„… so spanne mich doch aus!“ – Skordaturen und ihre Semantik in der Musik Alban Bergs

Abstract

There are three types of scordaturas for stringed instruments (violins, guitar, harp, and piano): downward, upward, and diffuse. The more practically motivated cases of scordatura in Alban Berg’s works are irrelevant. Scordaturas with semantic function can be found in Wozzeck and the Lyric Suite . The downward scordatura signifies decay, death, and dying and is grounded in the idea of “release,” as evidenced in the Bach choral “It is enough.” The upward scordatura means madness and is motivated by the idea of “over-stretching,” which includes the potential breaking of a string. Diffuse scordatura is connected to the “destruction” of a social order; it can be seen in the tavern scene in Wozzeck where the piano is supposed to sound out of tune.