Journal of Music Theory-2016 Dissonant Prolongation

Journal of Music Theory
Dissonant Prolongations Again

Nontonic Extensions in Nineteenth-Century Music
Robert P. Morgan
Abstract Taking my own Schenker-derived view of dissonant prolongations as a point of departure, this
article attempts to clarify this phenomenon by considering it in relation to tonal prolongation. This is accom-
plished in three ways: by reconsidering Schenkers mature attitude toward tonality and dissonance in more
detail, with particular emphasis on his idea that dissonant prolongations are based on tonicizable but nontonic
triads; by examining a number of extended, if partial, precedents for such prolongations in his final publication,
Der freie Satz; and by supporting the articles main claim, that three songs by Hugo Wolf ending on nontonic
chords suggest that they contain Schenkerain prolongations, being at once dissonant and tonal. The article
ends by considering three tonal works by Brahms, Debussy, and Schoenberg that, though tonal and not com-
pletely dissonant, contain extended dissonant prolongations.
Keywords dissonant prolongation, Schenkers view of dominant prolongation
some forty years ago this journal published my first scholarly article, Dis-
sonant Prolongations: Theoretical and Compositional Precedents (Morgan
1976). It dealt with Schenkerian theory and, more specifically, with whether
it should be broadened to include prolongations of nontonal harmonies,
offering a positive response through six analyses. The first three addressed
sections of Schuberts song Die Stadt (1828), Liszts Faust Symphony (1855),
and Wagners Parsifal (1882), and the last three treated complete piano pieces:
Liszts Die Trauer-Gondel I (1882) and Bagatelle ohne Tonart (1885) and
Scriabins nigme, op. 52/1 (1907). All but one were written during the nine-
teenth century, and all six remained at least partly under the influence of
common-practice conventions. Without exception, however, the six involved
dissonant prolongations, either of an augmented or diminished triad (includ-
ing the latters extension as a diminished seventh) or, in nigme, of a chord
with strong dominant-like associations. But in each case the dissonant chord
was projected by nontraditional means, which in the first three were resolved
beyond the sectional level but in the last three not at all.
This article attempts to clarify this topic further by approaching it from
a different and more limited perspective: through prolongations that, unlike
Journal of Music Theory 60:1, April 2016

DOI 10.1215/00222909-3448737 2016 by Yale University 1
Published by Duke University Press

2 JOURNAL of MUSIC THEORY
these earlier ones, are exclusively tonal. Here, then, the prolongations are not
produced by nontonal, contextual means that control (at least) complete sec-
tions but, rather, are dissonant, and thus unstable, only in that they prolong
nontonic chords rather than the tonic itself. This article resembles its prede-
cessor, however, in that it deals with works that, in all cases but one, were
composed during the nineteenth century.
Before analyzing these new pieces, I first summarize the principal
points the earlier article made, at least implicitly. All of the prolongations
there were, with a single exception, based on one of the two dissonant chords
that in conventional tonal harmony were viewed as normal: the augmented
triad and the diminished triad. The exception, moreover, in nigme, was
based on a nonstandard dissonance that, since it resembled a dominant sev-
enth, retained definite tonal associations. Indeed, the Scriabin piece seemed
an ideal example with which to end: it had a nontraditional prolongation
based on a chord with multiple tritones that anticipated Scriabins mystic
chord, both internally and in retaining links to common practice procedure.1
Another aspect of the examples, not sufficiently stressed in the article
itself, was that they traced a consistent chronological evolution. Thus the
prolongations in the first three were achieved over increasingly longer time
spans and through more differentiated means (repetition in Schubert, neigh-
bor-note elaboration in Liszt, and different types of secondary chords in Wag-
ner), while those in the final three failed to resolve at all. What distinguished
the first three pieces from more normal tonal works, then, was that their
dissonant prolongations controlled complete sections, creating self-enclosed
formal units that had their own distinct thematic content: in the Schubert
an introduction, stanza, and coda of a song; in the Liszt a lengthy, enclosed
symphonic introduction and its later transposition; and in the Wagner the
complete prelude to the third act of an opera.
Although the final three prolongations encompassed their works
entirety, the two Liszt piano pieces prolonged the same augmented and
diminished chords as did the first three prolongations, which meant that in
principle they could still resolve. But so could also the Scriabin piece, since
its prolongation involved a chord closely resembling a dominant. Yet none of
the three actually did resolve, at least within the piece itself, but depended
exclusively upon nontonal extension, lacking a sufficiently stable chord to
lend them normal tonal meaning. Even the presumed tonic of Scriabins
nigme, D , which actually appears as a chordal root and bass note in mm.
2324 and 2931, sounds like a dominant due to its multiple tritones and
prominent B s. In addition, it appears in a progression directed away from
1It is thus no coincidence that several Scriabin pieces to the tonic. A third, Dsir (1908), which opens the op.
published roughly at the same time as nigme, including 57 set, has a dominant-like dissonance that actually closes
the Pome languide, which shares its opus number, op. the piece but appears simultaneously with a tonic fifth in
52/3 (1906), and Caresse danse, op. 57/2 (1907), have the bass.
similar altered dominants at their end, although they resolve

Robert P. Morgan Dissonant Prolongations Again 3
the tonic rather than toward it, and in a piece ending with a complete whole-
tone scale without d . It seemed preferable, then, to assume that the last three
examples lacked resolution, which would have had to be located so deep in
the background as not to appear at all.2
As noted, all six compositions projected dissonant chords, prolonged by
contextual, self-referential means, and were thus at least temporarily inde-
pendent of traditional harmonic conventions. Nevertheless, it was clearly no
coincidence that the first five prolonged one of the two dissonant triads
prominent in tonal harmony, whereas the sixth prolonged a dominant-related
chord. This meant that all the dissonant prolongations could in principle
resolve normally (as the first three actually did), and this raised an important
point: prolongations based on augmented, diminished and dominant-like
chords inevitably suggested common-practice procedures, even when they are
not explicitly evoked. To take Liszts Bagatelle ohne Tonart as an example,
its background diminished seventh prolongation, while consistently ignoring
the conventions of tonal dissonance treatment (thereby explaining its notori-
ous harmonic adventurousness), could ultimately resolve tonally. Though
raised only implicitly in Morgan 1976, this explained why nineteenth-century
prolongations, even dissonant ones, should always be viewed as part of a gen-
eral theory of tonality.
Since the earlier article dealt with dissonant prolongations within a Schenke-
rian perspective, the present section offers a more general discussion of tonal
dissonance within Schenkers mature theory, illustrated by analyses from Der
freie Satz (1935), his final publication. Fortunately, Schenkers conception of
unresolved dissonant prolongations has already been dealt with in an excel-
lent article by Ramon Satyendra (1997), who analyzes a number of works by
Liszt that prolong unstable chords, avoiding normal tonal closure. Moreover,
since most of these chords are heard as dominant-related and their prolon-
gations interpreted as belonging to a single major-minor mode, they are ana-
lyzed as being in some sense tonal.
This enabled Satyendra, who focuses mainly on examples from Liszts
later works, to examine pieces that retain the relatively free voice leading
typical of the composers later years. He does not, however, view their prolon-
gations as dissonant in the sense of Morgan 1976, analyzing them rather as
paradoxical or symmetricalthat is, as belonging to works that are at
once tonal and nontonal. Of particular interest is the section Differences
2For an opposing view, see Baker 1990, where Liszts Bakers (1990, 167) statement that one wonders if any
Lugubrious Gondola I (also analyzed in Morgan 1976) is nineteenth-century composer, even the boldest innovator,
viewed as being in F minor despite ending on EG C. The was capable of composing outside of tonality, I would add
resolution to the tonic, however, is only implied at best. completely before the last three words, because it makes
Baker 1983 contains a similar analysis of nigme that no sense to analyze a prolongation as resolving if it remains
explicitly challenges my own. Although I largely agree with completely unresolved within the piece itself.

between Dominant and Dissonant Prolongation, where Satyendra (1997, 193)

quotes Charles Rosens 1995 general description of the Romantic Fragment
as not fixed but ... torn apart or exploded by paradox. (Satyendras [1997,
18689] analysis of the song Verlassen provides an excellent example.)
Moreover, Satyendras emphasis on works that can be seen as tonal provides
a useful complement to both of my articles, but especially the present one.
Satyendra nevertheless says relatively little about Schenkers overall
view of tonality or of how dissonance is treated within it. Schenkers view of
dissonance, however, is well known and is consistent with his general musical
conception: as an elaboration of a more structural configuration to which it
is ultimately resolved and reduced. Indeed, as a result of this view, Schenker
views all chords other than the tonic triad, uniquely derived from the chord
of nature, as subordinate to the tonic and thus dissonant at more back-
ground levels.
As an example, the next-to-last dominant configuration of an Ursatz is
transient, the result of two tonic elaborations, the treble voice forming pass-
ing motion and the bass a fifth arpeggiation. Though it is thus dissonant at
the background level, it nevertheless forms a fifth that can be converted into
a consonance at a more foreground one and can even function as a pure
dominant triad supporting a transferred Ursatz. This holds true, moreover,
for any nontonic chord that can be tonicized (Schenkers term for a triad
temporarily treated as a tonic). Except for foreground chords directly derived
from the tonic, then, all more background ones are dissonant, regardless
ofprolongational length: they can eventually be folded back into the Ursatz
asits elaboration. Not by chance, then, the tonic is the only chord that for
Schenker remains fully consonant and stable.3
What distinguishes the dissonant prolongations in Morgan 1976, then,
is that their prolongations are of chords that not only are dissonant but also
cannot be tonicized. They function tonally, but only if they resolve to a more
stable chord that can itself be tonicized (as happens in the first three exam-
ples). But since more extended prolongations in nineteenth-century music
are normally not based on nontonicizable chords, dissonant prolongations in
the sense of my earlier article are relatively rare.
From this point on, however, the present article concentrates exclu-
sively on prolongations that are tonal, and thus tonicizable, and yet in Schen-
kers terms are also dissonant, but only in that they are not tonics. To take a
3 Although Schenker does not specifically emphasize this through prolongations in ever-renewing layers of voice lead-
point in Der freie Satz, he states it emphatically in his arti- ing, through diminution, through motive, through melody in
cle Elucidations (Schenker 2005, 117): The first passing- the narrower sense; but all of these hark back to the initial
tone progression comprised by the Urlinie generates disso- tonal space, and to the initial passing-tone progressions
nance (second, fourth, seventh). Dissonance is transformed of the Urlinie. Rosen (1971, 26) takes a similar, though
into a consonance because only consonance, with its tonal essentially non-Schenkerian, view, treating subordinate
spaces (as shown earlier [in the same article]) can, by con- keys as nontonic departures: as essentially a dissonance
trast with dissonance, promote new passing-tone progres- raised to a higher plane, transformed by the dominant (or
sions and freshly burgeoning melodies. This comes about another triad) temporarily into a second tonic.

relatively brief example from his work, the analysis in Der freie Satz of the II
prolongation in mm. 18 of Brahmss waltz, op. 39/4, treats it as part of a
dissonant motion connecting the opening E-minor tonic to the backward-
relating dominant of m. 8. Approached by combined-third spans in all voices,
in the bass, for example, from E (i) to C (VI) to A in m. 5, the chord eventu-
ally becomes II , the dominant of V, with the addition of F in m. 8. As the
prolongation of a background dissonance, it is also dissonant (see Schenker
1979, fig. 96.4).
Such nontonic chords, treated as stable at more foreground levels, often
define complete sections that have their own thematic content, especially if
they are on V or, in minor, on III. This is the case, for example, in Der freie Satzs
analysis of mm. 2031 of the exposition of Mozarts C-major Piano Sonata
K.279/i, where the dominant triad prolongs a dissonant 2 over V; or in mm.
56105 of Beethovens C-minor Sonata op. 10/1, i, where the relative major
chord prolongs the motion between I and V, carrying the top voice down from
5 to 3 before it moves to 2 in the development (Schenker 1979, figs. 154.1,
154.3). Indeed, such ultimately unstable dissonant chordseven if Schenker
rarely identifies them as suchrepresent an indispensable part of his theory.
Of special interest for our purposes are Schenkerian analyses of pro-
longed nontonic chords that become literally dissonant by the addition of a
dominant seventh, making them particularly want to resolve (which they
eventually do), but whose resolution appears only after they have controlled
extended musical units. Such unstable prolongations can occur in transi-
tional or developmental passages, such as the transitional dominant at mm.
2561 of Chopins E-major tude, op. 10/3, or the dominants closing the
development sections of Beethovens G-major Piano Sonata op. 14/2, I (mm.
10724), and C-minor Sonata op. 10/1, i (mm. 14867), all three of which are
analyzed in Der freie Satz (Schenker 1979, figs. 153.3b, 154.6, 154.7).
A more complex case, in which the dominant overlaps with the first part
of the recapitulation, appears in connection with the frequently discussed
dominant prolongation ending the development of Beethovens F-minor
Piano Sonata op. 57/i. Here Schenker analyzes the dominant as continuing
through the first statement of the reprise of the opening theme at m. 135, the
tonic finally appearing only at m. 152 (in major) to accompany the themes
varied repeat. Here, then, the dissonant V7 prolongation, and its elaborating
6/4 chords on F minor and G major, controls both the close of the develop-
ment and the opening of the recapitulation, which occurs over V at m. 135
(Schenker 1979, fig. 154.4).4
Of course, the dissonant prolongation of the opening theme in the
recapitulation of op. 57 is linked to the normal one closing the develop-
4 Schenker actually analyzes the return to i with 5 at mm. the pieces sonata form, though he suggests it here in this
152 as an elaboration of the final tonic, with 1, at mm. middleground graph, noting that the recapitulation occurs
192203, thus resolving the 2 over V at m. 122. He thereby over V at m. 135.
avoids the problem of relating the overall prolongation to

ment. And since it is not associated with the main theme in the exposition,
the recapitulations V appears only with the initial thematic statement and
not with its repeat. Nevertheless, an important moment in the development
of nineteenth-century tonality is reached here, in Schenkers reading as well
(and one that is reminiscent of the first three examples in my earlier article,
which also ultimately resolve in traditional manner). Like all tonal chords,
then, especially dissonant ones, here the prolongation depends upon its tonal
anchoring, allowing the dominantor augmented and diminished chords
to resolve normally.
By far the most commonly employed nontonic region in tonal dissonant pro-
longations is the dominant, whose prominence stems from its being the only
common-practice nontonic region capable of defining a key without resolu-
tion. This section deals with significant predecessors for such prolongations:
works whose main thematic material is in its first appearance controlled by V
and thus, unlike in Beethovens Appassionata, is extended through much of
the piece yet resemble the Appassionata in resolving ultimately to the tonic.
Brahmss B Intermezzo op. 76/4, for example, begins with a dominant
prolongation that continues throughout its ABA form, reaching tonic resolu-
tion only at the final cadence. This is shown in the two-layered middleground
graph in Example 1. The first A section opens with a dominant prolongation
and closes with a deceptive cadence to G minor (vi, m. 1319), whereas the B
sections bass has a single chromatic passing tone, G (mm. 2031), that
resolves back to F (V) at the beginning of A (m. 32). The V prolongation then
continues, resolving stepwise to I, closing the tonal motion at m. 45.
Also evident in the graph is that the structural top voice opens on c2 (2),
is prolonged in section A by its lower neighbor b 2 over g, and eventually
reemerges, after section Bs top-voice fifth span over G , b 2e 2, when F
returns at the beginning of section A. The 2 then moves to 1 (b 1) at the final
cadence, which is prolonged to the end of the piece (mm. 4555). The com-
plete progression of the Urlinie is thus 21, although the emphasis throughout
on e and d might cause one to choose the more unorthodox 43. In either
case, however, the top voice is incomplete, mirroring Brahmss incomplete
harmonic progression.
A more complex example appears in Schumanns C-major Piano Fan-
tasy, op. 17/i, whose dominant-oriented opening theme occurs six times
throughout the movement: four times in C and two in E . Only in its final
appearance, however, near the end of the movement, is the dominant resolved
to the tonic (mm. 295.399.1), as the works motto (presumably based on
Beethovens song cycle An die ferne Geliebte) is presented complete for the first
time. Indeed, the tonic C (for there is never any doubt about the themes key)
is not present at all in the main themes three previous C-major statements
(the third, however, does take place over a tonic pedal instead of a dominant


Morgan Example 1
A B A'
m. 1 2 5 7 11 13 21 25 31 32 37 40 43 45 55
j
^ ^ ^
a) 2 (2) 1
j j ^ ^ ^
b b b j
b b bbb n bn b
(3 2 1)
b
& n b n
{

b b n
? bb
b b
bb n b

b b b b n n

v ii
V (V) I
b) ^ ^ ^
2 (2) 1
b

& b

{ ?b
b

b
b

V V I
Example 1. Brahms, B Intermezzo op. 76/4
one). The theme, then, though recurring repeatedly in rondo-like fashion,

appears complete only in its final statement; and while the first statement
opens with an antecedent-consequent structure (mm. 128), all of its repe
titions (tonic
Morgan and2 otherwise) are reduced to the consequent alone. More-
Example
over, as
m. 1 mentioned, 15 none17 of
20 the themes four previous
25 29 tonic 33
appearances
34 (at37 41
mm. 1, 97, 119, and 296) is resolved before the last one, and the two on E
1st Thematic Statement 2nd Th. St. Transition 2nd Theme
^ although they eventually do reach the E tonic,

(Antecedent) (Consequent)
(mm. 29 and 225), 5 (5) pass through
^
j (5 4 3) j (5 4 3) j
a) UN
it quickly on their way to the second groups key: D minor in the exposition, UN

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
in b
b bb n
n
C minor the reprise.
& This allows the
n
b

b bthroughout

{
first Urlinie tone, g (5), to be prolonged
2

# b# n
most ofthe movement,
n b b
?
until it descends quickly at the end (mm. 29699). As
baseries b

a consequence, the
movements principal theme b b
comprises of domi-
n#
nant prolongations, though only the first has antecedent-consequent # struc-

ture and only the last has tonic resolution. The movement, then, can be viewed
as a sort of rondo, although there are also significant sonata-like features
^ ^
(the
b) development
5 being replaced by a contrasting middle section, (5) partly in C
UN
minor), j 5 as well as variational j ones. j

& b
b
n

b b
{
5 The prominent C-minor moments in the middle section
all turn the opening C minor b b
of ?
out to be temporary, as does

the second group of the recapitulation. The movement
b

is thus primarily dominant oriented, despite the frequent
references to C minor.
V III ii

Morgan Example 2
m. 1 15 17 20 25 29 33 34 37 41
1st Thematic Statement 2nd Th. St. Transition 2nd Theme
(Antecedent) (Consequent)
^ ^
5 (5)
j j (5 4 3) j
a) UN UN

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
b n
b bb n b n
(5 4 3)

& b b
{ ?

#

b# n

n b
b
b
b b

b
#
n#
^ ^
5 (5)
j j
b) UN
j

b n
& b
b b
{ ?

b

b
b

V III ii
Example 2. Schumann, C-major Piano Fantasy, op. 17/i, mm. 141
Example 2 provides a two-level middleground sketch of the movement

up to m. 41, the beginning of the second theme. It opens with the first the-
matic statements antecedent-consequent period, which prolongs 5 over V
from m. 1 to m. 28, at which point the V of C is interrupted by the second
thematic statement, on V4/3 of E (mm. 2933). Thereafter the example ends
with the first transitional progression (mm. 3441). While the opening state-
ments antecedent-consequent prolongs 5 (g2) over V, the second statement,
or V4/3 of E , carries the top voice up to the upper neighbor a 2, while the bass
has a descending passing note on F (m. 29). At m. 33 the top voice resolves
back to g2 5, while the bass continues to E . This is followed by the transition,
which takes the bass down to D, the final resolution to this point, while the
top voice moves to the upper neighbor a2 (m. 41).
At this point the movements first Schenkerian fifth descent begins on
a (not included in Example 2), a descent interrupted, however, after its open-
2
ing half, when at m. 53 the supporting harmony begins moving toward F, D

minors relative major. Although the key of D is heard again at mm. 8081, in
major, it leads back, as V of V, to the return of the opening theme starting at
m. 98 on the dominant of C.
Viewing now the entire movement, the Urlinies initial tone (5) is sup-
ported first by V and then by III (m. 33), and following various additional
prolongations, always returning to 5, the pitch eventually moves down to 1 at

mm. 29699. Thereafter the tonic is prolonged for ten additional measures,
bringing the movement to a close.
Important throughout is the emphasis on the dissonant upper neigh-
bor to G, a2, which opens all four of the main themes C-major prolongations
and, chromatically lowered to a 2, also opens the two E transpositions of the
main theme.6 In addition to these diatonic and chromatic neighbors, associ-
ated with all six main-theme statements, a2 supplies the opening note of the
second themes initial appearance (m. 41) and, lowered an octave to a1, the
first note of the completed motto (m. 295.3).
As we have seen, and as is normal in all dissonant tonal prolongations,
there is little question about the Fantasys key. This is hardly surprising, as the
dominant-oriented quality of the larger prolongation is all-important. And as
mentioned, both this piece and Brahmss op. 76/4 resemble the first three
examples in Morgan 1976, in which the dissonant prolongations, despite their
contextuality, ultimately resolve in normal tonal fashion. Resolution in these
pieces is thus not only possible but also eventually occurs.
Nevertheless, the dominant prolongations in the Brahms and Schumann
pieces, based upon conventional tonal environments, are not contextual but
functionally tonal. They are ultimately dissonant, then, only because they
prolong nontonic chords. This has a profound effect upon their tonal mean-
ing, however, and suggests the possibility that other functionally tonal works
with dissonant prolongations fail to resolve at allto which extent they
resemble the three final pieces of Morgan 1976. The tonic of such pieces,
then, is only implied, being confined to a subordinateif not completely
nonexistentrole within the overall pitch structure.
We now turn to three examples of nineteenth-century tonal compositions that

are completely controlled by dissonant, nontonic prolongations. All three are
songs by Hugo Wolf, and the nonresolving chord is in all cases the dominant.
Though the pieces are relatively chromatic, they are unquestionably and con-
sistently tonal. Their backgrounds, however, consist of a dominant prolonga-
tion that ends on the fifth degree in the bass, which means that their overall
progression is directed toward V rather than I. And this means in turn that
their background progression is unlike any piece that Schenker himself
would have considered acceptable.7
6 These prominent dissonances form an outer-voice con- ments on such structures: Perhaps owing to their quality
flict (see Smith 2000). of unquenched striving, auxiliary dividers proved a valuable
device for many composers of the late nineteenth and
7 Poundie Burstein, however, provides a carefully consid-
early twentieth centuries. In exceptional cases, one finds
ered Schenker-based explanation for such structures. He
auxiliary dividers underlying lengthy passages of works
introduces the term auxiliary divider, which, though not
from this period. Burstein then adds an especially telling
used by Schenker, is closely related to the auxiliary cadence
comment: For instance, many large sections of Wagners
(Burstein 2005, 17980), as one that encompasses a pro-
operas and some of Liszts late works in their entirety are
gression not only beginning away from the tonic (as do all
framed by auxiliary dividers (180).
auxiliary cadences) but also with a nontonic goal. He com-

The first example is Wolfs song to the Mrike text Im Frhling, com-
posed in 1888. It is in F minor, a key that is never seriously in doubt and that
corresponds to the works key signature, which both begins and ends with
three sharps (though there are two changes in the middle: mm. 2040, which
has no accidentals, and mm. 4165, which has four sharps). The dominant
orientation is nevertheless clear, as the tonic chord, though relatively fre-
quent, is consistently treated as V (or V7) of IV, and each of the songs three
sections ends with a dominant. Example 3s two-layered middleground (which,
unlike the piece itself, retains the three-sharp signature throughout) illus-
trates its dissonant focus relative to the tonic.
The three sections, mm. 122, 2371, and 7298, one for each stanza of
Mrikes poem, are closely related, especially the first and third, which have
virtually identical piano parts until they close. In both outer sections, the first
four measures begin with the tonic, which immediately becomes V7 of IV,
leading to V (C ), in mm. 4 and 75. The dominant goal is then prolonged for
two additional measures (mm. 56 and 7677) before modulating to IV6/4
(mm. 79 and 7880), so that F again returns in the bass. IV is then pro-
longed in 6/4 position for nine measures (mm. 917 and 8088), after which
it moves again to V (mm. 1822 and 8993). In the opening section, however,
the chord is V7 (mm. 2122) and forms a section-ending half cadence, which
returns to I as the second section begins (m. 23). In the final section, how-
ever, it is elaborated for an additional measure as a pure dominant, without
flatted seventh (m. 94), and prolonged (also in pure form) for four addi-
tional measures as the piece ends (mm. 9598).
The much longer middle section appears similar at first, beginning
with a four-measure phrase that ends on VI, a half step higher than the outer
sections. This VI is then similarly prolonged for two measures before modu-
lating to a C 6/4 chord in the next three (mm. 2931), remaining a half step
higher. The C chord, moreover, has piano material similar to the two F bass
sections (cf. mm. 3143 with mm. 922 and 8094) and eventually moves
down at m. 41 by half step to IV6/4 to bring it back in line with the outer ones.
Here, however, the bass F supports a longer prolongation of IV, from mm.
4172, and the prolongation has a middle segment projecting B as V of VII,
E major (mm. 4357). After it returns to F (mm. 6471), moreover, the bass
soon becomes the root of the tonic triad that opens the final A section (m. 72).
Though there is no doubt about the F key, its tonal projection by the
dominant is critical. Thus the final cadence does not suggest an incomplete
cadence that breaks off before an expected arrival on I but is itself oriented
toward V, and indeed, with one momentary exception, the tonic is never
treated as even temporarily stable. (The exception occurs at the beginning
of the second section, m. 23, where the tonic follows the previous sections
cadential V7, but even here the stability lasts for only a half measure.) All
three section-opening tonic chords thus immediately acquire major thirds and


Morgan Example 3
A A'
m. 1 4 7 9 17 22 23 25 29 31
^ ^ ^
a) 5 (5) ^ 7
j
(6
### # n n n n
& ## # ##
n #
UN
( # )
{

? ### # ### # # ## n n
nn # n
n b (## )

IV6$ V6$
V (V)
^ ^ ^
b) 5 (5) ^ 7
j
(6
## # n n n
UN
&#
# #

{ ? ###

#
#

#

n

n
n

V (V)
A'
m. 41 43 51 64 72 75 78 80 88 92 98
^ ^ ^
a) 8) (5) (5)
j
### # # n # # n # n
& # n#
# # #
{ ? ### #

#

#

#

# # ## n n # # n
n # n
IV6$
IV6$ (V) (V)
^ ^ ^
b) 8) (5) (5)
j
# ## #
& #
n
#

#
{ ? ### #

# # # #
n #

(V) (V)
Example 3. Wolf, Im Frhling

minor sevenths, becoming V7 of IV, and all three of the prolonged Fs in the
bass (mm. 917, 4171, and 8088) are treated as dominants.
The F tonic thus never functions as a goal, and although it occurs
prominently, it is entirely colored by its dominant orientation, as V of IV. Its
own dominant, C , on the other hand, is consistently treated as a tonal goal:
all three sections end with it, each time approached as V rather than I due to
scalar orientation. Thus, despite the appearance of tonics at three critical
moments (the opening of each section, at mm. 1, 23, and 72), the songs pro-
longed dissonant quality is never ultimately resolved.
An additional factor supporting this reading is the top voice of the
piano, whose larger motion can be readily followed in Example 3s lower
level. (The vocal part, while complementary, is not structurally active through-
out most of the piece.) The first structural note in the top voice, c 2 (5 over V),
does not descend to the first degree, as is normal in tonal pieces, but is pro-
longed throughout. (Although the song begins with the treble f2, that pitch
functions as an upper neighbor to the inner-voice e 1, which appears at m. 4
as c 2 when first asserted as the top voice.) During the first section, c 2 is pro-
longed by its upper neighbors d 2 and d2, which resolve back to c at mm.
2122. During the second section, it is prolonged by a rising fourth assent, c 2
(m. 22)d2 (mm. 25)e2 (mm. 31)f2 (m. 72), with the next-to-last note becom-
ing e 2, the leading tone, in mm. 6671. And in the third, c 2 is again pro-
longed by its upper neighbors d 2 and d2. Yet despite this emphasis on C , F
remains the tonic, as is essential for the pieces overall character.
The second piece, Ein Stndlein wohl vor Tag, also composed in 1888
on a well-known Mrike text, illustrates that the overall tonal meaning of
nontonic prolongations need not be immediately clear. Following an intro-
duction for piano alone, there are again three vocal phrases, one for each
ofthe poems three verses, but with the first two closely related. Example 4
provides a prolongational graph, also on two levels. The introduction begins
by prolonging an E 7 chord, presumably V7 of A . The emphasis on A , how-
ever, and (for score readers) the two-flat key signature and spelling of the
seventh as C complicates matters, suggesting that the E chord may be an
augmented sixth in G minor, as is confirmed when the piano phrase resolves
to V of G in m. 4. But this is questioned when the next phrase, the first vocal
one, brings an altered version of the piano introduction that both begins and
ends on E as V of A (mm. 516). Was the progression to V of D in m. 4 then
only a temporary deflection, interrupting a larger E 7 prolongation in mm.
116? (Moreover, when the first vocal phrase moves twice deceptively to vi
in m. 9 and m. 12, returning both times to V of A , in m. 11 and mm. 1516,
the E orientation seems confirmed.)
But this reading is again brought into question by the second vocal
phrase, which exactly repeats the first in the piano a half step higher, thus
framed by two E7 dominants (mm. 1727). And the opening of the third (and
last) phrase carries the bass motion yet a half step higher, to f as V of B , inter-


Morgan Example 4
Intro. A A' A"

m. 1 4 5 8 9 10 11 12 14 15 17 22 27 28 31 33 35 39
j
a) UN
b b b n n # n b
b n n n
nb
& b # #n bn n b bbn bnb n#n # ## nn #n n### n# n #bn n
# #
b
V (V)
j
b)
b nn n b
& b #
#n n #

V (V)
Example 4. Wolf, Ein Stndlein wohl vor Tag
rupting the second with a forte at m. 28 (before the cadential E7 chord can
be repeated:
Morgan Example 5 cf. mm. 1516). This final vocal phrase, however, after begin-
ning similarly
A to the previous A' two, is altered at m. 31.4, the A" bass descending
by stepm. from
1 2 3 f to 4fs 5tonic, 6 7B , in
8 mm. 9 3034.
10 11 During
13 15the
16 first17part18 of this
19 20 21 - 22
j
descent 4(f to d , mm. 3032), the voice begins by prolonging f through its
j j
^ 1 1 2
^
neighbor (m. 32) while the piano ascends to b 3 and then accompanies
#3
a) ^ ^ ^
upper

(3 2 1)
# #
e in m. 33. As a consequence, when the bass continues tob
& # # nn####n # n#nn##n##n n#### # 2nn##n # #2 nn ##
#
the bass c with 2
in m. 34 one expects #
the voice note accompanying it to be d , but it e
retains
at m. 34, resolving to d2 only at m. 35.3, by which time the bass has moved on
to D, forming the dominant of G. And though d2 does return at m. 38, it is ^
j j
4^
j
#3
here in the piano alone, the voice having stopped on the preceding c 2, and
b)
####
nthe

V. n #
accompanied#by
it&is again bass d , producing
# the final

1

songs overall tonality
last chord,V, the
The finally becomes clear: this
dominant of G minor, has not been heard since m. 4, but as a consequence, V
the songs first and last phrases close on the same chord (elaborated in both
by an augmented sixth). The most likely reading of the whole, then, is as a
prolongation of G minors dominant, as shown in Example 4. This is consis-
tent, moreover, with both the pieces two-flat key signature and the larger
diatonic context. D not only functions as V of G minor as the opening chord
of the introduction and goal of both the introductory and final phrases but
also appears transposed as goal of the first and second vocal phrase (prolong-
ing the chord throughout) and as opening of the third. Despite the absence
of Gs tonic as an important chord in the overall progression, then, V of G
minor provides the song with a convincing overall tonal unity: the goal of the
introduction, the transposed goal of the first and second vocal phrases, the
transposed opening of the third, and, again untransposed, the cadential goal
of this third and final phrase. It carries the tonal motion up from V of G
minor (m. 4) by step through V of A (mm. 516), V of A (mm. 1727), to V

of B , G minors relative major (mm. 2831), and then returns to the original
level (V of G minor) at m. 39 as the song ends.8
Even in this reading, however, the motion of the prolongations top line
creates difficulty. Does it begin with a2 (m. 4), the fifth degree of G minors
dominant, and then ascend by step to b2 before returning through b 2 to an
implied a2 in m. 39 (over the inner-voice d2)? Or does it begin with an implied
d2 in m. 4 (over an inner-voice a2) and then ascend to f 2 before returning
diatonically to d2 in m. 35, extended to m. 39? As Example 4 indicates, I find
the first reading preferable since the top voice is more clearly articulated until
the final a2. But both versions support the songs harmonic ambiguity.
The final Wolf song, Sonne der Schlummerlosen, a setting of Otto Gil
demeisters German translation of Byrons poem Sun of the Sleep-Forsaken,
was composed eight years after the previous two, in 1896, and is among Wolfs
final compositions. At first the song suggests a contextual reading, but that
should be rejected because the song becomes increasingly tonal. Example 5,
also on two levels, thus reveals a dominant prolongation encompassing two
chords rather than one: a half-diminished seventh, which begins each of the
three related sections, plus its ultimate resolution to C , the dominant of F ,
as the song closes.9
According to Wolfs four-sharp key signature (retained in Example 5),
the first prolonged chord should be ii4/3 in C minor. but there are good rea-
sons to consider the final chord not as the tonic of C minor but as the domi-
nant of F minor, making the opening chord vi 4/3. This tonic of F is sup-
ported by three significant features: (a) the half-diminished seventh,
dominating all three sections, consists of the three tonic notes of the F -minor
triad plus its added sixth d ; (b) C minors own dominant, G major, plays an
insignificant role in the song; and (c) the C chord to which the prolonged
half-diminished finally resolves is clearly approached as V of F , not as a tonic.
This final C chord first appears in 6/4 position at m. 19 but is then repeated
in root position at m. 20 with major third and lowered seventh (following a
diminished seventh with d ). And the major third is retained, but without the
lowered seventh, when it is prolonged in the final two measures.
8 Due to the songs heavily chromatic nature, Wolf, who 152). There are, however, three small additions: the sec-
uses a two-flat signature throughout, employs enharmonic tional indications are new, as is the roman numeral V under
notation at the opening of the second vocal phrase (mm. the C chord at m. 20, while the b 1 in m. 15 is a correction
1720), using f , a , and c instead of e , g , and b , thus relat- of the originals b . Although my graph is partly indebted to
ing them to the preceding phrases E goal. Though I remain John Williamsons (1996) analysis of the song, it is differ-
consistent with Wolfs notation after m. 21, I have altered ent, since Williamson does not provide an analysis of the
the notation in mm. 1720 to aid in reading their diatonic complete Wolf song, most of the analytical commentary is
relation to the goal of their own phrase, E minor, and also original, and the voice graph, included as Example 6 of this
to preserve the overall dominant quality of G minor. article, is new. In addition, Wolfs three-part form reflects
Gildemeisters translation, not Byrons two-part original.
9 This graph is virtually identical to the one in my review of
William Kindermans 1996 edited collection The Second
Tonal Practice in Nineteenth-Century Music (Morgan 1999,

V (V)
Morgan Example 5
A A' A"
m. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 13 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 - 22
a)j 4^
j j ^ ^ ^
^
#3

(3 2 1)
# ## ##
& # nn####n # n#nn##n##n n#### # nn##n # #nn #
#
^
j j
4^
j
#3
b)
#
# # # n #
& # # n #

V
Example 5. Wolf, Sonne der Schlummerlosen
In addition, c 2 is the goal of an unaltered F -minor linear descent (f2

e d c 2) in the piano at mm. 1618.3, 8765, d being heard in an inner
2 2
voice. So while the half-step descent in the top voices background is tonally
ambiguousshould the f2e 2 be viewed as 43} in C minor or as 87 in F
minor?the E of the final C chord is preceded by a middleground span that
is indisputably in F minor.
The previous middleground descents, at mm. 16 and 713, are less
clear tonally, particularly the first, which leads to the somewhat surprising V
of G in mm. 56 (VI of II in F minor, II of v in C minor). The second,
however, ends with the less surprising vii6/5 of C in mm. 1315. In addition,
both descents have notes of the prolonged diminished-seventh chord as
goals: D alone in the first section, but with three of the four notes in the
second (D , F , and A), and the chords fourth note, C , represented by its
leading tone (B ). And while the ambiguity of the opening descent perhaps
supports a contextual reading, that is not true of the second, which begins by
anticipating the first four pitches of the final sections descent in F minor
(F EDC ), favoring a tonal reading. Finally, the F tonic, though not a
goal, is especially strong in the final stanza, where it leads logically to V.
Also critical for F minor is the G-major chord that first appears in the
second stanza (m. 9) as the F keys Neapolitan, moving to V7 of F minor (m.
10) before melting back into the prolonged half-diminished sonority. It reap-
pears at the corresponding point in the last stanza (m. 18), moving again as
Fs Neapolitan to C , the dominant seventh, but this time through I6 on its
way to the dominant 6/4 (m. 19), after which the latter is retained in root
position as the song ends (mm. 2022). Despite this, however, Example 5 gives
the top voice as 43 in C , the chord understood, however, as the dominant
of F minor.


Morgan Example 6
m. 2 4 5 7 10 14 16 17 19 20
##
& # # # n n ( # ) n

Example 6. Voice line, Sonne der Schlummerlosen
Morgan Example 7
It appears at first that the voice is unrelated to this dominant back-
ground,
a
at least
b c d
4 5 until its 8closing gesture, EDC 12 , in 13
mm. 1920.17But it actu-

m. 1 9
ally supplies
^
3 a critical circular descent from c to c 1 that encompasses
2 ^
3 the
entire middleground,^
(3 as ^shown in Example 6. ^All but one of the pitches of
2 1)
thisb descent
& # the excep-
either open or close a
# one
voice phrase (in both),
case
the final c 1. Also
{
tion being the penultimate d1 that immediately precedes
?b
notable is that the final three notes, e1d1c 1 (mm. 17, 19, 20), are preceded

by a1g of the third
1f1 at the beginning section,
these six notescollectively
spanning the (VI) final vocal section (mm. 1622) and
(V) forming a sixth of the
F -minor scale (from third down to fifth).
(V) (VI)
descending
I V I
The pieces overall prolongation nevertheless remains at least partially
ambiguous almost to the end, since the tonal meaning of the recurring half-
diminished chord is fully clarified only when it leads to the C dominant in
the last three measures. Yet the song clearly depends upon an F -minor tonal
interpretation,
Morgan Example 8
which is essential for its effect; the final chord, that is, must
be a dominant. A What is unusual in A' defining this effect B then is not just that a
dissonant half-diminished chord controls so much of the background
m. 1 6 9 11 16 20 21 23 27 29 but31that
^
3 ^
3
^
2
this chord resolves to a C triad, made dissonant by its tonal environment.
^
1
# #We# can now consider the role of the tonic inall three Wolf songs.
^ ^ ^ ^
2 (2 8 7)
& # ## # it is prominent n n #chord,

as a stable n whereas
n n n # n# n # # n nn #
{
Although in the first, it is not treated
in the second and third it is largely absent. The tonality of each is nevertheless
? #### # unambiguous,
ultimately n n # n and n nthe
## nn n ##
third song prolongs an actual n dissonance
# ##
# # most n of#its length n (thus n # in Mor-
throughout resembling the six prolongations
3 #3
gan 1976). v v
I closeI this section with a word (I) about Vthe texts of the songs, all three I of
which have to do with uncertainty and despair. The first two deal with unre-
quited love, producing the complaints Oh, woe, love and fidelity are like a
dream, Old, unnameable days!, and My heart, tell me, what recollections
are you weaving? In the third it is the distant sun, so cold that it reminds
one only of irretrievably bygone joys. All three thus deal with profound and
unavoidable pain, an appropriate image for the musics lack of consonant
prolongation.
Morgan Example 9
A A' B A"
m. 1 11 - 15 16 18 31 32 35 42 42 50 60 65
Returning to
^
my first dissonant-prolongation
^ ^
article (Morgan 1976), its open-^ ^ ^
3 (3) (2) (3) 2 1
ing three prolongations, since they ultimately resolve, partly resemble those
j
considered here by Schumann andb Brahms.
^
As Schenker would say, theirb dis-
(2)
b b
n n n n # n ## ###nn nbb
&b b b b
n ##
{ ? bb n n b n n
b
V/vi

n
n
V/vi
#
# #
b
b
b

V (V) (V) I
sonant sonorities depend upon more consonant ones in the background. But
this is not so of the last three prolongations in that article, whose prolonged
chordsLiszts augmented and diminished triads and Scriabins dominant-
related sonoritynever resolve at all. The dissonances in these three thus
prolong themselves only, which means that they encompass the entire back-
ground. Although they resemble the three Wolf prolongations in that their
dissonances fail to resolve, they differ in that their prolongations rely entirely
upon nontonal, contextual means.
Since in tonal music dissonant prolongations in this Schenkerian sense
normally do resolve, the more interesting examples from the tonal repertoire
are, at least within the present perspective, those that like the Brahms and
Schumann works encompass significant portions of the work, leaving their
eventual resolutions temporarily in doubt. Though there are many examples
of such ultimately resolved dissonant prolongations, in this final section I
choose three for brief commentary, with a single-level graph included for
each. The first two differ from those by Brahms and Schumann in that,
though still tonal and having lengthy dissonant prolongations, the disso-
nances prolong chords that are not only nontonic but also not dominants;
the third resembles Brahms and Schumann (especially Brahms) in having a
dominant prolongation that encompasses most of the piece, though it is ton-
ally more differentiated.
The first example, Brahmss song Klage (1888), the third of his five
well-known op. 105 settings, prolongs vi. The overall form, consistent with
Morgan Example 6
this songs folksong origins, is quite simple, consisting entirely of three rep-
etitions of a seventeen-measure unit with a repeat sign. Each repetition (each,
m. 2 4 5 7 10 14 16 17 19 20
#
however, with a different text) has four subsegments, the first three being
# # the last for piano alone. As shown in Example 7, the first segment
& #and
vocal # n n ( # ) n
begins in F major with a1 as its top voice but ends deceptively on vi, D minor
(mm. 14); the second and third continue to prolong vi, bringing the top
voice down from f 1 to d1, thus closing on the temporary tonic (mm. 58 and
Morgan Example 7
a b c d
m. 1 4 5 8 9 12 13 17
^ ^
3 3
^ ^ ^
(3 2 1)

& b # #
{ ?b

(VI)

(V)

(VI) (V)

I V I
Example 7. Brahms, Klage, op. 105/3
Morgan Example 8
A A' B
m. 1 6 Published
9 by11Duke University
16 20Press
21 23 27 29 31
^ ^ ^ ^
912); and the instrumental fourth, which opens with a two-measure domi-
nant that further prolongs vi, ends by returning to cadence on F major,
though again with a1 in its top voice (the top voices circularity supporting
the basic units repetition). The complete unit thus both begins and ends
with F major, and after its double repeat the song ends. D minor (vi), then,
despite its prolongation through most of the song, is in Schenkerian terms
ultimately dissonant, the upper neighbor to the dominant of F major, the
songs true tonic.
A different, and more complex, type of dissonant prolongation, but
also
Morganone that 6does not prolong the dominant, appears in Debussys early set-
Example
ting of Paul Verlaines Lombre des arbres, composed in 1885, published as
the third m. of
2 4his5Ariettes
7 10 Oublies (1888). Here
20 the tonic C is initially prolonged
as V7 of F , though C is eventually stabilized as tonic of the whole.
14 16 17 19
##
and #treated
& #
As Example 8 #indicates, n n the ( song
# opens 7
) n with
this repeated C chord, though
Debussys uses a seven-sharp key signature that is consistent with the larger
C -major tonality, thereby suggesting that it is V of F . The opening C 7 is then
prolonged by two similar phrases, dividing the songs opening portion (some
two-thirds
Morgan Example of the
7 total) into two relatively equal and overlapping parts, a and
a (mm. a 112 andb 1120), with mm. c 1112 providing the d first phrases caden-
tial m.
goal as
1 well
4 5as the
opening
8 9 of the second.
Both
12 phrases
13 begin
17 with two
units in the piano, mm. 16 and 1116, opening with C 3dominant

^ ^
3
identical
sevenths and(3ending with2 G minor, which brings
^ ^ ^
1)
the structural top voice
b
& from
e to d (3to 2), # measures

down retaining #
B as
an Yet
inner voice. these
{

raise a pressing question: do they project Vii in F major with 76 in the top
? b or Iv C major with C dominants

voice, in top
32 in the
voice? Although the

suggest the former, the latter proves to be the only plausible solution.
Nevertheless,
(VI) since the dominant-like (V) prolongations
(VI) (V) on C span two-
I V I
thirds of the piece, they are closely tied to the form. After the two-measure
introduction, the first phrase (mm. 112) opens in setting lines 12 of Ver-
laines eight-line poem, leading to a cadential v (mm. 16); this is followed by
a two-measure confirmation of v, setting line 3 (mm. 78), and a four-measure
Morgan Example 8
A A' B
m. 1 6 9 11 16 20 21 23 27 29 31
^ ^ ^ ^
3 3 2 1
## #
^ ^ ^ ^
2 (2 8 7)
& # ## # n n # n #

nnn # n n
{
n #n # n #
? #### ## n n # n n n ## n n # n # ##
# n # n n # n #
3 #3
v v
I (I) V I
Example 8. Debussy, Lombre des arbres

transition that sets line 4, leading back to the opening dominant (mm. 912).
With this return of C s dominant in mm. 1112, the second phrase again
opens with a section that cadences on v, now setting line 5 alone (mm. 1116).
This is followed again by a v confirmation that lasts two measures before
turning into a transition, the phrase setting line 6 and leading back eventu-
ally to the dominant on C , only now in 4/2 position and major (m. 20).
The songs third and final phrase, b (mm. 2131), consists of a first seg-
ment that sets the poems climactic, penultimate line (mm. 2123); a second
phrase that sets the final line, beginning like the preceding one but then
going its own way (mm. 2326.2); and a third for piano alone (mm. 26.331),
which begins with a reminiscence of mm. 12. The structural top voice d (2)
reappears in the second phrase and continues to span most of the third,
heard first over v in mm. 16 and 18 and then prolonged by third descent from
d 2 (mm. 21.1), c 2 (m. 21.323.3), to b , the latter raised but in the lower octave
on the downbeat of m. 29. (Thus the dominant 4/2 on C , which ended the
second phrase, actually serves to prolong the previous G -minor chord.)
Unsurprisingly, the minor dominant of C , which becomes G 7 when it receives
a raised third at m. 29, is completely different in placement and texture from
the dominants on C that appeared previously and is largely responsible for
C s stability as tonic when the song ends (though e3 continues to sound over
C as a cover tone in the last three measures). Thus the C dominant seventh
never resolves but is instead stabilized as tonic at the end.
A final instance is Schoenbergs early song Lockung, op. 6/7, which
though written in the early twentieth century (1905) is still tonal and has a
structure that resembles Brahmss Intermezzo op. 76/4, its dominant prolon-
gation resolving only as the piece ends.10 Here, however, the first two sections
of its AABA form not only close on the dominant (mm. 115 and 1631)
but also begin away from it, on V7 of vi (see Example 9). The B section (mm.
3242), in the key of B, overlaps with A and leads ultimately to IV, enharmoni-
cally spelled, where A, also overlapping, opens with a transposed version of
mm. 57 (mm. 4244). At this point the return of A leads to the subdominant
of E , now spelled correctly (mm. 4447), after which the dominant is
extensively prolonged, resolving to the tonic only in the last measure. This
means that the first two A sections end with half cadences, while the third,
returning after B, ends with a full cadence.
A word about the songs texts, which again reflect their unstable prolon-
gational quality. The title of Brahmss folksong, Klage (Lament), already
suggests the narrator-maidens distress, a result of unrequited love, and the
10 Schoenberg (1969, 111), in Structural Functions of Har-

mony, notes that the song contains no complete E chord,
the final triad being represented only by its root, heard in
the final measure. For a detailed view of Schoenbergs atti-
tude toward tonality, as well as a more complete analysis
of this song, see Morgan 2010.

Morgan Example 9
A A' B A"
m. 1 11 - 15 16 18 31 32 35 42 42 50 60 65
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
3 (3) (2) (3) 2 1
j
b
^
n n n n b
(2)
b b b n # #
# # # #n nb
n b
&b b b
n ##
{ ? bb
b n n
V/vi
b n n

V/vi
n
n
#
# #
b
b b

V (V) (V) I
Example 9. Schoenberg, Lockung, op. 6/7
Verlaine text set by Debussy speaks of the trees shadow as dying and of
hope that is drowned in smoke. Finally, Schoenbergs Lockung, which
sets Kurt Arams cat-and-mouse poem, faithfully expresses its sardonic, skit-
tish quality, closing with the triumphant (if ironic) you are mine! In each
song, then, the words are intimately wedded to the incomplete progression.
A larger and more controversial question is whether the dissonant pro-
longations in the present article and in Morgan 1976, as well as those in other
works in the literature, form part of an extended development with larger
implications for posttonal music as a whole. I would respond, as must be evi-
dent, with an unqualified yes. Yet however one considers this larger history,
there can be little doubt that dissonant prolongations played a significant
role within conventional tonality, as Schenker himself admitted at least in
part. As I have argued, many tonal works include dissonant prolongations
that persist over substantial portions or, in some instances, their entirety. And
as such, they represent an essential part of tonal analysis.
Works Cited
Baker, James M. 1983. Schenkerian Analysis and Post-tonal Music. In Aspects of Schenkerian
Theory, ed. David Beach, 15386. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
. 1990. The Limits of Tonality in the Late Music of Franz Liszt. Journal of Music Theory
34/2: 14573.
Burstein, Poundie. 2005. Unraveling Schenkers Concept of the Auxiliary Cadence. Music
Theory Spectrum 27/2: 15985.
Morgan, Robert P. 1976. Dissonant Prolongations: Theoretical and Compositional Prece-
dents. Journal of Music Theory 20/1: 4991.
. 1999. Are There Two Tonal Practices in Nineteenth-Century Music? Journal of Music
Theory 43/2: 13563.
. 2010. Two Early Schoenberg Songs: Monotonality, Multitonality, and Schwebende
Tonalitt. In The Cambridge Companion to Schoenberg, ed. Jennifer Shaw and Joseph
Auner, 5367. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Rosen, Charles. 1971. The Classical Style. New York: Viking.

. 1995. The Romantic Generation. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Satyendra, Ramon. 1997. Liszts Open Structures and the Romantic Fragment. Music The-
ory Spectrum 19/2: 184205.
Schenker, Heinrich. 1979. Der freie Satz. Vol. 2. New York: Longman.
. 2005. Elucidations. In Der Tonwille, vol. 2, trans. Ian Bent, ed. William Drabkin,
11718. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Schoenberg, Arnold. 1969. Structural Functions of Harmony. Edited by Leonard Stein. New
York: Norton.
Smith, Peter H. 2000. Outer-Voice Conflicts: Their Analytical Challenges and Artistic Con-
sequences. Journal of Music Theory 44/1: 143.
Williamson, John. 1996. Wolfs Dissonant Prolongations. In The Second Tonal Practice in
Nineteenth-Century Music, ed. William Kinderman, 21536. Lincoln: University of
Nebraska Press.
Robert P. Morgan is professor emeritus of music at Yale University. His most recent book is Becom-
ing Heinrich Schenker (2014).


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Journal of Music Theory

Dissonant Prolongations Again

Keywords dissonant prolongation, Schenkers view of dominant prolongation

Journal of Music Theory 60:1, April 2016

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2 JOURNAL of MUSIC THEORY

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Robert P. Morgan Dissonant Prolongations Again 3

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between Dominant and Dissonant Prolongation, where Satyendra (1997, 193)

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Example 1. Brahms, B Intermezzo op. 76/4

one). The theme, then, though recurring repeatedly in rondo-like fashion,

^ although they eventually do reach the E tonic,

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8 JOURNAL of MUSIC THEORY

Example 2. Schumann, C-major Piano Fantasy, op. 17/i, mm. 141

Example 2 provides a two-level middleground sketch of the movement

ing half, when at m. 53 the supporting harmony begins moving toward F, D

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Robert P. Morgan Dissonant Prolongations Again 9

We now turn to three examples of nineteenth-century tonal compositions that

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10 JOURNAL of MUSIC THEORY

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Robert P. Morgan Dissonant Prolongations Again 11

Example 3. Wolf, Im Frhling

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Intro. A A' A"

Example 4. Wolf, Ein Stndlein wohl vor Tag

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Robert P. Morgan Dissonant Prolongations Again 15

Example 5. Wolf, Sonne der Schlummerlosen

In addition, c 2 is the goal of an unaltered F -minor linear descent (f2

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16 JOURNAL of MUSIC THEORY

Example 6. Voice line, Sonne der Schlummerlosen

& # ## # it is prominent n n #chord,

Robert P. Morgan Dissonant Prolongations Again 17

Example 7. Brahms, Klage, op. 105/3

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units in the piano, mm. 16 and 1116, opening with C 3dominant

Example 8. Debussy, Lombre des arbres

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Robert P. Morgan Dissonant Prolongations Again 19

10 Schoenberg (1969, 111), in Structural Functions of Har-

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Example 9. Schoenberg, Lockung, op. 6/7

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Robert P. Morgan Dissonant Prolongations Again 21

. 1995. The Romantic Generation. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

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