Through in-depth analyses of nine of Mendelssohn’s Lieder ohne Worte, this paper argues that all nine pieces follow a single underlying event-arc typified by a cyclical drift into and out of the mediant key area. When considered in the specific context of Mendelssohn’s philosophical approach to song writing, the pianistic and cultural context of the pieces, and the connotations of the Lied genre along with strategic musical features common to all nine pieces, such as consistent accompaniment texture and relatively unstable opening melodic motives, this drift can be characterized as a musical embodiment of the internal experience of daydreaming. Though the nature and content of the “daydream” arc in each piece is different, the sense of drifting away and effortless return characteristic of this event-arc is always the same. / text

Zugl.: Wien, Diss.

In Darwinian evolution, a living population evolves when it is exposed to the selection pressures of a new biological medium. Analogously, in my chromatic evolution a chord "evolves" when it is exposed to a new chromatic medium, forcing it to adapt and harmonically modify its pitch content. This is a process by which a diatonic, consonant chord is progressively transformed into a chromatic substitute, over a span of several similar works, without losing or modifying the chord’s resolution tendencies, harmonic function, or formal location. From a Schenkerian perspective—and using Felix Mendelssohn’s Songs without Words as my corpus study—I will demonstrate how the pre-recapitulatory dominant (the root-position dominant that conventionally precedes the recapitulation) progressively evolves into a highly chromatic substitute: the dominant of the mediant.

Contained in this study is a musical discussion and analysis of seven Romance Sans Paroles (song without words), written by three French composers, Charles-François Gounod, Camille Saint-Saëns, and Gabriel Fauré. The Romance Sans Parole genre seems to be quite unknown in the piano field; as a result, there are few secondary sources available. By immersing myself in these scores, I sought to discover their musical value and compositional nuance and excellence. I thoroughly investigated each composer’s unique treatment of melody, harmony, rhythm, texture, and form. Chapter One includes an Introduction, brief biographical information on each composer, the Need for the Study, the Purpose of the Study, a Review of Literature, and a Methodology. Chapters Two, Three, and Four consist of a musical analysis and discussion of the seven Romance Sans Paroles. Chapter Five offers a Conclusion and Suggestions for Further Study. I believe my dissertation will enhance the understanding and appreciation of this art form. / School of Music