circular form in the tristan chord

7/30/2019 Circular Form in the Tristan Chord

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American Musicological Society

Circular Form in the "Tristan" PreludeAuthor(s): Robert P. MorganSource: Journal of the American Musicological Society, Vol. 53, No. 1 (Spring, 2000), pp. 69-103Published by: University of California Press on behalf of the American Musicological SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/831870

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Circular Form in the Tristan PreludeROBERT P. MORGAN

T h ePrelude o Tristan ndIsolde aschallengedmusicanalystsince ts

inception,' andthe literatureon it shows littlesign of abating.Yetfewanalystshavefocused in depth on its formalorganization,parsingthemusic into smaller egmentsanddetermininghow these combineto createanoverreachingpattern.It is not difficultto see why:the Prelude s so continu-ous in effect and consistent in development that the notion of separating tinto small segments seems counterproductive, if not blasphemous (Cole-ridge's"to be betrayed nto the wretchednessof division").Formaldiscussionis thus usuallyconfined to a generaldescriptionof the overalldynamicshapeor, when more detailed,is aptto force the music into some traditional ormalmold. The formerrespondsto the music'sprocessive,nonarchitectonicchar-acterbut failsto account for its specifics; he latteroffers a readyhandle withwhich to grasp he formbut distorts ts most originalanddistinctive eatures.What impedes analysisof the form is, above all, the degree to which thePrelude is in constant transformation-always evolving, as if reachingaftersome unattainable oal, strivingateverymoment to become somethingotherthan it is. Conventionalformalanalysisappears o be of littlevalue. Focusedupon thematicandtonal correspondences, ts aim to articulatemusicaleventsinto discretesegments,distinguishing hem by content and function (exposi-tory,developmental,etc.) and organizingthem into larger,balancedarchitec-tonic patterns,seemsantithetical o the verynatureof the score.For this music offers little in the way of confirmation,reconciliation,orbalance;rather, t appears o charta unique and seemingly waywardcourse.

1. Wagnerdesignates he opening instrumentalmusic of TristanundIsoldeas anintroductionin the score to the opera,and considered n relationto the firstact, it clearlyhas an introductoryrole. Sincemy concernhere is with the music as a quasi-independent orm,however,I follow thevirtuallyuniversalpractice at times even Wagner's)of referring o it as a prelude.I do, however,analyze t as it appearsn the opera,not with the A-majorending latercomposed byWagnerforconcertperformances.Thismeans,of course,that I amdealingwith a musical ragment,but it is afragmentthat is unmistakably et off from what immediatelyfollows, and--as has been recog-nized by so many--one thathasits own fascinating oherence.[JournaloftheAmericanMusicologicalociety000, vol.53, no. 1]? 2000 bytheAmericanMusicologicalociety.Allrights eserved.003-0139/00/5301-0003$2.00


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70 Journalof the AmericanMusicologicalSocietyThough its generaldynamicoutline-intensification followed by relaxation-resembles hat of countless other pieces, the more detailedstructuregivestheimpressionof being suigeneris.Fortunately his is not the case,or at leastnotentirelyso; for if it were, formalanalysisalong traditional ines would be im-possible.Despite all its novelty,the Prelude,even in its details,does not com-pletelyresisttraditional ormalcategories.Attemptsto press t into a standardformaltype,however,are bound to go awry.Alfred Lorenz's Analysis

This problem is evident in what is justifiably he most famous study of thePrelude'sform, the analysisby Alfred Lorenz in his 1926 book on Tristanund Isolde.2Lorenztoo begins by noting previousfailures:Thiscomposition asalreadyvokedmany tudies, pecificallyhemanydedi-cated to explaininghe firstchord.Yet not one of thesewritershas taken tuponhimself o get to the bottomofits actual ormal onstruction. ormal i-visionsarementioned nly n passing. n general ne is contentwiththereal-izationof ahugeclimax,whichcollapses t thehigh point.But thatdescribesonlya general,morepoetic tendency, ommonto all that s dynamic,ome-thingwithwhichonecannot venbegin o makemusic.3The point is well taken: f all one cansayis that the Prelude ntensifies o a cli-max,followed by denouement, one has saidverylittle.Despite many nsights,2. Alfred Lorenz, Das Geheimnisder Form bei Richard Wagner,vol. 2, Der musikalischeAufbau vonRichardWagners Tristanund Isolde"Berlin:M. HessesVerlag,1926), 12-28. Theanalysisof the Prelude was published previouslyin essentially dentical form as "Die formaleGestaltung des Vorspiels zu Tristan und Isolde,"Zeitschriftfiir Musikwissenschaft (1923):546-57. A complete English translation appearsin Robert Bailey, ed., Prelude and Trans-figuration rom "Tristan nd Isolde," y RichardWagner(New YorkandLondon: W.W.Norton,1985), 204-20. In beginning my studywith adiscussionof Lorenz,I reluctantlyoin a successionof Wagnercommentatorswho use him as a sort of strawman, uncoveringthe weaknessesof hisanalyses n order to celebrate he strengthsof their own. I find a greatdeal to admire n Lorenz,and he stands almost alone in undertaking a serious, comprehensive analysisof form in thePrelude,or for thatmatter n Wagner n general.Indeed, Lorenz'sveryusefulnessas a foil reflectsthe degreeto which hisWagneranalyses aiseessentialquestions.This seems especially rue here:what he saysabout the Preludeframes with admirableclarity he issues with which I am con-cerned.3. "DiesesTonstiickhat schonviele literarischeArbeitenhervorgerufen,namentlichbedurfte

es zur Entritselung des beriihmten ersten AkkordklangeszahlreicherAufsitze; jedoch deneigentlichenformalenBau dieserbezauberndenBluiteeiner unendlichreichenPhantasiezu er-griinden,hat sichvon all den Schriftstellern och keinerzum Vorwurfgenommen. Nur beiliufigwerden Gliederungenerwfihnt; m allgemeinenbegniigt man sich mit dem Bewusstseineinerriesigen dynamischenSteigerung, die auf dem H6hepunkt zusammenbreche.Aber damit istnichtsals ein allgemeiner,mehrdichterischerDrang gekennzeichnet,der allemDynamischenzu-grunde liegt, mit dem allein man aber keineswegs Musik machen kann" (Der musikalischeAufbau, 12). Foranothertranslation, ee Bailey,ed., Preludeand Transfiguration,05.


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Circular orm n the Tristan relude 71however, Lorenz's own analysisoffers no real remedy,remainingmuch toocloselybound to conventional ormalassumptions o do justiceto the particu-larsof the score.Lorenz views the Prelude as a complete arch form (vollkommeneBogenform),ollowedby coda andtransition:4

ArchI IMain Section MiddleSection Main Section Coda Transitionm n- o n m

mm: 1-24 25-36 37-44 45-62 63-84 85-94 95-111(17+7) (111/2 + 8 + 181/2) (111/2+11) 10 17Despite the seemingly nontraditional symmetry of the five-part arch(m-n-o-n-m), its clearly egmentedthree-part tructureremains ullyconsis-tent with Classicalormalconventions:

1. Main Section (Hauptsatz, m), with principaltheme (mm. 1-17) andsecondarytheme (mm. 18-24), the first n the tonic A, the second be-ginningin C but returning o A2. Middle Section (Mittelsatz, n-o-n), encompassing a smaller arch,whose outer parts (mm. 25-36 and 45-62) both begin in E major,while a more developmentaland modulatorycentralsection (mm. 37-44) movestowardC#minor,E major'ssubmediant3. MainSection Reprise(Hauptsatz,m), includingboth principaland sec-ondarythemes (mm. 63-73 and 74-84), again n A

The "coda," though more fragmentary,maintainsthe tonic (mm. 85-94),while the "transition"modulates to C minor, the key opening the first act(mm. 95-111).Lorenz notes in additionthat both mainandcontrasting hemes areelabo-rationsof "ideal"eight-measurephrases (even supplyinga normalizedeight-measureversion of the first).His trump,however, s found in whathe takestobe the symmetricalproportionsof the arch:a centralsection of 38 measures(n-o-n) framedby the two m segmentsof 24 measuresand 22 measures:24+ 38 + 22; or, if the middlesegmentis separatednto threeparts,a centralsec-tion of 8 measures(o) framedby 36 precedingmeasures(lengthened by twofermatasanda rallentando)and40 subsequentmeasures:36 + 8 + 40.In neithercase, of course, is symmetryexact,and there areminor discrep-

ancies in the way Lorenz counts measuresand allocates them to sections.4. The followingformaldiagram, hough not takendirectly romLorenz,summarizeshis for-maldivisionsand relatescloselyto his example5. SinceLorenzcounts the firsteighth-noteupbeatasmeasure1, makingallof hismeasurenumberings nconsistentwith normalpractice, havesub-stitutedstandardnumbering.The originalproportionalnumbersfor his formalunitsareretained,however,except for the firstsection (m), which is now 24 measures(17 + 7) instead of his 25(18 +7).


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72 Journal f the AmericanMusicologicalocietyMore important,however, are inconsistenciesof content in his formal seg-ments. The most pervasiveconcerns the opening four measures of the "sec-ondarytheme" located in both section m (mm. 18-21) and its reprise(mm.74-76, where the final measure is altered);for these measuresalso appear ntwo other sections withinthe arch:at the close of section n (mm. 31-36) andtwice at the close of n's reprise(mm. 55-58 and 59-62). The samemeasuresalso open Lorenz's "transition" mm. 95-100), here extended to six barsbyan internalsequence, which means that they appearoutside his arch as well.Not only are these returns nconsistentwith Lorenz's letterdesignations,theyareasymmetrically ositioned in his overalldesign:if the three subsectionsofthe arch'smiddle section arecounted, they appear n all but the thirdandlastof sevensections; f the subsectionsare not counted, they appear n allbut thesecond and last of five.In addition,to achieve a more proximatesymmetrical orrespondenceandpreserve he tonal integrityof his "mainsection,"Lorenzinterprets he repriseof that section as extending to measure 84-that is, beyond the Prelude'smost strikingarticulation,the sudden registralcollapse at measure 83, andthus beyond the point at which the opening barsreturnto initiatethe "coda."Lorenzresolves hisby acknowledginga two-measureoverlapbetweenrepriseand coda. But such an overlap(and it actuallyextendswell beyond two mea-sures,as discussedbelow) flatlycontradicts he assumptionof a solidlyarticu-lated,symmetrically isposedform. Still more problematics that Lorenzmustinterpret he final27 bars-one-fourth the total (everything ollowingthe cli-macticmoment)-as separate rom the main body of the Prelude:as "coda"and "transition."Yetthe "coda"containsthe firstreturnof the "maintheme"in its originalregister,and with similarrhythmicpacing,texture,and scoring;and the "transition"bringsback the "secondary heme" again,followingthe"maintheme"much as it did at the opening (cf.mm. 16-18 and93-95).Perhapsmost discomforting s the failureof Lorenz'sanalysis o do justiceto what any listenerhears(includingLorenz himself,as he willingly admits):that the Preludetracesa continuous,architectonically nbalanced panof mu-sic, developingfor three-quarters f its length to a climax,followed by a rela-tivelybriefcollapseand dissolution,allwithout definitivebreak.His clear-cutsectionalform-with its balanced tonal structureand well-articulated, lassi-cally derivedformal functions (main theme, secondarythemes, middle sec-tion, reprise,coda, transition)-contradicts the processivenatureof the music.Lorenz, recognizing the dichotomy between his own analytical ymmetriesand the music'sdynamiccast, simplyclaims for it an interpretive ignificance:"The work'simmenselyexcitingeffect can be explainedonly by this fabuloussymmetry,which, juxtaposed against the entirely differentlyconveyed dy-namicprocess,translates dramatic onflict into apurelymusicalevent."5

5. "Erst durch diese fabelhafte Symmetrie, welche sich der gdinzlichanders geleitetenDynamik entgegenstellt und so einen dramatischen Konflikt schon ins rein musikalischeGeschehentrigt, ist derungeheueraufregendeEindruckdiesesKunstwerks u erkl[ren" Lorenz,


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Circular orm n theTristan relude 73But surelyit is contrived,at best, to account for the Prelude'stension byviewingit as the resultof frictionbetweenanimposed analytical ymmetryandan experienced musical dynamism. Nevertheless, the conflict in Lorenz'sanalysisneatlyframes he questiontoward which the present studyis directed:How can the form of the Prelude be analyzedso asto respondto the dynamiccharacterof the music, confirmingrather than opposing or ignoring it? AsLorenz correctlystates:"Intensification lone doesn't do it!"6 But that is noreasonto abandonhope.To resolveLorenz'sdilemma-to do justiceboth to the Prelude'sunbro-ken evolution and to its sectionalorganization-one must give up such tradi-tionally sanctioned formal dualisms as principal and secondary theme,

expositionanddevelopment,or even repetitionand contrast.The distinctionsthey restupon are no longer valid here. The notion of repetitionitself,how-ever, perhaps the most basic formal assumption, need not be discarded.Lorenz himself notes, complementing his remark on intensification, that"form resultsonly from repetition."7But he fails to take into considerationhow the nature of repetition-or "return"(his word is Wiederkehr)-hasbeen transformedn this music. The concept itselfremainsessential,however,and for a simplereason: he degree of formalrepetition n the Prelude s, for awork of such complexity, astonishing and, given the time of composition,completelyunprecedented.Unit StructureThere areonly three basic formalunits in the Prelude,which providemost ofits content. LabeledA, B, and C, they aregiven in Example1 in piano reduc-tion as they appear n their initialpresentations,measures1-17.4 (A),17.4-21.2 (B), and 25-32.3 (C).8There arein all twelvestatementsof these:unit A appears hreetimescomplete and a fourthtime fragmented,unit B ap-pearssix times, and unit C appears wice. Despite significantvariationwhentheunitsreturn,hevariationffects nlythesurfaceeatures f themusic,notDer musikalischeAufbau, 24). Translation rom Bailey,ed., Preludeand Transfiguration, 14,216. Lorenz might have confrontedthis contradictionby drawinga distinctionbetween "outerform" and "innerform,"applyinghis archonly to the former.(This distinctionwas much culti-vated by ErnstKurth,who will be discussed ater in connectionwith tonal structure, hough hedoes not use it with referenceto the TristanPrelude.)But if so, he would need to provide, inadditionto the outer form, an analysisof the innerform;and it is precisely his thathe seemstoregardasunanalyzable.6. "'Steigerung' allein machts nicht!" (Der musikalischeAufbau, 24). Translation fromBailey,ed., Preludeand Transfiguration,16.7. "Form ergibt sich erst durch Wiederkehr"(Der musikalischeAufbau, 17). TranslationfromBailey,ed., Preludeand Transfiguration,09.8. Decimals in measurenumbersindicateeighth notes within the 6/8 meter.Thus measure17.4 refers o the fourtheighthof measure17, 21.3 the thirdeighth of measure21, and so on.


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Example la Preludeto TristanundIsolde,unitA, mm. 1-17.4 (encompassing he "Suffering" nd "DeLangsam und schmachtend.

I LUnitA pp P

Lsf -- -

- - pp---=-- f-- -_


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Example lb Prelude o Tristanund Isolde,unit B, mm. 17.4-21.2 (encompassing he "Glance"moti

.- I- - .

Example Ic Prelude o Tristanund Isolde,unit C, mm. 25-32.3 (encompassing he "Love Philter"m25 a tempo

Unit CB..dim,Unit zart P dim.

W __L

l "m~~l a i I i

11W iO"xplI PeldetoTisanunIo"uiCmm.-323(ncom-ssigth"Lveilte25 atemp"An?, o ri n ,,L1]

L


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76 Journalof the AmericanMusicologicalSocietythe underlyingmelodic, onal,andrhythmictructure,whichremainsssen-tiallyunchanged:achunitrepeatshemotivicmaterialt hadbefore,adheresto the sameoverall armonic-linearrogression,nd-with a fewexceptionsto be discussed--containshe samenumber f measures. heprincipalnitsthusrepresent ot justmotivic egmentsbut fixedformal ntities.Mostre-markable,ll but two of the twelve tatementsppear ntransposed,ndthetwoexceptionsbothBunits)areonlypartial: -3begins ransposedut,dueto thetranspositionalevelchosen,endswhere t previously egan;whileB-6beginsuntransposedut,due to an internalequence, nds ransposed.heseandmoreminormodificationsf the threeprincipalnitswill be discussedndetailastheanalysisroceeds.

Figure1 gives helayoutof allseventeenormal nitswithin hePrelude sa whole,consistingargelyof the twelveappearancesf the threeprincipalunits,A, B,andC.9Theexceptionsre iverelativelyrief"independent"eg-ments ndicated ysmalletters, throughz, lasting espectively (y),2 (x),31/2v), 61/2(z), and81/2w) measures. heseareso closely ied to the unitsthey ollow unitB infourcases,unitC inone),andgrowsocontinuouslyutofthem, hat heyhave ittle ndividualityf theirown. It isneverthelessssen-tialto distinguishhem fromthe strict epetitions. hisbecomes vident,orexample,fmeasures3-54 (unitx)areconsidered. hough hisunit sclearlyderived romthe two measureshatprecedet (mm.51-52, closingC-2),ithas a separateetterdesignationince t develops, atherhanmerely epeats(ortransposes),hosemeasures.Measures 1-52 themselves,owever, opre-serve heessentialontentof measures1-32, thefinal wo barsof C-I, andthus orm hefinalmeasures f C-2ratherhanaseparatenit.Theformalunits nFigure1 arepresentednsequentialrder, eadingeftto rightand opto bottom,andareverticallylignedbytypeandhorizontallygroupedntoseven"cycles."Cycle1 contains singlestatement f allthreeprincipalnits,plusone brief mall-letterxtensionv),encompassingllthePrelude's asicmaterial. heremainingixcyclespresentpartialetracingsfthe first.Thoughincomplete,heyfollow the original uccession: rincipalunits,when ncludedand here satleastone ineachcycle),appearnoriginalorder AbeforeBandB beforeC)andwithoutgaps i.e.,C doesnotimmedi-ately ollowA). Retaininghe circularmage,cycle1 traces he circle's om-plete circumference,while cycles2-7 loop backand retracecontinuousportionsof it. Especially otableis the highlyself-reflexiveatureof theprocess:his s music hatfeedsuponitself,reusing he samestructuralnitsagainandagain.10

9. The pitches in the figure, plus the three largerformal groupings on the left, need notconcern us yet. For the sake of legibility,measurenumbers are rounded off, with overlappingmeasuresnumberedtwice.10. Sincethe cyclesaredefinedsolely by the patternanddirection of formalrepetitions, heyarenot necessarily rticulated s separatearchitectonicunits. Thus the matter of theirincommen-surate ength-that is, theirlackof "periodicity"whichwould be critical or Lorenz)-is largely


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CircularFormin the TristanPrelude 77A-1 B-1 v C-11-17 17-21 21-24 25-32

Cycle I

B-2 w C-2 x32-36 36-44 45-52 53-54Cycle21

I

Initial B-3Buildup 55-58Cycle Dl

B-4 y5 8 - 6 2 6 2 - 6 3

Cycle[A-2 B-5 z63-74 74-76 77-83

Climactic CyclePlateauA-3 B-683-94 94-100

Cycle FDissolution A-4100-106-1

CycleFigure 1 Formaldiagramof unit structure,Preludeto Tristanund Isolde

The character nd shapeof the Prelude s not determinedby systematicre-cycling alone, however. The units' recurrences,while structurally reserved,undergo significant surface transformations. Unit A, opening with the"Suffering" nd "Desire"motives,appearsn fourdifferentguises:

beside hepoint.Indeed,oneof the mostdistinctlyrticulatedf thePrelude'sarger nits, hecentralntensificationf measures7.4-63, overlaps ith ivedifferentycles.Onthe otherhand,thetendencyoward our-bareriodicityn all hreeoftheprincipalnits oundwithinhecyclesisofconsiderablemportance.


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78 Journal f the AmericanMusicologicalociety1. In measures1-17.4, long pauses, relatively ustaineddurationalvalues,and extremelyslow harmonicrhythmallow the opening to build mo-mentum gradually oward the more continuous, flowing music of B atmeasure 17.4.2. In measures63-74.3, initiatingthe Prelude's main climacticgesture,there is fasterharmonicrhythm(though the first Tristanchord is de-layeduntilmeasure66.4), motiviccompression(the initialupward eapis missing entirely), fuller orchestration and registration,and addedtextuallayers(especially he "Deliveranceby Death" motive in the topvoice, which fills in the slow melodic figures and pauses of the firststatementwith more activeandcontinuoussurfacemotion).3. In measures83.4-94.4, surfacerhythmand harmonicmotion returnto the originalpace, and for the first time elements from other formalunits are inserted: the melodic opening of B, filling in the originalpauses (mm. 84-85 and 87-88), and material rom w (mm. 89-92)and v (mm. 93.4-94). These insertions serve a summarizing unction,as if recallingmaterial rom the past, and from differentpartsof thePrelude;andthey bringa degreeof dissolutionto unitA, whose formaland harmonic-linearntegrity s neverthelessultimatelyconfirmed: heouter voices return to E-G# and resolve to F-A as before (cf. mm.

93.6-94 and 16-17)."4. In measures101-106.3, A is truncated,with only the firsttwo sequen-tialphrasesreturning,eachphrasecompressed romfourto threemea-suresand, though stilluntransposed,placedover apedalG.Unit A thus appearsat fourcriticalmomentswith distinctformalfunctions:as introduction, climacticgesture, denouement, and final attenuation. Eachtime it soundsquite differentyet is easilyrecognizable,since,exceptfor the fi-nal truncation,the originalunderlyingharmonic,melodic, and phrasestruc-

ture is preserved.Only in the third of the completeA statements s the basicstructureapparentlyhreatened,but even thereonly afterthe first sevenmea-sureshavebeenheard;and allis setright againbythe unit'send.While the A unit is reserved or moments of formalextremity, he shorter,four-measureB unit, openingwith the "Glance"motive, appearsn allbut thefinalcycle.Its initialrole is to carry he mainburden of the intensification hatbeginsin measure 17.4 andcontinues to measure63, extendingfromB's firstappearance fterthe opening A unit until A returnsat the climax.Unit B ap-pears ourtimes withinthisspan,eachtime with heavierorchestration,and thethird andfourth times (whicharecontinuous)with a crescendofrompianotofortissimo. n B's fifthappearance-again followingA, but now as partof the11. The fragmentarynsertionsarenot included in Figure 1 since,as fragments, hey arenotprincipalunits and, as temporary nsertionswithin a principalunit that is ultimatelycompleted,they arenot small-letter xtensions.The final A unit (A-4) is the only exception,includeddespiteits truncatednature.


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Circular orm n the Tristan relude 79mainclimacticgesture-the intensification ontinues.Scoring, dynamics,andregistrationare furtherexpanded,and here the final(fourth)measure s struc-turallyaltered:the climacticupwardthrustof the third measureis extended,deflectingthe tonaldirection andallowingthe climaxto spinout for sevenad-ditionalmeasures,encompassingunit z (mm. 77-83.3). Example2 showsthisinterruptedB unit plus the firstfour bars of the z extension, to measure81.1(the Tristanchord in the lasttwo barsanticipates he impendingreturnof theopening music). Though the developmentin unit z threatens o breakout ofthe Prelude'sformalconfinesentirely, he musiceventually urnsback,as if atthe lastpossiblemoment, for the thirdappearanceof A (m. 83.4). The sixthand finalB unit-like the thirdA it follows-has scoringand character imilarto its originalstatement. But it undergoes a criticalalteration,an internalse-quence that producesa modulation. Even here, however,the unit appears nits entirety:afterthe firsttwo measuresarerepeated,transposedup by perfectfourth (mm. 94.4-96.3, 96.4-98.3), the unit continues as before at the newpitchlevel(Ex. 3).Unlike the two other principalunits, unit C, which opens with the "LovePhilter"motive,appearsonly duringthe intensification ectionleadingtowardthe climax(mm. 17.4-63). Although, limited to two statements(mm. 25-32.3, 45-52), it playsa less centralrole in that process than B, it too con-tributes: ts second appearance, egistrally nd orchestrally xpanded,does notlead directlyto unit B, as did the first,but partially epeatsthe final melodicgesture(comparemm. 31-32.3 with mm. 51-52) beforegivingwayto a two-measureextension,unit x (mm. 53-54), thatpushesupwardsequentiallywitha crescendo to the next B unit (which thus must be transposedto a higherpitchlevel).Of particularnterestis the way in which the many,relativelybriefunits inFigure 1 arereconciledwith the continuous, ongoing qualityof the Prelude.One might assumetheywould breakup the music into discretesegments,dis-ruptingits forwardflow.That this does not happenstemsfrom the nature ofthe units themselves.First,their motivicandharmoniccontentsare so similar,and so interwoven,that they seem to merge into a singleprocess.Equally m-portant is that their boundaries,unlike those in Classicalformal units, arelargelyndistinct.Of the sixteen unctureseparatinghe unitsin Figure1,sevenarebridgedby structural metrical)overlaps, he closingof one unit be-ing elided with the opening of the next. All three closingsof the completeAunits, for example,coincidewith the openings of the B units that follow;andthe openings of A-2 and A-3 coincidewith the closingsof the y and z unitsthat precede them. Similarly,he third (transposed)B unit overlapswith itsown (untransposed)repetition,and the fifthB overlapswith z, its small-letterextension.Of the nine remainingjunctures, all but two also overlapharmonicallyand melodically,though not metrically: hat is, the subsequent unit beginswhere the previousunit ended, with identicalouter-voicepitches, but on the


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Example 2 Prelude o Tristanund Isolde,mm. 74-81.1B-5 I74 moltospress.

76 ,---

s e m p r e


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Example continuedz

piir

I"


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Example 3 Prelude o Tristanund Isolde,mm. 94.4-100.3 (sequentialextensionof the sixth B unit)B-6

Smm.mm. 1-2 I I mm. 1-2

pcresc.I----- log


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CircularFormin the TristanPrelude 83followingbeat.Since here sno breakn surfacehythm,hese oinsarevirtu-allyasseamless s the others.The connections especiallytrongwhenthenewunitbeginswithasequentialxtension f the end of theprevious ne,ashappenswhenv followshefirstBunit,where herhythm, assvoice,andsec-ond half of the top voice of B's closingfigureare twicesequenced mm.20.4-21.3, 21.4-22.3, 22.4-23.3); or wheny followsB-4 (mm.61.4-62.3,62.4-63.3). The soleexceptiono thispervasiveitchoverlappings thefinalfragmentary unit,whoseopeningrising ixthstartson Ab atherhanB ,whichended heprevious nit(m. 100.6).But evenherethejoin sunusuallyclose,sinceAbs retainedroman nner oice(as sF,theuppernote of theris-ing sixth)and G isretainednthebass;n addition,he firstphrase ow closeson B? m. 103.2).This finalA unitis followedbya purelymonophonic nitnot strictly e-longing o the Preludeandthusnot includedn Figure1), since tsopeningcoincideswith theraising f the curtainm. 106.4),aneventmarked ythemostradicalexturalhiftsince he Prelude pened.Overlappingtilloccurs,butwiththeupper oicesnowgone,it isconfined o thebass,whichextendsthepreviousG (comparemm. 105-106.3 with106.4-110).And there sstilla motivic onnectionwith the Prelude:he G isprolongedbyanarpeggiatedTristanhord,whichremainstitsoriginalransposition.The Prelude's umerous epetitions re,moreover,undamentallynliketraditionalormal epeats.nparticular,heyhave ittleof thequality f "rebe-ginning"associated ithClassicaleturns. ndeed,sincethey emergeseam-lessly rom whatprecedes hem,theysoundas much likecontinuationssreturns--likeinks n a chain,allowinghe music o circlebackon itselfwith-out breakncontinuity. espite his,therepetitionsremanifest, othidden,andareeasily ecognizedf onelooks,orlistens,orthem.Yet heyarealsore-markablyttenuated,otonlybecauseheirboundariesreso weakly efinedbyharmonic,hythmic,ndmotivicactors, utbecauseheyareapproachedby music that seemsto be constantlypressing orward.The form of thePrelude s thusconsistentlyvolutionary,hedrivingorcebehind hatevolu-tionbeingcyclic enewal.Tonal StructureThecontinuous ature f thePrelude'sormand tscyclic onstructionanbefullygraspedonly in relationshipo its tonalorganization.Most analysts,Lorenzncluded,ake he tonicto beA minor ormajor/minor).12hile hisseemscorrect,here s neverthelessnlyone authenticadencenA (major),

12. Of particularnterest n thisconnection isWilliamJ. Mitchell'sSchenkerianinearanalysisin "The TristanPrelude:Techniquesand Structure,"MusicForum1 (1967): 162-203. Part ofthisanalysissreprintedn Bailey,ed., Preludeand Transfiguration,42-67.


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84 Journal f the AmericanMusicologicalocietyandit sounds more like a tonicization of IV in E major han a realtonic arrival(m. 24). Many,alsoincludingLorenz,singleout two additionalkeys,C majorand E major;yet, while both of these keys appearprominently,neither is con-firmedfor more thanvery brief stretches.An additionaldifficulty s that thesethree keys, taken collectively,provide a traditionalA-major/minor complex:tonic A, mediant C major,anddominantE major(I-III-V). How, then, doesone reconcile the widely recognized tonal ambiguityof the music with thisseeminglystraightforwardonfiguration?An interestingalternative s offeredby ErnstKurth,anotherdistinguishedWagnercommentator,who, in addition to E major,suggestsD minor ratherthan C majoras one of two secondarykeys, controllingmeasures20.3-22.3and 30.4-36.3. But whereas the formerpassage(only two measures ong) isunquestionably ramedaroundD, the latter is problematic n that two-thirdsof it consists of the second B unit (as it is designatedhere), a segment almostentirelyorientedtoward C major.Kurthrecognizes C's importance n thesemeasures,but he interprets t as VII of D minor--despite the absence of theleading-toneC#untiljust before the segment ends (m. 35.4) anddespiteCO'srelatively xtendedprolongationas root of a tonicized triad(mm. 32.4-35.1).Kurth is neverthelesson the right track. In particular,he recognizes thatthe Prelude's onal "digressions lternatemuch more quickly hanin the moreregular,balancedClassical tyle," even remarking hat here "tonalityat firstsight seemsreplacedby a construct of chaotic chordprogressions."'3And hischoice of E major and D minor as secondary keys symmetricallydisposedaroundthe tonic A is responsive o hisperceptionof "anunfoldingof tonalitywhich spreadsout in undulations of increasingdistance on both sides of theline of the main tonality";of "anoscillationof entire long passagesbetweendominant and subdominantregions";and of a "circlingback and forth ...without returnto the maintonality n between."'4In generaloutline, this an-ticipates features of the tonal perspective that will be taken here (Kurth's"Hin- und Herkreisen" s especially uggestive).But by clinging to standardtonal functions,even in such an innovativemanner,Kurth s unable to resolvea criticalproblemfacing anyanalystof thismusic:whateversecondarykeysarechosen (andC major,E major,andD minorallhavetheirmoments), theywillnecessarilybe ephemeral; or allarecharacterized y transience,ndistinctness,and,especially,ack of coordinationwith the overall orm.

13. "..-. dieseAbschweifungenviel schnellerwechseln als in ausgeglicheneren, tetigenklas-sischen Stil"; "Daher scheint auf den ersten Blick ... die Tonalitit dem Bild chaotischerKlangfolgen zu weichen" (Ernst Kurth, Romantische Harmonik und ihre Krise in Wagners"Tristan"Berlin:Max Hesses Verlag, 1923; reprint,Hildesheim:Georg Olms Verlag, 1985],325, 326). TranslationromBailey, d., Preludeand Transfiguration,01, 203.14. "EineTonartsentfaltung, ie in Wellenschwingungen esteigerterEntfernungbeiderseitsvon der Linie der Haupttonart ausschligt"; "Prinzipeines Ausschwingens ganzer breitererPartienzu dominantischerund subdominantischerRegion";"SchondasHin- und Herkreisen ndie beidendominantischenRegionenerfolgtjedesmal,ohne dasszwischendurch urHaupttonartselbstzurtickgekehrtwiirde"(Kurth,RomantischeHarmonik, 325, 324, 325). Translation romBailey,ed., Preludeand Transfiguration,01, 202.


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Circular orm n the Tristan relude 85How can one get around this impasse?Simplyto note that keys,whateverthey maybe, aredefinedby implicationrather han overt statement,with halfand deceptivecadencessubstitutingfor full ones, is-while true enough--in-sufficient,as it provideslittlepositive explanation.What is needed is a funda-mentallydifferentapproachto the question of tonality in the Prelude, andsuch an approachs suggested bythe formalstructurediagrammedn Figure1.Indeed, if one examinesthe Prelude's onalityfrom the standpointof the unitstructuredisplayedthere, a new and revealinglight is cast upon the wholematterof pitch organization, ncludingthe natureof keys-how they arede-fined, the waythey interact,and the role theyperformwithin the whole.If we begin by examiningthe music'soutervoices in relationto Figure l's

formalunits, we discover a repeating,self-enclosedharmonic-linear rogres-sion thatspansthe entirePrelude,breakingoff only as it concludes. It consistsof a continuous series of parallel hirds defined by the opening and closingpitch configurations ramingeach unit (indicatedbeneath each unit designa-tion in the figure,with the interval reduced to its closest registralposition).Remarkably,here are only four differentthirds,which recurrepeatedly, ikethe formal units themselves.(A fifththird,introduced as the Prelude closesatmeasure100, marks he point atwhich the musicbreaksaway,moving towardthe key of the firstscene of the opera.) These thirdsapplyonly to the outervoices (innervoicesvaryconsiderably),and they appear n an "idealized,"dia-tonic form in Figure 1, whereas in the score one member of each pitch pairmay be representedby its chromaticalteration(exceptthe E-G# third,whichis neveraltered):D[ for D in D-F, F#for F in D-F andF-A, AbforA in F-A,andA#forA inA-C#.15Granting hese registralanddiatonicvariations,allbutone of the four thirds(again E-G#) alwaysappearon the musicalsurfaceandareeasily ocatedand heard. The outer-voiceF-A thatcloses the firstA section(andoverlapswith the opening of the firstB), for example,appearsatmeasure17.4; B's closing D-F at measure21.2; the following C's opening A-C# atmeasure25.1; its closingF-A at measure32.2; and so forth.The E-G# third is the all-important xception.It representsa reductionofthe outer-voicemotion projectedby the famoustwo-chord succession of thefirst three measures(Ex. 4). E-G# does appearon the surface,however,onlylater n the unit: at measure16.6, immediatelybeforethe closingF-A thirdinmeasure17. When the A unit returnsat the climax(m. 63), moreover,E-G#is statedexplicitlyat the beginning (so that the first Tristanchord now func-tions as a neighborchord to the dominantrather hanan appoggiatura).Theoriginal,prolongedversionreturnsat the beginningof A-3 (mm. 83-84), thesurfaceE-G# again delayed,as in A-1, until the unit's end (mm. 93.6).16

15. In the bassvoice, allalterations reimmediatelyprecededby the unalteredpitch.16. The degree to which thirdrelationsbetween the outer voices, on or just below the sur-face, control all tonal motion in the Prelude, including much that occurs between the nodalpoints given in Figure 1, is also notable. These thirds,and the stepwiselinearspansthey project(manyof which areevident in the Mitchellanalysis ited in note 12 above), contributegreatly othe remarkableonsistencyof contrapuntalmotion.


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86 Journal of the American Musicological SocietyExample 4 Preludeto Tristanund Isolde,harmonicreductionof mm. 1-3

d"SSince, asnoted, all but two of the twelveprincipal ormalunits remainun-transposed,each type is framedby the same two pitch-pairs:all complete Aunits by E-G# and F-A; both C unitsbyA-C# andF-A; and three of the five

complete B units by F-A and D-F. Of the exceptions,B-3 is transposedupby majorthird, a notable transposition evel in that it uniquely preservesthesystemof four thirds,transferringo B the framing ntervalsotherwiseassoci-atedwith C:A-C# (withA#substituting orAO)and F-A. It alsoenablesB tolinkwith its own untransposed epetition,allowingfor the two consecutiveB'sin cycles 3 and 4. The second exception, the final B (B-6), begins untrans-posed but, sequencedinternally, nds a perfectfourthhigher,on G-B insteadof D-F (m. 100, with B?substituting or Bb).Thisproducesthe first hird notin the originalsystemof four,marking he point at which the musicmovesoutof the Prelude's onalconfines.A specialcase is presented by the climacticB-5, which begins normally,with F-A, but, due to the alterationof itsfinalmeasure, s deflectedaway romits closingD-F. The z unit thatfollows alsoavoidsclosingon D-F, ending in-stead on B's opening F-A third (mm. 81-83, with Absubstitutingfor A),fromwhere it leads to E-G# and the returnof unitA (mm. 83-84). As a con-sequence, the system of four thirds is preserved,even at the Prelude'smostcentrifugalmoment. It is neverthelesssignificant hat, unlikeother units, B-5hasno closing thirdand the followingz no opening third,sincethis uniquelyjoins the two, contributingto the uninterrupted,propulsivecharacterof theextendedclimacticgesture(cycle5).The fivesmall-letterunits alsopreserve he systemof thirds.Though nonetraces the same tonal motion within the thirdsas one of the principalunits,they neverthelessprovideessentialcomponents of the system.This is particu-larlyevident in units v andw, both of which move fromD-F to A-C#, in bothcases inkinga B unit (ending D-F) to a C unit (beginningA-C#).The overallprogressionof thirds can be surveyedin Figure 2, which re-orders the total pitch content of Figure 1 in continuous succession(left-to-right), with each unit indicatedby only one third (since each closing third isalways he same as the next opening one). Of particularnterestaremeasures17-62, whichprovidethe mainbuilduptoward the climacticreturnof unit Aat measure63. This extensive intensifyingsegment, beginning immediatelyfollowingthe more hesitantmusic of the firstA unit (andset off by bar inesinthe figure), is confined to a recurringprogression imited to only threeof the


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Unit: A-1 B-1 v C-1 B-2 w C-2 x B-3 B-4 y AMeasure: 1 17 21 25 32 36 45 53 55 58 62 6

Figure 2 Sequentialdiagramof unit structure,Prelude o Tristanund Isolde


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88 Journal of the American Musicological Societyfour thirds:A-C#, F-A, and D-F. These are ordered,moreover,so that thetonal motion keeps circlingback to A-C#, where a new cycle begins. This isindicated n the figureby arrows,with eachA-C# thirdgiven in two octaves,reflecting ts dual function as both beginningand ending of a revolution.Thesole exceptionoccursat measure53, where unit x reversesdirection,movingfrom F-A backto A-C#, after which the normal direction resumes.Duringthis extensivespanallpoints of formaljunctureare thus associatedwith threerecurringconfigurations,arranged n a cyclicpatternthat renews itself witheveryA-C#. Tonallyas well as formally, he Prelude thus turns back on itself,going overwhat hasalreadybeen traversed:onalityand form areinextricablyconjoined.

The circularpitch systemof measures17-62 is of coursecloselyrelated tothe circular ormalsystemdiagrammedn Figure 1, but they are not identical,since the latterincorporatesE-G# aswell. This raisesan importantmatter.Inanytrulycircular ystem,the point of renewal s arbitrary,o thatif one consid-ers only measures 17-62 (diagrammed between the first two bar lines inFigure 2), the F-A third and D-F third offer equallyvalid turning points.Indeed, takenindependently,measures 17-62 should not be viewed as tonalat all,at least as definedby the standard unctionsof the major-minorkey sys-tem: unlikethe three main key areasnormallydesignatedfor the Prelude(A,C, andE), its tonalcontents-or whatmight be called ts "cadentialnodes"-do not collectively orma normalfunctionalcomplex.17The choice of A-C# as the primary tonal node is determined by theA-major/minor tonal orientation of the Prelude as a whole. This brings usback to questionsof key and to the role of the E-G# third. Of the threekeysmakingup the A-major/minor complex (A, C, and E), none is stronglyde-fined by the circularthird system of this central intensification segment.Though it is no coincidence that the key of A is representedby A-C# in thatsystem,not one of the threeA-C# thirds s linkedto a well-defined onic. Thefirst,which ends unit v and begins unit C-1 (mm. 24.5-25.1), does firstap-pearasanA-majorchordprecededby its dominant(the Prelude'sonly fullca-dence);but an inner-voiceD# is immediatelyadded when C-1 begins,and theA-C# chord is both approachedand left within a well-definedE-majorcon-text. The second A-C#, which closes unit w and begins C-2 (mm. 44.4-45.1), is also associated with an A chord, but it is approacheddeceptively,from V of C# minor, and the A-C# chord is again surroundedby E major,with D# added when C-2 begins. The thirdA-C# (mm. 54.6-55.1), associ-

17. It isworthmentioningnthisconnectionhat hesegment'sircularitch ystem omesclose to beingstrictlyymmetrical-andhusemphaticallyontonal--withinwelve-tone itchspace. fD6replaces (analterationhatdoesoccur n thePrelude), ndallother ubstitutionsareavoided,here s symmetricalctavedivisionby major hird,a not uncommoneature nthe musicof certainnineteenth-centuryomposers,ncludingWagnerhimself forexample,the "Magic leep"motive rom heRingdesNibelungen)ndespecially iszt forexample,heConsolationo. 3).


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Circular orm nthe Tristan relude 89atedwith the end of x and the beginningof the third(transposed)B unit, ap-pearsin conjunctionwith a sequentiallyrisingbassline, where the pitch A istreatedas a passingmoment within a largersequentialprogression,andwherethereis no A triadat all.The Prelude's tonic is thus only weakly assertedduring this intensifyingsegment. Thismeans that the establishmentof A must depend primarily ponunit A andits E-G# third,the only unit not in the circular ystemof measures17-62, and the only thirdneveralteredby chromaticsubstitution.In allthreeof its complete appearances, nit A projectsa relativelyclearprolongationofthe dominant seventh of A minor,and it is this thatlargelyaccounts for A as afunctionallydefined tonic.18(Since the E-G# third is alwaysassociatedwithdominantfunction,it will at times also be referred o assuch.)Though partofthe key-definingeffect of these dominants no doubt depends on their rela-tionshipto the threeA-C# thirds n the circular ystem,none resolvesdirectlyto one of them; all move deceptivelyto F-A, avoidinga formallysignificantV-I progression.Once the circular ystem starts at measure17, the only way to returntoE-G# and unit A is by breakingout of it-a possibilityaffordedby the factthat two of the circular hirds,D-F and F-A, havethe potentialof becomingdominantpreparationso E-G# in the keyof A. This is avoideduntilmeasure62, however,where unity sequencesthe D-F third(F raised o F#)thatclosesunit B up by whole step, convertingit from a circular ink into a functionalsubdominant(cycle 4). Similarly, fterE-G# moves againto F-A (m. 74), B isdeveloped and extended by unit z, which eventuallyreturnsthrough F-A toE-G# (mm. 83-84), convertingF-A to a functionalsubmediant-or morespecifically,o a "deviant"augmentedsixthchord (withAb ubstituting orAt)formed by the respelled Tristanchord at the end of cycle 5. Following thethird andfinalmove to F-A atmeasure94, the B unit is altered,breaching hesystementirely(cycle 6). SinceA-C# (as tonic) is thus neverbrought into di-rectrelationshipwith E-G# (asdominant),the keyofA major/minor remainsa potentialbut neverfullyrealized onic.Figure 3 offers a summarygraphicrepresentationof these tonal relation-ships. In orderto displaythe complex interactionbetween cyclicsystemandfunctionaldominant, the three cyclical hirdsassociatedwith units B, C, andthree of the five small-letterunits are distributedaround a circle, with thefunctionaldominant placed in the centerwhere it can move to or from anyof the circularcomponents. As indicatedby the straight-linearrowpointingawayfrom the center,E-G# moves only to F-A (VI of A), doing so on threeoccasions:measures17, 74, and 94. The arrowspointing towardit, however,

18. This tonal feature has been much analyzed (see for example Mitchell, "The TristanPrelude").It will sufficeto say here that the goal tones in the bass of the first three sequentialphrases(all of which areroots of dominant seventhchords)outline an E-minor triad(E, G, B),and that the final B dominant returnsto V7 on E, which resolvesdeceptivelyto VI as the unitcloses.


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90 Journalof the AmericanMusicologicalSociety

B-3C 6

A-4V/W

Figure 3 Circulardiagramof unit structure,Preludeto Tristanund Isolde

indicatethatE-G# is approachedboth fromD-F (IV of A) at measure63 andfrom F-A (VI of A) at measure 84. The cyclicmotion progressesclockwisewith a single exception:at measures53-54, unit x reverses he direction,re-turningto A-C# for the third(transposed)B unit.The principal ormal units are not distinguishedby numberin Figure3 ex-cept for the two that occupy "abnormal"positions in the system:the trans-posed B-3, located next to unit C, whose circularmotion (A-C# to F-A) itassumesat measure55; and A-4, placedoutside the circleto the right of B,since it prolongs the nonsystemicG-B to which B-6 has modulated (repre-sented by an arrow eadingawayfrom the circle). Finally,units v and w shareone of the positionson the circle'scircumference,providingthe D-F to A-C#move that formspartof the regularrotation. Unit x, as noted, is also on thecircle,at location B, but runs "backward" o A-C#; and unitsy and z are onlines pointing toward the center, since both carrythe motion back to thedominant,fromthe v/w andB locationsrespectively.The Preludethus containsthree extended dominant prolongations,eachmoving deceptivelyto F-A and unit B, and thus potentially nto the circularsystem.But the system s exploited fully only the firsttime this occurs. On thesecond (climactic)occasion,unit B, extended by z, failsto progressbeyonditsopening F-A (we shallsee, however,that it nearlybreaksout of the system'stonal bounds entirely), eventuallymoving back to the dominant. And the


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Circular ormn the Tristan relude 91third time the B unit modulates to the dominant of C minor, leaving thePrelude'sA tonalityunresolved.19The particular ole of the two secondarykeys, C majorand E major,cannow be betterunderstood.C major s linked to unit B, and E majorto unit C(which means that each of the three main keys is associatedwith one of thethreeprincipal ormalunits).The two secondarykeysare thusprimarilyn evi-dence (E exclusively o) duringthe long buildupbetweenthe firstandsecondstatementsof A: C major n measures17.4-20.2, 32.4-35.1, and 58.4-61.1;andE major n measures22.4-28 and 45-48. There is a sort of paradoxhere,sincethe circularhirdsystemof measures17-62 is not itselffunctionally onal(as noted), nor do the three thirds of that systemstronglysupporteither C orE. Indeed, fromthe perspectiveof Figures1-3, C and E would seem to carrylittle tonal-formalweight. It is not thatthey areunimportant.But the Prelude,in this as in so many respects,contradictsClassicalprecedent:these keys, in-steadof being definedprimarilyby dominantand tonic motion at the begin-ning and ending of formalunits, are exclusivelyestablishedwithin the outerboundariesof the units in which they appear,not at the boundaries them-selves.This does much to explainthe oddly tonal, not-quite-tonalqualityof thecentralbuildup(mm. 17-62). One hearsboth C majorandE majoraspromi-nent keys, but the lackof coordinationbetween these areasand the terminalharmoniesof the formalunitsgivesthem a "disembodied"quality: hey are al-waysbeing abandoned-or skirted-in midair,asthe musicslipspastthem onits way to the next formaljuncture.For example,when the deceptively ntro-duced F-majorchord thatopens the firstB unit (m. 17) is reinterpretedwithina C-majorframework, he key holds only until measure20.3, after which itgiveswayto D minorasthe unit closes (mm. 20.4-21.2). Similarly,C-1 openswith a D# half-diminished eventh chord (m. 25.1) that settles immediatelyand comfortably nto E major,but it then begins workingits way towardDminor at measure29.1, reaching that key with the unit's terminatingF-Athird in measure32.Unlike unit C, unit B occurs twice aftermeasures17.4-62, in measures74-76 (B-5) and 94.4-100.3 (B-6). The second of these, the finalB, differsfrom its predecessors n that, aftersettling initially nto C major,it closes inC aswell, with a halfcadence on G. (Remarkably,his unit and unit A-4 [i.e.,the lasttwo] arethe only principal ormalunitsthat end on a dominant.)Thefinal move toward C (now minor) is thus not just anticipatedby that key'sprominentrole in the Prelude,but resultsfrom a transformation f the onlyunit with which the key has been associated.It is also notable that the onlytranspositionof unit B, in measures55.1-58.4, preservesnot only the system

19. Figures 1, 2, and 3, it should be noted, all representthe same tonal/formal structure,only viewed from differentperspectives. n each, moreover,it is possibleto "readthrough"theentireformandtonalprogression,beginningwith the firstunit andendingwith the seventeenth.


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92 Journal f the AmericanMusicologicalocietyof thirds but also the complex of three keys:unit B's usualC-majorfocus isherereplacedby E major.As for D minor,Ernst Kurth'sother secondary key,it too has undeniabletonal significance.It is well represented n the systemof thirds-by the D-Fgoal of three of the six B units, and by the F-A goal of both C units (whereF-A is treated aspartof a tonicized D-minor triad,not F-major riad).But Dminor,as already uggested, is even more ephemeral han E majorand C ma-jor:in all of its five appearancesmm. 21, 32, 36, 53, and 62), it is no soonerestablished han abandoned.20OverallShapeThe ambiguitiesand conflicts inherent in the relationshipof the A-major/minor tonalityand the circular ystemof thirdshelp illuminatethe Prelude'slargertonal-formaltrajectory.In broadest outlines, the Prelude consists ofthree extended dominant prolongationsassociatedwith unit A, each givingway to a B unit appearing n a differenttonal-formalsituation: the first ini-tiates the long cyclicintensification;he second continues the climactic hrust,but ultimatelycarries he musicback to the dominant;and the thirdleads be-yond the Prelude's tonal orbit. (There is no B unit following the truncatedfourthA.)With this in mind, the three main formal stages indicated at the left ofFigure 1, eachof which beginswith a completeA unit (and thus also a domi-nantprolongation),canbe more readilygrasped.The first,initial buildup,runs from the opening to the climacticreturn ofthe A unit in cycle 5. Unit A-1 has something of an introductorycharacterdue to its fragmentedphrasing,risingsequences,and dominantprolongation;andit leadsto a definiteshift at measure17.4, wherethe rhythmicsurfacebe-comes continuous.Yet to callthe firstA simplyan "introduction" asis some-times done)21 is misleading; for the unit not only produces considerableintensification tself but establishes he Prelude'smain key, presentsits mainmotivicelements,and forms a recurringpartof the whole. At the sametime,the motion beginningat B-1, though it persists hroughout the rest of cycle 1and all of cycles2-4, does not form an undifferentiated ontinuum. The in-

20. The transientnatureof D (andto a lesserextentalsoE) calls nto questionKurth'sremarkthat one recognizes "a certainregularitywith which simpledominant and subdominantdigres-sions alternatewith each other" (in Bailey,ed., Preludeand Transfiguration, 99; I have substi-tuted "a certainregularity"or "the definiteregularity"n Bailey's ranslation).".. . hierbeikannman balderkennen,wie mit einergewissenRegelmhissigkeitinfachedominantischeund subdo-minantischeAbschweifungenaufkurzeStreckenmit einanderabwechseln" Kurth,RomantischeHarmonik,322-23). Similarly, ne of the weaknessesof WilliamMitchell'sanalysis see note 12above) is, in my view,its elevation of D minor to a controllingStufefor extendedprolongationalspans.21. For example by SiegfriedAnheisserin "Das Vorspielzu Tristanund Isolde und seineMotivik,"ZeitschriftfiirMusikwissenschaft(1921): 257-304.


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Circular ormn the Tristan relude 93tensification s temporarilynterruptedby the more hesitantand fragmentedmusic of unit w in cycle2 (especiallymm. 36.4-42.3), and it accelerateswiththe double statement of unit B in cycles 3-4, which, tightening the circle,seemsto shift the musicinto a highergear, producinga surgeof energyas theclimaxapproaches.The second formal stage, climacticplateau, comprisesthe first returnofunit A through the remainderof cycle 5, culminatingthe previousbuildup.Here A, now crownedby the dramatic,rhythmically ctive,and registrally x-tended "Deliveranceby Death" motive, adopts the unbrokenrhythmicmo-tion of the immediatelypreceding music, maintaining-and increasing-itsintensification. t is againfollowed,asin its firstappearance,by B, whichis thistime extendedby z, carrying he music to its greatest ntensity.22The third stage, dissolution,consists of the return of unit A in cycle 6through cycle 7 to the end. Here A againhas its originaltextureand slowerrhythmbut is altered hrough insertionsof melodicfragments rom B and themore hesitantmusicof w. In the following B unit (B-6), shifts n registerandorchestration et off the first two one-measuresubphrases,which, along withthe modulatinginternalsequence, preservethe fragmentedphrasestructureheard in the previousA (especiallyn the insert drawnfromunitw). This linksunitsA and B together in a new way, lending cycle 6 a previouslyunmatchedqualityof rhythmic,motivic,and orchestraliquidation,whichpersists n cycle7 when the truncatedA-4 bringsthe processto an end.Clearly hese three groupingsdo not representcompletelydistinctformalfunctions, comparableto those in a Classicalsonata movement; nor, as wehave seen, are their designationsentirely adequate. The initial buildup notonly beginswith a more introductorysegment (A-1) but contains a segmentof relativerelaxation unitw, plusthe firstpartof C-2) thatappears hortlybe-fore the finalsurgetoward the climacticplateau.The latter,moreover,beginswith a "reprise"of unit A (A-2), as does the dissolutionthat follows (A-3);and the dissolution brings not only liquidation but a renewed effort-thwarted,to be sure-to build up intensity again.Finally, he three segmentsare not clearlydistinguishedby content, since all consist primarilyof repeti-tions of formalunits from the firstcycle. Yetwhen units recur,they assumesignificantlydifferentformalmeanings, as reflectedin the surfacevariationsthey undergo in theirnew locations. It is this feature hatthe largergroupingsin Figure1 areintended to clarify.The Preludethus projectsa structurethat, reformulating he principleofsectionalreturn,producesa profilequite common in nineteenth-centurymu-sic: anextendedintensificationeadingto apoint of climax, ollowed by a rela-tively brief denouement. Of course "intensificationalone doesn't do it," as

22. Theclimacticeturn f A is not onlytransformedyfuller exture,dynamics,nd the"DeliveranceyDeath"motive.Thefactthatthe firstTristanhord s nowa neighboro thedominant, longwith the extensiveransformationsf the "Suffering" otiverelated o this(theopeningupwardeap somitted ntirely),adicallylters heflavor fA-2,despiteheformalidentity.


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94 Journal of the American Musicological SocietyLorenzsays.ButWagnergivesthe Prelude a distinctshape,thanks argely o aformalarrangementhat, far fromcontradicting he music'sdynamiccontour,significantly ontributes o it.In this connection it is helpfulto keep in mind that the units in Figure l'sformalnetworkarenot, takenindividually, istinct or self-contained,or evenfully comprehensible. n addition to overlapping, heirboundariesare not welldefined;and since each closesat a differenttonal locationfromits beginning,it must interactwith its neighborsto achieveanymeasureof stabilityor func-tional definition.This may explainwhy the unit structureof Figure 1 has notattractednotice.23The units are not at all difficult o recognize, but exceptforunit A, they areinsufficientlymarked o be considered,undernormalanalyti-calassumptions,asseparate ormalentities,and thusaccordedvalue.One briefpassage-from measure80, nearthe end of cycle 5, to measure83, beginning cycle6-warrants specialconsideration n relationto the over-all form, as it is a moment of such unique consequencethat it seems to splitthe music almostin two: on one side the initialbuildupand climacticplateau,on the otherthe subsequentdissolution.The passage,whichforms the closingmeasuresof unit z, is preceded by B-5 andthe developmentand extension ofB's material n the initial measuresof z-that is, by a segment that opens upthe previouslyconstrictedtonal-formal rameand drivesthe music towarditspoint of maximum intensity.The moment is in all respects extraordinary.Though it precedesthe second return of unitA, it already ecalls he openingmeasuresof A. First the Tristanchord reappears,nitiallyat measure80 andthen repeatedon the three followingdownbeats(only the repeatsplaceAL-respelledG#-in its originaltop-voice position). This is the chord's only ap-pearanceoutside unitA, and it assumesa new functionalmeaninghere: as ii07of E6 minor. Twice it moves to the dominant of E6 (mm. 81.4 and 82.4),threatening a continuation that, if carried through, would sunder thePrelude'stonal bonds entirely,underminingboth the A tonalityand the com-plex of thirds. This producesenormous tension, beyond anythingelse in thePrelude.When the Tristanchordeventually esolvesbackto V of A atthe beginningof cycle6, returning o the Prelude'snormalframe, ts reassimilation ivesriseto a gesture of unparalleledboldness: an instantaneouscollapsein intensity,textural density, and instrumental force (m. 83). After the long, steadybuildup,the effect seemscatastrophicallyudden.The climacticanticipations f the Tristanchord arecombined with returnsof the Prelude'stwo opening melodic gestures:the rising-sixthmotive, withA6substitutingfor A?,plus the subsequentchromaticdescent to D; and therising chromaticthird G# to B, with G# respelledas Aband B raised to C.

23. Roland ackson, orkingroma thematic erspective,rovides graphicayoutof leit-motifappearancesnthePrelude hat n somerespects--thoughot in manyothers-resemblesFigure1. Seehis"LeitmotivendForm n the Tristan relude,"TheMusicReview 6 (1975):42-53;reprintednBailey,d.,PreludendTransfiguration,67-81.


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Circular orm n the Tristan relude 95(These alterationsarethe minimumnecessary o accommodatethe new tonalcontext.) Coordinated with the three chord repetitions,the motivic gesturesappear hree times in stretto(beginningmm. 80.3, 81.3, and 82.3), as if fran-ticallysearching or release.Onlywith the registral ollapseaccompanying heresolution of the Tristanchord to V, coincidingwith the rising ine's "correc-tion" to G#-B, is it evident that unit A hasreturned.The Tristanchord and its associatedmelodic material,retained acrossthiscataclysm,provide an extended overlapbetween cycle 5 and cycle 6, linkingthe high point with the nadir and bridging the Prelude's sole formal-expressiveschism. Though overlaps occur throughout the Prelude, noneother begins to compete with this one in length or complexity.It rankswiththe most genialexpressionsof Wagner's"artof transition."Motivic FeaturesAn additionalfactorcontributingto the interdependenceof formal units inFigure 1 is theirextremelyclose thematic and motivicinterconnections.Sincemotivic matters have been widely examined,24discussionwill be limited to afew instancesthat contribute especially o larger continuity.First, two well-known relationships an be mentioned:(1) the completeA unit developsoutof sequentialextensions(and eventualfragmentation)of materialpresented nthe firstthreemeasures;and (2) the risingchromaticoboe line that accompa-nies the Tristanchord and its resolution in measures2-3, fillingin g#' to b',transposesandinverts he descendingcello line that fills n f' to d' in measures1-3. A relatedfactor s that each new phrasetakesup the samenotes outlinedin the top voice of the previousone, so that each seems to emerge from theprecedingone, not just by sequencingit but by carryingon its top-voice con-figuration Ex. 5).Also of interestis that this top-voice configurationprovidesa direct linktounit B. As often noted, and as outlined in Example6, the principalmotive ofB is a freeinversionof A, with its two maincomponents-the leapof a sixth orseventh(labeledhere as a) and a filled-inminorthird(labeledb)--in reversedorder. This connection is renderedmore immediateby the omission, begin-ning alreadyn the A unit with the fragmentationn measure12, of the open-ing leap (a). This allowsthe risingstepwisefigureto initiatesubphrasesat theend of A, anticipatingB, which thus sounds much like a continuation,despitethe dramaticdropin register providingspaceforthe long expansion o come)and the more diatonic tonal context. The use of such transformationsofform/motive relationshipsn one section to providelinksto the next is promi-nent throughout the Prelude.

24. A remarkably etailedmotivicanalysisappearedas earlyas the first decade of the twenti-eth century: KarlGrunsky,"Vorspielund der erste Akt von 'Tristanund Isolde,"' RichardWagner-Jabrbuch(1907): 207-84.


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96 Journal of the American Musicological SocietyExample 5 Preludeto TristanundIsolde,pitchretentions inkingthe firsttwo phrases

m _

mm -mm. 1-3 ram. 4-7 ram. 8-10

Example 6 Preludeto Tristanund Isolde, elationof the principalmotives of unitsA andB

Ab IB bvI [" a'

Just as the main motive of unit B is a transformationof A-material, hemainmotive of C is a transformation f B-material see Ex. 7a). Here the dif-ference is primarilya matter of rearrangement:he fallingleap precedes thestepwisethirdin measure25 (alreadyanticipatedn inverted form in measure20). Finally,when B-5, followed by its extension and developmentin unit z,returns o A atmeasure63, its rhythm s carriedover (withslightmodificationat the end) into the "Deliveranceby Death" motive in the upperstrings,su-perimposedupon its fallingthirds.Though these thirds arenot directlymo-tivic, the fallingsevenththey outline is found in both B and C, and there arealsoclosepitch-class orrespondenceswith B (Ex. 7b).A more subtleand extendedmotivicconnection linkingunit C to the mu-sic immediatelypreceding it stems from the fact that its first two melodicpitches,c#"-d#' (m. 25) areoutlined in the previoustwo bars(mm. 23-24).As sketched n Example8, the top voice in measures23-24 ascendsfromd#',supportedby viiO of E major(m. 23.4) through b', the fifthof E's resolvingtonic (convertedto V of IV,m. 24.3) to c#"as the third of IV (m. 24.5). Butthe tonal motion from I to IV is immediatelynegatedwhen the top line fallsback in a single leap, c#"-d#', again supported by viiO of E major (m. 25).Despitethe dramatic allentandoandcrescendotoforteasthe harmonymovesto A major, he C unit is thus connected seamlesslywithwhatpreceded,goingback in quasi-retrogrademanner over the melodic pitches that led up to it,and back into E major.This explainswhy the interpretationof the A chord in


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Circular Form in the Tristan Prelude 97Example 7a Preludeto Tristanund Isolde, elationof the principalmotivesof unitsB andC

B C

Example 7b Prelude to Tristanund Isolde,relationof the principalmotive of unit B to the"Deliveranceby Death" motive in unitA-2

B(E2T )A-2 (T J)a..J

Example 8 Prelude to Tristanund Isolde, elationshipbetweenthe end of unitv and the begin-ning of unit C (mm. 23-25)

I I I_23 poco rail. riten. a tempok, I ""A-1i7 cresc. zart

E: V vii'4 16 IV vii'4I I

measure24 as a significant onic is, despite the poco rallentando,so uncon-vincing.25Turningto more encompassingmelodic connections, the previouslymen-tioned relationshipbetweenthe motivicmaterialof units A and B is enhanced25. In that they supportthe interpretation f the A cadence as partof a largerE-majorcon-

text, theseconnectionshelpexplainwhy-contradicting Lorenz'sanalysis--themusicencompass-ing the firstB unit andthe v extension(mm. 17.4-24) fails o coherestrongly nto a singleformalunit, beginning on VI (substitutingfor the tonic) and ending on I (the tonic A). Other reasonsarefound in the rhythmic ayout:the factthat the extension(unitv) of the mainunit (B) containsa more compressedversion of the samesentence-likestructureweakensthe finalcadentialarrival.In addition,sincethe openingsubunit of unit v (mm. 21.4-22.3) reflects he close of the previousB unit (mm. 20.4-21.3) in a quasi-sequentialmanner,the formersounds more like a continua-tion thana balancingphrase.(Suchformalmattersaretreatedat more length in the next section.)


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98 Journalof the AmericanMusicologicalSocietyExample 9 Prelude to Tristanund Isolde, ketch of rising-thirdprogressions,mm. 1-32

A-1 B-1 v C

m. 2 3 6 7 10 11 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 25 26 27

when viewed in light of the firstA and B units as a whole. This can be fol-lowed in the firstpartof Example9, which shows the risingline in measures2-3 carriedupwardthrough repetitionsin an unbroken succession of chro-matically illedrisingthirds:g#'-b', b'-d", d"-f#",and f#"-a".The lastpitch,attainedat measure17.4, is simultaneouslyransferred own two octaves to a,opening unit B. This B, since it also beginswith a risingthird(now diatonic),continues the successionof thirds(a-c', c'-e', e'-g', g'-bb'), thus carryingonthe process nitiated n unit A.The rising-thirdprogressionseems to breaknearthe end of unit B, at bW'(m. 20.3), where the thirds fallthrough g' and e' to c#'; but in fact it contin-ues, sinceunit v subsequently ransfers #' up an octaveto c#"(m. 24.5), sup-plying the next third above the abandoned bb'. Indeed, this upward-thirdmotion continues, with only intermittent breaks, throughout most of thePrelude.Example9 traces it through the firstC unit, revealing hat the threeprincipal ormalunits arenot only bound together by these thirdsbut alsodis-tinguishedby the mannerof theirprojection.In unit A the thirds riseslowlyyet emphatically,oined with full-scalesequentialprogressions n allvoices;inunit B they rise more quickly,but also less monolithically.Finally, he motionundergoes a holding process in unit C, as the line drops a third, from c#"through b' to a' (mm. 25-28), where it remainssuspendedfor fourmeasuresuntil unit B returns(m. 32.4), picking up the rising-thirdmotion again.On the one hand, then, these pervasiverisingthirdshelp account for thePrelude'sseeminglyobsessivesingle-mindedness;but on the other, they lendthe music avariedformalrhythmthat, despiteits unbrokenquality, s remark-ablydifferentiated n detail.Finally, he drop to a' in unit C, the first"struc-tural"drop (that is, the firstto initiate a new successionof risingthirds)and apitch retainedover severalmeasures(mm. 28-32), is notable: it positionstheline an octavehigherthan a, the pitchthat initiatedB'sprevious (first)appear-ance, forming a relationshipthat contributessignificantly o the simultane-ouslyrepeatingyet intensifyingcharacter f the musicduringthis stretch.26

26. Theoreticallyriented eaders illnotice hat hese hirds renotallprojectedt a consis-tentstructuralevelandthusdo not representinear pansn a strict Schenkerian)ense.Sincethis s nottheplace o discusshiscomplexssue, willsimply ointout that he thirdprogressionsareeasilyheardandcontributeignificantlyo themusic's xtraordinaryonsistency.heyeven


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Circular orm n the Tristan relude 99TraditionalForms in the PreludeAlthough the focus here is on innovative formalfeatures,traditional ormaltypes are still much in evidence in the Prelude. Otherwisethe music wouldsound even more radical han it does. Of course,the repetitionof formalunitsin itselfis nothing new. What is new (paradoxically)s the extentof repetition.Consideredindividually,however,all of the formalunits have markedtradi-tional features. The internalorganizationof unit A, for example, conformscloselyto a traditional"sentence,"and viewed from thatperspectivets group-ing does not even seem especiallyunusual(exceptperhaps or length): a basicfour-measurephrase, its four-measuresequential repetition, and an eight-measurecontinuationbeginningwith a more developed sequentialversionofthe initial dea that is then extended by fragmentationand liquidation,plus aone-measurecadence.Unit B (mm. 17.4-21.3) offersa compressedversionofthe sameform:a one-measurephraseplusits one-measuresequence,followedby a two-measure iquidatingextension. Unit w (mm. 36.4-44) differsonlyin that the two opening one-measuresequentialphrasesareeach repeated,asis the opening measure of the continuation, so that the continuation itself(mm. 40.4-44) takes on the form of an internal(embedded) sentence. UnitC (mm. 25-32.3) similarlybeginswith a two-measureunit and its sequentialrepetition,but herethis is followedby acontrasting wo-measureunit that un-dergoesvaried,nonsequentialrepetition.The resulting4 + 4 pattern(the lastmeasure nterruptedby the returnof unit B) is metricallybalanced ikea tradi-tionalperiod, but it is different n that the melodic and tonal contents of thefour-measureunitsare not complementary,and the ending is leftopen.It would be easyto parsethe entirePrelude n termsof groupingsof thesekinds,basedon Classicalmodels, since almost all subsequentformalunits, asrepetitions,retain the patternsjust described.What sets the Prelude apart,however, s the extent to which these models arereworked n responseto newformalassumptions.The opening seventeen-measureunit, for example,de-spiteevidentcorrespondenceswith the Classical entence,significantlyntensi-fies the latter'salreadypronounced developmentalcharacter.The balanced,complementarytonal relationships raditionally ound between the openingtwo subphrases e.g., the I-V relationshipbetweenmeasures 1-2 and 3-4 inthe firstmovement of Beethoven'sPianoSonata in F minor, Op. 2, no. 1) isreplacedby a "real"-strictly transposed-second subphrasethat spins outvertiginously rom the alreadyweaktonal foundationestablishedby the first.

spanits one majorbreach: he collapseat the high point. For a wide-rangingdiscussionof the is-sue of hierarchicalconsistency,see RichardCohn and Douglas Dempster, "HierarchicalUnity,PluralUnities: Towarda Reconciliation," n DiscipliningMusic:Musicologynd Its Canons,ed.KatherineBergeronand PhilipV. Bohlman (Chicago and London: Universityof Chicago Press,1992), 156-81.


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100 Journal f the AmericanMusicologicalocietyUnlike traditional entences,where a stable tonal frameworks establishedbe-fore the third(continuation)section begins, Wagner'ssentencemust thus relyon the continuationto determine the form's tonal goal, as well as its overalltonalmeaning.We do not know where we are until the finalcadence isheard,at least with anythinglike the specificityassociatedwith Classicalmodels:thewhole unit, from its very beginning, is both motivicallyand tonally develop-mental. (That the sentence's final cadence is deceptive is unexceptional,though notably absent here is any partial repeat bringing full closure-Classicalmusic'subiquitous"one-more-time"effect.)27Equally revealing are unit B and its initial continuation, unit v (mm.17.4-24). We have already een that B's closing arrival n D minor is weak,havingbeen achievedaftersuddenlyabandoning he previouslyestablishedC-majortonal framework.Moreover,the cadentialgesture associatedwith it isimmediatelysequenced,the G-F suspensionof measure21 echoed by D-C#in measure22. And this new gesture is also freely sequenced (mm. 22.3-23.3), forminga new pairof one-measuresubphraseshatgivesrise to its owncontinuation(mm. 23.4-24), cadencingon A major.The cadential igureofB is thereby appropriated o open a new sentence (unit v), so that endingbecomes beginning,joining the two sentences n seamlesscontinuity.28The Prelude is also distinguishedby the untraditional argerformalpur-poses to which these traditionallyderivedsmallerunits aresummoned, mak-ing unequivalent assignment of traditional large-scale formal functionsimpossible. For example, the notion that the opening A unit is (followingLorenz) an "exposition" s supportedby the fact that it projects he Prelude'sprincipalmotivicmaterialsandkey.But the segment'stonal instability,motivicfragmentation,andintenselysequential ayoutrender t asmuch developmen-tal as expository. (It also has, as noted, a partly introductory character.)Similarly,he firstrecapitulationof this material,opening cycle 5, is as muchdevelopment (and thus continuation)as reprise,and its subsequentreturn atcycle6 as much repriseasdissolution.In closinghis discussionof the Prelude,Lorenz, comparinghis own analy-sis with those of his predecessors, riticizesHugo Leichtentritt n this connec-tion (though generally praisinghis reading for resembling his own), since

27. Perhaps the closest Classical analogues to Wagner's opening phrase are those raresentence-like orms that beginwith strictsequences,such asthe opening of the firstmovement ofHaydn'sPianoSonata n E6Major,Hob. XVI:52,and the Allegrocon brioof the firstmovementof Beethoven'sSymphonyNo. 1 in C Major, Op. 21. But in these the sequencesaretonal, notreal(in both, aninitial onic majorphrase s transposed o the minor seconddegree);and the con-tinuationbegins firmlyand unambiguouslyon the dominant and ends with a confirmingtonicclose.Whatever onaldoubt is raisedby the suddenshift to ii is thus immediatelyand conclusivelyexpelled by the continuation.28. The line of thought developedin this and the previousparagraphwas stimulatedby dis-cussionin a recent seminarat YaleUniversityon a dissertationproposalon sentencestructure nTristanundIsolde,presentedbyMatthewShea.ProfessorsMichaelFriedmann,JamesHepokoski,and PatrickMcCrelesscontributedto thisdiscussion.


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Circular orm n the Tristan relude 101Leichtentritt chooses as the opening's "true" reprisethe second return atmeasure 84 (which for Lorenz is a "coda"),ratherthan the first at measure63. But how can one decide who is correct?Neither section is more, or less,like a reprise hanthe otheraccording o traditionaldefinitions; he firstreturnis climacticin effect and the second liquidating, especiallywhen the subse-quent B sections are taken into consideration.The firstreturnpreservesmoreof the basictonal andphrasestructureof measures1-21 (essentially hat of allbut the finalmeasure), yet totally transforms he texture and character.Thesecond retainsmore of such "secondary"qualitiesas register,dynamics,tex-ture, and orchestration and are these still secondaryin this music?), yet de-flects the harmony significantlyat measure90.4 and introduces a fifll-scalemodulation at measure96.4. In both, then, the opening materialreappearsbut is significantlyransformed,makingthe argument argelypointless.ConclusionLorenz cites Wagner'swell-knownprogrammaticdescriptionof the Prelude(originally ncludedin an 1859 letter to MathildeWesendonk)to supporthisreadingof the second returnof A asa coda rather han a reprise.In particular,he calls attention to Wagner's characterization of the closing segment:"Exhausted he heart sinksback,languishing n desire."29Lorenzcomments:"Thereis no tracein Wagner's dea of any kind of psychologicalconnectionbetween this segment and the beginning of the piece."30But there is muchmore than a trace: he atmosphereafter the climax,asWagner'swords unam-biguously assert, still remains immersed in desire (his schmachtend-or"languishing"-explicitly evokes the expressive ndicationat the opening).31Only whereas at the beginning desire intensifies,buildingtoward hoped-forconsummation,at the end it is exhausted,trapped n hopelessness.Not sur-prisingly, hen, Wagnerdrawsupon the same musicalmaterialat the end asatthe beginning, but adjusts t in responseto the differentexpressive/program-maticcontext. (Thisis no different n principle romwhat he does throughout

29. "Ohnmichtig sinktdas Herz zuriick,um in Sehnsucht zu verschmachten"Lorenz,Dermusikalische ufbau, 26). For a different ranslation, ee Bailey,ed., Preludeand Tranrfiguration,48. The complete programappears n JuliusKapp,ed., Richard WagnersGesammelteSchriften(Leipzig:Hesse und BeckerVerlag, 1914), 9:61-62; translation n Bailey,ed., Preludeand Trans-figuration,47-48.30. "Von irgendeiner psychologischen Beziehung dieses Abschnittes zum Anfang desTonstfickes indetsich in WagnersGedankenkeineSpur"(Lorenz,Der musikalische ufbau,27).Fora different ranslation, ee Bailey,ed., Preludeand Tranrfiguration,19.31. Significantly,when he repeatsWagner'ssentence to make this point, Lorenz omits theclosing phrase"languishing n desire"("in Sehnsucht zu verschmachten").He also omits, evenwhen firstquoting this text, the sentence's telling continuation: "in desirewithout fulfillment,since every fulfillment s only againrenewed longing" ("in Sehnsuchtohne Erreichen,da jedesErreichennurwiederneuesSehnenist") (Lorenz,Der musikalische ufbau, 27).


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102 Journal f the AmericanMusicologicalocietythe Prelude.)At the beginning,as desiremounts, his treatmentof the materialis expansive;at the end, when the same desire (and same music) is withouthope, it is fragmented and tonally deflected. But the connection betweenopening andclose, both musicalandprogrammatic, ould hardlybe more evi-dent. And it persists o the end, beyond Lorenz'scoda into his "transition."Indeed, the final return in the latter of the Prelude'sopening two phrases(m. 101), which, even asthe musicexpires,cling-remarkably-to theirorigi-nal form and pitch level, despite the precedingtonal deflection and the newpedalG, providesthe Prelude'smost poignantandmost encompassingcircu-larfeature.A finalcomment on the relationbetweenWagner'sview of the Prelude asan expressionof unfulfilleddesire and the music's form may bringthese con-siderations o a close.Wagner'sprogramaccordswellwith standardnotions ofthe music'stonal ambiguity,encapsulated n its deceptiveprogressions;but itis even more illuminatingwhen considered n relation o the circularonal andformaldesign presentedhere. It would be difficult, or example,to summon amore pointed musical mage of unrequitedpassionthan the cyclicintensifica-tion projectedin measures17-62, which, following the first A unit, links allthe remainingunits together.Here, as the musicgainsin volume, density,or-chestralmass,registration,and generalexpressive orce, it fails to breakawayfrom a smallnumber of melodic and tonal configurations,circlingbackoverthem againand againuntilultimatelyconfinedto a double statementof a sin-gle four-measureunit (B). When the circlefinallybreaksat measure63, more-over, there is no relief,since the "resolution" s itselfcyclic,returningto thedominantand unit A, allowingthe climacticpush to continue. Even afterthecollapseand finalreturn to the dominant at measure84, unit A simplystartsup again,once more striving owardconsummation-though now with evenlesssuccess.The Prelude'swell-knowntensions thus stem as much from form as fromtonality.Or rather,form and tonality, both circular,are inseparably inked.And thereinlies the key to the Prelude'sdramaticcore: the idea of a limitedyet constantlyevolvingcontent trapped n a staticand self-reflexiverame-ofenormousenergyspent in the serviceof so meagera return-lies at the heartof its troubledexpressive emper.Works CitedAnheisser,Siegfried."DasVorspielzu Tristanund Isolde und seine Motivik."ZeitschriftfiirMusikwissenschaft (1921): 257-304.Bailey,Robert, d.Preludend Transfigurationrom"TristanndIsolde,"yRichardWagner. ewYork ndLondon:W.W.Norton,1985.Cohn,Richard,ndDouglasDempster. Hierarchicalnity,PluralUnities:TowardReconciliation." n DiscipliningMusic:Musicologynd Its Canons,editedby


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CircularForm in the TristanPrelude 103KatherineBergeron and PhilipV. Bohlman, 156-81. Chicago and London: TheUniversityof ChicagoPress,1992.Grunsky, Karl. "Vorspielund der erste Akt von 'Tristan und Isolde.' " RichardWagner-Jahrbuch(1907): 207-84.Jackson,Roland. "Leitmotive nd Form in the TristanPrelude."TheMusicReview 36(1975): 42-53.Kapp,Julius,ed. Richard WagnersGesammelteSchriften.Vol. 9. Leipzig:Hesse undBeckerVerlag,1914.Kurth, Ernst. RomantischeHarmonik und ihre Krise in Wagners"Tristan."Berlin:Max HessesVerlag,1923. Reprint,Hildesheim:Georg OlmsVerlag,1985.Lorenz,Alfred.Das GeheimnisderForm beiRichard Wagner.Vol. 2, Der musikalischeAufbau vonRichardWagners"Tristanund Isolde."Berlin:M. HessesVerlag,1926.

Mitchell,WilliamJ. "TheTristanPrelude:Techniquesand Structure."MusicForum1(1967): 162-203.

AbstractThe music of the Prelude to Tristanund Isolde s in constant transformation,projectinga seeminglyunbrokenarc of intensification ollowed by release. Itthus seems to defy traditional ormalanalysis,which aims to articulatemusicinto discreteunits with clearlydifferentiated unctions.Yet the Prelude, de-spiteits continuouslydevelopmentalnature, s characterizedby constantrepe-tition of only three formal units, which are subjected to significantsurfacevariationbut retain theirunderlyingmelodic, harmonic,and linear dentities.The articleanalyzeshow thisprocess,which would seem to be overlysegmen-tal, is reconciled with the ongoing qualityof the music. It examinesfirst thecirculararrangementof the three repeatingunits, along with theirrelation tofive briefpassages hat occurbut once; it then analyzes he circularly epeatingharmonic-linear attern they project.It also considers how the Prelude'sfor-mal units differ from traditionalones in that they aredesigned to emergeoutof those precedingthem and flow into those that follow,avoidingstrongseg-mentation.The music is thus revealed o havea unique, yet easilycomprehen-sible,overall onal and formaldesignthat supports,rather hancontradicts, tsevolutionarynature.

circular form in the tristan chord

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