Monday, May 31, 2010

More on Forms with Refrains (2)

Contredanse folios published by the dancing master La Cuisse and reproduced on the Library of Congress American Memory site contain two remarkable fold-out graphics that collate music, text and graphic descriptions of figures, and drawings of the dancers. For La Griel, I have reproduced the music below, labeled the strains and phrases, and then pulled out and labeled the music as it is shown in the large graphic. Note that the music is played as marked in the score, en rondeau, and dance figures vary in length from 2 bars to 8 (a gap in the music notation corresponds to a new figure in the dance). The greater complexity (compared to the long-dance style) is possible with a smaller group of dancers in the more formal quadrille square-dance structure, which was broadly speaking a compromise between the skilled, formal couple dancing of the menuet and the informal, highly social English long dance.

Music as distributed over the 8 figures of the dance:

La Cuisse published his contredanse folios in the mid-1760s, the French style became popular in Vienna in the early 1770s at the latest, and Bülow's manuscript compilation was made in the early 1780s -- therefore it is reasonable to assume that we are speaking about closely related practices. By Schubert's time, things had changed -- the menuet was often reduced to a comical Grossvater dance, and the formal quadrille had by and large been superseded by the decidedly less formal cotillon, or else adopted the latter's tendency to mix dancing with party games. More than ever, the design of a dance was in the hands of the caller or lead dancer (Vortanzer), and the music was shaped accordingly (and sometimes on the spot). As Schubert was playing for cotillons, then, he would take his cues from the Vortanzer (from the reminiscences, this was usually Josef von Spaun).

In this environment, the reprise was the principal device available for an aural structuring of the dance to complement the sequence of dance figures; the refrain, on the other hand, was a way of extending and enriching a particular sequence. The refrain and musical coda are obviously closely related -- the only real difference being that the coda usually consists of stereotypical cadence gestures mixed with material from the preceding sections , where the refrain is substantially new material. It's entirely possible that the refrain was not danced -- along the lines of the published waltzes of the 1830s and later, an instrumental introduction was likely (whether a prelude in the old manner, a vamp to establish rhythm, or a more elaborate piece) and -- if the Vortanzer directed it -- a final strain not danced was possible. One can, for example, easily imagine the dancers standing and clapping in rhythm to the yodeling refrain of D734n11.

The comments above can be regarded as an addendum to the post on performance designs.

Friday, May 28, 2010

More on Forms with Refrains

This is an addendum to last week's post on forms with refrains. Here are two contredanses from a manuscript collection preserved in the Royal Library, Copenhagen: the volume is simply labeled "Dances 1782-84" with the name Johan Bülow: a PDF file can be accessed through IMSLP.

Note that the first piece has two strains and four dance figures are described (that's one per strain with repetitions).


The second contredanse has three strains and six corresponding figures in the dance.


From the instructions (especially the mention of three couples), it seems clear that the music is intended for dancing in the English long-dance manner, not the square or round forms of the French quadrille. That means the music as given is probably only the barest outline of what actually happened when the music was played for dancing. (At the least, one would expect the strains to be played en rondeau, that is, with repetitions of the first strain following each successive strain.) On the other hand, the arrangements are clearly for keyboard (others in this and related collections are for violin; a few are marked "Flauto"): these could not be used in a hall but instead for private dancing occasions, including dance lessons for members of the Royal family or others in the Court. The simplicity of the given design would suit the needs of pedagogy.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Schubert's soprano-alto pairs

Dances with consistent soprano/alto pairings comprise a distinct subcategory in Schubert's dances. D779n13, of course, represents it well. Here are some others.

D969n10 is a simple case where the source of the soprano/alto pair in the 2v/bass trio texture is especially obvious (see my rewritten version below the score).


Rewritten in trio texture:


D924n11 is more elaborate (I wonder if it's an imitation of improvised variation by violinists) but at the same time holds more closely to the thirds/sixths pairings typical of the violin pair.

Two examples from the early dances:
Among the Laendler of D145, no. 9 is another simple case. Obviously, the key of Db major is another expressive alteration of a typical violin key (D), like the Ab (from A) that dominates D365.


The same for D365n15:


Friday, May 21, 2010

Forms with refrains

D734n11 is a 16 bar dance with an additional eight-bar segment added onto the second strain. These violinistic "Ländler codas" were a trademark of the genre and of course are very closely related to the yodeling figures placed at the ends of songs (even into the 20th century, these were common -- in the United States, they are probably most familiar from Western songs as performed by Roy Rogers). (Click on the thumbnail to see the file at original size.)


A version of this design is used by Hummel as well for the theme of his Tyroler-Lied mit Variationen, op. 118. The example below shows only the primo part. The repeat of section A (which modulates to the mediant, btw) is written out; the second strain begins with a contrasting middle, but a reprise is replaced by an 8-bar Ländler coda that is repeated rather forcefully.


The "extra" segment is a separate strain specifically identified as "refrain" in the theme for Henri Herz's variation set Nouvelle Tyrolienne, Op. 154. Note also the pedal point bass, which invokes a folk style.


Finally, the somewhat free concatenation of strains suggested by the Ländler coda is still evident in this waltz-style exercise from Friedrich Wieck's Piano Studies. The first two strains give a simple A-BA design. The third strain as it is given sounds like a coda, but performance practice for dancing or listening might also make of it another secondary strain, to be followed by A (even if that's not indicated in the score). The fourth strain is obviously a (short) trio.


Thursday, May 20, 2010

Some updates (2)

I have undertaken another round of additions and corrections to older posts.

1. Margit Legler and Reinhold Kubik offer a concise list of the major public dance venues in 19th-century Vienna: see yesterday's post. Also in that post: Andrea Harrandt discusses the professional activities of Johann Strauss, sr., during the Carneval season. She reproduces two page-long lists of his engagements, for 1840 and 1846, respectively (139, 142).

2. Walter Deutsch comments on the "Strassburger": post.

3. Examples of the trio texture for waltzes (from Walburga Litschauer and Walter Deutsch; also, Rainer Gstrein): [edited 6-3-10] meant for this post but since moved into a new post.

4. David Brodbeck has some commentary and an explanatory example for the Scherzo movement from the "Death and the Maiden" Quartet: post.

5. Legler and Kubik reproduce instructions from a dance manual by one Edward David Helmke (1830): post.

6. Barbara Boisits reproduces the sequence of dances (Tanzordnung) for the first ball of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde (1830): post.

7. I corrected "Schuhplattl" to "Schnadahüpfl" in a couple recent posts. I also corrected several early posts, where I reversed the designation of marked and unmarked terms in an opposition.

8. I added a link to an ad for Franz Mailer's 10-volume biography of Johann Strauss, jr., in the post reviewing his Strauss-Verzeichniss.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Dance venues in Vienna

This updates the four summary posts on dancing in Vienna during Schubert's lifetime: post #1.

Margit Legler and Reinhold Kubik offer a concise list of the major public dance venues in 19th-century Vienna (91-92).
Der Sperl: correctly, "Zum Sperlbauer," after the name of the first owner of the inn (opened 1701). A public dancehall and gardens with a performing pavilion were added in 1807, and the venue quickly became a favorite local destination. It was drastically remodelled in 1839 and retained its popularity for another 30 years; it was torn down in 1873.
Zur goldenen Birne, started in 1702, was remodelled in 1801, including the addition of a large dancehall, which became known as the "Wiener Annentempel."
Apollosaal, built in 1807 and opened in time for Carneval 1808. In addition to a great dancehall, the site had smaller halls and rooms, grottos, etc., along with an orchestral performance area in the shape of a small hill. As many as 8000 visitors could be accommodated. Perhaps in part because of its size, which had the disadvantage of an unwieldly complexity, the venue suffered an unstable, shifting history, finally burning down in 1876 after being turned into a textile factory.
Dianabad opened in 1804 and was extensively remodelled in 1829-30, its special trait being a swimming area that could be converted into a dancehall for the winter (!). The leading dance orchestras played here. The building was rebuilt in 1893, and suffered severe damage in 1945.
The other venues in Legler and Kubik's list were all opened after Schubert's death: Dommayers Kasino (1833-1907), Sophienbad (1838-2002), Kettenbrückensaal (1840-1904), and Odeonsaal (1844-1848).
In the same volume, Andrea Harrandt discusses the professional activities of Johann Strauss, sr., during the Carneval season. She reproduces two page-long lists of his engagements, for 1840 and 1846, respectively (139, 142). Between 11 January and 3 March, 1840, Strauss's band had well over 40 appearances, on weekends often more than one in a day. The venues: Sperl, 36 times; Dommayer, 11 times. In 1846, between 11 January and 24 February: Sperl 35 times; Sophienbad, 7; Odeon, 6; Redoutensäle, 4. The tables, unfortunately, don't quite agree with Harrandt's text: for 1846, Strauss is said to have played for 31 balls at the Sperl, and three days a week for the afternoon "Konversation" [see more on this below] in the Volksgarten (143) -- that would make a total of 49 engagements at the Sperl alone. In any case, the number is remarkable, and certainly corroborates statements about the intense dance-oriented social activity of the Carneval season in Vienna.

[added 5-26-10: A more extensive list can be found in the work catalogue edited by Schönherr and Reinöhl (343-53). The list covers the years 1827-1849. The book is structured as an annotated chronological list, somewhat in the manner of Franz Mailer's Strauss [jr], but the annotations are generally more contextual or anecdotal than focused on the individual work at hand. Early on, they identify the "Konversation" (alternate names: soirée, Reunion, among others) as a fashionable entertainment in Viennese venues, distinguished by the performance of quite varied types of music and sometimes including magic and similar acts. The sessions finished with some dancing (15-16). Except for the dancing, these sound remarkably similar to vaudevilles at the end of the century.]

Reference.
Legler, Margit, and Reinhold Kubik. "Anmutige Verschlingungen. Tänze des Vormärz: Quellen – Notation – Ausführung." In Boisits, Barbara, and Klaus Hubmann. Tanz im Biedermeier: Ausdruck des Lebensgefühls einer Epoche, 89-131. Proceedings from the Symposium Musizierpraxis im Biedermeier: Tanzmusik im ländlichen und städtischen Bereich, Graz, Austria, 26.-27. März 2004. Series: Neue Beiträge zur Aufführungspraxis, vol. 6. Vienna : Mille Tre Verlag Robert Schächter, 2006.
Harrandt, Andrea. "'Das Leben ein Tanz.' Zu den Tanzkompositionen von Johann Strauß Vater für den Wiener Fasching." In Boisits and Hubmann, 133-149.
Schönherr, Max, and Karl Reinöhl. Johann Strauss Vater: ein Werkverzeichnis. London, Universal Edition [1954].

Monday, May 3, 2010

Archaeology of Improvisation

In November, I will be giving a paper-presentation during a conference session on improvisation. The place is Indianapolis; the occasion is the joint national meeting of the American Musicological Society and the Society for Music Theory.

The title is "Schubert's 'Riemannian Hand': An Archaeology of Improvisation." Here's the abstract:
Schubert was said to string his waltzes into "endless cotillons" for dancing. A close relative of the contredanse, the cotillon required frequent repetition of strains, particularly the principal one. Using the three-layer texture of the waltz (as played on a piano) and "endless cotillons" as the design, I will demonstrate (1) how strict small forms, repetition, and variation can reveal pairings and groupings among Schubert's surviving waltzes, suggesting relationships that may have arisen through varied repetition in performance; and (2) how the chordal offbeats can effect transformations with parsimonious voice leading by simply moving thumb, middle finger, or little finger, thus anchoring the more distant modulations that Schubert attempted in improvisation. By doing multiple comparisons among dances, I try to reconstruct some sense of how Schubert, during improvised performance, may have been—in Kofi Agawu's terms—"thinking in music about music."
[note added 5-19-10: Legler and Kubik reproduce instructions from a dance manual by Edward David Helmke (1830), one of which is "A waltz may last no more than 15 minutes and a cotillon no more than 45 minutes" (95).]

Reference.
Legler, Margit, und Reinhold Kubik. "Anmutige Verschlingungen. Tänze des Vormärz: Quellen – Notation – Ausführung." In Boisits, Barbara, and Klaus Hubmann. Tanz im Biedermeier: Ausdruck des Lebensgefühls einer Epoche, 89-131. Proceedings from the Symposium Musizierpraxis im Biedermeier: Tanzmusik im ländlichen und städtischen Bereich, Graz, Austria, 26.-27. März 2004. Series: Neue Beiträge zur Aufführungspraxis, vol. 6. Vienna : Mille Tre Verlag Robert Schächter, 2006.

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Dance collections (2)

This continues yesterday's post, which provided links to several dance collections available from IMSLP and described those collections in terms of design and key sequence.

It is perhaps a little embarrassing that one conclusion to be drawn from comparing Schubert with Czerny and Marschner manages no more than to repeat some old clichés: If Czerny's dances are a bit dull in their routines, despite some technical "glitz,"


and Marschner seems already to be striving toward opera,

then Schubert distinguishes himself as an inexhaustible fountain of charming and memorable melodies. (first strains of D365ns7-9)


On the other hand, with respect to design and style, Schubert's dances are completely within the limits of typical practice for the period 1815-1830. Arguments made for Schubert's uniqueness on those terms are indefensible.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Dance collections

Here are a few links to dances or dance collections from IMSLP:
Carl Czerny, Les Etrennes, Op. 32. 24 waltzes published by Tobias Haslinger, Vienna, reissue after 1826.
Stephen Heller, Ländler und Walzer, Op. 97. 12 waltzes published by Friedrich Kistner, Leipzig, [date?]
Johannes Brahms, arr. Theodor Kirchner. Liebeslieder-Walzer, Opp. 52 & 65. Piano solo arrangement of both sets, complete. Simrock, Berlin, 1881.
Carl Maria von Weber, Allemandes, Op. 4. 10 dances with trios. From collected edition of music for piano (c. 1890).
Heinrich Marschner, 12 Dances, Op. 53. 6 waltzes and 6 ecossaises. Halberstadt: C.Brüggemann (1820s?)
Czerny's set, details: All 24 dances are in 8+8 design, except n22, which is 16+16, including a truncated reprise. Numbers 7, 12, and 22 make demands on technique in isolated passages; otherwise, any pianist who could play the published waltzes of Schubert could easily play these, as well. The sequence of keys: ns1-6: A major; ns 7-9: C major; ns 10-12: F major; ns 13-14: F minor; ns 15-16: Db major; ns 17-18: F major; ns 19-20: A major; ns 21-22: E major; ns 23-24: C major. Or, overall: A-C-F-Fm-Db-F-A-E-C.

Heller's set, details: The designs vary quite a bit; they are listed below along with keys.
n1 8+8; first strain repeat written out F major
n2 16+16 with reprise D major
n3 8+8+8 as ABA Bb major
n4 8+16, partial reprise D major
n5 8+8 A major
n6 16+8 A minor
n7 8+8+8+8+18 as ABABA with last A extended in coda fashion. No repeat signs. F major
n8 8+16+10, where 16 includes a full reprise and 10 is a separate coda. Ab Major
n9 8+16+16, where 16 includes a full reprise and the second 16 is a slightly varied version of the first 16. Both 16s are repeated as a group (error?) Db major
n10 8+8 with the second strain repeat written out. C major
n11 16+(10+16)+32. First strain no repeat sign; full reprise in the second strain; 32-bar coda is marked "ad libitum." F minor
n12 16+16+8+16+8+16+40. F major
Overall key sequence: F-D-Bb-D-A-Am-F-Ab-Db-C-Fm-F.
The set was probably published around 1860 and shows the hybrid character of Schumann's early sets, especially Papillons. The early pieces could be grouped for dancing, but progressively the set becomes more and more pianistic, more in the nature of character pieces and not social dances.

Weber's set, details: all dances and their trios 8+8. Keys: C-F; G-C; Cm-CM; Eb-Bb; D-D; Dm-F; C-F; Db-Ab; C-F; Bb-Eb. Thus, tonic-subdominant pairings predominate (6 out of 10). It's hard to imagine these dances being played in succession as a complete set. A division into two groups (1-4 or 1-5; 5-10 or 6-10) is plausible, but even then one would probably want to employ some alternativo designs (repeating the trio, then going on to the next dance without a reprise).

Marschner's set, details: The waltzes are clearly meant to be grouped, as in a "single" Strauss or Lanner set. An 8 bar introduction; 8+16 in A (with reprise); 8+12 in E (with reprise); 8+8+8, each section repeated in A; 8+16 with reprise in D; 16+44 in Bb, with second strain as 28+16 (reprise); 8+8 in F. At the end of n4 is a notation "I da capo al Fine" -- somewhat mysterious, as it could mean that n4 should be played as an independent trio to n1 OR that n1 should be reprised at this point perhaps to close the sequence 1-4: so, 1-2-3-4-1 OR it might suggest that n4 is the last in a series of trios, so: 1-2-1-3-1-4-1. Of course, in performance, any of these was possible. A similar notation at the end of n6 is easier to decipher: "V da capo al Fine," making n6 a trio to n5.