1. ‘Peripetie’ by Arnold Schoenberg
The fourth piece from “Five Orchestral Pieces”

2. Homework
Define and learn the meaning of the following keywords for a test next lesson:
Haupstimme
Nubenstimme
Hexachord
Atonal
Expressionism
Timbre
Klangfarbenmelodie
Disjunct
Divisi
Pizzicato
Arco
Tutti

3. Musical Periods Timeline

4. Where does Peripetie fit in?
In the Baroque Period music was ornamented and melodies were often very long. Textures were often polyphonic.
In the Classical Period composers such as Mozart had frequent clear perfect cadences throughout and textures were often homphonic.
In the Romantic Period composers (Wagner, Verdi) produced vast symphonies using different keys, harmonies and a variety of textures.
Composers reactions to the Romantic Era were extreme, this led to the birth of many new styles. The 20th Century saw a continuous development of diverse musical styles.
Expressionism and Atonal music were one of these new Modern styles

5. Features of Expressionism
Atonal- avoids normal hierarchy of keys and chords, giving each of the 12 semitones equal importance
Expresses one intense emotion
Disjunct and Angular melodies
Extreme pitch range of instruments
Lots of different playing techniques
Timbre is as important as melody
Extreme dynamics
Pieces are quite short

6. Watch the video and comment on the orchestra and the emotions expressed by the music.

7. Background of Schoenberg
He was born in Austria:
Learnt violin as a child and composed as a child, learning theory from books and experimentation.
In 1908 he began to write atonal music due to his wife leaving him for his friend and then committing suicide.
Intense emotions expressed through his music- Expressionism was perfect for this!
He wrote short intense pieces expressing extremes of emotion.

8. Schoenberg and Expressionism
He decided that the combination of instrumental sounds was as important as melody
He coined the phrase klangfarbenmelodie (tone – colour melody) described how instrumental colours were as important as pitch
He took chromaticism to the extreme and his music became atonal –absence of tonality or key

9. ‘Peripetie’ from Five Orchestral Pieces
Originally composed in 1909, considered shocking due to large orchestra needed and experimental nature. First performance at the proms
We are studying 1922 new edition.
Peripetie translates to : “ A sudden reversal” the ideas from the beginning of the movement are reversed towards the end.

10. Techniques used…
HEXACHORD- concealed within Schoenberg’s pre- serialism music. It is a group of six notes played together. They can also be used to form short melodic ideas.
Hexachords notes (played by horns from second beat of bar 8) are C Bb E F C♯ A. Notes can be played in any order in any octave
Compliment of hexachord- take other six available semitones:
B D Eb F♯ G G♯- can be transposed and reordered

11. Performance markings….
a 2 or a 3
All two or three bassoons should play the same notes
divisi
The players on this line divide into groups
pizz
Short for pizzicato- pluck the strings
arco
Bow the strings
bell up
The brass player points the bell end of their instruments upwards produces loud strident sound
1 solo
A single person plays this line
tutti
Everyone joins in again +
Hand-stopped- the horn player inserts their hand further than usual into the bell
Tremolo- note rapidly repeated

12. PERFORMANCE MARKINGS Haupstimme- Principal voice/main melodic line
Nebenstimme- Secondary voice/
next most important in melodic line

13. Haupstimme and Klangfarbenmelodie
Write out the order and the combinations of instruments used in the Haupstimme (main melody) in the first three pages. How does this relate to the phrase Klangfarbenmelodie? Perform using the different sounds of the keyboard.

14. MOTIFS
Seven motifs are introduced very quickly right at the beginning of the piece
Each of the motifs is based on a hexachord
Here are the first three that we hear:
Motif A opens the movement. It is a short fanfare played by three clarinets, a bass clarinet and three bassoons.

15. In motif A compare the chord in Bb Clarinets 1-3 and the chord in bassoons 1-3. How would this be played in practice? Now compare these chords to those in the cello and bass parts. Perform this on the keyboards as a class.

16. Motifs continued….
Motif B :Piccolo, three flutes, three oboes and cor anglais, plus three clarinets in B flat and one in D (a very unusual clarinet). Notice all the accidentals creating the dissonant chord at the end of the motif.

17. In motif B compare the chords in the woodwind instruments
In motif B compare the chords in the woodwind instruments. Now compare these chords to those in violin I, II and viola. Perform this on the keyboards as a class.

18. Motifs continued…..
Motif C: Six horns playing, another angular line. Again the motif is in triplets but this time triplet quavers. Notice the use of the dissonant interval of a 7th.

19. Find the interval of a 7th in this motif Analyse the chords Perform this on the keyboards as a class.

20. Developing the motifs
The motifs are developed in the middle three sections through:
Imitation – where a motif in one part is repeated a few notes later in a different part overlapping the motif in the first part
Diminution – where the note values are made smaller (usually halved)
Melodic inversion – where the melody is turned upside down

21. Using the fragment of motif a from the Bb Clarinet part, apply the following compositional techniques Diminution & Inversion

22. Melody Made up of short fragmented motifs combined in different ways
First 18 bars = 7 different motifs quickly introduced
Melodies are disjunct (many large leaps) so often sound angular
Schoenberg uses octave displacement unexpectedly moving individual notes of main melody to different octave
Melodies are not developed or extended but varied through use of techniques e.g. inversion (melody turned upside down) and rhythmic augmentation (notes become twice as long).

23. Rhythm, Metre and Tempo Metre changes between 3/4, 2/4 , and 4/4
Tempo is Sehr rasch= very fast
Rhythms are complex and varied and change quickly.
In parts of the work Schoenberg layers a number of different rhythmic patterns on top of each other creating a complex contrapuntal texture

24. Tonality and Harmony
The piece is atonal. Uses dissonant harmony. Chords and melodies often built from hexachords (groups of six notes).

25. Texture and Dynamics
Texture is largely contrapuntal with occasional monophonic and homophonic moments. Complex textures built up through techniques such as imitation and inversion. E.g. final part of piece created from three different canons- all heard at the same time.
Dynamics change frequently and suddenly- extreme contrasts between ppp and fff.

26. Structure Free rondo form. Five sections (ABACA).
Called free rondo because it is very different to traditional rondo from classical period different sections clearly contrasted.

27. Exam Questions
Describe the dynamics in the first section of the piece?
Name the type of ensemble performing Peripetie.
Describe the tonality of the piece.
Peripetie was written in the 20th century. List 6 musical features you can hear in the piece that are common to music written in the 20th century.
What is the name given to the group of notes Schoenberg used as a basis for his melodic and harmonic material in this piece?
How might Schoenberg have used this group of notes when he composed Peripetie?
The horns play a sustained chord in bar 8. In which section later in the piece can the horns be heard playing this chord?
What is the term given to Schoenberg’s technique of moving the melodic parts rapidly through the different instruments?
What playing technique can be heard in the strings in the last 2 bars of the piece?