'Pierrot lunaire' and the Resistance to Theory

Author(s): Jonathan Dunsby

Reviewed work(s):
Source: The Musical Times, Vol. 130, No. 1762 (Dec., 1989), pp. 732-736
Published by: Musical Times Publications Ltd.
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/966750 .
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'Pierrotlunaire' and the resistanceto

theory

JonathanDunsby

Pierrot
is a pretext
forthepoints metalanguage,
lunaireitself
in so faras it is an
thenmusicaldiscourse,
Schoenberg's
in thisarticle,whichis notprimarily
aboutmusictheoryofmusic,oughtto be immuneto
extrinsic
representation
deconstructive
musiIf,however,
thoughitwillconcludein thatarea - or indeedaboutthe anyrecognisably
critique.
musicofPierrot,
butaboutmusicaldiscourse.Pierrotis, cal discourseis clearlynotimmuneto deconstructive
crian obviouslever,becauseofitsomnipresence
in tique,thenthereexistsa muchstronger
between
however,
affinity
- and thereis no discourseandmusicthanhas beenadmitted
musicalconsciousness
inthepastby
twentieth-century
needto considerherethecontinuing
ofPierrot those who are genuinelysuspiciousof theoryin all its
significance
since1912forcomposers,
andtheconcertaudi- forms.These twoconditional
performers
pointsofviewforman onence.Foranyonecontemplating
thetrendsandmotivations goingpuzzlewhichmotivates
thefollowing
enquiry.
ofmusicaldiscourse,Pierrotoffersa richfield.I use the
evera formalist
heretriestoreducehis
atheart,
Schtinberg,
word'discourse'to mean,in itssimple,conventional
sense,
atonalchaostoorderbycasting
theeighth
as a
piece,'Nacht',
thespokenorwritten
ofa subject.I shallbeginby
treatment
and
while
the
seventeenth
are
eighteenth
passacaglia,
labyrinths
to answer,
threepractical
asking,and attempting
questions
comofdoublecanons,
mirror-canons
andcanonscancrizans
about attitudesto Pierrot,questionswhichcorrespond
oftheGurrelieder
is as simple
with
which
chorus
thefinal
pared
to a tripartite
viewofmusicaldiscourse.
approximately
andspontaneous
as a folk-song.1
Thesethreelittlediscussions
eachreveal,indifferent
ways,
a resistanceto theorywhichis endemicin musicaldisofthethreepractical
The first
questionsis this:why,from
course,andwe mightwishto followPaul de Man'slead in a structural
pointofview,has therebeenso muchcomment
ittobe inevitable.
Itcertainly
inPierrot
whichin
has historical
forms
ofcontinuity
believing
depth, onthosecontrapuntal
as some extractsfromearlywritings
on Pierrotserveto factoccupylittleoftheactualmusic?GeraldAbraham's
A
illustratein moreextensivediscussions;and theselead Hundred
YearsofMusicincludestypical
commentary:
toa confrontation
oftheunderlying
issueinthiskind
Abraham'sbookwas firstpublishedin 1938,twenty-six
finally
ofenquiry,thequestionofthe epistemological
statusof yearsafterPierrot
afteritspubliappearedandtwenty-four
musicaldiscourse,thatis, whethermusicaldiscourse cation,andtheAbraham
in1949,
wentthrough
neweditions
servesto makemusican objectofknowledge,
a question 1964and 1974,so a raisedeyebrowmaybe excusedwhen
whichwillhavetoremainopen.
we areinformed
that'eachpieceis scoredforvoiceandtwo
it is worthexposingwhythismustbe or threeoftheinstruments',
As a preliminary,
a claimwhichis trueoffewer
an openquestion.The literary
he didhavetechtheoriesofpost-structural-thanhalftheitems.Butmoretothepoint,
ism challengemusiciansto redefinesome deep-seated nical knowledgeof nos.8, 17 and 18, and the idea that
habitsofthought.
For instance,
thereis decades'worthof Schoenbergwas 'evera formalist
at heart'has some creifnottenaciousin thisview.
musicaldiscourseworrying,
in onewayandanother,
about dence.Abrahamwas nothing
theuse ofverballanguageto engageso-calledmusical'lan- 'In Pierrot lunaire', he wrote in a differentsource, '...
reliesmoreandmoreoncanonandinversion
guage'.This use has oftenbeen scornedas an artificial, [Schoenberg]
indeedas an anti-musical
Andourmostpresti- andostinato
forpurposesofstructure
as wellas oftexture'.2
tendency.
to convey Ostinato- perhaps. Inversion- this termhas no determigioustheoryis constantly
praisedforitsattempt
aboutmusicin a quasi-musical
notation.
Music natemeaningin context,
lobbedat an apparand is simply
perceptions
theorists
scoffat thecritics'metaphors:
criticsscoffat the entlyrebarbative
creationas probablysomehowrelevant.
theorists'metalanguages.Yet writerslike de Man have Canon- no.Abraham
whatitis tohavea good
exemplifies
offered
ofliterary
a detailedreadingof
critiques
theoryinwhichtheveryprob- pointwhichis notsustainedthrough
lemis heldtobe theinteraction
oflanguagewithitself,
was entirely
awareof
texts musicaltextandcontext.
Schoenberg
abouttextsbeingdoomedtoarticificality,
indeedtoan 'antiIfthefundamental
A Hundred
reading'tendency.
YearsinMusic(London,
problemofmusical 1GeraldAbraham,
1974),285
discourseis theinevitable
TheConcise
between
1979),808
ofMusic(London,
History
opposition
languageand 2Abraham,
732

the Pandora'sBox he was openingin 1908and the next

decadeor so,wellawareoftherestraints
he had to impose
inPierrot
therefrain
formofthe
uponhimself
byaccepting
theplotofnon-recurrence
ofensemble
poems,byadopting
and so on.Allofthisis evidentin whathe himself
timbre,
wroteaboutthework,and muchmoreon thesame lines
can be inferred
fromthescore.To returnto,and answer,
myfirstquestion,the preoccupationwithcontrapuntal
formsofcontinuity
in Pierrothas been a diversion
which
defersotherissues;itsbestexcuseis contemconveniently
skillofa fewof
plativewonderat theevidentmanipulative
themelodramas;
itsworstexcusesare thedutiful
musicomusicand
logicalsearchfora geneticoriginoftwelve-note
the equally dutifulattemptto note reassuringlythat
cleverin traditional
musical
Schoenbergwas extremely
ways.
in perceptions
ofthemusic,are thereso
Why,secondly,
ofpitch-structure,
manydoggedinvestigations
if,as Charles
Rosenwas bold enoughto write,'pitchcan no longerbe
ofmusical
giventhecentral
position[here]inthehierarchy
- as Schoenbergknewverywellwhenhe agoelements'3
nisedinhisBerlinDiaryoverhowhe had managedto conducta Pierrotrehearsalwithout
noticingthattheclarinet
was atthewrongpitch?
Anyonewillbe excusedforreading
Pierrot
as a pitchstructure.
has notbeenalonein
Stravinsky
to valueitas a 'brilliant
instrumental
wanting
masterpiece'.
Norcan it escape theattention
ofanysingerthatmanyof
thepitches,
whichSchoenberg
askedto be clarified
before
3CharlesRosen,Arnold
(NewYork,1975),58
Schoenberg

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theglissandoofthe speakingvoicecutsin,are in a clear

musicalrelationship
to theinstrumental
- and his
material
withits
prefaceto thescoreseemstotakethisforgranted,
commentthat'in singingthe pitchesare maintained;
in
butimmediately
speech-song
theyare ofcoursepresented,
abandonedvia a riseor fall[inpitch]'.The problemis,one
distinction
betweentheory
maysuspect,thetime-honoured
andperception.
In theory,
thereareanynumberoffascinatto be studiedin Pierrot
ingpitchrelationships
which,perone onlywishescouldbe seizedfromtheact of
ceptually,
butmanysimplycannotbe, evenifwe assume
listening,
somekindofinscrutably
determination
of
complexmaterial
Iftheseforlorn
conflicts
are in playevenat the
perception.
touchstone
levelofpitch,no wondertheorising
aboutother
andtherepertory
ofwhichitis a consumaspectsofPierrot
mation
has beenresistedso thoroughly.
fromthecompositional
Third,and briefly:
pointofview,
whathas the'light,satirical
tone'ofPierrot,
as emphasised
to do withtheheavy,committed
by Schoenberghimself,
theliterreadingsoftextandmusictobe foundthroughout
ature?Here againit is worthlistening
to Stravinsky,
who
ofBeardsley.
deprecatedin Pierrotthedatedaestheticism
One mustwonderhowmanymodernmusicians
havemuch
ideawhatStravinsky
is talking
about,letaloneappreciating
whathe, who had livedthrougha personal,composer's
reaction
topassingcultural
didn'tlikeabout
waves,actually
inits'aestheticism'.
Pierrot
Itis inthenatureoftheory,
howeverbroadlyconceived,
to be serious,and itmustbe in its
naturenotto be able to assimilate
whatever
turnsitsface
satire.
againsttheseriousthrough
These areexamplesofwhatI understand
bya 'resistance
to theory'.I am nothereessentially
concernedwith'musical rhetoric'
butI am indeedconcernedwiththe subtext
and probableheadlineofthatmatter,
theinterdisciplinary
ofthedeconstructive
AndI do notmind
afterglow
approach.
whichI recleaninga littleon Paul de Man's observation,
ommendtothoseAmerican
musicresearchers
whoare displayinga belatedtasteforBarthesiansemiology:in de
Man'smemorable
Frenchcritphrase,'Uptillveryrecently,
ics neverbotheredto read at all ... all ofthemtreatlanas carrierofsubjective
as
guage,initsfunction
experience,
ifit were transparent'.4
WhileI cannotsee the studyof
'rhetoric'
as a paradigm
formusicalthought
the
nowadays,
hermeneutical
is welcomeas
impulsebehindthisbuzz-word
an antidote
totherelativism
whichitcaninform,
andtothe
whichbothcanhopetotranscend.
positivism
I notedearlierthatitwouldbe important
tolookforsome
historical
fortraditional
evidepthin thesedeliberations,
dencethatpeoplehave,so tospeak,not'bothered
toreadat
all'.The evidenceto be presentedis necessarily
lean,but
selectedbecauseitis bothacuteandrepresentative.
I have
also chosento avoidthemainstream
ofSchoenbergcom- forinstance,
Keller,or Maegaard,or Lessemmentary
whichexudes contemporary
resonancesthat,forme at
needed
least,inhibitthe particularkindof commentary
here. Firstis a quotationfromLouis Fleury'sarticleof
October1924entitled
'About"Pierrot
Lunaire"':

4Paulde Man,theResistance
toTheory
(Manchester,
1986),33
733

Ofcourse
itwasSchtinberg's
ownpersonality
thatI mostwished model-builder
andbookbinder,
plannerofsubwaysystems,
tobecomeacquainted
andI wasnotdisappointed.
Inthat addictedto
with,
transatlantic
in his litigious
tennis,
enduringly
inmotion,
witha piercing
androving
small,
man,always
active
to
life?
As
for
I
doubt
thatthe
approach
daily
sincerity,
indressandinmanner,
andwithout
a
eyeandmobile
lips,simple
as Schoenberg
was inPierrot,
shouldever
avowedly
semblance
ofpose,thereis nothing
thatsuggests
thehunter satirist,
be accusedofsucha lofty
sentiment:
perhapsFluerywould
after
sensational
successortheupstart
foradvertisement.
pining
hadhe beenwriting
a fewyears
Ifhisnamehasmadea stiritis certainly
inspiteofhimself.
All haveavoidedtheepiphany
dubiousattempt
thatI hadheardofhim,ofhissolitariness
andinaccessibility,
topillory
of laterandknownofSchoenberg's
hislifefarfrom
distractions
andwrapped
was Stravinsky
in theop.28no.2'Satire'.Musicalhagiography
upinhiswork,
confirmed
as I hadwithhim.Onething mayalwaysrevealsuch contradictions.
bysuchrelations
fully
The questionis
andthat
ishisabsolute
asserted,
maybeconfidently
sincerity.5 whethersuchcontraditions
are oftheessenceofmusical
bearingin mindalso thatmusicanalysisis a
hagiography,
The mythic
the speciesoftextualhagiography
dedicatedto revealing,
as I
imageryhere deserveslittlecomment:
but'piercing
androving'
as havecommented
howmusicworksandnothow
eyeis notdullanddisinterested,
elsewhere,
onewouldexpectofa superman;
is solitary
and itfailstowork.
Schoenberg
likea president;
he is 'wrapped
Here is a different
inaccessible,
upinhiswork',
examplefromthehalo ofcomment
idealistBeethoven;
and aboveall, whichhas encircled
Pierrot,
justlikethatunsanitary
againfromtheearlydays.Paul
is endowedwith'abso- Bekkerwrotea newspapercolumnin 1921whichwas a
placedas an epiphany,
Schoenberg
- presumably
notvisibly.
lutesincerity'
Whatmerits
greater recantation,nearlya decade on, of his initialdenial of
comment
is theextentto whichall ofthisis figural,
rather Pierrot's
value.He nowregardstheworkas excellent,
notthancredible.What,afterall, is necessarilywrongwith ingthat,evenifspacepermitted,
he couldnotmake
verbally
success'?Evenifit were the actualqualitiesofthismusicamenableto the underbeinga 'hunteraftersensational
wrongin some anthropologicallydeterminableway, standing:
tookobviouspleasure,notonlyin theartistic
Schoenberg
is notonlya jew,bolshevist
andnihilist,
he is not
Schoenberg
achievement
ofPierrot,
butalso inthesimplefactofitssucbutindeed
themedics
himand
haveinvestigated
cess atwhatFleurywoulddoubtless
callthemostunworthy onlyimpotent,
toapologiseforthefact.6
level;thecomposerevenventured
Andhowwas Schoenberg'wrappedup in his work',this
5Frangois
dePierrot
Lunaire(Geneva,1985),184-5
Lesure,Dossierdepresse

6 ArnoldSchoenberg,
Stein,ed., Styleand Idea (London,1975),51. His
somewhat
admission
is of'trying
toacton [his]ownbehalfas an
unnerving
historian'.

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thathe suffers
from
infantilism.
That'sall declamation,
withLhar, Humperdinck
and Gerlach,with
proved
scientifically
Theforce the Berlincabaret,withKarlKraus'srecitations;
wellandgood,butithasnofurther
consequences.
on the
which
mocks
allthesethings
ofart.7
liesinthetruework
ofSchoenberg'sSprechotherhand,the interpretation
stimmewas tobecomea permanent
obstacleto theassimioftheculturally
an ecstaticdescription
iso- lationof
Therefollows
and Rychnovsky
couldhavehad thegrim
Pierrot,
whichcan be heardonlywith'open satisfaction
latedworldofPierrot,
ofknowing
thatthisaspectofthecomposition
ears',perceivedonlyin a 'freeplay'ofthesenses.Andhow neverdidcometobe seenas 'natural'
- Sprechstimme
may
doesthiscomeabout?
havebeena stimulus
to thedevelopment
ofextended
vocal
butitdidnotitselfbecomea universal
technical
wherever
onething
istobedesired:
there
is spiritual technique,
Today,
only
becauseitis nota particularly
successful
wayof
letserious
cometogether
without precedent
life,
peoplecapableoffeeling
forthevoice.
writing
preconceptions.8
As forthe'defamation
oftheconceptofmusic',thisis a
Forall thatthisappearstobe commendably
- oftheresistance
progressive, classic- selectedbecauseitis archetypal
ituses a textural
Iftheoryis a consensuson theprinciples
ofhow
devicetowhichBekkerhas fallenhisown to theory.
forthedeathoftheauthorhas alreadybeenguaran- to proceed,thenin thisveryliberalsense of the term
victim;
teedin theassertionthattheworkofartmustbe accepted Pierrotwas a conceptof music alreadywrittenbefore
Jewish, Schoenbergsat downto do itin 1912.His contemporaries
purelyon itsownterms,so thattheembarrassingly
iftheyhad pointedoutsomeof
infantile
bolshevist,
nihilist,
composer,
clearlynotseriousin mighthavebeenforgiven
himselfor capableoffeeling,has alreadybeen excluded thefollowing
inevitabilities:
thatitwas hightimethemaefromthe charmedcircleofthoseworthyto imbibethis strodida 'commedia'
else ofnotehad
work,sinceeveryone
eitherdone so or was aboutto; thatWagner,as Humperremarkable
newmusic.
In boththeforegoing
cases we have been dealing,not dinckandmanyothersbelieved,hadforthemoment
virtuwithreportage,
thepossibilities
butwithnarrative
oftheconventionally
designthat,theoretically,allyexhausted
pitched
Thisis justsurmise; humanvoiceandotherheightened
thewriters
wouldsurelydenyas literal.
kindsofvocalexpressivbutitis hardtobelievethateitherFleuryorBekkerwould ityweretobe tried;thata restricted
mediumwas,as many
andtheir composers
stickto their'evidence'undercross-examination,
wereshowing,
an antidote,
longbeforethepracplea of narrativelicence could hardlybe disallowedon ticalexigenciesoftheGreatWarwereeventhought
of,to
or in thelightofsubsequentdiscourse.Perhaps thesupermedium
ofthesymphony
ofa thousand,
precedent
especially
to whenindividual
none ofthiswouldmattermuch,ifit were restricted
and
playerswerebecomingso proficient
tothe instruments
so reliableas a resultofthe industry,
andvilification,
andthusoflittleinterest
both
hagiography
in technological
musictheorist.
Yetsuchexplicitnarrative
and human,ofthenineteenth
that
manipulation
century;
in theconventions
oftonality
in 1912
wereso veryobviously
biographyand criticismfindsits implicitcounterpart
whatmightbe called,somewhat
self-evidentironically
perhaps,techni- nottobe expectedofEurope'sbestcomposers,
writ- lyofSchoenberg,
cal commentary
onthemusic.ThusErnstRychnovsky
whohadbeenploughing
a newfurrow
for
fouryears,butevenofStravinsky,
whosePetrushka
of1911
ingin 1913inDie Musik:
andwhoseRiteofSpringconfirmed
in
gavesomeindication
Thismusicalmele ofalltheinstruments,
thedissolution
of grandstyle;thatwhathas recently
cometo be calledthe
ofrhythmic
thestifling
theunnaturalness
ofthe
feeling,
tonality,
was therefore
a highly-valued
formofwhich
whenitseekstobe childlike, 'multi-piece'
voice,whichis childish
reciting
in terms its
recurrences
and structural
thisis nothing
oftheconcept
ofmusicandI Pierrot, is anof motivic
buta defamation
paraphrases,
unexceptional
example.
thegravewhether
thedevelopment
of
wouldliketolearnfrom
as itwere,readthehistorical
didn't,
musicwillreallyhavegonethewayon whichSchoenberg Mostcontemporaries
text.
In
our
current
terms,
they
perhapsdidn'thave the
inthe'Pierrot
embarked
Lunaire'
songs.9
meansto readthetext.Rychnowsky's
'concept'ofmusicis
in his germanword'Begriff',
thatis
here.The 'musicalm lee ofall enshrined
Thereis muchofinterest
something
in 'seized',andno wonderhe feelsthatitis beingdefamed
theinstruments'
didbecome,afterall,a technical
by
byword
sincehe doubtlesstookmuchtroubletoabsorbthe
as onegeneration
afteranother
admired Pierrot,
accountsofPierrot
whichhad becomehis valuesystem,
and
thesonicresourcesSchoenberg
drewfromfiveplayersand musicalheritage
neveronce used in thesame combina- sincehe regardeditas a 'language'.Humanbeingstendto
eightinstruments,
in defending
theiractuallanguage,thatprincitionthrough
ofrhyth- be merciless
melodramas.
The 'stifling
twenty-one
theiridentity.
And theytendto
in pal agentin maintaining
micfeeling'perhapsrefersto thevariety
ofarticulation
otheractivities
as iftheyfunctioned
in thewayin
in mostofthemusicof interpret
to thelistener'sdifficulty
Pierrot,
is nowheremore
its metre:anothercommentator
This tendency
notedthe whichlanguagefunctions.
determining
thaninSchoenberg's
ownviewofmusicas a discivariedas to become apparent
'rhythmsthatare so persistently
matchesthelinguistic
modelofthe
of the reciting pline,whichperfectly
Over the 'unnaturalness'
monotonous'.'0
voiceRychnovsky
earnsa littleless credencebutalso a lit- trivium:'grammar'is pursuedthroughoutthe Harmoandin thelaterpedagogical
is the
works;'rhetoric'
hislackoffamiliaritynielehre
tlemore:on theonehand,he betrays
of
withcontemporaneous
fashion,withViennesetheatrical basic paradigmforSchoenberg'sidea of'Darstellung',
musicas a systemof'presentation';
'logic',
understanding
and the natureof a strictly
'musical'logic,preoccupied
7 Lesure,
op.cit.,43

8 ibid.,44
9 ibid.,51

10JamesHuneker
inLesure,op.cit,21
735

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And
'Gedanke'manuscripts.
inthenow-famous
Schoenberg
As de
inall thisendeavour.
no wondertherewas no finality
Man putsit in his notorious
essay,theelementsofgramtenand logicamountto 'a set ofunresolved
mar,rhetoric
an infinitely
sionspowerful
proenoughto havegenerated
longeddiscourseofendlessfrustration'.11
I referredat the beginningof thisessay to whatwas
issue' in thiskindofenquiry.The
calledthe 'underlying
enquiryover,I offersomeclosingremarkson thatissue,
whichis,as notedalready,
anepistemological
matter.
The humansciences,whichembraceso muchthatthey
mustalwaysbe suspectedofrevealingthecontradictions
ofan underlying
andimponderables
treadmill,
philosophical
A fieldoflearnintheinterested
breedalienation
layperson.
as musicsimilarly
breedsalienation
ingas comprehensive
Yetoverandabove
itssubdisciplines.
amongthoseviewing
whichis in
thisendlessembeddingofmisunderstanding,
atleasttrivial
misunoften
a wilful
andtherefore
musicology
in
ofthinking
we mustclingto thepossibility
derstanding,
crediblenewways.If,as someliterary
criticssay,notonly
do we seemtodisliketheorising,
butpartoftheverypower
I can'tthinkof
oftheory
is thatitentailsitsownabnegation,
a goodreasonnottolistenandlearnfromthem,sincethis
of discourseabout
mechanismseems so characteristic
music.
Evenmoreencouragingly,
whyshoulditnotalso be that
which
musicaldiscoursehas itsownmodeofdevelopment
is relatively
ifwe knowto
Thisis highly
independent?
likely,
howeverlimitedan extentwhatwe're doing,giventhat
musicitself
is thenearestexperience
we havetoan alternaUmberto
Eco pointedoutthat- inmy
tivenative'language'.
exaggeratedwords- musical discoursewas centuries
aheadofmodernliterary
Perhapsthismeant,more
theory.
and assumingEco knewwhathe was talking
explicitly,
of
was alwaysin theforeground
about,thatstructuralism
else as a culmusicaldiscourse,butsurfacedeverywhere
Ifthat
turalpreoccupation
onlyinthemid-twentieth
century.
is so,itneedstobe driven
homeinnon-language
disciplines
has nowdriftlikeoursthat'everywhere
else' structuralism
ed by. If we as musicianshave resisted new theories
in
inherent
because we werealreadyused to theconflict
thatis no excuseforfailing
to ask nowwhether
the
theory,
eras ofunacknowledged
leadingare gone,whetherthe
moment
ofmeeting
didnotpass a decadeortwoago when
becamefashionable,
andwhetherin thefuture,
'structure'
as inthepast,we shouldnotagainexpecttobecomeisolatthereareno
ed,perhapsin a newage when,tobe specific,
theoriesofmusic,butonlytheoriesofhowto
independent
composeit.
Thisarticlewasfirstgivenas a paperat the1989Annual
whichwasdedicatoftheRoyalMusicalAssociation,
Meeting
onMusicandRhetoric.
edtotopics
of
ofMusicat theUniversity
Dunsbyis Professor
Jonathan
Reading

11de Man, op. cit.,13

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