Instrumental - Schumann Flashcards
What are general features that all pieces have?
- Functional harmony and tonality
- MDH
- Simple rhythms
- Diatonic melodies
- Balanced phrasing
- Clearly defined cadences
- Modulations to related keys
- Occasional chromaticism
- Us of simple duple timing for all three pieces
What are typical features of the period?
1 - Three clearly identifiable textual layers
- Important sustaining pedal for resonance
2 - Impossible t play bar 16 without pedal
- Stride bass used
11 - Articulation in semi staccato at opening and accents
- Bass has melody parts at points
What are features of rhythm in no. 1?
- Triple rhythm throughout in broken chords yet simple duple time
- Crossrhythm in bar 2 (dotted crotchet against triplet)
- Lots of rhythmic repetition
- Use of rit.
What are features of rhythm in no. 3?
- Almost continuous semiquavers throughout
- Lots of repetition
- Each 2 bar melody starts with a crotchet
- Ties used
- Duple tiem
- Quavers keep a steady pulse
- Sforzandi stops at bar 13
What are features of rhythm in no. 11?
- Dotted rhythms in alternative bars from bar 7
- Smooth quaver opening
- Semiquavers in offbeat pairs in B section
- Anticipation at bar 47.22
- Semiquavers in groups of four in C section
- B section LH is a legato contrast t syncopation
- Each section has its own characteristic rhythm
What are features of melody in no. 1?
- Rising sixth motif to open followed by a stepwise fall
- Slight alteration to above motif by moving the stepwise fall down a tone in bar 6
- Melodic repetition used a lot
- Sequence between bars 9-10 in RH of B section
- Bass melody in bars 9-12 borrows features of opening bars
What are features of melody in no. 3?
- Conjunct melody
- Range of two octaves in melody
- Perfect cadence at bars 4 and 8
- Chromatic scale used at bar 15.2-16
What are features of melody in no. 11?
- Q&A melody in first 8 bars
- Melody swaps hands in B section
- 2 bar sequence from bars 9-12
- Off beat chords used in C section - Contrasts previous smooth melody lines
- Very chromatic in places (bar 1)
What are features of harmony in no. 1?
- 2 chords per bar, straight forward chord sequence
- Chord V usually has 7th added
- diminished 7th chord in bar 12
- 4-3 suspension in inner part bar 7
- A section finished on the third of the triad - thoguhtful
- Circle of 5ths bassline in B section
- Unusual chord at bar 12, V in Em going to G chord
- Mainl diatonic functional harmony
- Perfect cadences (21-22)
What are features of harmony in no. 3?
- 7th chords
- Natural A used in bar 2 despite B minor
- Appoggiatures (A and G) in bar 2
- Basic chord patterns (I, IV, I, IV, V I)
- Perfect cadences (bar 4)
- Harmonic minor A# finally enters at bar 8
- Em chord in bar 11 to imply E minor
- F#7 (V7 in B minor) at 15.2 created perfect cadence
- Neapolitan chords C in bar 13
- Perfect cadnece at bar 20
- Frequent inversions
What are features of harmony in no. 11?
- Interrupted cadence at bar 26
- Half dim chord at bar 2
- 7-6 suspension between bars 2-3
- Very chromatic
- C# in bar 5 - secondary dominant. This implies D major but isn’t long enough to be a transitory modulation
- Tertiary harmony in bar 10
- Root and inv chords used
- Major, minor, dim and 7th chords used
- Neapolitan 2nd in B minor bar 27.2
- 7th chord used in 47.22
- Perfect cadences
- Imperfect cadences every 4 bars except at bar 40
What are features of texture in no. 1?
- MDH
- 2 part broken chords/arpeggios spanning both hands
- RH accompaniment in sequential thirds (9-10)
What are features of texture in no. 3?
- MDH texture
- Stride bass representing lurching and herkiness
- Arpeggio shared by two hands from 4.2-5.1
- Double tonic/dominant pedal in LH bar 13-15
What are features of texture in no. 11?
- Thirds in opening of A section
- Stride bass again in left hand with leaping chords in C section
- MDH in C section
- Left hand has melody in B section
- Contrary motion between hands at bars 25-28
- Mostly MDH throughout
What is the structure of no. 1?
- Rounded binary form (8, 6, 8)
- Regular phrasing, 2 or 4 bar phrases
