Upload
tbiancolino
View
223
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
8/18/2019 Rhythmic and Harmonic Ambiguity in Brahms
1/42
Society for Music Theory
You Reap What You Sow: Some Instances of Rhythmic and Harmonic Ambiguity in BrahmsAuthor(s): Peter H. SmithSource: Music Theory Spectrum, Vol. 28, No. 1 (Spring, 2006), pp. 57-97Published by: University of California Press on behalf of the Society for Music TheoryStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4499848
Accessed: 06/05/2010 18:08
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available athttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless
you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you
may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use.
Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at
http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=ucal.
Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed
page of such transmission.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].
http://www.jstor.org/stable/4499848?origin=JSTOR-pdfhttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=ucalhttp://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=ucalhttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/stable/4499848?origin=JSTOR-pdf
8/18/2019 Rhythmic and Harmonic Ambiguity in Brahms
2/42
Tou
Reap
What
You
Sow.
Some Instances
of Rhythmic
and Harmonic
Ambiguity
in
Brahms*
PETER H. SMITH
Of all
composers
of the
common-practice
era,
perhaps
none has been associated with musical am-
biguity
more than Brahms. Several recent
essays
nevertheless
question
the
usefulness
of
ambiguity
as an
analytical
concept.
This article
defends
the
efficacy
of
ambiguity through analysis
of
metri-
cally
and
harmonically
bivalent
passages
from
the
composer's
C-minor Piano
Quartet,
Double
Concerto,
Clarinet
Trio,
G-major
String
Quintet,
and B-minor
Rhapsody.
The
analyses
proceed
from
contradictory readings
of
opening
materials to later statements that
develop precisely
those
characteristics
that
give
rise
to the
initial double
meaning.
In
each
case,
the result is an enormous
tonal
delay
whose resolution
corresponds
with
liquidation
of
the
contradictory
characteristics,
as
the movements
finally
achieve the
clarity
absent from their
ambiguous openings.
Keywords:
Brahms,
Ambiguity,
Metric
displacement, Linkage technique,
Sonata form
INTRODUCTION
ERHAPS NO
COMPOSER
of
the
common-practice
era
is
associated with the idea of musical ambiguitymore
than
Johannes
Brahms.1
Even
a
cursoryglance
at
any
contemporary
Brahms
bibliography
reveals citations that
make
reference to the
topic.
Several recent
explorations
of
ambiguity
nevertheless call
into
question
the usefulness of
the
concept
as an
analytical
category.
Carl
Schachter,
for
example, argues
that
"[i]t
is
just
as much
a
part
of the
com-
poser's
art as
it
is
of
the
sculptor's
or
painter's
to be able
to
create clear and distinct shapes; the more clearly and vividly
the listener
perceives
these
shapes,
the more
fully
and
deeply
will he live the
life
of the
composition
as he hears
it."
Kofi
Agawu goes
even further and
explicitly
denies the
possibility
for musical
ambiguity.
Like
Schachter,
Agawu
believes that
"[i]n
situations of
competing
meanings,
the alternatives
are
always
formed
hierarchically, making
all such situations
decidable."2
Despite
their
skepticism,
Schachter and
Agawu
neverthe-
less
qualify
their
arguments against ambiguity.
Schachter
is careful to
explain
that
it is
not his
intention "to
deny
the
possibility
that
ambiguity
and
multiple meanings might
exist
in tonal music."
His
point,
rather,
s that the function of am-
biguity
"is more
narrowly
circumscribed han some
analysts,
*This
essay
is
dedicated to the
memory
of
John
Daverio,
David
Epstein,
and David Lewin.
In
this
regard,
David
Epstein's
view
is
representative:"Perhaps
no com-
poser
of the
period
so reveled in
the structural
possibilities
of
ambiguity
as did
Brahms."
(Epstein
1979, 162)
Charles Rosen
is
even
more forth-
right:
"More
than
any
other
composer,
Brahms
exploited
the
possibili-
ties of
overlapping
sections,
the
ambiguities
of
the
boundaries of
sonata
form."
(Rosen 1988, 395)
Notions of
ambiguity
even
appear
to
have
in-
fluenced
biographical perspectives
on the
composer,
leading
Karl
Geiringer among
others
to
identify psychological
ambivalence as
a dri-
ving
force behind Brahms's
personality
and
behavior.
(Geiringer
1990)
2Schachter
1990, 169;
Agawu
1994,
107.
57
8/18/2019 Rhythmic and Harmonic Ambiguity in Brahms
3/42
58
MUSIC THEORY SPECTRUM 28
(2006)
perhaps
misled
by
false
analogies
to
language,
seem to be-
lieve."3
Agawu similarly
uses
concepts
of
hierarchy
and
con-
text
in
assessing
interpretive
options
as means of acknowl-
edging
the existence of double
meanings
while nevertheless
making
such
apparently
bivalent situations submit
to
the dictates of a
single analysis.
For
him,
the
only
true
ambiguity
would
arise in a context
in
which "two
(or more)
meanings
are
comparably
or
equally
plausible,"
a situation he
believes
does not exist
in
tonal music.4
Although
I
am
sympathetic
to
Schachter's and
Agawu's
admonitions
for
us to avoid what
might
be called
an
"Old
MacDonald
Approach
to
Analysis"-here
an
ambiguity,
there
an
ambiguity,everywhere
an
ambiguity--I
am not
yet
ready
to abandon the idea of double
meaning
as a critical
category
for Brahmsian
interpretation.
Rather,
I am con-
vinced that Brahms
was
as dedicated to
creating
multivalent
ideas as he was to
crafting
the clear and distinct
shapes
of
Schachter's unnamed
sculptor
or
painter.
Moreover,
I
con-
tend that
it
is essential to
perceive
more than
just
the
clarity
of distinct
shapes.
We also need
to
perceive
bivalence and its
consequences
if we
are to
appreciate
more
fully
and
deeply
the life of
Brahms's
compositions.
But how are we to engage ambiguity in an analytically
meaningful way?
David
Epstein
suggests
the answer lies
in
part
in a focus on
multiple temporalperspectives.
Indeed,
he
argues
that Brahms
characteristically
confirms the multiva-
lence
of his
ambiguous
ideas
by exploring competing
struc-
tural
potentials
as his
compositions
unfold.
Epstein
even as-
serts
that,
for
Brahms,
exploration
of
"various
viewpoints"
often becomes the
impetus
behind a
passage
or even an en-
tire
composition.5
With his focus on
listening perspective,
Epstein anticipates a core component of the analytical
methodology
that David Lewin
was to formalize
in
his in-
fluential article
"Music
Theory,
Phenomenology,
and Modes
of
Perception."6 lthough
Lewin
does
not
address
ambiguity
per
se,
the
approach
to
analysis
that
he
advocates,
with its
dedication to
carving
out
analytical space
for
multiple
mean-
ings,
is
highly suggestive
for the
topic.
My
own contribution o
ongoing explorations
f
Brahmsian
ambiguity
takes
Epstein's
and Lewin's
emphasis
on
listening
perspective
as a
point
of
departure. Despite
my
differences
with
Schachter,
also find
it
useful to focus on
the
kinds
of
binary,
"either/or"
oppositions
that he
develops
as
a route
towards
analytical
nsight.
Yet rather than
analyze composi-
tions
in
which Schachter's call for
single,
correct
readings
rings
true, I
propose
to
explore passages
in which Brahms
takes considerable
pains
to
encouragemultiple nterpretations.
The
particular
orm of
binary opposition
that will be
my
focus arises
in both the metric
and
harmonic
dimensions.
Indeed
my argument
in
favor
of
ambiguity
as an irreducible
component
of Brahms'saesthetic centers on the similar
ways
in
which metric and harmonic double
meanings
emerge,
de-
velop,
and
ultimately
resolve.
In
both musical
dimensions,
ambiguity may
arise within
an
initial context
in
which
there
is not enough information to signal a univalent metric or
harmonic
interpretation.
The initial context instead
plants
the seeds
for the bivalence that is to become a source
for
musical
development.
In
the case of
rhythmic ambiguity,
he
passages
I
will
explore
involve motivic cells
whose
strong-
weak or
weak-strong
metric
identity
is
open
to
question.
Repeating
such a cell
in
shifted
positions
and
in varied musi-
cal
contexts
heightens
the overall sense of
ambiguity
such
that
the
ambiguity
itself
becomes a
narrativethread
in a
Brahms work. Similarly,in the harmonic dimension, when
roots are a fifth
apart
context can
make
it
unclear
which root
is
controlling:
I-V
or
IV-I.
A Brahms
piece
may, through
repetition
and
recontextualization,
make
this
harmonic am-
biguity
a
topic
for elaboration.
In
the
case of both
types
of
3
Schachter
1990,
169.
For a similar
qualified skepticism
regarding
no-
tions of
ambiguity
specifically
as
they
apply
to issues of metric and
hypermetric
interpretation,
see
Schachter
1999,
97-100.
4
Agawu
1994,
89.
5
Epstein
1979,
162-69.
6 Lewin
1986.
8/18/2019 Rhythmic and Harmonic Ambiguity in Brahms
4/42
YOU
REAP WHAT YOU
SOW:
SOME
INSTANCES OF
RHYTHMIC
AND HARMONIC
AMBIGUITY
IN BRAHMS
59
ambiguity,
a decisive recontextualization
typically
resolves
the
double
meaning
as
part
of
the
work's
close.
Brahms'sC-minor Piano
Quartet,
op.
60,
provides
fertile
ground
in which to
begin
to
explore
metric
dualities
and
their
consequences.
Following
this
analysis,
I
address
similar
metric
ambiguities
as
they
interact
specifically
with Brahms's
linkage technique
in
the Double
Concerto,
op.
102,
and
Clarinet
Trio,
op.
114. A
comparison
of the function
of
am-
biguity
in these works establishes
characteristic
strategies
of
double
meaning, strategies
we
see in effect even as we shift
our focus to harmonic
ambiguity
in the
Adagio
of the G-
major String
Quintet,
op.
111,
and the B-minor
Rhapsody,
op.
79,
no.
1.7
Each
analysis
proceeds
from
conflicting interpretations
of
an
opening
theme to later
developments
of this
material,
always
with attention
to the remarkabledetails of musical
craftsmanship
that
Brahms's
compositions
offer in abun-
dance.
We
will see that the works'
thematic
processes
gravi-
tate
towards
precisely
those
competing
characteristics
hat
give
rise to the initial sense
of double
meaning.
In
the
case of
both metric and harmonic
ambiguity,
the notion of retro-
spective
clarification of
puzzling
events
will thus inform
my
analyses. But in expanding on Edward Cone's notions of
"promissory
notes" and
"unfinished
business,"
my
approach
highlights
the fact that
it is often the
very presence
of an
elemental double
meaning
that later
contexts
support.8
The
result,
regardless
of whether we
are confronted with
metric
or
harmonic
ambiguity,
is an enormous
tonal
delay
whose
resolution
corresponds
with
liquidation
of the
contradictory
characteristics,
so that
the movements
finally
achieve
the
clarity
absent
from
their
bivalent
openings.
The fact
that
double
meanings play
a
central
role
in these
larger
tonal
processes supports
the
idea
that
we are
dealing
with
genuine
cases of
ambiguity
rather
than
passages
in
which
a
single
interpretation
dominates.
Before
forging
ahead
with
analysis,
we
need to return
for
a moment to
issues
surrounding
the
relationship
between
listening perspective
and double
meaning.
As
previously
mentioned-and
in contrast to
the view that
I
will
develop
-Agawu
argues
that the
possibility
for
ambiguity evapo-
rates once
an
analysis
sorts
out the different
temporal
con-
texts
in which
competing
interpretations
arise. Take the
conflicting
metric
interpretations
of the
opening
motive of
the C-minor
piano
quartet suggested
in
Example
1. As
Lewin
asserts,
it is
illogical
to claim
that we hear
this
figure
as both
strong-weak
and
weak-strong
at
the
same time. His
solution-one that both
Agawu
and I
adopt-is
to draw
at-
tention to different
temporal
contexts
in which we
might
hear the motive
in one
way
or the other.
But does this
poten-
tial
for diverse
interpretations
amount
to a robust
ambiguity?
Agawu argues
that a
single interpretation
will dominate in
any
of
these
different
contexts;
thus no
ambiguity
arises.
In
the absenceof the 50-50 balance he requires or ambiguity, t
is
simply
a matter
of
a
rhythmic
motive that we hear one
way
in one context and
another
way
in another context.
I
nevertheless
contend that
the
special
characterof
many
Brahms
passages
is
only
partially captured
by
this more in-
clusive,
temporally-sensitive
version
of either/or
hearing.
Although
it
may
be
impossible
to hear
conflicting
rhythmic
interpretations
simultaneously,
some
motives nevertheless
have less
clearly-defined
metric
identities than
others.
I will
demonstrate that Brahmsmay indeed hold us in an ongoing
state of ambivalence
as
he
develops
such
materials.
The sum
total of the
process
of
hearing
a
motive that
keeps
switching
meanings
may
indeed
produce
ambiguity.
For
it is
my
con-
tention
that,
as
we
listen,
we
assess
musical ideas
not
merely
as isolated
components
within
discrete
temporal
contexts.
We also
respond
to these
ideas as
entities that live a
life of
7
My
interest
in the concerto and
quintet
has been stimulated
by
the
work
of
John
Daverio,
a scholar whose
writings, along
with
Epstein's
and
Lewin's,
were
very
much on
my
mind as
I
developed
the
ideas
for
this
essay.
Daverio's
published
work
on
the
Adagio
from
the
Quintet
appears
in
Daverio
1993,
144-54. He
provides
a critical reevaluation of
the
concerto
in Daverio 2002.
8
Cone 1986 and
1989.
8/18/2019 Rhythmic and Harmonic Ambiguity in Brahms
5/42
60
MUSIC
THEORY SPECTRUM
28
(2006)
continuity
across the
unfolding
of a work. In other
words,
while it
may
be
analytically productive
to
adopt
a
Lewin-
esque emphasis
on
cognition
and
temporality,
we need not
reject
outright competing
notions
of
Platonic
atemporality
and
idealism. Once we are
engaged
in
analysis,
both
perspec-
tives
may
lead to
insight-provided
that we are
willing
to
approach
our work
pragmatically,
without
aspirations
for
an
allusive
methodological
purity.
To
illustrate
the
point,
consider the
repetitions
of the
quarter-note
motive
in
Example
1. When we
speak
of the
motive in
measures3 or
4--or
mm.
13, 14, 32,
or
33-we are
not
speaking
exclusively
of
fragments
that
we
perceive
only
in
different
temporal
contexts. In
as much as
the
motives are
related
by
an
identity
relationship-and
this after all is what
allows us to
speak
of
them as
repetitions-we
are
hearing
the
evolution
of a
musical idea. We
mentally
retain this idea
independent
of
its isolated
iterations,
during
the
process
though
which
we assess the idea from various
viewpoints.
As
we
experience
the motive
from
these
viewpoints,
we will see
that
it is
possible
to become less and less sure of the idea's
metrical
identity.
This
is the case even
despite
(or
perhaps
because
of)
any
momentary
clarity
that
may
arise at
isolated
moments in the listening process,that is, despite the contex-
tual
clarity
that
Agawu
believes disavows the
possibility
for
ambiguity.
It
is also crucial to observe
that,
even within one or an-
other
of
Agawu's
or
Lewin's
contexts,
there
may
be
varying
possibilities
for
attribution
of double
meaning.
An
analogy
with the
famous
rabbit/duck
sketches clarifies what is
in-
volved here.
Despite
their
potential
duality,
Lewin
points
out
that no one
looking
at these sketches claims to see a
rabbit
and a duck simultaneously.9Lewin highlights this fact to
bolster
his
argument
about the
importance
of
temporal per-
spective
for
analysis
of musical multivalence. Another
point
worth
highlighting
is that not all sketchesof rabbitshave the
potential
to be
seen
as ducks
and visa versa.The same is also
true for
musical ideas.
Some
are
absolutely
clear in
either
metrical
identity
or
tonal
function. Others
may
have
varying
capacities
to
be heard in
multiple ways.
Thus
although
it
might
be
difficult
to
argue
for a 50-50 balance
between com-
peting interpretations,
it is
nevertheless
analytically
mean-
ingful
to
distinguish
between cases that come close versus
situations
in
which there is near or absolute
clarity.
With
respect
to
rhythmic
issues,
we
might
consider the
piano quartet's
basic idea
in
light
of a continuum
extending
from materials
that are
metrically unequivocal
to those
that
are
a-metric,
that
is,
situations in which there is
absolute
clarity
one
way
or the other.
The
quartet's
motive stands
between these extremes and thus has
greater potential
for
double
meaning
than an idea at the continuum's
endpoints
of
univalence.
Moreover,
Brahms creates and
develops
this
double
meaning
with masterful
acuity
and
range.
Although
we
might
be hard
pressed
to locate an extended
a-metric
passage
in
Brahms,
it is
obviously
not difficult to
find
examples
of clear and distinct metrical
shapes.
Take,
for
instance,
the
passage
from the
Eb-major
Rhapsody,
op.
119,
no.
4,
shown
in
Example
2(a).
What is
noteworthy
here
is
that,
although
the
rhapsody's rhythmic
motive of m. 65 is
similarto the piano quartet'sbasic idea, Brahmsplaces it in a
context in which one cannot
help
but
perceive
the
notated
meter.
By
contrast,
the other
excerpts
in
Example
2
possess
a
degree
of metric
ambiguity comparable
to
that
found in the
quartet.Although
a detailed
analysis
of these works
falls
be-
yond
the
scope
of this
article,
I will nevertheless return to
them later in order to
compare
some
consequences
of their
rhythmic
double
meanings
with the
impact
of metric ambi-
guity
in
the
quartet.'0
At the
least,
my analyses suggest
a
stylistic basis for the kinds of relationshipsI will pursue in
the
quartet
and as such
provide
intertextual
support
for
my
argument
that
this
specific type
of
metric bivalence
serves
as
a
driving
force
in Brahms's ormal
processes.
9
Lewin
1986,
370-71.
o0
Readers nterested
n
more detailed discussion of
the
horn trio and
clarinet rio canconsult
Smith
2001.
8/18/2019 Rhythmic and Harmonic Ambiguity in Brahms
6/42
YOU REAP WHAT YOU
SOW:
SOME
INSTANCES
OF RHYTHMIC AND HARMONIC AMBIGUITY IN BRAHMS
61
Ivla./cello l
Allegro
non
troppo
99
Violine
I I
p
B r a t s c h e
I -----0001-
Violoncell
p
~- _
Allegro non troppo
4th
th
Pianoforte
f
dim.
f
dim.
iio6 .
aligned
EXAMPLE
I.
Brahms, C-minor
Piano
Quartet,
i,
1-34.
METRIC AMBIGUITY AND
TONAL
DELAY IN THE C-MINOR
PIANO
QUARTET
The absence of metric articulation within the initial
quasi-fermata
on
C
is crucial
to
the
possibility
for
multiple
rhythmic interpretations
of
the
quartet's
head motive
(see
Example
1).11
Contrast the
openness
of this
rhythmic
context
with the clear definition of
meter
provided
by
the
measures that
precede
the C-minor motive of m. 65
in
the
op.
119
Rhapsody.
Supporting
factors
for
the
competing
metric interpretationsin the quartet are listed in Example
3.12
Note in
Example
1 that
although
the
viola and
cello
ii
For
discussion
of other instances of
quasi-fermatas
in
Brahms,
see
Smith
1994a, 254-55,
and
1992,
235-37.
Samarotto
1999,
47,
also uses
the term and
specifically
links
the idea
of a
quasi-fermata
as unmea-
sured time to his
related
category
of
uninterpreted
durations.
12
See
Caplin
1998, 35-42,
for
definitions of
the
form-functional terms
presentation
and continuation that
appear
in Ex. 3.
8/18/2019 Rhythmic and Harmonic Ambiguity in Brahms
7/42
62
MUSIC THEORY
SPECTRUM 28
(2006)
13
1
4th
1
4th
rI--
----
--|
p1
-
-
-
espress.
dim. sempre
Sespress
------
dim.
sempre
p
-
espress.
dim. sempre
iio6
i6
aligned
i
-but
then
strong-weak
weak-strong
strong-weak
or
eak-strong?
27
pizz.rco
sf
-pp
pizz.
.aarco
pp
p
marc
f
V.
Aige
ir)
i
V/displaced
i/aligned
EXAMPLE
I.
[continued]
8/18/2019 Rhythmic and Harmonic Ambiguity in Brahms
8/42
YOU
REAP WHAT YOU
SOW:
SOME
INSTANCES
OF RHYTHMIC AND HARMONIC AMBIGUITY
IN
BRAHMS
63
SS
W
S W
etc.
W- S
7f-
or S
-
W
Andante
p
dolce
espress.
Horn in Es
r
A I
,
I
Andante
d.oc-..I
Iwl--
"
-
f
Sf Sf Sf
Sf3
P
Pianoforte p
dolce
(b)
Brahms,
Eb-major
Horn
Triody,i,
-8.
EXAMPLE
2.
provide
metric clarification in the continuation
portion
of
the
sentence,
a residue
of
conflicting
cues
remains
n
the vio-
lin.
Moreover,
the
phrase
culminates
in
yet
another
metri-
cally
undefined
quasi-fermata
even before the
opening
B%
octaves return
n m.
11.
The
Bk
octaves
prepare
a second
progression
from metric
uncertainty
to
partial clarity
within the
varied
repeat
of the
opening phrase.
There
is, however, perhaps
a
heightened
sense of
displacement
due to
Brahms's transference of the
motivic
ascending
fourth-a
characteristic anacrusic
gesture
-into the
top
voice.
Moreover,
as he
sits
on
the
goal
domi-
nant of
m.
27,
Brahms effaces
the
somewhat clearer
articula-
tion
of
the
meter
that
again
has
just
emerged
in
the lower
strings.
An element
of
metric
liquidation
thus
complements
8/18/2019 Rhythmic and Harmonic Ambiguity in Brahms
9/42
64
MUSIC
THEORY SPECTRUM 28
(2006)
(c)
Brahms,
A-minor
Clarinet
Trio, i,
12-17
w-
or S Wor
W
(c) Brahms, A-inor Clarinet Trio, i, 2- arc7.
153
o
1
-(il
p
dolce
StringsI
(i.)
p
(d) Brahms, A-minor Double Concerto,
,
153-57 (simplfied).
EXAMPLE
2.
[continued]
8/18/2019 Rhythmic and Harmonic Ambiguity in Brahms
10/42
YOU
REAP
WHAT YOU
SOW:
SOME INSTANCES
OF
RHYTHMIC AND HARMONIC AMBIGUITY
IN
BRAHMS
65
Strong-weak
as notated
Forpresentation
(mm. 3-4)
(1)
appoggiatura
character
of
Eb
(2)
p -
(3)
possibility
for
short-long
"sarabande"
rhythm
in
3/4
For
continuation and cadence
(mm.
5-10)
(1)
agogic emphasis
on
cello
Ab,
F, D,
G
(2)
crescendo to cello D at m. 8
Weak-strong displacement
(1)
agogic emphasis
on
D
(2)
tendency
for
ii6
to
fall on
accented
beat as in: C
I
F6
G6/4
G5/3
1
C
(3)
C-F
ascending
4th in cello
(cf
B
-E6
and
Db-G6
in
vl.
of mm. 14
and
16)
(1)
agogic emphasis
on
vl.
Cs,
Ab,
G
EXAMPLE
3.
Supportingfactorsfor competing
metric
interpretations.
the
more conventional
thematic
liquidation
as
the
phrase
reaches
its
harmonic
goal.
By
the time
the dominant enters
at m.
27, then,
we
have
experienced
two
progressions
from metric ambivalence to
partial clarity
and back
to
ambivalence.
In
both
cases,
as
the
notated
meter
emerges
somewhat more
vividly
in the
continuation portion of the phrase, the basic idea receives
retrospective
definition
as
a
strong-weak gesture.
Thus when
the same
quarter-note figure
enters
in the form
of
the E
pizzicatos
in
m.
28-note
again
the
quasi-fermata
context--
it seems
logical
to
expect
that the
motive
will
emerge
again
as
a
strong-weak
utterance.
This,
however,
is
precisely
what
Brahms avoids. As the notated meter resurfaces at
m.
31,
the
weak-strong
motion to
F
defines a new anacrusic
placement
for the
rhythmic
cell. On the one
hand,
this anacrusic
posi-
tion casts some doubt on
perceptions
of the
original
version
of the basic idea as
strong-weak. Perhaps
the
previously-
rejected
intuitions
of
weak-strong
accentuation were
indeed
correct.
Yet
it
is also the case that
the
dominant
of m. 31 re-
solves into
a
thematic counterstatement
that
articulates the
downbeat
position
of the head
motive
without
equivocation.
Brahms's
rhythmic
idea
finally
achieves
a
state of
clarity
in
which there is absolute conformance
between
heard
and
notated
meter.
Thus at
this
stage
in the
piece,
two
rhythmic
identities
have been
posited
and both
have
received later
confirmation
in
more
metrically
determinant
environments.
To this
point
our
focus has been on metric issues. But
what about the potential for tonal bivalence? Do the pizzicato
Eqs,
for
instance,
point
toward an
ambiguity
of
pitch
func-
tion?
Moreover,
is there
any particular
way
in
which
metric
and tonal
ambiguity
might
interact
in a
Brahms movement?
Given
their
oddity,
it
is
surprising
how
easy
it is
to
interpret
the
Eis,
as outlined
in
Example
4. Their
passing
function
argues
against
the
idea
of a
double
meaning.
Yet at
the
moment
they
enter,
before
the voice
leading
carries them
on
to
F,
the
pizzicatos
do
indeed
introduce
an
element
of func-
tional
uncertainty.
Not
only
are
they tonally odd-they
enter
abruptly
and from an
implicit
D
rather than
an
explicit
5-6
motion-but
they
are
timbrally
isolated
as
well.
Brahms
also
lingers
on the
Eis,
within another
quasi-fermata, creating
a
further sense
of
isolation. These factors
encourage
an
experi-
ential
perplexity,
that
is,
a
pregnant
pause,
until the
entry
of
8/18/2019 Rhythmic and Harmonic Ambiguity in Brahms
11/42
66 MUSIC THEORY SPECTRUM 28
(2006)
5
6 7
5-
6 -7
V i
V
i
EXAMPLE
4.
Passingfunction for
E#.
F provides retrospectiveclarification. Observe the interac-
tion
of
the
metric and tonal
dimensions
at this
point
in
the
form: the
very
moment that
the arrivalof
F
clarifies the con-
trapuntal
function of
E?,
the
passage
likewise
clarifies,
at
least
momentarily,
he metric
identity
of the
pizzicato
quarter
notes.
We will see that
this
type
of
coordination
between di-
mensions has
far-reaching
consequences
not
only
for the
piano
quartet,
but for
Brahmsian
ambiguity
in
general.
Returning
to the
Eis
themselves,
notwithstanding
the
initial moment of suspense, it would seem dubious to at-
tribute
E?-minor
harmonic function to the
6
chord at
m.
28.
We are
much more
likely
to hear the chord as some
type
of
unusual
byproduct
of voice
leading
even before its function is
made clear
by
the continuation
to
F. An
E?-minor
function,
however,
is
precisely
what Brahms
assigns
the
6 chord in the
recapitulation,
as
highlighted
in
Example
5. It turns out
that
the
chord does have
potential
to function as
an
inversion,
even
though
Brahms realizes
that
potential only
in
a
later
context.
This element
of
bivalence is nevertheless
distinct
from the
metric
duality
of the
main theme's basic idea. An
EN-minor
function for the
3
chord remains
inactive
within
the
context of the
expository
dominant
expansion.
The
chord's
harmonic
potential
lies
fallow until
the
recapitula-
tion. The
possibility
for
tonicization
thus
represents
a case
of
"unfinished
business,"
whose fulfillment is
long-postponed
and
unlikely
yet
in
retrospect
nevitable.13
By
contrast,
multiple
metric
interpretations
of the
quarter-
note motive
are
availableto
compete
from
the outset.
There
is a
palpable
tension between the two
hearings
within the
tonic
area,
and
the
rhythmic
cell
thus
achieves a
degree
of
ambiguity
absent from the
pizzicato
Eis.
Brahms
presents
his idea
notationally
in
two metric
positions,
and confirms
both
rhythmic
identities
with the
unambiguous
anacrusic
Eq-F motion
(m.
31,
weak-strong)
and the clear downbeat
orientation
for the head motive at the counterstatement
m.
32,
strong-weak).
It is not a matter of one or the other
possi-
bility
functioning
as a dormant
seed,
awaiting
later
growth;
both rhythmicidentities begin to germinatewithin the ini-
tial
appearance
of the
material.
Moreover,
as is well known
and as the
excerpts
n
Example
2
illustrate,
discrepancies
be-
tween heard
and notated
meter are
a
Brahmsian hallmark.
By
contrast,
harmonic status for
a
?iii
chord otherwise
inci-
dental to
a
5-6
motion,
represents
an esoteric
possibility
that
requiresexplicit
realization
to
achieve
perceptual
relevance.
One issue raised
by
the realization of the harmonic
po-
tential of the
6
chord is the role
of
compositional
intent in
discussions of ambiguity. Put otherwise, one strategy for
defending
the
notion of
ambiguity
is to
demonstrate a
posi-
tive
compositional
function
for the
proposed
bivalence.
Otherwise
ambiguity might imply
either creative weakness
or
analytical incompetence,
an
inability
for
a
composer
to
craft
Schachter's
"clearand
distinct
shapes"
or
for an
analyst
to
perceive
them.14
In the
quartet's
opening paragraph
of
Example
1,
there
is
strong
evidence
of
Brahms's
commit-
ment to
double
meaning.
How else are
we
to
explain
the
13
Brahms's
strategy
of
eventually realizing
the latent harmonic
potential
of
a
contrapuntal
6
chord
informs many ofs
many
of his
compositions.
For an in-
vestigation
of the
topic
see
Smith 1997. On "unfinished
business,"
see
Cone
1989.
14
Schachter
1990,
169.
8/18/2019 Rhythmic and Harmonic Ambiguity in Brahms
12/42
YOU REAP WHAT
YOU
SOW:
SOME
INSTANCES
OF
RHYTHMIC
AND HARMONIC AMBIGUITY IN BRAHMS
67
217
pizz. arco
PP
pizz.
arco
p dim.
marc
P
p dim.
p..
pimm.
S5 6
i
.'.. I I
l
,
I
,
S6
7
p
dim.
p
dim.
p
espress.
(a
dim.
C
a)iIIp
Bmu
(a)
Bra.ms,
C-mlorPiano
uartet,
217-37.
EXAMPLE
5.
8/18/2019 Rhythmic and Harmonic Ambiguity in Brahms
13/42
68
MUSIC THEORY SPECTRUM 28
(2006)
217 223
227 230 236
pizz.
i
--..
.i
.
.
-
.,II"L-
OL
5-6 5-6
5-E5
10 5 - 6
5
- 6
5
8
07
8-7 6
-5
4
-3
7 4
4-3
5
6
t
2
V
E-minor
motivic
expansion
V (as
local
tonic)
(b)Analysis ofvoiceleading.
EXAMPLE
5.
[continued]
dramatic
shift from the
quasi-fermatas
scattered
throughout
the
opening,
with their
attenuating
effect on
metric
percep-
tion,
to the relentless definition
of the notated
meter at
the
counterstatement of m. 32?
This contrast s
part
of a
strategy
to
begin
not with a
straightforwardopening
accent
but
with
a tension-filled anacrusis leading to a delayed structural
downbeat.
Note
how
a
similarly sharp
contrast
of harmonic charac-
ter
joins
the
rhythmic-metric
dichotomy
to create this
pro-
gression
from
tension
to
release.
The
opening, although
it
unfolds within
a structural
tonic,
expands
that tonic
in
part
through
moments
of
seeming
tonal
discontinuity.
Here I
have in mind not
only
the shift
to
B
b
at
m. 11 and the intru-
sion
of the
pizzicato
E s. Also
disruptive
is the
progression
from the local
emphasis
on
Db
in m. 15 to the
Bb-major 6
chord at m. 17.
To be
sure,
one does
not
have to
delve too
deeply
to find
sources of
coherence for
these
striking
tonal
events:
B6
enters
through
chromatic inflection
of
the
B?
im-
plicit
in
the
dominant arrival
of m.
9;
E?
is a
passing
tone,
as
we
have
just
seen;
and the
violin's dissonant
Gb
in
the
viio6/
D1
chord at the end
of
m.
16 resolves
in
register
to
the
viola's
F.
The elements of surface
discontinuity
nevertheless
join
the
metric
ambiguity,
rhythmic
starts
and
stops,
and slow surface
rhythm
to embed a slow
introductory
characterwithin the
opening.
The extended
passage
of
descending
chromaticism
at
m.
17 likewise contributes
to the
sharp
contrast between
the unheimlischmbedded introduction and the fury of the
counterstatement's
pure
C
minor.
To
assert an
unambiguous
4
meter
throughout
the
opening
would be to
deny
a
signifi-
cant
component
of the
expressive opposition
between
the
passages.
In
addition to
their contribution
to a
pattern
of tension
and
release,
harmony
and meter
also interact to create
more
specific
correlationsbetween the tonal and
rhythmic
dimen-
sions.15 Its
rhythmic
tenuousness
notwithstanding,
the
aligned
version of the basic idea is associated
with tonic ar-
ticulation.
This
is the case
not
only
at the
very
outset but
15
My
attention
to
tonal-rhythmic
correlations
is
inspired by
Lewin
1981.
I
similarly
explore
correlations
between harmonic
prolongation
and
metric
displacement
in Smith 2001. For further extension of Lewin's
ideas,
see
Cohn 2001.
8/18/2019 Rhythmic and Harmonic Ambiguity in Brahms
14/42
YOU
REAP WHAT
YOU
SOW:
SOME
INSTANCES
OF RHYTHMIC
AND HARMONIC
AMBIGUITY
IN
BRAHMS
69
also
within
the tonicizations of
Bk
and
Db
in
mm.
13-16,
as
highlighted
in
Example
1. The
pizzicato
displacement,
by
contrast,
alls within the dominant.The
tension
of
this dom-
inant
resolves both
tonally
and
metrically
with
the return of
the basic idea at m. 32, thus
confirming
the association of
metric
alignment
with tonic articulation.
Indeed,
Brahms
createsa
rhythmic corollary
or the tonal relentlessness
of the
C
pedal
in
the
suddenly
emphatic
articulationof the meter.
Not
surprisingly,
Brahms
develops
all
of
these characteristics
-especially
the metric
duality-when
the
opening
material
returns
in
the
recapitulation.16
The result is a
reinterpre-
tation of the
passage's
anacrusic
character
as
part
of a reca-
pitulatory
formal
overlap.
The thematic material reenters at
m. 199 of Example 6, but it is subsumed within a continua-
tion of the retransition's
dominant
prolongation.
The
tonic
chords
within
the
passage
are
apparent-not
structural--
tonics,
that
is,
they
are
chords built with the
pitches
of the
tonic
but without a tonic function."
What
is
noteworthy
for
our discussion
of
metric
ambiguity
is the
development
of the
quarter-note
motive
as
part
of
this
recapitulatory overlap.
The
process
of
development
occurs in both the
disguised
reentry
of
the main theme at m. 199 and the
newly-composed
segmentbeginning in m. 208, also shown in Example6.
In the
first
instance,
the metric
instability
of the head
motive intensifies as
part
of
the
process
whereby
retransi-
tional
tension extends across the
point
of
thematic return.
The
triplet
octaves
in
mm.
196-98
articulate the
quarter-
note
pulse,
in contrast to the a-metric characterof the
origi-
nal
C
octaves for which
they
substitute.
But in a
develop-
ment of the
quasi-fermata
character
of the
Cs,
the absence of
articulation on the dotted-half
level
(downbeat
of m.
197)
creates some doubt
regarding
the
rhythmic
status of the ma-
terial
in m.
198. Does the
shift to
Ab correspond
with the
heard downbeat or does the
agogic
accenton the
second beat
-note the
accent
in the
piano-articulate
a metric
shift?18
Annotations in
Example
6
highlight
the
fact that
repetitions
of the triplet motive, labeledX, across the formal hinge con-
tinue
to
emphasize
the second beat as the
piano
reintroduces
the head motive with its
intrinsic
tendency
for
displacement.
As
in
the
expository
version,
the notated meter
emerges
with
greater clarity,
above all
in
the
accompaniment,
as the sen-
tence continues
beyond
its basic idea
(m.
201).
The metric
confusion across the
reprise
nevertheless
joins
both the in-
trusive
Ab
and
textural-dynamic overlap
to blur the formal
boundary
and
thus
to
deny
thematic
or
tonal resolution.
The tendency for displacement further develops follow-
ing
the
dominant arrivalat
the end of the main theme
(m.
205).
In the
passage beginning
in
m.
208
of
Example
6,
the
fragmentary
iterations
of
the head
motive lose even
their
tenuous
grip
on the meter
and slide into
positions
of
dis-
placement.
This
aspect
of
development
builds
on the
rela-
tionship
between the head and
pizzicato
versions
of the
quarter-note
idea. At the
recapitulatory
point
of
crisis,
the
original
version of the
motive
is
overcome
by
characteristics
16 The
metric
ambiguity
of
the
quarter-note
motive serves as a basis for
development
at
other
points
in the movement as well.
A
noteworthy
passage
in this
regard
is the central
episode
of the
development
begin-
ning
in m.
142.
There the
grandiose B-major
transformation
of the
main
theme
clearly
projects
the notated
meter. It
is
in
the
passage
that
follows
at m. 154 that
Brahms
exploits
the head motive's metric
ambi-
guity
to undercut
the
apparent triumph
of the
major-mode
transforma-
tion. Once
again harmony
and
meter work hand in hand. The
shift
to
E-minor at m. 154
highlights
the
ephemeral
character of the
B-major
triumph by retrospectively redefining
it
as
an
unstable dominant
expan-
sion.
Likewise,
the
solidity
of
the notated meter
in
the
B-major passage
disintegrates
into the
rhythmic ambiguities
of the
turbulent
E-minor
section.
17
Schachter
1990, 169-73,
provides
a
stimulating
discussion of
apparent
tonics.
18 To a
large degree,
a decision
about how to hear the
passage
will
depend
on
performance
factors. A
chamber
group
that
emphasizes
the
down-
beat shift to
A?,
perhaps
with
a
Luftpause,
will make it
harder
to
hear
the
agogic
emphasis
in m.
198 as
part
of a metric
displacement.
A
quartet
that
plays through
the
notated
downbeat
and
onward
to
the
second
beat
will make
displacement
all the
more
plausible.
8/18/2019 Rhythmic and Harmonic Ambiguity in Brahms
15/42
70
MUSIC
THEORY SPECTRUM
28
(2006)
3 1 2
.
1 2 3
1 2 etc.
Y k"
~
~
xf
espress
fff
fr
p
coespress
S--W
204as
notated or:
S
--W
S -W (Displaced hemiola)
di;
N-
f
i
--Im
--
V V V
EXAMPLE
.
Brahms,
C-minor Piano
Quartet,
i,
196-213.
8/18/2019 Rhythmic and Harmonic Ambiguity in Brahms
16/42
YOU
REAP
WHAT YOU
SOW:
SOME
INSTANCES
OF RHYTHMIC
AND HARMONIC
AMBIGUITY
IN BRAHMS
71
of the
tonally
anomalous
pizzicato
figure.
What
was
origi-
nally
associated with
the tonic
and
the
notated
downbeat
becomes dominant oriented and
displaced
in a
manner
that
solidifies a connection with the
pizzicato
version.
Yet
despite
the new position of displacement,the metric identity of the
motive remains
ambiguous.
As the annotations
n
Example
6
highlight,
there is a
very
real
possibility
to
hear
a
(displaced)
strong-weak
orientation for the idea
despite
the
articulation
of
the notated
meter in
the
piano.
No matter
how
Brahms
positions
the
motive,
it
stubbornly
resists
straightforward
metric
interpretation.
Further
development
of
metric-tonal correlationsarises n
consequences
Brahms draws from the
pizzicato
idea as it re-
turns in m. 224. The aforementionedtonicization of the E s
becomes
a
stepping
stone to
recapitulation
of
the
secondary
material
in
the
unlikely
key
of the
major
dominant
(see
m.
236 of
Example
5).
Thus in
a somewhat
more
abstractman-
ner,
the
displaced
version
of the
quarter-note
motive
remains
bound
up
with the dominant. Brahms takes care to
provide
both metric resolution
for
the head
motive and
tonal-timbral
resolution
for the
pizzicato
figure
as
part
of the
delayed
structural
downbeat that
results from
this off-tonic return.
Remarkably,the dominant expansion extends not only
across the
reprise
of the
secondary
material
(mm.
236-87)
but even
into the coda of m.
288.
This
extended dominant
itself
further
prolongs
the dominant that
originates
n the
re-
transition and flows across the return of
the
primary
the-
matic material.
The
result is that we
find ourselvesstill wait-
ing
for a structural onic as late as m. 312
of the
coda.19
As
Example
7
shows,
a
passage
characterized
by
relentlessartic-
ulation of the
notated
meter
prepares
the restatement of
the
opening
C octaves
that
finally provide
this
delayed
tonic
at m.
313.
(The
clear
delineation
of the
meter in m. 312
reflects
the
overall metric
clarity
of
the
preparatory
assage,
which
begins
in m.
308.)
The sense of
pulse easily
continues
through
the
octaves,
which
lose their
a-metric character.
The sustained
meter allows for clear
rhythmic
definition
of
the two versions
of the
quarter-note
motive as
they
enter
for the first time in
contrapuntal
combination. Indeed the
combination itself contributes
to the sudden metric
clarity.
There
is no
longer
any
doubt that the octave
leap
functions
as
an anacrusis
and that the basic
idea
sits
firmly
on the
downbeat.
In addition
to
this
element of
metric
resolution,
note that both the
timbral
and tonal dissonance
of the
pizzi-
cato motive
resolve: the
unheimlisch
E?
figure
now
appears
arco and
transposed
to the tonic
pitch
level.
Liquidation
of
motivic
idiosyncrasy-including
the movement's seminal
metric double meaning-thus complements the long delayed
resolution
of
the
recapitulation's
dominant
prolongation.20
METRIC
AMBIGUITY AND LINKAGE IN THE DOUBLE
CONCERTO AND CLARINET
TRIO
Although
I
have not
yet
described
it
in
these
terms,
the
motivic
process
across
the
formal
hinge
at
m.
32
in
the
quartet presents
a classic case of
Knipftechnik
or
linkage
tech-
nique (refer back
to
Example 1).21
The
motivic
substance
at
the end of
one formal unit-the
pizzicato
*s-becomes
the
thematic
point
of
departure-the
EB-D
basic idea-for
the
subsequent
section.
The
wrinkle
here is that the motivic
connection
is
primarily
rhythmic.
Although
both
passages
emphasize
3,
an
identity
relationship
arises
largely through
repetition
of
the
quarter-note
pattern.
Note also
that
the
rhythmic
motive occurs twice in each instance.
As
we have
i9
I
discuss his
tonal
delay
and its
implications
or
Schenkerian
iews of
sonata orm n
greater
detail
n Smith 1994b.
20
Epstein
1979, 162-69, tracesa similarcoordination etweenresolution
of
a tonal
delay
and resolutionof an elemental metrical
ambiguity
n
the firstmovement
of
Brahms's
Second
Symphony.
21 The
term
Knipftechnik
s
Schenker's.See his discussionof motive
in
Schenker
1954,
3-12
and
fn.
10. For additional
examples
and further
discussion
of
linkage,
see
Kalib
1973,
vol.
I:
89-92,
and
Jonas
1982,
7-10.
8/18/2019 Rhythmic and Harmonic Ambiguity in Brahms
17/42
72
MUSIC
THEORY SPECTRUM
28
(2006)
Pizz. motive
now
arco and
transposed
to C.
Clearly
heard as
notated: W-S
largamente
312
vi
espress.
+ via.
(+8)
Piano
(+ 8)
cello
(piano
not shown)
(vla. + cello not shown)
V
i Headmotive owclearly eard s notated: -W
EXAMPLE
7.
Brahms,
C-minor Piano
Quartet,
i,
312-17
(simplified).
seen,
the
process
is
complicated
by
the fact that the metric
position
of the motive shifts across the formal divide.
This shift is crucial
to
my argument
in favor of
hearing
the tonic area in terms of an elemental metric
ambiguity.
To
summarize:
following
previous retrospective
confirmations
of
a
strong-weak
interpretation
of
the basic
idea,
the entrance
of the
pizzicato
motive can
easily
be heard
as
yet
another
strong-weakutterance. Yet not a moment later,an anacrusic
E?-F
motion
(mm.
30-31)
clarifies the situation
in
favor
of a
weak-strong
interpretation.
But
then
linkage
with
the counterstatement
forces
us
back
into the
just-rejected
strong-weak
hearing.
The result
is a
process
in which
we can
never be
certain about the status
of the motive-either the
version we have
just
heard
or
the
one we are
currently
hear-
ing,
or even
repetitions
still
to come. This is the case
despite
isolated
moments
in
which a
single interpretationapparently
comes into
focus,
that
is, despite
the context-sensitive
hier-
archy
of
interpretations
that
Agawu
believes disavows the
possibility
for
ambiguity.
Although
linkage
is
most often described
as a
pitch
phenomenon,
the
quartet
is far from the
only example
in
which
the
technique
interacts with
rhythmic-metric
devel-
opment.
Such
instances of
linkage characteristically
unction
within
larger processes
centered
on a back-and-forth
of
metric
ambiguity.
This is the case
in
the
first
movements
of
the double
concerto,
clarinet
trio,
and horn
trio,
works
whose
metrically-ambiguous
motives
I
have
already
cited
in
Ex-
ample
2.
The
concerto,
where
linkage
is
ubiquitous, provides
an ideal context
to continue our
exploration
of Brahmsian
bivalence. Since I havewritten elsewhere aboutmetric orga-
nization in the
trios,
I will limit
my
discussion
here to the
most relevant
points
as
exemplified
by
the clarinet
work,
as
an
adjunct
to
my
discussion of the
concerto. These include
characteristics
we have also observed
in the
piano
quartet:
(1)
the function of
linkage
in
larger
metric
processes,
partic-
ularly
as
it
contributes to
ambiguity;
(2)
correspondences
be-
tween the
rhythmic
and harmonic
dimensions;
(3)
the role
of metric
displacement
n
creating
extended
tonal
delays;
and
(4)
the
tendency
for Brahms
to resolve metric
ambiguity
as
an
integralpart
of
closure,
following
these extended
delays.
The
secondary
dea
in
the
concerto's irst movement
plays
a crucial
role in
establishing
and
developing
the
work's
ele-
mental
metric
ambiguity.
The
omnipresence
of
linkage
in
Brahms's
reatment of this idea becomes
apparent
at the out-
8/18/2019 Rhythmic and Harmonic Ambiguity in Brahms
18/42
YOU
REAP WHAT
YOU
SOW:
SOME
INSTANCES OF RHYTHMIC
AND HARMONIC AMBIGUITY IN BRAHMS
73
set
in
the concerto's amous
opening
alternationof orchestral
and cadenza-like
passages.22
As
Example
8
illustrates,
the
solo cello concludes
its
cadenza
in mm.
25-26
with an F-E
dyad
whose
appoggiatura
character
signals
a
strong-weak
(hyper)metricrelationship.The clarinet then enters with the
secondary
dea whose head motive forms
a
linking repetition
with the
cello's
appoggiatura.23
he fact that
the
horns ex-
tend the cello's E to form
yet
another
quasi-fermata,
means
that the metric context for the clarinet
entrance
is less than
clearly
defined. This lack of definition
conspires
with the
linkage
and
grouping
pattern
of the head motive to encour-
age
a
metric
displacement.
Listeners who
hold
tightly
to the cadenza's
meter,
even in
the face of the quasi-fermata,neverthelesswill recognizethe
clarinet's
syncopated
status.24The clarinet's
misalignment
is
further
signaled by
articulationof the barlines
n
the accom-
paniment
(third
and fourth
horns,
second
flute, etc.).
The
passage
thus
presents
a
threefold
rhythmic complexity.
Are
we to hear the theme as
notated,
with the
melody
out of
phase
with
the meter
as
defined
by
the
accompaniment?
Or
do
the
linkage
and
quasi-fermata
allow
us
to be
fooled
into
thinking
that
the
melody
corresponds
with the
meter,
thereby defining
the
accompaniment
as
syncopated?
Or do
we hear
something
in
between:
a
conflict between
a
strong-
weak
tendency
in the
melody
competing
against
the accom-
paniment's
articulationof the notated meter?
Rather than solve the
quandary,
he
passage
sustains
mul-
tivalence
through
further
linkage,
now
across
the
hinge
be-
tween the orchestral
phrase
and the violin'scadenza
of m.
31.
As
Example
9
suggests,
the violin
material
supports multiple
interpretations,
at least until m. 34 where the notated meter
decisively
reemerges.
From one
perspective,
the new
linking
motive can be heard to extend
a
displacement
in
the final
bars of the orchestralphrase.Yet the agogic accents on the
violin's
high
A
half notes
begin
to
signal
the notated barlines.
In
addition to
their
influence
on metric
interpretation
of the
cadenza,
these accents
retrospectively
effect
interpretation
of the
orchestral
passage.
As the violin's motive
locks
on to
the notated
meter,
the
passage
encourages
us
to reconsider
the statement
of the
same
figure
at
the
end of the
previous
phrase: perhaps
the
second
linking
motive did articulate the
meter
all
along.
This
revelation
in turn
calls into
question
a
strong-weak interpretation of the head motive of the sec-
ondary
theme. But this last bit of
retrospective
reevaluation
contradicts the
original linking relationship
with the
cello,
one source for the initial sense of metric
displacement.
Brahms thus
traps
us
in
a
seemingly
endless
loop
of
ambigu-
ity.
He never makes it
exactly
clear either
where we
are,
where we have
been,
or where he
might
take us.
Just
as the
music
seems to settle into one
perspective,
linkage
forces
us
to reconsider.The result
is
a
process
in
which
we are contin-
ually
uncertain
regarding
the
metrical
identity
of
Brahms's
motivic materials.
This
ambiguity
contributes
to the
yearning
and
gently
restless character of the
secondary
material.
Indeed,
Brahms
continues
to
marshal
linkage
in
the service
of
metric biva-
lence
when the theme returns
n the
C-major
secondary
area
(m.
153).
As
Example
10
highlights,
the clarinet line
at the
end of the transition reawakens both metric
possibilities
22 Daverio
interprets
linkage
across the entrance of cadenza
passages
in
the concerto as part of a strategy by which Brahms integrates "the chief
tokens of
virtuosic
display
with the
formal and
thematic
argument"
of the work.
For this
point
as well as
far-reaching
critical
commentary
on
the
entire
concerto,
see Daverio 2002.
23
The cello's cadenza
itself
enters
through
linkage
with the
opening
or-
chestral outburst
(mm. 4-5).
24 This manner of hearing corresponds with Andrew Imbrie's notion of
a conservative
listener,
that
is,
a
listener
who maintains
a
previously-
established meter
for
as
long
as
possible
in
the face
of
conflicting
cues.
Imbrie's
radical
listener,
by
contrast,
is
more
inclined
to
adjust
immedi-
ately
in the
face.
of
challenges
to
an
ongoing
metric
pattern.
See Imbrie
1973.
8/18/2019 Rhythmic and Harmonic Ambiguity in Brahms
19/42
74
MUSICTHEORY PECTRUM8
(2006)
25s-s
w
s-w
p=dolce
p dod/ce
25.S--W
S
-
S-W
FL
d o k e e
Sdolcece
Hr.
p
S -w
arco
Solo:
Vc.
o
EXAMPLE .
Brahms,
Double
Concerto,
,
25-30
(simpliied).
for the 3-2
dyad.
The clarinet also
articulates ts
closing
6--
appoggiatura
as
a
strong-weak
gesture.
Brahms thus
places
the
second theme in another context of linkage that en-
courages
the same
internal conflicts found in
the
opening
orchestral-cadenza
alternation. Listeners attuned to the
preparatory
articulation of the
notated meter will hear the
second theme
syncopated
against
the
accompaniment.
For
those more focused on the
grouping pattern
in
the
solo cello
it will be
just
the
opposite.
In
either
case,
it is
noteworthy
that the
theme's
rhythmic
restlessness
complements
the
passage's
harmonic
instability.
As the
graph
in
Example
11
shows,
the
theme
expands
the dominant
rather than
the
local C
tonic. Similar
to
the
situation
in the
piano quartet,
metric
dissonance and
tonal
tension work
hand
in hand.
It
is not
the
case,
however,
that metric conflict dominates
the entire
thematic
statement.
The
cello and
accompaniment
do
finally
come
together
to articulate the notated
meter at
the
arrival
on
III# at
m. 161. What is remarkable
is that
Brahms
paradoxically
uses
this metric
clarity
to
prepare
or
the
reemergence
of
still more metric
ambiguity
via
linkage.
As
the cello reaches the end of its phrase, it arriveson two
final
statements
of
the
3-2
dyad,
now heard
clearly
as weak-
strong
in
conformance with the notated meter
(mm.
164-
66).
Yet the entrance of the
solo violin
immediately
contra-
dicts this metric consonance with its
displaced strong-weak
repetitions
of the
same 3-2 motive.
A
trace of the notated
meter nevertheless remains in
the
accompaniment,
which
shifts back to its
out-of-phase relationship
with
the
solo line.
As
we have
just
seen
in
the case of the cello's
phrase,
the vio-
lin
and orchestra also
eventually
come
together
to articulate
the notated
meter,
now at the
C-major
cadence of mm. 170-
71
(not
shown).
Once
again,
resolution of a tonal
delay
cor-
responds
with resolution
of metric
ambiguity.
Yet
although
soloists
and orchestra
remain
in
phase following
a
quasi-
fermata on
this
closing
C,
they
work
together
in the
subse-
quent passage
to articulate
a
displacement
(mm. 172-79).
8/18/2019 Rhythmic and Harmonic Ambiguity in Brahms
20/42
YOU
REAP
WHAT
YOU
SOW:
SOME
INSTANCES OF
RHYTHMIC
AND
HARMONIC AMBIGUITY
IN
BRAHMS
75
1
2 3
4
1
1
2 3
41
p
dolce
29-
Fl.
I••
.x
Cl.
Fgitd
1
29
/
r---~~~~-3-----
r---3----_•
--
"N•
29
/-
r
-3
Solo
l3a.
---3m3------
Solo
__ _ _ __ _ _ _
Vcl.I
I
shifted:
1
2
3
4 1
2 3 4
or
A A
A
A
-IC?
etc.
pocof
as notated:
1 2
3 4 1
2 3
4
1 2
3
4
5
6 1
EXAMPLE
9.
Brahms,
Double
Concerto,
i,
29-36
(simplified).
Thus we see that
Brahms
thematicizes
the
seemingly
endless alternation
of metric articulation and
displacement,
as well as direct conflicts between the two.
Indeed,
this ele-
mental
conflict continues
to
animate
developments
of the
secondary
idea
throughout
the
movement.
The
tendency
for
internal
conflict
is
especially pronounced
in solo
passages
where
transparency
of
texture affords
Brahms the
opportu-
nity
to create
conflicting signals
in his musical narrative.
Big
orchestral
tuttis,
on the other
hand,
are
ideally
suited to un-
ambiguous displacement
in which all instruments
join
to
ef-
face the notated meter.
Comparison
of the
unchallenged
metric shift
in the
tutti statements
of
the
secondary
idea in
mm.
90-101
and
206-17
with
the
more conflicted version
for
the
soloists we have
just
examined
highlights
this
di-
chotomy.
To
borrow
terminology
from Harald
Krebs,
Brahms
heightens
the
contrast between
solo
and
tutti
sections
through
a contrast between
direct and
indirect
(or
even sub-
liminal)
rhythmic
dissonance.25
Given Brahms's
penchant
for sustained
tension,
it
is not
surprising
that
the metric
ambiguity
resolves
unequivocally
only
in the coda. As seen in
Example
12,
a final
disguised
statement
of the
secondary
idea in the flutes and first violins
counterpoints
the soloists'
push
to cadential closure. The
rhythmic liquidation
here
is
not as
straightforward
as the
metric resolution
in
the
piano
quartet.
Brahms
manages
to
highlight
both the head motive's
tendency
for
displacement,
25
Krebs
1999.
8/18/2019 Rhythmic and Harmonic Ambiguity in Brahms
21/42
76
MUSIC THEORY SPECTRUM 28
(2006)
W-S
S
-W W
-
S S
W
148
L
J
, Solo
Vcl.
Fg.
dim.
-p
dolce
dim.
Strings
T(p
zz.')
Idm
rdim.
--p-
sf
--"dm
155
Solo0 6
1,
S
espress.
-
dolce
Strings
I
,
arco
sf--
p
dim.
EXAMPLE
IO.
Brahms,
Double
Concerto,
,
148-68
(simplified).
and the
tendency
for
agogic
accents
on the theme's
high
As
to
reassert he
barline.
As the annotations
in
Example
12
in-
dicate,
the
medium
for
this dual accommodation
is the 5+3
grouping pattern
asserted
by
the soloists.
Brahms
finally
al-
lows the traces
of
displacement
to
evaporate
simply by
aban-
doning
the
head motive
following
its final
appearance
n
m.
423.
He focuses instead on articulation of the notated
meter
via the
high
A
fragment.
This
fragment,
in
turn,
liquidates
through
rhythmic
augmentation
as the
closing
tonic
arrives
at
m. 428.
8/18/2019 Rhythmic and Harmonic Ambiguity in Brahms
22/42
YOU
REAP WHAT
YOU
SOW:
SOME INSTANCES
OF RHYTHMIC
AND
HARMONIC AMBIGUITY
IN
BRAHMS
77
W-
S
W-
S
S
-W
162
Solo
ln.
Vcl.
i
,-
i
--
,li
I
t
p
dolce
Fg.
-
I,,
p
dolce
pizz.
Strings
--
I/o
,v,
pp _
pizz.
EXAMPLE 10.
[continued]
153 156
158 161
163 165 167
I4,
--,
10
6
8
5
3
5
I
V/ii ii
Ger.
5
III#
V I
V
IV
V
EXAMPLE
II.
Voice-leading
analysis ofDouble
Concerto,
i,
153-67.
THE
CLARINET TRIO
Similar
metric
processes involving quarter-note
dyads
animate
formal
developments
in the clarinet
trio.
The
trio's
rhythmic
and
harmonic
dimensions,
moreover,
interact
along
the
lines
we have observed
in the
piano
quartet:
articulation
of
the notated
meter tends
to
correspond
with tonic articula-
tion while
displacement
tends
to
correlate with dominant
ex-
pansion.
A
further
similarity
arises
in
the function of a
quasi-
fermata to create
a
context
in
which the
metric
identity
of a
8/18/2019 Rhythmic and Harmonic Ambiguity in Brahms
23/42
78
MUSIC
THEORY SPECTRUM 28
(2006)
=4
5
+
3
5
+
3
+
1
421
Solo
Vcl.
w
T.,,,,Hw.T
-.
5 3
5
4
(as notated)
4
secondary
dea
4-
4
4vas--
Vc.
1, l.
_ _ ___ _
_"_
_
Via.-%_
_ _ _ _ _
V c l
pizz.
4
425
(8va)--------- --
A-E-(A)
augmented
+
Winds
arco
+
Fg.
arco
EXAMPLE
12.
Brahms,
Double
Concerto,
,
421-27
(simplified).
seminal thematic idea remains
equivocal.
As
Example
13
il-
lustrates,
the
grouping pattern
of this thematic
idea,
the
passing
function of its
Bs,
and the cello's entrance in m. 15
support
a
metric
displacement.26
Nevertheless
the
theme
also includes
signs
that do
indeed
articulate
the
notated
meter. First
observe the
slight
pauses
on
the
Bs,
which result
from
the articulation
slurs and
staccato
markings
on each
downbeat.The downbeats
gain
further
salience
through
the
apparent
i'4/2
chords
that result from
this
B
emphasis.
The
ii~4/2
chords connect
motivically
to
the
apparent
ii04/2
chords
that fall within the clear articulationof the notated meter in
the movement's
main theme
(mm.
6-12).27
Brahms further
articulates
he notated
meter at mm. 15 and
17,
once
again
26
Brahms's
placement
of
the
virtually
identical motive on
both
the
heard
and
notated
downbeat in
the
E6-major
rhapsody,
shown
in
Example
2(a),
provides
further
support
for the idea of a metric shift.
27
I
adopt
the
designation"apparent
i'4/2"
romAldwell and Schachter
2003,
417-18. Aldwell and
Schachterdescribe his
type
of
supertonic
8/18/2019 Rhythmic and Harmonic Ambiguity in Brahms
24/42
YOU REAP WHAT YOU
SOW:
SOME