AWA: Academic Writing at Auckland

The third movement of Webern’s String Quartet op.5 explores the notion of musical time and defies the classical presumption that music must have harmonic progression to define a clear trajectory. Webern instead creates this trajectory through the use of counterpoint in structure, pitch organisation, timbre and rhythm.

The movement has three sections and a short coda, each with a distinct texture. Section A (b.1-8) is characterised by C# pedal and interjections from the upper strings that produce a dissonant harmony. The key role of this section is to introduce the idea of atonal three-note intervallic cells, hence defining the harmonic language of the movement. Section B, beginning in b.9, contains the first melodic entry over sparse, disjointed quavers and introduces the [0 -4 -1] cell[1]. The third section, C, is characterised by contrapuntal interplay of sections A and B. Here, off-beat quavers and intervallic cells from Section A contrast the violin melody and semiquaver/quaver rhythm introduced in B, then the four voices coalesce into unison for the two-bar monophonic coda. The coda restates the [0 -4 -1] cell from the first melody and the offbeat quaver motif, and returns to the C# ‘tonic’ on the final note. The movement therefore develops towards a climax through integration of a limited number of rhythmic, melodic and harmonic motifs.

At first glance, the C# pedal in the cello in b.1-6 appears to provide a tonal centre. However, it is harmonically isolated from the upper parts, and could be interpreted as a timbral effect – this is the lowest note playable on the cello without using a naturally resonant open string, and consequently has a very distinctive tone. C# is a non-functional tonic in that it plays little part in the harmonic language of the movement, but it does act as an aural flag for climactic moments, such b.7 (marking the transition into Section B). The return to C# in the final unison suggests that C# is a tonic of sorts. This is another way that Webern demonstrates that though musical time must necessarily pass, a movement need not have harmonic progression to be coherent.

Pitch organisation through three-note intervallic cells is the harmonic language Webern has defined, and is crucial to the contrapuntal nature of this work. These cells are built from thirds (major and minor) and semitones. The [0 3 2] cell is one of the most commonly used, and usually appears in imitative pairs a perfect fifth apart in pitch and a quaver apart in time, such as in b.4 between the first violin (D) and the viola (A). In sections A and B, this cell usually appears as the first three notes of the larger six-note cell [0 3 -10 -2 -8 -4]. The cell is also stated in b.18-19 as an ostinato figure, with the viola imitating the second violin, again displaced by a quaver. The quaver displacement of the [0 3 2] cell gives a sense that the cell is perpetually looping, creating dissonances and demonstrating that a motif can provide climactic drive even if it does not develop melodically. Imitative counterpoint at ‘tonic’ and ‘dominant’ might be expected to give a sense of tonal stability. Instead, the distinct atonal harmonic language Webern has defined and the juxtaposition of several melodic cells (such as the [0 3 2] ostinato against the [0 -4 -1] ostinato in b.18-19) provide harmonic tension and lead to the unison climax.

The [0 -4 -1] melodic cell has a unifying function. Introduced in b.9 as the first three notes of the melody, it returns as a staccato ostinato in the cello at b.15, contrasting the legato first violin melody. In the penultimate bar, [0 -4 -1] is used simultaneously in all four voices to begin the unison climax of the movement. This cell persists without melodic extension, unifying the sections of the movement and providing an aural reference point within the structural counterpoint of Section C.

Other intervallic cells are used throughout the work, and linear and vertical cells are often used simultaneously to highlight important transition bars, such as b.6 and b.8. Where cells combine, a climax is created, signalling the end of a section. The [0 8 11] cell is exclusively vertical, and it contributes to a homophonic texture whenever it appears. These pitch clusters break the work into three-note fragments within a broadly contrapuntal texture, giving an aural impression of brief, disconnected moments in time that combine into a coherent trajectory due to their intervallic unity.

Webern employs a wide range of timbres in this work, switching frequently between am Steg, col legno, arco and pizzicato. Relatively melodic lines tend to be emphasised by the use of arco, for example in the first violin in b.12-14 and b.17-21, while passages that contribute more to rhythmic drive than melodic line such as the cello ostinato in the opening six bars are often marked pizzicato. The use of contrasting timbres highlights the counterpoint and prevents several independent lines becoming aurally indistinguishable. Distinct timbres are not exclusive to a particular pitch cluster, but the timbre often changes at the same time as the intervallic cell changes, and never part way a cell. This aurally highlights the counterpoint and the changing motifs of the harmonic language, which might otherwise be missed given the speed at which it is performed. It also acts as a reminder that change is occurring as musical time elapses.

The rhythms of this movement fall into three motifs within the 2/2 time metre – a semiquaver followed by a quaver, constant quavers and offbeat quavers. Constant quaver movement and the opening crotchet ostinato (an augmented form), push the movement onwards in musical time and unify the movement. Frequent off-beat pizzicatos and the presence of dynamic accents on traditionally weak beats (such as the ff chords on the sixth quaver beat of b.3) create a hemiola[2] that is further highlighted by imitative [0 3 2] quaver displacement. In b.15-17, the unrelenting quaver motion and hemiola produced by offset imitative cells builds tension until the climactic release into rhythmic and melodic unison in b.22-23. This, along with what is essentially a half-movement-long crescendo, is the most striking method Webern uses to create direction and climax without harmonic or motivic development.

In just 23 bars, Webern defines an atonal harmonic language and uses this as a springboard from which to explore ideas of musical time and creation of forward motion without traditional harmonic or melodic progressions. It is the counterpoint between intervallic cells, rhythmic motifs, timbres and sections that gives this movement its drive and clear trajectory.

[1] The intervallic cells and the [0 -4 -1] notation are defined in the ‘Key to Colour-Coding of Intervallic Cells’, attached

[2] Though this is not a hemiola in the traditional sense of superimposing duple and triple rhythms, the placement of accents and rests in this work has the same result – metrical ambiguity.