Lara PoeMU 661

The Chromatic and Diatonic in Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody no. 13

In Matthew Brown’s work The Diatonic and Chromatic in Schenker’s Theory

of Harmonic Relations, Brown examines the relations between chromaticism and

diatonicism, particularly in the context of Schenker’s own work. As Brown states,

“Schenker derived a fully chromatic tonal system from the diatonic triad,” and within

this chromatic system, “chromatic triads do not substitute for or elaborate diatonic

chords but are generated directly from the tonic triad.” (Brown, p. 2)

First examining how the “major and minor systems” are derived, Brown

explains how Schenker derived the major system by means of the overtone series- he

takes ascending fifths and builds triads on them, as seen in the following figure:

(Brown, p. 4)

He then creates a descending version that extends to IV, or the subdominant

(as Brown calls it, the “underfifth”). The minor scale draws on this cycle of fifths of

the overtone series, and is not as fundamentally “natural” as the major system.

Schenker’s next move was to combine these systems, to create what Brown and

Schenker call a “fully chromatic system”. He also adds the Neapolitan to “avoid the

diminished triad on II” (Brown, p. 5), thus avoiding unnecessary tritones. The

following chart shows what Schenker’s combined system with bII added:

(Brown, p. 5).

As we can see, these same stufen can now be represented in two distinct ways.

Schenker then adds one more step- he allows building either major or minor triads on

top of each stufe. With these steps, Schenker ends up with a highly flexible system

ideal for analyzing very chromatic music. Even with just III, VI and VII having two

different characters, there are already many possibilities for ways to use modal

mixture:

(Brown, 6)

As we can see, this system is very versatile. However, it is not

comprehensive. As Brown points out, “in order to produce all possible triads,

Schenker still needs to generate those on #IV” However, he rejects this possibility,

“explaining #IV as a means of inflecting V” (Brown, p. 8). As Schenker states:

“Certainly, we shall see in the chapter on chromatic alterations just how readily one raises a fourth Stufe by a semitone in the major (also freely in the minor) to produce a dimished triad, especially when its purpose is to

prepare the V Stufe- thus in F major, Bb is raised to B, thereby transforming the IV Stufe into the diminished triad B-D-F. It is not advisable, however, to consider this chromatic B as a Lydian element since this sharpening betrays the intention of chromatic alteration too clearly to warrant accepting it as a diatonic IV Stufe within the framework of the system.”

(Brown, p. 8)

As Brown states, this assumption can produce problems with pieces that make

use of the Lydian mode, or that otherwise are characterized by use of #IV. “Some

may question his decision to treat #IV merely as subordinate to V,” Brown notes,

“though it is not immediately obvious how to reply to Schenker’s rejection of Lydian

mixture” (Brown, p. 10).

Even despite these problems, this theory is quite flexible and can be used to

analyze highly chromatic music that could be difficult to analyze in other ways. For

instance, Liszt’s Rhapsody no. 13 is a highly chromatic piece and makes use of mode

mixture to create chromaticism that permeates all layers of analysis- there are even

hints of it in the background. Indeed, while the Urlinie is in A minor, the piece ends

in A major. This modal borrowing suggests that Schenker’s scale system could be a

valid and helpful way of analyzing the piece from a Schenkerian perspective.

The piece starts out with an Ansteig starting from E3, going up to E5. This

Ansteig is decorated with descending incomplete neighbor notes (which ends up

being a central motif of the piece). It outlines an A minor 6/4 chord, which ends on

the Kopfton, 5̂. The entire first half of the piece, up to measure 100, is essentially a

prolongation of 5̂ on the background level, and we get the next Stufe of the Urlinie at

measure 100 on 4̂. However, on the middle ground level, there are many striking

features within these first 100 measures. Following the Kopfton, we immediately get

an Ursatz parallelism that contains E, D# (#4̂!), C, B and A, all over a held A minor

chord. This phrase repeats again, establishing the key area and the #4̂ , which turns

out to be central to the piece. Following the repeat, the line goes up to the neighbor

tone F#, and then descends 5̂ #4̂ 3̂ 2̂, in a partial Ursatz parallelism. By this point, our

sense of tonality is clearly ingrained and Liszt has made it very clear that #4̂ is quite

prevalent in this piece, and it coexists with 5̂ in the same harmonic context.

As Brown stated earlier, “it is not immediately obvious how to reply to

Schenker’s rejection of Lydian mixture” and of #4̂ in particular. In the context of

Brown’s and Schenker’s writings, the first possibility would be to examine #4̂ as an

inflection of 5̂. However, in the case of this Liszt Rhapsody, that is not a possibility

for a few reasons. Namely, it is a part of a middle-ground Ursatz parallelism, and

there is no natural 4̂ to counteract it. This #4̂ also occurs over a texture that is a

prolongation of 5̂, meaning 5̂ is always present in our ears in the background. From

the way Liszt uses #4̂, it is very clear that he is using it as an independent entity, and

not as an inflection of 5̂!

However, what other options are there for analyzing #4̂ in this context? In the

case of Liszt, thankfully, there is an option- namely, to introduce a new scale into the

system of minor and major scales that was available from Schenker’s theory. This

scale is called the Hungarian minor scale (Double Harmonic Scale and its Modes,

p.1). It is a minor scale resembling the harmonic minor scale, and it contains #4̂.

Liszt also uses another scale, which is a mode of the Hungarian minor (or double

harmonic major), which also contains #4̂. This other scale can be described as Lydian

#2̂ #6̂. In the context of analyzing Liszt’s 13th Hungarian Rhapsody, if these scales

are added to the analysis, then there would be a valid way of including #4̂ in our

analysis without having to explain it as an inflection on 5̂ (which in the case of the

Liszt, is clearly not the case). The following chart shows the possibilities of A major,

A minor, A Hungarian minor, and Lydian #2̂ #6̂.

Major, Minor, Hungarian Minor and Lydian #2̂ #6̂ on A:

While these scales contain most of the same notes of the major and minor

scales, they also allow the possibility for #4 as a possibility that is not merely a

subordinate 5̂ in both major and minor scenarios. This clarity of the behavior of #4̂

now established, we can continue with the analysis of the piece.

After these two Ursatz parallelisms, Liszt proceeds to go up to an upper

neighbor from the Kopfton prolongation, up to an F#, and then he reinforces #4̂ by

having yet another Ursatz parallelism that follows: 5̂−¿ 4̂−3̂− 2̂−1̂. On the middle

ground level, we have a lower neighbor D natural, which manifests itself as partial

ursatz parallelisms and parallel 3rds and 6ths in both inner and outer voices. This

progression turns to an A octave which moves out to B and G# (two neighbor tones,

and also derived from the Hungarian minor scale), which then turns into another two

middle ground Ursatz parallelisms, both of which have a #4̂. These then turn to a

rising gesture paralleling the Ansteig, which then brings the piece back to an

elaborated repeat of this first section in A minor. As seen in the foreground graph,

there’s more registral activity than in the first iteration of the section, but at the middle

ground level it is exactly the same.

In the next section, at measure 25, the piece moves to A major. Here we see

the beginnings of the mixture of mode, and the use of both major and minor scales.

Paralleling the beginning, we have 5̂ held over, but reharmonized with major, and it

occurs immediately as part of an Ursatz parallelism. In this case, the parallelism is

major, with natural 4̂ and #3̂. It is immediately followed by another parallelism in V,

also in the major scale. This figure of two parallelisms is repeated two octaves

higher, in octaves, and is, once again, firmly in A major.

Immediately after the second V parallelism fades away, Liszt sets up a

neighbor motion (m. 37)- F is an upper neighbor to E (5̂ in A), and Bb (bII) is an

upper neighbor to A, the larger key area. Within Bb, however, there is clearly use of

Lydian #2̂ #6̂, as can be seen from the Ursatz parallelism that immediately starts off

the section: 5̂−¿ 4̂−3̂−¿ 2̂−1. After repeating this parallelism once more, Liszt goes

back from Bb to A, emphasizing the upper neighbor relationship to A. Within A,

there is a foreground level lower neighbor down to G# (with I-V-I in the bass). Then

Liszt goes immediately back to B flat, bringing back Lydian #2̂ #6̂ in yet another

parallelism- but this time, he doesn’t go right back to A. Instead, he respells B flat as

A#, which he then uses as 3̂ in F# major.

This instance of F# major is fleeting- Liszt goes from A# to G# in the upper

voice, under a C# cover tone and over a C# in the bass. This incomplete neighbor

motion is then repeated up a 3rd in A major and goes from I to V, after which the piece

transitions to the A major – E major Ursatz parallelism motif. Liszt repeats this a

couple times in various registers, and then goes back to the bII, Lydian #2̂ #6̂material

starting at m. 37. This time, after coming out of the incomplete neighbor motion in

3rds, Liszt goes into a voice exchange resting on V/V in A major. He then takes D#

and respells it as E flat, and leads B down to Bb, resulting in E flat major. If respelled

as D# major, it functions as #IV within A major! What’s more, Liszt highlights this

harmony by opening up significantly in register, presenting a thicker texture and

opening up dynamically, making the change very noticeable. Note, also, that this

chord occurs when 5̂ is still prolonged.

Within this harmony, Liszt presents an incomplete Ursatz parallelism down to

2̂three times before using a diminished 7th chord to make his way back to A major

again, where he presents another incomplete Ursatz parallelism (again down to 2̂). In

the middle ground graph, D#/E flat can be seen as an incomplete neighbor to E, which

is prolonged until a partial Ursatz parallelism down to 2̂. In the foreground, it can be

seen as a chromatic ascending bassline from E to B under a sequence of Ursatz

parallelisms in the upper voices, which is coupled with E in the bass. This is then

followed by a IV-V-I progression with Ursatz parallelisms in IV (although

incomplete, and ending up on #4̂ of A major instead of 4̂) and in I. This concludes

the prolongation of 5̂ within the Rhapsody.

After this relatively slow “parlando” section of the piece, Liszt turns to the

friska (a fast section, is typical of Hungarian Rhapsodies). He starts the friska on 4̂

over IV (D minor), in a light, fast texture located in the top register of the piano. Here

he uses the a minor scale- D goes down to C (3̂) as an incomplete lower neighbor, and

then up to E, where he incorporates Ursatz parallelism in A minor. He repeats this

figure once more, and then takes the incomplete lower neighbor/parallelism structure

and repeats it twice in D minor. As we can see, Liszt adheres strictly to the A minor

scale in this section, and the prolongation of 4̂ is relatively short- while 5̂ was

prolonged for 99 measures, 4̂ is only prolonged for 23, and 3̂ is constantly present as a

neighbor tone. At measure 124, Liszt moves to 3̂.

When 3̂ appears, it appears in a context similar to 5̂’s initial appearance,

although in a less elaborated fashion: 3̂ appears in the middle of a line starting on A,

moving triadically up to E and then down to D# (¿ 4̂ once more), and then a partial

Ursatz parallelism from C down to G (4̂−3̂−2̂−1̂ in VII). Here we can see an

intersection of both A minor and A Hungarian minor with the combined D# and G

natural. This entire phrase then repeats in D minor, reinforcing the C-D-C or 3̂−4̂−3̂

neighbor tone idea. Liszt repeats this I – IV idea up an octave.

Next, we get more mixture of scales- Liszt goes to F major with 3̂ still in the

top voice. After a double incomplete neighbor, he goes to V/V and then to V (E

minor). Now, F major is VI in A minor, and bVI in A major, which enforces some of

the third relationships we have seen earlier in this piece, but within the context of E

minor, it can also be seen as bII, which reinforces the Schenker’s scale mixture ideas

and his ideas of altering scale degrees. He then repeats this sequence in E major, and

then repeats the triadic ideas and Ursatz parallelisms starting at m. 124, elaborated

with repeated notes.

Now Liszt goes back to D natural, and then starts a sequence of ascending by

minor thirds, in parallel 4ths, until he is about to hit D natural again. Here he alters it

to D sharp, juxtaposes it against A, and resolves it up to E. This gesture harks back to

the idea of #4̂, and Liszt then transposes it up a fourth to G#, D and A, harking back

to the idea of I-IV. Next we get 2̂ on top over V, which then rises back up to a middle

ground 5̂ over V. This concludes the last A minor section, and leads into the final

section, which is in A major.

The final section of the piece is relatively straightforward, with 5̂−4̂−3̂− 2̂//

5̂−4̂−3̂− 2̂−1̂ middle ground structure all in A major. At the very end, after the final

cadence, Liszt incorporates bII, II (b minor), and even III (C major) to sum up the

piece. As we can see, Schenker’s system of mixed scales is very useful for analyzing

highly chromatic music, but it has its limitations, especially in the context of a piece

with Lydian, Hungarian and exotic scales playing a central role. In such cases, more

scales need to be added to the scale system in order to formulate a meaningful

analysis of the piece.

Sources:

"DOUBLE HARMONIC SCALE AND ITS MODES." DOUBLE HARMONIC SCALE AND ITS MODES. http://docs.solfege.org/3.20/C/scales/ dha.html. Web. 26 Oct. 2015

Brown, Matthew. "The Diatonic and the Chromatic in Schenker's "Theory of Harmonic Relations"" Journal of Music Theory: 1-35.