Developing Ogolevets's Doubly Augmented Prime: Semitonal Voice Leading in the Music of Shostakovich Page: 29
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minor.68 The focus of this axis and the descending tetrachord highlights Shostakovich's use of
semitonal motion and two modal centers at once.
In addition to tonal axes, Brown also discusses post-tonal techniques of interval class
1/interval class 5 (icl/ic5) in the late music of Shostakovich.69 The icl/ic5 are semitones and
perfect fourths that occur melodically or harmonically. Brown provides an example from Piano
Sonata No. 1 (1926) of a descending scalar gesture from F-F#, or icI. Following the F#, the bass
descends again to a quarter-note G below the staff, another ic 1. This again highlights
Shostakovich's use of semitonal motion and resolution of tendency tones (F#-G). The G leaps
up to C, a perfect fourth, or ic5.70
Ic5 is also the focus of Peter Child in his work on structured tetrachords.71 The basis of
his research, like that of many other scholars, is the combination of diatonic and chromatic
elements and how to approach this style of music. Like Brown, the focus on the tetrachord comes
from Shostakovich's four-note motto: D-Eb-C-B .72 One stylistic feature, twelve-note themes,
occurs through triadic passages in many of Shostakovich's late works. For example, he describes
the brass and cello textures in Symphony No. 15:73
The excerpt consists of two contrasting textures: homophonic brass segments alternating
with a thinly accompanied melodic line projected chiefly by a solo cello. The brass
segments are tonal and for the most part harmonically straightforward. The cello line
consists mainly of successive twelve-note structures. These structures are typical of all
68 Note that these notes are all included in Shostakovich's motto (D-Eb-C-B), but the first two notes are switched,
Eb and D. For more about his motto and its transformations, see Stephen C. Brown, 2006, "Tracing the Origins of
Shostakovich's Musical Motto," Intigral 20: 69-103.
69 Stephen C. Brown, 2011, "ic/ic5 Interaction in the Music of Shostakovich," Music Analysis 28, nos. 2-3: 185-
220.
70Ibid., 185-86.
71 Peter Child, 1993, "Voice-Leading Patterns and Interval Collections in Late Shostakovich: Symphony No. 15,"
Music Analysis 12, no. 1, 71-88.
72Ibid., 72.
73 For the full reduction, see Child (1993), 75-77.29
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Hatch, Amy M. Developing Ogolevets's Doubly Augmented Prime: Semitonal Voice Leading in the Music of Shostakovich, dissertation, May 2022; Denton, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1944286/m1/40/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .