CHAPTER TWO

THE VIENNESE WALTZ, HISTORY AND MUSICAL ELEMENTS

History

Although Latin America declared and won its independence from Spain, it

maintained spiritual and cultural ties to its mother country. One of the important trends

in the development of Latin American music has been the alteration of European

ballroom dance forms which were imported into Latin America. The alteration of these

dances occurred as a result of contact with indigenous, African, and other European

cultural elements. The character of these altered dances often differed substantially when

compared to original Spanish or European models. The transformations which endowed

the Venezuelan waltz with its national character may be described as a result of the

juxtaposition of certain rhythmic elements of Hispanic origin with the Central European

waltz. To place the Venezuelan waltz in its proper musical and historical perspective, it

is necessary to first examine the history and important musical elements of the Viennese

waltz.

The word waltz is derived from the German word wälzen which means to rotate. 1

The first use of the verb in connection with a dance dates from the middle of the

eighteenth century. There were several local variants of the dance in southern Germany,

Bavaria, Bohemia, and Austria. These variants were included by the term, Deustcher.

The most famous of these variants was the Ländler whose name derives from the term

Länd ob der Ens, an old reference to Upper Austria. The first modern mention of this
1 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 1980 ed., s.v. "Waltz."
15
 16

dance was in 1800 when guitarist Leonhard von Call composed Zwölf Ländler for guitar.

The ländler was a peasant dance in 3/4 time whose steps included vigorous stamping and

hopping.

Partners in this dance rotated in close embrace. The dance took place outdoors often on

rough ground with the participants often wearing heavy footwear and clothing. This

combination of factors tended to limit the speed and elegance by which the steps could be

performed and consequently restricted the tempo of the music in contrast to the more

rapid and graceful tempo of the waltz. 2

The earliest versions of the waltz were quite similar in character to the Ländler.

Between 1770 and 1780, these steps were transplanted to dance halls in the cities. The

polished dance floors, lighter footwear, and clothing all contributed to the disappearance

of stamping and hopping steps and to their replacement by gliding steps. This also led to

an increase in tempo which, when combined with the dance's characteristic rotations,

produced a physical effect on the participants which was quite dizzying. The manner in

which couples whirled about led to concerns regarding both the physical and moral well-

being of the participants. During an account of his travels through Germany, Hungary,

Italy, and France, Ernst Moritz Arndt gave a detailed description of the dance which

provided ammunition for the moralists of that time:

"The dancers grasped the long dress of their partners so that it would
not drag and be trodden upon, and lifted it high, holding them in this cloak which brought
both bodies under one cover, as closely as possible against them and in this way the
whirling continued in the most indecent positions; the supporting hand lay firmly on the
breasts, at each movement making little lustful pressures; the girls went wild and looked
as if they would drop. When waltzing on the darker side of the room there were bolder
embraces and kisses. The custom of the country; it is not as bad as it looks, they exclaim:

2 Groves Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 1954 ed., s.v. "Ländler."

 17

but now I understand very well why here and there in parts of Swabia and Switzerland
the waltz has been prohibited."3

Objections on the grounds of health centered on the rapidity of the dance which,

according to the Journal Luxus und der Moden, "surpassed everything in headlong

speed....But few women, only those with iron characters, are indifferent to its entrancing
swing. Most of them are unwilling to sacrifice this Bacchanalian orgy to the strict

prohibitions of their mothers, anxious for their health." 4

In spite of these objections, the waltz became the most popular of all ballroom

dances in Germany and Austria by the end of the eighteenth century. In March of 1792,

the Journal Luxus und der Moden reported that in Berlin "waltzes are so much in fashion

that nothing else is looked at ....no leading dancer who wishes to recommend himself

favorably to his lady dare omit the waltz." By the end of the second decade of the
5

nineteenth century, the waltz reigned supreme among ballroom dances throughout

Europe.

The popularity of the waltz created a growing demand for the composition of

music for dancing. Early examples were simple pieces in triple meter with two sections

of eight measures each. Harmonic activity was limited primarily to alternation between

tonic and dominant. As the initial popularity of the dance reached its zenith, the musical

form began to attain independent importance and to attract the attention of the best

composers. These composers then began to expand the formal boundaries of the waltz.

3 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 1980 ed., s.v. "Waltz."
4 Dr. Eduard Reeser, The History of the Waltz, translated by W.A.G. Doyle-
Davidson, (Stockholm, The Continental Book Company, 1949), 19.
5 Ibid., 20.
 18

From 1790 to 1810, waltzes were printed in sets of twelve. In subsequent years the

number of waltzes in a set diminished, first to six, and then to five. 6

The first example of a set of waltzes suitable for concert performance was written

by Johann Nepomuk Hummel. According to Grove's Dictionary of Music and

Musicians,

Hummel published his first set in 1808 and, while they were considered to be of little

artistic worth, they established a form which would be exploited by composers of the first

rank including Schubert, Chopin, Weber, and Brahms. 7

Franz Schubert composed a large number of waltzes and ländler for the piano.

According to Groves, Schubert composed his waltzes for dancing and for this reason, his

earliest examples followed the simple formal scheme of the early dances. Later examples

were expanded to sections of as many as 32 measures. Schubert's gifts as a composer

were particularly evident in his expansion of the harmonic language of the waltz and in

his melodies which were considered to be of great beauty. Schubert's waltzes spanned a

large portion of his compositional career beginning in 1812 and ending in 1827. The

largest sets were Thirty-Four Valses Sentimentales (1823) and Twelve Waltzes, also

called Valses Nobles, which date from 1826. 8

In 1819, Carl Maria von Weber composed the Aufforderung zum Tanz(Invitation

to the Dance). Dr. Reeser states that Weber's application of techniques of thematic

development and uses of sonata and rondo form constituted a major innovation in the

field of dance music. Formal structure consisted of an introduction, series of waltzes, and

coda. The waltzes themselves were much longer than previous examples. The first waltz
6 The New Groves Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 1980 ed., s.v. "Waltz."
7 Ibid.
8 Ibid.
 19

of the set was sixty measures long. With this piece, the keyboard waltz took its place

beside other character pieces of the romantic period. 9

The composition of waltzes for dancing continued as well. Dance waltzes were

performed by small ensembles which typically included two violins, guitar, and bass.

The

combination of two violins and bass was originally used to accompany the ländler. As

the waltz was sort of an urban form of ländler, it was natural that it would be

accompanied by essentially the same group of instruments. These dance groups were

especially popular in the inns and beer gardens of the suburbs surrounding Vienna, and

their popularity led to the expansion of many of these groups into orchestras. The most

important of these orchestras were led by the rival composers Josef Lanner(1801-1843)

and Johann Strauss Sr.(1804-1849). Lanner and Strauss were responsible for the

standardization of the formal structure of the Viennese waltz into a set of five waltzes

with introduction and coda. Lanner, in particular, wrote more elaborate introductions

while those of Strauss were more often than not simple introductory flourishes. Both

composers also standardized the custom of naming waltzes for places and occasions. 10

The three children of Johann Strauss, especially the younger Johann, continued

the family tradition of waltz composition. Johann emulated his father by touring

extensively across Europe and crossed the Atlantic to perform in New York and Boston.

As a composer, the younger Strauss enlarged the introduction into a true orchestral

prelude which employed developmental techniques and orchestral effects borrowed from

Liszt and Wagner. According to Dr. Reeser, his waltzes were graced by a "musical

9 Reeser, 51.
10 The New Grove'sDictionary of Music and Musicians, 1980 ed., s.v. "Waltz."
 20

refinement which raised the waltz above the ball room and made it ripe for the concert

hall." His death in 1899 represented a definite downturn in the fortunes of the waltz.
11

The end of World War I not only ended the political supremacy of the Austro-Hungarian

Empire but also the supremacy of the waltz in the field of ballroom dance.

The literature of the classical guitar includes many examples of waltzes and

ländlers for one or two guitars. The waltz occupies a prominent place in the output of the

most famous of the nineteenth century guitarist/composers including the Spanish master,

Fernando Sor(1778-1839), and the Italian virtuoso, Mauro Giuliani(1781-1829). While

these pieces were by no means the most profound utterances of either of these composers,

especially in the case of Sor and Giuliani, the appearance of many sets of waltzes in their

output indicates the popularity of the waltz and continuing demand for this type of dance

music. Having lived in Vienna for many years, Giuliani was exposed to the Viennese

waltz on a daily basis, and, as might be expected, his waltzes and ländlers follow

Viennese models quite closely. Most of them are composed in 3/4 meter. In addition,

many of his minuets and scherzi included sections which assume waltz-like or ländler-

like characteristics. Since he was a long time resident of Paris, Fernando Sor's waltzes

follow French models which were usually written in 3/8 time.

Composers continued to write waltzes for the guitar during the nineteenth century

and on into the twentieth century. Although he was a Paraguayan, Agustín Barrios

Mangoré (1885-1944) composed his waltzes in a style which owes a great deal more to

its European models than to any local influences. As a composer, Barrios composed his

pieces in three distinct musical styles: nationalistic; neo-classical; and romantic.

Although he lived well into the twentieth century, Barrios showed no interest in the

11 Reeser, 52.
 21

innovations of the great twentieth century composers and consequently endowed the

literature of the guitar with some of its most effective and well written romantic

literature. His waltzes fall into the category of an unabashedly romantic style of writing.

Although written by a Latin American composer, the seven waltzes Barrios wrote for the

guitar include some the finest examples of waltzes in the Viennese style in the literature

of the guitar and, along with the Venezuelan waltzes of Antonio Lauro, they constitute

the two most significant sets of waltzes in the literature of the South American guitar.

For the purposes of this treatise, Barrios' waltzes will serve as examples of waltzes in

Viennese style as well as examples of Latin American waltzes.

Musical Elements

While it is beyond the scope of this paper to attempt an in-depth examination of

the Viennese waltz, it is necessary to examine several examples of waltzes in order to

properly contrast them with the Venezuelan waltz. Because of the immense repertory of

waltzes for piano, strings, and other instruments, it will be necessary to confine the scope

of this examination to waltzes which were written for the guitar. While it is not possible

to generalize in every case, there are certain features which most of these waltzes have in

common.

Rhythm

The most important contrasts between the Viennese waltz and the Venezuelan

waltz are in the area of rhythm. The one element which most typically distinguishes the

Viennese waltz appears in the accompaniment. It consists of one predominant rhythm

 22

which is most often seen in the left hand when the waltz is performed on the piano. This

is the typical three beat accompanimental pattern of one two three, one two three, etc.

with accent on the first beat. The first beat is generally marked by the lowest of the

pitches while the last two are often played as chords. This rhythmic pattern appears in

different triple meters including 3/4 and 3/8. This pattern was associated especially with

the ländler, and early examples of it appear in Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven. The

waltzes of Schubert use this figure far more frequently than any of his predecessors.

From the end of the eighteenth century through the waltzes of Strauss, this figure would

be associated with the Viennese waltz to the exclusion of all others. This association

continues to the present day as waltz rhythms continue to be utilized in both popular

music and serious music. Because of the ease with which this accompanimental

figuration can be performed on the guitar, it has been called "guitar bass." Example 1
12

contains this typical accompanimental pattern.

Example 1. Schubert, "Waltz," Opus 9a no. 6

The earliest examples from the solo guitar literature make use of this figure with

varying degrees of consistency. This usage generally occurs in inverse proportion to the

degree of difficulty of the melody which is being accompanied. If the melody displays

12 Groves Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 1954 ed., s.v. "Waltz."

 23

any sort of virtuosity, it is often possible only to occasionally allude to what a pianist's

left hand can continue to provide with ease. However the use of open strings often

simplified this task and enabled the composer to provide a fairly full accompaniment.

Written in E minor in order to make use of the open E, G, and B strings, this waltz by

Fernando Sor is an example of how the guitar can be used to produce both

accompaniment and melody in an idiomatic fashion. In Example 2, it can be seen that,

by confining the melody to the first string and using the lower open strings, Sor is able to

produce both an active melody and accompaniment.

Example 2. Sor. "Waltz," Opus 57 no. 2, mm. 1-4.

Although many of Giuliani's waltzes contain melodies whose range and degree of

virtuosity preclude any sort of consistency of accompaniment, he also composed many

examples which, by integrating the basic three beat rhythm into the melody, enabled him

to state frequently this basic rhythm. Example 3 contains alternate measures which do

exactly that.
 24

Example 3. Giuliani, "Waltz," Opus 57 no. , mm. 1-4.

In several of his waltzes, Giuliani solves this problem by limiting his melodies to the

rhythmic value of a dotted half note. This also allowed him to state the accompaniment

pattern clearly. A typical example of this strategy occurs in Example 4. The dotted half

note of the melody also serves as the first beat of the three beat accompanimental pattern

which is then completed in the lower voice.

Example 4. Giuliani, "Waltz," Opus 57 no.8, mm. 1-2.

Later examples from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries show how guitar

composers became even more skillful in dealing with the problem of accommodating

both melody and accompanimental rhythm to the guitar. With careful attention to the

complexity of melody and accompaniment, composers were able to produce textures

which more closely imitated that of the piano or the string trio and which could state the
 25

accompaniment more insistently. Example 5 is taken from one of Barrios' waltzes and

places the melody in a middle register with the accompaniment being placed above and

below the melody.

Example 5. Barrios, "Junto a tu corazón-vals," mm 7-9.

Accompaniment figures in these waltzes were limited in number. The Barrios

waltz shown in Example 5 employs only the one rhythmic figure typically associated

with the Viennese waltz. This unyielding tyranny of the 3/4 measure was in some ways

monotonous. Composers dealt with this by using two devices, hemiola and syncopation.

According to the Harvard Dictionary of Music, hemiola implies a change in rhythmic

grouping of patterns of six notes. For instance, a measure of 3/2 meter might change to
13

6/4 meter in the next with the accentuation shifting from each of the three half notes in

3/2 to two dotted half notes in 6/4. The Barrios waltz, "Junto a tu corazón," applies a

hemiola of 3/2 meter to two measures of 3/4 meter in two different sections and in two

different ways. The first of these is seen in Example 6. It begins in measure thirty-nine

and is implied in the melody. The pulsations of two eighth notes followed by a quarter

note can be felt as three successive 2/4 measures over two 3/4 measures or as one 3/2

measure in place of two 3/4 measures.

13 Willi Apel, Harvard Dictionary of Music, 2nd. ed., (Cambridge, Mass., Belknap
Press of Harvard University Press, 1972), s.v. "Hemiola."
 26

Example 6. Barrios, "Junto a tu corazón-vals," mm. 39-42.

In Example 7, the second hemiola is implied in the upper voice. The rhythm of a half

note is followed by a quarter note which is tied across the bar to another quarter note and

is then followed by a dotted quarter note and eighth note. The same metric implications

may be derived as were seen in Example 6. The only difference is in the note values.

Both melodies imply 3/2 meter.

Example 7. Barrios, "Junto a tu corazón-vals," mm. 80-83.

 27

Example 8, taken from the Barrios waltz, "Pepita," employs a rhythmic figure

consisting of an eighth-note rest, eighth note, dotted quarter note, and eighth note, which

will be encountered again in the Venezuelan waltz. The eighth-note rest at the beginning

of measures twenty-three and twenty-five gives a slightly syncopated feeling to the

measure, a feeling which would be more emphatic were it not for the solid down beat

which occurs on the first beat of each measure of the accompaniment.

Example 8. Barrios, "Pepita," mm. 22-25.

Later in the same piece, a hemiola occurs which is of great significance in the

Venezuelan waltz, but which occurs infrequently in the Viennese waltz, the alternation of

6/8 meter with 3/4 meter. This metric alternation is seen in Example 9. This is the only

waltz of Barrios to employ this hemiola.

Example 9. Barrios, "Pepita," mm. 108-111

 28

One of the most well-known examples of the use of this hemiola in waltz music

occurs in Chopin's "Grande Valse," Opus 42 no. 5. Although the time signature is given

as 3/4 meter in both hands, as seen in Example 10, the dotted quarter notes in the upper

voice of the right hand strongly imply that the melody is to perceived in 6/8 meter.

Example 10. Chopin, "Grande Valse," Opus 42 no. 5, mm. 9-11.

Melody

Examination of waltzes from the early to mid-nineteenth century shows a more

frequent occurrence of melodies of instrumental character as opposed to those of a more

vocal or lyrical character. Since the compositions to be examined in this treatise were

composed by pianists and guitarists, their works in large part made use of effects which

were idiomatic to their instruments. An examination of early guitar waltzes uncovers a

preference for a primarily instrumental style of writing which displays a preponderance

of scalar and arpeggiated figurations. The guitar had not yet found its way to a

completely idiomatic style of writing, so guitar writing of this period derived many of its

instrumental effects from the piano or violin. Thirds, sixths, and octaves, arpeggiated or
 29

as double stops, are a part of the guitarist's technical arsenal, and they were used

frequently by guitar composers in their waltzes. One of the great strengths of the

instrument is the ease with which chordal and arpeggiated figures can be produced.

Consequently, many of the early waltz melodies for guitar are predominantly figural in

nature. Waltz number seven from Giuliani's Opus 90 is based mainly on arpeggiated

figurations, as may be seen in Example 11. Thus, it may be seen that in many respects

these pieces depended on technical formulas as a source for their melodies.

Example 11. Giuliani, "Waltz," Opus 90, no. 7, mm. 1-3.

The waltzes of Barrios display a more developed and idiomatic approach to

writing for the guitar. This is a result of a more facile integration of diverse technical

elements within melodic ideas. Example 12, taken from Opus 8 no. 4, is an excellent

example of idiomatically virtuosic music for the guitar which integrates both scales and

arpeggios in an artistically and musically satisfying fashion. The melodic material in the

upper voice of the first three measures plays across the first three strings, and the open E

string is used in the third measure to allow the hand to shift into seventh position without

difficulty. The rest of the passage is similarly composed, and the open E at the end of the

sixth measure of the example allows the guitarist to easily descend from tenth position to
 30

third position. Similar examples of this type of writing are found in other waltzes of

Barrios and are a typical feature of his compositions for the guitar.

Example 12. Barrios, "Waltz", Opus 8 no.4, mm. 12-16.

Another particularly guitaristic effect, which appears in Example 13, is employed

in the trio of this waltz. It is called campanella, or little bells. It occurs as a result of the

playing of stopped interior strings in the upper positions while the open first string, the

third eighth note of each passage, sounds throughout the passage. The effect was known

and used by baroque guitarists. Gaspar Sanz was one of the first guitarists to use the term

campanellas in reference to this effect. 14

Example 13. Barrios, "Waltz," Opus 8 no.4, mm. 92-95.

14 James Tyler, The Early Guitar, (London: Oxford University Press, 1980), 41.
 31

Waltz melodies generally were usually limited to one or two motivic ideas per

section, a logical limitation when one is working within the limited formal dimensions of

the waltz. Rhythmic density in these melodies generally varied from fabrics of dotted

half-notes, occupying the whole measure as in examples seen earlier, to passages of

flowing eighths (or sixteenths when in 3/8 meter) as in the Barrios examples seen above.

In its first two sections, the melody of the Barrios waltz, "Tua Imagem," is based on one

rhythmic motive, a half-note followed by two eighth-notes. This motive, seen in

Example 14, persists through both the A and B sections of the piece.

Example 14. Barrios, "Tua Imagem," mm. 1-4.

Similarly the first section of Barrios' Waltz, Opus Eight, Number Three, is based entirely

on the two-measure motive of dotted quarter note and three eighth notes followed by a

dotted half note. Other sections of the piece employ contrasting material. This motive

may be seen in the upper voice of Example 15.

 32

Example 15. Barrios, "Waltz," Opus 8 no. 3, mm. 23-26.

Form

It was stated earlier that the basic formal structure of the early Viennese waltz

consisted of a set of twelve short, thematically unrelated dances, each dance consisting of

two eight measure halves. As time passed, the general tendency was for the number of

dances in these sets to decrease while the length of the individual dances would increase.

Early waltzes of Johann Strauss are composed in this early format. From his Opus 3 to

Opus 19 one sees no change in format, but the sections expand from eight to sixteen

measures. This A B structural arrangement is similar to the binary form of baroque

dances and the minuet of the classical period with one important exception. While binary

dance forms generally cadence in a related tonal area, such as the dominant or relative

major, at the end of the A section, waltzes almost always cadence on the tonic harmony at

the end of each section.

The composition of waltzes for the piano and the guitar shows a similar formal

expansion to be the norm. Franz Schubert's earliest waltzes, the Opus 9a Waltzes, were a

set of eighteen different waltzes all of identical sixteen measure length and all divided

into two eight measure sections. Over the course of his career, Schubert's waltzes
 33

underwent a formal expansion similar to that which occurred in the waltzes of the Strauss

family. The last set of waltzes is taken from Opus 127 and displays a formal structure

which in addition to sixteen measure sections now includes formally designated trios

which are themselves bisectional. The obvious precedent for this procedure is the

example of the Minuet and Trio or Scherzo and Trio movements of the classical period.

One can now think of these Waltzes as being composed in an A B A format with the

large A section consisting of a waltz of two sections followed by the Trio, B, also in two

sections, and concluded by the return of the first A section. In his book, Form in Tonal

Music, Wallace Berry calls this compound ternary form. 15

In compound ternary form

each of the large sections is itself made up of a two part form. In diagrammatic form this

formal scheme would look like this:

A B A
(a, b) (c, d) (a, b)

Fernando Sor composed waltzes for the guitar over the course of his career. He

generally composed them in sets of six or as separate movements in divertimenti or other

sets of short pieces. Sor's waltzes employ the same composite ternary formal design as

these last Schubert waltzes. This structure persisted in all of Sor's waltzes from the

beginning to the end of his career. Two features are added to this design. Either one or

both of the A and B sections are themselves expanded into an a-b-a or simple ternary

design. Often the b and a are grouped together in a the second half of what looks like an

a-b construction but is actually an a-(b-a) design. Berry calls this scheme incipient

ternary form, but it also resembles rounded binary form without movement to the

15 Wallace Berry, Form in Music, 2nd. ed., (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall
Inc., 1986), 70.
 34

dominant. According to Berry, any of these arrangements, a b, a (ba), or a b a, are

suitable components of a compound ternary form. Another feature, which appears in

several of Sor's waltzes, is the addition of a new section. This section might be thought

of as a coda to the B section, but it actually functions as a transitional passage which

prepares the return of the A section. Sor's waltzes are also preceded on occasion by four

measure introductory passages. The diagram on page twenty-two can now be enlarged in

the following fashion:

A B A
(a-b-a) (c-d-c) coda (a-b-a)
(a-{ba}) (c-{dc})

The waltzes of Mauro Giuliani are constructed on the same formal schemes as

have been previously discussed. The earliest examples are the smallest in terms of scale.

The Opus 21 Twelve Walzer follows the basic formal scheme of the earliest Viennese

waltzes and consists of twelve short, thematically unrelated waltzes. Each waltz is

composed in the early bisectional A B format of two eight-measure halves. The twelfth

waltz is followed by a coda of seventy six measures. Later waltzes display a formal

expansion which parallels that of the other Viennese waltz composers.

Giuliani's 12 Walzer, Opus 57, are written in compound ternary form and employ

both the incipient ternary, (a-{ba}), and two part(a-b) sectional designs within the larger

A and B Sections. Giuliani follows the practice of the eighteenth-century composers of

the minuet and labels the B section as a trio. Most likely, he was following the example

of Franz Schubert in this respect as many of his waltzes are laid out in the same fashion.

Each half of the section employs similar and often times identical thematic material. In

the first of these waltzes, the a section is a sixteen measure period consisting of two
 35

phrases, each based on identical material. The only difference between them is that the

first phrase ends on a half cadence and the last phrase on a perfect authentic cadence.

The b section consists of two four-measure phrases of new material and the return of the

second eight-measure phrase of the section. Both the A section and the B section,

designated as a trio by Giuliani, employ this incipient ternary form as do other examples

in this set.

Examination of the waltzes of Agustín Barrios provides ample evidence of the

formal expansion which occurred in the waltz literature for the guitar in the romantic

period. While the compound ternary format remained essentially the same, the

dimensions of each of the sections expanded dramatically. The waltz Junto a tu corazón

has a total length of two hundred and nineteen measures. The sectional breakdown

includes a six- measure introduction, eighty-measure A section, sixty-seven-measure B

section, and a shortened sixty-four-measure A section followed by a two-measure

codetta. The A section is itself a simple ternary form of an a section of thirty-two

measures, a b section of thirty-two measures, and a shortened a section of sixteen

measures. The a section consists of a thirty-two-measure period made up of four eight-

measure phrases, the first three ending in a half cadence and the last on a perfect

authentic cadence. The first and third phrase are identical while the second and fourth are

similar so the two halves of the period can be termed antecedent and consequent. The

thirty-two-measure b section is a double period of identical construction . The truncated

second statement of the a section simply uses the consequent half of the double period.

The B section is also composed in a simple ternary form of c d c with the c section

consisting of a sixteen-measure phrase which is almost literally repeated. This is

followed by a sixteen-measure double period which makes up the d section. For the last
 36

c section, Barrios follows the same formal procedure in the B section as he did in the A

section by using only the sixteen-measure consequent half of the c section.The shortened

return of the A section consists of the b and a sections in that order without the initial a

statement. This return of a is the full thirty-two-measure version which was seen in the

beginning. Barrios' other waltzes display similar formal dimensions.

Key structure within the larger formal divisions of these pieces x(A, B, A) is

limited to only a few tonal areas. As might be expected, the large A sections of these

pieces are rooted primarily in the main key of the waltz. Within the smaller a b a sections

of the A section tonic harmony again dominates, but significant numbers of Sor's waltzes

modulate to the dominant for the b section of these waltzes. The B section in the

majority of Sor's waltzes is written in the subdominant key area.

Although composed much later, the waltzes of Barrios generally remain within

closely related keys. The large B or trio section of his "Waltz in G," Opus 8 no. 4, is set

in D major. Barrios did occasionally follow the romantic tendency to use tertian key

relationships. His "Primavera Waltz" modulates without transition from A major to F

major and later back to A major.

Harmony

Harmonic idiom in the Viennese waltz was generally determined by the identity

of the composer. Thus, the waltzes of Schubert or Chopin would be more harmonically

interesting than those of Hummel or Steibelt. Similarly, the waltzes of a romantic

guitarist/ composer such as Agustín Barrios would be more harmonically innovative than

those of earlier composers. The early waltzes of Sor and Giuliani displayed a limited

harmonic palette in comparison to their other works. Both the Opus 21 and Opus 90
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waltzes of Giuliani display a lack of harmonic imagination. Many of them employed

only tonic and dominant harmonies. Earlier examples follow a similar practice.

However, some of them do at least occasionally employ subdominant or submediant

harmonies, and some even make use of an occasional secondary dominant. The waltzes

of Sor employ a similarly limited vocabulary, but Sor does venture into the subdominant

a little more often than Giuliani and his harmonic palette is a bit more varied. In addition

to tonic and dominant seventh chords, C and G7, Sor also employs the supertonic

seventh, D minor 7th, and an altered secondary dominant harmony, E fully diminished

seventh, which functions as vii7/IV in C major.

In keeping with their romantic tendencies, the waltzes of Agustín Barrios display

a more varied harmonic vocabulary which included a more advanced use of chromatic

harmony, freer use of secondary dominants, augmented sixth chords, occasional

harmonies which seem to have coloristic as opposed to functional purpose, and a freer

treatment of dissonance. Example 16, taken from Opus 8 number 3, contains some of his

most beautiful and elegant usage of chromatic harmony built around the descending half

step movement from D to A. Particularly noteworthy is the chromatic motion in the inner

voices as well which, in measure twenty-six, creates the A C E-flat G chord, A half

diminished seventh, which might be accounted for as a secondary dominant, vii7/vi, in d

minor. However, this chord is used more for coloristic than functional purposes, since it

resolves not to the VI chord, B flat major, but to the major IV chord. This harmony is

created by moving the C sharp and E of the previous measure downward by half step, and

in the following measure it is left in the same fashion in the same two voices. The C and

the E- flat could just as well be considered accented passing tones and those two

measures a diminished chord used for coloristic purposes.

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Example 16. Barrios, "Waltz," Opus 8 no. 3, mm. 23-30.

The purpose of this chapter has been to present a brief history and various musical

elements of the Viennese waltz so that differences between it and the Venezuelan waltz

may be examined. While this discussion has been cursory, those areas which contrast

with the Venezuelan waltz have been examined. It is now appropriate to proceed to

Chapter Three and the Venezuelan waltz.