Agawu 1984 Highpoints in Dichterliebe

Structural 'Highpoints' in Schumann's 'Dichterliebe'
Author(s): V. Kofi Agawu

Source: Music Analysis, Vol. 3, No. 2 (Jul., 1984), pp. 159-180
Published by: Wiley
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V. KOFI AGAWU
STRUCTURAL 'HIGHPOINTS' IN SCHUMANN'S

DICHTERLIEBE
INTRODUCTION
The phenomenon of climax is central to our musical experien

repertoire is this more evident than that of the nineteenth cen
hear a symphony by Bruckner or Mahler, a tone poem by L
Strauss, or even a song by Schumann or Wolf, our experie
primarily by those focal points into which the various stra
seem to coalesce and thereby make a strong emotional impac
of 'devastating climaxes', 'moving climaxes', 'terrible cli
climaxes', and so on. Yet, among the large number of mus
studies that have emerged in recent years, there are fe
incorporate this experience into the formulation of an analytic
This omission becomes especially apparent in analytical st
pieces whose internal dynamic is shaped fundamentally by s
or highpoints. Consider, for example, William Mitchell's we
of the Tristan Prelude (1967). Mitchell makes only bri
references to the various highpoints that shape the piece, in
experience of the very linear processes that he is primarily con
the end, he misses the most apparent and immediate overal
piece, namely the rise to a tensional high-point (b.83) follow
decline.
Consider too Peter Bergquist's extensive Schenkerian analysis of the first
movement of Mahler's Tenth Symphony (1980). For the average listener,
the salient feature of the piece is the pair of shattering climaxes that occurs
about two-thirds of the way through (Figs 26 and 27+5). These moments
stand out not only because they reach high dynamic levels but because they
have been prepared consistently from the beginning of the movement.2
Bergquist, however, has little use for these important rhetorical signals. In
both his and Mitchell's analytical schemes, these highpoints are 'foreground
events'.
Further survey of the literature shows that writers who concern
*I would like to thank Professor Arnd Bohm of Bryn Mawr College for sharing with me his insights into
Heine's poetry. This essay is dedicated to my friend and mentor Ronald Woodham.
MUSIC ANALYSIS 3:2, 1984 159
V. KOFI AGAWU
themselves with notions of climax are not the 'se

Schenkerians, set-theoreticians and semioticians -
addressing a non-specialist audience in such docume
books on music appreciation or opera guides. But su
most ordinary and substantive experience function
tempts to unravel the structure of music, sugges
through these, deepen our emotional experience of th
In this essay, I shall suggest the terms in which
theoretical model based on the notion of climax m
chosen for this purpose Schumann's well-known cy
from which selected songs are analysed. Why Schu
alongside others such as Grout (1980: 563) and Lon
Schumann is the quintessential Romantic composer
of climax is most clearly associated with nineteenth-c
may serve as a model for studying other composers. A
is to illuminate certain aspects of Schumann's sty
aspects that have received surprisingly little atte
literature on the songs.3 I will therefore be treading
and analysis.
My study is in two main parts. First, I discuss a recurring principle in
Heine's early poetry, the principle of 'reversal', which provides a useful
metaphor for certain kinds of musical climax. Then, I analyse Songs 7, 13 and
4 of Dichterliebe, with passing reference to Songs 1 and 11. Each analysis
focuses on the moment(s) of reversal which, I argue, are the crucial
determinants of the structure of Schumann's songs.
A brief word about terminology: I use 'highpoint' in place of 'climax' to
avoid ambiguity. In Greek, 'Klimax' means ladder or staircase. In this sense,
it denotes an arrangement of figures in ascending order of intensity.
Nowadays, however, climax refers to the highest point only of a given process.
Thus, whereas the former meaning includes the process of arrangement, the
latter refers only to the point of culmination. My term 'highpoint' is used in
this latter sense to denote what is frequently the most decisive turning point in
the piece.4
A recurring feature of Heine's early poetry is 'reversal', which occurs

typically at the end of a poem. This device, also known as Stimmungsbrechung,
has been discussed by several scholars, including Prawer (1960: 40-6),
Preisendanz (1973: 15-6), Lehmann (1976: 90-6) and Hallmark (1979: 3-7).
Prawer analyses the moment of reversal in terms of a play of wit and irony,
citing Heine's Die Heimkehr 25 as an example. He describes the contextually
absurd last line in terms of 'a douche of cold water', 'a sting in the tail', 'a
moral slap in the face', and so forth (1960: 42), noting that this often entails a
progression from seriousness to triviality. Prawer finds no precedent for the
160 MUSIC ANALYSIS 3:2, 1984
'HIGHPOINTS' IN SCHUMANN'S Dichterliebe
use of this device in German poetry, and concludes that it must originate with
Heine.
A moment of reversal implies that there is a logical progression in the
narrative, which is then disrupted, and that this disruption is an event of great
dramatic significance. Preisendanz (1973: 15-16) describes this moment using
such words as 'rupture', 'contrast', 'break', and 'ambivalence'. Taking his cu
from certain statements by Heine regarding the poet's place in the world - the
poet's heart, Heine's inflated imagery has it, is the middle of the world -
Preisendanz shows that reversal is inevitable and can be thought of in terms of a
split of 'unitary expression'.
Schumann, of course, was sensitive to many aspects of Heine's poetry, and
although reversal as a poetic technique undergoes some transformation when
applied to music, Schumann always marked those moments for attention. Some
comments on the Heine poem used in Song 4 of Dichterliebe will help in the
understanding of reversal:
Wenn ich in deine Augen seh',

So schwindet all' mein Leid und Weh;
Doch wenn ich kiisse deinen Mund,
4 So werd' ich ganz und gar gesund.
Wenn ich mich lehn' an deine Brust,

Kommt's iiber mich wie Himmelslust;
Doch wenn du sprichst: Ich liebe dich,
8 So muss ich weinen bitterlich.*
The poem is typically short - two four-line stanzas - with an end-rhyme

scheme. The narrative proceeds in couplets (Hallmark 1979: 49), and the 'sting'
occurs in the last couplet (lines 7-8). In other words, Heine's description of
various levels of intimacy - from a mere look (line 1), through a kiss on the
mouth (line 3), to lying on the beloved's breast (line 5) - proceeds 'linearly'
towards a highpoint. But the last line erupts with a change in the direction of the
narrative: to his beloved's 'Ich liebe dich', the protagonist must weep bitterly.
The ironic nature of this poem has been discussed by several commentators (for
example Sams 1975: 111, Komar 1971: 10 and Hallmark 1979: 44-50). The
main point is the surprise ending, the change from increasing levels of intimacy
to the shedding of bitter tears.
Several of the poems of Dichterliebe use this device. Song 11 is another case in
point:
Ein Jiungling liebt ein Miidchen,

Die hat einen andern erwaihlt,
Der And're liebt eine And're,
4 Und hat sich mit dieser vermiihlt.
*See Appendix for translations
V. KOFI AGAWU
Das Midchen nimmt aus Arger

Den ersten, besten Mann,
Der ihr in den Weg gelaufen,
8 Der Jungling ist Obel dran.
Es ist eine alte Geschichte,

Doch bleibt sie immer neu,
Und wem sie just passiret,
12 Dem bricht das Herz entzwei.
Here is a familiar love-triangle, in which a series of complicated relationships

culminates in rupture: the initiator's heart is broken in two. This poetic
structure, however, differs from that of Song 4 because, instead of reversal,
there is a terminal highpoint which explodes the preparatory processes (line
12). Again, in the final song of the cycle, Song 16, Heine develops an elaborate
scenario in the first five stanzas before providing the moment of reversal in the
sixth and last stanza, which tells us who inhabits the coffin discussed in the
previous five stanzas. The structural highpoint of the song occurs in this last
stanza.
The moment of reversal, then, is a point of rhetorical sig

composer may choose to represent this as a highpoint which cou
different forms. It may be a simple melodic peak, a poi
culmination, or the point of greatest harmonic tension. We migh
compositional dynamic of each song in terms of a generalized
been called, variously, a 'dynamic curve' (Ratner 1966: 314) a
curve' (Childs 1977: 195):
The curve describes an ascent to a highpoint and a descent t

specific musical processes that articulate this shape depend o
contextural factors. For now, we should bear in mind it
structuring role and the variety of ways in which it may be real
II
Song 7 will serve to introduce the fundamental elements of Schumann's song

style. Discussion of this justly famous composition has touched on Schumann's
distortion of Heine's original verse form (Cone 1957), the unusual succession of
seventh chords (Schoenberg 1978) and the outer form- is it binary or ternary?
- as revealed by voice-leading analysis (Horton 1979 and Rothgeb 1979). None
of these analyses, however, develops from a consideration of the most striking
and memorable event in the piece, that is, the ascent to a melodic highpoint on
the word 'Herzens' (b. 27) and the subsequent resolution/descent. This
moment of reversal is all the more striking because the particular highpoint is
the highest pitch that the voice sings in the entire cycle. This a2, which forms
part of an ossia in bs 27-9, was apparently added by Schumann only in the
published score (Hallmark 1979: 69). Hallmark says it 'should be sung', and
indeed most performers prefer the higher version because of its dramatic
impact, which is particularly appropriate in a song that marks a decisive turning
point in the cycle as a whole. The break or 'expanded rupture' between the
protagonist and his beloved is here completed (Desmond 1972: 24).
It may be argued that the highpoint on 'Herzens' is merely a foreground
event not worthy of much analytical attention; but that would amount to
underplaying the most salient feature of the song. On the other hand,
Schumann's premises at the beginning of the song suggest that the highpoint is
the result of a careful strategy; it is in this sense structural, every bit as
structural as the 3-2-1 descent which secures closure in bs 29-30.
Ex. 1: bs 1-4 of Dichterliebe, Song 7

Nicht zu schnell
ImfL
Ich grol-te nicht und wenndas Herz auch brichf.
imf
A consideration of the first four bars of this song (Ex. 1) will show how
Schumann prepares for the highpoint in b. 27. The protagonist announces that
he no longer bears his beloved a grudge even though his heart may break. The
image of the broken heart, developed extensively throughout the cycle, here
underlines the most important rhetorical event in Ex. 1, the highpoint on
'Herz' on the downbeat of b. 3. I refer to this as a highpoint because of a
combination of factors affecting melody, rhythm/duration, harmony and
texture. Melodically, the Ab on 'Herz' is the highest pitch in the opening line.
It is also the pitch with the greatest durational value. Harmonically, the chord
on the downbeat of b. 3 represents the point of greatest tension in the phrase. In
terms of harmonic distance, this chord is furthest from the centre, C, and is
used to enhance the cadential dominant in the second half of that bar.
Texturally, the moment represents a physical turning point, as can be observed
V. KOFI AGAWU
in the movement of the outer voices. In other words,

lowpoint on D' in b. 3, then changes direction
through G to c. The downbeat of b. 3 therefore s
area (D'-ab') of the sonorities in the opening phrase. Thus
Schumann presents a paradigmatic four-measure phrase: its internal s
mirrors, in microcosm, the shape of the song as a whole. By focusin
the word 'Herz' he prepares us for the fact that this is to function as a so
poetic refrain. The word occurs five times in varying contexts throu
the song (bs 3, 16, 21, 25 and 27). First, it is the protagonist's heart t
broken: 'Ich grolle nicht und wenn das Herz auch bricht'. Then, thro
several intermediary occurrences, the poem concludes with the strangest
of all: the protagonist dreams that his beloved's heart is being eaten b
serpent: 'Und sah die Schlang', die dir am Herzen frisst . .. .' To invo
musical analogy for the poetic process: the word 'Herz' is prolonged b
accretion of various contextual meanings and associations.
Ex. 2 compares those phrases in the song which contain the word 'H
Most of the dimensions function complementarily to create the highpoint
Ex. 2: Phrases containing the key word 'Herz' in Dichterliebe No. 7
Undwenndas Herz-auch brict-r
in dei-nes Herz-ens Nacht
Und wenn das Herz auch bricht
n de i-nes Herz-ens Rau-me
die dir am Herz-ens frisst
A-rhythmic reduction showing intervallic and registral expansion in approachtto highpoint:
minor 3rd perfect 4th perfect 5th perfect 5th
b. 27. Note first that the five occurrences of 'Herz' are separated by
progressively smaller distances: 13, 5, 4 and 3 bars. Second, the local approach
to each occurrence reveals a cumulative intervallic expansion: minor third (bs
2-3), perfect fourth (bs 15-6), minor third (bs 20-1), perfect fifth (b. 25) and
perfect fifth (b. 27). This process is further underlined by a gradual registral
expansion from ab' (b. 3) to a2 (b. 27) as well as by an increase in dynamics.
It may even be argued that A in b. 27 is a diatonic version of Ab in b. 3, a
transformation that lends a further dimension to Heine's poetic metaphors.
Thus the closing gesture of the last three bars (G-A-G-E, piano) replaces the
chromatic version in b. 3 (A1-G-E, voice). Note further how the aftermath of
the highpoint confirms the gesture: the melodic contour is reversed, descending
consistently but quickly to a lowpoint, C', in bs 32-3 (see Ex. 3) over cadential
harmony. My argument, then, is that the dynamic structure of this song is best
conceived as flexible background shape, the narrative curve which is not
restricted to any one dimension, but is capable of absorbing processes in various
dimensions. To the extent that the articulation of this curve occurs over the
span of the piece and mirrors the 'compositional dynamic', the process may be
described as structural.
Ex. 3: Melodic descent from highpoint in Song 7 (bs 27 ff.)
die dir am Her - zen ,frisst, ich sah, mein Lieb,wie sehr du e - nd
II
S f
Ii
Ii I
I
bist. Ich grol-len h
I I I I
An objec
piece if it
succession
dimension
melody, h
V. KOFI AGAWU
as secondary - is no longer tenable here. This is

perceptively by Meyer (1980). Distinguishing betwe
'secondary' 'parameters', he notes the increasingly
secondary parameters in the shaping of musical proce
the nineteenth century (: 194).5
It is important in this analysis to recognise the adva
'shape' over a specific succession of pitches as f
Schenkerian Fundamental Structure. For reasons i
consider such a proto-structure to be relevant as an an
kind of study of Schumann's songs. Further, not all th
the same dimensions to generate their respective n
just as Schenker's Fundamental Structures are fle
common factors for actualizations within a wide histo
curve, functioning as an archetype, is capable of susta
III
In Songs 11 and 1 the basic model is somewhat modified. Song 11, as noted
earlier, describes a series of complicated relationships which culminate in a
tragic event: the initiator's heart is broken in two. This moment of reversal
occurs, typically, at the very end of the poem, producing a truncated version of
the narrative curve:
Following this poetic structure closely, Schumann adds an extended in-

strumental postlude after the terminal vocal highpoint. The overall gesture of
the piece thus consists of an ascent to a melodic highpoint (see 'entzwei' in b. 32)
followed by an extended prolongation of that highpoint:
The methods of preparing this highpoint embrace both tonal and melodic
dimensions. Of the three quatrains, the first two are tonally straightforward,
the first alternating tonics and dominants in the home key, Eb (bs 1-12), and
the second using the same basic syntax in the dominant key, Bb (bs 13-24). In
the third quatrain (bs 24-32), the voice leading is, by contrast, intensified
166 Music ANALYSIS 3:2, 1984
chromatically to underline the ascent to the highpoint (Ex. 4). This is especially
obvious from the cumulative melodic ascent to the primary note, Eb, in b. 32.
Ex. 4: Chromatic intensification in approach to highpoint

in Dichterliebe No. 11, bs 25-32
chromatic ascent
I w
chromatic ascent
I
There is one important difference between this highpoint and that of Song 7.
The highpoint here is not a tensional one in need of resolution, but is rather a
point of local melodic-harmonic resolution. In other words, the tension created
by melodic and harmonic intensification (beginning in b. 25) is released at the
highpoint. This is an example of a stable, terminal highpoint. Indeed the
postlude confirms this resolution in a series of operatic gestures hammering
home tonic, subdominant and dominant chords.6
The structure of Song 11 contrasts effectively with that of the much-analysed
Song 1 (see for example Neumeyer 1982: 92-105, Komar 1971: 66-70 and
Benary 1967: 21-9). Each of the two quatrains concludes with a melodic ascent
to a highpoint on the words 'aufgegangen' and 'Verlangen' (bs 12 and 23
respectively). For reasons I shall discuss, the terminal F#'s in these bars may
be regarded as the structural highpoints, as distinct from the physical
highpoints G (b. 12, voice) and G# (b. 12, piano) - two neighbouring notes
which are in conflict, corresponding to the uncertainty of the poet's world. The
structure of Song 1, then, exemplifies a terminal highpoint structure, although
the chordal support for the highpoints, D major, functions in a subsidiary
capacity within the tonal structure of the song as a whole.
The methods of organizing this highpoint structure are more subtle than
those of the songs discussed previously. In Heine's poem there is a reversal
occurring at the end of the second quatrain with the introduction of a disturbing
and highly implicative sentiment in the two words 'Sehnen' and 'Verlangen'.
We now know that all is not well in this 'lovely month of May'. The buds may be
bursting forth, and the birds may be singing, but for the protagonist there is a
growing sense of longing and desire. Clearly this sentiment dictated
V. KOFI AGAWU
Schumann's choice of texture - what Desmond cal

(1972: 23) - of key and of melodic-harmonic de
dimensions which ultimately create the dynamic stru
analysts have drawn attention to the ambiguity of ke
often been made that the song begins and ends on th
without once stating the tonic. This dominant prol
that occurs three times (bs 1-4, 12-15, and 23-6
departure and arrival - a true prolongation in the
prolongation creates a level of stasis which is offset i
song (bs 4-12 and 15-23). In other words, once the
begins to 'move'. It gains tonal clarity, greater harmo
melodic profile. This means that the essential dynami
the 4-bar recurring phrase, but to the intervening voc
thus projected by a fundamental ambiguity, not vice
in this repertory.7
Four simple gestures articulate the dynamic structur
Lines: 1 2 3 4
Function: Statement Restatement Forward Greater
motion forward
motion
Melodic shape: Closed Closed Open Open

Bars: 4-6 6-8 8-10 10-12
(This scheme also applies to b
Line 1 makes an assertion w

assertion, and line 4 carries
by transposing the substanc
in rhetorical strength and, i
stanza 2. Line 4 is clearly t
syllables of 'aufgegangen' fo
The reference to 'melodic
succession of melodic contou
another kind of reversal in
describe an overall descendin
describe a cumulative ascen
points of closure, which t
instead towards 3 (D is 3 of
The structural highpoints in
reversal. The first is the poe
is the reversal in the sequen
melodic contour.
One further point about the meaning of lines 3 and 4 (Ex. 6): the ascent
towards the highpoint is illusory. We know from subsequent events in the cycle
that the protagonist never satisfies his longing and desire. Schumann places the
third of the D major chord (b. 12) in the uppermost voice, thus creating the
'HIGHPOINTS) IN SCHUMANN'S Dichterliebe
Ex. 5: Contour of vocal line, Dichterliebe, No. 1 (bs 4-12)
F#
D#
C#2
A#
F0
90ebt
Ex. 6: Bars 8-12 of Dichterliebe, No. 1
sprangen da ist n me - nem Her - zen die Lie - be auf ge-g
. I I.-
It ed c-I-
I w f ,
V. KOFI AGAWU
so-called 'poetic third' effect, and also sets F# in an u

12) by juxtaposing both diatonic and chromatic neighb
downbeat of b. 12, and G# on the fourth quaver of th
reinforces the instability (or temporary stability) of F
the object of the protagonist's desire or even of the pr
IV
The examples discussed so far have shown the highpo

usually on a single syllable of text. But there are s
replaces such a moment by an extended region, whi
'high region'. This is a stretch of music of high activi
way as other highpoints, but prolonged over a significa
an example. The text is:
Ich hab' im Traum geweinet

Mir traumte, du lagest im Grab.
Ich wachte auf, und die Thrine
Floss noch von der Wange herab.
Ich hab' im Traum geweinet.

Mir traumt', du verliessest mich.
Ich wachte auf, und ich weinte
Noch lange bitterlich.
Ich hab' im Traum geweinet,

Mir traumte, du warst mir noch gut.
Ich wachte auf und noch immer
Str6mt meine Thrinenfluth.
Heine presents a linear-dynamic model with three progressive dream states: the
death of the beloved (quatrain 1), her rejection of the protagonist (quatrain 2)
and her enduring love for him (quatrain 3). Interpretations are numerous and
diverse on the various meanings of this progression in the poem, but its
existence is the most important factor for our analysis. Note the high degree of
textual invariance: line 1 and the first half of line 3 are identical in each quatrain.
This forms a constant or static layer within which the more dynamic narration
of each dream and the protagonist's response to it take place. Here, then, is
another manifestation of the static-dynamic principle discussed with reference
to the tonal structure of Song 1.
Although Schumann's reading of Heine's poem fails to take into account the
progression in the narrative between the first two quatrains, the composer
transforms the concluding quatrain in such a way as to compensate for this
apparent omission. Quatrain 3, in fact, contains the 'high region'.
The music of quatrains 1 and 2 features a dialogue between voice and piano in
which the voice, in quasi-recitative, narrates the events of each dream, while the
piano comments sparingly with low-register chords, all this in the key of Eb
minor often associated with death in Schumann's works (Sams 1975: 120).
Quatrain 3 begins, not with the unaccompanied voice as before, but with a piano
introduction which presents a more sustained harmonization of the first two
bars of the piece (see bs 23-4). This articulative contrast, the first hint of trans-
formation of the earlier music, reaches a peak when Db is tonicized in b. 28.
Bars 28-33 (Ex. 7) form the 'high region' of the piece. This passage is marked
by three complementary processes. First, there is an intensification of voice
leading by parallel chromaticism in the piano lines (cf. Song 11, bs 25-32).
Second, a sustained pitch, db2, places the chromatic motion into sharp relief.
Third, there is an increase in dynamics from a barely audible pp in b. 25 to a
presumed f in b. 31. Here, as in Song 7, both primary and secondary dimens-
ions function equally and complementarily.
Ex. 7: Chromatic intensification in ascents to highpoints

in Dichterliebe, No. 13, bs 28-33
gut Ich wach-te auf und noch im mer str6mf meine Thr? - neu- flufh.
' u v"r'L~..f " lmlm: -: ..PE. .w . PEI
Inevitably, of course, there will always be a single moment in the high region
that carries the point of greatest tension. In theory, if the activity in the high
region remains constant, the last chord prior to the resolution constitutes the
highpoint. In this song, however, the activity is intensified in the course of the
high region, culminating, not in a single moment, but rather in two successive
highpoints belonging to two different dimensions, melody and harmony. First
a melodic peak is reached on the first two syllables of 'Thrinenfluth' (b. 31), a
word which, like 'Herz' in Song 7, embodies the basic imagery of the poem.
Second, a harmonic peak is reached in bs 32-3, where an emphatic loca
dissonance underlines the bitterness of the protagonist on awaking from this
third dream. Melodic and harmonic highpoints are thus juxtaposed in the high
region.
The juxtaposition of highpoints in different dimensions as exemplified in

Song 13 provides a clue to understanding the dynamic structure of one of the
most effective and powerful songs in the cycle, Song 4 (Ex. 8). This song is
V. KOFI AGAWU
Ex. 8
Lanpqam.
I.&LA. U_ k.
I-
IL -------.--t , : , .
W"- -- _= _ d,',-'-'" or de i men = na, so ' e ,' if Pill "ad. , pr g

A - - --'L-
AN - I_
bE M.
6,9 ~ l
IF
Copyright ? W
special because of its paradigmatic use of poetic reversal (as noted at the
beginning of this essay). It provides, therefore, a useful model for studying
Schumann's reading of Heine's poetry. In what follows, I shall discuss the ways
in which Schumann dramatizes the dynamic flow implicit in Heine's poem by
moving from one dimensional highpoint to another, thereby achieving a highly
integrated and through-composed setting that cuts across Heine's strophes.
Perhaps the most obvious feature of the song is the discrepancy between the
structure of the poem and its setting. Heine's poem is in the usual two-quatrain
form, whereas Schumann's setting is through-composed, not strophic as one
might expect. Hallmark's efforts to hear a background 'strophic outline' (1979:
50) seem misplaced, since that is just the structure that Schumann apparently
wished to avoid. The song makes a unifying gesture, with no obvious 'breaks' or
moments of hesitation. Schumann responds, not to the poetic structure, the
'outer form' of the poem, but rather to its sense, its dynamic form.
I have already noted that the poem consists of a simple rhetorical progression
in which the protagonist describes different levels of intimacy with his beloved
(all on the level of fantasy). This progression suggests a through-composed
setting, not a strophic one. In other words, since the poem progresses in
couplets, the pairs of lines may be grouped in two large parts. The first three
pairs (lines 1-2, 3-4 and 5-6) constitute one gesture, while the last pair (lines
7-8), which initiates the moment of reversal and subsequent resolution,
constitutes the other gesture. This sense of the poem corresponds to a
normative narrative curve:
Lines: 1-6 7-8
The image of this song as a s

Schenker in a succinct middle
152, also quoted in Komar 197
the well-known analysis of
dynamic structure and the lo
Schenker's aim in Ex. 9 is to
his 'new theory of form'. T
function as primary determ
with foreground events, ther
factors that contribute to t
arrival. For example, in the a
melodic voice soars to a high
while initiating a descent fr
structural close on C, it doe
V. KOFI AGAWU
endpoint of the descent (b. 8, downbeat), but rath

structural element - the B major chord in b. 9. H
implied by Schenker's middleground, which perm
function of the highpoint (see Ex. 10).
Ex. 9: Schenker's analysis of Dichterliebe No. 4
OQ 0? @@@@? ?
AA
3 1
Ex. 10
t
A A A
3 5 1)
II I(to b.9) X X
i6 e a6-I
G: I -- of 1Y
X = sequential rise to highpoint
The inclusion of b. 13 as a p
attempt to come to grips wit
only on the foreground level
seventh chord in the middl
chords between bs 1-4 which
inconsistency points to an obv
for middleground reduction
important surface characteris
striking moments in the song
There are three major points of culmination in Song 4. The first is the
melodic highpoint in b. 7 (mentioned above). The second is a melodic-textural
highpoint supporting b2 in b. 9 (and repeated in b. 11). The third is the
diminished seventh chord in b. 13.
The first highpoint, g2 in b. 7, forms part of a cadential close on the
subdominant, C, thus enhancing the motion towards the first contrasting tonal
centre in the song.' Melodically, g2 represents the culmination of a sequence, as
shown in Ex. 10. It is also probably the dynamic peak of bs 1-8, and is the peak
in range for voice in the entire song.
The occurrence of a highpoint so early in the song - roughly a third of the
way through - is likely to weaken the overall dynamic structure. (Cone,
commenting on the nature of musical form, remarks about Also sprach
Zarathustra that 'the framing introduction . . arrives at a climax so big that the
rest of the tone-poem almost sounds like an afterthought', 1968: 22-3.)
Schumann forestalls this by making a transition to another dimension and
creating a second highpoint (b. 9) different in effect from the first. It is
structural in that it supports the return through octave transposition of melodic
3 from the first bar of the song (see Ex. 9). More important, Schumann
establishes a direct link between the previous highpoint and this one by means
of a stepwise ascent, G-A-B (bs 8-9). This link is conveyed in Schenker's
graph. The second highpoint, then, though related to the first, has a unique
textural disposition.
The third highpoint underlines the moment of reversal in Heine's poem, and
Schumann again switches to another dimension, harmony (b. 13). This final
highpoint enhances the more structural supertonic chord in b. 14, just as the
first highpoint formed part of the cadential close on C in b. 8. But Schumann
includes a variety of distinguishing features to further dramatize the moment of
reversal. First, the actual sonority, a diminished seventh chord, is used for the
first time in the song. Second, its disposition - a downward arpeggiation
spanning a whole bar - is also new in the song. Third, Schumann marks in a
ritard., which contributes to the rhetorical emphasis of this passage.
Song 4, then, illustrates the juxtaposition of highpoints discussed in
connection with Song 13. These points are either structural in a tonal-harmonic
sense or serve to enhance subsequent structural points. They further provide a
framework for hearing the dynamic structure of the song as a whole.
VI
I have argued that the background structure of each of the songs approx-
imates a dynamic or narrative curve, which describes an ascent to a highpoint
followed by a descent. In Schumann's songs this corresponds to Heine's
technique of reversal, which characterizes many of the poems in Dichterliebe.
Transformations of this basic shape are possible, including the withholding of
the descent portion of the narrative curve, the prolongation of the highpoint, or
the creation of a series of miniature curves leading to one supreme highpoint.
V. KOFI AGAWU
What this shape represents takes various forms depe

the song. The highpoint could be: the highest pitch of
stage of a sequence; a point of textural transforma
dissonance before the final close; and so on. The fl
important if analysis is to avoid the pitfalls of prescr
this flexibility is that it offers a model which pro
comparison between pieces. The model described
restricted to the Dichterliebe songs, nor even to the w
has written that '. . . the music of Schumann . . . co
and the climax is generally reserved for the momen
(1971: 453). Yet the implicit archetypal pattern ma
single, most consistent principle of formal structu
music.
In an attempt to come to terms with the convenient but misleading
dichotomy between structural and ornamental factors, I have had to abandon
the dimensional hierarchy stemming from Schenker and postulate, instead, a
biological or Darwinian model in the form of a shape or curve (Wintle 1982
touches briefly on this in the context of a critique of Dahlhaus's theories). I
believe that attempts to unravel the structure of mid-to-late nineteenth-century
music which take as premise the hierarchy of dimensions derived from
eighteenth-century music are misguided. Thus, as discussed earlier in this
study, Meyer's distinction between 'primary' and 'secondary' dimensions,
while appropriate for Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven, is less effective if applied
to Schumann or later composers.
Finally, I have sought to include in my analyses those 'dramatic', 'moving',
'disturbing' and 'striking' aspects of this music which are often not mentioned
in the search for structural process. The importance of representing these
elusive aspects of nineteenth-century music analytically is not to be overlooked,
since composers in this era were concerned with the immediacy of communicat-
ion over the use of normative moulds of formal expression.
NOTES
1. There are some significant exceptions, however. Newman (1952) is,

knowledge, the first study devoted exclusively to the phenomenon of clima
(1955) develops and amplifies Newman's ideas in a historical framework
study is very useful in providing an overview of various occurrences of c
music from the medieval period to the early twentieth century, but it is n
limited in its analytical rigour. Pierce (1978, 1979 and 1983) is a three-part s
climax from a performer's viewpoint. Although it is not presented in any
theoretical mould, it is full of insights. Meyer (1980) is the most recent, and
purposes, the most useful study of the phenomenon, which attempts to i
the notion of highpoint with ideas about Romanticism in general.
2. For a different analytical approach to the first movement of Mahler
Symphony, see Kaplan (1981), where the author provides a convincing exp
for the structural origins of the central climax of the piece.
3. There are few rigorous analytical studies. The following may be considered
representative of the various approaches developed so far: Desmond (1972),
Hallmark (1979), Komar (1971), Moore (1981), Neumeyer (1982) and Sams
(1975).
4. For further discussion of the etymology of 'climax', see the introductory chapter of
Muns (1955).
5. The elevation of so-called 'secondary parameters' to the level of primary ones goes
back as far as Beethoven. In a stimulating paper on Beethoven's Symphonies,
Morgan (1980) has shown how timbre - which would be classified as a secondary
dimension - plays a primary role in certain passages from the First, Third,
Fourth, Sixth and Ninth Symphonies.
6. This point depends on one's initial definition of highpoint. In general I have
favoured a definition in which the highpoint is considered tensional, requiring
resolution. It may be argued, in connection with Song 11, that the tensional
highpoint occurs just before the Eb in b. 32. This would avoid describing a
harmonic resolution - especially one that has been preceded by an extensive
chromatic intensification - as a highpoint. Nevertheless, as I have tried to show,
the postlude of this song performs a further 'resolutory' function since the single
Eb chord in b. 32 is not capable of neutralising all the tension accumulated in the
course of the chromatic build up. Bar 32 is, in that sense, a highpoint.
7. This has eluded most analysts of the song; but it is an important point, not only
because of what it shows about Schumann's music, but also because it sheds light
on compositional procedure in other nineteenth-century music. Liszt offers
examples where so much durational prominence is given to what we traditionally
describe as dissonances that there seems to be a reversal of function between
consonance and dissonance.
8. Heine's poetic structure here is an example of what Smith calls a 'paratactic
structure'. On the formal and thematic aspects of this structure, see Smith (1968:
98-108).
9. There are disagreements among critics about whether the optional melodic line in
b. 7 of Song 4 should be performed or not. Hallmark says that the alternative notes,
first added in the published version, should not be sung (1979: 50). His main reason
is the need to preserve a melodic correspondence between bs 6-7 and 14-5. Moore,
on the other hand, prefers the higher notes, but warns the singer against placing too
much emphasis on this preliminary highpoint, since '. . . infinitely bigger and
more dramatic climaxes come later in the cycle' (1981: 5). Moore's comments are
pertinent because they show an awareness of a highpoint scheme and of an implicit
hierarchy in the distribution of highpoints.
10. The next stage in the analysis would be to hierarchize the succession of highpoints,
a procedure that would require the establishment of adequate criteria for
determining the relative weights of the various highpoints.
REFERENCES
Benary, Peter, 1967: 'Die Technik der musikalischen Analyse darges

Lied aus Robert Schumann's "Dichterliebe" ', in Benary, ed., Versu
ischer Analysen (Berlin: Merseburger), pp. 21-9.
Bergquist, Peter, 1980: 'The First Movement of Mahler's Tenth Sy
Analysis and an Examination of the Sketches', The Music Forum, Vol.
V. KOFI AGAWU
Childs, Barney, 1977: 'Time: A Composer's View', Perspectiv

No. 2, pp. 194-219.
Cone, Edward T., 1957: 'Words into Music: The Composer
Northrop Frye, ed., Sound and Poetry, English Instit
Columbia University), pp. 3-1.
- 1968: Musical Form and Musical Performance (New Yo
Desmond, Astra, 1972: Schumann Songs (London: BBC).
Grout, Donald J., 1980: A History of Western Music (New Y
Hallmark, Rufus, 1979: The Genesis of Schumann's Dichterl
Arbor: UMI).
Horton, Charles T., 1979: 'A Structural Function of Dyn
grolle nicht" ', In Theory Only, Vol. 4, No. 8, pp. 30-46.
Kaplan, Richard, 1981: 'The Interaction of Diatonic Col
Mahler's Tenth Symphony', In Theory Only, Vol. 6, No
Komar, Arthur, 1971, ed.: Schumann: Dichterliebe (New Yor
Lehmann, Ursula, 1976: Popularisierung und Ironie im Werk
am Main: Peter Lang).
Longyear, Ray M., 1973: Nineteenth-Century Romantic
Prentice-Hall), 2nd ed.
Meyer, Leonard B., 1980: 'Exploiting Limits: Creation,
Daedalus, Spring, pp. 177-205.
Mitchell, William, 1967: 'The Tristan Prelude: Technique
Forum, Vol. 1, pp. 162-203.
Moore, Gerald, 1981: Poet's Love: The Songs and Cycles
Taplinger).
Morgan, Robert P., 1980: 'Timbral Composition in Beethoven's Symphonies', paper
read at the 46th annual meeting of the American Musicological Society jointly with
the Society for Music Theory in Denver, Colorado.
Muns, George E., Jnr, 1955: 'Climax in Music', Ph.D. diss., University of North
Carolina.
Neumeyer, David, 1982: 'Organic Structure and the Song Cycle: Another Look at
Schumann's Dichterliebe', Music Theory Spectrum, Vol. 4, pp. 92-105.
Newman, William S., 1952: 'The Climax of Music', Music Review, Vol. 13, pp. 283-
93.
Pierce, Alexandra, 1978: 'Structure and Phrase (Part 1)', In Theory Only, Vol. 4, No. 5,
pp. 22-35.
1979: 'Performance Phrase - Structure and Phrase (Part II)', In Theory Only, Vol.
5, No. 3, pp. 3-24.
1983: 'Climax in Music - Structure and Phrase (Part III)', In Theory Only, Vol. 7,
No. 1, pp. 3-30.
Prawer, S. S., 1960: Heine: Buch der Lieder, Studies in German Literature, Vol. 1
(London: Arnold).
Preisendanz, Wolfgang, 1973: Heinrich Heine: Werkstrukturen und Epochenbeziige
(Munich: Wilhelm Fink).
Ratner, Leonard, 1966: Music: The Listener's Art (New York: McGraw Hill), 2nd ed.
Rosen, Charles, 1971: The Classical Style (London: Faber).
Rothgeb, John, 1979: comment on Horton (1979) in In Theory Only, Vol. 5, No. 2,
pp. 15-17.
Sams, Eric, 1975: The Songs ofRobert Schumann (London: Eulenberg), 2nd ed.
Schenker, Heinrich, 1979: Free Composition, trans. Ernst Oster (New York: Long-
man).
Schoenberg, Arnold, 1978: Theory of Harmony, trans. Roy E. Carter (London:
Faber).
Smith, Barbara H., 1968: Poetic Closure: A Study of How Poems End (Chicago:
University of Chicago).
Wintle, Christopher, 1982: 'Issues in Dahlhaus', Music Analysis, Vol. 1, No. 3,
pp. 341-55.
APPENDIX
Translations from Komar (1971):
Dichterliebe No. 4
When I look into your eyes

all my sorrow and pain disappear;
but when I kiss your mouth,
then I become wholly well.
When I lie upon your breast

a heavenly happiness comes over me;
but when you say: I love you!
then I must weep bitterly.
Dichterliebe No. 11
A boy loves a girl

who has chosen another;
the other loves still another
and has married this one.
The girl takes out of spite

the first, most eligible man
who comes her way;
the boy is miserable over it.
It is an old story,
yet it remains ever new;
and whoever experiences it,
has his heart broken in two.
Dichterliebe No. 13
I cried in my dream:
I dreamed that you lay in your grave.
I woke up, and the tears
were still streaming down my cheeks.
V. KOFIAGAWU
I cried in my dream:
I dreamed that you had forsaken me.
I woke up, and I cried
still long and bitterly.
I cried in my dreams:
I dreamed that you still loved me.
I woke up, and still
the flood of my tears is streaming.

Agawu 1984 Highpoints in Dichterliebe

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Agawu 1984 Highpoints in Dichterliebe

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Structural 'Highpoints' in Schumann's 'Dichterliebe'

Author(s): V. Kofi Agawu

STRUCTURAL 'HIGHPOINTS' IN SCHUMANN'S

The phenomenon of climax is central to our musical experien

MUSIC ANALYSIS 3:2, 1984 159

themselves with notions of climax are not the 'se

A recurring feature of Heine's early poetry is 'reversal', which occurs

160 MUSIC ANALYSIS 3:2, 1984

Wenn ich in deine Augen seh',

Wenn ich mich lehn' an deine Brust,

The poem is typically short - two four-line stanzas - with an end-rhyme

Ein Jiungling liebt ein Miidchen,

*See Appendix for translations

MUSIC ANALYSIS 3:2, 1984 161

Das Midchen nimmt aus Arger

Es ist eine alte Geschichte,

Here is a familiar love-triangle, in which a series of complicated relationships

The moment of reversal, then, is a point of rhetorical sig

The curve describes an ascent to a highpoint and a descent t

Song 7 will serve to introduce the fundamental elements of Schumann's song

162 MUSIC ANALYSIS 3:2, 1984

Ex. 1: bs 1-4 of Dichterliebe, Song 7

Ich grol-te nicht und wenndas Herz auch brichf.

MUSIC ANALYSIS 3:2, 1984 163

in the movement of the outer voices. In other words,

Ex. 2: Phrases containing the key word 'Herz' in Dichterliebe No. 7

Undwenndas Herz-auch brict-r

in dei-nes Herz-ens Nacht

Und wenn das Herz auch bricht

n de i-nes Herz-ens Rau-me

die dir am Herz-ens frisst

A-rhythmic reduction showing intervallic and registral expansion in approachtto highpoint:

minor 3rd perfect 4th perfect 5th perfect 5th

164 MUSIC ANALYSIS 3:2, 1984

Ex. 3: Melodic descent from highpoint in Song 7 (bs 27 ff.)

MUSIC ANALYSIS 3:2, 1984 165

as secondary - is no longer tenable here. This is

Following this poetic structure closely, Schumann adds an extended in-

166 Music ANALYSIS 3:2, 1984

Ex. 4: Chromatic intensification in approach to highpoint

MUSIC ANALYSIS 3:2, 1984 167

Schumann's choice of texture - what Desmond cal

Melodic shape: Closed Closed Open Open

Line 1 makes an assertion w

168 MUSIC ANALYSIS 3:2, 1984

Ex. 5: Contour of vocal line, Dichterliebe, No. 1 (bs 4-12)

Ex. 6: Bars 8-12 of Dichterliebe, No. 1

sprangen da ist n me - nem Her - zen die Lie - be auf ge-g

MUSIC ANALYSIS 3:2, 1984 169

so-called 'poetic third' effect, and also sets F# in an u

The examples discussed so far have shown the highpo

Ich hab' im Traum geweinet

Ich hab' im Traum geweinet.

Ich hab' im Traum geweinet,

170 MUSIC ANALYSIS 3:2, 1984

Ex. 7: Chromatic intensification in ascents to highpoints

' u v"r'L~..f " lmlm: -: ..PE. .w . PEI

The juxtaposition of highpoints in different dimensions as exemplified in

MUSIC ANALYSIS 3:2, 1984 171

W"- -- _= _ d,',-'-'" or de i men = na, so ' e ,' if Pill "ad. , pr g

172 MUSIC ANALYSIS 3:2, 1984

Lines: 1-6 7-8

The image of this song as a s

MUSIC ANALYSIS 3:2, 1984 173