2012 - 2013 FINISHED AS Music Der Doppelganger Student Pack.doc

7/27/2019 2012 - 2013 FINISHED AS Music Der Doppelganger Student Pack.doc

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AS Music 2012 - 2013

Vocal Music

Schubert

Der Doppelgnger

Name:

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Background

Franz Schubert (1797 1828)

From the song cycle Schwanengesang, 1828

Genre

German Romantic Lied

Principal composers were Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Wolf, Loewe.

Date

1828, the year of Schuberts death. Published posthumously.

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Text

Der Doppelgnger

Heinrich Heine

Still ist die Nacht, es ruhen die Gassen,

in diesem Hause wohnte mein Schatz;

sie hat schon lngst die Stadt verlassen,

doch steht noch das Haus auf demselben Platz.

Da steht auch ein Mensch, und starrt in die Hhe,

und ringt die Hnde vor Schmerzensgewalt;

mir graust es, wenn ich sein Antlitz sehe,

der Mond zeigt mir meine eigne Gestalt

Du Doppelgnger, du bleicher Geselle!

Was ffst du nach mein Liebesleid,

das mich geqult auf dieser Stelle

so manche Nacht, in alter Zeit?

English translation 1

The night is still, the streets are quiet,

In this house lived my Love;

She left the town long before,

Yet her house is still standing in the same place.

There I also see a man standing and staring into the heavens,

Wringing his hands in violent grief.

I shudder when I behold his face;

The moon reveals to me my own likeness.

You Doppelgnger, you pale companion!

Why do you mimic my lovesickness,

That tormented me at this place

For so many nights in the past?

English translation 2

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Still is the night, it quiets the streets down

In that window my love would appear

She's long since gone away from this town

But this house where she lived still remains here.

A man stands here too, staring up into space

And wrings his hands with the strength of his pain

It chills me, when I behold his pale face

For the moon shows me my own features again!

You spirit double, you specter with my face

Why do you mock my love-pain so

That tortured me here, here in this place

So many nights, so long ago?

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Style

The style of the music is typical of the heightened sense of supernatural

drama evident in the Romantic Movement in music, literature andpainting. Lied simply means song and is an art form which flourished in

the 19th Century. Lied is typified by narrative texts which explore the

human condition, love, death, folklore and were often pastoral or

nationalist in nature.

The lied is a work for piano and voice and often appear in collections or

song cycles. Lied were performed by professional and amateur alike and

were written for both public and domestic consumption. Many were light

in character but Schubert was prepared to explore much deeper emotions.

He was 31 and knew he did not have long to live.

The work is through composed, that is the material is under continual

development, with specific reference to the melodic and harmonic material

in the first two bars.

The piano

It is usual in Romantic Lied to compose a piano part that is integral to the

drama of the music, as a character in the narrative, expanding the

meaning and nuance of the singers text. Here the piano is funereally

bleak in pacing and texture.

A feature which is typical of Schuberts style is to allow the piano to either

complete the singers phrase or to add an echo. Here, Schubert echoes

the voices imperfect cadence at bars 11 12 at bars 13 -14, re-

harmonising and adding a painful false relation.

Setting

The setting of the text is syllabic, thus reflecting the natural speech

patterns of the spoken voice. This was a common trait in many of

Schuberts more narrative settings.

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Text

The text is by Heinrich Heine, a poet very popular with all of the

great Romantic Lied composers.

The subject matter addresses all obsessions of the Romantic

movement: death, love and the supernatural

The narrator walks at dead of night to a house where the woman he

loved once lived. There he sees a man in agony, overwhelmed with

grief. In the moonlight he realises with horror that this man is

himself, gone mad with torment. It was a superstitious belief that

if you saw a doppelganger - a ghostly image of yourself your

death is imminent.

Tempo and rhythm and how this portrays the text

The piece makes its initial impact from its very slow (Sehr langsam)

tempo and minor key. The stillness of the night is represented not only

by the very soft dynamics but also by the static rhythm of the

accompaniment and the F# inner pedal note.

The vocal line has a halting and disjointed rhythm at first with some use

of dotted rhythms and rests between each of the short phrases. This

almost gives the impression of breathlessness, perhaps due to shock or

sorrow and effectively portrays the mood of the text.

Texture

The texture of the work is starkly homophonic, that is chords with melody.

Schubert places one chord per bar obsessively throughout the work,

above which the melody hangs in a darkly conceived recitative. This

coupled with the funereal tempo reflecting the leaden footfall of the songs

protagonist and the almost exclusively monosyllabic text setting add to

the works dramatic flavour.

The first 10 bars is characterised by the homophonic texture with the

upper part of the chord, which functions as a melody, being played in

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unison two octaves below at the bottom of the chord and in the centre.

This greatly enhances the bleak mood of the setting.

Passacaglia

The piano melody in the upper, middle and bottom, a constant feature of

the work, acts as a passacaglia/ostinato. This is a musical phrase that is

maintained throughout a composition as a counter melody. It is a four

bar figure that is heard five times in its original form during the piec.

The stark texture of the work is only given slight relief between the voice

at bar 11 and the piano at bar 13 where Schubert allows a brief moment

of free imitation to occur trough a four note gesture.

The moment is made yet more poignant as the first statement at bar 11

the melody is concordant with the harmony, whereas the free imitation

in bar 13 is dissonant, the A natural of the melody clashing with the A#

of the harmony (false relation). This idea is given further variation at

bars 21 24.

Tonality and harmony

Tonality

Key signature

The B minor tonality is a typical key for a text of such supernatural

intensity.

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Modulation

After the chromatic rise from bar 43 47 the music moves to the key of

D# major. The move by a third, a tertiary modulation, is a characteristic

use of an unexpected modulation to enhance the drama of the work.

The work ends on a Tierce de Picardie, a major tonic chord, which once

more is an unexpected harmonic feature.

The work opens with a startling B chord, bare fifths of B and F#. The lack

of a third is quite daring for 1820 and predates a similar gesture to the

equally funereal opening of Mahlers Abschied, from Das Lied von der Erde

(1908 1909). Likewise, the F# chord in bar 5 (F# and C#) is in 2nd

inversion and lacking a third. The tonality, however, is unambiguously B

minor.

Harmonic phrase

The first parst of the work, bars 1 14, is based on a harmonic phrase

which follows:

Z (4 bars)B (no 3rd); F# 1st inversion; B minor 1st inversion (no root); F# 2nd

inversion (no third)

Z (4 bars)

B (no 3rd); F# 1st inversion; B minor 1st inversion; F# 2nd inversion

(no third)

Y (6 bars)

B (no 3rd); F# minor 1st inversion; D; F# major 7, 2nd inversion; F#

major 7, 2nd inversion; F# major 7, 2nd inversion

The 14 bar 4 + 4 + 6 is unnervingly unpredictable, the second half being

arrested two bars too soon. There then follows from bars 15 - 24:

Z (4 bars)

B (no 3rd); F# 1st inversion; B minor 1st inversion; F# (no third) 2nd

inversion

Y (6 bars)

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B minor; F# minor 1st inversion/F# octave; D; F# major 7, 2nd

inversion; F# major 7, 2nd inversion; F# major 7, 2nd inversion

A phrase pattern of 4 + 6 which again is unexpected and adds tpo the

unsettling mood of the song.

Bars 25 33

Z (4 bars)

B minor (third in voice); F# 1st inversion; B minor 1st inversion; F#

second inversion (third in voice)

Y1 (4 bars)

B minor (third in voice); F# minor 1st inversion/F# octave; D; F#

major 7, flattened 5; F# major 7, flattened 5

The phrasing has been reduced further to 4 + 4. The variation ofY with

the flattened fifth is unexpected and adds to the pain of the text. This

also coincides with the highest note so far in the tenor at bars 31 32.

Bars 34 - 42

Z (4 bars)

B minor (with 3rd); F# major , 1st inversion; B minor 1st inversion;

F# 2nd inversion (third in voice)

B minor (third in voice); F# minor 1st inversion/ F# octave; D; C

Neapolitan 6th; C Neapolitan 6th /F# octave

Bars 43 55

X (13 bars)

B minor; C + F# tritone; F# (no third); D; D# minor# A# major;

D# minor; A# major; G 7 (#6); B minor, 2nd inversion; B minor, 2nd

inversion; F# major 7, #9, #11; F# 7

The 13 bar phrase is as striking a dramatic statement as the chromatic

harmony itself. ThC + F# tritone follllowed by the emptyF# (no third) is

a revolutionary approach to harmony, coupled with the rising chromatic

bass from bars 44 47 assures the telling climax of the work.

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Z Coda (8 bars)

B minor; F# 1st inversion; B minor 1st inversion (no root); C

Neapolitan chord;

B major7; E minor 2nd inversion; B major; B major

Note how ther C chord in bar 59 is a replacement of the F# 2nd inversion

(no third) is unexpected. The C chord is a further example of a

Neapolitan chord.The final plagal cadence resolving on a major, not

minor chord (Tierce de Piardie).

Pedal point

A pedal point is a harmonic device where a note is sustained throughout

a chord progression. A pedal point creates tension in music and is often

found in the bass. However, there is a pedal point in this work, an F#,

but Schubert chooses to bury the note within the harmony, thus the

ghostly pedal is revealed:

Bars 1 40 (F# pedal)

41 42, beat 2 (no F# pedal)

42 beat 3 47 (F# pedal)

48 (no F# inchord)

49 (F#in chord)

50 - 51(no F# pedal)

52 58 (F# pedal)59 (no F# in chord)

60 (F# in chord)

61 (No F# in chord)

62 63 (F# in chord)

Of the 63, there are only only 7 bars that do not have an F# in the chord.

The two Neapolitan chords at bars 41 41 and 59 are examples of

this and can explain their importance in their conribution to the dramatic

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tension of the work, firtstly as word painting, secondly as a dramatic

device towards the final cadence. The neapolitan chord at bar 41 42

accompanies the tenors highest note of the song, a high G.

The pedal point is at the heart of the melodic invention of the voice as is

illustrated in the first 22 bars of the song.

Neapolitan 6th and modulation

The harmonic phrase established between bars 1 14 is repeated four

times between bars 1 40 until a startling Neapolitan chord at bar 41.

A Neapolitan chord is a chord based on the flattened supertonic and

traditionally has the function of preparing a V I cadence, and so would

precede a dominant chord. But here, as with the tonality of bar 1,

Schubert merely implies a dominant chord with the F# in bar 42 followed

by the tonic at bar 43. The affect is stunning and paints the moment

when the protagonist in the song sees his Doppelgnger, a portent of hisown death.

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This portent sets the harmony into flux the chromatic passage from bars

43 47 lifts the music through an extended modulation to D# minor at

bar 47 where a tonic to dominant statement occurs twice (D# minor

A#) bars 47 48, 49 50. This is a tertiary modulation, D# being a

major third from B.

The final plagal cadence in bars 61 62/63 finds the tonality in the

tonic major (B major). This harmonic device is known as a Tierce de

Picardie.

Neapolitan chordsA Neapolitan chord is a harmonic device which traditional precedes

chord V in a perfect cadence. The first, bars 41 42, beat 2 precedes

the dominant not (F#) on beat 3 ofbar 42 which functions as a

dominant chord taking the harmony back to the tonic at bar 43. This

chord is a Neapolitan 6thchord, which contains an augmented 6th which

lies between C and A#. This striking moment is lacking the F# pedal

which has sounded from bar 1. This allows the tenor to reach the highest

note of the song, a high G, and so is a key feature of the word painting

of the song.

The Neapolitan chord in bar 59 of the coda is for dramatic effect,

replacing the F# 2nd inversion (no third) first stated in bar 4.

French 6thThis is an augmented 6th chord with a flattened 5th (here a sharpened 4th).

The French 6th is a common chord of the Romantic Period and occurs at

bars 32 -33. Here, Schubert uses the chord for dramatic purpose by

substituting a dominant 7th with a French 6th.

False relations

A false relation is a harmonic device which was a common feature in

music in the Renaissance Period. Another term for this device is a blues

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note. A false relation is a dissonant device whereby two versions of a

note occur either simultaneous or in very close proximity. Here, the

occurrence is A# in the harmony and A natural in the melody at bars 13

and 23.

This highly dissonant moment is an important feature in adding drama

and harmonic tension to the music.

Appoggiatura

An appoggiatura is a harmonic device which adds an expressive tension

to the music and high highly dissonant. An appoggiatura is a dissonant

note in a melody on a strong beat, usually the first beat, of the bar. The

first example occurs at bar 16 in the voice, the dissonant G resolving to

the consonant F#.

Further appoggiaturas occur at:

Bar 25, G F#

Bar 50, B A#

Bars 55, E D C#

Suspension

A suspension is a harmonic device where the motion of one note in a

chord progression is delayed, causing a dissonance. The suspensions

occur between the empty fifth chord of the piano and the voice and

provide moments of poignant word painting. The first example of a

suspension occurs at bar 28. Here the melody holds on to the B from

the B minor chord ofbar 27 into bar 28, resolving onto the A# on the

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second beat. The melody on bars 28, beat 1 is the interval of a fourth

from the root of the chord (F#); beat 2 is the interval of a third above the

root, a 4 -3 suspension.

Here is the example without a suspension:

Here is the example with a suspension:

Further suspensions occur between the voice and piano at:

Bars 29 30 (D C#) B minor F# minor 1st inversion

Bars 36 37 (B A#) B minor 1st inversion F# second

inversion

Melody

The melody is based about the F# pedal which is an important feature in

the word painting of the music. By focussing on the pedal point

Schubert assures that the isolation of the protagonist is assured (see

pedal point).

The manner of the melody, its pacing and limited melodic movement, is

reminiscent ofrecitative. This is a style of music, common in Baroque

opera, where the singer assumes a style of singing which resembles the

rhythms and inflections of speech. Certainly the predominant syllabic

setting of the text gives rise to this as does the Sehr langsam (very

slow) tempo indication at the beginning of the score.

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The melody subject constant transformation and grows in stature as the

drama of the work unfolds. The range of the melody is a compound

major sixth, reaching the upper notes at the climax of the music.

Upper auxiliary notes

This is a melodic device where a consonant melodic note rises up a step

(usually a semitone) and resolves back. The first occurs in the voice at

bar 9, where F# briefly touches a semiquaver G and then falls back.

Further upper auxiliary notes occur at:

Bar 48, A# - B A# Bar 54, C# - D C#

Turn

A turn is a melodic device in the form of an ornament. There is one

example at bar 21. This tern, signified by the S like symbol above the

vocal part, follows:

Note step up one note step down one note

This example could be sung:

Echappe note

An echappe is where a melodic note rises one step above a consonant

note then falls a thirdinto the next chord. There is one example, which

occurs at bars 38 39, D E then a fall to of a third to C#.

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Word painting

The melody focuses on the F# pedal point highlighting the

loneliness of the protagonist

Melody following natural speech rhythms

Melody under constant transformation developing in range in

conjunction with the unfolding drama

Suspensions between the voice and piano

Appoggiatura causing dissonance between the voice and piano

The Neapolitan C7 chord at bar 41 42 is the first chord in the

work not to contain the F# pedal point. This allows the tenor to

achieve the highest note on the song, a high G. This occurs at the

moment when the protagonist sees his doppelgnger.

Chromatic harmony bars 44 47

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Form

The form of the work is not strophic, as one would expect, but sees the

composer unfolding the material with continual variation. It is thereforethrough composed. The poem has three verses, starting at bars 5, 25

and 43 but Schubert doesnt repeat the same music for each of them. In

fact, verse 3 has very different music to the music of 1 and 2. The

ostinato/passacaglia figure on the piano however, does create some sense

of unity between the sections.

Introduction and Verse 1 A

Bars 1 24

Verse 2 A1

Bars 25 42

Verse 3 B

Bars 43 56

Piano Coda/postlude A

Bars 56 - 63

Metre

Metre: simple triple time, very slow tempo.

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