Dissertation - World Federation of Music Therapy

Appendix 8.6 PHENOMENOLOGICAL MUSIC DESCRIPTION
BRAHMS: Violin Concerto D major, 2nd movement (in F major)
SHORT VERSION:
A long oboe cantilena unfolds with stable woodwind accompaniment. The melody is
simple, based on the three notes in the tonic major chord [a-f-c, often echoed by other
instruments, before the melody continues], yet sophisticated: phrases may be prolonged
or sequenced in an unpredictable, yet pleasant way. The slow adagio tempo makes it easy
to follow both the core melody and the accompaniment. This is very safe – the only hint
at tension and chromaticism is found in a) the transition bars between the melodic
phrases, where bass and treble mark the dominant function in chromatic as/descending, b)
the use of small crescendo-decrescendos.
The entry of the solo violin and the strings (prepared by two string bars of T and D) is a
beautiful restatement of the melody, with fresh echoes of the melodic core motif in
woodwinds, however this section quite fast (already shortly after the beginning of 2nd
statement in F) takes the listener into new realms: the key changes suddenly to the remote
G flat/F sharp not immediately identifiable as major or minor; the mood changes
correspondingly (from *3 to 6*), and the melodic line of the solo violin (even if the core
motif is based on the ’innocent’ motif cell of bar 10) turns longing and plaintive, with
many seufzers. This is intensified by an octvae rise in the solo violin, by an unexpected
fermata, by the many rather dramatic crescendos and the short melodic-harmonic
sequences mowing upwards. The music is no longer stable and predictable, but
ambiguous and filled with chromaticism and other musical surprises. Also the tempo
rises, untill a calando brings the movement back to adagio and the tonic F major.
When the oboe sings the wellknown pastorale theme the violin joins in with soft,
eloquent embellishments of the melodic line. Diatonic and chromatic melodic movements
are integrated on the firm harmonic basis of F major. The violin restates the core motif
and through a series of small variations/sequences the movement is brought to a
comforting and affirmative close (with a surpirsing p f minor chord (bar 113) as a last
shadow of the drama from the second main section of the movement.
LOB 17.10.03
A ”Dynamics of Experience”-Chart of the movement has been drawn.
The conclusions of both descriptions – concerning image potentials of the movement –
are:
• The movement is in song form – A B A’ – yet the predictability of the outline is
’blurred’ (in a very typical Brahmsian way) – by the many unpredictable
variations especially of the B section.
• The major shifts with potentials for image transformation or changes are at 2:15
The violin entry, section B; 3:52 The mood and key shift to a more dramatic and
tragic episode; 6:11 The return to the secure base, harmonically and melodically,
with the two solo instruments in harmony, integrating diatonic and chromatic
elements.
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