Music 395—Worksheet 3              Name:

Continuous Variations

Readings—

• Green, Form in Tonal Music
• Chapter 7: Theme and Variations, p. 120-128
• The Music Forum, Vol. I (RESERVE)
  
• William Mitchell, “The Tristan Prelude,” pp. 162-163, 167-178, 202-203

Score Analysis 1

Bach, Chaconne from Partita No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1004—Burkhart, pp. 94-100 (see pp. 99-105 in 5th ed.)

1. What is the specific harmonic scheme on which this chaconne is based?

_______	_______	_______	_______	_______	_______
m. 1	m. 2	m. 3.1	m. 3.2	m. 4.1	m. 4.2-.3

2. How many complete statements of this basic pattern in this piece? (Hint: there's an easier way to figure it out than counting them one-by-one!)
   
3. Compare a few later variations with the first four measures (and use measure numbers to tell me which ones). Does Bach modify the harmonic scheme in these later examples? If so, explain.
4. What features of this work are typical of continuous variation form?
5. What holds this piece together? Clearly the harmonic scheme unifies each four-measure unit, but what phenomena does Bach use to link variations together to create larger sections? Describe several specific examples (and use measure numbers to tell me where).
6. If you could only divide this piece into two or three large sections, where would the dividing points be? Explain why you divide it that way.
7. On the timeline below, use brackets (­]­) to show the dividing points you identified in Question 3. Identify the key of each large section.
8. On the basis of these divisions and a comparison of the sections they define, what specific form best describes the overall large structure of this movement (besides chaconne)? Why?
   

  |__1__|__5__|__9__|_13__|_17__|_21__|_25__|_29__|_33__|_37__|_41__|_45__|_49__|_53__|_57__|
Key:
 

|_61__|_65__|_69__|__73__|_77__|_81__|_85__|_89__|_93__|_97__|_101_|_105_|_109_|_113_|_117_|
 
 

|_121_|_125_|_129_|_133_|_137_|_141_|_145_|_149_|_153_|_157_|_161_|_165_|_169_|_173_|_177_|
 
 

|_181_|_185_|_189_|_193_|_197_|_201_|_205_|_209_|_213_|_217_|_221_|_225_|_229_|_233_|_237_|
 
 

|_241_|_245_|_249_|_253_|_257_|_261_|_265_|_269_|_273_|_277_|_281_|_285_|_289_|_293_|_297_||
 

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Score Analysis 2

Wagner, Tristan und Isolde, Prelude—Burkhart, pp. 344-350 (see pp. 348-355 in 5th ed.)

2) Mitchell labels eight leitmotives that can be found in the Prelude: A1 first appears in m. 1-3; A2 in m. 2-3; B in m. 17-18; C in m. 25-26; D in m. 28-29; E in m. 28-30 (RH); F in m. 36-37; and G in m. 63. Your next task is to comb through each section of the prelude and list the leitmotives you find in each one. Look carefully, and listen often—you may hear leitmotives that are difficult to see. To provide some guidance, I have indicated the number of motives that are clearly stated in each section.
 

1st section, mm. 1-17 (2 motives):

2nd section, mm. 17-24 (1 motive):

3rd section, mm. 24-45 (5 motives):

4th section, mm. 45-63 (4 motives):

5th section, mm. 63-74 (2 motives):

6th section, mm. 74-84 (3 motives):

7th section, mm. 84-94 (4 motives):

 

3) Use a letter of the alphabet to represent each section of the Prelude on the time-line below. If two sections use mostly the same leitmotives, label them both with the same letter. If two sections use mostly different motives, label them with different letter. Andy by the way—you can only use A, B, C, and D (with or without primes)!
 
 

|___1-17___|___17-24___|___24-45___|___45-63___|___63-74___|___74-84___|___84-94___|
 

4) Look carefully at the structure you just diagrammed. Does this agree with your preliminary analysis in Question 1? Describe any differences. Finally, does this Prelude resemble any specific forms? If it does, which one? Explain.
 
 
 

Suggested Recordings—

• Continuous Variations CD
  

Created 2/20/04 by Mark Harbold—last updated 2/20/04.