00100				CHAPTER X
00200	 
00300	 
00400	 
00500	          THE COMPLETE MUSICAL MOVEMENT:  WAGNER
00600	 
00700	 
00800		It is undoubtedly Wagner's intention to leave many things in
00900	the harmony of the Prelude to %2Tristan und Isolde%1 ambiguous and
01000	unresolved.  In this case ambiguity is a positive value which is
01100	used in a specific manner to convey the particular attitudes of the
01200	opera -- attitudes of mystery and unfulfilled desire.  (These same
01300	attitudes permeate much 19-century art.)  On every level, things
01400	are relatively difficult to pin down.  Which are chord notes and 
01500	which are non-chord notes?  When is the ever-present chromaticism
01600	functional and when non-functional?  What tonic is really being
01700	defined at any given time?  Etc., etc.  
01800	
01900		The first three unaccompanied notes give us no immediate clue
02000	to any function.  In the second measure the situation is still
02100	doubtful.  There, the famous "Tristan" chord appears.  Our first hope
02200	of understanding the tonal roles of the sounds thus far heard comes
02300	in measure 3 with the easily recognized, dominant functioning, E%47%1 chord.
02400	As we scan the score ahead, we find very few simple triads in
02500	rhythmically strong positions and virtually no direct dominant-tonic
02600	relationships.  Thus the various temporary tonics tend to be somewhat
02700	obscured.  Although the overall key of a-A generally seems to persist,
02800	there are rather few A chords and the Prelude finally establishes the 
02850	dominant of c at the end.  (Of course, the Prelude is, in the largest
02950	sense, only a %2part%1 of a vast and continuous work.)  So with this music,
03050	it is best to assume very little beyond the fact that, in consideration
03150	of its historical position, it is ultimately based on the conventions
03250	of functional tonality.  (Thus all the "structural" vertical
03350	occurrences must be based on superimposed thirds, etc.)
03450	
03500		To approach this work leading from the largest to the small
03600	units may give a little more difficulty than was found with the
03700	Mozart Sonata, since there seems here to be such a great emphasis
03800	on detail.  And, to be sure, many of the large units may be hard
03900	to relate to without first grasping the details which form them.
04000	In fact, the same problem was faced in Mozart's development section,
04100	where the harmonic details became so involved that the particular
04200	tonality of the background tended to lose its importance.  However,
04300	from the widest view, a few things in the Prelude can easily be
04400	noted:  the A-B-A, or arch form -- especially the return to the
04500	opening material during and following the climax at bars 82-84, etc.,
04600	and the dominant pedal notes, E at bars 63-70 and G at 100-111.
04700	
04800	Figure 88
04900	
05000	
05100	
05200	
05300		Referring back to details, we have noticed the first clear
05400	function in the piece (in measure 3) to be the dominant of a; and
05500	then looking (and of course, always listening) a little beyond, we
05600	see the dominant of C in measure 7.  At this point it should begin
05700	to be clear that, in this piece, the various tonics of the upper
05800	two levels of our analysis probably will be defined almost entirely
05900	by functions other than tonic on the lowest level.
06000	
06100		For the definition of the middle ground tonics, it is always
06200	well to look for clues in the phrase structure, as it is outlined
06300	by rhythmic and melodic occurrences and their orchestration, in
06400	addition to considering the harmonic end points.  The "A" section
06500	of the form, the first 17 bars, is a sort of introduction made up
06600	of a freely sequential series of utterances leading to a strong
06700	deceptive cadence in a.  These first short phrases will be dealt
06800	with later.  The first division in the "B" section is marked by 
06900	the melodic chromatic scale, rhythmic agitation, and an authentic
07000	feminine cadence on A at measure 24.  At measure 36 the division
07100	is defined by the cadence on d and the following abrupt change of
07200	orchestration, etc.  Again a phrase ends with a deceptive cadence,
07300	this time in c%4S%1 at bar 44.  The next, somewhat longer, section
07400	elides with the E pedal at bar 63.  Thus far we have:
07500	
07600	Figure 89a
07700	
07800	
07900	
08000	
08100	
08200	
08300		Starting at 63 we have new material which is combined with
08400	a varied form of the introduction material leading again to an a
08500	deceptive cadence at bar 74.  The phrases are elided once more
08600	and the new one extends to the brief recurrence of the dominant
08700	pedal at 84.  The next phrase really begins back at bar 80, but it
08800	does not emerge as independent until bar 84, where the original
08900	character of the "A" section (or introduction) is apparent.  This
09000	material is at first somewhat compressed and leads to the familiar
09100	a deceptive cadence at measure 94.  The next short phrase, using
09200	material from the "B" section, arrives on the dominant G of the
09300	timpani in bar 100.  The rest of the music is an extension of that
09400	arrival.  More detail, or less, might have been considered for
09500	this step of the analysis, but the overall result would be just
09600	about the same.  For the whole Prelude we have at this point:
09700	
09800	Figure 89b
09900	
10000	
10100	
10200	
10300	
10400	
10500		Obviously, the large form of this piece does not depend
10600	strongly on the contrast of basic tonalities.  The preponderance
10700	of a-A, at least as the controlling tonality of the main goals,
10800	is clear. However, the harmony wanders rather far afield between
10900	the various end points, so it would be premature to consider that
11000	these points are directly related.  Let us now concern ourselves
11100	with the harmonic details and the tonic definitions on the 
11200	smallest scale.
11300	
11400		The opening eleven bars consist of a free sequence in three
11500	parts, each ending with a 7th chord -- E%47%1, G%47%1, B%47%1.  There is no
11600	reason to suspect anything other than dominant function for any
11700	of these chords, so we may express them as a/V, C/V, E/V, thus defining
11800	as tonics the parts of the a-minor triad.  This, and the deceptive
11900	cadence at 17, establishes a, perhaps indirectly, but nonetheless
12000	firmly.
12100	
12200	Figure 90
12300	
12400	
12500	
12600	
12700	
12800		In dealing the other harmonies in the section, we must
12900	give primary consideration to the melodic device of the appoggiatura.
13000	The most obvious appoggiaturas occur on each of the above-mentioned
13100	7th chords.  The roles of all the other notes tend to become clear
13200	when we realize that most of the melodic chord tones are preceded
13300	by appoggiaturas, some of which last many times longer than the
13400	note of resolution.  At the beginning, every other note in the main
13500	melodic parts is an appoggiatura.  The opening bars might be
13600	condensed thus:
13700	
13800	Example 91
13900	
14000	
14100	Figure 91
14200	
14300	
14400	
14500	
14600		A similar process occurs in measures 4-7, but here the second
14700	note (G%4S%1) should read A%4F%1 in order that it be an appoggiatura to G%4N%1.
14800	However, the G%4S%1 and the preceding B are heard as an incomplete
14900	continuation of the E%47%1 chord.  Looking backward, the G%4S%1 is a chord note;
15000	looking forward, it is a non-chord note.  Carrying this point of view
15100	even further, it will be noted that if the A%4F%1 of bar 6 is considered as
15200	G%4S%1, then the first sound of that bar may be heard as the incomplete
15300	extension to the 9th of the E%47%1th chord.  Thus the highest note, B,
15400	also has a double role as both a chord and non-chord note.  One possible
15500	way of showing this sort of thing follows:
15600	
15700	Figure 92
15800	
15900	
16000	
16100		The third phrase of the introduction works a little differently,
16200	since its goal (the B7 chord) is a major third higher than the preceding
16300	goal.  (The first two goals, E7 and G7, were separated by a minor third.)
16400	The second note of the phrase, B, is now a simple chord note which is
16500	followed by two chromatic passing notes.  The shift to the next tonic
16600	is delayed until the end of bar 10.  The sound at the beginning of bar 10
16700	is quite acceptable as C: IIb6-4-2 (G#=Ab).  In terms of what follows,
16800	however, both the D and D# are non-chord tones leading upward to E, and
16900	the F is a long appoggiatura going downward to E.  The resultant chord
17000	notes then are C-E-G#-E, or nVI#5 of the E tonic.  Such action becomes
17100	commonplace in this piece.  When the passage of bars 10-11 is echoed,
17200	it is analyzed only in its latter role.
17300	
17400	Figure 93
17500	
17600	
17700	
17800	
17900	
18000		The next section, now with a continuous melodic line, offers
18100	new problems.  Now all the tonicizations come more rapidly.  The
18200	progress of the music from 17 to 19 seems to be toward G as the 
18300	dominant of C, and then on to d as vi of F at 21.  Then the dominant
18400	of d ascends to the dominant of e at 23, which in turn becomes major
18500	and the dominant of A.
18600	
18700	Figure 94
18800	
18900	
19000	
19100	
19200	
19300	
19400	
19500	
19600		Notice the pattern of the uppermost line of temporary tonics
19700	in the analysis up until bar 24.
19800	
19900	Figure 95
20000	
20100	
20200	
20300	
20400	
20500		In the next phrase, E persists until 31, where the dominant of
20600	D is heard.  Bars 32-36 are highly chromatic in the accompanying
20700	parts, but the melodic line is the same as that found at 17-21.
20800	The key points of the harmony show this passage to be only a slightly
20900	varied form of the earlier material.
21000	
21100	Figure 96
21200	
21300	
21400	
21500	
21600	
21700		On the lowest level, d regains its role as VI of F, since
21800	the next progression is most simply F: F6-V (bars 36-38).  This
21900	echo-like passage is repeated a step higher (g: F6-V).  Then a
22000	variant of it tonicizes the next step, a, by juxtaposing the F6
22100	of a with the dominant of E (40-42).  A diminished substitute for
22200	the dominant of E takes on a new root in bar 43 and thus becomes the
22300	dominant of c#.  But the phrase ends, as we have come to expect,
22400	deceptively on VI of c# -- which, of course, is an A major chord.
22500	
22600	Figure 97
22700	
22800	
22900	
23000	
23100	
23200	
23300	
23400		This is a remarkable passage in that it does not contain a
23500	single tonic or tonic substitute function on the bottom level until
23600	the very end, and yet the relationships of the middle level tonics
23700	are finally clear.  Its unusual effectiveness is greatly enhanced
23800	by the fact that when the A major chord, which was set up as the
23900	expected ultimate goal by the sequential nature of the passage,
24000	finally appears, it must be -- from the narrowest point of view --
24100	part of a deceptive cadence.  That this A chord seems to have a tonic function,
24200	despite the downward-moving D%4S%1 appoggiatura, is further made clear
24300	by the following recurrence of the material of bars 25-30 -- material
24400	which there had likewise followed an A: I function.
24500	
24600		This next section, measures 45 to 62, being an expansion  of
24700	an earlier phrase, has some new temporary tonics added to the already
24800	familiar ones.  Once again E## is the tonic for six bars, up to measure
24900	50.  The movement toward D## in bar 51 leads on to free
25000	sequences, (52-56), which arrive on a B7 -- E7 -- C#7 - D progression
25100	in 57-58.  These last might be expressed:
25200	
25300		In order to indicate the manifold tonic relationships of the 
25400	preceding sequencing passage, the various details must be considered.
25500	All the chromaticism of the main melodic line in bars 52-54 is 
25600	non-functional if the line is considered as in A##.  However, from 55 to
25700	58 the line begins with elements of the E## scale and then returns to
25800	the A## scale:  (A## --- E## --->A##).  But the first three bars of the
25900	main line, 51-53 also may be considered in the D## scale.  Thus, 
26000	(D## --- E## --> A##).  When we decide which of the chromatic elements
26100	of the other voices are functional and which are non-functional, this
26200	last view will be reinforced.
26300	
26350	.next page
26400	.begin verbatim
26500	Example 
26600	
26700	.end
26800	.next page
26900		This portrays the basic progression which will be used in the 
27000	final analysis, but the effect of the chromatic inner voice should not
27100	be entirely ignored.  If the notes D%4S%1, E%4S%1, and G (enharmonic
27200	F double-sharp) of 53-55 are taken as functional leading tones, the
27300	analysis shows the same general picture but with more tonicizations.
27400	
27500	.begin verbatim
27600	
27700	Figure
27800	.end
27900	.skip
28000		The next music is a variant of the material originally presented
28100	in bars 17-20 and 32-36.  There seems little that is problematical
28200	about the chromaticism of this passage.  Notice that the tonics on the
28300	highest level of the middle ground outline an a minor chord.
28400	
28500	.begin verbatim
28600	
28700	Figure
28800	.end
28900	.skip
29000	
29100		The following E pedal point maintains a powerful dominant
29200	function (bars 63-70).  The harmonies which support the ascending
29300	scale of high points in the main line will appear in parentheses
29400	in the final analysis.  Note in the orchestration that the oboes
29500	and English horn are reserved a few bars for the first reappearance
29600	of the "desire" motive (at 66-67) since the opening of the work.
29700	The large sense of the progression in the bars of 63-74 is
29800	the same as at the beginning:
29900	
30000		This passage can be considered as a kind of premature 
30100	recapitulation; premature, because even though the opening motive and 
30200	progression are present, the extreme turbulence of the string parts
30300	creates a texture far different from that found in the opening and
30400	again at bar 84.
30500	
30600		Though the C in bar 70, just before the double bar, might be
30700	considered a chromatic passing tone, it is, by analogy with the
30800	opening of the piece, an integral part of an F6  (French sixth) 
30900	function in C##.  Thus the preceding B may be considered either a part
31000	of a Vs of A## or an appoggiatura to the note C.  Notice in the
31100	following analysis of bars 70-74 how this ambiguity is indicated.
31200	(See also Figures xxx and xxx.)
31300	
31400	.begin verbatim
31500	
31600	Figure
31700	.end
31800	.skip
31900		Beginning in bar 74, we have again another variant of the
32000	material of 17-25.  C## is the most important tonic until the middle
32100	of bar 76.  The music in bars 76-84 goes out on a harmonic "limb",
32200	from which it escapes in a most remarkable manner.  The C roll in
32300	the timpani at 76 perhaps weakens the functional possibilities of
32400	the woodwind's C%4S%1.  However, d## will be listed as tonic at that
32500	point, since most of the other parts are also pulling away from the
32600	C## tonic.  The chord of the first half of bar 77 is assumed to be
32700	C-E%4F%1-G-B%4F%1, the A of the main line being a lower neighbor note.
32800	The same point of view gives us C-E%4F%1-G%4F%1-B%4F%1 on the first
32900	quarter-note of bar 79.  However, at 80 the E%4F%1 moves to a held D
33000	in the horn part, so at this point the E%4F%1 is best considered an
33100	appoggiatura.  The orchestration should always be checked for such
33200	details.  The following example gives the bass and chord outline
33300	of bars 76-84.
33400	
33500	.begin verbatim
33600	
33700	Example
33800	.end
33900	.skip
34000	.begin verbatim
34100	
34200	Figure
34300	.end
34400	.skip
34500		In Example zzz, even though the movement toward the tonicization
34600	of B%4F%1 in bars 77 and 78 is quite strong, the following function of
34700	BFFL as the dominant of e##FFL is much more extensive.  Hence the
34800	immediate shift to e##FFL as a higher tonic at 78.  It is by means of
34900	the large percentage of substitute functions in bars 76 to 78 that
35000	Wagner is able to move so smoothly from C## to e##FFL.  The master
35100	stroke comes in bars 83 and 84, where Wagner changes the AFFL of the
35200	II chord of e##FFL into a GSSH appoggiatura which moves to the chord note
35300	A of the F6 of a##.$$Recall the less striking but similar situation at
35400	bar 70 and likewise earlier in the piece, measures 6 and 10.  See pages
35500	zzz and zzz.$  At this point the only link between e##FFL and a## 
35600	(minor tonics a tritone apart!) is through the tonicization of the
35700	dominant of a##, which is achieved by means of the alternative
35800	interpretation of the F6 chord as an altered dominant of E## (E##=F##FFL,
35900	FFLII of e##FFL).  An F6 chord may always be considered in this light
36000	(see page zzz), but it is rare when the whole sense o a progression
36100	depends on such a double, or, considering the enharmonic AFFL=GSSH,
36200	triple meaning.  There are many similar situation throughout the
36300	opera.  %2The power of the "Tristan chord" lies not in any particular
36400	static vertical quality but in the multitude of tonics which it may
36500	involve, depending on the roles o its various notes as chord or
36600	non-chord tones%1.  (Note bars 89 and 101.)
36700		after a few bars which parallel the Prelude's opening, material
36800	taken from 36-40 is interjected before the reappearance of the 
36900	familiar a## deceptive cadence at 94.
37000	
37100	.begin verbatim
37200	
37300	Figure
37400	.end
37500	.skip
37600	
37700		It is seen above that measure 89 offers another "escape" from
37800	the "Tristan chord".  There are no non-chord tones in this usage and
37900	the F6 function comes on a new bass note.
38000	
38100		In bar 94 begins a last and fragmented form of the material
38200	of 17-24.  The C## quality is maintained, even through a return of
38300	the Prelude's opening three bars with only two notes changed.
38400	
38500	.begin verbatim
38600	
38700	Figure
38800	.end
38900	.skip
39000	
39100		At 101 we have seen new contrapuntal roles for the members of
39200	the "Tristan chord".  Here the DSSH became EFFL, a long chromatic
39300	passing note to D.  Wagner has written GSSH, but AFFL would have been
39400	more consistent with the present function as a diminished substitute
39500	for the dominant of c##.
39600	
39700		The use in this work of the contrapuntal potential of the 
39800	various parts of chords (especially chords that are more than simple
39900	triads, such as the augmented sixth chords) drives home the point
40000	that sound structures may come to depend mainly on usage, or total
40100	context, for their functional definition.  This music cannot be
40200	taken for granted or "understood" instantaneously as it falls upon
40300	the ears.  It is only through reflecting upon the relationships of the
40400	many goals, and the detailed means used to achieve them, that the
40500	sounds are "understood" in a musical sense.  Most of us know this
40600	intuitively, but in analyzing a work such as the %2Tristan Prelude%1
40700	we are forced to become acutely aware of the process of musical
40800	understanding.
40900	
41000	.begin verbatim
41100	
41200	Figure   .  Wagner, Prelude to Tristan und Isolde.
41300	.end
41400	.next page
41500	.begin verbatim
41600	Exercises for Chapter X.
41700	
41800		Analyze the following works.  Be sure that the audible
41900		patterns of harmonic progression on all levels  (the 
42000		sequences, that is) are clearly indicated.
42100	
42200		1.  Brahms, Capriccio in d, Op.116,#1.
42300		2.     "    Capriccio in g, Op.116,#3.
42400		3.     "    Intermezzo in E, Op.116,#6.
42500		4.     "    Intermezzo in b-flat, Op.117,#2.
42600		5.     "    Intermezzo in e-flat, Op.118,#6.
42700		6.  Wagner, Tannhauser, Act I, Scene 1.
42800				(Venusberg music)
42900	.end