Deborah Stein
New England Conservatory of Music

Studies of tonal ambiguity have tended to consider such ambiguity as an anomaly or a digression from tonal norms. Using a theoretical paradigm called the Ambiguity Principle (AP), I argue that 19th-century European tonal ambiguity resulted instead in new structural designs that were commensurate with traditional tonal structures. Tonal ambiguity comes in several guises, from initial ambiguity clarified over time to sustained ambiguity that remains unresolved, including several double-tonal designs. The two forms examined here are Tonal Pairing, where two keys create tonal flux as they vie for tonal supremacy, and Implicit Tonality, where a key is invoked but never is fully realized, thereby remaining an unresolved tonal force.

The 19th-century increase in tonal ambiguity was prompted in part by several recurring German Romantic themes: extending beyond what was known, luxuriating in irresolution, and celebrating the dichotomous and paradoxical, including the irony of romantische Sehnsucht. In creating musical correspondences to these literary and philosophical ideas, new tonal designs were forged that challenged the norms of monotonality, tonal coherence, and tonal closure. I explore tonal ambiguity within the Lieder of Schubert and Robert Schumann in part to highlight the impact of Romantic literature upon 19th-century composers. My analytical approach is to juxtapose Schenker's analytical norms of tonal clarity and cohesion with alternative AP readings that highlight tonal ambiguity. In so doing, many of Schenker's most important concepts are reformulated to accommodate double tonality, chronic tonal vacillation and lingering tonal irresolution.

Ultimately, these tonal ambiguities can only be understood within a new tonal paradigm, one that searches beyond what is known, willfully opposes irreconcilable elements, and thrives in suspended irresolution.