Bruckner rhythm

The Bruckner rhythm is a 2 + 3 (duplet + triplet) or 3 + 2 rhythm in Anton Bruckner's symphonic music, where it occurs prevalently,^[1]^[2] and in many different ways.^[3]

One example is in the main theme of the first movement of Symphony No. 4, from bars 43 forward:^[4]

${ \new PianoStaff << \new Staff \relative es' { \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"piano" \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \stemUp \tempo 2 = 55 \clef "tenor" \key es \major \time 2/2 es4 _\markup{ \italic {marc.} } \ff bes4 \times 2/3 { as4 g4 f4 } | % 2 es4 r4 r2 } >> }$

Bruckner also used the rhythm with a single pitch repeated, and this is the only way it occurs in Symphony No. 2 (e.g., bars 20 and 122).^[5] In Symphony No. 6, the Bruckner rhythm occurs to a much greater extent than in previous works, in several parts at slightly different times. At first it occurs as a string ostinato high in the violins' range against a melody of different rhythm in the cellos (bar 3),^[6] while at bars 195–209 it serves to articulate hexatonic cycle block chords.^[7] The rhythm occurs in somewhat more "manageable" form in the secondary theme group of Symphony No. 8, where it usually occurs in the same way in all the parts.

${ \new PianoStaff << \new Staff { \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"piano" \key c \minor \clef treble \time 2/2 \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \stemUp \tempo 2 = 55 <> \p<> ^\markup \italic {"Breit und ausdrucksvoll" } d'4( e') \tuplet 3/2 { fis' g' a' } b'2 cis'4 d' ees'( f') \tuplet 3/2 { g' a' b' } b'( c'') c''2 } \new Staff << \new Voice \relative c' { \stemUp \clef bass \key c \minor \time 2/2 b1~ b2 b2 b2. d4 ees2. r4 } \new Voice \relative c { \stemDown <g d'>1~ <g d'>2 <g f'>2 <g ees'>2. <gis f'>4 <a ges'>2. r4 } >> >> }$

The Bruckner rhythm also occurs in the works of other composers, such as in Howard Hanson's Romantic Symphony, where it occurs mostly in the horns' and trumpets' parts.

References

^ Milton John Cross & David Ewen, Encyclopedia of the Great Composers and Their Music. New York: Doubleday (1962): 158. "The second element is a rhythmic pattern so often employed by the composer that it is known as the "Bruckner rhythm."
^ Hans-Hubert Schönzeler (1978). Bruckner. London: Marion Boyars Publishers. p. 59.
^ John Williamson, "The Brucknerian symphony: an overview", The Cambridge Companion to Bruckner, ed. John Williamson. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press (2004): 79. "Yet even so instantly recognizable a rhythmic tic can be used with great variety."
^ Benjamin Korstvedt [fr], "Aspects of Bruckner's approach to symphonic form" The Cambridge Companion to Bruckner, ed. John Williamson. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press (2004): 186.
^ Derek Watson, Bruckner. New York: Schuster & Macmillan (1997): 81
^ (Williamson, 2004): 79
^ Kevin Swinden, "Bruckner and harmony" The Cambridge Companion to Bruckner, ed. John Williamson. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press (2004): 222. "The orchestral texture through this passage is thick, articulating block chords in the 'Bruckner-rhythm' that characterizes the movement, supporting a reprise of the first theme of the symphony."

External links

Symphonie No. 2 de Bruckner: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
Time analysis Symphony No. 2, William Carragan
Symphonie No. 4 de Bruckner: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
Time analysis Symphony No. 4, William Carragan
Symphonie No. 6 de Bruckner: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
Time analysis Symphony No. 6, William Carragan
Free scores by Symphonie No. 8 de Bruckner at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)
Time analysis Symphony No. 8, William Carragan

[1] Milton John Cross & David Ewen, Encyclopedia of the Great Composers and Their Music. New York: Doubleday (1962): 158. "The second element is a rhythmic pattern so often employed by the composer that it is known as the "Bruckner rhythm."

[2] Hans-Hubert Schönzeler (1978). Bruckner. London: Marion Boyars Publishers. p. 59.

[3] John Williamson, "The Brucknerian symphony: an overview", The Cambridge Companion to Bruckner, ed. John Williamson. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press (2004): 79. "Yet even so instantly recognizable a rhythmic tic can be used with great variety."

[4] Benjamin Korstvedt [fr], "Aspects of Bruckner's approach to symphonic form" The Cambridge Companion to Bruckner, ed. John Williamson. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press (2004): 186.

[5] Derek Watson, Bruckner. New York: Schuster & Macmillan (1997): 81

[6] (Williamson, 2004): 79

[7] Kevin Swinden, "Bruckner and harmony" The Cambridge Companion to Bruckner, ed. John Williamson. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press (2004): 222. "The orchestral texture through this passage is thick, articulating block chords in the 'Bruckner-rhythm' that characterizes the movement, supporting a reprise of the first theme of the symphony."

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