Vocal piano accompaniment: A constant research towards emancipation (2)

Abstract

This is the second and last article in the series dedicated to the investigation of the evolution of vocal piano accompaniment through history and the role-played by the piano in its relationship with the voice. If the previous chapter focused from the beginnings of piano accompaniment to Franz Schubert, this one will take up again the analysis of the piano part from the last lieder of Franz Schubert to Arnold Schoenberg. The research method used continues to be based on the musical analysis of the piano part, addressing both issues of the piano itself and its link with the text and the vocal part. By means of musical examples of different composers, the article investigates all those aspects that provide evidence of the change in the role of the piano in the correspondence of the piano with the voice and its repercussion on the final result of the work. In this way, we will look at the history of piano accompaniment for voice and see how the influence of Schubert's conception of vocal piano accompaniment materializes in contemporary and later composers, as well as the crucial change in the history of the piano as an accompanying instrument introduced by Schubert. The results and conclusions drawn from the evolution presented in these two articles are presented at the end of the article, based on the different aspects involved in the musical event, such as rhythm, harmony or texture.