Tonal Expectations Defining Narrative Archetypes

<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>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Music (MM)

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters Thesis

Year dc:date.available

2020

Author dc:creator

• Weesner, Seth

Contributors dc:contributor

• Dr. Douglas Rust
• Dr. Danny Beard
• Dr. Joseph Brumbeloe

• Narratology
• Narrative Archetypes
• Music Theory

Repository record dc:identifier

https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/745

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:aquila.usm.edu:masters_theses-1760