"Something to Say": The Musical Idea in AntonWebern's Late Choral Works

Webern's three late choral works stand near theculmination of his career, yet they have not receivedthe same attention as his instrumental works from thesame period. By providing more detailed analyses,this document will reveal similarities that thepieces share, and will help elucidate Webern'scompositional methods in his late choral works.Together, these insights will further ourunderstanding of his 12-tone music.This will be done by examining the processes relatingto the "musical ideas" of the pieces. Webern'sinterest in establishing unity and comprehensibilityis paramount in all of his 12-tone music. Hedescribes the process of achieving unity through theconcepts and theories related to "musical idea."Klumpenhouwer networks will help demonstrate how thisunity is created in the music both synchronically anddiachronically. The comprehensible presentation ofthe "musical idea" is a fundamental method wherebyWebern is able to achieve coherence and unity inthese three choral works.

Autorentext

Darin Hoskisson is currently Assistant Professor of Music Theory at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. He received degrees from the University of Oregon, Louisiana State University, and Idaho State University. His research interests are the 2nd Viennese School, Brahms, and 19th Century Music in Sweden, specifically the Symphonies of Franz Berwald.

Klappentext
Webern's three late choral works stand near the culmination of his career, yet they have not received the same attention as his instrumental works from the same period. By providing more detailed analyses, this document will reveal similarities that the pieces share, and will help elucidate Webern's compositional methods in his late choral works. Together, these insights will further our understanding of his 12-tone music. This will be done by examining the processes relating to the "musical ideas" of the pieces. Webern's interest in establishing unity and comprehensibility is paramount in all of his 12-tone music. He describes the process of achieving unity through the concepts and theories related to "musical idea." Klumpenhouwer networks will help demonstrate how this unity is created in the music both synchronically and diachronically. The comprehensible presentation of the "musical idea" is a fundamental method whereby Webern is able to achieve coherence and unity in these three choral works.