This book, written in the form of a series of dialogues between the Schumannian characters Florestan and Eusebius, proposes a theory of metrical conflict that rigorously develops the metaphorical application of the concepts of consonance and dissonance to metrical phenomena. An introductory chapter traces the history of this metaphor from its origins in the early 19th century through to the 20th century. In a series of theoretical chapters, the book then presents detailed descriptions of various types of metrical dissonances (particularly important types are grouping dissonance — based on the association of incongruent metrical layers, and displacement dissonance — based on the non-aligned presentation of congruent layers); a system of labels to characterize specific dissonances; explanations of musical processes that arise from the formation, manipulation, and resolution of these dissonances; and a discussion of the interaction of metrical dissonance with pitch structure, form, and extramusical elements. The emphasis throughout is on the description of the ever-changing metrical states within pieces of music, and on the characterization of the metrical progressions formed by these changing states. The theoretical chapters are interspersed with three intermezzi that adopt a historical or performance-related approach to the topic; these deal, respectively, with influences on Schumann's metrical style; with Schumann's compositional process as it relates to metrical dissonance; and with performance issues arising from metrically dissonant passages. Throughout the book, the theory is applied mainly in the analysis of Robert Schumann's music, but analyses of the music of 18th-century, other 19th-century, and early 20th-century composers are also included.
