Peripetie 1 Arnold Schoenberg Learning Objectives To understand

Peripetie 1 Arnold Schoenberg

Learning Objectives • To understand the terms expressionism, atonal and serialism • To understand the main features of expressionism which are used in Peripetie • To understand what a hexachord is and how they are used in Peripetie

Questions 1. What is strange about what the cellos and double basses have to play in bar 2? 2. What unusual effects do you notice in the trombones in bar 2? 3. What interesting instruction do you find in bar 34? 4. What about bar 62? 5. Comment on the dynamics in bar 64.

Expressionism • Early 20 th century (1910 -1930) Vienna, Austria • One powerful emotion per piece • Features: • • • Atonal (no keys; all 12 semitones equal) Extreme dissonance Angular (disjunct) melodies Irregular rhythms Use of extreme range and technique of instruments Use of extreme dynamics Find an example of each of these

Emotion • What emotion do you think Peripetie portrays? • Peripetie means “A sudden change of fortune”

Serialism • Invented by Schoenberg in the 1930 s • Came after Peripetie (1909) – Peripetie is not serialist • Involves creating “rows” of all 12 notes and then using them in order • Guarantees that each of the 12 notes will get the same amount of airtime! • Very difficult to write • Very difficult to listen to

Timeline Romantic Impressionist Expressionist Serialist • 1830 -1900 • Chopin, Wagner • 1890 -1910 • Debussy, Ravel • 1910 -1930 • Schoenberg, Hindemith • 1930 -1950 • Schoenberg, Webern, Berg

Hexachords • Bar 2: Write down all of the pitches used on the first chord. Cross out any duplicates. How many are you left with? • Bar 6: Do the same with the woodwind parts • A hexachord is a chord which contains 6 out of the 12 semitones • The chords (harmony) and tunes (melody) are both built up using these • The complement of a hexachord is…?

More Questions Do these on a separate sheet please 1. In which country was expressionist music invented? 2. Name two features of expressionism found in Peripetie and give a bar number where they can be found. 3. What is the quietest dynamic used in the piece, and where does it happen? 4. Give an example of an unusual instrumental effect used in Peripetie.

Even More Questions 5. Is the bassoon part in bar 8 conjunct or disjunct? 6. Is the clarinet part in bar 10 -13 conjunct or disjunct? 7. Write down the notes in the hexachord used in the last bar (NB horns in , double basses in ). 8. Work out the complement of this hexachord.