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SETS AND NONSETS IN SCHOENBERG'S
ATONAL MUSIC
ALLEN FORTE
1Atonal is used here in the now conventional sense to designate the nontonal, pre-
twelve-tone music.
2An approach to a theory of atonal music has been made in [1]. A more recent
refinement and extension will be found in [2].
3George Perle, the exception, cites some instances, but his readings are insufficiently
detailed and often contain mistakes.
4Some knowledge of now standard terms is assumed.
* 43 -
PERSPECTIVES OF NEW MUSIC
Piano Pieces, Op. 23, which is based upon only three hexachords
and their complements.
In the course of this exposition, it is hoped that certain notions
concerning Schoenberg's use of compositional materials will be
laid to rest. Among these are the notion of the "basic cell,"5 the
idea that tonalistic formations, such as the triad or augmented triad
are important components, the notion that some elements are
"independent details,"6 and the idea that familiar configurations,
such as the whole-tone scale and "chords in fourths" play signi-
ficant roles in the music. It is indeed unfortunate that these views
have become as widely disseminated as they have, for they tend to
obscure Schoenberg's unique genius.7
Before proceeding to the main task, it is necessary to introduce
some elementary symbols. All references to pitch-class sets will be
by set-names.8 A set-name consists of a digit representing the num-
ber of elements in the set, followed by a hyphen, followed by two
digits representing the position of the set on a fixed list. (There
seems to be no need to reproduce the complete list here, since
only a small number of sets are cited and since there is no extended
discussion of properties of sets and relations among them.) Thus,
for example, 6-14 is the name of a six-element set occupying the
fourteenth position on the list. If a Z precedes the position number
this means that the set is one of a pair A, B such that A has the
same total interval-content as B but is not inversionally or trans-
positionally equivalent to it. The bar above a set-name signifies
complement. For instance, 5-15 = 7-15 means that 5-15 is the
complement of 7-15. One final convention, which is perhaps more
familiar to readers of this journal. Transposition of a set S is de-
fined as the addition (mod 12) of some positive integer t to each
element of S. Occasionally this value will be given in connection
with the musical examples-for instance, t = 11.
It must be emphasized that set-names are only labels; they in-
dicate nothing about the function of a particular instance of a set.
This can be dealt with only at a level of analysis higher than that
attained in the present endeavor.
5As described in [3].
6Also in [3].
7Schoenberg is partly and indirectly responsible for this, of course, by virtue of his
discussion of chords in fourths, etc. in the latter part of the Harmonielehre.
8Asin [1] and [2].
*44
SETS AND NONSETS IN SCHOENBERG'S ATONAL MUSIC
n^~~~~~i. .=7
.. I*
6-16
6-1 6-Z3 6-16 nd two explicit forms 6-16 616 6-Z39
6-Z 6-16 6-16 6-Zio 6-Zio of 6-Zio)
Ex. 1
9Perle [3], Ex. 7, discusses the "intervallic cell" and describes the structure in terms
of trichords. Brinkmann [4], p. 63, emphasizes what he considers to be "a remarkable
accumulation of tonal elements," by which he refers to the fifth (B to E) spanned by the
uppermost line and the juxtaposition of major and minor third (G*-G). In this tonal-
evolutionary posture he emulates von der Null [5], p. 102.
* 45 -
PERSPECTIVES OF NEW MUSIC
Langsam
|i+b--- 1i 1 i
Ex.2a
- 46 -
SETS AND NONSETS IN SCHOENBERG'S ATONAL MUSIC
6-Z19 6-Z3
8-12 8-7
5-21
4-19 4-19
.^~~ ' ~I/ --
XJ. , _
_ V
-
P -*~ . .*4jF
$ ^
-/l. i= f - M
Ex. 2b
Not untypically, large sets are formed, within which there is a good
deal of detailed structuring. As shown in the sketch-like repre-
sentation of Ex. 2b, the two 8-element sets, 8-12 and 8-7, are
followed by the hexachords 6-Z19 and 6-Z3. These sets and their
complements, as well as all other sets indicated in the example, are
significant components over the entire music. Indeed, almost all
the set-types utilized in the composition are exemplified here: all
seven 4-element sets, all but four 5-element sets (which include
two pairs of Z-related sets), and all but one complement-related
pair of hexachords.
Within the large set 8-12, the hexachord 6-Z44 is formed first.
This hexachord type is typical of much of Schoenberg's atonal mu-
sic, and little wonder, for it is his motto (Es-C-H-B-E-G). Its com-
plement, 6-Z19 (inverted and transposed), subsequently occurs
twice in the passage quoted: under 8-7 and immediately following.
Observe that 6-Z19 in the latter situation contains the complement
of 8-12, 4-12, as well as a new 4-element component, 4-8.
The 5-element set, 5-32, under 6-Z44 has no immediate conse-
quences in the passage. However, the set 4-Z15 (one form of the all-
* 47
PERSPECTIVES OF NEW MUSIC
* 48 -
SETS AND NONSETS IN SCHOENBERG'S ATONAL MUSIC
a 6-z
ft 5
6-z44 \ 6-z Io
n,.,/ ,^m !
---
-Z f
p, 9:0. =$
b
6-Z10 6,-10 \
J- 1b
Ex. 3
* 49 -
PERSPECTIVES OF NEW MUSIC
the lower staff, the final one a replica of the first statement of that
set in m. 1. Finally, 6-Z10 is formed once again between the staves,
as indicated.
From the foregoing examples it should be apparent that a sys-
tematic description of Schoenberg's way of combining sets is fea-
sible-a typology of segmentation for his music. Nothing of the
kind will be undertaken here; instead, examples of some basic kinds
of structuring will be discussed and illustrated.
The embedded single set, which has been shown in Exx. 2 and
3, is, of course, a common type. An especially interesting case is
that in which a set contains its complement. (See, for instance, Ex.
6.) Similarly, simple overlapping has been shown (Ex. 1). The com-
bination of embedded sets (inclusion) with overlapping sets (inter-
section) is an obvious source of complicated configurations. Pas-
sages of this kind will be illustrated below.
Not at all obvious, however, is a remarkable feature of
Schoenberg's music that might be called overlapping in a single di-
mension.13 Example 4, from Herzgewachse, Op. 20, is typical. The
celesta part alone, except for the first three notes, consists of over-
lapping forms of 4-7, transpositionally related, with t = 11. Notice
that the repeated notes in the third form of the set effect an ex-
pansion, disrupting what would otherwise be a regular patterning.
Here, as in other aspects of his compositional process, Schoenberg
eschews the routine and obvious.
Celesta
m.17
-1.
I gw - o I ?
We
Ex. 4
13This was first suggested to the author by Steven Gilbert's dissertation [6], in which
melodic lines are subjected to a systematic analysis in terms of trichordal subsets.
* 50 -
SETS AND NONSETS IN SCHOENBERG'S ATONAL MUSIC
The lower part of Ex. 4, Ex. 4b, shows the overlapping effected
by voice and celesta combined. While the middle part of the con-
figuration is made up of overlapping forms of 4-18 and 4-19, be-
ginning and end yield 4-12 and 4-7, respectively.
A clear example of a nonset is provided by the total configura-
tion shown in Ex. 4b: the 10-element "chromatic" set 10-1. In this
case the significance of the whole is entirely dependent upon the
significance of its parts.
Overlapping of a more complicated kind is shown in Ex. 5, ex-
tracted from the ninth piece of Pierrot Lunaire, Op. 21.14 Of the
two lines, the upper forms 4-18, the lower 4-8. At the same time,
the vertical pairing indicated creates disjoint forms of 4-18 and 4-8,
in that order. In the vertical resulting from the notes tied over the
barline, the upper hexachord is 6-Z43, a set that occurs as the
first hexachord in the piece (and in the same context as its com-
plement, 6-Z17-not shown here). One additional set is marked,
4-13, which is brought in with the three notes F$ -G-A. All three
sets, 4-13, 4-8, and 4-18, are stated in the previous music and are
significant sets throughout.
4-18 4-18
m.4
Ex. 5
? 51 ?
PERSPECTIVES OF NEW MUSIC
m.24
6-Z44
4-7 _ 1
5-21 4-7
:-9 I.119
4-19 4-7 , U
5-21 5-21
Ex. 6
4-19
L I
8-19
Ex. 7
15It seems doubtful that Travis's characterization [8] of this final sonority as a
functioning tonic chord is reasonable, in view of the substructures that have been pointed
out. Every component has a specific contextual meaning, in terms of this piece as well
as with reference to the entire set of pieces, whereas the "triad," C-E-G, is a nonset.
Compare Ex. 9 below.
* 52 ?
SETS AND NONSETS IN SCHOENBERG'S ATONAL MUSIC
,^ fkSi^~ _i-^-s^ w -:
a,Q
-9t
-is1l
4-19 9
4==$LJFLI Q Ja~~~~~.17 1
\ \ Fb-
4-19 4-19
6-20 L__
6-20
Ex. 8
* 53 -
PERSPECTIVES OF NEW MUSIC
Ft-G-Bb-D
B-Eb-F# -G
Bb-B-D-Ft
As a final comment on Ex. 8 it might be pointed out that the
"augmented triads" visible from the notation are not significant
structural components and, in fact, are a fortuity of notation or,
perhaps, a notational concealment-which would not be untypical
of Schoenberg.18 Example 11 below shows another instance.
The point that a total set may be significant only in terms of its
subsets was made above in connection with Ex. 4. Also common in
Schoenberg's music is the situation in which a subset is significant
only in terms of a superset. An amusing case is shown in Ex. 9,
m.3
4-19
4-Z15
6-Z44
Ex. 9
from the last movement of Pierrot Lunaire, Op. 21: the nonset B-
E-Gt that occurs at the end of the opening passage. This "triad" is
meaningful only as a subset of 6-Z44 (Schoenberg's motto again)
and 4-19, as shown in Ex. 9. Further, its two lower notes combine
with Db and F to form 4-Z15. Both tetrachords are prominent in
the opening phrase. There can be little doubt that the use of a 6
chord here is a bit of Schoenbergian whimsy. Indeed, the entire
opening, with its surface "simplicity," may have been intended to
dupe some unsuspecting critic.19
Thus far, some basic types of set usage have been examined and
illustrated and some general comments have been made. More com-
plex passages will now be considered, passages in which inclusions
and overlappings are compounded to create elaborate textures.
18Nor is it untypical of Stravinsky. Similar passages abound, for example, in The
Rite of Spring.
19There have been a few willing victims. H. H. Stuckenschmidt, for example, writes:
"The impression of simplicity is strengthened by presenting the theme in thirds. It is in E
major, with a 6/4 chord in the third and sixteenth bars." [10], p. 71.
* 54 ?
SETS AND NONSETS IN SCHOENBERG'S ATONAL MUSIC
Example 10a provides the notation for the opening phrase of the
third of the Three Piano Pieces, Op. 11, a complicated work that
has perplexed several writers, and not without reason.20 The under-
lying set structure of the music is difficult to sort out and almost
as difficult to represent.
Example 10b is a representation of the sets that occur in the
opening "thematic" statement. Only sets of five or more elements
are shown. The 4-element sets, which are of considerable impor-
tance in the music, will be discussed below.
The passage divides naturally into two parts, corresponding to
the rhythmic articulation on the fifth sixteenth-note. The large set
formed in the first part, 8-Z15, is followed by the 7-element set,
7-Z18, which contains its complement, 5-Z18, as indicated. These
two large "top to bottom" sets are almost matched in importance
by the two large "left to right" sets, 6-Z44 and 8-18; but, whereas
8-Z15 and 7-Z18 are disjoint, 6-Z44 and 8-18 overlap.
The complement of 6-Z44, 6-Z19, is formed at the very outset
within 8-Z15, and the first hexachord within 7-Z18 is again 6-Z44.
The latter overlaps, as shown, with 6-5, and 6-5 here is the same
pitch-class set as it is when it occurs as the melodic theme of the
second movement. Within 6-5 are statements of 5-7 and 5-Z18, the
latter embedded within its complement, as mentioned above. These
two 5-element sets pair off against 5-7 and 5-21 in 8-Z15, and all
three 5-element sets interact throughout the movement. Although
additional, related sets are introduced subsequently, the six sets
shown here are fundamental components of the entire composition.
Still a further level of complexity is introduced by the 4-element
sets, as shown in Ex. 10c. Three of these are obvious: 4-Z15, the
opening motive in the lowest voice; 4-19, in the uppermost voice;
and 4-19 again, as the first four-note vertical.
The large "left to right" set, 8-18, decomposes into overlapping
tetrachords of four types, and the last of these, 4-16, occurs twice,
as indicated. Only the first (4-19) and last (4-16) verticals are sig-
nificant sets. The line beginning on Ct brings in additional sets by
overlapping, as shown separately at the bottom of the main part of
Ex. 1 c. All subsequently have various roles in the music.
20See, for example, Perle [3], Ex. 19, p. 21. Brinkmann [4], p. 121, has little of
significance to say about the opening of the movement, but is concerned with the octave
doublings, the motivic manipulations (motivische Arbeit), and the rhythmic "accelera-
tion" that begins in m. 2.
* 55 ?
PERSPECTIVES OF NEW MUSIC
Bewegt
6-Z446-Z44 E E E A A C G#
b C F F D
\ C C Ab
8-18
C1 DI FI GI D C# A
A GI D C C C D D IC
8-Z 15 7-Z18
\ E E A G#|
C C C F F Ab DI
c
Cl D# Fl G# D C# A
D# F# G# D C# A
4-Z
4-12 465 /
4Ex. 10
Ex. 10
* 56 ?
SETS AND NONSETS IN SCHOENBERG'S ATONAL MUSIC
6 - Z-_-
3
6-Z37
---! ........... W
a _ Y _.j.__^ a _
Lif=__
C .
I t Is - - -= __
6-20 formed by every such pair of "augmented triads"
A kb b
d
1 6-Z6
6-Z6
formed
tri7pl-eof
formed
by every
by every
such
such triple of
"f ourth
"fourths" .-.--- __ __
.11
04-
C-ft-kt 4
e ? Z _ - -- -- _ _
ev fo d u
Ex. 11
* 57 ?
PERSPECTIVES OF NEW MUSIC
* 58 -
SETS AND NONSETS IN SCHOENBERG'S ATONAL MUSIC
m.19
A,
A
,
-
K ^frsrr~\ .
,~~-- -- --2
-
-~>' '-r p ---= ' '
~v~~~~ A, A, 9=L:B4ft w
_:-~1~51b- | , i2
_
a(
---
~~~~~~~~~~~I I . .
----~~~~~~~~~~~ rb~=
6-1-4
Ex. 12
* 59 ?
PERSPECTIVES OF NEW MUSIC
* 60 -
SETS AND NONSETS IN SCHOENBERG'S ATONAL MUSIC
23As mentioned earlier, Perle [3], Ex. 65, gives a virtually correct reading of the
opening, assigning letters A through E to constituent sets. His set D, however, is a trans-
position of C (6-Z10), with t = 1, and the latter set is not the first occurrence of 6-Z10.
This intersects with the first four notes of his A (6-Z44) and is, in normal order: Ab-Bb-B-
C-D-DO. Further, his E (7-16) is a nonset, and several other forms of the basic hexachords
occur in the opening passage that he quotes.
* 61 ?
PERSPECTIVES OF NEW MUSIC
fewer than four or more than eight elements are nonsets, for the
most part. Second, there is a specific limitation on the vocabulary
of sets. Sets with diatonic implications such as 6-32 (e. g., C-D-E-F-
G-A) are not components of the music, nor are whole-tone or chro-
matic formations.24
Exceptions to the preceding statement are to be found in the
first of Schoenberg's atonal compositions, Fifteen Poems from
"The Book of the Hanging Gardens" by Stefan George, Op. 15. In
particular, the second, third, fifth, eighth, and fourteenth songs
contain short whole-tone passages. These result from procedures
that are residual with respect to the "transitional" late tonal works,
such as the First Chamber Symphony, Op. 9. The third of the Five
Orchestral Pieces, Op. 16 also contains a recurrent component that
combines diatonic and whole-tone elements. This however, is a very
special case that can be interpreted only with reference to the mu-
sic in its entirety.25
One general aspect of the mode of occurrence of a set can easily
be inferred from the examples, but should perhaps be made explicit
at this point. A set almost invariably consists of contiguous ele-
ments; each element of a set intersects with or is adjacent to at
least one other element of the set.26 This does not rule out the pos-
sibility that sets may be formed over rests, as in Ex. 11.
An element may be repeated within a set. Such repetitions are
not arbitrary, but effect overlapping (either in the vertical or hori-
zontal dimension) without change of pitch-class content, hence im-
mediate temporal expansion of the set.
24In this regard, Schoenberg's music differs markedly from that of Stravinsky. The
latter, for example, in The Rite of Spring, does not hesitate to intermingle sets of the
familiar type with sets that belong to the new (at that time) vocabulary of atonal music.
25See [2] for an analysis of this movement.
26In the later atonal music, however, there is a tendency to use noncontiguous forma-
tions. One such has already been cited, without comment (Ex. 3b). Noncontiguous sets
at the surface level, such as the thematic restatement in m. 34 of the first piece of the
Three Piano Pieces, Op. 11, provide additional and obvious exceptions.
* 62 ?
SETS AND NONSETS IN SCHOENBERG'S ATONAL MUSIC
27Consider, for example, Boulez [13], p. 270, on the early atonal music: "Here I
observe a preponderance of intervals if the unfolding is horizontal, or of chords if it is
coagulated vertically, which are the least native to the classic harmony based upon super-
imposed thirds."
28Many of the new harmonies of course occurred in the late tonal music. For ex-
ample, the set 6-Z44 occurs in m. 2 of the first of the Two Songs for Voice and Piano,
Op. 14 (1907-1908) and as the first hexachord in the bass line of the second song from
the same work.
29There is room for speculation here. As far as one can ascertain from existing evi-
dence, it was not Schoenberg, but Webern who composed the first atonal work, his
Five Songs from "The Seventh Ring" by Stefan George, Op. 3 (1907-1908).
* 63 -
OF NEWMUSIC
PERSPECTIVES
REFERENCES
[1] Forte, Allen: "A Theory of Set Complexes. "Journal of Music Theory,
Winter, 1964.
[2] Forte, Allen: The Structure of Atonal Music. Yale University Press,
forthcoming.
[3] Perle, George: Serial Composition and Atonality. University of
California Press, Berkeley, 1968.
[4] Brinkmann, Reinhold: Arnold Sch8nberg: DreiKlavierstiicke Op. 11.
Franz Steiner Verlag, Wiesbaden, 1969.
[5] von der Nill, Edwin: Moderne Harmonik. Leipzig, 1932.
[6] Gilbert, Steven E.: "The Trichord: An Analytic Outlook for Twentieth-
Century Music." Yale University Ph. D. Dissertation, 1970.
[7] Rufer, Josef, comp.: Das Werk Arnold Schoenbergs. Barenreiter,
Kassel, 1959.
[8] Travis, Roy: "Directed Motion in Schoenberg and Webern."Perspec-
tives of New Music, Spring-Summer, 1966.
[9] Schoenberg, Arnold: "Analysis of the Four Orchestral Songs Opus
22." Tr. by Claudio Spies. Perspectives of New Music, Spring-Summer,
1965.
[10] Stuckenschmidt, H. H.: Arnold Schoenberg. Tr. by E. T. Roberts and
H. Searle, Grove Press, New York, 1959.
[11] Craft, Robert: "Schoenberg's Five Pieces for Orchestra." Perspectives
on Schoenberg and Stravinsky, ed. by Benjamin Boretz and Edward T.
Cone, W. W. Norton & Co., Inc., New York, 1972.
[12] Babbitt, Milton: "Twelve-Tone Invariants as Compositional Determi-
nants." Problems of Modern Music, ed. by Paul Henry Lang, W. W.
Norton & Co., Inc., New York, 1960.
[13] Boulez, Pierre: Notes of an Apprenticeship. Tr. by Herbert Weinstock,
Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1968.
* 64 ?