Télécharger le livret - Outhere
Télécharger le livret - Outhere
Télécharger le livret - Outhere
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structural unity. Schubert took this risk creating<br />
the counterweight of a strong unity in his rhythmic<br />
organisation: at the very beginning a dotted<br />
motif with an anacrusis appears, and it runs<br />
through the who<strong>le</strong> of the ensuing progression, retiring<br />
only when the “good” key of the dominant is<br />
reached. in the conclusion this motif is again murmured<br />
one last time in the bass part, whi<strong>le</strong> briefly<br />
above we hear the “soft stream of silver light”.<br />
The development is dominated by chthonian<br />
powers, with an almost grotesque exaggeration in<br />
the intervallic <strong>le</strong>aps of the opening theme. Through<br />
some romantic and modulatory passages, we<br />
reach in a very short time some very distant keys.<br />
Following the examp<strong>le</strong> of earlier Sonatas the recapitulation<br />
begins in the subdominant key of E major.<br />
This was certainly not done for convenience, but<br />
with the intention of increasing the importance of<br />
the subdominant (in the first sketches it still began<br />
in B major). After this, the first section is repeated<br />
almost literally, transposed, and it fades out whi<strong>le</strong><br />
subsiding into the rediscovered key of B major.<br />
The second movement is no <strong>le</strong>ss inspired than<br />
the first. The main subject is reminiscent of an<br />
intimately religious chorus, in which the two-bar<br />
phrases, each separated by rests, are set against<br />
each other in dialogue. The composer’s art consists<br />
of knowing how to avoid the destruction<br />
of continuity despite these si<strong>le</strong>nces. (Mozart, in<br />
the second movement of his Piano Concerto in C<br />
minor and also Beethoven in the two movements<br />
of his Sonatas for piano opus 2/iii and opus 78,<br />
also succeeded in this.) The gent<strong>le</strong> and meditative<br />
atmosphere is disrupted by a unexpected “thunder<br />
30<br />
clap” with broad and powerful chords of E minor<br />
suddenly emerging above an agitated staccato<br />
bass. A “savage” modulation moves in harmonic<br />
steps from this E minor to F sharp minor, passing<br />
by way of B, until this eruption is discharged into<br />
a cascade in C major which disappears as quickly<br />
as it arrived. But the effect of upheaval remains.<br />
Fragments of the motif – emerging from the preceding<br />
staccato – float shrill and nervous into<br />
space, as if frightened, before calming down after<br />
about a minute. But this motif in semiquavers is<br />
not so easily forgotten. We find it again combined<br />
with a gent<strong>le</strong> counterpoint in the recapitulation of<br />
the opening theme, where it gradually fades away.<br />
The who<strong>le</strong> of the last entry of the theme <strong>le</strong>ads to<br />
yet another surprise: this theme in E Major suddenly<br />
is answered twice by a response in C major,<br />
certainly the echo of the re<strong>le</strong>ase of tension provided<br />
by C major in the central episode, but also<br />
perhaps of the C major in the first movement. This<br />
kind of response in the “wrong” key is found again<br />
in Schubert at the end of his penultimate Sonata<br />
(D 959). it has a metaphyiscal quality. in the coda<br />
the 3/4 measure is expanded by sequences of four<br />
crotchets, whi<strong>le</strong> the semi-quaver motif encountered<br />
earlier subsides peacefully in the bass.<br />
Because of the lack of space, we will only comment<br />
briefly on the last two movements. Both of<br />
them begin, like the first, with a unison anacrusis<br />
motif, followed immediately by full chords. The<br />
gent<strong>le</strong> Scherzo is entirely built on the opening<br />
motif, with some extremely delicate contrapuntal<br />
writing, rather like a string quartet. The trio has a<br />
popular aspect, increased by the charm of the con-