An Die Musik

Melody and Motive 149
FIGURE 7.x "Litanei": Contrapuntal structure, section B.
atively stable tenths so characteristic of the El» tonality and of section A. The
bass then underscores the half cadence in E\>, m. 6, with a P5 below the
voice, a stability that concludes the first phrase of section B. This P5 stabil-
ity then contrasts with the great tension of the half cadence in m. 8, where
the voice descends from an IN to a tenth to a seventh above the bass Bk This
cadence marks the conclusion of section B; the tension prepares for the res-
olution that occurs with the return of section A and the now familiar tenth
of melodic G over bass Et, m. 9.
The two moments in the song where both the melody and the har-
mony are the most complex and unstable are mm. 5 and 7. As Figure 7.5
shows, despite the chromaticism, the voice sings for the most part in conso-
nant tenths against the descending bass; these relatively stable tenths and the
even more stable octaves and fifths can help the singer to align with the ever-
shifting bass, especially over the dissonances (augmented sixth, notated "+6,"
and sevenths).
In general, performers can gain much control over pitch and ensem-
ble difficulties by rehearsing Lied with careful attention to the contrapuntal
structure. The singer must always be aware of how the vocal line combines
with the accompaniment, and the pianist must take equal care to articulate
the underlying harmonic structure with clarity and consistency.
Compound Line
Another important element of melodic design occurs when a melodic
line seems to have at least two parts, one in an upper and the other in a lower
register of the single line. This division of a melodic line into several differ-
ent melodic strands, each in a different musical plane or register, is called
COMPOUND LINE, and the resulting melodic design is both complex and
extremely expressive.14
This particular aspect of melodic design is exemplified with another
famous Schubert song, his elegant setting of "An die Musik." The poem by
Schober is a lyric that thanks the art of music for its comfort and transcen-
dent power. Read the poem aloud and perform or listen to the song. The
150 The Language of Music
Lied is well known for its expressive leaps, the rising P4 and more importantly
the descending 6th; this underscores the fact that melodies that feature
many leaps often result in a compound line. Schubert's setting, in fact, cap-
tures the richness of the art of music in a vocal line that extends into three
different melodic spaces, each focusing upon one of the three notes of the
tonic triad:
1. A low strand moving between D and the Fit a 3rd above

2. A middle one about A
3. An upper one a P4 above, focused upon high D
We analyze compound line as we do any melody, within its tonal

and harmonic context. As Figure 7.6 shows, the song remains in D major
throughout, with applied chords focusing on V (through Gtt) and vi (through
Al). This relatively simple harmonic and tonal design contrasts with the
melodic complexities that flourish above. In fact, the recurrence of a small
number of harmonies throughout the song enables the listener to focus more
closely upon the many leaps and increasing development of the melodic line.
Looking now at the vocal line, the song's melody subdivides into four
four-bar phrases. During the first two phrases, the song's vocal line moves
freely from one space to another. Then, within the third phrase, the differ-
ent registers get somewhat connected through an arpeggiation, and during
the final phrase, the upper two registers are completely merged through a
new use of stepwise motion.
Figure 7.6 traces the three separate strands. In order to highlight the
line's triple focus, we give all three tonic triad pitches the open-note notation
usually reserved for the single primary tone, using slurs to connect pitches
within each strand. The dotted slur now has special importance: it traces the
reconnection of individual strands over the course of the song. The open-
ing phrase introduces the three strands: the line begins on A (5) in the mid-
dle space; this is followed immediately by a leap to the second, uppermost
space around high D (1). The final strand then begins with the leap down
to Fit (3) in m. 4, and Fit opens up the lowest strand that spans the descend-
ing 3rd, Ftt-low D (1).
Tracing each strand in turn, the dotted slur indicates that the high D
of m. 3 is temporarily suspended by the leap down to Fit in m. 4. The upper
register then returns in m. 11, as the D moves to its upper N, E, a motion that
recurs again in m. 13.'r' The middle register, meanwhile, begins on A in m.
3 and continues with its N, B, in m. 4. The dotted slur shows how this regis-
ter is then neglected until m. 7, where the A-B figure recurs only to be aban-
doned once more until m. 12.
The lowest strand, then, is the most developed at the outset of the
song. The Fit of m. 4 connects to low D by 3rds (mm. 5—6), first by leap and
Melody and Motive 151
FIGURE 7.6 "An die Musik": Compound line.
then by step. This register then yields to the A-B figure of the middle strand
in m. 7, but returns for two bars in mm. 8—9. The melodic development then
shifts from the lower to the middle and upper strands, and after the Fl of
mm. 11-12 and 13-14 the lowest register is neglected until the Ft and low D
of the final cadence in m. 18.
As suggested earlier, phrase 3 begins a process of bringing together the
heretofore separate strands. The V7 arpeggio of m. 13, E-Cl-A-G, fills in the
6th descent E to G and connects by 3rds the upper and middle strands. The
152 The Language of Music
final phrase 4 completes the process, as characteristic leaps of 6ths and 4ths
give way to more stepwise motion, most notably the filled in P4, A (middle
strand)-D (upper strand). The stepwise connection between the middle A
and upper D combines the two otherwise isolated lines just prior to the
close. Schubert then brings back the expressive 6th leaps, D—Fl and A—Ct to
recall the initially separate strands at the song's conclusion; in this way, the
lowest strand maintains its separation even as the upper two strands coalesce.
All the registers then become linked through the expressive piano postlude,
which creates a descending RH line from high D through middle A down to
low D. Interestingly, the only note missing in the scalar octave descent is the
middle range Ft that, as primary tone, had such prominence throughout
(mm. 4, 6, 9, 12, 14, and 18).
This analysis underscores an important challenge for the singer: How
to connect the different registers, particularly over the course of several mea-
sures? The singer can clarify the compound line by using timbre and
nuances of dynamics to connect the various registers over time. For exam-
ple, the A of m. 3, the B of m. 4 and the A-B of m. 7 can be linked by a sim-
ilar tone and dynamic level. In this way, the singer creates a line that is lyric
despite the extensive leaps and rests, and the vocal line will flow in a broad
sweep despite the line's inherently fragmented quality.
Motivic Analysis
Our final analytic approach to melody in the Lied involves a shift in
emphasis. In previous analytical approaches, we focused upon the integrity
of the melodic line; in this last one, however, we detach individual melodic
elements from the line and trace how they are reiterated over the course of
the song. These separate melodic units or cells are called MOTIVES and the
process of tracing the recurrence of such units is called MOTIVIC ANALYSIS.
By definition, a motive is a small (as small as two notes) melodic ele-
ment that is readily identifiable as a repeated musical idea and that recurs
systematically throughout a work. A motive can occur with or without a dis-
tinctive rhythmic identity;"' it recurs in what are generally called "transfor-
mations," altered forms that include transposition, use of sequence, inver-
sion, retrograde, and other varied states."
We already identified the most frequently used melodic motives in the
context of linear analysis; the neighbor-note figure (N or IN), 18 the disjunct
or linear 3rd, and the disjunct or linear P4 are all melodic figures that read-
ily occur in tonal music and can easily recur throughout a given Lied. In fact,
motivic analysis will seem very similar to linear analysis. The difference in the
two approaches is that linear analysis focuses on deeper levels of structure
and the contrapuntal structure of melody and bass, while motivic analysis
explores both deeper-level and more surface-level melodic elements. While

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Melody and Motive 149

FIGURE 7.x "Litanei": Contrapuntal structure, section B.

1. A low strand moving between D and the Fit a 3rd above

We analyze compound line as we do any melody, within its tonal

FIGURE 7.6 "An die Musik": Compound line.

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