7c
/'IO.
THE INFLUENCE OF HINDEMITH'S HARMONIC THEORIES
ON DAS MARIENLEBEN, OP. 27
THESIS
Presented to the Graduate Council of the
North Texas State University in Partial
Fulfillment of the Requirements
For the Degree of
MASTER OF MUSIC
By
Jana L. Kubitza, B.M.
Denton, Texas
August, 1978 Kubitza, Jana L., The Influence of Hindemith's Harmon- ic Theories on Das Marienleben, op. 27. Master of Music
(Theory), August, 1978, 145 pp., 4 tables, 51 illustrations, bibliography, 27 titles.
This study attempts to show the relationship of Hinde- mith's harmonic theories and practice in the revision of Das
Marienleben, op. 27. The study is based on Hindemith's The
Craft of Musical Composition, commentaries on Hindemith's application of his theories, and analyses of Das Marienleben.
Chapter One concerns Hindemith's contribution as a theorist, including a synopsis of his harmonic theories, and his appli- cation of the theories in his compositions. Chapter Two concerns Das Marienleben itself, including general informa- tion about the work and its revision, and an analytical com- parison of its two versions. Chapter Three concludes that
Hindemith made improvements in the new version in accordance with his harmonic theories through replacing ambiguous har- mony with carefully controlled fluctuation and clearly defined tonalities. TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page LIST OF TABLES ...... iv
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ...... v
Chapter
I. PAUL HINDEMITH: A COMPOSER/THEORIST . . . . . 1
Hindemith's Contribution as a Theorist
Hindemith's theory in historical context Synopsis of Hindemith's theories
Hindemith's Own Application of His Theories
Hindemith's personal testimony Influence on works other than Das Marienleben Compositional "rules" involving harmonic theories
II. DAS MARIENLEBEN...... 26
The Work and Its Revision
General information about the work Revision of Das Marienleben
Analytical Comparison of the Two Versions
Criteria for analytical comparison Analytic procedure Problems in the application of Hindemith's system Comparative analysis of representative sections
III. CONCLUSION ...... 101
APPENDIX ...... 110
BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 143
iii LIST OF TABLES
Table Page
I. Chord-Groups...... 12
II. Tonal Centers and Conceptual Symbols...... 30
III. Non-Chord Tones ...... 39
IV. Summary of Revisions ...... 104
iv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Figure Page
1. Non-Tertian Chords ...... 4
2. Series ...... 5
3. Series2.a...... 8
4. Root Determination of Sevenths and Seconds 9
5. Tritone Root Representatives ...... 9
6. Root Determination by Best Interval 10
7. Determination of Tonal Centers . ... * 15
8. Tonality-Defining Degree Progression . 15
9, Weak Degree Progression 24
10. Returning Tones 39
11. Passing Tones 40
12. Neighboring Tones ...... 40
13. Anticipations . . . .. 9.0.0...... 0. 41
14. Unaccented Free Tone ...... a. 41
15. Suspensions . . . . *.*. .0 . . .0. 1. .. . 0. 42
16. Unprepared Suspensions.. .0...... 43
17. Accented Free Tone-...... 43
18. Determination of Harmonic Fluctuation .. . 48
19. Dyad Functioning as Type-I Sonority .. . 50
20. Song No. 12, mm. 1-2..0 . .g.o. . . .. 53
21. Song No. 3, original version, mm. 1-2 55
22. Song No. 3, original version, mm. 43-45 56
v Figure Page
23. Song No. 3, original version, mm. 52-54 . 58
24. Tonal Spheres of Section A, Song No. 3, 1923 . 59
25. Song No. 3, 1923, mm. 40-42 60
26. Song No. 3, 1923, mm. 52-54 61
27. Song No. 3, 1948, mm. 1-2 . .0 ... 0 ..63
28. Song No. 3, 1948, mm. 77-78 . .0...... 64
29. Song No. 3, 1923, mm. 28-29 - and 48...... 64
30. Song No. 3, 1948, mm. 22-30 . .0 .0 . 0.. &. 0. . 67
31. Song No. 3, 1948, mm. 71-74 . .0 .0 .0 .0 . . . . 68
32. Song No. 3, 1948, mm. 85-88 . .0 .0 .0 . .0.0 . . 68
33. Song No. 7, 1923, mm. 1-4 . .0 .0 .0 .0 . . . . 70
34. Song No. 7, 1948, mm. 1-5 0 .0 . 0.0.. 0. 0. . 71
35. Song No. 7, 1923, mm. 60-61 ...... 72
36. Song No. 7, 1923, mm. 31-33 . 0. 0. 0.. 0. 0. . 73
37. Song No. 7, 1948, mm. 156-16(0I ...... 74
38. Song No. 11, mm. 25-27, 1923 and 1948 versions..4.0...... 76
39. Song No. 1, 1923, mm. 21-23 . . .79
40. Song No. 1, 1923, mm. 27-28 . .0 . 0. 0. 0. . . - 80
41. Song No. 1, 1948, mm. 21-23 . .0 . a. 0. 0. . . . 81
42. Song No. 1, 1948, mm. 27-29 . . .o ...... 81
43. a. Song No. 1, 1923, mm. 47- 59 o.o...... 83
b. Song No. 1, 1948, mm. 43- 57 o...... 84
44. a. Song No. 4, 1923, mm. 1-3 . ... 86 .
b. Song No. 4, 1948, mm. 1-3 ...... 87
vi Figure Page
45. Harmonic Fluctuation, Song No. 4, mm. 3-4 1923 and 1948 versions compared...... 88
46. a. Song No. 6, 1923, mm. 1-4 ...... 92
b. Song No. 6, 1948, mm. 1-4...... 92
47. Song No. 6, 1923, mm. 32-35 ...... 94
48. Song No. 6, 1948, mm. 85-90...... 96
49. Song No. 6, 1923, mm. 90-91...... 97
50. Song No. 6, 1923, m. 90, second beat...... 98
51. Song No. 6, 1948, mm. 127-129...... 99
vii CHAPTER I
PAUL HINDEMITH: A COMPOSER/THEORIST
Paul Hindemith was not only a composer but a highly
conscious musical theorist as well. He felt a responsibil-
ity for future generations of musicians to pass on to them
the benefits of his own experience. It was of concern to him that other composers had not shared this conviction.
Is it not strange that since Bach hardly any of the great composers have been outstanding teachers? One would expect every musician to have the desire to pass on to others what he had labored to acquire him- self. Yet in the last century the teaching of compo- sition was looked on as drudgery, as an obstacle in the way of creative activity. Only rarely did a com- poser integrate it as a component part of himself . . .
Thus, one finds in the person of Paul Hindemith this mixture
of composer and theorist and in his writings some insight
into his conception of theory which was such an integral
part of his creative process.
Hindemith's Contribution as a Theorist
Hindemith's Theory in Historical Context
In Unterweisung im Tonsatz (translated by Arthur Mendel,
Craft of Musical Composition) Hindemith proposes tc present
a new rationale for the technique of musical composition and
Paul Hindemith, Craft of Musical Composition (Mainz: B. Schott's Sohne, 1945), p. 3.
1 2
a theory of harmony which would be applicable to all periods
of music. In attempting to embrace both traditional and
twentieth-century harmonic practices in one all-inclusive
theory, he must set aside stylistic prejudices and approach
the problem through that which is common to all musical
styles--acoustics and the nature of musical sound. Thus,
Hindemith joins the rank of speculative theorists in holding
that the laws of music are derived from the laws of nature.
He believed that music is a manifestation of extramusical,
pre-existing, natural relationships which inhere in musical
tone. Though Hindemith did not admit to the influence, his work is actually an eclecticism of the theories of Boethius,
Zarlino, Descartes, Tartini, Rameau, Helmholtz, and Schenker.
An important innovation of Hindemith's theory is the
concept of the interval as the fundamental or primordial
unit of harmony. Whereas earlier theorists had taken the
major triad as the foundation, Hindemith recognized the tri-
ad as a sum of smaller units and therefore not as the lowest
common denominator of harmony. Through this basic principle,
Hindemith formulated a theory applicable to tertian as well
as non-tertian music and solved the dilemma of the choice of
melody versus harmony as the origin of music. He saw both
melody and harmony as products of the same source--the inter-
val. The scale is refuted as an organizational basis and is
rather viewed as the filling out of the fundamental inter-
vals--octaves, fifths, and thirds. 3
revise conventional harmonic In Hindemith's quest to principles common to traditional theory, he attacks four to ac- shows them to be too narrow theories of harmony and chord structures: count for all possible the construction of chords 1. The basic principle for thirds. is the superimposition of are considered invertible. 2. Chords scales or lowering tones of the diatonic 3. By raising 2 the chord supply of a key may be enriched. of various interpretations. 4. Chords are susceptible are un- theory non-tertian chords In conventional harmonic tertian chords incomplete versions of explainable except as tones or substitutions. or as the result of non-harmonic for tones depend on resolution Since, however, non-harmonic re- "dissonant" chord if not their definition, a solitary Hindemith's answer to these solved cannot be defined. super- a rejection of the rule of analytical difficulties is Instead, the construction of chords. imposition of thirds for of the chords are simply the sum Hindemith maintains that
intervals of which they consist. of chords also breaks down Conventional invertibility such as chords. Complex chords when applied to non-tertian their to Hindemith, "would lose the following, according 3 rearranged." sense if their members were
2 Ibid., p. 90.
3Ibid., p. 91. 4
Fig. l--Non-tertian chords
Earlier systems of theory take the seven-tone scale as a basis of harmonic theory. This diatonic major/minor system is much too limited to justify harmonic practices of all periods.
The familiar theory of harmony prevents chords from the free unfolding of their vital urge. For it proclaims as the highest harmonic law the relationship of tones and chords in a key . . . The chord must blindly subordinate itself and attention be paid to its individual character only as the key allows.4 Seeking a more inclusive theory, Hindemith uses as a basis the chromatic as opposed to the diatonic scale, allowing all semitones to be explainable within a key and dispensing with the concept of altered notes.
As to the fourth principle, that of chords being sus- ceptible to a variety of interpretations, Hindemith feels that chords have only one meaning: chords, being simply the sum of their intervals, have only one intervallic make- up and thus one meaning, and though a chord may have several enharmonic interpretations, it is nevertheless one chord with only one sonority. In summarizing the advantages of
4Ibid., p. 106. 5 his new harmonic theory, Hindemith states, "We are no longer prisoners of the key . . . we now have a free hand to give the tonal relations whatever aspect we deem fitting." 5
Synopsis of Hindemith's Theories
To give a more detailed account of this new system, we shall begin with his basic tools, Series 1 and 2 and their application.
The two fundamental concepts, Series 1 and 2, upon which the theories are built, are derived from two "natural" acoustical phenomena, the overtone series and combination tones. From an examination of the relationship of tones in the overtone series, he arrives at a hierarchy of the twelve tones of the chromatic scale. The twelve tones are arranged in a series according to their supposed relationship to a given fundamental tone, in order of diminishing degree of relationship to that tone. This arrangement of the twelve tones is called Series 1.
Fig. 2--Series 1
This series of tones should not be considered to show the mutual relationship between any given tones, but rather only
5Ibid., p. 107. 6
the relation of each tone to the fundamental tone. Series 1
gives meaning to tones which would otherwise have no place
in the diatonic major/minor system other than as chromati-
cally altered tones. For example, the tone Bb, in the key of C major, would in traditional harmonic theory have only
an indirect or derived meaning as a "borrowed" sonority or
as the seventh of a secondary dominant--dominant in the re- b gion of F major. With Series 1, the tone Bb occupies a
specific hierarchical position in the C series, more related
to C than those tones which follow it in the series and less
related than those preceding it. It has an inherent rela- tionship to the fundamental and may be viewed as having a direct connection not depending on the interpolation of some other tonic.
From Series 1 Hindemith also formulates his concept of tonality. If the tones of Series 1 are considered to be
not single pitches but rather roots of chords, then the hierarchy applies to harmonic relations. It is then possi- ble to measure the closeness or remoteness of a sonority to a given tonic by examining its root's relative position according to Series 1. Chords have a measurable relation- ship to tonic and therefore a specific purpose within a tonality. 7
Using the phenomena of combination tones as a basis, Hindemith derives a series of intervals, called Series 2,
which reveals the relative strength of intervals in decreas- ing order. Combination tones may have either the effect of strengthening an interval, by being of the same pitch class with one of the notes of the interval, or clouding the in-
terval, by differing from both pitches of the interval. The octave and the unison are the "most perfect intervals";
they are 7 not "subject to any such impurity." For the uni- son, the first order combination tone is at zero point and the second order combination tone coincides with the origi- nal tone. Similarly, the octave has a zero point second order combination tone and a reinforcement of the lover tone
6In the simultaneous sounding of two or more tones, ad- ditional tones are involuntarily produced, and these are called combination tones. The combination tone of any in- terval is calculable by the following formula: "The fre- quency of the combination tone is always equal to the difference between the frequencies of the directly produced tones of the interval" (Hindemith, Craft of Musical Compo- sition, p. 61). If the interval is represented as a ratio of order numbers of the overtone series, this principle ap- plies to the ratio; that is, the difference in the ratio numbers of the interval is equal to the order number of the combination tone. Second order combination tones are cal- culable as the difference of the combination tone and the lower of the two notes of the interval. (Subtracting the frequency or order number of the first order combination tone from the higher of the two frequencies or ratio numbers of the interval results in a reinforcement of the lower of the two notes of the interval.) For example, the second order combination tone of a perfect fourth is calculated subtracting by the order number of the first order combination tone, 1, from the lower of the two ratio numbers of terval, the in- 3, resulting in the order number, 2.
7Ibid.,p. 64. 8
of the interval. The two combination tones of the interval of a fifth coincide and reinforce its lower tone an octave below. "All other intervals carry a double burden of vary- ing weight."8 These differences in weight are used by Hindemith to judge the purity or value of intervals. The less impure an interval's combination tones, the higher its rank. In Series 2, "the purity and harmonic clarity of the intervals diminish step by step." 9
(arrows indicate interval roots)
Fig. 3 -- Series 2
Hindemith uses the placement of an interval's combina- tion tones also as a basis for determining its root. The root of an interval is the tone which is reinforced by com- bination tones at the unison or lower octave. Applying this principle, the resultant roots are the lower tones of fifths and thirds and the upper tones of fourths and sixths. The combination tones produced by the sounding of sevenths and seconds do not support either of the two tones of either
8Ibid.
9Ibid., p. 65. 9
his procedure interval. Consequently, Hindemith must change Here, Hinde- for the root determination of these intervals. mith breaks his "scientific" approach by supplying a stylis- seconds. tic explanation of the roots of sevenths and
Conventionally, the lower note of sevenths and the upper of a domi- note of seconds are roots as found in the context
nant seventh chord.
Fig. 4--Root determination of sevenths and seconds
The tritone is also a special case. According to Hindemith,
it has no root but rather a root representative, chosen from
the two notes of the interval in context of what follows it.
The root representative is the note of the interval which
stands closest to the root of the following interval or
chords.
Fig. 5--Tritone root representatives
Based on principles derived from Series 1 and 2, Hinde-
mith establishes a system by which he proposes to replace 10
traditional analytic procedures. All chords, being merely combinations of intervals, are classifiable according to interval content, and as such they have roots which are cal- culable through an application of Series 2. The root of any chord is the root of the highest ranking interval of the chord, according to Series 2. For example, see Figure 6 below in which Hindemith considers the root of the fifth A to E, to be the root of the chord even though the fourth C to F, is lower and aurally more important.1 0
Fig. 6--Root determination by best interval
Because the fifth is, according to Hindemith, the interval of greatest harmonic strength it is the root-determining in- terval regardless of its placement in the chord. In the case of more than one of the same interval, the root of the lower of the two takes precedence. Compound intervals are considered as simple intervals in the figuring of chord roots; that is to say, octave register of one of the tones of the best interval has no bearing on the value of the in- terval.
10 Ibid., p. 97. 11
The above procedure makes it possible to determine the root of even the most complex chords. Here again, a free- dom is allowed which is not possible in traditional major/ minor system harmonic analysis. Chords which would be ex- plainable only as chromatic or linear chords or merely as a combination of non-harmonic tones having no functional pur- pose to the tonality can, through Hindemith's system, be specifically labeled. As intervallic structures, chords have roots which are calculable according to Series 2; and thus, as rooted sonorities they have a specific position and purpose in the over-all tonality according to the values of Series 1.
Hindemith carries his classification of chordal sonori- ties based on intervallic content further by dividing chords into two main groups: A, chords containing the tritone, and
B, those containing no tritone. He explains his reasoning thus:
The tritone, . . . , stamps chords so strongly with its own character that they acquire something of both its indefiniteness and its character of motion towards a goal. There thus arises an essential difference be- tween chords containing a tritone and those without one. O..1
Furthermore, the two main chord groups, A and B, are sub- divided according to the presence of seconds and sevenths in the chords and subdivided further on the basis of the
Ibid., p. 95. 12 position of the chord root, in the bass or above the bass.
The resulting table of chord groups is as follows:
TABLE I
A B
Chords Without Tritones Chords Containing Tritones
I Without seconds or sevenths II Without minor second and major seventh 1. Root in bass voice a. Minor seventh only 2. Root above bass Root in bass
b. Major second or minor seventh or both
1. Root in bass
2. Root above bass
3. More than one tritone
III Containing seconds or IV Containing minor seconds sevenths or both major sevenths or both; Tritones subordinate 1. Root in bass 1. Root in bass 2. Root above bass 2. Root above bass
V Indeterminate VI Indeterminate; Tritone predominating (augmented triad, quartal triad) (diminished triad, fully diminished seventh chord)
The categories above appear in order of decreasing "value" and increasing harmonic tension from I to VI. Movement downwards within a chord-group is also an increase in chord tension. Therefore, a move to any group downward or to the 13 right on the chart is an increase in harmonic tension, and a move in the opposite direction is, of course, a release of harmonic tension. Hindemith calls this rise and fall of tension in the movement of chord groups harmonic fluctuation.
Hindemith's system is not only a method of analysis but also a system for evaluation of musical coherence. In ana- lyzing chord movement, Hindemith represents harmonic fluctu- ation by labeling chords with their chord-group symbols.
These symbols represent chords as isolated sonorities, not in relation to any "key" or tonal center; in order to have a complete picture of what is occurring harmonically, roots of the chords must be extracted into what Hindemith calls the degree progression. In other words, the degree progres- sion is the succession of chord-roots of a progression.
"From the succession of roots, he believes, in addition to the harmonic fluctuation, the value of a chord progression 12 can be estimated." The distance 'of each chord root of a degree progression and the tonic root is measurable by the relationships of Series 1. As the relationship declines there is an increase in tension. The distance in relation- ship between any chord-root and the tonic note is called tonal amplitude. Roots are "supports" of larger harmonic structures, and as such they "must exhibit tonal coherence if the chord-successions which take place above them are to
12VictorLandau, "Hindemith, the System Builder: A Critique of His Theory of Harmony," Music Review, XXII (1961), 147. 14 be understandable. "3 If the succession of roots acts in accordance with the value-relationships of Series 1, then the progression will be tonally coherent. Hindemith does not specify in his discussion of coherence in degree pro- gressions what form the succession of roots must take to be in accordance with the values of Series 1; he does, however, prohibit certain compositional practices involving succes- sion of chord-roots and an explanation of these appears later in our discussion of compositional rules involving harmonic theories.
The degree progression is a crucial factor in the de- termination of tonality in a musical phrase. The tonal center may be determined in a number of ways:
1., The tonal center may be the root tone which occurs most often (Fig. 7a);
2. It may be the finalis or cadence tone (Fig. 7b);
3. It may be a tone which is supported by its own fifth or fourth (Fig. 7c)
1 3 Hindemith, Craftlof Musical Composition, p. 143. 15
olf q6oo I., '7
r',' 7
7 Fig. -- Determination of tonal centers
The clearest definition of tonality may be achieved through a degree progression which exhibits more than one or all of the above criteria.
Fig. 8--Tonality-defining degree progression1 4
While Hindemith's view of tonality is more inclusive and flexible than that of major/minor tonal theory, that is, for example, by allowing chromatic tones a place within one tonality, he still recognizes modulation as a valid phenom- enon. A tonal sphere is confirmed when one tonal center dominates a given harmonic progression. On the other hand,
Ibid., p. 144. 16 when the first tonal sphere is usurped by another one, a modulation is said to have occurred. The tonality of a com-
plete work may be determined in the same way that a tonal
center is deduced from a series of chord-roots. The tonal
center which occurs most often or is supported by other
tonal centers a fifth or fourth away may be considered the
tonal center of the whole. Traditionally, and in Hindemith's
own analysis, the tonal center which ends a musical composi-
tion is, of course, the most significant.
In summary, Hindemith's answer to the limitations of
conventional harmonic analysis is a system which is applica-
ble to all styles of music. In this system, construction
in thirds is no longer the basis for root determination of
chordal sonorities. Also, tones which lie outside of the
traditional diatonic major/minor scales are "freed" from being interpreted as altered or borrowed; all twelve tones have a specific purpose within a tonality. Chords are also
no longer susceptible to a variety of interpretations as
inversions or alterations of other sonorities.
Hindemith's Own Application of His Theories
It is apparent how these concepts are readily usable
as analytical tools; one can take an existing composition
and symbolically represent the events in a way which has never been possible. What bearing did these same concepts have on Hindemith the composer in making decisions on chord 17
choice and melodic construction? Hindemith's system is per-
haps primarily an analytical one, but it also provides
certain logic for compositional procedures. Hindemith's post-Craft writings reflect the application of this compo- sitional logic, and the writings of others about Hindemith's work after 1937, the year of Unterweisung's publication, testify to the influence of these theories on his composing. In Our New Music, Copland makes a bold statement sug- gesting that all of Hindemith's post-Craft compositions
were of a wholly new style.
.*. having . put down to his own satisfaction the basic principles governing the composing of music in the new style, he proceeded to correct not only the composi- tions of his pupils but also his own early compositions (even including Das Marienleben) and to make all his subsequent compositions conform to the principles he himself had deduced.1 5
However, some writers do not share the same viewpoint. For example, Ian Kemp, in his biography of Hindemith, seems less convinced of the influence of Unterweisung. "A musical style is not formed exclusively by the use of certain tech- niques; and many features of Hindemith's later music are not connected with the theory at all.,"1 6
15 Aaron Copland, Our New Music (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., 1941), p. l~l3-IT14 16 1an Kemp, Hindemith (London: Oxford University Press, 1970), p. 39. 18
Hindemith's Personal Testimony
Just to what extent Hindemith's composing was actually
affected by his theoretical discoveries is a point worth re-
examining. Hindemith's own words testify to the fact that
his theories have a direct relation to his practice. Hiode- mith reconsidered works written prior to Unterweisung and judged them according to the theories. In the appendix o
the first German edition of Unterweisung Hindemith implicitly rejects his own music of the years 1924-29 and lists twenty- four works which adhere to his theories. About these latter works, he states, "the realization of the view on the tech- nique of composition which is put forth in this book may
best be found in the following works."17 He specifically refers to Das Marienleben in the closing sentences of the first German edition of Unterweisung as a realization of the theories presented in it. This closing remark reads, "a new revision of the 'Marienleben' (poems by Rainer Maria Rilke) which appeared in 1924, and of the 'Liederbuches fur mehrere Singstimmen' (1925), will be published as a further practi- cal illustration. "18 When, in 1948, the revised version of the songs finally appeared, we find Hindemith speaking di-- rectly to the question of the influence of his theories on his practice. The revised version is prefaced by Introdutory
Paul Hindemith, Unterweisung im Tonsatz (Mainz: B. Schott's SOhne, 1937), p. 252. 18 Ibid. 19
Remarks in which he admits to revising the songs in accord- ance with his own theories. He asserts that the new version of the song cycle has a closer relationship to his theoreti-
cal convictions than the original did.
Influence of Theories on Works Other Than Das Marienleben
Evidence of the influence of Hindemith's theories has been seen in works other than Das Marienleben. His Frau
Musica, op. 45 of 1928, a work for two solo voices, mixed chorus and strings, was revised in 1943. In the years 1948-
1952 he also wrote a new version of his three-act opera
Cardillac, op. 39, which had originally appeared in 1926.
The 1929 opera, Neues vom Tage, was revised in 1953. Both versions of the first-mentioned work, Frau Musica, were ex- amined by William Austin who concludes that the new version demonstrates the growth of Hindemith's craft and "the inter- play of craft, idea and vision." 19 The new version is, he states, "precisely equal to the old one in duration and vastly more powerful in effect." 2 0 Austin makes an analysis of the two versions in terms of the degree progression and harmonic fluctuation and concludes that in the new version
19 William Austin, "Hindemith's Frau Musica: The Ver- sions of 1928 and 1942 Compared," Essays in Honor of Archi- bald Thompson Davison by His Associates (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Univ., Dept. of Music, 1957), p. 268. 20 Ibid. 20
"Hindemith has exercised his newly won control over what he calls 'the fluctuations of harmonic tension.'"2 1
In studying the two versions of Cardillac, Hans Mers- mann preferred the original version.22 He is not alone in feeling that the influence of Hindemith's theories on his own musical composition was more detrimental than beneficial. It has been speculated that such an attention to the details of harmonic tension and its control, as was required in the
formulation of Hindemith's harmonic theories, had a con- stricting effect on his creativity, causing him to produce less-inspired compositions.
Similar to the present study was a work by Victor Landau in which he examined Hindemith's chamber works in light of his theories. He took samples from all periods of Hinde- mith's compositions and evaluated them according to the degree of their conformity to the theories of Unterweisung. He found no consistent trends of increasing conformity to theory after the publication of Unterweisung or a consistent lack of conformity before its appearance. He states: The relationship of Hindemith's harmonic theories to his practice as a composer of chamber music is some- thing less than may be expected considering that the theorist and composer are the same person and that the
2 1Ibid., p. 271. 22 William Austin, Music in the Twentieth Century. (New York: W. W. Norton and Co., Inc., 1959), p. 407. 21
theories are intended to apply to all music including his own.2 3
Landau's conclusions show that the periods in which Hinde-
mith's works most closely conformed were an early period
(1917-21) and the years inclusive of and following the pub-
lication of Unterweisung (1937-41).
Geoffrey Skelton, in his biography, Paul Hindemith,
unjustifiably uses Landau's results as a basis for his eval-
uation of the relationship of Hindemith's theories to his
total output. He interprets Landau's data to show much more
attention to theory in Hindemith's composing than the facts
actually confirm. Whereas Landau merely points out that the works of 1937-41 conform to Hindemith's theoretical princi-
ples, Skelton suggests a conscious and direct influence.
His explanation of the earlier period of conformity is as
follows:
The earlier period is more interesting: it leads one to conclude that basically his theories were a rationalization of his own inborn mode of expression. 2 4
Skelton's conclusions leave the reader with the question whether it was Hindemith's inborn mode of expression which influenced the theories or the theories which influenced his mode of expression.
23 Victor Landau, The Harmonic Theories of Paul Hindemith in Relation to His Practice as a Composer of Chamber Music TAnn Arbor, Mich.: Univ. Microfilms, Ph.D., New York Univ., 1957) , p. i.
24 Geoffrey Skelton, Paul Hindemith, the Man Behind the Music (London: Victor Gollancz, Ltd., 1975), p. 152. 22
Compositional "Rules" Involving Harmonic Theories
In order to see if in fact the formulation of Hinde- mith's theories had a direct influence on his subsequent works, it is necessary to define which of his theories deal specifically with practical problems of musical composition.
In Unterweisung Hindemith recommends certain procedures over others, and it is these compositional guidelines rather than the speculative aspects of his theory which will be used to evaluate his conformity to theory.
The first guidelines to be mentioned here are general
suggestions rather than specific rules of compositional pro-
cedure. Several suggestions were made concerning the plan
of harmonic fluctuation for a composition. Hindemith defi-
nitely feels that some fluctuation is desirable. The
expressive effect of a series of chords is destroyed in the
absence of harmonic fluctuation. He recommends that there
be a carefully planned and purposeful rise and fall of ten-
sion to "create the impression of a departure from test and
a return to rest."25 He states that it is possible for a
composer to control the rise and fall of tension in a com-
position and accurately plan a desired effect. The secret
of good arrangement of this rise and fall is completely open
to him [the composer] in our table of chord-values." 2 6
25 Hindemith, Craft of Musical Composition, p. 160.
2 6 Ibid., p. 119. 23
Chords of group I provide points of relaxation and should be used carefully and not arbitrarily; too frequent and ar- bitrary use of type I chords results in brief and uneffective fluctuations. Hindemith also suggests that the progression leading to a cadence should be without ambiguity, exhibit- ing clear fluctuation from tension to relaxation.
There are more specific compositional rules involving the distribution and juxtaposition of chord groups. The use of chords of groups III and IV should not exceed those of groups I and II, and chords of groups V and VI, because of their ambiguity, should be used sparingly. "The indeter- minate chords of groups V and VI introduce an element of
uncertainty into harmonic developments."27 The occasional
use of chords of groups V and VI is desirable to provide an
increase in tension, but a progression consisting exclu-
sively of these ambiguous chords creates an undesirable ef-
fect.
In such a progression we lose all sense of direction; we seem to be tossed aimlessly hither and yon on an endless series of waves until the ear becomes confused to the point of actual physical discomfort.2 8
Care must also be taken when juxtaposing chords of groups V
and VI with those of groups III and IV. The "vagueness which results from the complex over-sharp profiles of the
2 7Ibid
28 Ibid. 24
chords of groups III and IV"29 is undesirable when compli- cated by the vagueness of the ambiguous chords of groups V and VI.
Hindemith is more specific in his suggestions for creating an effective degree progression. Successive chord roots should adhere to the values of Series 1, in that the most valuable degrees of the series (those at the beginning) should occur most often. It seems that Hindemith is con- cerned with establishing a tonal center throughout a phrase, and the way to achieve this is by using most frequently the first few degrees of Series 1. The first notes of the series, a "tonic," its fifth and its fourth, strongly empha- size tonality. The absence of the strong intervals of fourths and fifths over a period of time is detrimental to the establishment of the tonality.
Fig. 9--Weak degree progression
The melodic shape of a degree progression is also a matter of concern. The melodic interval of a tritone should be avoided between chord roots unless one of the tones is an upper or lower neighbor to a tone forming a "better" interval.
29 Ibid. 25
Successive chord roots should also avoid the formation of broken chords, and avoid chromatic progressions, several
successive minor seconds.
After recommending these procedures, Hindemith states,
"Yet none of these rules absolutely forbids anything . .
The rules here given are warnings only."3 The composer has the freedom to use without hesitation whatever tonal material will best express the sense of the passage of music.
Hindemith is in these rules bringing to our attention the
effect of certain harmonic procedures so that they will not be used unintentionally. He is at the same time suggesting
that certain techniques are advantageous to successful har- monic writing, and it is these practices which one should
expect to find in a work which was revised in order to i1-
lustrate his theories.
_Ibid. p. 147. CHAPTER II
DAS MARIENLEBEN
The Work and Its Revision Das Marienleben, considered to be one of Hindemith's peak compositional achievements as well as an important con- tribution to twentieth-century music, has been the subject of numerous articles and studies not only as an example of the relationship of a composer's theory and practice but al- so for its value as a basis for the aesthetic evaluation of music. Peter Hansen, in Twentieth-Century Music, states,
. . regardless of the theory behind it, Das Marienleben is one of the most important song cycles of the period." 1 Ian Kemp marks the 1923 Das Marienleben as the end of an earlier period of experimentation in the development of Hindemith's style. "He had absorbed or discarded what his seniors had to offer him and now spoke a new musical lan- guage with undoubted authority. This work heralds the first, the new classical period of his maturity." 2
.Peter S. Hansen, An Introduction to Twentieth-Century Music (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, Inc., 1967), p. 274. 2 T),an Kemp, Hindemith (London: Oxford University 1970), p. 13.P Press,
26 27
General Information About the Work
The Marienleben songs were written in 1923 while Hinde- mith lived and worked in a high, four-storied tower in the
Grosser Rittergasse, Frankfurt. They were first performed
in Donaueschingen on June 17 of the same year by Beatrice
Lauer-Kottler, the dramatic soprano of the Frankfurt Opera,
and Emma Libbecke-Job, to whom the work is dedicated. Al-
though the second version of the songs did not appear in
published form until 1948, there is evidence that Hindemith
had the revision in mind as early as 1936. In a letter to
Willy Strecker, publisher for B. Schott's Sc5hne, Hindemith's
wife related that Hindemith was thinking of rewriting the
songs and reissuing them with an introduction as a "har-
binger" for his theory book on which he was working at that
time. By 1941 the revised version was completed, and, on
September 27 of that year, Hindemith wrote to Willy Strecker,
"Now at last it has its final shape. "3 The new version was
first performed on November 3, 1948 in Hanover by Annelies
Kupper, soprano, and pianist Carl Seemann.
The Marienleben song cycle is a setting of fifteen
poems of Rainer Maria Rilke depicting the life of Mary, the
mother of Christ. Hindemith, a confirmed Protestant though
"not religious in the orthodox sense,"4 uses the religious
3Geoffrey Skelton, Paul Hindemith, the Man Behind the Music (London: Victor Gollancz, Ltd., 1975), p. 201.
4Ibid., p. 77. 28 texts as a dramatic rather than a devotional expression.
The drama of the songs seems deliberately unromantic except for occasional moments of "unexpected tenderness."5 The songs have been described, such as by Hansen,6 as covering the whole gamut of emotions--gentleness, brilliance, inti- macy, abstractness, joy, grief--though such emotionalism is carefully controlled.
The overall form of the work is shaped largely by the programmatic content of the poems in that the fifteen songs are arranged into four groups according to subject matter.
The structural shape of each song is derived from the shape of its poem, more so in the revised version than in the original; Hindemith claims to have improved the relationship of the music and text in the new version over a lack of co- ordination of the two in the earlier version.
Both versions of the cycle share some common textural and formal characteristics. From the textural and struc- tural point of view, the work is mostly contrapuntal, giving it a rhythmic and formal structure more similar to the eighteenth century than to the free forms and declamatory style of twentieth-century expressionism. Traditional musi- cal forms such as passacaglia, three-part song form, theme and variations and fugato are represented in the cycle.
5 Kemp, p. 13.
6 Hansen, p. 274. 29
The songs are demanding technically as well as expressively for both singer and pianist. The vocal line is conceived as part of the total polyphony, working equally with the piano as counterpoint to it or as an extension of the piano lines rather than as a solo with piano accompaniment. Fur- thermore, the lowest part often participates as a contra- puntal voice to the above rather than serving merely as a functional bass line. With regard to the stylistic simi- larity between the work with that of Bach, Skelton is of the opinion that "in Das Marienleben Hindemith first fully discovered his true roots in the polyphonic style of the
eighteenth century,"7 while Deri states that "in formal balance and spiritual expressiveness Hindemith never came
closer to Bach's art than in this instance." 8 Probably the most interesting and unique feature of the 1948 Das Marienleben is its tonal plan. The order of tonal centers, derived from his Series 1, is closely associated with personages and concepts represented in the poems. The central concept of the work is Christ, who is represented by the central tonality of the whole work. Mary, though her name appears in the title of the work, receives her impor- tance by being the mother of Christ, and thus the tonality representing Mary stands in close relationship to that of
7 Skelton, p. 67. 8Otto Deri, Exploring Twentieth-Century Music (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1968), p. 400. 30
Christ. Likewise, ideas remote from the central concept are represented by keys remote from the central tonality, and as the relationship of the concept being expressed decreases in relation to the central concept, so the key representing it will decrease in relation to the main tonality. The follow- ing list illustrates the tonal centers and their conceptual symbols.
TABLE II
TONAL CENTERS AND CONCEPTUAL SYMBOLS*
Series 1 Beginning on E
Series Number Tonality Concept
1 E Christ
2 B Mary
3 A Divine
4 C The inevitable, fixed, unalterable
5 Ab (G#) That which lies outside our power of conception
6 G Idyllic
7 C Infinity
8 F# Acknowledgement of the smallness one feels in the face of the exalted 31
TABLE II--Continued
Series Number Tonality Concept
9 D Trust
10 F Everything that moves us by its mistakenness and short- sightedness to regret and pity
11 Eb (D) Purity
12 B (A ) Everything in the domain of human feelings that at first opposes itself to the believing accep- tance of all the wondrous happenings
*Paul Hindemith, Das Marienleben: Introductory Remarks for the New Version of the Song Cycle (1948) (New York: Associated Music Publishers, c1954), p.~~11-12.
It goes without saying that the listener cannot be expected to follow at every point the flow of thoughts and feelings and their tonal hierarchical relationships which Hindemith injected into the music. However, although these concepts are not readily discernible, Hindemith claims that their tonal expression nevertheless gives rise to a structural coherence to the work. Hindemith compares this procedure to the isorhythmic motet of the fourteenth century in which also much more is present than is aurally apparent.
In the mere act of listening one can hardly become aware of the intellectualized working principle that was operative in the construction. But this principle undoubtedly gives to the work nourished by it a force 32
above and beyond the purely sensuous that no other means of construction could ever implant in it.9
The Revision of Das Marienleben
The new version of Das Marienleben is preceded by an essay in which Hindemith explains the revision in light of his theoretical convictions. In doing so, Hindemith had changed his own position of being a composer content to rely on instinct to a highly conscious musical thinker. In the
prefatory essay he states that the original Marienleben
was not good enough to be laid aside once and for all as successfully completed. I began to glimpse the ideal of a noble music, as nearly perfect as possible, that I should some day be able to realize. 10
This effort of Hindemith in attempting to explain his work shows another phase of his change of attitude toward the role of a composer. Earlier, in 1922, when asked to explain and
analyze his own music, he replied, "I cannot give analyses of my works because I do not know how to explain a piece of music in a few words; I prefer to write a new piece in that
time." 1llHere, in the introductory remarks to Das Marienleben, the reader is invited to penetrate to the problems that lie hidden beneath the surface.
9 Hindemith, Introductory Remarks, p. 13.
10 Ibid., p. 3. 11 Neue Musikzeitung (1922), p. 329, cited by Rudolph Stephan, "Hindemith's Marienleben, an Assessment of the Two Versions," Music Review, XV (November, 1954), 280. 33
In this introduction, Hindemith discusses several as-
pects of the original version on which he has tried to make
improvements. The 1923 version was criticized for its awk-
ward voice part which displayed "unassimilated chromaticisms,
awkward intervals, and elements tonally incommensurable."1 2
One of the main concerns of the revision was to give the work a more comfortable singability and to achieve such
through an application of his theory that counterpoint is dependent on harmony. Hindemith had voiced criticism on contrapuntal works which are linearly coherent but in which the logic of the resultant harmonic succession is ignored.
This same criticism he directed toward his earlier version of Das Marienleben:
The vocal line often enough moved in such self-willed fashion that in combination with the piano disturbing harshnesses and unwieldy turns of phrase were produced that were in no way justified by the text or by the general style of the work.1 3
Hindemith believed that "a theory that cannot replace un- necessary and disproportionate difficulties with something ,14 easier is worthless, " and thus through an application of his theories of step-progression and melody-degree progres- sion he aimed to create a more singable voice part. 12 Hindemith, Introductory Remarks, p. 4.
1 3 Ibid., p. 5.
14 Ibid., p. 4. 34
The first version of Das Marienleben was also criticized
by the composer as being harmonically ambiguous and unclear;
harmonic fluctuation and density were not calculated care-
fully enough. In the first version, harmonies were used
only for their suitableness at a particular moment within
the structure of a particular song without regard for their place in an overall tonal structure. This resulted in a series of separate, tonally unrelated songs rather than in a single and unified work. With his newly formulated concept of harmonic fluctuation and density, Hindemith no longer left the degree of harmonic complexity to a chance combina- tion of melodic lines but rather calculated the complexity of each chord in terms of its place in the larger scheme of tonal effect. "Individual harmonies are then considered important only to the extent that they take over their as- signed places in the unfolding of the superior harmonic principle--that of tonality . . ."15
This overall, guiding and form-shaping tonality is another feature of the second version which is intended to be an improvement over the earlier version. There was no calculated plan of tonal centers in the original version.
The independence of the individual songs gave a formlessness to the work. Hindemith attempted to unify the cycle in the revision by carefully choosing a sequence of tonal centers.
15 Ibid., p. 14. 35
The selection of keys has its theoretical basis in Unter-
weisung in accordance with the relationships of Series 1.
Hindemith also gives attention to dynamic and expressive climaxes, arranging these elements so as to give the cycle a coherence and continuity.
In summary, it seems that Hindemith had three specific goals in the revision: 1) to make the vocal part more sing-
able, 2) to eliminate ambiguous harmony, replacing it with carefully controlled harmonic fluctuation and clearly de- fined tonalities, and 3) to unify the cycle through a logical
sequence of keys. Since the majority of Hindemith's theories are concerned with tonality and harmony, only these aspects
of the revision will be examined in this study.
It is to be noted that not all'of the fifteen songs underwent the same degree of revision. The majority of the
songs were extensively revised; two were replaced with en- tirely new songs, and one song remains unaltered from the original version. Hindemith described the process of revi- sion as one of "repeated testing and improving."6 Some
songs were rewritten into as many as five wholly different
versions. In other songs, in which the overall structure was deemed acceptable, certain passages required as much as twenty or more reworkings. The following is a summary of
1 6 Ibid., p. 3. 36
the work according to the extent to which individual songs were revised:
I. Entirely new
No. 3, "Maria Verkiindigung" ("Annunciation to Mary")
No. 7, "Geburt Christi" ("Nativity of Christ") II. Revised
A. Only minor changes (notes rearranged, elimi- nated, added)
No. 5, "Argwohn Josephs" ("Joseph's Doubt")
No. 11, "Pieta"
B. Thoroughly revised
No. 1, "Geburt Maria" ("Nativity of Mary")
No. 2, "Darstellung Marie im Tempel" ("Presen- tation of Mary in the Temple")
No. 4, "Maria Heimsuchung" ("Visitation of Mary")
No. 6, "Verkindigung iber den Hirten" ("Annun- ciation to the Shepherds")
No. 8, "Rast auf der Flucht in Agypten" ("Rest During the Flight into Egypt")
No. 9, "Von der Hochzeit zu Kana" ("Wedding at Cana")
No. 10, "Vor der Passion" ("Before the Passion")
No. 13, "Vom Tode Maria I" ("Of the Death of Mary")
No. 14, "Vom Tode Maria II"
No. 15, "Vom Tode Maria III"
III. Unaltered
No. 12, "Stillung Maria mit dem Auferstandenen" ("Assuaging of Mary with the Arisen") 37
Analytical Comparison of the Two Versions
Criteria for Analytical Comparison
As mentioned in Chapter I, some of Hindemith's harmonic theories have the authority of rules, recommending certain compositional practices over others, and it is these aspects of his theory that may be used as criteria by which to judge the degree of conformity of the revised version to his theory.
An outline summary of these rules is as follows:
General guidelines--
1. Carefully planned harmonic fluctuation; pur- poseful rise and fall of tension;
2. Clear movement from tension to relaxation in the approach to the cadence;
3. Group-I chords used for points of rest, not arbitrarily.
Specific compositional rules--
A. Concerning harmonic fluctuation,
1. Frequency of chord types used:
a. I and II most often,
b. III and IV less than I and II,
c. V and VI sparingly;
2. Careful use of types V and VI in conjunc- tion with III and IV;
B. Concerning degree progression,
1. Roots of chords should define tonality
2. Succession of chord roots should avoid:
a. tritone root movement, 38
b. broken chord outlines (especially aug- mented and diminished triads)
c. chromaticism.
Analytic Procedure Having determined the criteria by which the songs are to be analyzed and compared, it is necessary to define a procedure for measuring these elements. Hindemith's own method of analysis as found in the closing section of Unter- weisung has been used as a guide for this analysis. The first step in harmonic analysis is the determination of non- chord tones.
A non-chord tone, according to Hindemith, is an ancil- lary tone which is not important enough to create an inde- pendent chord but rather enriches an existing chord without essentially altering it. These tones may be called chord splinters or offshoots, non-harmonic tones or unessential tones; Hindemith preferred the term, non-chord tones. One characteristic common to all non-chord tones is their rela- tionship to the chord or chords surrounding them. Usually these tones are quite foreign to the chord; that is, the combination formed by the inclusion of the tone results in a chord of lower rank than if the tone were not considered
in the analysis of harmonic fluctuation. The rhythmic placement of a non-chord tone is an impor- tant determinant in its classification. Non-chord tones may 39
be divided into two types, unaccented and accented. A table
of non-chord tone types and their symbols appears below.
TABLE III
NON-CHORD TONES
Unaccented Accented
.1N ollI 7 11. II II . 11, i- l'.. a w Changing tone -v Suspension Passing tone Unprepared suspension
Neighboring tone left Accented free tone by leap
Neighboring tone approached by leap
Anticipation
F Unaccented free tone
Unaccented non-chord tones.--
1. Returning tones (Wechselton) occur in a rhythmically weak position between two chord tones of the same pitch,
usually a step above or below the chord tone but not neces-
sarily.
I N I I 1 1. I I I j I j A * '004, Wrj 1 1w) fAwl
IN
I I I
Fig. 10--Returning tones 40
2. Passing tones (Durchgang) lie stepwise between two chord tones of different pitch. There may be one tone or several, and they may lie between chord tones of the same chord or between a chord tone of one chord and a chord tone of an- other.
Fig. 11--Passing tones
3. Neighboring tones (Nebenton) occur in two forms, those left by leap and those approached by leap, both of which appear in rhythmically unstressed positions and a step away from a chord tone. The former appears at the interval of a second away from a chord tone of the first chord. The lat- ter is approached by leap from a chord tone of the first chord and resolved by step to a chord tone of the second chord.
Fig. 12--Neighboring tones 41
4. The anticipation (Vorausnahme) introduces a note of the second chord before the chord occurs. It may be approached either by step or leap from a chord tone of the first chord.
Fig. 13--Anticipations
5. The unaccented free tone lies between two unlike chords and is not a chord tone of either. It is approached and left by leap of an interval not contained in either chord.
F
Fig. 14--Unaccented free tone
Accented non-chord tones.--
1. A suspension (Vorhalt) occurs when in the succession of two chords or intervals, a chord tone of the first is held over, creating a tension or dissonance. The suspension is resolved usually but not always by step or half-step down- ward or half-step upward to a harmonically stronger interval of chord factor. The resolution occurs in a rhythmically
less-stressed position than the note of suspension. Hinde- mith did not recognize the possibility of an unresolved 42 suspension, calling it "a notion with which conventional harmonic theory seeks to explain those things for which it has no other place." 1 7
__VV
Fig. 15--Suspensions
2. The unprepared suspension is also a non-chord tone oc- curing in a rhythmically strong position. It is a note the interval of a second above or below the chord tone it re- places, resolving into the chord. It has no preparation, or rather its preparation is not recognized by Hindemith as part of the figure. According to Hindemith's definition, if an approach by step were considered as part of the figure it would look like an accented passing tone or accented re- turning tone, or if approached by leap it resembles an accented neighboring tone. However, Hindemith only recog- nized these latter types as being unaccented non-chord tones.
An accented non-chord tone may only be labled a suspension, prepared or unprepared, or an accented free tone.
17 Paul Hindemith, Craft of Musical Composition (Mainz: B. Schott's SOhne, 1945), p. 170. 43
Fig. 16--Unprepared suspensions
3. The accented free tone is a rhythmically stressed non-
chord tone approached and left by leap.
Fig. 17--Accented free tone
In Hindemith's system of harmonic analysis, the non- chordal tones are simply identified; they are not entered into further consideration since they should have no bear- ing on the determination of harmonic fluctuation and degree progression. In harmonic analysis, the harmonic fluctuation is represented by the chord classification symbol for each chord. Since these symbols only identify a chord according to its content and not in relation to the tonality, it is necessary to analyze the degree progression--the extraction of successive chord roots--to present a complete picture of harmonic activity. From the succession of roots plus the 44 harmonic fluctuation, Hindemith believed, the value of a chord progression can be estimated.
An analysis of tonality is also necessary for a com- plete harmonic analysis. Tonality is determined through an examination of the degree progression. The tonal center of a group of chords may be indicated in one or more of the following ways: it is the degree which 1) occurs most fre- quently, 2) concludes a progression, or 3) is supported by its fourth or fifth (cf. p. 14).
In summary, the analytical process used in this study involves the labeling of non-chord tones, analysis of har- monic fluctuations and extraction of harmonic roots for the delineation of the degree progression and the determination of tonality.
Problems in the Application of Hindemith's System
As any system of harmonic analysis, Hindemith's method is not free of ambiguity and subjectivity. One of the major criticisms of Hindemith's system is the lack of guidelines for the temporal aspect of analysis. Even though Hindemith recognized the importance of rhythm in evaluating harmonic function, he has for the most part ignored its significance in his analysis of harmonic fluctuation and tonality. He offered the following explanation:
We simplified our study of the harmonic element of music by leaving rhythm so far as possible out of account 45
. . . Pleasant as it would be to provide in connection with the present theory . . . a key to the rhythmic part of our work, I must postpone the solution of this problem to some later time.18
In doing so, Hindemith allowed himself a degree of liberty
in the application of his system.
The lack of a system for analyzing the role of duration
in chord determination causes problems in the application of
his theory; specifically, it allows subjectivity into the
determination of non-chord tones and in defining tonal re-
gions.
First we will consider the problem of distinguishing non-chord tones from chordal tones. Hindemith's treatment
of rhythm is always disappointingly brief. Since there are no specific temporal guidelines proposed in Hindemith's
theory, the analyst has no objective criteria for determin- ing which pitches of a grouping are chordal and which are non-chordal. The determination of what is chordal is so fun- damental to the application of his system that this problem cannot be underestimated. For only if it can be decided at any point what is chordal can then the root of the sonority be determined and the harmonic fluctuation calculated.
Speaking of this problem, William Thomson in his critique of Hindemith's system states,
. . . he was prone to think of pitch-relationships as though they could exist in some land of non-temporal
18 Ibid., pp. 178-179. 46
being . . . it is an inexorable fact that pitch neces- sarily entails extension in time; in this sense, rhythm and tone are not the divisible realms Hindemith demands in his system . . .19
It is to be noted that Hindemith apparently recognized this problem, although it seems that he did not fully realize its importance in the application of his system. He stated, There are borderline cases in which it is not possible to label the non-chord tones precisely . . . If then the rhythm adds to the confusion, in that the added tones are not short enough to be unmistakably subordi- nate, a definite line cannot be drawn. 20
Thus the determination of essential from non-essential events is often left to the subjectivity of the analyst, and it is possible to arrive at several different analyses of a passage of music supposedly using the same analytic approach.
Secondly, the absence of durational considerations leaves too much to the discretion of the analyst in the de- termination of tonal regions. One of the ways in which the tonal center of a group of chords can be determined is by examining which tone of the degree progression of the chord succession is best supported by the other tones, according to the values of Series 1. That is, the tone which is sup- ported by its fifth or fourth is to be considered the tonal center of the group. Although there are other factors which may indicate a tone as a tonal center, this is the criterion
19 William Thomson, "Hindemith's Contribution to Music Theory," Journal of Music Theory, IX (1965), 61. 20 Hindemith, Craft of Musical Composition, p. 174. 47
Hindemith emphasizes most. However, the determination of a tonal center is not as clearcut as this procedure implies.
Hindemith states, "This relation can be so affected by rhyth- mic considerations that some tone other than the one deter- mined purely by the interval-values may, by emphasis of metric position or duration, become the tonic."21 Although being aware of the problem, Hindemith still offers no specif- ic method of including the durational aspect in the determin- ing of tonal regions.
Hindemith mentions a principle which at first appears to be a guideline for distinguishing non-chord tones but actually creates another problem in the application of his system. In his discussion of non-chord tones he states that
such a tone characteristically has a "foreign" relation to
its adjacent chord; that is, if it is included in the analy-
sis of fluctuation of the sonority, the resultant chord type
is of lower rank than would be formed disregarding the tone.
Although this is a clue to a more objective approach in de-
ciding if a tone is essential or non-essential, it adds a
new problem to the procedure. The determination of non-
chord tones was to be the first step in the analysis, but
in order to do this one is forced to first analyze the har-
monic fluctuation, and thus the procedure is circular. One
possible method is to analyze a sonority with and without
21 Ibid., p. 132. 48
the tone in question and choose the analysis which is more
consonant, that is, of higher rank on Hindemith's table of
chord types. This causes the analyst to be always leaning
on the conservative side of the decision, presenting an anal-
ysis which perhaps appears more consonant than is aurally
perceptible or more consonant than the composer intended.
In many cases the problem of determining non-chord
tones is not essential to the analysis of harmonic fluctua-
tion. Often the harmonic fluctuation of a chord would be
the same whether or not the tone in question were included.
Fig. 18--Determination of harmonic fluctuation (Song No. 7, 1948 version, m. 69).
In some ambiguous cases, where the fluctuation differs greatly pending on the analysis of a tone as either chordal or non-chordal, both possibilities will be presented in this 49
study in order to avoid making an arbitrary or subjective
decision.
Another problem in the practical application of Hinde- mith's system arises from the fact that he made no mention
of the function of dyads in a harmonic progression. His whole theory of harmony is based on the presumption that
sonorities consist of at least three pitches.
We define a chord as a group of at least three dif- ferent tones sounding simultaneously. Two tones do not form a chord, no matter how often they are doubled in any number of octaves; they form only an interval.2 2
But certainly, it cannot be denied that one of the most characteristic idioms of Hindemith's own compositional style is the cadencing of phrases with open fifths or open fourths, doubled at their octaves. Das Marienleben is no exception.
Surely the analyst should not be expected to ignore the ef- fect of such a sonority in a harmonic progression. When used in the context mentioned above, the perfect fifth and the perfect fourth, being even more primordial and funda- mental than the triad itself, have a tension-relieving ef- fect similar to that of the major or minor triad. In this analysis dyads of the intervals of fourths and fifths and sometimes thirds are labeled as type-I sonorities, I or I2' depending on the position of the assumed root of the dyad.
The chord-type symbol of such a sonority is placed in paren- theses to distinguish it from a true type-I sonority.
2 2 Ibid., p. 95. 50
a Il AR|||
Fig. 19--Dyad functioning as type-I sonority
Likewise, the root of the dyad is included in the degree progression but is placed in parentheses. In the case of dyads other than perfect fourths and fifths and where fourths and fifths are used in passing and insignificant positions, the designation, d1 or d2 ' has been used.
One other symbol, which was not suggested in Hindemith's theories but is necessary for a more complete analysis, has been used. In soloistic passages in which the voice appears alone or the accompaniment is reduced to a single line, oft- en doubled at the octave, the melodic degree progression has been analyzed. The melodic degree progression is a re- duction of a group of melodic notes to their root, the root of the best interval of the grouping. These roots have been included in the degree progression but placed in brack- ets [ ], showing what is occurring tonally at any given point rather than leaving blank measures in the analysis and thus implying an absence of harmonic activity. 51
Comparative Analysis of Representative Sections
Representative songs from both versions of the song cycle have been chosen for an analytical comparison of their respective conformity to theory. Songs have been chosen on the basis of two factors: 1) those which Hindemith discussed in his Introductory Remarks, specifically concerning the re- vision of their harmony and tonality, and 2) those for which the most objective analysis was possible. (That is, Hinde- mith's system is most objectively applied to music in which the vertical sonorities are not obscured by linear events.
Contrapuntally complex music often requires an almost sub- jective approach in the determination of non-chord tones.)
Songs from each category of revision have been chosen as follows:
I. Unaltered: Song No. 12, "Stillung Maria mit dem Auferstandenen"
II. Entirely new: No. 3, "Maria- Verkiindigung"
No. 7, "Geburt Christi"
III. Revised:
A. Minor changes: No. 11, "Pieta"
B. Thorougly revised: No. 1, "Geburt Maria"
No. 4, "Marid Heimsuchung"
No. 6, "Verkiindigung uber den Hirten"
The twelfth song of the cycle, "Stillung Maria mit dem
Auferstandenen" ("Assuaging of Mary with the Arisen") was left unaltered from the 1923 version. This fact leads one 52 to believe that it did not violate the principles as pro- posed in Unterweisung and therefore did not necessitate a revision. It seems reasonable, therefore, to assume that the song embodies principles of logical and purposeful har- monic writing as outlined in Unterweisung.
An analysis of the harmonic fluctuations of the song reveals a preponderence of type-III chords, mostly of sub- group one with occasional fluctuations to sub-group two.
That is, the majority of the chords are free of tritones but contain seconds or sevenths or both, and usually have their roots in the lowest voice. The highest degree of harmonic tension throughout the entire song is one chord of group IV . It is sustained through three and a half measures and forms the expressive peak of the song. Structurally, it takes place in a logical and important point--just before the re- turn of the A section--in the ABA layout of the song. Thus, the harmonic fluctuation of the song is smooth, with slight undulations between sub-groups of type-III chords and a very infrequent employment of tritone chords. There are no abrupt changes in chord tension.
Likewise, the degree progression of the song is fairly simple, containing mostly movements of major seconds, per- fect fourths and perfect fifths. It clearly emphasizes E as the primary tonal center. In the B section, the tonal emphasis is shifted to E, alternating between the degrees,
E and Fb. In grouping these pitches to determine the pitch 53 of greater import, it could be argued that Fb is the note of gravitational pull; according to Series 2, the upper note of b b b. the second, E to F , would be the root. However, the E is emphasized metrically; it appears always on the downbeats.
Considering the above aspects, it seems that the song contains no major violations of Hindemith's harmonic prin- ciples. However, the degree progression and harmonic fluc- tuation alone do not show exhaustively the harmonic context of the song. The song has a bitonal texture which in other cases, such as song No. 3 (cf. p. 54), was a ground for re- vision. The opening chords of the song, which become a recurring harmonic motive, consist of pairs of equal inter- vals separated by differing intervals.
Fig. 20--Song No. 12, mm. 1-2
Hindemith, in the Craft, discussed the phenomenon of bito-
nality as not being aurally, if only visually, perceptible
(cf. p. 56). 54
Perhaps a more revealing analysis is in the examination of the two songs which Hindemith deemed totally unacceptable and replaced with entirely new versions. These are No. 3,
"Maria Verkundigung" ("Annunciation to Mary") and No. 7,
"Geburt Christi" ("Nativity of Christ").
Concerning No. 3, "Maria Verkiindigung," Hindemith stated in the prefatory notes that it could by no means bear examination by the criteria of his system. In the new version he sought to replace the "harmonic and tonal un- rest"23 of the first. The opening measures of the song, melodically very similar to the incipit of the chorale "Von
Himmel Hoch,"24 constitutes the basic material of the first and last of the four sections and also serves as a transi- tion to the middle sections. In a fragmented form it also acts as an accompaniment to the vocal recitative in section two. The main theme appears below:
23 Hindemith, Introductory Remarks, p. 7.
The incipit of the chorale "Von Himmel Hoch" is as follows: 55
IL I
Fig. 21--Song No. 3, original version, mm. 1-2
The abrupt introduction of dissonance in the initial chord and the dominance of tritone chords can hardly satisfy
Hindemith's preference for a rise and fall of harmonic ten- sion. After the second statement of the theme, a recitative- like section follows, beginning first with a progression
from a type-I chord to VI to IV, followed by five measures of uninterrupted type-III chords.
The next section of the song, beginning in measure 28 with the words, "Nicht, dass er eintrat" and ending in meas- ure 58, is a passage severely criticized by the composer.
He describes this moment as one "subjected to the unre- strained gusto of the composer, bordering on hysterical ex- citement, in the manipulation of suspension-and-resolution harmonies of great tension. "25
2 5 Hindemith, Introductory Remarks, p,. 7. 56
The section is bitonal, based on the idea of superim- posing a motive in one tonal plain with its inversion in another plain.
ILLL,_ __ft
Fig. 22--Song No. 3, original version, mm. 43-45
This bitonal treatment must have been disturbing to Hinde- mith; bitonality does not occur in the new version of this song. In the Craft, Hindemith discounts polytonality as a practical principle of composition. He held the opinion that although the idea is compositionally entertaining for the composer, it is aurally invalid since more than one si- multaneous tonality is not perceivable to the listener.
This view was also applied to bitonal sonorities--those built of superimposed triads.
Every simultaneous combination of sounds must have one root, and only one; one cannot conceive of additional 57
roots somewhere above, belonging to other tonal spheres. Even the craziest harmonic combinations can result in only one degree progression. The ear judges the total sound, and does not ask with what intentions it was produced.26
Hindemith preferred careful planning of harmonic fluctuation
to the accidental effects produced by capriciously combining
differing tonal plains.
Hindemith's bitonal treatment in this section resulted
in an overabundance of type-IV chords in conjunction with
type-II and -III sonorities. Also, the frequency with which
chords succeed one another, the harmonic density, is high; 6 in what resembles 4 meter there is a significant chord change almost every quarter note.
The last of the four sections recapitulates the "Von
Himmel Hoch" theme. In its recurrence it forms with the voice line a succession of harmonies which is even more tense than in its original appearance. The harmonic fluc- tuation of the phrase consists of five tritone chords abruptly followed by a chord of greatest resolution, I.
2 6 Hindemith, Craft of Musical Composition, p. 156. 58
TI vtW~4 I "
TI1
I 14.
Fig. 23--Song No. 3, original version, mm. 52-54
In all sections the harmonic fluctuation does not take the
rise and fall form which Hindemith felt was so desirable and
necessary for a composition to have harmonic logic.
The degree progression of the A section (mm. 1-20) is
fairly strong; that is, it clearly emphasizes certain tones
over others by root movements of fourths and fifths. It
does, however, contain one tritone movement and five non-
consecutive half-step movements, two of the practices which
are prohibited in Hindemith's guidelines for constructing a
degree progression. The main tonal spheres developed in the
A section are B, C, Bb, and B. This sequence of tones, when
grouped to reveal the larger tonal relationship, form a
chromatic changing-tone figure around the tone B. 59
L
Fig. 24--Tonal spheres of section A, Song No. 3, 1923
According to the values of Series 2, the intervals of major
and minor seconds are not "valuable"; and although B is the
logical choice as a "tonic" for the entire section, the
other "tonics" of the section do not support it in the way
the relationships of Series 1 would suggest.
The degree progression of the B section (mm. 22-27)
and the transition preceding it (m. 21) have no particularly
objectional melodic movements. This section emphasizes
first the tone D by its fifth and major third and then em-
phasizes the tone C primarily through repetition and dura-
tional prolongation.
It is in the third section (mm. 37-51) where one finds
the most blatant violations of the compositional rules of
Unterweisung. It should be reiterated that this is the sec-
tion which Hindemith criticized the most and described its
harmonic successions as "bordering on hysterical excitement."
The first seven measures contain no objectionable root move- ments, and the degrees may be grouped into three tonal
spheres, B, C , and A. However, beginning in measure 35,
the degree progression contains objectionable aspects. The bitonal pattern of the stepwise arch motive superimposed 60 with its inversion, as discussed previously, creates a step- wise and arched degree progression, first beginning on E and later on G (mm. 48-49). Between the statements of this mo- tive are "weak" root-progressions of half-steps and tritones.
This absence of the intervals of perfect fourths and fifths is, according to Hindemith, detrimental to the establishment of a tonal center. Indeed, it is difficult to determine any tone as being a center of gravitation throughout this sec- tion.
An interesting pattern is created by the following measures: the degrees form three-note changing-tone fig- ures at intervals of major thirds. Thus, the larger tonal sphere outlines an augmented triad--another of Hindemith's prohibitions.27
7TI
Fig. 25--Song No. 3, 1923, mm. 40-42
The degree progression of the return of A begins with a suc- cession of fourths. Although Hindemith does not specifically
2 7 It might be argued that the upper tone of each figure should be considered the tone of gravitational pull, since, according to Series 2, the upper note of a second is the root; however, two factors point to the lower tone: 1) it is re- peated and 2) it represents a sonority of higher value; IV1 is more "valuable" than IV2 , and the chord of higher value tends to act as a tonal center for chords of lower value. 61 warn against the use of such a succession, it does present
a problem of determining which of the tones--all being sup-
ported by a strong interval--should receive primary import.
Fig. 26--Song No. 3, 1923, mm. 52-54
Here, however, D# has been chosen because its minor third
is present as well as its fifth and fourth, and because two
measures later it reappears with its fifth. The degree pro-
gression for the remainder of the song employs strong inter-
vals of fourths and fifths, briefly emphasizing the tonal
areas of F, C, and, finally, CO.
One could assume that it was these violations of his
own theoretical principles that led Hindemith to replace
this song with an entirely new one.
The 1948 version of "Maria Verkuindigung" sought to re-
the harmonic and tonal unrest of the original version with
sounds more suitable to the delicate, ethereal mood of the
text. Hindemith described the persistent repetition of
single motives in the original version as "importunate and
intrusive" and replace these with longer-lined melodies.
Though repeated motives are still present in the new song,
they are incorporated in the accompaniment only and, rather
than producing frantic excitement, they create a gentle and 62 steady background of repose "that should easily convey to the listener the intimate homely scene of this annunciation suggested by the poem and so easily evoked in our imagina- tion.",28
The new "Maria Verkindigung" is similar in form to the original in that both songs contain a return of the opening section at the end. However, this recapitulation occurs at different points in the text in the two versions. In the eariler version, the return of the thematic material of the
A section overlaps with the text of the preceding section.
In other words, the recapitulation does not fall at a logi- cal place in the text but rather in the middle of a thought.
In the new version, the return of the opening material is clearly set apart by a piano interlude, after which the voice enters with the last line of the poem.
The opening section of the song is dominated by type-
III sonorities with slight fluctuations caused by alternat- ing between root position and inverted positions within this chord class. This appropriately fits the "rocking" motion created by the accompaniment.
2 8 Hindemith, Introductory Remarks, p. 7. 63
- Ii I
Fig. 27--Song No. 3, 1948, mm. 1-2
The use of type-B chords--those containing tritones--seems more carefully controlled: type-IV chords appear within
phrases as a highpoint of tension which is immediately re-
solved by type-II chords. This shows a more conscious
approach to the control of dissonance than in the first ver-
sion of the song in which Hindemith haphazardly placed type-
IV sonorities at the beginning or end of phrases as well as
within them.
The section of the poem which was most highly, criti-
cized in its treatment in the original song constitutes the
middle or B section of the new song. He has abandoned his
bitonal motive and constructed two measure phrases which
show a more careful attention to harmonic fluctuation.
Phrases usually begin with group-I chords, rise to a higher
level of tension and cadence again with a stable chord. 64
A I IL m
AOL. I a IW IL lop- IL I dp &f, Oaf WA
V I dp
------04 '%%" I
O#dL IL I lu- IL vq% .1 1 A Ar Al-b I
Ti t4 (A), is[, IL
Fig. 28--Song No. 3, 1948, mm. 771t78
Class-I chords are carefully used for the effect of relaxing
tension as opposed to their accidental and passing use in
the earlier version of the song.
31
ey WAR-
442: ff42- tl- I I U61. I iLl F~blip W - WPA v fiji I i OL , , LM 57V7 zi AI %wow od * IILW I I IH2. IiL
Fig. 29--Song No. 3, 1923, mm. 28-29 and 48 65
The return of the A section is a literal repetition of the opening seventeen measures. From this point to the end only type-III, chords are used. This is an interesting point since Hindemith had stated that the expressive effect
of a series of chords is destroyed in the absence of harmon-
ic fluctuation. However, such a sustained level of tension, which in this case creates an atmosphere of repose, was
probably the expressive intent of the composer.
There is a decided improvement in the harmonic density
of the new song. The original song had frequent and hurried
chord changes, whereas chord changes in the new song are
steadily on the beat, usually two chords per measure in 86
meter.
It should also be mentioned that root determination is
considerably more certain in the new song. The root of the
majority of the sonorities is easily determined by the pres-
ence of a fifth or a fourth as the lowest interval in the
chord structure. In the earlier song the "best" interval
of a chord was often either a less valuable interval or a
strong interval placed high in the vertical structure of the
chord. As a whole, the harmonic fluctuation in the new song
is more carefully planned than in the original song. How-
ever, in Hindemith's attempt to improve the "harmonic unrest"
of the song he seems to have overlooked his rules for the 66 frequency of chord types used.2 9 For in this song, type-III chords dominate all others as it was the case in Song No. 12.
Perhaps this is an example in which the composer is justified in the employment of whatever harmonic combinations he deemed necessary to achieve the desired artistic effect.
The degree progression clearly emphasizes A as the to- nal center of the entire song. The song opens with the pitches A and E, which are repeated several times, and closes with a progression dominated by A and including its fourth and fifth. There are many brief tonal spheres indicated either by root progressions of fourths and fifths, by repe- tition of a tone or by agogic accent. Not all of the song, however, has such fundamental and clear establishment of key areas. This section contains some elements of poor writing, according to the guidelines presented in Unterweisung.
There is a tritone root-progression (mm. 17-18) which is the
"least valuable of all" progressions. A diminished triad is also outlined at this point. In the following measures
(mm. 22-30) several of the "rules" concerning degree progres- sion are also violated, and as a result it is difficult to determine the tonality of this passage.
2 9 Chords of groups I and II should be used more often than those of III and IV, and V and VI should be used spar- ingly. 67
Fig. 30--Song No. 3, 1948, mm. 22-30
There is an absence of the strongly tonal intervals of fifths and fourths. Also, the harmonic fluctuation gives no clues as to which degree is a point of resolution, espe- cially in the first six chords for which the fluctuation is static. A third problem in this passage is the diminished triad outlined in measures 26-27.
The primary means of establishing tonal spheres in the B section is through root-progressions of fourths and fifths. The opening measures, however, illustrate the case in which the harmonic fluctuation emphasizes a tone other than the tone which seems most important through interval- root interpretation. The best interval of the first phrase points to F# as the center of the tonal sphere, but the CO takes precedence since it represents a chord of higher value and falls at the end of the phrase. In the second phrase the G# also tonicizes the C#. 68
Fig. 31--Song No. 3, 1948, mm. 71-74
After a section containing brief tonal spheres on G#,
C#, and Ab (G#), there follows another tonally ambiguous passage. The repetition of a motive creates three tritone
root-progressions and two diminished triad outlines.
Fig. 32--Song No. 3, 1948, mm. 85-88
The B section closes with tonal spheres on A, E, and, briefly,
Bb. As stated previously, the song ends with a strong empha-
sis on A.
In summary of the two renditions of the song and their
respective conformity to Hindemith's theoretical principles,
the most outstanding feature of the new song is the increase
in the control of harmonic fluctuation. The bitonality and
motivic manipulation which caused such purposeless harmonic
fluctuation in the original song has been replaced with
carefully planned harmonic progressions. The improved har-
monic density of the new song is another feature which shows 69 conformity to Hindemith's principles. Concerning the degree progression, some of the problems of the original song still exist in the new song--the tritone and chromatic root-pro- gressions and absence of tonality-defining intervals, but as a whole the degree progression of the new song is more logi- cal than in the original version. It seems that in the original version Hindemith was more concerned with motivic manipulation--sequencing, inverting, superimposing various linear ideas. In the new song he is much more conscious of vertical sonorities; he dispenses with motivic tricks for the sake of harmonic clarity.
The second of the two songs which Hindemith replaced with entirely new versions is the seventh song, "Geburt
Christi." In its original form it was judged by the com- poser as the weakest of all. In the Introductory Remarks
to the new version Hindemith stated:
Not only was its melodic material of slighter value than that of the other songs, but it was harmonically unclear; in that neither the fluctuation nor the den- sity, and in the sphere of tonality neither the tonal design of the whole nor the amplitude of tonal deflec- tion, was carefully enough calculated.3 0
Truscott, in his evaluation of the song, criticizes it for
a lack of clarity tonally, harmonically and melodically, while the rhythm, good in itself . . actually offends by its clarity; it is the wrong type
3 0Hindemith, Introductory Remarks, p. 8. 70
of rhythm, set against the mistiness of the other qualities. 31
In the new song, Hindemith sought to avoid these weaknesses.
A look at the opening measures of the two songs reveals much in the way of their stylistic and harmonic differences. The opening measures of the original song show an absence of control over harmonic fluctuation. There is a preponderence of type-B chords, those containing tritones, with no appar- ent goal of resolution.
AMi WON a ~ Z ~.~~I Id V -- AL-ol IWIW ___w IL W fill ILA
47 1 dp W lo-DF406
I - aLif I --LLj-- I I Ef Tf t z
Fig. 33--Song No. 7, 1923, mm. 1-4
In comparing this with the first phrase of the new song, one
finds a more careful plan of harmonic fluctuation in the
form of an arch of increasing and decreasing tension.
3 1 H. Truscott, "Hindemith and Das Marienleben," Musical Times, CX (December, 1969), 1241. 71
AIL* t- IL r
Eiv Tf-41111 ri6A
Ads 01 W
As lw
9 lr
T12/
Fig. 34--Song No. 7, 1948, mm. 1-5
The example above from the original version is representa- tive of the song as a whole. The bitonal motive of the first measure is developed throughout the song and produces purposeless tension. It has been mentioned previously that bitonality was a feature in the early version of Song No. 3.
Lack of planning in the use of tritone chords can also be seen in measures 57-58 and 68-73. The former passage exem- plifies a compositional practice which was warned against in Unterweisung. The fluctuation of the passage is IV2 - period of un- IIb2 -VI-V-IV 2. Not only is there an extended resolved tension, but the ambiguity introduced by the type-
VI chord is complicated further by being followed by another ambiguous chord. The second passage (mm. 68-73) is another example of prolonged tension not aimed by any apparent goal.
It consists of thirteen consecutive tritone chords. 72
The harmonic density is, for the most part, three chords per measure, usually of differing fluctuation. This, at the tempo =108-112, creates a very busy, overburdened texture.
The degree progression of the original song violates several of the "rules" put forth in Unterweisung. There are twelve tritone root-progressions and three augmented triads outlined. Also, in measures 60-61 a chromatic line is formed by the succession of chord roots.
Fig. 35--Song No. 7, 1923, mm. 60-61
Throughout the song, there is also a definite lack of the strong intervals of perfect fourths and fifths in the degree progression. This, of course, leaves the determination of tonal spheres susceptible to a variety of interpretations.
The bitonality of this song creates an interesting ef- fect on the perception of tonality. For example, in meas- ures 31-32 the bass line outlines a tonality of Gb; however, the actual chord-roots do not permit that analysis. The actual degree progression emphasizes a tonality of D. 73
WF
6MOA iA al"T Uty VIA.ILI
I tl I rvN I tv 111W
AAA Al AqWj mr I
I I I 4- . C-A- I
1ILt* __._
Fig. 36--Song No. 7, 1923, mm. 31-33
As as been mentioned previously, even in the first few measures of the new song one can see a completely new concep- tion of how the text should be treated harmonically. In the new version, as Truscott points out, "the simplicity of the poem is matched by the music without a trace of sentimental- ity (perhaps Hindemith was trying to guard against this in his earlier misdirected setting); . . ."32 The most appar- ent improvements are: first, a slowing of harmonic rhythm, in that the majority of the song has only one chord per measure; secondly, the vocal line now works together with the accompaniment, being represented harmonically in the pi- ano part rather than opposed by a differing implied tonality.
32 Ibid., p. 1241. 74
The range of chord-types used has been narrowed down to type-III chords predominantly, consisting approximately seventy percent of all the chords. Types II and IV repre- sent only approximately fourteen percent of the harmonies, whereas in the old version they made up thirty-eight per- cent of all chord-types used. In the early version I chords were sometimes accidental results of horizontal events; in the new song type-I chords are primarily used as points of repose, to clear harmonic tension at cadential points.
There are no chords of types V and VI in the new song.
It is an interesting fact that in the passage which accounts for the majority of type-IV chords, Hindemith has used the sonority for a specific dramatic purpose. The type-IV chords in measures 155-162 are a foreshadowing of the harmonies of Song No. 11, "Pieta."
un I A I IA Ad L Aa I I bi AP Mo - I A IL V Nft
IL
Aid IF- 1 -1 AM
104
J.161 ITS
Fig. 37--Song No. 7, 1948, mm. 156-160 75
How interesting it is that, although the text itself makes no allusion to the death of Christ, Hindemith has injected this musical omen into the song about the birth of Christ.
Although the lack of fluctuation in tension caused by the abundance of type-III chords could be criticized, it is perhaps compensated for by the strong degree progression.
It violates none of the rules of Unterweisung and clearly defines successive tonal spheres by its use of the "valuable" intervals of Series 1. The song begins and ends in the to- nality of E, appropriately used here in the setting of the text, "Nativity of Christ" (E represents Christ in Hinde- mith's tonal-conceptual symbolism). The opening section based on a tonality of E is followed by a passage (mm. 13-
23) emphasizing G. Within these few measures G appears as a root six times and its fifth, D, four times. This type of tonal clarity appears nowhere in the earlier version of the song.
Song No. 11, "Pieta," is one of the few revised songs which were only slightly altered. Hindemith said that in his revision only a few notes were added to support the voice. There are only four changes in the new song: 1) in the fourth measure (and in its repetition, mm. 20 and 29), counterpoint in the piano has been added to the vocal line which appeared unaccompanied in the original version. The fifth, E-B, in the voice part is now reinforced by an E- minor triad outline in the accompaniment; 2) on the last 76 beat of measure 7, the accompaniment has been changed from a minor ninth built on Ab to the single pitch Bb, which bet- ter supports the Eb harmony of the measure; 3) in measure 18, a changing tone in the vocal part, B#, has been omitted; its omission makes no change in the harmonic fluctuation or de- gree progression of the passage; and 4) in measures 25-26, the vocal line has been rewritten and the accompaniment simplified.
-a . k
Je~dIi~~+ & c~rc~ mu viei Ik I
_ _ _ _ -- - r
jeiz* li~s+ 41, a umeVfi - neti s6%
1vo'? 0 jW~uz~ inMO P L -
I
I
Fig. 38--Song No. 11, mm. 25-27, 1923 and 1948 versions compared. 77
In measure 25, the absence of the pitch G#in such a strong
rhythmic position as it occurred in the original avoids the
tritone created with the D in the accompanying chords and
thus alters the harmonic fluctuation to type 1112 for the
entire measure. The omission of the dyad, Ab-A4, in measure
25 prevents the temporary presence of an A-root in the de-
gree progression. In measure 26 this same dyad supported
the Ab rooted melodic progression of the vocal line, and its
omission in the new version has, as in measure 25, allowed
the pitch B to remain as the root of the entire measure. In
the latter half of both measures in the new version, the
solo voice has been rewritten to emphasize the pitch B. In
these ways both the harmonic fluctuation and the degree pro- gression of these two measures have been greatly simplified
in the new version.
In Hindemith's discussion of the revision of the songs he stated that little had been changed in Song No. 1,
"Geburt Maria" ("Nativity of Mary"), but a comparison of the two versions reveals a thorough reworking of some pas- sages. He made only a few minor changes in the opening sec- tion. The first of the three minor alterations in this section appears in measure 9, in which Hindemith added the pitch C in the lower voice. This addition forms a type-III1 sonority with C as the root, replacing the G-rooted dyad of the first version. This alteration does not significantly change the tonal implications of the degree progression at 78 that point. The second of the minor changes, which occurs in measure 18, also has no effect on the degree progression and makes no change in the harmonic fluctuation. A pitch is held from the previous measure reinforcing the third of the root position triad of the measure. The third of the triad was already present in the vocal part, so the addition makes little difference. Thirdly, in measures 19-20, the vocal line has been changed, and the accompanying trill has been eliminated. The bareness of the vocal line and a trill on the pitch E in the accompaniment which provides no har- monic fluctuation has been replaced with an E-rooted type-I sonority in measure 19 and an E-rooted type-II chord in measure 20.
In reference to Hindemith's statement that there is little change in the new version, Truscott observed, "This may be so fundamentally, but after comparing the two ver- sions I am left dubious." 3 3 The passage which led Truscott to feel that the revision was not at all insignificant but, instead, radical is in measures 21-32, beginning with the words, "In dieser Nacht . .. In his evaluation of the revision he stated:
Taking the poem into consideration, there is all the difference between the clumsy technical display in the first version and an exact matching of the mood in the
3 3 Truscott, p. 1242.
3 4 In this case, measure numbers apply to both versions. 79
second, a beautifully conceived passage using the orig- inal as a starting point but in no way drawing atten- tion to itself. I should call this difference far reaching.35
It is interesting to note that Stephan, in his evaluation
of the same passage, seemed to prefer the original version.
The well-balanced passage "In dieser Nacht . . ." now becomes a mere transition and the magical dissonant triplets above the chord of fourths are eliminated without further ado.36
It is to be noted that the dissonant triplets he referred to
are harmonically ambiguous. That is, their implied harmonic
changes do not coincide with the larger harmonic changes be-
neath them.
dieP
Fig. 39--Song No. , 1923, mm. 21-23
3 5 Truscott, p. 1242. 3 6 Rudolph Stephan, "Hindemith' s Marienleben, an Assess- ment of the Two Versions, " Music Review7VNovember, 1954) , 280. 80
The same idea becomes even more complicated beginning in measure 27 and continuing through measure 32. In this pas- sage Hindemith creates an even stronger hemiola-like effect by adding accompanying dyads to every two triplet-eighth- notes.
v A" r A Sat e l ey 3e
AA ILAE His IL I w I &a AOL Idj BAD I AON Tt %ON AnnTI tLdff mL r v POP
v
A
Fig. 40--Song No. 1, 1923, mm. 27-28
The harmonic analysis of this passage is difficult. The grouping of pitches within each triplet pattern, treating them as members of one sonority, would contradict with the actual harmonic changes which occur every two triplet- eighth-notes. Referring in his Introductory Remarks to this section, Hindemith stated that it
. . . was too independent in its harmonic harshness, and thus gave too much importance to a section serv- ing as a bridge between two more significant structural members. 37
3 7 Hindemith, Introductory Remarks, p. 7. 81
All of this harmonic and rhythmic ambiguity has been elimi- nated in the new version and replaced with a rhythmically
simpler and harmonically clearer accompaniment. Remnants of the triplet idea remain in the new version, but the hemi- ola effect has been eliminated.
dieIL
IL I it_ ___1___
I 54 -~
Fig. 41--Song No. 1, 1948, mm. 21-23 (cf. Fig. 39)
v *T IWL
'9I
I I I
Fig. 42--Song No. 1, 1948, mm, 27-29 (cf. Fig. 40) 82
There is only one other major revision in the new song.
Beginning in measure 43 and ending in measure 57 (original version, mm. 47-59) both the vocal line and the accompani- ment have been revised. The first phrase of the vocal line had been modified and the second phrase merely transposed a fourth higher. The accompaniment of the first phrase has only been slightly altered; the motivic material is the same.
It is in the second phrase, beginning with the words, "ach, sie fuhlten . . . ," where the accompaniment was more radi- cally changed. In the new version the accompaniment figure continues the idea of the previous phrase on a different tonal level, replacing a more thematically contrasting and harmonically daring accompaniment. 83
I M. Ir~myr FN I I a I vr-r- I I P 1, I I I I __ --- __ __ .- - J, I r- I wo, atio A% So -a 46 sie 4- n AM -1 - As I qw AN a
0 L AdWF L r for 9 IRS
x cz P2*
An %0, Apo w I mw I toa im gam lie a6 -A Ver dcu
i 19AU Am
Y-
F qW
Fig. 43a--Song No. 1, 1923, mm. 47-59 84
0 I . I -L I -L 2ir ir ' i-
Fig. 43b--Song No. 1, 1948, mm. 43-57
Concerning this passage, Stephan, again, feels that the revision is less effective than the original. He states,
"Similarly, the passage, "Ach, sie fuhlten sich . . . ," so impressive with its unresolved suspensions, has been dropped. "3 8 Whether or not the revised version is as sc cessful as the original, it cannot be denied that it is an improvement according to Hindemith's theoretical rules.
The harmonic fluctuation is considerably simplified, con- sisting solely of type-Ill and I chords with roots in the
3 8 Stephan, p. 281 85
bass voice. The new degree progression is also an improve- ment. The original succession of harmonies created tempo-
rary tonal areas on C, F, and E and contained objectionable root progressions. The degree progression outlines a tri-
tone at one point and, at another, a diminished triad.
These weaknesses were replaced with a degree progression which tonicizes Ab with strong root progressions of fifths, fourths, and thirds. (For a comparison of Song No. 1, 1923 version, mm. 47-60 and 1948 version, mm. 43-57, see Appen- dix A, p. 112.) ("Visitation of Mary")
The overall form of Song No. 4, "Maria Heimsuchung," has been retained in the revised version. It does not con- form to the structural pattern of any traditional form, but its structure is instead delineated by a succession of four thematic ideas in the accompaniment, appearing in the fol- lowing sequence:
a a' b c a a' b d d' a b a d" (Intro) A B A B
Because of its contrasting character, the "d" theme is more significant and has the effect of a B section. The other
"themes" combine easily into a whole, forming the A section.
The B section is retained almost exactly as it appeared in the 1923 version. However, there are major reworkings in the A section.
The opening "a" theme, which serves first as an intro- duction, has its uppermost melodic line left unaltered, 86
except it is transposed a step higher in its first statement
to allow a sequence a step below when the voice enters. In
the original version the second statement was an exact repe-
tition of the first. Although the upper voice of the theme
is the same in both versions, the supporting harmony has been radically revised. The original harmony had a bitonal flavor which made the first cadence harmonically ambiguous.
This has been replaced with simplified harmonies and a clear, strong cadence of "root-position" type-I chords, with a root- progression of a descending fifth.
low |
Fig. 44a--Song No. 4, 1923, mm. 1-3 87
-a- I 11 c~
II
-T, --r- WF J 0lo ommo
Fig. 44b--Song No. 4, 1948, mm. 1-3
The revision of this theme produces a surer effect of rise and fall in harmonic tension within the phrase. In the sec- ond phrase the theme begins and ends with the most stable chords, those of type I, and contains a smoother rise in tension just before a gradual decrease at the cadence chord.
The harmonic fluctuation of the original involved more com- plex chords of types II, III, and IV and seems to have fol- lowed no plan of control of harmonic tension. 88
2. I2.
1
Fig. 45--Harmonic fluctuation, Song No. 4, mm. 3-4, 1923 and 1948 versions compared.
The degree progression of the first phrase in the orig-
inal version did not specifically violate any of the rules
for successful root-progressions; however, in the second
phrase there was a lack of strong relationships of root-
progressions by fifths, fourths, and thirds, which are nec-
essary to the establishment of a tonality. In the new ver-
sion the degree progression of the first two phrases
consists exclusively of root-progressions of fifths, fourths,
and thirds.
In Hindemith's revision of the "b" theme (mm. 5-7,
1923; mm. 5-8, 1948) he has continued to retain the upper
voice (in this case the upper two voices) of the accompani- ment and has altered the vocal line and the bass voices.
The resultant harmonic fluctuation of the new version is
simplified to an almost uninterrupted succession of type-III, 89
harmonies. This lack of fluctuation fails to create the
preferred rise and fall of tension, as in the unplanned and
aimless fluctuation of the first version. However, this re-
writing can be considered an improvement in the harmonic
density. There are three to four changes in fluctuation per
measure in the original as opposed to one and sometimes two
changes per measure in the new version. The adventurous
degree progression, which was rather ambiguous in its sup-
porting of a tonal center, is greatly simplified in the new
version; it is reduced to only two pitches, F and Ab, em-
phasizing F as the tonal center.
Only the vocal line and the last measure of the accom-
paniment of the "c" theme were altered. The revised vocal
line makes a small change in the degree progression which
greatly improves its effect. The pitch B, which was already
established through repetition as a tonal center, is in the
revision supported by its fourth, E. The change in the last measure of the theme produces a cadence on CO. The only
significant difference in the harmonic fluctuation of the two versions occurs at this cadence. The weaker progression
from a III to a 1112 sonority is replaced by the 111 2 -IVl~
III1 progression. The B section of the song has remained the most unal- tered of any other sections of the song. Its thematic material, "d," is the fourth of the themes. There is a slight alteration in the vocal line in measure 22 of the 90
new version (measure 20 of the original). It changes only
the root of the sonority from Bb to F, which assumes impor-
tance as the tonal center of the phrase. In measure 23 of
the new song the accompaniment has been completely rewritten.
The resultant harmonic fluctuation now includes a fall of tension to a type-I chord. The original measure had no res-
olution of tension until the following measure.
In the return of the "d" theme at the close of the
song, the vocal line has been chnaged from its original
form. However, it appears to have been altered for the pur- pose of expressive effect rather than for improvements in
the harmony; for the degree progression is not significantly improved by the new vocal line. The alterations in the ac- companiment in the first statement of the theme reappear in the restatement and provide the only changes in harmonic fluctuation and degree progression from the original version.
Concerning Song No. 6, "Verk4ndigung tiber den Hirten"
("Annunciation to the Shepherds"), Hindemith stated in the
Introductory Remarks to the 1948 version,
. . . the musical substance is approximately the same in both versions, and yet this is the song that has been subjected to more changes in its inner structure than any other . . . the original vision of this com- position seemed to me so convincing that I sought by every means to work the text into the form I had originally imagined . . .39
3 9 Hindemith, Introductory Remarks, pp. 7-8. 91
In the evaluation of the two songs, Truscott stated, "No. 6 is the one instance, I think, where the stature of the orig- inal is near to that of the later version." 4 0 Stephan even preferred certain passages of the original version. (In- deed, Stephan seemed to hold this attitude toward the song cycle as a whole.) In any case, Hindemith found the origi- nal song to be objectionable enough to necessitate a thorough reworking of the song. In his explanatory preface he did not discuss the actual process of revision, but stated,
A comparison of the two versions will show the first and the final stages in the technical evolution of this song, from which an approximate picture of that process may be inferred.4 1
The formal organization of the original song remains in the new version. There are three major thematic subjects which appear in the following formal scheme:
A B C B' A'
The A sections of both versions are very much the same. In
the new version this section has been transposed a fifth
higher, centering on A instead of D as in the early version.
This provides a tonal unity to the work as a whole, not pre-
sent in the original, since the song ends also on a tonic
of A (in both versions). In spite of this transposition,
the chord-roots within the first phrase are identical to
those of the original. This was allowed by an "inversion"
40 Truscott, p. 1242.
4 1 Hindemith, Introductory Remarks, p. 8. 92
of the chords in the lower part of the accompaniment rather than a literal transposition of a fifth higher.
4 6 Fig. a--Song No. 6, 1923, mm. 1-4
16 WE-lw-lj 0- - ff - Pr-w- IWqWF AM
7*f
I I I -4 Fig. 46b--Song No. 6, 1948, mm. 1-4 (arrows indicate chord roots).
There are no major revisions in this section until the end- ing. Some reworking was necessary to allow part two to appear in the key of the original version. In the first version this transition consists of scale-like melodic ma- terial derived from measure 3 (see Fig. 46a, m. 3), based on a tonal center of D# (Eb) and cadencing on a type-IV chord. The new version uses instead a shorter fragment of 93
the theme, cadencing on a tonal center of B with a type-III1 chord. It seems this transition to the second part, which
begins on Bb, creates a weaker tonal relationship according
to Hindemith's theories than the descending fourth relation-
ship between the parts in the original version.
The principle subject of the B section, which appears
in the vocal part, is neither transposed nor altered in any
other way. It is, however, supported by the new and surer
harmonic progressions. The "motoric" accompaniment of the
original version which consisted of a rather angular bass
line in even quarter notes, for the most part, along with
an upper voice in constant eighth-notes formed a complex
contrapuntal web with the vocal line. The choosing of chord
roots in the analysis of this passage seems almost arbitrary
because of the abundance of non-harmonic tones. In the re-
vised version the rhythmic upper voice of the accompaniment
has been broken at certain points with longer note values;
the lower voice is now mostly stepwise, scale-like motions
over pedal points, creating a less harried texture than in
the original version. The root-determining intervals of
chords (in most cases, fourths and fifths) occur in rhyth- mically more important positions, clarifying the arbitrari-
ness of root-determination which existed in the early ver-
sion. In merely comparing the harmonic fluctuation of the
two versions this improvement may not be apparent; the ac-
tual fluctuation is only slightly altered, in that the chord 94
types used are much the same. One characteristic of the new
version which makes it harmonically clearer is the increased
presence of type-I chords on the strong beats of the measure.
In the original song, more often than not type-I chords ap-
peared in passing and rhythmically weak positions; in the
new version almost all of the type-I sonorities are used as
structural supports in rhythmically stressed positions (that
is, on first and third beats in quadruple meter).
Another feature of this section in the original version
is an accompaniment pattern of a fourth repeated sequential- ly.
L41 I JAm
I
Fig. 47--Song No. 6, 1923, mm. 32-35
The rhythmic displacement of these patterns results in the obscurity of the harmonic progression as to the precise points where chord changes occur. This is similar to the problem created by the triplet-figures in the early version 95 of Song No. 1 (cf. Fig. 39, p. 79). This type of harmonic ambiguity is completely eliminated in the new version. He has replaced this particular section of the text with solo voice alternating with single-line accompaniment and a re- turn to a restatement of the opening theme of the section.
The second subject of the B section has been transposed up an enharmonic fourth from Eb to G#, and also the under- lying tonality from Ab to CO. This alteration is an improve- ment in the tonal relationship between this section and the following one. The original sequence of tonal areas was a tritone relationship from Ab to D; the new sequence is from
CO to B, not a particularly valuable relationship accord- ing to Series 1, but more valuable than that of a tritone.
The degree progression of this section (original, mm. 41-65; revised, mm. 56-85) is tonally clear in both versions; that is, it exhibits purposeful, tonality-defining root-progres- sions of the most valuable intervals in Series 1. The most obvious revision made in this passage is a thinning of the texture. The original version has a heavy, chordal accom- paniment with the bass voice doubled in octaves throughout.
This has been replaced with a much simplified two-voice contrapuntal accompaniment. The harmonic fluctuation of the original involved a rapid succession of very complex chords, primarily of types III and IV. The harmonic fluctuation of the new version is simplified to predominantly type-I sonor- ities and dyads which act as type-I representatives. 96
In the new version Hindemith has added an interlude (mm. 85-95) before the C section. It is a restatement of the main subject of the B section. Interestingly, this ad- dition is based on a very weak degree progression. Instead of harmonizing the subject with chordal sonorities based on strong root-progressions, he has placed the theme on a des- cending chromatic line. The resultant degree progression is at times chromatic, when the roots of successive sonor-
ities coincide with the bass line.
_nW _ Vf
I
4 Fig. 8--Song No. 6, 1948, mm. 85-90
Perhaps Hindemith intended the chromatic dyads to be heard and understood as passing tones between the more significant chordal sonorities. Even if that was the case, the passage remains an example of weak harmonic writing violating Hinde- mith's own guidelines. 97
The third part of the song is, in its original form, a
virtual puzzle of counterpoint, cross-rhythms and non-chord
tones. The following brief excerpt should suffice in illus-
trating the harmonic complexities which abound in this sec- tion.
I v wl i --- I AAmk A IL I AN do I Ab."L VIM A w"&Chs+ 9f
iloplit 4L
IL 1. t I I
i I ff "ftj h qww 0 4 APIA
4p
Am r A 'I Add--
Ar A wr
Fig. 49--Song No. 6, 1923, mm. 90-91
The two-against-three rhythm of this passage compli-
cates the determination of chord tones. While the outer
voices work together rhythmically, the inner voice moves in-
dependently. Tertian triads which are outlined in every
other beat are not supported harmonically by the other
voices. It is possible to arrive at several different anal-
yses of this passage, contingent on the determination of
non-chord tones. Consider, for example, the second beat of measure 90: numerous analyses are possible, all through strictly applying Hindemith's analytical techniques. 98
WON"
I L
is stir, ON
A -e- TWO LIO OTIOM AP I I
ON ON
IV dig Ad
V IEC ELI IT20
F- I
JL I
--TF
iL OW AP I I OS AP F- Tt -T-73
ppplp,
r MON. I~ "W ff IL- n:7. X, IL
Fig. 50--Song No. 6, 1923, m. 90, second beat
One can imagine, therefore, the innumerable possibilities for the analysis of the entire passage.
In the new version Hindemith has completely rewritten this section. He has abandoned his motivic manipulation of the interval of a fourth and the triplet cross-rhythms. 99
The determination of harmonic fluctuation is simplified by the placement of root-determing intervals (in most cases, fourths and fifths) in rhythmically unambiguous positions.
For example, in the new setting of the section of text dis- cussed above, the rhythm is radically simplified, which in
turn clarifies the determination of the harmonic fluctuation.
Fig. 5 1--Song No. 6, 1948, mm. 127-129
The restatement of part B has been considerably shortened in both versions, presenting the principal subject only.
In the new version the restatement is preceded by a transi- tion which foreshadows the principal subject.
The recapitulation of the A theme is, again, as in its original statement, very similar to the two versions. In the new version the beginning of the section is transposed a fifth higher, differing only slightly melodically from the earlier version, but, immediately after the opening, the 100
following portion has been rewritten to allow the final
phrase to cadence in the "key" of the original. Concerning this song's conformity to Hindemith's the- ories, Hindemith has made minor improvements in.the smooth- ness of the harmonic fluctuation and logic of the degree progression. For most of the song there are no great or significant differences in the types of chords or root-pro- gressions used. There are, however, several changes, as mentioned previously, which are worth noting again here. There is an increase in the use of type-I chords in the new version for harmonic clarity; that is, release of the ten- sion-building and ambiguity of numerous type-III and IV chords in succession. Secondly, the transposition of orig- inal material provides a tonal unity for the work as a whole. The most obvious difference in the two versions is a simplification of the accompaniment in the new. Harmonic progressions which were clouded by complex counterpoint are, in the new version, stripped of much of the non-chord tone embellishment so profuse in the original. Hindemith's re- visions of the thematic development and texture of the song have, in their own way, greatly improved the harmonic and tonal clarity of the song. CHAPTER III
CONCLUSION
This study has attempted to show the relationship of
Hindemith's theory and his practice, specifically in the re- vision of one work which the composer claims adheres to his theory. It is not the intent of this study to establish the truth or error of Hindemith's entire theoretical system.
As Haydon in Introduction to Musicology states, "Every com- poser has his conception of the theory of harmony, and creates in terms of that conception, whether or not it is scientifically defensible."1 The purpose of this study is only to show to what extent Hindemith's composing was af- fected by his theoretical discoveries and not to prove the validity of the theories themselves.
The aesthetic judgment of the success or failure of the new version is also a matter for further study. Some
--Stuckenschmidt, Henze, Stephan--have preferred the origi- nal version. Stephan, for one, disapproved of both Hinde- mith's theories and his subsequent compositions. He states,
"In place of spontaneity one is now faced with a handful of practical formulae which are used by Hindemith and his
1Glen Haydon, Introduction to Musicology (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1941), p. 173. 102 imitators within the confines of respectable academism."2
Others, such as Truscott, have preferred the new version.
He states,
The rewriting which has gone into these songs is al- most unique in the history of music. But the purging castigation of the 53-year-old Hindemith bestowed on these youthful songs has turned them into an organic masterpiece ranking with the great song cycles. 3
An aesthetic evaluation of the two versions cannot be con- clusive, for it will always be a matter of personal prefer- ence. If a choice must be made, the individual listener should judge for himself. Austin saw the opportunity to study the old and new versions of Hindemith's works as "a precious gift to whoever wanted to share as much as possible of Hindemith's visions."4
In attempting to show a relation between Hindemith's theory and his practice, it is important to remember that
Hindemith himself believed there was a close relationship.
In the Introductory Remarks he revealed his specific goals for the revision: to make the vocal part more singable, to unify the cycle through a logical sequence of keys and to replace ambiguous harmony with carefully controlled
2 Rudolph Stephan, "Hindemith's Marienleben, an Assess- ment of the Two Versions," Music Review, XV (November, 1954), 287.
3H. Truscott, "Hindemith and Das Marienleben," Musical Times, CX (December, 1969), 1242.
4 William Austin, Music in the Twentieth Century (New York: W. W. Norton and Co., Inc., 1959), p. 407. 103
fluctuation and clearly defined tonalities. AltIough the
first of these goals was not a major concern of this study,
evidence of its realization has nevertheless been seen. The
vocal part no longer follows an independent course as it
often did in the earlier version. It has at certain points
been rewritten to be congruous with the underlying harmonies,
and in this way its singability has been improved.
Concerning Hindemith's intent to provide a more logi-
cal sequence of keys and thus a tonal unity in the cycle,
the new version is no great improvement over the original.
He has changed the central tonality of only four of the
songs. The extraction of tonal centers of successive songs
into a "macro-degree progression" shows no significant im-
provements in the new version. In fact, in the new version
there is a tritone relationship between the primary tonal
centers of Song No.'s 11 and 12 and Song No.'s 14 and 15.
Perhaps what Hindemith meant by "tonal unity" is the
logic of his tonal representation of concepts. In Song
No. 3 he has replaced the tonality of C#, which represents
the concept of "the inevitable," with A, representing "the
divine or angelic," a more appropriate tonal representation
for the scene of the annunciation depicted in the poem. He
again uses the tonal center of A for the "Annunciation to
the Shepherds" in Song No. 6. He consistently uses the to-
nality of E to represent Christ. For example, it is the major tonality of Song No. 7 ("Nativity of Christ "), 104
replacing a D-tonality of the original version. It is in
this way that Hindemith has improved the tonal logic of the work as a whole.
This study is chiefly concerned with the third of the
aforementioned goals. A summary of the results of the
analyses of representative songs appears below.
TABLE IV
SUMMARY OF REVISIONS
Extent of Song Revision No. Characteristics
Unaltered 12 Predominance of type-III chords; Strong degree progression
1923 version 1948 version
Replaced 3 Bitonality Predominance of Unplanned harmonic type-III chords fluctuation Rise and fall of Predominance of harmonic fluct. tritone chords Improved harmonic Tritone and chroma- density tic root-prog. Simplification of Chromatically re- root- lated tonal determination centers
7 Preponderence of Controlled harmonic tritone chords fluctuation Bitonality Slowed harmonic Degree progression: rhythm tritone mov't. Predominance of augmented triads type III chromaticism Strong degree absence of progression strong intervals 105
TABLE IV--Continued
Extent of Song Revision No . Characteristics
1923 version 1948 version
Slightly altered 11 Vocal line harmoni- cally supported Clearer tonality Smoother harmonic fluctuation
Thorough revision 1 Rhythmic complex- Simplified rhythm ities (hemiola) and harmonic Degree progression- structures; tritone mov't. Predominance of diminished types III and I triad outlines Strong degree progression .1. 4 Bitonal chords Rise and fall of No plan of har- tension monic Improved harmonic fluctuation density Simplified chordal structures Stronger degree progression
-t 6 Complex counter- Careful use of type- point I sonorities Cross-rhythms Tonal unity Ambiguous chordal Simplification of structures accompaniment
Certain stylistic characteristics, typical of the first version, are responsible for the violations of Hindemith's 106
theory. The abundance. of unresolved tritone-chords, the bitonality and rhythmically complex counterpoint account for the majority of the violations. Primarily through a simpli- fication of the piano accompaniment, Hindemith has elimi-
nated these problems. The new version characteristically has simplified harmonic structures; they are usually based on the interval of a fourth or fifth at the bottom of the vertical structure. This has not necessarily resulted in more "valuable," less tension-filled chords, but has elimi- nated the ambiguity of root determination of the sonorities. In the new version, Hindemith has shown a greater control of harmonic fluctuation through a careful use of type-I sonorities, those of greatest repose, and types IV, V, and VI, those of greatest tension. The degree progression, more often than in the original version, clearly defines tonality through strong root-progressions of fifths, fourths, and thirds. These facts should provide sufficient evidence of the direct influence of Hindemith's theory on his practice in the revision of Das Marienleben.
There are two compositional techniques, present in both versions, which because of their repeated use might be called idioms of Hindemith's style. These are--l) his abun- dant use of type-III sonorities and 2) his use of dyads as cadence chords. Neither of these practices are recommended in Unterweisung and may, in fact, be considered violations of his guidelines. He has recommended in Unterweisung that 107
chord types I and II be used most often. However, quite often in the new version he has replaced uncontrolled, tension-filled passages with uninterrupted successions of type-III sonorities. He seems to have preferred the sonor- ity to any other. He used type-III sonorities also as final cadence chords, preferring the color of an added second or
seventh to that of a simple major or minor triad.
It is interesting to examine the types of cadence chords used in Das Marienleben. Such an examination reveals the second of the practices which are characteristic of Hindemith's style--the use of dyads as cadence chords. Of the final cadence chords of the fifteen songs only four are type-I sonorities. Four are type-III and three are dyads (fourths or fifths doubled at their octaves). The remain- der of the songs end with a simple cadencing of a single
line with a unison or octave. Because of the presence of these two practices in both versions, it can be assumed that they were not aesthetically disturbing to Hindemith, even though they are contradictory to his theory.
The fact that the new version does not at all points follow the "rules" of Hindemith's theory does not invali- date the hypothesis that there is a definite relation be- tween his theory and the revision of Das Marienleben. Hindemith, true to his artistic instinct as a composer, could not but realize the conflict between logic (theoretical 108
rules) and aesthetics. In the formulation of his theory he has made an allowance for the artistic purposes of the com- poser. For example, although he has discouraged the use of tritone and chromatic root-progressions, he states, If the particular expression of a passage demands tritone progression, a the composer must use it; if chromaticism in the degree progression is the means that will most clearly express the sense of a passage, it will be used without hesitation.5
He has also included in his theory a principle of compensa- tion which allows a certain weighing of elements. He states,
* . . the various forces at work in harmony may played off be so against one another that the sharpness one element of is made up for by the smoothness and the of another, weaknesses of one by the extra strength another.6 of
In other words, a strict adherence to the prescribed rules does not guarantee the creation of a successful artistic work, nor does the violation of any rule endanger the crea- tive process. It is the artistic purpose which is in the end responsible for the success of a composition.
Hindemith felt, more than most, the necessity in compo- sition not only of creative genius but also technical com- petence. In A Composer's World he states, "Skill can never make up for a lack of vision, but on the other hand a vision will never receive its true materialization if a composer's
5Paul Hindemith, Craft of Musical Composition (Mainz: B. Schott's Sohne, 1945) , p.147. 6 1bid.j p. 124. 109 technique does not provide every means towards that end." 7
It is, therefore, the combination of the application of Hindemith's theories plus his creative instinct which have brought Das Marienleben to its final form. The 1948 version of Das Marienleben is a true union of theoretical logic and artistic purpose.
7Paul Hindemith, A Composer's World (Cambridge: liar- vard University Press, 1952), p. 62. o 4 C2 0
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0 4 H4L BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books
Austin, William, Music in the Twentieth Century, New York, W. W. Norton and Co., Inc., 1959.
Colucci, M. J., A Comparative Study of Contemporary Music Theories in~Selected Writings of Piston, Krenek, and Hindemith,Ann Arbor, University M3icrofilms, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, 1957.
Copland, Aaron, Our New Music, New York, McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., 1941.
Deri, Otto, Exploring Twentieth-Century Music, New York, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1968.
Halliday, John R., Paul Hindemith--The Theorist, Ann Arbor, University Microfilms, Ph.D., University of Rochester, Eastman School of Music, 1941.
Hansen, Peter S., An Introduction to Twentieth-Century Music, Boston, Allyn~and Bacon, Inc., 1967.
Haydon, Glen, Introduction to Musicology, Chapel Hill, Uni- versity of North Carolina Press, 1941.
Hindemith, Paul, A Composer's World, Cambridge, Harvard Uni- versity Press, 1952.
Craft of Musical Composition, Mainz, B. Schott's Sohne, 1945.
, Das Marienleben: Introductory Remarks for the New Version of the Song Cycle (1948), New York, Kssociated Music~Publishers, c1954.
, Unterweisung im Tonsatz, Mainz, B. Schott's Sohne, 1937.
Kemp, Ian, Hindemith, London, Oxford University Press, 1970.
Landau, Victor, The Harmonic Theories of Paul Hindemith in Relation to His Practice as a Composer of Chamber Music, Ann Arbor, University Microfilms, Ph.D., New York University, 1957.
143 144
Skelton, Geoffrey, Paul Hindemith, the Man Behind the Music, London, Victor Gollancz, Ltd ., 1975.
Thomson, William E. A Clarification of the Tonality Con- cept, Ann Arbor,~University Microfilms, Ph.D., Indiana University, 1952.
Articles
Austin, William, "Hindemith's Frau Musica: The Versions of 1928 and 1942 Compared," Essays in Honor of Archibald Thompson Davison by His Associates, Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University, Department of Music, 1957.
Bobbitt, Richard, "Hindemith's Twelve-Tone Scale," Music Review, XXVI (1965), 104-117.
Cazden, Norman, "Hindemith and Nature," Music Review, XV (November, 1954), 288-306.
Heiden, Bernhard, "Hindemith's System--A New Approach," Modern Music, XIX (January-February, 1942), 102-107.
Landau, Victor, "Hindemith, the System Builder: A Critique of His Theory of Harmony," Music Review, XXII (1961), 136-151.
, "Paul Hindemith. A Case Study in Theory and Practice," Music Review, XXI (1960), 38-54.
Redlich, Hans Ferdinand, "Paul Hindemith: A Reassessment," Music Review, XXV (1964), 241.
Stephan, Rudolph, "Hindemith's Marienleben, an Assessment of the Two Versions," Music Review, XV (November, 1954), 275-287.
Thomson, William, "Hindemith's Contribution to Music Theory," Journal of Music Theory, IX (1965), 52-71.
Truscott, Harold, "Hindemith and Das Marienleben," Musical Times, CX (December, 1969), 1240-1242.
Musical Scores
Hindemith, Paul, Das Marienleben, op. 27, Mainz, B. Schott's Sohne, 1924. 145
Das Marienleben, op. 27, Neue Fassung, Mainz, B. Schott's Sohne, 1948.