GCSE Music Analysis - Schoenberg - Peripetie
Peripetie General Points
- Composed by Arnold Schoenberg
- 4th piece in a set of 5 orchestral pieces composed in 1909.
- First performed in 1912.
- Schoenberg was very important in the expressionist movement and was the pioneer of atonal music.
- Performed by a large orchestra with all the sections.
- Instrumentation changes rapidly throughout creating lots of contrasts in timbres.
- Performers are required to play at extremes of ranges.
- Use of unusual effects, such as the cymbals being played with a mallet and a cello bow.
- 90 people are needed to perform the piece.
- Made up of many short fragmented motifs combined in different ways to create interest.
- Melodies are disjunct and often sound angular.
- Octave displacement is used in the main melodies.
Rhythm, Metre and Tempo
-The metre changes between 3/4, 2/4 and 4/4.
-The Tempo is 'Sehr Rasch' which means very fast.
- The rhythms are complex and varied and change very quickly. In parts of the piece schoenberg layers a number of different rhythmic patterns on top of each other to create a complex contrapuntal texture.
Tonality and Harmony
- The piece is atonal (it has no key).
- Uses lots of dissonant harmonies.
- Chords and melodies are built up from hexachords (a group of 6 notes).
Texture and Dynamics
- The piece has a largely contrapuntal texture, but does have occasional homophonic moments.
- Complex textures are built up through the use of imitation and inversion.
- There are frequent and sudden changes in dynamics which leads to extremes in contrasts.