=== === ============= ==== === === == == == == == ==== == == = == ==== === == == == == == == == = == == == == == == == == == ==== M U S I C T H E O R Y O N L I N E A Publication of the Society for Music Theory Copyright (c) 1996 Society for Music Theory +-------------------------------------------------------------+ | Volume 2, Number 5 July, 1996 ISSN: 1067-3040 | +-------------------------------------------------------------+ General Editor Lee Rothfarb Co-Editors Dave Headlam Justin London Ann McNamee Reviews Editor Brian Alegant Manager Robert Judd Consulting Editors Bo Alphonce Thomas Mathiesen Jonathan Bernard Benito Rivera John Clough John Rothgeb Nicholas Cook Arvid Vollsnes Allen Forte Robert Wason Marianne Kielian-Gilbert Gary Wittlich Stephen Hinton Editorial Assistant Ralph Steffen Cindy Nicholson Nicholas Blanchard Musical Example Designer William Loewe Midi Consultant David Patrick Watts All queries to: mto-editor@boethius.music.ucsb.edu or to mto-manager@boethius.music.ucsb.edu +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ 1. Target Article AUTHOR: Wibberley, Roger TITLE: Josquin's *Ave Maria*: Musica Ficta versus Mode KEYWORDS: Aaron, Bent, Berger, ficta, Glareanus, Josquin, recta, Tinctoris, Zager Roger Wibberley Goldsmiths University of London, Department of Music Lewisham Way London SE14 6NW mua01rw@gold.ac.uk ABSTRACT: Performers and editors of early music have always been conscious of the need to provide accidental inflections not present in the sources themselves. In reviewing some of the work of recent scholars within the context of the writings of established Medieval and Renaissance theorists, I try to explore a way of resolving what seems to be an incompatibility between our own understanding of consonance and interval, and the Renaissance theorists' understanding and evaluation of mode. ACCOMPANYING FILES: mto.96.2.5.wibbrly1.gif mto.96.2.5.wibbrly2.gif [1] In 1984 and 1987 articles were published respectively by Margaret Bent(1) and Daniel Zager(2) both of which undertook a reappraisal of Renaissance attitudes to the theory and practice of consonance and dissonance. Both authors proposed solutions to particular examples selected as case studies, the former admitting that her conclusions concerning a section taken from Josquin's *Ave Maria* might be considered "provocative." The purpose of this essay is to review some of these conclusions, and to verify their validity against the testimonies of some prominent Renaissance theorists and musicians. ======================================================== 1. Margaret Bent, "Diatonic *ficta*," in *Early Music History* 4 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984), 1-48. 2. Daniel Zager, "From the Singer's Point of View: A Case Study in Hexachordal Solmization as a Guide to *Musica Recta* and *Musica Ficta* in Fifteenth-Century Vocal Music," *Current Musicology* 43 (1987), 7-21. ======================================================== [2] Of three examples studied by Margaret Bent, two have subsequently been reviewed by Karol Berger(3), and Bent's proposals strongly refuted. At the heart of both examples (a mass section by Obrecht, and the famous 'duo' by Willaert) is the issue of pitch conceptualization and frequency stability. According to Bent, the fact that applied diatonic *ficta* caused the Obrecht piece to begin on F and end on Fb was of little if any consequence for the singers because they (unlike us) were not limited by a sense of 'frequency stability' and merely needed to progress through the piece step by step. According to Berger, however, singers could only progress through the piece by locating each step of the gamut as a pitch relative to the previous step. It was therefore necessary for them not only to know that the note at the end indeed was a different pitch from that at the beginning, but also to know exactly by how much. This crucial element of pitch conceptualization is especially applicable (in Berger's view) to a singer's understanding of the tenor part of Willaert's 'duo' whose final note (E) is intended to sound a perfect octave below the note d in the upper voice. The singer, when reaching the final E-fa (inevitably pitched a whole tone lower than the original *recta* E-la), is compelled by the actuality of performance not only to know that the two pitches are very different, but also to be aware of the exact amount of difference. In short, the purpose of the gamut (and the Guidonian hand) is to maintain pitch stability, not to repudiate it. ======================================================== 3. Karol Berger, *Musica ficta: Theories of Accidental Inflections in Vocal Polyphony from Marchetto da Padova to Gioseffo Zarlino* (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987), 43-8. ======================================================== [3] The remaining example studied by Bent--a portion of the Josquin motet *Ave Maria*--led her to make a proposal that has remained unchallenged during its twelve years of currency. The passage concerned is attached as the EXAMPLE 1. [4] Beginning at measure 44, this passage undergoes a considerable amount of *ficta* activity stemming from the simultaneous occurrence in measure 48 of b in the bass and f in the tenor. By the accepted rules of consonance, the bass b must be flattened to b-flat in order to provide a perfect consonance with the tenor. This, according to Bent, sets off a chain reaction over the next four measures so that e-flats and a-flats become introduced in order to avert the presence of vertical diminished fifths (i.e. the Bb will call for the Eb, and then the Eb will require the Ab). [5] Any explanation either in favor of, or against, her proposal will need to address the following conceptual issues: a) frequency stability; b) modal stability; c) consonance evaluation. [6] With regard to a) frequency stability, there is no difficulty. Although Bent does not accept the relevance of such a notion, it is perfectly possible for singers who do to follow her notation and to move through the relevant steps required to arrive at the cadence on the pitch indicated. The proposal in itself does not, therefore, prescribe or presume a lack of pitch stability. [7] A major difficulty arises however with regard to b) modal stability. Since Bent ("Diatonic *ficta*," pp 45-47) regards modal coherence as a close relative of pitch stability (against which she argues), it is her view that this *ficta* activity in no way disturbs the mode. Zager in his article ("From the Singer's Point of View...," p. 11) also argued against the notion of "modal purity" as having been a compositional precondition for fifteenth- and sixteenth-century music. Before discussing what can be inferred from Zager's casual term "modal purity," the essential difficulty which emerges is that the views suggested by both Bent and Zager with regard to the importance or otherwise of "mode" are contradicted by the highest Renaissance authorities, in particular Glareanus. [8] Although Bent's article does not indicate the fact, the Josquin motet *Ave Maria* was one of a large number of works by Josquin selected by Glareanus for inclusion in his *Dodecachordon* published in 1547.(4) Indeed, more works by Josquin were chosen than by any other composer.(5) ======================================================== 4. Heinrich Glareanus, *Dodecachordon*, A Facsimile of the 1547 Basel Edition (New York: Broude Brothers, 1967). See also Clement A. Miller, "Dodecachordon: Translation, Transcription and Commentary" (2 vols.) *Musicological Studies and Documents* 6 (Rome: American Institute of Musicology, 1965). 5. While most other composers are represented by from between 1 and 6 pieces, Josquin is represented by no fewer than 29. We can be sure also from the way in which Glareanus eulogizes over Josquin's virtues in Book III, Chapter XXVI that Glareanus was intimately acquainted with the music of this "genius" and "chief of singers." To have made a careful selection of 29 pieces which exemplified particular attributes relevant to Glareanus's discussion of Mode was evidently not a difficult task for him. ======================================================== [9] On the testimony of Glareanus alone, Bent's proposal for this motet collapses at a single stroke. Book III, Chapter XXIII, concerns the Hypoionian mode which, he tells us, "is so very common in our time and in such frequent use among men that I would have omitted an example of it if we had not presented examples of all the other modes." (6) He continues: "Its natural final key is small c, its range is the two Gg...." He then describes his example: "Josquin des Prez has composed the *Ave Maria* according to this mode, truly very learnedly and pleasingly, and without removing the harmony from its base." ================== 6. Miller, 2, 263. ================== [10] The whole point of Margaret Bent's solution is that the harmony is, via the "necessary" application of diatonic *ficta*, "removed from its base," but that this removal is not only a logical way of dealing with consonance issues but also does not in her view disturb modal coherence.(7) ======================================================== 7. While it is true that, in terms of tonicization, Bent's solution remains "coherent," it is only possible surely to view such a modal consistency anachronistically. What she has evinced is a harmonic treatment that would be quite in keeping with a Mozart sonata movement where, characteristically, a phrase in C major might be echoed by its restatement in C minor. This echo might then cadence via a tierce de picardie back to C major. Two hundred and fifty years earlier in Renaissance terms, however, the modal characteristics would be viewed rather differently. Measures 44-7 would be heard in terms of the (hypo)ionian mode; but an abrupt modulation in measures 48-53 would cause these bars to be heard as a transposed Aeolian mode (transposed three degrees flatwards) eventually to cadence with a major third. Whether or not we hear this music through Renaissance ears (as Bent would wish), it is difficult to see how such a performance could have any effect other than "remove the harmony from its (i.e. the hypoionian's) base." ======================================================== [11] Zager, in stating that "modal purity" was not a precondition for the composition of fifteenth- and sixteenth-century music, does not define his terminology. If, by "modal purity," he has in mind a succession of notes and harmonies that arise only from the pure diatonic notes of a particular scale, then he is obviously correct since little or no composed music proceeds in performance without accidentals (written or unwritten). If, however, he means music whose melodic and harmonic attributes are consistently directed towards the firm establishment and articulation of a particular mode (or modes), then he must be incorrect.(8) ======================================================== 8. Zager, p. 11. If one were to claim that "tonal purity" was not a precondition for the composition of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century music, a comparable ambiguity would be perpetrated. To be sure, no composer from this era would compose anything without a clear tonal base, but it is unlikely that this base could be adequately articulated only by a succession of notes restricted to those of the diatonic scale (major or minor). Only by moving away from, and back to the home key is the tonality effectively articulated, and this creates a diversity of cadence positioning. It also admits notes outside the diatonic series which serve to form essential links between one cadence position and another. This means that while a piece may be described as being written *in* a key, not all of it will remain in that key. All movement around the prevailing key center will be carefully balanced to maintain a tonal coherence designed to emphasize the home key. In a similar manner Renaissance music composed *in* a particular mode will cadence upon accepted degrees of the scale other than the final, and this will bring into being the use of notes outside the diatonic notes of that mode either as raised leading notes to the new cadences, or as sharpened or flattened notes required for consonance purposes in the approach to new cadence points. Renaissance musicians, however, were quite clear as to which particular degrees of the scale were appropriate cadence points for particular modes, and which were not. ======================================================== [12] Josquin's *Ave Maria* follows precisely the criteria required of compositions written in Mode 12 (Hypoionian). Its range, as described by Glareanus, is from G to g and its final is on c. Furthermore, its cadence points concur exactly with those prescribed for this mode by Zarlino,(9) being restricted to his regular cadences on C, E and G. However, the approach to the C cadence proposed by Bent admits pitches so alien to the hypoionian mode as to be inconsistent with the description of Glareanus which, we must remember, accorded this piece the singular attribute of being written "according to this [hypoionian] mode...and without removing the harmony from its base." This now brings into discussion c) consonance evaluation. ======================================================== 9. Gioseffo Zarlino, *On the Modes*, trans. Vered Cohen, ed. Claude V. Palisca (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1983), 86. ======================================================== [13] Since it is impossible to render the Josquin passage in any way other than that proposed by Bent without failing to eliminate all diminished fifths otherwise occurring between notes of the upper voices (such an elimination being her prime motive), it must follow that Glareanus viewed a proper performance of this motet as one in which some diminished fifths were present. Only by this means would it have been possible to remain faithful to the mode on account of the actual notes Josquin composed in the particular combination chosen by him. It is necessary, therefore, to question Bent's assumption that all such combinations needed to be eliminated, and to arrive at a credible rationale for the use of such intervals within a polyphonic texture. [14] In the Supplement to Pietro Aaron's *Toscanello*(10) the author, in objecting to the practice of partial signatures, states that composers use a flat in the lower part in order to remove the imperfect fifth between B mi and F fa ut. His objection to the practice is twofold: first the signature imposes a global effect which changes the natural ordering of the gamut whereas such dissonances could have been corrected by the local use of accidentals, and second the global imposition of the low Bb is now at variance with the higher voices whose lack of the Bb yields superfluous octaves with the bass. Although Aaron's point is one of asking composers to provide such signatures in all voices, he has nonetheless raised a crucial question: why did composers give priority to the eradication of imperfect fifths occurring between the bass and an upper voice by inserting a flat only in the lower voice (or voices)? After all, the same latent danger must have afflicted the upper voices. ======================================================== 10. Pietro Aaron, *Toscanello in Music*, trans. Peter Bergquist (Colorado Springs: Colorado College Music Press, Translations: no. 4, 1970), 3, 23-24. ======================================================== [15] Another manifestation of bass-precedence affects the employment of the perfect fourth. This interval was regarded as a dissonance if used alone,(11) but as a consonance if a fifth sounded beneath it in the bass.(12) From an acoustic point of view this is hardly surprising: when used alone the interval yields the mathematical ratio 4:3 (upper note:lower note). If a fifth is placed beneath it, however, the lowest note will remove the dissonance by completely changing the audible acoustic parameters: although the upper two notes still have a ratio of 4:3, this is subjugated by the lowest note because now the effect is a consonance where the middle note has a ratio of 3:2 (with the lowest note) and simultaneously the highest note will have the ratio 2:1 (again with the lowest note). The simpler the ratio, the more consonant is the interval. ======================================================== 11. "...it produces an intolerable discord. Hence it is rejected by counterpoint..." (Tinctoris, *Liber de arte contrapuncti*, trans. A. Seay, *Musicological Studies and Documents* 5 [Rome: American Institute of Musicology, 1961], 29.) 12. "If you put the tenor a fourth below the cantus, put the bass a fifth below the tenor and the alto a third or tenth above the bass. If you put the bass a third below the tenor, put the alto another third below the bass, because the consonant fourth is not pleasing without the fifth below." (Bergquist, 2, 36.) ======================================================== [16] Perhaps more immediately relevant to the present essay is Aaron's painstaking review of a list of published compositions in which individual praise is given to the composers concerned for clearly inserting the flat sign at points where singers would otherwise fall into the trap of producing a diminished instead of a perfect fifth. (13) Twenty-one compositions are cited, seven of which are selected from Petrucci's *Odhecaton A*. The remarkable fact about these references is that all but one citation specify an accidental affecting only the bass voice which otherwise would cause a dissonance with an upper voice. The only item where Aaron singles out a voice other than the bass is Orto's motet *Ave Maria* where an Eb in the tenor is mentioned. Since, however, the bass is silent at this point, this tenor assumes the harmonic fundamental in its stead. So every example given is one where the lowest-sounding voice of the texture is adjusted to achieve consonance with an upper voice or voices. ========================== 13. Bergquist, 3, 17-20. ========================== [17] This is the more remarkable since in many of the cases cited the same composers have apparently failed to eliminate such dissonances from upper voices, seemingly without Aaron's censure. In this connection, Orto's *Ave Maria* is worth a brief examination.(14) ======================================================== 14. Helen Hewitt & Isabel Pope, *Petrucci: Harmonice Musices Odhecaton A* (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Mediaeval Academy of America, 1942), 219. ======================================================== [18] The exact occurrence of the tenor Eb cited by Aaron occurs at measure 46, situated directly below a Bb in the alto voice. At this very moment of occurrence the bass voice drops out. However in the preceding bar, when the bass was still present, the tenor was approaching the cadence to F by singing the leading note E-natural. This note sounds directly beneath the soprano b-flat causing a diminished fifth (plus an octave). The only explanation for a) Orto's lack of a flat sign here, and b) Aaron's lack of concern over this must lie in the fact that beneath this combination the bass is singing a low G. Just as the harshness of the perfect fourth is brought to consonance by the presence of a note a perfect fifth lower (which transforms the aural and acoustic parameters within which the notes of the perfect fourth are now heard), so the presence beneath this diminished fifth of the low G transforms its embryonic harshness into a sound more acceptable because the overall combination now provides more consonance than dissonance.(15) ======================================================== 15. Since consonance and dissonance are determined by the ratio of the lesser to the greater (e.g. the octave ratio of 2:1 providing a simpler, hence more consonant relationship than that of the perfect fourth which is 4:3), it must logically follow that when a low G is placed beneath the interval E-Bb two new consonances are suddenly brought into being. These are the intervals GG-E (a major sixth) and GG-Bb (a minor third plus an octave). Dissonance is, of course, still present between the upper two notes (just as it is with the perfect fourth placed a fifth above the bass), but the manner of perception is tempered by the added consonances which arise from the presence of the lowest note. ======================================================== [19] The reason why it is mandatory to prevent the lowest note of a chord from forming a fifth with any upper note of that chord logically follows from the above argument. When there are more than two notes sounding, the ratio of the lesser to the greater becomes less crucial in the overall effect than does that of the lesser to the greatest. Where the greatest (i.e. the lowest-sounding note) itself is dissonant with an upper note, an adjustment of pitch to bring about consonance is mandatory. This clearly explains why partial signatures were generally restricted to lower voices (any of which could at any time become the harmonic fundamental of the texture), and also why Aaron singled out notated flats carefully indicated in bass parts to avert such dissonances. It also explains why Renaissance theorists were so uncompromising over the total prohibition of *mi* sounding against *fa* in a perfect concord (which would have been impossible in any case were the singers to locate their steps of the gamut accurately, because if they did find themselves singing *mi* against *fa* within the stability of relative pitch required by the gamut they would also find that they were not singing a perfect concord). None of this means, however, that diminished fifths were to be completely banned from composed music; it simply means that perfect consonances did not admit them, and that where perfect consonances were to be attained such intervals had to be eliminated.(16) It must be assumed, therefore, that when such intervals exist among upper parts, they do so in the context of imperfect consonances (for which theorists like Josquin's pupil Coclico sanctioned *mi* against *fa*).(17) ======================================================== 16. Using a convenient modern manner of description, a perfect consonance can be likened to a chord in root position. Throughout most of the Renaissance, the paradigmatic form was that of three notes where the middle one was a perfect fifth higher than the lowest, and the highest formed an octave with the lowest. Although the two upper notes formed only a fourth (which was a dissonance), each formed a perfect consonance with the lowest. In a similar manner, an imperfect consonance could be viewed as a chord of the first inversion (major, minor or diminished). In any such chord, each upper voice (irrespective of the presence or absence of dissonance perceived to be in existence between the two upper notes) will form an imperfect consonance (i.e. a third or sixth) with the lowest. 17. For a more thorough discussion of the prohibition and use of the tritone and diminished fifth, see Berger, 70-154. ======================================================== [20] Before firmer ground can be established between the opposing views on Josquin's *Ave Maria* presented by Bent and Glareanus, a clearer view of compositional propriety needs to be established. This is particularly necessary on account of the clear distinctions of criteria applied to counterpoint that was improvised (*super librum*) as opposed to composed (*res facta*). Bonnie Blackburn(18) stated that "Res facta differs from counterpoint in that each voice must be related to every other voice so that no improper dissonances appear between them." It is my belief that this overstates the distinction made by Tinctoris, but it is clear from what both say that a far greater expectation of textural control existed for composed as against improvised music. Tinctoris(19) expressed the situation rather differently: "In this, however, composition differs most from (improvised) counterpoint, since all the parts of composed music, be they three, or four, or many, are mutually interdependent, so that the order and law of concords of any part in relation to themselves and all others should be observed...." ======================================================== 18. Bonnie Blackburn, "On Compositional Process in the Fifteenth Century," *Journal of the American Musicological Society* 40 (1987), 283. 19. Seay, 103. ======================================================== [21] Bonnie Blackburn's statement implies that in composed music all "improper dissonances" deemed (by whatever criteria) that exist anywhere between any two parts must be removed. Yet we know that this cannot be the case because the perfect fourth, which was considered by Tinctoris to be harshly dissonant (see note 10 above), was routinely admitted into composed music when covered by a voice sounding a fifth below (see note 11 above). [22] Tinctoris uses a more carefully worded description. He does not speak of "improper dissonances," but (on the contrary) "the order and law of concords." Further, he does not say that "each voice must be related to every other voice" but is concerned that "concords of any part in relation to themselves and all others should be observed." [23] The difference here is that while all the voices according to Blackburn's surmise are mutually exclusive of all "improper dissonance," the same voices are according to Tinctoris mutually *inclusive* of the laws of consonance. Although this may, at first, seem to amount to the same thing, it is actually very different and will materially affect one's whole view of consonance and dissonance treatment as it is perceived to arise in examples like Josquin's *Ave Maria*. For one thing, Blackburn's view will agree with Bent's so that no diminished fifths will be permitted to exist anywhere in Josquin's texture (not because they combine poorly with the other voices, but because they have the temerity to exist at all). Yet we know from Tinctoris himself that the use of diminished fifths in the upper voices of composed music was widespread,(20) and Karol Berger has devoted a lot of work in explaining such accepted usage (see note 17 above). ======================================================== 20. Tinctoris (Seay, 131) stated: "Indeed, perfect concords which are made imperfect or superfluous by a chromatic semitone, that is, by alteration, must be avoided, although I am aware that almost all composers use these above all or half or a larger part of the note defining the measure and immediately preceding a perfection in a composition of three or many voices...." ======================================================== [24] The most crucial difference between the statements of Blackburn and Tinctoris, however, is that Blackburn seems to deny the need to view the existence of intervals "in relation to all the others" as well as "in relation to themselves" (which is what is prescribed by Tinctoris). In other words, if a singer happens to sound the note Bb above a voice singing G a tenth lower, and simultaneously a third singer happens to sing the note E-natural in between, Blackburn's assumption is that both singers of the upper voices will instantly cease to be aware of the consonance between their own notes and the bottom pitch because (independently from this two-fold consonance) there would exist a dissonance between themselves which somehow overrides and disqualifies their consonance with the lowest voice. According to Tinctoris, however, the situation would be quite different: while, at the moment of collision, the two higher singers would be aware of a dissonance between them, their acceptance or rejection of this dissonance (i.e. whether or not they decided that it is an "improper dissonance") would only occur as a result of their evaluation of the overall effect of this juxtaposition with the lowest voice. This is precisely why, indeed, there is a distinction between the dissonant and the consonant perfect fourth. The judgment as to whether such dissonances are "improper dissonances" (Blackburn) must therefore be arrived at not pragmatically with reference to the two upper voices alone, but with regard to "all the others" (Tinctoris) as well. In this regard Tinctoris tells us that the majority of composers were happy, taking into account the overall effect of such a combination, to use the diminished fifth in this way as a means of approaching a perfect consonance. [25] Returning therefore to the Josquin example, we must now find a way of remaining faithful to Glareanus' view of modal fidelity while also ensuring that perfect concords are not placed in jeopardy by improper dissonances. [26] Glareanus, as shown in paragraph 9 above, hailed Josquin's *Ave Maria* as a piece composed "very learnedly and pleasingly" in the Hypoionian mode "without removing the harmony from its base." The regular cadences, as shown in paragraph 12 above, concur with those prescribed by Zarlino. Zarlino's own two-voice example of mode 12, however, presents none of the problems posed by the Josquin four-voice motet.(21) In particular, there are no melodic or non-harmonic relationships involving the tritone or the diminished fifth. Indeed, it would have been a very poor example had there been, for Zarlino was meticulous in his condemnation of such practices were they to have been perpetrated in a two-voice texture. A passage from Zarlino quoted by Karol Berger(22) makes his displeasure clear: "Especially when we compose for two voices, it is very annoying to sensitive ears...they are very difficult to sing and have poor effect...Although it is less evil to find this relation between two parts and two melodies than to hear it in one part, it is still bad and the ear is still offended." (23) ======================================================== 21. Palisca, 87. 22. Berger, 110. 23. Zarlino, *Le Istitutioni harmoniche*, trans. Guy Marco and Claude Palisca (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1968), 65. ======================================================== [27] Although we cannot take too much comfort from Zarlino's apparently less condemnatory attitude to such practices in two-part textures as opposed to single lines, it is reassuring to note that his attitude becomes less severe when speaking of the use of more than two voices. He continues: "It is true, however, that in compositions for many voices it is often impossible to avoid such relation and not to arrive at such an impasse...But even when necessity thus presses upon him, he [the composer] should at least see that these defects occur in diatonic steps and in those which are proper and natural to the mode and not in those which are accidental, that is, those indicated in a composition by the signs 'natural', 'sharp' and 'flat'. For used in this way they do not have such a poor effect."(24) ======================================================== 24. I have used the words "natural," "sharp," and "flat" only because the accidental signs themselves, which Zarlino uses in the extract above, do not have ASCII equivalents that can be used in the presentational format of this essay. ======================================================== [28] There is a three-fold purpose in quoting this extract. First, it recognizes that passages can occur where there is no satisfactory way out of the "impasse," and where the composer finds himself in a tight corner. Second, the only satisfactory way of dealing with the problem is to restrict the steps to those which are diatonic to the mode rather than to extend the "impasse" to those steps which involve the use of written accidentals. Third, Zarlino concludes (despite his earlier utter condemnation of non-harmonic relations) that when they are handled in this manner in compositions for "many voices" they do not now have such a poor effect. Crucial to this acceptance is, yet again, the unassailable centrality of the concept of "mode" which, as a binding force, generates such a coherence and logic to the unfolding of line and harmony that even Zarlino is prepared to accept the presence of diminished fifths provided their arrival and departure does not disturb this coherence. It must, however, be axiomatic that perfect consonances involving the lowest voice remain as perfect consonances (with interval adjustment where necessary to facilitate this). This is the only explanation for Zarlino's complete intolerance of such intervals and cross-relations in two-voice textures. It must also follow, therefore, that the tolerance shown in larger textures applies only to such events when they occur in upper voices(25). ======================================================== 25. It is my view that, in general, the importance of mode has been underrated in recent times. Perhaps the view has been that writers like Zarlino and Glareanus, in attempting to codify and package their own humanistic views on the music of their time, merely imposed these upon the works of composers who, possibly, may have had little or no actual interest in such dogma. I have two problems with this view. First, composers like Josquin were surely no less humanistic in their outlook than commentators like Zarlino and Glareanus. And second, it seems to me highly inconsistent, on the one hand, to trawl through the many complicated paragraphs of such writers in order to tease out useful hints on technical matters like non-harmonic relations (and to construct elaborate theories upon these findings) while, on the other hand, clear technical and aesthetic comments upon modes and their use offered by the same writers are conveniently overlooked. Karol Berger (*Musica Ficta*) places an important emphasis upon this aspect and notes (p. 58) concerning the question of accidental signatures that "The answer to this question is simple, predictable, and supported by massive evidence...one used an accidental signature when one wanted to transpose a melody to a different location from the one it would have if notated without the signature and to retain all of its intervals unchanged, that is, to retain its mode. This is why one is justified in calling it a 'key signature'." This view contrasts significantly with the position of Margaret Bent and Andrew Hughes who considered the function of accidental signatures as being to transpose the Guidonian Hand. Margaret Bent, "Musica Recta and Musica Ficta," *Musica Disciplina* 26 (1972), 73-100. Andrew Hughes, "Manuscript Accidentals: Ficta in Focus 1350-1450," *Musicological Studies and Documents* 27 (Rome: American Institute of Musicology, 1972). For evidence offered against the position of Bent and Hughes, see Berger, 64-5. ======================================================== [29] Josquin would seem, in the example under consideration, to have arrived at Zarlino's "impasse," but Bent has not followed Zarlino's advice in finding a suitable way around it. Her solution (see EXAMPLE 1 and paragraph 4 above) has rejected the offer Zarlino made of being prepared to approve non-harmonic diminished fifths and cross-relations provided the result was within the mode. This would have given a reward of the kind expected by Glareanus on his own testimony of the very piece itself. Instead, however, an over-zealous impulse to rid the whole texture of such intervals (as would certainly have been required for a texture of only two voices) has led to a far greater "defect": the music has been inextricably shunted, simply by the escalation of successive ficta steps, away from its proper mode into a completely different one. Zarlino would surely have been much happier to have retained modal integrity, particularly since he says elsewhere of mode 12 that "...every composer who wishes to write a composition that is cheerful does not depart from this mode."(29) ================= 26. Palisca, 86. ================= [30] My proposal for the passage under review is that illustrated in EXAMPLE 2. The only melodic adjustments applied are brought about by normal recta means, in each case the recta B-flats simply prevent imperfect or superfluous intervals occurring with the lowest-sounding voice where perfect intervals are mandatory. In recognizing Zarlino's "impasse" as clearly evident in this example, no apology is needed in following his advice in handling it. The non-harmonic cross-relations, together with the occasional upper-voice diminished fifths which precede perfections, all serve to emphasize the prevailing mode within which they bring about their own resolutions. For this reason, I have to agree with Zarlino that "they do not have such a poor effect." =========================================== 2. Commentaries AUTHOR: Schulenberg, David L. TITLE: Commentary on Channan Willner, "More on Handel and the Hemiola" KEYWORDS: Willner, Handel, hemiola REFERENCE: mto.96.2.3.willner.art David L. Schulenberg University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Department of Music Hill Hall, CB 3320 Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3320 dlschule@email.unc.edu ABSTRACT: Channan Willner's article discusses hemiola from the vantage point of an omniscient analyst armed with a score. This commentary asks several questions about such an approach when applied to relatively unfamiliar music, raising the possibility of incorporating consideration of the listener's (or analyst's) state of knowledge (including knowledge of related works and of historical performance practice) into the analysis. [1] In reading Channan Willner's essay about hemiola in several works of Handel ("More on Handel and the Hemiola: Overlapping Hemiolas," Music Theory Online 2.3 (1996)), I have found myself uneasy about what might be called, pre-theoretically, its avoiding questions about the work's historical context and its relationships to other works of a similar type. I have been interested recently in how a listener's knowledge, including historical knowledge and knowledge of performances, impinges on listening. Among students of early music it has become customary to speak of certain performances as "historically informed," implying attention to historical practices and cultural context; I would like to suggest that an analogous concept might be applied to listening, although my concerns here go beyond those of applying historical information to analysis (and I certainly do not wish to argue for historical "authenticity" in listening, whatever that might be.) [2] In order to find a theoretical formulation for my unease, I have found it helpful to enumerate several unstated assumptions that seem to underlie the article. As similar assumptions are often made in analysis, perhaps it would be better to consider these to be conventions that are normally adopted in this particular style of analysis, becoming problematical only when not recognized as such. (I apologize if, in enumerating these conventions, I sound like a musicologist taking theorists to task along currently fashionable lines of argument; I am not unsympathetic to the general mode of discourse under discussion here, having written some such myself, and wish only to make explicit what tends to go unacknowledged in this type of analysis.) [3] First, the music is being written about as if it has no context: we are told the piece is a sarabande, yet not what this genre designation means to the way in which the music is heard or played. This is a specific instance of the application of a second assumption, namely that in hearing such a work we hear empirically, without intertextual reference even to other works that we understand as belonging to the same category (in this case, to the same genre of Baroque dance). This, in turn, is related to a third assumption, that the analysis is describing a fixed or ideal (real) object rather than providing an account of how one listener (presumably the analyst) hears or contemplates that object. There has, of course, been much discussion in recent years about such assumptions; I belive they become particularly problematical in dealing with music that is relatively unfamiliar and in which aspects of performance practice may have a significant effect on how it is perceived. [4] Let me begin with the notion of category, since I would argue that most acts of listening include categorization of the music being heard, and that such categorization plays an important role in listening strategies. I would like to suggest that the process by which one chooses to favor or lend credence to particular implications of the musical surface must be shaped, to a large degree, by intertextual reference. In particular, the strategies of a listener with a special interest in historical performance are likely to be shaped by familiarity with a large repertory of other sarabandes (or, more precisely, with many such works performed according to current precepts of historical performance practice). [5] What I have in mind is something like this. A performance of the first piece in question--the sarabande from Handel's G-minor suite HWV 432, the seventh of the "Eight Great Suites" published in 1720--passes through mm. 6-7, where Willner finds the first of the piece's fully realized hemiolas. Here, as Willner's example 2 shows, a hemiola seems to be articulated by "durational accent" and other means. Yet, I would suggest that a listener familiar with other sarabandes, particularly ones by Handel, is likely to recognize that the formation in this passage, although containing a hemiolic element, is not so clearly hemiolic as Willner seems to assume. In other words, intertextual reference may lead to the listener's discounting the possibility that the passage's primary metrical form is indeed that of a hemiola. [6] To be sure, the accentuation of beat 2 of m. 7 (through a 6/4-5/3 progression over a sustained V in the bass) would seem to clinch his case. That is to say that the arrival of a whole note (f) in the bass on the second beat of m. 7 causes one to reduce the relative degree of accentuation that one would otherwise attribute to the downbeat of that measure. The suspension in the inner voice is likewise, despite the absence of a tie between the two b-flats, a formation that implies the second as the stronger of the first two beats (even as it sets up a contrary accentual pattern--that of a suspension--that reinstates the downbeat as strong). Thus, by this reasoning one transfers the accentuation normally accruing to the downbeat to its successor, therefore understanding mm. 6-7 as a "realized" hemiola, to use Willner's term. [7] The problem here is that a sarabande of this type (not all sarabandes do this) *normally* accents the second beat, as is indeed the case throughout this movement. For this reason, however, in a sarabande the (relative) accentuation of the second beat is insufficient to imply a hemiola. To put it more positively, it is possible to have numerous accented second beats without strongly disrupting (to use another term Willner employs) the movement's basic metrical pattern. In this particular passage, the second beat of m. 7 may indeed be stronger (in some sense) than the downbeat of the measure, but it does not follow that the downbeat is therefore less strong than the preceding beat (in m. 6), as the hemiolic interpretation would require. [8] I think, moreover, that a listener with special knowledge of historical performance is especially likely to discount implications of hemiola in the particular cadential formula with which we are dealing here, first, because strongly marked hemiola is relatively rare in sarabandes (as opposed to other dances, particularly courantes), and, second, because such a listener is especially likely to be aware of alternate listening strategies. Such a listener may also be predisposed against hearing hemiolas in the third movement of Handel's concerto grosso op. 6, no. 6, considered later in Willner's essay; Burney described this movement as "the musette, or rather chaconne, in this concerto," recognizing in it the characteristic metrical pattern of the French chaconne, in which realized hemiola is extremely rare. I can only assert these points within the present essay; I ask the reader to accept, for the purpose of argument, that current trends in historical performance practice would discourage bringing out the particular hemiolas under discussion. [9] One alternate listening strategy likely to be encouraged by such a performance is to consider m. 7 a "normal" measure for a late-Baroque sarabande, with accented first and second beats. Measure 6 then becomes an abnormal or disruptive measure, but only in the sense that it lacks any event on the second beat, instead sustaining the chord on the downbeat through two whole beats. (For this reason the editorial trill on the downbeat, which is a means for sustaining the upper-voice note on a keyboard instrument as well as emphasizing its melodic continuity to the following d'', is well taken; it is at any rate strongly implied by the written-out termination (the two eighths) that follows). A listener attuned to current views on historical performance practice is particularly likely to adopt this strategy (or, rather, to assign it greater weight) because such a listener is likely to have heard numerous performances in which the downbeat is strongly accented in precisely this context. (That is, downbeats corresponding to that of the present m. 7 are played more loudly or otherwise given more accentuation than is the preceding beat, despite the implied hemiola that a player or listener less familiar with current views of historical performance practice might find here.) [10] To be sure, such a listener will perceive realized hemiolas when given a sufficiently strong set of cues. I would be reluctant to offer a uniform set of conditions defining "sufficiently strong," but one strong indicator would be the presence of a suspension or syncopation in the leading melodic voice. This occurs only once in the sarabande, in the cadential passage in mm. 14-15 (included in Willner's ex. 4). Here the treble incorporates a repeated dotted rhythm (dotted half, eighth; as Willner suggests, this is related to a rhythm heard in m. 13 and earlier). Within late Baroque style this is a particularly powerful way of articulating a duple grouping of quarter-note pulses; it is, moreover, one likely to be exaggerated by current early music performers through "overdotting" (often referred to less precisely as double-dotting; by reducing the short note after the dot to a small fraction of a beat, such a practice increases the relative degree of stress on the following long note). [11] But one need not have special knowledge of historical performance practice to make such decisions while listening--or, rather, one's sense of history need not reach back any farther than the 20 seconds or so that it takes to hear the first eight-measure phrase of the piece, which is repeated. The repetition alone is enough to demonstrate to a careful listener that certain potential events, such as the hemiola that Willner sees emerging in mm. 5-6, are never realized. Hence, on hearing these measures a second time a listener is less likely to accord as much weight to the hemiolic strategy. It would be interesting to see a type of analysis that takes account of this sort of change in hearing. [12] For reasons similar to the above, I am uncomfortable with references to "allusions" and "reminiscences" later in the piece to the (implicit) hemiolas in mm. 5-7. There is, first, the question of what precisely we mean by "allusion" or "reminiscence" in a composition: repeating something (e.g., a musical structure) is not the same as alluding to it, and only listeners, not pieces, can reminisce. Accepting such language, however, as a way of referring to (inexact) musical repetition, I would still suggest that one is as likely to hear allusions or reminiscences intertextually, that is, in relation to other pieces, as one is to hear them as referring to previous events of a similar nature within the same piece. This is because, first, mm. 5-7 present nothing very unusual or remarkable--little that a listener with a broad familiarity of early eighteenth-century sarabandes (including those outside the canonic works of Bach and Handel)--is likely to notice as being distinct from similar formulaic passages in other sarabandes; and, second, because this type of piece, *perhaps* more than many others (especially from post-Baroque repertories), is very tightly bound to genre conventions. That is, virtually every detail of its rhythm, melody, and harmony is a formula that can be found in other examples of the same genre. Again, a sufficiently "informed" listener will have heard many instances of such formulas, to the point that many such listeners may not even be able to recall, during a performance, whether a "reference" at, say, m. 25, is to a previous point in the same piece or to a similar passage in another one. [13] One might dismiss such an uncertainty as a product of careless listening. But that would be to adopt a point of view that privileges the analyst armed with score and specialized theoretical knowledge. Such a view will not go very far toward understanding how a piece like this is heard by most listeners. Moreover, such analysis, by constructing a single, hypostasized interpretation of the piece, runs the risk of being written or read as a *prescription* for a particular "structural" hearing of the music rather than as a description of how it is actually listened to. I recognize that attempting to take account of a listener's intertextual references, state of knowledge, and other such matters alluded to here runs the risk of removing from analysis the objective grounding that the score supplies in a traditional approach such as Willner's. However, I am not arguing for a wholly subjective approach, nor that analysis be replaced by, say, a narrative of the listener's experience, or by cognitive studies, though both approaches might well be illuminating here. I wish to point out only that assertions about the existence of "implied" or "realized" hemiola in this music (and, by extension, of implications and realizations elsewhere) represent analytical decisions that depend on the analyst's particular knowledge of repertory and style. Another way of putting it is that a more complete analysis of hemiola even in a single short work of Handel might include references to similar formations in related pieces and to the ways in which the analyst has heard them performed (or imagines their being performed). [14] In closing I would like to offer an alternate interpretation of another element of the piece mentioned in the essay. The repetition of the closing phrase (mm. 29-32 = 21-4) could be heard as a *petite reprise*, a convention employed in many late-Baroque binary forms whereby the final phrase is repeated (sometimes only after the entire second "half" has received its complete repetition). In the present piece, the two statements of the recurring cadential phrase (the "petite reprise") are attached to the ends of two similar but distinct phrases, thus playing with the usual convention. Moreover, the petite reprise itself constitutes a sequential development of a version of a motive (the falling fifth) previously heard in mm. 1-3 (bracketed in Willner's ex. 2). The latter motive, however, is shifted in mm. 21ff. by half a beat in order to become a type of on-the-beat "sigh" figure occasionally encountered in German music from around 1700 and shortly afterward (as in the opening of Bach's Cantata 131). [15] This sort of information does not invalidate Willner's analysis of the passage, but it points up the subjectivity--that is, the privileging of particular analytical criteria over others--inherent in his assertion of the "comparatively mechanical" and "less inspired" character of the closing phrase. Another listener might be more ready to hear it and its repetition as both inspired and affecting. It is true, as Willner notes, that the sequential regularity of three of these four closing sub-phrases (mm. 17-20, 21-4, and 29-32) results in a lower level of "tension," that is, fewer disruptions of the normative accentual pattern of the late-Baroque sarabande. But, as I have tried to suggest earlier, one could hear the piece from the beginning as containing fewer of these disruptions than Willner perceives. Moreover, by focusing on *metrical* "tension," Wilner's essay ascribes relatively little weight to the *registral* tension that, for example, could be heard in the repeated returns to high g'' (the piece's highest structural tone) in the closing phrases (especially in mm. 22 and 30). [16] I want to emphasize that I do not attribute any special correctness or "ontological privilege" (as Richard Taruskin has inaccurately characterized my views, in *Text and Act*, New York: Oxford, 1995, p 45) to listening that happens to be informed by knowledge of historical performance practice. My intention has been to suggest how, on the particular question of how one hears hemiolas, one might incorporate the listener into the analysis--that is, how the varying types of knowledge and listening experience that each listener brings to an audition of a piece might be taken account of. In particular, I want to suggest that, by understanding the analysis as uncovering implications of one sort or another in the music, we can discuss both those implications and their realizations not as fixed realities but rather as mental constructs whose weight, that is, the degree to which they are first postulated and then accepted by the listener, will vary from listener to listener--or even within a single listener, as the latter grows more familiar with the piece or with its context (the latter understood as both a set of related pieces and other historical or cultural knowledge, including familiarity with varying performance practices). ================================ 3. Reviews AUTHOR: Clendinning, Jane, P TITLE: Review/Article of Miguel A. Roig-Francoli's article "Harmonic and Formal Processes in Ligeti's Net-Structure Compositions," *Music Theory Spectrum* 17/2 (Fall, 1995), 242-267. KEYWORDS: Ligeti, harmony, form, proportions, golden section, *Ramifications*, *Lux aeterna*, *Chamber Concerto*, *Second String Quartet* Jane P Clendinning Florida State University School of Music Tallahassee, FL 32306-2098 jane_c@cmr.fsu.edu ABSTRACT: Miguel A. Roig-Francoli's recent article, "Harmonic and Formal Processes in Ligeti's Net-Structure Compositions," *Music Theory Spectrum* 17/2 (Fall, 1995) discusses three compositions by Gyorgy Ligeti that use "net-structures." This review summarizes and critiques several aspects of his article, including his choices of terminology, his analytical procedures, and his views of small- and large-scale form in these pieces. [1] In "Harmonic and Formal Processes in Ligeti's Net-Structure Compositions," Miguel Roig-Francoli investigates three of Ligeti's "net-structure" compositions: *Ramifications* (1968-69), the first movement of the *Chamber Concerto* (1969-70), and the fifth movement of the *Second String Quartet* (1968). He begins his article by introducing the concept of "net structures" and identifying their basic characteristics. He divides the net-structure techniques into four categories, each of which is illustrated by close analyses of small-scale harmonic features of sections of the works. He then considers longer-range connections in these movements, which he investigates using reductive techniques. He concludes with a consideration of symmetry and formal balance in the large-scale form of these compositions. In this review, I consider each element of his discussion in turn, providing additional background on some aspects and examining his methodology and his analytical conclusions. [2] Like Pierre Boulez, Luciano Berio, Karlheinz Stockhausen, and other European composers of the 1960s, Ligeti has often commented publicly on his own works, with some of his remarks recorded in the context of interviews or program notes for performances or recordings.(1) Although a composer's comments on his works should be examined critically (comments may be used to obfuscate rather than enlighten), Ligeti's remarks provide a sense of how he thinks about his compositional processes, and have been useful to analysts who study his works. Ligeti uses a variety of terms to refer to his compositional techniques from the 1960s and 1970s; those most frequently used are "micropolyphony" and "meccanico." Ligeti typically uses micropolyphony and meccanico as "umbrella" terms, referring to a wide range of pieces from the 1960s and early 1970s with specific shared characteristics. ====================================================================== 1. The most significant sources for the works considered in this article are cited in Roig-Francoli's footnote 1, p. 242. ====================================================================== [3] The term "net-structure," which Roig-Francoli selects, is one used in the interviews in a more general sense than meccanico and micropolyphony. Roig-Francoli defines a net-structure as "a continuous web of finely-woven lines or repeated patterns in a constant, interactive process of transformation of one or more parameters, such as pitch, rhythm, texture, dynamics, or timbre" (p. 243). Unlike the terms micropolyphony and meccanico, which Ligeti uses *analytically*, net-structure is not usually mentioned in the context of specific pieces or techniques. Rather, it is consistently used *qualitatively* to refer to a *feeling* Ligeti had about the textures of the pieces--an allusion to a childhood dream where Ligeti was caught in a room full of entangling webs.(2) ====================================================================== 2. The most complete versions of the dream of webs are in Ligeti's article "Zustande, Ereignisse, Wandlungen," *Melos* 34 (1967): 165-169, translated by Jonathan Bernard as "States, Events, Transformations" in *Perspectives of New Music* 31/1 (Winter 1993), 164-265 and in a footnote to an interview by Peter Varnai translated in *Ligeti in Conversation*, 25 (with comments on the dream on preceding and following pages). ====================================================================== [4] Roig-Francoli does not include works such as *Lontano* and *Lux Aeterna* in the "net-structure" group, although Ligeti's own remarks include them along with earlier works like *Apparitions* (the original reference point for the web dream anecdote) and *Atmospheres*. In footnote 5, Roig-Francoli acknowledges this point, but attempts to distinguish these two works by saying that the process is "linear" in one and "harmonic" in the other (p. 243). This is a false distinction--in both cases the changes in harmonies are created by "chromatic fluctuation or intervallic expansion and contraction" as Roig-Francoli confirms later: "The process of constant chromatic transformation, a procedure which Ligeti has used widely both in micropolyphonic and harmonic textures . . ." (p. 246). In the following paragraph, after he has eliminated pieces from Ligeti's broad category of "net-structure," Roig-Francoli does the same with the term "meccanico" (p. 244), a term which Ligeti uses in reference to an anecdote about a story of a widow with a house full of ticking clocks. Ligeti uses this term in a general way, to describe music with a sense of mechanical action that is reminiscent of "malfunctioning machinery."(3) Roig-Francoli interprets Ligeti's comments about meccanico as referring only to single pitch repetitions; yet the context of Ligeti's comments includes a question about the opening of *Continuum* and a description of a piece that he wrote as a schoolboy in which "the left hand plays a mechanical progression of a tritone and the right hand something equally machine-like; two little machines at play"(4)--a passage very similar to the opening of *Continuum* in which repeated patterns of two or more pitches are used in each linear strand. ============================================== 3. *Ligeti in Conversation*, 16-17 and 21-23. 4. Ibid., 16. ============================================== [5] As Roig-Francoli notes, however, "Ligeti's use of technical terms descriptive of his music is not always consistent" (p. 244). In order to avoid terminological confusion, previous analysts have found it useful to coin terms of their own for groups of Ligeti's compositions, using specific techniques rather than attempting to use one of his terms. In my own work, I use the term *microcanon* (invented as a subcategory of *micropolyphony*) to designate textures formed from a pitch succession set canonically in many voices at short time intervals, and *pattern-meccanico* (a subcategory of *meccanico*) for textures in which several linear strands, each constructed from small groups of pitches repeated mechanically, are overlaid to create a contrapuntal texture.(5) Compositions using microcanonic techniques include *Lux aeterna* (1966), *Lontano* (1967), and the ninth movement of the *Ten Pieces for Wind Quintet* (1968). Works with one or more passages of pattern-meccanico textures include *Continuum* (1968), *Coulee* (1969), and the fifth movement of the *Second String Quartet*. Later works, such as *Ramifications*, the *Chamber Concerto*, the "Selbstportrait" movement of *Three Pieces for Two Pianos* (1976), and the *Drei Phantasien nach Friedrich Holderlin* (1982) combine microcanon with pattern-meccanico in various ways. ====================================================================== 5. Jane Piper Clendinning, "Contrapuntal Techniques in the Music of Gyorgy Ligeti" (Ph.D. dissertation, Yale University, 1989); "The Pattern-Meccanico Compositions of Gyorgy Ligeti," *Perspectives of New Music* 31/1 (Winter 1993), 192-234; "Structural Factors in the Microcanonic Compositions of Gyorgy Ligeti" in *Concert Music, Rock, and Jazz Since 1945*, ed. Elizabeth West Marvin and Richard Hermann (Rochester: University of Rochester Press, 1995), 229-256. ====================================================================== [6] After his introductory comments, Roig-Francoli's attention turns to the analysis of "harmonic processes" in Ligeti's net-structures. While Roig-Francoli is careful to try to distance himself from previous analysts of Ligeti's music, his analytical approach is built on foundations provided by other writers. Most of the analytical comments are directed toward *Ramifications*, one of several works in which Ligeti combines pattern-meccanico techniques with microcanon (illustrated in Roig-Francoli's Ex. 1). [7] Roig-Francoli begins his analysis of *Ramifications* by partitioning each instrument's flowing melodic line of pitches with brief durations into small repeated units, or patterns. He does not state the criteria he uses for partitioning, but seems to be following the segmentation procedures established by previous analysts for pattern-meccanico textures. Analytical procedures for segmentation in twentieth-century music typically draw on discontinuities in one or more aspects of the musical texture--rests, abrupt changes of range, separation of melodic strands, durations markedly longer or shorter than those proceeding or following, and changes in timbre or articulation. Repetition of a sequence of pitches or durations can also be used for partitioning. In Ligeti's pattern-meccanico compositions, long rests (more than the notated beat unit), abrupt changes of range, markedly longer or shorter durations, and noticeable variation in articulation or timbre are rare, but the formation of the texture by weaving of individual instrumental parts is typical, making the initial partition the separation of individual instrumental parts. Unlike *Continuum*, which has continuously flowing lines, the instrumental lines in *Ramifications* (and other later works like the "Selbstportrait" movement of *Three Pieces for Two Pianos*) do include brief rests, but their duration is generally less than the notated beat unit and they do not interrupt the continuous flow of the lines. The criteria for partitioning this type of texture depends on recognition of repeated melodic units or patterns. Each unit is a series of ascending (or descending) steps or skips, which is separated from its repetitions by a skip from the highest to lowest (or lowest to highest) boundary pitches of the pattern (the largest skips in the melodic line). Roig-Francoli's segments fit these criteria. [8] After partitioning, Roig-Francoli then examines the patterns. One innovative aspect of his analysis of the opening patterns of *Ramifications* (in Example 2a) is the emphasis on the inclusion of various partitions of the pitch interval [4] in the melodic strands.(6) Rather than explaining the metamorphosis of the patterns by focusing on voice-leading in the compound melody--maintenance of common tones, voice leading by step, and additions of tones--he examines the outer interval span and the inner filling of that span as an approach to the same type of information. However, in examining details of his analysis of this example, several problems emerge. First, Roig-Francoli states that the "group cardinality . . . is symmetrical, creating the pattern 2-3-4-5-4-3-2" (p. 246). However, the sequence of patterns in its entirety is 2-2-3-4-3-3-4-4-4-5-4-4-4-3-3-3-2, which is not symmetrical. He gives no justification for selecting from the full sequence the individual patterns that makes the 2-3-4-5-4-3-2 symmetry. Although the cardinality of the patterns does, in general, expand from 2 pitches to 5 pitches and contract back to 2, it is not as symmetrical as he makes it seem. Second, in this same paragraph, he states that "the piece begins with the pitches A4-G4, connected at m. 2 by the passing Ab4 . . ." (p. 246). What he does not mention is that the initial A4-G4 is followed by A4-G#4 prior to the pattern with A4-Ab4-G4. By what criteria is the Ab4 passing? The spelling of the Ab/G# here does not provide useful information--it simply follows the convention of spelling a pitch as a sharp when it goes up to the next pitch and as a flat when it goes down. These questions can be clarified by examining the progression of patterns with regard to pattern shifts. In this light, the G4 (and the Bb4) are "added pitches" appended to the continuing "common tones" A4 and Ab(G#)4. (Roig-Francoli also emphasizes the symmetrical nature of the chromatic clusters here--but chromatic pitch clusters are always symmetrical!) Without the ability to eliminate the Ab4 as "passing" there is no real point to be made. ====================================================================== 6. I will use the convention (established by Jonathan Bernard in his *The Music of Edgard Varese* (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1987)) of using integers in square brackets to represent pitch intervals measured in semitones. ====================================================================== [9] In order to classify various types of net-structures in Ex. 2 and those that follow, Roig-Francoli introduces four types of net-structures: 1) "chromatic fluctuation of. . . short melodic patterns," 2) "chromatic transformation of harmonic cells," 3) "chromatic transformation of triadic units" and 4) "progressive change in dynamics, timbre, or rhythm" (p. 246). However, his examples show that the first three of his categories actually involve the same compositional procedure: step-wise voice-leading (usually involving half-steps) that achieves gradual transformations in the harmonic content of the music. In regard to his first two categories, the example he cites for his Category 2 (his Ex. 3) has a microstructure of rapidly reiterated short melodic patterns just like his example for Category 1 (his Ex. 2). The "melodic patterns" are the source of the harmonies involved in the "chromatic transformation of harmonic cells." The only difference in the two is the size of the pitch intervals involved in the patterns: Roig-Francoli limits Category 1 to patterns spanning no more than [6] with no more than [4] between adjacent pitches. Although he does not explain the reasons for these limitations on Category 1 (nor does he explain the lack of specificity regarding acceptable intervals for Categories 2 or 3), it is possible that Roig-Francoli makes the distinction because the patterns with larger intervals between successive pitches are more like "traditional" harmonic arpeggiations. However, there is fluidity between the harmonic dimension and the melodic dimension in many of Ligeti's compositions, and the boundaries between perception of melody and harmony were elements that Ligeti was exploring in his compositions at the time these pieces were written.(7) ================================================================= 7. As Ligeti says in *Ligeti in Conversation*, 86: "polyphony is written; but harmony is heard." ================================================================= [10] In his analysis of Ex. 3, Roig-Francoli represents his partitioning of the patterns in a "pitch reduction" graph, in which the pitches of each pattern are "stacked" in harmonies. As in the previous example, his interest lies in the partitioning of the outer span into pitch intervals rather than the voice-leading from one pattern to the next. Drawing on Bernard's theory of trichordal relationships,(8) Roig-Francoli isolates several trichords related by *infolding* and *unfolding* ([2][6], [2][8], [6][8], and [8][10]) that he considers significant in the "middleground" structure of this passage (p. 248-249). His criteria for significance are "main points of structural articulation": beginnings and endings of points of "textural transformation," "relatively stable sonorities," harmonies that initiate or close "processes of chromatic expansion or contraction," and "intervallic and spatial symmetrical designs" (p. 248). Roig-Francoli defines "textural transformation" as "progressive changes of patterns or figuration in all instruments" (p. 248, note 18)--in other words, a textural transformation is a passage with frequent pattern shifts or a rapid "harmonic rhythm." ============================ 8. Bernard, *Varese*, 74-76. ============================ [11] A comparison of his reduction with the score reveals some inconsistencies. Some of the trichords he selects for his "middleground reduction" *are* highlighted in the musical context--for example, [2][6] as the end of an expansion in Group 2, m. 20 and [8][10] as a resting point in Group 1, mm.21-22. Others occur in the midst of an ongoing process: the "textural transformation" identified by Roig-Francoli in measures 20-21 does not stop at the [6][8] in Group 1 which he selects, but continues uninterrupted to [10][8]; likewise the [2][6]s in Group 2, mm.22 and 23, and the [6][8] in Group 2, m.24. He does not show the eventual goal of the textural transformation in Group 2 in his example--the rapid pattern shifts continue unabated until a reiterated pattern E4-B4-G5 in m.25, a span of [7][8].(9) In addition, trichords [8][11], [9][10], and [7][8] are significant in this passage as ending and resting points (Roig-Francoli recognizes them as significant in his Ex. 3b), yet are not accounted for in the trichordal constellation that he discusses. ============================================================== 9. There is an error in graph 3b--the final sonority should be D4-C#5-A5, as shown in graph 3a, making a [8][11]. ============================================================== [12] Roig-Francoli delays consideration of his third type of net-structure (chromatic transformation of triadic units) to pages 257 and 258, and then only mentions it briefly. This "short shrift" is appropriate since Ligeti does not prioritize "triadic units" but treats harmonies with three pitches as one of the possible types of "harmonic cells." Roig-Francoli's use of the term "triadic" is questionable here in any case--these are trichords made from stacks of [7]s, [8]s, and [9]s (perfect fifths and major and minor sixths), but they have no tonal implications, are not derived from chords stacked in thirds in this context, and are in no way functional.(10) Although Roig-Francoli's division of Ligeti's voice-leading techniques into the first three categories is problematic, the step-wise (but not always "chromatic") voice-leading that he observes in each of these examples is typical of Ligeti's style in the late 1960s. ====================================================================== 10. See Roig-Francoli's own discussion of the lack of "tonality" and related issues in Ligeti's music on pages 253-256. ====================================================================== [13] The fourth type of Roig-Francoli's net-structures, "progressive change in dynamics, timbre, or rhythm," is certainly an interesting aspect of Ligeti's music. Unfortunately, Roig-Francoli does not deal with these elements in any detail; he provides only a brief surface description of "rhythmic layers" and changes in prevailing durations in two passages from *Ramifications* to illustrate this "category" (pp.250-252, 257-258). The examination of non-pitch elements can be a complex process, due to changes in the prevailing duration in various instrumental parts, harmonic rhythm (the rate of change in the pitch content of patterns), alignment of starting points of patterns (pattern interaction), dynamics, or timbre. Additionally, these elements can interact, supporting--or contradicting--the shaping of a section by range, pitch content, or other factors. One approach to the interaction of pitch and non-pitch elements is to separate out each contributor and consider its effect in the sound of the piece. But this solution does not capture the full richness of the interaction. This aspect of Ligeti's compositions warrants further investigation. [14] In addition to *Ramifications*, Roig-Francoli locates "net-structures" in the first movement of Ligeti's *Chamber Concerto* (pp. 252, 262-263) and the fifth movement of his *Second String Quartet* (pp. 252-253, 256-257). His comments on the details of these two pieces add little to the work of previous analysts, aside from the emphasis on harmonic stacks and registral and associational links between specific pitches. Roig-Francoli's representation of the harmonies of the closing section of the first movement of the *Chamber Concerto* in Ex. 5 suffers from a lack of precision in the distinction between pitch and pitch class, and a lack of specification of his segmentation criteria. Since the final section incorporates octave doublings of the canon in six octaves, Roig-Francoli's Ex. 5 is mislabeled: those are not "pitch reductions" or "pitch collections" as he states in his text, but pitch-class collections.(11) Unlike the canon melodies of *Ramifications*, the canonic line here is not divided into recurring patterns. It is unclear how Roig-Francoli arrives at the scalar segments shown in his Ex. 5: they are not patterns or segments of the canon melody. Presumably, they derive from temporal segments, but they only roughly correspond to the pitch-class content within the segments I examined. The harmonic process *is* one of "subtraction and addition of single pitches" (p. 252); however, close inspection of the canon melody and harmonies it creates in this section reveals that the process is not as orderly as is indicated in his example. In his discussion of this example, Roig-Francoli is interested in the "alternation of symmetrical and asymmetrical states" (p. 252). As previously noted, chromatic pitch collections are always symmetrical--therefore the symmetricality in the first three segments that he shows is trivial. The alternation between symmetry and asymmetry is a natural by-product of a gradual, one-pitch-at-a-time expansion outward of chromatic clusters around a "hollow" center. That type of expansion is most logically constructed by moving one side out a little, compensating by expanding out the other side, then repeating the process. This type of systematically expanding wedge is common in others of Ligeti's compositions, including the "Christe" settings from the "Kyrie" of the *Requiem*. Like this example, the *Requiem* does not expand with a regular alternation, while the ninth movement of the *Ten Pieces for Wind Quintet* does. ====================================================================== 11. His earlier examples so labeled *are* actually "pitch reductions" because all instrumental parts are playing within the same limited range. ====================================================================== [15] The most significant contribution of this article is the discussion of possible types of longer-range harmonic structures in Ligeti's music (pp. 253-257). Roig-Francoli confronts Ligeti's assertion that his musical forms are non-teleological and "object-like" (rather than "process-like"). He argues persuasively that Ligeti's music *is* teleological, with forward-directed linear motion created by extended harmonic processes with step-wise voice-leading between contextually-established local harmonic goals. He observes that the concept of prolongation is problematic in compositions like Ligeti's that do not exhibit the characteristics of tonal function and voice-leading, pitch organization using centricity, or other large-scale means of predicting specific goals for linear motion. In Ex. 6b, Roig-Francoli introduces a "long-range pitch reduction," a type of "middleground sketch" which he states "displays the voice-leading connections between major points of formal articulation" (p. 253). His graph is not intended to imply prolongation or directed motion, but instead to display associational links between specific pitches and intervals. [16] As with other systems of reductional analysis, such as Schenkerian reductions, the parsing and interpretation of foreground events are crucial to middleground decisions. Details of Roig-Francoli's graph are difficult to evaluate since the presentation of this graph is not supported by detailed analysis of each of the sections represented in the longer-range graph. For the most part, his comments (and his graph) parallel the observations made by previous analysts who provide a more detailed foreground analysis.(12) Roig-Francoli's graph provides a means for highlighting specific pitches and locations in the piece--and this is difficult to accomplish with detail-rich range graphs (plots of pitches sounding over time). Unfortunately, the task of comparing his comments with his graph (and with the score) is made more difficult by his use of square-bracket notation to indicate both the size of intervals in semitones and the reduction of compound intervals. ====================================================================== 12. See Clendinning, "Contrapuntal Techniques," Vol. I, 221-229, and Vol. II, 120-126. ====================================================================== [17] In the concluding section of this article, entitled "Formal Processes," Roig-Francoli lists four main types of form that he asserts Ligeti "identifies among his compositions" (p. 260). This is a case in point about the dangers of extracting information from interviews without careful consideration of the context. In Roig-Francoli's presentation, these formal categories seem to be definitive and clear-cut. However, the context from which they were extracted is a wandering, informal, and internally-contradictory conversation from Ligeti's relatively early (1971) "self-interview"--hardly the type of text from which one derives indisputable categories.(13) (Ligeti is uninclined in "interviewing himself" to insist he clarify points that are vague or unclear). ====================================================================== 13. *Ligeti in Conversation*, 134-135. Ligeti categorizes some of these same works differently in other interviews. ====================================================================== [18] After identifying the net-structure compositions as among Ligeti's "balanced, static forms," Roig-Francoli lists the factors that he intends to use to identify formal and sectional divisions: "harmonic, intervallic, and spatial processes"; "rhythmic processes"; "textural changes"; "formal articulation"; and "auxiliary factors . . . such as instrumentation and dynamics" (p. 260). From examining Figures 2 and 3, it seems that formal balance and golden section calculations have influenced his choices. For example, a comparison of Roig-Francoli's discussion of the formal outline of *Ramifications* with Figure 2 and the score, reveals that his *comments* acknowledge elisions, overlapping processes, the precise locations of events, and the continuous nature of each main section, but his *chart* glosses over those "messy details" to present a parallelism between sections and a correspondence of events to golden section proportions that is more tenuous in the music than it appears on the chart (p. 260-262). Roig-Francoli's chart of the subdivisions of the second large section in the *Chamber Concerto* suffers from the same flaw (pp. 262-263). The precision of golden section calculations in that work is further disturbed by the presence of varying measure lengths and tempi and by unmeasured cadenza-like passages. Comparing Roig-Francoli's calculations to those made by approximating the length of time that each measure would last in seconds indicates that some of his locations may be "off" by as much as two measures. [19] This is not to imply that sectional balance (including golden section proportions at the level of the entire movement) is absent in Ligeti's music. Roig-Francoli's locations of the golden section proportions at the level of the entire movement are more convincing than his smaller-scale ones, and, as he notes, other analysts have located golden section proportions overarching entire movements (p. 264, note 45). *Lux aeterna* provides further evidence that proportional balance is important to Ligeti. At the end of the third section, Ligeti has notated seven measures of rests, the precise meaning of which is not explained in the score. When Ligeti was asked about them, he replied they "depend on proportions of the durations of the piece."(14) The addition of this "silent coda" changes the total number of measures from 119 to 126, a difference which affects the calculation of the golden section (similarly to the silent measures at the end of *Ramifications*), but neither calculation of the golden section corresponds to a significant structural point in the piece. One explanation of the additional measures is the creation of a large-scale symmetry in the length of sections: from the beginning to the end of each canonic section, the three sections are 37, 50, and 37 measures long (including the seven silent measures), with each pair of the canonic sections separated by one complete measure without canon. These may be the proportions that Ligeti had in mind when he added the seven measures. ====================================================================== 14. Jan Jarvlepp, "Pitch and Texture Analysis of Ligeti's *Lux aeterna*," *ex tempore* 2/1 (1982), 26. Jarvlepp observes that the silent measures are not present on commercial recordings of *Lux aeterna* and would be covered in a live performance by the audience's applause. ====================================================================== [20] In summary, this article provides an introduction to *Ramifications*, the first movement of the *Chamber Concerto*, and the fifth movement of the *Second String Quartet*--three of Ligeti's compositions written shortly after *Lux aeterna*, *Lontano*, and *Continuum* that have not received as much attention in the analytical literature. Roig-Francoli makes some interesting observations about these pieces, but his analysis would benefit from a clearer statement of the criteria he used for partitioning, delineating categories, and selecting significant harmonies. More attention to analytical details would also strengthen his arguments. In prioritizing harmonies that fit trichordal constellations and in his search for symmetries, golden sections, and sectional parallelisms, Roig-Francoli seems willing to overlook elisions or other continuities in the musical surface, canonic processes and voice-leading details, and the exact content or locations of events in his desire for regularity and order. He should heed Ligeti's remarks that he quotes (p. 265): "I detest both absolute geometrical precision and total openness. I want a certain order, but an order slightly disorganized . . .I love irregularities" and "prima la musica, dopo la regola." ============================ 4. MTO Correspondents AUTHOR: Castine, Peter TITLE: Review of "The Beginnings of Serial Music," Berlin, Germany, June 20-25 1996 KEYWORDS: Serialism, Barraque, Boulez, Goeyvaerts, Stockhausen Peter Castine Technical University of Berlin Process Control Center (MA 073) Strasse des 17. Juni 136 10629 Berlin, Germany pcastine@prz.tu-berlin.de ABSTRACT: The *Institut fuer neue Musik* in Berlin hosted a three-day series of lectures and concerts on "The Beginnings of Serial Music." Music of four composers central to serial music, Barraque, Boulez, Goeyvaerts, and Stockhausen, was performed and discussed in depth. [1] Less than a year after a conference covering the work of that other icon of the 50's *avant garde*, John Cage,(1) the Institute for New Music in Berlin hosted a series of lectures and concerts with the stated goal of discussing the "beginnings of serial music." This year's event was obviously intended to be a bit different from a more conventional conference or symposium. Only four papers were presented, although their length (one-and-a-half hours apiece) compensated for the small number. Each paper was to focus on one particular composition taken from the serial repertoire, and each composition thus discussed would also be performed in concert, together with other works chosen to round out the program. The compositions chosen as points of focus (and the four composers represented) were apparently intended to provide, in some way, an insight into "what serialism was all about." ================================== 1. Reviewed in Peter Castine, "Review of John Cage Symposium, Berlin, Germany, Nov. 23-25," *Music Theory Online* 2.3 (1996). ================================== [2] Attractive as this idea may be in theory, two problems arose in practice. The first problem was clear before the series began: the planned performance of Goeyvaert's Composition No. 2 had to be canceled because the instrumentalists required to perform the piece could not be found among the students of the Berlin *Hochschule der Kuenste* (HdK). Similarly, a closing concert that would have included Webern's Concerto for Nine Instruments, Nono's "Polifonica-Monodia-Ritmica," and Stockhausen's "Kreuzspiel" was canceled. This is a disturbing state of affairs, particularly since there are doubtless students at the HdK technically capable of playing the music, and comparable programs have been executed successfully in the past. [3] A second problem relates more directly to the central idea of the series: is it possible to adequately represent the "beginnings of serial music" (or, for that matter, anything about serial music) through four compositions, or even through four composers? The question at hand, of course, is the extent to which the following four presentations succeeded in this enterprise. ----------------------------------------------------------- Pascal Decroupet on Karlheinz Stockhausen's "Klavierstueck VI" [4] Decroupet reiterated several points about Stockhausen's approach to serial composition that ought to be well-known: Stockhausen's liberties with "pure" serial technique (perhaps best-documented in "Gruppen," but also to be found in the *Klavierstuecke*); his departure from a pointillist approach to more "statistical" methods (although study of his writings in *Texte* leave some doubt as to how well he understood Meyer-Eppler's lectures on information theory at Bonn University); and that his studies of Webern, which he cites as the prime source of his own serialist ideas, postdate his first contacts with Boulez, which were crucial for the development of Stockhausen's serial composition. Decroupet's suggestion that Stockhausen may have been aware of Cage's "Music of Changes" immediately after its first performance, and that this may have influenced his ideas on group form, is perhaps less well-known. [5] A discussion of "Klavierstueck VI" played only a small part of Decroupet's presentation, which provided a rambling summary of a variety of Stockhausenian compositional techniques, occasionally showing how one or another may have found use in the cycle of *Klavierstuecke V-X*. ----------------------------------------------------------- Marc Delaere on Karel Goeyvaerts' "Composition No. 2" [6] Delaere adds Goeyvaerts to the list of composers who influenced Stockhausen, citing Stockhausen's correspondence with both Goeyvaerts and Nono, to the latter of whom Stockhausen confided great admiration for Goeyvaerts' work. It is thus somewhat surprising (at least to the naive) that Goeyvaerts' letters to Stockhausen are no longer available and that Stockhausen may have played some role (albeit a minor one) in the program scheduling at the '52 Darmstadt summer courses, which resulted in a performance of Goeyvaerts relatively conventional 2nd Violin Concerto instead of his more radically serial Composition No. 2 (arguably the first "serial" composition, predating "Kreuzspiel" by several months).(2) ================================== 2. This music historical footnote provides an object lesson worth study by young composers--the performance referred to seems to have effectively been the kiss of death for the Belgian composer among the European avant garde of the 50s. ================================== [7] The discussion of the composition in question was coupled with a presentation of Goeyvaerts' "Composition No. 1," a sonata for two pianos. Comparison of the techniques used in these two works is enlightening. The earlier piece shows clear influences from "Mode de valeur et d'intensite." (Goeyvaerts, like many of his contemporaries, took part in Messiaen's analysis class.) It uses two unordered representatives of set class 7-22 as the basis for his harmonic and registral ordering of pitch class material. Values for duration, articulation, and dynamics for every note are determined by a set of arithmetic dependencies between the various parameters.(3) Composition No. 2 uses a similar but more complex strategy, involving the parameters pitch, duration, dynamic, timbre, and articulation. ================================== 3. Every value used for each parameter is assigned a numeric value from 0 to 3; the sum of values, for all four parameters, equals 7 on every note. ================================== ----------------------------------------------------------- Heribert Henrich on Jean Barraque's "Sonate pour piano" [8] Barraque is considered by many to be an unjustly neglected composer. The reasons for neglect include his untimely death in 1973, a relatively small oeuvre, and a publication list consisting of one essay (compare this with Stockhausen's *Texte* or Boulez' collections of essays and *Penser* monographs). Henrich notes a certain ambivalence in Barraque's approach to serialism as well as an awareness of contradictions in the technique, describing his attitude as "distanced" (quoting Barraque as saying that to all serial rules there are exceptions). This manifests itself in the "Sonate pour piano" (dated 1950-52) through an alternation of "rigorous" and more freely composed sections. Barraque's serialism extends from the use of a twelve-tone row to related structures determining tempo, dynamics, and register. [9] Henrich pointed out a striking contradiction between the voice leading intended by the serial composition and that which is perceived.(4) As was pointed out in the discussion after the paper, Barraque's counterpoint could extend to immediate juxtapositions of the same pitch in two different voices, giving the impression of a single voice with a repeated tone. ================================== 4. One is reminded of work by Bregman and McAdams, neither of whom was mentioned in this context. ================================== ----------------------------------------------------------- Thomas Boesche on Pierre Boulez' "Deuxieme Sonate pour piano" [10] Boesche's presentation focused more on clearing up some perennial misconceptions surrounding serial technique than on Boulez' piano sonata *per se*. One source of these misconceptions may well have been Ligeti's famous analysis of Boulez' "Structures Ia," which Boesche credited with "devastating effects" on the reception of serial music. Indeed, any claim (as suggested by Ligeti's essay) that there were a single, coherent, serial aesthetic is belied by the minute sample of serial music covered in these four lectures. The myth that serial music (and, as a special case, twelve-tone music) literally requires the performance of all the other eleven pitch classes between occurrences of any given pitch class was discredited yet again; to counter the claim that serial music is mechanistic or lacks emotion and feeling, Boesche proceeded to read a list of performance directions from Boulez' 2nd Sonata: *extrement rapide*; *tres marque*, *sec percute*, *bien donner une impression de groupe*; *cedez*; *tres sec et tres arrache*; ... (a complete enumeration continues considerably longer). [11] Boesche did point out one difficulty of serial music, which he referred to as the dichotomy (not to say discrepancy) between the aesthetics of production and reception. In light of the previous discussion of Barraque's counterpoint, Boulez is hardly a solitary case, but the 2nd Sonata is certainly a case in point. ----------------------------------------------------------- Concerts [12] As mentioned in the introduction, the ensemble performances had been canceled, leaving a series of piano recitals performed by Pi-Hsien Chen, Frank Gutschmidt, Herbert Henck, Jens Kaiser, and Catherine Vickers, with one concert dedicated to each of the composers whose works had been discussed. [13] The opening concert presented Stockhausen's "Klavierstuecke I-V" (Gutschmidt) followed by "Klavierstueck VI" (Chen). This grouping of the piano pieces (which, on the surface, runs counter to Stockhausen's grouping into *Werknummern*) is justified historically (the premier performances occurred in the same grouping) and, in light of the length of the sixth piano piece (well over twenty minutes, whereas the other five pieces together are not quite as long), makes sense. Both performers played excellently, although the pieces seemed (to this auditor) in some way less fresh, less exciting, less *radical* than the first time they were heard. Boulez' criticism of the first four, that the pieces were in themselves too uniform (and which Stockhausen seems to have taken to heart through his three revisions of "Klavierstueck VI"), seemed apt. [14] The Goeyvaerts concert, a matinee, featured the Composition No. 2 (Chen and Vickers) and, as a substitute for the canceled Composition No. 1, his 1974 composition Litanei 1 (Vickers). The performance of the 1952 piano duo confirmed several hypotheses made during the morning's discussion of the work: the large-scale structuring of the piece through sections of slower and faster tempi (an important compositional principle for Goeyvaerts in this work) seemed less apparent than a small-scale additive concatenation of individual sections and gestures. The later composition was refreshing, partially simply because it was so very different from the rest of the music played. It had been remarked that Goeyvaerts had been influenced by minimalism in this work, which, indeed, is built from the overlapping of repeated rhythmically distinct phrases. Nevertheless, the language used is clearly different from that of Reich and Riley; the repetition and rhythmic clarity still retain a certain affinity with Goeyvaerts earlier music. [15] Herbert Henck played Barraque's Sonata for piano the evening of the same day. Oddly enough, it was in this piece that the rather harsh bass of the Kawai grand used in all the concerts was most evident and less than complimentary towards Barraque's use of sforzandi in the lowest octave. Another, somewhat odd point, is that the "dichotomy between aesthetics of production and reception" discussed in the context of Boulez, were, if anything, more in evidence in the performance of Barraque's music. Some sections may be more rigorously serially composed than others, but which ones are which escaped this listener. This is not to deny that the music carries considerable beauty, but it is disappointing not to be able to audibly follow the intended formal disposition of the piece. [16] In contrast, the formal structure of Boulez' 2nd Piano Sonata (Kaiser, final concert) seemed readily apparent. The first movement, with its exposition (of two contrasting sections), repeat of the exposition, development section, and recapitulation, is practically a textbook Sonata Allegro, albeit with Boulez' characteristic manipulation of small rhythmic cells and his uncompromisingly atonal harmonic language. The overall structure of the four movements (Extrement rapide--Lent--Modere, presque vif--Vif) also follows a familiar model, with the second and third movements each capturing a certain atmosphere unmistakably reminiscent of Beethovenesque archetypes. The final movement cannot be so readily classified, although studies of the work also turn up an historical model. Kaiser's performance gave the piece a patently expressive, almost romantic, quality, without abating the aggressiveness of the acoustic tone intended by the composer. ----------------------------------------------------------- Closing Discussion [17] Diether Schnebel commenced the closing discussion by thanking the participants for helping "make the music of the 50's come to life." One cannot help but wonder at the irony of an Institute for New Music that seems more concerned with music written nearly half a century ago than with the music of the current decade. (In fairness, it should be added that the Institute does host other, more contemporaneous events.) [18] What is even more surprising to this correspondent is that the focus of these three days should be so exceedingly narrow. It was as if the only serial music ever written was within an imaginary Franco-Germanic border, with Darmstadt its official capital and Cologne and Paris the effective sites of business. Nono was mentioned but once in passing, other Italian serialists not at all. That Blacher was not mentioned is perhaps excusable (his serial metrics are relatively primitive and more peripheral to serial thought); that no mention was made of Babbitt or other American serialists is simply incomprehensible. In reviewing serial music at the end of the 20th century, it should be possible to present a broader historical context. ================================================ 5. Announcements Annual Meeting Music Theory Society of New York State Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester 12-13 April 1997 CALL FOR PAPERS The Program Committee invites proposals for papers and presentation on any topic. Areas of particular interest include: * Analysis Symposium on Bartk, Violin Sonata No. 1 (1921) * Analysis of Opera * Linear Analysis * Counterpoint Papers given at national conferences or previously published will not be considered. Any number of proposals may be submitted by an individual, but no more than one will be accepted. Most papers will be placed in 45-minutes slots, with about 30 minutes for reading and 15 minutes for possible response or discussion. Paper submission should include: 1. Six copies of a proposal of at least three but no more than five double-spaced pages of text. Each copy should include the title of the paper and its duration as read aloud, but not the author's name. 2. An abstract of 200-250 words, suitable for publication. 3. A cover letter listing the title of the paper and the name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address (if applicable) of the author. Proposals should be sent to Elizabeth West Marvin, MTSNYS Program Chair Eastman School of Music 26 Gibbs Street Rochester, NY 14604 Members of the MTSNYS 1997 Program Committee are Elizabeth W. Marvin, Chair (Eastman School of Music); Mark Anson-Cartwright (CUNY), Joseph Dubiel (Columbia University), John Hanson (Binghamton University, SUNY), Marie Rolf (Eastman School of Music), and Robert Wason (Eastman School of Music). POSTMARK DEADLINE IS 1 OCTOBER 1996 Submitted by Mary I. Arlin President, MTSNYS School of Music, Ithaca College Ithaca, NY 14850 e-mail arlin@ithaca.edu --------------------- SOCIETY FOR SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY MUSIC Fifth Annual Conference April 11-13, 1997 Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida CALL FOR PAPERS The Program Committee solicits proposals on all aspects of seventeenth-century music and musical culture. In addition to topics directly concerned with music history, we welcome those dealing with other fields (e.g., literature, the visual arts, other performing arts, other aspects of cultural history) as they relate to music. Any national focus or methodology will be welcome. We encourage presentations in a variety of formats, such as papers, lecture-recitals, demonstrations, workshops, seminars, and roundtable sessions. In general, papers will be limited to 20 minutes (not including discussion) and lecture-recitals to 45 minutes. Requests for additional time will be considered but must be justified in the proposal. Only one abstract will be considered from any individual, and 1996 presenters should not submit proposals for 1997. Abstracts will remain anonymous until the final formulation of the program. The committee will notify submitters of the results around mid-January. Guidelines for abstracts: 1. Limit the length to no more than two pages. 2. For conventional papers, an abstract should include a clear statement of the issue or issues being explored, the methodology used, and the conclusions. For seminars or other less conventional formats, the abstract should give as much information as possible; we encourage early submission of such abstracts, so that the committee might have an opportunity to request additional information. 3. State any anticipated needs for equipment at the end of the abstract. 4. Send five copies: one identified with your name, address, telephone, fax, and e-mail address (as applicable); and four anonymous. 5. Do not send tapes or other supporting material at this time. 6. Abstracts from outside the United States may be sent by fax (one copy only) to Lois Rosow at 614-292-1102. 7. Abstracts must be postmarked no later than October 1, 1996. 8. Mail to Lois Rosow, SSCM Program Committee Chair, School of Music, Ohio State University, 1866 College Road, Columbus, OH 43210-1170. Program Committee: Robert Holzer (Princeton University); Carol Marsh (University of North Carolina at Greensboro); Lois Rosow, chair (Ohio State University); Steven Saunders (Colby College) ------------------------------- KEELE UNIVERSITY, STAFFORDSHIRE, UK Unit for the Study of Musical Skill and Development Opportunities for postgraduate studies in MUSIC PSYCHOLOGY - coursework leading to MSc - research leading to MPhil or PhD ======================================= Keele University offers international expertise in many core areas of music psychology, including music cognition and memory, music performance technique and expression, emotional responses to music, musical expertise, development of musical skills in children and adults, music teaching and learning, social psychology of music, perception and cognition of musical structure, and computer modelling techniques. The Unit for the Study of Musical Skill and Development currently has three permanent staff. Professor John Sloboda (pianist, choral conductor): music cognition, emotion, performance, skill Dr Richard Parncutt (pianist, music theorist): music perception, harmony, tonality, rhythm Dr Susan O'Neill (flautist, music teacher): musical development, social psychology, education ======================================== >>>> MSc in Music Psychology <<<<<< ======================================== The MSc in Music Psychology will be offered for the first time in the 1996/97 academic year. It takes one year full-time, or two to three years part-time. The course aims: - to acquaint students with the main areas of contemporary research in music psychology; - to enable students to reflect critically on relevant areas of professional practice -- music performance, music teaching, broadcasting and recording, music therapy -- in the light of psychological knowledge; and - to equip students with the skills necessary to design, execute, and report empirical psychological investigations in an area of music psychology relevant to their individual background, skills and interests. The course is open to graduates with a first or a second class degree in psychology, music, or education with music as a specialism. Other relevant subject areas and qualifications (e.g., sociology, linguistics, electronics, acoustics, music technology, education, neuroscience) may be considered where the work undertaken has relevance to music, particularly where the student can point to relevant professional or recreational experience such as a significant involvement in music performance. All students take the following four modules: -- Contemporary issues in music psychology research -- Options* -- Project design -- Project execution *There are four options, of which each student takes two: -- Research methods in psychology -- Elements of musical structure -- Issues in education -- Music Perception The course is assessed through coursework, dissertation, and verbal presentation of research results. There are no examinations. The length of written work for each full module is approximately 9,000 words. An external examiner attends the final research presentations. The course has a dedicated seminar/resources room for on-campus study and meetings. Students have full access to departmental and university computing facilities for word processing, statistical analysis, on-line control of experiments, and access to the internet. The Department of Psychology is supported by four expert technical staff, specialising in computing, electronic, audio-visual and mechanical design requirements. Keele is a campus university with over 6,000 students. It is located in a peaceful, spacious rural setting amidst woods and lakes on the western outskirts of the ancient market town of Newcastle-under-Lyme and the Six Towns of the Potteries. It is the UK's leading interdisciplinary university, with undergraduates undertaking a more varied mix of subjects than is usual in most other universities. Cultural life at the university includes weekly classical concerts by national and international performers, and numerous amateur musical events. The campus has good sporting facilities, a day nursery, and medical, counselling and career services. The campus halls of residence include specially reserved blocks for postgraduate students. By car, Keele is one hour from both Birmingham and Manchester, and three hours from London. By public transport, Keele is 20 minutes by bus from the railway station of Stoke-on-Trent. Trains from Stoke to London Euston take two hours, and run hourly on weekdays. Subject to approval, fees for the 1996/97 session are as follows: UK/EU students 622.50 pounds sterling per module non-EU students 1506.25 pounds sterling per module Students with good undergraduate results may obtain funding for full-time study from various foundations and public funding bodies. Initial enquiries regarding graduate teaching assistantships and ESRC research studentships should be made by February of each year. For further information on the MSc prior to making a formal application, please contact the course director, Professor John Sloboda, or one of the other team members: tel email John Sloboda +44 1782 583387 j.a.sloboda@keele.ac.uk Richard Parncutt +44 1782 583392 r.parncutt@keele.ac.uk Susan O'Neill +44 1782 584261 s.a.o'neill@keele.ac.uk or write to: Unit for the Study of Musical Skill and Development Department of Psychology Keele University Keele, Staffordshire ST5 5BG UK Fax +44 1782 583387 For application forms and further information about admissions, contact: Postgraduate Admissions Department of Academic Affairs Keele University Keele, Staffordshire ST5 5BG UK Tel +44 1782 584002 Fax +44 1782 632343 ------------------------ AMAZING MAZE (1996 ff.) an infinite interactive realtime composition for sampled sound particles and optional Live-Performer(s) by Karlheinz Essl can be downloaded from algo.comp ftp-server ftp://www.music.uiowa.edu/pub/max/AmazingMaze_1.3.2.sit.hqx This freeware program comes as a binhexed StuffIt archive (2 MB) containing a runtime version of MAX (MAXplay 3.0), a huge library of compositional software routines (RTC-lib) and a resource file composed of 45 instrumental sound particles (16bit, 22 kHz, mono). System & Software Requirement ============================= * Apple Macintosh Computer with at least 8 MB of RAM, System 7.x * SoundManager 3.x installed NB: The program plays directly through the sound output of the Macintosh and does not need any additional hardware. About... ======== AMAZING MAZE is realtime composition environment for Apple Macintosh computers. It is represented by a computer program which generates music by manipulating sampled instrumental sound particles according to certain compositional strategies. These are carried out in 6 so called "modules": * nuages: generates clouds of an accelerando/ritardando rhythm with crescendo/decrescendo dynamic envelope * pulse: creates an even rhythmic pulsation * brown: applies brownian movement algorithms on different musical parameters * complex: synthesizes a complex rhythm with chord qualities * chords: produces chords of different densities * ferm: generates fermatas which will globally stop the stream of sound The compositional algorithms of the modules are programmed in MAX (an interactive graphical programming environment) by taking advantage of my "Real Time Composition Library" (RTC-lib). This collection of software modules offers the possibility to experiment with a number of compositional techniques, such as serial procedures, permutations and controlled randomness. More information about the RTC-lib can be found on the World-Wide Web under the URL: http://www.ping.at/users/essl/works/rtc.html The sounds used in AMAZING MAZE have been taken from instrumental recordings of flute, bass clarinet, prepared piano, and percussion which I did with musicians of the Ensemble "Klangforum" (Vienna) in 1992. The same sound material was used for the creation of the electronic part of "Entsagung" (1991-93) for ensemble and interactive live electronics, which was commissioned by IRCAM (Paris). A variety of interfaces allows different interactions with this music machine which allows its usage as an electronic improvisation device (alone, or together with instrumental live performers). More informations about AMAZING MAZE can be found at: http://www.ping.at/users/essl/works/amazing.html Dr. Karlheinz Essl SAMT - Studio for Advanced Music & Media Technology Bruckner-Konservatorium Linz (Austria) E-Mail: essl@ping.at WWW: http://www.ping.at/users/essl/index.html ----------------------------- LEONARDO MUSIC JOURNAL Volume 5, 1995--*Now Available* ". . . really interesting . . . marvelous. . . ." __CMJ New Music Report__ Published annually by The MIT Press for Leonardo/ International Society for the Arts, Sciences and Technology (ISAST), Volume 6 forthcoming 100-120 pp. per issue, 8 1/2 x 11, illustrated Founded: 1968 ISSN 0961-1215 Roger F. Malina, Executive Editor LEONARDO MUSIC JOURNAL (LMJ) is the companion annual to the high- tech arts bimonthly, LEONARDO. Both journals are official publications of Leonardo/ISAST. Each yearly issue of LMJ comes with a compact disc. LMJ features the latest in music, multimedia art, sound science and technology. Institutional subscribers to LEONARDO receive LMJ as part of a yearly subscription. Individuals may choose to include LMJ with their subscription to LEONARDO. TO ORDER, see below. ----------------------------------------------------------------- LEONARDO MUSIC JOURNAL, Volume 5, 1995 Table of Contents EDITORIAL An Unheard-of Organology By Douglas Kahn ARTISTS' ARTICLES Chromatic Notation of Music: Transforming Bach and Webern into Color and Light By Brigitte Burgmer Orchestrating the Chimera: Music Hybrids, Technology and the Development of a "Maximalist" Musical Style By David A. Jaffe ARTISTS' NOTES Acoustic and Virtual Space as a Dynamic Element of Music By Pauline Oliveros More than Just Notes: Psychoacoustics and Composition By Robert HP Platz Reflections on Collaborative Process and Compositional Revolution By Diane Thome TECHNICAL ARTICLE Thresholds of Confidence: An Analysis of Statistical Methods for Composition. Part I: Theory By Charles Ames HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE The History of Electroacoustic Music in the Czech and Slovak Republics By Libor Zajicek THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES A Hierarchical Theory of Aesthetic Perception: Scales in the Visual Arts By Pavel B. Ivanov Inventing Images: Constructing and Contesting Gender in Thinking about Electroacoustic Music By Andra McCartney CD COMPANION: INNOVATION IN CONTEMPORARY JAPANESE COMPOSITION Curated by Marc Battier with Mamoru Fujieda, Hinoharu Matsumoto and Kazuo Uehara CD Introduction and Contributors' Notes Reviews: Book, Compact Discs, Materials Received 1995 Index: LEONARDO Volume 28 and LEONARDO MUSIC JOURNAL Volume 5 ------------------------------------------------------------------ LEONARDO MUSIC JOURNAL 1996 Subscription Prices *Subscriptions are for the volume year only. Prices subject to change without notice. Prepayment required.* Individual (to LEONARDO) (w/companion volume LMJ) $ 65.00 Institution (to LEONARDO) (w/companion volume LMJ) $320.00 Outside U.S.A. add $22.00 postage and handling. Canadians add additional 7% GST. TO ORDER, contact: Circulation Department MIT PRESS JOURNALS 55 Hayward Street Cambridge, MA 02142-1399 USA (617) 253-2889 (TEL)/(617) 577-1545 (FAX) journals-orders@mit.edu http://www-mitpress.mit.edu --------------------------- EVENT: GAMUT 1997 Meeting/Call for Papers and Proposals HOST: University of Georgia, Athens, GA DATE: February 21-22, 1997 DESCRIPTION: The Georgia Association of Music Theorists (GAMUT) will hold its annual meeting at the University of Georgia School of Music February 21-22, 1997. Gary Wittlich (Indiana University) will give the keynote address on music technology in the 21st century. GAMUT invites papers dealing with any aspect of music theory and proposals for a Friday evening panel session dealing with any aspect of theory pedagogy to be submitted for the meeting. Papers should be 30-45 minutes in length, and panel session should be 1 1/2 hours. Manuscript submissions should be double spaced with 1-inch margins. Submisions should be postmarked by Monday, December 16, 1996. Send four copies with a short abstract to Professor Leonard Ball at the contact address below. COST AND PAYMENT OPTIONS: GAMUT membership fee is $25 and includes a copy of the GAMUT Journal. TRAVEL AND HOTEL INFORMATION: TBA CONTACT: Leonard Ball University of Georgia School of Music 250 River Road Athens, GA 30602 E-mail: lvball@uga.cc.uga.edu Phone: (706) 542-2800 Fax: (706) 542-2773 ------------------------ I am pleased to announce the publication of vol. 17/1 of the Indiana Theory Review. This issue returns to an eclectic format that features various essays on an assortment of topics related to music theory. The contents include the following: Byron Almen, "Prophets of the Decline: The Worldviews of Heinrich Schenker and Oswald Spengler" Ira Braus, "Dancing to Haydn's Fiddle: A Reply to Floyd Grave's `Metrical Dissonance in Haydn'" Edward Pearsall, "Multiple Hierarchies: Another Perspective on Prolongation" Student Forum: Gender Issues in Music Theory Lyn Burkett, "Feminist Music Scholarship: An Informal Guide to `Getting It'" Barbara White, "Difference or Silence?: Women Composers between Scylla and Charybdis" Robert Hatten, Review of John Rink, ed., "The Practice of Performance: Studies in Musical Interpretation" Vol. 17/2 (Fall 1996) will focus on the topic of musical time, with essays by David Epstein, Marianne Kielian-Gilbert, Jonathan Kramer, and Lewis Rowell, and reviews by Vincent Benitez, Richard Littlefield, and Gary Wittlich (Epstein's "Shaping Time"). I am pleased to announce that William Tilghman will succeed me as editor of ITR with this particular issue as his first assignment. ITR always welcomes essays and articles on topics related to music theory from potential contributors, especially from students. Please address all inquiries to the information contained in my signature file. Vincent Benitez Editor, Indiana Theory Review School of Music Indiana University Bloomington, IN 47405 vbenitez@indiana.edu ---------------------- Music Theory Spectrum The Journal of the Society for Music Theory Joel Lester, editor Contents of Volume 18, No. 1 (Spring, 1996): Peter Westergaard Geometries of Sounds in Time Henry Burnett and Shaugn O'Donnell Linear Ordering of the Chromatic Aggregate in Classical Symphonic Music Eric McKee Auxiliary Progressions as a Source of Conflict between Tonal Structure and Phrase Structure Joseph H. Auner In Schoenberg's Workshop: Aggregates and Referential Collections in Die glückliche Hand Nicholas Cook Review Essay: Putting the Meaning Back into Music, or Semiotics Revisited: Robert Hatten. Musical Meaning in Beethoven: Markedness, Correlation, and Interpretation Eero Tarasti. A Theory of Musical Semiotics Richard Kaplan Review of Daniel Harrison. Harmonic Function in Chromatic Music: A Renewed Dualist Theory and an Account of Its Precedents Music Theory Spectrum is sent to all current members of the Society for Music Theory. Regular membership dues: $45 per year, $55 for dual members (two members at the same address; one copy of mailings), $20 for student members, $30 for dual student members (two student members at the same address; one copy of mailings), and $30 for emeritus members. Libraries and other institutions subscribe at the rate of $48 per year. Kindly add $15 per year for subscriptions outside of North America. Applications for membership and available back issues may be addressed to Cynthia Folio, Treasurer SMT Esther Boyer College of Music Temple University Philadelphia, PA 19122 ================================ 6. Employment DEAN OF THE CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC Wheaton College Wheaton College is accepting applications and nominations of individuals interested in serving as the Dean of the Conservatory of Music. Applicants should be strong musicians with an established record of successful leadership, demonstrating administrative skills. An effective candidate should have an understanding of a broad range of musical disciplines and styles, as well as issues related to higher education. A doctorate is preferred. Submit letters of application and resumes no later than October 1, 1996 to Director of Human Resources, Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois 60187. Wheaton College is an evangelical Christian liberal arts college with a distinctly accredited Conservatory of Music which includes a large pre-college program. A successful applicant must affirm the college's statement of faith and adhere to lifestyle expectations. Wheaton College complies with federal and state requirements for non-discrimination in employment. Women and minority applicants are encouraged to apply. ----------------------- Position in Music theory/Musicianship University of the Pacific Conservatory of Music One year position with possible renewal. Teach First Year Music Theory, First and Second Year Musicianship, Form, and Fundamentals for non-majors. PhD preferred, Masters required. Demonstrated success in teaching musicianship skills necessary. Interest in teaching jazz arranging a plus. Interested individuals should send a letter of application, cv, and three letters of recommendation to: George Buckbee, Acting Dean University of the Pacific Conservatory of Music Stockton, CA 95211 Applications by FAX may be sent to (209) 946-2770 For more information contact Robert Coburn at rcoburn@uop.edu ---------------------- Search Announcement: Musicology The Department of Music at Stanford University intends to make a tenure-track junior appointment in musicology to begin Fall 1997. This new position is open to scholar-teachers in any field of specialization; however, applications are particularly encouraged from those with sub-specialties in non-Western and traditional musics. It is expected that candidates will either be, or show every promise of becoming, distinguished and productive scholars. Duties include the teaching of courses and the supervision of individual research on both undergraduate and graduate levels. Stanford University is an affirmative-action, equal-opportunity employer. We strongly encourage applications from women and minorities. Applicants should send a letter of interest, a current curriculum vitae, and letters of reference to: Professor Stephen Hinton, Chairman Musicology Search Committee Department of Music ============================== 7. New Dissertations AUTHOR: Gloag, Kenneth TITLE: Structure, Syntax and Style in the Music of Stravinsky INSTITUTION: University of Exeter BEGUN: October 1991 COMPLETION: FEBRUARY 1995 ABSTRACT: This thesis involves detailed analytical discussions of a selection of Stravinsky's major works. The analyses are concerned with structural processes which can be related to Stravinsky's metaphor of polarity and the specific details of his harmonic syntax. Emerging from this analytical process is a concern with the question of continuities across the works which are considered as being representative of Stravinsky's three stylistic periods. The works selected for discussion are Petrushka, which represents the Russian period, the Serenade and Dumbarton Oaks reflect the concerns of the neoclassical period and the late serial works are represented by In Memoriam Dylan Thomas and Requiem Canticles. The consideration of continuity leads to a discussion of the relationship between the accumulated analytical details and the problems of defining and identifying musical style. Keywords: Theory, Analysis, Style (Barthes/Meyer), Salience, Prolongation, Continuity. TOC: Chapter 1: Theoretical Contexts and Analytical Strategies Chapter 2: Theoretical Framework (1) Chapter 3: Petrushka (part two) Chapter 4: Petrushka (part three) Chapter 5: Serenade (first movement) Chapter 6: Dumbarton Oaks (first movement) Chapter 7: In Memoriam Dylan Thomas Chapter 8: Requiem Canticles Chapter 9: Theoretical Framework (2): Implications CONTACT: Dr Kenneth Gloag Department of Music University of Wales College of Cardiff Corbett Road Cardiff CF1 3EB telephone: 01222 874386 e-mail: smukg@cardiff.ac.uk ------------------------------ AUTHOR: Thomas, Margaret E. TITLE: "Conlon Nancarrow's 'Temporal dissonance': Rhythmic and Textural Stratification in the Studies for Player Piano" INSTITUTION: Yale University BEGUN: September 1992 COMPLETION: March 1996 ABSTRACT: The Studies for Player Piano of Conlon Nancarrow (b. 1912) are rhythmically and texturally complex works that exemplify Nancarrow's aesthetic goal of "temporal dissonance": two or more seemingly uncoordinated streams of music are presented simultaneously. His use of asynchronicity places him as a central figure within a group of innovative twentieth-century composers who similarly expand and elevate rhythmic practice, including Ives, Cowell, Carter, and Ligeti. But Nancarrow's fundamental concept of temporal dissonance remains largely undeveloped. This dissertation explores the rhythmic and textural techniques of the studies in general, and Nancarrow's temporal dissonance in particular. KEYWORDS: Conlon Nancarrow, rhythmic stratification, texture, player piano, temporal dissonance TOC: I. Introduction; II. Temporal Stratification in the Works of Other Composers; III. Multidimensionality and Textural Strategies; IV. Temporal Dissonance; V. Study No. 41; VI. Concluding Remarks CONTACT: 16 Clay St., North Brunswick, NJ 08902; phone numbers: (908) 932-6873, (908)821-1507 ============================= 8. New Books W.W. Norton 1) Robert Gauldin, HARMONIC PRACTICE IN TONAL MUSIC (a text for the four- semester theory sequence; comes with workbook and CDs); 2) Samuel Adler, SIGHT SINGING: PITCH, INTERVAL, RHYTHM, 2nd ed. (a text for the four-semester sight singing sequence, based on intervals and interval relationships): 3) Sol Berkowitz et al., A NEW APPROACH TO SIGHT SINGING. 4th ed. (a text for the four-semester sight singing sequence, based on tonal relationships); 4) Daniel Kazez, RHYTHM READING: ELEMENTARY THROUGH ADVANCED TRAINING, 2nd ed. (a text for the four-semester sight singing sequence, dealing with rhythm only). 5) THE NORTON CD-ROM MASTERWORKS --------------------------------- University of California Press Stravinsky and the Russian Traditions: A Biography of the Works Through Mavra Richard Taruskin "Taruskin's vast and detailed knowledge of Russian culture, music, and traditions provides an unparalleled background for this monumental study. . . . Taruskin lets us see Stravinsky in a global context, as we would a continent from the space shuttle-but he also gives us a microscopic view of details that is nothing less than Proustian in its nuances and shadings. . . . A simply incredible achievement!" -George Perle, author of The Listening Composer "What Fernand Braudel did for the Mediterranean, Richard Taruskin has done for Stravinsky's Russian Period." -David Schiff, author of The Music of Elliott Carter "This book will arouse great interest and attention, and also, to be sure, heated debate; but whatever one's reaction, no one will be able to ignore it. . . . I suspect it will, with a single blow (the word has been chosen carefully), establish Taruskin as the foremost scholar of twentieth-century music in the world."-Robert P. Morgan, author of Twentieth-Century Music "To my knowledge, no previous book has situated music-music subtly described and understood-within such a richly embroidered fabric of cultural and intellectual history. A landmark study, at once engaging, necessary, and compelling." -Joseph Horowitz, author of Wagner Nights: An American History This book undoes 50 years of mythmaking about Stravinsky's life in music. During his spectacular career, Igor Stravinsky underplayed his Russian past in favor of a European cosmopolitanism. Richard Taruskin has refused to take the composer at his word. In this long-awaited study, he defines Stravinsky's relationship to the musical and artistic traditions of his native land and gives us a dramatically new picture of one of the major figures in the history of music. Taruskin draws directly on newly accessible archives and on a wealth of Russian documents. In Volume One, he sets the historical scene: the St. Petersburg musical press, the arts journals, and the writings of anthropologists, folklorists, philosophers, and poets. Volume Two addresses the masterpieces of Stravinsky's early maturity-Petrushka, The Rite of Spring, and Les Noces. Taruskin investigates the composer's collaborations with Diaghilev to illuminate the relationship between folklore and modernity. He elucidates the Silver Age ideal of "neonationalism"-the professional appropriation of motifs and style characteristics from folk art-and how Stravinsky realized this ideal in his music. Taruskin demonstrates how Stravinsky achieved his modernist technique by combining what was most characteristically Russian in his musical training with stylistic elements abstracted from Russian folklore. The stylistic synthesis thus achieved formed Stravinsky as a composer for life, whatever the aesthetic allegiances he later professed. Written with Taruskin's characteristic mixture of in-depth research and stylistic verve, this book will be mandatory reading for all those seriously interested in the life and work of Stravinsky. Richard Taruskin is Professor of Music at the University of California at Berkeley. His most recent books are Musorgsky: Eight Essays and an Epilogue (1993) and Text and Act: Essays on Music and Performance (1995). THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS Publication Date: July 21, 1996 0-520-07099-2 $125.00 cloth until 6/30/96, $175.00 thereafter 1,800 pages in two-volume boxed set, 7 x 10", 187 b/w illustrations, 2 color plates, 623 music examples World rights except omit Europe, British Commonwealth except Canada -------------------------------------------------------------------- Bela Bartok: Composition, Concepts, and Autograph Sources by Laszlo Somfai "This book is at the frontiers of Bartok research. It presents a vast array of unknown material. Both the breadth and the depth of Somfai's approach is unique among source studies in twentieth-century music." -Reinhold Brinkmann, Harvard University This long-awaited, authoritative account of Bartok's compositional processes stresses the composer's position as one of the masters of Western music history and avoids a purely theoretical approach or one that emphasizes him as an enthusiast for Hungarian folk music. For Bela Bartok, composition often began with improvisation at the piano. Laszlo Somfai maintains that Bartok composed without preconceived musical theories and refused to teach composition precisely for this reason. He was not an analytical composer but a musical creator for whom intuition played a central role. These conclusions are the result of Somfai's three decades of work with Bartok's oeuvre; of careful analysis of some 3,600 pages of sketches, drafts, and autograph manuscripts; and of the study of documents reflecting the development of Bartok's compositions. Included as well are corrections preserved only on recordings of Bartok's performances of his own works. Somfai also provides the first comprehensive catalog of every known work of Bartok, published and unpublished, and of all extant draft, sketch, and preparatory material. His book will be basic to all future scholarly work on Bartok and will assist performers in clarifying the problems of Bartok notation. Moreover, it will be a model for future work on other major composers. Laszlo Somfai is the Director of the Bartok Archives in Budapest and Professor of Musicology at the Liszt Academy of Music, Budapest. He has published books on Haydn, Bartok, and Webern in German and Hungarian, and an English edition of The Keyboard Sonatas of Joseph Haydn (1995). The Ernest Bloch Lectures, 9 The University of Califonia Press Publication Date: May 7, 1996 0-520-08485-3 $60.00 cloth 340 pages, 7 x 10", 90 b/w illustrations, 84 music examples World rights ---------------------------------- A View of Berg's Lulu through the Autograph Sources by Patricia Hall "Hall was the first to study this material whole and in such depth; the result of her study remains an important, and in many ways path-breaking, piece of work."-Douglas Jarman, author of The Music of Alban Berg After 50 years of analysis we are only beginning to understand the quality and complexity of Alban Berg's most important twelve-tone work, the opera Lulu. Patricia Hall's new book represents a primary contribution to that understanding-the first detailed analysis of the sketches for the opera as well as other related autograph material and previously inaccessible correspondence to Berg. In 1959, Berg's widow deposited the first of Berg's autograph manuscripts in the Austrian National Library. The complete collection of autographs for Lulu was made accessible to scholars in 1981, and a promising new phase in Lulu scholarship unfolded. Hall begins her study by examining the format and chronology of the sketches, and she demonstrates their unique potential to clarify aspects of Berg's compositional language. In each chapter Hall uses Berg's sketches to resolve a significant problem or controversy that has emerged in the study of Lulu. For example, Hall discusses the dramatic symbolism behind Berg's use of multiple roles and how these roles contribute to the large-scale structure of the opera. She also revises the commonly held view that Berg frequently invoked a free twelve-tone style. Hall's innovative work suggests important techniques for understanding not only the sketches and manuscripts of Berg but also those of other twentieth-century composers. Patricia Hall is Assistant Professor of Music at the University of California, Santa Barbara. THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS Publication Date: September 0-520-08819-0 $42.00x cloth 185 pages, 6 x 9", 47 b/w illustrations, 51 music examples World rights ============================================================= Harvard University Press After Beethoven Imperatives of Originality in the Symphony Mark Evan Bonds Beethoven cast a looming shadow over the nineteenth century. For composers he was a model both to emulate and to overcome. "You have no idea how it feels," Brahms confided, "when one always hears such a giant marching behind one." Exploring the response of five composers--Berlioz, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Brahms, and Mahler--to what each clearly saw as the challenge of Beethoven's symphonies, Evan Bonds richly enhances our understanding of the evolution of the symphony and Beethoven's legacy. Bonds lucidly argues that the great symphonists of the nineteenth century cleared creative space for themselves by both confronting and deviating from the practices of their potentially overpowering precursor. His analysis places familiar masterpieces in a new light. January 6 1/4 x 9 1/4 41 musical examples 208 pp. ISBN 0-674-00855-3 (BONAFT) $35.00t Music Bach and the Patterns of Invention Laurence Dreyfus In this major new interpretation of the music of J. S. Bach, we gain a striking picture of the composer as a unique critic of his age. By reading Bach's music "against the grain" of contemporaries such as Vivaldi and Telemann, Laurence Dreyfus explains how Bach's approach to musical invention in a variety of genres posed a fundamental challenge to Baroque aesthetics. "Invention"--the word Bach and his contemporaries used for the musical idea that is behind or that generates a composition--emerges as an invaluable key in Dreyfus's analysis. Looking at important pieces in a range of genres, including concertos, sonatas, fugues, and vocal works, he focuses on the fascinating construction of the invention, the core musical subject, and then shows how Bach disposes, elaborates, and decorates it in structuring his composition. *Bach and the Patterns of Invention* brings us fresh understanding of Bach's working methods, and how they differed from those of the other leading composers of his day. We also learn here about Bach's unusual appropriations of French and Italian styles--and about the elevation of various genres far above their conventional status. February 7x10 11 halftones, 73 musical examples 256 pp. ISBN 0-674-06005-9 (DREBAC) $45.00s Music -------------------------------------------- Organised Sound Aims and Scope Cambridge University Press is pleased to announce the publication in 1996 of a new journal, *Organised Sound*. *Organised Sound* is published three times a year and focuses on the rapidly developing methods and issues arising from the use of technology in music today. The journal concentrates upon the impact which the application of technology is having upon music in a variety of genres, including multimedia, performance art, sound sculpture and electroacoustic composition. *Organised Sound* provides a unique forum for engineers, composers, performers, computer specialists, mathematicians and music scholars to share the results of their research as they affect musical issues. Each issue includes articles relating to a specific theme, as well as other articles and occasional tutorial articles on topics relevant to this exciting field. There is also a useful Announcements section, which keeps readers abreast of current events and points of note. The theme of issue 1 is "Sounds and Sources" and the other themes for Volume 1 are "The Time Domain" and "Algorithmic Composition." An accompanying CD will be sent free to subscribers annually. Subscription Information *Organised Sound* is published three times a year in April, August, and December. Volume 1 in 1996 is £63 ($98) for institutions, £35 ($49) for individuals and £25 ($36) for students. Delivery by airmail is £14 per year extra. An annual CD is issued free with the subscription. Order Form Please enter my subscription to *Organised Sound* (ISSN 1355-7718) Volume 1, 1996 $98 institutions $49 individuals $36 students (Prices good through 12/31/96) Please return order to: Journals Department Cambridge University Press 40 West 20th Street New York NY 10011-4211 USA Tel: (914) 937-9600 x154 Fax: (914) 937-4712 or you may phone your order direct (toll-free) on 1-800-872-7423 Email: journals_marketing@cup.org Outside the USA, Canada and Mexico, please write to: Journals Marketing Department Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building Cambridge CB2 2RU United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0) 1223 325806 Fax: +44 (0) 1223 315052 Email: journals_marketing@cup.cam.ac.uk ========================================= 9. Advertisements ChordSymbol 1.0, John Clevenger I have developed two music analysis fonts for my own work that you may find useful for yours. ChordSymbol v. 1.0 is a symbol font that features a wide variety of analytical symbols, including roman numerals and letter names, figures and slashed figures in three tiers and in any combination (the most common of which can be entered using a single keystroke), accidentals (regular and superscript, etc.), careted scale degrees, and much more (arrows, brackets, a modulation symbol, applied function symbols, two types of Schenkerian slurs, form symbols and repeat signs, and so forth). ChordSymbol can handle anything from figured bass through common-practice analytical symbols (including every- thing in the Aldwell and Schachter theory text, even the advanced chromatic stuff) right up to Debussy and beyond--even jazz. CSTimes v. 1.0 is a text font containing the most frequently used analytical symbols from ChordSymbol but retaining all alphabetic characters and virtually all diacritical markings needed for foreign-language words. Many users find that they use CSTimes most often, while remembering that they can switch to ChordSymbol whenever neces- sary. The fonts may be used in any application that has a font menu; I use them in Microsoft Word for music-analytic prose, in Coda Finale for pitch- structural graphs and other analytical illustrations, and in Claris HyperCard for multimedia instructional software--where the more than 1700 hand-edited bitmaps contained in the ChordSymbol font (for Macintosh only; no bitmaps can be used in Windows) have proved especially useful, since they allow for beauti- ful screen display at ten different point sizes. The fonts, which are sold together, are available in both TrueType and Post- Script versions, for either Macintosh or Windows. The preferred TrueType ver- sion, which prints optimally on all printers, may be used with Macintosh System 7 or later (or System 6.0.5 if you have the Font/DA Mover 4.1 or later and the TrueType INIT) and Windows 3.1 or later. The PostScript version may be used with Macintosh System 6 or earlier if you have the Font/DA Mover 3.8 or later; it may be used with Windows 3.0 if you have Adobe Type Manager 2.0 or later. Single copies (that is, of both fonts together) cost $24.50, plus a $5.00 processing and mailing fee (or $6.50 for Canada, $10.00 for overseas); 15-copy site licenses are $94.50, 25-copy site licenses are $144.50, and 40-copy site licenses are $194.50, again plus that $5.00 ($6.50 Canada, $10.00 overseas) processing/mailing fee. If you would like to try the fonts out before ordering them for your institution, I will be happy to apply the payment for a single, trial copy to a follow-on site license order. You may order the fonts directly from me by sending a check or money order made out to me--U.S. funds only, please!--to my home address: John R. Clevenger 300 Alexander, C-18 Rochester, NY 14607 Please be sure to specify what version you need (TrueType or PostScript, for Macintosh or Windows), and include your full name, mailing address, phone number(s), and email address. You can expect to receive the font packet within about three weeks after placing your order. Please email me if you have any questions. Thanks! John R. Clevenger Eastman School of Music jclev@theory.esm.rochester.edu -------------------------------- Music Analysis System, Larry Solomon I am now making the *Music Analysis System* available as freeware. MAS is software I designed for MSDOS and PCDOS computers that does harmonic, melodic, and set-theoretical analysis. Written in Pascal, it is compact, extremely fast, and thorough, especially on todays computers. MAS can be used to analyze all chords, conventional or not, show their properties, set-names, common names, and show all their relationships. It will also analyze melodies and tone rows. I think it is valuable for all styles and periods of music, not just atonality. It is not fancy (was designed back in the 1970s), but it does the job. A description is on my Web page, where it may be downloaded. Larry Solomon The Center for the Arts http://www.AzStarNet.com/~solo Tucson, AZ Solo@AzStarNet.com ------------------------ MARTIN SILVER, MUSICAL LITERATURE Martin Silver, Musical Literature, was founded in 1967 by the Music Librarian of the University of California, Santa Barbara Martin Silver. As a part-time dealer, I rarely produced more than one or two catalogs a year. Having retired from UCSB after 27 years, I am now actively pursuing this antiquarian book and music service as a full-time business and issuing regular catalogs. My stock consists of over 4,000 cataloged items covering both books and music in all European languages, with the predominance in English, German, and French. The catalog is computerized and fully searchable. Recently I purchased two large collections which are not yet fully cataloged. The David Stivender Collection (from the estate of the late Chorus Master of the Metropolitan Opera) is strongly centered in opera with basic biographical material in Italian on Donizetti, Mascagni, Puccini, and Verdi. Also included are libretti of many unfamiliar 18th and 19th-century operas. Large collections concerning Berlioz and Elgar are also included. The Philip Hart collection of books and scores contains material almost exclusively in English, and is centered around popular and scholarly books with a strong emphasis on conductors, conducting, and the history of American Symphony orchestras. My general music stock consists of biographical studies, treatises, books on theory, library catalogs, etc. I offer free search services through the Interloc database. I also purchase music-centered collections and do appraisals in the field of music. Subject lists of available books can be produced on request. Martin Silver, Musical Literature 7221 Del Norte Drive, Goleta California, 93117-1326 voice (805) 961-8190 fax (805) 961-8290 email Silver@silcom.com My Web page should be available in the near future at http://www.Interloc.com/~MUSICLIT ==================================== 10. Communications Editor's Message 1. Submission forms 2. Forms for subscribing and setting mail options 3. Introducing the New Books section 4. MTO Correspondents --------------------- 1. Submission forms In order to make it a bit simpler to submit general announcements, dissertation postings, and employment listings, I have created three new Web forms. They are available on the MTO home page, in the section "MTO Submissions." Subscribers wishing to submit an item in one of those three categories should follow the appropriate link on the MTO page, fill in the various fields on the form, and submit it for processing. An appointed editorial assistant will receive a copy of the information and will prepare the text for inclusion in MTO. If after submitting an announcement of an event the dates, fees, or other information change, please contact the General Editor so that the text can be corrected before publication rather than after. We hope the new submission forms will be useful, and encourage Web-enabled subscribers to use them. Suggestions for improving the forms are welcome. Send comments to the General Editor. 2. Forms for subscribing and setting mail options In addition to the new submission forms, I have also added several forms to make it easier to subscribe to MTO, and to change mail options once subscribed. Without wanting to suggest that anyone cancel their MTO or mto-talk subscriptions, I should mention, too, that there is a form for terminating a subscription. By "mail options" I mean the following: a. whether copies of messages you post to mto-talk are sent to you or not b. postponing and restarting mto-talk mail (e.g. during and after vacation periods) c. receiving mto-talk mail in digest form (i.e. as a weekly mailing of accumulated messages) Options a and c are relevant only for mto-talk, since that list is for dialog among subscribers, and tends to be quite active at times. The only option that applies to mto-list (the general MTO mailing list, which is used *only* by the General Editor to distribute tables of contents, calls for items, and occasional announcements) is c (postponing and restarting mail). The form for setting options also allows you to: a. change your list password b. change your mailing address c. check your current settings (including password) d. check your registered address Of these four possibilities, c and d are most important, because you will may want to check your current settings before changing anything, and you will need your password and current registered address to change to a new address. Details about these procedures are on the relevant Web pages. As with the new submission forms, we hope that the forms for checking and setting mail options will simplify the management of your MTO and mto-talk subscriptions. Send comments to the General Editor. 3. Introducing the New Books section Starting with this issue (2.5), MTO will include a section for announcing new books and journals in music theory. I have contacted several leading publishers and offered to publicize new and forthcoming releases in MTO. For this issue, I received submissions from W.W. Norton, The University of California, Harvard and Cambridge Univeristy Presses. Publishers may send promotional advertisements of their products to the General Editor at any time, preferably by email (ASCII text only, please!). There is no particular format for such submissions, but they should of course include all ordering information, including price, and may also include promotional endorsements. If publishers wish to have books reviewed in MTO, they should contact our Reviews Editor, Brian Alegant (McGill University). 4. MTO Correspondents Another new section of MTO will soon appear, a column featuring reports on conferences, forums, and workshops from various people around the world. The reports will help to keep the expanding community of theorists informed about research and activities going on in other countries. The first report, by Peter Castine, appears in this issue, Review of "The Beginnings of Serial Music," Berlin, Germany, June 20-25 1996 (mto.96.2.5.castine.rev). Prof. Castine will serve as coordinating Correspondent for Germany, and will work together with Prof. Uwe Seifert in providing reports on events that take place in Germany. So far, the following individuals have agreed to serve as MTO Correspondents: Nicolas Meeus (Belgium-France, meeus@musi.ucl.ac.be) Henry Klumpenhouwer (Canada, hklumpen@gpu.srv.ualberta.ca) Wai-ling Cheong (Hong Kong, b127794@vax.csc.cuhk.hk) Geoffrey Chew (England, uhwm006@sun.rhbnc.ac.uk) Peter Castine (Germany, pcastine@prz.tu-berlin.de) Uwe Seifert (Germany, fk2a001@rzaix05.rrz.uni-hamburg.de) Michiel Schuijer (Holland, michiel.schuijer@let.ruu.nl) Ken-ichi Sakakibara (Japan, kis@theory.brl.ntt.jp) Arvid Vollsnes (Norway, arvid@ifi.uio.no) Per Broman (Sweden, per.broman@mh.luth.se) We thank these people for their willingness to help enhance the content of MTO, and look forward to reading their reports. Volunteers from countries not represented on the list should contact the General Editor. Please notify the Correspondents directly about scheduled events. Lee A. Rothfarb, General Editor Music Theory Online University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA 93106-6070 U.S.A. mto-editor@boethius.music.ucsb.edu voice: (805) 893-7527 (with voice mail) fax: (805) 893-7194 +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Copyright Statement [1] *Music Theory Online* (MTO) as a whole is Copyright (c) 1996, all rights reserved, by the Society for Music Theory, which is the owner of the journal. Copyrights for individual items published in MTO are held by their authors. Items appearing in MTO may be saved and stored in electronic or paper form, and may be shared among individuals for purposes of scholarly research or discussion, but may *not* be republished in any form, electronic or print, without prior, written permission from the author(s), and advance notification of the editors of MTO. [2] Any redistributed form of items published in MTO must include the following information in a form appropriate to the medium in which the items are to appear: This item appeared in *Music Theory Online* in [VOLUME #, ISSUE #] on [DAY/MONTH/YEAR]. It was authored by [FULL NAME, EMAIL ADDRESS], with whose written permission it is reprinted here. [3] Libraries may archive issues of MTO in electronic or paper form for public access so long as each issue is stored in its entirety, and no access fee is charged. Exceptions to these requirements must be approved in writing by the editors of MTO, who will act in accordance with the decisions of the Society for Music Theory. +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ END OF MTO 2.5