Piece is built
using
hexachords -
e.g. in bars 1&
3 played by
clarinets &
flutes
Full pitch range of
instruments are
used - tessitura
b.10 clarinet solo
is expressive,
angular and lyrical
uses leaps of
minor 9th,
major 7th
and dim.
octave
causes dissonance and
creates tension
B
principal voice snakes
through much of the
orchestra
e.g. from
b.24 it
bounces
rapidly
from one
brass
instrument
to another
secondary voice appears
during this section for its
only appearance in the
piece
b.28 beat 2 to
b.31 beat 1 in
tpt 1
b. 29 in the
flutes, piccolo
and clarinet
A'
strings enter
at start of
section with
principal
voice
in b. 37, a fast
arpeggiac
flourish is
played by the
horns
in the 2nd
half of this
section, it
isn't
entirely
clear which
instrument
has the
melody
A''
no voice is marked as being more
important than any other
violin 2 plays
an
arpeggiated
motif,
starting in
b.60
RHYTHM/TEMPO
A
Sehr Rasch = very quick
100-108bpm
Triplet quavers and sextuplet
semi-quavers
Bar 7 tempo
slows
slightly
etwas ruhiger
rubato in
clarinet
melody at
b.10 makes
tempo
seem
slower than
it really is
B
tempo returns
to original sehr
sasch (after
etwas ruhiger)
short note values such as semiquavers make
music seem faster than it really is
A'
longer,
sustained note
values are used,
with occasional
accented quaver
interjections
e.g. beat 3 of b.40 in
double bass
C
Tempo marking
alternates between
ruhiger (calmer) and
heftig (passionate)
contrasting moods
metre changes to 4/4 for one bar at b.49
A''
Some of the rhythmic motifs from the
opening bars return in this section
e.g.
trumpets
bars 61-63 =
b.5 beat 3
to b.6 beat
2 repeated
in quick
succession
clarinets bars
59-61 = bar 1
flutes bars 62-63
= bar 3
returns to original tempo
DYNAMICS
A
forte to
begin with
dynamics get louder as melodic ideas are
played by instrumental groups together
in b.5, dynamics reach fff
before dying away to pp
use of extreme
dynamics to
create impact
B
section begins quite
quietly, but there is an
immediate crescendo
dynamics are very varied from
instrument to instrument with the
principal and secondary voice parts
always f – fff but the other parts
ranging from p to ff
The dynamics
change dramatically
and frequently in
this section in a very
restless fashion
from b.32, there
is a large cresc. to
the climax
marking the start
of the next
section
A'
sudden
dynamic change
in bar 37 - forte
cresc. to fpp
from b.38, all
instruments are pp
create a menacing mood,
full of anticipation
C
dynamics of this section range from pp (bars 44/45), with individual
instruments rising above the others with individual crescendos, to
orchestra enters fff (bars 53-55) before dropping
down to almost nothing in bar 58
A''
Crescendos quite
quickly from pp at the
beginning of bar 59 to
fff in bar 64
immediately dies away to nothing with the tremolo
double bass chord (accompanied by pp horns)
HARMONY/TONALITY
A
atonal - no sense of key
harmony created through
combinations of different
hexachords/complements
e.g. in b.8, horns play a layered
hexachord which is the same as the
b.1 hexachord but transposed down 4
semitones
A'
the hexachord heard in .38 is the same as the b.8 hexachord
A''
the climactic chord of bar 64 is a
gigantic hexachord (C, D, Eb, F#, G, G#)
in most of the orchestra
TEXTURE
A
in bars
1-7, brass
dominate
texture
trombones take over principal voice in bars
5-6 before it returns to horns
in bars 8-10, the bassoons and bass
clarinet have an ostinato
from b.10, the soft
clarinet melody
becomes the
principal voice,
and the texture
thins from here
instrumental groups play in quick succession with some
overlaps of homophonic bursts, to create impact
B
while all the busyness and volume is
going on in the wind and percussion,
first violins and cellos have a soft line
although they're inaudible, but they
do add to the effect and texture, and
show Schoenberg's attention to
detail
very polyphonic and
complex throughout
this section
A'
texture
becomes more
homophonic/chordal
brief rest from
section B
menacing mood
suggests more to come
C
for the first part of this section the
texture is much more sparse
Schoenberg
focuses on
overlapping
combinations of
solo instruments
A''
Starting with just the clarinets and strings, the instruments are
introduced one by one in quick succession (layering the
repeated rhythmic motifs) until the full orchestra comes
together for the final climactic chord of bar 64.
STRUCTURE
A
Clarinets & flutes state 2
hexachords in bars 1&3
At end of b.3, the
principal voice horn plays
a fanfare-like motif
In b.6, the strings and trumpets
have a short demisemquaver
outburst, before a short bass
cl/bsn ostinato is heard
In b.10, the clarinet
takes over as the
principal voice and
plays an expressive
solo
B
in b.18, cello
takes over role as
principal voice
from clarinet
in b.20, trumpet take
principal voice
from b.20-34, the PV passes
between 7 different instruments
in b.28, trumpet enters with secondary voice
in b.29, flutes and clarinet join in as
secondary voices
from b.32, the full
orchestra is used
to create a climax
A'
this is the shortest of all the sections,
being just 9 bars
C
begins with bassoon taking PV
before passing to cello
within the section, there are 2 alternating
contrasting moods
at b.53, the mood changes back to heftig and a
sudden contrast is created
the section ends
with quiet, sparsely
textured sustained
notes
A''
beginning with clarinets, gradually each instrument is added
in until the climax of the piece
INSTRUMENTATION
A
each instrument in orchestra
plays in section A
timbre of instruments is
considered just as
important as melody -
klangfarbenmelodie
trumpets are
marked as
muted, but
playing with
extreme
dynamics to
create interesting
timbre
B
the full orchestra is used, but
not all at once except for
climactic points like bars 30-34
even here, not all
the instruments are
used for the full five
bars with the wind
and percussion
supplying most of
the power
A'
an A extremely
low in
trombone's
register is
played 'as loud
as possible' -
this will create
an interesting
timbre
using full limits of
instruments
C
in b.49, the
violins/viola
are played
pizzicato,
before
returning to
arco at the end
of b.53
There is the impression of "handling the
orchestra like a delicate crystal before
hitting it with the full orchestral hammer in
bar 53 and standing back to admire the
handiwork in bars 56-58."
A''
on the cymbal, a tremolo
is played using a cello bow
to finish, the double basses play a
tremolo chord very high in their register