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Assignment 2: Contrapuntal Operations

In our study of Contrapuntal Operations, we discovered that, if the first trichord of Webern's row (Opus 24) were to be labled PRIME, the second can be seen as having been generated from it by RETROGRADE-INVERSION, the third by RETROGRADE and the fourth by INVERSION. In instances where Webern actually states all three pitches as a chord (that is, simultaneously), then retrogrades are not plausible and the trichord can be identified only as PRIME or INVERSION.

Let's see how well you can recognize these operations in the first ten measures of the second movement. Begin by checking out the CD for week 1, inserting it into the CD drive, and listening to the example. Remember, you are not looking for the precise pitches, but the contours of Webern's row. Follow these steps:

  1. Rearrange each trichord so it spans a Major 3rd in the same octave. Note: the example is at concert pitch.
  2. Determine if the m2 is at the top or bottom of the texture. If at the bottom, then your answer should have the word INVERSION in it.
  3. Now consider the pitches as they happen over time. Determine if the m2 is heard first or second. If first, then your answer should have the word RETROGRADE in it.
Click each field to locate the different trichords. Repeated clicks will cycle through contrapuntal operations till you find your answer. Possible answers are: P (Prime), R (Retrograde), I (Inversion) and RI (Retrograde-Inversion). Click on the music to hear the example. When you have identified how each segment was generated, click the "Send" button.
|Play Excerpt|Play Movement|Stop CD| 
(a)= (b)= (c)= (d)= (e)= (f)= (g)= (h)= (i)=
(j)= (k)= (l)= (m)= (n)= (o)= (p)= (q)= (r)=

Anton Webern "Concerto For Nine Instruments Op. 24"
©1948 by Universal Edition A.G., Wien
Interactive graphic ©1998 Tim Smith by permission of Universal Edition
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