Chaminade, Mazurka, Op. 1n2

Cécile Chaminade, Mazurka, Op. 1n2 (1869). In the multi-strain with reprise design typical of 19th century dances, here as ABACDCAEA, where C, D, and E are in the subdominant. The A strain is shown below. Using Schenker terms and following one of my 1987 articles, I would call this a three-part Ursatz, with soprano descant (^3-^4-^4-^3) and alto Urlinie ^5-^6-^7-^8. Bars 5-8 repeat 1-4.

Reference: Neumeyer, David. "The Three-Part Ursatz." In Theory Only 10/1-2: 3-29.

Glinka, Mazurka in F major (1833-34)

The second strain of this mazurka is a transposed variant of the first strain. Both are framed by a simple ascending Urlinie from ^5 to ^8. The internal elaboration in the first phrase of each strain is a neighbor note figure that brings considerable expressive emphasis to ^6, presaging its essential role in the cadence. The overall treatment of ^6, then, is very close to Schubert's in D779n13 (link).

Costa Nogueras, from 12 Composiciones musicales (1881)

Recent posts on nineteenth century music have brought forward composers from the Alsace (Wekerlin), and Norway (Lehmann). Continuing the international theme, two posts will look at music by Vicente Costa Nogueras, a Spanish (Catalan) composer who lived from 1852 to 1919. He was a pianist, professor in the conservatory at Barcelona, and he wrote predominantly music for that instrument, but also works for the stage and orchestra, as well as songs. The 12 Composiciones musicales (1881) appear to be a gathering of individually published pieces. Here is the cover page, which lists them all; I have added numbers to show the ordering in the PDF file on IMSLP. Pages in the volume are not numbered consecutively.

Six of the twelves pieces incorporate prominent rising lines. The opening "Melodia" is in a ternary form, where A is a double period closing on the dominant, B is a typically unstable middle section, and the reprise is rewritten -- see below. The opening presentation phrase is from the beginning, as is the first idea in the continuation. After that is a two-bar insertion in the piano, and then a considerable expansion of the cadential progression. Scale degree ^5 is quite clear at (a), as is the transposition up a step at (b), and the expressive leap at (c) -- which is magnified in the reprise by the piano's "echo" at (d). At (e) we hear the figure from (c) again but now touching and holding ^6; after a fall from that note, the line closes in the lower octave.

Polichinella is n2 in the set, a polka whose melody--another double period--takes the inverted arch form and finishes with ^6-^7-^8.

The Mazurka (n3) is named Colombina (why Costa Nogueras invokes the commedia del'arte characters is unknown--we will see Harlequin too in n11). Here, the main figure is an ascent from ^5 to ^8, although in the cadence ^5 substitutes for an obviously intended ^7.

In the second strain, likewise, an ascending line is the main figure. In a formal analysis graph, I would treat this as a three-part Ursatz, with ^3/^5.