| Contents |
Tonality. Introductory notes ; Introductory comments concerning tonal and linear functions ; The concept of multileveled function further explored ; The ideas of primacy and hierarchy among pitch-classes and pitch-class complexes: generic and particular tonal systems ; Tonal systems of compositions: regions and interrelations ; The concept of a generic tonal system explored in theory ; Primary and secondary tonics and their structural and auxiliary functions: multileveled (multiple) tonal-harmonic function, tonic and dominant forms ; Essential and auxiliary linear functions of pitches and pitch-complexes, their hierarchic basis often determined by tonal and cadential factors ; Tonal order as an inflation of harmonic order and succession ; Tonal fluctuation and techniques of immediate succession by which it is effected ; Tonal organization as a pattern of relative stability opposed to relative flux ; Tonal rhythm ; The questions of tonal intersection, direction, and distance, intervals of fluctuation, high-level chromatic successions and nondiatonic tonics, the interchangeability of modes and the "equivalence" of parallel tonics ; Concepts of tonal progression and tonal recession ; Concepts of harmonic and melodic progression and recession: complementaries and counteractions of element-successions ; Some examples of quasi-tonal order in melodic and composite functions ; Melodic curve ; Some further observations concerning melodic analysis ; Some particular issues of harmonic analysis in later styles ; Procedures of analysis, symbolic representations of melodic and harmonic functions and affiliations ; Gregorian chant, Veni creator spiritus ; Two preludes from Fischer, Ariadne Musica ; Bach, "Drauf schliess ich mich in deine Hande," from Motet, Komm, Jesu, komm ; Beethoven, Symphony no. 2 in D op. 36, fourth movement: representations of the tonal system and tonal rhythm ; Wolf, "Das verlassene Magdlein," from Gedichte von Morike ; Ravel, "Le Martin-Pecheur," from Histoires Naturelles ; Bartok, String Quartet no. 2 op. 17, third movement ; Webern, Four Pieces op. 7 for violin and piano no. 1 ; Berg, Four pieces, op. 5 for clarinet and piano no. 4 ; Summary notes on the universality and significance of the principle of hierarchic tonal order ; Concluding notes -- Texture. Introductory notes ; Textural progression, recession, and variation as structural factors ; Types of musical texture, problems of classification and terminology ; Some further considerations of terminology and aspects of texture ; Texture and style ; Textural rhythm ; Qualitative and quantitative values ; Density and dissonance ; Interlinear independence and interdependence ; Imitation, a universal feature of many polyphonic styles, multiple counterpoint ; The activation of simple textures ; The complementary and compensatory dispositions of texture in relation to other element-structures ; Some textural functions in delineation of form ; Textural processes in progression toward intensity, in recession toward cadence, and in anticipation of thematic statement ; Texture as space ; Motivic texture, the provocative effect of unusual textures ; Levels of analysis and of hierarchy in the textural structure ; Gesualdo, Or, che in gioia credea viver contento (from Madrigals, Book 4) ; Telemann, Fantasy no. 4 for violin alone, first movement ; Bach, "Denn das Gesetz des Geistes," from Motet, Jesu, meine Freude ; Brahms, Symphony no. 1 in C minor op. 68, first movement (Un poco sostenuto), introduction ; Dallapiccola, Goethe-Lieder for soprano and three clarinets (No. 1, "In tausend Formen") ; Serialism and texture, texture as a product of chance operations ; Concluding notes -- Rhythm and meter. Introductory notes ; Fundamental concepts of rhythm ; Rhythm as activity and motion ; Rhythmic pattern as motivic ; The rhythms of element-successions ; A theoretical approach to the consideration of meter as accent-delineated grouping ; The concept of meter as, by definition, subject to fluctuation ; Meter as one manifestation of grouping in music ; Meter as opposed to the notated bar-line ; Impulses and their functional differentiations ; Functions of the cadential (conclusive) impulse ; Criteria of accentuation ; Further comment concerning diverse impulse functions ; Levels of metric structure and analysis ; Metric irregularity: horizontal and vertical noncongruity ; The problem of preconditioning metric structure and syncopation ; Stability and flux, metric progression and recession, compensatory and complementary functions in relation to other element-structures ; Beethoven, Symphony no. 8 in F op. 93, first movement ; Chopin, Prelude in E, op. 28 no. 9 ; Webern, Three Pieces, op. 11 for cello and piano no. 3, and Five Pieces, op. 5 for string quartet, fourth movement ; Some twentieth-century problems in rhythm and meter, recent developments in serialism of durational units, theory and practice ; Concluding notes. |
| Abstract |
This inquiry into tonal, textural and rhythmic structures in music, filled with original formuations and provocative ideas, has become one of the most widely read and studied works in music theory, frequently adopted in college and university curricula, and often cited in scholarly studies in the field. Starting from an all-encompassing viewpoint--a belief in the importance and necessity of logical analysis of the musical experience, and the study of objective data derived therefrom--it moves toward a deeper understanding of musical structure and experience through a systematic exploration of tonality, melody, harmony, texture and rhythm, and their important interrelations. These are illuminated in penetrating analyses of musical works and extracts ranging from early modal styles to modern compositions. The procedures by which structural elements in nearly all music function expressiely are analyzed in depth. Tonality is examined in a Gregorian chant, a Bach motet, a Beethoven symphony, a Bartok string quartet and other works by Wolf, Ravel, Webern and Berg. Texture is explored in a Gesualdo madrigal, a Telemann fantasy for violin, an works by Bach, Brahms and Dallapiccola. Works by Beethoven, Chopin and Webern are subjects for revealing studies of rhythm and meter. A model of original thought, this book has now become one of the most influential works in musical analysis, invaluable resource for musical scholars and students of musical theory, a lively stimulus to individual theoretical exporation. |
