Webern- Quartet Op. 22: movement I

Question 1

Give an example of how Webern uses Klangfarbenmelodie in Quartet Op. 22: movement I.

Answer 1

The restatement of the original prime at b28.

Question 2

Give an example of how the note-rows in Quartet Op. 22: movement I are difficult to follow due to the way Webern splits the notes between the instruments.

Answer 2

The prime order in the opening bars passes from the violin, to the left hand of the piano, to the violin, to the clarinet and finishes back in the left-hand piano part.

Question 3

A wide range of performance techniques are used in Quartet Op. 22: movement I. What are they, and what instrument are they for?

Answer 3

Pizzicato/Arco (violin), Mute on and off (Violin), Rapid contrasts of articulation and dynamics (all instruments), spread chords in both directions (piano).

Question 4

What part does rests play in Quartet Op. 22: movement I?

Answer 4

Rests contribute to the rhythmically dislocated effect.

Question 5

Why is pulse difficult to detect in Quartet Op. 22: movement I?

Answer 5

Because of ‘pointillist’ instrumentation and apparently random placing of material within the bars.

Question 6

What does it mean harmonically that vertical structures in Quartet Op. 22: movement I frequently consist of no more than two notes?

Answer 6

There is often little or even no harmony.

Question 7

Quartet Op. 22: movement I is an example of serialism. What is this?

Answer 7

Serialism was a compositional technique associated with the Second Viennese School, in particular Schoenberg and Berg as well as Webern.

Question 8

Sometimes two notes of the same row are sounded on the piano to create a chord in Quartet Op. 22. 1st Movement. What is this process called?

Answer 8

Verticalisation.

Question 9

Where do the most notable exceptions from the main rhythmic cells occur in Quartet Op. 22: movement I?

Answer 9

In the saxophone part in 6-10 and 12-13 (4 semiquavers)

Question 10

Describe the restatement of the prime order at b28-32.

Answer 10

28: clarinet C#-E. 29-30: violin F-D; clarinet D#-B. 30-31: tenor sax Bb-A-G. 32: violin F#-C-G.

Question 11

What is the metre of Quartet Op. 22: movement I?

Answer 11

The movement is mainly in 3/8 with frequent changes to 4/8 and 5/8

Question 12

Give an example of retrograde-inversion in Quartet Op. 22: movement I.

Answer 12

The saxophone part, bar 24.

Question 13

In Quartet Op. 22: movement I, though not often, there are some three -and four- note chords. Give examples.

Answer 13

Bar 11, semiquaver 4, Bar 12, semiquaver 2

Question 14

Quartet Op. 22: movement I is built almost entirely on three rhythmic cells. What are they?

Answer 14

Question 15

How can the texture of Quartet Op. 22: movement I be described?

Answer 15

Contrapuntal with mirror canons.

Question 16

When does Quartet Op. 22: movement I date from?

Answer 16

1930

Question 17

Webern’s music tends toward compression; what is this?

Answer 17

Short, concentrated works.

Question 18

Describe the traditional harmonic devices, or lack thereof, in Quartet Op. 22: movement I.

Answer 18

There is a total absence of conventional harmonic procedures such as cadences.

Question 19

Describe the harmony of Quartet Op. 22: movement.

Answer 19

The music is dissonant, with no preparation or resolution.

Question 20

The prime order is used throughout Quartet Op. 22: movement I, sometimes in inversion, retrograde, retrograde-inversion or transposed form. What is retrograde-inversion?

Answer 20

When the intervals are presented both upside down and running backwards

Question 21

In Quartet Op. 22: movement I, octave displacements are common. Give a comparison.

Answer 21

The saxophone melody at bars 6-10 compared with its recapitulation at bar 28.

Question 22

From bar 24 to the end of Quartet Op. 22: movement I, what is the metre?

Answer 22

The metre from bar 24 to the end is 3/8

Question 23

What was Quartet Op. 22: movement I intended for?

Answer 23

It was intended for concert performance by professional musicians.

Question 24

The prime order is used throughout Quartet Op. 22: movement I, sometimes in inversion, retrograde, retrograde-inversion or transposed form. What is transposed form?

Answer 24

Beginning on any note

Question 25

What is the structure of Quartet Op. 22: movement I?

Answer 25

It can be regarded as being in ternary or sonata form: Introduction, The first repeated section (which is sort of an exposition, with the prime clearly announced in the saxophone), The second repeated section (which contains the equivalent of a development and, from bar 28, a recapitulation), Coda with the introductory material in retrograde.

Question 26

How does the texture in Quartet Op. 22: movement I intensify?

Answer 26

At the climax in the development with more overlapping of parts.

Question 27

Describe the tonality of Quartet Op. 22: movement I, other than the fact that it is atonal.

Answer 27

It is a serial work based on 12-note rows; all 12 notes of a chromatic scale are heard in a fixed order.

Question 28

What can the unusual selection and combination of instruments in Quartet Op. 22: movement I be compared with?

Answer 28

Haydn’s string quartet.

Question 29

How does Quartet Op. 22: movement I show signs of Neoclassicism?

Answer 29

In its reliance on counterpoint and symmetrical structure.

Question 30

Why is it hard to describe harmony in Quartet Op. 22: movement I?

Answer 30

Because the harmony is mostly incidental

Question 31

What is the tonality of Quartet Op. 22: movement I?

Answer 31

This work is atonal.

Question 32

Who was regarded as the leader of the ‘Second Viennese School’, and what was Webern’s relation to them?

Answer 32

Schoenberg was regarded as the leader of the group, and Webern was one of his pupils

Question 33

Which aspect of Quartet Op. 22: movement I is clearly defined?

Answer 33

The structure.

Question 34

Give an example of inversion in Quartet Op. 22: movement I.

Answer 34

Compare the tenor saxophone b1-3 with the first three notes of the prime in b6-7.

Question 35

Where is all melodic material in Quartet Op. 22: movement I derived from?

Answer 35

The note row.

Question 36

The prime order is used throughout Quartet Op. 22: movement I, sometimes in inversion, retrograde, retrograde-inversion or transposed form. What is inversion?

Answer 36

Inversion is when the intervals of the prime are presented ‘upside down’.

Question 37

Give an example of transposed form in Quartet Op. 22: movement I.

Answer 37

The violin in bar 1 starts the prime order 10 semitone higher than it is played in bar 6.

Question 38

What are the three typical large interval leaps in Quartet Op. 22: movement I?

Answer 38

Major 7th, Minor 9th, Major 10th.

Question 39

What is the instrumentation of Quartet Op. 22: movement I?

Answer 39

Tenor saxophone, Violin, Piano, Clarinet.

Question 40

The melodic lines in Quartet Op. 22: movement I are angular. What does this mean?

Answer 40

It means that they are marked by large leaps.

Question 41

Give an example of retrograde in Quartet Op. 22: movement I.

Answer 41

The piano right hand in bar 21.

Question 42

The prime order is used throughout Quartet Op. 22: movement I, sometimes in inversion, retrograde, retrograde-inversion or transposed form. What is retrograde?

Answer 42

Retrograde is when the intervals of the prime are presented in reverse order.

Question 43

When is the prime order first heard?

Answer 43

Tenor saxophone, bars 6-10