Conflicting Metrical Patterns in Mozart and Beethoven

Yale University Department of Music

Conflicting Metrical Patterns in Accompaniment and Melody in Works by Mozart andBeethoven: A Preliminary StudyAuthor(s): Roger KamienReviewed work(s):Source: Journal of Music Theory, Vol. 37, No. 2 (Autumn, 1993), pp. 311-348Published by: Duke University Press on behalf of the Yale University Department of MusicStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/843786 .Accessed: 28/12/2011 19:16

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CONFLICTING METRICAL PATTERNS

IN ACCOMPANIMENT AND

MELODY IN WORKS BY MOZART

AND BEETHOVEN:

A PRELIMINARY STUDY*

Roger Kamien

In the section of Free Composition entitled "Heightening of the conflict between rhythm and meter," Heinrich Schenker cites the closing theme from the first movement of Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 3 ("Scotch") and observes that "the rhythm of the upper voice seems to be part of a metric scheme different from that of the bass. It is as if two metric schemes were operating against one another. To bring such sharp contrasts into balance within a single meter requires special powers of synthesis" (ex. 1).1 Conflicting metrical patterns are articulated simultaneously when a hypermetrical group of alternating strong and weak bars initiated in one layer of the musical texture is followed a bar or a fraction of a bar later by a conflicting hypermetrical pattern in a different part of the texture. Recently, Carl Schachter and

311

" I I -I

11?I 1Lc iI e•. ?~ ;r v

' , ' i t'

Violin I

Ar-

Example 1. Mendelssohn, Symphony No. 3 in A Minor ("Scotch")/i, mm. 161ff. From Free Composition, fig. 147/4.

William Rothstein-who uses the term "conflicting downbeats"-- have discussed this rhythmic procedure in valuable analyses of music by Schumann and Mendelssohn.2 In addition, Leonard Ratner, Charles Burkhart and Carl Schachter have cited examples of this technique in Mozart's Don Giovanni, where it appears with unusual fre- quency.3 Conflicting metrical patterns in music by Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, however, have so far attracted relatively little attention in the published literature.

312

Melody (bars) 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 etc Accompaniment (bars) 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4

I i I I

Example 2

In Classical works employing this technique, the opening hypermetrical pattern is usually initiated by the accompaniment and is followed one bar later by the conflicting metrical grouping, articulated by the melody (ex. 2). Sometimes, the hypermetrical structure of such passages is ambiguous or susceptible to several reasonable interpre- tations. Whereas some listeners will indeed hear the entrance of the accompaniment figure as the opening of a hypermetrical pattern, others will interpret it as a type of phrase prefix, or as the beginning of a hypermetrical downbeat "split" between accompaniment and melody, a procedure described by Schachter and Rothstein.4 Even when listeners perceive conflicting metrical patterns, they may differ as to which one is projected more strongly. In addition, some listeners will quickly focus on just one of the competing metrical patterns--usually that of the melody-whereas others will be more constantly aware of the tension between them.

However perceived or interpreted, conflicting metrical patterns contribute to the rich complexity of tonal music. The present paper shows how this rhythmic procedure is used as a significant compositional resource in four sonata-form movements by Mozart and Beethoven. In each instance, I attempt to justify my perception of conflicting patterns by examining the metrical structure of the accompaniment. A basic assumption of this study is that one tends to hear an independent hypermetrical pattern projected by the accompaniment when its initial figure is repeated after two or four bars, as in ex. 1. Motivic or dynamic emphasis can also contribute to the metrical significance of the accompaniment's beginning. The conflict between accompaniment and melody is resolved in each case through metrical reinterpretation, sometimes in conjunction with the technique of expansion. In general, I assume that the dominant hypermetrical pattern is the one to which the competing pattern eventually adjusts. When possible, I adduce the evidence of early compositional sketches to clarify the composer's metrical intentions.

I

In the opening movement of Beethoven's Quintet for Piano and Winds in E6 major, op. 16, metrical conflict emerges in the bridge section of the exposition and is ultimately resolved only in the coda. At

313

a) Exposition, mm. 1-43

I 1 2 3 4 Allegro ma non troppo

23 4 II 2 3

'_-0L

-ft I'" •• . • ,

3 4 I 2 +3

( o ,:j

i

-, ,• k-5 ~ ~iI " -" ,• F l•J• -- ] • Iv •4

Example 3. Beethoven, Quintet in E6 Major for Piano and Winds, op. 16/i.

the beginning of the bridge (ex. 3, m. 31), a new accompaniment figure, highlighted by a sudden piano, metrically transforms a weak bar into a strong one that initiates a four-bar hypermetrical pattern (see the numbers under the staff in ex. 3a). One bar later (m. 32) a conflicting four-bar grouping is initiated by the melodic line, which is de- rived from the opening theme (see the numbers above the staff). When the bridge motive appears in the piano part for the first time in bar 39, the metrical pattern in the piano part for the first time in bar 39, the metrical pattern of the accompaniment comes to the surface and the conflict is intensified (see the numbers under the staff). But only one bar later, in m. 40, this conflict is resolved in favor of the

314

4 II 1 2 3 4

pA -

pf ------------

I 1 2 3 4 I 1

. . F, r "

cresc.

9o)

. . rcresc. I I 4III

Fy

,p , , I . ,. , -

Example 3a (continued)

2 3 4=1 2 3

A g ym i

,f of of

,t pI Is1ILmI

A I

• d ii i if

i

ft f

2 3 4 4=1 I 2 3

Bridge

4 ii 1 2 3

firI

4=1 2 3 4


4- 1

I 1 2 3

3--3- rr3-3-

vi A

1.F o1 1 2 I

4 .

6 I I 2=--1J 2 of 1 2J v-•i " [ I ? ? i ? I I II ? • I


melody when two successive strong bars appear in the accompaniment (mm. 39-40). The metrical pattern of the melody probably dominates because the accompaniment eventually adjusts to it.

The bridge theme is unexpectedly omitted from the recapitulation (see m. 243). In the coda, however, it reappears after a cadenza-like passage with its metrical conflicts resolved (ex. 3b, m. 336). At last,the beginning of the accompaniment pattern coincides with the first downbeat of the melody.

II

The changing metrical relationship between accompaniment and melody is a special feature of the Andante cantabile from Mozart's Piano Sonata in B6 Major (ex. 4). Four times within the exposition and development, a sixteenth-note accompaniment pattern introduces melodic phrases beginning with an upbeat figure of three eighth notes (ex. 4, mm. 8ff., 21ff., 29ff., and 43ff.) With each appearance of this pattern, the metrical structure is subtly varied. As in the Beethoven Quintet, metrical conflict is initiated at the opening of the bridge (see bar 8). The new accompaniment figure metrically transforms a weak bar into a strong one that initiates a pattern of three two-bar groups (see the numbers under the staff). Contributing to the metrical strength of m. 8 is the quasi hemiola effect in the preceding bars (see the three small brackets above bars 6-7).5 The importance of the accompaniment is also enhanced because it recalls the opening simulta- neous melodic thirds of the movement, now unfolded as arpeggiated thirds (see the letters Bb -Ab -G in mm. 1 and 8-12). The first-theme melody seems unaffected by the metrical reinterpretation in the accompaniment. It ends normally on a weak eighth bar, and the opening of the bridge melody, in bar 9, initiates a metrical pattern opposed to that of the bass (see the numbers on top of the staff in mm. 9-12). The metrical pattern of the accompaniment seems to prevail slightly over that of the melody. The metrical reinterpretation and the overlapping metrical patterns prevent excessive segmentation between the theme and bridge, creating a sense of natural flow.

The motivic design of bar 8 returns, in varied form, at the metrically weak eighth bar of the second theme group (see m. 21). Here the entrance of the 16th-note accompaniment figure preceding the melody does not result in metrical reinterpretation or conflict. Starting from the second sixteenth note of m. 21, the accompaniment sounds like an extended upbeat to the next (strong) bar. This interpretation is supported by Mozart's notation in the autograph, in which a slur and

318

separate flags differentiate the first sixteenth note from the following ones.6 The anacrusis effect of the accompaniment figure in bar 21 is confirmed in bar 25, when it is compressed into just seven sixteenth notes. Despite this compression, Mozart brilliantly succeeds in pre- serving the pitches of the descending line of the original accompaniment pattern (see the asterisks in mm. 21-2 and 25-6).

The closing unit of the exposition, mm. 29-31, presents yet another metrical situation. These bars constitute a metrical expansion of m. 29, the (weak) final bar of an eight-measure group. The accompaniment may be heard as a three-bar group, whereas the melodic line forms a two-bar group. Here, as opposed to the bridge, the metrical focus seems to be on the melody, rather than the accompaniment.

The most intense metrical conflict of the movement appears in the retransition of the development section (see the brackets above and below the staff in mm. 43-50). In this retransition Mozart dramatically recomposes the opening motive of the bridge ( JJ• I fJ ). As at the beginning of the bridge (m. 8), the strong bar at the opening of the retransition results from a metrical reinterpretation of a weak bar. Measure 43 sounds even stronger than bar 8 because it is preceded by a true hemiola, not a quasi-hemiola, as in mm. 6-7 (see the small brackets under bars 41 and 42).7 In addition, in the retransition the four-bar metrical grouping of the accompaniment is reinforced by a descending third progression in the bass that subdivides the seventh from Ab to

B6, (ex. 5, mm. 43-48). In mm. 43-47 each descending

third progression--from Ab to F and F to Db -is accomplished after two bars with triads appearing on strong bars and connecting applied 4 chords on weak bars. In bar 47 the descent from Db to Bb is compressed into one measure, causing the V7 to arrive in m. 48 on the (weak) second bar of a four-bar group in the bass (ex. 5). This compression results in a three-bar prolongation of the V7 (mm. 48-50), which neatly parallels the three-bar extension of V at the end of the exposition (29-31). In the metrical pattern of the melody, m. 48 is a strong bar, since it comes after a four-bar group (see the bracket over mm. 44-47). The melody adjusts to the metrical pattern of the accompaniment at the upbeat to m. 49.

The passing tonicizations of F minor and Db minor within the retransition result in delicate recollections and reinterpretations of earlier chromatic events in the movement. The F minor of mm. 44-45 grows out of the fleeting tonicization of 116 in bar 3 and the more extended emphasis on F minor at the beginning of the development section (mm. 32-35). The surprising progression from F minor to D6 minor brings a top-voice motion f-gb2_-f2 (see the bracket in ex. 5, mm. 45-47) that contrasts enharmonically with earlier ascending motions F-F#-G (see the note names written into the score in mm.

319

18-19, 31-32, 33-34, and 36-39). Mozart's choice of Db minor is par- ticularly felicitous because the fb2 is a poignant recollection of the e 2 three bars earlier (ex. 5, mm. 44 and 47). This retransition is a wonderful instance of Mozart's extraordinary powers of integration.

III

In my third example, the Adagio from Beethoven's Piano Sonata in D Minor, op. 31, no. 2 ("Tempest"), subtle metrical conflicts begin in the antecedent phrase of the opening theme (see ex. 6, the upper and lower brackets in bars 1-8). One metrical pattern is initiated in m. 1 and the other in m. 2. Registral contrast and increased melodic activity emphasize even-numbered bars 2, 4, and 6. The opening bar poses many rhythmic problems, both for the analyst and performer. Is it simply introductory, like the opening of a song accompaniment? Does the top Bb of bar 1 belong to the accompaniment, to the melody, or to both parts of the texture?

A sketch by Beethoven may clarify the rhythmic interpretation of this passage (ex. 7)." This sketch is written in 6 meter instead of the

4 meter of the movement. It seems that at least at one stage of the compositional process, Beethoven heard the opening Bb as metrically strong and part of the melody. The interpretation of the opening bar as metrically strong is also supported by a tonal rhythm in which harmonic change takes place on odd-numbered bars. The metrical conflict is related to the complex structure of overlapping and embedded subphrases -both large and small--within the antecedent (exx. 8a and b). The brackets of ex. 8a show the antecedent organized into large and small subphrases that do not overlap. In contrast, the brackets of ex. 8b indicate small sub-phrases overlapping in bar 3 and large subphrases overlapping in bar 5. In the consequent phrase of the theme (ex. 6, mm. 9-17), the metrical conflict persists but is less prominent, owing to the increased melodic activity in the bass register in odd- numbered bars.

Like the first theme, the opening of the bridge projects two conflicting metrical patterns (mm. 17ff.). It, too, opens with a strong bar of introductory tonic prolongation with no melodic activity (see m. 17). Clearly this bar is analogous to the opening of the movement, with its broken octaves in the same low register as the broken chord in the left hand of bar 1. Yet the broken octaves of m. 17 are solely an accompaniment figure suggesting drum rolls, whereas the highest Bb of m. 1 can be heard as part of the melody, as we have seen. The repetition of the accompaniment pattern of m. 17 in mm. 19 and 21 im- plies the continuation of the previously established pattern of strong

320

323

C) i AV

I ' I I

An ... . fI ff

3 3

i f.

itz.

Example 3b. Coda, mm. 323-47

and weak bars (see the bracket under mm. 17-20). Yet, the rhythms of the melodic line in mm. 18-21, suggest a conflicting metrical scheme (see the upper bracket in mm. 18-21). This metrical conflict is resolved in m. 23, a weak bar metrically transformed into a strong one. Bar 23 initiates a pedal point on V/V, an eight-bar group, and the shifting of the broken octave figure between the bass and treble parts.

In this example, as in the Mozart Andante cantabile, overlapping metrical patterns help prevent excessive segmentation between the theme and bridge. Beethoven also bridges over the formal division between these sections through a most extraordinary motivic repetition. The melodic descent eb2-d2-db2-d 2-_(c2)-b•1 at the end of the theme reappears an octave lower at the beginning of the bridge (see the note names in mm. 14-17 and 18-21). Beethoven reinforces this connection by bringing back the left-hand chords of m. 15, third beat, and m. 16, first beat at the same register and metrical position in mm. 18-19, with db 1 reinterpreted as cOl1 (see the asterisks in ex. 6). Yet the bridge melody sounds quite new, since the motivic connection is mas- terfully concealed by differences of register, rhythm, harmonic support, articulation, and dynamics.

321

328

/ I

if ifC if

Bridge theme 334

If .p .

' ad libitum

3 3 3

1 decresc.

!E. *j 9 •; "" = •,•-- • , ,";';" " "

Example 3b (continued)

337

I I

F E0-1 LF t

9 . . ,, , ,, F, , ,

0) ?

2 3 4 1

341

cresc c

P

cresp cresc.

-A-

2 3 4 I

Example 3b (continued)

IV

This paper will conclude with a discussion of the opening movement of Beethoven's Piano Sonata in F Minor, op. 57 ("Appassion- ata"), in which the resolution of the conflict between rival meters is associated with striking metrical expansions. Conflicting metrical patterns are initiated in the second theme, which is dramatically varied in the development section and coda. The basic metrical pattern begins with the entry of the accompaniment in m. 35, whereas the rival grouping is articulated by the melody starting in m. 36 (see the numbers above and below the staff in ex. 9).9 Of course, it is possible to hear the accompaniment figure in bar 35 as simply a phrase prefix or the beginning of a "split" downbeat. I believe, however, that several features justify hearing this bar as the beginning of a hypermetrical group. First, Beethoven carefully placed his dolce indication at the beginning of the accompaniment figure in bar 35, not at the opening of the melody. Second, this figure is motivic, related to the furiously alternating chords at the opening of the bridge (ex. 10). The accompaniment also introduces, as a simultaneity, the tones C-E' -A6l, which reappear as the opening upbeat figure of the melody (see the bracket in ex. 9, m. 35). Third, and most important, the accompaniment pattern returns an octave higher after four bars in m. 39, with a crescendo indication at the beginning of the measure. Finally, a sketch by Beethoven for a developmental version of this theme in Dl' major, recently published by Martha Frohlich, lends support to my view of the metrical structure of this passage (ex. 11).10 In this sketch, the melody begins three beats earlier, with a dotted half note on the downbeat. Thus, at one stage of the compositional process, Beet- hoven probably heard the opening bar as metrically strong.

In my reading, the theme consists of an opening four-bar group (m. 35-38) and a second four-bar group that is expanded to twelve bars (mm. 39-50). There are two different expansions in the second group (exx. 9 and 12).11 The initial expansion (mm. 41-42) stretches the third bar (m. 37)-reckoning from the bass-of the first group to a length of two bars. Thus, in the first group the bass ascends from 1 (C) to 4 (Db)-in Ab major-within one bar (m. 37) and reaches 3 (El) in the following bar, whereas in the second group (mm. 41-42) 3 and 4 each occupy a full measure and 5 is attained in m. 43 only after two bars (see the brackets in ex. 12). With its abrupt turn to the minor mode and 6 II, reinforced by sudden f and sf, this initial expansion ominously disrupts the previously lyrical mood and prepares for the stormy third theme in IIIb (mm. 51ff.). The second expansion (mm. 43-50) extends the V(64-) of the fourth bar (m. 38) to a length of eight bars, subdivided 4 + 4. Accompaniment and melody are metri-

324

cally out of phase in the second theme up to the beginning of the first expansion (m. 41), when a weak bar of the melody is unexpectedly reinterpreted as a strong one (ex. 9). From then on, melody and accompaniment are metrically in phase.

In the development, the tension of the second theme is enormously heightened because its opening phrase, with a new, harmonically open ending, is successively presented in three different

"keys"-D1, major, B1, minor and G6 major-over a propelling two-octave stepwise ascent in the bass from the low D6 in bar 109 to the D1, two octaves higher in m. 123 (ex. 13). Owing to this developmental treat- ment, the metrical conflict between accompaniment and melody lasts longer than in the exposition, nine bars (mm. 110-18) rather than five. Beethoven was faced with the compositional problem of creating a new expansion, analogous to that in the exposition (mm. 41-42), which could resolve this metrical conflict. His solution is both brilliant and profound. Two four-bar groups (mm. 109-12 and 113-16) are followed by a third four-bar group with two expansions resulting in an amazing total of seventeen measures (119-35). The initial expansion (mm. 119-22) stretches the third bar-reckoning from the bass-of the earlier groups (mm. 111, 115) to four bars, twice the length of the initial expansion in the exposition (exx. 13 and 14).12 In mm. 111-12 and 115-16 the bass ascends stepwise diatonically from scale degree ? to S (in D6 major and Bb minor) after just one bar, whereas in mm. 119-23 the bottom voice requires five bars for its chromatic climb from bb (a#) to db1 (3 to 5 in G6 major, see the brackets in ex. 14). The tension of this expansion is heightened because the slowing of harmonic rhythm-through the 6-5, 6-5 progression in mm. 119- 122-is combined with motivic fragmentation, owing to the threefold varied repetition of the concluding downward skip in the second theme's first subphrase.13

The second expansion (mm. 123-35), prolonging a climactic dimin- ished seventh chord that eventually turns into V7 (m. 132), parallels the second expansion in the exposition (mm. 43-50), but generates a sense of controlled violence rather than the tense anticipation that characterized the earlier passage. The developmental expansion extends the fourth bar of the preceding groups (mm. 112, 116) to a length of thirteen bars, subdivided (3 + 4) + 4 + 2. The three-bar group (mm. 123-25) results from the acceleration of the lower voice rhyth- mfrom two tones a bar in m. 123-24 to four tones a bar in m. 125 (ex. 14).

Metrical conflict is less prominent in the coda, where the second theme appears twice. In each instance, the conflict between accompaniment and melody is resolved after only three bars (ex. 15, mm. 211-13 and ex. 16, mm. 240-42). A most interesting rhythmic feature

325

Bb A6G B AbG E -F Andante cantabile

I 1 2 II 1 2 I

I II II I

I 2 II 1 I 2=1 1

I 1 2 II 1

2 II 1 2 I

2 3

S 1 2 I 1 2

Example 4. Mozart, Piano Sonata in B1 Major, K. 333/ii, mm. 1-50.

326

F FOFt G

3 4 )15 6

7 8 1., 1

iff.-i .,/i

i ) 1 1 i 1

op

i -1i 6--

2 3 4 Sd

I I 6 7

I.I I-

71 1

FI-'

,-

I

• m, • I i1.-

5 ~67

Example 4 (continued)

327

2

[r 1 2

8 (expanded) 1 2 3 /

T, • FO G Et0 F FO G E? F

I 1 2 3 4

F FO G

1 2 3 4 I

Hemiola

. 1 J2 3 4=1


328

I 1 2 3

2 3 4

4 I F 4

I i 2 3 4 F


0? ? 1 I 4 123

5 4 5 4 5 6 7 3 3 3 3 3 3

2 3 4 1 2 3 4

V7

Example 5. Voice-leading reduction of K. 333/ii, mm. 43-50.

in the concluding presentation of the theme is the appearance of three-bar motivic units (ex. 16, see the numbers between the staves in mm. 243-45, 246-48, 249-51), which contrast with the four-bar groups characteristic of the movement. These three-bar motivic units result from the repetition of subphrases after three bars and the metrical reinterpretation from weak to strong of the concluding bars of four-bar groups (see mm. 246, 249, and 252). The jolting three-bar

329

1 2 3 4

1 2 3 4 1 S 1 2E Di-i 3 ( 4a

l2 3 4 1

.-1

2 .(3

4

2 3 4 1

2 3 4 3

El DI D4 (C) B6

Example 6. Beethoven, Sonata in D Minor, op. 31, no. 2 ("Tempest")/ii, mm. 1-30.

330

E 1 2 C . 3

2 4

4 1 1 2-'1

1

S2 1

2 3

2 3

4 7

4 1A

.

== r~0)


331

smI -ff MW &AI" 1 1 AV MA

. t-l l J

A tcresc.

2 3 4 1


'•' J, ,

-

-W-t I- fikp-

Example 7. Sketch of beginning of Adagio, 'Kessler' Sketchbook, fo. 66r (transcribed by Sieghard Brandenburg).

motivic units of mm. 243-45 and 246-48 culminate in long-awaited cadence to the tonic (m. 249) and generate the appearance of a new three-bar motivic unit of furiously alternating chords (mm. 249-51) that is immediately repeated and expanded (mm. 252-56). The top voice in these units presents the basic neighbor-tone motive of the movement (C-D -C) in rhythmically compressed form (mm. 251, 254). In the second three-bar motivic unit, the third bar containing the neighboring-tone figure is expanded into three measures (mm. 254- 56) through its repetition in consecutively higher octaves. Of course, this expansion greatly heightens the tension before the final cadence in m. 257, but I believe it also serves a less obvious function. As is well known, the three movements of op. 57 are interrelated through many different procedures, including the transitional passage linking the middle movement and finale, and the pervasive neighbor-tone motive. Beethoven's interest in blurring the boundaries between the opening

332

a) Non-overlapping large and small subphrases

I I

A1 1 4 1 ... . . . . .

I I ] I J ] --

* I II I Wei ia

sf cresc.

b) Overlapping large and small subphrases

I~ [ -o I M

M___ M

--op O

tJ" f' 'C t f p " . #!.J- F,

cresc.

Example 8

two movements is vividly demonstrated by his rejection of a fortissimo ending originally planned for the first movement, as Frohlich has recently shown. The ppp conclusion of the movement, she observes, has "the advantage of providing a more natural link into the soft dynamic and low register beginning the second movement." I would therefore suggest that the appearance of the basic neighbor-tone motive C-Db~-C in three different octaves (mm. 253-55) at the end of the coda creates a wonderful connection with the following variation movement, in which a theme with the prominent neighboring note motive Ab~-Bt -Ab is presented-in varied form-in consecutively higher octaves (Var. 2, mm. 32ff. and Var. 3, mm. 49ff.).

333

I 1

dolce

S1 2

2 3

3 41I

4 4 4

11 i

cresc

1 2

S 2=1 2

3 (expanded) 4 (expanded)

Example 9. Beethoven, Sonata in F Minor, op. 57 ("Appassio- nata")/i, mm. 35-50 (second theme).

334

2 3 4 1

45

l t"

2 4

I -B l Wrla l..

-ofT v ,v r# m , J. -

9 : b-OE

1 W

,.. -

" do

,

.J,, "t

I iI 1,.

1 1 =7- I


?.

- -

Example 10. op. 57/i, mm. 17-18 (beginning of bridge).

i L17 6.I LA' - J,- , , _ , L ,

Example 11. Beethoven, sketch of beginning of second theme melody in a version intended for the development section, from Mendelssohn 15, p. 193/st. 13 (transcription by Martha Frohlich).

335

12 3 4 1 2 3 - 4 (expanded) (expanded)

1 - 2 1 - 2 - 3-4 1-2-3-4

Example 12. Voice-leading sketch of op. 57/i, mm. 35-50.

This paper has considered sonata-form movements in which conflicting metrical patterns are initiated at the opening of the movement (op. 31, no. 2), at the beginning of the bridge (op. 16; K. 333), and at the beginning of the second theme (op. 57). The procedure serves a variety of formal functions in addition to heightening the rhythmic complexity of individual passages. It is used to help blur the formal division between the opening theme and bridge (K. 333; op. 31, no. 2) and to create a tension in the exposition that is fully resolved only in the coda (op. 16). Metrical conflict is intensified (K. 333), extended (op. 57), and used in different thematic units (op. 31, no. 2) to pro- duce a sense of progression and growth. The metrical reinterpretation that resolves the conflict is sometimes combined with the technique of expansion (op. 57). I hope the examples discussed in this preliminary study will stimulate further research into an important aspect of Clas- sical rhythm.

336

109

1 2

3 4

4 1 113

S2 3

3 4

K 3 4

Example 13. op. 57/i, mm. 109-35 (second theme in development).

337

4

f sempre piuf

S(1 2

2]2

3 4)

4 (extended: 1


338

124

2

sempre Ped.

3

121 2

128

H.r l " -l -o

4

.. . ." I Ts

6%"... ,--' "• i- - IF --..1.r-I.A. i.--1-

sempre Ped. • " ' f ••. I, Is', -

2 ,

128


339

130

. I .. .

IIdimin. 1 2)

! 2

132 I A -

-1,- 1 A - 1

...A.. .

L • ! J I 3w 1 1 1 1

134

JPdimin. 12)


340

N

•I

N kw

II Ho,

6- 5 6- 5 07

1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3(expanded) 4 (expanded)

(1 2 3 4) (1 -

2 - 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2)

V7

Example 14. Voice-leading reduction of op. 57/i, mm. 109-35.

210

1 2

2 3

i2 .

3 4

Example 15. op. 57/i, mm. 210-18 (second theme in coda).

342

4=1 214

I I b" "L,

Oi -I'" I g

"1 0

I Im1 1 • ~ 1 ' ai W I

H, M

r-| I

W`,,i y-I

•,1 1

Mlr-

n I I I i i

1 2

22

216

F7 -r I I I

IiI

3 4 218

%iPb. 1

du A. k • • .. ..t ,,F

Of.6 "

a d


343

2 - F

•.-;• 'i i i r ; i • i r i A l 'i ""l i L, •

241

creSc.

3 4

4=1 243

4A

, f!

I m -

(1 2r

Example 16. op. 57/i, mm. 239-57 (second theme in coda).

344

245

3)I (1

3 4=1

247

2 3

249

1 _(1 f 26

4=1 2

C Di C

25149

S 3) (1

4=13 4=1


345

C Db C

253

f 2 sempre pid forte 3)

2 3 (expanded) (1

C Db c c Db C

2 3)

257

4=1


346

NOTES

*A version of this paper was delivered at the Second International Schenker Sym- posium, The Mannes College of Music, New York, March 29, 1992.

1. Schenker ([1935] 1979, 124 and fig. 147, ex. 4). 2. Schachter (1987, 29-36 and 53-59) and Rothstein (1989, 199-213). Rothstein

(1993) discusses conflicting downbeats in works by Beethoven. 3. Ratner (1980, 410) cites Elvira's entrance in the Finale of Act II; Burkhart

(1987) discusses the aria "Ah! chi mi dice mai"; Schachter (1991) analyzes the aria "Or sai chi l'onore."

4. Rothstein (1989, 58-63 and 309). Rothstein (p. 63) explains that "the basic re-

quirement for a 'split' downbeat," such as that in Schubert: Piano Sonata in D

Major, D. 850 (op. 53)/iv, mm. 19-20, "is that a hypermeter must be clearly established both before and after the double downbeat. The first measures of both accompaniment and melody must be affirmed as downbeat measures by the hypermetrical context." In examples of this type the accompaniment downbeat is a "kind of phrase prefix" and does not initiate a hypermetrical pattern distinct from that of the melody.

5. I hear only a quasi-hemiola effect in mm. 6-7 because bar 7 is strong, owing partly to the registral connection between the octave A6 in the bass and the octave E6 in bar 5. Cone (1985, 153-54), on the other hand, perceives a true hemiola in mm. 6-7 but adds that "others might object that this is not a real instance."

6. Mozart (n.d., 3). 7. Hemiola patterns also appear in the opening bars of the second theme group,

mm. 14-15 and 16-17. 8. See Beethoven (1978, 144). 9. The second theme initiates conflicting metrical patterns in the opening move-

ments of two other minor-mode piano sonatas by Beethoven: op. 2, no. 1 and op. 31, no. 2.

10. See Frohlich (1991, 80-81) who speculates that "the developmental version of the theme emerged before the addition" of the second theme to the second continuity draft of the exposition.

11. My voice-leading reductions of this movement are based on those in Schenker (1924), but differ in a few details. Schenker (1924, 7-8) showed that m. 37 is extended to two bars in mm. 41-42, and m. 38 extended to two bars in mm. 43-44, but he did not discuss the metrical aspects of this passage.

12. I am indebted to my colleague Dr. Naphtali Wagner for bringing the first of these expansions to my attention.

13. Rothstein (1989, 83-87) discusses a passage from Mozart's Piano Concerto in C Major, K. 467 that illustrates "how a composed-out deceleration of harmonic and middleground rhythms may be combined with an intensification of surface rhythm."

14. Frohlich (1991, 108-109).

347

LIST OF WORKS CITED

Beethoven, Ludwig van. 1976, 1978. Kesslersches Skizzenbuch. Ed. Sieghard Bran- denburg. Bonn: Beethovenhaus. Facsimile volume (1976), transcription volume (1978).

Burkhart, Charles. 1987. The Dramatic Role of Rhythm in Several Numbers from Don Giovanni. Paper presented to the 1987 conference of the Society for Music Theory.

Cone, Edward T. 1985. Musical Form and Musical Performance Reconsidered. Music Theory Spectrum 7: 149-58.

Frohlich, Martha. 1991. Beethoven's 'Appassionata' Sonata. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus. n.d. Sonate fair Klavier B-Dur, K. 333. Facsimile of Mozart's autograph. Stuttgart: Ichthys Verlag.

Ratner, Leonard. 1980. Classic Music: Expression, Form, and Style. New York: Schirmer Books.

Rothstein, William. 1989. Phrase Rhythm in Tonal Music. New York: Schirmer Books.

- . 1993. Beethoven mit und ohne Kunstgesprdng: Metrical Ambiguity Recon- sidered. Paper presented at the conference Beethoven in Vienna: 1792-1803, the University of Connecticut.

Schachter, Carl. 1987. Rhythm and Linear Analysis: Aspects of Meter. The Music Form 6, pt. 1: 1-59.

- . 1991. The Adventures of an F#: Tonal Narration and Exhortation in Donna Anna's First-Act Recitative and Aria. Theory and Practice 16: 5-20.

Schenker, Heinrich. 1924. Beethoven: Sonata Opus 57. Tonwille 7: 3-33. - . [1935] 1979. Free Composition. Trans. and ed. Ernst Oster. New York:

Longman.

348

Documents

Conflicting Metrical Patterns in Mozart and Beethoven