Arnold Schoenberg's Begleitungsmusik zu einer Lichtspielszene Op. 34 (1930) indicates the close relation between Schoenberg's work and film music. Although Schoenberg did not contribute to any films in his career, he had planned to accompany the performance of his work Die gluckliche Hand (1913) with a silent film. He emphasized the importance of sound film in the 1920s in texts such as "Der sprechende Film," 1927 ("The Talkie"). His relationship with Guido Bagier, the head of the department in charge of sound films department of Universum Film AG (UFA), also indicates Schoenberg's interest in films during that time. This paper explores Begleitungsmusik both in terms of its musical structure and with reference to the praxis of musical accompaniment of silent films. First, the musical character of Begleitungsmusik is analyzed from the perspective of its structure and the process of its composition. Discussion of an unpublished memo indicating the programmatic content of this piece and a detailed analysis of Schoenberg's musical manuscripts show that his revisions emphasized a dramaturgical structure, partly corresponding to the unpublished memo. Second, the relation between the film and Schoenberg's activities, based on the examination of related preliminary material including the diary of his second wife Gertrud and the unpublished autobiography of Guido Bagier, will be surveyed. Finally, the contemporary situation and the aesthetics of musical accompaniment of silent film are discussed, focusing on the relation of the three subtitles Schoenberg used in his Begleitungsmusik, "threatening danger," "anxiety," and "catastrophe." Musical scenarios published in Film-Ton-Kunst, a magazine that specialized in the film music praxis in the 1920s, are systematically explored. Consequently, this paper recontextualizes Begleitungsmusik within Schoenberg's own development and the historical background to clarify that although Schoenberg and contemporary praxis of musical accompaniment attached great importance to dramaturgical construction, never-theless, their musical languages and attitudes toward the excerpting of musical pieces differed.

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According to the Polish National 2008 Edition, all the 18 known songs by Fryderyk Chopin (fragments contained in the supplement not counted) are based on lyrics by Polish poets. Among them, his last song composition, Z gor, gdzie dzwigali (Bowed 'neath their Crosses), based on a poem by Zygmunt Krasinski, seems to be the most difficult, but also the most creative vocal work of the composer from both poetic and the musical techniques. This study aims to elucidate the relation between Chopin's composition and Polish poetics by analysing Z gor, gdzie dzwigali as an example. First, the style of Krasinski's poetry is characterized within the context of his biography. He was born in 1812 as a son of a General. His agony of the conflict between his father's support to the Russian Imperialism and Krasinski's Polish patriotism produced the ideas of 'early socialism,' 'redemption' and 'classical elements,' which became important components in his texts. Based on these factors, the poem Z gor, gdzie dzwigali is analysed in comparison with his epic Ostatni (Last Man), which contains the poem as the preface, and in comparison with Chopin's music. Moreover, this song and the peculiar relationship between Chopin and Krasinski is also illuminated in relation to Delfina Potocka, who was not only the dedicatee of this song but also a key person for both artists. The musical analysis shows Chopin's creative method of harmony in connection with the poem's narrative elements. Chopin's frequent use of a series of major thirds seems to represent Krasinski's sublime world symbolized by heavenly ray and the promised land. Such narrative strategies may also relate to other works of the composer, namely, the four ballades.

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