Brinkman/Folio Theory IV Final Exam Study Guide (Spring 2009)

Theory IV Final Study Guide Spring 2009 Page 1 of 5 

Brinkman/Folio Theory IV Final Exam Study Guide (Spring 2009) 

Approximate makeup of Exam 

Part I. Given the T 0 P tone row, write specified forms of that row (WITHOUT doing a matrix). 

Recall that you can calculate these directly from T 0 P using integers. For T n P add n to each 

pc in T 0 P; for RT n P, do the same, but work from the back to the front of the row. For T n I, 

subtract each pc in T 0 P row from n. For RT n I, do the same, but work backwards from the 

last to the first note of the row. Practice this using the rows from some of the pieces we have 

done in class and check your answers using the matrix. You will be asked to discuss 

properties of the row. 

Part II. 12-tone analysis. We will give you a matrix and a 12-tone composition. Identify the row 

forms used. 

Part III. Define terms, then name a piece (and its composer) that uses the technique (see 

Worksheet #2). 

Part IV. Given some excerpts, identify a term or some terms that might apply, e.g. “quartal 

harmony,” “mirror writing,” … 

Atonal Compositions 

Schoenberg: Pierrot Lunaire, “Mondestrunken,” “Der kranke Mond,” “Nacht” (1921) 

This landmark work for voice, flute (picc.), clarinet (b.clar.), violin (viola), cello, and 

piano (known now as the “Pierrot ensemble”) uses the technique of Sprechstimme almost 

exclusively in the vocal part. The collection is organized in three parts of seven poems 

each (“three times seven”) from Albert Giraud’s collection by the same name. We used 

contour analysis to identify variations on the “Pierrot motive,” a 7-note idea that appears 

throughout the first movement (G#-E-C-D-Bb-C#-G). The CAS for that motive is and the CSEG is . Schoenberg calls “Nacht” a passacaglia since it 

has a theme that is repeated many times. The first three notes of that theme (E-G-Eb), or 

(014), form the main motive for this piece. 

Twelve-Tone Compositions 

Webern: “Wie bin ich froh!” (1935) 

A 12-tone work based only on T 7 P, RT 7 I, RT 7 P and T 7 I; the 1 st stanza features the first 

two and the 2 nd stanza features the last two, but with a short return to the original pair; the 

song ends with a retrograde of the opening, suggesting the overall (loose) palindromic 

structure; the row contains several instances of set class 3-3(014), which becomes a 

prominent motive; the piano part is based on just a few rhythmic ideas, which also have 

particular articulation, dynamic, and pitch associations. The row forms used also feature 

dyad content invariance. 

Webern: Variations for Piano, Op. 27, II (1936) 

12-tone work; pointillistic texture; canon in inversion (between the 2 hands); registrally 

symmetrical around the note A 4 , which is emphasized through the repeated note figure


(e.g. in m. 2). Like “Wie bin” there are certain rhythmic gestures that have particular 

dynamic, articulation, and pitch associations (this feature of Webern inspired the 

movement of total serialism). 

Schoenberg: Klavierstück, Op. 33a (1928) 

A twelve-tone piece in pseudo-sonata form that uses hexachord combinatoriality (pairs of 

rows that can be juxtaposed vertically or melodically without pitch duplication between 

hexachords). The row is inversionally combinatorial. Through most of the piece 

Schoenberg uses the combinatorial row pair T a P and T 3 I and their retrogrades. In the 

development he emphasizes hexachords, and uses other pairs of rows that share the same 

combinatorial relationship (T n P with T n+5 I): T 0 P and T 5 I, T 5 P and T a I, related to the first 

three pitches in the primary 12-tone row (Bb, F, and C). 

Berg: Violin Concerto (1935) 

Written in memory of Manon Gropius after her death. The 12-tone row alternates 

overlapping minor and major triads, and then finishes with a whole-tone segment (G Bb 

D F# A C E G# B C# D# F). The beginning of the concerto uses notes 1, 3, 5, 7 of the 

row (G, D, E, A) = the open strings of the violin. The piece uses two “found objects,” i.e. 

pre-existing material incorporated into the composition: a Corinthian folk song and a 

Bach Chorale. The last part of the concerto quotes and presents variations on Bach’s 

chorale, Es ist genug (“It is enough”), the first four notes of which are suggested by the 

whole-tone segment at the end of the row. 

Folio: “Cadmium Red Light” from Developing Hues (1990) 

This is the third and last movement of Developing Hues for flute and bass clarinet. The 

movement is based on a 12-tone row that features a compound melody with three 

embedded chromatic lines, which are often brought out in the composition through 

octave displacement, doubling, and dynamics. The flute and bass clarinet are in octaves 

or double octaves for most of the movement, although they sometimes alternate and 

sometimes one holds tones in the chromatic lines to bring them out of the texture. (See 

PowerPoint presentation online and class notes (printout of the PowerPoint)). 

Other Techniques 

Ruth Crawford Seeger: Diaphonic Suite No. 1, III and IV (1930) [Folio Lecture] 

IV: uses “verse form” (lines of music arranged like poetry); many examples of RI-chains; 

(012) is her “signature” motive. 

III: uses a 7-note row that is rotated and which appears on 3 levels: within the bar, from 

bar to bar, and from phrase to phrase (since the first note of each phrase determines the 

transposition level of the set) 

Messiaen: “Liturgie de cristal,” first movement of Quartet for the End of Time (1940–1941) 

Makes use of isorhthmic techniques in the piano chords and in the cello part. The clarinet 

and violin imitate bird songs.


Messiaen: “Danse de la fureur, pour les sept trompettes,” No. VII of Quartet for the End of Time 

Demonstrates Messiaen’s technique of added rhythmic values; the middle section 

illustrates non-retrogradable rhythms and nonstandard augmentations and diminutions. 

Carter: “Canaries,” from Eight Pieces for Four Timpani (1950–1966) 

Features metric modulation (proportional changes of tempo), changing meter, 

polyrhythm; main rhythmic motive is typical of the “Canary” (a 17 th -century French 

dance) from the Canary Islands. Formally, the piece moves twice away from the opening 

tempo (dotted quarter = 90) and returns twice to it through varying tempi routes. 

Minimalism 

Riley: In C (1964) 

Comprised of 53 composed snippets, much of the piece is determined by the performers, 

including instrumentation, duration (of the work), and dynamics. Early example of 

minimalism (1964). 

Reich: Clapping Music (1972), Violin Phase (1967), Piano Phase (1967), Come Out (1966) 

All three works feature “phasing” (technically rhythmic rotation in Clapping Music, see 

notes on Seeger), a technique in which two (or more) parts begin in unison and gradually 

shift apart. Piano Phase does this with two live musicians, Violin Phase with a violinist 

playing with two separate recordings of himself playing, and Come Out with a recorded 

voice playing on tape loops. Since Come Out is constructed by manipulating recorded 

natural sounds (a voice), it is another example of musique concrete (see Stockhausen 

under Sound-Mass Compositions, below.) For more details, see class notes on 

Minimalism. 

Indeterminacy 

Cage: Aria (with Fontana Mix) (1958) 

The score is graphic, with contours, text, and colors. The vocalist chooses ten “voices” to 

associate with the various colors, and approximates the timing and contours from the 

graphic score. Performed with Cages electronic composition, Fontana Mix. 

John Cage: Lectures on Indeterminacy (1959) 

90 paragraph-length stories narrated by Cage, accompanied by David Tudor on the 

synthesizer and piano. Each story is told in a minute, so the speed of the narration depends 

on the length of the story. 

Cynthia Folio: When the Spirit Catches You … (2004) 

A multimedia work written for the Relâche Ensemble in Philadelphia. The work, which 

explores her daughter’s epilepsy, is divided into three parts, the aura (the subject’s sense 

that a seizure is about to occur), the seizure itself, and the post-ictal period (a time of 

confusion after the seizure is over). The piece is accompanied by visuals of art works 

created by artists with epilepsy, an EEG of a patient’s brain waves during a seizure, and 

quotations from Brainstorms (books by neurologist Steven Schachter that recount 

patients’ experiences during seizures), read by Dr. Folio’s daughter. Although much of 

the composition is written out, there are many “indeterminate” elements in which the


composer provides a framework for controlled improvisation to achieve the desired 

effects. 

“Sound Mass” Pieces 

Penderecki: Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima (1960) 

A sound-mass piece – the instruments are combined for sonic effect: tone colors, timbres, 

and “effect” are more significant that the specific pitches used. Some tone clusters are 

obtained by precise notation, while in other passages symbols indicate that each performer 

must play “as high as possible,” “between the bridge and tailpiece,” “on the bridge,” or 

using sharp or flat quartertones. All of these devices produce striking and strident “sound 

masses.” 

Stockhausen: Gesang der Jünglinge (1955–1956) 

Early example of musique concrete, or the manipulation of recorded sounds. One of the 

first multi-channel works, Stockhausen intended it to be performed with five 

loudspeakers giving the effect of the music whirling around the hall. Sounds used in the 

piece include electronically generated sounds and the manipulated recording of a boy’s 

voice. 

Ligeti: Atmospheres (1961) 

A sound-mass piece in which each instrument in the orchestra has a separate notated part 

(including each string player). Although the notation is precise the overall effect is of a 

gradually evolving mass of sound. It almost sounds like an electronically-generated 

piece. 

Ligeti: Lux Aeterna (1966) 

A vocal “sound-mass” piece for 16 vocal parts (4 soprano, 4 alto, 4 tenor, and 4 bass), 

written on the text for the communion from the Latin mass for the dead. Uses many 

chromatic clusters. The beginning of the composition (women’s voices) utilizes a 29-note 

series of pitches with much chromaticism. The voices enter and change pitches at different 

times (called “micro-polyphony” by Ligeti), designed to create chromatic “clusters” of 

pitches. 

Post-modern (Neo-Romantic) 

Penderecki: Concerto Grosso for Three Cellos and Orchestra (2001) 

An orchestra piece using the traditional concerto grosso principle (contrasting a small 

group of soloists with the orchestral tutti). In contrast to his early works such as 

Threnody, which were avant-garde and extremely dissonant, this later work represents his 

new lyrical and more consonant style. Even though the harmonies are triadic, he uses 

“gap-filling” technique to quickly cover the entire chromatic scale. 

Adams: Nixon in China (1985–1987) 

An opera about President Nixon’s week-long visit to China in 1972, which opened up 

relations between the US and China. The work shows the influence of minimalism, and 

the chord progressions frequently exhibit “parsimonious voice leading” – in which the 

voices move as smoothly as possible, with common tones and stepwise motion.


Schwantner: Sparrows (1979) 

A chamber piece for soprano, flute, clarinet, violin, viola, cello, piano, and percussion. 

The string instruments are tuned scordatura (in this case, a half-step lower than usual for 

every string) and some of the instrumentalists are required to sing. The style of the piece 

can be called “post-modern” because it is a reaction to the extreme modernism 

represented by some of the “intellectual” music of the ‘50’s and ‘60’s, especially by 

serial composers (including Schwantner himself). The piece is eclectic in that it mixes 

many styles, but there is an overarching lyricism throughout. The piece is in an arch 

form, representing the idea of the cycle of day and night, reflected musically by 

movement from quasi-tonal to atonal and back to quasi-tonal; this cycle is also reflected 

in the fact that there is a “tonal cycle” and an “atonal cycle.” The composer draws on a 

few “serial” procedures, such as invariance, construction of the atonal cycle from setclasses 

(014) and (0126), diatonic combinatoriality, and unification of pitch centers 

through the primary motive of [-3].

Brinkman/Folio Theory IV Final Exam Study Guide (Spring 2009)

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