
the subtleties and refinements characterising Chopin's later
artistic creations. The remainder of section A' (bars 69-84) is
a repetition of bars 13-28 with one or two surface changes. At
the end there is an inner-voice third-line which, together with
the A-section motive, effects some sort of closure (see Example
12.18).
Example 12.18. Mazurka OP. 56, No. 2, Alternate Conclusion
- ~"
p
J (1\ r r
~ fil;1 I
__j--+--+-;
:1:
A final voice-leading feature of section A' to be discussed
here. is the repetition of a descending surface fifth-line from G
- 470 -
to C during the variated statement of the opening material of
section A. These fifth-lines are related to, and fulfil the same
motivic function as the middleground fifth-line of the Trio, as
well as its accompanying fifth-line in the bass. Except for
being in the tonic (C major), the only further difference between
the fifth-lines of section A' and those of the Trio is the
utilisation of the raised fourth degree within the former,
however, this time, not as a chromatic surface passing tone as in
section A, but adhering to the actual Lydian character associated
with this scale degree.
Summary
In contrast to Op. 6, nos. 2 and 3, where the presence of the
drone bass was seen to create temporally static foreground
harmonic situations and to generate further voice-leading
prolongations, the entire harmonic/voice-leading structure of Op.
56, no. 2 is dominated by the drone, acting as the only
voice-leading component in the background upon which all
subsequent voice-leading content rests. Therefore, all
voice-leading activities in the mazurka become surface
embellishments to, or ornamentations of the drone, a fact further
attested to by the various filled-in fifth-lines, as well as
broken fifths and fourths in the surface melodic
configurations--these motions being also of motivic importance
due to their relatedness to the drone. In a remarkable way, this
structural situation can be said to confirm and reinforce the
stylistic importance of the drone in this mazurka, since, by
- 471 -
virtue of the fact that it acts as the single structural
determining and controlling element of the piece, its folkloric
character is therefore also emphasised through the
harmonic/voice-leading structure. Thus, the drone bass
establishes itself both as central tonal-structural and stylistic
motive of this mazurka.
Mazurka OP. 6, No. 4
The tiny mazurka Op. 6, no. 4, (background and middleground in
Examples 12.19a and b) presents a similar instance of the
application of the drone bass as its controlling background
structural element. Here, an almost stationary single-note drone
E-flat3 operates in the structure of the main-theme period (bars
1-8) and its repetition (bars 17-24), causing a static harmonic
situation for these bars. In the same manner as Op. 56, no. 2,
there are partial structural linear descents in the upper voice
~ ~
from 5 to 3 (B-flat4 to G-flat4). As the voice leading of the
main-theme period also represents the background structure of the
entire mazurka, the drone is elevated again to the role of
principal structural determinant.
Example 12.19a. Mazurka OP. 6, No. 4, Background Graph
o
f v
- 472 -
Example 12. 19b. Mazurka OP. 6, No. 4, Middleground Graph, Bars
1-24
~;-1~-1 '1, r
ï~ s ~ .. 3! \ l.
c:-eS?'%/fsLc __ '_J3r 4r~rS 2'
In the contrasting sequential B-section (bars 9-16), the
influence of the drone (although not literally present) can be
seen in the fact that the tonic is also prolonged throughout.
The relatedness of these two prolongations of the tonic is
confirmed by the fact that, like the A-section, the B-section
ends with a cadence in the tonic. On the other hand, the
B-section does have an internal structural close. Even the way
in which the sequence prolongs the tonic, namely, through a
circle of fifths, together with the fact that a series of
parallel fifths in the outer voices would have resulted were the
contrapuntal patterns of the sequence reduced further, somehow
suggests a far-off relatedness to the drone in this particular
instance.
Conclusions
The main result of this assessment of the implications of the
drone bass for the tonal structures in some selected mazurkas by
Chopin would seem to be that the drone creates a static
- 473 -
harmonic/voice-leading structure. Viewed negatively, this might
endanger the significance of the harmonic/contrapuntal model and
its role in creating tonal-organic unity and coherence. On the
other hand, it has been observed here that, depending on its
degree of application to the tonal structure of a mazurka, the
drone has evoked influences of both a structural and a motivic
nature, as well as being an incentive for additional
voice-leading prolongations for tonal balancing purposes. In the
two main mazurkas discussed and analysed above, extreme
applications of the drone have been demonstrated. Apart from the
additional mazurkas cited, many other mazurkas using the drone at
various places (notably as musette-like Trios and in coda
constructions) also fall within these general categories, with
similar implications for the tonal structure. {2} In addition,
there are a few instances in the mazurkas where the single-note
drone bass does not seem to play a particularly important role in
the tonal structure, but nevertheless causes an incomplete
structural close, being the background controlling element of
that particular mazurka (see, for instance, the ends of the
mazurkas OPP. 7, no. 3, 17, no. 2, and to a lesser extent, the
end of OP. 68, no. 2). The drone may thus be said to act on
various levels of sophistication and importance in relation to
the harmonic/voice-leading model of each mazurka in question.
- 474 -
NOTES
1. An objection might perhaps be raised to the interpretation
of pedal point figures in the mazurkas as being a variety of the
drone bass phenomenon, since it may be argued that pedal points
are not only a regular idiomatic feature throughout Chopin's
oeuvre (which include many "abstract" compositions with no direct
connection to folk genres), but also occur in many other
compositions of different composers, styles and idioms, and are
therefore not necessarily associated with the drone bass. The
historical justification for this interpretation of the function
of the pedal point in the mazurkas is, however, clear, namely,
that it has as its derivation the use of the "Duda" which could
produce either a single drone or a fifth (see Section I above).
In addition, a significant point to realise is that, like
drone-bass fifths in the mazurkas, pedal points are seen to be
intimately associated with prominent mazurka patterns, lending
further credence to their acquired drone-bass character and
status in these works. Furthermore, pedal points might even be
regarded as derivations of the drone-bass phenomenon throughout
Chopin's oeuvre: as Kolodin observes in his programme notes to
the Rubinstein recordings of the mazurkas, it is Polish dance
music--in which the influence of the drone may naturally be
included--that represents the quintessence of the composer's
style.
2. Mazurkas containing Trio sections based on the drone
include OPP. 7, Nos. 1 and 4, 17, nos. 1 and 4 and 68, no. 3.
Mazurkas with single-note drones or pedal points within their
- 475 -
codas include OPP. 17, no. 4, 24, nos. 3 and 4, 33, no. 2, 50,
no. 3, 56, no. 3 and 59, no. 2.
•
PART THREE
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
- 477 -
CHAPTER 13
SUMMARY OF MOTIVIC DESIGN AND TONAL STRUCTURE IN THE MAZURKAS
The following summary of findings and results concerning
motivic design and tonal structure in Chopin's mazurkas is
arranged according to the various areas of investigation in
Chapters 7-12 above. First, however, a brief summary of basic
motivic configurations and structural features found throughout
the mazurkas is presented.
Typical Motivic Configurations
1. Neighbour note. This is by far the most common motive in
/'0
the mazurkas. The scale degrees involved are predominantly 3 and
~ /'0
5, with one notable exception (OP. 68, no. 3), where 8 is
involved, but with a lower neighbour '7". The patterns are thus,
AA~ /\~~ AA,/\
3-4-3, 5-6-5 or, in the case of OP. 68, no. 3, 8-7-8. There are
also a few instances of lower neighbour motives--predominantly
surface configurations--as well as incomplete versions of the
/\/\ AA
upper neighbour configurations indicated above (4-3 and 6-5) .
2. Linear motions (diatonic and chromatic)--mostly involving
ascending and descending third-lines--connected to various
AI\/\ AAA
structural notes (in the case of third-lines, 3-4-5 or 5-4-3,
/\/'01\ A/\/\
1-2-3 or 3-2-1--including chromatic versions in the case of
motion between '3" and /5\). Descending and ascending fifth-lines
are also encountered as melodic motives, the former being related
/\
to underlying fundamental-line motions from 5. Ascending
- 478 -
fifth-lines occur mostly in the bass. Surface replications of
fifth-lines are seldom encountered in the mazurkas. Fourth- and
sixth-lines are occasionally motivic (for instance, the
descending fourth E-flat to B-flat in OP. 6, no. 4, and the
ascending sixth e to c in OP. 56, no. 2).
3. Ascending and descending arpeggiated motions. Surface
arpeggiation figures in the mazurkas are frequently derivea from
underlying arpeggiated motions--the most common being the typical
background/middleground I-III-V motion of the bass. Unfoldings
or horizontal motions between two structural voices also function
as motivic elements and include intervals of a third, fourth,
fifth and sixth. Broken octaves--derived from register transfer
or coup Iing--are also motivic (see, for instance, the
parallelisms of the ascending octave motion G-sharp4/G-sharp5 in
OP. 6, no. 2).
Three specific categories of motivic configurations can be
derived from modal and folkloric influences. These include 1) a
lower neighbour-note motion as influenced by the Lydian fourth
A A A
(5/sharp-4/5); 2) a neighbour-note or linear motion involving the
A
Phrygian 2, the former occurring within a local tonal context and
1\ A
appearing mostly in the bass (flat-2/1), and the latter bringing
A A A
about such linear motions as 3/flat-2/1 or the reverse in minor;
and 3) the vertical fifth or drone bass which is also
horizontalised in many melodic lines, becoming either ascending
or descending broken or filled-in fifths or fourths. These
horizontalised fifths and fourths, apart from being derived from
the drone-bass fifth, function as part of the composing-out
process or as embellishment of a particular structural note. As
- 479 -
to the two possibilities of melodic/motivic motion involving the
A
Phrygian 2, they are seldom encountered in the mazurkas and in
the case of the linear motions, not really regarded as motivic,
but rather as folkloric-melodic coloration.
Typical structural features
A A A
1. Fundamental lines from 3, 5 and 8 (the latter found in only
one mazurka (Op. 68, no. 3»), as well as internally closed tonal
structures with controlling middleground lines mostly replicating
the fundamental line itself. The latter feature is usually
associated with independent form sections.
2. Fundamental structures and middleground
harmonic/voice-leading progress ions influenced by a drone bass or
drone-bass related pedal point constructions (see Chapter 12;
also, below). In this process, there can be either an incomplete
descent or no descent of the fundamental line.
3. Background and middleground interruptions (see Chapter
3)--although not a regular feature of the mazurkas mainly because
of the many independent form sections with individually closed
tonal structures. Apart from causing two-part divisions of the
tonal structure, these interruptions also create either binary or
ternary form divisions, the latter resulting from the
A
prolongation of 2 and its supporting dominant in the bass, by
means of which a middle form section is generated.
Middleground/foreground interruptions are also encountered in the
mazurkas, the most notable examples being in Op. 33, no. 2 (see
Chapter 6) .
- 480 -
4. Apart from the basic I-V-I arpeggiation of the bass in the
fundamental structure, various middleground and
middleground/foreground bass arpeggiation figures, I-III-V-I,
I-V-I II-I, I-VI-IV-I, I-VI-I II-I, I-IV-I and even I-VI-I (the
latter found only in Op. 56, nos. 1 and 2). These appear in
conjunction with independent form sections generated from
particular components of an arpeggiation figure (mostly the third
in a I-III-V-I pattern), middleground or foreground harmonic
progressions, or foreground sequence patterns. In the case of
I-lV-I, this is a middleground phenomenon and is predominantly
associated with authentic form stereotypes in the mazurka genre
which still appear in a number of Chop i nt s mazurkas, namely,
trios in the subdominant. The I-IV-I bass division always
"'AA I'\AA
appears in conjunction with a 3-4-3 or 5-6-5 neighbour motion in
the upper voice, except for OP. 68, no. 3, where, because of its
1'\ A
fundamental line from 8, the upper voice remains stationary on 8
with IV in the bass. The only exception wi.th regard to the
structural position of the I-IV-I bass arpeggiation is OP. 56,
no. 3, where this figure appears in the foreground, comprising
the plagal cadence structure in the coda. Finally,
background/middleground parallelisms of middleground/foreground
I-III-V-I bass arpeggiation figures, as we 11 as nested
arpegiation figures within larger ones--involving the
prolongation of the third degree of the latter--are found in a
small number of mazurkas. These respectively include Op. 17, no.
2, OpP. 63 and 67, no. 2, and OPP. 24 and 30, no. 4, and again
OP. 63, no. 2. There are also three instances in three A minor
mazurkas (Op. 68, no. 2 and the two posthumously published ones),
- 481 -
in which the underlying I-III-V-I bass arpeggiations of their
large A-sections are paralleled in their trio-sections which are
under the control of mixture in the background.
5. Chromatic inflections or mixture (see Chapter 3) of
background and middleground structural elements, resulting in
mode change (parallel major or minor) and the generation of form
sections (particularly large middle sections or trios) from the
chromatically inflected structural element. This is a very
frequent occurrence in the mazurkas. Either a note of the
fundamental line or a prominent inner voice associated with the
first note of the fundamental line is acted upon by mixture.
There is one instance in the mazurkas (Op. 30, no. 3) where
mixture penetrates into the fundamental structure itself. Other
notable applications of mixture in the mazurkas include the
Phrygian 2" both as part of the Neapolitan chord and as modal
device, and foreground and surface chromatic passing and
neighbouring motions. Parallelisms of specific mixtures also
occur (in this connection, see the presentation of OP. 30, no. 3
in Chapter 10).
6. Ascending and descending sequence patterns--a prominent
feature in many mazurkas--involving several linear intervallic
patterns; the most frequent ones being 5-8-5-8, 10-8-10-8,
7-10-7-10, 5-10-5-10 and chromatic parallel tenths.
7. Ascending and descending register transfers or couplings,
mostly in conjunction with arpeggiated motions and appearing in
the foreground or middleground. Two notable instances of
coupling occurring as far back as the first middleground are OPP.
56, no. 3 and 63, no. 1. Apart from these mazurkas, several
- 482 -
other mazurkas also display two distinct registers in which their
voice-leading activity takes place.
8. Cover tones or boundary-play above middleground or
background structural elements--a prominent voice-leading
characteristic of many mazurkas and one which frequently causes
difficulties in identifying or interpreting the correct
fundamental line for a given mazurka (see Chapter 4, endnote
54) .
Motives and Unification
Either a single voice-leading figure or several voice-leading
figures operate as unifying motive or motives in a given mazurka.
What results in the process is usually a continuous motivic
network creating tonal and formal unification, and involving a
single motive or the combination of several motives. In
addition, various derivative forms of a single motive can occur
in conjunction with that motive and form part of a motivic
network. In the case of more than one principal motive, the
additional motives can sometimes also be derived from a central
figure. Most significant, perhaps, is the fact that each motive
can usually also be traced at different structural levels.
Tonal structure as Influenced by Motivic Design
In determining the influence of motivic design on tonal
structure, it was first established that voice-leading
diminutions in the mazurkas constitute their main melodic/motivic
- 483 -
content in most instances. This points to a close relationship
between motivic design and tonal structure, since motivic
configurations form part of the composing-out and prolongational
process. Consequently, motivic design plays a significant role
in tonal-structural development. Additionally the prolongation
of the elements of a particular motivic configuration can result
in the generation of tonal and formal content, thus incorporating
such a motive in the conception of the tonal structure.
With regard to tonal-structural characteristics, the way in
which specific motivic voice-leading configurations operate in
the tonal structure can be indicated. In this regard the
influence of specific voice-leading factors such as suspension
and displacement--particularly in foreground and middleground
structures--as well as chromaticism, modality and the drone-bass
phenomenon become evident. All these factors can, by
implication, be recognised as part of the motivic and structural
profile of a mazurka. However, it must be pointed out that in
this regard the influence of suspension and displacement is by no
means a general one in the mazurkas. In fact, Op. 17, no. 4 is
the only example from the mazurkas in which suspension and
displacement play a role with regard to motivic and tonal
structuring.
Form
An investigation into the influence of motivic design and
tonal structure on form in the mazurkas revealed first of all
that the frequency of occurrences of specific motivic
- 484 -
configurations and their derivatives at different structural
levels results in an unusually high degree of tonal and formal
unification. No form section in the mazurkas studied fails to
relate to the.others in terms of voice-leading content. Chopin
succeeded many times in creating and developing the voice-leading
content of an entire mazurka from a small set of motivic
configurations. Secondly, through the continuous concentration
on specific voice-leading configurations, significant
relationships were established between the various form sections.
Thirdly, specific voice-leading figures--notably linear
progressions--were used as form-generating elements. Finally,
apart from the various motivic and structural relationships
established between form sections, form itself has a close
connection and association with underlying structural events and
motivic voice-leading configurations.
Chromaticism
In summarising the influence of chromaticism on motivic design
and tonal structure, it is important to restate that in
Schenkerian analysis, chromaticism is part of the composing-out
or prolongational process, and as such can also be a part of
motivic and tonal-structural development. There is hardly an
instance in the mazurkas where chromaticism fails to be
associated in some way with motivic or structural content and
design.
Chromatic elements are most frequently part of foreground or
surface melodic/motivic configurations. Such configurations are
- 485 -
often part of the composing-out process, resulting in surface
chromatic elements being recognised as inflections or
substitutions of their diatonic equivalents, and also as melodic
content-creating elements.
With regard to tonal structure, chromatic elements are
recognised on various levels of structure in the mazurkas. In
many instances a particular background or middleground chromatic
tone serves as point of departure for further prolongation,
resulting in either complete form sections with their own closed
tonal structures, differently tonicised key regions, or
middleground or foreground interpolations. In addition, there
are mazurkas in which parallelisms of background or foreground
chromatic figures are found at earlier or later levels
respectively, of their tonal structures. Many chromatic
activities in the mazurkas are the result of surface linear
motions and often appear in the form of chromatic sequence
patterns.
The following chromatic elements are found in the mazurkas: 1)
1\
mixture; 2) the Phrygian 2 (a further category of mixture); 3)
chromatic passing and neighbouring notes (the former resulting in
chromatic linear progressions--a regular feature in many
mazurkas--); 4) secondary dominants (mostly forming part of
sequence patterns, but also occurring in connection with
tonicisation (see Chapter 1)); 5) augmented sixth and other
chromatically altered chords--mostly pre-dominant harmonies.
Augmented sixth chords are, however, seldom encountered in the
mazurkas.
Concerning mixture, its principal effect, mode change, is a
- 486 -
particularly regular and important feature of tonal design in the
mazurkas. Chromatic linear progress ions are often important
devices of composing-out. A special case concerning the
1\
influence of the Phrygian 2 on tonal design is OP. 33, no. 4,
Á A.
where the constant tension between flat-2 and natural-2
Á
throughout results from large-scale prolongations of flat-2 and
its appearance in conjunction with several middleground
interruptions.
Finally, surface chromaticism is often employed in the
mazurkas to create thematic variation, as well as tonal and
formal contrast.
Modal Elements
Regarding modality or specific modal elements in the mazurkas,
it was established that, in spite of their presence and influence
on the melodic and harmonic/voice-leading structures of these
works, major/minor tonality still prevails in all the mazurkas
except one (Op. 41, no. 2). Although specific modes can be
traced in the mazurkas, they generally occur as surface melodic
phenomena. These are confined to portions of the melodic line or
to individual form sections. In some instances, the authenticity
of such modes could even be debated on the basis of the function
of specific elements in a particular authentic mode with regard
to the major/minor system (see, for instance, Chapter 11, endnote
2, on modes found in the melodic structure of OP. 24, no. 2).
However, there is no doubt that specific modal elements do play
an important role as stylistic or folkloric voice-leading
- 487 -
devices, and that they have a definite influence on both motivic
design and tonal structure in the mazurkas.
In terms of composed-out harmonic/voice-leading structures,
modal devices are functional as elements of motivic design and
voice-leading elaboration. The latter often results in chromatic
activity which has historic links with folk chromaticism.
Two main modal elements identified in the mazurkas are 1) the
~
raised fourth or Lydian fourth degree, and 2) the Phrygian 2.
The Lydian fourth is more common and operates in three principal
ways: 1) as authentic Lydian or Gypsy element, 2) as leading-tone
motion to the fifth degree, and 3) as a single inflection in the
form of a chromatic passing tone or neighbour embellishment--the
former resulting in chromatic third-lines, the latter in lower
neighbour configurations. Although the Lydian fourth is, in most
instances, part of foreground melodic motions, it also appears in
the middleground, and in one notable instance (Op. 7, no. 1)
becomes part of the background or first middleground, as it
~
embellishes the first fundamental-line tone (5) and makes
possible the generation of the Trio section.
Compared to the Lydian fourth, the role and influence of the
A
Phrygian 2 in the mazurkas is limited. It occurs in incomplete
upper neighbour figures and third-lines (the latter only in minor
key mazurkas) . It functions either as a purely modal device or
A
as a chromatic inflection of natural-2, in which case it is
associated with the Neapolitan chord and is thus rather a
chromatic than a modal feature. As a chromatic inflection it
A
usually involves the 2 of the fundamental line or a middleground
replication of the latter, while as a modal device it is, with
- 488 -
the exception of Op. 41, no. 2, purely a foreground melodic
phenomenon with no deeper structural implications. However, in
A
Op. 41, no. 2, the Phrygian 2 penetrates into the fundamental
A
structure itself, replacing 2 and being supported by flat-II6,
thereby causing the fundamental structure to be conditioned by
authentic Phrygian modality instead of being a horizontal
composing-out of the E-minor tonic triad; the result is an entire
mazurka's harmonic/voice-leading structure conceived from a
Phrygian oriented fundamental structure.
Finally, apart from purely chromatic or modal colouring
A
devices, the Lydian fourth and Phrygian 2 are involved in a
number of motivic configurations in the mazurkas. Of the two,
the former is most often used as a motivic element, while the
motivic role of the latter is associated almost exclusively with
its chromatic function.
The Drone Bass
The drone bass (interpreted either as a vertical fifth or
pedal point in the mazurkas for reasons cited in Chapter 12,
endnote 1), has been seen, in its most extreme structural
application, to penetrate into the fundamental structure of a
number of mazurkas, causing either a different interpretation of
their background tonal structures or problematic tonal
structures. However, since it was also established that the
basic role of folkloric e~ements was to serve Chopin's artistic
idealisation of Polish dance types, the motivic and structural
implications of the drone were also interpreted in this light and
- 489 -
not strictly within the limits set by Schenker's theory (more of
this and the role of Schenkerian analysis in this regard in
Chapter 14). Therefore, the following observations were made
concerning the role of the drone bass in the mazurkas.
Firstly, the drone bass occurs on all three broad structural
levels. In the background and middleground a static
harmonic/voice-leading situation--mostly in the form of a pedal
point--is created at the conclusion of the fundamental structure
or a middleground replication. In the foreground it is observed
mostly as part of introductions and/or codas, but also occurs in
B-sections or Trios, acting as a surface prolongational, as well
as folkloric colouring device. However, in some instances the
drone bass was seen to provoke the necessity for further
balancing prolongational situations which were in turn effected
by harmonic/voice-leading means alone, but which may be said to
be derived from the use and influence of the drone.
From the point of view of melodic/motivic design, it has
already been observed that broken fifth and even fourth motions
can be derived from the influence of the drone-bass fifth. Such
motions are found in the melodic lines of several mazurkas and
usually take the form of either a single broken fifth or fourth
(ascending or descending), or pairs of broken fifths and fourths
(either a fifth followed by a fourth in ascending motion or a
fourth followed by a fifth in descending motion). In addition,
it can be said that filled-in fifths and fourths found in the
melodic structures of some mazurkas are also related to the
drone-bass fifth.
The most far-reaching motivic and structural application of
- 490 -
the drone bass in the mazurkas was observed in OP. 56, no. 2.
Here the fundamental structure itself comprises a single
drone-bass fifth. In a remarkable way, this structural situation
confirms and emphasises the stylistic, motivic and structural
importance of the drone, becoming central to both the stylistic
and the structural motive of this mazurka through its particular
structural application.
Finally, the drone is also associated with form in the
mazurkas as witnessed by its appearances as part of
introductions, musette-like trios and codas.
- 491 -
CHAPTER 14
CONCLUSIONS
Frederic Chopin's mazurkas represent the finest examples of
artistic stylisation of this genre in the literature of art
music. Each mazurka presents a fusion of authentic Polish folk
melodies and mazurka types with nineteenth-century
harmonic/voice-leading and tonal language. Apart from the
influence of the former on the latter--particularly concerning
melodic, harmonic and formal characteristics--there is also a
clearly identifiable process of evolution with regard to the
presence and development of Polish folklore. This ranges from
direct statements of folkloric elements and obvious
correspondences to authentic mazurka models, to ever increasing
transformations and developments of these elements and models.
In terms of harmonic/voice-leading structure, the analyses of
the seventeen mazurkas in Part Two revealed close relationships
between, and concentrated interactions of, harmonic and
voice-leading elements, resulting in tightly unified tonal
structures for these compositions. Apart from being extremely
rich in motivic content, the mazurkas also offer many instances
of motivic parallelisms and networks, as well as interactions of
specific motives.
The analytic method chosen here, namely, that of Heinrich
Schenker, provided the necessary conditions and analytic tools
for new perspectives concerning harmonic, voice-leading and
motivic activities in the mazurkas, and to interpret them more
- 492 -
effectively than would have been possible through conventional
analytic methods. Schenker's principal concept, hierarchically
ordered structural levels, allows harmonic and voice-leading
elements to be identified and interpreted on more than one level
of the tonal hierarchy, and their function and meaning to be
assessed in terms of their position within the overall structure
of a composition, not purely within an immediate or local
context. Furthermore, the concept of structural levels makes
possible the identification of specific voice-leading
configurations or motives at more than one level of structure.
The result is not only concealed or hidden motivic repetitions on
a large or small scale, but the means of identifying many more
motives and organic motivic connections than before.
The two principles associated with levels of structure,
composing-out and prolongation, in turn provide an opportunity to
distinguish between, on the one hand, large controlling harmonies
or harmonic progressions and, on the other hand, chords resulting
purely from voice-leading motions. The latter therefore forms
part of the composing-out or prolongation of, and connections
between, the larger harmonies. Also, composing-out and
prolongation point to the equal importance and interaction of
harmony and voice leading. Both these perspectives are
indispensible for the proper interpretation of both motivic and
structural elements.
Finally, the Schenkerian method provides the analyst with a
mechanism for an effective linkage of tonal design and motivic
patterns which would not have been possible in any other way.
With respect to motivic design, the work presented here
- 493 -
reflects the high degree of tonal and formal unity in the
mazurkas. Motivic voice-leading figures are tied directly to
principal thematic material and constitute the main elements in
the creation of tonal and formal content. Consequently, there is
a close relationship between motivic and tonal-structural
elements throughout the mazurkas, and motives play a significant
role with regard to tonal-structural development, and in some
instances even tonal-structural characteristics. Relationships
between form sections are established primarily through motivic
elements. Furthermore, motivic design and tonal structure are
influenced in many cases by stylistic or idiomatic features
associated with the nineteenth century or the mazurka genre,
notably, chromaticism, modal elements and the drone bass.
Through their identification on different levels of structure,
chromatic and modal elements also become important motivic,
structural and form-generating devices. Modality as such,
although present in the mazurkas, usually does not supplant the
basic major/minor orientation of these works. The drone bass
evokes influences of both a structural and a motivic nature, that
is, the drone itself can be recognised as the determining
background element of a mazurka, and as such, may even be
regarded as its principal structural motive. Therefore, modal
elements and the drone bass are not employed as merely
superficial stylistic or folkloric colouring devices, but
constitute an integral part of motivic and structural development
in the mazurkas. Although the penetration of folkloric devices
into the background can create problematic tonal structures from
a conservative Schenkerian standpoint, the resulting alternative
- 494 -
background models proposed for some mazurkas suggest rather a
fusion of the art of voice leading with the traditions and
materials of the Polish folk music heritage.
The results obtained with regard to motivic design and tonal
structure within a single repertoire in this dissertation suggest
promising avenues for further research on the same
issues--particularly the linkage of motivic design and tonal
structure--in other compositions.
- 495 -
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ABSTRACT
This dissertation presents a study of motivic design and tonal
structure in selected mazurkas by Frederic Chopin. The principal
objective is to demonstrate the coordinated interaction of
harmony, counterpoint and motivic design in the mazurkas. The
analytic method used is that of the Austrian pianist and music
theorist Heinrich Schenker (1868-1935), a method based on the
conception of a tonal composition as an organic hierarchy of
structural levels ("Schichten"). Analyses of mazurkas are
presented through sets of carefully worked out voice-leading
graphs depicting the various levels of structure and their
content.
The merit of Schenkerian analysis for interpreting motivic and
structural elements is given in the preface, the principal point
being the identification and interpretation of harmonic,
voice-leading and motivic events on different structural levels.
A general introduction to Chopin and the mazurka follows,
comprising a historical overview of the mazurka as genre, a
chronological listing of all the mazurkas of Chopin, and an
assessment of his contribution to the mazurka.
Part One presents a justification and explanation of
Schenker's method, using excerpts from various mazurkas as
analytic illustrations. A set of analytic voice-leading graphs
for a complete mazurka, serving as comprehensive model analysis,
and intended to demonstrate the whole apparatus of Schenkerian
analysis, is provided with commentary in a separate chapter.
Various areas of investigation concerning motivic design and
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tonal structure in the mazurkas are followed through in Part Two.
These include motivic design as a unifying factor, its influence
on tonal structure, the influences of motivic design and tonal
structure on form, and of chromaticism and specific folkloric
devices on motivic and tonal structure.
The seventeen mazurkas analysed in Part Two reveal
concentrated interactions of harmonic, voice-leading and motivic
elements, many instances of hidden motivic repetitions or
parallelisme, and motivic networks. Motives also play a decisive
role in tonal and formal unification. Chromaticism and folkloric
elements are no longer pure stylistic or idiomatic features, but
part of the motivic and tonal-structural content.
Through the application of Schenkerian analysis, new insights
are gained into the nature of motivic and tonal-structural
elements in the mazurkas which cannot be arrived at through
conventional methods of analysis.