The LINKS

The LINKS

1. Similar Singing Style

i). Wide Range of Vocals Melodic Lines

Although both pieces are very different in their culture, the vocal melodic lines are comparable. The slurs in vocal line is both pieces are evidently shown. For example, in Mondestrunken Schoenberg utilized unexpected dynamics with huge leaps with 14 interval in Mondestrunken in bar 15, left hand piano section.

In The White Serpent Tale, right after conversation between the characters, the female voice starts off Jingju with bending of notes with ascending and descending melodic shape in the youtube video clip in introduction.

ii). Repetition of the Motif

Both pieces are extracts from collection of poems, so the lyrics of each piece has mellismatic singing style with repetition of words such as "Ni Ren Xin" in DuanQiao.

Also, in Mondestrunken repetition of line (Den Wein, den man mit Augen trinkt,Gießt Nachts der Mond in Wogen nieder) is presented twice.

iii)

Conversational-like vocal lines

Both pieces share a trait of having a vocal line sung with a conversational manner. In Mondestrunken, the vocal line is actually indicated as the “Narrator”, but the narrator “speaks” with different notes. In Duanqiao, the Bainiangzi sings to the male character in the opera, like having a conversation between them.

2. Constant Changes in Rhythms/Metre

One feature of Schoenberg composition is that he uses constant changes in metre, and forms the melodic line hard to distinguish a specific metre. Also, each instruments has its own rhythmic and melodic contours, which brings out the polyphonic texture and polyrhythmic sounds. The freestyle use of atonality in bar 5 is expressed differently by instruments not overlapping melodic lines with each other's.

3. Seven notes sequence phrasing

i). Use of 7 note sequence in Mondestrunken

A.Schoenberg was fascinated by numerology which later influenced him to use a specific number, such as 7 in Pierrot Lunaire, he used 7 poems in one of three parts in Pierrot Lunaire. In Mondestrunken, there is frequent use of 7 note sequence motif nearly all through out the piece with imitations. First, the piano (klavier) plays the 7 note motif with syncopated rhythm six times while violin accompanies with F# and D# sequence then, soprano enters in A. In sequence in bar 5, violin plays 7 note motif in slower beat.

Immediately after violin plays the motif, flute follows along and imitates the same motif played by piano in the same metre.

ii). Repetition of 7 characters

However, changing of metre and cross bar phrasing makes it difficult to identify 7 notes motif.  On the other hand, in Duan Qiao section, one phrase consists of 7 melodic notes in pentatonic scale with seven Chinese characters.