A comparison of metric and rhythmic dissonance and density in Schubert’s Der Tod und das

Mädchen Lied (d531) and String Quartet Andante con moto movement (d810).

Abstract

Schubert’s use of the Der Tod und das Mädchen Lied melody in the slow movement of his D minor

String Quartet has been discussed and analysed at length. My analysis will examine how harmonic

structures, formal conventions and melodic lines are substantiated or contradicted by metric and

rhythmic dissonance and density in the Lied and the quartet movement. This will involve applying

various rhythmic and metric analytical techniques (Rothstein, London, Meyer, Lerdahl and

Jackendoff, Krebs) to my own and others’ analyses (including Kramer, Brown, Coolidge, Hirsch,

Truscott, Wolff, Youens).

1

Despite the musical material shared between the two works, metre functions differently in

Schubert’s Lied ‘Der Tod und Das Mädchen’ (d.531) and the Andante con moto movement of his

String Quartet in D minor (‘Der Tod und Das Mädchen’, d.810). The Lied contains two significant

events of metric discontinuity or ‘surprise’, which correspond with important moments in the text.

This essay will examine the metric discontinuities, how they interact with other parameters in the

song, and the effect they create. The metric structure of the song confounds formal organisation in

other parameters in order to serve a dramatic purpose. By contrast, metric structure in the quartet

movement reinforces the clear structural delineation of the theme. I will investigate how this is

achieved and the effect it creates. Finally I will consider how the use and manipulation of metre in the

two works reflects formal and narrative conventions.

The opening eight bars of the Lied are a prelude, based on the accompaniment for the second

verse from b. 22, where ‘Death’ narrates the song. The prelude’s anticipation of Death “creeping up on

the maiden” contrasts with Claudius’s text, which begins with the voice of the maiden.1 Harmonically,

the prelude circles round the tonic chord without any significant departure. Combined with the exact

repetition from b. 5 of bb. 1-3, this creates a stasis that can be seen as a tranquil embodiment of Death

as a “welcome refuge from the turmoil of life”,2 while the clear I-V-I progression over the first four bars

might represent the inexorability of Death’s approach. The stasis is reflected both in the melodic line

of the first eight bars, which circles the tonic and uses only conjunct movement, and the entirely

homorhythmic texture. The repeated rhythm sets up a clear 1-bar metric level; while a repeated metric

1-bar pattern might often be a strongly directional driving force,3 this is not the case here due to the

lack of subdivision, which would create lower metrical levels. A two-bar level is created by the bass

movement from scale degree 1 to 5 at b. 3, while the harmonic progression generates a four-bar level.

The metrical levels present are shown in dot notation in example 1. This notation represents an

interpretation of how a listener is likely to experience the metric levels present or implied in the music;

1 Hirsch, p. 40.2 Hirsch, p. 37.3 See chapter: Metric Flux in Beethoven 5 in London.

2

each dot represents an event on a particular metric level, for example, events at the crotchet, minim or

bar level. Dots in parentheses represent beats at either a potential metric level yet to be substantiated

on the musical surface, or a metrical level no longer present on the musical surface but still likely to be

present in a listener’s metric experience.

The sudden change of tempo at b. 9, anticipated by the quaver anacrusis in the voice, creates a clear

break between the prelude and the stanza. The first stanza characterizes the maiden’s distress and

resistance to Death, partly through the use of recitativo accompagnato vocal style, as fragmentary

phrasing and syllabic declamation portray the maiden’s panic, and suggest breathlessness. The

melodic line gradually ascends from a1 to the e flat2 in b. 13; together with the expressive appoggiaturas

and rich chromatic harmony this creates a strong climax to the melodic arch at b. 13. The climax is

sustained by the delay until b. 14 of both the melodic high point of the bass4 and the resolution of the

tension created by the chromatic harmony.

The accompaniment from bb. 9-15 contains increased rhythmic subdivision with constant

quavers throughout, eliciting a strong half-bar metric level. There is also a strong one-bar level,

4 Wolff, p. 152.

Example 1: Metric levels in the Lied prelude (bb. 1-8).

etc.

3

created by the regular division of the constant quavers between the two hands.5 The ascending one-

bar sequence in the vocal line at bb 9-10 reinforces this 1-bar metrical level. This develops into a two-

bar level, as the fragmentary vocal line of bb. 9-10 contrasts with the more lyrical melody of bb. 11-12.

The melodic and rhythmic closure of the dotted minim d1 in b. 12 and the melodic closure in b. 14

frame bb. 11-12 and 12-14 as units on this two-bar level. The harmonic progression generates a four-bar

level, as the tonic cadence at b. 12 seems to predict a four-bar phrase returning to the tonic at b.16.

However, this is subverted; we arrive, via C7, in F major at b. 16. The two- and four-bar levels are

disrupted at b. 16 as a new two-bar level enters in the middle of the two-bar unit that ‘should’ comprise

bb. 15-16 (example 3, page 4). The significance of b. 16 is emphasised by a more lyrical and clearly

sequential vocal line, a gradual release of harmonic tension, and the first significant major harmony.

The interruption at b. 16 is concurrent with the return of the ‘Death’ material form the prelude, so

supports a programmatic reading of this passage as the moment of submission; the moment where the

benevolent Death takes the maiden. The metrical discontinuity can be seen as the result of an

insertion of material into a simple phrase structure; example 2 shows how the text could have been set

as a straightforward four-bar phrase. However, Schubert frames the words “geh liebe” (“Away then!”

or, literally, “Away, love!”) as an interruption, suggesting an outburst of emotion. This both reflects the

text and is idiomatic in the recitative context. The interruption is made all the more shocking by the

sudden lack of subdivision, which can be seen as depicting the maiden submitting to Death.6

5 Youens (1996) suggests the piano quavers represent “panic-stricken ‘heartbeat’ pulsations”” (p. 274).6 Low metric levels, such as a quaver level, can be destroyed immediately as they rely on frequent and regularsubstantiation on the musical surface. The effect here is that the metrical levels of the vocal line andaccompaniment come together for the first time at b. 16, which emphasises that point in the flow of the music.

Example 2: Bars 13 – 17 recomposed as a four-bar phrase

etc.

4

The second stanza, narrated by ‘Death’, is structured harmonically in two 8-bar phrases (bb. 22-

29 and 30-37), subdivided into four-bar phrases (See example 4, page 5). The rhythmic character of the

accompaniment sets up a regular 1-bar metric level. The chorale-like rhythmic pattern has been

associated with a funereal topos7 that clearly relates to the text, which is also evoked by the psalmodic

7 Kramer, p. 69.

Example 3: Metric levels in Lied verse 1

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5

Example 4: Metric levels in Lied verse 2

6

repetition of the tonic note in the vocal line from b. 22-27.8 Wolff sees the inactive rhythm of the vocal

line in bb. 22-29 as characterisation of Death as supernatural.9 In contrast to the accompaniment

pattern, the phrase structure of the melody reflects the harmonic structure and creates regular two-bar

and four-bar metric levels. The melody consists of a two-bar rhythmic cell, clearly derived from the

piano accompaniment, which is heard three times (bb. 22-23, 24-25 and 26-27) with progressively more

decoration, reinforcing the two-bar metric level. The increased ornamentation of the cell in the latter

half of b. 27 mirrors the faster harmonic rhythm and the melody’s first ascent from the tonic note to

prepare the cadence at b. 29. The cadence itself is emphasised by the melodic line’s descent back past

the tonic and by the relatively longer note values.

The rhythmic pattern from b. 22-23 reappears in b. 30 and is decorated at b. 35 in order to

reinforce the crotchet level before the cadence at b. 37. The cadence itself is again emphasised by the

relatively longer note values, as well as the highly formulaic cadential fall from scale degree 5 to 1. The

rhythmic repetition of the accompaniment is interrupted only at b. 36 for the cadence. The lack of

rhythmic subdivision in b. 36 causes a disjunction in the metric continuity, and weakens the strength

of the tactus at the crotchet level in order to emphasise the cadence.

The postlude from b. 37, based on the prelude material, is constructed from three-bar phrases,

which becomes apparent when the b. 36 rhythmic pattern reappears at b. 39. This gives added

significance to the cadence at b. 37, as that bar is not only the last bar in two- and four-bar metric units,

but also the first bar in a new three-bar unit. The effect of this is that two adjacent bars are given

metric ‘accents’; b. 36 is accented in the two-bar level shown in the conservative interpretation, while b.

37 is accented in the three-bar level of the radical interpretation. The new metric unit at b. 37

corresponds with the arrival in the tonic major. A textual interpretation of the overlap of metric levels

might suggest that it serves the purpose of both accommodating and emphasising the major tonality,

which is the final confirmation of Death’s benevolence, also suggested by the lilting, lullaby topos of

8 Reinforcing this characterisation of Death is the fact that an inexorable progress is suggested by the lack ofresolution; “Schubert tellingly avoided the leading note in the stanza sung by death” (Dittrich, p. 90).9 Wolff, p. 153.

7

the three-bar metric level. The overlap of contrasting metric levels also has the effect of delaying the

rhythmic completion of the piece, as it subverts the cadence at b. 37.10 Thus, resolution is achieved only

once the major tonality, and therefore Death’s benevolence, has been confirmed.

The Andante con moto movement of the ’Der Tod und das Mädchen’ quartet uses material

from the Lied as the basis of its theme. The movement is a set of five variations on a clearly structured

24-bar theme, with both the first eight-bar phrase and the following sixteen-bar section repeated. Both

Brown and Wolff have suggested that the first and last eight-bar phrases of the quartet theme are

based on the Lied, with newly composed material for the intervening eight bars.11 The variations are

followed by a coda, which returns to the material of the theme. Contrast in the movement occurs

between variations rather than within each one. However, even the inter-variation contrasts are not

radical; the keys used are the tonic minor and major, the theme melody is usually clearly retained, and

there is a tight adherence to the phrase structure of the theme. Schubert writes variations on the

original theme in its complete form rather than segmenting, fragmenting or recomposing the theme

each time. Only Variation 5 is different in its structural arrangement, as bb. 137-52 are not repeated.

Rather, a new sixteen-bar section is used which creates a gradual transition into the coda.

As Truscott has noted, the first three variations can be conceived of as one entity; they retain the

tonic key and follow exactly the same harmonic layout.12 Variation 4 deviates most from the theme

both in the sense that it is in the tonic major, and in that the relationship to the theme melodically,

rhythmically and harmonically is less obvious that of the previous variations. The viola and ‘cello lines

are related to the theme rhythmically and, to a lesser extent, melodically, but the harmonic scheme is

quite different. The fifth variation returns to the tonic key of G minor and again follows the harmonic

progression of the theme.

10 See Lerdahl and Jackendoff for a fuller discussion of eliding and overlapping grouping structures. Note thataccording to their well-formedness rules, b. 37 is an overlap rather than an elision because the downbeat of thebar is shared between the two phrases implied by the contrasting details.11 Brown (1954) p. 62 and Wolff, p. 159. Brown suggests that bb. 1-8 of the theme are based on the Lied preludeand bb. 17-24 of the theme are based on the end of the Death stanza of the Lied, bb. 30-7.12 Truscott, p. 33.

8

Metre in this movement is not used to disrupt the thematic structure. However, this is not to

say that metre and rhythm do not play a significant role in the piece. While in the Lied metre was used

to emphasise important moments in the text and to depict the two ‘characters’, in the quartet theme

metre is manipulated so as to emphasise the rigid internal structure of the theme. As the initial

material is derived from the opening of the Lied, the same metrical levels are established; the rhythmic

pattern suggests metrical levels at the bar, minim and crotchet levels, while the melodic contour

creates a two-bar level and the harmonic structure a four-bar level (see example 5). Here, however, it is

at b. 7 that the crotchet-level metre is interrupted, which makes the cadence at b. 8 more emphatic

than the equivalent event in the Lied. The effect is to create thematic closure, framing bb. 1-8 as a

structural entity in its own right; this establishes the structure of all the subsequent variations. In

contrast, the less emphatic cadence in the Lied creates an expectation for the following stanza.

Example 5: Metric levels in bb. 1-8 of the quartet theme.

etc.etc.

9

The rhythm in bb. 10, 12 and 14 of the quartet theme departs from the repeated rhythmic cell of

the previous bars, and as such creates an additional metric level every two bars. As such, metre is

being manipulated in order to create contrast between the first two eight-bar phrases of the theme.

Clearly, metre here functions to delineate the phrase structure, whereas in the Lied the significant

metric events were related to the text rather than to the internal structure.

From b. 17 the material quotes bb. 30-7 of the Lied, and as such maintains strong crotchet-,

minim- and bar-levels (see example 7). As at b. 7, the cadence is anticipated by an interruption of the

crotchet subdivision at b. 23. Here the cadence is further emphasised by the ornamentation in the first

violin. According to Narmour, a sense of structure is created by closure, which can occur in a variety

of musical parameters and on several hierarchical levels. Structure is strongest when closure occurs

congruently on multiple levels and parameters.13 This is clearly the case in the quartet theme, where

13 Narmour (1988), pp. 325-8.

Example 6: Metric levels in bb. 9-16 of the quartet theme.

etc.

10

the metrical structure strongly reinforces the harmonic and thematic form. For example, the eight-bar

phrases are emphasised by perfect cadences throughout the movement. Contrast this with the

parametric non-congruence in the Lied: the implied ‘closure’ of the cadence at b. 37 of the Lied

becomes an overlapping new phrase. Thus it can be seen that essentially simple material is

manipulated metrically in order to give the theme a coherent and clear structure that will be echoed in

each of the variations.

Variation 5 is the only variation to deviate from the structure of the theme; the initial repeated

eight-bar phrase is present, but the repeat of the following sixteen-bar phrase is replaced with new

material. The purpose of this seems to be to break the structural invariance in order to facilitate a

return to the theme material, which is used for the coda from b. 169. The transition is both registral

and rhythmic. From b. 153, which ‘should’ be the repeat of a sixteen-bar phrase, the material that

appears instead is clearly differentiated from the foregoing material by the change in dynamic (from mf

Example 7: Metric levels in bb. 17-24 of the quartet theme.

etc.

11

at b. 149 to pp), the abrupt cessation of rhythmical activity in the lower parts and the violin

ornamentation changing from semiquaver to triplet quavers. This modulates to E flat at b. 161, where

the violins and ‘cello play the last eight bars of the theme (derived from bb. 30-7 of the Lied).

However, the repeated quavers in the viola differentiate this passage from the theme material

(example 8). These quavers gradually fade away and the subdivision at the quaver-level seems to

dissolve from bb. 164-6. At b. 167 even the crotchet-level metre is absent in preparation for the cadence

in G major, which introduces the coda.

The coda is 12 bars long and constructed from a modified version of the opening eight bars,

followed by two two-bar reiterations of the perfect cadence in G major. The use of a coda in a theme

and variations movement can be seen as solving a ‘problem’ intrinsic to that form; how should such an

“inherently paratactic” movement end?14 The presence of the coda serves to break the pattern of

14 Sisman.

Example 8: Metric levels in bb. 161-8 of the quartet.

etc.

12

repetition established by the linearly constructed form.15 Metre in the Lied postlude was manipulated

to create three-bar phrases, reinforcing the idea of Death’s benevolence through a lilting lullaby topic.

Here, metre is used not for programmatic concerns, but to reinforce the idea that the structure of the

theme and variations is being eroded. As bb. 169-76 borrow from the opening of the movement, there

is no subdivision beneath the crotchet level, but clear crotchet, minim and bar metric levels are clearly

present. However, here the crotchet level is interrupted as early as the third bar (b. 171, see example 9).

By the latter half of b. 172, even the minim level is only substantiated by the first violin; the other voices

are silent. The effect is to gradually break down the emphatic structural coherence of the theme in

order to bring the movement to a close. In bb. 173-6 the rhythmic pattern, and therefore metric levels,

from the theme are resumed, but once again the crotchet level is interrupted in the third bar (b. 175).

On this occasion, even the minim metre dies away as the only event in b. 176 is on the downbeat.

15 In fact, this function can also be ascribed to Variation 5, which was structurally freer than the theme and theprevious variations.

Example 9: Metric levels in bb. 169-76 of the quartet.

etc.

13

The two final echoes represent the only deviation in the movement from an eight-bar phrase

structure (example 10), so further erode the structural delineation of the theme, and in doing so

propagate the gradual breaking down of metric levels that has been evident since b. 169. The crotchet

level is entirely absent, and the minim level lasts for only three events, meaning it cannot be considered

a strong metrical level.

The manipulation of metre is an integral part of the way in which the concerns of each work are

conveyed. Metre in the Lied is used to characterise ‘Death’ and ‘the maiden’ and to emphasise the

significant events in the narrative. The maiden’s panic is portrayed through low metric levels created

by quaver subdivision, and her submission to Death is suggested by the interruption of the existing

metrical levels during her verse at b. 16. Death is depicted as inexorable by the regularity of the metric

levels in the second verse, but also as benevolent by the fact that metrical resolution is delayed until the

major tonality is established in the postlude. By contrast, metre in the quartet movement serves to

reinforce the phrase structure delineated by the harmonic and melodic writing in the theme and

following variations. It is in the coda that metre is manipulated, in order to break the pattern of

repetition inherent to variation form. As such, metre can be seen as reinforcing formal conventions.

This essay has focused on the use of metre in order to show that it functions alongside harmonic,

melodic, and other parameters as a means of musical expression. Of course, the relationship is more

Example 10: Metric levels in bb. 177-80 of the quartet.

14

complex than this, as metre is not independent of melody, harmony, rhythm, and so on, but is created

through such parameters. The effect is that a metric level can be suggested, established and

confirmed, only to be contradicted and undermined by a contrasting level created by other

parameters. Just such an interruption occurs at b. 16 of the Lied.

Metre arises from rhythmic, harmonic, and melodic patterns of repetition and expectation.

However, it is apparent that the examination of metre can add to the understanding gained from an

analysis that examines those parameters without taking into account their metrical implications. In

the context of the works discussed here, it can be seen that the presence of metric complexity creates

meaning that would not otherwise be apparent. In this sense metre should be considered as integral to

the creation of meaning in music.

15

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