scholarly journals Schenkerian Theory, Neo-Riemannian Theory and Late Schubert: A Lesson from Tovey

Author(s):  
René Rusch

Current analytical studies on Schubert’s tonality have tended to favour either Schenkerian theory or, more recently, neo-Riemannian theory to explain the composer’s signature harmonic progressions. What remains unclear with respect to these two prevailing analytical purviews is the extent to which one may relate to the other.This article offers a new way of understanding how Schenkerian and neo-Riemannian views of Schubert’s late tonal practices may be complementary, using Tovey’s concept of key-relations from his article ‘Tonality in Schubert’ of 1928. It suggests that Tovey’s key-relations can function as a bridge between these two theories because they approximate parsimonious voice-leading operations while preserving chord function within a tonal hierarchy. In forming an intermediate pathway between Schenkerian diatony and neo-Riemannian theory’s parsimonious voice-leading operations, Tovey’s key-relations highlight the important contributions that Schenkerian theory and neo-Riemannian theory offer to our understanding of Schubert’s tonality.

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Marlowe

This study offers a comparative analysis of J. S. Bach’s Fugue in D minor, from the Well-Tempered Clavier Book I (WTC I). Detailed examination of multiple divergent readings of the same musical excerpts raises important questions about Schenkerian theory and its application to fugal textures. I suggest that analytical discrepancies arise primarily when voice-leading concerns are not completely disentangled from our deeply rooted views of formal design in fugue. In the end, an over-reliance on the details of outer form risks blocking access to the fugue’s inner form. I identify and resolve significant differences that emerge at the foreground in these readings, later considering how a combined view of formal design (outer form) and tonal structure (inner form) resolves ambiguities and enhances our understanding of the work as a whole.


2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason Yust

Numerous generative approaches to explaining tonal structure and/or Schenker’s theories have been proposed since Babbitt noted a resemblance between Schenker’s analytical method and Chomskian generative grammars in 1965. One of the more challenging features of Schenker’s theory to replicate in a generative system is the interaction of counterpoint and hierarchy. Many theorists, such as Lerdahl and Jackendoff, skirt the problem by developing non-contrapuntal systems, meaning ones that do not allow for layers with conflicting hierarchical descriptions.This article tackles the counterpoint problem by first proposing a dynamic model for tonal hierarchy, which matches the usage of basic Schenkerian symbols (slurs and beams), and differs from the representational model used by Lerdahl and Jackendoff and others. I then summarize Schenker’s argument for a contrapuntal theory of tonal structure and show that this implies a relativity of contrapuntal voices to structural level which necessitates a theory of voice-leading transformation. This concept of voice-leading transformation marks a crucial turning point in Schenker’s analytical practice leading directly to his theory of levels, and is fundamental to understanding his late theory. The article also operationalizes the idea of voice-leading transformations within a generative system, and illustrates it with short analyses of themes from Bach’sPartitasand an extended analysis of the Menuetto from Beethoven’s Op. 21 Piano Sonata. In the latter analysis the concept of voice-leading transformation facilitates the discovery of an exceptional feature in the deep middleground of the piece.


2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen Bakulina

This article explores gradual hypermetrical shifts, or hypermetrical transitions, in imitative contexts. The concept of hypermetrical transition, introduced by David Temperley, presupposes metrical conflict in the course of the transition. My principal goal is to place imitative metrical conflicts in the context of Schenkerian theory and to propose that each imitative part may suggest its own middleground structure, based on this part’s individual metrical pattern. The relative validity of the two resulting voice-leading graphs, based on harmonic and other musical cues, is then viewed as a tool for “measuring” the smoothness of the shift. The article includes analyses of several imitative passages from Mozart’s chamber works and culminates in a discussion of a lengthy canon from the String Quartet K. 499, movement 1, an exemplary case of a smooth hypermetrical transition.


1998 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert D. Morris
Keyword(s):  

Author(s):  
B. P. Khozyainov

The article carries out the experimental and analytical studies of three-blade wind power installation and gives the technique for measurements of angular rate of wind turbine rotation depending on the wind speeds, the rotating moment and its power. We have made the comparison of the calculation results according to the formulas offered with the indicators of the wind turbine tests executed in natural conditions. The tests were carried out at wind speeds from 0.709 m/s to 6.427 m/s. The wind power efficiency (WPE) for ideal traditional installation is known to be 0.45. According to the analytical calculations, wind power efficiency of the wind turbine with 3-bladed and 6 wind guide screens at wind speedsfrom 0.709 to 6.427 is equal to 0.317, and in the range of speed from 0.709 to 4.5 m/s – 0.351, but the experimental coefficient is much higher. The analysis of WPE variations shows that the work with the wind guide screens at insignificant average air flow velocity during the set period of time appears to be more effective, than the work without them. If the air flow velocity increases, the wind power efficiency gradually decreases. Such a good fit between experimental data and analytical calculations is confirmed by comparison of F-test design criterion with its tabular values. In the design of wind turbines, it allows determining the wind turbine power, setting the geometrical parameters and mass of all details for their efficient performance.


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