Journal of Musicological Research, 31:97137, 2012

Copyright Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

ISSN: 0141-1896 print/1547-7304 online
DOI: 10.1080/01411896.2012.682887

The Topical Vocabulary of the

Nineteenth Century
JANICE DICKENSHEETS
University of Northern Colorado

Since Leonard Ratners initial introduction of topoi in Classic

Music: Expression, Form, and Style, topical analysis has slowly
gained acceptance, due largely to the writings of such noted
authors as Kofi Agawu, Wye Jamison Allanbrook, Jonathan
Bellman, and Raymond Monelle. Ratner provided a succinct lexicon of common eighteenth-century topoi, and while various
authors have added nineteenth-century topics to his list, to this
point none have offered a specific lexicon of Romantic topics.
Similar to their eighteenth-century cousins, Romantic topics feature simple dance types and styles, but expand to incorporate
more complex musical dialects such as the Chivalric and Demonic
stylesall illustrative of Romantic ideology.
Since Leonard Ratner introduced the concept of topoi in Classic Music:
Expression, Form, and Style in 1980, a growing body of literature, largely
based on Ratners work, has explored their use in formal and stylistic analysis
from a variety of perspectives. Topical analysis deals directly with referential musical languages and their relationships to each other, creating, in the
words of Ratner, a kind of informal iconographyfigures that have direct
or symbolic meaning.1 A constant throughout musical history, the use of
referential languages began long before the Baroque era and continues into
the twenty-first century. Thus, topical analysis, which addresses the surface
of the music, can, when taken in its sociohistorical context, provide us with
a unique perspective on a compositions original reception as well as its
position within changing musical style. To this end, Ratner provided us with

This article is expanded from research that was partially published in The Pendragon Review 2/1 (Fall
2003).
1
Leonard Ratner, Topical Content in Mozarts Keyboard Sonatas, Early Music 19/4 (1991), 616. This
lexicon was the first of its kind, providing scholars and performers with a tool for understanding and
performing Classical-period compositions.

97

98

J. Dickensheets

a succinct lexicon of Classical topics,2 which, though impressive in its scope,

is unavoidably incompletesomething Ratner himself would no doubt have
acknowledged, given the number of additional topics he introduced in later
publications. The very nature of topical evolution makes the creation of a
single dictionary of gestures for any given time period a virtual impossibility. For every defined topic, there are numerous permutations and an infinite
number of possible combinations, each of which can possess its own unique
extra-musical significance. In addition, while many topics were more or less
universal, numerous topoi are specific to a given composer, region, or country, something that is particularly prevalent in the Romantic period. For this
reason, lexicons such as Ratners and the one provided in this article, while
certainly necessary tools for stylistic analysis, often function as springboards
for further research into topical vocabularies.
Ratner began to explore nineteenth-century topics in Romantic Music:
Sound and Syntax, identifying several within the context of their use by
specific composers, but did not attempt to generate a topical thesaurus for
the Romantic period.3 He may have felt that, given the rapid expansion of
2
Leonard Ratner, Classic Music: Expression, Form, and Style (New York: Schirmer Books, 1980), 930.
Although many authors have used Ratners concept of topical analysis to approach various nineteenthcentury works, thereby identifying a significant number of Romantic topics, not one has provided a
concise lexicon of those topics that were specific to the nineteenth century. V. Kofi Agawus Playing with
Signs: A Semiotic Interpretation of Classic Music (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1991) offers
the possibility of using topical analysis for the works of Romantic composers, even listing some topics
that abound in Romantic music, and he includes a list of topics, derived largely from my dissertation and
the research for this article previously published in The Pendragon Review in Music as Discourse: Semiotic
Adventures in Romantic Music (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009). Eero Tarasti identifies nineteenthcentury topical styles or moods in Myth and Music (Helsinki: Suomen Musiikkitieteellinen, 1978), paying
special attention to their use as signifiers of mythical elements in music. Raymond Monelle, in The Sense
of Music (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2000), also discusses topics and their applicability
to music outside the Classical period. He recognizes elements of some specific topics (predominantly
those tied to the hunt and military), and discusses topical analysis in conjunction with musical semiotics. Among the mythical topics identified by both Monelle and Tarasti are supernatural topics such
as demonic and fairy-like music, and styles that include archaizing gesturesparticularly those connected to Medieval subjects. Neither author, however, provides a practical lexicon. Keith Jones, in The
Symphonic Poems of Franz Liszt (Stuyvesant, NJ: Pendragon Press, 1997), approaches the analysis of
Liszts symphonic poems from a topical and semiotic point of view, including discussion of topoi specific
to those works. He identified topics such as the funeral march, military style, pastoral music, recitative,
Sturm und Drang, horn-call and fanfare, cantilena, and such national topoi as Hungarian and Polish
musics, relating them specifically to Liszts works. Other significant writings involving topical analysis
include Wye Jamison Allanbrooks Rhythmic Gesture in Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni
(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1983) and Two Threads Through the Labyrinth, in Convention in
Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Music: Essays in Honor of Leonard G. Ratner, ed. Wye J. Allanbrook,
Janet M. Levy, and William P. Mahrt (Stuyvesant, NY: Pendragon Press, 1992); Robert S. Hatten, Musical
Meaning in Beethoven (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1994); Elaine R. Sisman, After the Heroic
Style: Fantasia and the Characteristic Sonatas of 1809, in Beethoven Forum 6 (1998) and Mozart: The
Jupiter Symphony (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993).
3
The topics identified by Ratner in Romantic Music: Sound and Syntax (New York: Schirmer Music,
1992) include the following: Alla Breve (p. 260), Barcarolle (pp. 172 and 175), Bolero (p. 60), Bourre
(p. 18), Dies Irae (p. 75), Gavotte (p. 39), March (pp. 97 and 276), Minuet (p. 18), Motet (p. 74), Musette
(p. 105), Ombra (p. 70), Romanza (p. 27), Stile Legato (pp. 26, 27, 39, and 229), Style Bris (p. 276), and
Waltz (pp. 15356).

Topical Vocabulary of the Nineteenth Century

99

common-practice-period vocabularies during the Romantic era (depictive,

national, programmatic, etc.), such a thesaurus would be impossible to create. However, increasing interest in topical analysis during the past three
decades has created a demand for a lexicon of those topics that evolved
during the nineteenth century.
To this end, the lexicon presented here is not an attempt at an exhaustive inventory of nineteenth-century topics, but rather a preliminary list of
common styles intended to serve both as an example of the sweeping use
of topical languages in Romantic music and as a catalyst for further studies. The identification and codification of nineteenth-century topoi is vital,
as it provides the basis for topical analysisanalysis that allows for better
comprehension and more accurate re-creation of this music.
Ratner defined topics as subjects for musical discourse thatwhen
employed by the composers of the periodrepresented specific affects
or ideas readily comprehensible to contemporary listeners.4 He identified
both simple dance types such as the minuet and bourre, which are recognized primarily by their rhythmic patterns, and styles such as the Turkish
Style and Pastorale Style, which usually encompass a group of musical
gestures.5 Romantic topical languages range from simple closed topics, such
as dances and marches, to distinct musical styles and complex musical
dialects. Although there is admittedly a certain amount of referential discontinuity involving eighteenth-century topics that either changed or died out by
the nineteenth century, the practice of using referential musical languages
continued to be prevalent in the works of nineteenth-century composers,
who retained much of the considerable lexicon of musical topics inherited from seventeenth- and eighteenth-century traditions, while adding to it
complex musical languages that directly reflected Romantic aesthetics. This
continued use of referential musical languages is yet another characteristic
of the so-called common practice, a continuity that seems often to be downplayed in analyses of nineteenth-century works. It is, however, central to
the argument for topical analysis of this musican analytical process that
provides both a method for comprehending the composers creative process
and an insight into what audiences were expected to be able to understand.6
4

Ratner, Classic Music, 9.

Ratner, Classic Music, 9.
6
Jonathan Bellman supports this theory in his article Aus Alten Mrchen: The Chivalric Style of
Schumann and Brahms, The Journal of Musicology 13/1 (Winter 1995), stating that nineteenth-century
music drew on the content specific language of the eighteenth century, both by using gestures (topics),
which were exploited during that period, and by incorporating the process of indicating the context
of the work by using widely understood musical formulas. Kenneth DeLong discusses the continued
use of musical topics as being an essential character of the Biedermeier musical style (The Convention
of Musical Biedermeier, in Convention in Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Music). He argues that
the use of referential content is a link to the past and part of what separates this music from the more
progressive styles, which were intent on searching for new ideas and breaking from the classic traditions.
In his discussion he alludes to new topics that emerge in the early nineteenth century, such as the drawing
room waltz and imitations of contemporary operatic gestures.
5

100

J. Dickensheets

Prevalent in opera, song, and programmatic works, Romantic topics

function as all topical languages do, maintaining their extra-musical significance even when no explicit programmatic content is implied. An example
of this is found in the fourth movement of Schuberts Quintet in C Major of
1828. Within a sonata-form structure, Schubert juxtaposes a Style Hongrois
first theme (Example 1), with a second theme in the Biedermeier Style
(Example 2). Given contemporary Gypsy stereotypes and the relative positions of the Austrian middle and upper-middle classes, this contrast is more
than musical. Schubert has brought together two culturescastes, races,
lifestyleswithin a form that traditionally requires a final reconciliation.
Knowing that, due to their musical languages and attendant cultures, these
two themes are irreconcilable, Schubert nevertheless erodes the standard
function of a sonata forms recapitulation, and thereby appears to comment on proper Viennese culture and the position of certain outsiders
relative to it.

EXAMPLE 1 Schubert, Quintet in C Major, Op. 163, iv, opening theme.

EXAMPLE 2 Schubert, Quintet in C Major, Op. 163, iv, mm. 4553.

Topical Vocabulary of the Nineteenth Century

101

To say that Schubert is making a strong statement on the state of

Austrian culture and politics is perhaps a stretch, and is not the principal
purpose of this illustration. More important is our recognition of these musical topics and their cultural resonances. Schuberts audiences, familiar with
the sonata form structure, most likely would have perceived the somewhat
ironic juxtaposition of the themes placed within it. Because such recognition
has become increasingly remote from our own contemporary musical awareness, topical analysis enables us to discern a good deal of long-obscured
meaning. As illustrated by the Schubert example, topics need to be understood in the context of their own timessomething on which most current
topical scholars readily agree.7 If nineteenth-century Viennese audiences had
not heard Gypsies music, or did not understand the extra-musical significance of placing it next to a classic Biedermeier Style, they would not have
perceived the contrast, and the underlying irony would have been lost.
Since many topics preserved from the Classical period accrued new
meanings over the passage of time, it is necessary to look at them within
their new historical settings. In the same way that topics can only be used
effectively if audiences perceive and understand them, so too will topical
analysis provide meaningful results only when looked at within its specific
context. The following lexicon of widely used and understood Romantic
topoi (both those retained from the Classical repertoire and those that
evolved during the nineteenth century) provides a basis for the topical
analysis of nineteenth-century music.

A LEXICON OF ROMANTIC TOPICS

Romantic topics can be broken down into three groups: types, styles, and
dialects. Types usually include a minimum number of gestures, primarily
focusing on rhythmic elements associated with physical movement
marching or dancingto define their character. Styles, however, include a
cluster of gestures that, when used together, evoke an affect or bring to
mind something extra-musical.8
Dialects are much more complex, usually encompassing a broad range
of gestures, and frequently incorporating other styles. Unlike types and
styles, which may be expressed in just a few measures of music, dialects
are in essence musical languages, capable of creating complex musical
worlds and evoking strong extra-musical associations. For this reason, they

7
Allanbrook, Rhythmic Gesture in Mozart, 18. Speaking to this, Allanbrook observes that topical
materials must be clearly defined and their relationships to each other must be sharply and dramatically
demarcated, and listeners must embrace the fact of contrast and identify the members involved swiftly
and near-automatically.
8
Ratner, Classic Music, 9.

102

J. Dickensheets

frequently develop through long passages of music, unfolding in a series of

musical events.

Types
DANCES

AND

MARCHES

Because both Ratner and Wye J. Allanbrook have provided detailed descriptions of dance and march types inherited from the eighteenth century, no
detailed discussion will be included here.9 Table 1 lists three types that
still find prevalent use in the nineteenth century, along with their common
associations in Romantic (as opposed to eighteenth-century) literature.
Waltz. Considered a type by definition, the waltz, in a manner similar
to other dance types, can imply clear class distinctions. Ratner discusses the
waltz in the same context as other triple-meter dances, describing them as
quick in tempo, buoyant in manner, and simple in quality, and allowing
for two stylesmiddle and low.10 Allanbrook, however, calls the waltz the
emblem and a natural end of the tumultuous social changes that took place
at the turn of the century.11
By the 1800s, two types of waltz were clearly delineated, as were their
associations. The Lndler was strongly diatonic and set usually in a major
key; its frequent use of arpeggio figures links it to Alpine folk song, thereby
TABLE 1 Ratnerian Types Still Used in the Nineteenth Century
Topic

Association

Selected Examples

Minuet

Antique, courtly elegance. (Other

Baroque dances such as the
bourre and gavotte may have
similar associations.)
Used with other folk-like
gestures to indicate peasant or
lower class. Often used in the
Pastorale Style.
Often associated with ceremony,
especially military. Part of the
Military Style. Can be
combined with other topics,
such as the Demonic Style.

Tchaikovsky, Nutcracker, Op. 71,

No. 3, mm. 4548 (Parents Dance).
Mendelssohn, Symphony No. 4,
Op. 90, iii, opening.
Tchaikovsky, Nutcracker, Op. 71,
No. 3, mm. 6171.
Chopin, Ballade, Op. 38, opening
section.
Mahler, Symphony No. 3, i, mm.
3643, 31419 (two different types).
Berlioz, Symphonie Fantastique,
Op. 14, iv, March to the Scaffold.

Gigue,
Siciliano

March

9
See Ratner, Classic Music, 916 (his detailed description of Types as he defines the dances and
marches) and Allanbrook, Rhythmic Gesture in Mozart, 3360 (her description of the different dance and
march types).
10
Ratner, Classic Music, 12.
11
Allanbrook, Rhythmic Gesture in Mozart, 63.

Topical Vocabulary of the Nineteenth Century

103

EXAMPLE 3 Weber, Der Freischtz, Act I, Scene 3, opening.

suggesting peasant or rural settings.12 Example 3 from Act I of Webers Der

Freischtz shows the topical use of this form of the waltz.
With the waltzes of Schubert, a second type appears, one that was
topically associated with the middle and upper classes: the Viennese or
high waltz. Frequently in ternary form (including a trio), their compositional
sophistication was apparent in the increasing use of minor keys and modulation (see Examples 4a and 4b).13 The use of periodic structures and full,
balanced phrases separated the Viennese waltz from the Lndler, solidifying its class associations.14 Many nineteenth-century dramatic works use the
waltz topic as a signifier of the aristocracy, a tradition that was passed on
to instrumental music as well. Example 5 shows topical use of the Viennese
waltz in Berliozs Symphonie Fantastique, providing a ballroom environment
for the ide fixe, and later transforming the theme itself into a sophisticated,
elegant incarnation.

EXAMPLE 4a Schubert, Zwanzig Walzer, D. 146, Op. post 127, No. 7, mm. 18.

12

Mosco Carner, Lndler, The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd ed., ed. Stanley
Sadie (London: Macmillan, 2001), vol. 14, 223.
13
Andrew Lamb, Waltz, The New Grove Dictionary, vol. 27, 74.
14
Allanbrook, Rhythmic Gesture in Mozart, 6566.

104

J. Dickensheets

EXAMPLE 4b Schubert, Zwanzig Walzer, D, 146, Op. post 127, No. 7, Trio, mm. 2532.

EXAMPLE 5 Berlioz, Symphonie Fantastique, Op. 14, ii, mm. 3654.

Funeral March. Little needs to be said on the specific symbolism of

this topic. It features a ponderous duple meter, evocative of the procession
of a funeral cortege, which is usually enhanced by a dark minor mode.
Dotted rhythms frequently prevail in the melodic material, and the repetition
of these melodies, especially when paired with a repetitive bass line, can
create a sense of inevitability. Dramatic intensity is often achieved by a
thickening of the melodic lines and changes of register. Perhaps the single
most famous example of this style can be found in the third movement of
Chopins Sonata in B minor, Op. 35. Mahler also uses this topic in the first
movement of his Symphony No. 5 (see Example 6). Dotted rhythms appear
in the first trumpet, and repeated notes continue in the tuba in the ensuing
measures.

Styles
Ratner defines styles as figures and progressions within a piece15 melodic
and rhythmic gestures that, when placed together, evoke a single affect.

15

Ratner, Classic Music, 9.

Topical Vocabulary of the Nineteenth Century

105

EXAMPLE 6 Mahler, Symphony No. 5, i, mm. 6971.

TABLE 2 Ratners Styles Still in Use during the Nineteenth Century
Topic

Association

Selected Examples

Military
Style

Most often used in ceremonial

or patriotic settings.
Usually includes the march.

Hunt
Music

Often combined with other

gestures and topics to
indicate ancient or rural.

Pastorale
Style

Idyllic, bucolic world;

simplicity and innocence.a

Fantasia
Style

Improvisatory, often virtuosic.

Berlioz, Damnation of Faust, Op. 24, Part III,

opening.
Mendelssohn, Symphony No. 3, ii, mm.
23640.
Smetana, Vtlava, The Moldau, mm. 8089.
Liszt, Transcendental Etudes (18371838),
No. 7, Wilde Jagd, mm. 5966 (with the
Demonic Style).
Berlioz, Symphonie Fantastique, Op. 14, iii,
mm. 1018.
Grieg, Peer Gynt, Op. 23, Act II, Scene 3,
allegro section.
Heinrich Herz, Fantasie et Rondo Par Herz,
Op. 12, opening.
Saint-Saens, Concerto No. 2 in G minor,
Op. 22, i, intro. (Bach-style Fantasia).

a
Geoffrey Chew, Pastorale, The New Grove Dictionary, vol. 19, 21725. While this article primarily traces
the history of the pastorale as a genre, it does address the use of the Pastorale Style as an affect in the
nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Ratners description of this topic provides the defining characteristics
needed for application to nineteenth-century works.

Table 2 shows the Ratnerian styles that remained common throughout the
nineteenth century.16
SINGING STYLE
Ratner defines this style as music in a lyric vein with a moderate tempo,
the melodic line featuring relatively slow note values, and a rather narrow

16

The four Ratnerian styles most notably left out of this lexicon are sensibility, sturm und drang,
galant, and pictorialism. Sensibility and sturm und drang utilize gestures and harmonic elements that
become central to the Romantic musical language. The galant style is absorbed by the song styles, and
pictorialism is replaced by programmatic music.

106

J. Dickensheets

EXAMPLE 7 Schubert, Quintet in C Major, Op. 163, i, mm. 6065.

range.17 In the second subject of the first movement of Schuberts Quintet in

C Major, Op. 163 (see Example 7), the first-cello line (followed in thirds and
sixths by the second cello) can be described in this manner.
LIED STYLE
Similar to the Singing Style is the Lied Style. Based on the German Lied,
it was used frequently by Romantic composers in second movements of
symphonic works. Its primary indicators are a rather simple, unornamented
melody (often folk-like in character) and supporting accompaniment that
frequently unfolds with Schubertian simplicity.18 Beethoven employs the
Lied Style in the second movement of his Op. 90 Sonata for piano (see
Example 8). In the second movement of his Third Symphony, Brahms pairs
a Lied-Style melody with Chorale-Style harmony and Musette inflection,
effectively creating an archaic atmosphere (see Example 9).
NOCTURNE STYLE
Although the nocturne as a genre was first introduced with the compositions of John Field, the style did not take on topical significance until the
1830s, when Chopin established himself as its master. In his hands it became
an instrumental (almost always pianistic) evocation of the aria, its melodic
material, reminiscent of solos and duets, accompanied by arpeggiated
17

Ratner, Classic Music, 19.

Several additional types of Lied-Style (or Song-Style, as they may also be called) topics exist
as well, including the Lullaby, Kriegslied, and Winterlied styles. The latter often has programmatic
ties to romantic poetry, and its defining characteristic is its suggestion of a sentimental longing that
often includes pain and suffering. George S. Bozarths article Brahmss Lieder Ohne Worte: The Poetic
Andantes of the Piano Sonatas (Brahms Studies: Analytical and Historical Perspectives, ed. George S.
Bozarth [Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1990], 34578) discusses the relationship between several of Brahmss
andantes and Romantic poetry, especially that poetry that is described as Winterlied.
18

Topical Vocabulary of the Nineteenth Century

107

EXAMPLE 8 Beethoven, Piano Sonata in E minor, Op. 90, ii, opening.

EXAMPLE 9 Brahms, Symphony No. 3, Op. 90, ii, mm. 1519.

chord patterns in the left hand. Chopins nocturnes also include virtuosic
fioritureevocations of the vocal ornamentations used in opera.19
The Nocturne Style took on the status of a topic once it was used
by other composers outside of its original genre. They emulated Chopins
lush cantabile melodic lines and broken-chord accompaniments, although
never quite capturing his elegance. In the best examples, fioriture are also
present, as found in Wagners Lied Ohne Worte from his 1840 Album fr
Ernst Benedikt Kietz (see Example 10).
Another example of this style is found in the Canzona Neapolitana of
Liszts Venezia e Napoli (see Example 11). Given the Italianate origins of this
piece, the inclusion of a Chopinesque nocturne in the middle of the third
movement is somewhat perplexing, more so since Liszts movement takes
19

1015.

Jonathan Bellman, Improvisation in Chopins Nocturnes (DMA Diss., Stanford University, 1990),

108

J. Dickensheets

EXAMPLE 10 Wagner, Leid Ohne Worte from the Album fr Ernst Benedikt Kietz (1840),
mm. 816.

the form of a dance. The ternary form contrasts fiery A sections modeled
on the tarantella with a calm B section in Nocturne Style. Despite the title
Canzona Neapolitana, this section is clearly a nocturne in the manner of
Chopin. Its broken-chord accompaniment evokes Chopins signature style,
the fairly simple melody is embellished with numerous fioriture, and Liszt
even begins to capture the aria quality of Chopins nocturnes when the
primary theme is accompanied by a second melodic line a sixth below. The
Chopinesque passage enhances Liszts portrait of Italy through its association
with both Italian opera aria and night music. When viewed in this light,
Venezia e Napoli combines the romance of Venetian gondolas, the fiery
tarantella (practiced throughout Italy, but associated here with Naples), and
the sophistication of Italian opera in the warm, balmy evenings of both
Venice and Naples.
ARIA STYLE
As the name implies, this song style is based on the elaborate, highly
virtuosic, specifically Italian opera arias of the nineteenth century. Its sweeping melodic lines are florid, usually encompassing a larger range than the
singing styles discussed previously, with difficult leaps and ornamentation reflecting its operatic origins. Accompanimental patterns range from
arpeggio figures to more complex orchestral gestures designed to feature
the melodic line. In Example 12, from the second movement of Liszts
Piano Concerto No. 1 in E Major, the Aria-Style melody is accompanied
by Nocturne-Style arpeggio figuresan appropriate setting, since Chopins

Topical Vocabulary of the Nineteenth Century

109

EXAMPLE 11 Liszt, Canzona Nepolitana, Venezia e Napoli, No. 3 (1838/39), mm. 200220.

nocturnes are so closely related to opera. Another example of the Aria Style
can be found in measures 4873 of the first movement of Webers Clarinet
Concerto in F minor (see Example 13).
STILE APPASSIONATO
While often associated with love or desire, as in the first movement of
Berliozs Symphonie Fantastique, this style can also represent a number
of other passions, including nationalism and religious fervor. Operatically
derived melodies are often written in octaves (although a single soaring
line can create the same effect) and are underscored by throbbing, repeated
chordsmost frequently in eighth-note or triplet patternsthat represent
the pounding heartbeat of barely suppressed passion.

110

J. Dickensheets

EXAMPLE 12 Liszt, Concerto No. 1 in E Major, ii, mm. 932.

Liszts Totenfeier (Funrailles) was one of three new pieces added

to the 1853 edition of his piano cycle based on Alphonse de Lamartines
cycle of poems, Harmonies potiques et religieuses. Its date of composition,
October 1849, corresponds with the death of several Hungarian revolutionaries, killed during the Hungarian War of Independence.20 Incorporating a
mood described by Humphrey Searle as heroic elegy, Funrailles is a mix
of styles, most notably the funeral march and Stile Appassionato.21 The opening section (described as mourning bells) ends in a lunga pausa, setting up
the B sections funeral march in honor of the revolutionaries. After a second
prolonged pause, Liszt introduces an elegiac theme, which builds into the
Stile Appassionato section shown in Example 14. The natural evolution of
elegy into Stile Appassionato seems to indicate Liszts impassioned support
of the cause of the revolutionaries.
20
Ben Arnold, Piano Music: 18351861, in The Liszt Companion, ed. Ben Arnold (Westport, CT:
Greenwood Press, 2002), 90.
21
Humphrey Searle, The Music of Liszt (New York: Dover), 56.

Topical Vocabulary of the Nineteenth Century

111

EXAMPLE 13 Weber, Concerto in F minor, Op. 73, i, mm. 4873.

VIRTUOSIC STYLE
Ratners eighteenth-century Brilliant Style continued to develop, growing
more and more virtuosic with the piano works of Beethoven, Weber, and
Mendelssohn. The Virtuosic Style emerged subsequent to the compositions
of Paganini and Liszt, and was used to evoke the most transcendental difficulties of execution. Encompassing musical gymnastics and all but

112

J. Dickensheets

EXAMPLE 14 Liszt, Poetische und Religiose Stimmungen, No. 7, Totenfeier (1849), mm.
98108.

unplayable passages, this extroverted style was used in everything from

etudes to sonatas, and while most often manifested in the piano music of the
time, it was not limited to that medium. Virtuosic piano figurations include
rapid octave passages, quickly moving parallel thirds, frequent chromatic
scalar patterns, and an endless list of other acrobatics designed to show
off the performers considerable abilities. In conjunction with these figurations are multiple melodic voices that must be clearly rendered. While
the variety of such passages is almost infinite, Examples 15 and 16 show
two types of figuration: Sigismund Thalbergs famous three-hand texture,
as realized in Liszts Mazeppa, and one example of the type of figuration
Schumann described as scales analysed [sic] in every possible way, knotted
in every conceivable manner; the fingers and hands placed in every possible
position, &c. &c.,22 from Saint-Sans Piano Concerto in G minor.

22

Robert Schumann, Music and Musicians: Essays and Criticisms, 2nd series, trans., ed., and
annotated by Fanny Raymond Ritter (London: William Reeves, 1880), 325.

Topical Vocabulary of the Nineteenth Century

113

EXAMPLE 15 Liszt, Transcendental Etudes (18371838), Etude No. 4, Mazeppa, mm. 1321.

EXAMPLE 16 Saint-Sans, Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 22, i, mm. 3943.

DECLAMATORY STYLE
This is the Recitative Style translated to instrumental music and intended
to evoke declamation or recitation.23 Nineteenth-century composers used it
most frequently to re-create the spoken word of the poet.24 Occasionally
marked recitativo, the style can function as a bridge between sections, or
as a separate declamatory passage used to highlight the Song or Aria styles.
Example 17from the programmatically titled Der Dichter Spricht (The
Poet Speaks) of Schumanns Kinderscenenshows this style set amid slow
Lied-Style melodic material. The style can also be found in the last measures
of Chopins Nocturne, Op. 32, No. 1 (see Example 18), and is frequently
incorporated into the Bardic Style (of which, more shortly). It is tied to

23

The Declamatory Style was also used by eighteenth-century composers; for example, in the
opening section of the first movement of Haydns Symphony No. 7.
24
This style is one of the clearest descendants of the eighteenth-century Empfindsamer Stil, and
Kofi Agawu goes so far as to state that this style is the poets natural language (Playing with Signs,
141).

114

J. Dickensheets

EXAMPLE 17 Schumann, Kinderscenen, Op. 15, no. 13, Der Dichter Spricht, mm. 1113.

EXAMPLE 18 Chopin, Nocturne, Op. 32, No. 1, mm. 6266.

literature via the poet, and to opera via its structure, which makes it useful
in many programmatic settings.
BIEDERMEIER STYLE
Biedermeier Style is used to signify an old-fashioned elegance linked with
a proper middle-class sense of propriety. While evoking a comforting nostalgia for an earlier time, it brings to mind the coffee-house musical styles
of a Vienna just a few years (or decades) in the past, creating an overriding mood of restrained Apollonian charm. Its musical gestures, including
symmetrical phrases (frequently four bars long), lyrical melodies, largely
diatonic harmonies, strong cadences, and the occasional use of an Albertilike bass line, bear a close resemblance to traditional Classical stylesstyles
epitomized by lesser eighteenth-century composers.25 Used by the so-called
Biedermeier composers and their contemporaries to conjure up a romanticized past, it was not limited to this particular time period and its associations
change depending on its context.
The excerpt from Schuberts Quintet in C Major, seen in Example 2, is a
quintessential example of Biedermeier Style. Four-bar phrase structure, light
25
This style is thoroughly explored in Kenneth DeLongs 1992 article, The Conventions of Musical
Biedermeier, in Convention in Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Music, 195223.

Topical Vocabulary of the Nineteenth Century

115

EXAMPLE 19 Weber, Der Freischtz, Overture, mm. 13845.

lyric melody, diatonic harmony in slow harmonic rhythm, and a character

closely tied to dance, all set this firmly in the world of Mozart. Another example comes from the overture to Webers Der Freischtz (see Example 19);
this particular passage stands out in sharp contrast to the folk-like music
that surrounds it. The melody is directly connected to Agnes and is featured
in her Act II aria. Because Agness father, Cuno, is the chief forester, the
highest-ranking man in the village, the use of Biedermeier Style to represent
Agnes serves a double purpose: It signifies both her middle-class status and
her virtuous demeanor.
TEMPEST STYLE
Dating back at least to Vivaldis Four Seasons, the musical evocation of
wind, rain, thunder, and lightening continued to evolve into the nineteenth
century, adopting several gestures to portray the powers of nature, which
included the supernatural or the demonic. Used extensively in operatic settings (e.g., the Wolfs Glen Scene of Der Freischtz and the Act III trio
of Verdis Rigoletto), it is also manifest in symphonic literature, including
Beethovens sixth symphony and Mendelssohns Hebrides Overture.
The Tempest Style is usually cast in a minor mode. Wind is represented
in the frequent use of diminished chords and running eighth-note patterns
that either undulate or change directions unexpectedly; trills in the timpani
signify thunder, and lightening can be portrayed by a sudden, fully orchestrated chord. Mendelssohn creates this effect in the Hebrides Overture (mm.
25156) with a dominant seventh chord played by the entire orchestra and
accompanied by the thunder of the timpani (see Example 20). Other frequently used gestures include string tremolos (often in the lower register),
agitation in the high strings to symbolize rain and wind, and chromatic passages to create an unsettled effect. Example 21 is taken from the height of

116

J. Dickensheets

EXAMPLE 20 Mendelssohn, Hebrides Overture, Op. 26, mm. 25156.

the storm in Niels Gades Ossian Overture. In the key of A minor, timpani
trills representing thunder in measures 206 and 207 lead to a fully orchestrated diminished-ninth chord lightening strike in woodwinds and low brass.
First presented in the flute and oboe, the primary melodic ideaa four-note
descending appoggiatura figure in sixteenth notes, followed by an upward
leap and a descending resolutionconstantly shifts in its transposition, as if
being blown about by the wind.
The Tempest Style can also be used to evoke battle or struggle; Rossini
employs it at the end of Act I of William Tell (in a major key) to underscore the plot tension as the hero rows the shepherd Leuthold, who has
killed a soldier to protect his daughters honor, across the lake to escape
the wrath of his pursuers. Tchaikovsky takes a more symbolic tack, using
it to represent the struggles of the young lovers in his Romeo and Juliet
Overture.

Topical Vocabulary of the Nineteenth Century

EXAMPLE 21 Niels Gade, Ossian Overture, mm. 20411.

117

118

J. Dickensheets

HEROIC STYLE
An expansion of Ratners Military Style, this topic carries with it strong
Beethovenian associations. Used frequently to signify victory, it is most
often delivered in a powerful major key. Its fanfare figures often encompass the entire orchestra and are frequently accompanied by timpani and
trumpet (recalling the long tradition of pairing these two instruments) in
an expansive show of heroism. This style can be incorporated into a number of other styles and dialects when a victorious affect is desired. Fanfare
figures can also be used to indicate class distinction, as in the topical representation of the aristocracy in Mendelssohns Overture to a Midsummer
Nights Dream. The last movement of Beethovens fifth symphony contains
the quintessential example of this style (see Example 22) and Schumann
uses it effectively in the first movement of his Piano Concerto in A minor,
Op. 54 (see Example 23).

DEMONIC STYLE
An early realization of this topic, used widely in both opera and instrumental music, is found in the famous Wolfs Glen Scene of Webers Der
Freischtz (Act II). Eighteenth-century musical evocations of the supernatural (for example, the return of the ghost of the Commendatore in Mozarts
Don Giovanni) made use of a style described by Ratner as ombramusic
related to the Fantasia Style representing ghosts, gods, moral values, or
punishments.26
The Demonic Style often makes use of the minor mode, but a harshly
wicked major key can also be employed in conjunction with frequent
diminished chords. Rising scalar patterns in the low register (scored frequently for cello or double bass) are almost always found ascending in
chromatic or altered scales, conjuring fantastic images of specters arising
out of the deep. Such ascending lines are frequently followed by cackling
passages of glissandi or agitated high strings and woodwinds, often outlining augmented or diminished chords. Low brass, trombones especially,
are featured in a forced, almost overblown manner, playing open intervals

26
Ratner, Classic Music, 24. Elsewhere he mentions the ombra scene from Act III of Verdis Macbeth,
in which the ghosts of the eight kings visit Macbeth (Romantic Music, p. 70). Allanbrook briefly mentions,
in Rhythmic Gesture in Mozart, the traditions of ombra that date back to obligatory scenes from Hell in
sixteenth-century intermedios (p. 361). Birgitte Moyer discusses the Ombra Style in more depth in Ombra
and Fantasia in Late Eighteenth-Century Theory and Practice, included in Conventions in Eighteenth- and
Nineteenth-Century Music. There are several fairly consistent characteristics that distinguish the ombra
style. These include the use of agitated and melancholy types of musical gestures, minor keys, tremolos
(occasionally using diminished chords), rising scales and arpeggios, and dramatic changes in dynamics
(pp. 293302).

Topical Vocabulary of the Nineteenth Century

EXAMPLE 22 Beethoven, Symphony No. 5, iv, opening.

119

120

J. Dickensheets

EXAMPLE 23 Schumann, Concerto in A minor, op. 54, i, mm. 13337.

that allude to Medieval settings.27 The Dream of a Witches Sabbath

(Songe dune nuit de sabbath) from Berliozs Symphonie Fantastique (see
Example 24) shows most of the basic techniques that produce the Demonic
Style. The third movement of Liszts Faust Symphony (see Example 25) and
Pandaemonium from Berliozs Damnation of Faust (Scene 19) are also
excellent examples.
These techniques can be further enhanced by the inclusion of sacred
musical symbols such as chant (as it appears in the beginning of the Wolfs
Glen Scene), chorales, or even fugato. These sacred styles are destabilized
by the surrounding musical gestures, which, in effect, invert their sanctity.
This is beautifully illustrated in the fifth movement of Symphonie Fantastique
(see Example 26). The music of the witches dance colors the Dies Irae in a
manner that corrupts the sanctity of the requiem mass.

27

The association of the trombone with the supernatural goes back to the seventeenth century.
Typical orchestral scoring in the ombra scenes of Baroque opera includes the trombone (Moyer, Ombra
and Fantasia in Late Eighteenth-Century Theory and Practice, 302), and this tradition continued with the
choirs of trombones in the ombra scenes in Glucks Orfeo and Mozarts Idomeneo (Allanbrook, Rhythmic
Gesture in Mozart, 361).

Topical Vocabulary of the Nineteenth Century

EXAMPLE 24 Berlioz, Symphonie Fantastique, Op. 14, v, opening.

EXAMPLE 25 Liszt, Faust Symphony (1857), iii, opening.

121

122

J. Dickensheets

EXAMPLE 26 Berlioz, Symphonie Fantastique, v, mm. 41426.

FAIRY MUSIC
Fairy Music represents the other side of the supernatural; the most famous
example of this topic is surely the opening of Mendelssohns Overture to
a Midsummer Nights Dream. Even though the style is found in numerous
variations, it features several characteristic gestures. The orchestration will
almost always feature a high, shimmering instrumentation that includes violins, flutes, piccolos, or the celeste. Glittering parallel thirds are common, and
many melodic patterns include stepwise movement or small leaps. Melodic
figuration rarely encompasses a range of more than a fifth, and sequences
occur frequently. Fleet, running eighth or sixteenth notes are most common, although the style can be found in slower passages, especially when
it is used to evoke sensual beings such as the nymphs from Smetanas The
Moldau.
Even though most examples are diatonic, the use of seventh, diminished, or augmented chords moves the style closer to the demonic, and in
some cases the two are blended, in essence creating evil fairies. When

Topical Vocabulary of the Nineteenth Century

123

the style is moved into the lower registers, other supernatural beings, such
as gnomes or ogres, can be easily conjured. Example 27, from Griegs Peer
Gynt, closely resembles the Fairy Music of Mendelssohn. Berlioz uses this
style in The Damnation of Faust, Part II, Scene 7 (Choeur de Gnomes et
de Sylphes); further examples can be found in Tchaikovskys Dance of the
Sugar Plum Fairy from Nutcracker and Liszts Gnomenreigen.

EXAMPLE 27 Grieg, Peer Gynt, Op. 23, Act V, No. 24, mm. 512.

124

J. Dickensheets

ARCHAIZING STYLES
A number of topics, many of which are identified by Ratner in Romantic
Music,28 signify the old in either courtly or religious terms. Most of these
styles evoke the worlds of the Renaissance or Baroque; however, two of
themthe Chivalric and Bardic styles (discussed in the following section
Dialects)are commonly used when a composer chooses to indicate a
Medieval setting, complete with references to knights, chivalry, and, in the
case of the Bardic Style, the ancient art of the epic.
Common archaizing styles include the Stile Antico (featuring numerous
white notes, suspensions, and points of imitation) and Romantic evocations
of the Baroque, including Bach-like fugal passages, highly controlled dissonances, driving Baroque rhythms, and the occasional dance rendered in a
clearly Baroque style. While some of these have been recognized and given
specific names in scholarly writings, many others exist as simply archaic versions of other topics or historical styles: bourre, gavotte, chorale, and so
on.29 Mussorgsky uses the Chorale Style, derived from Renaissance musical
textures, in The Great Gate of Kiev, to portray the grandeur of the ancient
religious center (see Example 28).

Dialects
In addition to the styles discussed previously, Romantic composers created
musical dialects: assemblages of musical gestures and other topics that, when

EXAMPLE 28 Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition (1874), No. 10, The Great Gate of Kiev,
mm. 3046.

28
Leonard Ratner, Romantic Music: Sound and Syntax (New York: Schirmer Books, 1992), 18276.
The references are scattered throughout his various discussions.
29
Included in this cluster of topics is Ratners Learned Style, a style he associates with the church
(Classic Music, 23). Another archaizing style discussed by Ratner in Romantic Music is the Motet Style.
He suggests Schumanns Symphony No. 3 in E major, op. 97, movement IV, is a recognizable example
of this style (Romantic Music, 74). Numerous other topics, both sacred and secular, were used as well to
signify an antiquated world: a world remote enough to be archaic, but close enough for nostalgia.

Topical Vocabulary of the Nineteenth Century

125

used together in conjunction, define a specific dialect, one that typically

calls up strong extra-musical associations. The primary differences between
dialects and styles are the number of gestures that are needed in most cases
to create a single dialect and their tendency to include other styles or types
as a part of their essential makeup. When most or all of the elements of the
dialect are present, it becomes a musical language that functions in much
the same manner as any other topic, yet with the added ability to sustain a
movement or entire musical work due to the variety of gestures and possible
permutations inherent in each dialect.
CHIVALRIC STYLE
Chivalric Style is one of several archaizing styles that speak to the Romantic
fascination with ancient things: old ideas, myths, and the glory of days
gone byin short, an idealized noble past.30 Jonathan Bellman introduced
this style in his 1995 article Aus Alten Mrchen: The Chivalric Style of
Schumann and Brahms, in which he identifies the dialects primary characteristics, which he believes were first codified by Schumann and then passed
through him to Brahms. Although characteristics of this dialect are found in
other topics (and may indeed be topics themselves), Bellman argues that in
Schumanns, and particularly in Brahmss, hands they become a dialect that
functions to evoke a specific frame of reference with its own moods and
associations. For the most part, it is not the mere presence of these characteristic musical gestures, but their presence in conjunction with each other
that creates the Chivalric Style. (The same may be said for all dialects.)
All the signature gestures are consciously reminiscent of earlier eras,
including fanfare figures, horn fifths, and the repeated notes of a trumpet call. An allegro 6/8 meter often evokes the galloping of horses, and
modal harmonic progressions provide an unmistakably archaic flavor. The
affect created by this style is heroic, noble, and specifically Medieval in
association.31 One of the best examples in Schumanns hands is Aus Alten
Mrchen from Dichterliebe, op. 48.32 Brahms used this dialect extensively,
deftly employing it in his Op. 33 Magelone-Romancesmusical settings of
the adventures and romances of Peter of Provence, a twelfth-century count,
as retold by Ludwig Tieck. All the central gestures of the Chivalric style
are employed within this cycle, their extra-musical significance bolstered by
its specifically pseudo-medieval text.33 Example 29 shows Brahmss use of
the Chivalric Style within a symphonic setting, in the first movement of his
Symphony No. 1, shortly after the beginning of the development.
30
31
32
33

Bellman,
Bellman,
Bellman,
Bellman,

Aus Alten Mrchen,

Aus Alten Mrchen,
Aus Alten Mrchen,
Aus Alten Mrchen,

11718.
11819.
130.
120.

126

J. Dickensheets

EXAMPLE 29 Brahms, Symphony No. 1, Op. 68, i, mm. 23445.

BARDIC STYLE
This closely related dialect shares many of its gestures with the Chivalric
Style. Romantic fascination for the fictional poet Ossian and his evocations
of the British Isles in millennia past inspired numerous Ossianic artistic creations, especially in music and painting. While not all musical examples can
be tied directly to Ossianic poetry, evocations of the fabled bard of ancient
times are abundant in Romantic compositions.
In his 1998 article Schumanns Ossianic Manner, John Daverio outlines several distinguishing musical features of the Bardic Style, including
the use of minor modes frequently followed by tender major keys. The harp
is central to the Bardic Style, and is either physically present in the orchestra
or evoked by another instrument (rolled chords on the piano, for example).

Topical Vocabulary of the Nineteenth Century

127

Parallel chords, open voicings, keys related by thirds, and fanfare motives
reminiscent of battle or the hunt, all produce the same evocation of the
ancient found in the Chivalric Style.34
The significant difference between the Chivalric and Bardic styles is the
direct connection of the latter to the epic poem. Throughout, the voice of the
bard speaks in sweet melodies, frequently accompanied by harp (or harp
evocations), periodically using the Declamatory Style. The harp signifies
both the ballad itself and the role of the storyteller.35 Dramatic mood changes
and a hint of vocal declamation support the illusion of the epic. Large-scale
Bardic works often incorporate the Tempest Style, using highly dissonant
harmonies and agitated melodic figures to provide dramawhich, in epic
stories, almost always includes heroic battles. When realized in music, these
battles are rendered using a combination of Tempest, Military, and Heroic
styles, effectively re-creating the battles, transforming the primary melody
(the voice of the bard) with each subsequent change in style. The effect is a
musical epic retold by a poet, complete with danger, heroism, chivalry, and
often, romance.
One of the clearest examples of the Bardic Style is found in Niels Gades
Ossian Overture (see Example 30). Folk-like melodies surround the plaintive
solo theme (the voice of the bard), which is accompanied by the harp.
Heraldic trumpet fanfares grow out of the bards theme and a full-fledged
stormrepresented by one of the best examples of the Tempest Style in all
of romantic literaturecompletes the mosaic of moods.
Tchaikovsky opens his Romeo and Juliet Overture with a mystical,
other-worldly passage accompanied by harp (see Example 31), and while
he does not maintain his use of the Bardic Style throughout the entire piece,
it serves as an introduction and unmistakable connection to Shakespeare, the
Bard of Avon. Mendelssohn also employs the Bardic Style in his Hebrides
Overture, using instrumental evocations of the harp rather than the actual
instrument. Schumann used it in many of his late songs (as discussed by
Daverio) and Brahms incorporated it into the Edward Ballade, op. 10,
no. 1.

34
John Daverio, Schumanns Ossianic Manner, Nineteenth-Century Music 21/3 (Spring 1998),
25158. Daverio identifies several styles that make up what he calls the Ossianic mood. These include
other-worldly passages, military or hunt styles, and folk styles (p. 257). The alternation of mystical,
dreamlike music with military passages and folk songs combines to create an epic-style work. This
summarizes his very cogent description of Ossianic-style epic music. I am simply extending his basic
premise to include those works not directly tied to Ossianic writings.
35
Ratner describes the plucking of a stringed instrument or the evocation of it as style brise (using
the Baroque term), and gives it the status of a topic in Romantic Music (p. 276). Although this can be
used by itself, it is most often found in conjunction with other gestures in styles indicating old or folk
style. For example, in the Bardic Style it evokes the harp, in the Spanish Style, the guitar.

128

J. Dickensheets

EXAMPLE 30 Gade, Ossian Overture, mm. 7177.

Exotic Dialects and Folklorism

Enthralled by all things exotic, Romantic composers employed a myriad of
styles intended to evoke cultures, whether foreign or marginalized, that were
markedly different from the European mainstream. These cultures included
the geographically remote, such as India and Asia, or those closer by, such
as Spain and Italyand, of course, the Gypsies. Composers devoted little
effort to actually re-creating authentic musical gestures, as they preferred to
evoke these cultures in a manner their audiences would understand, using
musical languages that were essentially Western.
Because numerous books and articles have been devoted to exploring
the exotic in nineteenth-century music, I will not provide detailed discussion
here.36 However, as legitimate Romantic topics, they warrant inclusion in this
lexicon, and several are listed in Table 3.

36
These writings include Jonathan Bellmans The Style Hongrois in the Music of Western Europe
(Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1993); The Exotic in Western Music, ed. Jonathan Bellman
(Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1998); Ralph Lockes A Broader View of Musical Exoticism,
Journal of Musicology 24/4 (2007), 477521; and David Korevaars Exoticism Assimilated: Turkish
Elements in Mozarts Sonata, K. 331 and Beethovens Waldstein Sonata. op. 53, The Journal of
Musicological Research 21/3 (2002), 197232, to name but a few of the many articles and books that
have been published on this subject in the past twenty years.

Topical Vocabulary of the Nineteenth Century

EXAMPLE 31 Tchaikovsky, Romeo and Juliet Overture, Op. 45, mm. 1134.

129

130

J. Dickensheets

TABLE 3 Exotic Dialects Commonly Used in Nineteenth-century Music

Dialect
Style
Hongrois

Oriental
Style

Spanish
Style

Chinoiserie

Indianist
Style

Musical Gestures

Examples

Use of the violin with extroversion and

abandon; often includes cimbalom
imitations. Characteristic features such as
spondee and alla zoppa rhythms. Triadic,
nonfunctional harmony with sudden
shifts in tonality and juxtaposition of
distant chords.a
Evocation of the saber-rattling barbarian
(representing the warrior or pirate) and
the harem (sensuality and forbidden
pleasure). Melody in a single mode or
hovering around a single pitch with
frequent melismas or undulations.
Repeated rhythms, either of a Military
Style or free, indicating the exotic and
sensuous.b Musical gestures are intended
to evoke the timeless mystery of the east
and desert life.
Evokes several characters as stereotyped
symbols of freedom from authority:
smuggler, bandit, Gypsy. The Spanish
dancer is the emblem of the Andalusian
Gypsy; the Gypsy woman is also the
sensual, erotic symbol. A guitar, or the
evocation of it, is usually found, and
Spanish dance rhythms, especially the
Bolero, are used extensively. Five-note
turns on the fifth-scale degree and
phrygian cadences are frequent.c
Evocations of the far east. Found primarily
in late Romantic and fin de sicle works.
Includes pentatonic scales; precious,
miniaturized gestures, such as trills and
short melodic fragments; harmonic
structure influenced by Impressionism:
parallel movement and extended triadic
structure.
Includes three stereotypes: The Brutish
Savage, The Noble Savage, and The
Laughing Stock. Borrows from the alla
turca. Characteristics include: strong
accents on the first and third beats; use
of percussion, including tambourines,
bells, and drums; a four-beat imitation of
tom-toms with octave leaps; pentatonic
scales; diminished sevenths and minor
modes to indicate the war dance.d
(Related to the Demonic Style).

Schubert, Quintet in C Major,

Op. 163, iv, opening theme.
Liszt, Hungarian Rhapsodies.
Brahms, Quintet for Clarinet
and Strings, Op. 115, ii,
opening theme.
Ravel, Sheherazade (1907).
Borodin, Prince Igor (1889).
Flicien David, Les dsert
(1844).

Bizet, Carmen (1875).

Chopin, Bolro, op. 19.
Verdi, La Traviata (1853), Act
II, Scene 2.

Mahler, Das Lied von der Erde,

iii (19081909).
Puccini, Turandot (1926).
Ravel, Mother Goose Suite (Ma
Mre loye), 1910.

Dvorak, Symphony No. 9,

Op. 95.
Flicien David, Danse de[s]
sauvages (1847).
George Frederick Bristow,
Arcadian Symphony, op. 50.
Numerous examples can be
found in the Wa-Wan Press
(5 vols.) published from
19011911.
(Continued)

131

Topical Vocabulary of the Nineteenth Century

Table 3 (Continued)
Dialect

Musical Gestures

Italian
Style

Used by composers to identify Italy as

other. Incorporates the Aria Style and
specifically Italianate folk-dance styles
such as the saltarello. Popular Italian
songssuch as those sung in Viennese
wine houses (accompanied by style brise
to evoke a mandolin),e and the Venetian
Gondolier song with its lilting six-eighth
meter and soulful tuneevoke a simpler
way of life, neither too rural nor too
exotic.f
The use of styles and gestures associated
with a given region. Used frequently in
opera and programmatic works; often
tied to folk legends and stories. This
symbolism is retained when transferred
to absolute music.

Folklorism

Examples
Mendelssohn, Symphony
No. 4 (the Italian).
Liszt, Venezia e Napoli.

Mussorgsky, Boris Godunov.

Jean Sibelius, Finlandia.
Isaac Albeniz, Iberia.
Louis Moreau Gottschalk, The
Banjo.

a
Jonathan Bellman, The Style Hongrois in the Music of Western Europe (Boston: Northeastern University
Press, 1993), especially 93130.
b
Ralph P. Locke, Cutthroats and Casbah Dancers, Muezzins and Timeless Sands: Musical Images of the
Middle East, in The Exotic in Western Music, ed. Jonathan Bellman (Boston: Northeastern University
Press, 1998), 10433; and Richard Taruskin, Entoiling the Falconet: Russian Musical Orientalism in
Context, in Bellman, The Exotic in Western Music, 20212.
c
James Parakilas, How Spain Got a Soul, in Bellman, The Exotic in Western Music, 14164.
d
Michael Pisani, Im an Indian Too: Creating Native American Identities in Nineteenth-Century and
Early 20th-Century Music, in Bellman, The Exotic in Western Music, 22038.
e
Ratner refers to this as a Barcarolle in Romantic Music, 172, 175.
f
Other exotic dialects exist as well, although not in as widespread use. The dialects discussed here all
occur in more than one country or geographical area and have the same or similar significance in all the
compositions. This universality is the primary criteria for their designation as exotic dialects.

OTHER SURFACE LANGUAGES

Of course not all musical gestures can be analyzed in terms of topics.
Some nineteenth-century composers used significant ciphers and motifs,
many of which were relatively hidden to all but those privileged few in
whom the composer confided. One of the best known examples of this is
the ASCH cipher in Schumanns Carnaval, which was explained in a letter to Moscheles in 1837.37 Nevertheless, with the help of primary sources,
scholars have unearthed many of these symbolic gestures, providing further insights into their corresponding compositions.38 Moreover, Romantic
37
John Daverio, Robert Schumann: Herald of a New Poetic Age (New York: Oxford University Press,
1997), 140.
38
Two excellent examples of works dealing with this type of analysis are Eric Samss The Songs of
Robert Schumann (New York: Norton, 1969) and Paul Merrick, Revolution and Religion in the Music of
Liszt (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987).

132

J. Dickensheets

composers had a predilection for making musical references to other composers and works, both contemporary and historical. These quotations
or allusions have many associations, depending on their context, and
although not topics themselvesplay a similar role in stylistic analysis. Once
again, Schumanns Carnaval provides ample material, including references
to Schumanns friends, alter egos, and contemporary composers; for example, Chopin clearly references the signature nocturnes, and Paganini pays
homage to the violinists virtuosic abilities. In the same vein, Brahms pays
homage to Beethoven by either quoting or paraphrasing his music in several compositions, including the Piano Sonata in F# minor, and, of course,
the first symphony.

TOPICAL ANALYSIS: BRAHMSS SONATA NO. 2 IN F# MINOR,

OP. 2, MOVEMENT IV
A brief analysis of the fourth movement of Brahmss Piano Sonata No. 2 in
F# minor, Op. 2, provides an example of the importance of topical analysis
in looking at nineteenth-century compositions. This sonata, written during Brahmss youth, has been the recipient of numerous criticisms, mostly
regarding the rather unconventional formal structure of the finale. Colin
Masons critique of this work is fairly typical of the type of discussions that
surround this particular movement.
The finale begins with a rather useless introduction, having little connection with the movement, which properly begins with the theme quoted
in Example II [not included here, but corresponding with Example 33].
Then, through a stronger passage, Brahms brings us to the entry of this
entrancing music, Example XI [corresponds to Example 34]. After a passage of grandiose and regrettably irrelevant chords, he returns to the
themes already quoted, developing them with intriguing variations and
inversions, until the recapitulation, which is not, however, allowed to
appear before another version of the senseless, big chords has been
given. The movement is concluded by a coda of obscure origin and a
final return of the opening absurdities. . . . The exposition of the first and
second subjects, their fine development and recapitulation, are concise,
with no padding, technically masterly and musically delightful. The introductory rubbish and similar interjections split the music into definable
sections, but they have nothing to do with it really. And though it is a pity
that they are there, one can quite easily ignore them and delight in the
real music, which in its excellence, coherence and complete relevance
equals that of the symphonies.39

39

Colin Mason, Brahms Piano Sonatas, The Music Review 5/2 (May 1944), 11516.

Topical Vocabulary of the Nineteenth Century

133

EXAMPLE 32a Brahms, Sonata, Op. 2, iv, opening.

EXAMPLE 32b Beethoven, Symphony No. 5, Op. 67, i, mm. 5962.

Although this analysis succeeds in illustrating Brahmss strong ties to

Classical sonata form, it does not truly explain the structure of the movement,
leaving large sections of music unaccounted for. By contrast, topical analysis
can provide some answers to questions of formal structure that are raised
but not answeredby the type of formal criticism found in Masons quote.
The rather useless introductory material criticized by Mason is clearly
in the Bardic Style, signaling that Brahms is not employing a simple sonata
form, but rather one with overtones of the Ballade.40 The opening melody,
presented in stark octaves, bears a striking resemblance to the second theme
in the first movement of Beethovens Fifth Symphony (see Examples 32a and
32b). This introductory theme represents the narrator or, in literary terms, the
poet, and is followed by suspensions in parallel movement, the evocation
of a harp, and a passage in Declamatory Styleall clear Bardic indicators.
Without doubt, this introduction, rather than being useless (Masons term),
is directly related to the poetic ballad by virtue of the Bardic style.
Since Brahms has so clearly marked his intent to present a ballad, we
should be able to find characters and dialogues within his sonata-form structure. Indeed, characters are clearly delineated by the topics Brahms uses for
the themes of the sonata form. Theme one (which Mason determines as the
proper beginning of the movement) quotes the two initial bars used for the

40

James Parakilass book Ballads Without Words (Portland: Amadeus Press, 1992) provides invaluable information regarding the common characteristics of Chopins Ballades, as well as Brahmss own
Op. 10 Ballades. Similarities can be drawn between this sonata movement and Chopins techniques for
composing Ballades. Although Brahms most likely would not have known Chopins Ballades, Parakilas
states that he would not have needed them as a model for his own Ballades (p. 141). Similarities to
Chopins works in the movement under consideration include naked octaves representing the narrator
(on p. 58 Parakilas discusses this aspect of Chopins works), strongly symmetrical structure that is almost
stanza-like, and clear-cut characters in dialogue with each other. All of these traits are discussed by
Parakilas.

134

J. Dickensheets

EXAMPLE 33 Brahms, Sonata, Op. 2, iv, mm. 2528.

EXAMPLE 34 Brahms, Sonata, Op. 2, iv, mm. 7172.

narrator, this time in the Lied Style,41 followed by two bars of gentle melodic
material (see Example 33). The direct link to the introductory theme suggests that the narrator and the first character are one and the same, casting
the ballad in an autobiographical light.
The agitated gestures and disruptive octave patterns of the transition
(Masons stronger passage) indicate an approaching conflicta necessary balladic element. The second character (theme two) is set in the Style
Hongrois, although in a tone more reminiscent of the dance hall than of
actual Gypsies. Its initial presentation in A minorthe parallel minor of the
relative major keyis appropriate to this topic.
The close relationship of theme two to theme one is striking (see
Example 34). Not only is their general melodic direction the same, but their
intervallic similarities (use of octaves, fourths, and fifths) and the overall
structure of the first halves of both themes are very closely related. The
similarity between the two themes, and the introductory material, could suggest that the narrator and both characters are the same person: Not only is
this ballad autobiographical, the action of its plot seems to be internala
struggle perhaps of warring desires or egos.

41

Structurally, the movement has Ballade-like symmetry. Of the four initial repetitions of the theme,
three are four bars long and the last is five with the ending elongated. Each repetition of the theme is
changed somewhat in the ending bars. An agitated scalar figuration interrupts these repetitions, setting
up the conflict that is necessary for all ballads (Parakilas, Ballads Without Words, 35). Another repetition
of the four-bar theme is followed by two repetitions of the second half of the thematic material, each up
a third. The first is two bars long and the second is three. This is followed by two bars of closing material
that is similar to the earlier agitated interruption. The second key center and defining theme (character
two) also consists of nine sections and the transition and closing sections are divided into three sections
each. The overall structure of the exposition suggests a stanzaic symmetry.

Topical Vocabulary of the Nineteenth Century

135

EXAMPLE 35 Brahms, Sonata, Op. 2, iv, mm. 9599.

A third character is introduced in the closing theme, providing yet a

third side to the character of this ballad. Using the same melodic material as the narrators theme and character one, the closing theme adds the
familiar rhythmic pattern of the opening of Beethovens Fifth Symphony,42
suggesting the heroic quality of this third character (Example 35).43 At this
point, the sonata form is interrupted by Masons grandiose and regrettably
irrelevant chords, which serve to remind us of the Ballade structure by
evoking, in a rough way, the harp.
The development is, in essence, a dialogue between the primary characters (themes one and two). Opening with a repeat of the heroic closing
theme, it continues with modal flourishes (again rough evocations of a harp),
which are interrupted by a virtuosic passage. Brahms uses the agitated character of the Virtuosic Style to provide dynamic forward movement as the
characters interact. The first theme is presented in a fugato style, the first
part of the theme in counterpoint with the second (mm. 16166), to continued chordal accompaniment. The combination of the Lied Style with the
Learned Style lifts the first character to an elevated state. Brahms uses the
development section to deepen the distinctions between the two characters: theme one, with its strong Beethovenian associations, now combined
with the Learned Style, clearly represents a high style, while the second
theme continues to represent the popular and unrefined, and is in a sense
unreconstructable.
Quietly, in F# minor, the first character makes its reappearance in the
recapitulation. Returning to its original Lied Style, it has shed all the agitated
transitional material: The character seems at peace with itself. Indeed, the

42
Of all the analyses studied, only William S. Newman (The Sonata Since Beethoven [Chapel Hill:
University of North Carolina Press, 1969], 333) concurs with my analysis of the origin of this theme.
(Even though Newman indicates mm. 11015 rather than the closing theme material in mm. 9598, I
believe he is referring to the same material.) Admittedly, this theme also resembles Claras theme in
Schumanns Impromptu on a Theme by Clara Wieck, op. 5, but I believe that this is coincidental, as
Brahms was reported to have been unfamiliar with Schumanns works until several years later (Jan
Swafford, Johannes Brahms: A Biography [New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1997], 73).
43
The autobiographical elements are too intriguing to ignore, even in this short analysis. Two sides
of the poets character, middle-class simplicity (symbolized by the Lied Style), and popular folk elements
(portrayed by the Style Hongrois) in a decidedly low style, all watched over by the shadow of Beethoven,
pose the possibility that the poet is indeed Brahms himself.

136

J. Dickensheets

only transitional material in this compact recapitulation consists of a twobar arpeggio on C#7, followed directly by a distorted final statement of the
second character in F#. Here the melody is altered, its grace notes missing,
confirming the popular style that was suggested at the start. Even though
the theme later returns to its original form, its popular demeanor remains:
This character has not settled at all. Surrounded by the agitated figures from
the exposition, it has continued to embrace conflict. When the heroic closing
theme returns, it is followed by two bars of octaves that continue the conflict,
as fragments of the second half of theme two are bounced between the two
hands in tempest-like agitation. The short coda of obscure origin (mm.
26170) begins with the conflict of the Virtuosic Style, but quiets into a series
of arpeggios: a harp-like preparation for the postlude (a final return of the
opening absurdities) that closes the ballad. There has been no reconciliation
and the alter egos remain firmly separated.
Through the use of contemporary topics, Brahms has effectively evoked
a ballad within a sonata-form movement. Topical content portrays three
characters and a narrator who are, melodically, one and the same, even
though each has its own representative topic. There is an ending to the
story, but no resolution for the second character. While not programmatic,
the movement tells a story, perhaps of warring alter egos struggling for
reconciliation. This movement is, indeed, unconventional, but not, it would
appear, the product of a youthful composer letting his passions overrule his
technical abilities. Rather, Brahms used contemporary musical vocabularies
to turn the sonata form into a Ballade, thereby creating, in essence, a musical
epic, something that conventional formal analysis cannot reveal, but that is
readily discernable using topical analysis.44

CONCLUSION
Although not exhaustive, this lexicon of musical topics, styles, and dialects
specific to nineteenth-century music provides a much-needed tool for the
analysis of Romantic compositionsworks that frequently defy standard
analytical processes. Topics frequently outline narrative structure in compositions that may otherwise appear to be absolute. In particular, a number
of notable musicologists have employed topical analysis for the purpose of
disclosing poetic or narrative structures in nineteenth-century instrumental
music, using it to uncover the musical perceptions of nineteenth-century

44
This discussion is expanded in chapter 6 of my dissertation, The Nineteenth-Century Sonata Cycle
as Novel (University of Northern Colorado, 2004). Topical analysis of the entire piece revealed strong
connections to E.T.A. Hoffmanns Kater Murr and Jean Paul Friderich Richters Flegeljahre.

Topical Vocabulary of the Nineteenth Century

137

audiences.45 The use of topical analysis can help us discern much in a musical work that would otherwise be lost with the passage of time: popular
subject matter, hidden programs, topical references, symbolisms specific to a
particular composer, and other veiled features. Understanding the demands
and expectations of contemporary audiences allows us to better comprehend the music itself, and topicsin their extra-musical referentialityare
uniquely positioned to provide a glimpse into those expectations. Through
them we are able to ascertain the musical predilections of the Romantic
audience, and thereby better re-create that experience in the modern
concert hall.
Pedagogically, topics can be used as a medium for instructing the musically uneducated. Leonard Ratner demonstrated their value by incorporating
topical discussions into two general music texts, The Musical Experience and
Music, The Listeners Art.46 Romantic musical topics lend themselves particularly well to this sort of application, due in no small part to their frequent
appearances in film music. For most of the general population of this country, exposure to art music is limited to television and movies, and since
film composers make extensive use of historical topoi, film scores provide a
ready introduction to the concept of musical referentialism as well as entry
into those musics that inspired them.
Admittedly, topical analysis will always be subjective, in that it requires
the interpretation of the analyst. However, given the consistent use of topics
throughout the common practice period, we cannot ignore the surface languages presented to us by composers writing during the Romantic era. The
play of topics and styles was no less important to them than it was to composers of the eighteenth century, providing, as it did, the musical vocabulary
that spoke to and was understood by contemporary audiences. For modern
scholars and listeners to join in that comprehension, it is imperative that
we understand the way topics and styles functioned in any given period.
Topical analysis, when combined with primary source research, becomes an
invaluable instrument, affording both a unique glimpse into the vocabularies
used by Romantic composers and a look beneath the surface of their musical
creations.

45

Over the past few decades, topical studies have appeared by Jonathan Bellman (Chopins
Polish Ballade: Op. 38 as Narrative of National Martyrdom [Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010]),
George Bozarth (Lieder Ohne Worte), John Daverio (Schumanns Ossianic Manner), Owen Jander
(Beethovens Orpheus in Hades: The Andante Con Moto of the Fourth Piano Concerto, NineteenthCentury Music 18/3 [Spring 1985], 195212), and Kofi Agawu (Music as Discourse).
46
Leonard Ratner, The Musical Experience: Sound, Movement, and Arrival (New York: W.H. Freeman
and Company, 1983), 6171; and Music, The Listeners Art (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company,
1977), 12328.

Copyright of Journal of Musicological Research is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied
or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission.
However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.