Consonance, Tertian Structures and Tonal Coherence in Wladimir Vogel's Dodecaphonic World

Wladimir Vogel's (1896-1984) interest in twelve-tone composition began to develop in 1936 after hearing a series of lectures by Willi Reich, a music critic and supporter of the new music of the Second Viennese School. The transition for Vogel from a large-scale orchestral “classical” style, influenced by his study with Ferruccio Busoni in Berlin in the early 1920s, to a new technique involving dodecaphony is apparent in his instrumental writing, the third and fourth movements of the Konzert für Violine und Orchester (1937), as well as in his vocal writing, the Madrigaux for mixed a cappella choir (1938/39). Vogel's twelve-tone works exhibit tertian structures which are particularly emphasized by triads located as consecutive pitches within the rows. Emphasis on tertian structures are not limited to small-scale segmentation of the rows but can also be seen in the structural and tonal organization of complete movements and works. A primary example is the Konzert für Violoncello und Orchester (Cello Concerto) (1955) in which, on a smaller scale, the presentation of the row emphasizes both diminished and minor triads, and at the macro level, the structural triadic relationships unify passages within individual movements as well as the concerto as a whole. Since the work is composed using the twelve-tone method, consideration is given to the structure of the serial components. In addition, the concerto is analyzed in terms of its cognitive features-those elements that are demonstrably related to traditional practice- such as tertian melodic/harmonic outlines reinforced by rhythmic features that are common to eighteenth- and nineteenth-century practice. The compositional features evident from the serial structure of the work are addressed in conjunction with references to traditional practice made evident through the serial technique. The findings in the analysis of the Cello Concerto support the argument that the inclusion of consonant sonorities and tertian structures in Vogel's works results in a certain degree of tonal coherence while the large-scale compositional framework is dodecaphonic.