Analysis of Die Winterreise XXIV Der Leiermann (Ursprungliche Fassung) Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Text by Johann Ludwig Wilhelm Muller (1794-1827)
Becca Carter MusTH 311 Form and Analysis Nagel Fall 2011
I. Analysis of Schubert’s Der Leiermann
When taking a clear look and analysis of the piece Der Leiermann by Franz Schubert, the form starts with an eight measure introduction. In the first two measures of the introduction, the only chromaticism within the entire piece is located. The leading tone to the dominant key, the E sharp, is followed by scale degree one and five. Schubert could possibly have written this simple chromaticism as a way to symbolize the organ grinder or hurdy-gurdy player cranking up his instrument. The hurdy-gurdy is a stringed instrument that requires the player to crank a rosined wheel against the strings to produce a sound. The chromaticism in the beginning could represent the instrument being warmed up with a few cranks before starting the motive that comes back throughout the piece. The introduction includes both types of the motive in the piano. The first motive (measures 3 and 4) is where the piano makes a leap from tonic to scale degree three and the second motive (measures 6 and 7) is where the piano makes a leap from tonic to scale degree five. In the piano motive, the second measure always has a sixteenth note rest. This could possible serve as another form a symbolism to the piece. If a hurdy-gurdy is not cranked continuously, the sound will stop. The organ grinder could possibly not be cranking the instrument long enough to push through the phrase and therefore, create a sudden stop of the flow of music. This sixteenth note rest also adds to the unrest and unhappiness of the piece by causing anticipation for the next beat.
Then the song moves onto the A section from measure 9 to measure 24. Because of the repeat signs, there are two A sections. The music is the same, but the text is different because the song is strophic composition of the piece. The A section can be broken down into two different phrases. The first phrase is from measure 9 to measure 16. With this first phrase, the first piano motive is played both times the piano motive is present. The vocal line also has its own motive in the first phrase. The vocal line leaps down and then
has an upward motion to it. The second phrase (measure17 to measure 24) of the
A section showcases the second piano motive. It also involves a different vocal
motive that has a leap up and then downward motion.
After
the repeated section there is a small six bar transition from measures 25 to
30. The text of the last stanza of the text is repeated and the motive of the
piano does something that has not be seen yet in the piece. The piano leaps to
scale degree six and then has the leading tone resolve up to tonic before
coming back down. This is also the first time in the entire piece that listener
hears a shift in dynamics. In bar 27, there is a crescendo and a decrescendo in
the piano.
At
measure 31, we see new a new motive occur in the vocal line. Throughout the
entire piece thus far, the vocal line has come in 2 bar motives. At measure 31,
the vocal line breaks this pattern of 2 bars and goes into a 3 bar motive that
occurs twice. This is the B section of the piece (measure 31 to measure 36).
Here the piano breaks away from the motive that it has held throughout the
piece, but still continues the same harmonic structure that is within the
piece. In measure 36, something happens that has not taken place before and
does not happen anywhere else in the entire piece. For the first time, the
dynamics of the piece hits its first and only forte. Finally the coda comes in
the last three measures of the song. Here if one were to look at the piece from
a hypermetrical standpoint, the viewer would see that the piece ends on an
upbeat instead of a downbeat. The adds to the tension and unrest that was
express earlier and throughout the piece with the sixteenth note rests. So when
looking back over the whole piece, the form is Intro, AA, Transition, B, and
Coda.
But
even though this piece compiles information, examples, and forms that we have
studied in class since the beginning of the semester, there is one thing that
is missing from this piece that is a very significant aspect of Western
Common-Practice Era. There are no clear cadences in the piece. And if there are
cadences from one section to another, they are weak and never strong and final.
There is no sense of resolution at any moment in the piece.
Then there is the harmonic structure of the piece. The basic structure of the piece is I-V with a chord change every measure. There are a few hick-ups once every few measures, but the harmonic structure of the piece is kept simple and the vocal line reflects that by remaining simple as well. The vocal line does not do anything incredibility complex.
When
it comes to the text, the music is intertwined very intimately with the words.
The rhyme structure of the first two stanzas of the poem is AB. Rhyme structure
A falls within the first phrase of section A and rhyme structure B falls within
the second phrase. And in the first four stanzas of the poem, the singer is
talking about the hurdy-gurdy man, but in the last two stanzas of the poem, the
singer changes from talking about to talking to the hurdy-gurdy man. Once the
transition happens in the text from talking about to talking to, the music
changes and the motive changes for the voice. Schubert wanted to emphasize the
difference in the text through the music. And in the text the singer talks
about how poor and old, and the hurdy-gurdy man is not well like and does not
have many people around to listen and enjoy his music. Therefore, the piano
accompaniment is simple, just as the life that the man leads.
Lastly,
we take a look at the relationship between the speaker and the organ grinder. I
personally think that Schubert chose this poem for this piece because the organ
grinder represents Schubert himself. Schubert was not a very popular composer
until after his death. Maybe this was Schubert’s way of dealing with the
emotions of not succeeding and obtaining the goals he had for himself in life.
The organ grinder could possibly be playing one of Schubert’s pieces and not
even know who the piece was composed by because of Schubert’s low status in
life.
II. Subjective Short Essay
I personally am not a performance major, but am an education major. But no matter what specific major I am, I am a music major and therefore I perform music. I take lessons to better my performance skills because that is what being a comprehensive musician is. I think that a music major should be a musician above all else. They should not put education, performance, technology, or business above the actually music. Because of this idea, I make sure that I become the best musician I can be and therefore, I work on my performance practices, theories of education, and also theory and analysis.
How does one perform music if they do not understand how music works? Of course someone could learn a song by rote or they could learn the piece within understanding the underlying harmonic structure or the reasons why the voice leading is arranged a certain way. But can they really make music from the piece if the do not understand what is happening and why it is happening. I do not think that anyone can be a comprehensive musician without the understanding and knowledge that can be taken from theory and analysis.
Even if someone where just beginning in their theory career, they would start to learn a vocabulary that would enable them to communicate with other musicians in a way that is effective and successful in getting the idea across.
In my own lessons, I am playing the piece Tambourin Chinois by Fritz Kreisler. The piece has enharmonic scale passages within them. And at first I was having a difficult time learning and understand how the passages worked and were to be performed. Finally, I was able to understand that I was playing an F flat major scale and enharmonically that meant I was playing an E major scale. Simple theory skills were what enabled me to make a passage of music easier.