Alban_Berg_-_Opus_2._No._2_Analysis

Alban Berg – Opus 2, No. 2 These pieces traverse an apparent boundary between the world of tonal music and the world of atonal music, both in order of composition and order of presentation in performance (Pople, 67). The first three songs feature tonality in a cyclic guise – with horizontal interval I and 5 cycles, as well as a vertical whole tone or 5 cycle. These are based upon sonorities in sequence (Headlam, 45). They are also unified by the recurring figures which are characterized by changing duple and triple beat divisions with beat articulations suppressed by ties (Headlam, 36), as well as increased tonal resources. These include different alignments of two or more horizontal voices, each consisting of interval 1s or 5s, which give more harmonies. When examining Berg’s music, it makes sense to consider cycles as both pitch interval cycles and more generally as pitch class interval cycles with their resulting pitch class collections. There are multiple harmonic and voice-leading possibilities available from these cyclic collections – whole-tone scales, quartal chords, and alignments of interval cycles (Headlam, 14). {draw:frame} Much of this song deals with exploiting the structural and cyclic possibilities which are inherent in the French 6thchord, or set class name 0268. This set class name is more fitting as the work does not really treat this chord as a French 6th. The opening of the work lacks major and minor chords, traditional chord progressions, and normal resolutions of the French 6th; however most instances of 0268 in this piece keep the major third above the bass that is characteristic of the French 6th(Lind, 2). The presence or absence of 0268 help to define formal sections and create an ABA’ form – mm 1-8 have the first progression of 0268, mm 9-12 have contrasting material which allude to other tonal chords, and mm 13-18 bring back the initial 0268 progression. Because 0268 is established from the very beginning by its repeated use, it seems likely that the members of this set would make good objects for the analysis of the A and A’ sections. The same criteria of repetition can also be used to determine which transformations are characteristics of the music (Lind 2). {draw:frame} In this song, there are two principal motives. These are stated at the onset of the counterpoint with motive 1 in the piano’s upper line and motive 2 in the voice. These two are closely related at T6 - and although clearly differentiated by the contour. Motive 2 is spun out sequentially and made more fluid in mm4-8. Here it is a whole tone based sequence of successive T2. In the B section, motive I is present with a new rhythm in mm. 9-12 in aI-I sequence in the voice. The counterpointing piano part alternates between motive 2 and a partial variant of I, also in sequence. The A’ section begins with motive 2 in the vocal line, beginning on E. This is extended to A over the cadential E-Flat chord, while motive I is restated in the piano lines (Headlam, 43). {draw:frame} The A section divides into two subsections, the first corresponding to the first instance of the vocal line (mm 1-4), and the second to the transitionarypiano section between this first vocal phrase and the second in mm 4 (Lind, 4). The first instance of this is set with a dissonant note, C-flat, in the voice. This resolves to a consonant B-flat in the third chord (Headlam, 42). In the first vocal phrase, a series of 0268 tetrachordsalternate between two whole tone groups, starting and ending on the same set (B-flat, D, E, A-flat). In the first phrase, the pitch class intervals 5 and 1, which repeatedly connect the members of these tetrachords in the bass and upper voices can be represented transformational as the transpositions T5 and T11, and the retrograde progression of the second phrase presented the transpositions T7 and T1, in voice leading. The piano transition can be seen as retrogradingthe opening chord progression. This begins in measure 4 and ends the opening ascending motion pitch class set (B-flat, D, E, A-flat). IC1 and IC5 voice leadings continue in this subsection and the bass is not doubled at the major third above. The 0268 chords and their usual voice leading are abandoned at the end of measure 8 (Lind, 4). {draw:frame} The B section, mm 9-12, has a tonal progression of I-VII/V-V-I. The bass has the descending interval or 7 or B-flat to E-flat. This recalls the opening ascending interval 5, B-flat to E-flat. The final I chord of this section functions as a tonic, but as also as a whole tone based sonority, E-flat, F, G, D-flat. It is also a pivot back to the 0268s in the coda. The bass interval 2 descends from E-flat to D-flat in mm. 12-13. This is unique and sets off the end of this tonal section from the return to the whole tone based 1 and 5 cycled tonal section of the beginning (Headlam, 42). The A’ section, which begins in m. 13, possesses these same kind of things. In addition to the literal restatement of the opening chord progression, a melody much like the opening vocal line and repeating the opening text marks this passage as a reprise of the initial material. (Lind, 4). In mm. 13 – 15, 0268 occur in parallel descending interval Is. The closing bars end with the bass E resolving to E-flat. The final E-flat 0268 chord has the tonic note in the bass, but the more the structure of the dominant chord (Headlam, 42). A rather enigmatic aspect of this song is the key signature. Having six flats, the key signature suggests E-flat minor, but this is largely unrelated to the music. Every note has an accidental, and there really are no significant references to the key of E-flat minor. The pitch class E-flat takes on special significance only at the end of the song, where it is in the bass and repeated beneath a whole tone trichord in the accompaniment. This last chord – synonymous with a dominant seventh without the fifth – establishes a condential connection with the third song(Simms, 494). One hypothesis to why this key signature was chosen is that it is a symbolic tribute to Schoenberg. The key signature of E-flat, (Es in German) and those special E’s in the notes of the bass could be a reference to the letter S in Schoenberg’s last name. This mode of reference would have been immediately understood by Schoenberg, who used this exact same mode as a motto of his own music (Lind, 1). Berg’s music changed a great deal over the course of his compositional career. He began as a traditional and followed in the more tonal footsteps of Schumann and Debussy, the latter showing his leanings toward experimentation. After time, Berg began to emulate his teacher, Schoenberg with the use of 12-tone music; however, Berg did so in his own unique way. Opus 2 was a transitionary work for the composer, and a closer look at any piece from the work, especially Number 2, makes that apparent. Bibliography Headlam, David John. The Music of Alban Berg. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1996. Kimball, Carol. Song: a guide to art song and literature. Rev. ed. Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard, 2005. Pople, Anothony. The Cambridge Companion to Berg. New York, Ny: Cambridge University Press, 1995