4GBs

Text by Carl Hauptmann (1850-1920).

A

Dämmern Wolken über Nacht und Tal, / Nebel schweben, Wasser rauschen sacht. / Nun entschleiert sich’s mit einemmal: / O gib acht!  Gib acht!

B

Weites Wunderland ist aufgetan. / Silbern ragen Berge traumhaft groß, / stille Pfade silberlicht talan / aus verborgenem Schloß;

B2

und die hehre Welt so traumhaft rein. / Stummer Buchenbaum am Wege steht / schattenschwarz, ein Hauch vom fernen Hain / einsam leise weht.

A2

Und aus tiefen Grundes Düsterheit / blinken Lichter auf in stummer Nacht. / Trinke Seele!  Trinke Einsamkeit! / O gib acht! Gib acht!

Translation (DECCA 2000 Susan Mackervoy): Dusky clouds gather over the night and the valley, mists linger, waters murmur gently. And all at once it is revealed to the view: Take heed! Oh, take heed! A vast wonderland has opened up. Silvery mountains soar up, fantastically huge, quiet silver-light paths rising from their hidden depths; and the sublime world so fantastically pure. The silent beech tree by the path stands black as shadows, a breath of air blows softly from the distant grove. And from the dark depths of the valley lights twinkle up in the silent night. Drink it in, soul! Drink in the solitude! Take heed! Oh, take heed!

I hesitate to post musicology stuff on this blog, but I wasn’t using this analysis for anything. I am grateful to Eric Chafe for making me analyze this song ten years ago, over the course of a single weekend. It was grueling. Somehow what I took away from the process, however, shaped my musical thinking in profound ways.

The analysis gets quite technical, so many apologies. Lots of things are assumed, like you know about whole-tone scales, triads, harmonic function, etc. If that’s not your thing, don’t slog through it. Just listen to the luxurious sonorities, zone out, and enjoy.

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Text/Music Structure, General Considerations: the first and last stanzas open and close the scene objectively while the protagonist exclaims “O gib acht! Gib acht!” The middle two stanzas are subjective revelations of the wondrous world of nature that opens up to the protagonist. The first stanza sets the scene in the slowly revealed world of nature as the protagonist prepares to declare its beauty. The second stanza begins to glorify what the protagonist sees: a vast wonderland with huge silver mountains rising above it. The third stanza heightens the subjective description by proclaiming his/her awareness of the “unbelievably pure and sublime world.” The fourth stanza returns from subjective to objective description and the protagonist returns to his/her own needs (“Drink it in soul! Drink in the solitude!”).

Berg’s setting of Hauptmann’s poem is in four sections as well and reinforces its symmetrical design. The four sections are: A (ms. 1-8), B (ms. 9-15), B2 (ms. 16-24), A2 (ms. 25-35). A short coda follows the return of section A (ms. 36-38).

Section 1 begins with an introduction (ms. 1) and consists of four phrases (2+2). The first two phrases (ms. 2-5) juxtapose two whole-tone collections while speeding up the harmonic rhythm. Whole-tone collection A (henceforth “WTA”), the collection that includes the sonority E, sounds for three measures (ms. 1-3). Whole-tone collection B (“WTB”), which contains the sonority A, enters for one measure at “Nebel schweben” (ms. 4). The phrase ends with a half-measure each of WTA and WTB (ms. 5). Phrases 3 and 4 shift to a more-or-less “diatonic” collection that tonicizes E/e (ms. 6-7). The fourth phrase sounds this tonicized E but turns it into the dominant of A (ms. 8). In terms of the relationship between the two halves of section A, the second half (three measures in length) does not entirely balance out the first (four measures in length). In addition, the build-up of unstable E sonorities (WTA) in the first half plus the final dominant chord of the second creates an open-ended quality to section A. This demands continuation in the form of an extended A sonority in section B.

The arrival on A that opens section B, however, lasts for only a half-note (ms. 9). The progression that follows, B-flat7 – E-flat6 – A – D (or flat-VI – N6 – V – I in D, ms. 9-10), quickly shifts the tonic from A to D. The D that follows is the strongest tonal center in the piece so far. The first diatonic prolongation of a tonal center, D – f# (or I – iii) adds to the weight of this arrival (ms. 11); it is as if the long dominant buildup of E in the first section shoots quickly past its goal (A) further in the flat direction (D). The brevity of the first section’s “answer” (ms. 6-8) and the resulting unbalance of section A is finally balanced by the prolonged arrival on D (ms. 10).

After the big arrival on D, the move from f# (g-flat) to F7 (ms. 11) functions as flat-vi – V7 in B-flat. A circle-of-fifths progression comes to light, moving past B-flat in the flat direction to E-flat (ms. 12). The E-flat, although a seventh chord, serves as a temporary arrival point relative to its harmonic surroundings. This interpretation is justified in that the end the poetic line (“groß,” ms. 12) coincides with the breaking of the circle-of-fifths; either would have been justification enough on its own.

Berg used a parallel (perhaps “mirrored”) means of arriving at the same place (E-flat) in the third section. The E-flat and the F7 that follows it (sounding as IV – V of the following B-flat, ms. 12-13) establish B-flat (first minor, then major) as the final tonal center of section B. The well-established B-flat tonality in ms. 15 ends the poetic line (“Schoß,” ms. 15) and marks the end of the second section.

The B-flat first inversion chord that ends section B is reinterpreted as the Neapolitan sixth chord (ms. 15) of the A tonality that begins section B2 (ms. 16). Section B2 restates the opening progression of section B, now with an altered melody (to be discussed later in this essay). Again, D is established as a strong point of arrival (ms. 17). The following progression arrives at an E-flat tonality at the end of a poetic line (“Wege steht,” ms. 20) through a circle-of-fifths progression, just like its parallel in section B (ms. 11-12). This time, the direction of the circle-of-fifths progression is in the sharp direction from a very flat starting point: D-flat – A-flat – E-flat. Berg achieves this by reinterpreting D as a Neapolitan sixth chord leading to an arrival on D-flat through A-flat7 (ms. 18). D-flat then moves through A-flat (ms. 19) to E-flat (ms. 20). The continuation from this E-flat also differs from its parallel in section B: a half-close on F7 (V7 of B-flat minor) emphasizes the poetic enjambment of the stanza, a characteristic of stanza B2 that is lacking in stanza B (“schattenschwarz,” ms. 21). The F7 resolves to a strong arrival on B-flat minor (ms. 21).  B-flat minor moves not to B-flat major (as in section B) but to an arrival on f minor (ms. 24): Berg reinterprets the B-flat minor as iv moving through V7 in f (ms. 21-24).

Finally, the F minor in the bass steps down to e and the first two phrases of section A2 return to the whole-tone collections of section A (ms. 25). WTA and WTB are again juxtaposed in increasing harmonic rhythm, though the original vocal melody shifts to the top voice of the piano. Berg gives the voice a whole-tone counter-melody consisting of notes from the appropriate whole-tone collection (ms. 27-30). The “diatonic” world also returns in altered form in the next two phrases. Berg inserts an extra measure between the last two phrases (ms. 33) and extends the final phrase (from one measure to two) in order to balance the whole section (ms. 31-35). A short coda ends the song (ms. 36-39) in the midst of a very unstable E tonality.

Harmonic, melodic, and rhythmic considerations: “Nacht” explores the intersection between whole-tone collections and diatonicism. Berg is interested in injecting whole-tone collections with a stable, almost static quality as well as segmenting whole-tone collections into augmented chords possessing dominant function. The use of these two worlds in section A and its parallel in section A2 is a good example of this device. In measures 1 and 3, the left and right hands of the piano parse WTA (the “E” whole-tone collection) into two ascending augmented triads: e-g#-b# and B-flat-d-f#.  In a similar fashion the voice parses WTA into two descending augmented triads (ms. 2). The first three measures emphasize pitches e, g#, and d, the essential pitches of an E dominant chord, through the use of register. E and d, for example, are the outer boundaries in both the voice and piano (ms. 1-3) while the g# is secondary in importance (lowest note of beat 2, ms. 1-3; the bottom of the augmented triad in the voice, beat 2, ms. 2). This device of emphasizing the “dominant seventh” pitches of WTA while increasing harmonic rhythm (discussed earlier) associates WTA with a sense of motion. WTB (the “A” whole-tone collection), on the other hand, acts as the goal (ms. 5, 2^nd half): the g#-d outer boundary tri-tone of the vocal melody (ms. 5) clearly progresses towards its pitch-goal A. The arrival on A as part of WTB (ms. 5) gains further weight through its association with the end of a poetic line and the introduction of a new rhythmically-charged melody in sixteenth notes. All this points to WTA (the whole-tone collection associated with “E”) as serving a dominant function while WTB (the collection associated with “A”) serves the goal or tonic function.

The second half of section A temporarily reverses the function of E, but not necessarily of WTA. The E tonality (ms. is twice tonicized through iio43 – V7 (ms. 6-7). As if to reassert the dominant function of augmented triads, Berg turns the second B7 into an augmented dominant by including the pitch g (ms. 7, 3^rd beat). When E is finally reached it is quickly reinterpreted as dominant seventh of A by the pitch D in the voice (ms. 8, 1^st beat). The return of WTA on the second half of this E7 chord (ms. 8, 3^rd beat) marks the reassertion that this whole-tone collection is meant to serve a dominant function. Section A, therefore, shows the two sides of E: as unstable dominant when WTA is present and as tonal center when WTA is not present.

Section A2 somewhat reverses this situation and simultaneously creates another level of symmetry between sections A and A2. The f – e step in the bass (ms. 25) immediately instills E/WTA with instability (a type of “phrgyian” flat-VI-V half cadence). However, the introduction of the whole-tone counter-melody in the voice and its interaction with the original melody in the piano removes the emphasis on the pitches of the E dominant seventh chord, e, g#, and d. The outer boundaries are now c-d rather than e-d in the voice while B-flat and F play the secondary role (ms. 27-28). This subtle difference gives a static (not quite stable or “tonic”) quality to WTA and the E tonality it embodies.

By contrast, the “diatonic” half of section A2 (ms. 31-35) clearly associates E as the dominant of A. The tonicization of E found in section A is now gone entirely. Rather, an E7 augmented dominant tonicizes A (ms. 31, 3^rd beat). This dominant, which includes WTA, should be compared with its parallel B7 (ms. 6, 2^nd beat), which contained no trace of a whole-tone collection. In section A2 Berg breaks the pattern of twice tonicizing the proposed key set up in section A. Now the final E7 with WTA (ms. 35) sounds as A6/4 (1^st half of measure, c#-e in piano) then as the augmented dominant of A (2^nd half of measure, c# changed to c). The anticipated A, however, never arrives, and the coda closes out the song with an unstable E pitch center and WTA harmony.

Berg’s use of a hauptrhythmus (prinicpal rhythm) as a unifying device is well-known and appears in several compositions, most notably Lulu. In “Nacht,” Berg introduces a hauptrhythmus consisting of eighth note – quarter note – eighth note. Its first appearance moves from the left to the right hand of the piano then back again (ms. 3-4.  The hauptrhythmus (or its altered form consisting of an eighth-note rest instead of the first note) saturates the rest of the song, appearing in measures 8, 11, 16, 18, 20, 31-32, and 34-36. The most prominent use of this rhythmic motive comes at the reprise of the A section in the bass voice (ms. 25).

Here’s a broad overview of “Nacht’s” melodic design before I interpret its poetic meaning (finally): versions of single melody appear in the first line of each of the four sections. The pitches of the strictly whole-tone vocal melody (“Dämmern Wolken über Nacht und Tal,” ms. 1-2) is transformed into the fourths melody (“Weites Wunderland ist aufgetan,” ms. 9-10). This melody is characterized by descending fourths linked by a semitone: f#-c# to c-g-d, then finally an ascent, f-B-flat. Another ascending fourth, b-e (ms. 8), proceeds the fourths melody. At the beginning of section B2 (ms. 16-17), the fourths melody is altered to include a chromatic descent: the f#-c# fourth is followed by c – c-flat – B-flat and A (“hehre Welt so traumhaft rein”). Finally, section A2 relegates the whole-tone melody to the piano (ms. 27) while the voice introduces a melodic and rhythmic “inversion” to the whole-tone melody. Two augmented triads now ascend rather than descend, and the opening rhythmic figure, eighth note – eighth note – dotted quarter note, reverse the original melodic rhythm (“Und aus tiefen Grundes Düsterheit,” ms. 27-28).

Fourths as motives or whole-tones as fragments appear at various other places in the music. “Silbern ragen Berge traumhaft groß” (ms. 11-12) ascends up the whole-tone scale from c#4 to c#5 before breaking off to D. “Buchenbaum am Wege” (ms. 19) descends from d to c, B-flat, and f#. “Ein Hauch vom fernen Hain” (ms. 21-22) is accompanied by a whole-tone fragment in the piano that descends D-flat – b – a – f. One notices immediately that sections and/or arrivals are limited to keys a fourth/fifth apart separated by a semitone: E-A-D and f-B-flat-E-flat. The linking of fourths/fifths by a semitone is reflected in the fourths motive mentioned above. Furthermore, the tonal center D (ms. 10 and 17) lies in a third-relationship to those tonal areas that end sections two (B-flat, ms. 15) and three (f, ms. 24).

Poetic considerations, possible ciphers?: The first half of stanza A describes the covered up, mysterious version of a nature not yet revealed to the protagonist. The night and the valley is covered up by clouds while mists hover over the rushing waters. The registral ascent in the piano (ms. 1 and 3) reflects the distance between the valley and the clouds while mention of the rushing brook introduces a descending 16^th-note run (ms. 5). The most salient feature of this opening is the juxtaposition of the two whole-tone collections. The clouds break in the second half as the harmony shifts from the whole-tone to the diatonic world (ms. 6). At this same point the brook rushing in 16^th notes switches to an e minor scale while the hauptrhythmus in introduced for the first time. The second “Gib acht!” (ms. introduces an ascending fourth that introduces the transformation of the opening melody. Again, as the “vast wonderland is opened up” to the protagonist, the melodic whole-tone collection, this time the opening melody, is transformed to more traditional diatonic pitch collection embodied in the fourths motive. Whole tones stretching upwards from c#4 to c#5 accompany the soaring up of the huge silver mountains (ms. 11-12). Only at the top of the mountain does the melodic line incorporate half steps; perhaps all is revealed only when one is above the clouds. The rise of the quiet silver paths from their “hidden depths” (again, an “uncovering” of sorts) is met with a descending fourths motive (ms. 14).

As mentioned above, a chromatic transformation of the opening melody opens section B2 (ms. 16-17) as the protagonist describes the purity of the sublime world. This “purity” is met by two brief chromatic descents: in the voice (c# – a, ms. 11-12) and in the left hand of the piano (c – a, then Ab one octave lower, ms. 17-18). A chromatic tetrachord, e-flat – d – f – e (a transposition of the BACH motive), sounds in the right hand of the piano (ms. 17, 1^st half). Berg may be representing the “purity” of the sublime world of total chromaticism and its embodiment in the contrapuntal music of Bach. While the “covered-up” whole-tone realm introduces a mere six pitches per chord and the “newly-revealed wonderland” of the fourths motive utilizes 10 pitches (from the b, ms. 8 to the A, ms.10), total chromaticism offers to reveal the true purity of the world of music.

The whole-tone world creeps back in as the purity dissipates and the protagonist returns to objective observation. WTA accompanies the objective description of the beech tree that stands by the dark path (ms. 19, 3^rd beat). WTB sounds while the breath of air from the distant grove (in B-flat minor) softly blows (ms. 21-22). An F minor melody based on the hauptrhythmus, c – D-flat –c – g – f – e – f – e-flat – d (ms. 24, 3^rd beat until ms. 25, 1^st beat) reflects the blowing wind. The hauptrhythmus then returns the whole-tone world of section A (ms. 25). The depths of the valley are dark again and the night is silent, free of the vibrant mountains and sublime purity.

After the final “Gib acht!” the final anticipated A tonality never arrives. Rather, two left hand chords, d-f-a and B-flat-d-f#, begin the coda’s registral descent, utilizing the opening two measures of the vocal melody in octaves. The lowest two notes of the left- hand chords are A and B-flat. Given Berg’s fascination with musical mottos and ciphers, it is reasonable to interpret this as a signature, namely “Alban Berg.” Though it is generally wise to avoid overusing such interpretations, it may be possible to interpret two important keys, A and B-flat, in such a way (if one were so inclined). Berg’s cipher for “Hanna Fuchs” (b-f) is really nowhere to be found in “Nacht.”

Album Info: Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 4; Alban Berg: 7 Early Songs (1999)