MUSICAL COMPOSITION

MELODIES AND VARIATIONS 69Then begins the coda. The first bar of the themeis repeated three times followed by the rest in itssimple form, with a brilliant surrounding of scalepassages, the last repeated B's being expanded till theysound like a written out pause, with the help of agradual ritardando. The whole work concludes witha five-bar rhythm, suggesting (naturally) the repeatedB's again. It is interesting to note the dynamicgradations of this series.=p f piu f p piup pp1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.:::::-=-==:::p f p13. 14. 15. 16. 17. lode..The practice of variation writing tells especiallyin the pianoforte part of songs (commonly calledthe accompaniment). A few examples may be quotedto show its bearing on this branch of composition.The last movement of Beethoven's Busslied (Op. 48,No.6), Adelaide (Op. 46), and Der Wachtelschlag,and countless SODgs of Schumann are examples of this.In Schubert, who relies mainly on figure repetition,it comes rarely to the front. In Brahms morefrequently than in any other song-writer. The mostinstructive instance to be found is in his song "Anein Bild," "To a picture" (Op. 63, No.3, publishedby Peters). It is a perfect specimen of the subordinationof detail to the beauty of melody, andthough the ingenuity of the pianoforte part isastounding, no casual hearer would notice that therewas any complicated writing at all unless his attentionwere directed to it. The idea of "the picture"