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11

Understanding Bartok s

Bagatelle p 6 9

J M S WOO W R

The Baga te l l e s of 1908 stand

a t a c ruc i a l

po in t in

the

composi t ional evo lu t ion

o f Bela Bar tok . In the

in t roduc t ion

to a

1945

ed i t ion of h is ea r ly piano

music ,

Bartok recog

nizes t h a t th e B a ga te lle s inaugura te a new

t rend

of piano

wri t ing in my

ca ree r .

desc r ibes t h i s new

s ty l e

as

s t r ipped

o f a l l une ssen tia l d eco ra tive elements ,

de l i be r a t e l y using

only

th e most

r e s t r i c t ed t echn ica l

means . l

The

mot iva t ion

fo r

t h i s

s t y l i s t i c change

i s t r a d i

t i ona l l y c red i t ed to Bar tok s di scovery in 1907 of the

music

of Debussy and recogn ition of

the s imi l a r i t y

of i t s

re sou rces to those of Hungarian folk music . While the ex

i s t ing

l i t e r a t u r e of ten

r e f e r s

to

the

Baga t e l l e s ,

th e

cursory r e fe rences dea l

almost exc lus ive ly with those pieces

in which folksong in f luence i s ev iden t . The o th er p ie ces

are genera l ly l i s t ed as

i nnova t ive

or exp er imenta l and

dismissed a f t e r mention of th e o fte n- qu o te d b i tona l i t y

of

no. 1 and quar ta l harmony of no.

11.

2

In

f a c t ,

mention o f no. 9 is ra re ly found.

Examinat ion

of

t h i s

monophonic piece r evea l s

the

d i f f i cu l ty

in app l ica

t ion of

t r ad i t i ona l

to nal theo ry e ven though Bartok himse l f

named

the t ona l i t y

as E

b

Major ) . However,

t h i s

au thor has

found

th a t s ub s ta nt ia l i n s i gh t

i s

gained

in to

the i n t e rna l

s t r uc t u r e of

the

p iece

when

i s co nsid ere d as a represen

t a t i v e o f t h a t ca tego ry of

ea r ly twen t ie th -cen tu ry

music

1Quoted

in Benjamin Suchoff , Essays on Bela Bar tok

London: Faber and Fab er , 1 97 6) , pp. 432-3.

2

An

important

ana lys i s of

one of these o t h e r p i e c e s

8)

i s to be

found in

Al len

For te , Contemporary

Tone-St ruc tures

New

York: Columbia

Univers i ty Pres s ,

1955) ,

pp. 74-90.



12

INDIANA T ORY REVIEW

c al le d a to na l.

3

Much o f the d i f f i c u l t y in unders tanding

t h i s

compl ica ted

music has been

overcome

with the r ecen t

development o f the

unordered p i t ch -c l a s s se t concept

by

Al

len

For t e .

4

While u sua l ly app lied to compos i t ions from

Schoenberg s

s choo l ,

the

concept

wi l l

be

seen

here

to

o f

fe r valuab le

ass i s t ance

in unders tand ing the music of

Bar tok .

PRINCIPAL MOTIV

I n i t i a l examinat ion of t h i s piece neces sa r i l y focuses on

the four -pc motive , which

so

obviously a r t i c u l a t e s

the th ree

la rge

formal

d iv i s i ons . This motive , dynamical ly and

agog ica l ly con t r a s t ed to sur rounding mate r i a l a t each ap-

Exampl e

1.

Pr inc ipa l Motive, m

70.

pearance ,

i s

found

in

bas ic

form

in the l a s t

measure .

The

appearances o f the p r inc ipa l motive mm 13-14, 37-38,

and

70 serve as c los ing caden t i a l pa t t e rn s fo r each o f

the

th ree

sec t i ons o f the form.

However, th e

importance

o f

t h i s

motive

can

be

shown to

extend fa r beyond t h i s obvious

sur face fea tu re . Comparison

with

measures 1 and 2 shows t h a t

the pr inc ipa l

motive

may be

cons ide red a contour

and rhythmic

d i s t i l l a t i on o f the

opening phrase

of

the

piece . This

two-measure

phrase ,

with

only minor modi f ica t ions , i n i t i a t e s each

pr inc ipa l

s ec t i on

of the form mm 1-4 ,

15-18,

39-43) . Thus, formal

coherence

i s s t reng thened

by

rounding

each o f the th re e s ec tio ns

3I t s

1908

c ompos itio na l d a te i s the same as t h a t

of

the

George Lieder Ope 15

of

Schoenberg,

which

i s gene ra l l y

regarded as h is ea r l i e s t a tona l work.

4Allen

For t e ,

The St ruc tu re of

Atonal

Music

New

Haven:

Yale

Univers i ty

Press ,

1973 .



BARTOK S BAGATELLE OPe 6/9 13

Example

2. D i s t i l l a t i o n

of

Opening Phrase i n t o

P r i n c i p a l

Motive , mm. 1 - 2 .

/

/

/

3/

>

___

].

4

ti .,

V

[

lti

..d-

A

...

f

l:3

with b a s i c

motivic

m a t e r i a l s .

An

even more p e r v a s i v e s i g n i f i c a n c e o f t h e p r i n c i p a l mo

t i v e i s d i s c o v e r e d

when unordered

pc

s e t a n a l y s i s i s ap

p l i e d . The f i n a l two v er s i o ns o f t h e motive both analyze as

pc s e t 4-16, 0 , 1 , 5 , 7 ) . In a d d i t i o n , each o f th e s e two

m otiv ic o ccurren ces i s preceded by th e pc t h a t forms 4-16

in i n v e r s i o n ) with t h e f i r s t t h r e e motivic p c s . The f i r s t

motive p r e s e n t a t i o n does n o t ,

however ,

r e v e a l 4-16 d i r e c t l y ,

a l t h o u g h ,

as

i n

the

o th er o cc ur re nc es ,

i s

preceded

by

th e

pc wh ic h fo rms an i n v e r t e d 4-16.

The

4-23

fo rmed

by t h e

motive in mm. 13-14 i s n o t s t r u c t u r a l in t h i s

work.

Numerous a d d i t i o n a l o c c u r r e n c e s o f

4-16

pc s e t s in t h i s

p i e c e w i l l be d i s c u s s e d l a t e r in t h i s p a p e r .



14 INDIANA THEORY

REVIEW

Example 3. Motivic

4-16

Presen ta t ions .

Largo

J

It II

2

... 7

t)

I

;/1

,.

: ~

1

.

c ~

l

\:.I

i

I

~ b ~ ~

(q)l=t

-

-

Molto sostenuto

J J

j

\ :I

I

A3

,

, 9

- -

4

~

>

>

-

-

-

non 1 it

.

I

t

-

.

.

y

I

•

1 -1

q I O ~

...

+J

--------

Molto

sostenuto .J : J

I

A/l.

/

.

/3, _

-1r : \

..

.

.

, t

t/

=

r

f

pesante

l

~

bi

l

. k:-

K

., .-.4-

.

c

4 23

X 1...__

-.,-

__ ---,-JIX

C3 5

j

i} IO

I



BARTOK S BAGATELLE,

OPe 6/9

15

OPENING PHRASE

Examining th e b eg in nin g of th e p i e c e , we

f i n d

in the

opening two-measure

phrase

and i t s

modif ied

r e p e t i t i o n a l l

of the

pc

s e t s

t h a t

a r e

to

be

s ig n if ic a n t s tr u c tu r al

e l e

ments . T e t r a c h o r d s

formed

by

cont iguous

p c s

a r e

shown

i n

Example 4.

Example

4.

T e t r a c h o r d s

Formed

by

Contiguous P c s ,

mm. 1 - 4 .

Allegretto grazioso

J:

so

3

f \

/4c:::-

3-

:::

\

..

ct.

.....

V

;

I

V

:;ji

n

J.,.

.

<

(

:::-

:::>.

A----9

A

==

==

I I

q u

( ,1,/ ,Of

I I I

S,II,I

li I-II

(2, 5./

The f i r s t two measures p r e s e n t s i g n i f i c a n t pc

s e t s

4-26

and

4-19 as

s u r f a c e , cont iguous u n i t s . In the

r e p e t i t i o n

p r e s e n t e d in mm.

3-4, Bar tok

r e t a i n s

th e

i n i t i a l

t e t r a c h o r d

but m o d i f i e s the f i n a l one by expanding the

l a s t

i n t e r v a l

from

a

minor

s i x t h to a

minor

s e v e n t h .

While

t h i s m o d i f i c a

t i o n m a i n t a i n s the i d e n t i t y o f

t h e

phrase by rhythm and con

t o u r ,

t h i s s u b t l e

change a l s o r e s u l t s

i n

the appearance o f

t h e

4-16

t e t r a c h o r d ,

whose

importance has

a l r e a d y

been

e s t a b l i s h e d . Of more

s i g n i f i c a n c e

i s t h e o b s er va ti o n t h a t

t h e 4-16 in measure

4 i s

a t the same

p it c h l e v el

as

t h a t o f

t h e f i n a l measure

of th e

p i e c e see

Example

1 . This

i n

t e r v a l l i c change a l s o

t r a n s f o r m s

the e n t i r e melodic

phrase

mm. 3-4 i n t o

pc s e t

8-16, th e complement

o f

t h e

4-16 j u s t

mentioned.

Another

l e v e l o f

pc s e t

a n a l y s i s

i n vo lv es t h e e x t r a c t i o n

o f t h o s e p c s s i g n i f i c a n t

due

to p o s i t i o n ,

l e n g t h ,

a c c e n t ,

r e c u r r e n c e , o r s i m i l a r

c r i t e r i a .

A

s e t

a n a l y s i s

o f mm. 1-4

r e v e a l s

i n i t i a l o c c u r r e n c e s o f s i g n i f i c a n t

pc

s e t 4-20. One

example o f 4-19 s e r v e s to

connect

the two p h r a s e s

by

i n

volving

p c s

i n a l l

fo ur m ea su re s. The 4-24 occurrence

i s a



16

INDIANA THEORY REVIEW

h i n t toward th e who le -to ne r i c h s e c t i o n s which

occur

l a t e r

in the p i e c e .

Example 5.

E x t r a c t i o n

o f S ig n i f i c an t P c s , mm

1-4 .

At t h i s

p o i n t

should

be

observed

t h a t

t h e

comparison

between the p r i n c i p a l motive

and opening

phrase

shown i n

Example 2

goes

beyond the contour s i m i l a r i t i e s d i s c u s s e d .

Tetrachord 4-16 i s expressed

by

both

the

p r i n c i p a l

motive

and the

p c s e x t r a c t e d

in Example

2. The

s u b s t i t u t i o n o f

E

b

f o r E

as

i n d i c a t e d

by t h e d o t t e d l i n e

r e v e a l s

pc

s e t

4-20,

another s i g n i f i c a n t s e t . )

This

type o f

background

e q u i v a l e n c e i s

found th roughout

t h e p i e c e ,

i n s u r i n g a

c o h e r e n t and

u n i f i e d

s t r u c t u r e .

At an

even more concealed

background l e v e l ,

th e

pc s e t

8-22 i n

mm 1-2 c o n t a i n s t h r e e 4 - 1 9 s ,

two

4 - 2 0 s , and four

4 - 1 6 s .

The

pc s e t 8-16 in mm 3-4 c o n t a i n s s i x 4 - 1 6 s ,

t h r e e

4 - 1 9 s ,

and

two 4 - 2 0 s .

Although

some

o f

t h e s e

do

n o t

appear obvious on the s u r f a c e , B a r t o k s

c h o i c e o f

s e t s

t h a t

c o n t a i n t h e s e

p a r t i c u l a r

t e t r a c h o r d s

i n

such

g r e a t

numbers

i s

s i g n i f i c a n t .

A few

o f t h e concealed s e t s a r e

shown

in

Example

6.

S e c t i o n 2

of

th e

p i e c e begins i n mm 15-16 with the

same

p h r a s e

t h a t

was

found in

mm 3-4.

This

p h r a s e , i t s e l f

a

m o d i f i c a t i o n

o f

mm 1 - 2 , i s

v a r i e d

s l i g h t l y i n the

fol lowing

two

measures mm 1 7 - 1 8 ) . The

lowering

of th e f o u r t h

pc

from

C

to

C r e s u l t s in the changing o f

s e t

4-26,

8 , 1 1 , 1 , 4 ) ,

to

4-19 ,

4 , 8 , 1 1 , 0 ) .

The

lowering

of a l l four

f i n a l

p c s by

a minor

second

obviously r e t a i n s the



BARTOK S BAGATELLE

Pe

6/9

Example

6. Concealed

T e t r a c h o r d s ,

mm 1 4 .

17

t e t r a c h o r d 4 16

but

a l s o

c r e a t e s

4 19

0 , 1 , 4 , 8 ) ,

from

t h e

second

through the

f i f t h

p c s .

The

s i g n i f i c a n t

t e t r a c h o r d s

a r e d e t a i l e d

in

Example

7.

Example

7.

Signi

f i c a n t

T e t r a c h o r d s , mm

15 18.

I/f-,, I,K/ I

if If:

C/ l/( i f)

1

f 9 (0/ , ; ,8)



18

INDIANA

THEORY

REVIEW

olto sostenuto

The th i rd and f i n a l major

d iv i s ion

o f th e piece beg ins

in

mm

39-40 with ye t ano the r modifica t ion o f the o r i g i na l

ph rase ,

d i f fe r ing from mm

17-18

by

onl¥ two p c s .

By

low ering the

second

and e igh th pc s from G to G the f i r s t

t e t r achord

(which

had

been 4-19)

becomes

I 4-20,

(4 , 7 , 11 , 0 ) ,

and

the

s i gn i f i c an t pc s B, D F , and G form 4-20 ,

(6 , 7 , 11 , 2 ) . A modif ied sequence

of the

f i n a l th r ee pc s o f

th e

phrase

may be expla ined by i t s

leng then ing o f the 4-20

t e t rachord

in to

the

fol lowing

measure

(m. 41) . In

add i t i on ,

cons i s tency

i s mainta ined

in comparison with

mm

15-18 by

th e

presence o f a

4-19

te t rachord disp layed

by

agog ica l ly

s i gn i f i c an t pc s , beginning with

th e

motiv e h ea rd in measure

38. Thus, 4-19 , (10 ,11 ,2 ,6 ) , s o l i d i f i e s a

f ive-measure

seg-

ment

mm.

37-41) and br idges two major

sec t ions

(I I

and

I I

I)

•

Example 8. S ign i f i c an t Tet rachords , mm 37-41.

11

Pr inc ipa l

Notive

Sect ion

I n i t i a l

Phrase

11 d i f i ed

Sect ion

~

: Modified

Sequence

of

m

40

The fol lowing measures conta in the opening phrase fo r the

f i r s t

t ime

a t

a t r an s po si t io n le ve l othe r than

th e

o r i g i na l .

While the

choice

of t ra n sp os i t io n leve l

can

be most ob

vious ly

expla ined by

th e t r ad i t i ona l down a pe r f ec t f i f th

ope r a t i on , is s ig n if ic an t t h a t t h i s t r anspos i t i on l eve l



BARTOK S BAGATELLE, OPe

6/9

19

and

h i n t s

a t

the

4-16

m a t e r i a l s

which fo l low.

The

preceding t h r e e

p c s F , B,

expresses a

4-16 t e t r a c h o r d

t e t r a c h o r d s which

permeate

the

new

pc E,

when taken

with th e

and C, forms 4-16, 1 1 , 0 , 4 , 6 ) .

The,

t r a n s p o s i t i o n

in

mm

42-43

i s

e x a c t

fo r

two

measures

u n t i l

the

f i n a l

t h r e e p c s a r e sequenced . Here mm.

44-45

two

d i f f e r e n t

m o d i f i c a t i o n s express 4-16 s e t s . This

type o f s e t

usage

i s c h a r a c t e r i s t i c o f th e next s e v e r a l

mea su res, a s i n d i c a t e d in Example

9.

Example 9.

S i g n i f i c a n t

T e t r a c h o r d s ,

mm

43-50.

¥· Gt ~ q I , 2 .

4 q

10 /1

l.J

Over

a 12-measur e span mm. 39-50 , t h e f i n a l t r i c h o r d

o f

the phrase i s found numerous t imes a t v a r i o u s

t r a n s p o s i t i o n

l e v e l s

and i s modified

as to p i t c h

and

rhythm. While

th e

choice

o f

i n d i v i d u a l

t r a n s p o s i t i o n l e v e l s

and

m o d i f i c a t i o n s

may

seem to be i n s i g n i f i c a n t ,

s e t a n a l y s i s

r e v e a l s an o v e r -

a l l

f e a t u r e

which

s t r e n g t h e n s

the s t a b i l i t y and c o n s i s t e n c y

of

t h i s l e n g t h y

s e c t i o n . The

i n i t i a l p c s

o f

each o f t h e s e

t r i c h o r d s

form

the

s e t 4-19,

6 , 7 , 1 0 , 2 ) . Amazingly, th e



20

INDIANA THEORY REVIEW

pa t te rn may be seen to extend back in to Sect ion I I by two

measures mm. 37-38) ,

unfolding

t h i s t e t r achord over a span

of

fourteen

measures .

In add i t ion

to loca l se t

occurrences ,

fu r the r se t uni ty

i s found

in

t h i s

a rea o f

the piece

when s ix teenth-note

dyads

fol lowing each

o f

the

jus t -d i scussed

t r i chords are examined.

Taking the f i r s t pi tches of

each dyad

in measure

46 D ,G)

and th e c or re sp ondin g

pi tches

in

mm. 47-48 G,

C

with

those

of

measure

49

D,

F )

revea ls 14 - 1 6 , 0 ,2 ,6 ,7 .

Measure 49

D, F ) and mm. 50-53 A, C ) produce 4-20, 1 ,2 ,6 ,0 , and

the dyad of mm.

50-53

A, C ) and

E,

G of measure 54 form

another

s e t

of s imi l a r type,

14 - 2 0 , 1 ,4 ,8 ,9 . A de t a i l

o f

the ext raordinary s e t complexi ty of t h i s area of the p iece

i s

given

in

Example 10.



Example

10.

Te tr acho rda l Se ts

{mm.

37-5

4

}.

t f ~ / q (/0)/1./ 2, ,, )

I

t

r

-;r 3/

7/0/

I I

I I

O

.

o

t

f

O

>

t

L

L

t

I

-

- 1

7f ff

=

fI

I 1

, i

I

I

t f -ZO

l

j

O./f

J

1

I

I

~ . I ( I I , O / 7 ~ )

I-to

(if;S ,9;O) I

I I I I I I I I

I

- t 0

(( .J

/( z )

It Z

0 /

0

0/ 7) I

I I I

I

J

=

J j)JT

I I

I

if

.

/(o

,q,l

10 Z)

1-)

I

I

Molt

I

I

I

I

I I I

- I I

g

f f i I

a I Is I

If Jq :J,7)/O)2)

__o s o s t e n u t o ~ -

V ;4

A

.

IJ.

-

-:;I

7

\ Q

...J _ •

b71·

---

mp

,

,/-

-

.

f

sf

-

I

-.: .

:

,

.-

.

..

s

.,

ttU

-

II

I

-it sf



22

INDIANA T ORY R VI W

t

I

I

I

I;}

...

;:

:\

VI

g

t ..

::}.

/

II.

m

\



BARTOK S BAGATELLE, O P.

6/9

23

_

]

]

]

]

J

]

~

l

~

C ~

< AA

<

~ U

1

~

~

t

ru

~

<

D ~ t

In

,

1<

tU

:u:

i()

<l

•

r

•

•

•

I

n

•

•

•

t

l

~ ~

-

-

)

-...r



24 INDIANA

TH ORY

REVIEW

The f i n a l

few

measures

br ing

the piece to

a

c lose with

a

re tu rn

of the

pr inc ipa l

motive as has been mentioned

ea r l i e r .

Example 3 shows the 4-16 s e t occur rences within

t h i s motive . However, the

sense

of r e t u rn and f i na l i t y i s

g rea t l y

s t reng thened

by

th e

untransposed

re tu rn

in

mm

68-70

of mate r i a l s

found twice

e a r l i e r

mm.

3-4

and

mm

15-16 in

the opening phrase . Here,

mm

68-70, the

mate r i a l s

take a

markedly d i f f e r en t shape ,

involving a

rhythmic

mot ive

found

ea r l i e r

and

the

pr inc ipa l

mot ive .

I t wi l l be

remembered

t h a t the motive

was

determined to

be

a d i s t i l l a -

t io n o f th e opening phrase . The

mate r i a l s

o f mm 3-4 and

15-16

i nc lude an ove ra l l

8-16,

7 ,8 ,11 ,1 ,2 ,3 ,4 , and

con

t i guous s ta tements

o f

i t s

complement

4-16 , 2 ,3 ,7 ,9 and

4-26 , 8 , 11 , 1 , 4 . The acknowledgement o f

unordered

s e t s a l -

lows

us to discover in mm 68-69 the

same

4-26 , 8 , 11 , 1 , 4 ,

j u s t ment ioned .

The f ina l

measure r evea l s a

cont iguous

4-16 , 2 ,3 ,7 ,9 , al though in a

d i f f e r en t

shape and orde r

from

i t s ,

i n i t i a l

appearances .

The

ove ra l l

mate r i a l of these

f i na l measures

i s

determined to be the 8-16

found

e a r l i e r .

Example

11 i l l u s t r a t e s the re tu rn of these mate r i a l s .



BARTOK S BAGATELLE OP. 6/9

Example

11.

Set Return mm 3-4 15-16 and

68-70.

3 NJ

IS

OVER LL SET PL CEMENT

25

The

preceding

discuss ion

has

centered

upon

the

ex is tence

in

t h i s

piece of one bas ic melodic idea , expressed in two

shapes

p r inc ipa l motive and opening

ph rase , and occurr ing

only a t c ruc ia l poin ts in the t r i p a r t i t e form. In

addi

t i on ,

the

s e t s t ruc tu re of these poin ts has been

cha rac t e r i zed by the ex is tence of only four bas ic

t e t r acho rds 4-16 4-26 4 -19 and 4-20 .

Completing

the

s tudy

of t h i s

piece by

examining the

i n t e r i o r of each sec

t i on , we uncover a

few

se t s no t

prev ious ly

found

and

a re

able to re f ine

our

view of the

o the r s

through t h e i r

re spec

t i ve

placement .

Sets

4-16

and

4-26

are

found

to

c on ta in s tro ng

formal

im -



26

INDIANA

TH ORY

R VI W

p l i ca t ions

s ince

they appear a t

the

beginning

and

end of

the

three major sec t ions .

Example 12. Placement

of Pc Sets 4-16

and 4-26.

Mm

I I

15

I I I

39

70

4-16 1-4

8 12-13 15-18

37-38 40-49 58-60 64-70

4-26

1 3

15 50-54

67-69

Sets 4-19 and 4-20 suppor t the consis tency

and

cont inui ty

of the work,

as

revealed

by t he i r

p re sence t hrou gh o ut . They

are

found

in f i f t y o f

the

s ev en ty m ea su re s.

The

l a s t

few

measures o f

each

s ec t i o n

however,

a re c h ar ac te ri ze d

by the

absence of

these

two s i g n i f i c a n t s e t s .

Example 13. Placement o f Pc

Sets 4-19

and 4-20.

Mm

I I

15

I I I

39

70

4-19 1-5 8-12 15-18 23-27 29-30

38 6

58-62 65

4-20

1-5

8-12

15-16 23-26

29-33 39-54 60-61 64-65

The i n t e r io r

o f each sec t ion i s

charac te r ized

also

by

the

presence of

whole-tone

r ich passages, i . e .

se t s

3-6, 4-21,

5-33, and 6-35. Example 14

i l l u s t r a t e s the

manner in

which

a whole-tone se t ex i s t s

in

conjunct ion

with

other s t ruc tu ra l

se t s of

t h i s

piece .

The placement o f these whole- tone

r ich

passages

i s

d ia -

gramed

in

Example

15.

In order

to

complete the

se t ana lys is

of the piece two

add i t iona l al though scarce ly

used

se t s must

be

mentioned.

The

oc ta tonic

se t s

4-3, 4-28,

and

8-28

are

found,

as

well as

s e t

4-11. Their placement

i s

shown in Example 16.

Example

17 of fe r s an

overview o f

motiv ic

sur face fea tures

of the work. In

addi t ion

to basic motivic mater ia l already

discussed

three smal l

mot iv ic uni t s are

found

to be

s ign i f i c a n t .

I t wil l be

not iced

t h a t

s e t

placement

suppor ts

the

ever-expanding three sect ion form shown in Example 17,

as well

as adding to the con t inu i ty

fac to r

necessary

to

any

m usi ca l c om pos it io n . Example

18 summarizes

the ove ra l l

se t

placement of s ig n if ic a nt s et s in the work.

Final ly

one fundamental d i f f i c u l ty in

se t ana lys is

of

t h i s piece has

been

suggested e a r l i e r t h a t

i s

expla ining

the

F

which

occurs

as

the

four th

motivic

pc

in

measure

14.



BARTOK S BAGATELLE OP. 6/9

27

Example 14. Whole tone Set

5 33

Combined with

Others .

Example 15.

Whole tone

S e t s .

m

1 15

39 70

3 6 5 33

4 21 6 35 4 5 19 22 29 36 49 57 62 63

Example

16.

Sets

4 3 4 28

8 28

and

4 - 1 l .

m 1

15

39

70

4 3 4 28

8 28

6 7

18 21

4 11

12

28 32

67 69

An

overview o f the work however helps p r e s e n t one p o s s i b l e

answer to t h i s q u e s t i o n .

The

importance o f the i n i t i a l and

f i n a l p c s o f

each

s e c t i o n i s obvious . Any

formal

s e c t i o n

can

be viewed

simply

a s

movement o f the f i r s t

p i t c h through

o t h e r s

t o the l a s t . Here a n a l y s i s o f the t h r e e such

s i t u a t i o n s r e v e a l s t h a t the i n i t i a l

p i t c h

o f each s e c t i o n i s



Example 7

Motivic Flacement

tv

1JI

I

H

Z

t:

H

;p

Z

;p

~

I

tr

0

:;

K

:;

tr

I

4 m

I I

<

12

H

tr

:

Motive

b

iNC, p.1

otive P ~ .

I

t t·lIe..

a

Moflve

c

~ ~



•

Cl )

BARTOK S BAGATELLE OP.

6 9

I

I

g

I

3

I

I

110

.. .

Q

;to

W

-

I

IY )

e

I

r

N j

-

~ t l ~

I

T I

I

I

I

< :

1r

•

I

I

I

::J

\--t ~

I

ll-v

oZ

fE-S

t t

v

n: \7

z

29



30

INDI N T ORY REVIEW

B and

tha t

the

f ina l

p i t ches fol low

in

a

down- in- f i f ths

progress ion .

Example

19.

I n i t i a l

and Fina l Pi tches o f Sec t ions .

This l og i ca l and

pred i c t ab l e

movement toward

E

b

which

Bartok named as ton ic of t h i s piece) es tab l i shes the p lace

o f F. I t

i s

ce r t a i n l y more than co inc iden ta l ,

however ,

t ha t

the

four p c s

o f Example 18 form the

s e t

4-16,

(10 ,11 ,3 ,5) ,

whose primary

s ign i f i cance

in

t h i s work has

a l ready

been

es tab l i shed .

In

conc lus ion ,

unordered

pc s e t ana lys i s has

demonstra ted

s t ruc t u r a l s ign i f i cance in t h i s piece

on

seve ra l d i f f e r ing

leve l s and

seems to

ca s t

doubts

toward

the exper imenta l

or

immature

na ture

o f

t h i s

Baga te l l e .

Rather ,

i s

a

t i gh t

ly c on str uc te d a to n al work

whose

bas ic pr inc ip les o f con

s t ruc t ion

a re

ca r e fu l l y

conceived.

UTHOR S NOT

Much

o f

the prepara t ion

fo r t h i s

paper was made poss ib le

by a g ran t

from the Nat ional Endowment fo r

the

Humani t ies .

The

author wishes to

thank

Allen For te

fo r

h is

guidance

in

preparing the

bas ic

in fo rmat ion .

BIBLIOGR PHY

For t e , Allen .

Contemporar¥

Tone-S t ruc tures . New York:

Columbia

Univers i ty

P re ss , 1955.

The St ruc tu re of Atonal

Music.

New

Haven:

Yale Un iv ers ity P re ss , 1973.

Suchoff ,

Benjamin.

Essa¥s on Bela Bartok .

London:

Faber

and Faber ,

1976.



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