The Rhythm of Modern Music - forgottenbooks.com

PRE FACE

IN thi s book I have endeavo ured to dea l with theRhythm o f Modern Mu s ic in it s aesthetic a spect,rather than as an element o f formal construct ion .In the present highly develo ped condition o f musicalart

,the power o f influencing the mind through an

infinite variety o f rhythmical devices i n combinationwith melody i s not perhaps generally recognised

,

and the capabilities o f Rhythm,although Well known

to composers,are not invariably made full use o f

by performers , except by those o f the first rank,or

those who have paid special attention to this elemento f music .Musicians

,professional and amateur, as Well as

l i steners,are apt to pay considerable attention to

the melody o f a piece and little to its Rhythm ,unless

the latter happens to be in some self— evident form .

A melody,however

,i s not merely an arbitrary

di stribution o f i ntervals over a portion o f the scale ,but a distribution o f intervals regulated by somekind o f rhythmical arrangement , through which itbecomes a living organism

,capable o f moving the

vi PREFACE

emotions . The rhythmical arrangement , moreover,i s not entirely in the hands o f the composer , fo r,however carefully he may write down his idea s , i ti s quite possible to have them made ineffective inperformance by faulty accentuation or phrasing .

Rhythm has been so little studied as a sciencethat it has n o t yet arrived at a generally recogni sednomenclature o f i t s own . German theorists havegone a good way towards the invention o f specialnames fo r the various parts o f a rhythmica l whole,but we cannot conven iently use the technica l termso f their language w hile wri ting in our own .

English does not lend itself easily to the coinageo f scientific terms

,fo r thi s requi res a language w hich

allows o f new words being compounded out o f

materials already a t hand . Hence we,perhaps more

than most nation s,are driven ba ck upon that

wonderful Hellenic language which is so Well ableto express whole ideas by single words .To those who have undergone the Wholesomediscipline o f “ Compulsory Greek at a PublicSchool , Greek rhythmical terms would offer l ittledifficulty . But I w i sh my book to be acceptableto the general reader : hence I have avoided theuse o f Greek technical terms as fa r as possible

,

though some few , fo r which I have been unable tofind satisfactory equivalents

,have been introduced

.

But I hope that they will become suffi ciently familia r,

PREFACE

in process o f reading , to prevent them fromproving repellant . For the rest

,I have been often

obliged to use combinations o f words to expressWhat one Greek technical term would have expressedmore conveniently. In the effort to make mymeanings clear without the intervention o f Greek ,I have made rather a free use o f capital initialletters . Whether I have succeeded in my effortI must leave to the j udgment o f my readers.

C. F. ABDY W ILLIAMS.

M lLFORD—ON-SEA,N off/ember, 1 909 .

CON TE NTS

CHAPTER I

In tro ducto ry pp, 1 - 1 8

CHAPTER IIAccen t— Pro se, Po etry a nd Music -Mea suremen t o f Time

T he Mea sure a nd the Po etic Fo o t — T he Perio dFun ctio ns o f the tw o Rhythms in a Perio d— Phra sing inSo ng

— Phra sing in In strumenta l Music— T he CaesuraTempo — Duple a nd Triple Rhythm-spec ies — Ma scu l inea nd Fem inine E ndings — Time Signa tures — The Ba r

Diaeresis pp. 1 9-44

CHAPTER III

The Ana crusis— Prel imina ry Mea sures — The OverlapRhythmless Music— T he Fo ur-ba r Ph ra se— Accents

, strucko r om itted— Rhythmica l Accen tua tio n — The Ma teria l o f

w h ich Rhythm is fo rmed— D ifferen t Rhythmica l Schemes

used simulta neo usly— The three Kinds o f Accen tua tio nSyl la bic a nd Melisma t ic So ng

— Rhythms w ith in Rhythm s

pp 45-78

x CONTENTS

CHAPTER IV

E ffect o f lo nger a nd sh o rter N o tes o n Accen tua tio nAnc ien t Theo ry a nd Mo dern Pra ct ice— Combined Rhythmspecies— W el l-ma rked Rhythm

— Influence o f N o te-va lueso n the fE sthet ic Ch a ra cter o fMusic— Repetitio n o f Defin iteRhythm ica l Figures— Synco pa t io n pp. 79

- 1 04

CHAPTER V

Duple a ga inst T riple T ime — Tempo ra ry Ch a nges o f

Spec ies— T ime Sign a tures— Cha nge o f the Accentua tio no f a g iven Melo dy— Bra hm s

’ Ma stery o f Rhythm — Qu intuple a nd Septuple T ime pp. 1 05- 1 32

CHAPTER VI

Impo rta nce o f the Fo ur-mea sure Rhythm — Schubert’

s

Rhythms— Beetho ven ’

s Rhythms— Ha lf—Rhythms— Three

mea sure Rhythms— Five—mea sure Rhythm s — Rhythm s o f

Seven Mea sures pp. 1 33- 1 5 8

CHAPTER VII

Va ria tio n s o f Tempo — The Pa use— Rests a nd EmptyT imes— Haydn ’

s humo ro us use o f Rests— Rests in R.

Stra uss’ “ T o d und Verk larung ”

— Exam ples o f D iaeresis inBra hms a nd Grieg— Unba rred Mus ic : Beeth o ven

, Op.

pp. 1 59- 1 8 1

CONTENTS

CHAPTER VIIIS ta rca to— Forte, P ia no

, Crescenda, a nd D iminumdo— The

Organ a nd Accent— Mecha n ica l Instrumen ts a nd Accen t— The Rh ythm ica l Scheme o f a Complete Compo sitionillustra ted by Bra hms’ Rhapso dy, Op. 1 1 7 pp. 1 82-209

CHAPTER I!

Brahms’ Symph o ny in D, Op. 73 Sym

pho nie pa thét ique, Op. 74 pp. 2 10-25 5

CHAPTER !

Vincent D ’

In dy, Sona ta in E fo r Pia no , Op. 63—~Debussy,

Ma sques : Hommage‘

a Ramea u— Stanfo rd, Qua rtet N o . 2 ,

Op 45— E 1ga r, Sympho ny, Op 5 5 pp 256-307

APPENDI!

The Ago gic Accen t p. 308

INDE! p. 3 1 5

MUSICAL ILLUSTRATIONS

BEB’

I‘

HOVEN,

So na ta in D,Op. 1 0 , N o . 3, Ro ndo ,

Anglica n Cha n t ta ken from So na ta Pa tétique, o p. 1 3,

So na ta , o p. 1 4, N o . I ,

N o . 2 ,

in A fla t, op. 26, Andan te,

in D, op. 2 8 , First movemen t,

Overture, Leo no re, o p. 7 2 , N o . 3,

So na ta in B flat, o p. 1 06, La rgo ,

Quartet, op. 1 32 , First mo vement,

Seco nd mo vement,P iu a llegro ,n

BRAHMS ,Ba l lade, “ Edward , op. 1 0, N o . 1 ,

In termezzo , Op. 10 , N o . 3,

Serenade, o p. 1 1 , First mo vement,

Menuetto I.,

Varia tio n s o n a Hungaria n Air, Op. 2 1 , N o . 2 ,

P iano fo rte Qua rtet in G mino r, o p. 2 5 , Ro ndo ,

Quintet, o p. 34, Scherzo ,So ng,

“ Agnes, o p. 59,

Sympho ny, N o . 2 , o p. 73 , First movemen t,

MUSICAL ILLUSTRATIONSP AGE

Sympho ny, 2 Op. 7 3 , First movemen t,

Allegretto ,

7 7

Klavierstii c‘ke,0

Sympho ny, N o . 3 , Op . 90, First mo vemen t,

Fa n ta s ien , Op. 1 1 6,N o . 1 ,

N o . 2,

Capricc io , o p. 1 1 6, N o . 3

Dre'i. In termezzi , Op. N o . 1 ,

In termezzo , o p. 1 1 7 , N o . 3,Klavierstficke, up. 1 1 8

, N o . 2

NO . 4,

MUSICAL ILLUSTRATIONS xv

BRAHMS continued),Klavierstucke, o p. 1 1 8 , N o . 5

o p. 1 1 9 , N o . 2,

Rhapso dy, o p. 1 1 9 , N o . 4 ,

“

Clarinet So n a ta , op. 1 20, N o . 2 , Seco nd movemen t,

CHOPIN , o p. 24 , N o . 2 ,

DEBUSSY, Ma sques,

H ommage a Ramea u,

a"

D’INDYSo na ta , o p. 63, First mo vemen t

,

Seco nd mo vemen t ,

8 ,

DVORAK, Slavi sche Tanze,

E LGAR,Sympho ny, op. 5 5 , First movement ,

xvi MUSICAL ILLUSTRATIONSE LGAR ( continued),Sympho ny, op. 5 5 , First mo vemen t,

7 ,

Seco nd m o vemen t,

Third mo vemen t,

G a uze, V io l in So na ta in F

,o p. 8 , Fin a le,

HAYDN, Quartet in E fla t, Fin a le.KURAE,Sla nca from “Cha nso ns N a t io n a les des Slavs du Sud,

MOZART, So na ta in C m in o r,First mo vement,

SCHUMANN , Piano fo rte Co ncerto , Fin a le,STANFORD

,

Qua rtet, o p. 4 5 , First mo vemen t,

Seco nd mo vemen t,

Third mo vemen t,

MUS ICAL ILLUSTRATIONS xviiSTAN FORD ( continued),Quartet, o p. 45 , Fina le,

STRAUSS,R.

,

Vio lin So na ta , o p. 1 8 , First mo vement,E in Helden leben , Op. 40,

Sympho ny, Ans Ita lien, Third mo vement,Tscnni

’

xow smr,

Roma nce in F mino r,

Symph o n ic Pa tétique, Op. 74, First movement,3,

S, 7 ,

Seco nd mo vement,

Th ird movement,

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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTORY

TH E power o f expression that has been reachedin instrumental music , the power o f the composer ,or , as the Germans more happily express i t , o f thetone— poet , to move the emotions, and appeal tothe intellect through the agency o f mere sound

,i s

one o f the greatest ach ievements o f modern civili sation .

The poet,the painter

,the archi tect appeal to

much the same faculty as the musician,namely , that

which is vaguely known as the artistic sense : butthey work with more or less concrete material , andthey treat o f things o f which everyone has someexperience. The poet’s work i s to idealise obj ectswh ich we can see

,or imagine we see , or emotions

which we can feel and describe . His art-materiali s speech

,arranged in certain ways that appeal to

o ur sense Of beauty and order : but the materia li tself i s one o f everyday use.The painter cannot use hi s art without depicting

some concrete obj ect ; however ideal may be hisA

2 RHYTHM OF MODERN MUSIC

conception or however lofty that ideal , he can onlyexpress himself through representations o f somethingdefini te and tangible .The art which most nearly approaches to that

o f music in i ts power o f moving us through something that i s not a representation o f natura l objects ,i s architecture fo r the feelings that are experiencedwhen we contemplate a beautiful cathedral are notmoved by any a ssociation with a tangible obj ect ,but by the arrangement o f hewn stone in formsthat fo r some reason appeal to us . Yet themateria l itself i s in th is ca se also found in nature,fo r i t is dug out o f the earth , and brought to acondition fo r use in art through the chisel o f theworkman .

Instrumental music differs in certain respects froma ll the three arts we have mentioned . It cannotrepresent or idealise any natural obj ect : a nd i tsart—material i s not found in nature . The nearestnatural approach to it, the song o f bi rds

,i s as far

removed from it as i s the mind o f man from theinstinct o f animals : and even the sound producedby the wind , though it m ay sometimes actua lly re

present a musical tone , i s not l ike the sound that isused by the musician .

In stead o f taking any natural material,such as

speech , or stone , and working it into a form thatcan be o f service in art

,the musician combin es a

INTRODUCTORY 3

number o f entirely artificially produced sounds insuch a way that not only are they pleasant to li stento , j ust as a number o f bright colours representingnothing in nature may be pleasing to the eye

,but

that they shall go further,and appeal to the mind

through the intellect and the emotions . For instrumenta l music is no longer merely pretty

,or

charming ; i t has arrived at a point in which itexpresses noble thoughts

,a nd acts as a powerful

incentive to nobili ty o f character . And this has tobe done , not with a lasting material, such as canvasand paint

,or stone

,but with a material that vanishes

immediately the vibrations o f string or pipe whichproduce it cease .A musical sound is pleasant or unpleasant

,and

we say that its “ tone is good or bad,according

to whether it pleases us or not . A combinationo f satisfactory sounds sustained in harmony i s morepleasant to the civilised ear than a single soundbut the pleasure such a combination gives , or evena succession o f such combinations , i s only superficial ,and may be compared to the delight o f a child inthe kaleidoscope . Before pleasant sounds can bemade to appeal to the mind , and not the ear only ,another element must enter , namely , time.Pleasant sounds must not merely be drawn out

to an indefinite length,but must be regulated and

brought under control through the agency o f time


and by this mea ns they a re made to appeal to afeeling tha t exists in the human mind , and in noother part o f nature , namely , the sen se o f Rhythm .

The art o f music consists , therefore , o f combiningpleasa nt sounds in a w ay that appea ls to the ear ,a nd regula ting them through Rhythm in a way that

\

\makes them appeal to the intellect . The pleasure

f'

we derive from mere musical sound is elementaryand external : i t is a sensa tion only . The sati sfaction that i s given u s when musica l sound i sallied to Rhythm is intellectual . Hence these twoelements in music a re always combin ed ; and theconvenient term Melos is applicable to the sounditself

,while Rhythm applies to its time divisions .

I t is through the combination o f Melos withRhythm that purely instrumental music i s possible :a nd Rhythm , from being merely an element o f Form ,

has become, in these la tter da ys, a very powerfulmeans o f expression . Melos without Rhythm maybe charming fo r a moment but it requires Rhythmif i t is to have strength and solidarity .

The capaci ty fo r appreciating an abstract ideawithout some kind o f concrete presentment o f i t

,

in other words , the abil i ty to discard “ gravenimages fo r ideas

,implies a very high development

o f a particular faculty , and on thi s account vocalmusic will always make a wider appeal than purelyinstrumenta l music , fo r, like poetry , i t deals with

INTRODUCTORY 5

concrete ideas . The Sonata and the Symphony , onthe other hand, have to do with something that isentirely impalpable

,and can only speak to those

who by association or training h ave been initiatedinto their mysteries . The body o f the initiatedhas grown very rapidly o f late years : but theabstract idea has always been too difficult fo r manyminds, who would yet fain obtain enj oyment andprofi t from the art o f music . Such minds requiresometh ing definite on which they ca n fasten , andwhen they like a composition very much

,they are

apt to give i t a name,such as

,fo r example, the

“ Moonlight Sonata. Many will also invent fo rthemselves some “ programme ” in connection withtheir favourite compositions

,and by this means will

obtai n a pleasure which they might not otherwiseexperience.Composers themselves have recognised this difii

culty,and have often provided fo r i t : as , fo r

instance,Kuhnau in his “ Bible Sonatas Bach

in h is “ Capriccio uber die Abrei se eines Freundes”

Beethoven in h i s “ Pastoral ” Symphony, and h isLebewohl ” Sonata : Brahms in his EdvardBallade. Thus has arisen what is now knownas “ Programme music

,

” and , owing to the desireto hear orchestral music having spread o f lateyears to so wide a circle o f the public, and to thefact that many o f the general public still have the


difficulty to which we allude , Programme musichas increased to an extent that almost threa tens tem

po ra rily to overwhelm purely abstract music . Butit would be contrary to experience if mankind didno t eventually revert to the h igher ideal , whileProgramme music may be expected to take the placei t has in the past

,o f a n occasional appearance , as

a concession to the weaker brethren .

In the days o f purely vocal music , in what is calledthe “ Polyphonic era

, Rhythm was not a necessaryadj unct to Melos

, though it was often used . Thevoices moved about and intermingled with one anotherin a concord o f sweet sounds

,

” as it was ca lled bySha kespeare : the human element o f the voice

,a nd

the ideas expressed by the words,could appeal to

the highest emotions,without necessarily utilising the

element o f Rhythm . In the church,Rhythm was

looked upon with d isfavour , ow ing to i ts associationwith worldly pleasures

,especially with the dance yet

people felt the want o f i t , fo r we constantly read o f

edicts forbidding the playing o f dance music on the

organ . But instrumental music,as an art fo r i tself

,

did not yet exist . If music was played on the viols,

these instruments merely performed the voice partso f madrigals , and the pleasure in the music waschiefly that o f association , j ust as we derive pleasurein playing on the piano what we have heard in theopera . The solo instruments

,such as the organ and

INTRODUCTORY 7

harpsichord , occupied themselves to a great extentwith arrangements o f vocal music

,and he who could

excite the admiration o f his l isteners by playing thevoice parts o f a madrigal or motet with th e greatestamount o f colour ,” that i s, ornamentation , was cons idered the best musician . If a keyed instrument wasrequired to play other than the voice parts o f vocalmusic

,the performer would strive to exci te the

admiration o f the audience by his skill in counterpoint, or his dexterity o f finger , through the agencyo f the Toccata

,or the Fantasia. Expression in

instrumental music,as we understand it , was hardly

as yet thought o f,and the instrumentalist was an

executant rather than a composer. Thus we findlong sets o f variations on such dull material as the sixnotes o f the Hexachord played without Rhythm ormeasure

,as in the “ Fantasia quoted by Kircher, as

one o f the best examples o f the skill o f Froberger ;or we find intri cate and impossible complications o ftime

,as in some o f John Bull

’s harpsichord works .Even in these early days there was a yearning fo rsome sort o f expression musicians were not satisfiedwith mere meaningless ornaments and vapid scalepassages

,and with Frescobaldi , and some o f the

English composers,a certain amount o f real expres

sion is arrived at. But not through RhythmRhythm had a long way to travel before i t reachedthe power o f being used fo r emotional effects .


INTRODUCTORY 9

exhibition . For it could now begin to speak fo r itself and justify its existence as an independent artThen arose the “ sonata

,

” the “ thing sounded,

which was not a dance or a fa nta sia 50pm a n Joggetto

the work was self— contained,and had no necessary

association with anything that had gone before i t .In the early days o f purely instrumental music

Rhythm was o f j ust as much importance as it i s now,

as giving shape and comprehensibility to melody ;but it was only used in the same manner as in thedance or march o f to-day

,to mark accents with

regularity. The idea o f using it in conjunction withthe Melos as a means o f expression

,as an appeal to

the imagination,was not yet thought o f.

i

All express ion was made through harmony

,melody and

counterpoint,which began to be cast in definite

rhythmical forms . For Rhythm itself was as yetin an early stage , and continued to be so fo r anothercentury . With the eighteenth century came thegreat Sebastian Bach . He put the crowning pointon the labours o f his predecessors and inauguratedthe modern school in which instruments are madeto appeal to the emotion s in a way that was impossible in their earlier days . With h im Rhythmis not m erely a framework on which to buildh armonic and contrapuntal combinations, but hemakes i t more or less a living thing , and greatlyadds thereby to the power o f instrumental music .

1 0 RHYTHM OF MODERN MUS IC

Thus,he starts a fugue subj ect , and suddenly breaks

it o ff , a nd the audience has to carry on the Rhythm inimagination through a silence o f several bea ts o f theba r, as , fo r instance, in the great Organ fugue in Dmajor and in some Of his Clavichord fugues .Buxtehude and others had done th is kind o f thingbefore him , but he enlarges and makes more use o fit . In his viol in music he writes in such a way thataccent and rhythm are driven home to the hearerswith him Rhythm begins to be a greater force thanbefore and to appeal to the intellect as well as thesense o f order : his instrumental music spea ks tothe sense o f mystery and romance, i n human nature,as in the Chromatic Fa nta sia

,or the Prelude in B

flat minor o f the first book o f the “ Forty— eight .After Bach came Mozart and Haydn . Theirwork was with courts

,and their music reflects

the formality o f courtly life . Their Rhythms arestra ightforward and well balanced . Yet every nowand then they make daring excursions into unaccustomed territory

,as

,fo r i nstance

,i n the Minuetto

o f Mozart 's G Major Quartet,where he upsets

the accentuation by alternate loud and soft notes .Ha ydn , indeed , sometimes pla ys rhythmical prankswith his audience : life is not to be all serious ;i t must have its humorous side

,even in such

solemn music as the quartet and symphony .

Then came Beethoven , who brought with h im

INTRODUCTORY 1 1

music that was to strike deeper into human conscio usness than any that had gone before . Inplace o f the well— polished periods o f Mozart andHaydn , he indulges in smashing and astonishingdiscords , upsets the regular order o f things byunexpected sforza ndos , by unlooked-fo r silences .Bach had used the silent measures

,but he could

not use sforzo no’os , because on the organ and h arps ichord they were impossible

,and in the orchestra

they would not have been understood by his players .Moreover , to Bach Music was an innocent recrea tionto Beethoven it was bound up with all the passionsand energies that found their outlet i n the FrenchRevolution : the point o f view had changed .

With the desire fo r greater powers o f expressionthere went a gradual improvement in instruments.In response to the demand fo r a more express ivekeyed instrument

,the pianoforte came into existence

during the eighteenth century,and its power o f

light a nd shade, and more especially perhaps itscapabili ty o f accent , caused i t to supersede theharpsichord . The Viol tribe , with their weak toneand their frets which interfered with a perfectintonat ion

,had been gradually ousted by the fa r

more capable and vigorous violins . The clumsyold cornet and shawm

,with their faulty and un

certain tuning,disappeared : and the clarinet , which

is practically coeval with the pianoforte, added a

1 2 RHYTHM OF MODERN MUSIC

new voice to the orchestra,

o f great expressivevalue . Improvements went on in the remaininginstruments

,and by the begi nning o f the nineteenth

century the increase o f capacity fo r expression madepossible the music o f a Beethoven and a Schubert .With the improvements i n the instruments came alsoan advance in the in telligence o f thei r players , and ,what was o f more importa nce

,the outlook on musi c

began to change . Music in its highest sense , wasno longer to be a plea sant pastime fo r the richwith its newly acquired power o f crescendo anddiminuendo

, a nd more parti cula rly o f accent,i t

became a powerful means o f stirring the soul in away that had never been possible before . Only theorgan rema ined accentless

,and must ever remain so

and fo r th is reason the great composers neglectedit in favour o f the pia noforte .1The new style , tha t o f making music appeal as

a great a rt, as an express ion o f noble thoughts,w a s

shown by Beethoven and Schubert to be possible .

The composers before them were as lofty mindedand as devoted to ideals as they were

,but the

ideals o f art in their d ay w ere n o t so advanced .

1 To o vercome this d ifficulty a do uble~ba ss is sometimes used

w ith th e o rga n in French churches. W ind i n strumen ts sha reto a certa in ex ten t the w a n t o f a ccen t ; hen ce o ne some

t imes sees a do uble-ba ss in a E ngl ish M il i ta ry Ba nd , fo rstringed instrumen ts ca n g i ve mo re a ccen t a nd a tta ck tha n a nyo thers .

INTRODUCTORY 1 3

To Bach , as we have said , i t was a pleasant re

creation , to Mozart and Haydn it was a luxuryfo r courtly circles , and that they gave o f theirbest to supply this luxury is evidence that theiraudiences desired the best thing o f its kind thatexisted . Beethoven took a different view o f theart o f music . To him it was no longer apleasant recreation only, but a living force , a th ingthat by penetrating deep down into the soulwill sti r in i t noble thoughts , and help us to disl ike what is evil . Handel

, o n being congratulatedon the noble “ entertainment ” the people o f

Dublin had enjoyed in h is “ Messiah,gave back

the answer,

“ I am sorry if I have only entertainedthem : I hoped to do them good .

” What Handeltried to do , a ye, and has done , with his Messiah ,by wedding fine music to an inspiring text , Beethoven succeeded in doing through instruments aloneand in so doing he raised music to a height thati t had never before attained in the world ’s history.

For never have instruments , however pleasing theywere in the past

,been capable o f stirring the inmost

feeling as they have done since the beginning o f

the nineteenth century .

A very large part o f this newly acquired poweris due to Rhythm . From being an element whichcreates a desire to dance or to march , and frombeing a mere means o f formal construction , Rhythm


has now been brought to bear on the moral s ideo f our nature , and has taken its place as the equalo f Melody and Harmony , i n express ive power.Rhythm has two sides . The first , and most

obvious,i s that in which the interest i s centred on

~5the individual notes, which follow one another insome noticeable manner

,in some rhythmical figure

,

which awakens in us feelings o f energy, or pleasureor excitement. This side o f Rhythm has alwaysbeen in use

,and is found in a more or less marked

degree in some part o f every composition , fo r instance , in the opening o f the slow movement o f

Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony. I n a case likethis the Rhythm is a more important element o fexpression than the Melos . In the movement towhich we refer , the Melos consists largely o f thereiteration o f a single note with various harmoniesbelow it : i t i s the rhythmica l figure that gives thepassage its powerful expression .

The other side o f Rhythm is the more intellectua l , the less obvious ; it i s that in wh ich thephrases are o f unexpected lengths

,or are divided in

some particular way, so that it requires some mentaleffort on the part o f the li stener to understand whatthe composer is aiming at . But when the efforthas been made , the diffi culty overcome, and themusic has become familiar, the listener not onlyfinds a delight in the artis tic structure o f such

INTRODUCTORY I 5

passages,but his intellect has been braced up and

refreshed by the effort that it has been called uponto make . No music that aims at merely being apleasant easy pastime can make much use o f thisside o f Rhythm only those who are in earnest canuse or appreciate it . The greatest exponent o f i tup to the present is Brahms

,and hence we have

drawn upon him fo r our examples rather morethan on other composers . We believe that Brahms ,following the direction begun by Beethoven

,and

Schubert, has advanced the art o f Rhythm on itsintellectual side beyond the point at which theyarrived ; that he has , in fact , continued their workin its natural course

,and in this he is being followed

by some o f the younger composers .At present, and it may be always, the four-barphrase

,in its many varieti es, must continue to be

the normal rhythmical structure , since it i s the onethat requires the least mental effort , and thereforeallows the composer to appea l to his audiencethrough the Melos

,and through the other side

o f Rhythm ,the note- arrangement . We always

expect music to fall into “ four-bar phrases , or ,w hat is practically the same thing , into pairs o f

bars : and when this structure is departed fromthe uncultured li stener is puzzled , and the cultivatedi s pleased with the novel effect .The painter has the advantage over the musician


INTRODUCTORY 1 7

interpreters . Many composers cannot interpret theirown music sati sfactorily. We were once present atthe rehearsal o f a new and important work, whichwa s to be conducted by the composer . Things wentvery badly : the orchestra a nd the composer, withthe best intentions in the world

,could not under

stand one another . At last a famous conductor, whowas amongst those invited to the rehearsal

,offered

to take the baton,whereupon all difficulty van ished

everyone was pleased with the performance , andmost o f all the composer himself, as one could seeby hi s smiling face .The interpretation o f a composition is the necessarysequel to the work o f composing it , and a genuineunderstanding o f the principles o f rhythm

,whether

natural or acquired,i s o f the greatest importance to

a conductor or executant . How often do we hearexecutants o f the highest degree o f technical skill

,

who play every note and every shade o f expressioncorrectly

,but who yet leave us with the feeling tha t

something i s wanting ? We say perhaps that thetouch i s hard or unsympathetic

,or there is no character

in the playing. The fault is often that the delicateexpression which a sensi tive feeling fo r rhythm willbring out, i s wanting . Perhaps the accents are notsuffici ently marked : perhaps they are too much inevidence : i n ei ther case the performance will notgive us quite the amount o f pleasure that the com

B


posi tion is capable o f giving . Perhaps the phrasingi s not suflfi ciently observed , or perhaps i t i s overdone

.Here again

,we shall feel a certa in monotony

in the one ca se, or a n oversentimentali sm i n theother

.The sense o f rhythm , which when uncul

tiva ted i s pleased with the rei tera ted ba nging o f

a drum,i s in the highly cultured amateur or

musicia n so delicate that i t feels every nua nce,

though probably not one amateur in ten can sayexa ctly why thi s conductor or thi s player pleases h imand that one does not .The great i nterpreters o f instrumental music arethose who can most nearly enter into the composer’sideals

,or can even improve upon them, and who

a re able to give a delicacy or force o f accentuationand phrasing

,which i t i s outside the possib ili ty o f

notation to express . This is what i s meant by givinga “ reading ”

o f a composition . The days o f coldclassical ” performances o f great works are pra ctica lly over . The executant or conductor now seeks tostir the deeper emotions o f the audience and to doso he must pay homage to the arti st who conceivedthe work by interpreting i t with enthusia sm andwarmth , tempered by an i ntellectual appreci a tion o f

i ts rhythmical as well as i ts melodic possib ili ties .

CHAPTER I I

Accen t— Pro se, Po etry a nd Music— Mea suremen t o f Time— The

Mea sure a nd the Po et ic Fo o t— The Perio d— Functio n s o f

th e tw o Rhythms in a Perio d— Phra s ing in So ng- Phras ing'

in Instrumen ta l Music— Th e C aesura — Tempofi Duple a nd

Triple Rhythm- spec ies— M a scul in e a nd Fem in ine end ingsT ime-Signa tures— The Ba r— Di aaresis

SP EECH and Music,in order to be intelligible

,

must be subj ected to the contrast which Accent.

arises through the alternation o f accented andunaccented factors , and these must , in their turn ,be disposed in short

,easily recognisable groups , in

order that the mind may understand each idea asit is presented .

In spoken language the individual words a re madeintelligible by the stress or accent which singles outcertain syllables from the rest , and ideas are expressed by groups o f words

,called Sentences . A

Prose sentence becomes unintelligible if i t i s toolong

,and the competent speaker or writer i s he who

knows how to group hi s words into sentences whichclearly express hi s ideas

,and at the same time have

a due sense o f balance and proportion one toanother .

20 RHYTHM OF MODERN MUS IC

A well— proportioned grouping o f the units bypram

,p om, “

which ideas are expressed and connected”d B/1m “ together in a whole

,i s the foundation o f

the Rhythmical Art,and Prose is much influenced

by a feeling fo r Rhythm on the part o f the speakeror writer . The proportion between its sentencesis not made by rule

,but lies with the author , who

allots an approximately relative time to the individual sentences . In Poetry

,on the contrary, the

time occupied by each Verse i s more nearly relatedto that occupied by its neighbours than is the casewith prose sentences ; and in Music the timerelations are theoret ica lly exact

,fo r upon this

depends the intelligibili ty o f a seri es o f soundswhich are uttered independently o f ideas conveyedby words . So subtle is the Art o f Music

,that the

undue lengthening or shortening o f a single note willsometimes alter the whole character o f a phrase .Time

,l ike Space and Distance

,only becomes

Ma m -mm appreciable to our senses when broughtinto measure o f some kind and Rhythm

may be defined as the measuring o f the Timeoccupied in the performance o f certain o f theFine Arts in such a manner as to render theArt-material concerned intell igible and interestingto our arti stic sense .Our powers o f measuring Time w i thout mech a ni

cal assi stance are exceedingly limited . No one,fo r

MEASUREMENT OF TIME 2 1

example,by single taps on a table could measure o ff

intervals o f so short a duration as three seconds each,unless he were to mentally divide up the spacebetween the taps by counting, or by imagining lessertaps between those that are heard . Out o f th i slimi tation o f our sense o f time measurement ari sesthe need fo r the alternation o f accented and un

accented sounds, w hether produced by voices orinstruments . The accented sounds serve to dividethe time occupied by the Art-material into definiteportions, but the accented sounds themselves areonly rendered appreciable by being alternated withthe contrasting unaccented sounds . And [sjnce a n

f

i

unbroken succession o f alternately accented and un

accented sounds in music would quickly become asunintelligible as a lengthy prose sentence withoutpunctuation, i t i s necessary to arrange the divisionso f time formed by the combinations o f accented andunaccented sounds in groups

,corresponding to the

Sentences o f Prose, and the Verses o f Poetry. Intosuch groups, called Rhythms, or Phrases, all Musicis divided ; ' and the words Rhythm and Phrase meanexactly the same thing . For the sake o f avoidingconsta nt repeti tion o f either word

,we use them

indifferently in this book .

Our ab ility to recogni se the measurement o f timei s not only limi ted in the direction o f length . Withregard to brevity we are equally limi ted

,and

,as the


unaided eye cannot perceive the details in microscopic objects

,so there i s a limit to the capaci ty o f

the ear to di stingui sh the a ccentual details o f notes‘succeeding one another with extreme rapidity .

Hence,i n the individual notes o f the shake , the

tremolo o f the violin or pianoforte, in a ccizzca ture,

and in extremely ra pid scale or arpeggio passages o fan ornamental nature

,the ear perceives no relation

o f accent and non— accent,and such passages are, as

far a s rhythm is concerned, i n no way different fromsustained notes. If rhythm exists in connectionwi th them

,as i t a lmost invariably does, i t i s made

perceptible by something exterior,such as changes

o f harmony,accompanying melodies

,accents inten

tio na lly given to single notes , or by other means ;and the rhythmical effect o f such passages wouldremain precisely the same if we played them W i thoutthe ornaments .Hence i t will be seen that the ar t o f rhythm

has to do with marking o ff short portions o f timeinto “

Rhythms,” and we divide the“

Rhythm ”

into units by alternations o f accented and unaccentednotes.The uni t formed by a single accented note together

w i th i ts accompanying unaccented note or notes,i s

called a Measure .The Unit o f Poetry

,formed by the combination

o f a single accented with one or more unaccented

THE MEASURE AND POETIC FOOT 23

syllables , i s called a Foot or The-"

Versecons ists o f the union o f several Feet, T, M8

which are generally printed as a single o ne! tne Poetic

l ine . Two Verses combined make a PM

Couplet, and larger combinations form a Stropheor Stanza.1 When ideas are expressed in Verses

e said to be brought into Metre .T Foot o f Poetry i s limited to two or threesyllables, but the Measure o f Music may be subdivided by notes o f small time-value to an almostunlimited extent

,and with an infinite variety o f

arrangement . The capaci ty o f the Musica l Measurefo r subdivision makes the study o f Rhythm morecomplicated than that o f Metre

,and at the same time

opens up fo r the composer an unlimited source o f

expression,apart from the resources o f Harmony

,

Counterpoint , and other techn ical details .‘

7’Music has a construction analogous in many waysto that o f Poetry . Thus , two or more Tne Period.

Rhythms,like two or more Verses

,form a Period,

and a complete composition consists o f a number o fPeriods . The Period consi sts normally o f an evenbalance o f two Rhythms , but it is by no means confined to this form ; on the contrary , in large worksthere is more variety

,perhaps , i n the Periods than in

the Rhythms o f which they are composed , and it is1 In Hymno lo gy, bo th in E ngla nd a nd Germa ny, the Strophe

is usua l ly wro ngly ca l led a Verse.

”


TWO RHYTHMS IN A PERIOD 2 5

comment on the idea expressed in the first.This fundamental form o f Period

,i n two Function: if

tne two

Rnytlzntt in

known . The whole o f Hebrew Poetry,

a Period.

portions , i s one o f the oldest art— forms

as well as that o f the Egyptians,i s founded on

it,and grammarians have in all ages recognised

it as a fundamental form fo r Prose sentences .Hence the modern Musical Period , o f two equalportions , satisfies a feeling that i s evidently deeplyseated in the human mind

,and the more simply

and definitely it is constructed , t he more easyi s i t to understand

,and the more popular” i s the

music l ikely to be .Though the two-rhythm Period, and the fourmeasure Rhythm

,must ever be the prevailing form,

a composer o f a high degree o f cult ivation oftenrequires to express hi s ideas in more subtle forms,both o f Period and Rhythm ; and the more musicadvances, and the higher the intellectual capacity o f

the audiences,the more complicated will be these

forms . I t i s more especially wi th the elaborationo f the Period and Rhythm, as practi sed by modernmusicians, that we shall endeavour to deal in the

course o f our work , and we shall hOpe to show thatthese elaborations and complications are not due toa desire to do something out o f the common, butare the genuine art expressions in a highly civili sedand complicated condition o f society.


A singer is compelled by the necessi ty o f takingbreath

,to break up his melody into shorter

or longer sections,and in this matter he is

assisted by certain rules that have arisen as the resulto f experience. The single verse o f poetry i s lookedupon as the normal amount that can be comfortablyrecited or sung in a single breath , and i t has beenthought that the need fo r renewing the breath firstsuggested the arrangement o f words in verse form .

In the simplest form o f song the Verses coincide withthe Rhythms o f the melody, and the breath willtherefore be taken between the Rhythms . If fo r

any reason breath must be taken within the Verse orRhythm

,the singer will avoid doing i t in the middle

o f a word, fo r tha t would make nonsense : he willlikewise avoid doing i t at the beginning o f a ba r,according to an empirical rule

,having i ts origin in

msthetic reasons .1 He w i ll choose, if possible, a

punctuation sign in the text as a place fo r renewinghi s breath , and will, if he i s intelligent, make a virtueo f the necessity imposed on him by nature

,by using

i t as a very powerful means o f rendering hi s songinteresting and attra ctive . And all th i s appli es notonly to the singer o f high- class music

,but also to

the performer o f the most trivial o f songs : i n orderto attract the attention o f his audience

,the music

P h a sing in

1 Because o f the wea kness a sso c ia ted w ith the extreme fo rmo f the Femin ine E nd ing .

PHRASING 27

hall singer finds i t equally necessary with the singero f classical music to study the most effective arrangement o f hi s breathing— places .To the instrumentalist the Caesura

,or cutting

o ff o f the melody , i s equivalent to the a ting in

renewal o f breath to the singer, and , fizzzmm l

equally with the singer,he can render T/ze Co mm

his music intelligible or unintelligible , artisticor inarti stic

,feeble or vigorous, according to the

manner in which he manages his Caesuras . Notthat a brilli ant and correct execution , or a beautifu ltouch

,or a sympathetic expression o f the notes, will

not attract ; but if to all these there is added anintellectual phrasing

,the performance will gain in

expression to an extent that can hardly be realisedby those who have not‘ thought o f the matter .What i s i t that compels us to li sten to one arti st,that makes his performance go through us

,as i t were,

while another,playing the same composition , with

perhaps better mechanical skill,will scarcely move

us,or will even weary us ? The difference lies

chiefly in the power o f giving effect to the rhythmthrough the phrasing ; and thi s power arises eitherfrom the innate rhythmical feeling o f the performer

,

or from a carefully cultivated insight into the secretso f how rhythmical effects are brought about .Wh at we have said refers more especially to

performers on keyed instruments . Nature imposes


on them no necessity fo r cutting their music up intophrases . They can play a piece from beginning toend without a break if they are so di sposed , andtheir li steners

,finding no “ resting places fo r the

mind,

” as a quaint old German writer expresses i t,are wearied with the strain

,or cease to be interested .

With violin i sts,and wi th the whole tribe o f wind

instruments,the case i s the same as with the voice

the limitations o f the bow force the violin i st to adoptsome kind Of phrasing

,and when we Speak Of hi s

” bowing we really refer to hi s phrasing . W indplayers are

,o f course

,under the same necessi ty fo r

renewing their breath as vocalists , and the conductoro f an orchestra sees that they make the best use o fthis necessity .

Musical Rhythm is founded on the division o f

Tempo . Time i nto groups o f Measures , therebeing generally four Measures in each group .

But , i t may be said , music var ies very muchin the pace at which these Measures are takena group o f four such units played la rgo , fo r example,may occupy six or eight times the amount o f timethat i s taken to perform a s imila r group in aprettiu imo movement . How can both equa llysati sfy the rhythmical sense ?It i s undoubtedly possible to perform a properly

constructed melody so slowly as to eliminate thesense o f rhythm , or , even if i t i s maintained, to

TEMPO 29

produce insupportable weariness . Now it will beobserved that in very slow movements there i salways one or both o f two things present : eitherthe normal four-measure Rhythms are broken byCaesuras, or by their harmonic construction , i ntogroups o f two

,or even o f one Measure , or

the Measures themselves are in some way dividedup into small notes . In many cases these subd ivi sions form interesting li ttle rhythmical figureso f their own

,as fo r i nstance in the slow movement

o f Beethoven’s Fourth Symphony . Here themelody i s in very slow notes

,which

,taken by them

selves, and wi thout mentally dividing them,would

be almost impossible to play in equal lengths : butthe accompaniment is made up o f a characteri sticli ttle rhythmical figure, by which not only i s ourdemand fo r small time-dimensions satisfied

,but the

interest o f the music is very greatly increased .

The opposi te extreme, rapidi ty i n place o f slowness, by shortening the time occupied in arriving atthe end o f the rhythm

,produces the same kind o f

mental exhilaration as we feel when passing over theground at a very rapid pace

,as on a galloping horse

,

fo r example .Music makes use o f two species o f Measure

only,

namely,

1 . That in wh ich the a 1e a nd

time occupied by the accented portion My ,”

o f the Measure i s equal to that occupied st affer.


by the unaccented portion . This is called DupleMeasure

,or Even Measure

,and may be repre

sented by any pair o f notes o f equal value , i tbeing understood that the accented note may beeither the first or the second .

OI J ; d

ld! J J; J c

l: etc.

2 . That in which the relation o f the accented tothe unaccented portion o f the Measure is as twoto one

,e.g .

,

I I

Il I

!

A J; oid|; d

l

This i s called Triple,or Uneven Measure , and the

accent may occur on the first or second,or on the

third,when the Measure is divided into three equal

parts .For convenience we have here used the wordnote,” to describe the accented and unaccentedportions o f Measures : but i t must be understoodthat any portion o f a Measure may be representedby a rest, or by a number o f notes

,i n place o f the

one here given . It will also sometimes be conven ientto a llude to the Mea sure— portions as “ Times

,

” or”Va lues ” i nstead o f

“ Notes .”It i s o f the utmost importance to be able to refer

in genera l terms to the fundamental Time ” whichgives the name Duple or Triple respectively to theMeasure, and from now onwards we shall di s

DUPLE AND TRIPLE SPECIES 3 1

tingu ish between Primo ty and Snbsz’

dz'

cny Times,or Notes

,or Values . The Primary Time o f any

Measure i s the value o f that note o f which two goto make up a Duple

,and three to make up a Triple

Measure respectively ; if a Duple Measure contain sthe value

,fo r example

,o f two crotchets

,i ts Primary

Time will be the crotchet : if a Triple Measure contains that o f three crotchets

,i ts Primary Time will

likewise be the crotchet : and the same applies toevery other note—value

,so that the minim

,quaver

,

etc ., can equally be Primary Times . ‘

Where the Primary Times o f a Measure are dividedin to smaller values o f any kind we shall give thesevalues the general name o f Subsidiary notes

,or Sub

s id ia ry values. For we base our Phrasing on thePrimary values o f the Measures

,while the Subsidiary

notes have a function o f their own,which will be ex

plained in due course . As an example in Duple Time .I I

dare Pr1ma ry Notes.

0

J J il

l—

I I are Subsid iary Notes .

Our statement that there are only two kinds o fRhythm- species i s not

,we know

,the orthodox view .

Theori sts usually distingui sh between Two- t ime,

Three— time,Four— time, Five- time and Six- t ime

rhythm,explain ing each in their turn . For purely

scientific purposes thi s classification undoubtedly hasmany advantages : but by going so much into detail


MASCULINE AND FEMININE ENDINGS 33

Ex. 1 .

BEETHOVEN UARTET Op. 1 32— SECOND MOVEMENT).

Ma sc. end ing extended . Ma sc. end ing .

A Feminine Close or Ending i s one in which theconcluding chord o f the cadence i s dela yed by a

suspension or other mea ns,so that i t i s not heard

until after the accent, as in Ex . 2 .

BEETHOVE N (Op.

Feminine end ing.


I t i s supposed to give an effect o f tenderness orsentiment

,or o f less vigour, tha n the Masculine

Ending a nd the difference in\

eth o s i n the two formso f ending holds good o f every kind o f cadence,whether perfect

,ha lf

,deceptive , etc .

Ex. 3.

BRAHMS (Op. 1 1 8 , N o .

Anda n te tenera men te.

Ma sculine end ing . Fem inine end ing .

The movement from which Ex . 3 i s quoted isheaded Anda nte teneramente

,and its frequent use o f

the Feminine Ending a fter the Masculine produces apa rticularly tender effect .

Cno pm (Op. 24, N o .

Allegro n o n troppo .

so tto w ee. Femin ine clo se.

MASCULINE AND FEMININE ENDINGS 35

A rarer form o f Feminine Close,producing, as

a rule,a special effect o f languor

,i s that in which

the concluding chord i s first heard on the final beatOf a Triple bar

,as in Ex . 4 . Here the Rhythm

is divided into two portions by the incomplete FullClose in Bar 2

,a nd ends with a Full Close in Ba r 4 ;

but in both cases the concluding chord fa lls on thefinal beat o f a bar . Chopin uses this form o f cadencein all the repeti tions o f the phrase quoted, but inthe other phrases o f the composi tion he employsthe more usual forms

,though he concludes the whole

wi th the extreme Feminine Ending .

A peculiari ty o f the Polonai se form i s that i tsPeriods fo r the most part end with the extreme formo f feminine ca dence . A Polonai se i s not

,as a rule

,

a languorous yearning kind o f composi tion , and itmay well be asked how i t can make use o f theextreme form o f Feminine Close, which is usuallyassociated with thi s effect

,and which i s frequently

forbidden to young composers fo r thi s reason .

Music delights in occasiona l paradoxes : and justas a composer will often please us by dissonancesthat seem to contravene all our preconceived ideaso f what i s proper, so we shall find that rhythmicalforms are often effective in proportion as they areunexpected .

The question o f whether a piece o f music i sfundamentally in Duple or Triple Measure must


not be entirely decided by the Time S ignature , butTime rather by the position o f the Closes whichSifl a fum mark the ends o f Phrases and Periods ;fo r on the construction o f the Phrase and Period isbased the art o f Rhythm . The normal Phrase i sthat which contains four Mea s ures . A Phrase may ,however , contain three , or five

,or six Measures .

The number o f six is only exceeded in i solatedcases

,where

,fo r i nstance

,a Cadence is extended

beyond its ordinary proportions,or the Rhythm

is purposely made indefin ite , or there is a longsuccession o f repetit ion s o f a very short m otive,whose definite figure has th e effect o f breakingup such a length o f phrase into small and easilyunderstood portions . But the norma l four-measurePhrase is frequently divided by a Caesura or a Closeinto two equal portions : th is division takes a veryimportant place in most class ical music

,and where

i t occurs we sha ll a llude to the two-measure groupsas Half— rhythms .We must then base our conception o f Duple orTriple Rhythm— species on the Phrase

,wi thout re

ga rding the number o f notes in th e individualMeasure, or the manner in which they are di stributed . The relation o f the Species to the TimeS ignatures may be explained a s followsThe Signatures C

, 34 , a re always u sed inconnection with Duple Measure .

TIME SIGNATURE S 37

A Bar may contain the value o f one such Measure,

— Jc J JJJ J JJJ J J

Clo sema rk ing end o f Rhythm.

Rhythm o f 4 Mea sures .

In th i s case we ca ll the Bars S imple. It will beobserved that in numbering the Measures

,we place

the number over the a ccented note o f the individualMeasure, whether the Measure begins wi th anaccented or unaccented note .A Bar may contain two Duple Measures

,as

I st Rhythm . 2nd Rhythm

I

2 3

I4

I

I 2

I3

I4

IC J J J J J J J J J J J J‘J J J

Clo se. Clo se.

E nd o f Rhythm . End o f Perio d.

In thi s case we call i t a Compound Bar.Or more rarely the single Bar may contain asmany as four Measures

,as i n the Andante o f

Beethoven’s Quartet in B flat, Op . 1 30, in which allthe Full Closes occur on the fourth crotchet o f thebar.

I st Rhythm. a nd Rhythm.

1 I| ri

m— i

i4

1l11 n a ; n b a

Clo se. Clo se. End o f Period .


The S igna tures having 3 a s their Numera tor aregenera lly used in connection with Triple Measurebut occa siona lly

,as in Ex . 5 , with Duple .


A nda n tz'

no em poco agi ta te. I s t Rhythm . zud Rhythm.

P sotto vo te e do lee.

Ha lf clo se.

S ignatures ha ving 6 a s their Numerator a re usedequa lly fo r Duple a nd Triple Mea sure . Thus

xs t Rhythm . 2nd Rhythm .

2 4 1 2

r-JL

J‘a t .“ J N l.‘

Clo se. Clo se.

E nd o f Rhythm . E nd o f Perio d .

shows two Rhythms o f Triple Measure,the Ba rs

being compound .

But

TIME SIGNATURES 39

shows one Rhythm o f Duple Measure,in which

the accented and unaccented ha lves o f the measuresare each subdivided into three portions

,and the

Bars are simple . Such a rhythmical scheme i s oftenind icated by the signature and each half measureis then written as a triplet. See Ex . 32 , page 1 20 .

This will appear more clear when we come to theexplanation o f Primary and Subsidiary Rhythm .

S ignatures with 9 as their Numerator a re a lwaysconnected with Triple

,and those having 1 2, will

indicate Duple or Triple,according to the posi tion

o f the Closes .I t i s customary to look upon the Bar as the unit

o f Rhythm,as the equ ivalent o f the Foot Tfie B a r.

o f Poetry ; but th is is misleading , fo r although theBar i s often o f the same va lue as the Measure

,the

two things rarely actually coincide . An i ndiscriminate reference to the Ba r as if i t were aMeasure

,an uni t o f Rhythm

,leads to certain mis

understa ndings . Thus,owing to the prominence in

print o f the Bar— line,i t i s often convenient to refer

to a short section o f a composi tion as beginning orending with such and such bars . But a Rhythm

,

or Phrase,rarely begins and sti ll more rarely ends

at a Bar— l ine,and unless a young musician i s gifted

with a strong rhythmical instinct,or has been well

trained in the art o f Phrasing,a constant reference

to the Bar rather than the Phrase may lead him to


THE BAR 4 1

times almost ludicrous results in the hands o f

inexperienced amateurs .The Bar differs from the Measure in severalwa ys 1 . While the Bar must begin with i ts accentedportion

,the Measure may begin with i ts accented,

or i ts una ccented portion,or with any part o f either

portion .

13x. 6.


Mea sure. Mea sure.

molto p , e so tto {a5

In Ex . 6 the composer has ca refully slurred thesingle Measures in such a way as to ma ke onequarter o f each come before the Bar- l ine, and threequarters after i t . The quarter that precedes theBar- l ine forms the Anacrusis (a word which will bepresently explained), and the Mea sures, though equalto the Bars as to their Time-value

,do not coincide

with them,since each Mea sure occupies portions o f

two successive Bars .2 . The Measure

,though commencing with the

accent, may be, as we have already seen , o f lessvalue than the Bar .


BRAHMS (Op. 76, N o .

Mea sure. Mea sure. Mea sure. Mea sure.

B a r. Femin ine E nd ing .

In Ex . 7 , the Feminine Ending in the second Barshows the end o f the first Rhythm , whose fourMea sures only occupy two Bars .3 . A single Measure may be o f grea ter valuethan the single Ba r

,though this i s rarely the case .

Ex. 8 .

BRAHMS (QU INTET Op.

Mea sure. Mea sure. Meas ure. Mea sure.

Meas ure.

In Ex . 8 , a Period o f 3 time Measures is succeeded by a Period o f Measures

,though fo r

the sake o f i ts proper a ccentuation the composerwrites 7

2;time Bars . The single Measure i s here

therefore o f the value o f two Bars o f 1) time .

The Measures may absolutely coincide wi th the

THE BAR

bars in every respect,but this i s rare

,and is

,as a

rule,only used fo r specially languid effects, as in

Ex . 9 . I t generally involves the use o f femininecloses

,and thi s kind o f

BRAHMS (Op. 1 1 6, N o .

Anda n te.

coincidence o f Bar and Measure i s the only caseto which the expression “ Four— bar Rhythm ” or“ Three—bar Rhythm

,

” and so on,i s strictly appli

cable .The idea that the Bar and the Measure are thesame thing i s

,however

,very prevalent : the tyranny

o f the Bar having made itself felt more or less eversince i ts introduction from the Tablatures into the

Staff Notation some three centuries ago . Hencethe word Anacrusi s, to be treated in the next chapter,i s convenient in connection with the construction o f

the Measure .In 3. (or g) time, the accentuation o f the notes

is sometimes temporarily changed,so that fD ieereoie.


instead o f I-I—i m we have m m r

—i fo r a

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

time,followed by a return to the n orma l a ccen tua

tion . This most useful device,which i s constantly

a pplied in modern music,may be conven i ently

alluded to a s a “ Cha nge o f Diaeresi s ,” the wordDiaeresis mea ning the distribution o f notes a ccordingto thei r a ccen tua tion

, the arrangemen t o f the notes,

in a given passage o f melody or harmony .

CHAPTER III

The An a crusis h Prelim ina ry Mea sures— The Overlap— RhythmlessMus ic— The Fo ur-ba r Phra se— Accen ts , struck o r om i ttedRhythm ica l Accen tua tio a he Ma teria l o f which Rhythm i s

fo rmed— Differen t Rhythm ica l Schemes used s imulta neo uslyTh e Three Kinds o f Accen tua ti o n— Syllabic a nd Mel isma t icSo ng

— Rhythms w ithin Rhythms

A RHYTHM may commence , as we have seen , witha n accented note , or with an una ccented T3,

note,or with a group o f unaccented

notes . When it commences with a n unaccented,or

with a group o f unaccented notes, the note or groupthat precedes the first accent h a s been given thename o f Anacrusis by modern Rhythm icis ts , fromdvdxpo vcrts, a term used in ancient Greek poetry ;and as this very useful word i s rapidly becomingfamiliar to students o f Rhythm

,we have no hesi

ta tio n in using it in this work .

The Anacrusis gives to the Measure what hasbeen called a “ Ri sing Accentuation ” that is tosay

,the material rises to its accent , instead o f falling

from it . Such an arrangement helps to make thephrase vigorous

,and compels the attention o f the


auditor. I t i s o f great msthetic value, and willrarely be found absent in class ical compositions ,unless they are disti nctly i ntended to be o f a veryreposeful , soothing, nature . The Anacrusis doesnot necessarily make its first appearance with theopening o f the movement : thus , in Ex . 1 0 thefirst mea sure has no Anacrusis , but in the firstbar the a na cru s ic form o f mea sure commences ,being indicated by the slur which joins the lastnote o f this bar to the first o f the next . Thelast note Of the first bar therefore forms an integralpart o f the second measure , being its Anacrusis ,a nd thi s construction o f the measures con tinues tothe last bar o f the period . It recommences withthe second measure o f the second period , a nd willbe found to predominate throughout the piece : andin some places the composer impresses i t forciblyby the sforz a ndo .

E x. 1 0.

BRAHMS (Op. 1 1 6, N o .

1 st Rhythm.

An a e. Ana c. Ana c.

THE ANACRUSIS 4 7

and Rhythm.

Ana c . Ana c.

The second piece in the same collection (Op . 1 1 6)the Intermezzo in A minor

,from which Ex . 9 i s

quoted,has no Anacrusis throughout its course .

The movemen t i s o f a reposeful chara cter,

a nd

i ts measures are accordingly o f the Fa llingorder .A due apprecia tion o f the value o f the Anacrusisis o f the greatest importance fo r a good renderingo f classical music . By its mea ns not only do manywell—known passages gain very greatly in effect

,but

others that may seem obscure will often become clearand interesting

,if they can be played with an o bser

vance o f the Anacrusis . I t i s remarkable , fo r instance

,h o w few pian ists understand the significance

o f the first half— bar o f the Finale o f the FuneralMarch Sonata . The passage i s nearly always playedas if i t commenced with an accent , thus

But the first half-bar is an Anacrusis,which gives


PRELIMINARY MEASURES 49

into special prominence owing to the shape o f themelody .

It mu st not be supposed that when a piececommences with a full bar its measures pro/imam },

will necessari ly coincide with the bars,

or that the Anacrusis will be wanting . On thecontrary, in many cases the first bar , or the firsttwo bars , or even the accent only o f the first bar

,

are merely introductory,to call attention as i t

were,to the Rhythms that are about to follow .

They are outside the Rhythm proper,and are

equivalent to the few words that precede a speech,

such as “ Ladies and Gentlemen , which have noconnection with what follows further than to ca llattention to the fact that something is about to besaid . There is this difference

,however

,between

the Notes or Measures we speak o f and theopening o f a speech

,that in the case o f music

the introductory material is often repeated,either

at the end o f the first Rhythm,or later in the

movement,since , though at first used as an ex

clamation,i t i s frequently o f suffi cient interest to

make part o f the tone material o f the piece lateron .

When there is an Introductory Measure , suchas we are contemplating , the Rhythm proper commenees with the second Measure (or third , as thecase may be), and i s usually provided with the

D


Anacrusis . The matter depends on the positiono f the Closes or Caesuras.Let us examine an example from Brahms . His

Capriccio Op . 1 1 6, N O . 3 , opens with a complete

Bar,a nd looks a s if i ts Measures must coincide

with its Bars . But this i s far from being the case .

Ex. 1 1 .

BRAHMS (Op. 1 1 6, N o . Ca rnrccxo .

A llegro appa rsz'

o na to .

Ha lf-measure. Mea sure. Meas ure.

The first half- bar is extraneous to the rhythm iti s a development o f the idea o f an introductory chordor note, as a kind o f exclamation

,to call attent ion .

In pla ce Of the introductory chord,Brahms here

anticipates the figure with which he i s going toend his half- rhythms

,and presupposes an imaginary

phrase, whose la st half-measure only i s hea rd, as anintroduction to what i s to come

,and the Measures

,

as shown in Ex . 1 1 , commence on their unaccentedportions, therefore, with the Anacrusi s, while aturbulent character is given by the sforz a ndos onthe unaccented portions .

PRELIMINARY MEASURES 5 1

The same device i s used by him in hi s D majorSymphony, where i t will be noticed that the openingbar

,played by the basses a lo ne

,recurs at the close

o fea ch of the Rhythms . See Ex. 5 7 , 5 8 , pp. 2 1 0-2 1 1 .

We shall fi'

equently have to a llude to similarcases in which movements commence with a fullbar : the device i s freely used by every composer,and

'

i t will be convenient to refer to the introductorynote or notes as the “

P reliminary Measure .”The chaining together , as it were , o f Rhythms and

Periods by causing their final accent to T3,

coincide with,or in other words

,to over OW ”?

lap,the first accent, o f the succeeding phrase is another

o f the resources known to the Older composers,

but more in evidence with the moderns . I t ari seswhen the final accent o f a phrase coincides withthe first accen t o f the succeeding phrase . I t i sone o f the most useful devices at the command o f

the composer fo r the avoidance o f too defini te acutting up o f his music into sections

,whereby a

mechanical precision would be produced,which

would make the m elodies easy to understand, but

would be apt to produce monotony if continuedtoo long. See Ex . 44 , page 1 5 5 .

By means o f the Overlap a continuity o f Meloscan be carried on while the regularity o f the rhythmical phrases i s maintained, without the too frequentuse o f the Deceptive Cadence . To us English one


o f the most familiar o f Overlaps, though we do notrecognise i t as such

,i s that which occurs in the

middle o f the Anglican Chant, and which eliminatesthe monotony which would ensue if the Psalmswere sung to constant repeti tions o f a pair o f equalRhythms . It i s thi s Overlap that results in theseven—mea sure Period

,which has sometimes puzzled

foreign observers o f our Chant . I t may be exemplified by a compari son o f a well-known chant

,

borrowed from a melody by Beethoven , with i tsoriginal form

,the two examples being quoted in

the same key fo r easier comparison .

E x. 1 2 .

BEETHOVEN SONATA PATHETIQUE . TRANSPOSED .

zud Rhythm .

Overla p.

3 4 II I z

Overlap.

THE OVERLAP 53

I t will be seen that the eight measures o f theBeethoven Period are reduced to seven in theChant , by causing the final ' note o f the first Rhythmto coincide with

,or overlap the first note o f the

second Rhythm .

This i s an instance in which the Overlap forestalls the end o f the Rhythm : the more usual formis that in which the first Rhythm is extended tofive Measures

,so that its Close does not fall in the

fourth, but in the fifth Measure,and the first note

o f the next Rhythm enters thus within the concluding Rhythm .

In such a ca se i t often results in producing aPeriod o f

,say eight Measures

,without any per

ceptible break between its two Rhythms ; but i t isnot often used within a Period in thi s ma nner .Far more frequen tly it occurs at the end o f thePeriod, so as to join the Period to the next Period,rather than the Rhythm to its companion . Whenthe second Rhythm o f a Period i s extended to fiveMeasures or six Measures in such a way as to causethe final note to coincide wi th the first note o f thenext Rhythm

,the object i s to carry on the Melos

without a break . When, on the contrary, the secondPeriod anticipates the close o f the first

,entering

too soon , as i t were, as we have seen in the twoRhythms o f the Anglican Chant

,the Object i s to

arouse attention . The apparent seven-measure


Rhythms o f the Waltz in Act I I I . Scene 5 o f theMeistersinger a re the result o f overlapping on thesame principle a s tha t o f the Anglican Chant . ThePeriods a re o f eight ba rs i n length , but each Periodafter the first enters a bar sooner tha n it i s expected .

Th e effect i s wonderfully sprightly a nd bright ,but tha t the Periods are really norma lly o f eightBa rs can easily be proved by playing the figure

twice over each time i t occurs, when a regularorthodox “

four— bar” Rhythm will result .The seven-measure Period here ca uses us nosense o f a wa nt o f balance , fo r Wagner i s sufficientlymaster o f hi s craft to be a ble to employ it witheffect , but if an unskilful or inexperien ced composer endeavours to use an Overlap in thi s way,without having previously well esta bli shed hisfundamental rhythmical basi s, or without a sui ta bleha rmonic basi s

,he will be apt to produce an un

comforta ble feeling o f want o f balance,and we shall

feel that the music is somehow weak in i ts Rhythm .

Overla ps can be very effective in the orchestra,

where a new set o f instruments can be m a de toenter unexpectedly , or in a double chorus , wherethe second chorus ca n enter as the first fini shes i tsphrase . But the chief use o f the Overlap in modern

THE OVERLAP 5 5

music is to produce that continuity o f Melos o f

which Richard Wagner was the first great exponentin our days . For by delaying the end o f a phrasethat would naturally be o f four Measures, but i sextended to five so as to overlap its successor, theperiods are made to melt imperceptibly into oneanother

,and thus to carry the mind ever onwards

on the stream o f musical sound,without an apparent

break .

To compare the Older method with the new, letus imagine a traveller

,advancing through beautiful

country on a road provided with prominent milestones

,which

,while they make him aware o f his

progress,do not in the least interfere with his

enjoyment o f the scenery . So i s i t with him wholistens to the older classical music, with its wellpunctuated Rhythms and Periods . And the sametraveller

,walking through equally beautiful scenery,

in which the milestones are also there, but areconcea led under luxuriant foliage, i s like him wholistens to the continuous Melos o f much o f the bestmodern music . To construct music that i s fundarmentally rhythmical

,and yet has i ts milestones ”

arti stically concealed,demands technical ab ili ty o f

the highest order .Another kind o f Overlap , made familia r to us byBach

,i s exemplified in the following quotation from

Beethoven’s Quartet in A minor,Op . 1 32


THE OVERLAP 5 7

E x. 1 4.

BEBTHOVEN (QUARTET Op.

I st Rhythm.

2

” W

Overlap.

zud Rhythm.

The four-measure Rhythm here contains two di stinct figures, one founded on crotchets, the otheron quavers

,and the phrase is caused to overlap

i tself i n such a manner that the contrasting figuresare heard at the same time . Thi s i s merely anothercase o f one rhythmical figure supplementing another

,

a device which gives so much delight to all,whether

learned or unlearned .

Music that i s composed in modern tonality a nd

harmony,but i s devoid o f intelligible rhythmical

structure, i s apt to be characterless and insipid ,


unless the composer is strong enough to express ,Rfiytfim/g“

deliberately a nd consciously, a feeling o f

Mm" mystery by Melos alone . The Polyphonicchurch composers had this ability

,and Richard

Wagner has poin ted out that the mystical beautyo f the music o f P a lestrina and his contemporariesis due to the absence o f definite rhythm therefrom .

The modern great masters are beginning to recogni se tha t a n occasional a bsence o f rhythmical formis ca pa ble o f being intensely emotional . R ichardStrauss has seen thi s, and has used the device i nseveral places in hi s Italian Symphony

,with mar

vellon s effect . In the first movement,entitled

On the Campa gna,

”the opening passa ge

,with i ts

massive pi a nissz'

mo chords , in which there is a n

occa siona l change o f ha rmony,but no appa rent

rhythmica l form,reflects the feelings that must arise

in most persons when they first gaze upon certainaspects o f the va st

,silent

,and mysterious Campa gna .

And when rhythmical figures begin to be heard,

they come a t first spasmodica lly,as if the thoughts

only gradua lly began to collect themselves and takeshape ; eventually the rhythmical form becomesdefinite .And a gain , in the same work , the dazzl ing maze

o f p i a nissz'

mo sound with which the third movementopens, On the shore at Sorrento ,” i s qu ite withoutrecogni sable rhythmical form . I t seems to reflect

RHYTHMLESS MUSIC 59

the almost unbearable brilliance o f the rippling seaunder the influence o f an Italian sun . Such passageso f rhythmless music are very daring, but they arejustified by the result

,fo r they appeal intensely to the

emotions in connection with the “ programme” towhich they are joined .

Owing to its predominance,the Four-bar

Phrase "

(with its divisions into two T3, Faw n ,!

and two ), is generally looked upon as fi rm"

the one and only practicable form o f Rhythm,any departures from it being attributed to capriceon the part o f the composer . Tha t this , however ,i s not the right View

,we shall hope to show ; fo r

the use o f other than “ four-bar phrases i s notdue to caprice

,or seeking after novelty

,but to a

growing appreciation o f the aesthetic value o f

various forms o f phrase other than the normal .The ordina ry construction o f a Four-measure

Rhythm is shown in Duple time in Ex 1 5 .

E x. 1 5 .

MOZART SONATA.

l s t Rhythm .

Cass .

Caes. P Ha lf-clo se.


Caes ura .Fnll clo se.

Here we have a Period o f two Rhythms, eachdivided into half- rhythms by a Caesura . The firstRhythm ends with the orthodox half-close in themasculine form

,the second wi th the (i ncomplete)

full close, a lso i n th e masculine form . The bars ,

each containing one Measure,a re simple .

Ex. 1 6 .

BEETHOVEN (Op.

I s t Rhyth

zud Rhythm .

Ha lf-clo se.

THE FOUR-BAR PHRASE 6 1

Ex . 1 6 shows a Period o f two Rhythms inTriple Measure . Here

,again

,the bars are simple,

but it ’will be observed that the passage commenceswith an unaccented note

,that i s

,with the Anacrusi s .

As the signa ture i s 3, the measures must consisto f three quavers each

,and since this unaccented

note i s an integral portion o f the melody,i t follows

that each Measure commences with an unaccentednote, and overlaps i ts bar- l ine, as shown by the shortperpendicular lines in our example . This i s whatwe mean when we say tha t the Measure and theBar, although they are frequently, and in modernmusic nearly always

,equal in time-value

,do not

often coincide with each other . On the recognitiono f th is principle depends to a large extent an intelligent method o f phrasing .

The space o f time occupied by a Rhythm is,as

a ru le , filled with sound,except fo r the

Accents,Caesuras that may occur In It : and 1ts m o ck or

melody may be more prominent than omi tm!’

its rhythmical structure , or the rhythm may bemore noticeable than the melody

,or

,what i s more

usual,both are o f equal importance

,as in the two

examples quoted here.When the accentuation i s made prominent

,so

that it attracts attention more than the melody,we

feel a pleasant exhilaration, which i s the result o f

the accents acting on the mind in such a way


as to stir the physical rather than the emotionalfaculties.If, on the contrary, melody and harmony are usedwithout the support o f an adequate rhythmical basis,the music i s apt to be weakly and sentimental .But it must not be considered that such music i swithout i ts value . Human nature is so infinitelyvaried that i t requires an infinity o f differentmateria ls to express i ts emotions : and music canperhaps adapt i tself more than a ny other art to theinfinite varieties o f human temperament .But Rhythms

,and more especially those o f four

Measures,are not necessa ri ly completely filled with

sound, nor are all the accents necessar i ly heard .

Though a hard and fast line cannot be drawn , i tmay be said in a general way that when Rhythmsbegin to omit any o f their accents

,they begin to

appeal to the imagination and the intellect morei than to the physical faculties . For it requires aIh igher degree o f culture to recognise a thing thati s only hinted at than a thing that i s plainly setbefore one . The omission o f accents i s not necessar ily made by means o f rests : a cadence can occur

,

fo r instance, on the third accent , and its chordsustained over the fourth . In thi s case

,though the

Rhythm is filled with sound,the last accent has to

be imagined . But h ere again may be a differencefo r the closing chord on the third accent i s often

ACCENTS 63

repeated in some way on the fourth : and in thi scase the appeal i s to the physical side o f us, and iti s the more pleasing in that i t i s unexpected .

But with our power o f using two or more rhythmical schemes at once we do not often leave thefina l accent entirely unheard : fo r though it may beomitted in the Primary accentuation

,i t i s generally

heard in the Subsidiary : and thus the two rhythmsreact on one another

,the Subsidiary supporting and

supplementing the Primary,and making it easier to

understand : the imagination i s appealed to by thePrimary, the physical nature by the Subsidiary .

Some Rhythms have each alterna te Measure morestrongly accented than the rest . This ”ya m

-74 1

feature,which is not present in all

Rhythms,i s so delicate that its existence has been

contested by some theori sts, yet we have, after

due con sideration,come to believe that it throws

light on many passages in classical music,and

that some composers,at any rate

,are aware o f

it , and that this is what leads them to expresstheir ideas in compound rather than simple bars .For the essence o f the compound bar is that thefirst o f its two measures i s more strongly accentedthan the second

,in however slight a degree . The

Opponents o f the view we take can point to the factthat composers

,especially Bach

,will frequently place

the first note o f a given subject in the first or second


RHYTHMICAL ACCENTUATION 65

Accentuation . I t was formerly the custom to playthi s subject with equal accent on each bar . But bya Ri sing Accentuation i t gains in effect to anincredible degree : let the reader try i t on the piano,first without special accent, then as follows : 1

Still more does a certain passage in the Scherzoo f the same symphony gain by this treatment

,and

we have seen a conductor, i n order to intensify theRi sing Accentuation

,beat thus

do wn

The effect was electrical : the passage i s energetic,

however i t i s taken , but the above beat gave it aforce and fire that would have rejoiced the heart o fthe composer . Other cases will appear from timeto time in the course o f our work .

We must now speak o f the material out o f whichPeriods , with their two or more Rhythms , Tn Ma teriel

qfwnz’

c/t

annm aus tap on the table a series o f crotchets

, formed.

giving an accent to each alternate tap,thus

are constructed . As an experiment,let

1 It must be remembered tha t the o rchestra gives fa r mo re effect

to such nuance: than the piano ca n po ssibly give.


J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J,

While tapping,let us mentally form a melody o f

sixteen notes,one to each crotchet, with a Caesura

a fter the fourth accent . We shall then have imagineda Period o f two Rhythms in Duple Mea sure , commencing wi th the Ana crusis, and ending wi th aMasculine Close .But to a li stener the taps will represent nothingmore than a meaningless series o f sounds, akin tothe ticking o f a clock .

Now let us ma ke a second seri es o f sixteen taps,but instead o f their being a ll equa l , let two out o fthe series (one in the first and one in the secondRhythm)be longer than the rest , and i ts successorshorter , so a s to form a dotted crotchet followed bya quaver

,thus

The li stener will now immediately perceive tha tit i s Rhythm we are tapping

,fo r the greater relative

va lue o f the dotted crotchets si ngles them out fromtheir neighbours, a nd gives them a special accent

,

or special importa nce,which clea rly indicates the

rhythmical form o f the whole seri es o f taps .In the first instance we tapped the fundamental or

Primary values o f a series o f eight Duple Mea sures .The fact o f all the taps being o f equal dura tion ,

THE MATERIAL OF RHYTHM 67

though we accented ea ch pair, gave the li stener nopoint on which hi s mind could rest .1 In the secondinstance we caused our sixteen taps to form anintelligible rhythmical whole merely by making twoout o f the series more prominent than the rest , andthereby giving the li stener a point in each set o feight on which hi s mind could rest .To continue our experiment . Let us write outand harmonise a simple melody o f sixteen crotchets,using no other kind o f note . We shall be able tomake the form o f the Period qui te clear now, byplacing harmonic cadences at the eighth and Six

teenth crotchets . Thus we shall call Harmony toour aid in making our rhythm clear

,fo r the harmonic

closes will give the mind places on which it can rest .Let us alter the melody by lengthening two o f

i ts notes in the manner suggested fo r our secondseries o f taps, and we shall find that i t at oncebecomes more striking and vigorous . This i sbecause, by bringing two o f the notes o f the melodyinto greater prominence tha n the rest

,we have made

1 Th e eye, equa lly w ith the ea r, is incapable o f enumera ting a

number o f s im i lar articles pla ced clo se to o ne a n o ther a t equa ld ista nces, w itho ut externa l a ss istance. This ca n ea s i ly be pro vedby pla c ing a number o f pin s in a n unbro ken row a nd trying to

co un t them from a sho rt d ista nce. Un less the eye ca n find

defin ite resting pla ces, such a s o bjects nea r the pin s, o r the perso n

co un ting is nea r eno ugh to po in t a t ind ividua l pins, he w i llfind it impo ssible to co unt mo re tha n fo ur o r five.


the rhythm speak fo r i tself, in addition to the

assi stance i t has from the ha rmonic construction .

We have made a contra st in the relat ive values o fthe notes . This kind o f contrast i s one o f themost valuable elements that the composer has atha nd in the material out o f which he constructs hi sPeriods and Rhythms, and the elementary principleo f varying the relative va lues o f notes i s capableo f i nfinite extension

,so tha t the possib ili ties o f

variety in the treatment o f the ordinary eightmeasure Period are inexhaustible .On thi s principle i s founded the sub-divi sion o f

the Primary value o f the Mea sure into notes o f

smaller value ; and such sub-divi sions will groupthemselves naturally into accented and unaccentednotes

,just as i s the case wi th the Primary values .

Thus,fo r example, the" t ime value o f two minims

forming a single Duple Measure,might be sub

divided in some such way as thi s,3

AI

in which case the upper notes will still form a singleMeasure , while the smaller notes will at the sametime group themselves In pa irs or triplets

,as shown

,

each o f which has i ts own proper accentuation . Todistingui sh the accentuation o f the minims in the

THE MATERIAL OF RHYTHM 69

a bove example from that o f the smaller notes, werefer to i t as Primary Accentua tion , and the otheras Subsidiary Accentuation .

The composer has yet another rhythmical resourceat his disposal . He can divide h is Dfi m ,

Mea sures in one manner fo r hi s melody, Sb

ffl miml

6 E7116!

and m a totally d ifferent manner fo r the med gm !.

accompaniment, so that two or more ”WW /J’

arrangements o f the rhythmical material a re heardat the same time . The simultaneous use o f twoor more different rhythmical motives

,familiar though

it i s to us,i s one o f the most rema rkable character

istics o f music . Metre i s to Poetry what Rhythmis to music : yet i t i s impossible to conceive o f tworeci ters uttering simultaneously twometrica l schemesdiffering from one another in all except the positiono f their accents . The result would be utter nonsense ; and yet in Music some o f the subl imesteffects are due to the simulta neous use o f severa ldifferent rhythmical arrangements

,such a s would

produce senseless confusion if applied to spokenPoetry .

Rhythmical figures, however ingenious, ca n neverhave their full aesthetic value apart from melody o fsome kind . If a drummer were to beat a givenfigure , and another drummer played another figureat the same time on a second drum tuned tothe same note as the first

,the effect o f the two


drums would be to the li stener,not two simul

ta neo us figures,but one only . Thus :

I s t drum. JTj‘ ¢r =

am J J ' 5

zud drum . JI

Jr? D

r.

l J J .1 5 A

Resulta nt. m i ?Jm J—

a m J?

But if o ne/o f the a bove rhythmica l schemes werepla yed on a drum,

a nd the other in a melody on a

fife, fo r example, the resultant, i nstead o f a monotonous succession o f simila r Measures, would bea spiri ted ma rch . Hence it follows that to producetha t combina tion o f rhythms which i s so essentiala pa rt o f modern music

,we require tw o contrasting

voices or melodies or instruments : mere rhythmwi thout melody does not suffice .Different rhythmical schemes must generally agreein ha ving their chief accents a t the beginning o f a

bar, or o f a chief portion o f a ba r Thi s unwri ttenrule i s sometimes broken , however, by modern composers , w ith e xcellent effect , as in Ex . 2 8 , page 1 09 ,and the art o f Rhythm seems likely to develop inthi s a nd other directions hitherto unthought o f.

Putting exceptions aside, most o f the cha rm o f

modern music consi sts o f the combination o f tworhythmical schemes, one o f which enhances or completes the other, a s we saw in the example o f thetwo drums . One o f the simplest applications o f

COMBINED RHYTHMICAL SCHEMES 7 1

the principle i s when a song containing, fo r example ,a succession o f crotchets in i ts melody, i s a ccom

panied on the piano by quavers . The rhythmicalschemes o f all polyphonic music are a more or lesshighly developed applicat ion o f the principle hereexemplified .

From what has been said , i t will be seen thatthere are three kinds o f accentuation , T/ée Tm,

each o f which fulfils it s own special Kindr of.

function .

Accentua ti on.

The first i s the Pr mary a ccentuation , which affectsone note o f the two or t e t ree t go to makeup the Duple or Triple Prima ry Measure . Itforms the foundation o f rhythm in general

,in the

sense that rhythm prima ri ly ari ses out o f thearrangement o f alternately a ccented and unaccentedfactors .

But a s ingle Measure, although i t i s a rhythmicalunit, cannot be recogni sed as such by itself. Twomeasures at least are required to be hea rd beforewe can know what species i s intended . And as oneo f the two Measures tha t a re required to sati sfy oursense o f rhythm is frequently o f more importancethan the other, there ari ses the second kind o f

a ccentuatio n, which we ha ve named the Rhythmi calntu Its function is to group the easures

together i n pairs, i n a“

Ri sing” or “ Falling”order, so as to produce energy or tranquilli ty, as


ACCENTUATION 7 3

Subsidiary rhythm plays a large part in vocal aswell as in instrumental music . I t i s generally whati s alluded to when the “ rhythm ”

o f a piece isspecially mentioned . The normal four-measurephrase i s so taken fo r granted that i t i s often lookedupon as having nothing to do with rhythm

,and

only when measures are sub-divided in some specialmanner does the ordinary li stener notice that there‘

i s anything remarkable about the rhythm .

” 1

Verse can be set to music in two ways,but is

usually set in a mixture o f both . TheSylla bz

'

c a nd

first way Is what the Grego rIa n i sts call Me/imza tic

Syllabic ,” in which each syllable has aSong.

single note , so that the Rhythms o f music correspo nd more or less closely with the Verses o f

the Poetry. The second manner is the “ Melismatic

,

” i n which single syllables are given tomore than one note

,or they are even spread

out,so that they extend beyond the single portion

,

accented or unaccented, o f the musical Measure .

The first way is equivalent to the Primary,the

second to the Subsidiary rhythm o f instrumentalmusic .In purely syllab ic melody the musica l rhythm

corresponds to the metre o f the words,each syllable

1We n o ticed la tely a n a rticle in which the w riter advo ca tedthe d isuse o f the wo rd Rhythm a ltogether a s appl ied to the

fo ur-mea sure phra se !


having a single Primary note.1 In Meli smaticmelody

,subsidia ry rhythm plays a pa rt . Meli s

matic song seems to belong to an earlier sta ge inthe development o f any pa rticular style o f musicthan Syllabic

,fo r the earliest Gregorian melodies

we possess,and the ancient Greek and Armenian

church music a re extremely florid,whereas in later

times they became more syllabic , as , fo r exa mple , inthe “ Proses ” o f the Roman Church . Anotherinstance occurs to us in I talian opera , which becameremarkable fo r the florid character o f i ts melodies

,

and only in recen t years have thefiorz'

ture so familiarto an older generation o f opera — goers begun todisappear under a more highly developed conditiono f the art .The reason fo r thi s seems to li e in human nature .The avera ge ma n can appreciate skill in performancemore easily than the expression o f deep emotion ;hence hi s attention i s more attra cted by bri ll ianceo f execution than by earnestness o f expression . As

the vocal art advances i ts audi tors become morecultivated, the externals a re toned down

,and a

deeper expression becomes possible to the composerwithout fear o f being misunderstood . If we compare the Melos o f Wagner and hi s successors withthat o f the pre—Wagner composers we shall be1 As, fo r instance, in

“ Go d save the King, a nd in mo st

church hymns.

SYLLABIC AND MELISMATIC SONG 7 5

struck with its more syllabic character : thefioriture o fMozart

,fo r example, find no place in Wagner ’s music .

But while vocal melodies become more simpleand expressive in the matter o f rhythm, the a ccom

paniments become more elabora te . Instrumentalmusic has developed later than vocal, and becomesmore and more important and expressive . Thepower that has been added to instrumental musicby the development o f Subs id iary rhythm i s verygreat . I t ca n form an outward and non- essentialornamentation : i t can be a means o f display : i tcan increase the attraction o f a melody which hasbeen previously heard in a s impler form, and finallyi t can be a means o f intense emotional expression .

In the last way i t i s used by Brahms in hisIntermezzo

,Op . 1 1 7 , No . 2

, o f which Ex . 1 8

shows the opening , four—measure Rhythm, whosephrasing

,as given by the composer, i s quite Greek

in its digni ty and mastery o f rhythmical effect .

E x. 1 8 .


Anda n te n on troppo , e con mo lto erpressz’

one.


In Ex . 1 9 we give the melody alone , deprived o f

i ts Subsidia ry rhythm . It i s in severe Iambics,Ex. 1 9 .

v‘

C‘

V

like the Scherzo o f Beethoven’s so - called Moonlight ” Sona ta

,a nd the composer intensifies the

phra sing by causing the last beat o f ea ch ba r to beconnected to the succeeding bar as an Anacrusi s .

E x . 20.

—a —J

SYLLABIC AND MELISMATIC SONG 7 7

Ex . 20 shows that the Subsidiary rhythm naturallydivides i tself into four phrases o f three Duple(Subsidiary) Measures each , and these SubsidiaryMeasures are further divided into Subsidiary Accentua tio n o f their own . Moreover

,each Subsidiary

Measure has its own Anacrusi s,so that in Ex . 1 8 the

Anacrusi s o f each bar i s intensified by a SubsidiaryAnacrusis . We have

,therefore

,in this piece , a

combination o f Rhythm within Rhythm , RbyMmwhich gives a wonderful resource fo r w itnt

'

n

expression,unknown to the Greeks , and

Myth”

yet following the laws found i n their theory .

They would have perforce been content with the

pure Iambics o f Ex . 1 9 . We a re able to go further,and to ma ke a subordina te rhythm accompany theIambics

,on principles that the Greeks themselves

would have acknowledged to be in accordance withtheir arti st ic theory .

It will be noticed that in sett ing out the Subs id ia ry rhythm in Ex . 20 we give the completeRhythms as o f three Measures each , instead o f theusual four . This brings us to one o f the mostimportant o f modern rhythmical developments,namely

,the grouping o f Measures by threes, or

fives,or in some other number than four . Such

groupings were occasionally employed in i solatedPeriods by Mozart and Haydn , a nd by Beethovenin hi s Ninth Symphony , in the Funeral March


Sonata (last movement), as well as in hi s QuartetOp . 1 0 1 . But the older composers seemed tolook upon thi s as a departure from the rule, thatmight be misunderstood

,so they ca refii lly made

the matter very evident by their harmonic construction

,while Beethoven sometimes labelled the

passage in the score .Modern composers have a rrived at a fuller mastery

over these Rhythms,or perhaps i t i s more correct

to say that modern audiences are more able toassimilate them, and instead o f a tentative Periodhere and there

,we now find whole sections

,nay

whole compositions,in which the three or five

mea sure rhythm prevails,and the four-measure i s

the exception , and a peculia r piqua ncy a nd Charmis thus produced . We sha ll go fli rther i nto thi squestion in another cha pter .

CHAP TER IV

E ffect of Lo nger a nd Sho rter N o tes o n Accentua tio n— Ancien tTheo ry and Mo dern Pra ct ice —Combined Rhythm-spec iesWell-ma rked Rhythm— Influence o f N o te-va lues o n th e

[E sthetic Chara cter o f Mus ic— Repetit io n o f Defin ite Rhyth ~m ica l Figures— Synco pa tio n

IN any melodic figure containing notes o f unequalvalue there will be a tendency to feel Ethe longer notes as having more weight , Long” 4 724

S/torter N ote:more accent , than the shorter . Thus , M Amm m

if we write Wi thout bars tion

J J J J J J a' J a

'

we shall feel that the natural accentuation o f thenotes i s

a! J J a

' J J ol

cl J

that o f the last three minims being established bythat o f the first two Measures : fo r when once arhythmical figure or scheme has made i tself felt, themind desires i ts accents to continue in their course,even if the note-va lues change .


NOTE—VALUES AND ACCENT 8 1

notes i s one o f the commonest forms in both modernand ancient music

,and i s known as the four- t ime

Measure . “

If i t i s desired to divide both portionso f the Measure into two notes each , and yet retainthe strength o f the accent , we can use the figureI

J J\J J or J J J J‘ in which the longer noteobtains the feeling o f a stronger accent on accounto f i ts greater prominence .In Triple Time the most natural form ,

the onem “ ,

that we most quick ly feel,i s that known to the

I

Greeks as the Trochee , C,‘J, or its inversion the

Iambus, J J ,

in which the accented note is in theproportion o f two to one o f the unaccented . So

strongly i s thi s felt by us that when we divide thelong into two equa l short notes differing in pitch

,

we not infrequently join them by a ‘slur,so a s to

strengthen the impression o f accent,thus

I

SE EWhen a ll three notes are joined by a slur a smootheffect i s produced and the opposi te i s the result whenthe a ccented note i s detached

,and the other two

are slurred,fo r in thi s case a disturbance o f accent

takes place which will be di scussed under Syncopa tio n .


By dividing the accented portion o f a TripleMeasure in to two unequal notes , o f which the firstis greater than the second

,we enhance the weight o f

the first,and thus give i t additional accent, as we

have already shown with regard to Duple Measure ,

thus : J . I J If we give two subsidiary notes tothe second half o f the accented portion , thusI

J J! J we to some extent weaken the accen tand in this case

,if we wish to retain the relative

force o f the accented note, we must make a slight{forza ndo on it .

We ca n give subsidiary notes to the unaccented

portion , thus 01 J: I a nd the accented note will

stand out more strongly than if the unaccentedportion were undivided .

We can divide the accented and unaccented por

tions into equal subsidia ry notes, thus :This gives a smooth a nd flowing effect to themusic, and i s much used in accompaniments toPrima ry-note melodies to produce movement without special emphasis . Thus

, fo r example,the

accompaniment o f the opening troch aic subject o fthe Eroica Symphony i s in equal subsidiary notesthe Andante con moto o f Brahms ’ PianoforteQuartet in G minor, and the passage from his Dmajor Symphony quoted in Ex . 60 Show similar

NOTE-VALUES AND ACCENT 83

treatment,and other instances will easi ly occur to

the reader .When used in slow tempo , the divis ion o f theTriple Measure into six subsidiary notes i s oftenconnected with Rhythms o f two Measures each ,and the Periods are o f four

,not eight Measures .

We shall di scuss th i s form o f Period later .In all that we have said in thi s chapter, we have

referred only to the accentuation that i s felt in stinctively i n connection with the various arrangementso f long and short notes alluded to . What we maycall the natural accentuation o f a given passage canbe, and very frequently is , entirely reversed throughsforza ndos , fo r specially emotional or dramaticeffects ; fo r the element o f the unexpected plays avery large part in musical composition .

We have alluded to the Greeks . I t might atfirst sight seem as if the rhythm o f

Anctentmodern muS IC can have l i ttle In common n ew)

, am;

with the dactyls and spondees and iambics gig;o f this ancient people

,and if we expect

to find compositions enti rely written in these simpleforms we shall have to confine our attention to theHymn tunes o f the Anglican

,or the mediaeval

Proses o f the Roman Church . But the simplici tyo f the ancient forms i s occasionally met wi th in shortpassages o f classical music : thus the a llegretto o f

Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony i s founded on an


ANCIENT THEORY 8 5

in a ccordance with Greek theory . But this,we

think,is going too fa r. The performer is , after all ,

an individual, and however much he may admirea given theory, he should only use it to developand train his individuali ty

,not to swamp it . The

application o f Greek theory to classical works,in

print, involves the use o f sundry stra nge and fo rbidding— looking signs, and it i s better fo r thestudent to use hi s judgment (a fter duly studyingtheory)than to slavishly follow a stereotyped edition

,

which may or may not be in accorda nce with hisown feeling in every respect . An edition o f afamiliar a nd cheri shed work

,full o f strange and

novel signs , i s apt to prove repellent . The morestrongly the phrasing i s indicated

,the more i s the

performer o f small experience likely to overdo i t,

and to acquire a hard unsympathetic method .

Theory cannot do everything : i t can only guide .The human element o f feeling

,with i ts imperfec

tions,must be present to move the emotions . The

conventional existing signs,which a re familiar

to all,if used with knowledge and di scretion

,

are sufficien t fo r nearly all purposes,and he who

plays without understanding,will do s o , however

strongly the phrasing may be indicated by newsigns .This applies more particularly to the older cla ssicalmusic

,to which the composers have, as a rule, given


few indications o f phrasing . Brahms a nd most o f

the moderns are careful to show the renderings theywish fo r, a nd i t will generally be found tha t aestheticrea sons fo r their indications ca n be deduced to ala rge extent from Greek theory : in other words,our composers instinctively feel rhythmica l effectsin much the same way a s the Greeks felt a nd

described them . It ha s been observed also that ourgrea t executants feel the rhythmical structure o f theolder classics in very much the Greek w ay, and theirpower o f expressing i t contributes in no sma lldegree to ma ke their performances appea l more thando those o f the musician who relies solely onbrilliance o f technique .

The possibility o f o ur being able to li sten to two

00”,dor more melodies at once makes equally

t ytlzm possible , as we have shown , the appreciaWcm ' tion o f two or more rhythmica l formssimultaneously . As a rule one supplements theother

,as we have explained in reference to the

accompaniment to a song,which i s the simplest o f

the rhythmical co mbina tions as a rule . More complicated , and non- supplementary, a re combinationso f triplets against duplets

,or against quadruplets

and so on . A further development o f thi s kind o f

opposition o f species i s where one pa rt has Prima rytriple and the other has Primary duple time

,so that

the whole Measure is involved,rather than a portion

COMBINED RHYTHM— SPECIES 8 7

o f i t, as in the Soldiers’ Chorus in Berl ioz’ ” LaDamnation de Faust .”Another well — known insta nce o f confl ict ingrhythms is that o f the passage in Don Giovanni ,where the confusion in the minds o f Zerlina andMa setto i s graphically shown by a confusion o f

rhythms,combined into a homogeneous whole, in

an arti stic manner only possible fo r a genius o f thehighest order to conceive and carry out . Theminuet forms the rhythmical ba si s . It i s in slowtriple time

,i ts Prima ry accents being marked by

relatively longer notes . Ma setto divides the individual beats o f the Measures into three- time Subs idia ry rhythm : i n other words

,he sings in triplets,

and so fa r the rhythm would not a ppear unusualwere i t not fo r the nota tion employed .

But Don Giovanni sings in duple time in such away as to bring his Primary accents on all threebeats o f the minuet bar in turn

,and thus adds to

the confu sion o f the lovers . The principle involvedi s the same as that o f the passage in R . Strauss’Violin Sonata, quoted in Ex . 2 8 , page 1 09 .

Great ingenuity was exhibi ted,

in complicationssuch as this in the sixteenth century . The differencebetween them and modern examples i s that theywere usually puzz les or jokes o f no arti stic value

,

while our composers use them fo r highly dramaticor emotional purposes .


WELL-MARKED RHYTHM 89

a ddit ion o f a second similarly constructed Periodwould still be apt to produce monotony .

If the tempo i s very fast , presto , fo r example ,there will be a feel ing o f pleasa nt exhilaration , without exci tement

,such as one would experience in a

ship sailing with the tide and wind on an a bsolutelysmooth sea : but even a presto movement consistingonly o f Primary notes would soon become monotonous if continued long .

Such a Period would become modified in i tseffect if we were to single out fo r stronger a ccen

tua tio n any one note,ei ther by special stress, or

sti ll more,by making it longer than its neighbours .

The “

Rhythm ” would become more or lessMarked” : the pa ssage, that i s to say, wouldbecome more energetic

,and make more impression

tha n in i ts original condi tion .

The application o f the principle o f singling outnotes fo r specia l accentua tion

,or

,wha t amounts

practically to the same thing, fo r special relativelength

,impresses a phrase on us more forcibly than

harmonic variety : fo r the function o f harmony in“ .

i ts relation to Rhythm is to define the boundarieso f the phrases rather than to influence their internalrhythmical effect . If the notes are all Primary

,

certain o f them can be singled out fo r special a ccentua tio n by sforza ndo . Even if only one note ina Rhythm is made shorter or longer than the


Prima ry note the ethos o f the passage differs fromthat o f a similar passage contain ing only Primary notes.For contrast i s produced , and contrast within themeasure affects accentuation , and thi s attracts attention by breaking the monotony o f a succession o f

equa l notes .But though i t i s rare to find a Period containingonly equal notes o f Primary va lue , i t i s almost asrare to find a Period in which only one note islengthened a s described . The two portions o f aMeasure are capable o f an infinite variety o f treatment

,by being broken into subsidiary notes , by

being joined together,and by being given specia l

accentuation, all o f which means the composer usesto produce variety and interest . If he wishes fo ra specia lly marked rhythm in the usually acceptedsense, he constructs a Mea sure, or a pair o f Measures,with a certain definite distribution o f longer andshorter notes, a certain rhythmical “ figure ormotive,” and repeats thi s distribution in successiveMeasures until i t becomes well impressed on themind . Triple mea sure seems to lend itself to thi streatment more readily tha n duple

,owing perhaps to

the fact that its natura l arrangement o f long and shortnotes gives a ' fo unda tio n fo r well ma rked accentuation .

Hence the frequent use o f a repetition o f a definitefigure o f one or two bars in length

,i n sc/zerzos and

other three- time movements o f ra pid tempo .

WELL-MARKED RHYTHM 9 1

Some kinds o f Subsidia ry figures seem to beassociated to a certa i n extent wi th particular musicalforms, though not confined to them . Thus, whatwe may fo r convenience call Dotted-note rhythm,

”

i n which there i s a frequent repeti tion o f dottednotes alternating with relatively shorter notes, i soften a feature o f the March form, and i t i s alsomet with in slow movements

,in which a strong

impression o f solemnity or dign ity is required .

We have already noticed that a longer note willgive a greater sense o f a ccent by contrast wi than adj acent shorter note tha n would be felt in asuccession o f two equal notes . This holds goodwhether the longer note i s sustained

,or i s cut o ff

by a rest : i t i s the division o f time that here givesthe sense o f accent, and hence o f rhythm . Thus

,

the drum, which cannot sustain a note, and theorgan , which has no power o f stress, can produceDotted-note rhythm just as forcibly as any other

Instrument .The essence o f the March form i s that i t shouldhave some strongly ma rked Subsidiary Accentuationa pplied to Rhythms in well—defined four-measureform . We require to appeal in a certain sensethrough the ear to a real or imaginary exercise o f

the muscles,as the drums excite soldiers to march .

One o f the most convenien t ways o f stronglymarking Subsidiary Accentua tion is through the


WELL-MARKED RHYTHM 93

right ha rmonies and melodies to the rhythms to express what he requires . And i n i ts abili ty to expressdifferent feelings by the similar figures

,Rhythm does

not differ from tonali ty,fo r the Minor key , usually

supposed to be associated with melancholy feelings,can

,equally wi th the major

,be used fo r brightness

and pleasure . No one could ca ll the Finale o f theSchubert quartet a melancholy movement : it i smore suggestive o f the fun o f the pantomime thananything else.

When there a re successions o f even Subsidiarynotes whose normal accentua tion is not

lnfluence ofInterfered WIth by external means , such as N ote-va lues

on tnesfor

z a ndo or synco pa t10n , 1n place o f theE fl bfl k

exc1tement or energy that 18 suggested Cba ra cter ofMusic.by the unequal arrangement o f notes

,

the even di stribution gives a character o f tranquilli tyand repose

,or o f languor . Especially i s this the

case when the tempo is moderate or slow when thepa ce is fast there will almost alwa ys be a tendencyto ma rk the natural accents strongly, and thus togive an energetic character to the music .The tranquil character that ari ses from even Sub

s id ia ry notes is exemplified in Brahms’ Intermezzo

,

Op . 1 1 8,No . 2 . See Ex . 3 . In the Romance ,

No . 5 o f the same set, there are Subsidiary crotchets,qua vers

,and semiquavers

,all o f which in their turn

contribute to the quietly flowing character o f the


piece . This does not,however, hold good when

equal notes are phrased in such a way as to bringthe accents into prominence : fo r example, theScherzo o f the Serenade, Op . 1 1 , has crotchets a s theaccompa niment to the melody, but their phra sing,

produces an accentuation equiva lent to

IJ J a J Iand the movement i s o f a vigorous character . I t i sin con trast to both Menuetto s , in which the evenflow o f the quaver accompaniment i s not disturbedby any special accents produced by phrasing , e.g .

,

Ex. 2 1 .

BRAHMS (SE RENADE Op. 1 1 . M ENU ETTO

INFLUENCE OF NOTE-VALUES 9 5

With a Subsidiary rhythm o f equal notes thegeneral effect i s frequently modified

,or even entirely

reversed by a strong Primary accentuation , as inEx . 1 1 . In cases l ike thi s the character o f themusic

,whether ag ita to , appa ssz

'

ona to,etc .

,is given

by the more strongly marked rhythm,whether i t

occurs as Primary or Subsidiary,and the equal notes

form a background which welds the whole together .What we say about the reposeful character o f

even Subsidiary rhythm applies more especially tomovements o f a moderate tempo . With greatrapidi ty and with special accent on the first note o feach group

,equal notes can be given great energy,

as,fo r i nstance

,i n Schumann’s Toccata in C .

In the majority o f cases the notes o f a Rhythmare distributed unequally

,so that variety i s imparted

to the various parts o f the Period and interest i saroused . A melody which would be o f no particularinterest with equal notes may be made beautiful byan unequal di stribution

,whereby the longer notes

form a contrast to the shorter : and we have alreadya lluded to the importance o f a Subsidiary accentuation in the accompaniment

,whereby the charm o f

a melody o f Primary notes may be greatly increased .

A very favouri te device in the construction o f aRhythm is to form some definite figure in thefirst Measure, repeat i t (rhythm ically , not necessarilymelodically), in the second and then introduce new


SYNCOPATION 97

sforza ndo , by which a single unaccented note i smade prominent

,so that the attention i s attracted

away from the normal accent, or by what i s known asSyncopation , a word which means a cutting o ff .

”

Syncopation can occur in both Primary and Subsidiaryaccentuation . I t i s brought about in the following way .

An accented note i s cut short, or i s represented bya short rest

,and the succeeding note, entering before

its expected time,i s made longer than the shortened

accented note or rest : hence i t receives an accentby its relative value

,not by i ts posit ion in the

measure . It may be followed by other notes, o f

equal value to i tself,so that the disturbance o f accent

i s continued,sometimes through many Measures

(Primary or Subsidiary) i n succession . To producea cont inuous syncopation the notes must be stru ckon the weaker

,and sustained into the stronger por

tions o f measures,and if an Anacrusis occurs, i t

must be tied to i ts accented note . If i t i s necessaryto strike a note on any strong portion o f the measure

,

and yet to continue the effect o f Syncopation,there

must be a fresh cutting o ff,and the Syncopation

starts anew . When applied to Primary accentuation, Syncopation can be a means o f kindling thestrongest emotion , as in a well—known passage inthe Eroica Symphony, where the accented portiono f the Measure is represented by a rest and the fullorchestra bursts in with a tremendous chord on its

G


weaker portion . Everyone has felt the in tenseeffect o f th is passage .Another way o f producing Syncopation i s not bya cutting o ff, but by tying an unaccented note to thesucceeding accented note . The long note thus ari singreceives the accent that would fall on its second portionif the two notes were not bound into one .

Ex. 2 2 .

BRAHMs (SYMPHONY N o . 2 , Op.

Presto ma n on a ssa z'

.

Ex . 22 shows syncopation in the Prima ry rhythmthe first note o f each measure i s cut o ff, and thesucceeding note, being o f double i ts length

,and

being brought into the accented portion o f themeasure , causes a fresh accent to occur within themeasure.

Ex. 2 3 .

BRAHMS (SYMPHONY N o .

SYNCOPATION 99

The melody o f Ex . 23 shows the same treatmentin duple measure. The bass i s syncopated in thesecond way described above, namely, not by a cuttingOff, but by tying the unaccented note to the succeeding accented note . I t therefore receives an accent,not by posi tion , but by value .

E x . 24.


Tra nqu i l/o .

Ex . 24 shows syncopation o f the Subsidiaryrhythm . The disturbance o f the regular accentuation here produces an undercurrent o f movement inthe accompaniment, in contrast to the regulari ty o f

the Primary rhythm in the melody . We have,

therefore,simultaneous rhythmical figures differ ing

in ethos,a most expressive device.


SYNCOPATION I o 1

while the accompa niment i s merely in tonic anddominant ha rmonies

,with the addit ion o f a few

ornamental notes . There i s Subsidiary rhythm inthe accompaniment, increasing in movement fromduple to triple

,the Primary rhythm o f three qua vers

in a measure being represented by the melody .

To reiterate the three notes o f the tonic triadthrough sixteen bars

,and accompany them by simple

tonic and dominant harmony,would seem to be

commonplace : i ts effect therefore all depends onhow i t i s used in connection with rhythm . Wecould, by altering thi s passage very slightly, reduceit to absurdity : so delicate i s Beethoven’s handlingo f i t, that, l ike a fine piece o f fil igree work

,a rough

hand could instantly destroy i t . The beautiful,

etherial,far away effect o f the melody is produced

entirely by the syncopation o f the first note o f eachRhythm, together wi th the contrast effected by thecomposer’s resi sting the temptation to repea t thesyncopation in the corresponding place on the note A .

Such a passage as thi s would prove,if proof were

wanting , how much the greatest masterpieces o f

music depend on an extreme delicacy o f handlingin regard to rhythm, to which the executant, if hewishes to real i se them in their full grandeur

,must

give at least as much attention as to the correctnessand tone quali ty o f the actual notes . Thi s i s notalways recogni sed, even by some eminent per


formers,and it i s not infrequent to hear a perform

ance in which brilliancy o f technique i s rel ied on toevok e appla use, rather than careful a nd intelligentaccentuation and phrasing .

Where a lengthy syncopa ted pa ssage occurs thenormal a ccent i s generally heard, e i ther in the synco pa ted passage i tself, or in some other part : butthere are cases

,especially in Schumann’s music , in

which the syncopa tion i s carried on without thi ssupport

,so tha t the hea t er, unless he i s familiar with

the passage,i s apt to become bewildered , and to

lose sight o f the normal accent altogether, in whichcase he no longer feels the syncopation a s such . Inthe well—known pa ssage in hi s Pianoforte Concerto ,Schumann omits every a lterna te normal accent , thus

Ex. 26 .

SCHUMANN,PIANO FORTE CONCERTO.

1 2

SYNCOPATION 1 9 3

The li stener who does not see the conductor, mayeasily imagine that the time i s Duple, and the phraseone o f six Measures

,thus,

Cl

Jr-Jr IjnJ‘Jr Ijr-Ja J‘ JrJr Ij‘

1J\J r e 7

until he i s undeceived by the repeti tion o f thepassage

,i n which all the normal accents are heard .

The rhythmical scheme i s that o f the so - calledDeuxtemps Valse” i n which Falling accentuationtakes place

,and the steps o f the dancers are guided

by the accents on each alternate bar, rather than bythose o f the single bars .Hungarian and Bohemian music i s noticea ble byits well-defined rhythms . This i s due to the constant use o f Syncopation , which involves a strongincrease o f accentuation on the naturally accentednotes o f the individual Measures or portions thereof.The kind o f Syncopation specia lly peculiar to thismusic differs from that usually found in classicalmusic

,i n that t he lengthened note completes the

Measure or Half—measure,and a fresh Syncopation

l s begun after each long note . Our meaning willbe made clear by the following compari sonCharacteristic Hungarian Syncopation f j f :Ordinary Classical Syncopation

‘F‘TEJPF‘

The result i s that the performer instinctivelymakes a strong stress on the short note

,and through


CHAPTER V

Duple aga inst Triple T ime— Tempo ra ry Changes o f Spec iesT ime S igna tures— Cha nge o f the Accen tua tio n o f a gi venMelo dy—“ Bra hms’ Ma stery o f Rhythm— Qu intuple a nd

Septuple T ime

THE ability to make simultaneous use o f Dupleand Triple Measure introduces an element Duple aga in”

o f contrast and variety which especially Trip/f Tim’

appeals to the intellectual side o f our arti stic feeling .

Bach employs this device rarely ; Mozart makesmore use o f i t , and Beethoven still more . Thesecomposers apply it fo r the most part in the familiarform o f a triplet accompaniment against an eventime melody

,and the accompaniment frequently

consists o f the repetition o f some simple arpeggiofigure . I n this form it is a development o f thes o -called Alberti Bass , which consists o f keepingup an undercurrent o f Subsidiary rhythm by meanso f broken chords .It goes without saying that modern composers

have not neglected the possib ili ti es o f a combinationo f so intellectual a character ; a nd in place o f the


occasional triplet arpeggios o f Beethoven , we findwhole pieces

,by Brahms

,fo r example, in which the

melody i s Duple and the a ccompaniment Triplethroughout ; and the triple-measure, whether Primaryor Subsidiary, i s not confined to simple arpeggios,but often forms a definite and beautiful figure, asinteresting as the melody i tself.

The use o f two opposing species o f rhythm atthe same time i s one o f the paradoxes in which musicdelights . I t i s also another instance o f the remarkablestage o f development to which the musical bra inhas advanced . In ordinary life i t i s supposed thathe who tries to do two things at once i s li able tofail in each . No two things could be more Opposedto one another than the division o f a given spaceo f time into two equal pa rts a nd i nto three equalparts : yet musicians are able to do the one withtheir right hand a nd the other with the left, and notonly to find intellectual plea sure in the task

,but to

give pleasure to their l i steners through the refinemento f arti stic sense that such work demands .The feature we allude to i s familiar to a ll whohave to do with classical music . I t i s

,as we have

said, very much more used now th an formerly, andin place o f the triplets being merely an a ccompa n i

ment to the melody, they sometimes take their placeas a double counterpoint to i t . A pa rticularlybeautiful example is that i n Brahms’ F Major Sym

DUPLE AGAINST TRIPLE TIME 1 07

phony which we quote in Ex . 27 . The triplets arehere syncopated into one another as are the dactylsi n h is D Major Symphony , quoted in Ex . 25 butthe triplets form a double counterpoint to themelody, while the da ctyls are merely an a ccompa n i

ment .

E x. 2 7 .

BRAHM S (SYMPHONY N o . 3, F. Op.

Anda n te.

In this Andante the chief melody i s at first heardsimply, without Subsidiary rhythm . Si nce the effecto f a particular passage i s mostly due to i ts connectio n with what has gone before the composerwill, as a rule, seek to enhance the interest, whenhe repeats a melody

,by some ch ange ; and one o f


DUPLE AGAINST TRIPLE TIME 1 09

sented by rests . But since the piano has contractedi ts second and third Measures into one

,and has

Ex. 2 8 .

R. STRAUS S (VIOLIN SONATA Op. 1 8 — FIRST MOVEMENT).I 1

VIOL1N .

End o f Rhythm.

f Ana crusis . Ana crus is .

2 a nd 3

Ana crusis.

changed its rhythm- species from duple to triple, thelast note o f the violin’s Rhythm falls on the first o fthe piano’s new Rhythm , forming on Overla p . And

the Overlap occurs both with the two instru

1 1 0 RHYTHM OF MODERN MUSIC

ments together,and with the piano alone ; fo r the

latter’s three- time bar i s a kind o f telescopingtogether o f two Rhythms, as indica ted by thenumerals in our example . This seeming confusionresults in a novel and delightful combination o f

duple with triple rhythm,which gives both players

and audience a pleasurable exerci se o f the i ntelligence .Moreover

,i t i s by no means a dry experiment : i t

has a n aesthetic significance in the tumultuous feelingwith which i t in troduces the succeeding appa ssz

'

ona to

melody .

A temporary change from duple to triple species ,or v ice ‘versa , in the principal melody, i sTempora ry

Cbanges of much used in modern music , and oftenSpa m produces a delightfully fresh and unex

pected effect . The change can take place in thePrimary values , a s in Ex. 29 , but i t more frequently affects the Subsidia ry Measures , as shown in

Ex. 29 .

BRAHMS (SERENADE Op. I I — FIRST MOVEMENT).I st Rhythm.

TEMPORARY CHANGES OF SPECIES 1 1 1

2nd Rhythm.

Ex. 30 , where the fourth bar leads the mind toexpect a series o f triplets , and a surprise i s experi

30.

BRAHMS (SYMPHONY N o . 3, Op.

Anda nte.

1

enced on the last beat o f that bar by the suddenreturn to the duplet form o f Subsidiary Measure .


TIME SIGNATURES 1 1 3

to grow up more or less at random,and much has

always been , and still is , left to the insight andexperience o f the performer. This i s only natural

,

fo r no system o f notation can possibly be devisedthat will meet all the requirements o f so subtle anart a s music and unless there is sympathy betweencomposer and performer , a composition must fail o fi ts due effect , even if everything that can be intimatedby notation i s conscientiously observed to the letter.The performer must feel what he plays no amount

"

o f printed signs can supply the want o f understandingthe composer ’s intention .

We do not mean by this to imply that an

absolutely correct performance will be entirely without value ; such a h idea would be dispelled at oncedirectly we think o f the delight given to thousandsby the many mechanical musical instrumen ts thathave fo r the last three centuries been playing musicwith an exactness that i s unapproachable by humanfingers . We mean that, good as a purely correctperformance may be, i t ca n never represent the spirito f the music in the sense o f mind speaking to mindhence it i s that a piece played by a human being whounderstands what he i s about will give more sa tisfa ction

,even if i t is mechanically less perfect than the

same piece played without understanding by amach ine

,or a mechanically perfect human being .

As a guide to the construction o f the RhythmsH

1 1 4 RHYTHM OF MODERN MUS IC

the Time Signatures are still vague a nd undecided ,though with the ra pid increase that is taking place inthe means o f expression thi s difficulty i s gradually disappearing

,and composers are becoming more careful

to ind icate their rhythmical wishes by their signatures .The so — called Common- time Bar is o f two kinds .In the first

,the ba r i s equal to the va lue o f two

minims,the min im being the Primary value

,and the

Rhythm a nd Period occupy the same number o f

Bars a s Measures . Properly speaking , when thisis the case

,the S igna ture ought to be (I ; a nd

though the perpendicula r line through the C i s stillfrequently omitted

, yet modern composers Show atendency to be more careful in this matter thantheir predecessors . The tw o -minim bar with the

proper signature will be found in Ex . 1 1,pag e

50, a nd with the signature C in Exs . 1 5 , page 5 9 , and2 9 , page 1 1 0 . In such cases as these , the performermust discover fo r himself that the Bar and the

Measure are o f equal value but the careful moderncomposer u sually indicates the fact by hi s legatosigns . In Exs . 1 1 and 23 all ambigui ty is obviated .

The signature (I: indicates what i s technicallyknown as Alla breve time . I t signifies that the breveis to be divided in to two min ims instead o f fourcrotchets

,or

,according to our theory

,tha t the minim

is the Primary , and the crotchet the Subsidia ryvalue. The conductor is at liberty to make four


beats in the bar if he wishes,i n what ought to be

Alla bre‘ve time , whether marked by (I: or by C ; butin that case he w ill be counting the Subsidiary andnot the Primary rhythm : he will require sixteeninstead o f eight beats fo r the four—measure phrase

,

and as a result he will probably take the movementat a slower pace than the composer intended .

In the second kind o f Common Time,in which

the signature is properly C ,the bar is really com

pound , since it contains the value o f two Measures .The crotchet is here the Primary note

,and many

composers n o w indicate this fact by using the signature g instead o f C .

Ex. 3 1 .

TSCHAIKOW SKY ROMANCE .

Anda nte Ca n ta bi le. I s t Rhythm .

2nd Rhythm.

E nd o f Perio d .


TIME S IGNATURES 1 1 7

Ri sing Rhythmical Accentuation will occur . Thereare i solated cases in which a composer seems to wishto specially point out the Rising Accentuation bywriting in Common time instead o f and beginningwith a half bar. For insta nce , the last movement o fMendelssohn ’s Pianoforte Trio in D minor commences in this way. Did he arrange it thus in orderto bring the closes on the first note o f their barsaccording to rule

,or did he feel the difference

between Ri sing and Falli ng Accentuation ?Where there are two measures in a bar

,the con

cluding chord o f a Period will fall either on the firstor the second accent , according to whether theAccentuation is Rising or Falling. In Ex. 33 ,page 1 20 ,

the Period ends on the secondary accentin Ex . 7 , page 4 2 , the suspension in theFeminine Close comes on the same place. InEx. 3 1 the closes fall on the thi rd measure , and aresustained into the fourth to complete the Rhythm ,

which has Falling Accentuation .

All that we have said regarding the S ignatures (I:and C i s applicable to the other Even- time signatures,the only difference being that the others have nomeans o f distinguishing whether there are to be oneor two measures i n the bar, so that the performermust rely on the Closes and Caesuras. In Ex. 6,page 4 1 , the phrasing is distinctly shown by thecomposer to consist o f one measure to a bar. In


Ex . 7 , page 4 2 ,the Feminine Cadence , occur

ring as it does a t the second half o f the ba r, equallyclearly shows that there are two mea sures i n the bar .In Ex. 5 2 ,

page 1 94 ,the dactylic form o f the

bars leaves no doubt that they contain one measureeach .

The Signatures a nd g in the majority o f casesindica te ba rs contain ing one measure each , thePrimary Time o f which is the crotchet and thequaver respectively . The bars are simple , a nd

the Periods will contain the same number o f bars asmeasures . This form is shown in many o f ourexamples .But the S ignature (or 35) ca n sometimes be usedwith compound ba rs fo r duple measures, i n whichca se the bar contain s three mea sures , and the

Rhythms consist o f three , six , or nine measures .Ex . 5 , page 3 8 , shows an instance o f this . I t w i llbe seen that the first Rhythm

,here quoted

,contains

six duple mea sures in the form o f a napms ts . Thesucceeding Rhythm (not quoted)contains nine suchmea sures. The duple give way to triple measures inthe form o f triplets a t bar 1 3 . In the second sectiono f the piece , where the key cha nges to A maj or, thesignature is repeated , but the bars are simple , as

indicated by the lega to signs . Thus in the course o fa short composition the signature 3} i s used both fo rcompound and simple bars .


No doubt the idea that this signature ca n be usedfo r duple measures will come as a surprise to thosewho are accustomed to the orthodox view that thebar is equivalent to a measure. But if we take i t assuch in the piece from which Ex . 5 i s quoted , theresult will be a phrase o f unmanageable length , andwe shall not only ignore the composer’s intention , asdistinctly indicated by the lega to signs, as well as bythe half-closes in bars 2 and 5 (showing that the firsttwo Rhythms are to consist respectively o f two andthree bars), but shall leave unnoticed the fact thatthe succession o f a napms ts gives the impression o f

duple rather than triple measure .With the S ignature 3. or g the Primary Measuresare either duple or triple . When they are duple thetwo portions o f each measure are divided into Subs idiary Measures o f the triple species, as in Ex . 8 ,page 42 . This arrangement o f 73 time is more conven ient fo r quick than fo r slow movements, and thebar is simple .In his Intermezzo

,Op . 1 1 8 , No . 4 , Ex . 32 ,

Brahms shows thi s kind o f barring not by g, but bywith quaver triplets as the Subsidiary rhythm .

3 would probably have been the signature here wi ththe majority o f composers , but Brahms seems to havechosen to enforce the fact that the Primary dupleis d ivided into triple Subsidiary

,and the four

measures o f the complete Rhythm occupy the space



2nd Rhythm. E nd o f I st Perio d.

ending.

But there is another and more subtle reasonfo r this difference. Ex. 33 might have beenwritten with bars o f three quaver s each

,i .e. with

the signature 3 : but i t would have lost in thatcase its rhythm- accentuation , or this feature wouldhave been at the mercy o f the player . By giving twoMeasures to the bar we obtain a stronger accent onthe first o f each pair o f measures ; the full close atthe end o f the period falls on the weaker o f thepairs o f measures

,and hence we have Falling

accentuation,in keeping with the cradle— song

character o f the movement , while an inward strengthi s given by the Anacrusis and the masculinecloses .The bars in g or time are ei ther equivalent tothree Primary Measures each , or to one PrimaryMeasure . I n both cases the rhythm , whetherPrimary or Subsidiary, i s o f the Triple species . Ex .

34 shows a peculiarly beautiful use o f bars fo r sixmeasure Rhythms . The first accent is Preliminary,


E x. 34.

BRAHMS (SYMPHONY N o . 3, Op.

1 st Rhythm.

Gra zz'

o so .

nzezza vo te. Cmsura .

zud Rhythm .

2

Fem inine clo se. E nd o f Peri o d.

and the rhythm proper begins with the Anacrusis E,

F sharp . Since ea ch Rhythm and half Rhythmbegins on the unaccented port ion s o f bars

,a nd ends

with th e ba r- a ccen t , the accen tuation is o f the risingorder . The character o f the music i s indicated bythe word gra z ioso , to which the feminine close at theend o f the first Rhythm gives effect

,while the

second Rhythm commences without the Anacrusi s .The end o f the Period is decisively shown by thecomplete full close .

CHANGE OF ACCENTUATION 1 23

A peculiar charm is given to the second Rhythmby a device made familiar by Beethoven

,

Cba nge of tbecons i st i ng o f the repetIt i o n o f a few noteso f melody and harmony with a new dis "f “ 3M”

tribu tio n o f the accents on them : Le. thefirst four notes o f the first Rhythm

,E,F sharp

,

G sharp,A , are repeated in the second Rhythm ,

butnot only is the accent here on F sharp instead o f

C sharp , but the E is cut o ff by the bowing,and

given to the preceding Rhythm . This nua nce maybe conveniently called “ D ia zres is o f Melody.

” I tmay seem unnecessary to go into such minutedetails , but i t i s these detail s which , in their collectivewhole, go to make up the character o f a compositIOn .

An example o f Sign ature , in which the Bar issimple, will be found in Brahms’ Pianoforte quartetin G minor

,Op . 23, i n which the first Period o f the

Intermezzo,ending with a full close on the domi

nant,contains three four-measure Rhythms , and

each Rhythm occupies four bars.Whether the bars o f any particular signature areto be considered as compound or simple must bedecided

,as we have shown

,by the closes and

cmsura s , and the tempo will also have to be considered , when no indication s are given : fo r i t mustalways be remembered that too long a phrase withouta break conduces to a sense o f weariness , owing to


QUINTUPLE AND SEPTUPLE 1 2 5

the two species o f Rhythm which is graduallybeing more and more used

,as composers

are beginning to realise i ts opportun i ties a nd Septuple

fo r fresh means o f expression . We allude Rfiyfl m'

to what i s called Five— time Rhythm ,represented by

the signature 75; g, or by alternate bars o f triple and

duple time.Quintuple time was mu ch in favour with theancient Greeks

,and is found in the folk— songs o f

the Finns,Turks

,Negroes

,Ba sques

,and in Bavarian

and Bohemian dances . I t can therefore hardly besaid to be an unnatural kind o f rhythm ; i n fact itwas

,perha ps

,too much connected with the people ’s

music to find favour when our classical instrumentalmusic began to ri se . Whatever the cause , Quintuple rhythm is so rare with us that it is notfamiliar to the musical public , or even to musicians ,and it i s therefore apt to be looked upon assomething o f an eccentrici tyThere is nothing unnatura l in a succession o f fivemeasure Rhythms : Brahms has show n us this , a nd

our English poetry ma kes use o f verses o f five feetin bla nk verse . If the mind can easily appreciate aRhythm or a verse o f five measures , there seem s norea son why it should n o t grasp a bar o f five portion sit is only because such rhythm has fallen into disusethat our appreciat ion o f i t ha s become atrophied ,while we can enjoy the fa r more complicated triplets


against duplets,with which the great masters have

made us familiar .We have explained in Chapter I I . that the m inddoes not accept a group o f more than three noteswithout imagining a secondary accent : that directlywe have four equal notes in succession , we i hstinctively place an accent on the first and a secondaryaccent on the third . In the bar o f five beats thesame instinct leads us to place an accent on the first ,and a secondary accent on the th ird or fourth beatif we attempt to imagine the bar with only oneaccent

,and the rest o f the beats a ll equally

unaccented,as some have suggested

,we shall find

five- time rhythm repulsive and peculiar,if not

impossible . The on ly question is as to which beati s to receive the secondary a ccent , whether the bar isto be divided in the order Triple—Duple

,or Duple

Triple ; and in many cases the composer arrangesthe matter fo r us, either by placing a dotted barlinebefore the secondary accen t , or by w riting Triple andDuple bars alternately . If he a dopts neither o f theseways , we must be guided by the harmonic construetion

,or by the phrase — indications ; and if these give

no clue, we shall have to trust to an arbitrarydistinction in whichever way we feel it to be best

.

Moreover , the order o f the grouping will be sometimes changed , either by the composer o r by ourfeeling . That a group o f five equal notes with only

QUINTUPLE AND SEPTUPLE 1 27

one accent is possible , we do not believe ; and if i tis attempted it can only lead to an unsatisfactoryvagueness o f effect.F ive— time rhythm is used fo r the portrayal o f

'

Ii ntense agitation o f mind in the second scene o f thethird act o f Wagner’s “ Trista n

,

” and i n Ha ndel ’ sopera “ Orlando, o f which pa ssage Burney

,steeped

as he was in Italian methods,remarks that it is “ a

division o f time which can only be borne in such asituation .

” 1

Chopin uses I} rhythm in the slow movement o fhis sonata in C minor . The first two ba rs are incrotchets , the third and fourth o f which are joined bya lega to sign , the rest being sta cca to : moreover

,the

third crotchet i s a chord o f the d iminished seventh ;i t is thus singled out from the other crotchets

,which

are tonic triads : hence everything combines to placethe secondary accent on the third crotchet , and thebar therefore consists o f a Duple followed by aTriple Measure . Since we maintain that a composernearly always indicates his general rhythmical idea inthe first two or three mea sures

,we must take this as

the prevailing accentua tion o f the succeeding bars .Paderewski makes use o f time in the second

section o f his Chants des Voyageurs ,” No . 4 . Themovement is headed '

Anda ntino mistico , a nd there i s afurther direction , mlsterz

'

oso, in the first bar. The

1 Burney, History, Vo l. IV .. p. 364.


QUINTUPLE AND SEPTUPLE 1 29

relations obtain between the Bars,Measures

,and

Rhythms ; bu t here there is no attempt to concealthe closes. The Chopin movement i s like that o fPaderewski : the first Period

, o f two four-measureRhythms, ends with a full close in the fourth bar ,hence each bar contains two Primary Measures .The second Period

, o f 4 + 5 Measures , ends with afull close in bar 9 .

In his song “ Agnes,Ex . 3 5 , which is funda

mentally in time , Brahms shows how expressive

E x. 3 5 .

BRAHMS (“ AGN ES Op.

1 sr Ha lf-Rhythm.

Con moto. I 1 poco f

Ro sen zeit, w ie schnel l vo rbei, schnell vo rbei2nd Ha lf Rhythm.

bist dn do ch ge gan gen .

music can be made through phrase-constructionalone . By an exquisite delicacy o f touch , he contrives throughout the song to give intense pathosto certain salient ideas by echoing them in arepetition o f the second measure o f the fi rst HalfRhythm ,

while retaining the normal form in thesecond Half-Rhythm .


Tschaikowsky uses rhythm in his Sixth Symphony in the order ea ch bar having its secondaryaccent on its third crotchet throughout the movement .Seven- time rhythm is either a combination Of atriple with a measure o f four Primary values , or i tforms a seven —measure Period .

The first is exemplified in Brahms ’ Variations o n aHungari a n Song

,Ex . 36, in which the crotchet is

E x. 36 .

B RAHMS VARIATIONS ON A HUNGARIAN SONG (Op. 2 1,N o .

I s t Rhythm .

zud Rhythm .

the Primary note and the measures succeed o ne

another in the order 1 . The Theme consists o f aPeriod o f eight Measures

,and its first Rhythm is

divided by the harmon ic construction into HalfRhythms , as shown by our analysis . In the firstRhythm each group o f seven Primary notes forms a

QUINTUPLE AND SEPTUPLE 1 3 1

Half-Rhythm , clearly defined by the half and fullcloses . In the second Rhythm the four measuresare continuous

,and the result o f the whole is

delightful .E x. 37 .

SLANCA FROM “ CHANSONS N ATIONALES DES SLAVS DU SUD .

F. Z. KUHAC.

I st Rhythm .

N e -

poj bo pa sla nca pad la na —ze

and Rhythm. I s t Rhythm .

le-ne travn ike bo za gviSn o pO-mo -ri la vsete

E nd o f 1 st Perio d .

and Rhythm.

drobneE nd o f zud Perio d.


CHAPTER VI

Impo rta nce o f the Fo ur-Mea sure Rhythm— Schubert’s Rhythms

Beetho ven’

s Rhythms Ha lf Rhythms Three Mea sure

Rhythms Five-Mea sure Rhythms Rhythms o f SevenMea sures

U P to the present we have confined our attentionto the four-measure Rhythm ,

with anImporta nce of

o cca SIOna l a llus1o n to i ts d IV IS IOn 1nto p07”.

Half- rhythms . Upon this form o f phrase Mf d f’m’

i s built,and must always be built

,by fa r

the largest portion o f all music,whether classical or

otherwise . For the balance o f 2 2,whether applied

to the bar or the Rhythm is undoubtedly the easiestrhythmical structure fo r the mind to grasp , andtherefore the one that gives the sati sfaction to thegreatest number. Moreover

,an easily grasped

rhythm leaves the mind free to appreciate the subtlet ies Of the Melos with which it i s clothed . Theessence o f rhythm is balance and due proportion ,and by dividing time into four equal parts we Obtainthe most sati sfactory balance .Our readers will have noticed that in some Of our

examples the close which ends a phrase falls on the


third mea sure in stead o f the fourth,but tha t by

extension or repetition o f the final chord or note ,the

due proportion o f four measures o f time is preserved .

The same result would Obtain if the final measurewere represented by a rest

,fo r the ba la nce o f t ime

would sti ll be kept,though the Rhythm would not

be entirely filled with sound ; and time , after all , i sthe essential substa nce out o f which rhythm isma de .A composer w ill sometimes

,however

,place his

concluding chord on the third mea sure, and cu t o ff

the fourth a ltogether ; and the Rhythm w ill thenconsist o f three mea sures on ly. This brings us tothe important subject o f the division s o f the Rhythmin to other than four measures

,more especially in to

uneven numbers,such as three and five. These

divisions,which a re well known in certa in folk

music,were occa sionally used by the Older com

posers , but a re becoming more in evidence in the

present day,because audiences a re becoming more

cultivated ; and w ith increasing cult ivation theyenjoy departures from the beaten tra ck . Thus

,

where we find in Mozart or Beethoven an occasiona lPeriod with two or more three—measure Rhythms

,

Brahms and his successors base whole sections o f

compositions 011 Rhythms o f other than fourmeasures . And these composers

,greatly daring

,

Often obscure the endings o f such phrases, so tha t i t

IMPORTANCE OF FOUR-MEASURE 1 35

i s diffi cult to say where o ne ends and the next begins ,and a keen intellectual pleasure is experienced .

In the classical music o f the eighteenth century(apart from that o f Bach) the Rhythms are veryprecisely shown by cadences , so that the mostunlearned or careless li stener cannot fail to perceivethem . Into the formal moulds which resulted

,the

great composers poured the inspira tions o f theirgenius

,giving expression to the highest aspirations

Of their time with marvellous skill . The courtlygrace

,the formal etiquettes and manners o f the

century are reflected in the music o f Handel, Mozart,and Haydn

,and their contemporaries

,who used

well— defined forms fo r their own purposes , and produced through them music that , li ke the ancientGreek drama

,will continue to make appeal to

generations yet unborn , in spite o f a S implicity o f

construction that i s no longer in keeping with thespirit o f the age.The human feeling that i s expressed in the highestefforts o f arti stic gen ius makes its appeal to all ages ,fo r human nature never changes : only the methodso f expression vary with the different generations , andfo r a modern composer to try and give expression tohis emotions with the formality o f a Mozart , wouldbe much the same as if he were to appear in public ina powdered wig and knee breeches .But Mozart and Haydn sometimes tried experi


IMPORTANCE OF FOUR-MEASURE 1 3 7

the aristocracy on whom he depended fo r his living,

and to go his own way with impunity . Whileadhering to the four—measure Rhythm more closelythan hi s predecessors

,he made it less evident by

rounding Off i ts edges , and thus he laid the fo undations Of the continuous Melos which ta kes so large aplace in modern music .The formality which is so marked a feature in themusic o f Mozart and Haydn

,i s tempered down by

Beethoven ; and with him came that remarkable manSchubert, who forestalled modern methods inanother way

,to be shortly referred to . After them

came Mendelssohn and Schumann,both o f whom ,

especially the former , returned to some o f the ancientformality in phrase construction . The influence o f

Mendelssohn was paramount fo r many years,and

while this was the case critics,while admiring the

wonderful melodies o f Schubert , found fault withhim because his phrases do not always conform tothe orthodox four—measure construction . But Schubert was in advance o f his age ; and theirregularity

,fa r from being a fault , con ROW“

stitutes one Of the chief charms Of his delightfulmusic . He had as keen a sense o f rhythm as any o fthe great composers, and well knew how to use it ;and h is unexpected phrases , s ta rtling as they musthave been before they became familiar

,were , like

Beethoven ’s novel use o f discords,merely a com


plia nce with the demand that was making itself feltfo r freedom from the strict formality o f a previousgeneration .

Thus,fo r example

,i n the Scherzo o f hi s A minor

Sona ta,Op . 4 2 ,

we find ca refully constructedRhythms o f five a nd seven measures in la rgenumbers

,which are evidently not the result o f

cha nce,though they must have puzzled early

listeners . In the Sonata in B major, Op . 1 4 7 , a

la rge portion o f the Allegro g iusto consists o f delightfully fresh six—mea sure Rhythms . In the first movement o f the Sonata in B fla t

,five—measure Rhythms

are intermingled with those o f four a nd threemeasures in a w ay that gives a contemplative andmystical feeling to the music . Other in stances m ightbe found o f Schubert’s intentiona l departure fromthe four-measure phrase

,not in the formal and

conscious ma nner o f his predecessors , or from wa nto f ma stery o f his materials

,but with a design to

excite the imaginat ion by not allow ing the rhythmicalscheme to be too Obvious .Beethoven ’s strong and novel effects a re producedmore by telling harmonies and syncopat ions than byvaria tions in the length Of his Rhythms , and when hedeparts from the four—measure construction he sometimes labels the passage , so that the performer maymake no mistake as to what he means . Thus , in theScherzo o f the Ninth Symphony , a passage is marked ,

SCHUBERT’

S RHYTHMS 1 39

Ritmo di tre battute,

t'

.e.

“ Rhythm o f three bars ,and later , when he returns to the four—measure, hemarks it Ri tmo di quattro ba ttute .” To intensifythe excitement o f the movement

,he shortens hi s

Rhythms without marking them by closes ; on thecontrary, the conductor is expected to feel thismost delicate nua nce o f accentuation , and to commun ica te i t to his audien ce

,and the composer here

seems to have ant icipated the advent o f thosefamous modern musicians wh o have raised theart Of conducting to a special branch o f theirprofession .

Beethoven began the modern practice o f trustingto the intelligence o f his a udience in Bemwm

i,

rhythmical matters . In his Quartet , Op .

”WM”

1 3 1 , he constantly uses the expressions , Ritmo diquattro battute ,” “ Ritmo di tre battute ,” andRitmo di due battute In this case there is noconductor ’ s beat to assi st the audience . But theappeal to the intelligence o f the li steners began fa rbefore this late work ; fo r i n the Piano Sonata , Op .

2 8,the first Period o f the opening subject contains

ten bars undivided by anything equivalen t to a close,and the carr ied 0 11 at the end o f the Periodwithout by the repetition o f the bass notesin bar 1 0 . This Period i s o f an unusual co ns truction : i t demands Fall ing Accentuation to produce its

1 Ba ttuta,l itera lly a bea t

,mean s a bar in music .


HALF-RHYTHMS 1 4 1

century composers were anticipated by Bach,whose

Rhythms and Periods are not so sharply defined a s

those o f Mozart and Haydn.

Let us now examine how composers use Rhythmso f other than the normal number o f measures,commencing with the two-measure

,or Half— rhythm ,

since thi s,next to the four-measure

,i s the o ne most

in evidence . I t may be said,indeed

,that the Half

rhythm takes a place equal to the four—measure inimportance

,since the greater number o f Rhythms

show some sort o f divi sion into measures .A Rhythm o f instrumental music is the equivalentto the single verse Of poetry , which is Hay/

4;

fundamentally such a sentence as can be Myth ”

comfortably uttered in a single breath . But boththe Verses o f poetry and the Rhythms o f musicmay be fo r dramatic purposes divided into shorterthan the normal lengths

,so that they become

verses Of two feet , fo r i nstance , or Rhythms o f twomeasures .A succession Of verses Of two feet is possible : eg

i n the Midsummer Night ’ s Dream ,

”

On the ground

Sleep so und,

I ’l l a pply

T o yo ur eye

1 4 2 RHYTHM OF MODERN MUSICr 2 3 4

Gen t le lo ver remedy

W hen th o u w a kst

T ho u ta kstT rue del igh tIn the s igh tO f thy fo rm er la dy’

s eye .

Short phrases analogous to these are much m o refrequent in music than in Poetry . By some theoriststhey are called two -measure Rhythms , by othersHa lf— rhythms

,or Portion s o f rhythms . Th e nomen

cla tu re i s no t o f grea t importa nce : wha t i s o f

importa nce is to understa nd that such short phrasesa re rhythmical section s , which must be made evidentby the performer w hether we call them two — measurerhythms or half- rhythms . In our view the mostconven ient w ay i s to look upon them as ha lf— rhythms ,except when the complete Period con si sts o f fouri n stead o f eight measures , as is often the ca se inslow movements .If we write Shakespeare’ s lines a s four— feet verses

the rhymes will divide them in to half— verses,a nd the

effect when rea ding them aloud is the same a s beforeO n the gro und, Sleep so und

,

I’

Il a pply to yo ur eye,

Gen t le lo ver,remedy.

1

1 In Greek rhythm ica l theo ry a verse o r a Rhythm i s ca lled a

Co lo n .

”Two o r mo re co lo n s fo rm 3

“ Perio d .

”Ha lf-verses

o r ha lf- rhythms, such a s the a bo ve l ines,a re ca l led Sem ico lo ns

,

a nd a ny po rtio n o f a verse o r rhythm sma ller tha n this is a

HALF-RHYTHMS 1 43

I t will be noticed that the final verse o f eachstanza is not divided into half— verses

,but contains

the normal number o f four feet .Shakespeare could scarcely have known anything

o f the Greek rhythmical theory on which so muchlight has been thrown o f late years ; bu t he , l ike allgreat poets and musicians

,in stinctively constructed

his periods in forms that can be best explained byreference to Greek theory . The Greeks noticedthat when the verses o f poetry, or the Rhythms o f

music (which with them were identical), are dividedinto half—verses or half— rhythms

,the rhythmica l

instinct seems to demand that the final verse orRhythm o f th e Period shall be complete a nd

unbroken . This instinct led Shakespeare to givethe full number o f four feet to the last verse Of eachperiod

,and i t i s remarkable how frequently in stinct

leads our musicians to treat such periods as beginwith half— rhythms in the same way . Many instancesmight be adduced but fo r considerations o f spacewe illustrate i t by a passage from Bra hms ’ ClarinetSonata

,Ex . 39 .

Comma . The gramm a ria ns o f the Roma n Empire ma rkedthese d iv is io n s by certa in s ign s, a nd in co urse o f t ime the n ames

were tra nsferred from the d ivis io n s o f po etry to th e s ign s tha tma rked these d iv is io n s, a nd the s ign s were used fo r pro se a s wella s po etry. They a re now kn ow n a s punc tua t io n sign s ; thereis a s yet n o thing exa ctly equiva len t to them in Mus ica ln o ta t io n .


HALF-RHYTHMS 1 4 5

generally noticed that a succession Of such phrases i salmost always succeeded by an unbroken phrase o f

double the length o f the shorter phrases. I t isprobably our sense o f balance that demands thistreatment : the rhythmical faculty i s not satisfiedwith small doles o f accents

,but requi res a complete

rhythm to succeed and counterbalance them .

1

1 Fo r a co nfirma tio n o f wha t is here adduced a vo lume o f

Beetho ven ’s So na tas fo rms a n ea sy mea ns o f reference. We refer

o n ly to the o pen ing Perio ds : the reader ca n invest iga te the

further co urse o f mo vements fo r himself.So na ta N o . 1 . Adagio. Th e first fo ur mea sures a re defin itely

divided by ha lf-clo ses into ha lf-rhythms a t bars 2 and 4 : the

co nclud ing rhythm o f the perio d is o f fo ur unbro ken mea sures,

end ing w ith the full clo se a t ba r 8 .

Menuetto. The melo dy Opens w ith 1 1 mea sures, fo llowed bya n unbro ken phra se o f tw o mea sures.

Prestisst'

mo. The melo dy o f the first rhythm is bro ken in to1 1 1 1 measures the two succeed ing rhythms a re o f fo ur

co nnected mea sures.

So n a ta N O. 2 . La rgo appa ssi ona to. The first perio d co ns ists o f

2 + 2 mea sures fo llowed by fo ur und ivided mea sures .

Sc/zerzo. 1 + 1 fo llo wed by 2 .

So n a ta N o . 3. Allegro con brio. fo l lowed by 4.

Adagio. The ba rs are compo und , and the fundamenta l Phra sesa re here two no t fo ur-mea sure Rhythms. In bar 7 there a re tw o

ha lf—rhythms, fo llowed immed ia tely by the fundamenta l two

mea sure rhythm. (In the E m in o r po rtio n there i s a rad ica lcha nge o f rhythm ica l construct io n into which we canno t en ter

here.)So n a ta N O. 4. La rgo. 1 + 1 1 1 fo llowed by 4.

So n a ta N o . 5 in C mino r. Allegro molto con bri o. The o pen ingba r is in tro ductory. The rhythm proper commen ces w i th a n

x


The principle may be briefly stated thus : when aPeriod commences with a series o f short detachedphrases

,it will usually conclude with an unbroken

phrase o f double the length o f the single detachedphrases with which it commenced .

1

Anacrusis o f three n o tes in this ba r,a nd i ts first a ccen t i s in th e

seco nd ba r. The phra s ing sho uld be do w n to the

thirteen th ba r, in which the co nc lud ing fo ur-mea sure rhythm o f

the first perio d sho uld commence w ith An a crus is . But this co n

structio n is n o t shown in th e o rd ina ry ed it io ns . The G in ba rs

9 , 1 1,a nd 1 3 sho uld fo rm the and, no t th e begin n ing o f th e

phra ses , a nd the F, E fla t, o f these ba rs sho uld fo rm the An a crus is.

Let the reader play the pa ssage thus,a nd he w ill pro bably agree

w ith us tha t i t ga in s grea tly in bril l ia nce a nd energy, in keepingw ith the orio

”o f the compo ser.

Adagio molto. fo llow ed by 4 .

Fina le. 1 + 1 fo l lowed by 2 .

So na ta N o . 6. Allegro. fo llowed by 4 . It

seems superfluo us to pursue th e references further ; but amo ngst

the la ter so n a ta s we find

So na ta N o . 2 7 , Op. 90 , E m in o r. First mo vemen t . 2 2 +

2 2, fo llo wed by a phra se o f eight mea sures unbro ken by rests .

S o na ta N o . 29 , Op . 1 06, in B fla t. Allegro . fo llowed by4 w itho ut rests . In th e sclzerz o o f this so n a ta the s ingle m ea sure

phra ses co n t inue fo r a n unusua l t ime,a nd n o t t i ll the eighteen th

ba r do es the complemen ta ry fo ur-mea sure rhythm en ter.

1 Cho irma sters may thin k the fo llow ing experimen t w o rth trying.

In a ny hymn which co n ta in s fo ur equa l verses to ea ch sta nza,let

there be a sl igh t pa use fo r brea th , ma k ing a momen ta ry brea k inthe co n t inu ity o f equa l ba rs , a Caesura , a t the end o f the first a ndthe seco nd verses ; then let third a nd fo urth verses be sung w i tho uta Caesura . (By verse we mea n

, o f co urse, the s ingle l in e o f th e

po etry.) This w i ll be in a cco rda nce w ith the Greek aestheticlaw tha t two deta ched phra ses sho uld be fo llowed by a s ingle

HALF—RHYTHMS 1 4 7

In symphonies long successions o f Half-rhythmsare often found , more especially in the working outsection

,fo r such passages have the effect o f carrying

on an unbroken Melos,while the Half- rhythms are

not indicated by any Caesuras or closes,but by the

melod ic construction . A two-measure figure repeatsit self over and over again before it comes to anyconclusion

,so that an unbroken phrase o f more

than ordinary length is produced . This would seemto mili tate against our contention on page 2 1 thatthe mind cannot grasp a large section o f time ; butwe quickly seize the two-measure nature o f themelody

,and this s a tisfies -our rhythmical sense

, Whilethe Melos continues an unbroken course . Any

number o f such passages are to be met within symphonies

,and not always in the “ working

7 ,out section only. Let the reader listen carefully to the middle part o f the first movement o f

almost any symphony, and he will notice howmuch o f i t falls in to two —mea sure fractions o f theMelos .

unbro ken phra se equa l to the tw o previo us o nes combined ; a ndwe th in k tha t the cho irm a ster w ill pro bably find tha t such a

trea tmen t w i l l give a vigo ur a n d s ign ifica nce to the rhythm whichw il l qu ickly be seized a nd a pprec ia ted by the co ngrega t io n, a ndwhich w i ll be mo re sa tisfa cto ry tha n a mecha n ica lly strict a dhesio nto the va lue o f the n o tes

“a s w ritten ,” pro duc ing a brea thless

effect, o r a pause a fter ea ch l ine, w hich is apt to give a heavy a nd

wea risome result.


HALF-RHYTHMS 1 49

precede and succeed them . I t i s remarkable thatthe Anacrusi s does not occur throughout this dance .In very slow movements o f Triple time it i s not

rare to find Periods Whose Rhythms are complete intwo Measures and in thi s case the phrase i s really atwo-measure Rhythm , while the half- rhythms consisto f one measure only . The reason o f th is lies in thel imitation o f our power o f time measurement

,which

,

at the outset o f the book,we have shown to be the

fundamental cause which necessi tates the divi sion o fmusic into short phrases.

Ex. 4 1 .

Bs ar novw (Ovs k'rua a LEONORE N o .

I st Rhythm.

a nd Rhythm.


It will be seen tha t in Ex . 4 1 the Period is strictlymade up o f two Rhythms , the first o f which endswith a ha lf— close

,the second with a full close in the

toni c nothing could be more definite. But theRhythms a re o f two Mea sures only in length . Suchpa ssages often conta in quavers

,which ma ke a n even

Subsidiary accentua tion,so tha t the long-drawn notes

do not weary and the bar in this form is a lludedto by the Greeks under the name o f a Six- timeMeasure

,o f w hich the quaver i s the Prima ry value .

Following Greek ru le , some modern theorists haveexpla ined that in music ha ving six Primary Times in

a measure (w ith the Diaeresis n I? I?) the

normal phra ses are a lwa ys o f tw o and the norma lPeriods o f four mea sures . Bu t we do not thinki t necessa ry to complica te our theory by referenceto a six- time measure : we think there i s nod ifii culty in accepting such mea sures as conta iningthree Prima ry va lues , each o f wh ich is divided fo rrhythmica l purposes into tw o Subsidia ry va lues .Moreover

,a composer can

,if he wishes

,construct

Rhythms in slow Triple time o f four measures ,by the repetition o f some striking subsidiary figure

,

as in the slow movemen t o f the Fourth Symphonyo f Beethoven a lready a lluded to on page 29 , andin so doing he applies the principle o f ma king a

lengthy phrase in telligible by repeti tions o f a short

HALF-RHYTHMS 1 5 1

figure . The msthetic value o f the three- timeMeasure in l w tempo with Periods o f

Rhythms, i s very great ; fo r while solemnity anddepth o f feeling is more usually expressed in evenslow time , the possibility o f using triple measurefo r the same purpose gives opportun ities fo r contrastand variety. It is perhaps worthy o f remark thatthis kind o f movement is less often found in verymodern music than in that o f the older masters

,

owing perhaps to the greater strenuousness o f

modern life , which is reflected in our music ; wehave less necessi ty than our forefathers fo r varietyin slow movements .The Rhythm o f three Measures is used in several

ways . A normal Period may be unexTh ”rm

pectedly curtailed by the cutting o ff o f Maamra

one o f its measures,usually the la st

,so

that the succeeding Period compels attention byentering before its due time . An example o f thiseffect occurs a t the very outset o f E lga r

’

s Symphony,

Op . 5 5 . See Ex . 1 2 7 , page 2 8 9 . This example,

however , show s a somewhat novel u se o f the threemeasure Rhythm to curtail the Period , fo r i t i scombined with a n apparent Overlap

,as explained on

page 290 .

A more u s iJa l use o f the isolated three-measureRhythm is found in Ex . 4 2 .


THREE-MEASURE RHYTHMS 1 5 3

The clarinet ends i ts phrase on the B,and the violin

enters with a new phrase,whose commencing chord

shows that here there i s no kind o f Overlap . Isolatedthree— measure phrases like thi s a re very common inmodern music , and we shall meet w i th them when wecome to the analysi s o f composit ions . They are foundin the older music

,but more ra rely . Their ms thetic

value is that they keep the movement going with un

flagging energy, fo r no monotony i s possible with anintermingling o f three and four—measure Phrases .We have noticed that Mozart

,Haydn

,and Beet

hoven occasionally employ short successions o f threemeasure Rhythm s . Brahms goes more boldly intothe matter , and makes the three—mea sure the fundamental Rhythm o f a whole section o f a movement

,

as, fo r example , in his G minor Pianoforte Quartet ,o f which Ex . 43 shows the opening ba rs

Ex. 43 .

BRAHMS PIANOFORTE QUARTET IN G M INOR (Op.— R0N o o

ALLA Z INGARES E .

I st Rhythm. zud Rhythm .

It i s headed “ Rondo alla Zinga rese, and itsthree-measure Rhythms are suggestive o f wild gipsylife . A contrast i s produced by the strictly fourmea sure structure o f the second section , and o f part


o f the mono presto , but the prevailing Rhythmthroughout i s that o f three mea sures .

1 2 3

Mo st po ten t, gra ve, a nd reveren t S ign i o rs,Ma s c. ending.1 2 3 4 5

My very no ble a nd a ppro ved go o d m a sters ,Fem.

I 2 3 4 5

T ha t I ha ve ta’

en a w ay th lS o ld ma n s da ugh ter,Fem.

a 3 4 s

It IS m o st true ; true, I ha ve m a rri ed h er ;Ma sc .

I 2 3 4 s

T he very hea d a nd fro n t o f my o ffend i ng' Fem.

I.

2 3

Ha th th IS ex ten t,no m o re.

Cat s .

The a bove lines from Othello w ill serve as an

Th , Fir/aana logy in verse fo r the rhythmical s truc

Meamre ture we are about to describe,the u se o f

which o n a n extended sca le has beena ttempted by Brahms alone amongst the grea tma sters , so fa r as we are awa re .

The Rhythm o f five mea sures h a s always beenrecogn i sed , a nd i s described by H . C . Koch in his“ Anleitung zur musikalische Composi tion

,1 7 8 7 .

H e gives i t the techn ical term o f F ii nfer,

” and sa ysthat i t ca n arise in severa l ways . It can be a n extension o f the Vierer " (four—mea sure), by a repet itiono f its fina l chord , w i th or without ornamentation .

Or one o f the interna l measures o f a V ierer can berepeated ; bu t i n both these cases he considers that iti s not a true Funfer

,bu t merely a n extended V i erer .

FIVE-MEASURE RHYTHMS 1 5 5

The real Funfer,which is rare

,he says

,is one in

which there i s no extension or repetition,but the

phrase comes to its natural ending,masculine or

feminine , on its fifth measure .The above kinds o f five—measure phrases can be

found in almost any classical work , but they areused as a rule in such a manner tha t . they do notdisturb the even flow o f four or two measures, sincethey overlap the succeeding Rhythm

,so that their

last accent coincides with the first o f the next phrase.

Hence the 5 + 4 measures only make a Period o f

eight measures between them .

Ex. 44 .

R. STRAUSS,E IN HELDENLEBEN (Op.

Overla p.


SI! -MEASURE RHYTHMS I 5 7

Next to Rhythms o f four and o f two measuresthose o f six are the most used . As a rule

The Six

they are made by adding a Half- rhythm to Maa mra

an ordinary four-measure phrase,and this Mytm’

i s frequently done in such a way that the wholeRhythm is distinctly divided from the half whichfollows it , so that we can speak o f the six-measureas having a Ca sura at i ts fourth measure.But there are cases o f S ix—measure Rhythms

without perceptible Caesura, such as the secondo f the two in Ex. 34 , page 1 22 ; and they arevery beautiful . Six-measure can also be dividedinto as in the first o f Ex. 34 , orby Caesuras .A very common use o f the Six—measure Rhythm isshown in Ex . 52 , page 1 94 , from Brahms

’

Rhapsody ,Op . 1 1 9 , No. 4 ,

where i t overlaps the next Period,

in the same way,and fo r the same reason as we

described in connection with the five-measure onpage 1 5 5 . In thi s example the overlap does notdisturb the flow o f five—measures upon which thecomposer builds th i s Rhapsody ; but where there i sa six-measure with overlap in the midst o f fourmeasures

,the result is a Period o f nine measures

instead o f eight , and an intentional slight disturbanceo f the regular flow o f normal phrases.I n Ex. 5 , page 3 8 , we have shown six-measure

Rhythms produced by Duple Subs id ia ry, in combina


tion with Triple Primary Measure ; but such casesare rare .Rhythms o f seven measures a re only met with in

isolated ca ses,their most usual place being

Rfiyt/mu ofSew n at the end o f a seri es o f Per i ods, whereMed i um

they a re formed by several repetitions o fthe concluding chord o f the full close . They are,however

,sometimes used with an Overlap, so tha t

the impression o f severa l six—measure Phrases i sgiven ; but a Phrase o f so considerable a length asseven Mea sures almost alw a ys repeats some defin iteshort figure

,which

,as w e have a lrea dy expla ined

,

satisfies our sense o f rhythm .

CHAPTER VII

Va ria tio ns o f Tempo— The Pa use— Rests a nd Empty T imes

Haydn’s humo ro us use o f Rests — Rests in R. Strauss

’ “ To d

und Verklarung”— Examples o f Di aeres is in Brahms a nd

Grieg— Unbarred Mus ic : Beetho ven,Op. 106.

SIN CE the fundamenta l element o f rhythm consistsi n the division o f time by definite groups ”rim”, ofo f accents , it would seem to follow that Tm?"the more precisely we can measure o fl’ these intervalso f time

,the more sati sfactory will the rhythm be .

But this i s by no means always the case,and a

performer who plays with absolutely mechanicalprecision o f time i s apt to weary his l i steners .Our artistic feeling resents the presentation o f

anything connected wi th the emotions with rigidmathematical exactness o f detail ; and in all perfo rma nces in which the feelings as well as the fingerstake part

,there will inevitably be sl ight variations o f

tempo, almost imperceptible perhaps , due to the“ personal equation o f the pla yer . Such variationsfrom mechan ical precision give a performance a l iving,human expression

,which i s absent from the most


VARIATIONS OF TEMPO 1 6 1

relaxation o r efl'

o rt, to prepare fo r a fresh start, arenewal o f effort when the original tempo i s againtaken up ; or it impresses the passage more forciblyby call ing attention to it ; or it has a contemplative ,languorous effect.To produce a true a ccellera ndo or rita rda na’o demands a certain artistic capacity. Those who havenot this capacity

,whether instinctive or acquired ,

will be apt , in stead o f making a gradual increase ordecrease o f pace , to suddenly change the tempo from,

say,a nda nte to a llegro, or vice warm ,

and will thus doaway with the intended effect. For a sudden changealters the character o f the music , while a gradualchange only slightly modifies i t, and serves toimpress a given passage more forcibly on thebea rer.

In dramatic music great use is made o f a ccellera ndoand n '

ta rda ndo fo r expressions o f j oy, grief, and otheremotions : the music , following the ever—varyingfeelings o f the actor, quickens or slows down inaccordance with the sentiment to be expressed .

Beethoven,ever alive to the importance o f moving

the mind rather than merely pleasing the ear , ma degreat use o f the a eoellera ndo and Thus ,in his sonata in E flat, Op . 3 1 , No . 3 , the rhythm isestablished by the pair o f measures which we haveshown to be the smallest number that can produce

~

asense o f rhythm . The accentuation o f these two


measures i s driven home to us by strong discordswe are meant to feel the rhythm to be this, and noother. And n o sooner i s i t established in our brainthan the composer relaxes the movement by am

'

ta rda na’o combined with a crescendo (a paradoxwhich seems to have been invented by him), leadingus

,we do not know whither

,in key or rhythm , until

we suddenly find ourselves happily launched into theprincipal k ey, with the origina l tempo o f the twoopen ing measures re- established .

It is said that when playing his o wn works Beethoven sometimes adopted a tempo ruba to , in which hisever-varying moods had free play . This delicatenua nce

,which consists o f here and there slightly

altering the tempo within the mea sures,w hile the

Rhythms retain their normal relative time,i s un

doubtedly a powerful means o f expression in thehands o f a competent executant . It i s o f courseabsolutely opposed to a mechanically exact t imedivision ; and the personality o f the player comesperhaps more into evidence by it than by most othermeans . On the orchestra it would scarcely seempossible : yet such i s the growing discipline andsympathy between orchestras and their conductors

,

that we never know what developments may takeplace, and it i s quite possible that the tempo ruba to

will be attained , if i t has not been already .

Rhythmical movement may , fo r dramatic and

THE PAUSE 1 63

expressive effects , be i nterrupted by sustain ing anote or rest beyond its relative value . Tee Fame.

The Ferma te, or Pause , causes us to concentrateour attention on the single note

,or on the passage

that immediately preceded it,or , i n the case o f a

rest , on that which follows . The succession o f

time— i ntervals which has been established in ourmind ceases ; the rhythm is deliberately broken , andwe are compelled to take notice o f what i s happening .

The Pause attracts our attention if i t occupies thelast note o f a Period : more if it is on the last noteo f a Rhythm

,and still more if it i s within a Rhythm .

Beethoven,in his Fifth Symphony

,and elsewhere

,

has shown that pauses can be effectively employedbefore the establishment o f the rhythm

,with very

dramatic results . In our Ex . 40 the movementopens with a pause . This

,however

,i s not fo r

dramatic effect,but merely to strengthen the im

pression o f the prelim inary or exclamation note.The Pause

,l ike the rita rda na’o and a cee/Zera ndo

,

can be made to fail o f its due effect . The conscientio u s unimaginative player

,or choirmaster , who

carefully gives a pause a definite value with relationto the preceding rhythm , e ntirely misunderstands thenature and obj ect o f the pause . The result o f thisproceeding is merely to prolong the Rhythm inwhich it occurs , so that, say , a four-measure Rhythmbecomes one o f four and a half, or five measures

,as


THE PAUSE I 65

This note is frequently a high one,and the final

cadence,as its name implies

,falls from it to the

tonic . There is,as a rule

,no dramati c or ex

press io na l reason fo r breaking the rhythm here ; onthe contrary

,there is usually every reason against it .

The introduction o f an unwritten pau se i n th i s placeis due entirely to the vanity o f the singer

,and it

generally results i n a large amount o f applause froman uncritical audience

,who are pleased with the

mere sound o f the powerful high note, withoutnoticing that it i

sridiculous from every point o f View

other than the personal di splay o f the performer .If a public speaker were to make nonsense o f hissentences by dwelling fo r an i ndefinite time on somesingle syllable o f a word merely because he foundthat it suited his mouth , the same audience thatapplauds the senseless Pause o f the singer wou ldlaugh at him . In the older display pieces , in am o un t

songs,i n instrumental concertos

,and similar com

positions,there i s usua lly a Pause

,indicated by the

composer,on the antepenultimate note o f the final

cadence,that is , on the chord that precedes the

domi nant . This pause is o f an en tirely differentnature from that to which we have alluded

,though it

i s introduced fo r the express purpose o f giving anopportunity fo r display . I t i s not the result o f

caprice or vanity : the preceding Period is so constructed as to lead up to it

,and the audience expects


a break in the rhythm at thi s point . The di splaydoes not take the form o f a senseless prolongation o fa single high note as long as the breath w ill last .On the contrary

,the performer i s expected to

embellish the Pause wi th passages in w hich heexhibits hi s own individuality , a nd these pa ssages , inthe hand o f a firs t— rate arti st , frequently take theform o f a masterly development o f the themes o f

the composition . The composer,in fact , here gives

place to the performer, who , to do his subject j ust ice,must be more or less on the same arti stic level asthe composer whose work he i s interpreting.

Mendelssohn opens the Midsummer Night’sDream Overture with a series o f long held Pauses ,in which there is no attempt at establish ing aRhythm . These Pauses a re on a series o f Preliminary chords , and serve to keep the mind on the

alert w ith expectation : they are an extension o f theprinciple involved in the Preliminary Pause seen inour Ex . 40 .

That the whole o f a Rhythm,whatever i ts number

Rem a nd o f Measures , i s not necessarily en tirelyEmfl )’ Tim“ occupied with sound needs no t to bementioned

,fo r everyone i s familiar with passages in

which numerous rests occur. Such rests alsooccurred in ancien t Greek mus i c under the picturesque name o f “ Empty times . They are n o t

the places where a melody ceases fo r a moment and

RESTS AND EMPTY TIMES 1 67

the accompaniment continues i ts course ; the“ Empty times " o f which we have to speak arethose in which sound entirely ceases

,and the rhythm

continues to exist,though it is no longer heard .

After a rhythmical form has been established,rests

,

or cessations o f sound,on the unaccented portions o f

measures, whether primary or subsidiary , are naturalenough ; we hear the accents , and that is a ll werequire in order to appreciate the rhythm

,and such

rests are, as a rule , o f the nature o f Caesuras . Butcessations o f sound on accented places make a cons iderable demand on the intelligence

,and thi s i s

more especially the case if they occur early in thepiece , before the rhythm has had time to becomeestablished.

To the cultured musician they give little efforthis musical faculties are trained to seize on and enjoyevery rhythmical feature without conscious effort.But a fairly high degree o f intelligence in an audiencemust be presumed before a composer would ventureto write such a passage as the opening bars o f theRondo o f Beethoven’s Sonata

,Op . 1 0 , No . 3 ,

Ex . 46 (see next page).Were i t not so familiar to us it would provebewildering if we hea rd i t without seeing the notes,and thi s i s evidently the intention o f the composer .The first Period ends with a full close in thedominant

,the two chords forming the close being


RESTS AND EMPTY TIMES 1 69

To appreciate the existence o f a thing that i s in ourpresence yet i s unheard and unseen makes a greatcall on our faculties

,and presupposes a cultivated

mind . If we had the music before us when firsthearing this passage the matter would be plainenough ; but Beethoven could not have suppliedcopies to his audience .The strain on the imagination is relieved

,or

,we

may perhaps say, the puzz le is solved fo r us , withthe second Rhythm , which is full o f notes . Others ta rtling silences occur in this well-known movement,and similar instances o f the use o f rests in place o faccents will occur to the reader .1In the Adag io o f the Waldstein sonata the im

pressive effect caused by the silence on the first beato f the second and fourth bars is familiar to a ll. Thebars contain two measures each , the Rhythms fourmeasures . A silence on the last measure o f a Periodis not at all uncommon

,but a silence on the th ird

accent o f a Rhythm is rare , and in this case producesa profound efl’ect o f earnestness .So delicate a rhythmical device must be treatedl An amus ing example o f the d ifficulty the o rd in a ry l istener

h a s in apprecia t ing rests o ccurred a t Cambridge ma ny yea rs a go .

An undergradua te o rchestra played Beetho ven ’s First Sympho ny,

and the lo ca l repo rter, hearing the curio us in tro ductio n to the

la st mo vemen t fo r the first t ime, a nd being en tirely una ble to

apprec ia te the rests, rema rked tha t the ba nd h ad some d iffi cultyin start ing the la st mo vemen t

”!

1 70 RHYTHM O F MODERN MUS IC

very carefully ; i t could easily become commonplaceif repeated too often . Hence , when Beethoven re

peats the same phrase later in the movement, thesilence i s filled up

,and to make it clear that this is

deliberate,attention is called to the fact by the

somewhat elaborate Anacrusis in the bass .In the Intermezzo

,Op. 10

,No . 3 , Ex . 4 7 , Brahms

carries the principle o f “ Empty Times ” to an

E x. 47 .

BRAHMS INTERMEZZO (Op. 1 0, N o .

I st Rhythm.

rst intro ducto ry 2nd intro ducto rymea sure. mea sure.

extreme point , fo r he allows only the Anacrusis o fthe two Preliminary Measures to be heard withoutthe accents that would make them intelligible. I t isimpossible fo r a person listen ing to thi s piece fo r the

RESTS AND EMPTY TIMES 1 7 1

first time , and not seeing the music, to know thatthe first two chords are the Anacrusi s o f twomeasures whose accented notes are omitted . Theplayer cannot, short o f visibly beating the time , makethem sound otherwise than as accented notes . Forthe whole o f our experience leads us to expect singleintroductory chords to occur on the first

,and

certainly not on the last note o f a bar (e.g . Beethoven ’s “ Eroica

,Mozart’s “

Jupiter,” Not

till the unexpected entry o f the C sharp in the thirdbar are we aware that the introductory chords areunaccented ; and the sudden apparent change o f

rhythm thus early in the movement causes a shockand astonishment

,and has all the elements o f energy

and alertness o f which Brahms gives so manyexamples .At the end o f the first section o f this piece

,after

the orthodox full close in the dominant , theIntroducto ry Measures are repeated in rhythmically thesame form as at first

,but we are now aware o f their

significance,and are no t taken by surprise . Their

motivo i s developed at the end o f the second section ,before the return o f the principa l subj ect ; but here ,as there is no longer any rhythmical novelty about i t,the composer takes advantage o f the fact to introducep ia nissimo chords on each a ccent , which are sustaineduntil the Anacrusi s is heard low down in the bass .And since the pecu liar rhythmical structure o f the


HUMOROUS USE OF RESTS 1 7 3

closes, and subsequent repetit ions o f both full andhalf-closes have been followed by general pauses .The joke is complete when three whole measures are

Ex. 48 .

HAYDN , QUARTET IN FLAT— FINALE— (LAST E IGHT BARS).

E nd o f Perio d .

given in silence,after which the full close at last

appears in its proper place,namely

,at the end o f a

Rhythm .

But,in contrast to this

,Rests can be used fo r the

most tragic expression . The opening Tee Rem ix

Stra zm’Todbars o f R i chard Strauss ‘Tod und

a nd Vere/a

Verk liirung” consist o f the pia nissz

'

mo rung .

”

repetition o f a single chord on the unaccented partso f each measure , the accented parts being represented


by “ Empty Times,or by rests against sustained

notes . The soft reiteration o f a single minor chord,in a rhythmical figure which it i s impossible to seizeowing to the absence o f accen ts

,depicts i n a vivid

and gha stly manner the scene described in the firststanza o f the poem prefixed to the symphony . Theunearthly Death motive

,rhythmica l a nd yet without

accent,the rare changes o f harmony

,the occa sion al

intervention o f a melody o f four measures in length ,only one o f whose norma l accents i s struck , theS igh o f the two-measure phrase

all help to complete the weird picture . Then,

again,i n the Allegro molto ag ita te, the tragic tone o f

the fortissimo opening phrases i s enhanced , if notaltogether produced , by the same device , the Rest inplace o f accent ; and although the full orchestrais at work , yet the normal accent i s everywhereobscured by syncopation if n o t by rests . And

yet again , in the stormy motive that starts atAlla breve

, there are “ Empty times in place o f

accents ; fo r S i lence i s often more expressive thansound.

EXAMPLES OF DUERE SIS 1 7 5

A favourite change o f Dimres is with Brahms ,already alluded to on page 1 23 , i s t hat o f Examfl“ of

Dia ’rerz'

r inwhich Ex . 49 shows the construction . Bra/zmr a nd

Grieg .

Ex. 49 .

BRAHMS ROMANCE (Op. 1 1 8,N o .

1{ a rz'

t. 3 b 4

E nd o f Perio d .

Although not written so , the change is really dueto Syncopation . The latter bar is equivalent to

Ex. 50.

The effect can only be introduced at or near theend o f a Rhythm , after the accentuation has beenestabli shed . Grieg makes use o f it in Subsidiarynotes in the last movement o f his Violin Sona tain F ,

Op . 8 .


UNBARRED MUSIC 1 7 7

sible to ordinary mortals by a genius so transcendent,

so grand,as occurs only once in many centuries .

The La rg o i s the logical outcome o f the Adag io .

The rhythm o f the Adagio i s continuous throughout .In spite o f i ts length , there is no change o f tempo oro f rhythm-species ; there are no pauses to break theflow , and only two ri ta rda ndos . The massive wealtho f sound pours forth in a never-failing stream

,and

in a cOntinua l regularity o f triple rhythm . A greattension has been placed on the faculties in sustainingso lofty a height : there must be a temporary breakbefore encountering a new rhythmical movement .To subj ect such a movement as the L a rgo to thedissecting knife seems almost l ike sacrilege . Yet weventure to do it

,i n the hope that our readers

,when once

they have followed our analysis , will forget all aboutit,and give themselves up to enjoying the emotional

effect o f the music, without thinking too much o f thetechnical skill exhib i ted in i t

,great though i t is.

Beethoven gives the direction , “ Per [a misura si

conta nel L a rgo sempre qua ttro semi erome,

rib e

h h R R .

“ For the bars in the Largo,four

0 0 O

semiquavers must always be counted .

” The movement is a Recitative . The composer talks to hisaudience

,but not in regular rhythm . He w i shes

to make a contrast to the long- sustained rhythmo f the previous movement. He keeps to his key

,

only enharmonically changing the notation .M


The signature1475 i s not in use : hence, fo r

purpose o f ana lysi s , we have in Ex . 5 1 changedsemiquavers to crotchets .

Ex. 5 1 .

BEETHOVEN SONATA (Op.

La rge. I s t Rhythm.

(Con moto).

Prelimina ryMea sure. Ana c . Ana crus i s .

Ana crus is . Ana crusis . An a crus is .

zud Rhythm .

UNBARRED MUS IC 1 79

Add itio na l Ha lf-rhythm.

Beethoven himself gives a ba rline in the place wehave indicated . There is a full close here in the keyo f G flat major

,which shows that this , at least , is the

end o f a Rhythm . In order to get at the underlyingrhythmical scheme

,we must work backwards from

the ba rline in measures o f four semiquavers (i n ourexample they will be four crotchets). We shall thenobtain the following results . The first accent in themovement occurs on the pause on the high F . Thisis the accen t o f a Preliminary Measure, and to i t i sj oined an Anacrusis o f three-quarters o f a measure ,divided into triplets

,whose final note is tied to the

accented preliminary note : hence the Preliminaryaccent i s not struck

,but imagined , s ince it i s

incorporated into the Anacrusis .The Pause o n this unstruck Preliminary accen ted

note breaks up the expected phrase . A new Ana

crus is opens the four-measure Rhythm ,but instead

o f its first accent being heard,or even tied to the

Anacrusis , the sound ceases altogether , the accentbeing represented by a rest . This i s the case with


UNBARRED MUSIC I 8 I

This contemplative and intensely suggestive movement is divided into two portions by a short fuga topassage

,which suddenly breaks o ff in the midst o f

i ts course , and leads back to a repetition o f theopening Anacrusis i n a new key. The distributiono f the subsidiary rhythm between the two handsafter the final pause i s very striking ; i t graduallyquickens to a prestissimo , and leads into a vigorousfugue .

CHAPTER VI I I

Sta eea to —Forte, Pi a no, Crereertdo, a nd D iminuerzdo— Th e Orga n

a nd Accen t— Mecha n ica l In strumen ts a nd Accen t— The

Rhythm ica l Scheme o f a Complete Compo s it io n Illustra tedby Bra hms

’Rhapso dy, Op . 1 1 7

A SERI E S o f sounds may be closely connectedSta eea to. together in a lega to style , or they may beplayed sta cca to , i .e. detached from one another ;or

,as with every other musical feature , the two

styles may be interm ixed .

The principle o f detachment is the same , whetherindicated by rests between the notes , or dots overthem ,

or a combination o f dots or slurs : i t is onlya question o f degree . To explain what we believeto be the principle involved in the staccato style

,we

will again have recourse to poetry.

Except fo r certain dramatic effects,each verse o f

poetry is recited in what may be compared to thelega to style i n music ; the verse is only broken if apunctuation S ign , a Cmsura , occurs in its midst .Single words may be occasionally detached fromothers , but we can hardly imagine S i ngle syllables

STACCATO I 83

being separated by a distinct break in the sound,

unless,perhaps

,fo r a humorous obj ect.

But instrumental music , on the contrary, obtain ssome o f its most striking effects by the detachmento f i ts notes in the sta cca to

,and

,again

,we have a

feature in which poetry and music,so like in the

fundamental principles o f their rhythm , are very fa rapart in i ts details .But a verse can be divided by rhymes or Caesuras

into half-verses , j ust as a Rhythm can be divided intohalf- rhythms and single measures, by rests, Caesuras,and closes .In our view,

sta cca to i s simply the principle o f

division carried a step further,and applied to S ingle

notes instead o f single measures . This separation o f

musical sounds,whether o f the measures composing

the Rhythm or o f notes forming the measure,has no

effect on the fundamental rhythmical structure, andWhether we play a passage sta cca to or leg a to, thegrouping o f the music into Rhythms and Periodswill not necessarily be . obscured .

But a stacca to rendering will produce a totallydifferent msthetic effect from the lega to . If a melodywhich has been conceived and constructed to beplayed in the lega to manner is performed sta cca to

,i t

will sound either ridiculous or meaningless ; and if,on the other hand , what was intended fo r sta cca to i splayed lega to, i t will have a heavy and dull effect, or ,


STACCATO 1 8 5

which is in an unaccented place,will produce the

effect o f syncopation . The detaching o f the noteson either side o f the slurred notes adds additionalforce to the passage : e.g .

i s more forcible than

When all the notes are to be played sta cca to ,

the intelligent performer instinctively gives theproper accentuation j ust as he does in a lega tophrase .I t makes li ttle difference in the rhythm whether a

phrase is played loudly or softly,as long Forte a nd

P i a no,

Crescendo and

an equal degree o f force from begi nning Diminuendo.to end . But the Crescendo and D iminuendo have agood deal o f i nfluence on rhythm . By gradually

as the passage in question is sustained at

increasing the power we at the same time increasethe force o f th e accentuation . Each successivemeasure is slightly more accented than its predecessor

,and hence we get a R i s ing Accentuation

carried through several measures,instead o f being

confined to pairs o f measures,as we have hitherto

explained it. We believe that to the increase o f

accentuation is due in no small degree the tremendons emotional effect o f many well-knownpassages in orchestral music ; and the conductor whohas hi s band well under control can utili se this means


o f expression more powerfully than can be done onany solo instrument .The D iminuendo has

,o f course

,the reverse effect

o f the Crescendo . I t consists o f a lessening o f thesuccessive accents

,o f a gradual relaxation o f effort

a Falling Accentuation is produced on a large scale ,and from energy we are brought to tranquilli ty , orto a less demonstrative expression .

A Crescendo usually leads to a Forte or Fortissimo .

AS long as thi s i s sustained , the rhythm i s n o t

affected by the loudness o f the music,but by the

arrangements o f i ts long and Short notes , i ts sforz a ndosand accents , etc . And exactly the same effects areavailable fo r enforcing the rhythm in a P ia no or

P i a niss imo passage,so that mere loudness does not

give strength , nor softness wea kness . Power o f

expression in both depends on whether the rhyth

mical construction is conceived and ca rried out in away that appeals to us . The tremendous effect o fthe first movement o f the Fifth Symphony is duemore to the intensity o f i ts accen tuation than to i tsharmony or i ts loudness : frequently severa l mea suresconsist o f the repeti tion o f a S ingle chord

,which

, if

played without a vigorous accent would be more orless mean ingless . A certain pi a nissimo passage towa rdsthe end o f the Scherzo consists o f rhythm alone

,

with unchanging harmony. It i s not weak ; onthe contrary, its emotional eff ect is j ust as great

FORTE AND PIANO 1 8 7

as that o f the forte parts . I t i s said that at thefirst performance o f th is work in London theaudience gradually melted away. Ca n it be thatthe conductor failed to appreciate the importanceo f accen t and rhythm

,or was i t that the audience ,

accustomed to look upon the sweets o f ItalianOpera as the h ighest form o f musical art

,were

unprepared fo r music that strikes fire in the humanbreastIf rhythmdepends so much upon Accent

,with

all its fine shades o f Ri sing,Falling

, T3, Organ

sforz a ndo , Syncopation , etc . , how can it “724 14m”

exist on the Organ,and on the whole tribe o f

mechanical instruments,which are incapable o f

placing a stress on individual notes ? For no onewill deny that rhythm can exist on these instruments ,in spite o f this limitation .

I n this matter there comes to our a id one o f themost subtle and mysterious parts o f our nature,namely

,the faculty fo r imagi ning that we feel or

hear a thing which does not exist,and yet which we

wish to exist. The organ and the machine-mademusic have the same mean s o f making their phrasesint elligible by harmonic structure , and by Caesuras,as are available elsewhere : accent only is absent , andthis i s supplied by our imagination . The harmonicstructure

,and the combination o f longer with Shorter

notes leads us to expect and desire accent , and we


MECHANICAL IN STRUMENTS 1 8 9

Everyone who has listened to the machine knownas the Piano-organ

, must have noticed Med a n” !that , when it plays a properly constructed Instruments

Waltz , i t entirely satisfies our rhythmical a nd Ad m"

feeling, i n spite o f i ts inabil ity to produce accent .One reason seems to be that the single bass note atthe beginning o f each bar is more prominent thanthe rest , fo r a bass string has more powerfulvibrations than strings o f the higher pitches . Thisprominence o f the single bass note

,coming in the

expected places , in addition to the harmonic structureo f the tune , acts to all intents and purposes like asingle stroke on a drum

,and thus satisfies our

demand fo r an accent . And what we have said o f

the wa ltz applies also to other music in which theconstruction i s very S imple

,and the accents would

be,on a musical instrument

,somewhat marked .

But if the music i s not very simple in its harmonicconstruction , or if i t is not already familiar to us,a piece played by mechanical means may be incomprehens ible. We remember hearing a modern composi t ion which was unfamiliar to us played on apianola many times over , but we never succeeded inmaking out where its accents should come

,and

from being at first meaningless i t became withrepeti tion an irri tation to us .While investigating the question o f rhythm in

connection with mechanical instruments, we had an


opportun ity o f visi ti ng the fine collection o f musicalinstruments at th e Deutsclzes Museum der N a tur

w issensclzaft und Teclznilc at Munich . Two mechanicalorgans were set in motion fo r us

,one being an

ancient Specimen,the other contain ing a ll the most

modern improvements . We found tha t both ins truments had been prepa red to play the same piece,namely

,Weber ’s Overture to “ Oberon . As a

coincidence, we remembered tha t some thirty years

ago a gentleman,wishing to exhibit the powers o f

his newly— acquired Orchestrion,had selected the

same piece as the first on h i s programme. Why isthe Overture to Oberon so especially favoured bythe owners o f mechan ical in struments ?The reason struck us a t once

,on hearing i t at

Munich . The frequent repeti tion o f the figure

ffi ?

i n various melodic Shapes,gives this piece a specially

marked accentuation apa rt from stress,so that it is

found to suit mechanica l instruments particularly well .In Engla nd and Fra nce it is the custom to play

marches on the organ , in Spite o f the fact thatthe march requi res to be specia lly accented

,and the

organ has no accent o f i ts own . Here,again , the

S imple harmonic form o f the march,and the j uxta

posi tion Of longs and shorts come to our assistance .The ease with which an “ Organ March ” can be

MECHANICAL INSTRUMENTS 1 9 1

composed and executed has led to its abuse in thehands o f incompetent organists

,who have not

suffi cient intellectual development to discern that thecold calm accentless organ is relentless in its exposureo f anything approaching poverty o f invention orwant o f intell igence on the part o f composer orplayer . The Organ March can only be reallyeffective when written by a composer o f high intellectual power

,and played by an execu tant o f con

s iderable intelligence ; otherwise i t w i ll sound eithertrivial or vulgar

,both o f which qualities are parti

cula rly out o f place on SO noble an in strument .Space forbids us to enter into a discussion o f therhythmical structure o f contrapuntal and other musicmore closely associated with the organ . Our onlyreason fo r alluding to the instrument at all is toshow how large a place our imagination takes inlistening to or performing instrumental music .All composi tions that are conceived and carriedout at a reasonably high level o f art willbe found more or less interesting from a Rfiytfimimlrhythmical point o f View ; fo r, while

i

gfézz

gtif d

melody and harmony produce grace and Cam/”01W”B ra/trms

’

beauty,rhythm gives force and dignity to Rfiapsody,

the music . of “ ”7 '

From the big drum o f the Salvation Army to thedign ified accents o f a Beethoven or Brahms is a fa rcry. Yet the big drum ,

which drives the a ccent home


SCHEME OF A COMPOSITION 1 93

selection , but we will take Brahms’ Rhapsody inE flat

,Op . 1 1 9 , N O . 4 , as an example o f dignity and

strength , combined with a del i cacy and an imaginativerhythmical structure o f the highest order .The tempo is Allegro risoluto . The general formis a modern development o f the old Rondo

,in which

a chief subject recurs several times , with contrastingsubjects between its recurrences .The principal subj ect is followed“ by a second

subj ect in the dominant,after which it i s repeated .

Then comes a third subject , in the relative minor , afourth , i n the subdomina nt, and a return throughthe second to the first. The piece ends with a coda ,Of fresh material .The Rhythms o f the principa l subj ect are o f fiveMeasures each

,a form o f which Brahms ma kes con

s iderable use in his shorter pianoforte works . I tsappeal to the imagination , i ts freedom from co nven

tion,and its broad outl ine , give such pieces as it

occurs in a peculiar charm , which , while i t makesthem particularly attractive to the cultured musician ,i s found a little difficult , perhaps , by those who areonly accustomed to simpler forms . We have alreadyalluded to it on page 1 54 , where we compared i t tothe “ Heroic Verse o f Engli sh Poetry.

Opening with strong masculine dactyls , in whichthe accented notes are made more forcible bysforza ndos , the first Rhythm ends with a solemn

N


Spondee, whose two notes are likewise impressed onus by sforz a ndos, and , as if to strengthen the effect o fthe Spondee, the unaccented note which precedes iti s also given a sfotz a ndo .

E x. 5 2 .

BRAHMS RHAPSODY (Op. 1 1 9 , N o .

A llegro R i s a/zeta .

Perio d 1 .

Perio d 2 .

Perio d 3. F irst Rhythm .

Overla p.

SCHEME OF A COMPOS ITION 1 9 5

Th ird Rhythm.

Fo urth Rhythm .

Overlap.

In the dactyls , the contrast between the sustainedsforza ndo crotchet and the quavers Shortened bysta cca to enhances the accents, which in the first threemeasures are marked as strongly as possible . Thenthere is a lessening o f accent

,the fourth measure

having on its strong portion two quavers,and a

crotchet on its weak place . This change o f accentuation has the effect o f keeping the attention on thealert.The fourth measure leads us to expect a feminine

full close and a four-measure Rhythm but we getinstead an unexpected chord

,a fresh form o f

accentuation , and an addit ional unexpected measurein the Rhythm .


SCHEME OF A COMPOSITION 1 97

second Period apart from its context, a nd we Shall

find that it seems to demand a masculine close onthe fp note , thus producing a S ix-measure in stead Of

a five-measure Rhythm . The structure o f theharmony and melody are suffi cient to account fo rthis demand , and it is strengthened by the fact thatwe are here completing an important section o f thepiece, and embarking on a new key . In a corresponding passage

,later in the movement

,the entry

o f the semiquaver motive is so arranged that it lea dsto a cro tchet/p on the fifth

,n o t the S ixth measure o f

the Rhythm . See Ex . 5 5 . This is absolutelylogical . The first entrance o f the dominant key is animportant event

,and the previous Rhythm seems to

demand a masculine close , which it would not get ifwe adhered rigidly to the five—measure form . In theseventeenth period , Ex . 5 5 , a masculine close is produced without a ltering the flow o f the five—measurerhythms ; the modulation there is merely transient .The third Period has four Rhythms

,three Of

which are al ike,consisting o f solemn spondees

,

followed by two more in the bass,which are

,how

ever,l ightened by an accompaniment o f semiquavers

in the right hand . In the fourth Rhythm o f thisPeriod the spondees are continued to the end in theright hand

,the semiquaver accompaniment o f the last

three is in the bass,and there is a crescendo tofii The

reiteration o f a S ingle chord in the last two mea sures


o f each Rhythm here gives way to a reiterat ion o f asingle note

,a ccompa nied by various harmonies which

lead back to the original key o f E fla t and we maylook upon this Rhythm as containing S ix measures ,the last overla pping the first o f Period No . 4 .

Period N OS . 4 and 5 a re rhythmically a repetitiono f N OS . 1 and 2 . No . 5 leads to a deceptive cadencewhich introduces an independent single Rhythm o f

four measures , Ex. 5 3 , forming no part o f a Period ,

E x . 5 3 .

Perio d 6 .

Independent Rhythm .

Peri o d 7 .

SCHEME OF A COMPOS ITION 1 99

Pefio d 8 .

Pefio d 9.


SCHEME OF A COMPOS ITION 20 1

Did Brahms argue the matter out in any such wayas that which we have indicated 3 Did he deliberatelyset to work to put a few simple chords together andthen clothe them with a rhythm that Should satisfythe conditions we have described ? We prefer toth ink not . We prefer to bel ieve that it was theinstinct o f his great genius

,combined with a highly

cultivated brain,that prompted him to write this

passage without seeking fo r ms thetic reasons why itShould be thus or thus . The work o f genius is tocreate i t is the work Of the analyst to find out

,if he

can , the msthetic reasons why the genius constructedhis work in such a way and no other .Our C minor section ends with an orthodox fullclose in its ton i c

,i n the feminine form ,

perhaps inorder that the transition to the next passage Shouldnot be too abrupt . What we

,fo r convenience

,have

ca lled a bridge now recurs,but this time its single

Rhythm is followed by a complementary Rhythm,the

two together forming the eighth Period . The cornposer is not content to make the second Rhythm hereexactly l ike the first . On the contrary , he increasesthe interest by making the first two measures movetwice as quickly as the corresponding mea sureso f the previous Rhythm , and then rouses ourexpectation by dwelling fo r two whole measureson a g chord o f the new key that i s about toenter .


The rhythmica l scheme o f the section in A fla t ,

Periods 9 a nd 1 0 ,i s peculiarly delightful , even fo r

Brahms,whose music so a bounds in del ightful

rhythmica l expression . If we count th e ba rs , weShall find tha t the nin th and tenth Periods containthe orthodox number o f eight measures ea ch . It iswhen we examine the arrangement, the Diaeresis, o fthe Period

,that the fascination begins . In addition

to the effect produced by the delicate and originalform o f the accompaniment , we find that there i s anequa lly delicate a nd carefully thought out rhythmicalscheme. First we have a Rhythm o f three measures

,

then one o f six mea sures. Bu t the six—measureRhythm is divided by mean s o f the slurs into aphrase o f two followed by one o f four—measures

,which

overla ps and sounds like a three-measure Rhythm .

Hence our eight-measure Periods are arranged in the

unusual form o f 3 2 3 , i n place o f the orthodoxThis melody i s quite Greek in its rhythmica l

cha rm . The Greeks attached grea t importance to

the Di aeresi s , the way in which any rhythmica lsection was divided ; a nd Brahms has a pplied anovel D imres is , a ll his own

,to this melody .

The eleventh Period is a lso o f eight measures,but

i ts Dimres is i s orthodox. Its first Rhythm is dividedinto two pairs o f mea sures

,while its second

,accord

ing to the principle explained on page 1 46, containsfour undivided measures .

SCHEME OF A COMPOSITION 203

The twelfth Period i s rhythmically a repetition o f

the ninth .

The th irteenth Period,Ex . 54 , consists entirely o f

two-measure phrases , which , contrary to the generalrule , are not followed in the same Period by a fourmeasure Rhythm . The feeling fo r the rule is not

,

however,injured , since this Period is succeeded by a

Ex. 54 .

Perio d 1 3.

series o f unbroken four-measure Rhythms , in thefourteenth a nd fifteenth Periods . Being a repet itionOf the scheme o f the sixth and seventh (enhancedby additional tr iplets) these two Periods require noSpecial comment .We now return to five-measure Rhythms . The

S ixteenth and seventeenth Periods are a n elaborationo f the first and second . The dactyl and spondeeforms are retained in the bass, while the right handdivides the longer notes o f these forms so that thereare four quavers in each bar . In l

the sixteenthPeriod the principal m elody

,uttered with the extra



Perio d 1 8 .

1

Overla p.

Overla p.

Overlap.

206 RHYTHM OF MODERN MUSICPerio d 1 9 .

Ana crus is.

Ana crus is .

Ana crusi s .

Ana crus is .

each new Rhythm brings the motivo at a higher pitchthan the last , producing a del icate example o f tha teffect which is known to the Germans as “ Steigerung, fo r which we have no technical equivalent.The seventeenth Period ends with the samemelodic figure as the second , but with the d ifferencealready explained on page 1 97 . The second andthird Rhythms are here carefully slurred by the

composer in such a way as to enforce the fact thatthey are o f five measures

,while the last Rhythm is


divided into two-measure phrases by the samemeans .The eighteen th Period forms a new Steigerung .

It has four Rhythms,o f which the last has four

measures,and m akes a crescendo from pp to f

The movement now becomes very stormy . Tremendo us chords alternate with the great arpeggios .The rhythm changes . Attention i s to be centred fo ra time on the grandeur o f the harmonies rather thanon rhythmical refinements . The first Rhythm o f

the nineteenth period contains eight measures,

divided into pairs,or we m ay say that there are four

Half- rhythms in succession,and each rhythm is

a na crus ic . The Half-rhythms are Sharply definedby masculine closes

,the final one increasing the

breathless excitement by being cut into two singlemeasures . The series o f two-measure phrases isfollowed by an undivided four-measure Rhythmwhich completes the Period , a nd leads to the reprise

o f the chief subj ect in Periods 20 and 2 1 .

With the twenty— second Period,Ex. 5 6 , com

mences the coda . I t introduces a new figure,and is

a na crus ic. I t begin s with a five-measure Rhythm,

but the second Rhythm is broken into three S inglemeasures , succeeded by a group o f four The restless excitement is increased by sforz a ndos on theunaccented detached semiquavers o f the right hand

,

and fresh ardour i s aroused in the twenty- third,the



gradually rises in pi tch through a Space o f twooctaves . The final cadence i s occupied by a singlerhythm o f four measures in ponderous chords , commencing with an Anacrusis .This composition is only one amongst the manyexamples Brahms has given us o f his mastery overrhythmical possibili ties . He pushed forward themodern development o f the art o f music in manydirections ; but we believe that in no direction washis work more important than in the impetus hegave to the cultivation o f a high , arti stic , emotional ,and intellectual sense o f rhythm .

CHAPTER IX

Brahms,Sympho ny in D

,Op. 7 3

— Tscha i kow sky, Sympho n icPa thétique, Op. 74

Allegro non troppo , Key D ,Time Signa ture

THE bars are S imple , hen ce the down bea t o f theconductor marks the accent o f each

Rfiytbmzca l

Ana lysis of Measure,and the Anacrusi s, when i t

7

BMW” occurs,

IS easy enough to d i st i ngu Ish .

N o 2 in D, The Primary note is the crotchet .

Op. 7 3 ' The movement Opens w i th a Preliminary Measure

,w hich i s succeeded by a dign ified

Period containing only Primary accentua tion . Thefirst Rhythm is allotted to the horn s and bassoon s

,

the second to the Cla rinets and bassoons .E x . 5 7 .

BRAHMS’ SYMPHONY (Op.

I st Rhythm .

PPrelimina ry ‘

r‘

Mea s ure.

BRAHMS’

SYMPHONY 2 1 1

2nd Rhythm.

The second Period , while rhythmically the counterpart o f the first

,and allotted to the same sets Of

i nstruments,differs from it melodically

,fo r it closes

in A ,and the close is prolonged through seven

measures . During the ca dence the strings enter ,almost imperceptibly at first

,then becoming gradu

ally more audible,and fina lly

,after the wind has

ceased to be heard,they carry on an arpeggio figure

alone,always i n Primary notes , through the Space o f

nine bars . Rhythmical phrasing seems to cease, andgive way to a vague wandering up and dow n inunison on a triad and dominant seventh . But thisvagueness is only apparent : in reality the changefrom the triad to the chord o f the seventh marksthe four-measure construction o f the passage withsuch Skill t hat , while it seems to be formless, it isreally in conventional form

,and it i s left to the

cultivated hearer to discover and appreciate the a rt

with which the underlying convention is hidden .

The unison passage ceases . The roll o f the drum


BRAHMS ’

SYMPHONY 2 1 3

musical composi tion that the interest can be enhancedby the gradual introduction o f notes quicker thanthose o f the opening subject

,and Brahms i s here

only using an effect well known to every composer .But there are two ways o f using it. The increase o fmovement may be introduced in such a way as tomake the li stener feel that it i s only there becausethe composer has com e to the end o f his resources

E x. 59 .

Overlap.

i n Primary Rhythm . The other way is tointroduce it in such a manner that the listener issurprised and pleased at its appearance. The firstmethod is due to the skill o f the highly trained workman the second is that o f the great artist.In the presen t instance we are not given a repeti

tion o f the first subject enhanced by SubsidiaryRhythm , though we perhaps feel that the time hascome fo r an increase o f movement . Brahms seizesthe opportunity o f introducing an entirely new subj ect


at the point where the Subsidiary Rhythm enters,thus attracting our a ttention away from the formaldetail o f construction , and charming us with new andbeautiful melody.Thi s melody

,beginning with subsid iary notes , and

accompanied by them,rises to a sustained high note

and then descends . I t contain s a Period o f 5 + 5

measures with an Overlap , which makes the Periodnine measures in length . I t i s followed by severalpairs o f measures, ending, a ccording to rule, with anunbroken Rhythm o f four mea sures . We now havea succession o f two-measure phrases, which end witha legato four-measure Rhythm on S trings andbassoons .A new and dignified subj ect , commencing thus ,

E x. 60 .

i s in well defined four-measure Rhythms (withoccasional Half-rhythms)throughout its course, andits closes are fo r the most part feminine. It i s “

ca n

ta ndo ," “ singing ; the chief melody i s allotted to the

BRAHMS’

SYMPHONY 2 I 5

first string o f the violoncellos,and there is something

particularly fitting in the way with which tone- colourand melody seem to suit one another absolutely. TheV iolas play below the violoncellos

,and the double

basses mark the rhythm by their pizz icato notes onthe accents .It i s succeeded by a contrasting new subject indot ted-note rhythm , Ex. 6 1 .

Ex. 6 1 .

sf oen ma re.

Overla p.

A nine-measure Period , 5 5 with Overlap , whosevigorous character i s due equally to the rhythm andthe large melodic intervals

,i s succeeded by a Period

4 6 o f strong staccato Subsidiary da ctyls, which give


BRAHMS ’

SYMPHONY 2 1 7

subj ect (Ex . 5 7 , last four bars) i s provided with twonew Subsidiary motives

,giving a fine example o f

triple counterpoint .

Ex . 63 .

We quote the subject with its two counterpointsonly

,omitting the filling- in parts . It is cut Short by

the omission o f its last measure , an alteration which i sa dhered to in all the inversions o f the counterpoints .The first counterpoint , o n the V i olas , starts withthe longest possible Anacrusi s

,fo r i t occupies a whole

measure except the accent. This counterpoint keepsup an unbroken flow o f sta cca to Subsidiary notes .The second counterpoint

,on the second violins ,

begins on the last Primary note o f the measure ,which is made Jorz a ndo to enforce the Anacrusis o fthe new motive . This motive, it will be noticed,throws its accents anywhere but in the normal places .I ts eccentric conduct in this respect makes its presencefelt

,and adds much to the interest o f the passage.

Some o f the wind instruments fill in the harmonies,


and at the same time aid the second counterpoint inmarking its accents . When the triple counterpointhas had its say

,the Preliminary Mea sure o f Ex. 5 7 is

heard on the trombones , and is no w worked up inpairs o f measures with Dimres is o f melody, and indiminution

,by various wind instruments, to a tremolo

accompaniment on the strings,till i t gives way to a

favourite device w ith Brahms , o f changing the D iz res iso f the bar to that o f the 3 ba r see page 4 3 .

After a fortiss imo , in which , amongst other th ings ,a change o f Diaeresis o f the first measure o f theopening subj ect occurs, Ex . 64 ,

Ex. 64.

Ch a nge o f D iaeres is .

the orchestra softens to p i a no and Ex . 5 7 re- enters,

accompanied by Ex . 59 as Subsidiary work , and thethird section o f the movement runs its normalcourse. From a rhythmical point o f view it i snaturally more or less a repetition o f the firstsection , with Slight differences o f detail . The fourmeasure Rhythm preponderates, and where a fivesmeasure occurs , i t i s usually concealed by an Overlap ,

BRAHMS ’

SYMPHONY 2 I 9

so that the general effect i s that o f easily understoodfour-measure groups .

Adag io non troppo . Key B . Signa ture C.

I t is impossible to describe the rhythmical subtletieso f the opening passage o f th is beautiful movementwithout a full quotation . Ex . 65 Shows the firsttwo Periods , w i th the composer ’ s phrasing . In orderthat the underlying rhythmical construction may notbe obscured , we have omitted some o f the wind partswhich merely double those given .

E x . 65 .


Adagz'

o non troppo . I st Rhythm.


BRAHMS’

SYMPHONY 22 I

The horns and double basses sound a solemnsyncopation in notes o f the value o f one Measureeach , on the dominant pedal . The first Anacrusiso f the Violoncello is accompanied by a dotted Anacrus is on the bassoon . In the second Half— rhythmthe bassoon has no dotted note in its Anacrusis , butcalls attention to itself, and slightly modifies thegeneral rhythm

,by the rapid li ttle scale o f demi

semiquavers,the efl’ect o f which is to bring into

prominence the unaccented note on which the scaleends .The first Rhythm concludes with a Full Close

,

but it is obscured by the dominant pedal below th e

tonic triad,by which the composer rounds o ff the

edge o f the phrase .SO fa r we have had the following combination o f

rhythms :

E x. 66.

Melody J J fi l'

Accompaniment‘En J

m a I a

The second Rhythm introduces new material .Like the first it is divided into pai rs o f Measures ;but the second pair is unexpectedly repeated withan altered melody. This at once attracts atten tionwhat will it lead to ? Naturally a full close on the


tonic triad is expected , a fter the dominant seventhhas been twice so promin ently heard in a singleRhythm . But we are again surprised . The tonictriad i s h inted at : the seventh , E ,

fa lls to i ts orthodoxnote

, Dli, but instead o f the other parts o f the chordleading to their regular resolut ion , they pause fo r asingle beat

,and then en ter on an entirely unexpected

chord,so that the end o f the Period , like the end

o f the first Rhythm ,i s concealed by the avoidance

Of what , i n the conventiona l and orthodox style,should occur here .By thi s deceptive cadence the fi rst Period is weldedto the second , and we are carried on without astrongly defined punctuation to the next sentence .The thing probably seems formless and meaninglessto many

,especially to those who like to have every

thing clearly marked and easily understood . But tothose who can appreciate i t

,this avoidance o f well

marked closes,th is subtle concealment o f a form

which underlies the whole as strictly as that o f aHaydn quartet, i s particularly refreshing and attraet ive .The second Period contai ns three Rhythms

, o f

which the fi rs t is divided by the bowing into twosimilar pai rs o f Mea sures, each beginning with aquaver as Anacrusis . In the second Rhythm aphrase o f two Measures divided in to I I , is followedby a phrase o f three Measures . The third Rhythm

BRAHMS’

SYMPHONY 223

has four Measures,commencing with the Anacrusis

o f three quavers, the largest Anacrusis we have yethad in this movement . I t is divided by the bowingin to 2 2 Measures .Here the second Period ends . I t con tains, like

the first , several unexpected harmonies which concealthe ends o f phrases

,and make a demand on the

i ntelligence o f the listener , so that the whole iswelded together in a continuous Melos.After a curtailed repetition Of these two Periods

,

the horn enters i n a so lo passage,making a contem

pla tive melody as followsEx. 67 .

HOR N .

This motive is taken up in turn by other windinstruments and the strings . I t will be noticed thati t i s a na crus ic and has Ri sing accentuation, but itssecond accent is omitted

,and this gives more force

to the accent on the final Measure .


BRAHMS’

SYMPHONY 225

Time on an accent . It occurs at first simplyon its re-appearance it i s accompanied by a doublecounterpoint in semiquavers

,whose commencement

Is Shown in Ex . 69 .

Ex. 69 .

Ana crusi s . E — H

I t is afterwards accompanied by dem i semiquavers ,which add very much to the increasing excitement .Its chief motive is then used as a counterpoint tothe open

ing melody

,Ex . 65 , with a combina tion

o f the -

gand C signatures . This arrangement is

developed at some length,and the Rhythms are

easily recognised .

The final Period Of the movement is worthobserving

,as containing an effect o f which Brahms

makes use in his Requiem, a nd perhaps elsewhere .

The drum beats Soft triplets on the weak portionso f measures , being S ilent on the accented portions .In this final Period use is also made o f the demisemiquaver figure o f bar two

,Ex. 65 : its persi s

tent recurrence here is very effective .


Allegretto gra zioso (Qua si Anda ntino). Signa ture

If in the Adagio a mysterious effect has beenproduced by carefully obscuring the divisions between Rhythms and Periods , in the Allegretto theexact Opposite i s the case . Here everything is asclea r and clean cut a s in a Mozart Sonata , andinstead o f a movement full o f deep thought andprofound sentiment, we have a Scherzo which , whilenot a whit behind the Adagi o i n its intellectua laspects

,charms us with its lightness and delicacy o f

touch .

Its bars are simple,the crotchet being the Primary

note . One o f its characteristics i s the persistentflow o f Subsidiary rhythm , chiefly in the a ccompa n i

m ent,which is played on the violoncellos pizz ica to

in quavers ; and where the quavers cease on the

violoncellos,the motion is maintained by syncopa

tion in other instruments , so that there is no breakin i ts continuity. This refers to the principal subj cet , but in the other subj ects the same features w illbe found , and the Subsidiary rhythm rarely ceases .The melody o f the principal subj ect consists o f

Prima ry notes fo r its first two measures, com

mencing with the accent .Played simply and without expression

,there

would be nothing remarkable about the rhythm o f

these two bars, merely three ordinary co tchets in a

BRAHMS’

SYMPHONY 22 7

bar. But by a little nua nce Brahms alters the wholecharacter o f the tune

,and gives it a spring and life

that make it irresistible . He places a sforza ndo onthe last crotchet o f each ba r ; he accompanies

Ex. 70.

CE LLO . P i sa .

this crotchet by an unexpected chord , and stillfurther marks it by a n a cci a ca tura . The result isthat the note becomes an Anacrusis

,and this gives a

special character to the S imple melodyOn the last crotchet o f the fourth bar there is a

triplet,which forms the Anacrusis o f the second

rhythm,though joined to the end o f the first by a

slur . This connects the two Rhythms together withexcellent effect .


BRAHMS ’

SYMPHONY 1 29

subsidiary rhythm running more or less through allthe parts , and not only in the accompaniment . Themelody is that o f the opening subj ect reduced fromtriple to duple measure . Its four-measure Rhythmsare easily recognisable, till i t comes to a half-rhythmafter the second per iod

,which prepares the way fo r

a new subject in dotted rhythm,with a most in

teresting construction . The Period consists o f twocomplete and two half-rhythms , arranged in theorder 4 + 2 , The division is very clearlymarked by the difference in the internal structure o fthe whole and half-rhythms.

E x. 7 2 .


This ingenious device makes fo r great brilliancyand energy

,and

,as there i s a sforza ndo on each

Primary Time,the energy is increased to the highest

pi tch . After th is exciting passage the movementpursues its way pia nissimo , and leads to a return o f

Ex . 70.

S ix measures o f Presto introduce the motiveo f our last example in syncopation it is quoted onpage 9 8 , in Ex . 2 2 . The rest o f the movement isfo r the most part a development o f th e subjectswhose opening bars we ha ve given . The time i sbroken by a pause on the Anacrusis o f the finalRhythm .

Allegro con Spirito . D Major. S igna ture (13.

The bars a re simple , the minim being the

Prima ry note . The movement starts wi th apeculiarly Brahms— like phra se . A S ingle D i s struckin octaves

,accompanied by fifths on the strings and

E x. 7 3.

Allegro con spi r i to .

BRAHMS’

SYMPHONY 23 1

brass , sotto ruace, on the first accent . I t is followedby a quaver rest, and then a m elody starts Off o n thestrings alone , i n unison , with an Anacrusi s . Wenaturally expect the S ingle D , with its special orchestra tio n ,

to be a Preliminary note,and the melody

proper to commence with the Anacrusis . But thecomposer does not intend anything o f the sort,anything so obvious . He has placed a slur over thefirst four bars

,and included the opening D in it ,

Showing that these four bars are to consti tute thefirst Rhythm

,and the D is not a Preliminary note,

but part o f the first Rhythm,separated from its com

panion measures by a Caesura .The second Rhythm contains five measures , and

a five-measure Rhythm is often made by repeating the last m easure o f a four-measure phrase .

Brahms here does j ust the contrary ; he repeats hi sfirst and not hi s last measu re . The mystery o f theopening o f the movement is enhanced by the sottorvoce, by the unison o f the first two measures

,by three~

part writing doubled through several octaves . Thefirst Rhythm ends with a femin ine close there is noAnacrusis to the second , and the whole o f the firstPeriod

,except where interrupted by the rest after

the quasi—preliminary note,

flows on without perceptible division into Rhythms.The second Period opens with a succession o f

two-measure phrases,each o f which has an Anacrusi s


BRAHMS ’

SYMPH ON Y 233

ending with a full close in the tonic . Thisseven -measure Rhythm

,whose commencement is

shown in Ex . 7 5 , i s very tell ing ; while the stringsare fully occupied with quavers

,the wind and

drums mark the accents with the following anacrusie figure

J J P J J J P J J J

All i s now life and fire in four-measure Rhythms,

which are strongly punctuated by full closes,the

whole orchestra being employed . Then there comesa diminuendo to pia ni ssimo . Two great arpeggios onthe Clarinets are heard in the midst Of the busyquaver movement that is perpetually going on inthe strings

,against sustained syncopated notes o f

primary value in the wind . The violoncellos beginto mark the time with crotchets ; the quavers o fthe other strings give way to crotchets

,and finally

the second subj ect enters it i s quoted in Ex . 23 ,

page 9 8 .

I t begins with a Rhythm o f 2 2,followed by a

five-measure Rhythm ,but as the new Period enters

by Overlap on the fifth measure o f thi s last rhythm,

the balance i s maintained . Throughout themovement

,wherever a five-measure Rhythm occurs ,

i t almost invariably overlaps the succeeding period,

as it does here .The second subj ect is a strong one owing to the


syncopation in its first measure . The melody isfo r the most pa rt accompanied by quavers i n eachaccented portion

,and finally also in the unaccented

portion o f i ts measures . I t i s repeated several timeswith modifications o f i ts subsidiary rhythm , untili t is heard in unison

, forte, with quaver tri plets, anda sforza ndo on the final crotchet o f the measure .The triplets do not continue long ; a return i smade to the quadruplets in quavers, and freshmaterial grows out o f what has gone before .A particula rly attractive effect i s the following, i nwhich the wind instruments keep up a flow o f

quavers and the strings punctuate it with pizz icatocrotchets .

E x. 76 .

I t is one o f those many passages in which rhythmmakes its appeal in the simplest possible manner

,

by notes which are evenly distributed throughout thePeriod . The charm o f this particular example lie sin the contrasting tone-quality o f the instrumentswhich carry out the two rhythmical schemes .

BRAHMS ’

SYMPHONY 235

During the course o f the development the following tumultuous syncopation occurs

E x. 7 7 .

Overla p.

The first four bars contain the most powerfu lform o f syncopation

,that in which the accent i s

represented by silence . In the last two bars thesecond subj ect (E x . 23)i s represented by the bassthrough rhythm alone— a favourite device withBeethoven— and i s accompanied by syncopated Subs idia ry work .

The whole movement is a masterpiece o f strengthand energy . The Rhythms are straightforward andeasily understood ; no special demand i s made by


TSCHA'

I'

KOWSKY 37

Femin ine

The Motive i s a na crus ic,and two measures in

length . The accent o f the second measure is di splaced by Syncopat ion . But , through a crescendo

and diminuendo i n each mea sure , through slurs andthrough f

cha nges o f harmony,the normal accent i s

enforced i n such a manner that we are confrontedwith a phrase o f great emotional sign ificance , whicha t once gives the symphony the right to its ti tle o fPathetic .At the end o f the Period there is a slight cl imax ;the accented note occupies a whole measure

,and i s

reinforced by the telling harmony and the sforza ndomoreover

,the final mea sure is S ilent

,as if the music

paused to take breath before continuing i ts sadmessage.After a repetit ion o f the opening passage , w i thslight alterations

,and a few bars o f very expressive

Recitative , the Allegro non troppo , (Ex . commences . It has the same motive as the introduction

,

but with a different treatment .Here the second accent Of each pair o f measures

is represented by a rest, in place o f the syncopat ionand change Of harmony we heard in the intro


duction . The silence compels attention , and thesucceeding font —measure Phrase , with its slurred

Ex. 79 .

semiquavers on the accent,answered by the notes on

the ha lf measures in the bass,has an agitated

and energetic effect .Soon afterwards there comes a five-measure Phrase

,

TSCHA’

I’

KOWSKY 239

which is brought about by the interposi tion o f a baro f time , i .e. o f a single measure. By th i s meansthe falling accentuation is maintained

,which i t would

not be , if the five-measure Phrase were ended withina bar o fCommon Time. Compare Brahms , Op . 1 0,

No. I , Ex. 4 5 , page 1 56.

After the bar, the opening motive recommences ,with additional Subsidiary rhythm . An anapaesticfigure is announced loudly on the horns

,but i ts

actual motive enters p ia ni ssimo on the strings ,(Ex. accompanied by a descending scale indouble counterpoint .

Ex. 80 .

(Outer pa rts only.)

fi — I-‘u—J

Ana crus IS. Ana crus IS . Ana crus i s .

This passage is extremely expressive : the composer insists o n the Anacrusis being made evidentby the bowing, in every measure , and in all theparts . The combination o f the smooth scales withthe sta cca to anapaests , while the whole is playedpia niss imo , has an emotional effect o f deep s ign ifi

cance.


TSCHA’

I’

KOWSKY 24 1

consideration contain s a number o f beautiful combina tio ns o f Subsidiary figures .I n Ex. 8 1 the different figures are allotted to in

strumen ts o f contrasting tone,and are easily distin

guished . The violin marks its accents by the slurs,the bassoon and flute have a noticeable crescendo

arpeggio , the horn stands out through its Dottednote ” figure. I t will be noticed that the phrasingis in Half-rhythms . The semiquaver motive isworked up at considerable length in Half- rhythms ,with changes o f detail too numerous to quote

,and it

forms the Subsidiary material to several strikingfigures in the wind instruments . Then comes a

diminuendo and rita rda ndo,i n which the rhythm dies

down , until i t ceases altogether in a pause on a rest ,preparatory to the entrance o f the second subject ,Ex. 82 .

Ex. 8 2 .

Anda n te. Prelim. 1 st Rhythm.

Con sardine. Teneramen te, molto ca n ta bz’

le, can espa ns ione.

zud Rhythm.


The pause is not the only thing that breaks therhythmical flow The new subj ect is preceded by anEmpty Time o f two measures, expectation is onthe alert during this long silence

,and the music

re-enters softly,with a n Anacrusis . I t makes a

crescendo from its first to its second accent , and byth is means the composer gets the effect o f a Ri singAccentuation , which coincides with the rise o f themelody. The Masculine endings o f the Rhythmsfall on the third accent

,and the melody is sustained

to the fourth . The long note is accompan ied by ap ia nissimo syncopation in both places , but in thesecond it has a crescendo , and the succeeding Rhythmenters by a n Overlap before it i s expected . Thecrescendo , combined with the Overlap , has a stronglyemotional effect.The decrea se o f movement at the ends Of these two

Rhythms enhances the melancholy effect o f theharmony and melody.

m m l J‘

J fDecrea se o f mo vemen t.

The Andante is only a few bars i n length .I t

gives way to a modera to mosso,i n which a continuous

a napmstic rhythm in the strings accompanies a fourmeasure triplet-rhythm phrase

,the various wind

instruments imitating and overlapping one anotherin a very effective manner . Together with the

TSCHA‘

IKOWSKY 243

anapaests and triplets,two other figures are hea rd

one in crotchets,the other in syncopation , so that

there are the following four figures in combination ,each o f which can be di stinguished

,owing to the

orchestration .

Triplets .

1 3l

4

m a fi-

fi J" ‘1 f

‘

Overlap. r I‘

I I EL.

Anapgests

3

3

a J J~ 3

(Ana pssts)

The substra tum o f ana paests aga i nst an entirelydifferent superstructure is very beautiful .The Andante recurs , with triplet accompaniment ,

with powerful crescendos and much change o f tempothe music here is exceedingly emotional . After apause an a llegro vi ‘vo sets in

, fortissimo, with a new

figure , Ex . 83 , whose six—measure Phrase , broken


TSCHA IKOWSKY 24 5

i ncreased at the end by the addition o f crotchetswhere there were minims in the beginning .

The fortissimo gives way to a diminuendo and pi a no ,and a new motive enters

,which rises quickly to

fortissimo , and as quick ly d ies down to pia nissimo i n agentle mixture o f triplets and duplets

,syncopated

i nto one another and played on the horns, while theviolins hint at the Opening subj ect , before bringingit i n again . I n a short t ime the full orchestra i sworking this subj ect up to fortissimo in an interchangeo f Half- rhythms, with a particularly grand effect .After a stormy interchange o f triplets and rests

,

the Minim becomes the Primary note in the following motive

,with a solemn effect

Ex. 8 5 .


The re-entry o f the Anda nte, with an undercurrento f Subsidiary rhythm played tremolo , pp, brings backthe crotchet as the Primary note . This subj ect,whether played forti ssimo or p ia ni ss imo , with or witho u t subsidiary rhythm ,

always h a s a pla in tive feeling,owing to th e long notes a t the end o f the phrase .The movement ends w ith a fresh reading o f theopen ing subj ect (Ex . punctuated by Primarynotes played pizz ica to on the stri ngs .

Second Movement.

a

Allegro con gra z ia . The Sign a ture is 1.

Prima ry note is the crotchet .

This well- known a nd very graceful movementtakes the place o f the Minuet , a nd accordingly i t h a sa Trio

,followed by a repetition o f the Opening

section .

The compound Bars contain two measures each ,in the order Duple-Triple . The Rhythm s a re

throughout Of four— mea sure form .

Ex. 86 .

Alleg ro ca n g ra zi a .

Ma sculine ha lf-clo se.

There is a swing and ease that fully accounts fo rthe popularity o f the movement

,and that Quintuple

Time can produce so fa cile and readily—gra sped

TSCHA’

I'

w s 247

music , supports our contention on page 1 2 5 , thatthere i s nothing unnatura l in this divisi on o f time.The occa siona l intervention o f a single measure inDotted—note form gives a light and dancingfeel ing to the Minuet ,” as also does , though to alesser extent

,the single triplet seen in Ex . 86.

The Trio forms a strong contrast . I t i s in theminor mode : each pair o f i ts Measures has RisingAccentuation , each second accent coincides with adiscord and a long note . Underneath all lies aconstan t reiteration o f the note D as a pedal-point.

Ex. 8 7 .

The effect o f thi s combination,the persistence o f

the bass note , the dwelling on the discord twice ineach Rhythm,

i s one o f deep melancholy,which

is only dispelled by the gradual return o f theMinuet .

Third M ovement.

Allegro molto co i‘va ce. The S ignature varies between C a nd 1

31 The Primary no te i s the crotchet


TSCHA'

I’

KOWSKY 24 9

Ex. 89 .

I t is also accompanied,l ike the first, by unceasing

triplets . The reader will observe that in this Example the final accents are struck , instead o f beingleft to the imagination, as in

‘ Ex. 8 8 . The harmonicand melodic structure o f the Rhythm- endingsgive a kind o f arch assertiveness

,such as we meet

with in hornpipe tunes , and in some o f Bach ’ s dancemusic.


Ex . 89 i s immediately followed by Ex. 90 ,

which is also accompanied by sta cca to triplets .

Ex. 90 .

-~I

'

1 r‘

l

3Ex . 8 8 now re— enters

,_a nd i s developed , and after

wards a new complex o f figures is heard , such asTschai kowsky loves

E x. 9 1 .

It is followed by a fanfare in triplets, which endsin a full close.

A new subject enters , which we need not quote .I ts first Rhythm has sustained fortissimo chords , i tssecond is soft, and consists o f l ight groups o f

semiquavers moving downwards against a rising>

TSCHA'

I’

KOWSKY 2 5 1

chromatic scale in the bass,played pizzica to . After

the new Period o f eight Measures has been repeatedseveral times , the original subject , Ex. 8 8 , returns,and is again worked out .The Introduction and the whole o f the first

section i s now repeated,and leads to a climax , in

which Ex . 8 8 i s worked up with full orchestra onthe note A as a pedal- point . An interlude o f

descending scales in semiquavers, ff occurs . Each

scale occupies two Mea sures,and is preceded by an

ascending Anacrusis Of demisemiquavers . Afterthis tremendous whirlwind

,Ex . 8 8 re— appears in

the full orchestra,also 197, like the scale inter

lude,while the drums and brass instruments

punctuate the Primary notes by sta cca to chords , andthe S ide drums , cymbals, and bass drum join in thefray . The excitemen t conti nues fo r a long time, tillwe get a repetition o f Ex . 9 1 , whose dotted notesa re no w repeated in a succession o f one—measurephrases .

Ex. 9 2 .


TSCHAI‘

KOWSKY 253

with an audience , and its existence would be j ustifiedif its chief function were to act as an attraction thatcould draw people to hear the more imaginativemusic o f the other movements .

Adag io lamentoso . The Signature is the crotchetbeing the Primary note . The normal Rhythms areat first o f two-measures , well divided by Caesuras .In the Opening subj ect use is again made o f the

decrease o f movement towards the end o f theRhythm

,to which we have referred on page 24 2 .

Thi s t ime it is connected with the minor mode,and

has an almost tragic effect .

E x . 93 .

Adagi o lamen toso.

b ”Caesura .

La rg amen te. Decrea se o f mo vement.

The play o f emotion is enha nced by con stantchanges o f tempo and power . The figure

which,with its descending melody and its Caesura , gives

so pathetic a feeling, constantly recurs in the a dagio


and though the Cmsura i s frequently filled up byinstruments which ta ke no part in the chief motive,they are o f contra sting tone , so that the effect o f themelody is enhanced by their company .

The Adag io lea ds to the Anda nte, i n which synco

pated p ia nissimo triplets on the horns usher in aPrima ry-note melody in the major mode , and continn e to a ccompany it . The new melody works upto afortiss imo , with frequent cha nge o f tempo finally ,each pair Of Measures i s broken Off by a rest with apause

,and then a n important Ana crusi s brings in a

resumption o f Ex . 93 . It i s worked o u t , a nd rises

Ex. 94.

Ana crus is .

to a climax in the modera te a ssa i , in which two figuresa re given simultaneously to the wind a nd stri ngs .Then it sinks down to pi a no . There is an episode insyn copa ted minim chords on the trombone

,which

begins ppp and dies away to ppppp . The a nda nte

melody is resumed,with its Primary accen ts tre

mendo usly reinforced ; i t is accompanied by a tonicpedal in triplets , which continues to the end o f

the movement . The last Measures die a way inpi a nissimo chords on the lowest parts o f the violoncellos and double basses

,the last dying accen ts being

TSCHAIKOWSKY 2 5 5

uttered by sforza ndo discords . The whole o f thismovement is in tensely emotional

,an effect to which

the frequent Caesuras and the rhythmical features wehave noticed contribute quite as much as the harmonies and it forms a fitting conclusion to a greatPathetic Symphony .

” I t is said that the work is akind o f epitome o f the composer ’s life , which , onaccount o f his excessive sensitiveness

,was a sad one .


D’INDY ,SONATA IN E 2 57

cal flow. A pause on a minim would have been toolong : the composer wishes to renew the rhythmical

Ex. 95 .

VINCENT D’INDY (SONATA, Op.

4 en retena nt.

Ha lf mea sure.

movement as soon as possible after breaking it o ff,fo r the feeling o f the passage demands only a sho rtpause here.The phrase i tself begins with a vigorous triplet o n

the first accent : the second accent i s not struck.The third Measure i s a na crus ic, the fourth accenti s struck in the bass only, and the fifth Measure isa nacrus ic, l ike the third . The energetic tripletsgive way to duplets

,the pace i s slackened and

the phrase ends softly with a gentle fem inine clo se.R

25 s RHYTHM OF MODERN MUSIC

It i s a very striking passage fo r the opening o f awork . I t i s repeated , with modifica tions , fo r th esecond Rhythm ,

a nd extended to six Measures,i nstead o f five . At its end i s a short pause in whicheverything is silent except the bass note, which i ssustained through the pause

,and thus carries on the

sound into the next phrase .A pair o f new Periods now occurs . They are

d ivided from o ne another by the S ign m,a Slight

lengthening o f the final note,not amounting to a

pause,and not sufli cient to break the regular flow o f

rhythmical accen ts . This effect is n o t unknown togreat pian i sts . The late Hans von B illow employedit in Beethoven ’ s sonatas

,and he would sometimes

make a S imilar slight dela y on an accented note tobring it into prominence .

1 I t i s in teresting to noticethat this kind Of pause i s very an cient . It isdescribed in much detail by the Greek theoristsunder the name o f “ Chronos a lo go s ,

” “ Unpro

portional Time ,” that i s , a “ Time ” that is out o f

proportion to the other Times ,” and yet does notextend to the va lue o f two Times . I t seems tohave been chiefly used by the Greeks as D ’

Indv

uses i t here , namely , to mark the end o f a Rhythm .

I t i s sometimes used by Bra hms in the form

1 See Append i x.

D’INDY, SONATA IN E 2 59

See E x. 7 1 , page 22 8 . It occurs also in Brahms ’

Pianoforte Intermezzo,Op . 1 1 6, No . 6 . R. S trauss

uses the S ign

fo r the same purpose in Tod und Verklarung.

We quote the second o f the Periods in which itoccurs

,fo r there is here an interesting combination

o f figures,accompanied by triplets .

The effect o f the somewhat agitated right-handpart

,again st the solid determination o f the bass

progression,i s very fine and the Chronos a lo go s

on the femin ine ending o f the Period makes a kindo f climax before the first motive (Ex . 9 5)re— enters

,

on a totally unexpected chord . If the S ign H , orsome sim ilar S ign

,comes into general use

,as

appears likely to be the case, some convenient termw ill have to be invented fo r i t.

E x. 96.


D ’INDY , SONATA IN E 26 1

I t will be seen that the melody ends with afull close on the third Measure

,the fourth being

filled in by subsidiary matter,and this construction

is repeated in some o f the succeeding Periods . TheTheme is followed by a set o f variations

,the fourth

o f which introduces a new melody,with Ri sing

Accentuation . I t opens thusEx. 9 8 .

100. Prelim.

bz’

en lie at soutenu .

Ana crus is .


and afterwards changes to Falling Accentuation .

Later on this motive is used a s a counterpoint to theTheme

,accompanied by subsidiary work .

E x. 99 .

Le Theme seu l do i t etre en d’

eh ors , le reste, tres “ some.

Falling Accentuation is here establi shed by theTheme, to which the counter— subject i s entirelysubordi nate , as is indicated by the composer’s dircetion . The effect Of the three rhythmical schemestogether has here nothing novel a bout it

, but i t isnevertheless very pleasantly connected with the

Melos .

D ’INDY, SONATA IN E 263

Movement I! . Tres a nimé.

The signature i s 42. The Measures are fo r themost part in the order triple-duple

,but there are

several daring changes o f Diaeresi s . I t is evidentfrom thi s movement (the work i s dated 1 907)thatmusician s and audiences are becoming more familiarwith quintuple Measure

,and that composers are

able, as i t were , to play with it , more freely thanformerly . Qui te early in the movement we find thefollow ing example o f freedom

E x. 99 a .

Tri s a n i on s”.


D’INDY,SONATA IN E 2 65

metrical and melodic, a nd i t i s probably the boldest

piece o f quintuple music that has yet been composed .

M ovement M ode’

ré.

This movement Opens with a repetition o f the firstintroductory Rhythm

,Ex . 9 5 . I t then changes to

triple Measure, i n which a new theme is g iven out ,o f which the following example shows the openingRhythm .

Ex. 1 0 1 .

I t is worked up in various ways . In one place itis diminished in 3. time , but certain o f it s notes a reextended

,so as to bring it into four-measure

Rhythms . Later on , great use i s made o f the


following somewhat noticeable subsidiary rhythmicalfigure

which obtains its importance from the Melos towhich i t i s j oined . A new theme occurs , whosemelodic notes enter in a syncopated form, thus

E x. 1 02 .

P ntcizqm‘.

J _

I t has a somewhat agitated effect i t soon gives wa yto the 3, form o f Ex . 1 0 1 .

After a working o ut o f these and other themes ,the theme o f the fi rst movement

,Ex . 97 , is recapitu

lated , with various changes o f time, and the pieceends .The sonata is thoroughly modern in i ts rhythmical

design , a nd presumes an advanced stage o f cul tivation on the part o f the audience .

Debussy, Ma sques.

This 9, presto movement , i n which the Primaryvalue is the dotted crotchet

,i s o f striking rhythmical

DEBUSSY, MASQUES 267

s ignificance . Much o f the effect has been produced by distributing the materials as if 025 141131,

fo r Measures , and accenting them as Md‘f’m'

fo r g. The player must mark the proper a ccentuation very decidedly, when he will feel and enj oythe “

fa nta sque” character indicated by the composer .

The following is the opening Rhythm °

Ex. 1 03 .

DEBUSSY, MASQUES .

Tres w'

f etfa nta sguc.

2

o

r t ~I I.

de'

ta che‘

et rythme’

.

In the third and fourth Measures the left-handquavers must be felt as syncopat ion , the normalaccentuation being maintained in the righ t hand .

This kind o f combination is not uncommon ,especially in French music. Like all rhythmicalfigures

,i ts attraction is not due to the accentuation

itself,but to the manner in which the Melos i s dis

tributed over the accents . For the scheme,apart

from its Melos , i s the very ord inary figure

s J J‘

J'

D U Am J J‘

fTJlmFrench composers have a peculia r facil ity in com

bining simple rhythmical figures with simple Melos ,in a spontaneous and original manner .


DEBUSSY , MASQUES 269

Amongst other devices the unexpected omission o f

an accent here and there is very telling,e.g .

Ex. 1 06.

cuk z un pa a

as is also the Beethovenish effect o f repeating foursuccessive Measures without change o f Melos, sothat the Rhythm alone is heard , with i ts accentsmade very prominent

E x . l o 7 .

The movement is long,and there is no change o f

rhythm-species throughout,yet so attractive is it,

that the cons tant reiteration o f the same rhythmicalfigure never palls

,but carries u s along with ever

increasing interest . Towards the end the figuresgive way to sustained pia nissimo chords in stricttempo , but on the final chord i s reitera ted, fo r the la sttime

,the opening rhythmical figure

,Ex. 1 03 .


Debussy, Hommage 21 R amea u.

Thi s interesting movement is remarkable fo r the

Dam”,

great use i t makes o f the Anacrusis , onHommflgt fi which it largely depends fo r its dueRam a u' effect ; and although in many cases theslurs fail to indicate the Anacrusis , yet i n playing thepiece we can hardly help feeling that it i s there , inspite o f the printed phrasing. I t i s in slow tempo ,

the minim being the Primary value , and the phrases,after the first few bars , are, fo r the most part , o f oneMeasure in duration . It opens with a Period o f

two Rhythms,

o f two Measures each , entirely inuni son .

E x. 1 08 .

DEBUSSY, HOMMAGE KRAMBAU .

Lent ct gra ve (dam Ie style d'zme S a ra ba nde ma t} sa ns

Un iron o. E xpresszf ct doucemm t sourm a .

The division o f the notes in the first Rhythmis so vague that we can scarcely perceive a ny

definite rhythmical figure : the composer wishes tomystify us. The second Rhythm,

by repeating the

DEBUSSY,HOMMAGE A RAMEAU 27 1

triplets and the D sharp in the same part o f twosuccessive Measures

,gives a more definite impres

sion , and this is confi rmed by the construction o f

the succeeding Period in 1 + Measures . Avery delicate nua nce occurs in the repetit ion o f theopening Rhythm : the phrase is extended by asingle Primary Time

,thusEx. 1 09 .

Add itio na lPrima ryTime.

This additional Primary Time is not placed at theend o f the phrase as is usual, but in its midst, and ithas a delightfully fresh effect . Shortly afterwardswe have an important Anacrusis

,brought about by

the interpolation o f a bar o f time,i .e. o f an addi

tio na l Primary Time , thus

Ex. 1 1 0.

Ana crus is .

Ana crusi s .


STANFORD,QUARTET 2 7 3

E x. 1 1 3.

A tempo 1°

which i s here indicated by the printed slur .The opening Rhythm recurs

, with harmony , andwith a Subsidiary punctuat ion in the bass . Towardsthe end , the independent Subsidiary motive o f Ex .

I I I recurs in the right hand,and i s the last figure

heard . The movement i s highly imaginative, andits rhythmical form is well adapted to i ts strangeMelos .

Sta nford , Qua rtet N o . 2 .

British composers o f the first rank are not behindtheir Continental brethren in rhythmical Stanford,

developments . All nations,in fact

,seem

to be working together in raising in stru 0p. 4S~

mental music to ever h igher degrees o f emotionalsign ificance

,and our native musicians are taking

their place in this movement , as they did during thefamous Elizabethan period .

A great change , moreover, has come over theBriti sh public during the last quarter o f a century.Formerly orchestral concerts were fo r the most partcarried on at a loss , unless so -called popularmusic

,

” consisting o f waltzes a nd well-worn Italian5


overtures,formed a large part o f the programme .

Chamber music was heard regularly at one placeonly

,St. James

’s Hall and even there the audien cesdemanded consta nt repetitions o f their “ oldfavourites , so that there was little opportun ityfo r a new composer o f foreign nationality to beheard

,and practically none at a ll fo r one o f British

birth .

Conditions have now entirely altered . Londoncan support several first-class orchestras

,and ma ny

chamber music societ ies . “ Popular ” audiencesare ready to listen to and applaud masterpieceso f classical art

,where they formerly demanded

waltz es,played by combined massed ba nds and the

grand organ ” ; and our composers now get a hearing,where twen ty-five years ago they could get none .

A great deal o f this change i s undoubtedly dueto those excellent conductors amongst us

,both

foreign a nd native,who , by the exercise o f a highly

cult ivated imagination , have raised the a rt o f performing orchestral music from a correct and spiri tlessplaying o f the printed notes and expression signs toa performance full o f life and fire a nd emot ion .

The cold classical manner o f beating time,while a

band played the notes with mechanical correctness,i s

a thing o f the past , and with it has passed away thei ndifference o f British audiences to high- class music.For music , to move the great public , must be

STANFORD, QUARTET 2 7 5

emotional (if it rises above the level o f that whichappeals to the muscular rather than the intellectualfaculties), and by boldly giving emotional signifi canceto the great classics

,musicians have made them

appeal to the man in the street .” This i s all asit should be : the elevating and refining influenceo f musical art can be o f more real value to thenation when it is thus spread over a larger area o freceptivi ty than when it i s confined to the culturedfew .

As to Chamber music,the famous Saturday and

Monday Popular Concerts were the chief elementin train ing audiences in th is branch and althoughfrom the nature o f things Chamber music can nevermake its appeal to so large a publi c as orchestralmusic

,yet

,owing to the beneficent effect o f the

above—mentioned undertaking,there are now to be

found audiences who can fully appreciate the intellectua lperformance o f chamber music by our own musicians ,a s well as by foreigners . Our native performershave given up the coldly correct and unsympatheticstyle o f playing : hence the British composer hasnow better opportunities o f exercising his art than atany former time, and he i s showing that he can wellhold his own . This is beginning to be recognisedabroad

,fo r the names o f British composers

,as well

as executants,occur more frequently in foreign

programmes than they formerly did .


STANFORD , QUARTET 2 7 7

The short fuga to introduction leads to a P it} motosubject , whose melody is accompanied by two subs idia ry figures , so that there are three rhythmicalschemes in combination , ea ch o f which has i ts ownpa rticular character.

P i t) mo to .

Rhythm.

zud Rhythm.


Femin ine Clo se.

The melody,beginning w i th dactyls , leads , i n two

places,to a high note, whose accen t i s prominent

through the relative length o f the note . The violaaccompanies in flowing semiquavers

,and the violon

cello punctuates the whole by its pizz ica to quavers .The Melos o f the passage is very attractive, andthe rhythm has plenty o f energy.

I t will be observed that the Period begin s with afour-measure Rhythm

,and

,contrary to the genera l

rule, the melody o f the second Rhythm falls into twohalf— rhythms . The next motive opens with therhythmical reitera tion o f a single chord

,accompanied

by a subsidiary figure

STANFORD , QUARTET 279

E x. 1 1 6.

The fuga to returns, and leads to a fine combinationo f four different rhythmical figures :

E x. 1 1 7 .

“

r“

V eto.

The first violin has even notes, four in a Measure

the inner parts have each their own scheme o f

triplets, and the whole is supported by the bolda na crus ic Primary notes o f the Violoncello. The

passage i s an example o f the complicated rhythmsthrough which the cultivated modern audience findsits art aspira tions satisfied .

Three Measures , i n two o f which the accents arerepresented by rests, i ntroduce an appam

'

ona to motivewith RisingAccentuation, and an important Anacrusis .


STANFORD, QUARTET 2 8 1

Ex. H 9 .

It will be seen that i t i s here ana crus ic : in fact,the first three crotchets give the impression o f beingan Anacrusi s on a large scale

,and one could hardly

expect to find a more striking example o f thedifference o f effect between Ri sing and FallingAccentuation .

Second M ovement. Prestissz'

mo .

The movement opens with a Period o f two sixmeasure Rhythms , the first ending with the orthodoxhalf-close

,the second with a tonic full close

,so that

there can be no m istake as to the composer ’ sintentions

Ex. 1 20.

P restz'

ssimo .


The six-measure Rhythms fall melodically intogroups o f two Measures, and these seem ,

fromthei r harmonic construction , to demand Ris ingAccentuation , such as would result if th e S ignaturewas g, and the movement opened wi th a half bar .This impression

,moreover

,i s confirmed after the

double bar,fo r here each o f the tw o or four

measure Rhythms has a sforz a ndo on the secondaccent

,which gives it a R i sing Accentuation .

The Trio opens with a very interesting combination o f rhythms . A chara cteri stic a na crus ic

figure,which h a s been already hinted at in the

Prestissz'

mo , runs through the whole o f the Trio,without ceasing fo r a moment . I t i s given out byan introductory four-measure Rhythm, preceded bya Preliminary Measure . The melodic materia lbegins thus

I s t Rhythm .

STANFORD , QUARTET 2 83

2nd Rhythm.

3rd Rhythm.

The construction i s very noticeable . The firstRhythm

,beginning in the tonic

,rises to a h igh note

on its second accent , and ends with an orthodoxhalf-close on the dominant seventh . In the secondRhythm the high note o f the melody is reached in o nebound on the first accent , i nstead o f on the second ,making a subtle Diaeresis o f melody , o f a kind wehave not yet met with fo r the melodic constructiono f the first Rhythm leads us to expect an analogousconstruction in the second . The melody note o f

the second Rhythm is carried over into the third


STANFORD,QUARTET 28 5

through the feminine half- close,from the succeeding

Period .

A General— pause introduces a new rhythmicalfigure

,which

,with sl ight modifications

,becomes an

important feature in the course o f the movement ,being combined both with new motives , and withthe motives that have been already heard . I t entersalone

,on the viola

E x. 1 23 .

VIOLA.

The new motive in this example begins with forteDotted-note rhythm

,and suddenly softens down

in it s second Measure to a pi a no passage in evennotes . Space does not allow us to quote furtherexamples from this interesting movement , which hasmany other effective rhythmical features .


Fina le. Allegro molto .

This movement is distinguished by the constantrecurrence o f three-measure Rhythms , made evidentboth by the melodic and harmonic construction .

The opening Period shows the fundamental principleon which the rhythmica l scheme o f the whole i sfounded ; but there a re many contrasting mixtureso f two four and five-measure phrases with those o fthree .

E x. 1 24.

A1.7n 0 7710110.

2

fl

I t will be noticed that the accompaniment marksthe unaccented portions o f the measures strongly

STANFORD,QUARTET 2 87

this has the effect o f imparting great vigour to thematerial . The phrasing is very distinct. There is ahalf-close at the end o f the third , and a full closeat the end o f the sixth Measure

,but the concluding

chord , coming in each case on the weak beat , carrieson the flow o f the Melos without a break in itscontinuity.The next Period consists o f Measures

,

and the third Per i od returns to the three-measureconstruction , which predominates throughout themovement .A strongly marked a na crus ic motive occupiestwo Measures

,and its Rhythm i s marked by

E x. 1 2 5 .

PP (CE LLO an d VIOLA in o cta ves below.)

throwing the accent on the third quaver o f theMeasure , by means o f the longer note in thisplace .Two Rhythms are run into one in Ex. 1 26

by the bowing o f the first viol in,which join s the

final note o f the first to the second Rhythm , a deviceoften met wi th in modern music .


ELGAR,SYMPHONY 289

E lga r, Sympfiony Op . 5 5 .

This i s another o f the many fine works o f BritishE lga r, origin , whose reception by the public has

i ffiz become possible through the influences to

01> 5 5 which we have alluded . I t is boldlymodern in feeling, and shows a n emotional powerfully on a level with the best latter-day works o f itsclass produced on the continent .The first movement has an introductory Andante ,which opens with two Preliminary Measures

, u tteredpia nissimo on the drums and basses . Ex. 1 27 shows

Ex. 1 27 .

ELGAR, SYMPHONY (Op.

Anda n te. N obi lz'

mente e sempfiee.

I st Rhythm.

and Rhythm.


the opening Period . Its second Rhythm is curtailedto three Measures

,and i s combined with an ap

parent Overlap,fo r the dominant seventh , w i th its

resolution,would in the ordinary course form the

conclusion o f a four-measure Rhythm here , overlapping the next Period . But the composerevidently intends that this phrase shall sound likeone o f three Measures , in spite o f i ts harmonic form ,

fo r he has placed a decided Cassura between thedominant chord and its resolution . Those who haveheard the symphony will probably have been struckwith this feature (even if they cannot analyse i t),occurring

,as it does

,at the beginning o f the work ,

j ust as the rhythmical scheme o f four-measurephrases seems to have become well established .

The Period here quoted is repea ted several timeswith varying orchestration , and leads to th e Allegro ,whose first Period is given in Ex . 1 2 8 .

E x 1 2 8

Anda n te. Alleg ro appa s sz'

on a to .

1 2

ELGAR,SYMPHONY 29 1

In this passage,which begins with a very short

anacrusis,the melody o f the first Measure rises to

the secondary accent,and

,by dwelling on it , brings

it into prominence . The high note is approachedwith a crescendo, and is s ounded with a sforz a na

’o

on a d iscord , and the phrase has thus all theelements o f rhythmical energy, while dignity isimparted to i t by the harmony and instrumentationemployed .

In six out o f the eight Measures the arrangemento f the materia l is the same ; the third crotchet i s themost prominent note in the Measure, and vigourresults from the repetit ion o f this figure.I t will be noticed that the first Rhythm falls

melodically into Measures , and the secondRhythm is undivided, according to the rule so oftenreferred to . I t will also be noticed that the variouspo rtions o f the Period are welded together by thesturdy m arch o f the bass , which keeps up thePrimary accentuation in bars two and four, wh erethe melody is divided .


ELGAR, SYMPHONY 293

rhythmical scheme consists merely o f a strongPrimary accen t

,followed by a syncopation in the

melody and bass,while the secondary accent is heard

in subsidiary work i n the inner parts .Ex. 1 30.

The syncopation is here an element o f i ntenseemotion . In the next example

,syncopation is used ,

in combination with the anacrusi s,fo r the contrary

effect , namely , o f energy .

E x. 1 3 1 .

The passage culminates in a broad a} measure ph rase ,in which the accentuation c l . J d

' predominates ,and the smaller notes have little or no effect on therhythm

,though their position

,high up on the firs t

string o f the double basses, intensifies the emotionalfeeling o f the whole by their penetrating tone .


Ex. 1 32 .

This Rhythm is repeated with subsidiary triplets,

and then , softening down , i t lead s to a repetition o f

the opening subj ect , Ex . 1 27 , page 289 , playedpia nissimo on muted horn s , with the Violas in unisonand tremola ndo . I t i s accompanied by sta cca to noteson the basses and violoncellos. There follows apia nissimo teneramente passage in duplets agai nsttriplets : the tempo i s quickened , and intensi tyi s given by the accentuation o f the duple

,aga inst

syncopation in the triple material. The tripletsconquer, and Ex . 1 30 again enters, pi a nissimo .

In contrast, and as a relief to the in tensi tywhich permeates the movement as a whole, agentle melodic passage recurs from time to time

,

ELGAR, SYMPHONY 295

i ts first appearance having been after Ex . 1 30.

I t i s shown in Ex . 1 33 . Wherever th is gracefulEx. 1 33.

l ittle melody appears,i ts rhythm is gently marked

by the pia nissimo pizz ica to Primary notes on thedouble basses .The movement is o f great length , and its many

rhythmical beauties will become more appa rent as thework grows more familiar. We have pointed outa few that have occurred to us from a study o f thescore to go into greater detail would involve longerquotations .

Second Movement. Allegro motto .

The signature is Le. one minim in a bar, a veryunusual arrangement fo r although a conductor oftenbeats one stroke in a bar

,a Measure cannot exist

without an unaccented as well as an accented portion .

In the present case the crotchet is the Primaryva lue,

'

a nd the Measures are duple. The movement


ELGAR, SYMPHONY 297

only , the notes between them being practically lostto the ear , though the eye sees the bows moving withlightning speed . The figure is

E x. 1 35 .

A very sprightly melo dy'

fo llows on the violas andClari nets, accompanied by detached chords i t beginsthus ,


Ex. 1 36 .

Several Overla ps occur , by which the motive isma de to enter a ba r sooner than it i s expected . Therhythmical effects in thi s movement are o f greatvariety ; amongst them is the following exci tingmotive

Ex. 1 37 .

CYMBAL CYMBAL.

V TIMP.This example is only given in outl ine ; the fullorchestra i s engaged in it , the basses marking the

ELGAR , SYMPHONY 299

Primary Times with the drums and cymbals andtriangle .A melodious middle section

,or Trio

,commences

thus with Anacrusis

Ex. 1 38 .

FLUTE S .

PP Ana crus is.

OBOE AND E NGLISH HORN .

The rapidity o f the tempo never relaxes . Thea lternation o f dotted and even notes is very effective .This subj ect

,i t will be seen

,although full o f energy ,

is in absolute contrast to everything that has gonebefore. When i t i s finished , the opening motive,Ex . 1 34 (page t e- enters

,accompanied by a

counterpoin t,which has been previously heard as

one o f the chief motives . The Trio is repeated withfresh orchestration , and with new rhythmical effects,and then the ba sso ostina to returns, and is heardbeneath lega to Primary-note melodic passages.Rhythmical energy gradually dies away against along pia nissimo h olding note , which leads without abreak into the slow movement.


ELGAR,SYMPHONY 30 1

The first Period ends at the six-four chord in themiddle o f the fourth bar

,but it i s welded into the

next by an unexpected change o f harmony . Noticethe tender effect o f the two inverted dactyls in theaccompaniment at the end o f the second Rhythm ,

thus :

which give an unexpected turn to the rhythm .

The second Period commences with the three—noteAnacrusis , i n place o f the gentle inverted dactyls .Its first two measures are marked by the pizz ica toPrimary notes on the double basses . The firstRhythm is here divided into two half- rhythms . Thethird is a na cru s ic

,and its ending melts into the

succeeding Period by similar harmonic progress ion tothat which joins the first Period to the second .

Hence a continuous Melos results,such as we have

seen in the slow movement o f the Brahms Symphony .

A very attract ive passage , i n which the figure

E alternates with Jfi ’leads to a novel and

o' °

o J

delicate form o f syncopation,akin to that o f Ex . 2 5 ,

page 100. As in the former case,Brahms syncopates

subsidiary dactyls,so here Elgar syncopates sub

s idia ry triplets on the same principle .But though the principle i s the same

,the effect i s

entirely different . The Brahms quotation is part o fa quick movement

,and it is played forte ; it i s full


o f energy and fire . The present example i s p i a nis simoand belongs to a slow movement ; i t g ives a gentle

E x. 1 40.

Overla p.

undulation which i s hardly heard,and only just

supports the longer notes o f the melody . Moreover,

the difference i n the rhythm- species makes a difference o f ethos

,fo r a succession o f dactyls i s more

vigorous than a succession o f trochees .E x. 1 4 1 .

Ca 72la bi le.

VIOLAS .

Ex . 1 4 1 shows a somewhat novel combinationo f strings and wind . As a rule

,in such a passage

,

the strings would play the triplets,and the wind

the leg a to accompaniment to the melo dv. But thecomposer , by reversing the usual order , makes the

ELGAR, SYMPHONY 39 3

sta cca to triplets o f the two flutes stand out prom inently, a s an essential part o f the rhythmicalscheme . The same passage is repeated

,with the

strings also in triplets ; they are to be played verylega to while the flutes mark the triplets as before

,

and are aided in this by the harps .The last feature to which we can draw attention in

the movement is the Pause :

E x. 1 42 .

which occurs on the first note o f an Anacrusis,

arousing expectation by i ts unwonted posit ion .

The movement ends p i a nissimo as i t began , thelast phrase containing some triplets at the ends o f

Measures,in the manner alluded to on page 225 .

The Finale commences with a slow introduction ,which

,by referring to the opening theme o f the work

(Ex . and anticipating the most striking themeo f the last movement, forms an important connecting


ELGAR, SYMPHONY 305

making a powerful impression ; but the accents aredistributed between the outer parts

,so that in

real ity two separate rhythmical figures are distinctlyheard . After thi s vigorous opening has run its course ,a more gentle melody sets in

,the inward strength

o f which i s maintained by the steady march o f thesta cca to bass notes

Ex. 1 44.

The motive that will probably a lways make mostimpression , however , i s that shown in Ex. 1 4 5 .

Ex. 1 45 .

3

It is simple in the extreme , and this gives i t itsattraction in contrast to its surroundings . If it

U


were played lega to i t would have no special S iguificance but the punctuation in s ta cca to o f the succession o f even notes, by a ppealing di rectly to ourrhythmical sense

,gives us sati sfaction without mental

effort . At the same time the intellectual side isinterested by the sustained p i a nissimo o f the horn ,and still more by the persistency o f the bass figure ,so that the passage is redeemed from any suspiciono f being commonplace, in spi te o f the simplicity o f

i ts rhythm .

This motive recurs again continually in everydegree o f dynamic force

,and is in contrast to

the two others which we quoted in Ex . 1 43

and 1 44 .

Besides these three examples there are otherimportant motives in the movement

,and a return

is made to the opening subj ect,Ex. 1 27 , which

is worked up with various subsidiary rhythms ;the symphony , i n fact, i s full o f fine rhythmica leffects .Though not yet twelve months old

,th is work

has leaped into popularity in a way that no similarproduction o f an Englishman has yet done . I t i sevident , therefore , that it expresses contempora ryart-feeling. Whether it i s destined to become aclassic , time only can show . If its populari ty werewith audiences o f the past , who demanded wa ltzesand marches as an aid to swallowing a symphony

,we

ELGAR,SYMPHONY 307

s hould consider that it had taken no permanentplace . But it s attractio n is fo r audiences whodemand the symphonies o fBeethoven and Brahms, asw ell as the best works o f co ntemporary composers ,so that it i s no t unl ikely that public taste i s no t

wrong in applauding the latest British compositionas a masterpiece.


THE AGOGIC ACCENT 309

particular pomr. But though he gave it prominence ,he was not the only performer o f his day to employit : we read in Grove ’s D ictiona ry, New Edition ,vo l. i . page 1 8 , that the late Sir Charles Hallé ,Joachim , and many others u sed it .

1 Perhaps theydid not make so marked a fea ture o f it as did vonBulow . At any rate , it seems to have been he whobrought about the recognition o f its importance inother tha n dotted notes

,fo r Dr . Riemann informs

us that von Bulow’s readings o f Beethoven ’s Sonatasin spired him to develop the remarka ble theorybrought forward in his Dynamite und Agogik , published at Leipsic in 1 8 84 .

According to this theory,the musical phrase i s

built up o f Short Motives,which are Duple or

Triple,according to the time- signature , and the

Motive corresponds to what we , i n this book , havecalled Measure . But instead o f the Motive beingdivided in to accented and unaccented portions , itincreases or d iminishes in power so thatwhat we represent thu s

J Ji s represented in Dynami/c und Ag ogile, thus

J J1 Th e present writer d istinctly remembers i t in S ir Cha rles Ha llé ’s

playing, a s well a s in tha t o f vo n Bulo w . In the la tter i t w a svery prom inent in the first mo vemen t o f the so -ca lled “ Mo o n

l ight So na ta .


This explain s the title o f the book : Dynamikrefers to the degree o f force , crescendo

,diminuendo ,

with which a Motive or Phra se i s expressed , i ndi stinction from the Agogik , the rela tive tim eoccupied by its portions .I t must be borne i n mind that the crotchets here

represent w ha t in this book we have called thePrimary Time

,a nd a motive may be formed o f

smaller notes than its Primary Times,or several

Prima ry Times may be joined in one note .

A Duple Motive i s o f two kinds

Anbeto n t Jd

Ab-betont J J (equ ivalen t to our An a

crus ic form).The Triple Motive has three forms '

Anbeto n t

Ab— betont J J J (a na cru s ic).

o

Inbeto nt J J J (a n a cruS IC).

Of the above forms only the Ab- betont andInbeto n t are recognised , or , in our nomenclature ,a ll Motives are a n a cru s ic . In phrases which un

doubtedly begin with a full bar, in other words ,

with the An — betonung,such as the opening subj ects

o f innumerable sonata and symphony movements , th efirst note is merely a fixed starting poin t fo r the

THE AGOGIC ACCENT 3 I 1

rhythmical feeling . Immediately after it has beenstruck the Ab— betont form o fMot ive must commence .Accent

,in the usually accepted sense

,the author

does not recogni se,and he adduces long arguments

to show its impossibility fo r arti stic purposes . Therhythm is to be made evident

,not by a lterations

o f accen ted and unaccented notes,but by Dynamic

variation , that i s , by crescendo and diminuendo .

When notes smaller than what we call Primaryare used

,the Motive is sa id to be untergetlzeilt, and

in this ca se the dynamic va riation s are more easyto perform , especially on the pianoforte , w here acrescendo i s no t possible on a single note.

A Motive , whether untergetltei lt or not , moves increscendo to i ts Scl s erpuntt (our accent), and thendiminishes : the Sc/z‘werpunkt being generally shownby the Bar- line . In other words , the Bar— l ine doesnot Show accent , but the culmina ti ng poin t o f theMotive , thus :

E x. 1

BEETHOVEN (Op. 1 4, N o .

( Vide Riema nn , Dyn a m i k a nd Agog i k , p.

The dynam ic ri se and fall applies in a largerdegree to the Phrase

,which is a combination o f two

or more Mot ives ; so that unless a composer , by


THE AGOGIC ACCENT 3 1 3

centres occur on discords which cannot be separatedfrom their resolutio ns , and the quavers are theresolutions : hence the new motive begins withthe second half o f the bar . In the Accent theorythe third crotchet would have more force than thesecond and fourth ; but in the Dynamic theorythere i s diminuendo from the first to the secondcrotchet , and a crescendo from the third crotch et tothe first o f the next bar .Phrases are show n by the lega to strokes . The first

a nd second Phrases in the above quotation containtwo Motives each , the last has four , so that theexample shows a Period o f 2 + 2 + 4 Motives . The

Lesezeiclzen i s, o f course,unnecessa ry at the end o f

the Phrase,since its pla ce i s taken by the end o f

the lega to Stroke .The above explanation gives only the barest out

line o f the theory fo r i ts details we must refer ourreaders to the book .

In his first Chapter Dr . Riemann wri tes amelodic succession o f quavers in 3 time , and ,repeat ing it in time

,he discusses the question

o f how the grouping . o f three and three in theg i s to be distinguished from that o f two andtwo in the on the organ

,which is incapable

o f accent,or o f crescendo and diminuendo . He

explains that it can be made clear by placing theAgogic Accent on the first o f each group o f


three quavers in the one case,and on the fi rst

o f each pair in the other, thus

id? and s h i f t?There i s no doubt tha t organists who feel rhythmstrongly are a ble to make their audiences a ppreciateit i n a way tha t i s den ied to ma ny o f thei r fellows .Ca n it be tha t they instinctively and unconsciouslybring it out by mean s o f the Agogic Accent

,applied

in so small a degree that neither they nor their a udiemees are aware o f any alteration in the tempo

INDEX

A ccellera ndo, 1 60- 1 63.

Accen t, 1 8 - 2 1 .

Om iss io n o f, 62 , 63.

a nd no te va lue, 79 .

Accen tua t io n , Ris ing, 45 Fa lling. 4 7a nd Melo dy, 6 1 .

Th e three kinds o f, 7 1 , 7 2 .

Acc ia ca tura,2 2 .

Ago gic Accen t, 308 .

Albert i Ba ss , 1 05 .

Alla oreve, 1 1 4 .

An acrus is, 4 1 -47 .

Subs id ia ry, E xample o f,in

Bra hms, 7 7 .

in Brahm s’Capricc io , o p.

1 1 6, N o . 3, 50 .

eff ect o f, 80 .

Anapz st, 80 .

An apaest ic rhythm ,E xamples

o f, 84 .

in Tscha i kow sky’s Pa thetic

Sympho ny, 2 39 .

Ba ch , J. S. ,Capricc io uber d ie

Abreise ein es Freundes, 5 .

In a ugura ted the mo dern

scho o l, 9 .

a nd Rhythm , 1 0.

S i len t Mea sures, 1 0, 1 1 .

Att itude towa rds mus ic , 1 1 ,

1 3 .

Ba ch , j. S. ,ra rely g’

employs

Duple aga inst Triple T ime,

1 05 .

Orga n Fugues , 1 24.

An tic ipa tes m o dern metho ds,I I .

Ba rfCompo und , 38 .

a ndMea sure, 37 , 39 , 4 1 , 4 2 .

S imple, 39 .

a nd Po et ic fo o t , 39 .

Ba r- l ine, 39 .

Funct io n o f, 40 .

Beetho ven,Pa sto ra l Sympho ny,

5ebew o h l So n a ta , 5 .

Influence o n mus ic,1 0

,1 1 .

Slow mo vemen t o f 7 th

Sympho ny, 1 4 ; Slow mo vemen t o f 4th Sympho ny, 29 .

Ba rring o f Anda n te in op .

1 30 , 37An a crus is in Funera l Ma rchSo n a ta , 47 , 48 .

S o n a ta Pa thétique, 52 , 96.

Quartet, o p. 1 32 , 5 5- 5 7 .

Ris ing Accentua t io n in 5 th

Sympho ny, 64, 65 .

Va rio us kinds o f Perio d , 7 7 .

E ro ica Sympho ny, 8 2 , 1 7 1 .

Al legretto o f 7 th Sympho ny,8 3 .

Mo o n l ight So n a ta , 84 .


INDEX

C lo ses, 32C ombin a t i o n o f rhythms in

Bra hms’ Sympho ny in D,

2 2 1 .

C ombined rhythm-species, 86.

Commo n t ime, 1 1 4, 1 1 5.

Compo sers a nd phra se- ind icat io n s, 40, 4 1 .

Co uplet , 2 3 .

Crescendo, effect o f, o n rhythm,

Da ctyl, 80.

Da ctyls , synco pa ted in Bra hms’

Sympho ny N o . 2 , 1 00 .

Da nce mus ic, 8 .

Debussy, Ma sques, 266- 269 .

—. Hommage a Rameau, 270

2 7 3.

Demo cra cy, Influence o f, o n

music,1 36.

Dimresis, 43 , 44 .

o fMelo dy, 1 2 3, 1 7 5 .

in Debussy, Ma sques , 268 .

Qu in tuple in D’

Indy’

s So na ta

in E, 263, 264.

Diminuendo , 1 60 .

E ffect o f, o n rhythm , 1 8 5 ,1 86.

D’

Indy, So n a ta in E ,2 56

-266.

Do tted-n o te rhythm, 9 1 , 92 .

in Tscha i ko wsky’s Pa theticSymphony, 24 1 .

an d Leo po ld Mo za rt, 308 .

Duple Mea sure, 29-3 1 .

Duple a ga in stTripleT ime, 1 05

1 08 .

Dvo fak, Sla vische Tanze, 1 48 .

Dyn am i k und Ago g i k (Riema nn

’s), 309-3 1 4.

E ighteen th Cen tury, Music o f,1 35 .

3 1 7

E lga r Sympho ny, o p. 5 5 , 1 5 1 ,289

-

307 .

Empty T imes, 1 66, 1 67 , 1 74.

in Bra hms’

Sympho ny in D ,

E qua l subsid ia ry n o tes, 8 2 .

E ven Mea sure, 8 , 30.

E xecuta n ts a nd co nducto rs, 1 6 .

Fa ll ing Accen tua t io n , 64 .

Fa n ta s ia , 7 .

Fem in in e En d ing, 26 note,

Fermo te, 1 63 .

Fioriture, Rea so n s o f d isappea ra n ce Of, 74, 7 5

Five n o tes a ga in st fo ur, etc.,

1 1 2 .

Five-mea sure Rhythms , 1 541 56 .

Fo o t in Po etry, 2 3.

Forte a nd rhythm , 1 8 5 , 1 86.

Fo ur—ba r phra se, 1 5 .

Ord ina ry co n structio n o f,

59-6 1 .

Fo ur-mea sure Rhythm ,Impo rt

a n ce o f, 1 33 .

Fo ur- t ime Mea sure, 8 1 .

Fresco ba ld i , 7 .

Froberger Fa n ta s ia , 7 .

Ffinfer, 1 54 , 1 5 5 .

Genera l Pa use, 1 7 2 .

in Stanfo rd’s Qua rtet

,op. 4 5 ,

2 85 .

Greek rhythm ica l theo ry, 83 - 86 .

terms,1 42 note.

Grieg Vio l in So n a ta in F, o p. 8 ,

Ha lf-rhythm s,I 4 1

- 1 5 1

in Beetho ven ’

s So na ta , 1 4 5note.

3 I 8 INDEX

Ha lf-mea sure, Lengthen ing o f a

Rhythm by, 1 64 note.

H a llé , S ir Cha rles, 309 .

H a ndel, a tti tude tow a rds mus ic,

Dea d Ma rch, 92 .

Orla ndo,1 2 7 .

H ayd n , 1 0 .

At ti tude tow a rds mus ic,1 3 .

Va rio us k inds o f perio d in ,

"

7 .l

a nd Three-mea sure Rhythms

,1 35 , 1 36.

Qua rtet in E fla t,N O . 38 ,

1 7 2 , 1 7 3 .

Hebrew Po etry, Rhythm o f, 2 5 .

Iambus, 8 1 .

Instrumen ts,Impro vemen ts in ,

1 1 , 1 2 .

In terpreta tio n o f Compo s itio ns,1 7 .

In tro ducto ry Mea sures, see Pre

l im ina ry Mea sures .

Ita l ia n Opera , 74 .

Jo a chim , 309 .

Ko ch, H . C . , An leitung zur

mus i ka lische Compo si tio n ,1 54 .

Kuhn a u Bible So n a ta s , 5 .

Lega to, 1 8 2- 1 8 5 .

Lesezeichen in Riema nn’

s

Dyn am i k und Ago g i k 3 1 2 .

Lomba rd ic style, 1 04M a driga ls , 6, 7 .

Ma rch fo rm , 9 1 .

Ma scul ine E nd ing , 32 .

Mecha n ica l music,1 1 3.

Mea sure, 2 2 , 2 3 .

Mea sure,Tw o spec ies o n ly,

29 .

a nd Ba r, 4 1

-

43 , 6 1 .

Fo ur- t ime, 8 1 .

Mea suremen t a nd a ccen t , 2 1 .

Mecha n ica l instruments a nd

a ccen t,1 89 .

Meisters inger, W a l tz in , 54 .

M el i sma t ic , see So ng .

Melo s, 4 , 6, 1 33 .

a nd Rhythm , 9 , 1 5 .

co n t inuo us , 5 5 in Bra hm s’

Sympho ny, N o . 2 , 2 2 3 ; in

E lga r’s Sympho ny, 30 1 .

o fW agn er a nd h i s successo rs ,

74 , 7 5Mendelsso hn

,P i a n o fo rte Tr io

in D m in o r, 1 1 7 .

Phra se— co n struct io n , 1 37 .

Metre, 2 3 .

M idsummer N igh t’s Dream ,

Ha lf verses in Sha kespea re’

s

1 4 1- 1 4 3 .

Overture,1 66.

Mo za rt , 1 0 .

Att itude to w a rds mus ic, 1 3 .

Va rio us kinds o f perio d in ,

7 7Co nfl ict ing Rhythm ica lschemes in “ Do n G io va nn i

,

”

8 7 .

Duple aga inst Triple T ime,

1 05 .

a nd Three-mea sure Rhythms, 1 34

- 1 36.

Jupiter Sympho ny, 1 7 1 .

N o te-va lues a nd{E sthet ic Cha ra c ter o fMus ic

,

One-mea sure phra ses in Tsch a i

kow sky’s Pa thetic Sympho ny,

2 5 1 .

INDEX

Organ , 1 2 .

a nd a ccen t, 1 8 7 , 1 88 .

Ma rches o n the,1 90, 1 9 1 .

Overlap, 5 1 -5 7 .

in R. Strauss’V io l in So n a ta ,

1 09 , 1 1 0 .

Pa derewski , Cha n ts des Voyageurs , N o . 4 , 1 2 7— 1 29 .

Pa use, 1 63- 1 66 .

o n a n unstruck a ccen t ,

1 79 .

Perio d,2 3-2 5 .

o f eight Mea sures, 53 .

P ia no a nd Rhythm , 1 8 5 , 1 8 6 .

Po lo n a ise fo rm , 35 .

Phra sing in So ng, 26 .

Po pula r” a ud iences, 2 74 .

Prel im in a ry o r In tro duc to ryMea sures, 49

-

5 1 .

Mea sures in Brahms,op. 1 0,

N o . 3 ,Prima ryT imes, N o tes , Va lues ,3 1 .

Rhythm , 39 .

Accen tua tio n , Funct io n o f,

7 1 .

Rhythm in Brahm s'

Sym

pho ny in D, 2 1 2 .

Pro gramme mus ic, 5 , 6 .

Pro se, Po etry a nd Mus ic, 20.

Q uin tuple Rhythm, 1 2 5- 1 30.

in T scha i kow sky’

s Pa thet icSympho ny, 246.

Qu in tuple Dimresis in D’

Indy’s

So n a ta in E ,263, 264 .

Rea d ing o f a compo sit io n ,1 8 .

Rests, 1 66- 1 74.

Rhythm ,a nd Melo s, 4, 9 .

a nd Fo rm, 4 .

3 1 9

Rhythm ,a nd the Church

, 6 .

a nd E xpressio n , 1 3, 1 4.

Tw o s ides o f,1 4 .

Defin it io n o f, 20 .

equ iva len t to Phra se, 2 1 - 2 5 .

Th e w o rd used in tw o

sen ses, 24 .

a nd Accent, 32 .

Co nstruc tio n o f, 44.

E xperimen ts w ith ma teria l

o f,65

-67 .

w ithin Rhythm, 7 7 .

o f tw o Mea sures, 8 3 (see a lsoHa lf-rhythms).

Rhythm ica l figures in a ccom

pa n imen t, 29 .

Accen tua t io n , 63, 64, 65 .

Funct io n o f, 7 1 .

Schemes in combina tio n , 69 ,7 1

Compl ica t io n s in S ixteen thCen tury, 8 7 .

Rhythm less Mus ic, 5 8 , 59 .

Riema nn , Dr. Hugo , 308 .

Ris ing Accen tua t io n , 45 , 64,1 8

insBeetho ven ’

s Fifth Sym

pho ny, 65 .

Ris ing a nd Fa l lingAccen tua t io n ,1 1 6

,1 1 7 .

Rita rda ndo, 1 60- 1 63.

Sa in t-Sa ens Etude, op. 5 2 ,N o . 4, 1 32 .

Sa lva tio n Army drum a nd

cla ss ica l rhythm ,1 9 1 , 1 9 2 .

Schubert, 1 2 .

So n a ta in D , o p. 53, 9 2 .

D m in o r,Qua rtet, 84, 92 .

P iano fo rte, Ma rch in D, 92 .

Phra se-co n struct io n , 1 37 ,1 38 .

Schuma nn Pia n o quin tet, 84.


INDEX 32 1

Gro ve’

s D ict io na ry o f Mus ic

a nd Mus ic ia n s

A N ew E dition

EDITE D BY J. A . FULLER MAITLAND ,M .A .

In s e Volumes . Med . 800. 2 1 s. net ca eli .

Vo l. I . A— E . Vo l. III. M— P .

Vo l. II. F— L. Vo l. IV . Q— S .

Vo l. V . T— Z.

Mus i ca l Times . A mus ica l d ictio na ry superio r to a nything tha t h a s beena ttempted in a ny la ngua ge.

”

Mus ica l N ews . Perhaps i t is impo ssible to o verva lue so extensive a com

pila tio n o f info rma tio n a nd terse criticism . If o ne compa res Gro ve’s

D ic tio na ry with s im ila r pro ductio ns which ha ve a ppea red in E nglish, French ,I ta lia n , a nd Germa n during th e la st hundred yea rs , the co nclus io n must be,wha t a n a dva nce i t i s o n the eff o rts o f pa st d ays .

”

Alus z'

ca l 0pz'

m'

on . May fa irly be ca lled the mus ica l ma n ’

s va de mecum .

Specta tor. A w o rk which , in its revised fo rm, h a s become mo re tha n everind ispensable to s tudents a nd lo vers o fmus ic.

N a tz'

on . An a dmira ble a nd indi spensa ble thing— a mo nument to the

w isdom a nd the brea dth o f view o f i ts first projecto r, a nd a cred it to th e ed i to r

o f the present re-issue.

MAC VI ILLAN AN D CO. LTD.,LONDON .


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