WEBERN’S DREI VOLKSTEXTE NUMBER 1: AN ANALYSIS

Kyle Vanderburg

Twentieth Century Analysis - MUTH 5833

May 2, 2010

Vanderburg 2

Introduction

Anton Webern’s 1925 work, Drei Volkstexte, or Three Traditional Rhymes, indicates a shift in the

composer’s process of composition. Webern’s earlier compositional output was characterized by free

atonality prior to his opus eighteen, Drei Geistliche Volkslieder, his first work composed using Arnold

Schoenberg’s twelve-tone technique. However, Three Traditional Rhymes, his opus seventeen, shows signs of

experimentation with twelve-tone technique and can be analyzed as an atonal-dodecaphonic hybrid.

Set-class Analysis

The majority of Webern’s opus seventeen number one can be analyzed using musical set theory.

While there are a number of possible segmentations of the musical material (many of which are outlined in

scores 1-1 through 1-3), the most recurring musical sets are the mirrored tetrachords 4-1 (0123), 4-7 (0145),

and 4-8 (0156), and the mirrored trichord 3-1 (012).

The mirrored trichord 3-1 (012) is the most recurring trichord in opus seventeen number one,

occurring a total of six times1, as outlined in orange. This trichord appears in the voice part of measures five

and six, the violin part of measures five and six, the bass clarinet part of measure nine, the clarinet and bass

clarinet parts of measure fourteen, the voice part of measure fifteen, and the clarinet and bass clarinet parts of

that same measure. The first iteration is transformed into the second by way of T3, the second to the third by

T6, the third to the fourth by T5, the fourth to the fifth by T9, and the fifth to the sixth by T3. Despite the

high number of occurrences of this trichord, there does not appear to be any patterns within the

transpositional transformation. As four out of the six of these segments are linear rather than additive (the

exceptions being Orange-4 2and Orange-6), it is not only possible but rather likely that Webern was simply

using the 3-1 set class to emphasize the minor second sound, a concept that is repeated through all of the

recurring set classes.

The mirrored tetrachord 4-1 (0123) appears ten times within the 16-measure work. The first, labeled

Red-1 on page 2-1, consists of the last note in the voice part of measure three and the entirety of the voice

1 This count includes all expressions of 3-1 (012) outside of the 4-1 (0123) hexachord.

2 A word about nomenclature: the four trichords and tetrachords referenced in this paper are outlined with different colors in score 2. When referencing these chords in the text, I refer to them by the colors that outline them in that score: Orange for 3-1 (012), Red for 4-1 (0123), Blue for 4-7 (0145), and Green for 4-8 (0156).

Vanderburg 3

part of measure four. It is closely followed by a second iteration of 4-1, numbered Red-2, which encompasses

the entirety of the violin and clarinet parts of bar four. These two sets are connected via transposition at level

T8. The next example of this set-class, Red-3, occurs in the same parts in the latter half of bar nine, which is

connected to Red-2 by transposition at T3. This process continues, using T8 to arrive at Red-4 in the voice

part in measure 10, T1 to reach Red-5 in the violin and clarinet parts of measure eleven, T8 to arrive at Red-6

in the bass clarinet part of measure eleven, T11 to arrive at Red-7 in measures thirteen and fourteen, T8 to

arrive at Red-8 in measure fourteen, T1 to arrive at Red-9 in measure fifteen, and finally T4 to arrive at Red-10

in measure sixteen. This progression of transposition, which appear at levels 8, 3, 8, 1, 8, 11, 8, 1, 4, show a

pattern of alternating levels of T8 between levels of transposition decreasing by two (in the cases of 3, 1, and

11). This method of systematic transposition is a recurring theme in opus seventeen number one.

As shown by tetrachord 4-1, Webern appears to systematically and numerically alter his transposition

scheme. For tetrachord 4-7 (0145), the tetrachords once again appear to be related by transposition.

Examples Blue-1 and Blue-2 are related by transposition at T6, Blue-2 and Blue-3 are related by transposition

at T3, Blue-3 and Blue-4 are related by transposition at T5, and Blue-4 and Blue-5 are related by transposition

at T3. This transpositional sequence creates the pattern T6, T3, T5, T3. Here, the level of T3 appears to be

recurring, while the levels of T6 and T5 appear to be of a pattern decreasing by one.

A more obvious expression of Webern’s systematic transposition is seen with his treatment of set-

class 4-8 (0156). This set class, which appears five times in this work and is outlined in blue, has a consistent

transpositional interval of T2 between every adjacent recurrence. This transposition level of T2 allows for an

interesting progression of the dyads formed by the first half of the tetrachords (56, 78, 9T, E0, 12) and the

second half (TE, 01, 23, 45, 67). This serves as an extension of Webern’s use of the minor second as a sonic

device.

This work also includes a number of interesting treatments of sets not mentioned above. In the bass

clarinet part in bar seven, seen on the left, the four

thirty-second notes and the first two sixteenth-note

triplets make up set 4-2 (0124), those same two

Vanderburg 4

sixteenth-note triplets added to the rest of the sixteenth-note triplets in the bar make up set 4-11 (0135), and

the last three sixteenth-note triplets along with the first note in bar eight make up set 4-13 (0136). The next

occurring set in the bass clarinet part is 4-9 (0167), which continues the expansion to a mirrored set-class.

This imbricated expansion occurs again in the bass clarinet part in

bar eleven, expanding 4-1 (0123) to 4-2 (0124) to 4-3 (0134). In

this example (to the right) the expansion is followed by an

expansion to 4-17 (0347), another mirrored tetrachord.

Additionally, Weben uses a variety of trichords that contain the minor second, for example, bar two

contains 3-5 (016), 3-3 (014), and 3-2 (013), while bar three contains 3-3 (014), 3-5 (016), and 3-2 (013). This

trend continues throughout the entire piece, as can be viewed on scores 1-1 through 1-3.

Text and Music Interaction

With the exception of the tetrachord on the first beat of measure two and the first beat of measure

three, there appears to be no direct musical relationship between the vocal part and the three instrumental

parts. Webern does, however, treat the text according to the words. The lyrics “Wretched sinner, you, the

earth it is your shoe” are presented on lower pitches than the next stanza which reads “Bone and fat, the sky

it is your hat.” Additionally, both “shoe” and “hat” are set on pitches that are near the extremes of the

stanza’s range (the E for shoe and the F-sharp for hat). Perhaps the most obvious use of text-painting occurs

in measures seven and eight with the setting of “sky” or “Himmel” on a soaring G-sharp, the highest note

heard in the voice part to this point. The highest notes in the voice part for the entire piece show up on the

next page, with As showing up in mention of the Holy Trinity, and with a B starting the last word, “Eternity,”

perhaps representing the lofty ideas these words portray.

Twelve-Tone Analysis

Analyzing opus seventeen number one as a twelve-tone work differs from analyzing one of Webern’s

later twelve-tone works. His Variations for Piano, opus 27 movement two, shows a more mature approach to

twelve-tone technique, with each hand utilizing a different row form (P8 in the right hand and I10 in the left).

Opus seventeen number one uses the same row (P11) across all four parts. The first four notes appear in the

Vanderburg 5

bass clarinet part, the last four notes appear in the voice part, and the remaining four notes occur in the form

of a tetrachord in bar two. This row form of P11 is repeated almost entirely in bar three, which helps to

solidify the ordering of the row. Webern disrupts the twelve-tone analysis in bar four by completing the

aggregate without using any identifiable row form. The next three bars appear to have no dodecaphonic

content until row P11 comes back for the beginning half of bar eight, with the last half of bar eight completing

an aggregate, again without using a normal row form. This gesture repeats in bar nine, where the row form P4

in all four voices is followed by a completed aggregate in the instrumental parts in bar ten. At this point

Webern’s use of row forms and completed aggregates appears to stop, the last three bars of the piece appear

to experiment with hexachords, by the appearance of the second hexachord of P4 in the clarinet and bass

clarinet parts in bar fourteen, the first hexachord of R1 in the voice part in bar fifteen, and the first hexachord

of P9 in the violin part in bars fifteen and sixteen.

Conclusion

Opus seventeen number one is clearly a transitional work in Webern’s catalog, showing signs of both

typical atonal compositional techniques utilized by Webern in other works and early manipulation of the

Schoenbergian twelve-tone technique. Webern’s use of mirrored tetrachords and trichords containing interval

class 2 suggest his taste for that sound, while the use of other nonmirrored trichords and tetrachords support

that claim. The treatment of twelve-tone material is unlike that of Webern’s mature twelve-tone period, and

can easily be seen as an early experiment in that technique.

Vanderburg 6

Appendix 1: Tables of set-classes and transpositional processes.

4-1 (0123)

Number Normal Order Tn or TnI to next example

Red-1 9TE0 T8

Red-2 5678 T3

Red-3 89TE T8

Red-4 4567 T1

Red-5 5678 T8

Red-6 1234 T11

Red-7 0123 T8

Red-8 89TE T1

Red-9 9TE0 T4

Red-10 1234 --

4-7 (0145)

Number Normal Order Tn or TnI to next example

Blue-1 3478 T6

Blue-2 9T12 T3

Blue-3 0145 T5

Blue-4 569T T3

Blue-5 8901 --

4-8 (0156)

Number Normal Order Tn or TnI to next example

Green-1 56TE T2

Green-2 7801 T2

Green-3 9T23 T2

Green-4 E045 T2

Green-5 1267 --

3-1 (012)

Number Normal Order Tn or TnI to next example

Orange-1 345 T3

Orange-2 678 T6

Orange-3 012 T5

Orange-4 567 T9

Orange-5 234 T3

Orange-6 567 --

Vanderburg 7

Appendix 2: Twelve-tone Matrix.