Friday, June 30, 2017

JMT series, part 4d (simple rising lines)

The final post for note 28. The first post is here: link.

Schumann, Album für die Jugend, op. 68, no. 20, “Ländliches Lied.” No comment in the note.

Schumann, Albumblätter, op. 124, no. 3, “Scherzino." Comment in the note: "the first ^5 is somewhat muddled by registral confusion, but a rising motive is strong." Now I think the opening is less muddled than I thought in 1987, though there is consistent covering play. The line, overall, is quite clear and coordinates with the harmony as well as any I have seen.



Schubert, Schwanengesang, no. 7, “Abschied." Comment in the note: "the conclusion is strong, but ^8 could be the initial tone, and the piano overreaches the voice with a descent ^3-^2-^1." I have nothing to add to this comment.

Finally: "Pieces that appear to use a rising line from ^5 but in fact do not include Chopin, Prelude in E Major, op. 28, no. 9 (three-part Ursatz with line from ^3 above ^2 implied in the cadence)." I have already written about this at length: link to the first post; link to the follow-up post. The "short version": Until recently I was comfortable with the comment above, despite the work needed to imagine ^2; Carl Schachter repeated the analysis without giving me credit for precedent; and recently Emily Ahrens Yates revisited the piece and produced a thoroughly convincing analysis that shows the piece does have an ascending Urlinie.