TECHNIQUES OF OPPOSITION IN THE CHORAL MUSIC OF ANTON WEBERN THOMAS ...

111 Pages·2010·4.7 MB·English

TECHNIQUES OF OPPOSITION IN
THE CHORAL MUSIC OF ANTON WEBERN
by
THOMAS FREDRICK PETROWITZ
B. Mus., University of British Columbia 1966
9
A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF
THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
MASTER OF MUSIC
in the Department
of
MUSIC
W© accept this thesis as conforming to the
required standard*
THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
APRIL, 1971
In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for
an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that
the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study.
I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis
for scholarly purposes may be granted by the Head of my Department or
by his representatives. It is understood that copying or publication
of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my
written permission.
Department of ^/ 'J&t&ttf'
The University of British Columbia
Vancouver 8, Canada
fipuy g$ /*r?/
pate
>t
... I understand the word 'Art' as meaning
the faculty of presenting a thought in the clearest,
simplest form, that is, the most "graspable" form ...
That is my view of art. And that is why I have never
understood the meaning of 'Classical', 'Romantic1 and
the rest, and I have never placed myself in opposition
to the masters of the past but have always tried to do
just like them: to say what it is given to me to say
with the utmost clarity
Anton Webern
1
Anton Webern, Letters to Hildeqard Jone and Joseph
Humplik. (Bryn Mawr: Theodore Presser Company, 1967),
p. 36.
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this.thesis is to investigate the
compositional changes, similarities and innovations that
occur in the choral music of Anton Webern. The study is
significant in that the five pieces to be discussed cover
the span of his creative life. Only the free atonal period
which includes Op. 3 to Op. 17 has no representative choral
music.
Each composition, or where applicable, each movement
within that composition is studied in a similar manner:
1. Outward organization, form, compositional and
pre-compositional devices, treatment of the twelve-note
series (after Op. 19).
2. Text, treatment of words with regard to contour,
natural inflection and rhythm.
3. Instruments and their role in the last four choral
pieces.
From the study, the author concludes that the composi
tional techniques in Anton Webern1s choral music are based
primarily on a continual metamorphosis and consolidation of
five basic elements: form, text, melody, harmony and
instrumentation.
The classical model which is used as the basis for
Op. 2 is replaced in Op. 19 by a structure dependent on the
length and divisions of the text. In the last three pieces,
form is dependent on the possibilities and restrictions
inherent in the dodecaphonic technique.
Texts with regular meters and simple rhythms are
used in Op. 2 and Op. 19. After the Zwei Lieder Webern
chooses blank verse poems and shifts his attentions to the
singling out of particular words and expands on their
inherent musical and timbral qualities.
The melodic contours which Webern perceived in the
poem "Entflieht auf leichten. Kahnen..." are reflected in
his musical lines. Vertical expansion by regular stages to
vocal extremes occurs in the succeeding works returning, in
the final movement of Op. 31 to the gentle contours and
poetic considerations that were characteristic of Op. 2.
In the last four pieces melodic variation occurs as a result
of Webern's manipulation of a recurring four-note motive
which is regarded as the composer's "signature phrase."
In Op. 2, Webern1s approach to harmony is based on
romantic models although most of the vertical structures of
this piece have multiple interpretations. As his command
over the twelve-tone technique becomes more refined, his
vertical structures evolve from a random ordering of one
series to a homorhythmic realization of four series within
the framework of one or more pitch canons.
-Webern uses instruments in his choral pieces to
provide continuity between the vocal sections and to intro
duce, continue, or end a particular mood. Choral sections
are rarely accompanied and the composer prefers to use the.
instruments as voices in canon with the solo lines rather
than as accompaniments. Instruments are chosen usually for
their proximity to vocal timbre and for their percussive
qualities. The use of Klangfarbenmelodie or melody of
timbres becomes increasingly evident throughout Webern's
compositional career.
In conclusion, it is seen that these five aspects,
combined in varying degrees, result in five compositions
that are unique in musical history, works that are at the
same time intricate, economic and transparent.' Finally, the
study is intended to provide the reader with some small
measure of understanding and approachability to the choral
music of Anton Webern.
April, 1971 Supervisor
Chapter Page
Abstract ii
Introduction vi
I. Entflieht auf leichten Kahnen... Opus 2 1
II. Zwei Lieder, Opus 19 12
III. Das Augenlicht, Opus 26 27
IV. First Cantata, Opus 29 41
V. Second Cantata, Opus 31 66
Conclusion 94 .
Appendix 97
Bibliography 102
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the
compositional changes, similarities and innovations
that occur in the choral works of Anton Webern.
The study is significant in that the five works to be
discussed range from the tonal to the adoption of the
Schoenberg twelve-tone technique and beyond to the
personal refinement found in the Second Cantata, his
last published work.
Each choral composition, or where applicable each
movement within that composition, is studied in a similar
manner: f i r s t l y, the outward and physical organization
such as form, compositional and pre-compositional
devices and, after Op. 19, the treatment of the twelve-
note series; secondly, the text and the treatment of
the words with regard to contour, natural inflection
and rhythm; finally, the instruments and their role in
the last four choral works.
From the study, the author hopes to show that the
choral techniques of Anton Webern are based on a continual
metamorphosis; the phasing out of certain aspects in order
to accentuate others.
CHAPTER I
Entflieht auf leichten Kahnen ... Op. 2
Of his thirty-one compositions with Opus numbers,
only five of Anton Webern's works are for chorus.
Written between 1908 and 1943, these five pieces cover
the span of his creative l i f e. Only the free atonal
period which includes Op. 3 to Op. 17 has no representative
choral music.
The Passacaqlia for Orchestra , Op. 1 (1908) and
Entflieht auf leichten Kahnen ... Op. 2 (1908) for a capella
mixed chorus"'- are the only compositions of his entire output
that have key signatures. Although they are quite different
in style from his later works, they do contain several
elements that become characteristic of his later style.
Op. 2 is a setting of the poem with the same t i t le by
Stefan George. The piece f a l ls into three sections
The indication in the score, Universal Editions No. 6643, is
for a capella mixed chorus. There i s, however, reference to
an unpublished instrumental accompaniment to this work in
Anton Webern: Perspectives, compiled by Hans Moldenhauer
(Seattle and London: University of Washington Press, 1966)
p. 125.
^One of the "Mournful Dances" from his "The Year of the Soul,"
written in 1897, published in Stefan George Werke in Zwei
Banden, (Munich: Helmut Kupper Vormals Georg Bondi, 1958,
p. 161.
(A-B-A'-Coda) and is canonic throughout. The f i r st
section is constructed so that each of i ts two canonic
voices is doubled at either the third or sixth below.
The melodic material of the f i r st canon is very chromatic
in a closely knit construction with most of the motion by
seconds, either major or minor. There is here also the
f i r st use of a four-note motive, a construction that
becomes increasingly important in Webern's later writings.
Example 1
Op. 2 mm I Op. iqf*) mm if
j> * *J*-^ Xff
1$
ft J> 1 J J * - > 1
1
Of.Zb mm 8 -9 Op. 31-* mm f7-28
At the centre of the f i r st canon (measure five) there is
the repeated interval of a minor sixth in the Soprano and
Alto (b^ and d')^ and a temporary reversal of melodic
direction, hinting at the arch form that becomes an