new data for themes in dance music

I have added two pages to a set that focuses on theme types as they can be described using William Caplin's terminology. [NB 2 July 2016: The two links below are broken. The material mentioned has been gathered in my essay Dance Designs in 18th and Early 19th Century Music, published on the Texas Scholar Works platform: link to that file]  The first gathers information from the other pages according to theme type: Examples of theme types. The second supplies data for 8 collections by Beethoven, 1 by Czerny, 9 by Hummel, and 1 each by Marschner and Weber: Themes Tables.

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.

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.