Schoenberg Peripetie

Tonality and Harmony:

This piece is atonal, meaning that there is no set key to it. This is
shown throughout the piece as there are many accidentals.
There is also a lot of dissonant harmony used within this piece. For
example, in bar 10, as here the notes clash with the minor 9th.

Melody:

The melody is made up of many short fragmented motifs combined

in different ways to create interest. The chords and melodies are
built up in hexachords (a group of 6 notes) for example, in bar 1 in
the clarinets.
The melodies used are often disjunct and sound angular. This can
also be seen in bar 2 where the trombones and trumpets perform a
chromatic scale.
Octave displacement is also used throughout the piece in the main
melodies, as this also increases the angular sound.

Texture:

The piece has occasional homophonic moments, but this is rare, for
example bar 53. The texture is largely contrapuntal.
The full orchestra play, though only for a few notes. After this the
brass takes charge till bar 8, where the woodwind takes over with
the bassoon.
The full orchestra come together for the final climatic chord in bar
64.
Throughout bars 1-18, the texture is very polyphonic, as Schoenberg
has varied the feel of different section to create a complex texture.
There is a klangfarbenmelodie in this piece, for example in bar 64,
when the tonal colour passes through all the instruments.

Structure: This piece is set in a free rondo form with 5 sections (ABACA) it is
called free rondo because it is very different to traditional rondo
from classical period. Different sections are clearly contrasted.
Each section is a different length and the texture and tempo change
in each one.
The dynamics in this piece are extremely varied. For example in
bars 5-6 it goes from fff to p.