A Parametric Integration Mode1
for the Analysis of Late Baroque Music
A Tentative Approach
Peter von HoItzendorfT
Faculty of Music
McGill University, Montreal
A Thesis submitted to the
Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research
in partial fùlfillment of the
requirements for the
degree of
Mastet of Arts
August 1, 1997
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ABSTRACT
In four pieces selected from the late Baroque repertoue, the "Memanda" from Corelli's
Sonata for Wolin and Continuo, Opus 5, No.8, the "Allemande"from Bach's Clavierübung,
Partita No. 1, the chorus, "ThyRight Hand, Oh Lord" fkom Handel's Israel in Eo~tpl,and the
aria duetto "Mein Freund ist Mein'" koom Cantata No. 140, Wachet Auf; by Bach, hamionic,
melodic and motivic parameten are anaiysed and graphed so that their integration in each
work is readily observable. Then, in an attempt to establish mon generd formal models
sllailar to those developed by Arnold Schoenberg, Erwin Ratz, and William E. Caplin for the
classical style, recurrbg patterns of integration are noted. Ofspecial significance is the
prominence of acceleration processes in each piece and their diversity, both in the parameters
involved, as well as in the structurai levels on which these processes operate.
SOMMAIRE
Quatre morceaux venant du répertoire de la période Baroque, l'"ANernanda"de la Sonate
pour le violon et continuo, l'Opus 5. No. 8, l'"Allemande" du Clavieiiibung, Partita No. 1 de
Bach, le choeur, "ThyRÎght Hand Oh Lord" du morceau Israel in E w de Handel, et l'aria
duetto "MeinFreund ist Mein'" de la cantate No. 140, Wachet Auf de Bach, sont analysés,
et répresentés sous forme graphique, d'après les parametres de l'harmonie, de la mélodie, et
du moM. Afin que leur intégration dans chaque oeuvre soit facilement observée. Ensuite,
pour essayer d'établir des modèles formels plus généraux sidaires à ceux developpés par
Arnold Schoenberg, Erwin Ratz et Wilüarn E. Caplin pour le style classique, les patrons
commuas d'intégration sont notés. L'aspect marquant des processus d'accéleration dans
chaque oeuvre et aussi leur diversité sont d'importaace majeure, soit dans les p m e t r e s
impliqués, soit dans les niveaux de structures sur lesquels ces processus opérent.
Table of Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . .
Harmonie, Melodic and Motivic Structure . . .
..... ............
Anaiysis of Corelli: Sonata for Violin and
Continua, Opus 5, No. 8 in E-minor, fi . . . . . . .
Anaiysis ofBach: -g,
Partita No. 1 in B-flat, Memande. . . . . . .
............
....... . ........
Analysis of Handel: Chorus "ThyRight Hand Oh Lord"
fiom Israel in E m . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Analysis ofBach: Aria Duetto "MeinFreund ist Mein'"
fiom Cantata No. MO, Wachet A d . - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Conclusions. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Bibliography . .
. ......
.. .... ...
.... . ...
+
.........
- ....... .....
+
Graphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Introduction
The approach to musical fonn developed by Arnold Schoenberg, and expanded and refined
by Erwin Ratz and Wdliam E. Caplin'. dows for highly differentiated and detded analyses of
musical works. In many cases a specinc formai fhction can be ascsibed to almost evety
measure within a given movement, explaining its structural sipnincance within the form as a
whole. The bais of this analytical method is a set of schemata or models which were
specifcally developed for the investigationof the repertoire of the Viemese classicists.
This focus is stated explicitly by Caplin:
Whereas the topic of my study has been the "expanded cadentiai progression" as a
specific hannonic-formai procedure of instrumental music in the classical style[my
italics], it should be evident that the scope of my investigations has been considerably broader. Using the Fonnenlehre of Arnold Schoenberg and Erwin RaU as a
starting point, 1have atternpted to develop and apply a mode of anaîysis that focuses
on the fiuiction of complete themes and their constituent phrases within extended
compositions of this historical period [my itaücs].'
In Schoenberg's Fonnenlehre, chiefly outlined in The Fundamentals of Musical Composition,
this focus on the ciassical style is not explicitly stated, perhaps because his work was
intended as a textbook for composition rather than as a method of f o d analysis, but it can
'Arnold Schoenberg, Fundamentals of Musical Com~osition,ed. Geraid Straag and Leonard
Stein (London: Faber & Faber, 1967); Erwin Ratz, EidÜhruna in die musikaiische Forrncnlehre,
3rd eniarged ed. (wenna: Universal Edition, 1973); Wrlliam E. Capün, "The "Expanded
Cadentiai Progression": A Category for the M y s i s of Classicai Form," The J o u d of
MusicaloPical Research 7:2-3(1987), 215-257.
'Caplin, "Expanded Cadetrtial Progression," 249E
Chapter I I
2
nonetheless be inferred by examining the musical examples he presents for analysis and
imitation by students. Of a total of more than 128 examples quoted. the rnajority are
taken fiom the works of Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven, with the occasional example
from Brahms, Mendelssohn and Schubert. Only eight examples are from the Baroque
period, al1 of them h m works of J.S. Bach.
Erwin Ratz, who like his one-time teacher Schoenberg presents his work as an aid
to the instruction of composition, is also concerned with the classical style:
[i]n so far as the functional Formenlehre provides the budding composer with a
systematic overview of the individual elements of form, it can contribute to the
development of that secure feeling for form which can only be won fiom the
works of the Viennese classicists ...[translation mine]'
Furthemore, even Ratz's discussions of form in Bach's works reveai his general emphasis
on the works of the Viennese Classicists, since he focuses on those elements in Bach's
works that give rise to Fornial procedures of the classical style rather than treating
comprehensively those that Bach shares with his contemporaries:
However, what is observable in [Bach's] contemporaries only in isolated
beginnings, achieves through hirn complete development. Thus the technique
represented in the inventions establishes the foundation h m which the great
works of Viennese classicism arose, a world that Bach b s e l f could hardly have
conceived, yet to which he himself had created the f'undamental principles in such
a perfect manner. [my tnuislati~n]~
'Ra@ Einftlhrunq, 9. "[ilndem die funktionelle Formenlehm dem mgchenden Komponisten
eine systematische Übersicht über die einzelnen Fonnelemente bietec kann sie dani kitragen,
daB sich in ihm jenes sichere Formgefühl entwickelt., das allein aus den grokn Werken der
Klassiker gewonnen werden k m ..."
k a @ Einfùluung, 18. "Was jedoch ki [Bachs] Zeitgenossen erst in Ansâtzen veceinzelt
sichtbar wird, emicht durch ihn eine vollendete Ausbildung- So bildet die in den inventionen
dargestellte Technik das Fundament, auf dem sich erst die g d e n Werke der Wiener Klassik
erheben konnten, eine Welt, die Bach selbst kaum geahnt haben m g und der er doch die
Chapter I I
3
The formal schemata used for analyzing classical music are defined largely as the
combination of a specific harmonic design with a specific motivic design. In Caplin's
definition of the theme type "sentence"', a very frequently encountered design in classical
music, one finds the following prescnbeâ organization of the motivic material: a two-measure
unit, the "basic idea," is repeated, followed by a shorter one-measure unit of motivic
material that is also repeated, and then followed with a rhythmic and melodic gesture that is
"cadential." This motivic pattern is combined with the following harmonic design: the
measures containing the repeated "basic idea" are coordinated with a progression establishing
an unambiguous tonic; the shorter one-rneasure units that follow are most Frequently combined
with sequentid harmonic motion, while the cadential melodic and rhythmic gesture is
coordinated with a cadential harmonic progression. The other formai types used in classical
analysis are defined by dinerent combinations of motivic, melodic and harmonic elements.
It stands to reason, however, that for a musical style period characterized by an integration of motivic and hannonic elements fùndamentdy different h m the classical style,
models prescribing a specific integration of these elements would not be applicable. The
following musical excerpt from a dance movement by Corelli (Example 1) suggests that this
might be the case for music of the late Baroque.
'A very succinct description of the sentence is found in Caplin, "Expanded Cadential
Progression," 218-219, which in its essentials is similar to both Schoenbecgs in FundamenG&,
20-22,5849, and Ratzs, Eintiihrung 23-24.
Chapter I I
4
Exarnple 1: Corelli, Sonatî No. 8 in E-minor, ii
one-mmsurc unit remains c o n s m ~throughou~
1
desccnding cirdc of 51hs
quence
ionic esublirbcd
p m t i a l l y cadcnual
progression
(no root psi lion dominani)
[le-
-
-
sequmcc of poicnhall y
cadairial progression
cadenliai progression
As in the "sentence,"this excerpt begins with a progression that establishes the
tonic, foliowed by a sequential progression, the descending circle of tifths, followed by a
progression that is potentially cadentiaL6 However, the grouping of the motivic matenal is
quite different fiom that of the sentence. WMe the opening motivic unit i s repeated twice
withùi the tonic-establishing progression, it is not foiîowed by a shorter unit of motivic
grouping (the "fiagmentationnof the sentence), but hstead the initial motivic unit is CO6Abass üne using a root position dominant chord followed by a root position tonic would
rnake this progression into a cadentiai one. The d e r dominant to tonic progressions are not
cadentiai because they are part of a larger sequential progression.
Chapter II
5
ordinated with the subsequent sequential progression in measures 3-4. Furthemore, in measure
5, where a "sentence" wouM support the cadential harmonic progression with a cadential
rnelodic and rhythrnic gesture, the initial motivic unit is further retained at its original
length and immediately given sequential repetition in the next measure. Only then is a unit
comparable to the classical "cadential gesture" co-ordinated with a cadential harmonic
progression, though even this gesture is more highly reminiscent of the opening motivic unit
in both content and length than is typical of classical cadential geshires. Whiie bearing some
resemblance to the sentence, the combination of motivic and hmonic design of these seven
measuces does not ~orr&~ond
to any of the classical theme-types.
In his article "Zur Entwicklungsgeschichtedes Wiener klassischen Stils,"' one of the
few articles that deal extensively with late Baroque fonn [Altklassik] for f o d units
equivalent to or shoner than the phrase, Wilhelm Fischer demonstrates that the distinction
between the late Baroque and classical styles generally involves exactly this basic difference
in the coordination of harmonic and motivic elements. However, Fischer discusses the form of
his Baroque examples (mostly fiom works by Bach) with reference to only two formal models, the
Liedmus and the Fortsoinnunastypus, which are defhed largely by their motivic organization, with the hmonic design being discussed mainly at cadences.' He has no need for a more
detailed anaiytical method since the primary focus of his article is a cornparison between the
late Baroque and classical styles and an attempt to discuss the generation of the new style
7WihelmFischer, 'Zur Enhvicklungsgeschichtedes Wiener klassischen Stils,"Studien mr
Musikwissenschaft 3 (19 1S), 24-84.
'Fischer, 25-33. For a hrther discussion of the relationship between the sentence and
Fischer's "Fortspinnungstypus" see Car1 Dahlhaus, "Satz und Periode," Zeitschnft fur
Musiktheorie 9:2 (1978), 16-26, and Caplin, "Funktionale Komponenten im achttaktigen
Satz," Musiktheorie 1 ( 1986), 239-260.
Chapter II
fiom the old.
In this thesis an attempt will be made to discover whether any recurrïng patterns of
Uitegration of motivic and hamonic structure can be found in the late Baroque fkom which a set
of formal schemata similar to those of Schoenberg, Ratz and Caplin could eventuaily be
derived. This task, in its initial stages, requires the adoption of a method of anaiysis that
does not empioy any formai category or concept involving a prescribed integmtion of motivic
and hannonic stnictures. Unfortunateiy, even such widespread concepts as cadence and phrase
are generdy defineci by such an integration and therefore must initially be avoided? Such an
approach to form cornes very close to the kind of parametric analysis advocated by Eugene
Narmour:
. . . To create a tmly hierarchical theory, then, would mean first discovering the
intemal closural and nonclosural niles for each parameter and then devising
integrative mles for determining the degree of overall closure necessary for the
emergence of levels. This is a taii order indeed, which may explain why most theorists
continue to be attracted to less complex anaiytical theories employing some set of
standard transformations for generating systemic le~els.'~
Rather than attempting to accomplish what Narmour himseif rightiy d l s a "ta11order," only
those parameten will be examined that also fonn the basis of the classical models of
me concept of the musical phrase is perhaps one of the most diicult to dehe very
accurately in the realm of f o d analysis, and there is by no means a consensus about what
actuaüy constitutes a phrase. A cornparison of two prominent textbooks on musical form,
Wallace Beny's Form in Music. 2nd ed., (Englewood CW, New Jersey: PrenticeHdi, 1986),
and Douglass M. Green's Fonn in Tonal Music: An Introduction to Analvsiq (New York: Holt,
Rinehart and Winston, 1965), provides a good illustration. In generd, Berry's phtases are
usualiy halfas long as Greene's. Schoenberg, Caph and Ratz do not f d into this
âüficuity, since they define phrase as a specific part of the larger structure of the "theme,"
which they define very explicitly.
'"Eugene Nannour, "Some Major Theoretical Problems Concerning the Concept of Hierarchy in
the Analysis of Tond Music," Music Perce~tion112 @Vinter1983-84), 157.
Chapter 1/
7
Schoenberg?Ratz and Capün. As seen in the definition of the "sentence,"central to the
classical models are three parameters: the harmonic design, and the structure created by the
repetition of a motivic pattem, and to a lesser degree, the melodic structure. The closural
and non-closural d e s for these three parameters as used in the late Baroque will be presented
in the foliowing chapter.
In the rernaining chapters, the co-ordination of these parameters in four specific
pieces, an Nemanda movement by Corelli, an Aiiemande by Bach, a choral number from a Handel
oratorio and an aria from a cantata by Bach, will be examined and compared, and any recurring
techniques of integration that could lead to the development of formal schernata specinc to
the late Baroque will be noted.
Harmonie, Melodic and Motivic Structure
This chapter will present a bnef examination of the three elements of fonn that will
be examineci in the specinc works selected fiom the late Baroque. Of the three, the approach
used in d y z i n g the harmonic design requires the greatest amount of explmtion. Despite
the plethora of matenal on tonal theory, no single existing source was found that explicitly
discusses the form-generating aspects of harmony in a way adequate to the purposes of this
thesis.' For this reason it was necessary to put together weîi known elements of harmonic
theory from disparate sources into an attempt at a workable theory of hannonic form. For the
sake of completeness the discussion below in many instances States the obvious, though at
other times familiar concepts are reinterpreted fiom a diierent perspe~tive.~
LNamiour'sattempt in "Some Major Theoretical Problems Concerning the Concept of Hierarchy
in the Analysis of Tonal Music," Music Perception 1/2 (Wmter 1983-84), 157-59 initiaily
looked promisin&since he defines harmonic closure very specifidy:
. . . hannonic closure can be said to occur either when dissonant intervals (seconds,
sevenths, tritones) move to consonant ones (unisuos, octaves, nfths, fourths,
thirdqsixths) or when chords in inversion (e.g.,with the third or the fifth in the
bas) move to chords in root position (with the fuodamental of the chord being the
lowest note in the actual basshe), 158.
In his anaiysis, however, the categories of "initial," "terminative" and "cumulative"
suddenly appear without any reference to the way they are assigned to the hannonic units he
isolates. Furthemore, Narmour does not mention that harmonie structure is already a
hierarchical phenornenon independent of other parameters.
21wodd k e to stress at this point that the foilowing approach mers in many ways fkom
Schenkerian anaiysis, since the latter fiom the very outset of analysis integrates harmonic
structure with the structure of the outer-voice countepint. In a Schenlrerian voice-leading
graph, hamonic units that are identicai on the foreground are given a Merent structural
significance accordhg to the nature of their voiceleading. For example, a V-1 progression
that is the harmonie support for a hear progression rnight be considered an important
Chapter 2/
9
The fonn generated by the harmonic design of a work, Le. the relationship of the
pitches to one another, is in itself already hierarchical. The lowest possible level of
harmonic structure is that of the individual pitch events: a piece having only a single pitch
would fiom a purely hmonic point of view be a single monolithic unit. #en
more than one
pitch is present, the individual pitches are grouped into larger unit%so that each pitch is
understood as either a chord tone or related to a chord tone by one of the traditional
categories of non-chord tones. At this level of structure every vertical sonority that is a
triad or seventh chord will be treated as an quivalent element, no distinction being made
between chords and "ham~onies."~
The parsing of the musical surface into areas govemed by
discrete chords is very common in the literature, but is not usually discussed fiom the point
of Mew of form. Joel Lester in b
c discusses such parsing &om the
middleground event, while ifit supported a prolongecl scale degree five in the soprano, it
would be ~nsidereda superticid prolongation of the tonic chord. On the musical surface,
however, the harmonic progression in both cases articuiates a f o d unit that is signifiant
to the composite form of the piece, even though one of these cases is then taken to the next
level of the voice-leading structure in a Schenkerian analysis. To go further into the
distinction between the method of harmonic analysis presented in this thesis and Schenkerian
analysis is beyond the scope of this thesis, hvolving the many conceptual wrnplexities of the
difference between reductive and non-reductive methods of analysis that are stiU behg
disussed and debated in the iiterature. 1am ceferring to such articles as Wüliam E.
Benjamin, "Models of Underlying Tond Structure. How C m They Be Abstract, and How Should
They Be Abstract?" Music Theocy S-aectnim 4 (1982), 28-50; Eugene Nmour, Torne Major
Theoretical Problems Concehg the Concept of Hieratchy in the Analysis of Tonal Music,"
Music Perception 1:2 (19834). 129-99; and Fred Lehrdal and Ray Jackendoff.A Generative
Theoq of Tonal Music, (Cambridge: The MIT Press, 1983).
3Psychoawusticalstudies give some support to the preference given to triad sononties
over other pitch coUections. The simpler tiequency relationship of the former ailow them to
be more readily associateci than other pitch relatioitlships unless the latter are given vey
strong support by rhythmic and melodic means. Christopher H8sty, "=Rhythmin Post-Tond Music:
P r e l i .Questions of Duration and Motion," Journal of Music Theory, 25 (198 l), 193;
Lerdahl and Jackendoff, 342, n.7.
Chapter 2/
point of view of accent:
A harrnony defines the status of every pitch occuning during its span as a stable
member of that hanwny, as a more mobile member of that harmony (such as a chord
seventb), or as a relatively transient nonbarmonic tone. The harmony stands in a
linear and a fùnctional relationship both to the preceding and foiiowing harmonies and
to the prevailing tonic. The change from one harmony to another is a change fiom one
constellation of pitch relationships to another. The point at which this change occurs
is always a point of accent in relation to the sustained portion of that hannony and of
any preceding hannony. . .'
From the point view of the generation of f o d units, since for Lester accent is the "pointof
initiation" of the new hannony, the change in harmony also demarcates the beginning of a new
unit of harmonic grouping.
While this level of grouping is for the most part unproblematic in the hannonic
language of the late Baroque, two somwewhat ambiguous situations involvbg the distinction
between chord and non-chord tones occur quite fiequently. The fkst involves the use of the
second inversion of a triad. While this inversion retains the status of a triadic sonority, in
the case of the accented six-four chord the dissonant fourth above the bass also allows this
triadic sonority to be seen as a voice-ieading event relative to another triadic sonority. In
other wordq both the fourth and the sVdh above the bass are dso non-chord toaes above a
stationary bass. Therefore, nom the point of view of harmonic grouping, the six-four chord is
a "specialcase" since it is both a triadic chord and a linear phenornenon subordinate to
another chord. This double nature of the six-four chord is frequently exploiteci to fùlfil
many interesthg structural bctions in the subsequent pieces.
A similor though somewhat less ambiguous situation occurs when a change of chord d o m a
Joel Lester, The Rhythm of Tonal Music, (Carbonville: Southem Iilinois University Press,
1986), 26.
Chapter 2/
11
third cornes about through a 5-6 motion in an upper voice over a stationary bass, especidy in
a sequential passage. The new root of the chord enters as a consonant passing tone, also
giving it an intermediate position between a change in chord and a linear phenornenon.
A change of inversion can at times present the converse of the above situations: the
change of the bass note is ofien more aurally signincant than a remangement ofchord tones
involving the upper voices. In rnany of the analyses that foiiow, a change in inversion often
appears to cany a sidar rhythrnic sigdcance to a change of chord, especially the change
fiom 1to 16.
In the formai graphs that accompany each d y s i s the area governeci by one chord will
be indicated by the presence of a Roman numeral. in the above-mentioned "special"cases, where
an inversion is considered to be of stnicturai importance, or where an actual chord change is
not considered stnrcturdy signincant in its context, the Roman numeral will be placed in
parentheses.
At the next level of harmonic structure individual chords are grouped into units that
will be temed "wmplete progressions."~orthis level to 4st the chords must first of dl
create a Stream in which they are all either of qua1 stnicturd importance, or some chords are
clearly suborâinate to the stnicturdy important chords. For this teason, certain root
movements of chords have traditionaily been calleci "weak" or "bad progressionswand have been
trested with caution. A very succinct classification of the root movements which create
unambiguous progressions is found in Arnold Schoenberg's Theoiv of Hannonv:
'This hamonic unit is roughly equivalent to Sadai's "hctionalcycle." Sadai, YiIzhak:
Harmonv in its Swtemic and Phenornenoloscical As~ects.Jenisalem: Yanetz, 1980.
Chapter 2/
12
The progressions of the fourth upward, the second upward and downward, and the third
downward I cal1 ascending progressions, the fifth upward and the third upward,
de~cending.~
Schoenberg, after emphasising that descending progressions are no less "musical"that
ascending progressions, states that their unlirnited use does not guarantee that the progressions wiii "tumout weii."' In order to guarantee good progression, Schoenberg limits the use
of "descendingprogressions"to those situations where they can easily be perceived as subordinate-"those chord co~ectionswhere the total effect is still that of ascent." He then gives
the foilowing examples, stating that "[tlhe impression is then more or less as if the intervening chord had b e n inserted for melodic reasons."'
In Structural Functions in Harmony, Schoenberg states the foiiowing:
%nold Schoenberg, Theon of Harmonv, trans. Roy E.Carter, (Las Angeles: University of
California Press, 1 W8), 120.
'Schoenberg, Theory o f Harmonv, 120.
Chapter 2/
13
"Descending"progressions, while sometimes appearhg as a mere interchange (1-V-V-I,
EIV-IV-1), are better used in combinations of three chords which, Iüre I W or 1IIX-VI, resdt in a strong progression . . .9
Interpreted fiom the point of view of forni, a series of ascending progressions creates a chah
of chords which cohere into a stream, while descending progressions are not perceived to the
same degree as a continuous entity, resulting in what Schoenberg calls "succession" rather
than "progression." When they are used, they must easily be perceived as being clearly subor-
dinate to ascending progressions within the stream. They are in some ways analogous to passing
tones relative to chord tones.
The second requirement for this level ofgrouping is that the stream of chords is
divided into smaller discrete units. This is accomplished by use of the progression "downa
perfect füth"from a ma@ chord in those locations where a division is desired. Of aN
progressions, this one is the strongest, because as Aldwel and Schachter state:
The progression V-1, thetefore, combines the strongest possible harmonic motion (in
the bass) with the strongest possible melodic motiodO
The shortest possible "complete progression" is the progression 1-V-1. Perhaps the presence
of a descending progression fiom I to V accounts for the subordinate role it usually plays
relative to complete progressions Limited to ascending root movements ody, wch as 1-II-V-1.
in the analyses such short progressions wiii be marked with a dotted slur and will be
considered subordinate to the longer progressions.
gAmoidSchoenberg, Structural Functions of Harmony, (New York: W.W. Norton, 1954), 8.
'Qdward Aldwelî and Car1 Schachter, Hannow and Voice Leading, Vol. 1, (New York: Harcourt
Brace Jovanovich, 1978). 75. Notice that the relationship between the tonic and subdominant
chord, which is identicai to that ofthe tonic and domhnt, is not mentioned at this point by
Aklweli and Schachter, perbaps for pedgogical reasoas.
Chapter 2/
14
By limiting the pitch material of the chord tones in complete progressions to those of
one diatonic set, fùrther levels of harmonic structure c m be created. (Non-chord tones can be
either chromatic or diatonic.) Any chord which is not within a previously established
diatonic set is readily perceivable as a new element in the music." If this chord can be
understood as the dominant of the immediately following chord, itself a member of the diatonic
collection, then fùrther levels can be added to harmonic structure.
These levels are related to the harmonic structure in two ways, approxirnately
equivalent to the traditionai distinction between modulation and tonicization. Tonicization
occun when the chord prior to the new dominant is not a member of this new key. It creates a
unit within the original progression of a subordinate level of structure:
In the analytic graphs presented for each work, such progressions will be indicated by an m w
fiom the tonicizing dominant to its tonic. Ifthe chord prior to the tonicizing dominant is in
both the old and new keys (i.e. if'it is a pivot chord) then the entire sequence of chords
beginning with the closing tonic of the preceding complete progression and ending with the V-I
''Ramon Fuller, in "AStmchiralist Approach to the Diatonic Scale," Journal of Music Theocy
19 (1975), 182-210, points out thit the diatonic sale has the properties of a perceivable
Gestalt, and therefore the insertion of a chord that contains notes not belonging to the
initial diatonic set is recogaiaible as a "foreign"element.
Chapter 2/
15
progressiono f the new key is a sinde unit of p u p i n g , equivalent at this level of structure
to complete progressions which do not modulate. In example 4. therefore, three equal units are
created at the levef of the complete progression:
Example 4
These units will be indicated with a dur fkom tonic to tonic, and in the case of a modulating
cornplete progression, the slur wül have a slash through it.
Closure on the highest level of hmonic structure will be considered accomplished
with the retum to the home key of the work. The fact that in many extended tonal works, not
every retum to the tonic tiilfih this fiinction-passages in the home key within the develop-
ment of a sonata movement are a cornmon example-indicates that other parameters besides the
hmonic organization might be necessary to help assert the priority and primacy of the home
key. Further support for this can be found in the fiequent use of extended dominant pedals
irnmediately preceâing the retum, and repetition of cadential formulae at points following a
retum to the home key. In those few pieces that do not end in the same key as they began, any
argument over whether the initial or the final key is the home key is largely specious, since
the essence of the musical structure lies specifidy in the fact that the two key areas are
Chapter 2/
16
not placed into a clearly subordinate relationship one to the other. For the purposes ofthis
thesis the traditional assumption that a complete progression ending in a subordinate key
constitutes non-closure at the immediately higher level of harmonic grouping will be used.
This level of grouping will be indicated on the analytic graphs by a double slur fiom the last
tonic chord in the home key to the first tonic in the home key:
Eumple 5
To sumrnarize, the fon created by the harmony in a late Baroque piece involves the
following hierarchy of wts: the individual notes, the individual chords, the tonicizing
progressions, the cornplete modulating and non-modula ting progressions, and lady the
comection between original tonic and its retum.
Thus fàr in the discussion of hamonic grouping only the pitch-content of chords
without reference to their exact voicing has been cansidered. For example, no matter how they
are distributecl among the voies, the pitches of the dominant chord moving to the pitches of
the tonic will result in the creation of a harmonic unit. However, the organizatioa of pitches
Chapter 21
Example 6
in the outer voices can be used to estabüsh a melodic structure that spans several complete
progressiond2 Consider the following three examples. In example 6a, the outer voices can be
grouped into two groups that support the comesponding harmonic units. In exampie 6b,
however, only one melodic grouping exists, spanning both of the hmonic units. The form
created by the interaction of these two parameters therefore also spans the entin passage. in
I 2 ~mentioned
s
at the beginningof this chapter, it is exaaly this interaction between
hamonic and melodic grouping that is the foais of Schenkerian analysiq in which the musical
surface is rcduced to units iategrating both the harmonic and melodic parameters of misic.
Chapter 2/
18
both these examples, melodic closure occurred only at points of hanaonic closure. It is
doubtfùl if melodic closure within a tonal context can be achieved independently of harmonic
closure. The ststus of the melodic descent to tonic in Example 6c in terms of meiodic closure
is âiflicult to establish.
As in the models of Schoenberg, Ratz and Caplin, melodic structure will only be
examyled at points of hannonic closure.
The presence of a melodic descent to tonic in the
highest voice and the use of a root position dominant and tonic chord in the bas indicate a
point of melodic closure.
A third element which plays a signifiant role in the formal schemata of Schoenberg,
Ratz and Caplin is the displacement of motivic material and the size of motivic units." Because
most of the motivic units encountered in their analyses are fu fiom being contentious, it is
not surprishg that no explicit discussion of the ctitena used in the partitionhg of these
units is given." Although it is outside the scope of this thesis to deal comprehensively with
"Studies in psychoacoustics help to justify a separation of purely harmonic fiom motivic
grouping that does not take the harrnonic aspect of the pitch relationships into consideration.
Motivic groupin& accordhg to psychoacoustical findhgs, need not take specinc harmonic
relationships into account. Such studies are summarized by Richard Pamcutt in Hamonv: A
Psychoacoustical A~~roach,
(Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag, 1989), 53. "Apart fiom
rhythm [Jones 19871, contour is the most important aspect of melodic structure for melody
recognition [Dowling and Fujitani 197 1; Dowiing 1978; Massano et al. 19801. Contour is more
important than waformance to a diatonic sale for the memory of melodies [Davies 19791:
scalar conformance, Le., the exact sizes of pitch intervals, is "vp"[my
underîining] fiom contour piting 19841 and only becornes important in longer melodies, in
which a tonal framework is wel estabiished [Edworthy 19851. Infmts, like adults, recognke
melodies by their contours, in spite of variation of pitch register and interval size [Trehub
19871, and children leam melodic contour before they leam chromatic interval
categories [Dowhg 1982; Davidson 19851."
''The complexity of the problem of segmentation has bewme evident in investigations of the
atooal repertoire. For a detailed discussion ofthis problem see Christopher Hasty,
Chapter 2/
19
the many cornplex and dif16cult ways in which motivic units are articulated, inhope of making
the subsequent analyses slightly more explicit and less intuitively based, the analysis of the
motivic structure will be denved fiom one specific and easüy verifiable critenon. A span of
music will be considerd a motivic unit when a given melodic and rhythmic contour is subjected
to Unmediate repetition."
At k s t glance this limitation might seem to impose a veq severe constraint on the
discussion of motivic structure. However, although other elements such as duration, proximity
or contrast in register do play a role in the articulation of motivic units, many theorists
believe that they are more supportive in nature compareci to the more pnmary d e played by
repetition. Lerdahl and Jackendon, who have undertaken one of the most comprehensive studies
of the factors which influence musical grouping, place great emphasis on the significance of
repetition, which they term "parallelism":
The importance of parallelism in musical structure caanot be overestimated. The more
paraHeLism one can detect, the more intemally coherent an analysis becomes, and the
less independent information must be processeâ and retained in hearing or remembering
a piece.I6
Leonard Meyer also discusses the use of repetition in the articulation of musical units:
. . .one of the most effoctve ways of emphasizing that an event is ended, is to begin
it again. Repetition cm articulate formal relationships not only such as that between
"Segmentationand Process in Post-Tonal Music," Music Theory S - m m 3 (1981), 54-73.
"In Caplin's schemata of analysis, one fiequently hds a motivic unit, the basic idea,
foilowed by a contrashg idea, neither ofwhich are estabfished by repetitioa, It is often
impossible to defhe a clear bouadary between the two units. These two units are in most cases
subjected to immediate repetition. Caplin, "Expandeci Cadential Progresssion," 223.
l6Lerdahi and Jackendoff,A Generative T h e o of
~ Musicai Stnictuq, 5 1-52.
Chapter î/
20
the antecedent and consequent phrase . . .but also on higher levels of stnicture."
Schenker actually goes so far as to say the repetition is the sole means by which a motivic unit
is created:
The motif is a re&g
series of tones. Any series of tones rnay become a motif.
However, it can be reco@ed as such only where its repetition follows immediately.
As long as there is no Unmediate repetition, the series in question must be considered
as a dependent part of a greater entity, even if later on, somewhere in the course of
the composition, the series should be elevated to the rank of a motif."
The main difnculty encountered in the use of repetition for the articulating of a motivic unit
is stated by Lerdahl and Jackendoff.
The problem of paraiielism . . . seems to be a special case of the much more general
problem of how people recognize similarities of any sort-for exarnple simiiarities
among faces.Ig
This problem, however, is more theoretical than practical for the purposes of the following
analyses, since deviations from an exact repetition lie well within any area of ambiguity.
Though in many cases repetition of a unit involves di voices of a given texture, the
focus in the analyses wiii be on repetitions o c c ~ ingthe principal melodic voice, an
adyticai practice also wmmon to Schoenberg, Ratz and Capiii. imitative entries in
polyphonie textures present an exception to this practice; each entry is seen as the
repetition of the basic unit in another voice.
Though a repetition using an inverteci melodic contour is often clearly recognizable,
"Leonard B. Meyer, Emlaininn Music: Essavs and Explorations (Berkeley: University of
Chicago Press, 1973). 52.
"~chenker,Harmony, ed. and annotatecl by Oswald Jonas, tram. Elisabeth Mann Borgese
(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1980), 4-5.
l%erdahI and Jackendoc 53.
Chapter 2/
21
when very short motivic gestures are involveci such repetition is either so fiequent as to be
trivial or is dBcult to perceive. In the subsequent analyses, any repetition using an
hverted form will be clearly marked as such on the graphs.
The repetition of motives wi also create a hierarchy of units, albeit less complex
than in the barmonic parameter, through the use of nested repetitions.
highest level A
A
I
-
higher level A
A
B
B
A
A B
nnnnnni
lowerlevel a a b a a b c c d c c d a a b a a b c c d
A few irregular situations involving repetition commonly occur in the foliowing
analyses. Frequently, a new unit beghs with matend which was part of a previously
established unit:
In the above case, two units share the common elernent "y," and a situation simiiar to the
mmmody called "phrasal or cadential elisionnis created. This kind of repetition creates a
greater effet of cohesion than in the foilowing example:
-+-Inn
xxyxxyzzqzzq
Chapter U
22
The introduction of new material after the complete repetition of a previous unit does
not in itseifalways indicate the beginning of a new group. To retum to the example above, "z
2
q" would initiaily be heard as an extension of the previous unit, which has "gone somewhere
else,"to use Ratz's tenns.** With the repetition of "zz q," however, it becomes clear that
this is a new unit.''
Another hegular motive grouping, which arises more frequently in large-scale
repetitions, is the repetition of a motivic pattern with interpolated material, or with
materid elirninated:
In such cases, repetition of the beguining and end of the group is usually sufficient to create
the sense of an audible repeated unit. On the analytic graphs used in this thesis, instances
of repetition will be indicated with a square bracket placed horizontally above the passage
concemed. If several levels of repetition occur simultaneously, these will be indicated by
superimposed brackets. The brackets will be lined up within a half beat of the beglluiiag of
the repetition.
the begtoning of a motivic unit intduchg new matecial is alw articulated
ZLFrequently
by other means as weii as repetition.
Analysis of Corelli: Sonata for
Violin and Continuo, Opus 5, No. 8 in E-minor, u
In this chapter the results of the pararnetric analysis of the Sonata for Violin and
Continuo. Oous 5. No. 8. ü by Archange10 Coreiii wili be examined. Corelli is generally
considered to be the first composer whose harmoaic language is fiee of any vestiges of the
older modal practices.' As such he belongs to the very beginning of the late Baroque style and
serves as a good point of departwe for an investigation into its formal procedures. (For the
sake of convenience the discussion of the forrn of this movement wiil initially not take the
final four measures into account.)
The pattern repetition of this movement (see line *patternrepetition on Graph 1) is
organized into generaily unambiguous one-measure units of grouping, though at three points
these give way to shorter units. The one-measme unit is replaced by haKmeasure units that
are then folîowed by quarter note unitsin m. 7, m. 13, and m.21 respectively. Such shortenings
of f o d units are a very familias feature of the classical style, where their experientiai
and aff'ective aspects have been widely discussed,*most cornmonly as part of the "drive towards
'Manfieci Bukoâer, Music in the Baroaue Era, (New York: W. W. Norton, 1947). 221-22.
Schoenberg, Ratz and Caplin use the tems "fragmentation" and "iiquidation"to refer to
such situations. Strictiy spesking, Schoenberg's usage of these tems (which he coined)
focuses largely on the breakhg down of the specific motivic content of a unit, more than on
the concomitant shortenhg of the length of the unit. (Schoenberg,
The Fundamentals of Musical Composition, 58.)
Caplin somewhat modifies the use of the term "hgmentationnto refer to those
23
Chapter 3/
24
the cadence." However, such acceleration processes also have a significant formai fùnction.
Example 7a represents the structure ofa piece in which no change is present in the length of
-
the units of grouping. Qnly two levels of form are present the entire piece and the
individual units of grouping.
unils of grocrping
unils of grouping
w
situations where the new unit is oniy a fhgment in terms of length relative to the previous
unit, even ifit introduces contrasDng motivic material. (Caph, "ExpandedCadentid
Progression," 254n.) Since both Caplin and Schoenberg are dealing with integrated units and
do not refer specincally to how the units are artidated, 1 will employ the term
"accelerationprocess," used by Berry in his detailed examination of such processes in
"Rhythmic Accelerations in Beethoven"(JMT 22 (1978). 177-240.) Berry examines both
individual parameters in isolation, and deals with Uitegrated units such as the phrase.
Rosen also points out how acceleration processes are used on a large sale in classical
music:
Rhythmic transition in the late eighteenth century is acbieved with discrete, welldefined elements, genedly related to one another by each being twice as fast, or half
as f ~ tas, the preceding, so that ali the rates of speed tend to corne fiom the senes,
2, 4, 8, 16, etc. But the movement f b m one rhythm to another is felt as a transition
and not as a contrast. (Charles Rosen, The Classical Stvle, (New York: WWW.
Norton,
1972), 64.)
Chapter 31
25
In example 7b,the addition of an acceleration process involving lower level units creates a
new pattern that, when repeated, adds an intemediate level dividing the movement into two
large sections. The acceleration processes in the CoreUi Aiiemanda therefore divide the
piece into three sections, mm. 1-8, mm. 9-1 7 and mm. 17-24.
In the Corelli Allemande one slight modification exists to this basic threefold
division. In m. 15 a second level of pattern repetition is introduced that combines the
shorter units into a new one-masure unit which is immediately repeated. This new unit,
however, is identicai in length to the previous and subsequent units of pattern repetition,
and thereby keeps the one-rneasure unit constant between the second and third acceleration
processes. The effect of this bridging unit is that it relegates the acceleration process to a
lower level of structure because, in contrast to the previous and subsequent acceleration
processes, the original one-measure unit of pattern repetition does not give way to shorter
units on
levels. This interpretation is supported by the fact that in the conclusive
section of the piece, mm. 21-24, nearly identical material is presented without this
intermediate level of pattern repetition, even though the repeated cadential progressions
might have served to emphasise the cadence as a "one more t h e " technique? It will be seen
below that this undermining of the the-part division into a two-part division receives
ftrther support h m the hannonic puameter.
Throughout the movement, the harmonie structure at the level of chord change is
genedy closely coordinated with the pattern repetition. For the most part, a single unit of
'Janet Schnialfeldt, "Cadential Processes: The Evaded Cadence and the 'One More Tirne'
Technique,"
cai Research 12 (1992). 6.
Chapter 3/
26
pattern repetition contains two changes of chord, making a 1:2 ratio, though the beginning of
each unit of pattem repetition is usually set off fiom the change of chord by an eighth note
anacrusis. This kind of contrapuntal offsetting of dierent parameters guarantees a certain
cohesiveness and fluidity in a work, as opposed to those situations where changes of grouping
occur simultaneously.
An acceieration process is also observable in the rate of chord change, generally
synchronized with the pattern repetition, though there are a few exceptions. in m. 5 the
increase in the rate of chord change occun three measures before the change in the pattem
repetition and at the beginning of m. 7 an even faster change is suggested. (Note the six-four
chord here.) In mm. 15- 16,and 23 the ratio of chord changes to pattem repetitions becomes
1:1, and again an even ffister rate is suggested (the six-four chords) in mm. 16 and 23. The
sigrilficance of these deviations becomes clear when the level of the complete progressions is
examined.
There are three distinct ways in which the complete progressions are combined with the
units of pattem repetition in this movernent. The first of these is the situation where the
end of the progression is offset from the end of the unit of pattern repetition so the previous
unit ends on the dominant and the next unit begins with the concludmg tonic. This occurs in
mm. 3, 10, and 2 1. The traditional formal category of "halfîadence," or "halfclosen often
employs this kind of relationship between hannoaic structure and pattern repetition.' Again,
'In phrase-stmctural and f o d anaiysis, the designation of a musical event as a
"haifkadence"varies greatly fiom theorist to theorist, largely due to the dimpancy
which exists in the definition of the concept of "musical phrase" (see Chapter 1, r 9)
A degree of circuIarity fiequently cornes into dehaitions of a phrase and halfkadence,
since a phrase is a musical unit ending with a cadence, whiie a progression euding on a
Chapter 3/
27
as with the use of the anacrusis in the pattern repetition, the effect of this offsetting is
the creation of greater flow and cohesiveness in the music.
The second way in which complete progressions can be combined with the units of pattern
repetition occurs in mm. 5, 14, and 15. Here the ends of complete progressions fd within a
unit of pattern repetition. At each of these points, however, closure of the pattem
repaition and haniionic progression is counteracted by the openendedness of the melodic
structure at these points. In only three instances does melodic closure coincide with
harmonic closure, namely in mm. 7, 17, and 24. Significandy, these occur at exactly those
places where no unit of pattem repetition is present, but a one-measure span of tirne is
defined by the wiits on either side. These measures contain the "cadential geshire" of
traditional f o d analysis, a unit in which simultaneous harmonic and melodic closure are
combined. Fischer isolates two different ways in which cadential gestures can be related to
the material which p d e d them:
. . . the baroque cadence always appears without any repetition of individual scalesteps, even if o f b repeated in its entirety, in complete contrast to the classical
cadence, which adds to the complete progression 1-N-V-I several repetitions of the
last progression V-I, usudy in r h m c diminution and ofien even adds several
repetitions of the tinal chord. The desire of the perfonning musician to demarcate the
cadential character of the progression of harmonies that only appear once lads to a
spontaneous Ritardando, which furthemore, by Corelli, Handel and othen is ofien
specificaiiy requested: [he $ves an srample]. The cadence in the Viemese classicai
style, with its repetitiom, is more likely to tempt one to an acceleration in the
dominant chord is considered a halfkadence when it falls at the end of a phrase. Caplui
defines the halfkaâence somewhat more specificaiiy, not refening to the concept of phrase,
but to the larger and more camfbliy defined concept of "theme." (Txpanded Cadentiai
Progression," 223.) In his work this bas the conseqwnce that identicai musical material crui
bction as a halfkadence in one wntext and in other contexts not play any cadentiai role.
tempo. [my translation]'
In the Corelli, the cadential gesture is clearly articulatecl as a separate unit foliowing the
previous acceleration process, corresponding to Fischer's Baroque cadence. In Fischer's
classical type, the cadential gesture is integrated into the acceleration pmcess, Le.
rhvthrnische Verkleinerung, with its cadential repetitions seMng as hrther shortenings of
the previous units. Fischer, for some reason, does not discuss previous acceleration
processes with reference to the Baroque, but in the Corelli, two of the three cadential
gestures occur at the end of acceleration processes in both the pattern repetition and chord
changes. (The fastest rates of chord change mentioned above ocarr at these points.) Two
thhgs subotdinate the second cadentiai geshire to the &st and last: that it occurs in the
key of the mediant, G-major, and despite an acceleration process at one level, at a higher
level the previous o n e m m e unit of pattern remallis constant.
The first cadential geshire (m. 7), however, occurs afler an acceleration in oniy the
rate of chord change, with the acceleration in the pattern repetition only occuring
afkerwards. This observation helps to explain why the "h&cadence" of measure 10, rather
than the preceding point of simuîtaneous melodic and harrnonic closure is the end of the first
large section of the movement. If a second cadential gesnire had foliowed this acceleration
'Fischer, "ZurEntwicklungsgeschichte," 58, ".. .die barocke Kadenz [üitt] stets
ohne jede Wiederholung einzelner Schntte [suf], wenn auch oft in ihrer Gante npetiert, im
vollsten Gegensatz zur neuklassischea, die an die vole Stufenreibe 1-IV-V-1 eine mehrfàche
Repetition des letzen Schnttes V-1, gew6hnlich in rhythmjscher Verklehemng k g t und ofi
noch mehmislige Wiederholung des ScbiussaWrordes b ~ g t Das
. Bestreben des auahrenden
Musikers, im alten Stil den Abschlusscharakter der nur einrnal erscheinenden Harmoniefolgen ai
markieren, fuhrt pi einem unwillkürlichen Ritardando, d a übrigens bei Corelü, HIlndel und
anderen oft genug direkt gefordert ist: [he gives an exainple]. Die Kadenz Un Wiener
klassischen Stil mit ilmnWiederholungen verloch eher pi einer Ternp~beschtewiigung.~
Chapter 31
29
process in the pattem repetition, it would undoubtedly have had greater structural weight
because of the added aspect of rhythmic closure. Instead of a second cadence, however, a
-
lengthening of the musical units follows in pattern repetition and harmonic rhythm a kind of
written out ritardando. This is accomplished with particular subtlety in the harmonic design.
The dominant chord in the progression repeated in m. 8 is changed to a rninor V chord in its
third repetition and thereby loses its dominant fùnction. This progression is extended till
the tonic following the dominant in m. 9.
This smoothly introduces a deceleration in the unit
created by complete progression, and is followed by a slower rate of chord change in m. 9,
leading to the half-cadence in m. 10. However, the fact that this dominant harmony is felt to
be the conclusion of the first large section is not based on anything intrinsic to the
preceding music. This can be demonstrated by adding more music after the half-cadence. With
this new continuation any f&g
of closure preseot in m. 10 becornes minimal.
The signincance of this "haifkadence"is created largely by a tiirther level of pattern
repetition, shown in Example 9. In each case similar material is used at the beginning and end
of each section. Because it corresponds to the end of the high level unit of pattern
Chapter 3/
Example 9
beginning
repetition, and because the previous cadence was not supponed by an acceleration process in
the lower level pattern repetition, m. 10 acquires greater structural significance. This
underminhg of the cadentid gesture in m. 7 helps to avoid too strong a feeling of clowre in
the home key at an eariy point in the m ~ v e m e n t . ~
A ttrther examination of the highest level of pattern repetition also suggests
structural reasons for the repetition of the tinal four measures of the piece. When these
measures are excluded, ttuee large sections emerge fkom the coordination of the hanaonic and
motivic groupings, each faturing an acceleration process in both hamionic and motivic design,
as weli as one melodically strong cadence. As shom in Example 9, the material used in each of
6Analysis ofother blliary dance movements ending with a hakadence at the end ofthe Asection raîher than a Mclose in the dominant key might reveai m e r devices used to
maintain f o d incompleteness for earlier cadences in the home key.
Chapter 31
31
these three sections also shows many similarities, especially at the beginning and end of each
large unit. From this point of view, the cadence in m. 24 f W s first of ali an equivalent
structurai fùnction to the cadences that end the previous two sections. When the last four
measures of this last large section are repeated, this helps to emphasize the larger
significance of this cadentiai material as the nnal cadence of the piece.
To summarize. the combined coordination of the three analyseci elements in this piece
results in a completely integrated structure În which, with the exception of the repetition of
the last four measures, simultaneous closure of aU the analysecl elements occurs only once in
the movement. At al1 other points completion in one parameter is
jwtaposed with openendedness in others. A wide variety of techniques are employed to briag
this about. Most common are: (1) the offsetting of harmonic closure with closure in the
pattern repetition (i.e. the hakadence situation); (2) the use of melodic incompleteness
where these two are coincident; and (3) the use of acceleration processes in the pattern
repetition and harmonic design at the level of the chord changes to mate large units. When
al1 three parameten are cuordinated for the fïrst tirne, this o m r s in a subordhate key and
contrasting mode. More subtle techniques are; 1. the use of the repetition of a higher level
of motivic grouping at the same t h e as shortening occurs at a lower level to bind two
acceleraîion processes together, as occurred in m. 17, and 2. the halfkadence situation of
mm. 7-10 disaissed immediately above.
Corelli's success in contmliing the formai possibiüties of tonality aiiowed him to
-
create an extremely cohesive musical structure a structure which codd be subjected to a
richess of embellishment and omamentation without losing formal clarity. This formai
Chapter 3/
32
achievement is perhaps even more remarkable because of the Limiteci melodic and motivic
resowces genedy employed by Corelli. As Dennis Libby states in "Intenelatioaships in
Very ofien one feels that the music is simiiar to sornething used elsewhere [in his
works] because it is the underlying harmonic progression and the way that it fits into
the overall tonal format that really interests Coreiii much more than the surface
character of the music.'
Newman goes M e r and sees Corelli's ability to create a cohesive structure as his key
contribution to the development of music:
What Corelli did reveai was a remarkable sense of balance in the concentration and
direction of aii his musical forces. The very fact that each element is treated in
moderation-rhythm, melody, or harmony-helps to explain its efficient cosperation
with the other elements towards over-all un@ of fom.[my italics]'
'~enuisLibby, "Interreiationshipsin CoreUi," Journal of the American Musicolomcal
Socieîy, 26 (1973). 267.
'William S. Newman, The Sonata in the Baroque En (Chape1 Hill: University ofNorth
C a r o h Press, 1959). 157-8.
Analysis of J.S. Bach: Clsvierübung, "Partita No.1 in Bflat, Allemande"
In the first eighteen measures of the Aiiemande movement fkom Bach's "Partita No. 1 in
B-flat" Clavierübunq the basic coordination of the three parameten under investigation is
very simila.to that of the Corelli. A single acceleration process in the pattern repetition
and chord changes unites many complete progressions and ody at its completion does
simultaneous melodic, hannonic and rhythmic closure ocma. However, this basic structure is
both much longer and more cornplex in the Bach Aiiemande.
This greater complexity is apparent nrst of aii in the way pattern repetition is
employed. In contrast to the largely literal repetitions of the CoreUi, Bach achieves very
sirnilar results by also working with slightly modifieci repetitions. On Formai Graph 2 titerai
repetitions are indiateci by brackets using sotid h e s . The units bracketed with broken
lines, on the other hand, indicate that the repetition is not absolutely strict. (M. 13 is
considered an exact repetition because oniy a very slight degree of variation relative to the
previous measure is present.)
The use of iess than literal repetition allows Bach to introduce an acceleration
process graduaiiy. Aiready in m. 5, dong with the repeated one-measure unit, a half-measure
unit is repeated in a sommhaî varied form. The two haives of the one-masure units become
increasingly similas und in m. 15 they are identicai. At this point, non-literai
repetitioas again introduce a féster rate of pattern repetition, this time using an înverted
contour. M. 16 is a M e r illustration of Bach's flexibiüty with pattern repetition:
Chapter 4/
34
whichever one of a large number ~Csirnuitaneouslyarticulated units of pattem repetition one
chooses to examine, an acceleration is always present because &new
l units are shorter than
those which preceded. (See Example 10) The descending thirds of the arpeggio in the soprano,
which are the continuation of the filled-in thirds of the previous unit of pattem repetition,
now occur at the rate of the eighth note. The quarter note unit is articulated by the
repetition of the dominant arpeggio, which then breaks off on the next bat. A third
repetition begins with the upward arpeggio, set offby the the sixteenth note rest in the
score.
Example 10
In the final two measures, a unit of an eighth note duration is repeated in both inverted and
normal form in severai of the voices. Bach notated these measures differently from the
predominantly two-part writing of the movement. Perhaps the four-part texture was chosen
in order to ensure that the performer brought out al1 these short repeated units of pattern
repetition, which are much less noticeable when notated as in Exarnple 1 1.
Chapter 41
Exa
Despite the presence of a certain degree of ambiguity, the acceleration process in the pattern
repetition proceeds with great fluidity and logic from the initial one measure unit to the
repeated eighth note fragments of m. 17.
The greater length of this first acceleration process relative to those in the Corelli
can also be accounted for by the fact that the rate of chord change in the Bach is initially
slower compared to the rate of rnotivic repetition. A single chord is combined with a single
repeated motivic unit, while in the Corelli two chords are used per motivic unit.' Since the
rate of chord change is slower to begin with, this dows for a greater increase in its rate.
While the rate of chord change is generdy fairly consistent, several places display a
certain degree of hegularity. In mm. 7-9 the two part-texture of the piece allows for
several dflerent leveis of harmonic anaiysis. On one level every bass note can be taken as a
'It would be interestkg to examine which parameter in a movement corresponds to the
notated meter. In the Corelli, it is the basic unit of pattern repetition that is one measure
long, while in the Bach both the motivic unit and hamionic rhythm are one measure long. Such an
examination might help clsome of the problcms encountered in the discussion of
hmermeasures.
Chapter 4/
36
V7N(or V'3 16VIL6, I ~ Whiie
.
this
chord tone, giving the foUowing readiing: I[-1-V",
analysis is within the rules of progression outlined in Chapter 2, it impties a sudden increase
in the harrnonic rhythm fiom the preceding measwes. On the other hand, if the fourth and
eighth notes of these measures are treated as passimg tones in the bass, then the progression
II-V,v'-I~,,
I' results. This progression is a more comon one, but it implies a kind of
harmonic syncopation across the badines, and a slower harmonic rhythm than what has preceded.
Perhaps an average rate of chord change is the result of these two dinerent readings of the
hamiony. Of interest is the w ~ e c t i o nof this passage with the subsequent measures: the
entire progression is a diatonic circle of tiffhs with an increase from three steps occurring
every two measures in mm. 7-9,114, V-1, EIV, to four steps occumng every two measures for
-
the remaining progression, 1-IV,W-III, VI-& V, yet another acceleration.
A second ambiguous instance of harmonie rhythm occurs in m. 12. Here the speciai
nature of the six-four chord within the harmonic system cornes into play, and Bach utiiizes it
to great compositional advantage (c.K Chapter 2, 10). Ifthe six-four chord is considered as
a melodic event belonging to dominant harmony, then the rate of chord change has suddenly corne
to a standstiii beginning in m. 12 and is suspended over the implied dominant pedal for nearly
two and a haif measures. On the other hand, if the changes fiom a tonic six-four to a dominant
fivathree are considered changes of chord, then the harmonic rhythm begins to increase from
the rate of the haif-measure to the foliowiag pattemjjjuntilin m. 15 the harmonic rhythm
reaches the consistent quarter note rate, at the same time as the pattern repetition increases
Cbapter 4/
37
to the quarter note.'
There is no ambiguity about the decrease in the rate of chord change in m. 16 within the
largescale acceleration process. FoUowing the quvter note rate of chord change of the
previous measures, the dominant chord is held for a halfnote. The subsequent cadential
gesture brings the r e m of the quarter note or an even faster rate. For the h a l two
maures (mm. 17-18) many levels of hamonic anaiysis are possible, but once again as in the
pattern repetition, d of them represent a fbrther increase.
The rhythmic integration of the cadential materiai of m. 17 as part of the acceleration
processes seems to wntradict Fischer's statement about cadential gestures in the Baroque and
contrats with the cadential gestures in the Corelli. At the same tirne as it is integrated
into the process, the above-mentioned delaying on the dominant chord just pnor to the cadence
also creates a slight separation of the cadentiai gesture Born the previous material. This
delaying on the dominant before the cadence is dBerent tiom the classical "standing on the
dominantt' which is often interpreted as a kind of extended hakadence in which closure in
other parameters occurs simultaneously: in the Bach, during this suspension of harmonic
motion, the other parameters either continue an established process or resume one at the end of
the dominant pedal.
The coordination of the complete harrnonic progressions with the other parameters is
also similar to the Corelli: in m. 4 and m. 7 b o n i c closure does not occur within a unit of
2Tbi~would support my perception of this passage: I hem, paradoxidy, both a
suspension of d v i t y and a tremendous increase in musical 8ctivity. As will be discussed
below, this increase ofactivity involves not only the harmonic rhythm but also other elements
of the music.
Chapter 41
38
pattern repetition; in m.8, 13, 14 and 16, where it does occur within a unit of pattern
repetition, melodic closure is still lacking. In m. 17 the pattern repetitions in which
harmonic and melodic closure occurs are now so fragmented and ambiguous that the distinction
between "within" and "after" a unit of pattern repetition is no longer applicable. This is
even more evident in the remaining masures where the level of pattern repetition is equal to
the repeated two-note scaiar motives.
At this point 1 would like to briefly look at a few musical elements that lie outside of
the parameters being analysed. The first of these is the rhythmic control of descending and
ascending scalar motion. Many comrnon tond progressions can be voiced so that continuous
stepwise motion is present in one or more voices. If ody chord tones are used, then the rate
of the scalar descent or ascent is identical to the rate at which the chords change.
(Seventh chords allow for scalar motion without a change in harmony.) However, if passing
tones are used in the voice-leading, then the rate of scaiar motion can be significantly
dEerent fiom the rate of chord change.
Chapter 41
Erample 13
1
The rate of change of either element can be kept constant, with the rhythm of the other
parameter changing as is needed. %y and large the exercises used in teaching tonal harrnony
keep the rate of chord change constant and give little attention to the rhythm of scalar
motion. Bach, on the other hand, seems almost more interested in controlling the rate of
scalar ascent and descent than the rate of chord change. For this reason, I have added a line
to the formal graph that plots the rate of the prominent scalar ascent and descent and have
circled the tones involved on the accompanying score.
in the initial six measures the rate of scalar motion corresponds to the rate of
harmonic change. in m. 7, the rate of scalar motion increases quite dramatically in the b a s
to four changes per measure. This regularity in the scalar motion in the bass occun at that
point discussed above where the rate of chord change becomes irreguliw. Ln mm. 9-1 1, the rate
of scdar descent used in the soprano increases to eight changes per measure. At the same
time, a deceleration of the rate of scaiar motion is also present because the entire passage
contains a descending circle-of-fifihs sequence with two chords per measure, every measure
behg a tone lower than the p r d i n g one. At the point where the dominant pedal begins, the
Chapter 41
40
rate of scalar descent is increased to almost continuous sixteenth note sales, and is now
equivalent to the shortest note-value used in the piece. At this point, scalar motion could
oniy increase ifBach were to break away fiom the conthuously articulated sixteenth note
motion and introduce a shorter unit of duration to the music. Significantly, once continuous
sixteenth note scalar motion has b a n reached, Bach Unmediately introduces the next level of
acceleration in both the rate of chord change and paneni repetition.
Concomitant with this acceleration in the rate of scalar motion is a motivic process
which Berry includes in his definition of "acceleration pro ces^,"^* but which could perhaps be
more appropriately labelleci a "saturation process." When the opening one-masure unit of
pattern repetition is examineci, two distinct ideas are contained in it, an arpeggiation idea
and the stepwise motion in a neighbour note figun. Beginning in m. 5, stepwise motion
gradiiaiiy increases until it reaches the point of wmplete saturation, or to use Schoenberg's
term, "liquidation," in the sixteenth note d e s of m. 12.
Arpeggiation is now reintroduced in a subtle way in m. 12. While this passage appears
completely scalar on the musical surface, it also contains an undedying arpeggiation because
it can be seen as a fiiied-in third (Example 14). This passage therefore recombines the
openhg motivic material in a new way.
'Berry, "RhythmicAccelerations," 178.
Chapter 41
As the rate of pattern repetition increases in m. 15. the presence of the arpeggiation motive
by necessity dso increases. In this context, the arpeggiations over the dominant chord in
masure 16 can be seen as the point of motivic saturation of the arpeggio aspect of the opening
unit of the piece (See Example 14). The last two measures then become from the motivic point of
view the return of the stepwise motive but now occurring evev sixteenth of a beat in evew
voice, a fiirther motivic saturation. (The harmonic progression, however, at this point b a s
a strong resemblance to the opening measures of the piece, though ai a much faster rate of
chord change.)
The first eighteen measures of this movement are an almost cornpletely closed formal
unit in which simultaneous melodic and harmonic closure are coordinated with the end of the
rhythmic process of acceleration in both the hamonic and motivic grouping. Forma1 openendedness is oniy present at the highest level of harmonic grouping, that of the key of the
complete progressions, since the closure in m. 18 is in the dominant key. This is slightly
dEerent fiom the overail form of the Corelli Memanda in which formal openendedness was
createû by the "Wkadence" after the first cadence.
The remainder of the movement contrasts more strongly with the Corelli. In the
Corelli, the second section begins with the same length o f u ~ast the ht,and t i r e s a
Chapter 41
42
simiiar acceleration process in both the pattern repetition and the rate of chord change,
using motivic matenal that, while not greatly contrasting to the openhg material, is
nonetheless different. ui the Bach it is the organization that is contrasting, whiîe almost
identical material is us&. Within the first five measures, Uistead of a constant rate of
pattern repetition and chord change, an increase to the haKmeasure in both the pattern
repetition and the rate of chord change occun that then retums to the one-masure unit. In
contrast to the tond stability of the opening measures, three modulating complete
progressions occur in quick succession, going fiom F-major to g-minor to c-minor. This
structure gives the music a searching quality, since none ofthe units receives any consistent
development, but is replaced by another. This is especially noticeable when the faster
grouping in m. 21 is not continued but folowed by a new repeated motivic unit that is longer.
The music "gets rolling" with the exact repetition of the material fiom mm. 9-17. The
repetition within the B-section of a large span of materiai that was in the dominant key in the
A-section is a cornmon fatwe of binary dance movements, but usudy this material is adjusted
so that the cadentiai gesture that ended the A-section in the dominant now ends the B-section
in the home key.' In this movement, no adjustment is made to the material and the cadence that
was originaüy heard in the dominant is now repeated in the key of c-minor. It is possible that
Bach chose to avoid a modification that would d o w a retum to the home key because the
careWy controiied rhythmic pacing of this material might have ben disturôed. In fact, the
few slight changes in the music occur exactiy at the point where the change of mode from major
'cireen a d y has a special category o f ô i i movements, the "balancecibiaary" for tbis
kind of repetition. (Fom in Tonal Music, 76.)
Chapter 41
1
Example 15
I'
to minor weakens its original rhythmic structure. In Example 15 the material in the
accompaniment figures in mm. 29-30 has been changed from its original form in m. 14- 15 by
replacing the important scalar descent A, A-Bat, G, F, E to an ascent from E-flat to F-sharp,
G, A, B. C and D. If one tries to substitute the original descending line in the minor, then
this passage does not begin with a descending semi-tone from major scale degree three to minor
three, but stays on the minor scale degree three for two b a s notes. At this crucial point it
is possible that Bach wanted to avoid this lack of motion in the bass line, and therefore used
an ascending bass Line as a substitute, which in fact allows this scaiar motion to be continued
one beat longer. Perhaps the first four descending sixteenth notes of mm. 9, 10, and 1 1 were
changed in mm. 24,25 and 26 to an ascending four to prepare for this change. This interchange
of ascending and descending motion also occurs in the new ascending accompaniment figures of
mm. 29-30 by initially alternating three ascendiag sixteenths with three descending
sixteenths, while in the original ody descending motion was used.
The exact repetition of the material that ended the A-section (with the exception of
the last two measures) indicates that ftom the point of view of the rate of chord change,
Chapter 4/
44
pattern repetition, and melodic process, the rnovement achieves closure in measure 32. Since
the cadence is in a subordinate key, however, the movement is obviously still incomplete at
this point. This poses the compositiond problem of integrating the modulation back to the
home key into this aiready highly complete structurai design.
Rosen suggests that Bach accomplishes this by using material which modulated in the Asection (mm 7-8) and was lefi out in the analogous spot in the B-section to accompiish the
modulation back to the home key (mm. 32-34), thereby achieving a khd of balance based on the
similarity of musical f'unction.' Though there is some motivic similarity between mm. 32-34 and
mm. 7-8, these resemblances do not seem any more strikingly obvious than motivic comection to
many other passages previously heard. Furthemore, a strong case could be made that mm. 3-4,
rather than nun. 7-8, have been omitted fiom motivic repetition in the B-section. What seems
signincant about the motivic content of mm. 32-35 is not its sllnilarity with previous
materiai, but the fact that in this passage the familiar scalar and arpeggio motives are now
presented in combinations which have never before been used. At the sarne the, the
presentation of this reworked matenal occurs in the same order in which it was onginally
developed in the A-section, the openhg material most strongly resembling the opening motive,
followed by m. 34, which has more similarity to mm 5-8, folowed by material in the soprano of
m. 35, which resembles the b a s line of mm. 14-15. Fdy the cadence at the end of m. 35
repeats the highly distinctive sonority of the IV7chord used in m. 16. (See Example 16.)
R o m in his chart of thematic correspondences between A and B sections,does not map m. 35
onto to any mePsure in the A-section.
'Charles Rosen, Somta Forms, (New York: W.W. Norton, 1980), 21-23.
Chapter 4/
45
With the cadence at the end of m. 3 5, the necessary closure of the harmonic and melodic
design has been integrated with the rest of the movement by a motivic design that is both a
synopsis of the motivic development used in the piece as well as a further modification of
these materials. From the point of view of formal organization, however, it is highly
significant that there is no recurring length of unit in either hmonic or motivic grouping
throughout this passage. This absence gives a rhapsodic or cadenza-like feeling to this
section, which ends with a melodic flourish that has an affective quality unique within the
movement.
Eumple 16
Whiie a satisfactory ending to the movement fiom the point of view of large-scaie
hmonic organization has now been achieved in a manner that also was motivically integrated
into the movement, the nnal four measures of the piece can be understood as a satisfactory
ending relative to the rhythmic organization. For this reason, the rhapsodic cadential
material is immediately foiiowed by a very stnctly repeated pattern and regular rate ofchord
change, harkening back to the opening measures of the piece. This is then foiiowed by a change
to the fastest rate of pattem repetition of the piece and a retum of very prominent
Chapter 4/
46
descendhg scalar motion MotivicalIy, these measures present the harmonic progression fiom
the opening measures of the piece in an arpeggio figure, and material highly reminiscent of the
end of the A-section. Sandwiched between these motivic references to the opening and end of
the A-Secfion is the somewhat curious third b a t of m. 37. The motivic content of this b a t ,
and the fact that it does not fit hto the strict rhythmic scheme of these measures possibly
dudes to the music of m. 35. If mm. 32-35 can be seen as a sumrnary of the development of the
motives of the piece, then the h a 1 measures (mm. 36-38) can be seen as a surnrnary of the
rhythmic organization of the piece, containkg the strict pattern repetitions, the reguiar
scalar motion, as well as a brief reference to the contrasting use of eeer organization. In
the B-section, therefore, Bach has used musical relationships other than direct "hear"
development of preceding material and contrasteci freer with more stnctly controiied rhythmic
organization. Neither of these practices was found in the Corelli.
The recurrence ofmany of the sarne methods of coordinathg harmonic, melodic, and
motivic elements in both the Corelli and the Bach Ailemandes suggests the foiiowing
hypothetical formal scheme: a variable number of complete harmonic progressions are united by
an acceleration process involving both the rate of chord change and units of pattem
repetition, at the end of which a complete progression is coordinated with melodic closure.6
Notice, however, how many exceptions have alteady been found to this pattem in the Corelli,
%s very loose mode1 is in some ways sirnilm to Fischer's Fo~s~innung@yp&
and to
Michael Talbot's discussion of p
r
i
a in "The Concerto Megro inthe M y Eighteenth
Centwy," Music and Letten, 52/1 (Jan 197l), 10-11. ('ïalbot makes no reference to Fischer.)
It is, however, both more aad less specific: neither Fischer nor Talbot specincally include
an acceleration process in their defhitions, though they do not d e one out, and do not
discuss the interna1harmonic structure of these units; on the other han& the present mdel is
not ditidcd hto two periods, with sequentiai hatmonic motion prescribed for the second.
Chapter 4/
47
a point of melodic and hamionic closure occurred before the end of the acceleration process,
which was then foiiowed by a deceleration, leading to a "halfcadence"coupled with an upper
level of pattern repetition. In the Bach, the melodic and hannonic ciosure occurred as the
last part of the acceleration process, but was also separatecl tiom it by a Iengthening in the
rate of chord change prior to it. This hypothetical scheme does not spec@ aay length for the
units involveci, in contrast to the basic rnodels of Schoenberg, Ratz and Caplin, in which
deviations âom the nonative lengths are described as "interpolations,""expansions,"
-
"extensions," as anomalies.
Analysis of Handel: Chorus "Tby Right Hand Oh Lord"
from Israel in E w p t
Already at the very outset of the double chorus "Thy Right Hand, Oh Lord" fiom
Handel's oratorio, Israel in E-
two tùndamental differences in the specific coordination
of the musical parameters are discemable. The first of these invoives the coordination of
harmonic and motivic grouping. In contrast to the two Allemande movements, in which
each pattem repetition was generaily coordinated with either a single chord or pair of
chords, in the Handel the first unit of pattern repetition is articulated when the first
complete progression in its entirety has been heard. This one-to-one relationship of
pattern repetition and complete progression remains the nom for the remainder of the
movement.'
The second contrast to the previously analyzed movements involves the harmonic
design at the levei of the chords. h the Bach and Corelli movements a regular rate of
chord change was established at the outset, forming the buis for an acceleration process
in this parameter. In the Handel, the chord changes in the opening four measures mate a
differentiated rhythmic shape rather than a regular rate of change. Even when greater
regularity in the rate of chord change is introduced in measures 5-7, this in itself presents
'One logicai result of this is that no hahadence situations are possible in this
movement, since by definition (c.f Chapter 3,26) the half-cadence occurs when the
beginnllig of a subsequent unit of pattern repetition corresponds to the tonic that ends a
complete progression.
Chapter 5/
49
yet another departure From the basic design of the two Allemande movements because this
adds the element ofcontrast to the music. This contrast is present in other parameten in
mm. 5-7 as well: in the pattern repetitions there are no longer any clearly defined units; in
the harmonic design, as well as the introduction of the regular rate of chord change
modulatory complete progressions contrast with the previous non-modulatory ones; and
in the motivic design, contrast is created by the use of the neighbour tone motive in
augmentation* Further structural aspects of these contrasting rneasures will be discussed
to below.
These differences in the initial seven measures can in part be accounted for by the
different genre of this work. It is a chorus setting a text. The text of this movement,"Thy
right hand O Lord is become glorious in power," provides a sumary of the preceding
musical numbers of the oratorio, in which the decisive interventions of the Lord of Israel
against the Egyptians had been describeci. The short complete progressions of the opening
measures are the musical equivalent of these cornpleted actions, and create a very
difFerent feeling fiom the leisurely and expansive four measure complete progression at the
beginning of the Bach Allemande. The ditferentiated musical sudace of the initial four
measures also allows for the musical expression and illustration of other aspects of the
text. To give one example, the double neighbour tone flourish in the tmmpets' and
sopranos' high tessitura in m 2, setting the word "gionous," is tmly glorious music.
With the repetition of uiis passage in m. 4, the musical texture is saturated with this double
neighbour tone figure, making the music even more glorious. The music has thereby
enacted the "becominggloriousttreferred to in the text.
Chapter Sl
50
These two basic differences in coordination have ramitications on the large-scale
organization of the movement. Before going into these. however, one striking similarity
this movement shares with the Bach and Corelli Allemandes will be examined. Beginning
in m. 1 5 , an acceleration process of simiiar dimensions to those of the two Allemande
movements is found in the pattern repetition of the Handel. The initial unit is articulated
through the use of canonic imitation at the measure in the vocal paris. This one measure
unit gives way to the half-rneasure unit in m. 22, underscored by the alternation between
choruses I and II. While in the strictest sense this half-note unit remains in effect in mm.
23 -24, a quarter note unit is also clearly established by the continuous repetition o f the
rhythmic figure
1
given emphasis by the use ofrepeated pitches within the
vocal lines ai this point and by the normal and inverted repetitions of a motivic figure in
the melody and accompanying voices (Exarnple 17).
-
ihv riphrhiud, ohLadhath&hed
iii
Ipicrcs, hath dirhrd io ptr .m the c
,ae
-1
With the repetition of mm. 22-27 in the home key. a retum to the half-note unit of the
Chapter 51
51
opening of this passage occurs in m. 28 and is then followed by the same accelerations.
The harmonic design of this acceleration process has several interesting features.
As discussed above, the general relationship between pattern repetitions and hmonic
design in this movement occurs at the level of the complete progressions, rather than at
the level of the chords. Therefore, when the units of pattem repetition get shorter, the
length of the complete progressions also gets shorter. To be specific, when rate of pattern
repetition is increased to the half note in m. 22, the rate of complete progression is the
same length. Interestingly enough, because the general rate olchord change remains
constant From m. 14, the complete progressions contain increasingly fewer chords until in
m. 33 only tonic and dominant chords remain in the music. These progressions are by
definition "subordinate complete progressions," but in hght of their development fiom the
previous complete progression, they remain on the sarne structural level as the earlier
ones.
The final step in the acceleration process that began in m. 15 occurs in m. 34. The
motivic unit used sequentidy in mm. 23-24 now occurs in repetition at the rate of the
quarter note, harmonized by subordinate cornplete progressions. mer the third
repetition, however, an upper neighbour tone is added to the bass-üne, harmonized as a
dominant chord between two tonics. This means that the rate of complete
progressions/chord change now reaches the rate of the eighth note. (See Example 18)
While this addition rnight seem insigiuticant on paper, the use of even the slightest
ritardando in performance rnakes it very audible and dramatic.
Chapter 5 /
This acceleration process has been discussed as a self-contained passage beginmng
in m. 15 in order to show its similarity to those in the previous works. However. there are
several aspects of its organization and materiai that point to a relationship to the opening
rneasures of the movement. Most apparent is the motivic comection between the first unit
of pattem repetition in the acceleration process and the opening measures of t he piece.
The bass-lie of m. 1 of the i ~ t i atwo
l masure unit of pattern repetition is identical to the
unit repeated in canonic imitation in m. 15. Using this simiiarity as a basis, one can easily
envision a movement with an acceleration process beginning at m. 1, "cutting" directly
From the two measure units of m. 1- 4 and their repetition in m. 8-15, to the one masure
units beguuiing in m. 15 and leaving out mm. 5-7 and 12- 14. The deleted measures are,
interestingly enough, those measures that introduced the contrasting material. These
observations seem to suggest that though the definition of acceleration process presented
in Chapter 3 is limited to directly adjacent musical units. units might be associated even if
Chapter 5/
53
they are not directly contiguous, especially if they are strongly related to one another and
the intervening material can be perceived as subordinate. This would then mean that the
acceleration process actually begins with the two rneasure unit in m. 1 and spans the entire
movement
Whatever status one gives to this acceleration process, there is a second
unambiguous acceleration process that also spans the entire movement. but operates on a
higher level of structure. It begins with an initial unit of pattern repetition that is seven
mesures long. The largest unit of pattern repetition used in an acceleration process in the
two previous analyses was one rneasure long. To support these longer units of pattem
repetition, a relationship of harmonic design to pattem repetition is used that was not
found in the previous works. Since wmplete progressions are coordinated with the units
of pattern repetition in the lower level acceleration process. there remains only the next
higher level of harmonic design-the key areas-to support the Iarger units of pattern
repetition. In the two Allemande movements, the pivot chord in modulatory complete
progressions always occurred within a unit of pattern repetition shorter than the entire
progression, as in Example 19.
Pattern Rcpetition
'q
Y,IP\
Complere Rogressions
Chapter 5/
54
in the Handel the pivot chord occurs at the very beginning of a new unit of pattern
repetition and is the prospective tonic of the progression. (See Example 20) This means
that the tonic within a unit of pattem repetition is always the same at the beginning and
end of the unit.
P
Exarnple 20
-
Pattern Repeution
; ;Y
C: T'P
I
Complete Rogmstons
I
These two kinds of coordination are commonly referred to as "pivot chord modulation"
and "direct modulation." Their difference does not lie solely in the hartnonic parameter,
however, but involves the relationship of the progressions to theù respective units of
motivic grouping . Handel uses the "direct modulation" almost exclusive1y in t his
movement, the exception again being the "contrasting matenal" measures, mm. 5-7 and
12-14. This coordination results in a strong relationship between key area and pattern
repetition, and a greater feeling of discreet musical sections, while in the Bach and Corelli
Memandes the modulations create a more fluid quality.'
The 6rst shorter unit of pattem repetition begins with the modulation to F-major,
in m. 15. When the music modulates to C-major in m. 18, a four-measure unit is created.
%or a description of the distinction between the two difZerent coordinations of
modulation and pattern repetition fiom a more traditionai formal perspective, see Talbot,
"The Concerto Negro," 12.
Chapter 5/
55
A cunous situations occurs in the pattern repetition. One bar before the establishment of
the new tonic, the sopranos enter with the repetition of the one-masure unit of pattern
repetition transposed up a tifth, which is then repeated for four measures. This results in
the overlapping of two four rneasures groups for one measure, creating a seven-measure
unit, identical in length to the first two units ofpattern repetition. Therefore, while in the
harmonic design an acceleration has occurred relative to the previous seven measure unit,
in the pattem repetition there is both an acceleration and a retaining of the seven masure
unit.
This double analysis seems to find continuation in the next section of the music.
The modulations to G-major (m. 22) and C-major (m. 27),-the, and five and a half
measure long respectively- are an acceleration relative to the seven-measure unit but a
deceleration relative to the four measure units. If the internai structure of these t w new
units is examined, again a cornplex situation is present. An initial hd'rneasure
unit is
repeated once and then becomes the first part of a sequential voice-leading passage.
When this passage is itseifrepeated, the first two repetitions are lefi out and only the
sequential passage itselfis heard. This suggests that the first two haif measure units are a
kuid of "faise start" to the sequential passage. Without these "false starts" the resulting
unit is two measures long, an acceleration relative to the previous four masure units.
Interestingly enough, when the five measure unit of pattem repetition is repeated in the
home key of C-major, Handel adds one more repetition of the initiai haif-measure unit
before presenting the sequential passage, possibly as a tension-building device before the
climactic sequential passage.
Chapter 51
56
This large sale acceleration process therefore has units 7.4 and 2 measures in
length. Instead of continuing this pattem with one measure units, the next repeated units
are the hal'note
units of m. 32 belonging to the lower level process. Several features of
the music seem to indicate that a merging of the two levels occurs at this stage. The fint
of these is the use of a new and contrasting musical figure, the arpeggiation figure of m.
32. A second feature is the fact that this pattem is then repeated by the orchestra alone,
the only solo passage for orchestra in the movement. Thirdly, the lower level acceleration
process has already reached the quarter note rate, making this passage a step backwards
on this level . Whatever level of acceleration the units in m. 32 are assigned to, in generai
there has been successive shortenhg of the units of almost al1 parameters, until in the final
measures the music is cornposed almost exclusively of the repetition of the neighbour
tone motive, harmonized by tonic and dominant chords. This large-scde hgmentation
and motivic liquidation is a highly appropriate structure for a piece of music setting the
text, "Thyright Hand O Lord has dashed to pieces the enemy."[my italicsIJ
ifwe retum to the integrated forma1 mode1 that was hypothesized at the end of the
previous chapter, it becornes evident that only with extensive modifications would it be
able to account for the design created by the pararnetric integration found in this
movement, despite the many f o d features this movement shares with the Memandes.
'Handel's setting of this text is interesthg in light of the cornmon distinction made
between classical and Baroque text sethg practice, namely that in the Baroque one static
affect or two altemathg affects are set, while in the classical style the action, either
psychological and physical, is set. See Rosen, The Classical Style, 289, and Joseph
Kerman, Ooeca and Drarna, (New York: Vintage Books, 1952), 77. This piece seems to
lie in between, having a structure that dustrates the action of the text.
Chapter 5/
57
Among other things it would need to account for: (1)the difference in the relationship
between pattern repetition and hannonic design at the outset of this movement from the
prescribed 1:1 or 2: 1 relationship of the model; (2)the fact that this relationship does not
remain constant but undergoes a change as the movement progresses; and (3)that
acceleration processes exist simultaneously on two levels of structure.
To fiirther illustrate the problernatic of using integrated models for the Handel, I
would like to retum briefly to the integrated classical model of the sentence defined in
chapter 1. The structure of the music from mm. 22-24 does not greatly depart from this
model: it uses a repeated motivic idea that establishes a tonic, follows this with a shorter
unit of motivic grouping that uses sequential harmonic motion, and finally ends with a
cadential gesture. If the actual measure lengths are ignored and the proportions of the
units and kind of harmonic activity are abstracted from the definition of the sentence, then
this basic plan can also be attributed to the form of the entire movement. The relationship
of the key areas of the first two swen masure units is that of the statement/response, one
of the corrunoniy ernployed harmonic bases at the level of the chord for the first two
motivic units of the sentence.' As in the continuation phrase of the sentence, shorter units
having a sequential relationship then follow, but this relationship involves the key areas, F-
major, C-major and G-major, rather than individual chords. Fhaliy, the last measures of
the piece bring repeated toniddominant alternation in the home key, performing a
cadentiai role within the movement. The sentence-like structure of mm. 22-24 is
'Schoenberg, Fundamentals, 2L-22. 1have replaced Schoenberg's ternis t o ~ c
fonddominant form by the terms applied by Caplin to the same situation, Le.
statement/response.
Chapter 5 /
58
therefore embedded within a large sentence-like structure. One last observation-the first
complete harmonic progression of this movement itself could easily serve as the harmonic
basis for a sentence in the classical style.
From the analysis of this movement, therefore, it begins to appear that schemata
deveioped for works of the late Baroque would have to maintain an exceedingly high
degree of flexibility to encompass the great variation that exists in the integration of
parameters within this style period. The next analysis confirms that this movement by
Handel is not an isolated phenomenon.
Analysis of Bach: Aria Duetto "Mein Freund ist Meia"'
from Cantata No. 140, Wachet Auf
The anaiysis ofthe Aria Duetto "MeinFreund ist Mein'" fiom Cantata 140 by J.S. Bach
gives further support to the hduigs of the previous analyses, namely that in the late
Baroque, musical parameters are coordinated in si@cady difEerent ways,both fiom work to
work as weil as within a single movement, and that compositional techniques shared by works
from this penod are not specific to any parameter or level of structure.
The A-section of this Da Capo aria is organized into a large-scale acceleration process
in the pattern repetition of dimensions akeady encountered in the Handel. The first unit of
this acceleration process is the initial eight measures of the movement, the rîtoneilo theme.
(The fkst unit in the Handel was seven measures long.) The coordination of parameters within
these rneasures is initiaiiy also very sirnilar to the Handel: the fint s d e r unit of pattern
repetition is supporteci by the first complete progression and contains a differentiated
harmonic rhythm rather than a regular rate of chord change. Already with the repetition of
this uniethe design departs fiom that of the Handel. Rather than containing another complete
progression, a staternent/response harmonie plan is used, reversing the tonic and dominant
relationships of the first unit. While a statementlrespome harmonic situation was also
present in the Handel, it o c m e d on the level of the large units of pattern repetition
involving key areas, rather than the level of the chords. The Bach ritomelio then departs
fùrther from the Hande1 design, but now it has the same relationship between harmonic design
59
Chapter 6/
60
and pattem repetition encountered in the Corelli Allemanda: in mm. 5-8 one measure
units of pattern repetition are integrated with a regular rate of chord change of two chords
per measure. When these shorter units are then followed in m. 7 by a bnef extending of
dominant harmony pnor to the final acceeleration in the rate of chord change and pattern
repetitions of m. 8, this is reminiscent of the Bach Allemande in mm. 16.' In these initial
measures, therefore, the coordination of musical parameters contains elements present in
ail the previous works, but the specific combination of these elements is different.
An examination of the role of scalar ascent and descent in the ritomello serves as
another example fiom the Iate Baroque of similar musical elements employed in a
different way. In the Bach Allemande, scalar motion was an essential part of the largescaie acceleration process involving severai parameters of the A-section of the
movement. in the frst eight rneasures of the Aria Duetto, a multitude of ascending and
descending scalar lines are related by a highly complex set of relationships (Example 21).
In mm. 1-2, an ascent in parallel tenths between soprano and bass for the first three
beats is followed by a diminution of the same notes in the b a s in sixteenth notes.
after which a M e r ascent h m D to F occurs. in the soprano, the ascent D,E-flac
F is answered in m. 2 by the descent F, E-Bat, D,which is itself decorated by the
desceadhg sixteenth note figure fiom B-flat to F. The repetition of this two-measure unit
is not exact, but is changed so that even more interplay between ascending and
descending motion is present In the absequent sequentiai passage the one-masure
units of pattern repetition, each of which rises a step h m the pieceding unit, aiso
'lnterestingly enough these measu&s can be described as an example ofthe classical
"sentence" theme-type, featuring a four measure presentation phrase and a four measure
continuation phrase with cadential gesture.
Chapter 6/
61
contain the opening three-note ascent in diminution, and the whole passage culminates in
simultaneous ascending scales in the soprano of m. 7 and the descending scale in the bass. The
final cadential gesture in the melody then presents three descending sixteenth note scales
that themselves embellish the descent E-flat, D,C.
III
.
r
As in the Allemande, the control of scalar motion seems to be very much in the foreground of
Bach's cornpositional style, but rather than playing a structural role, in this movement its
expressive and syrnbolic qualities are exploited. This cantata for the Sunday before Advent
deals with the parable of the wise and foolish virgins, taken in theology to symbolize the
maniage of Christ, the heavenly bridegroom, and the soul, his earthly bride. The
relationship of heaven and earth, bride and bridegroom is given its musical equivalent by the
continuai interplay between ascending and descending scalar f?agrnents.
The remainder of the movement continues to demonstrate the use of formai procedures
common to the other three works, but coordinated in different ways. The entry of the soloists
into the texture with the repetition of the first eight masures, a stylistic nom of the Da
Capo aria, articulates the first large unit of pattern repetition, as did the similar
repetition of mm. 1-7 in the Handel. The subsequent large units, however, are not articulated
Chapter 61
62
in the same way as those of the Handel, in part because of the intenial differences in the units
discussed above, but also because Bach, as in the Allemande, uses more complex fonns of
repetitions.
The first shorter unit of repetition is interesthg in that it is a fiagment of the
originai. M e r six measures of nearly exact repetition, in m. 23 the extended dominant
harmony of the original is replaced by a return to tonic, at which point the opening gesture of
the movement is introduced by the next unit of pattem repetition. This unit then continues to
present the motivic material fiom the ritornello, but its intemal organization is modifieci to
provide the basis of acceleration: the differentiated rate of chord change of the opening four
measures is replaced by a harmonization that iniraduces a regular rate of chord change and the
originai motivic material is repeated after ody one measure. These harmonic and motivic
units are then subjected to a certain degree of acceleration within this four measure unit, by
the inverted repetition in the basso in mm. 23-24 at the half-measure, folîowed by a beat-long
unit created by the imitation between the vocal parts in mm. 25-26. However, the subordinate
nature of this intemal acceleration process remains in evidence by the continued presence of
the previously established one-measure unit in the oboe line throughout this passage, the sarne
kind of device discussed in the Corelli (c.f Chapter 3.25) .
While the size of the units of pattern repetition in mm. 23-26 corresponds to the
Haadeî, the modulations in the harmonic desigo are simüar to the Memande movements in that
the modulating progressioos, the f b t to the subdominant, followed by the second to the
subrnediant, ocair so that the naal t o ~ Ui
c each case is the firsi chord of the next unit, i.e.
the half-cadence type of situation, rather than each unit being supported by a di&rent key
Chapter 61
63
area, as in the Handel. As discussed above, this kind of relationsbip between pattern
repetitions and keys gives a more cohesive, less clearly articulated effect to the large-scale
acceleration process.
The beginning of the next large unit of pattern repetition (m.27) is again articulated
by the opening motive. This t h e , however, the one-rneasure unit is no longer maintained in the
oboe h e . Together with the imitative repetition in the basso, no longer in inversion, this
brings about a stronger emphasis of the haSmeasure unit. The modulating complete
progression used in these measures now ends within the large two and a halfmeasure unit of
pattern repetition in the supertonic, but the melodic writing at this point is not cadential.
The next unit (m. 29) is almost identical to the previous one, except that its length is
shortened by a telescoping of the oboe and soprano parts, now enterhg simdtaneously rather
than in canon, thus shortening the unit by a m e r haif maure.
The complete progression
ending this unit modulates back to B-fiat major, with an acceleration in the rate of chord
change fiom the predorninantiy quarter note rhythm to eighth notes and the use of the root
position dominant chord in the cadential progression giving support to this retum to the home
key in m. 30.
From this point onward, the lower level of pattern repetition receives further
aderation in m. 32, the repeated half note unit is supeded by a quarter note unit
articuiated in the soprano, cuiminating in the sixteenth note scdes in oboe and soprano in m.
33. The rate of chord change, after accelerating from the haif note to the quarter note in m.
32, once again displays a lengthening on dominant harxnony in m. 33, prior to m e r
d e r a t i o n to continuous eighth note motion, with a hht ofevea faster motion in mm. 34. At
Chapter 61
64
the same the, in the pattern repetition the quarter note unit of grouping is "liquidated" in
m. 34 to stepwise motion in all voices-even chromatic stepwise motion is introduced-at a
rate equal to or shorter than the eighth note.
To summarize briefly, the A-section from mm. 1-35 employs a large acceleration process
in the pattern repetition, with an accompanying acceleration involving the rate of chord
change fiom m. 20 onwards. There are, however, a number of discontinuities within these
measures that point to another possible understanding of this passage. The first of these
occurs in m. 23, when the repetition of the large unit is broken off after six measures. The
repetition of the opening material of the ritornello at this point is a new beginning on one
level, but the fact that the one-meastue unit remallied constant across this division and that
no change in the text or texture is htroduced helps relegate it to a subordhate role relative
to the beginning of m. 17. in m. 30, a second discontinuity occurs because of the sudden use of
much shorter units of pattern repetition. The more strongly cadentiai bassline and increased
harmonic rhythm at the end of the large units of pattern repetition at this point also
underscore the discontinuity with the music that follows.
The significance of these two points of discontinuity is revealed by the music
following the cadence in m. 34. Bach retums to the sequential passage fiom the ritomello,
the very passage that was not completed but was broken off in m. 22. The original ending of the
ritorneiio, however, is again not forthcoming, but the music this time "cutsNdirectiy to the
cadentiai materiai that ended the large acceleration process in m. 35. This suggests that the
music of mm. 23-3 1 cm be seen as an interpolation into the second part of the ritorneflo
theme. This is firther supported by the hannonic design of this interpolation. When the
Chapter 61
65
emphasized keys are isolated, these turn out to be identical to the chords o f the sequential
material in the ritornello.
Example 22
clid
M a t
ln ~ g u t n c c
as V/IV
In expinrion
ms
mm. 23-24
25-26
E-flat
IV
m.5
g-niinor
VI
-
c-niinor
II
m6
mm 28-29
F
asV'Ji
m6
mm. 29-30
U-llot
1
m8
m. 31
mm 26-27
,
While it can fint of dl be understood as part of a large acceleration process, the passage
from mm. 23-3 1 can also be understood as an interpolated expansion of the sequeniial material
fiom the ritornello. As in the Allemande, Bach is again working with more cornplex structurai
relationships than purely successive "linear"development .
In the B-section that follows, for shorter durational spans of structure similar
methods of coordination to both the A-section and the other rnovements are employed. At the
larger levels of structure, however, the organization now differs signiticantly, providing
the relaxation in the music that is customary for the Baroque Da Capo aria.* tn contrast to the
opening of the A-section, the initial one masure unit of pattern repetition does not give way
to shorter "nits but remain constant for the next 17 measures of the B-section. Moreover, the
*Sec Rosen, The Classical Style, 75.
Chapter 6/
66
one measure unit is not foiiowed by a shorter unit length, but by three measures of luxuriant
counterpoint without any clearly articulated unit of pattern repetition. This lack of
acceleration is also in evidence at the next higher level of pattern repetition, since the
repetition of mm. 47-50-mm. 5 1-554s actudy a whole measure longer. In this repetition,
Bach again uses a less than exact repetition. While the oboe repeats the same figure
throughout this passage, the vocal lines use a dinerent motivic idea for each large mit. The
hannonic content of each unit is identical ody in land, Le. using sequential root movement
within a modulating complete progression, but the first unit uses an ascending sequence, while
the second descends.
The harmonic design also supports this relaxation in the organization of the pattern
repetition. Beginnuig on the dominant chord, the fïrst complete harmonic progression contains
an ascending circle-of-nfth sequence with intervening triads created by 5-6 motion in the
soprano line (c.f the ambiguity between voice-leadhg and chord change in Chapter 2, 11).
The ascending circle of fifths is classed by Schoenberg as a "descendhg progression," one in
which the sense of progression fiom element to element is not strong, and creates a reduction
in hamonic tension. The sequence in the second large unit of pattern repetition is the more
usual descending circle of fifths, but this tirne extended by a ftrther measure. The complete
progressions in this passage are on average twice as long as the complete progressions in the
A - d o n , behg either two or three measures long. In its rhythmic organization the music of
mm. 46-55, with its lengthening of units and avoidance of acceleration processes, has "aii the
time in the world." This gives support to the pastod and timeless aspect of the text at this
point, which speaks of Christ and the soul graPng togethet on the roses of heaven.
Chapter 61
67
Mer these two large units, the opening measwes are heard again, but in the minor
mode. Their repetition is broken off after one masure and followed by a single repetition of
this one-meastue unit, beginning an acceleration process in the pattern repetition and in the
rate of chord change that ends in m 63 with the cadential material identical to mm. 33-34, the
end of the large acceleration process in tbe A-section. This is then foliowed by a passage
analogous to mm. 35-38 of the A-section, the passage where the "cut" leaMng out the
interpolation is made. The key of this passage is significant because of the special quality
that is often associateci by a move to the subdominant key ma, often described as a
relaxation.' The use of this passage associates the previous music with the interpolation that
was the expansion of the original materiai of the A-section.
If hannonic design at the level of key a m is examineci, a fiirther relationship between
this section and the previous expanded interpolation becomes evident. The B-section opens on
the F-major dominant chord, modulates to c-rninor, then g-minor and then has a cadence in E-Bat
major. (Notice the ascending
ocairring on this level of harmonic structure as weU).
Compared with Example 22, this sequence of keys is identical to that of mm. 23-3 1 but in
reverse order. This passage can be seen as a W e r expansion of what was already an
expansion, and gives the foiiowing structure to this movernent:
B
A
A
ab
B
expansion ofb
3~osen,The Classicai Stylç, 79.
A
ab
expansion of B
Chapter 6/
Given the emphasis on "eternity," "timelessness" and "inseparability" in the text, many
metaphorka1 interpretations of a structure that, WIe a "haü of rnirron," contains srnalier
versions of itseif withh expanded fonns are suggested when the basic image of the text, the
inseparabihty of the soul tiom Christ in eternity, g r m g on the "roses of heaven," is taken
into account. The music seems to be moving away from the dimensions of "earthlythe" towarâs
those of "heavenîy tirne."
It is also tempting to provide a metaphorical interpretation for the sudden breaking
off of the repetition of the openhg measures in m. 69. Gerhard Hen does so when he describes
this passage as foîiows:
Bach uses the iast and longest [melisma] as a springboard for his ctimactic,
homorhythmic treatment of the last text Line and his enthusiastic, thouah structurdly
prematurc retum to major. As ifthe retum to part 1 were alreadv accom~lished,the
next measures (64-67) repeat . . measures 35-36 almost literaîiy and mm. 37-38 "in
kind." The oboe, which had participateci in these reminiscences . . now gets ahead of
the conventionai scheme by givhg out a "wrong" start of the ritomel in the "wrong"
key of E-flat major (mm.67-68). Realizing that the midde section ouht to close in
the relative minor, Bach cuts this premature pseudo-da capo short . . . .[my italics]'
This sudden intemiption of al1 this rapturous and blissful music can perhaps also be seen as a
retum fiom the irnagined tirne ofeiernity to "real the," an awakening to the fact that we are
not yet in heaven. The music becomes swtly more sober and controlled in feeiing at this
point, f i r i n g a fivefold repetition ofa short one-measure complete progessioa in the key
of g-minor, coordinated with one-measure units of pattern repetition created by strict canonic
'Gerhard Hen, editor, The Norton Criticai Scores. Cantata No. 140. "Wachet Auf " (New
York, W.W.Norton, 1972). 147.
Chapter 6/
69
imitation at the octave between soprano and b a s d There follows the return to the Asection.
In this movement the fluidity with which musical elements are combined in the
late Baroque is again evident. While sharing with dl the previous works the use of
acceleration processes, this movement illustrates in its B-section something not encounted
in the previous works. the antithesis of acceleration processes, the lengthening md
x
slowing down of certain elements in the music as a means of providing contrast.
'A less exalted explsulsttion for this ending might be postuiated h m Gerhard Herz'
humornus, but well documented description of the copying of the parts of this cantata
(Cantata No. 140. 105). The extreme haste in which this was undertaken in order to rneet
the Sunday moming deadline was perhaps also an element in the composing ofthis Bsection which, king foiiowed ody by the final choral, would be one of the final
compositional tasks. Perhaps "Athettwas in actual fàct pressing on Bach at this point
Conclusions
While a sarnpling of only four works cannot in any way be interpreted as statistical
evidence, the results of the analyses nevertheless seem to indicate that the basic nature of
the coordination of musical parameters in the late Baroque makes it difiicdt to set up
htegrated f o d models comparable to those of Schoenberg, Ratz and Caplin. As Newman
states:
. . . Baroque instrumental form is better understood as the organized accomplishment of
certain dyarnic. &ve [my italics] processes than as the kind of integrated but
static scheme by which theoists like Maor or Goetschius have been able to classify
every member, phrase, perioâ, part and d o n in Mendelssohn's Son- Without Words.
Put diierently, Baroque fonn, especially in extended concepts like the sonata, is
largely a matter of individual structural results that are too fluid to be classed
according to standardid designs.*
In the four works studied in this thesis there were indeed wide-ranghg Merences in the way
the parameters were coordinated. For example, when the Handel chorus was compared to the Bach
Nemande, in the former a 1:1 relationship existed between the units of pattern repetition
and the com~lete~rop~essions
whiie in the latter a 1:1 relationship existed between the units
of pattern repetition and the individual chords. DBerences in coordination at this level of
structwe also effécted the relationship betweenvarious parameters on higher levels of
structure. The acceleration processes in the two Memande movements involved harmonic units
at the level of the chord: in the Handel a similar process involveci larger units of pattern
'William S. Newman,The Sonata inthe Baroque Ers (ChapelHüI: UniverSayofNorthCarolina
Press, 1959), 8 1.
Chapter 71
71
repetition that were initialiy coordinated with the harmonic design on the level of key areas.
Not only was the p m e t r i c co-ordination different fiom work to work, but a certain
amount of change in coordination was also disceniable within the same movement. To retum to
the Handel, units of pattern repetitioa were initially coordiited with the harmonic design at
the level of the key areas, but as these units became successively shorter, the invariance in
the rate of complete progressions and rate of chord change resulted in the coordination of
units of pattern repetition with lower levels of harmonic
Unanticipated at the outset of this investigation was the significant role
acceleration processes would play within these works. This technique seems to be one of the
"dynamic, cursive processes" of the late Baroque, and given the rnany variations and the
sophistication found among the examples in the analyzed works, a further investigation of its
use in the Baroque is certainly warranteci. However, despite the fact that acceieration
processes play a significmt role in the structure of every piece, the widely difKerent levels
of structure and parameten that are involved in each case rule out the possibility of
developing integrated formai models Uivolvhg these processes. Xn the Memandes,
acceleration processes occurred at the level of the pattern repetitions integrated with the
individual chords, while in the Handel chorus and the Bach ana, they involved a much higher
level of harrnonic stnicture. F i y in both the Handel chorus and the Bach aria, nested
acceieration processes were evident and formal wmplexity was generated through the interplay
between these levels of acceleration processes.
%s is, of course, alsa a problem in the aoalysis of classicai works and one wbich has to
some degree ban addnsseâ by C a p h in "The Expandeci Cadential Progressioa"
Chapter 7/
72
Acceleration processes were not ubiquitously present in every movement. In mm. 33-35
in the Bach Memande, for example, there was no recurring unit of pattern repetition and in
the Bach aria, at the beglliniog of the B-section a long series of qua1 units on a lower level
was grouped into two larger units, the second of which actually lengthened relative to the
first. These passages nonetheless seem dependent on acceleration processes, since their
deployment was such that they provided contrast to the previous acceleration processes.
Further research might reveal that this contrast between accelerative passages and static or
decelerative passages exists among the individual movements of a work as weil.
Despite the dficulty of developing formal schemata applicable to the entire style
period of the late Baroque, some justification was found in the analyses for attempting to set
up normative models for smaiier categories of works within the period. The fact that the two
Memande movements, separated by the greatest distance chronologically, were much more alike
in the way motivic and harmonic structures were coordinated suggests that genre-specific
models might be more easy to detemine. Moreover, the many similarities present in the two
works by Bach also suggest that methods of integration might be part of the personal style of a
composer?
Even if integrated models can only be found to a Limiteci extent for the late Baroque,
the parameten d y z e d seem to a large extent to be identical to Newman's cursive, dyoamic
processes. Without the use of any integnîted models, it was possible to arrive at an
?l'wo of the articles cited in this thesis illustrate these approaches. Demis Libby limiteci
his study to the work of one composer in "Interrelationshipsin Coreiii," (Journal of the
American Mu~içolomcaiSociety, 26 (1973), 267) while Michel Talbot's "The Concerto Allegro
in the Early Eighteenth Century," (Music and Letîers, 52/1 (Jan. 1971). 8-18) look at only one
genre.
Chapter 71
73
understanding of the complete form of the works that had a strong kinetic and
developmentd aspect. Given the relative sirnplicity of the concepts involved, largely
requiring only a knowledge of the Roman Numeral analysis and the identification of
sirnilar rnotivic matenal, this method might prove usefui as a pedagogical tool for
beginners in formai analysis.
This approach to formal analysis also suggests a M e r area of investigation. The
fact that integration of parameten is not specified allows it to function as a tool for
making cornparisons between different stylistic periods, an area in which common
assumptions and generalizations are often very difficult to venQ theoretically. One short
analysis of a passage fiom Mozart (Example 23) will serve to demonstrate this. Notice
how the hmonic design and acceleration processes in the pattern repetition are
integrated in a way that was not encountered in any of the movements in this thesis.
Rather than an acceleration prucess spanning several complete progressions, the harrnonic
design of this movement features a complete progression of 24 measures in length that
spans three separate acceleration processes. Notice also the very slow rate of chord
change used at the beginning of this passage.
Chapter 7/
74
One shortwming of this method that becarne very evident in the actual analyses, and
especiaiiy for works of Bach, was the fact that except at points of harmonic closure the role
of the melodic structure within the integrated design of a work could not be accounted for. As
discussed in the first Bach analysis, this is not as problematic in pieces where both harmonic
and melodic parameten articuiate an identical rhythmic organization, but ifa divergence in
Chapter 71
75
structure is present between these two parameters, only an examination of both could provide a
more complete understanding of the fond This became especially obvious in sequential
passages, where despite a constant rate of chord change and a lengthening of the complete
progressions, a sense of animation was present in the music, probably because of an increase in
underlying melodic, Le. voice-leading, activity. This shortwrning is however not unique to
the method outhed in this thesis, but can aiso be attributed to the approach to musical form
developed by Schoenberg, Ratz and Caplin, the point of departure for this thesis.
'While one's comprehensionof the f o m of a work can always be e ~ c h e by
d introduchg
different aspects to shidy,-texture, for examplethere seems to be a minimum level of
analysis that is necessary before the work as a complete "GestaltNbecornes evîdent.
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Graph 1
Corelli: Sonata for Violin and Continua, Opus 5, NOS in E-minor, ii
Graph 2
Bach: Allemande from ClaMériibune. Partita No.1 in B-flat Major
Pamn Rcpctiaon
Rate of S a k Motion
Graph 4
Bach: Aria Duetto "Mein Freund ist Mein"' from Cantata No. 140, Wachet Auf
140, Wachet Auf
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