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Teaching guide: Area of study 1 (the piano

music of Chopin, Brahms and Grieg)
This resource is a teaching guide for Area of Study 1 for our A-level Music
specification (7272). All students will need to study:
• Strand A (Baroque solo concerto)
• Strand B (The operas of Mozart)
• Strand C (The piano music of Chopin, Brahms and Grieg).

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Appraising music - listening

In the listening part of the examination, students will be tested on their recognition of
musical elements from excerpts of unfamiliar music from all three of these strands.
Their learning and understanding of these musical elements can be developed from
their study of the set works.

In the examination they will be required to apply their knowledge and skills to
excerpts from other works within the genre. For two of these strands, students will
also be required to use their recognition of these elements to place the music in
context.
We recommend that teachers broaden their students' experience of these genres by
regularly exposing them to works by other composers (in the case of Baroque solo
concerto), other Mozart operas and other piano music of Chopin, Brahms and Grieg.
Students could listen to examples from the list below:

• Chopin: Nocturnes and Ballades; Waltzes, Mazurkas and Polonaises; Preludes,

Etudes and Impromptus, Any of the other Lyric pieces, Album Leaves and
Norwegian Dances.
• Brahms: Intermezzos and Ballades, Op.10. Ballades, Op.24 Variations and
Fugue on a Theme of Handel, Op.79 Two Rhapsodies, Op.117/118/119 any of
the other Intermezzi, Rhapsodies and Romance
• Grieg: any of the other Lyric Pieces
In the analysis part of the examination, students will be required, with the help of a
printed score, to answer specific questions on musical elements and contextual
understanding from two of the three strands. They will need to use their knowledge
and understanding of the set works in order to show:
• the effect of audience, time and place on how the set works were created,
developed and performed
• how and why the music across the selected strand is different
• how the composer's purpose and intention for the set works is reflected in their
use of musical elements
• relevant musical vocabulary and terminology for the set works
• the complex interdependencies between musical elements
• the sophisticated connections between music and its context.

The scores will be Sibelius files of an extract from each of the set works (one from
each strand). No prior knowledge of a particular edition of the set works will be
necessary for this, but you can find the files used in the exam on e-AQA.

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The piano music of Chopin, Brahms and Grieg

In the early nineteenth century, new ideas in music and the arts heralded the birth of
Romanticism. Emboldened by the revolutionary fervour in France, new thinking
centred on the freedom of the individual as opposed to that of the accepted
authorities, including political, religious and social orders. In music, following the
inspiration of Beethoven, this manifest itself in works which concentrated more on
personal expression rather than formal design, pieces which were unrestrained in
imagination and emotive power, and music which was inspired by poetry, the force of
nature and, indeed, the supernatural. If the music of the classical period can be
considered the epitome of grace and elegance, order and proportion, and ever
pleasing to the ear, then the music of the romantic period strives to embrace feelings
and emotions, with the power to rouse hearts and souls, express (for example)
themes of heroism or destruction, and touch the most private intimacies.
Recent developments in the construction of the piano made this the ideal instrument
for romantic expression.
Significant improvements included:
• cast iron frames as opposed to wooden frames which allowed for larger and
stronger strings under increased tension
• felt instead of leather on the hammers
• seven octave range (as opposed to five)
• establishment of the sustaining and una corda pedals.
• The result of these improvements included:
• a more sonorous tone offering a broader palette of colours
• a better sustaining power to support legato phrasing (of longer note values) and
an espressivo cantabile
• a greater dynamic range with more sensitive gradations from ppp to fff and an
ability to balance textures
• greater expressive direction given by the composer to the performer on the printed
score
• pianistic techniques involving wrists and forearms (as opposed to a purely digital
action).

Composers such as Chopin and Liszt were quick to capitalise on these changes,
frequently writing music which displayed virtuosity, technical accomplishment and
showmanship in much the same way that Paganini had for the violin.

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Chopin – Nocturne in E minor op.72 no.1 and Ballade No.2 in F

major op.38
Frederic Chopin was born in 1810 in Zelazowa Wola, a small village 30 miles to the
west of Warsaw where his father was a private tutor and his mother a companion and
housekeeper to the wealthy, if divorced, Countess Skarbek. Chopin’s father came
from Lorraine in France, where there was a significant Polish community, and later
he became a lecturer in French (as well as running a boarding house for pupils at the
Lyceum) in Warsaw. Here the young Frederic grew up amongst intellectuals and
musicians, with an easy access to aristocratic circles. His mother was a pianist of
some ability and undoubtedly fostered his love of the instrument. From an early age
he was regarded as something of a child prodigy, constantly improvising at the
keyboard and notably performing a piano concerto by Gyrowetz in the Radziwill
Palace when only seven years old. In the same year he presented the Empress
Maria Feodorovna with two recently composed Polonaises. He was taught harmony
by Jozef Elsner, a leading musician in Warsaw, from the age of 13, and joined the
High School of Music in 1826 having already had his op.1 (Rondo in c minor)
published. There he was immersed in the music of the great masters, Bach and
Mozart especially, and visits to Berlin and Vienna also introduced him to the operas
of Weber, Rossini and Meyerbeer.
By the time Chopin left Warsaw in 1830, he had composed a considerable quantity of
music, all for the piano and mostly of the post-classical concert music type. These
were works designed for the salon concerts and public benefit concerts which
typically displayed pianistic virtuosity through forms of impressive figurations, hand-
crossings, wide leaps, trills and double trills and arpeggiated passage-work. The
familiar titles for which Chopin has become synonymous were already well
established, the Waltz, Mazurka, Etude and Nocturne.
John Field, the Irish composer who settled in Russia, is credited with inventing the
Nocturne ‘a poetic mood-picture in sound’ and those in Bb major and E minor are
well worthy of study and certainly a positive influence on Chopin’s writing. Chopin
wrote 21 Nocturnes in all, and this one in E minor, probably composed sometime
between 1827 and 1829, although not published until after his death, was Chopin’s
first with that title.

It is typical for the following attributes:

• slow tempo (only op.9 no.3 is as fast as allegretto)
• regular rhythmical flow in the left hand
• melancholic and reflective character
• melody – dominated texture, above a largely unvaried homophonic
accompaniment
• extensive ornamentation, somewhat improvisatory in feel and imitative of the ‘bel
canto’ style
• very wide range of pitch (in the left hand arpeggio patterns as well as the melodic
tessitura)
• significant rhythmic variety in the melody, including twos against threes and use
of sextuplets etc
• largely conjunct melodic shapes, full of yearning appoggiaturas
• slow moving, functional harmony with chromatic inflexions
• clearly designed tonal scheme

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• overall arch shape with a quiet start, building to an impassioned climax before
subsiding to a final repose.

The piece starts with the triplet patterns in the accompaniment which will permeate
the whole Nocturne as a rhythmic ostinato. This regular flow of quavers in the left
hand gives a structure which allows the melody freedom to explore the whole gamut
of rhythmical durations from semibreves through to demisemiquavers and groups of
ten and even eleven notes to a beat at the approach to the climax in bar 37.
The arpeggio figure which outlines the tonic chord of E minor has a rising trajectory
over its two-beat length, the tonic note given due prominence at the start of each
beat (low on the strong beats and an octave higher on the weak beats), the dominant
also sounding twice, and the minor third only once. The sighing appoggiatura is
especially significant, approached by a yearning rising minor 6th which anticipates
the start of the melody and is strategically positioned in the rich tenor register of the
instrument high above the root of the chord.
The harmony of this opening statement is straightforward. A bar of tonic at the start
and dominant at the end (imperfect cadence) which is embellished with the chromatic
diminished 7th chord at bar 5 beat 2. Between these two points the harmony
changes on every strong beat: Vc7 - Ib - Vb7 - I.
Against this rhythmic and harmonic backdrop, it is to the espressivo sostenuto
melody that the listener’s attention is drawn. Starting high in the treble range (three
octaves and more above the bass) it traces a descending shape which at almost all
points moves in contrary motion with the accompaniment. The top G affects a
plaintive sound as it sits on the minor 3rd of the chord, texturally distinct and given
more emphasis by the anticipatory acciaccatura. The first three pitches imitate the
end of the bass ostinato, and then the phrase falls by step to the D# (outlining a
melancholic diminished 4th interval). Harmonic tension is felt firstly by the clashing
passing note in bar 2, then more intensively by the suspension half-way through bar

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3 and lastly by a double appoggiatura followed by a double accented passing note in

bar 4. This sense in which the melody is at odds with the supporting accompaniment
is complemented by the rhythmic movement, long durations at the beginnings
followed by shorter notes towards the ends of each bar, the quavers moving cross-
rhythmically against the triplets. The doubling of the melodic line in parallel 3rds at
the end of the phrase offers some comfort to the cadential repose.
The accomplished pianist will achieve a successfully poetic and artistic interpretation
of this opening by:
• a good legato touch, aided by judicious pedalling
• a fluid left-hand technique negotiating the large leaps with even tone
• an expressively singing melodic tone, balanced against the accompaniment
• rhythmic flexibility (rubato) which enhances the effects of dissonance and its
resolution
• an awareness of the phrase-direction and harmonic progression.

The second phrase in bars 6 - 9 is quite different in character. The abrupt change to
G major (the relative major) coupled with the rising melodic contour suggests an
altogether more confident purpose. The chord on the 2nd beat sounds initially like a
secondary 7th (G7 - V7 of IV), but in fact functions as an augmented 6th (the German
variety) resolving to V in B minor (the dominant) which is indeed where the phrase
cadences in bar 9 after more chromatic harmony, including a diminished 7th chord
and a dominant minor 9th chord complete with a 4 - 3 suspension. Note how the
tonic chord of the perfect cadence (bar 9 beat 1) is a bare fifth, allowing for the D# on
the 2nd beat to complete a dominant minor 9th chord back in the tonic (E minor) for
the return of the opening theme.
Other features of this phrase include:

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• the twin melody lines which move closely together and largely in parallel
• the longer note values which draw attention back towards the more interesting and
wide-ranging left-hand part
• the quicker harmonic rhythm as the melody rises in bar 6 and…
• the slower harmonic rhythm in the approach to the cadence as the melodic line
falls.
Bars 10 - 13 are a repeat of the opening four-bar phrase with an increased intensity
achieved by:
• mf dynamic
• melody in octaves (doubled an octave lower in the middle register giving a greater
depth to the tone)
• a more declamatory style as the phrase rises away from the suspension
• a more consonant (and momentarily chromatic) 3rd bar (bar 12)
• triplets in the melody coinciding with the rhythm of the accompaniment
• inversion of the final parallel 3rds into parallel 6ths.
At bar 14 the music heads off in a different direction. Starting directly on a B minor
chord, the harmony moves through a series of V7 - I progressions every half - bar:

Bar number Chord Key

14 2 Vc7 C major

14 3-4 I (9–8 suspension) C major

15 1-2 V7 C major

15 3-4 I C major

16 1-2 Vb7 D minor

16 3-4 I D minor

17 1-2 Vb7 E minor

17 3 I/IV E minor/ B minor

17 4 IIb7 B minor

18 1-2 Ic B minor

18 3-4 V (4–3 suspension) B minor

19 1-2 V7 E minor

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19 3-4 I/IV E minor/ B minor

20 1-2 V (9–8 suspension) B minor

20 3-4 Ic B minor

21 V (4–3 suspension) B minor

22 I (Tierce de Picardie) B minor

This modulatory passage might naturally finish after six bars with a perfect cadence
in B minor, but Chopin extends it for three more bars with the sforzando interruption
at the start of bar 19, and then a long drawn-out cadence figure over a dominant
pedal to defer the tonic chord until bar 22, the tierce de Picardie sounding all the
sweeter for its delay.
Other features of this 9 bar passage include:
• the lower melodic voice assumes a more independent role
• the texture thickens during the rising sequence of bars 16 - 17 leading to a first
climax at bar 18
• the ostinato triplet quavers become entwined with the upper parts
• false relations in the cadence (A/A# and E/E#).

The first 22 bars complete the opening section of the piece, which can be
summarised as:

bars 1-5 A imperfect cadence E minor

bars 6-9 B perfect cadence B minor

bars 10 - 13 A’ imperfect cadence E minor

bars 14 - 22 C perfect cadence B minor

At bar 22 the tierce de Picardie effects a move to the dominant major key, and the
bass ostinato pattern changes shape, replacing the yearning appoggiatura figure with
a stepwise descent back down to the tonic. These two contrasts, coupled with the
whole eight-bar section resting on a tonic pedal, make this second section of the
Nocturne sound much sweeter and more peaceful in mood, giving it the sense of
being a drawn-out codetta. Note how once again Chopin derives the opening of the
melody (x) from a rhythmically augmented version of the end of the bass ostinato
pattern.

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This melody is again wholly conjunct, in parallel 3rds throughout, and with some
textural and harmonic reinforcement at the peak of the phrase where the diminished
7th chord is resolved after a double suspension at bar 261. The chromatic movement
and false relation at bar 244 (not evident in every edition of this work) adds some
pathos to this passage.
The four-bar phrase which follows in bar 27 is a varied repeat, this time falling in
shape during the diminished 7th harmony, with added lower auxiliaries in 3rds in the
lower voices, before ending on a decisive dominant minor 9th chord in bar 30, the 4 -
3 suspension intensifying the return to E minor.
If the first half of this Nocturne has seemed gentle and restful with little obvious
technical demand then it is at bar 31 where the action and drama begin. Structurally,
the second half of the piece is a repeat of the first half, albeit with the final section
now in the tonic major key (E major), but pianistically and emotionally it is altogether
more powerful.

The above extract compares the right-hand part of bars 31 - 34 with bars 2 - 5, the
left hand part being identical (except for some small changes in the last bar). Here
one can find examples of Chopin’s fingerprint fioritura style, often likened to the
singers’ ornamentation of arias in the bel canto operatic world. The long sustained
notes at the starts of each bar are retained but the quavers at the ends of the bars
now turn into increasingly agitated pyrotechnics. Note also the forte dynamic and the
very wide tessitura (one octave higher in bar 33, and two octaves higher than bar 5 at
the start of bar 34).
The next phrase in bars 35 - 38 extends this increased excitement further, bringing
the trills also to the longer notes and energising the rhythmic movement into groups

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of 10 and 11 notes to a beat. At the moment of greatest passion (bar 374 - 381) the
hands are moving in opposite directions in a pattern of 11 against 3, the right hand
fleeing up a chromatic scale whilst the left hand descends octave by octave to a
unison B five octaves apart.
Calmer waters resume at bar 39 with the return of the opening phrase again in
octaves, largely following the contours of bars 10 - 13, and the excitement subsides
further with an Ic - V - I cadence extended over four bars by some diminished 7th
harmonies. These bars are reminiscent of bars 19 - 22, but now the perfect cadence
is in E major (the tonic major). This is the one and only perfect cadence in the tonic
key throughout the whole piece.
A long coda section, based on the material from bars 23 - 30, follows and gradually
the music winds down over a 12 bar tonic pedal, the melody falling in pitch,
lengthening in note values and slowing to one chord per bar in harmonic rhythm as
the dynamic reduces to pp. Diminished 7th chords (rootless dominant minor 9ths)
substitute for chord V in the last five bars as the pace slows and the music dies away
- calando - until the left hand ostinato triplet quavers finally stop and bring the piece
to a close in bar 57.

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Ballade No.2 in F major op.38

If the Nocturne is an example of Chopin’s early style with its roots in the classical
structures (of tonal scheme, harmonic function and texture) and the elements of
pianistic display largely centred on melodic ornamentation, then the Ballade is
altogether a much more mature and overtly romantic work, written during the period
when he was living with the writer George Sand, largely in Nohant in the Indre region
of France, and subsequently completed during his convalescence on the island of
Majorca in 1839. Since leaving Warsaw, Chopin had moved to Paris (via Vienna)
and flourished in the fashionable salons performing, composing and teaching. As his
fame grew, he withdrew from performing in the larger concert halls, preferring the
more intimate and artistic environment of the salons, and was increasingly successful
in earning a living from the sale of his compositions.
Chopin was the first composer to title his piano works Ballades, essentially a
narrative including dance elements similar to that of the poetic ballad and the four
which he composed have become established as cornerstones of the 19th century
piano repertory. According to Robert Schumann (to whom the Second Ballade was
dedicated) the work was inspired by the ballad ‘Switez’ by the Polish poet Adam
Mickiewicz. This tells the tale of life in a rural Polish village where the young girls are
threatened by invading Russian soldiers. They pray that they will be swallowed up by
the earth and later transformed into beautiful flowers.

The work begins with due innocence in the typically pastoral key of F major with a
gently throbbing 6/8 rhythm which is characteristic of the barcarolle (and common to
all four of Chopin’s Ballades). A repeated anacrustic dominant note, in octaves,
introduces the main theme (a) which has a folk-like sound with its narrow octave
range and frequent intervals of a third. The first four-bar phrase rises to an early peak
before falling the full octave to finish on the third. The subsequent phrase (b)
emphasises this mediant note on every beat before finally falling to the tonic. These
A’s will assume a greater significance as the work develops.

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The accompaniment is entirely chordal and homorhythmic, with the exception of the
falling passing notes and dotted rhythms which hint at the sicilienne. The harmony is
wholly diatonic, the repeated fifths in bars 2 - 3 suggesting a drone and the repeated
Ic chords in bars 6 - 8 highlighting the instability of the rocking movement. Note the
subtle changes of texture at the two cadence points, the falling ninth favouring the
dominant approach chord.

The two phrases (a + b) are then repeated again before, at bar 17, a new phrase (c)
takes the music away from the tonic towards, significantly, A minor at bar 19 and
then sequentially on to the dominant (C major) at bar 21. Here the second phrase (b)
is reiterated a fifth higher before the music returns to the tonic via the chromatic
diminished 7th chord (rootless dominant minor 9th) in bar 25 and a 9 - 8 suspension
in bar 26.
A recapitulation of the opening completes the ternary structure of this first section of
the piece (A) until an unexpected change of harmony interrupts the perfect cadence
in bar 33. Phrase b now returns in A minor (perfect cadence in bar 37), the last two
bars repeated as a descending sequence in G minor (via another diminished 7th
chord) until the penultimate note is harmonised as a dominant 13th (instead of a 4 - 3
suspension), bringing the tonality back to F major. A repetition of this two-bar phrase
(with an added acciaccatura) is followed by no fewer than six repetitions of the V13 - I
progression, in decreasing rhythmic units, the falling sicilienne motif (x) now featuring
at the bottom of the texture.

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The first section of the piece therefore has the following overall ternary structure:

Bars 0–24 Introduction Dominant preparation

bars 16–55 phrase a F major

bars 56–93 phrase b F major

bars 94–135 phrase a F major

bars 136–173 phrase b F major

bars 174–213 phrase c A minor to C major

bars 214–253 phrase b F major

bars 263–295 phrase a F major

bars 296–335 phrase b F major

bars 336–373 phrase b A minor

bars 374–393 end of phrase b G minor to F major

bars 394–413 end of phrase b G minor to F major

bars 414–45 codetta F major

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Cross rhythms dominate the frenzied violence of the second section of the piece (B),
with its abrupt change of tempo, key, texture and dynamic. In bars 46, 48 and
subsequently, the right hand patterns are in four-semiquaver groups (a), giving a 3/4
crotchet metre against the left hand 6/8 metre. In bars 47, 49 and subsequently, the
left hand patterns are in three-semiquaver groups (c), producing a four beat metre
against the right hand pairs of semiquavers (b).
The key (A minor) is a tertiary modulation (much favoured by composers of the early
romantic period) and prefaced by the repeated As at the end of bar 45. The new
tonality is firmly established by six bars of tonic pedal, underpinning the tonic and
diminished 7th chords which alternate through this opening. Semitone steps are
another important feature (F - E descending in the r.h. and B♮- C ascending in the
l.h.) and F - E again at the end of the given passage (bar 51) in rhythmic
augmentation in the bass. The F in the r.h. pattern acts as a kind of appoggiatura
figure, providing another link back to the F major key of the previous section, and
here Chopin again emphasises the third degree of the scale in the shape of the l.h.
motif.
The changes of dynamic and texture are perhaps the most immediately obvious
contrasts in the dramatic mood here. After the homophonic and chordal opening,
largely sitting in the middle register of the piano, the parts now move independently,
at almost all points in contrary motion, starting from a position five octaves apart. The
l.h. octaves add weight to the bass.
Bars 54 - 59 are a repeat of bars 46 - 51 a tone lower in G minor (effected through
another diminished 7th and V7 harmony in bars 52 - 53), and then a half-diminished
7th chord in bars 60 - 61 brings the music to the dominant of D minor in bar 62. Here
the sicilienne rhythm (x) finds voice amongst the turbulence of the semiquavers in a
rising sequence (D minor - F minor - Ab minor) which explores the darker keys
through ascents of minor thirds.
A point of climax is reached at bar 68. Here the tonality has reached Ab minor (the
furthest point away from where this section started in A minor), and a crashing IVb7

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chord with a 9 - 8 suspension resolves to chord V (Phrygian cadence) at bar 70.

From here to the end of the section the music gradually subsides through a series of
modally inflected chords, the musical temperature falling as the chords descend over
a 9 bar dominant pedal and rising Ab minor scales.
When the parts exchange in bar 78 the Fb minor triads assume something more of a

Neapolitan sound and then a chromatic descent in parallel first inversion chords (bars
79 - 81) brings about a return to F major.
Bars 82 - 139 (development)
Section A now returns back at the original tempo, dynamic and key. The music
begins at the start of the recapitulation (ie bar 263) with the second phrase (b)
abruptly truncated in its second bar. The third phrase (b in A minor) resumes at bar
88 until the second of the F major cadences is suddenly interrupted with a diminished
7th harmony at bar 95.

There then follows a long section of development based largely on motifs x and z.
An enharmonic switch (from F# to Gb) takes the tonality to Db major and two-part
imitation of z’ ensues over a dominant pedal, which is then repeated in bars 103 -
106 a 4th higher in Gb major. The music becomes more impassioned at bar 107
‘stretto piu mosso’ and takes on something of the mood from section B, patterns of x
and z working against each other in contrary motion in a wider textural spread with
both hands in octaves. The climax arrives at bar 110 with a bold statement of the
opening theme in Bb major, then in descending sequence in G minor followed by an
unexpected switch to E major (Vd7 in bar 114) and a full statement of the theme in
the tenor voice in the middle of the texture as the excitement subsides and the mood
becomes tender once more. A similar statement follows in the bass in C major before
the whole of the development section from bars 97 - 114 is repeated almost exactly,
now a semitone lower than before. The bold statement of the theme at bar 135 is
now in G minor and the music hurries straight into bars 140 – 167 (mirror reprise).
Section B starts in D minor and sounds for six bars as a tonal resolution of this
material in the original key area (F major). However, at bar 146 the tonality moves
towards A minor and another restatement of the music exactly as in bars 46 - 51,
until a strong four-note chromatic descent under a cascade of A minor arpeggio

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figures reaches a defining Ic chord in bar 156. After two false starts, the full theme
from section A is stated in octaves in the bass (for the first time in A minor) under this
Ic harmony. The dominant (V9) arrives at bar 164 and A minor is affirmed as the tonic
for the exhilarating coda.
Bars 168 – 195 (coda)
The two principal ideas of the work having been reconciled in the key of A minor,

Chopin launches into an exultant and bravura final section which exudes a joyous
confidence and rhythmic energy in abundance.

After the long drawn-out Ic - V - I cadence (bars 156 - 168) the harmonic pace
quickens (aided by the faster tempo) to two, and then four, chords per bar and the
restless semiquavers decorate with lower chromatic auxiliaries (in an heterophonic
texture) the falling appoggiatura figures (F - E) taken from the opening of the B
section (bar 46). A circle of fifths progression precedes the cadence, and then the
whole four-bar passage is repeated in bars 172 - 173 an octave higher, the false
relations speaking here with an even brighter clarity.
The falling semitones which were such an important feature of the Presto con fuoco
are now developed with even greater prominence. As the bass line moves
chromatically down every half bar from the tonic to the dominant, with the upper
melody line in parallel 10ths, so the lower melody line descends the same steps in
rhythmic diminution, the three-bar sequence of colourful harmony completed with a
fourth bar of exciting syncopation in the cadence figure. This four-bar phrase is also
repeated (an octave lower), before a French augmented sixth chord (in bar 184)
begins a passage of ambitious chromatic harmony where the bass rises through the
full twelve steps of the chromatic scale to a point of climax at bar 188.

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Here the music of the B section is reprised one final time, with a fuller right hand
texture and even greater prominence given to the falling appoggiaturas before
another climax concludes with a shattering French augmented 6th. Out of the
resonance of this ten-note chord comes Chopin’s final masterstroke, the opening
theme, quietly and simply in A minor. The phrase is left incomplete for two beats of
silence and reflection before the final perfect cadence, the pastoral mood of the
opening now well and truly transformed.

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Brahms - Intermezzo in A major op.118 no.2 and Ballade in

G minor op.118 no.3
Where Chopin’s oeuvre centred almost exclusively on music written for the piano,
that of Johannes Brahms encompassed the whole range of works for orchestra (four
symphonies, overtures, piano and violin concertos), choir (the German Requiem),
chamber music and songs. And where Chopin’s music was inevitably youthful (he
died at the age of 39), Brahms wrote these piano pieces during the final years of his
life when he was nearing sixty. Chopin’s inspiration for composition included an
element of improvisation and showmanship on the part of the performer; Brahms’
style is altogether more cerebral and profound, skilled in aspects of counterpoint and
rhythm which aptly position him alongside his illustrious German predecessors Bach
and Beethoven. What Brahms and Chopin share, of course, is an essential romantic
lyricism.
Op.118 comprises six short character pieces, not necessarily intended to be played
as a set, composed in 1893 and dedicated to Clara Schumann. Unlike other romantic
miniaturists, such as Robert Schumann and Edward Grieg, who gave their piano
pieces more fanciful titles, Brahms calls four of them simply Intermezzo, the other
two being Ballade and Romanze. There are no thematic connections between the
pieces, nor any over-arching key structure, although the two major key pieces
immediately follow on from their minor equivalents and there is a gradual descent
from Am to E♭m. Clara Schumann said “she was delighted with Brahms’ ability to
reveal such ‘a wealth of sentiment in the smallest of dimensions.”
Intermezzo No.2 in A major is one of Brahms most loved and often played pieces,
both in the concert hall by professional artists (a frequent encore item after concerto
performances) and by amateur pianists at home. It is eminently accessible by players
of grade 8 ability (with large hands!). An intermezzo is an in-between piece, one
which both reflects the past and also looks forward to the future; a comment from one
of Brahms’ contemporaries which could apply both to its musical style as well as in its
interpretation of human experience.
Three motifs provide the melodic material for the opening A section, each starting on
the anacrusis and of three beat duration. Motif (a) is characterised by its anapestic
rhythm and lower echappée note, motif (b) by its dotted rhythms and rising shape
which is then balanced by the falling shape of motif (c) in straight crotchets.

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Typical Brahmsian features of this opening four-bar phrase include the augmentation
of the rising 3rd to a rising 7th in the repeat of (a) , and the doubling of the melody in
3rds, 6ths and 10ths. Indeed, there is a distinctive sonorousness to the whole piano
texture exemplified by:
• the polarising of the two melodic voices above the harmony in the opening chord
• the very wide spacing of the three-part textures at the starts of bar 1 and 2 (four
octaves apart)
• the thickening of the texture to six parts in support of the rising phrase in bar 3.

A dreamy wistfulness emanates from the falling stepwise motion of the lower melodic
voice (marked *) and the falling arpeggios in the accompaniment, enhanced by the
restful harmony of chord IV over a very low tonic pedal in bars 1 and 2. A greater
energy emerges in the second half of the phrase as the harmony changes beat by
beat to the imperfect cadence.

The phrase is repeated (dolce) in a typically classical design, this time modulating to
the dominant key. The reharmonising of this second phrase begins with a
strengthening of the move to chord IV by a G♮in bar 4 (secondary dominant) before
the decisive turn towards the sharper tonality early in the phrase in bar 6. This
striking harmonic progression is characterised by multiple dissonances, melodic
dissonances (appoggiaturas) superimposed on harmonic dissonances
(suspensions), until the tension is resolved on the second beat of bar 8. The double
dissonances at bar 63 and 71 are further emphasised by the closeness of the bass
voicings low in the register. (Upwardly resolving suspensions, such as the D# - E in
bar 8, are sometimes referred to as retardations).
Melodic cohesion is achieved by:
• the rising 7th interval in bar 5 matched by a 7th descent in bar 7
• the shape of motif (a) appearing in retrograde inversion at the conclusion of the
phrase.
This eight-bar section is then repeated in its entirety at a quieter dynamic level (pp).
The (b) motif is subtly varied in bars 10 - 11 in the following three ways:
• chromatic harmony (diminished 7th at 111)
• double suspension emphasising the high-point of the phrase at 112
• lower melodic voice assuming greater importance as it falls by chromatic steps with
anticipations.

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This development of the material is taken further in bars 14 - 15. The inner melodic
voice tracing a rising chromatic line as the lower voice descends by step (marked *),
the double dissonances preceded by anticipations. Notice how the peak of the
phrase is now followed by the descent of a minor 9th.
After an opening 16 bars which have largely looked towards the dominant key (with
backward glances towards the subdominant), the middle part of this first section
(bars 163 - 342) begins with an abrupt side-step to C major (the flattened submediant
of the dominant), taking the harmony into new-found territory. This part also contrasts
with the opening in the following ways:
• single line melody
• lower register melody with a narrower range and mostly stepwise movement
• melody has steady crotchet tread
• slow harmonic rhythm, changing on the 3rd beats of each bar to create metrical
displacement
• inconclusive cadence points.
However, similarities exist too:
• phrase structure - 1 bar + 1 bar + 2 bars repeated
• regular quaver movement in the accompaniment
• largely five-voiced texture
• falling three-note scale motif (bar 19)
• quiet legato character.

The bass of the C major chord in 1st inversion turns out to be a dominant pedal, the
inner voices rising chromatically to a dominant 7th at 183, which is left unresolved
when the bass rises to the tonic at bar 20. Another side-step to F major (the flattened
submediant of the tonic) is followed by a German augmented sixth chord (213), a
diminished seventh chord (233) before the IIb7 chord with its long-held accented
passing note (G# in bar 24) leads the harmony back to the dominant. Metrical
ambiguity pervades the whole of this passage. On the one hand, melodic
accentuation can be found on the first beats of the bars through the dissonances
(upper auxiliaries), melodic shapes (highest notes) and melodic hair-pins, but the
accompaniment emphasises the third beats of the bars.

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The build to the first climax of the piece is an extended phrase (six-bars) built on a
sequential ascent of three-note chromatic steps (marked *) and variants of motif (a),
over a dominant pedal. The dominant chord at the start of bar 25 is an important
structural moment, the first root position chord of the piece on a downbeat, providing
a brief moment of metrical and harmonic cohesion. Whilst the bass reiterates the low
dominant note, the inner accompanying figures suggest a subtle 6/8 feel working
cross-rhythmically against the melody.

The pedal is released one bar before the climax, stepping back to the subdominant
(via V7 of IV), and then all parts move in a 6/8 metre (bar 29) to reveal the opening
phrase of the piece, rhythmically augmented the top A now triumphantly supported
by a sure-footed root position subdominant harmony and forte dynamic. Note the
falling descent of the lower melodic line from bar 1, now in augmentation and
reinforced an octave lower at two quavers distance (also marked *).

The expected recapitulation of the A section is delayed for a further four bars. The
dominant pedal is now replaced by a balancing inner tonic pedal (in octaves, the
lower voice reiterated in throbbing syncopations), whilst the three-note falling melodic
line (*) is extended to a full seven steps, effectively counter-balancing the rising
seventh of the earlier climax, and the preeminence of the outlying pitches in these
phrase shapes is reinforced by an added 6th in the subdominant harmony. The
sudden drop of tessitura, supported by the darker chordal texture, provides for a
more melancholic and brooding character, aided by the falling accented passing
notes in the melody and the gloomy appearance of motif (a) in the bass. Brahms
heightens this change further with the switch to the minor key in bar 33, and the
instruction calando (dying away).

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What now follows is one of those extraordinary moments where Brahms combines
artistic beauty with supreme compositional craftsmanship.

• The theme returns in inverted form.

• It’s a real (chromatically exact) inversion of the minor version heard in the bass in
bars 33 – 34.
• Its pitch mirrors the bass version exactly about the A/B axis (major 13th) heard
throughout bars 31 – 34.
• At the start of the piece, the three-note motif followed the pattern: consonance -
dissonance – dissonance.
• In bars 34 - 35, the pattern is now dissonance (appoggiatura) - consonance –
consonance.
• In bars 0 - 1, the harmony and metre are at odds with each other - root position
tonic chord on the upbeat, followed by an unstable second inversion subdominant
chord on the down beat.
• In bars 34 - 35, the harmony and metre are in agreement - first inversion tonic
chord on the upbeat, followed by a root position subdominant chord on the down
beat.
• In bars 0 - 2, melody and bass move in contrary motion, the rising melody
aspirational if uncertain.
• In bars 34 - 36, melody and bass move together, both falling securely on to the
downbeats.
• The imitation of (a) in the lower voice is metrically displaced, reinforcing the
consonance of the harmony.
• The brighter tessitura and warmer textures support the return to the major tonality
and dolce instruction.

A single statement of the opening four-bar phrase finally results in a perfect cadence
in the tonic key. Bar 39 is the first root position A major chord since the very opening
upbeat. A codetta ensues, based largely on the material of the middle section (bars
163 - 24), but now sitting on a four-bar tonic pedal followed by a VI - IV - IIb7 - V7 - I
progression. The metrical displacement heard earlier is further enhanced in this
section by two typically Brahmsian hemiolas (bars 403 - 432 and bars 443 - 462).
Before metrical stability is finally restored in the cadence figure, but not before
Brahms finds yet another re-harmonization of the (a) motif.

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The last chord is a moment of welcome repose. Not only is it, finally, a root position
tonic chord on a strong beat, but also it marks the moment when the opening two
quavers of the piece eventually find their way to fall on to the tonic note, a
remarkable example of Brahms’ ability to set up expectation and delay its fulfilment.

The B section (bars 483 - 762) of this ternary form piece begins with three
immediately apparent contrasts:
• F# minor key (achieved through the linking C# common to both tonic chords)
• triplet quaver movement throughout in the accompaniment in cross-rhythm with the
melodic quavers
• three-part texture containing canonic fragments.

The melody is based on a new motif (x) followed by falling steps, which link back to
the descending patterns of the A section (see motifs b and c), and a falling sequence
in bars 50 - 51. The descent extends from the top F# in bar 48 down a minor 7th to
the G# in bar 52 (see bars 30 - 32) and is full of yearning appoggiaturas made all the
more expressive by the successive augmentation of the intervals (rising augmented
4th at bar 503, falling 5th at bar 521, rising minor 6th at bar 522) and the contrary
contour of the bass line at each of these points.

Rhythmically, motif (x) is treated both to diminution and also displacement to a

different part of the bar giving rise to a hemiolaic feel in the running quavers of bars
51 - 52. A typical characteristic of Brahms’ left hand figurations are the descending
triplet patterns where the bass of the harmony occurs on the final quaver of the beat,
giving a further cross-rhythmical effect to the phrasing and providing for a more
subtle sense of harmonic progression. Note the * bass pitches which show an

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increase in the rate of harmonic rhythm towards the end of the phrase after an
opening tonic pedal and also outline a retrograde version of the first four notes of the
melodic line.
Equally familiar in Brahms’ piano music is the sound of the inner voice in the tenor
register which assumes a canonic role initially, an octave lower than the dux and at
two beats distance. Later the comes line becomes fragmented, falling further and
further behind the leading voice, doubling the main melodic line in parallel 6ths and,
in bar 52, reinforcing the harmonic tension with a suspension.
Bars 53 - 56 develop these musical features further in a subsequent four-bar phrase
which modulates to the dominant (C# minor), the perfect cadence in bar 56 finishing
on the tierce de Picardie which allows for the return to F# minor for the repeat. Here
the rising 4th of motif (x) extends again to a minor 6th and the whole trajectory of the
melodic phrase expands to well over an octave.

A peaceful tranquility and calm contentment pervades the middle portion (bars 57 -
64) of this B section. The melody is still based on motif (x) followed by the falling
steps, but almost all the other features of the music have changed:
• narrow melodic range (augmented 4th) and conjunct except for the rising 4ths
• homophonic texture in six part chords, the melody and bass both doubled at the
octave and an inner pedal (also doubled)
• F# major key
• consonant harmony
• piu lento tempo
• pp dynamic and una corda timbre (whispered and reverential)
• crotchet movement with the phrase displacement suggesting three bars of 4/4 time.
The flowing triplets and cross rhythms of the previous section are replaced by an
homorhythmic unity, the contrapuntal textures by a close-knit homophony and the
dissonant appoggiaturas absent in this gentle procession of consonant chords. Note,
however, how the bass line is actually in canon with the melody, an octave lower and
at two beats’ distance creating a succession of parallel 3rds and 6ths (and their
compounds).
Extra emphasis is afforded to the start of the final four beats (bar 593); the
enharmonic change (from A# to Bb) is supported by a thickening of the texture (to 8
parts), a dissonant IIb7 (in Bb minor) which resolves across the bar line to V and then
I, before a dominant thirteenth chord pulls the tonality back to F# major.
This four-bar phrase is then repeated (bars 61 - 643), but shortened to finish on the
2nd beat of the bar, with varied harmony and without the brief modulation to Bb minor
- ending with a Ic - V imperfect cadence in F#.

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The music of bars 483 - 56 now returns to complete the AABA’ structure of this
central section of the Intermezzo. Here in bars 643 - 762 the inner tenor voice takes
the leading role in the canon with the upper voice following as the comes. The rising
4ths expand to rising 5ths (in bars 66 and 67) and the rising 6th to a full octave in bar
69. The harmonic progression has a firmer tread with the bass notes falling on the
beat, and a glorious optimism develops from the crescendo in bars 65 - 68 such that
the pinnacle of the phrase (bar 69) reaches the highest pitch of the whole piece (C#),
the canonic voices swapping roles once more with both parts in quavers and the
harmony changing in metrical affirmation. The melody descends almost three
octaves, partly sequentially, over some chromatic inflections (Neapolitan and
German 6ths) before a three-bar linking passage (bars 733 -762) sets up the
modulation back to A major through a descending melodic sequence of falling
appoggiaturas.

Bar 76 reveals most succinctly Brahms’ linkage technique, the concluding

appoggiatura figure of the B section turning neatly into the initial gesture of the
recapitulation.

The ternary structure of the piece is completed with a repetition of the whole A
section. Some important changes emerge in the opening two phrases, notably the
first chord which exerts a stronger pull towards the subdominant harmony, denying a
tonic start to the recapitulation, and the inversion of the (b) motif into a falling phrase
of appoggiatura-like figures, thereby unifying the whole melodic content of the piece.
The second phrase (bars 803 - 842) ascends to a top B (octave leap) with a fuller
textural support than in the corresponding passage (bars 123 - 162). These opening
eight bars are left unrepeated, so from bar 84 the original music resumes unchanged
for the final 32 bars of the piece.

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Ballade No.3 in G minor

Ballade No.3 in G minor is quite different in musical character with its spiky staccato
theme and fierce accents which give it a driven energy and rather vehement
muscularity, the dense piano textures rarely reaching above the treble stave. Like the
preceding intermezzo, the Ballade is a set of very compact ternary structures inside
an overall A B A form, and the central section has a contrastingly gentle and ethereal
quality which seems to glance heavenwards.
Motivic development is at the heart of Brahms’ compositional craft here, effected to
enhance, rather than distract from, the musical soul, a remarkable fusion of skill and
art.

The piece begins with a strikingly dissonant triple appoggiatura, rather as though the
listener has tuned in late, mid-phrase, to a work that has already started. What
emerges is an emphatic V7 - I progression which firmly establishes the tonic key,
followed by a succession of strong root position chords, partly outlining a circle of
fifths unadorned by sevenths, in a quicker harmonic rhythm which seems to hurry
impetuously, before confidently moving to the dominant key.
The rhythmical energy exerted by the staccato quavers is strengthened by the
typically Brahms’- like textures, the bass in bold octaves very low in register, and the
chordal accompaniment in close triads often travelling low to the rich bass colours of
the instrument.
The anacrustic motif (x) permeates almost every bar of the A section. This three-note
rising scale pattern is immediately inverted and then altered to turn around at the
start of bar 3 (see Intermezzo bars 34 - 35) to create a falling 3rd (z). This falling 3rd
is treated in descending sequence whilst the pair of rising quavers (y) is augmented
rhythmically, firstly in a dotted crotchet quaver pattern and then in minims, to create a
five-bar phrase which descends through every pitch of the melodic minor scale. At

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every point (except bar 21) the bass moves in contrary motion to the melody, until the
forceful descent to the low D at the cadence in three parallel octaves.
A consequent five bar phrase follows, the inversion of motif (x) now turning back on
itself to visit firstly F major (bar 7) and, sequentially, C minor (bar 8) which marks the
start of a full circle of fifths. Here in bars 8 and 9 the positions of (y) and (z) are
reversed in the sequential descent and rhythmical augmentation, and 7ths in the
chords now help to propel the phrase towards the perfect cadence in the tonic (bar
10). The final chord (bar 101) contains a tierce de Picardie (and a ritenuto and
diminuendo) before a tenuto on the falling 7th allows for a moment of reflection as
Brahms sets up the expectation to move to the subdominant key.
Instead, at bar 104 the tonality side-steps to E♭ major (submediant), a tertiary
modulation which uses G as the linking pitch, and the new section begins somewhat
more hesitantly:
• p dynamic
• lower melodic tessitura
• repeated first inversion harmony across the bar-line undermining the strength of the
down beat.
Four one-bar phrases based on (x) and a new variant (x’), lift the harmony
sequentially to F minor, followed by a descending sequence of triple suspensions (9 -
8, 7 - 6 and 4 - 3) in rapid harmonic rhythm where once again the strong beats are
weakened by the ties in the middle voices (resolving ahead of the main melody) and
the rising bass.

These six bars are repeated in bars 17 - 22, starting this time with a root E♭ chord
and a stronger move towards F minor through a secondary dominant chord in third
inversion. F minor is thwarted, however, by the diminished 7th and D♭ harmonies,
before E♭ is restored via an authoritative V7 on the 2nd beat of bar 20.
The temperature continues to rise through the fingerprint Brahmsian rugged
syncopations of bar 21 and a crescendo, before the briefest sniff of a German
augmented 6th resolves on to a thumping sf 6/4 chord (delayed to the second quaver
of the bar) to announce through yet more accented syncopations the return of the
opening material in G minor.
Bars 23 - 32 are almost a straight repeat of the first ten bars of the piece, although
there are differences in accentuation to notice. The start of the second phrase is
given a greater energy and intensified passion with a crescendo, weightier left hand
chords, an extra quaver in the anacrusis and the melody sitting a third higher. The
move to F major is replaced by a change to D minor in bar 29.

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A nine-bar codetta draws this opening section to a close, as the rhythmical energy
subsides (the quaver chords have been almost incessant up to this point) and the
harmonic movement is stilled through a long upper and lower tonic pedal.

The passage above shows how Brahms transforms the original chordal
accompaniment pattern into the falling 3rd motif (z) which then becomes the primary
motif of the B section starting in bar 41. This is another example of Brahms’ linkage
technique (see bar 76 of Intermezzo in A).
As at bar 10 - 11, where Brahms used the G at the bass of the G7 chord to become
the 3rd of the subsequent E♭ chord, here he raises the bass to B♮(the 3rd of the
chord) to become the root of the B major chord which follows in bar 41 to effect a
tertiary modulation, this time in the tonally opposite direction.

The central section of this ternary structure (bars 41 - 72) has an altogether more
subdued and reflective mood, the B major tonality revealing a wholly different world
of musical colour. The melody seems to glide effortlessly above the flowing quavers
of the accompaniment first rising, and then falling, in an archetypal classical shape, in
regular four-bar phrases, and the tonic pedal helps to still the energy and excitement
of the opening section. The essential ingredients of the first phrase include:
• B major key
• pp dynamic and una corda timbre with legato phrasing
• diatonic melody based on motif (x) and its fragments
• dotted rhythms taken from bar 3 (which are themselves a diminution of the
harmonic rhythm of bar 1)
• melody in 3rds and 6ths
• three-part texture, the arpeggio accompaniment spanning shapes of two octaves
• metrically stable bass notes on the beat.

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The overall structure of this section has its own symmetry:

keys visited features of interest

bars 41 - 44 A B major - F# major imitation between melodic

voices melody ends at
bars 45 - 48 B F# major - D# minor peak of phrase return to
opening subject (bar 3
omitted)
bars 49 - 52 A’ B major - D# minor

bars 53 - 56 C D# minor

bars 57 - 60 A B major - F# major

bars 61 - 64 B F# major - D# minor

bars 65 - 68 A’’ B major - E major rhythmically varied descent

from top note wide melodic
bars 69 - 72 codetta B major leaps and more sinewy
bass line

The codetta assumes a more expressive and contrapuntal style, the bass taking on a
melodic role and the sequence of dropping 7ths in the upper melody falling strikingly
on to appoggiaturas in the middle voice. The section finishes without resolution, the
dominant 7th chord resting above the bass tonic.
Another linking passage follows, using the material from bars 104 - 14 firstly in G
major (another tertiary change), then in rising sequence (via a diminished 7th
harmony) to A♭ major and then, dramatically in bar 76, through two parallel
dominant 7th chords and a metrically displaced dotted rhythm to hustle in the
recapitulation of the A section in G minor.
Bars 77 - 107 are an exact repetition of bars 1 - 31. In the coda (starting at bar 108)
the harmony oscillates between G minor and E♭ major (a reference back to bar 11)
over the tonic pedal as the texture and dynamic abruptly fade to reveal one last
whisper of the gentle theme from the central section of the piece, now lower in

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register and in the minor key, but rising in hope to finish enigmatically alone after the
bass has faded away. With all the earlier fire and passion now spent, Brahms
instructs senza pedale to strip away the sympathetic resonances of the bass strings
to leave the final triad sapped of breath.

Grieg - Lyric Pieces op.54 Norwegian March no.2 and

Nocturne no.4

The nineteenth century was a period of growing nationalism in music, with

composers exploring their own heritages and seeking to define a distinctive cultural
voice. Where Chopin’s Polish roots can be found in his mazurkas and polonaises,
Albéniz, Granados and De Falla’s piano music is infused with Spanish folk-song, and
the ‘Mighty Five’ (Balakirev, Borodin, Cui, Mussorgsky and Rimsky-Korsakov)
deliberately forged a Russian style through modality, non-formal harmony and
rhythmic asymmetries. Grieg likewise found inspiration from the characteristic
Norwegian folksong, and his imaginative lyricism and original harmony brought him
significant success, not least in his much-loved Piano Concerto in A minor, the Peer
Gynt and Holberg Suites and the 66 Lyric Pieces for piano which spanned the whole
of his composing life. He also wrote 140 songs, mostly for ‘the young girl who had a
wonderful voice and an equally wonderful gift of interpretation’ who later became his
wife, Nina. The pride of the Norwegian government in his early triumphs, which
boosted national morale, was sufficient to grant him a state pension at the age of 29.

Edvard Grieg was born in Bergen in 1843, the son of a wealthy merchant and British
consul. His mother was a successful pianist who passed on her musical interests to
her son. At the age of fifteen, he was sent to study at the Leipzig Conservatory where
he claimed later to have “learned nothing at all”. Although progressing briskly on the
piano (he hated Czerny, Kuhlau and Clementi, but loved Chopin and Schumann), it
was composition which interested the young Grieg more. The Leipzig Conservatory
was the leading institution in Europe at the time and Grieg studied harmony and
counterpoint with illustrious teachers such as Richter and Reinecke. His insistence
on writing ‘the chords I liked instead of those the figured bass required’ gives a clue
to his distaste for formality and convention and desire for freedom. The comment
may also mask his lack of success in writing in larger forms, although his
impressionistic String Quartet had a strong influence on Debussy and his violin and
violoncello sonatas are much-admired. Ravel also remarked that he never wrote
anything that was not influenced by Grieg.

Taking Schumann as his role model, Grieg was a master miniaturist. The Lyric
Pieces have sustained their popularity in the amateur and professional pianists’
repertoire, suitable for both the salon and the concert hall. Amongst the most loved
for their charm and variety of expression are the early Arietta (op.12 no.1) and Waltz
(op.12 no.2), Butterfly (op.43 no.1), Little Bird (op.43 no.4), Erotik (op.43 no.5), To
the Spring (op.43 no.6), Wedding Day at Troldhauen (op.65 no.6), Summer Evening
(op.71 no.2) and Puck (op.71 no.3). All of these (as well as the other op.54 pieces)
are especially worthy of study for their melodic inventiveness, harmonic idiom and
resourceful pianistic style, well within the scope of a grade 8 level student.

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Norwegian March

Norwegian March was written in 1891 at a time when Grieg was especially influenced
by nationalistic features (evident particularly in Shepherd’s Boy and Bellringing).

The folk style is evident in the:

• sustained drones and open fifths which pervade much of the bass part
• lightly dancing melodic rhythms
• narrow melodic shapes (with the falling 3rd prominent),
• melodic ornaments
• largely diatonic harmonic style.

The sense of the march can be detected through:

• unrelenting two beat metre

• every beat sounded in the accompaniment, often in a right - left, right - left pattern
• frequent repetition of two-bar phrases
• long sequences of short phrases which crescendo and diminuendo to illustrate
approach and retreat
• unrefined four-square style.

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These apparently conflicting features are evident from the very start. A bold ffp for
the opening octave (to allow the bass to sustain for the next five bars) is followed by
quietly treading dotted crotchets which descend in mostly conjunct motion through
each degree of the C major scale in parallel 6ths. Above this homophonic texture
dances the melody, firstly in contrary motion and then in descending parallel 7ths
with the alto voice, the syncopated rhythms suggesting a conflicting 3/4 metre
through accents and ties on the 3rd quavers and mordents emphasising the 5th
quavers.
What is most striking about the opening, however, is Grieg’s unconventional
harmonisation. A more straightforward approach might sound something like this:

Here the tonic is firmly established at the start with suspensions decorating the V7 - I
progression. Secondary and first inversion chords descend in consonance with the
melody in bars 4 and 5, before the move to the dominant in bar 6 (Vb in C major = Ib
in G major).
Grieg starts with the top note of the melody harmonised as an unprepared 7th on
chord IV, that dissonance repeated in descending sequence in each of bars 3, 4
(twice) and 5 before the first downbeat consonance of the piece is heard (chord V) at
the start of bar 6. The whole harmonisation is diatonic, the first five bars in C major
and the last three bars in G major.
The folk-style melody has three distinct elements, the initial rising three-note scale (x)
which appears in contrary motion and rhythmic augmentation in the tenor voice, the
falling and rising 3rd (y) and Grieg’s fingerprint motif (z). The melody falls throughout
the eight-bar phrase, partly sequentially, with variants: y’ removes the central quaver
of motif y to provide agogic accent to the syncopation, y’ augments the falling 3rd to a
falling 4th and z’ swaps the position of the two falling intervals. The tonic is given little
prominence over the tonic pedal at the start, but the dominant is repeatedly
emphasised as the phrase draws to a close. Note how the whole melody uses every
pitch of the scale except for F (the 4th) characteristic of Grieg’s native Hardanger
fiddle whose the sympathetic strings are tuned to degrees 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6.

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This whole phrase is then repeated exactly as before, with an extra bar added at the
cadence (bar 17). The melody is then developed in a series of starkly contrasting
antiphonal two-bar phrases as follows;

bars 18 - 19 A minor imperfect 3-part melody in ff and

cadence texture bass marcato

bars 20 - 21 E major Perfect 4-part melody in p and

cadence texture treble legato

bars 22 - 23 C minor imperfect 3-part melody in ff and

cadence texture bass marcato
p and
bars 24 - 25 G major perfect 4-part melody in legato
cadence texture treble

In the minor phrases, the final note of motif z is chromatically altered to give the sniff
of a German augmented 6th harmony, but the major phrases take the original
harmonisation of the melody from bars 1 - 2, emphasising the major 7th above the Ic
chord in a complete Ic - V7 - I cadence.
Bars 26 - 40 provide an aural representation of the receding march, the bare fifths in
the bass softly treading into the distance in a characteristic right - left - right - left
pattern. Above this the dance continues in a short repetitive phrase which is a
rhythmic diminution of motif x. The rhythmic conflict is sustained through three-note
chords on the 3rd and 6th quavers in the right hand against the marching bass on
quavers 1 and 4. Initially, major and minor versions of motif x alternate (as in bars 18
- 25). As the bass moves through a complete cycle of 5ths, the melodic chords fall
step by step through a sequence of suspensions, creating dissonance at every point
until the sound fades away completely at bar 38.

The second section of the piece begins at bar 41. Having explored some of the
lowest sounds of the piano, the tessitura abruptly changes to the very highest
register of the instrument.

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Here motif z has been modified to fall by step, therefore creating a closed phrase
which turns around on itself through the first three notes of the C major scale.
Tension is dissipated as the passage sits still on a dominant pedal and then, at bar
43, an inverted dominant pedal.

At bar 45, the phrase starts for a third time, but now motif z is restored to its original
form. The second syncopated note of y’ falls, however, to resolve the dissonance and
the music continues in a cascade of descending two - bar, and then one - bar,
sequences for 24 bars (up to bar 68) covering five octaves of the instrument and
using every white note in an entirely diatonic and extraordinarily repetitive C major
passage.

What changes, of course, is the musical effect. The passage starts as a tinkling
musical box, delicately quiet, and gradually descends step by step into a brutal and
ferocious march. The harmonies are close-knit triads, sequences of suspensions
similar in style to bars 29 - 37. In the high register the dissonances sound as
innocuous cluster chords, but in the bass register they become angrily accented
discords, all the more menacing as they descend into the darker sonorities of the
instrument with the melody powerfully doubled in forceful octaves. The decorative
mordents which adorned the dancing z motif are now both impractical and
inappropriate to the affection.

At bar 69, the march reaches its climax. The melody switches to the top of the texture
(still in octaves in the rich tenor register) whilst the right - left - right - left ostinato
accompaniment thunders below with accented power chords in the lowest register of
the piano. This dramatic moment is highlighted by a sudden change of tonality to
A♭major (the flattened submediant), an impact made all the greater by the long
passage of tonic key which preceded it. The melody is the closed two-bar phrase
(from bar 41), but motif x modified to start on the 3rd (rather than the 1st) degree of
the scale.

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After four bars, the passage is repeated back in C major, motif x now restored to its
original form with an fff dynamic. A third attempt at the phrase suddenly stops and
the march quickly recedes with a brisk diminuendo a small fragment of the end of the
melody echoing into the distance (bar 78).

At bar 80 the music of the opening returns, but now rather more subdued and
reflective, the energy of the march seemingly spent. Important musical differences
are apparent:

• octave lower
• p tranquillo
• two two-bar closed phrases, each ending on the tonic
• no modulation to the dominant.

After four bars (bar 85), the material from bar 18 appears and Grieg then simply
repeats the rest of the first part of the movement again. At bar 147, the tranquillo
section from bar 80 returns, extended into a lingering coda. Entirely built on a tonic
pedal (featured as an inner pedal in bars 1512 - 1531) motif x permeates these final
bars in inverted and augmented form, firstly below the melody (bars 147 and 149),
and then high above the melody (bars 151 - 153), bringing a restful unity to this
monothematic work.

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Nocturne op.54 no.4

If the Norwegian March is clearly rooted in the national characteristics of the Slåtter
with its rigid rhythmical structures, folk-style drones and diatonic harmony, then this
exquisite Nocturne reveals Grieg’s expressively poetic and forward-thinking
approach. Many of the sounds of this piece find an echo in the music of the 20th
century French impressionists, especially the piano music of Debussy.

The primary features of the music which identify it as a Nocturne include:

• slow tempo
• regular rhythmical flow in the left hand
• gentle poetic character, largely piano and pianissimo, although with two
impassioned climaxes
• melody dominated texture, a cantabile melody in the upper voice
• bird-like calls in bars 15 - 20 and 56 - 60
• bars of silence
• chromatic harmony within a largely functional framework

• slow harmonic rhythm.

Section A (bars 1 - 14)
The gently throbbing rhythmical accompaniment sets the mood at the outset. Written
in compound triple time (9/8), the bass line descends by chromatic steps on each
main beat whilst the inner chords sustain the C major harmony with ties across the
pulse to give a lightly syncopated feel. Despite the C major tonality established in the
first bar, the melody begins on the submediant note, outlining the root and fifth of A
minor, in a shape reminiscent of the opening of Grieg’s popular Piano Concerto
composed some eight years earlier:

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The height of the first melody note is given added emphasis by the acciaccatura,
accent and octave leap, but it arrives as part of the direction of travel of the bass line.
The falling fourth motif is an important unifying device in the work, decorated in its
repetition to form the characteristic ‘Greig motif’.

At bar 5 the melodic phrase is extended to three bars by virtue of a rising scale (in
contrary motion with the descending bass), in duplet quavers which work cross-
rhythmically against the accompaniment. Chromatic auxiliary notes and passing
notes create additional tension on beats 2 and 3 of bars 5 and 7, the strongest
dissonances being the chromatic accented passing notes at the starts of bars 6 and
8. These stresses are enhanced by the entry of an alto voice in the texture, doubling
at the octave the inner part of the left hand chords.

During bars 1 to 4, the chromatic steps of the bass highlighted the descent of a 4th
from tonic to dominant under a sustained C major harmony. At bar five the harmony
becomes more richly chromatic, but the same semitonal steps are there in the bass,
heading from tonic towards dominant in a harmonic rhythm of (largely) one chord per
bar. The chords descend in a series of half-diminished 7ths (and a brief diminished
7th) in a cycle of fifths progression until a German augmented 6th on the final beat of
bar 8 seems to be the preparation for the intended dominant resolution.

Instead, Grieg delays the arrival of the dominant (G major) by repeating three times
the phrase from bar 5 (now with the more decisive V7 chord instead of VIIc7), each
time side-stepping in a fresh tonal direction until finally arriving at his intended
destination with a yearning double appoggiatura at bar 14.

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A short codetta (bars 15 - 20) brings this opening section of the piece to a close.
Sustaining the same throbbing syncopated accompaniment rhythm, bird calls hover
high above the treble staff. Remarkably, these notes D and A are precisely the same
pitches Vivaldi chose for ‘The Goldfinch’, and they increase in rhythmic vitality in
much the same way too. The pattern uses the same falling fourth motif with which the
piece started, ending in a trill which rises to a perfect fifth. This perfect 5th is then
echoed in inversion in the bass in bar 17, completing the dominant 9th chord. As if
jumping on to a higher branch the bird call is repeated a minor 3rd higher in a move
of Debussy-like non-functional harmony.

Grieg Nocturne:

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The Goldfinch:

Even more remarkable and adventurous is the extraordinary transition into the middle
section of the piece. Here Grieg allows the Bb9 chord (the flattest tonality of the
music so far) melt into an unprepared E9 chord (at the opposite side of the tonal
spectrum). This is achieved through the enharmonic equivalence of the tritone - D/Ab
(in bar 20) and D/G# (in bar 21).

The musical colour and rhythmic impulse change at the same time with the following
contrasts:

bar 20 bar 21

Andante più mosso

9/8 metre 6/8 metre

syncopated quavers running semiquavers

piano pianissimo and una corda

single line melody double line melody (largely in parallel

3rds)

chordal accompaniment arpeggio accompaniment

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A greater sense of flow emanates from bar 21 with the faster pace, the shortening of
the bars and the quicker rhythmical impetus. The piano timbre is hushed, however,
and the phrases rise and fall in small conjunct waves. Harmonic movement is stilled,
with E9 rising to E11 in bar 23, and then shifting to A♭9 in second inversion at bar 25
(a whispered ppp) and then D9 at bar 27 - each of these changes effected by a
semitonal descent of the bass as the melodic lines rise. A rapid crescendo reaches
its climax at bar 29 - a ringing G13 chord made all the more sonorous for its widely-
spaced texture and bell-like effects in the upper voices. This change of harmony
(from D to G) is an expansion of the same bass notes heard in bar 17.

Note here at the climax how the melodic motif from bar 21 has been rhythmically
altered to give a sense of three beats in the bar against the prevailing 6/8 metre, and
then augmented as the passion rapidly subsides in bars 31 and 32.

Four bars of dominant harmony, followed by a half-bar of silence prepares for a

return of the opening music at bar 34. The completion of the ternary structure is not
without further twists of harmony. Where bar 9 set up a move towards an eventual
dominant, at bar 42 the D7 chord is followed by an extra bar (bar 43) - a repetition of
the material a fourth higher on G7 - which then results in a finish of the same passage
on the tonic (at bar 48).

The A section is extended by a further six bars, exploring flatter tonalities in a

descending melodic sequence which balances the sharper tonalities of the central B
section of the piece. Grieg’s love of the descending chromatic bass line reaches its
zenith in bars 48 to 54 where the full descent of the complete scale from G to G is
achieved. The last six pitches of this scale support a sequence of parallel 7th chords,
a progression much enjoyed by early 20th century composers (and a host of jazz
musicians) on successive beats, the compound metre of the music now subsumed
by the duplet movement of the melody. The four-note melody produces an hemiolaic
effect, two bars of 9/8 time sounding as 3 bars of 2/4 time, the four notes being a
rhythmical diminution of the phrases ending in bars 47/48 and bars 49/50.

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The G7 chord prepares the coda (bars 55 - end) which is a repeat of the codetta
(bars 15 - 20). The bird calls start on high A and E (the same falling fourth which
began the piece), accompanied by the same descending chromatic bass line, now
supported with subdominant harmony. The descent is halted for a bar’s silence and
then the calls repeat a semitone lower on a mournful F minor harmony. This also
fades away into the night sky before finally, at the opposite end of the textural
spectrum, the tonic is quietly reasserted in a peaceful and restful conclusion.

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