Topical Vocabulary in 19th Century Music

Journal of Musicological Research, 31:97137, 2012Copyright Taylor & Francis Group, LLCISSN: 0141-1896 print/1547-7304 onlineDOI: 10.1080/01411896.2012.682887

The Topical Vocabulary of theNineteenth Century

JANICE DICKENSHEETSUniversity of Northern Colorado

Since Leonard Ratners initial introduction of topoi in ClassicMusic: Expression, Form, and Style, topical analysis has slowlygained acceptance, due largely to the writings of such notedauthors as Kofi Agawu, Wye Jamison Allanbrook, JonathanBellman, and Raymond Monelle. Ratner provided a succinct lex-icon of common eighteenth-century topoi, and while variousauthors have added nineteenth-century topics to his list, to thispoint none have offered a specific lexicon of Romantic topics.Similar to their eighteenth-century cousins, Romantic topics fea-ture simple dance types and styles, but expand to incorporatemore complex musical dialects such as the Chivalric and Demonicstylesall illustrative of Romantic ideology.

Since Leonard Ratner introduced the concept of topoi in Classic Music:Expression, Form, and Style in 1980, a growing body of literature, largelybased on Ratners work, has explored their use in formal and stylistic analysisfrom a variety of perspectives. Topical analysis deals directly with referen-tial musical languages and their relationships to each other, creating, in thewords of Ratner, a kind of informal iconographyfigures that have director symbolic meaning.1 A constant throughout musical history, the use ofreferential languages began long before the Baroque era and continues intothe twenty-first century. Thus, topical analysis, which addresses the surfaceof the music, can, when taken in its sociohistorical context, provide us witha unique perspective on a compositions original reception as well as itsposition within changing musical style. To this end, Ratner provided us with

This article is expanded from research that was partially published in The Pendragon Review 2/1 (Fall2003).1 Leonard Ratner, Topical Content in Mozarts Keyboard Sonatas, Early Music 19/4 (1991), 616. Thislexicon was the first of its kind, providing scholars and performers with a tool for understanding andperforming Classical-period compositions.

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a succinct lexicon of Classical topics,2 which, though impressive in its scope,is unavoidably incompletesomething Ratner himself would no doubt haveacknowledged, given the number of additional topics he introduced in laterpublications. The very nature of topical evolution makes the creation of asingle dictionary of gestures for any given time period a virtual impossibil-ity. For every defined topic, there are numerous permutations and an infinitenumber of possible combinations, each of which can possess its own uniqueextra-musical significance. In addition, while many topics were more or lessuniversal, numerous topoi are specific to a given composer, region, or coun-try, something that is particularly prevalent in the Romantic period. For thisreason, lexicons such as Ratners and the one provided in this article, whilecertainly necessary tools for stylistic analysis, often function as springboardsfor further research into topical vocabularies.

Ratner began to explore nineteenth-century topics in Romantic Music:Sound and Syntax, identifying several within the context of their use byspecific composers, but did not attempt to generate a topical thesaurus forthe Romantic period.3 He may have felt that, given the rapid expansion of

2 Leonard Ratner, Classic Music: Expression, Form, and Style (New York: Schirmer Books, 1980), 930.Although many authors have used Ratners concept of topical analysis to approach various nineteenth-century works, thereby identifying a significant number of Romantic topics, not one has provided aconcise lexicon of those topics that were specific to the nineteenth century. V. Kofi Agawus Playing withSigns: A Semiotic Interpretation of Classic Music (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1991) offersthe possibility of using topical analysis for the works of Romantic composers, even listing some topicsthat abound in Romantic music, and he includes a list of topics, derived largely from my dissertation andthe research for this article previously published in The Pendragon Review in Music as Discourse: SemioticAdventures in Romantic Music (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009). Eero Tarasti identifies nineteenth-century topical styles or moods in Myth and Music (Helsinki: Suomen Musiikkitieteellinen, 1978), payingspecial attention to their use as signifiers of mythical elements in music. Raymond Monelle, in The Senseof Music (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2000), also discusses topics and their applicabilityto music outside the Classical period. He recognizes elements of some specific topics (predominantlythose tied to the hunt and military), and discusses topical analysis in conjunction with musical semi-otics. Among the mythical topics identified by both Monelle and Tarasti are supernatural topics suchas demonic and fairy-like music, and styles that include archaizing gesturesparticularly those con-nected to Medieval subjects. Neither author, however, provides a practical lexicon. Keith Jones, in TheSymphonic Poems of Franz Liszt (Stuyvesant, NJ: Pendragon Press, 1997), approaches the analysis ofLiszts symphonic poems from a topical and semiotic point of view, including discussion of topoi specificto those works. He identified topics such as the funeral march, military style, pastoral music, recitative,Sturm und Drang, horn-call and fanfare, cantilena, and such national topoi as Hungarian and Polishmusics, relating them specifically to Liszts works. Other significant writings involving topical analysisinclude Wye Jamison Allanbrooks Rhythmic Gesture in Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1983) and Two Threads Through the Labyrinth, in Convention inEighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Music: Essays in Honor of Leonard G. Ratner, ed. Wye J. Allanbrook,Janet M. Levy, and William P. Mahrt (Stuyvesant, NY: Pendragon Press, 1992); Robert S. Hatten, MusicalMeaning in Beethoven (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1994); Elaine R. Sisman, After the HeroicStyle: Fantasia and the Characteristic Sonatas of 1809, in Beethoven Forum 6 (1998) and Mozart: TheJupiter Symphony (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993).3 The topics identified by Ratner in Romantic Music: Sound and Syntax (New York: Schirmer Music,1992) include the following: Alla Breve (p. 260), Barcarolle (pp. 172 and 175), Bolero (p. 60), Bourre(p. 18), Dies Irae (p. 75), Gavotte (p. 39), March (pp. 97 and 276), Minuet (p. 18), Motet (p. 74), Musette(p. 105), Ombra (p. 70), Romanza (p. 27), Stile Legato (pp. 26, 27, 39, and 229), Style Bris (p. 276), andWaltz (pp. 15356).

Topical Vocabulary of the Nineteenth Century 99

common-practice-period vocabularies during the Romantic era (depictive,national, programmatic, etc.), such a thesaurus would be impossible to cre-ate. However, increasing interest in topical analysis during the past threedecades has created a demand for a lexicon of those topics that evolvedduring the nineteenth century.

To this end, the lexicon presented here is not an attempt at an exhaus-tive inventory of nineteenth-century topics, but rather a preliminary list ofcommon styles intended to serve both as an example of the sweeping useof topical languages in Romantic music and as a catalyst for further stud-ies. The identification and codification of nineteenth-century topoi is vital,as it provides the basis for topical analysisanalysis that allows for bettercomprehension and more accurate re-creation of this music.

Ratner defined topics as subjects for musical discourse thatwhenemployed by the composers of the periodrepresented specific affectsor ideas readily comprehensible to contemporary listeners.4 He identifiedboth simple dance types such as the minuet and bourre, which are recog-nized primarily by their rhythmic patterns, and styles such as the TurkishStyle and Pastorale Style, which usually encompass a group of musicalgestures.5 Romantic topical languages range from simple closed topics, suchas dances and marches, to distinct musical styles and complex musicaldialects. Although there is admittedly a certain amount of referential discon-tinuity involving eighteenth-century topics that either changed or died out bythe nineteenth century, the practice of using referential musical languagescontinued to be prevalent in the works of nineteenth-century composers,who retained much of the considerable lexicon of musical topics inher-ited from seventeenth- and eighteenth-century traditions, while adding to itcomplex musical languages that directly reflected Romantic aesthetics. Thiscontinued use of referential musical languages is yet another characteristicof the so-called common practice, a continuity that seems often to be down-played in analyses of nineteenth-century works. It is, however, central tothe argument for topical analysis of this musican analytical process thatprovides both a method for comprehending the composers creative processand an insight into what audiences were expected to be able to understand.6

4 Ratner, Classic Music, 9.5 Ratner, Classic Music, 9.6 Jonathan Bellman supports this theory in his article Aus Alten Mrchen: The Chivalric Style ofSchumann and Brahms, The Journal of Musicology 13/1 (Winter 1995), stating that nineteenth-centurymusic drew on the content specific language of the eighteenth century, both by using gestures (topics),which were exploited during that period, and by incorporating the process of indicating the contextof the work by using widely understood musical formulas. Kenneth DeLong discusses the continueduse of musical topics as being an essential character of the Biedermeier musical style (The Conventionof Musical Biedermeier, in Convention in Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Music). He argues thatthe use of referential content is a link to the past and part of what separates this music from the moreprogressive styles, which were intent on searching for new ideas and breaking from the classic traditions.In his discussion he alludes to new topics that emerge in the early nineteenth century, such as the drawingroom waltz and imitations of contemporary operatic gestures.

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Prevalent in opera, song, and programmatic works, Romantic topicsfunction as all topical languages do, maintaining their extra-musical signifi-cance even when no explicit programmatic content is implied. An exampleof this is found in the fourth movement of Schuberts Quintet in C Major of1828. Within a sonata-form structure, Schubert juxtaposes a Style Hongroisfirst theme (Example 1), with a second theme in the Biedermeier Style(Example 2). Given contemporary Gypsy stereotypes and the relative posi-tions of the Austrian middle and upper-middle classes, this contrast is morethan musical. Schubert has brought together two culturescastes, races,lifestyleswithin a form that traditionally requires a final reconciliation.Knowing that, due to their musical languages and attendant cultures, thesetwo themes are irreconcilable, Schubert nevertheless erodes the standardfunction of a sonata forms recapitulation, and thereby appears to com-ment on proper Viennese culture and the position of certain outsidersrelative to it.

EXAMPLE 1 Schubert, Quintet in C Major, Op. 163, iv, opening theme.

EXAMPLE 2 Schubert, Quintet in C Major, Op. 163, iv, mm. 4553.


To say that Schubert is making a strong statement on the state ofAustrian culture and politics is perhaps a stretch, and is not the principalpurpose of this illustration. More important is our recognition of these musi-cal topics and their cultural resonances. Schuberts audiences, familiar withthe sonata form structure, most likely would have perceived the somewhatironic juxtaposition of the themes placed within it. Because such recognitionhas become increasingly remote from our own contemporary musical aware-ness, topical analysis enables us to discern a good deal of long-obscuredmeaning. As illustrated by the Schubert example, topics need to be under-stood in the context of their own timessomething on which most currenttopical scholars readily agree.7 If nineteenth-century Viennese audiences hadnot heard Gypsies music, or did not understand the extra-musical signifi-cance of placing it next to a classic Biedermeier Style, they would not haveperceived the contrast, and the underlying irony would have been lost.

Since many topics preserved from the Classical period accrued newmeanings over the passage of time, it is necessary to look at them withintheir new historical settings. In the same way that topics can only be usedeffectively if audiences perceive and understand them, so too will topicalanalysis provide meaningful results only when looked at within its specificcontext. The following lexicon of widely used and understood Romantictopoi (both those retained from the Classical repertoire and those thatevolved during the nineteenth century) provides a basis for the topicalanalysis of nineteenth-century music.

A LEXICON OF ROMANTIC TOPICS

Romantic topics can be broken down into three groups: types, styles, anddialects. Types usually include a minimum number of gestures, primarilyfocusing on rhythmic elements associated with physical movementmarching or dancingto define their character. Styles, however, include acluster of gestures that, when used together, evoke an affect or bring tomind something extra-musical.8

Dialects are much more complex, usually encompassing a broad rangeof gestures, and frequently incorporating other styles. Unlike types andstyles, which may be expressed in just a few measures of music, dialectsare in essence musical languages, capable of creating complex musicalworlds and evoking strong extra-musical associations. For this reason, they

7 Allanbrook, Rhythmic Gesture in Mozart, 18. Speaking to this, Allanbrook observes that topicalmaterials must be clearly defined and their relationships to each other must be sharply and dramaticallydemarcated, and listeners must embrace the fact of contrast and identify the members involved swiftlyand near-automatically.8 Ratner, Classic Music, 9.

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frequently develop through long passages of music, unfolding in a series ofmusical events.

Types

DANCES AND MARCHES

Because both Ratner and Wye J. Allanbrook have provided detailed descrip-tions of dance and march types inherited from the eighteenth century, nodetailed discussion will be included here.9 Table 1 lists three types thatstill find prevalent use in the nineteenth century, along with their commonassociations in Romantic (as opposed to eighteenth-century) literature.

Waltz. Considered a type by definition, the waltz, in a manner similarto other dance types, can imply clear class distinctions. Ratner discusses thewaltz in the same context as other triple-meter dances, describing them asquick in tempo, buoyant in manner, and simple in quality, and allowingfor two stylesmiddle and low.10 Allanbrook, however, calls the waltz theemblem and a natural end of the tumultuous social changes that took placeat the turn of the century.11

By the 1800s, two types of waltz were clearly delineated, as were theirassociations. The Lndler was strongly diatonic and set usually in a majorkey; its frequent use of arpeggio figures links it to Alpine folk song, thereby

TABLE 1 Ratnerian Types Still Used in the Nineteenth Century

Topic Association Selected Examples

Minuet Antique, courtly elegance. (OtherBaroque dances such as thebourre and gavotte may havesimilar associations.)

Tchaikovsky, Nutcracker, Op. 71,No. 3, mm. 4548 (Parents Dance).

Mendelssohn, Symphony No. 4,Op. 90, iii, opening.

Gigue,Siciliano

Used with other folk-likegestures to indicate peasant orlower class. Often used in thePastorale Style.

Tchaikovsky, Nutcracker, Op. 71,No. 3, mm. 6171.

Chopin, Ballade, Op. 38, openingsection.

March Often associated with ceremony,especially military. Part of theMilitary Style. Can becombined with other topics,such as the Demonic Style.

Mahler, Symphony No. 3, i, mm.3643, 31419 (two different types).

Berlioz, Symphonie Fantastique,Op. 14, iv, March to the Scaffold.

9 See Ratner, Classic Music, 916 (his detailed description of Types as he defines the dances andmarches) and Allanbrook, Rhythmic Gesture in Mozart, 3360 (her description of the different dance andmarch types).10 Ratner, Classic Music, 12.11 Allanbrook, Rhythmic Gesture in Mozart, 63.


EXAMPLE 3 Weber, Der Freischtz, Act I, Scene 3, opening.

suggesting peasant or rural settings.12 Example 3 from Act I of Webers DerFreischtz shows the topical use of this form of the waltz.

With the waltzes of Schubert, a second type appears, one that wastopically associated with the middle and upper classes: the Viennese orhigh waltz. Frequently in ternary form (including a trio), their compositionalsophistication was apparent in the increasing use of minor keys and mod-ulation (see Examples 4a and 4b).13 The use of periodic structures and full,balanced phrases separated the Viennese waltz from the Lndler, solidify-ing its class associations.14 Many nineteenth-century dramatic works use thewaltz topic as a signifier of the aristocracy, a tradition that was passed onto instrumental music as well. Example 5 shows topical use of the Viennesewaltz in Berliozs Symphonie Fantastique, providing a ballroom environmentfor the ide fixe, and later transforming the theme itself into a sophisticated,elegant incarnation.

EXAMPLE 4a Schubert, Zwanzig Walzer, D. 146, Op. post 127, No. 7, mm. 18.

12 Mosco Carner, Lndler, The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd ed., ed. StanleySadie (London: Macmillan, 2001), vol. 14, 223.13 Andrew Lamb, Waltz, The New Grove Dictionary, vol. 27, 74.14 Allanbrook, Rhythmic Gesture in Mozart, 6566.

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EXAMPLE 4b Schubert, Zwanzig Walzer, D, 146, Op. post 127, No. 7, Trio, mm. 2532.

EXAMPLE 5 Berlioz, Symphonie Fantastique, Op. 14, ii, mm. 3654.

Funeral March. Little needs to be said on the specific symbolism ofthis topic. It features a ponderous duple meter, evocative of the processionof a funeral cortege, which is usually enhanced by a dark minor mode.Dotted rhythms frequently prevail in the melodic material, and the repetitionof these melodies, especially when paired with a repetitive bass line, cancreate a sense of inevitability. Dramatic intensity is often achieved by athickening of the melodic lines and changes of register. Perhaps the singlemost famous example of this style can be found in the third movement ofChopins Sonata in B minor, Op. 35. Mahler also uses this topic in the firstmovement of his Symphony No. 5 (see Example 6). Dotted rhythms appearin the first trumpet, and repeated notes continue in the tuba in the ensuingmeasures.

Styles

Ratner defines styles as figures and progressions within a piece15melodicand rhythmic gestures that, when placed together, evoke a single affect.

15 Ratner, Classic Music, 9.


EXAMPLE 6 Mahler, Symphony No. 5, i, mm. 6971.

TABLE 2 Ratners Styles Still in Use during the Nineteenth Century

Topic Association Selected Examples

MilitaryStyle

Most often used in ceremonialor patriotic settings.

Usually includes the march.

Berlioz, Damnation of Faust, Op. 24, Part III,opening.

Mendelssohn, Symphony No. 3, ii, mm.23640.

HuntMusic

Often combined with othergestures and topics toindicate ancient or rural.

Smetana, Vtlava, The Moldau, mm. 8089.Liszt, Transcendental Etudes (18371838),No. 7, Wilde Jagd, mm. 5966 (with theDemonic Style).

PastoraleStyle

Idyllic, bucolic world;simplicity and innocence.a

Berlioz, Symphonie Fantastique, Op. 14, iii,mm. 1018.

Grieg, Peer Gynt, Op. 23, Act II, Scene 3,allegro section.

FantasiaStyle

Improvisatory, often virtuosic. Heinrich Herz, Fantasie et Rondo Par Herz,Op. 12, opening.

Saint-Saens, Concerto No. 2 in G minor,Op. 22, i, intro. (Bach-style Fantasia).

aGeoffrey Chew, Pastorale, The New Grove Dictionary, vol. 19, 21725. While this article primarily tracesthe history of the pastorale as a genre, it does address the use of the Pastorale Style as an affect in thenineteenth and twentieth centuries. Ratners description of this topic provides the defining characteristicsneeded for application to nineteenth-century works.

Table 2 shows the Ratnerian styles that remained common throughout thenineteenth century.16

SINGING STYLE

Ratner defines this style as music in a lyric vein with a moderate tempo,the melodic line featuring relatively slow note values, and a rather narrow

16 The four Ratnerian styles most notably left out of this lexicon are sensibility, sturm und drang,galant, and pictorialism. Sensibility and sturm und drang utilize gestures and harmonic elements thatbecome central to the Romantic musical language. The galant style is absorbed by the song styles, andpictorialism is replaced by programmatic music.

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EXAMPLE 7 Schubert, Quintet in C Major, Op. 163, i, mm. 6065.

range.17 In the second subject of the first movement of Schuberts Quintet inC Major, Op. 163 (see Example 7), the first-cello line (followed in thirds andsixths by the second cello) can be described in this manner.

LIED STYLE

Similar to the Singing Style is the Lied Style. Based on the German Lied,it was used frequently by Romantic composers in second movements ofsymphonic works. Its primary indicators are a rather simple, unornamentedmelody (often folk-like in character) and supporting accompaniment thatfrequently unfolds with Schubertian simplicity.18 Beethoven employs theLied Style in the second movement of his Op. 90 Sonata for piano (seeExample 8). In the second movement of his Third Symphony, Brahms pairsa Lied-Style melody with Chorale-Style harmony and Musette inflection,effectively creating an archaic atmosphere (see Example 9).

NOCTURNE STYLE

Although the nocturne as a genre was first introduced with the composi-tions of John Field, the style did not take on topical significance until the1830s, when Chopin established himself as its master. In his hands it becamean instrumental (almost always pianistic) evocation of the aria, its melodicmaterial, reminiscent of solos and duets, accompanied by arpeggiated

17 Ratner, Classic Music, 19.18 Several additional types of Lied-Style (or Song-Style, as they may also be called) topics existas well, including the Lullaby, Kriegslied, and Winterlied styles. The latter often has programmaticties to romantic poetry, and its defining characteristic is its suggestion of a sentimental longing thatoften includes pain and suffering. George S. Bozarths article Brahmss Lieder Ohne Worte: The PoeticAndantes of the Piano Sonatas (Brahms Studies: Analytical and Historical Perspectives, ed. George S.Bozarth [Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1990], 34578) discusses the relationship between several of Brahmssandantes and Romantic poetry, especially that poetry that is described as Winterlied.


EXAMPLE 8 Beethoven, Piano Sonata in E minor, Op. 90, ii, opening.

EXAMPLE 9 Brahms, Symphony No. 3, Op. 90, ii, mm. 1519.

chord patterns in the left hand. Chopins nocturnes also include virtuosicfioritureevocations of the vocal ornamentations used in opera.19

The Nocturne Style took on the status of a topic once it was usedby other composers outside of its original genre. They emulated Chopinslush cantabile melodic lines and broken-chord accompaniments, althoughnever quite capturing his elegance. In the best examples, fioriture are alsopresent, as found in Wagners Lied Ohne Worte from his 1840 Album frErnst Benedikt Kietz (see Example 10).

Another example of this style is found in the Canzona Neapolitana ofLiszts Venezia e Napoli (see Example 11). Given the Italianate origins of thispiece, the inclusion of a Chopinesque nocturne in the middle of the thirdmovement is somewhat perplexing, more so since Liszts movement takes

19 Jonathan Bellman, Improvisation in Chopins Nocturnes (DMA Diss., Stanford University, 1990),1015.

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EXAMPLE 10 Wagner, Leid Ohne Worte from the Album fr Ernst Benedikt Kietz (1840),mm. 816.

the form of a dance. The ternary form contrasts fiery A sections modeledon the tarantella with a calm B section in Nocturne Style. Despite the titleCanzona Neapolitana, this section is clearly a nocturne in the manner ofChopin. Its broken-chord accompaniment evokes Chopins signature style,the fairly simple melody is embellished with numerous fioriture, and Liszteven begins to capture the aria quality of Chopins nocturnes when theprimary theme is accompanied by a second melodic line a sixth below. TheChopinesque passage enhances Liszts portrait of Italy through its associationwith both Italian opera aria and night music. When viewed in this light,Venezia e Napoli combines the romance of Venetian gondolas, the fierytarantella (practiced throughout Italy, but associated here with Naples), andthe sophistication of Italian opera in the warm, balmy evenings of bothVenice and Naples.

ARIA STYLE

As the name implies, this song style is based on the elaborate, highlyvirtuosic, specifically Italian opera arias of the nineteenth century. Its sweep-ing melodic lines are florid, usually encompassing a larger range than thesinging styles discussed previously, with difficult leaps and ornamenta-tion reflecting its operatic origins. Accompanimental patterns range fromarpeggio figures to more complex orchestral gestures designed to featurethe melodic line. In Example 12, from the second movement of LisztsPiano Concerto No. 1 in E Major, the Aria-Style melody is accompaniedby Nocturne-Style arpeggio figuresan appropriate setting, since Chopins


EXAMPLE 11 Liszt, Canzona Nepolitana, Venezia e Napoli, No. 3 (1838/39), mm. 200220.

nocturnes are so closely related to opera. Another example of the Aria Stylecan be found in measures 4873 of the first movement of Webers ClarinetConcerto in F minor (see Example 13).

STILE APPASSIONATO

While often associated with love or desire, as in the first movement ofBerliozs Symphonie Fantastique, this style can also represent a numberof other passions, including nationalism and religious fervor. Operaticallyderived melodies are often written in octaves (although a single soaringline can create the same effect) and are underscored by throbbing, repeatedchordsmost frequently in eighth-note or triplet patternsthat representthe pounding heartbeat of barely suppressed passion.

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EXAMPLE 12 Liszt, Concerto No. 1 in E Major, ii, mm. 932.

Liszts Totenfeier (Funrailles) was one of three new pieces addedto the 1853 edition of his piano cycle based on Alphonse de Lamartinescycle of poems, Harmonies potiques et religieuses. Its date of composition,October 1849, corresponds with the death of several Hungarian revolution-aries, killed during the Hungarian War of Independence.20 Incorporating amood described by Humphrey Searle as heroic elegy, Funrailles is a mixof styles, most notably the funeral march and Stile Appassionato.21 The open-ing section (described as mourning bells) ends in a lunga pausa, setting upthe B sections funeral march in honor of the revolutionaries. After a secondprolonged pause, Liszt introduces an elegiac theme, which builds into theStile Appassionato section shown in Example 14. The natural evolution ofelegy into Stile Appassionato seems to indicate Liszts impassioned supportof the cause of the revolutionaries.

20 Ben Arnold, Piano Music: 18351861, in The Liszt Companion, ed. Ben Arnold (Westport, CT:Greenwood Press, 2002), 90.21 Humphrey Searle, The Music of Liszt (New York: Dover), 56.


EXAMPLE 13 Weber, Concerto in F minor, Op. 73, i, mm. 4873.

VIRTUOSIC STYLE

Ratners eighteenth-century Brilliant Style continued to develop, growingmore and more virtuosic with the piano works of Beethoven, Weber, andMendelssohn. The Virtuosic Style emerged subsequent to the compositionsof Paganini and Liszt, and was used to evoke the most transcenden-tal difficulties of execution. Encompassing musical gymnastics and all but

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EXAMPLE 14 Liszt, Poetische und Religiose Stimmungen, No. 7, Totenfeier (1849), mm.98108.

unplayable passages, this extroverted style was used in everything frometudes to sonatas, and while most often manifested in the piano music of thetime, it was not limited to that medium. Virtuosic piano figurations includerapid octave passages, quickly moving parallel thirds, frequent chromaticscalar patterns, and an endless list of other acrobatics designed to showoff the performers considerable abilities. In conjunction with these figu-rations are multiple melodic voices that must be clearly rendered. Whilethe variety of such passages is almost infinite, Examples 15 and 16 showtwo types of figuration: Sigismund Thalbergs famous three-hand texture,as realized in Liszts Mazeppa, and one example of the type of figurationSchumann described as scales analysed [sic] in every possible way, knottedin every conceivable manner; the fingers and hands placed in every possibleposition, &c. &c.,22 from Saint-Sans Piano Concerto in G minor.

22 Robert Schumann, Music and Musicians: Essays and Criticisms, 2nd series, trans., ed., andannotated by Fanny Raymond Ritter (London: William Reeves, 1880), 325.


EXAMPLE 15 Liszt, Transcendental Etudes (18371838), Etude No. 4, Mazeppa, mm. 1321.

EXAMPLE 16 Saint-Sans, Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 22, i, mm. 3943.

DECLAMATORY STYLE

This is the Recitative Style translated to instrumental music and intendedto evoke declamation or recitation.23 Nineteenth-century composers used itmost frequently to re-create the spoken word of the poet.24 Occasionallymarked recitativo, the style can function as a bridge between sections, oras a separate declamatory passage used to highlight the Song or Aria styles.Example 17from the programmatically titled Der Dichter Spricht (ThePoet Speaks) of Schumanns Kinderscenenshows this style set amid slowLied-Style melodic material. The style can also be found in the last measuresof Chopins Nocturne, Op. 32, No. 1 (see Example 18), and is frequentlyincorporated into the Bardic Style (of which, more shortly). It is tied to

23 The Declamatory Style was also used by eighteenth-century composers; for example, in theopening section of the first movement of Haydns Symphony No. 7.24 This style is one of the clearest descendants of the eighteenth-century Empfindsamer Stil, andKofi Agawu goes so far as to state that this style is the poets natural language (Playing with Signs,141).

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EXAMPLE 17 Schumann, Kinderscenen, Op. 15, no. 13, Der Dichter Spricht, mm. 1113.

EXAMPLE 18 Chopin, Nocturne, Op. 32, No. 1, mm. 6266.

literature via the poet, and to opera via its structure, which makes it usefulin many programmatic settings.

BIEDERMEIER STYLE

Biedermeier Style is used to signify an old-fashioned elegance linked witha proper middle-class sense of propriety. While evoking a comforting nos-talgia for an earlier time, it brings to mind the coffee-house musical stylesof a Vienna just a few years (or decades) in the past, creating an overrid-ing mood of restrained Apollonian charm. Its musical gestures, includingsymmetrical phrases (frequently four bars long), lyrical melodies, largelydiatonic harmonies, strong cadences, and the occasional use of an Alberti-like bass line, bear a close resemblance to traditional Classical stylesstylesepitomized by lesser eighteenth-century composers.25 Used by the so-calledBiedermeier composers and their contemporaries to conjure up a romanti-cized past, it was not limited to this particular time period and its associationschange depending on its context.

The excerpt from Schuberts Quintet in C Major, seen in Example 2, is aquintessential example of Biedermeier Style. Four-bar phrase structure, light

25 This style is thoroughly explored in Kenneth DeLongs 1992 article, The Conventions of MusicalBiedermeier, in Convention in Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Music, 195223.


EXAMPLE 19 Weber, Der Freischtz, Overture, mm. 13845.

lyric melody, diatonic harmony in slow harmonic rhythm, and a characterclosely tied to dance, all set this firmly in the world of Mozart. Another exam-ple comes from the overture to Webers Der Freischtz (see Example 19);this particular passage stands out in sharp contrast to the folk-like musicthat surrounds it. The melody is directly connected to Agnes and is featuredin her Act II aria. Because Agness father, Cuno, is the chief forester, thehighest-ranking man in the village, the use of Biedermeier Style to representAgnes serves a double purpose: It signifies both her middle-class status andher virtuous demeanor.

TEMPEST STYLE

Dating back at least to Vivaldis Four Seasons, the musical evocation ofwind, rain, thunder, and lightening continued to evolve into the nineteenthcentury, adopting several gestures to portray the powers of nature, whichincluded the supernatural or the demonic. Used extensively in operatic set-tings (e.g., the Wolfs Glen Scene of Der Freischtz and the Act III trioof Verdis Rigoletto), it is also manifest in symphonic literature, includingBeethovens sixth symphony and Mendelssohns Hebrides Overture.

The Tempest Style is usually cast in a minor mode. Wind is representedin the frequent use of diminished chords and running eighth-note patternsthat either undulate or change directions unexpectedly; trills in the timpanisignify thunder, and lightening can be portrayed by a sudden, fully orches-trated chord. Mendelssohn creates this effect in the Hebrides Overture (mm.25156) with a dominant seventh chord played by the entire orchestra andaccompanied by the thunder of the timpani (see Example 20). Other fre-quently used gestures include string tremolos (often in the lower register),agitation in the high strings to symbolize rain and wind, and chromatic pas-sages to create an unsettled effect. Example 21 is taken from the height of

116 J. Dickensheets

EXAMPLE 20 Mendelssohn, Hebrides Overture, Op. 26, mm. 25156.

the storm in Niels Gades Ossian Overture. In the key of A minor, timpanitrills representing thunder in measures 206 and 207 lead to a fully orches-trated diminished-ninth chord lightening strike in woodwinds and low brass.First presented in the flute and oboe, the primary melodic ideaa four-notedescending appoggiatura figure in sixteenth notes, followed by an upwardleap and a descending resolutionconstantly shifts in its transposition, as ifbeing blown about by the wind.

The Tempest Style can also be used to evoke battle or struggle; Rossiniemploys it at the end of Act I of William Tell (in a major key) to under-score the plot tension as the hero rows the shepherd Leuthold, who haskilled a soldier to protect his daughters honor, across the lake to escapethe wrath of his pursuers. Tchaikovsky takes a more symbolic tack, usingit to represent the struggles of the young lovers in his Romeo and JulietOverture.


EXAMPLE 21 Niels Gade, Ossian Overture, mm. 20411.

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HEROIC STYLE

An expansion of Ratners Military Style, this topic carries with it strongBeethovenian associations. Used frequently to signify victory, it is mostoften delivered in a powerful major key. Its fanfare figures often encom-pass the entire orchestra and are frequently accompanied by timpani andtrumpet (recalling the long tradition of pairing these two instruments) inan expansive show of heroism. This style can be incorporated into a num-ber of other styles and dialects when a victorious affect is desired. Fanfarefigures can also be used to indicate class distinction, as in the topical rep-resentation of the aristocracy in Mendelssohns Overture to a MidsummerNights Dream. The last movement of Beethovens fifth symphony containsthe quintessential example of this style (see Example 22) and Schumannuses it effectively in the first movement of his Piano Concerto in A minor,Op. 54 (see Example 23).

DEMONIC STYLE

An early realization of this topic, used widely in both opera and instru-mental music, is found in the famous Wolfs Glen Scene of Webers DerFreischtz (Act II). Eighteenth-century musical evocations of the supernatu-ral (for example, the return of the ghost of the Commendatore in MozartsDon Giovanni) made use of a style described by Ratner as ombramusicrelated to the Fantasia Style representing ghosts, gods, moral values, orpunishments.26

The Demonic Style often makes use of the minor mode, but a harshlywicked major key can also be employed in conjunction with frequentdiminished chords. Rising scalar patterns in the low register (scored fre-quently for cello or double bass) are almost always found ascending inchromatic or altered scales, conjuring fantastic images of specters arisingout of the deep. Such ascending lines are frequently followed by cacklingpassages of glissandi or agitated high strings and woodwinds, often out-lining augmented or diminished chords. Low brass, trombones especially,are featured in a forced, almost overblown manner, playing open intervals

26 Ratner, Classic Music, 24. Elsewhere he mentions the ombra scene from Act III of Verdis Macbeth,in which the ghosts of the eight kings visit Macbeth (Romantic Music, p. 70). Allanbrook briefly mentions,in Rhythmic Gesture in Mozart, the traditions of ombra that date back to obligatory scenes from Hell insixteenth-century intermedios (p. 361). Birgitte Moyer discusses the Ombra Style in more depth in Ombraand Fantasia in Late Eighteenth-Century Theory and Practice, included in Conventions in Eighteenth- andNineteenth-Century Music. There are several fairly consistent characteristics that distinguish the ombrastyle. These include the use of agitated and melancholy types of musical gestures, minor keys, tremolos(occasionally using diminished chords), rising scales and arpeggios, and dramatic changes in dynamics(pp. 293302).


EXAMPLE 22 Beethoven, Symphony No. 5, iv, opening.

120 J. Dickensheets

EXAMPLE 23 Schumann, Concerto in A minor, op. 54, i, mm. 13337.

that allude to Medieval settings.27 The Dream of a Witches Sabbath(Songe dune nuit de sabbath) from Berliozs Symphonie Fantastique (seeExample 24) shows most of the basic techniques that produce the DemonicStyle. The third movement of Liszts Faust Symphony (see Example 25) andPandaemonium from Berliozs Damnation of Faust (Scene 19) are alsoexcellent examples.

These techniques can be further enhanced by the inclusion of sacredmusical symbols such as chant (as it appears in the beginning of the WolfsGlen Scene), chorales, or even fugato. These sacred styles are destabilizedby the surrounding musical gestures, which, in effect, invert their sanctity.This is beautifully illustrated in the fifth movement of Symphonie Fantastique(see Example 26). The music of the witches dance colors the Dies Irae in amanner that corrupts the sanctity of the requiem mass.

27 The association of the trombone with the supernatural goes back to the seventeenth century.Typical orchestral scoring in the ombra scenes of Baroque opera includes the trombone (Moyer, Ombraand Fantasia in Late Eighteenth-Century Theory and Practice, 302), and this tradition continued with thechoirs of trombones in the ombra scenes in Glucks Orfeo and Mozarts Idomeneo (Allanbrook, RhythmicGesture in Mozart, 361).


EXAMPLE 24 Berlioz, Symphonie Fantastique, Op. 14, v, opening.

EXAMPLE 25 Liszt, Faust Symphony (1857), iii, opening.

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EXAMPLE 26 Berlioz, Symphonie Fantastique, v, mm. 41426.

FAIRY MUSIC

Fairy Music represents the other side of the supernatural; the most famousexample of this topic is surely the opening of Mendelssohns Overture toa Midsummer Nights Dream. Even though the style is found in numerousvariations, it features several characteristic gestures. The orchestration willalmost always feature a high, shimmering instrumentation that includes vio-lins, flutes, piccolos, or the celeste. Glittering parallel thirds are common, andmany melodic patterns include stepwise movement or small leaps. Melodicfiguration rarely encompasses a range of more than a fifth, and sequencesoccur frequently. Fleet, running eighth or sixteenth notes are most com-mon, although the style can be found in slower passages, especially whenit is used to evoke sensual beings such as the nymphs from Smetanas TheMoldau.

Even though most examples are diatonic, the use of seventh, dimin-ished, or augmented chords moves the style closer to the demonic, and insome cases the two are blended, in essence creating evil fairies. When


the style is moved into the lower registers, other supernatural beings, suchas gnomes or ogres, can be easily conjured. Example 27, from Griegs PeerGynt, closely resembles the Fairy Music of Mendelssohn. Berlioz uses thisstyle in The Damnation of Faust, Part II, Scene 7 (Choeur de Gnomes etde Sylphes); further examples can be found in Tchaikovskys Dance of theSugar Plum Fairy from Nutcracker and Liszts Gnomenreigen.

EXAMPLE 27 Grieg, Peer Gynt, Op. 23, Act V, No. 24, mm. 512.

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ARCHAIZING STYLES

A number of topics, many of which are identified by Ratner in RomanticMusic,28 signify the old in either courtly or religious terms. Most of thesestyles evoke the worlds of the Renaissance or Baroque; however, two ofthemthe Chivalric and Bardic styles (discussed in the following sectionDialects)are commonly used when a composer chooses to indicate aMedieval setting, complete with references to knights, chivalry, and, in thecase of the Bardic Style, the ancient art of the epic.

Common archaizing styles include the Stile Antico (featuring numerouswhite notes, suspensions, and points of imitation) and Romantic evocationsof the Baroque, including Bach-like fugal passages, highly controlled disso-nances, driving Baroque rhythms, and the occasional dance rendered in aclearly Baroque style. While some of these have been recognized and givenspecific names in scholarly writings, many others exist as simply archaic ver-sions of other topics or historical styles: bourre, gavotte, chorale, and soon.29 Mussorgsky uses the Chorale Style, derived from Renaissance musicaltextures, in The Great Gate of Kiev, to portray the grandeur of the ancientreligious center (see Example 28).

Dialects

In addition to the styles discussed previously, Romantic composers createdmusical dialects: assemblages of musical gestures and other topics that, when

EXAMPLE 28 Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition (1874), No. 10, The Great Gate of Kiev,mm. 3046.

28 Leonard Ratner, Romantic Music: Sound and Syntax (New York: Schirmer Books, 1992), 18276.The references are scattered throughout his various discussions.29 Included in this cluster of topics is Ratners Learned Style, a style he associates with the church(Classic Music, 23). Another archaizing style discussed by Ratner in Romantic Music is the Motet Style.He suggests Schumanns Symphony No. 3 in E major, op. 97, movement IV, is a recognizable exampleof this style (Romantic Music, 74). Numerous other topics, both sacred and secular, were used as well tosignify an antiquated world: a world remote enough to be archaic, but close enough for nostalgia.


used together in conjunction, define a specific dialect, one that typicallycalls up strong extra-musical associations. The primary differences betweendialects and styles are the number of gestures that are needed in most casesto create a single dialect and their tendency to include other styles or typesas a part of their essential makeup. When most or all of the elements of thedialect are present, it becomes a musical language that functions in muchthe same manner as any other topic, yet with the added ability to sustain amovement or entire musical work due to the variety of gestures and possiblepermutations inherent in each dialect.

CHIVALRIC STYLE

Chivalric Style is one of several archaizing styles that speak to the Romanticfascination with ancient things: old ideas, myths, and the glory of daysgone byin short, an idealized noble past.30 Jonathan Bellman introducedthis style in his 1995 article Aus Alten Mrchen: The Chivalric Style ofSchumann and Brahms, in which he identifies the dialects primary charac-teristics, which he believes were first codified by Schumann and then passedthrough him to Brahms. Although characteristics of this dialect are found inother topics (and may indeed be topics themselves), Bellman argues that inSchumanns, and particularly in Brahmss, hands they become a dialect thatfunctions to evoke a specific frame of reference with its own moods andassociations. For the most part, it is not the mere presence of these charac-teristic musical gestures, but their presence in conjunction with each otherthat creates the Chivalric Style. (The same may be said for all dialects.)

All the signature gestures are consciously reminiscent of earlier eras,including fanfare figures, horn fifths, and the repeated notes of a trum-pet call. An allegro 6/8 meter often evokes the galloping of horses, andmodal harmonic progressions provide an unmistakably archaic flavor. Theaffect created by this style is heroic, noble, and specifically Medieval inassociation.31 One of the best examples in Schumanns hands is Aus AltenMrchen from Dichterliebe, op. 48.32 Brahms used this dialect extensively,deftly employing it in his Op. 33 Magelone-Romancesmusical settings ofthe adventures and romances of Peter of Provence, a twelfth-century count,as retold by Ludwig Tieck. All the central gestures of the Chivalric styleare employed within this cycle, their extra-musical significance bolstered byits specifically pseudo-medieval text.33 Example 29 shows Brahmss use ofthe Chivalric Style within a symphonic setting, in the first movement of hisSymphony No. 1, shortly after the beginning of the development.

30 Bellman, Aus Alten Mrchen, 11718.31 Bellman, Aus Alten Mrchen, 11819.32 Bellman, Aus Alten Mrchen, 130.33 Bellman, Aus Alten Mrchen, 120.

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EXAMPLE 29 Brahms, Symphony No. 1, Op. 68, i, mm. 23445.

BARDIC STYLE

This closely related dialect shares many of its gestures with the ChivalricStyle. Romantic fascination for the fictional poet Ossian and his evocationsof the British Isles in millennia past inspired numerous Ossianic artistic cre-ations, especially in music and painting. While not all musical examples canbe tied directly to Ossianic poetry, evocations of the fabled bard of ancienttimes are abundant in Romantic compositions.

In his 1998 article Schumanns Ossianic Manner, John Daverio out-lines several distinguishing musical features of the Bardic Style, includingthe use of minor modes frequently followed by tender major keys. The harpis central to the Bardic Style, and is either physically present in the orchestraor evoked by another instrument (rolled chords on the piano, for example).


Parallel chords, open voicings, keys related by thirds, and fanfare motivesreminiscent of battle or the hunt, all produce the same evocation of theancient found in the Chivalric Style.34

The significant difference between the Chivalric and Bardic styles is thedirect connection of the latter to the epic poem. Throughout, the voice of thebard speaks in sweet melodies, frequently accompanied by harp (or harpevocations), periodically using the Declamatory Style. The harp signifiesboth the ballad itself and the role of the storyteller.35 Dramatic mood changesand a hint of vocal declamation support the illusion of the epic. Large-scaleBardic works often incorporate the Tempest Style, using highly dissonantharmonies and agitated melodic figures to provide dramawhich, in epicstories, almost always includes heroic battles. When realized in music, thesebattles are rendered using a combination of Tempest, Military, and Heroicstyles, effectively re-creating the battles, transforming the primary melody(the voice of the bard) with each subsequent change in style. The effect is amusical epic retold by a poet, complete with danger, heroism, chivalry, andoften, romance.

One of the clearest examples of the Bardic Style is found in Niels GadesOssian Overture (see Example 30). Folk-like melodies surround the plaintivesolo theme (the voice of the bard), which is accompanied by the harp.Heraldic trumpet fanfares grow out of the bards theme and a full-fledgedstormrepresented by one of the best examples of the Tempest Style in allof romantic literaturecompletes the mosaic of moods.

Tchaikovsky opens his Romeo and Juliet Overture with a mystical,other-worldly passage accompanied by harp (see Example 31), and whilehe does not maintain his use of the Bardic Style throughout the entire piece,it serves as an introduction and unmistakable connection to Shakespeare, theBard of Avon. Mendelssohn also employs the Bardic Style in his HebridesOverture, using instrumental evocations of the harp rather than the actualinstrument. Schumann used it in many of his late songs (as discussed byDaverio) and Brahms incorporated it into the Edward Ballade, op. 10,no. 1.

34 John Daverio, Schumanns Ossianic Manner, Nineteenth-Century Music 21/3 (Spring 1998),25158. Daverio identifies several styles that make up what he calls the Ossianic mood. These includeother-worldly passages, military or hunt styles, and folk styles (p. 257). The alternation of mystical,dreamlike music with military passages and folk songs combines to create an epic-style work. Thissummarizes his very cogent description of Ossianic-style epic music. I am simply extending his basicpremise to include those works not directly tied to Ossianic writings.35 Ratner describes the plucking of a stringed instrument or the evocation of it as style brise (usingthe Baroque term), and gives it the status of a topic in Romantic Music (p. 276). Although this can beused by itself, it is most often found in conjunction with other gestures in styles indicating old or folkstyle. For example, in the Bardic Style it evokes the harp, in the Spanish Style, the guitar.

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EXAMPLE 30 Gade, Ossian Overture, mm. 7177.

Exotic Dialects and Folklorism

Enthralled by all things exotic, Romantic composers employed a myriad ofstyles intended to evoke cultures, whether foreign or marginalized, that weremarkedly different from the European mainstream. These cultures includedthe geographically remote, such as India and Asia, or those closer by, suchas Spain and Italyand, of course, the Gypsies. Composers devoted littleeffort to actually re-creating authentic musical gestures, as they preferred toevoke these cultures in a manner their audiences would understand, usingmusical languages that were essentially Western.

Because numerous books and articles have been devoted to exploringthe exotic in nineteenth-century music, I will not provide detailed discussionhere.36 However, as legitimate Romantic topics, they warrant inclusion in thislexicon, and several are listed in Table 3.

36 These writings include Jonathan Bellmans The Style Hongrois in the Music of Western Europe(Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1993); The Exotic in Western Music, ed. Jonathan Bellman(Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1998); Ralph Lockes A Broader View of Musical Exoticism,Journal of Musicology 24/4 (2007), 477521; and David Korevaars Exoticism Assimilated: TurkishElements in Mozarts Sonata, K. 331 and Beethovens Waldstein Sonata. op. 53, The Journal ofMusicological Research 21/3 (2002), 197232, to name but a few of the many articles and books thathave been published on this subject in the past twenty years.


EXAMPLE 31 Tchaikovsky, Romeo and Juliet Overture, Op. 45, mm. 1134.

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TABLE 3 Exotic Dialects Commonly Used in Nineteenth-century Music

Dialect Musical Gestures Examples

StyleHongrois

Use of the violin with extroversion andabandon; often includes cimbalomimitations. Characteristic features such asspondee and alla zoppa rhythms. Triadic,nonfunctional harmony with suddenshifts in tonality and juxtaposition ofdistant chords.a

Schubert, Quintet in C Major,Op. 163, iv, opening theme.

Liszt, Hungarian Rhapsodies.Brahms, Quintet for Clarinetand Strings, Op. 115, ii,opening theme.

OrientalStyle

Evocation of the saber-rattling barbarian(representing the warrior or pirate) andthe harem (sensuality and forbiddenpleasure). Melody in a single mode orhovering around a single pitch withfrequent melismas or undulations.Repeated rhythms, either of a MilitaryStyle or free, indicating the exotic andsensuous.b Musical gestures are intendedto evoke the timeless mystery of the eastand desert life.

Ravel, Sheherazade (1907).Borodin, Prince Igor (1889).Flicien David, Les dsert(1844).

SpanishStyle

Evokes several characters as stereotypedsymbols of freedom from authority:smuggler, bandit, Gypsy. The Spanishdancer is the emblem of the AndalusianGypsy; the Gypsy woman is also thesensual, erotic symbol. A guitar, or theevocation of it, is usually found, andSpanish dance rhythms, especially theBolero, are used extensively. Five-noteturns on the fifth-scale degree andphrygian cadences are frequent.c

Bizet, Carmen (1875).Chopin, Bolro, op. 19.Verdi, La Traviata (1853), ActII, Scene 2.

Chinoiserie Evocations of the far east. Found primarilyin late Romantic and fin de sicle works.Includes pentatonic scales; precious,miniaturized gestures, such as trills andshort melodic fragments; harmonicstructure influenced by Impressionism:parallel movement and extended triadicstructure.

Mahler, Das Lied von der Erde,iii (19081909).

Puccini, Turandot (1926).Ravel, Mother Goose Suite (MaMre loye), 1910.

IndianistStyle

Includes three stereotypes: The BrutishSavage, The Noble Savage, and TheLaughing Stock. Borrows from the allaturca. Characteristics include: strongaccents on the first and third beats; useof percussion, including tambourines,bells, and drums; a four-beat imitation oftom-toms with octave leaps; pentatonicscales; diminished sevenths and minormodes to indicate the war dance.d

(Related to the Demonic Style).

Dvorak, Symphony No. 9,Op. 95.

Flicien David, Danse de[s]sauvages (1847).

George Frederick Bristow,Arcadian Symphony, op. 50.

Numerous examples can befound in the Wa-Wan Press(5 vols.) published from19011911.

(Continued)


Table 3 (Continued)

Dialect Musical Gestures Examples

ItalianStyle

Used by composers to identify Italy asother. Incorporates the Aria Style andspecifically Italianate folk-dance stylessuch as the saltarello. Popular Italiansongssuch as those sung in Viennesewine houses (accompanied by style briseto evoke a mandolin),e and the VenetianGondolier song with its lilting six-eighthmeter and soulful tuneevoke a simplerway of life, neither too rural nor tooexotic.f

Mendelssohn, SymphonyNo. 4 (the Italian).

Liszt, Venezia e Napoli.

Folklorism The use of styles and gestures associatedwith a given region. Used frequently inopera and programmatic works; oftentied to folk legends and stories. Thissymbolism is retained when transferredto absolute music.

Mussorgsky, Boris Godunov.Jean Sibelius, Finlandia.Isaac Albeniz, Iberia.Louis Moreau Gottschalk, TheBanjo.

aJonathan Bellman, The Style Hongrois in the Music of Western Europe (Boston: Northeastern UniversityPress, 1993), especially 93130.bRalph P. Locke, Cutthroats and Casbah Dancers, Muezzins and Timeless Sands: Musical Images of theMiddle East, in The Exotic in Western Music, ed. Jonathan Bellman (Boston: Northeastern UniversityPress, 1998), 10433; and Richard Taruskin, Entoiling the Falconet: Russian Musical Orientalism inContext, in Bellman, The Exotic in Western Music, 20212.cJames Parakilas, How Spain Got a Soul, in Bellman, The Exotic in Western Music, 14164.dMichael Pisani, Im an Indian Too: Creating Native American Identities in Nineteenth-Century andEarly 20th-Century Music, in Bellman, The Exotic in Western Music, 22038.eRatner refers to this as a Barcarolle in Romantic Music, 172, 175.fOther exotic dialects exist as well, although not in as widespread use. The dialects discussed here alloccur in more than one country or geographical area and have the same or similar significance in all thecompositions. This universality is the primary criteria for their designation as exotic dialects.

OTHER SURFACE LANGUAGES

Of course not all musical gestures can be analyzed in terms of topics.Some nineteenth-century composers used significant ciphers and motifs,many of which were relatively hidden to all but those privileged few inwhom the composer confided. One of the best known examples of this isthe ASCH cipher in Schumanns Carnaval, which was explained in a let-ter to Moscheles in 1837.37 Nevertheless, with the help of primary sources,scholars have unearthed many of these symbolic gestures, providing fur-ther insights into their corresponding compositions.38 Moreover, Romantic

37 John Daverio, Robert Schumann: Herald of a New Poetic Age (New York: Oxford University Press,1997), 140.38 Two excellent examples of works dealing with this type of analysis are Eric Samss The Songs ofRobert Schumann (New York: Norton, 1969) and Paul Merrick, Revolution and Religion in the Music ofLiszt (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987).

132 J. Dickensheets

composers had a predilection for making musical references to other com-posers and works, both contemporary and historical. These quotationsor allusions have many associations, depending on their context, andalthough not topics themselvesplay a similar role in stylistic analysis. Onceagain, Schumanns Carnaval provides ample material, including referencesto Schumanns friends, alter egos, and contemporary composers; for exam-ple, Chopin clearly references the signature nocturnes, and Paganini payshomage to the violinists virtuosic abilities. In the same vein, Brahms payshomage to Beethoven by either quoting or paraphrasing his music in sev-eral compositions, including the Piano Sonata in F minor, and, of course,the first symphony.

TOPICAL ANALYSIS: BRAHMSS SONATA NO. 2 IN F MINOR,OP. 2, MOVEMENT IV

A brief analysis of the fourth movement of Brahmss Piano Sonata No. 2 inF minor, Op. 2, provides an example of the importance of topical analysisin looking at nineteenth-century compositions. This sonata, written dur-ing Brahmss youth, has been the recipient of numerous criticisms, mostlyregarding the rather unconventional formal structure of the finale. ColinMasons critique of this work is fairly typical of the type of discussions thatsurround this particular movement.

The finale begins with a rather useless introduction, having little connec-tion with the movement, which properly begins with the theme quotedin Example II [not included here, but corresponding with Example 33].Then, through a stronger passage, Brahms brings us to the entry of thisentrancing music, Example XI [corresponds to Example 34]. After a pas-sage of grandiose and regrettably irrelevant chords, he returns to thethemes already quoted, developing them with intriguing variations andinversions, until the recapitulation, which is not, however, allowed toappear before another version of the senseless, big chords has beengiven. The movement is concluded by a coda of obscure origin and afinal return of the opening absurdities. . . . The exposition of the first andsecond subjects, their fine development and recapitulation, are concise,with no padding, technically masterly and musically delightful. The intro-ductory rubbish and similar interjections split the music into definablesections, but they have nothing to do with it really. And though it is a pitythat they are there, one can quite easily ignore them and delight in thereal music, which in its excellence, coherence and complete relevanceequals that of the symphonies.39

39 Colin Mason, Brahms Piano Sonatas, The Music Review 5/2 (May 1944), 11516.


EXAMPLE 32a Brahms, Sonata, Op. 2, iv, opening.

EXAMPLE 32b Beethoven, Symphony No. 5, Op. 67, i, mm. 5962.

Although this analysis succeeds in illustrating Brahmss strong ties toClassical sonata form, it does not truly explain the structure of the movement,leaving large sections of music unaccounted for. By contrast, topical analysiscan provide some answers to questions of formal structure that are raisedbut not answeredby the type of formal criticism found in Masons quote.

The rather useless introductory material criticized by Mason is clearlyin the Bardic Style, signaling that Brahms is not employing a simple sonataform, but rather one with overtones of the Ballade.40 The opening melody,presented in stark octaves, bears a striking resemblance to the second themein the first movement of Beethovens Fifth Symphony (see Examples 32a and32b). This introductory theme represents the narrator or, in literary terms, thepoet, and is followed by suspensions in parallel movement, the evocationof a harp, and a passage in Declamatory Styleall clear Bardic indicators.Without doubt, this introduction, rather than being useless (Masons term),is directly related to the poetic ballad by virtue of the Bardic style.

Since Brahms has so clearly marked his intent to present a ballad, weshould be able to find characters and dialogues within his sonata-form struc-ture. Indeed, characters are clearly delineated by the topics Brahms uses forthe themes of the sonata form. Theme one (which Mason determines as theproper beginning of the movement) quotes the two initial bars used for the

40 James Parakilass book Ballads Without Words (Portland: Amadeus Press, 1992) provides invalu-able information regarding the common characteristics of Chopins Ballades, as well as Brahmss ownOp. 10 Ballades. Similarities can be drawn between this sonata movement and Chopins techniques forcomposing Ballades. Although Brahms most likely would not have known Chopins Ballades, Parakilasstates that he would not have needed them as a model for his own Ballades (p. 141). Similarities toChopins works in the movement under consideration include naked octaves representing the narrator(on p. 58 Parakilas discusses this aspect of Chopins works), strongly symmetrical structure that is almoststanza-like, and clear-cut characters in dialogue with each other. All of these traits are discussed byParakilas.

134 J. Dickensheets

EXAMPLE 33 Brahms, Sonata, Op. 2, iv, mm. 2528.


narrator, this time in the Lied Style,41 followed by two bars of gentle melodicmaterial (see Example 33). The direct link to the introductory theme sug-gests that the narrator and the first character are one and the same, castingthe ballad in an autobiographical light.

The agitated gestures and disruptive octave patterns of the transition(Masons stronger passage) indicate an approaching conflicta neces-sary balladic element. The second character (theme two) is set in the StyleHongrois, although in a tone more reminiscent of the dance hall than ofactual Gypsies. Its initial presentation in A minorthe parallel minor of therelative major keyis appropriate to this topic.

The close relationship of theme two to theme one is striking (seeExample 34). Not only is their general melodic direction the same, but theirintervallic similarities (use of octaves, fourths, and fifths) and the overallstructure of the first halves of both themes are very closely related. Thesimilarity between the two themes, and the introductory material, could sug-gest that the narrator and both characters are the same person: Not only isthis ballad autobiographical, the action of its plot seems to be internalastruggle perhaps of warring desires or egos.

41 Structurally, the movement has Ballade-like symmetry. Of the four initial repetitions of the theme,three are four bars long and the last is five with the ending elongated. Each repetition of the theme ischanged somewhat in the ending bars. An agitated scalar figuration interrupts these repetitions, settingup the conflict that is necessary for all ballads (Parakilas, Ballads Without Words, 35). Another repetitionof the four-bar theme is followed by two repetitions of the second half of the thematic material, each upa third. The first is two bars long and the second is three. This is followed by two bars of closing materialthat is similar to the earlier agitated interruption. The second key center and defining theme (charactertwo) also consists of nine sections and the transition and closing sections are divided into three sectionseach. The overall structure of the exposition suggests a stanzaic symmetry.



A third character is introduced in the closing theme, providing yet athird side to the character of this ballad. Using the same melodic mate-rial as the narrators theme and character one, the closing theme adds thefamiliar rhythmic pattern of the opening of Beethovens Fifth Symphony,42

suggesting the heroic quality of this third character (Example 35).43 At thispoint, the sonata form is interrupted by Masons grandiose and regrettablyirrelevant chords, which serve to remind us of the Ballade structure byevoking, in a rough way, the harp.

The development is, in essence, a dialogue between the primary char-acters (themes one and two). Opening with a repeat of the heroic closingtheme, it continues with modal flourishes (again rough evocations of a harp),which are interrupted by a virtuosic passage. Brahms uses the agitated char-acter of the Virtuosic Style to provide dynamic forward movement as thecharacters interact. The first theme is presented in a fugato style, the firstpart of the theme in counterpoint with the second (mm. 16166), to con-tinued chordal accompaniment. The combination of the Lied Style with theLearned Style lifts the first character to an elevated state. Brahms uses thedevelopment section to deepen the distinctions between the two charac-ters: theme one, with its strong Beethovenian associations, now combinedwith the Learned Style, clearly represents a high style, while the secondtheme continues to represent the popular and unrefined, and is in a senseunreconstructable.

Quietly, in F minor, the first character makes its reappearance in therecapitulation. Returning to its original Lied Style, it has shed all the agitatedtransitional material: The character seems at peace with itself. Indeed, the

42 Of all the analyses studied, only William S. Newman (The Sonata Since Beethoven [Chapel Hill:University of North Carolina Press, 1969], 333) concurs with my analysis of the origin of this theme.(Even though Newman indicates mm. 11015 rather than the closing theme material in mm. 9598, Ibelieve he is referring to the same material.) Admittedly, this theme also resembles Claras theme inSchumanns Impromptu on a Theme by Clara Wieck, op. 5, but I believe that this is coincidental, asBrahms was reported to have been unfamiliar with Schumanns works until several years later (JanSwafford, Johannes Brahms: A Biography [New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1997], 73).43 The autobiographical elements are too intriguing to ignore, even in this short analysis. Two sidesof the poets character, middle-class simplicity (symbolized by the Lied Style), and popular folk elements(portrayed by the Style Hongrois) in a decidedly low style, all watched over by the shadow of Beethoven,pose the possibility that the poet is indeed Brahms himself.

136 J. Dickensheets

only transitional material in this compact recapitulation consists of a two-bar arpeggio on C7, followed directly by a distorted final statement of thesecond character in F. Here the melody is altered, its grace notes missing,confirming the popular style that was suggested at the start. Even thoughthe theme later returns to its original form, its popular demeanor remains:This character has not settled at all. Surrounded by the agitated figures fromthe exposition, it has continued to embrace conflict. When the heroic closingtheme returns, it is followed by two bars of octaves that continue the conflict,as fragments of the second half of theme two are bounced between the twohands in tempest-like agitation. The short coda of obscure origin (mm.26170) begins with the conflict of the Virtuosic Style, but quiets into a seriesof arpeggios: a harp-like preparation for the postlude (a final return of theopening absurdities) that closes the ballad. There has been no reconciliationand the alter egos remain firmly separated.

Through the use of contemporary topics, Brahms has effectively evokeda ballad within a sonata-form movement. Topical content portrays threecharacters and a narrator who are, melodically, one and the same, eventhough each has its own representative topic. There is an ending to thestory, but no resolution for the second character. While not programmatic,the movement tells a story, perhaps of warring alter egos struggling forreconciliation. This movement is, indeed, unconventional, but not, it wouldappear, the product of a youthful composer letting his passions overrule histechnical abilities. Rather, Brahms used contemporary musical vocabulariesto turn the sonata form into a Ballade, thereby creating, in essence, a musicalepic, something that conventional formal analysis cannot reveal, but that isreadily discernable using topical analysis.44

CONCLUSION

Although not exhaustive, this lexicon of musical topics, styles, and dialectsspecific to nineteenth-century music provides a much-needed tool for theanalysis of Romantic compositionsworks that frequently defy standardanalytical processes. Topics frequently outline narrative structure in compo-sitions that may otherwise appear to be absolute. In particular, a numberof notable musicologists have employed topical analysis for the purpose ofdisclosing poetic or narrative structures in nineteenth-century instrumentalmusic, using it to uncover the musical perceptions of nineteenth-century

44 This discussion is expanded in chapter 6 of my dissertation, The Nineteenth-Century Sonata Cycleas Novel (University of Northern Colorado, 2004). Topical analysis of the entire piece revealed strongconnections to E.T.A. Hoffmanns Kater Murr and Jean Paul Friderich Richters Flegeljahre.


audiences.45 The use of topical analysis can help us discern much in a musi-cal work that would otherwise be lost with the passage of time: popularsubject matter, hidden programs, topical references, symbolisms specific to aparticular composer, and other veiled features. Understanding the demandsand expectations of contemporary audiences allows us to better compre-hend the music itself, and topicsin their extra-musical referentialityareuniquely positioned to provide a glimpse into those expectations. Throughthem we are able to ascertain the musical predilections of the Romanticaudience, and thereby better re-create that experience in the modernconcert hall.

Pedagogically, topics can be used as a medium for instructing the musi-cally uneducated. Leonard Ratner demonstrated their value by incorporatingtopical discussions into two general music texts, The Musical Experience andMusic, The Listeners Art.46 Romantic musical topics lend themselves partic-ularly well to this sort of application, due in no small part to their frequentappearances in film music. For most of the general population of this coun-try, exposure to art music is limited to television and movies, and sincefilm composers make extensive use of historical topoi, film scores provide aready introduction to the concept of musical referentialism as well as entryinto those musics that inspired them.

Admittedly, topical analysis will always be subjective, in that it requiresthe interpretation of the analyst. However, given the consistent use of topicsthroughout the common practice period, we cannot ignore the surface lan-guages presented to us by composers writing during the Romantic era. Theplay of topics and styles was no less important to them than it was to com-posers of the eighteenth century, providing, as it did, the musical vocabularythat spoke to and was understood by contemporary audiences. For modernscholars and listeners to join in that comprehension, it is imperative thatwe understand the way topics and styles functioned in any given period.Topical analysis, when combined with primary source research, becomes aninvaluable instrument, affording both a unique glimpse into the vocabulariesused by Romantic composers and a look beneath the surface of their musicalcreations.

45 Over the past few decades, topical studies have appeared by Jonathan Bellman (ChopinsPolish Ballade: Op. 38 as Narrative of National Martyrdom [Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010]),George Bozarth (Lieder Ohne Worte), John Daverio (Schumanns Ossianic Manner), Owen Jander(Beethovens Orpheus in Hades: The Andante Con Moto of the Fourth Piano Concerto, Nineteenth-Century Music 18/3 [Spring 1985], 195212), and Kofi Agawu (Music as Discourse).46 Leonard Ratner, The Musical Experience: Sound, Movement, and Arrival (New York: W.H. Freemanand Company, 1983), 6171; and Music, The Listeners Art (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company,1977), 12328.

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Topical Vocabulary in 19th Century Music

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