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11 reflecting on the inability to Find Death: “Mut,” “Die nebensonnen,” and “Der Leiermann” The last three songs of Winterreise show the protagonist reflecting on the situation in “Das Wirtshaus,” where death, consciously chosen in “Der Wegweiser,” eluded him. This final analytical chapter traces the various forms taken by the protagonist’s frustration in these closing songs. 11.1. “Mut” “Mut” directly juxtaposes the tragic and a rather exuberant, joyful expression ; many of the phrases begin in the minor mode but end in major. extended repetitions shape the song’s course; this is immediately evident in mm. 1–36, which sound the same music twice (in mm. 1–18 and 19–36; a repeat sign replaces the written-out repetition in example 11.1).1 Formally, the material that is repeated consists of an introduction (mm. 1–4 and 19–22) and the first main part of the song, shown by a boxed number in example 11.1 (mm. 5–18 and 23– 36). The second part (also a boxed number in example 11.1) likewise includes large-scale repetition, which divides the part into two phases, the first of which occurs in mm. 37–48. The second phase (mm. 49–60) begins as if it were going to repeat the first an octave higher. There are changes, however, the most significant being a tonicization of Bb major in mm. 51–54 (not heard in the first phase), after which the music resumes its earlier course.2 The closing coda (mm. 61–64) consists of exactly the same music as the introduction. in the main body of the song (from which the introduction and coda have been excluded), there are four perfect authentic cadences in the tonic key, closures whose significance is enhanced by the immediate repetition of each: mm. 15–16 (repeated in mm. 17–18), mm. 33–34 (repeated in mm. 35–36), mm. 45– 46 (repeated in mm. 47–48), and mm. 57–58 (repeated in mm. 59–60). The first two cadences close the repeated units of the first part, while the last two cadences close the two phases of the second part. The four cadences are related to the tension permeating the song, which grows out of the juxtaposition of minor, the primary mode, and the contrasting major. each of the four cadences ends in a 142 Songs major-mode tonic. yet they all close a structural unit that starts in the minor, with third-progressions descending from the Kopfton Bb heard at the song’s outset (example 11.1; the brackets indicate the third-progressions). The third-progressions concretize the tension between minor and major: when their concluding 1̂s arrive, the opening top-voice Bb (a minor third) has been replaced by inner-voice Bs (a major third). The concluding major sonorities are given further emphasis by the immediate cadential repetitions. The thirdprogressions are nested, each one spanning a larger musical unit than the previous , the largest ultimately constituting the Urlinie. (Since the song’s first part consists of a repetition of the same music, this is shown only once in example 11.1.) as a result, there is an impression of a four-part trajectory that attempts to transform the opening minor chord into a major sonority, each unit of this trajectory being more extended than the last. The replacement of the minor-mode tonic with a major sonority is further enhanced by the dominant chord that begins the song’s second part. There is therefore no structural minor-mode tonic at all in this part, so the music might imply that the major ultimately outweighs the minor. But it does not. The coda repeats the music of the introduction, ending in a minor-mode tonic whose top voice 1̂ closes a third-progression descending from Bb (see the brackets in example 11.1). The coda thus indicates that when the song ends, we are back where we started, inescapably in minor. This denial of          ♭ ♭ ♭ ♭ ♭ ♭              ♯   ♮          ♯  ♮  ♮    ♯    ♮      ♯   ♮  ♮    ♯   ♮  ♮    ♯     ♮     ♯  ♭   ♯   ♭ ♮  ♭   ♭    ♭    ♯   ♮      ♮  ♯   ♮   ♭  ♭     ♭    ♮   ♯  ♮  ♭ ♮ ♮ ♮ ♭ ♭ ♮ ♭   ♯ ♮ ♯ ♭ Form: Expressive genre: coda tragic Textual structure: (S O) ∪ (S O) ∩ 1 2|| 5 19 12 7 23 25 16 30 14 32 34 37 43 38 44 45 46 49 50 51 55 56 57 58 61 3 ^ 2 ^ 1 ^ I I I V V * * * * * * * * * * * * = B / B tragic vs. joyful joyful joyful (mingled with tragic) tragic (S O) ∪ vs. (S O) ∪ = B –A–G ; 1 5 6 5 Expressive quality: Dramatic curve: declamatory high point declamatory uncertain vs. confirming uncertain confirming rejoicing intro. example 11...

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