The Development of Schenker's Concept of Interruption. (23rd July 2013)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Marston, Nicholas
• Is Part Of: Music analysis. Volume 32:Number 3(2013:Oct.)
• Page Start: 332
• Page End: 362
• Publication Date: 2013-07-23
• Subjects: Musical analysis -- Periodicals; 781
• DOI: 10.1111/musa.12017
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0262-5245

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main"> <title>Abstract</title> <p>This article draws on the rich resources of Heinrich Schenker's <italic>Nachlass</italic> in the Ernst Oster Collection (New York Public Library) to construct the development of interruption (<italic>Unterbrechung</italic>), a vital aspect of Schenker's mature understanding of musical form. In §90 of <italic>Der freie Satz</italic> (1935) Schenker makes a crucial distinction between the structural weight of the two <alternatives><inline-graphic mimetype="image" xlink:href="ark:/27927/pgg3jzbz0cr" xlink:type="simple" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" /><mml:math altimg="urn:x-wiley:02625245:media:musa12017:musa12017-gra-5252" display="inline" overflow="scroll" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" /></alternatives> configurations in an interrupted <alternatives><inline-graphic mimetype="image" xlink:href="ark:/27927/pgg3jzbz0b6" xlink:type="simple" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" /><mml:math altimg="urn:x-wiley:02625245:media:musa12017:musa12017-gra-5253" display="inline" overflow="scroll" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" /></alternatives><italic>Ursatz</italic>, and gives priority to the first one: the effect of interruption depends on the sense that this will be succeeded by <alternatives><inline-graphic mimetype="image" xlink:href="ark:/27927/pgg3jzbz0k2" xlink:type="simple" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" /><mml:math altimg="urn:x-wiley:02625245:media:musa12017:musa12017-gra-5254" display="inline" overflow="scroll" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" /></alternatives>, rather than by the return to <alternatives><inline-graphic mimetype="image" xlink:href="ark:/27927/pgg3jzbz0jh" xlink:type="simple" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" /><mml:math altimg="urn:x-wiley:02625245:media:musa12017:musa12017-gra-5255" display="inline" overflow="scroll" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" /></alternatives> that is actually forthcoming. Subsequently, in §93, Schenker claims that the reasserted <alternatives><inline-graphic mimetype="image" xlink:href="ark:/27927/pgg3jzbz0hz" xlink:type="simple" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" /><mml:math altimg="urn:x-wiley:02625245:media:musa12017:musa12017-gra-5256" display="inline" overflow="scroll" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" /></alternatives> connects back to its first appearance, prior to the first arrival of <alternatives><inline-graphic mimetype="image" xlink:href="ark:/27927/pgg3jzbz0gd" xlink:type="simple" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" /><mml:math altimg="urn:x-wiley:02625245:media:musa12017:musa12017-gra-5257" display="inline" overflow="scroll" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" /></alternatives>. The article explores the tension between these two claims in relation to <alternatives><inline-graphic mimetype="image" xlink:href="ark:/27927/pgg3jzbxzpq" xlink:type="simple" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" /><mml:math altimg="urn:x-wiley:02625245:media:musa12017:musa12017-gra-5258" display="inline" overflow="scroll" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" /></alternatives> and <alternatives><inline-graphic mimetype="image" xlink:href="ark:/27927/pgg3jzbxzq8" xlink:type="simple" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" /><mml:math altimg="urn:x-wiley:02625245:media:musa12017:musa12017-gra-5259" display="inline" overflow="scroll" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" /></alternatives><italic>Ursätze</italic> and reconstructs preliminary versions of the text relating to interruption in <italic>Der freie Satz</italic>. It concludes by suggesting that Schenker's shifting notation of interrupted structures reflects a continuing uneasiness with his own definition of interruption as a theoretical concept.</p> </abstract>