This thesis examines the contributions of tonal analysis to narrative readings of three nineteenth-century pieces. The method used originates from the work of two theorists, Byron Almén and Fred Lerdahl. Almén’s 2008 book, A Theory of Musical Narrative, outlines narrative archetypes. Lerdahl’s 2004 book, Tonal Pitch Space, provides a sophisticated approach to tonal analysis. These methods are combined to analyze striking modulations in Robert Schumann’s “Dein Angesicht” Op. 127, no. 2, tonal ambiguity in Johannes Brahms’s “Der Kranz” Op. 84, no. 2, and the lack of tonal closure in Gabriel Fauré’s “Hymne” Op. 7, no. 2. These striking features and their changes are tracked over the course of each piece. This creates the narrative analysis and allows a narrative archetype to be applied to the piece.
","abstract_html":"<p>This thesis examines the contributions of tonal analysis to narrative readings of three nineteenth-century pieces. The method used originates from the work of two theorists, Byron Almén and Fred Lerdahl. Almén’s 2008 book, <em>A Theory of Musical Narrative</em>, outlines narrative archetypes. Lerdahl’s 2004 book, <em>Tonal Pitch Space</em>, provides a sophisticated approach to tonal analysis. These methods are combined to analyze striking modulations in Robert Schumann’s “Dein Angesicht” Op. 127, no. 2, tonal ambiguity in Johannes Brahms’s “Der Kranz” Op. 84, no. 2, and the lack of tonal closure in Gabriel Fauré’s “Hymne” Op. 7, no. 2. These striking features and their changes are tracked over the course of each piece. This creates the narrative analysis and allows a narrative archetype to be applied to the piece.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Weesner, Seth"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Music (MM)","degree_level":"Masters Thesis","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Douglas Rust","Dr. Danny Beard","Dr. Joseph Brumbeloe"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2020,"date_issued":"2020-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2020-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:45:12Z","subjects":["Narratology","Narrative Archetypes","Music Theory"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/745","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Douglas Rust","Dr. Danny Beard","Dr. Joseph Brumbeloe"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Weesner, Seth"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2020-05-14T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Music (MM)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Narratology","Narrative Archetypes","Music Theory"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/745"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis examines the contributions of tonal analysis to narrative readings of three nineteenth-century pieces. The method used originates from the work of two theorists, Byron Almén and Fred Lerdahl. Almén’s 2008 book, A Theory of Musical Narrative, outlines narrative archetypes. Lerdahl’s 2004 book, Tonal Pitch Space, provides a sophisticated approach to tonal analysis. These methods are combined to analyze striking modulations in Robert Schumann’s “Dein Angesicht” Op. 127, no. 2, tonal ambiguity in Johannes Brahms’s “Der Kranz” Op. 84, no. 2, and the lack of tonal closure in Gabriel Fauré’s “Hymne” Op. 7, no. 2. These striking features and their changes are tracked over the course of each piece. This creates the narrative analysis and allows a narrative archetype to be applied to the piece.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Tonal Expectations Defining Narrative Archetypes"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Douglas Rust","Dr. Danny Beard","Dr. Joseph Brumbeloe"],"dc:creator":["Weesner, Seth"],"dc:date.available":["2020-05-14T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This thesis examines the contributions of tonal analysis to narrative readings of three nineteenth-century pieces. The method used originates from the work of two theorists, Byron Almén and Fred Lerdahl. Almén’s 2008 book, A Theory of Musical Narrative, outlines narrative archetypes. Lerdahl’s 2004 book, Tonal Pitch Space, provides a sophisticated approach to tonal analysis. These methods are combined to analyze striking modulations in Robert Schumann’s “Dein Angesicht” Op. 127, no. 2, tonal ambiguity in Johannes Brahms’s “Der Kranz” Op. 84, no. 2, and the lack of tonal closure in Gabriel Fauré’s “Hymne” Op. 7, no. 2. These striking features and their changes are tracked over the course of each piece. This creates the narrative analysis and allows a narrative archetype to be applied to the piece.
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