"Alles was dir heilsam ist". Schoenberg and Bach's Counterpoint

Schoenberg's Eight Songs op. 6 and First String Quartet op. 7 give evidence of a new, "functional" concept of counterpoint, as a first step towards an integrative model of compositional thinking in anticipation of the twelve-tone method. To account for this "new" concept of counterpoint, Schoenberg himself has pointed to the influence of Bach's contrapuntal thinking, most notably in his text on Bach (1950). Many interpreters of Schoenberg's music have since recognized the significance of Bach's counterpoint for Schoenberg's elaboration of the twelve-tone method. This paper goes one step further by elucidating how Bach's counterpoint provides a model of compositional thinking which connects Schoenberg's tonal works (from op. 6 onwards) with his later twelve-tone compositions. Crucial in this respect is Schoenberg's understanding of Bach's "contrapuntal combination". Taking its departure from the theoretical discussions of this concept by Schoenberg and others, this paper explores how the contrapuntal combination functions in a Schoenberg composition. The analysis takes as its point of departure Schoenberg’s song "Alles" op. 6 no. 2, written in September 1905 immediately following the First String Quartet. I demonstrate how the contrapuntal combination provides for all the main motives and melodies of the work, establishing at the same time a characteristic type of "fluctuating tonality". Subsequently, this type of tonal counterpoint is compared to the counterpoint of a twelve-tone work, the song "Sommermüd" op. 48 no. 1, to illustrate the interdependence of the horizontal and vertical dimensions of the musical space in both compositions, in agreement with Schoenberg's concept of Bach's counterpoint.status: publishe