According to Schönberg the 12-note row has to be the first musical incident. The row can operate as a melody (i.e. horizontally) or also vertically. What counts is the impact on the listener, the structure only serves as an ordering principle.
Application of the row in Schma Jisrael
The basic row runs like this:
This row is now transposed from F sharp to B flat:
If this row is transposed from the treble key into bass key and some notes are re-directed
into a different octave, the following melody is the result:
If some notes are occasionally repeated - the exception proves the rule - and here the 4th and the 5th note of the row reappear, we get a precise statement of the Schma Jisrael theme in a pure twelve-note system.
The Schma-Jisrael theme as a whole is carried on according to similar criteria.
The work is concluded with the twelve-note row on the tonic.
Music examples
|