Page 263 - Vinkler, Jonatan, in Jernej Weiss. ur. 2014. Musica et Artes: ob osemdesetletnici Primoža Kureta. Koper: Založba Univerze na Primorskem.
P. 263
woyzeck and wozzeck – büchner and berg
For example, the components of the First Act–Suite, Rhapsody, Military
March, Berceuse, Passacaglia, Quasi Rondo–are made explicit through al-
lusions to the baroque (the Suite is made up of a Prelude, Pavane, Cadence,
Gigue, and Gavotte, while the passacaglia is a well-known theme with pol-
yphonic variations, also deriving from a dance) and classical-romantic past.
But if the »baroque« cannot be perceived as such during listening, and nor
can we aurally distinguish the features of the rhapsody or quasi rondo, the
military march and lullaby (Berceuse) become explicit thanks above all to
their relationship with oral traditions.
These varying degrees of auditory conspicuousness aside, every last de-
tail of the forms on which Berg draws is moulded to the dramatic text. For ex-
ample, in the Rhapsody two contrasting levels alternate and overlap: one the-
matic group is assigned to Wozzeck and his rhythmic declamation describing
hallucinatory visions, which varies (seemingly chaotically) in length; the oth-
er is fitted to Andres, who has his feet on the ground and intones hunting
melodies in symmetrical structures of musical phrases (strophes). And the
Passacaglia of the fourth scene is a formidable structure of twenty-one varia-
tions on a twelve-note theme, embodying the Doctor’s obsession with going
down in history, interwoven with that of the patient/victim Wozzeck. The
theme itself traces a circle of the chromatic whole, its first note being sensi-
ble to the first, and Berg’s »game« with circles does not stop here, but takes
advantage of Büchner’s text. When he describes his hallucinations, Wozzeck
sees »Linienkreise, Figuren, Wer das lesen könnte!« The circles and figures
can even be read graphically in Berg’s score, combining with the line in ques-
tion: the harp and celesta trace a circle in the first three beats of the meas-
ure (they set off from the seventh E-D and return to it), the two solo cellos do
likewise (on beats three and four, the ninth C-D), as do the two solo violins
(on the last beat of the measure). All these are miniature figures symmetrical
to an axis, with one melodic line inverting the other. Then, when the celes-
ta comes in, at the same moment, it traces a circle (within which is inscribed
a square: D-E-G#-B). Wozzeck’s vocal line and the outline of the solo cellos
and violins are constructed according to the same principle, with the whole
creating a music that unfolds over the course of a few seconds and is sugges-
tive of a magical moment.
Similarly, circles often occur in Berg’s structural thinking; he was in
love with palindromes on both a large and a small scale. Recurring musi-
cal structures are woven throughout the score of the opera, and are some-
times difficult to detect, to the delight of those who have the patience to
seek them.
261
For example, the components of the First Act–Suite, Rhapsody, Military
March, Berceuse, Passacaglia, Quasi Rondo–are made explicit through al-
lusions to the baroque (the Suite is made up of a Prelude, Pavane, Cadence,
Gigue, and Gavotte, while the passacaglia is a well-known theme with pol-
yphonic variations, also deriving from a dance) and classical-romantic past.
But if the »baroque« cannot be perceived as such during listening, and nor
can we aurally distinguish the features of the rhapsody or quasi rondo, the
military march and lullaby (Berceuse) become explicit thanks above all to
their relationship with oral traditions.
These varying degrees of auditory conspicuousness aside, every last de-
tail of the forms on which Berg draws is moulded to the dramatic text. For ex-
ample, in the Rhapsody two contrasting levels alternate and overlap: one the-
matic group is assigned to Wozzeck and his rhythmic declamation describing
hallucinatory visions, which varies (seemingly chaotically) in length; the oth-
er is fitted to Andres, who has his feet on the ground and intones hunting
melodies in symmetrical structures of musical phrases (strophes). And the
Passacaglia of the fourth scene is a formidable structure of twenty-one varia-
tions on a twelve-note theme, embodying the Doctor’s obsession with going
down in history, interwoven with that of the patient/victim Wozzeck. The
theme itself traces a circle of the chromatic whole, its first note being sensi-
ble to the first, and Berg’s »game« with circles does not stop here, but takes
advantage of Büchner’s text. When he describes his hallucinations, Wozzeck
sees »Linienkreise, Figuren, Wer das lesen könnte!« The circles and figures
can even be read graphically in Berg’s score, combining with the line in ques-
tion: the harp and celesta trace a circle in the first three beats of the meas-
ure (they set off from the seventh E-D and return to it), the two solo cellos do
likewise (on beats three and four, the ninth C-D), as do the two solo violins
(on the last beat of the measure). All these are miniature figures symmetrical
to an axis, with one melodic line inverting the other. Then, when the celes-
ta comes in, at the same moment, it traces a circle (within which is inscribed
a square: D-E-G#-B). Wozzeck’s vocal line and the outline of the solo cellos
and violins are constructed according to the same principle, with the whole
creating a music that unfolds over the course of a few seconds and is sugges-
tive of a magical moment.
Similarly, circles often occur in Berg’s structural thinking; he was in
love with palindromes on both a large and a small scale. Recurring musi-
cal structures are woven throughout the score of the opera, and are some-
times difficult to detect, to the delight of those who have the patience to
seek them.
261
