Schoenberg's Peripetie Flashcards
Why was it difficult for this piece to be performed?
The experimental nature of this piece required a large orchestra.
When was this piece composed?
1909
What does the title peripetie stand for?
A sudden reversal which refers to the fact that ideas from the start if the movement return in reverse order towards the end.
Describe the instrumentation of this piece
The work requires a large orchestra of at least 90 players (strings,woodwind, a large brass section and percussion). The instrumentation changes rapidly throughout creating many contrasts in timbre. Performers are frequently required to okay at the extremes of their range. Unusual effects are used eg. Cymbals are played with both a mallet and a cello bow.
What is a Cor anglais?
A lower version of the oboe
What’s a contrabassoon?
A large bassoon which sounds an octave lower than written
What is the tam-tam?
A large gong
What does Nebenstimme stand for?
The second most important part
What does a2 or a3 stand for?
All 2 or 3 eg. Bassoons should play the same notes
What does divisi stand for?
The players on this line divide into groups
What does arco stand for?
Bow the strings
What does bell up stand for?
The brass player points the bell end of their instrument upwards to produce a loud, strident sound
What does + stand for?
Hand-Stopped, the horn player inserts their hand further than usual into the bell
What does the tremolo stand for?
The note is repeated rapidly
Describe the melody of this piece
It’s made of short,fragmented motifs that are combined in different ways. Melodies are disjunct with many large leaps and sound very angular. Octave displacement is used which is the unexpected moving of individual notes of the main melody into a different octave.motifs aren’t developed it drawn out to form longer melodies. Inversion (a melody turned upside down) and rhythmic augmentation ( notes become twice as long) is used.
Describe the rhythm, metre and tempo of this piece
Metre changes between 3/4,2/4,4/4. Tempo is Sehr rasch. Rhythms are compleat and varied and change quickly. In parts of the piece, Schoenberg layers a number of different rhythmic patterns on top of each other to create a complex contrapuntal texture.
Describe the tonality and harmony of this piece
The piece is atonal with use of a lot of dissonant harmony. Chords and melodies are often built from hexachords.
Describe the texture and dynamics of this piece
It’s largely contrapuntal with occasional monophonic+homophonic moments. Complex textures are built with imitation and inversion. Final climax is created from 3 different cannons heard at same time. Frequent sudden changes of dynamics leads to extreme contrasts between PPP and fff.
Describe the structure of this piece
It’s in free rondo form with 5 sections (abaca) it’s called free rondo because it’s different to the traditional type of rondo in the classical period where different sections were clearly contrasted.
