Pierrot Blog Questions

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No. 7 “Der kranke Mond”
1. Compare Schoenberg’s three settings of the line “Du nächtig todeskranker Mond.” How are
they similar to and how are they different from one another?
2. In the flute, mm. 23 (second eighth note) to 25 (downbeat only); what musical technique is
used?
3. How is the technique in #2 above different from a tonal version of the same technique?
4. Find some melodic contours that relate to the contour of the Pierrot motive and analyze their
CSEGs. (See class notes on contour analysis.)
No. 8 “Nacht”
5. Compare Schoenberg’s two settings of the lines “Finstre, schwarze Riesenfalter/töteten der
Sonne Glanz.” How are they similar to and how different from one another?
6. How about his third setting of the line “Finstre, schwarze Riesenfalter”? How is it different
from the preceding two?
7. The (014) motive that appears in the bass clarinet in m. 4 (E-G-Eb) is the primary motive of
the movement. From mm. 4–10, list all the appearances you can find of (014) by measure
number, instrument, and pitch-class integers
8. Measures 1–3 contain six overlapping ordered statements of the primary motive (+3, -4). The
result is a series of descending chromatic lines, connecting the 1 st and 3 rd notes of this motive.
List each transposition by starting pitch. (#1 – E; #2 etc.)
9. How do the running 16 th notes in mm. 21–23 relate to the primary motive (+3, -4); use terms
such as prime, inversion, retrograde, retrograde-inversion.
10. “Nacht” divides into three sections, according to the three strophes. Aside from the pervasive
(014) motive, what else do these sections have in common?
11. Find examples of text painting (translation attached).

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