Music Theory 601 — Analytical Techniques I, Fall 2018 Name ________________________________ 

Reading Questions: Cone on Schubert’s ​Schwanengesang​ (for Thurs. 11/15) 

 
 
What is a strophic setting? What aspects of a poem might motivate a strophic setting (if it is not 
motivated purely by conventions of the genre)? 
Has stanzas, composers may want to emphasize uniformity of the poem with consistent metrical 
patterns and periodic verbal recurrences 
Somewhat like theme and variations 
 
On “In der Ferne”: 
How does Cone characterize the poetic meter? 
Metrical uniformity, dactylic dimeter 
How does Schubert introduce irregularities into the phrasing? Cone interprets this as an ongoing 
process throughout the song: how so? 
Taking a simple motive that sets the text and varying the rhythm of the motif, stretching it out with 
some fermata ideas and what not 
How does Schubert return to the tonic minor in the last stanza?  
N6? 
Schubert follows a formula for repeating text in each stanza. What is it, and how is it important both to 
matters of phrase rhythm and the harmonic progression of the last strophe? 
Use of an echo? 
Repeating its 8th line expanding the two measures into 5 by further expanding the 2nd measure (pseud 
Sicilienne rhythm) 
Harmonically outlines a period 
 
On “Kriegers Ahnung”:  
What is different about the form of this song?  
More through composed, returning only briefly to the opening material 
What is the motive that Cone identifies as important? What are the scale degrees of the notes involved?  
Dominant of C minor with its upper neighbour, 5 and 6  
What are its different forms of the motive? What is the basic chromatic conflict it expresses and how is 
this manifest at the end of the first stanza?  
G-Ab-G, G-A-Ab-G, or G-Ab-A-G, G-Ab-G-F#-G, pulling towards the dominant? Has a fermata at 
end of first stanza 
How might the key of the second stanza be explained by the motive?   
Pull to bVII? 
 
On “Der Atlas”: 
Is the ternary form of “Der Atlas” demanded by the organization of the text? How does Schubert 
arrange the text to get the ternary form? 
2 stanzas to 3, return of the first two lines 
What is different about the texture of the middle stanza, particularly in how the vocal part relates to the 
voices in the piano? 
Before was doubling the bass, but now is more independent texturally 
 
Songs as High Art 

● How do songs and storytelling determine musical content and what not 
● German lied tradition 
○ Before, piano lines seem fairly simple and what not,  
● Schubert mostly as a song composer for most of his life 
● Schwanengesang  as  his  last  cycle,  the  texts  were  not  put  together  by  the  poets,  one  set  by  Rellstab, 
the other set by Heine 
○ Other cycles like Winterreise and Die Schoenemullerin one poet and one clear story 
● Forms 
○ Strophic 
■ Comes out of the form from poetry 
■ This  is  where  poets  would  be  writing  poems  that  work strophically, then composers 
write the song in a strict sense of strophic 
■ POem  written  in  ballade  type  of  form,  generally  model  of keeping a strictly strophic 
form, and often strophic idea continues to underlie the compositional form 
■ Always looking for elements of strophic form 
■ Text-based stuff 
■ Thinking more of it as the main model 
■ Often finding a ternary form, some sort of return to original idea in the last stanza 
● Still can find the strophic elements within the ternary form 
■ Looking to the rhythm and structure of the text 
○ Through-composed 
■ Constant development of material throughout 
● Schwanengesang: In der Ferne 
○ Text  in  couplets,  lots  of  similarity  between  the  couplet  rhymes,  last  couplet  of  stanza  kinda 
different 
○ Shortness  in  the  lines,  short  units  with  very  consistent  rhythm  throughout  in  the  poem,  so 
the rhythm of the poetry can translate to the music easily 
○ Hypnotic sense to the rhythm 
○ Some  sort  of  desire  to  the  homeland  that  can’t  be  fulfilled,  unrequited  love  causing  all  an 
inability to see beauty, comes back to the obsessive idea that has initiated it 
○ 6 in minor key is furthest flatward you can go, and has a strong downward pull 
○ Flat side colours and sharp side colours 
○ 5 as the anchor, with upper neighbour as motive 
○ Piano with a low bass to make sure that it stays below the bass 
○ 6/4 chords often show the tonic, bass being a dominant note 
○ Voice  often  doubles  a  line  in  the  piano,  and  if  it  doubles  the  bass  then  it  is  often indicative 
of a male subject 
○ Higher range often more emotional intensity