AOS 2- Serialism
‘Peripetie’ from Five Orchestral Pieces
Analysis Table
Section A
Bars 1-18
Task – Label this section on your score.
Clarinets & Flutes state two hexachords in bars 1 and 3.
Bass clarinet hexachord in bar 1 is made up of the following notes: C#, D, E, F, G#, A.
Flute hexachord in bar 3 is made up of the following notes: A, A#, B, C, E, G#.
Bassoons double the bass clarinet hexachord in first two bars. This is same as horn hexachord from bar 8 but transposed up 4
semitones; A, Bb, C, C#, E, F
Bar 6 in the strings and trumpets is an inversion of the hexachord; A, G#, F#, F, D, Db.
Clarinet
Hexachord
Intervals
Horn Hexachord
Intervals
C#
D
E
F
G#
A
Up 1 ST
A
Down 1 ST
Up 2 ST
G#
Down 2 ST
Up 1 ST
F#
Down 1 ST
Up 3 ST
F
Down 3 ST
Up 1 ST
D
Down 1 ST
Db
Bass clarinet and flute hexachords lead to a fanfare horn motif in bar 3. This is the first part to be marked as the principal voice.
Task – Highlight these hexachords on your score.
Tempo / Rhythm
Sehr rasch = very quick.
100-108 BPM.
Triplet quavers, and
sextuplet semi-quavers
Bar 7 tempo slows slightly
Instrumentation / Texture
Each instrument in the
orchestra plays in
Section A.
Bars 1-7 the brass
instruments dominate the
Pitch / Melody
Atonal – no sense of key.
Piece is built on the
hexachords.
Full pitch range / tessitura
of each instrument are
Dynamics
Forte to start.
Dynamics get louder as
melodic ideas are played by
instrumental groups.
Bar 5 dynamics reach FFF
(etwas ruhiger).
Rubato clarinet melody at
bar 10 makes tempo feel
slower than it actually is.
texture.
Trombones take over the
principal voice in bars 56 before it returns to
the horns.
Bars 8-10 ostinato in
bassoons and bass
clarinet.
Bar 10-18 soft clarinet
melody. Marked as
principal voice.
Instrumental groups play
in quick succession with
some overlaps of chordal
/ homophonic bursts.
Texture thins from bar
10 as clarinet melody is
played.
used.
Bar 10 – clarinet melody is
expressive, gentle, angular
and uses dissonant leaps of
minor 9th, major 7th and
diminished octave. These
cause dissonance and
create tension.
before dying away to PP.
Brass instruments use a
mute. Schoenberg uses
this for the dampened
sound quality while still
using extremes of ranges,
which is unusual.
Section B
Bars 18-34
Task – Label this section on your score
Bar 18 cello takes over the role of principal voice from clarinet.
Bar 20 trumpet takes over role of principal voice from cello.
From bar 20 to bar 34 the principal voice passes between 7 different instruments.
Bar 28 trumpet one enters with secondary voice.
Bar 29 piccolo, flute and clarinet in D join in as secondary voices.
Cello plays in a very high tessitura in what develops into a frantic section.
Task – Highlight the principal and secondary voice sections.
Tempo / Rhythm
Tempo returns to original
marking of sehr rasch.
Short note durations such
as quavers and semi
quavers make the music
seem faster than it
actually is.
Instrumentation / Texture
Full orchestra is used in
Section B.
Orchestra is used in
different instrumental
combinations until bar 30
where the full orchestra
play together.
Bars 30-34 are the
climax of this section.
Not all instruments play
for the full 5 bars. Wind
and percussion
instruments provide the
instrumental power.
In bars 32-34 violin 1
and cello have a soft and
gentle melody line. It is
Pitch / Melody
Atonal – no sense of key.
Piece is built on the
hexachords.
Full pitch range / tessitura
of each instrument are
used.
Bar 10 – clarinet melody is
expressive, gentle, angular
and uses dissonant leaps of
minor 9th, major 7th and
diminished octave. These
cause dissonance and
create tension.
Dynamics
Forte to start.
Dynamics get louder as
melodic ideas are played by
instrumental groups.
Bar 5 dynamics reach FFF
before dying away to PP.
Brass instruments use a
mute. Schoenberg uses
this for the dampened
sound quality while still
using extremes of ranges,
which is unusual.
very difficult to hear but
adds to the texture and
demonstrates
Schoenberg’s attention to
detail.
Texture is complex and
polyphonic.
Section A’
Bars 34-43
Task – Label this section on your score
Section A’ starts with the return of the violins as the principal voice with an ascending melody.
A flourish from the horns answers the violins in bar 37 this then leads us to bar 40 and a return of the horn hexachord from
bar 8.
This section provides us with a rest from the turmoil of section B.
Mood is menacing giving the impression that there is more turmoil and fireworks to come in the following sections.
Task – Highlight the principal voice sections.
Section C
Bars 18-34
Task – Label this section on your score.
Bar 44 bassoon is principal voice.
Bar 45 takes cello over the principal voice role.
Task – Highlight the principal voice sections.
Tempo / Rhythm
Tempo marking alternates
between ruhiger which
means calmer and heftig
which means passionate.
Instrumentation / Texture
Bars 44-52 are made up
of a sparse texture.
In these bars
Schoenberg continues to
overlap solos in different
instruments.
Bars 53-55 consist of a
much fuller and thicker
texture where the
majority of the
instruments are involved.
Pitch / Melody
Atonal – no sense of key.
Wide pitch range /
tessitura of instruments
are used.
Angular leaps in the
bassoon and cello when
they are the principal
voices.
Bars 53-55 melodic
flourishes in the woodwind
and strings enhance the
louder dynamics.
Dynamics
Bar 44 starts this section
with an overall PP dynamic.
Individual instruments
have different crescendo
and diminuendo markings.
Bar 53-55 change to a FFF
dynamic before starting to
die away in 56.
The dynamics mirror the
changes in the texture in
this section.
Section A’’
Bars 59-66
Task – Label this section on your score.
The start of this section is highlighted by a change in tempo to the original faster speed.
Triplet figure in clarinets and second violins starts the section.
Tempo / Rhythm
Rhythmic motifs from
opening bars return in this
section.
Section A
Bars 53-62
Bar 1
Bar 3
Section A’’
Trumpets
bars 61-63
Clarinets
bars 59-61
Flutes
bars 62-63
Instrumentation / Texture
Starting with clarinet 3,
violin, 2 and viola in bar
59 the instruments are
introduced one by one in
quick succession.
This creates a layering
effect as the rhythmic
motifs are repeated.
From bar 61 the texture
builds until at bar 64 the
whole orchestra are
playing together for the
final climatic chord.
Pitch / Melody
Atonal – no sense of key.
Melodic material from the
opening is being used and
developed for final section.
Bar 642 is a climatic chord
of a hexachord C, D, Eb,
F#, G, G#. Most of
orchestra are playing
(except cor anglais and
double bass)
Bar 642-3 the double basses
play an unrelated tremolo
chord. This is played in a
high tessitura and is
sustained after the rest of
the orchestra subside to
conclude the piece.
Dynamics
Opening dynamic at bar 59
is PP.
Crescendos quickly to FFF
in bar 64.
Dynamics fade quickly to
PP by bar 66.