Timeless Reflections: Form, Cadence and Tonal Structure in the Scherzo and Finale of Schubert's String Quintet

Abstract

Schubert’s Quintet in C major has drawn the attention of a number of Schenkerian analysts. While most have examined aspects of form and tonal structure within specific movements (Beach 1993, 1994 and 1995; Smith 2006; and Suurpää 2000), others have attempted to analyse the entire Quintet along a single linear trajectory (Rast 1998). In general, however, Schenkerian analyses of this piece have emphasised the opening two movements, and they have quite understandably done so from a mainly teleological perspective. However, such a perspective stands in stark contrast to the more retrospective, introspective and lyrical qualities that the Quintet exhibits (Gingerich 2000). This article offers an analysis of the last two movements of Schubert’s masterpiece, the Scherzo-Trio and Finale (Allegretto). These deploy many of the same techniques as the first and the second movements: delayed tonal arrivals, chromatically altered sonorities, harmonic and motivic cross-references and structured paths from tonic to dominant. While negotiating the ways in which form, cadence and voice leading articulate the overall tonal structure, the article aims to bring together the forward-driving and retrospective impulses by investigating the ways in which Schubert revisits many of the same ‘timeless’ moments found in the previous movements while still allowing the work to close as a single dramatic gesture.