Analysis of Oswald’s contrafacta reveals the function of memory in the reworking of polyphonic models. Most composers of polyphony in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries were musically literate and familiar with mensural notation. Minnesinger Oswald von Wolkenstein (c. 1376-1445) was active among nobles who valued written works, but his training as a knight would not have prioritized literacy. Scholars have not previously focused on compositional process but rather the tradition of polyphonic transmission; examining Oswald’s output can shed light on his unique compositional and memory devices. His borrowed chansons would have been performed from memory rather than notation, and after he had learned a tenor line, Oswald would compose poetry and dictate to his scribe. The transformations between the models and his songs reveal a preference for strophic forms and memorable texts. Generally considered the inventor of the “Tenorlied ,” Oswald recast the tenor voice as the melody, leaving its original contour unaltered. He also consistently eliminated the countertenor and transformed melismatic lines into syllabic ones. Oswald’s compositions were notated either in a simple version of one or two voices, or in fuller polyphonic settings by a musically literate person with access to a copy of the model chanson. This investigation emphasises the great importance of memory and oral compositional practice in Oswald’s works. His process for creating contrafacted tenor lieder can be described as secondary orality, and illustrates how writing changed but did not replace oral tradition during the late Middle Ages.

Works: Oswald von Wolkenstein: O wuniklichter, wolgezierter mai (165), Wol auf, wir wollen slafen (165–67, 175), Stand auf, Maradel (168–69), Frölich, zärtlich, lieplich und klärlich, lustlich, stille, leise (169–77).

Sources: Binchois: Triste Plaisir et douloureuse joye (165); Anonymous: En tes douz flans (164–75).

Index Classifications: 1400s

Contributed by: Emily Baumgart, Chelsey Belt, Maria Fokina

German composer Karl Amadeus Hartmann had a deep appreciation and love of Russian music, partially inspired by his teacher, Hermann Scherchen. Hartmann’s piece Concerto Funebre, premiered in Switzerland in 1940, is a requiem for those who fought against Nazism. In its finale, Hartmann uses a Russian revolutionary song theme Vi zhertvuyu pali v bor’be rokovoi, adding a programmatic meaning to the chamber work. The work’s first two movements function as a modern take on a lamento style aria, expressed through the lonesome theme of the Introduction and the rhapsodic second movement. Concerto Funebre forms a striking example of anti-fascist statements conveyed by artists and musicians in the Third Reich.

Works: Karl Amadeus Hartmann: Concerto Funebre (116–18).

Sources: Anonymous: Vi zhertvuyu pali v bor’be rokovoi (116–17).

Index Classifications: 1900s

Contributed by: Maria Fokina

Max Reger predicted many of the tendencies of twentieth century music. His style could be analyzed to have two distinct strands: a penchant for the “neo” tendencies, particularly the neo-Baroque, as was later taken up by Hindemith; and a deep plumbing of Romanticism. Choral music became a realization of the composer’s forward-thinking style. Reger not only predicted the renewed prominence of choral music, he was one of the first who tackled the reworking of old song genres. Reger’s Psalm No. 100 for Choir and Orchestra in C minor, Op. 106, synthesized the forms of the oratorio, the symphony, and the cantata. His dual opus Der Einsiedler, Op. 144a, and Requiem, Op. 144b, exemplify the process of cyclization, as Der Einsiedler serves as a prelude to Requiem, and the works are unified together through the same orchestration and the use of the chorale Nun ruhen alle Wälder. Reger also began the trend of grouping cyclic forms, which impacted many composers. Stravinsky in particular followed this practice in his Choral Variations on “Vom Himmel Hoch”, transcribed from Bach. Reger’s Requiem, set to a text by Hebble, is an example of Reger’s union of sacred and secular requiem styles, taking as its model Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem.

Works: Reger: Psalm No. 100 for Choir and Orchestra in C minor, Op. 106 (185–86), Der Einsiedler, Op. 144a (186), Requiem, Op. 144b (186).

Sources: Brahms: Ein deutsches Requiem, Op. 45 (187); Paul Gerhardt: Nun ruhen alle Wälder (186).

Index Classifications: 1900s

Contributed by: Maria Fokina

Paganini’s 24 Caprices, Op. 1, have had a profound influence on many composers, including Liszt, Schumann, Brahms and Rachmaninoff. However, there is little knowledge about the work’s composition and early reception. The work might have been influenced by burlesque musical theatre or by the caprices by Lietro Locatelli in L’arte de violin (1733). Robert Schumann wrote two works, each based on six different Paganini caprices from Op. 1: Six Études d’après les Caprices de Paganini, Op. 3 (1832) and Six Études d’après les Caprices de Paganini, Op. 10 (1833). Schumann captures his amazement at Paganini by imitating his violin technique on the piano. Franz Liszt, in his Grandes Etudes de Paganini, follows a similar process of virtuosic imitation, remaining faithful to the original but creating new effects for the piano. Johannes Brahms’s Variations on a Theme by Paganini, Op. 39, uses Paganini’s theme from the A-minor caprice as a departure point for a new work that contains several characteristic elements of Brahms’s style and practice.

Works: Schumann: Six Études d’après les Caprices de Paganini, Op. 3 (33), Six Études d’après les Caprices de Paganini, Op. 10 (33); Liszt: Grandes Études de Paganini (34); Brahms: Variations on a Theme by Paganini, Op. 39 (34).

Sources: Paganini: 24 Caprices for Solo Violin, Op. 1 (31–34).

Index Classifications: 1800s

Contributed by: Maria Fokina

The use of a musical quotation can create contrast that affects multiple levels of the music and creates multiple meanings. Although the meanings of a quotation can vary, the quotation carries in itself a wealth of connotations and associations. The categories of quotation usage can be divided up into: homage, illustration, commentary, and explication of the composer’s artistic intent. The semantic functions of a quotation reveal the work’s intent, depending on how the quotation is integrated into the piece. A quotation that begins a piece can function like an epigraph or the thematic nucleus of a work, while a quotation placed in a cumulative setting can create striking stylistic interplay. However, when a quotation is inserted suddenly, indicating an abrupt stylistic change, it could indicate satirical intent. A fascinating example that integrates quotations is Shostakovich’s song cycle Satires. Shostakovich uses quotations from Beethoven and Rachmaninoff in a stylized and farcical way prominently throughout the cycle, which almost conceals the composer’s individual style to create a “mask” of quotations.

Works: Strauss: Metamorphosen (93); Debussy: Children’s Corner (93); Britten: Albert Herring (93); Berg: Violin Concerto (94); Mikael Tervidiev: Music (94); Eugène Ysaÿe: Violin Sonata No. 2 (94); Rachmaninoff: Letter to Konstantin Stanislavsky (94); Shostakovich: Satires, Op. 109 (95, 96).

Sources: Beethoven: Symphony No. 3, Op. 55 (93), Violin Sonata No. 9, Op. 47 (96); Wagner: Tristan and Isolde (93); Chopin: Ballade No. 1, Op. 23; Johann Sebastian Bach: Violin Partita No. 3, BWV 1006 (94), Wir Danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir, BWV 29 (94); Ilya Satz: Blue Bird (94); Anonymous: Dies Irae (93, 94); Rachmaninoff: Spring Waters, Op. 14, No. 11 (96).

Index Classifications: General, 1900s

Contributed by: Maria Fokina

Although there have been many arrangements of Bizet’s Carmen, Shchedrin’s Carmen-Suite sheds new light onto the process of transcription. His work is unified, with a strict dramaturgical outline, and presents an individualized view on Carmen’s tragic story that focuses on her relationship with broader society. Shchedrin achieves this through a focus on bold contrasts in the sequential order of scenes, which puts conflict and juxtaposition as the main force of momentum for the ballet. In order to heighten the sense of contrast, Shchedrin alters the original’s orchestration, structure, and sequence of episodes, and he also reworks small-scale melodic fragments. He constructs the ballet in contrasting episodes, representing the battle between Carmen’s freedom and tempestuousness against the backdrop of her alienating society, as represented by masks on the stage. To bring this conflict to the forefront of the ballet, Shchedrin chooses moments from the opera with the greatest emotional expressivity, occasionally altering the tonality and omitting phrases, and associating certain instrumentation with specific characters. He maximises the dramaturgical potential of his chosen orchestration of strings and a large array of percussion instruments. The percussion section can be seen as equal to the strings in this ballet, as they punctuate and define the melody’s rhythmic contour, create timbral variation, and give exotic colouring. The resulting orchestration and adaptation of Carmen reignites the function and practice of transcription in the twentieth century.

Works: Rodion Shchedrin: Carmen-Suite (100–165).

Sources: Bizet: Carmen (100–165).

Index Classifications: 1900s

Contributed by: Maria Fokina

Even in his earliest compositions, Frederick Delius showcased the influence of Norwegian music and Edvard Grieg on his practice. Letters from Edvard Grieg to Delius demonstrate that the composer encouraged the young Delius to pursue his compositional craft. Further letters indicate Grieg provided comments and criticism on Delius’s works, including Song of the High Hills, which developed from the overture Paa Vidderne. Norwegian influence is shown in other works by Delius, such as the use of the Norwergian national anthem Ja, vi elsker dette landet in the 1897 play Folkeraadet. Additionally, Delius’s song Over the Hills and Far Away shows direct homage to Grieg. The period of 1909–12 marks a move away from pure Impressionism in Delius’s work, to an imitation of human states, culminating in the composer’s post-Impressionist stage, which had its roots in his Norwegian influenced works.

Works: Delius: Paa Vidderne (34), Song of the High Hills (35, 40), Folkeraadet (37), Over the Hills and Far Away (38), Life’s Dance (39–40).

Sources: Rikard Nordraak: Ja, vi elsker dette landet; Delius: Paa Vidderne.

Index Classifications: 1800s, 1900s

Contributed by: Maria Fokina

While it is known that Liszt and Wagner borrowed from one another, specific instances of borrowing have been difficult to prove. Although it has been previously argued that Wagner’s crowning motif in Parsifal, the “Grail” motive, is derived from Liszt’s prelude Excelsior, evidence reveals Wagner was unsympathetic to the work, lending the borrowing problematic to explain. However, Wagner’s utilization of a similarly constructed theme could be justified due to the composers’ sharing of an identical poetic intent. Both Wagner and Liszt believed in the suffering of the artist for the cause of true and holy Art. Evidence alludes to Liszt’s composition of Excelsior being significantly influenced by Longfellow’s poem Excelsior, which was meant to serve as “the motto of Poetry and Music.” If Liszt communicated these thoughts to Wagner, which was highly probable, it is possible Wagner’s use of the theme to represent the Grail was not merely a borrowing, but a tribute and homage to Liszt, as his partner in their artistic brotherhood. A recent discovery of Liszt’s work Am Grabe Richard Wagner confirms distinct influence from Wagner’s Parsifal and Liszt’s Excelsior. This piece thus serves as Liszt’s homage to Wagner’s artistic goals, which he felt Wagner had achieved to the highest echelon.

Works: Liszt: Am Grabe Richard Wagner (107–24), Excelsior (107–24); Wagner: Parsifal (107–24).

Sources: Liszt: Excelsior (107–24); Wagner: Parsifal (107–24).

Index Classifications: 1800s

Contributed by: Maria Fokina

Often compared to Pulcinella, Stravinsky’s The Fairy’s Kiss adapts Tchaikovsky’s music to create a unique artistic vision. Stravinsky’s approach to the Tchaikovsky homage in this ballet could be grouped into three categories: overt quotation, hidden quotation, and imitation of Tchaikovsky’s overall mood. There are eighteen citations from Tchaikovsky. Some works like the Lullaby or the Feuillet d’album are adapted without much change from their original, while other pieces like Dumka are quoted in a less obvious manner, fragmented and hidden in the texture. Stravinsky is therefore trying to give an impression of Tchaikovsky’s style, rather than to signal a specific allusion. To enhance his homage, Stravinsky borrows Tchaikovsky’s subtle stylistic gestures, which form an intricate network of associations. As a result, Stravinsky is able to create three distinct layers in his ballet: his own music, his treatment of adapted material, and the synthesis of Tchaikovsky imitation and his own compositional language.

Works: Stravinsky: The Fairy’s Kiss (95–102).

Sources: Tchaikovsky: Feuillet d’album No. 3, Op. 19 (97), Au Village, Op. 40 (97), “The Harmonica Player” from Album pour enfants, Op. 39 (97), I bol’no i sladko, Op. 6, No. 3 (97), None but the Lonely Heart, Op. 6, No. 6 (98), Lullaby, Op. 54, No. 10 (97–100), Dumka, Op. 59 (98), Symphony No. 5, Op. 64 (98), Overture to Cherevichki (98–100), Serenade, Op. 63 (97–100).

Index Classifications: 1900s

Contributed by: Maria Fokina

An examination of Alessandro Stradella’s work Serenata a 3, con Stromenti shows that Handel borrowed from the composer. The opening sinfonia of Stradella’s serenata is reworked into the opening to “Hailstone” in Handel’s Israel in Egypt. Additionally, the subject of the Serenata’s second movement is used in one of the choruses in Joseph and his Brethren, one of Handel’s lesser-known oratorios. Handel employs a theme from the third movement of the Serenata’s sinfonia in the chorus “Him or his God we scorn to fear” from the Occasional Oratorio. The fourth movement of Stradella’s work is uprooted and placed in its entirety into “He Spake the Word” in Israel in Egypt. Finally, Handel adapts the themes from Stradella’s airs for use in Israel in Egypt.

Works: Handel: Israel in Egypt (154-55), Joseph and his Brethren (154), Occasional Oratorio (155).

Sources: Alessandro Stradella: Serenata a 3, con Stromenti (154-55).

Index Classifications: 1700s

Contributed by: Maria Fokina

A close study of Brahms’s Die Mainacht illustrates the nuanced relationship between conscious and unconscious creative states, and their impact on intentional and unconscious borrowing. Creativity in this period could be interpreted as a two-way exchange between the composer’s conscious process and unconscious inspiration. Brahms’s song Die Mainacht presents an interesting case study due to its allusion to Chopin’s Impromptu in F-sharp Major, Op. 36, No. 2. The opening motives of Brahms’s work shares a close resemblance with Chopin’s melody, and the song in its entirety features a similar tonal plan. Brahms’s process of allusion could be related to Hartmann’s theory expounded in his Philosophy of the Unconscious (1868). Brahms could be seen to consciously recognize or be initially unaware of his melody’s affinity to its predecessor, but he made the work characteristically his own by aligning it further with Chopin’s Impromptu, through extending the allusion into the following phrases.

Works: Brahms: Die Mainacht, Op. 43, No. 2 (109–117), Missa Canonica (113–14); Wagner: Das Rheingold (108).

Sources: Chopin: Impromptu in F-sharp Major, Op. 36, No. 2 (109–117); Felix Mendelssohn: Lord Have Mercy Upon Us (113); Robert Schumann: Piano Trio No. 1, Op. 63 (113–15).

Index Classifications: 1800s

Contributed by: Maria Fokina

“Missae Parodiae”—masses which take their sources in polyphonic works—are misleadingly named, as their sources are not parodied, but used as points of departure for the mass. Burgundian composers of Ockeghem’s generation began using secular sources such as the chanson rather than other masses as the sources for their own elaborative masses. By the 1500s, the liturgical motet became the primary source for elaborative masses, a practice which was also taken up by French composers.

Works: Ockeghem: Fors seullement (7); Heinrich Isaac: O Praeclara (7); Antonine Févin: Ave Maria (8), Sancta Trinitas (8); Pierre de la Rue: Ave Sanctissima Maria (8).

Sources: Ockheghem: Fors seullement (7); Agricola: Si dedero (7); Busnois: Le Serviteur (7); Heinrich Issac: Rogamus te (7); Josquin: Mente tota (8).

Index Classifications: 1400s, 1500s

Contributed by: Maria Fokina

English ballad operas and burlesques regularly used borrowed melodies, drawn from popular tunes. The use of these tunes often had a nationalistic motivation, attempting to imbue the music with an English identity, while simultaneously establishing a locale within the opera. The songs for burlesque and ballad operas were adapted from a wide variety of sources, including ballad airs, folk songs, arias from Italian and French opera, and minstrel tunes. The burlesque orchestra also played familiar tunes to signal associations in the minds of the audience, often with humorous intent. Humor played a large role in burlesques, taking form in parody through song, puns in dialogue, and through women playing men’s roles.

Works: Kane O’Hara: Midas (553); James Planche: The Golden Branch (554); Edward Stirling: The Buffalo Girls (555); Albert Smith: Hop-o’-my-Thumb (555); William Leman: Douglas Travestie (556); Francis Talfourd: Macbeth Trovestie (555), Atalanta (557), Electra in a New Electric Light (557); Henry Byron: Ali Baba (557); Joseph Coyne and Francis Talfourd: Leo the Terrible (557); William Rhodes: Bombastes Furioso (557); Maurice Dowling: Othello Travestie (558); Robert Brough: Masaniello (559); Leicester Buckingham: William Tell (559); Joseph Coyne: Willikind and hys Dynah (559); James Planche: Puss in Boots; An Original, Comical, Magical, Mew-sical, Fairy Burletta (561); William Hale and Francis Talfourd, The Mandarin’s Daughter (561).

Sources: Anonymous: Shaan Bwee (553), Sheelagh na guig (553), Larry Grogan (553), Kiss me fast my mother’s coming (553), Bobbing Joan (553); Handel: Overture to Ottone (553); Anonymous: Cherry Ripe (554), If you’re waking, call me early (555); Rossini: Il Barbiere di Siviglia (555); Anonymous: Sich a gittin’ up stairs (555), Come haste to the wedding (556), Paddy’s Wedding (557), My Lodging is on the Cold Ground (557), Drink to me only with thine eyes (557), Weippert’s Fancy (557), Lord Cathcart’s Favourite (557), Oh ‘tis love (558), The Ratcatcher’s Daughter (559), We won’t go home till morning (559), My poor dog Tray (559), To all you Ladies now on Land (560); John Christopher Pepusch: The Beggar’s Opera (561); Anonymous: There’s nae luck about the house (561).

Index Classifications: 1700s, 1800s

Contributed by: Maria Fokina

The Jovial Crew, an eighteenth-century ballad opera based on Richard Brome’s play of the same name, was composed primarily from popular tunes. The songs used are mainly of dance origin, and are synonymous with the English nationalist paradigms propagated in ballad operas. The ballad opera was subject to subsequent revivals, which changed the songs’ texts and music or omitted them entirely.

Works: Anonymous: The Jovial Crew (240–43).

Sources: Anonymous: Which Nobody Can Deny (241), Under the Greenwood Tree (241), Now Ponder Well (241), Young Philander lov’d me long (242), Gilderoy (242), Now ponder well! (242), To you, fair ladies, now on land (242); John Barrett: The St. Catherine; James Paisible: Room Room for a Rover; Purcell: A New Scotch Tune (241), Lilliburlero (242); Richard Leveridge: One Sunday After Mass (242).

Index Classifications: 1700s

Contributed by: Maria Fokina