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Allen Cadwallader and David GagneÂ, Analysis of Tonal Music: A

Schenkerian Approach (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998).
viii+422 pp. £32.50. ISBN 0-19-510232-0 (hb).

It would be difficult to read Cadwallader and GagneÂ's new Schenker textbook

without instantly drawing a comparison with Allen Forte and Steven Gilbert's
Introduction to Schenkerian Analysis.1 This newer text, however, is certainly
heir apparent to the field of workbooks in Schenkerian theory, for it supersedes
Forte and Gilbert on many counts, not least in that it approaches the teaching
of Schenkerian analysis from the `background' forwards. Written in two
distinct parts, the book succinctly introduces the primary tools of Schenkerian
analysis in Part One, and then applies them in Part Two, thus creating a
pedagogical bridge between a basic textbook and full-scale graphic analysis. It
uses clear language not only to teach students the means by which to create
their own analytical graphs, but also to refer directly to Schenker's writings (a
task which, to date, no other Schenker textbook has achieved quite so
successfully).
Part One, `Basic Principles', is broken down into the primary features of
Schenkerian theory in much the same way as in Forte and Gilbert's text. There
are some distinct differences between the two volumes, however, and many of
these pertain not just to the effective format or presentation of material (as well
as to matters of language and teaching style), but also to the ends by which
analyses are justified. For example, there are repeated references to practical
activity throughout the book, beginning as early as the Introduction with the
suggestion that students should `play or listen to each example or exercise'
(p. vii). These directives are clearly intended to give students a sense of
tangible application for the study of analysis, this aim being latterly endorsed
as a form of mission statement by which analysis is taken to be `beneficial both
to our appreciation of a piece of music and to its performance' (p. 12). On this
point, too, the main body of the text, which begins with an introduction to the
features of Schenkerian analysis using a range of familiar musical examples,
also serves to lead the student reader through some discussions of structure in a
way that should plainly connect with whatever prior training in harmony and
counterpoint he or she may have received.
The relationship between melody and counterpoint is first introduced in the
second chapter, which also offers a concise summary of species working for the
uninitiated reader. This serves as an introduction to the status of passing notes
as well as a general reference point for later sections of the book. There is
perhaps a danger that students without a secure foundation in harmony might

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become unstuck at this juncture since the chapter necessarily skips through the
species somewhat rapidly. To its credit, however, the chapter also features a
range of musical examples which, by their very familiarity, remove the need for
close reference to a score: for instance, Greensleeves as an illustration of initial
arpeggiated ascent, and Mozart's Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman theme and
variations which is employed more extensively as a sample analysis. From
here onwards, the conclusion of each chapter is supported by a set of exercises
for students to work on, much as in Forte and Gilbert. However, the new book
places far greater emphasis on continuity: for instance, half of the exercises for
this same chapter use a single piece of musical material (Beethoven's variations
on God Save the King) to help students follow basic theoretical concepts
against a single structural background. Also of note is the number of vocal
pieces (including Bellini's Casta Diva and lieder by Schubert and Wolf) chosen
for this first set of exercises, a strategy that avoids the restrictive piano-centred
approach so often associated with analytical textbooks.
The next chapter addresses bass lines and related aspects of harmonic
structure such as tonic prolongation, dominant harmonies, intermediate
harmonies and cadences. The first sample analysis also succinctly covers the
issue of modulation in a `global' context, referring to it not as a localised
phenomenon, but in relation to complete compositions. As would be familiar to
that generation of British undergraduates brought up on Nicholas Cook's
example, the second half of the chapter uses Bach's C Major Prelude, BWV
846, as the basis for a block-chordal reduction of surface patterning.2 This
reduction and the additional figured-bass notation supplied with it then serves
to introduce the notion of an `imaginary continuo', an idea which is referred to
several times throughout the book to great effect, but principally as a device
through which to make distinctions `between local melodic detail and broader,
structural association among tones' (p. 67).
Linear techniques are introduced in the following chapter with some very
clear graphic representations; at the same time, the musical and analytical
examples slowly become more complex than in earlier chapters. Many of the
graphs are shown directly below the actual score with equidistant bar lines for
the sake of congruence. Even so, there is an obvious progression towards more
recognisably `Schenkerian' representations. The several retrospective
references to species counterpoint help to maintain a certain `comfort zone'
for students as the graphs increase in scope. Nonetheless, readers are also
encouraged to expand their horizons both chronologically and in terms of scale
through references to a four-part Dowland song and some more obviously
canonic examples taken from Brahms and Beethoven. Devoted to the
exploration of the neighbour-note principle, the later part of this chapter then
links deliberately with the start of the next. In its turn, Chapter 5 also sketches
in some further details of graphic notation in the form of a prose variation of

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the glossary provided by William Mitchell and Felix Salzer in the first volume
of Music Forum.3 This follows a brief caveat asking the reader not to be
confused by the appearance of new symbols (p. 113); indeed, I would agree that
some form of disclaimer is needed at this point, for despite its gentle opening,
this phase of the book becomes quite advanced, covering a large amount of
material in only a few pages. For instance, in the course of just two sides of text
(pp. 118±20), several fundamental theoretical concepts (including the Urlinie
and Ursatz) are outlined. This, along with the inclusion of larger examples and
a more consistent use of German terminology, certainly demands a great deal
of additional effort from the student. Of course, perpetual deferral offers no
particular solution to difficult yet essential aspects of pedagogy. Even so, for
me, there may have been some advantage to modifying slightly the expository
momentum at this particular point (at least for an undergraduate readership;
postgraduate students plainly ought to encounter far fewer problems).
Chapter 6 concentrates on techniques of melodic prolongation by
introducing other theoretical features such as the nature of unfoldings and
the initial ascent, while the next chapter concludes Part One by discussing a
miscellany of basic elaborations and fundamental structures. Although this
first half ends on a fairly elevated plane (examining principles such as `Urlinie
parallelisms' amid a range of extended illustrations, the second part of the book
becomes noticeably more challenging, and as such seems more suitable for
postgraduate (or at least very advanced undergraduate) students. To this
extent, the division of the text conforms to David GagneÂ's previously stated
view that
undergraduate theory and analysis classes are primarily intended to develop
fundamental musical literacy and musicianship skills; graduate programs have a
more specific professional focus, requiring a different orientation in subject
matter and course work.4

A brief, two-page introduction subsequently clarifies the format of Part Two

according to what the authors call `formal classifications commonly accepted in
music pedagogy' (p. 199). Each chapter thus deals with a different musical
form using longer excerpts, in some cases entire pieces, for the purposes of
demonstration. As a result of this change in format, each musical example
requires direct reference to the score; hence at this stage the text no longer
reads like a workbook, but rather forms an effective link to the study and
production of original voice-leading graphs, rather than isolated snippets of
analytical material. Furthermore, the direct appeal to the score, as well as
encouraging a closer comparison with the written note, could also be
interpreted as developing a useful habit of mind among performance and
composition students. Indeed, the repercussions of asking analysis students to
`mark up' scores in this way may go on to realise some long-held aspirations,

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whereby the next generation of performance students will indeed arrive at their
instrumental lessons armed with graphically annotated scores and careted
melody lines.
One-part forms are the first class to be addressed, the commentary
concentrating on Schubert lieder and thoughtfully including some
commentary on the verbal rhythm of the poems. There are also a number of
references to this repertoire as understood from a performer's point of view (`in
songs the singer is usually perceived as the dramatic protagonist and
consequently as being primary in musical terms') and even the audience's
(`an audience will not be following the score'; both quotations p. 218). As
elementary as the latter observation may seem, it is indicative of just how far
the authors remained concerned to contextualise the practice of analysis, rather
than allowing it to stand apart as a presumed end in itself. This impulse is
equally well represented by the succeeding discussion of binary forms (Chapter
9), which includes commentary on larger symphonic movements as well as
returning once again to the Bach C Major Prelude. Here, though, we also
witness the transition from observing student to autonomous analyst, as some
more in-depth issues enter the discussion, notably a debate over the nature of
subjective decision making, and the question of interpretation running `counter
to a ``music as heard'' description' (p. 248).
The succeeding passage of commentary on ternary and rondo forms sees the
return of a more piano-centred set of musical examples, although the depth of
inquiry is by now rather advanced, with a multitude of graphic illustrations
largely compensating for any deficiency of repertoire. This phase of the book also
acts as preparation for the inevitable chapter on `The Sonata Principle', which,
over twenty-five pages, proceeds to discuss the first movement of a Mozart piano
sonata (KV 457 in C Minor) in immense detail. Each segment of the form is
approached in turn, although the reader is never permitted to lose the sense of
compositional freedom with which the genre might be approached. The book
then comes to a close with a summary of those theoretical elements not covered in
the rest of the text, as well as a more advanced discussion of the Ursatz in relation
to the concepts of interruption and chromatic tonality. There have been frequent
prospective references to this chapter in previous sections, yet while the text here
is drier than before, it performs a successfully conclusive function.
In compiling a text that manages quite so case sensitively to bridge the gap
between a class workbook and Der freie Satz, Cadwallader and Gagne should
go on to secure an honourable position within the tradition of Schenkerian
pedagogy. The few reservations that persist for me certainly pertain not to
matters of readability or substance, but rather perhaps to the restricted sense of
how Schenkerian theory fits into the field of analysis as a whole. On a more
mundane level, there are a number of rather confusing typographical
anomalies, strange capitalisations and misleading octave designations about

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which intending teachers would do well to be alert. That said, the examples are
unfailingly clear in purpose, with each aspect of graphic notation convincingly
explained. The text is also refreshingly free of overtly scientific jargon in
respect of both specific Schenkerian and more commonplace musical terms.
With the exception of some of the larger supplementary scores, the self-
contained nature of the book makes it financially viable as a classroom text.
However, the final word must rest with the student, for it is only in the
classroom environment that a textbook can really be tested. On this count, an
informal survey conducted among a number of British postgraduate colleagues
revealed a significant problem with the constant forward references to the final
chapter throughout the book (as well as with some of the inevitable loose ends
it leaves trailing). That said, I would envisage that although this issue may be
slightly more problematic for an undergraduate class than for postgraduate
students, any difficulties can be overcome if the course of study is long enough
to allow time for discussion and cross-referencing. In any case, the structure of
the book allows the two parts to be used separately, a factor which confirms
rather than undermines the guiding impression of student- and teacher-
friendliness.
VICTORIA VAUGHAN

NOTES
1. Allen Forte and Steven E. Gilbert, An Introduction to Schenkerian Analysis (New
York: Norton, 1982).
2. Nicholas Cook, A Guide to Musical Analysis (London: Dent, 1987), pp. 28±34.
3. William J. Mitchell and Felix Salzer (eds.), `A Glossary of the Elements of
Graphic Analysis', The Music Forum, 1 (1967), pp. 260±68.
4. David GagneÂ, `The Place of Schenkerian Analysis in Undergraduate and
Graduate Curricula', Indiana Theory Review, 15/i (1994), p. 22.

Jerrold Levinson, Music in the Moment (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University

Press, 1997). xii+184 pp. £19.95. ISBN-0-8014-3129-8 (hb).

Within the Society for Music Theory, Music in the Moment was the most
discussed book of 1998. The volume was the topic of a three-hour session at the
Society's national conference in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and its author,

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