Abstract:
The technique of twelve-tone serialism was developed by Schoenberg to give structure to atonal compositions. The writer was interested in the fact that Dallapiccola’s twelve-tone compositions, as with Berg’s, were easier received by the general public than the works of other serial composers of the time. The reason being that his twelve-tone rows contain tonal elements. The boundaries of the field of study were determined in chapter 1. Terminology and problems encountered with the study were also discussed. To be able to analyse the tonal aspects of Dallapiccola’s rows, the basic outlines of tonality were clearly defined in chapter 2. It was found that tonal suggestions could be achieved by means of using: * tones that form part of a diatonic scale, * explicit triads, * implicit triads, * scale constructions and * tones that outline the tonic. The different types of twelve-tone rows were discussed and illustrated by means of music examples in chapter 3. A list of published works as well as a short discussion of each composition followed in chapter 4. Mention was made whether a work was tonal, atonal or a twelve-tone composition and Dallapiccola’s use of serial procedures in each composition was discussed. Chapter 5 showed where and how the above criteria were used in his rows. The study thus provides evidence that Dallapiccola had tonal references in mind when planning the rows and that tonal suggestions are common in his works. The twelve-tone rows often employ three, four or five of the criteria of implied tonality in a composition. Of the five criteria, tones that form part of a diatonic scale was used the most. This was discussed with all the rows, except Il prigioniero (row of hope) and Cinque frammenti di Saffo’s first and second tone rows. Dallapiccola used tones to outline the tonic in thirty one twelve-tone rows. Implicit triads were used in all but six works. Scale constructions appeared in nineteen works and Dallapiccola’s love for using a few chromatic notes or three consecutive notes of the implied major scale became apparent. Explicit triads only appeared in thirteen compositions. In the other rows, Dallapiccola created a tonal sense by means of other criteria or had a more chromatic approach. Dallapiccola thus used tonal references in the tone rows of his serial compositions and showed that twelve-tone tonality could be used to create a lyrical idiom. In this way the people that were trained in the tonal school could also appreciate twelve-tone compositions. In the opera Il prigioniero, it is especially evident that the Italian tradition of lyricism and dramatic intensity do exist after verismo composers (Morris 1999:257).
