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Peripetie - Schoenberg

Expressionism
1. Express feelings as intensely as possible
2. Atonal music (no key)
The 'Five Orchestral Pieces'
1. Composed in 1909
2. Difficult to perform because of the music's experimental nature and large orchestra
3. 'Peripetie' is the fourth piece
  1. The title means 'reverse order', reflecting the characteristics of the piece
Instrumentation
1. Large orchestra
2. Changes rapidly - contrasts in timbre
3. Extremes of range are used
4. Unusual effect e.g. cymbals are played with both a mallet and cello bow, and the double basses play a tremolo close to the bridge of their instrument
Performance Markings
1. Haupstimme, meaning the most important part
2. Nebenstimme, meaning the second most important part
3. Tutti - everyone joins in
4. Pizz - pluck strings
5. Arco - bow strings
Melody
1. Made up of may short, fragmented motifs
2. Disjunct (many large leaps)
  1. Sounds angular
  2. Use of octave displacement
3. No real melody - use of inversion (turned upside down) and augmentation (note values double)
Rhythm, Metre and Tempo
1. Metre changes between 3/4, 2/4 and 4/4
2. Tempo is very quick
3. Complex and varied rhythms that change quickly. At times, there are layers of different rhythmic textures on top of each other - polyphonic
Tonality and Harmony
1. Atonal - use of dissonant harmony
2. Hexachords
Texture and Dynamics
1. Largely polyphonic, with some monophonic and homophonic moments
2. Use of imitation and inversion
3. Frequent sudden changes of dynamics (contrasts in ppp and fff)
Structure
1. Free rondo form with 5 sections (ABACA)

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Peripetie - Schoenberg

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	Created by izzykersley01 over 10 years ago