Schoenburg: ‘Peripetie’ from Five Orchestral Pieces

Question 1

INSTRUMENTATION

Answer 1

o Large orchestra (at least 90 players)
• Strings
• Woodwind (piccolo, cor-anglais, bass clarinet, contrabassoon)
• Brass 
• Percussion (tam-tam)
o Rapid changes – contrasts in timbre
o Extremes of range
o Unusual effects (e.g. cymbal played with both a mallet and a cello bow)

Question 2

PERFORMANCE MARKINGS

Answer 2

o H (haupstimme) – most important part
o N (nebenstimme) – second most important part
o Divisi – players on the same line divide into groups
o a 2 or a 3 - all 2 or all 3 instruments in the same group play the same notes
o Pizz – pluck the strings
o Arco – bow the strings
o Bell up – brass player point end up to produce a loud, strident sound
o 1 solo – single person plays this line
o Tutti – everyone joins in again
o + (hand stopped) – horn player inserts their hand further than usual into the bell
o /// (tremolo) – note is rapidly repeated

Question 3

MELODY

Answer 3

o Many short, fragmented motifs
o Disjunct – large leaps makes it sound angular
o Octave Displacement
o Motifs varied (inversions and rhythmic augmentation)

Question 4

RHYTHM

Answer 4

o Complex
o Varied
o Layers of Rhythmic Patterns

Question 5

METRE

Answer 5

3/4
2/4
4/4

Question 6

TEMPO

Answer 6

o Sehr rasch – very quick

Question 7

TONALITY

Answer 7

o Atonal

Question 8

HARMONY

Answer 8

o Dissonant
o Hexachords (chords and melodies built from 6 notes)

Question 9

TEXTURE

Answer 9

o Mainly Contrapuntal (rhythmic layers)
o Occasionally monophonic and homophonic
o Complex textures built up (imitation, inversion and canons)

Question 10

DYNAMICS

Answer 10

o Sudden changes

o Extreme contrast (ppp and fff)

Question 11

STRUCTURE

Answer 11

o Free rondo form – 5 sections (ABACA)

o Sections are ambiguous