SCHENKERIAN ANALYSIS I – MUSIC 518 (FALL 2003)

 

 

Professor:            Stephen Peles                                        Office:  251 Moody Music Building

Office phone:            348-1472                                         Office Hours:  by appointment

E-mail:              speles@music.ua.edu

 

 

Description

 

This course provides an introduction to the analytical methods and theories of Heinrich Schenker, with an emphasis on reading Schenker's own writings in chronological sequence.  In addition, we will be considering the reception of Schenker’s work by post-war anglophone theorists, and grappling with the question of how best to interpret Schenkerian theory.

 

 

Required Text

 

Allen Cadwallader and David Gagné, Analysis of Tonal Music : a Schenkerian Approach.  Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.

 

 

Grading

 

Graduate Students:

Homework assignments, quizzes, and class preparation:  70%

Final project:  30%

Undergraduate Students:

Homework assignments, quizzes, and class preparation:  100%

 

Attendance and Grading Policies:

 

Undergraduates are allowed 5 absences.  There is no distinction between excused and unexcused absences, so you do not need to show me notes, doctor’s excuses, and so forth.  One percentage point shall be deducted from the final grade for each absence in excess of 5.

 

All students:  No make-up quizzes are given.  Homework grades will be reduced by 5 percentage points for each day the homework is late; in no case will late homework be accepted after the assignment in question has been corrected and returned to the class.  Any student who misses more than 20% of the total number of classes is advised to withdraw from the course.  Failure to do so will result in a grade of F.  If you arrive late after roll has been taken I reserve the right to mark you absent.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Schedule*

 

Unit 1           Introduction

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Unit 2           Stufe and Motive

 

Unit 3           Kontrapunkt

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Unit 4           Excursus:  A Recent “Rational Reconstruction” of Schenkerian Counterpoint

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Unit 5           Das Meisterwerk and Der Tonwille

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Unit 6           Excursus:  18th Century Thoroughbass and Diminution Technique

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Unit 7           More on Das Meisterwerk and Der Tonwille

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Unit 8           An Introduction to Der Freie Satz

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SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY

 

 

Abbreviations:                       ITO                  In Theory Only

                                    JAMS               Journal of the American Musicological Society

                                    JMT                 Journal of Music Theory

                                    MQ                  Musical Quarterly

                                    MTS                 Music Theory Spectrum

 

 

Translations of Schenker's Writings

 

Schenker, Heinrich.  Harmony [1906].  E. M. Borgese, trans., Oswald Jonas, ed.  Cambridge:  MIT Press, 1977.

 

________.  J. S. Bach's Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue [1910]  Hedi Seigel, trans. and ed.  New York:  Longman, 1984.

 

________.  Counterpoint, Books I [1910] and II [1922].  John Rothgeb and Jurgen Thym, trans.  New York:  Schirmer, 1987.

 

 

________.  Beethoven's Ninth Symphony:  A Portrayal of Its Musical Content, with Running Commentary on Performance and Literature As Well [1912].  John Rothgeb ed. and trans.  New Haven:  Yale University Press, 1992.

 

________.  "Haydn:  Sonata in Eb Major" [1922] from Tonwille 3 (1922), Wayne Petty, trans.  Theoria vol. 3 (1988), pp. 105-160.

 

________.  The Masterwork in Music, vol. I [1925], William Drabkin, ed., Ian Bent, William Drabkin, Richard Kramer, John Rothgeb, Hedi Siegel trans.  Cambridge:  Cambridge University Press, 1994

 

________.  The Masterwork in Music, vol. II (1926), William Drabkin, ed., Ian Bent, William Drabkin, John Rothgeb, Hedi Siegel trans.  Cambridge:  Cambridge University Press, 1996

 

________.  Five Graphic Analyses [1932].  Felix Salzer, ed.  New York:  Dover, 1969.

 

________.  Free Composition [1935].  Ernst Oster trans. and ed.  New York:  Longman, 1979.

 

Kalib, Sylvan Sol.  "Thirteen Essays from the Three Yearbooks Das Meisterwerk in Der Musik by Heinrich Schenker:  An Annotated Translation."  3 vols., Ph.D. diss., Northwestern University, 1973.

 

Krueger, Theodore Howard.  "Der Freie Satz by Heinrich Schenker:  A Complete Translation and Reediting" (Ph.D. diss., State University of Iowa, 1960).  An earlier—and inferior—translation which nevertheless contains some useful biographical information and commentary.

 

________.  "The Sarabande of J. S. Bach's Suite No. 3 for Unaccompanied Violon-cello."  [1926] Hedi Siegel, trans.  Music Forum vol. 2, pp. 274-283.

 

 

Some Relevant 18th and 19th Century Theorists

 

Bach. C. P. E.  Essay on the True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments.  William Mitchell, trans. and ed.  New York:  Norton, 1949.

 

Bent, Ian ed.  Music Analysis in the Nineteenth Century, vol. I:  Fugue, Form, and Style; vol. II:  Hermeneutic Approaches.  Cambridge:  Cambridge University Press (1994).

 

Buelow, George J.  Thorough-Bass Accompaniment According to Johann David Heinichen, rev. ed.  Ann Arbor:  UMI Research Press, 1986.

 

Cherlin, Michael.  "Hauptmann and Schenker:  Two Adaptations of Hegelian Dialectics."  Theory and Practice vol. 13 (1988):  pp. 115-131.

 

 

Christensen, Thomas.  "The Schichtenlehre of Hugo Riemann."  ITO vol. 6 no. 4, pp. 37-44.

 

Daube, J. F.  The Musical Dilettante [1773].  Susan P. Snook-Luther, trans. and ed.  Cambridge:  Cambridge University Press, 1992.

 

Gasparini, Francesco.  The Practical Harmonist at the Keyboard [1708], Frank S. Stillings trans., David L. Burrows, ed., New Haven:  Yale University Press.

 

Helfling, Stephen E.  "`Of the Manner of Playing the Adagio':  Structural Levels and Performance Practice in Quantz's Versuch."  JMT vol. 31 (1987):  pp. 205-223.

 

Keiler, Allan R.  "Music as Metalanguage:  Rameau's Fundamental Bass," in Music Theory Special Topics, Richmond Browne, ed.  New York:  Academic Press, 1981.

 

Kirnberger, Johann Philipp.  The Art of Strict Musical Composition [1771].  David Beach and Jurgen Thym, trans.  New Haven:  Yale University Press, 1982.

 

Lester, Joel.  Compositional Theory in the Eighteenth Century.  Cambridge, Mass.:  Harvard University Press.

 

Mann, Alfred, trans. and ed.  The Study of Counterpoint from Johann Joseph Fux's "Gradus ad Parnassum."  New York:  Norton, 1965.

 

Niedt, Friederich Erhardt.  The Musical Guide, Parts I (1700/10), 2 (1721), and 3 (1717), Pamela L. Poulin and Irmgard C. Taylor trans.  Oxford:  Oxford University Press (1989).

 

Playford, John.  An Introduction to the Skill of Musick [1684].  New York:  Da Capo Press, 1972.

 

Quantz, Johann Joachim.  On Playing the Flute [1752].  Edward R. Reilly, trans.  New York:  Schirmer, 1985.

 

 

Others

 

Akmajian, Adrian and Frank Heny.  An Introduction to the Principles of Transformational Syntax.  Cambridge, MIT Press, 1975.

 

Babbitt, Milton.  Review of Structural Hearing, by Felix Salzer.  JAMS vol. V, no. 3 (Fall 1952):  pp. 260-265.

 

Beach, David, ed.  Aspects of Schenkerian Theory.  New Haven:  Yale University Press, 1983.

 

________.  "The Fundamental Line from Scale Degree 8:  Criteria for Evaluation."  JMT vol. 32 no. 2 (Fall 1988), pp. 271-294.

 

________.  "The Cadential Six-Four as Support for Scale Degree Three of the Fundamental Line."  JMT vol. 34 no. 1 (Spring 1990):  pp. 81-99

 

________.  "More on the Six-Four."  JMT vol. 34 no. 2 (Fall 1990):  pp. 281-290.

 

Benjamin, William E.  "Models of Underlying Tonal Structure:  How Can They Be Abstract, and How Should They Be Abstract."  MTS, vol. 4 (1982): pp. 28-50.

 

Browne, Richmond.  "Tonal Implications of the Diatonic Set."  ITO vol. 5 nos. 6 and 7 (double issue, July and August 1981):  pp. 3-21.

 

Boretz, Benjamin and Edward T. Cone, eds.  Perspectives on Contemporary Music Theory.  New York:  Norton, 1972.

 

Brown, Matthew.  "The Diatonic and the Chromatic in Schenker's Theory of Harmonic Relations."  JMT vol. 30 (1986):  pp. 1-33.

 

Burkhart, Charles.  “Schenker's ‘Motivic Parallelisms’.”  JMT vol. 22 (1978):  pp. 145-175.

 

Cadwallader, Allen, ed.  Trends in Schenkerian Research.  New York:  Schirmer, 1990.

 

________.  "Schenker's Unpublished Graphic Analysis of Brahms's Intermezzo Op. 117, No. 2:  Tonal Structure and Concealed Motivic Repetition." MTS, vol. 6 (1984): pp. 1-13.

 

________.  "Foreground Motivic Ambiguity:  Its Clarification at Middleground Levels in Selected Late Piano Pieces of Johannes Brahms."  Music Analysis, vol. 7 (1988): pp. 59-91.

 

________ and David Gagne.  Analysis of Tonal Music:  A Schenkerian Approach.  Oxford:  Oxford University Press, 1998.

 

Chomsky, Noam.  Aspects of the Theory of Syntax.  Cambridge, MA:  The M.I.T. Press, 1965.

 

Cook, Nicholas.  "Schenker's Theory of Music as Ethics."  Journal of Musicology vol. 7 no. 4 (Fall 1989):  pp. 415-439.

 

________.  “Music Theory and ‘Good Comparison’:  A Viennese Perspective.” JMT vol. 33 no. 1 (Spring 1989):  pp. 117-141.

 

von Cube, Felix-Eberhard.  The Book of the Musical Artwork.  David Neumeyer, George R. Boyd, Scott Harris trans.  Lewiston, NY:  The Edwin Mellen Press (1988).

 

Drabkin, William.  "Felix-Eberhard von Cube and the North-German Tradition of Schenkerism."  Proceedings of the Royal Musical Association vol. 111 (1984-85):  pp. 180-207.

 

________.  "A Lesson in Analysis from Heinrich Schenker:  The C Major Prelude from the Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I."  Music Analysis, vol. 5 (1985):  pp. 241-258.

 

Dubiel, Joseph.  Review of Forte and Gilbert Introduction to Schenkerian Analysis. MQ vol. LXX no. 2 (Spring 1984):  pp. 269-278.

 

________.  "`When You are a Beethoven':  Kinds of Rules in Schenker's Counterpoint."  JMT vol. 34 no. 2 (Fall 1990):  pp. 291-340.

 

Federhofer, Helmut "Fux's Gradus ad Parnassum as Viewed by Heinrich Schenker."  MTS vol. 4 (1982): pp. 66-75.

 

Forte, Allen and Steven E. Gilbert.  Introduction to Schenkerian Analysis.  New York:  Norton, 1982.

 

Greene, Judith.  Psycholinguistics:  Chomsky and Psychology.  Baltimore:  Penguin, 1974.

 

Jonas, Oswald.  Introduction to the Theory of Heinrich Schenker:  The Nature of the Musical Work of Art.  John Rothgeb, trans. and ed.  New York:  Longman, 1982.

 

Katz, Adele.  Challenge to Musical Tradition:  A New Concept of Tonality.  New York:  Knopf, 1945.

 

Keiler, Allan R.  "The Syntax of Prolongation."  ITO vol. 3 no. 5 (August 1977).

 

Komar, Arthur.  The Theory of Suspensions.  Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1971.

 

Lerdahl, Fred and Ray Jackendoff.  A Generative Theory of Tonal Music.  Cambridge: MIT Press, 1983.

 

_______.  "Toward a Formal Theory of Tonal Music."  JMT vol. XI no. 1 (Spring, 1977): pp. 111-171.

 

Lyons, John.  Noam Chomsky.  New York:  Viking Press, 1970.

 

Mitchell, William J. and Felix Salzer, eds.  The Music Forum, vols. I-VI.  New York:  Columbia University Press.

 

Morgan, Robert P.  "Schenker and the Theoretical Tradition."  College Music Society Symposium vol. XVIII no. 1 (Spring 1978): pp. 72-96.

 

Pastille, William A.  "Heinrich Schenker, Anti-Organicist."  19th Century Music vol. VIII, no. 1 (Summer 1984):  pp. 28-36.

 

Proctor, Gregory and Herbert Lee Riggins.  "Levels and the Reordering of Chapters in Schenker's Free Composition."  MTS vol. 10 (1988):  pp. 102-126.

 

Rahn, John.  "Aspects of Musical Explanation."  PNM vol. 17 no. 2 (Spring/Summer 1979): pp. 204-224.

 

Rothgeb, John.  "Strict Counterpoint and Tonal Theory."  JMT vol. 19, no. 2    (Fall 1975): pp. 260-284.

 

Rothstein, William.  Phrase Structure in Tonal Music.  New York:  Schirmer, 1989.

 

________.  “Rhythm and the theory of structural levels.” Ph.D. diss, Yale University: 1981.

 

________.  “On Implied Tones.”  Music Analysis vol. 10, no. 3 (1991):  pp. 289-328.

 

Salzer, Felix.  Structural Hearing:  Tonal Coherence in Music.  New York:  Dover, 1962.

 

Salzer, Felix and Carl Schachter.  Counterpoint in Composition.  New York: McGraw-Hill, 1969.

 

Schachter, Carl.  "Rhythm and Linear Analysis:  A Preliminary Study."  Music Forum vol. 4 (1976): pp.  281-334.

 

________.  "Rhythm and Linear Analysis:  Durational Reduction."  Music Forum vol. 5 (1980): pp.  197-232.

 

________.  "Rhythm and Linear Analysis:  Aspects of Meter."  Music Forum vol. 6 (1987): pp. 1-59 .

 

________.  Unfoldings : Essays in Schenkerian Theory and Analysis. Edited by Joseph N. Straus.  New York : Oxford University Press, 1999.

 

Siegel, Hedi.  "A Source for Schenker's Study of Thorough Bass:  His Annotated Copy of J. S. Bach's Generalbassbuchlein," in Schenker Studies, Hedi Siegel ed.  Cambridge:  Cambridge University Press (1990):  pp. 15-28.

 

Slatin, Sonia.  “The Theories of Heinrich Schenker in Perspective.”  Ph.D. diss., Columbia University, 1967.

 

Snarrenberg, Rogert.  Schenker’s Interpretive Practice.  Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997.

 

________.  “Schenker, Heinrich.” In The New Grove Dictionary of Music Online. Ed. L. Macy. http://www.grovemusic.com.

 

Joseph N. Straus, “The Problem of Prolongation in Post-Tonal Music.” JMT vol. 31, no.1 (Spring 1987): pp. 1-21.

 

Westergaard, Peter.  An Introduction to Tonal Theory.  New York:  Norton, 1975.

 

Yeston, Maury, ed.  Readings in Schenker Analysis and Other Approaches.  New Haven:  Yale University Press, 1977.

 

 

 

 

 

Cultural and Historical Background

 

Epstein, Klaus.  The Genesis of German Conservatism.  Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1966.

 

Gruden, Helmut.  Red Vienna:  Experiment in Working-Class Culture, 1919-1934.  Oxford:  Oxford University Press, 1991.

 

Janik, Allan and Stephen Toulmin.  Wittgenstein's Vienna.  New York:  Simon and Schuster, 1973.

 

Johnston, William M.  The Austrian Mind:  An Intellectual and Social History, 1848-1938.  Berkeley:  University of California Press, 1972.

 

Morton, Frederic.  A Nervous Splendour:  Vienna 1888/1898.  New York:  Penguin Books, 1979.

 

Schorske, Carl E.  Fin-de-Siecle Vienna:  Politics and Culture.  New York:  Vintage Books, 1981.

 

Taylor, A. J. P.  The Habsburg Monarchy, 1809-1918:  A History of the Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary.  Baltimore:  Penguin Books, 1976.

 


*Schedule and assignments are subject to change.