Chang, Sangtae. Boulez's Sonatine and the Genesis of his Twelve-tone Practice
INSTITUTION: The University of North Texas
BEGUN: September, 1995
COMPLETED: March, 1998
ABSTRACT:
In a letter to John Cage (January 1950), Pierre
Boulez proclaimed an end to his 'classical' period with the
Livre pour quartuor (1948-49). Important biographical events,
personal correspondence, and published essays suggest that what Boulez
considered 'classical' frame his twelve-tone practice from 1945 to
1949, aiming to come to terms with twelve-tone compositions by
Schoenberg, Webern, and Berg. Despite such a clear chronological
frame, Boulez's twelve-tone practice appears paradoxical. While
modernist criticism overtly manifested itself against the predecessors
and contemporaries alike, a traditional organicist metaphor pervaded
theoretical postulates that project the conceptualization of musical
structure.
This predicament of Boulez's twelve-tone practice be comes particularly articulated in the Sonatine (1946/rev. 1949). The composer admitted that the Sonatine systematically explored the twelve-tone row and rhythmic cells in an attempt to negate his predecessors, while paradoxically modeling its structure upon Schoenberg's Chamber Symphony Op. 9. This dissertation proposes that the Sonatine broadly unfolds a kinetic structure that stems from the traditional tension-relief model and, consequently, its dependence on tradition proves much deeper than Boulez would acknowledge. Chapter I establishes the chronological frame of Boulez's twelve-tone practice and introduces primary sources for twelve-tone compositions that predate the Sonatine, as well as those for the Sonatine. Chapter II addresses an 'eclectic' approach to twelve-tone composition in Douze notations. Chapters III, IV, and V address how twelve-tone exploration determines the structural unfolding of the Sonatine. Finally, Chapter VI addresses revisions of the Sonatine, taking into account the sketches, an early incomplete version of which only the flute part survives, the final complete version, and the published score. Examination of these primary sources indicates that revisions of the Sonatine enhance its kinetic structure by amplifying subversion of row ordering and by deliberately expanding motivic transformation throughout the composition.
KEYWORDS:
Boulez, sonatine, sonatina, twelve-tone music, serial music, kinetic
structure, dynamic structure
TOC:
I. INTRODUCTION
Primary Sources
II. ECLECTICISM IN TWELVE-TONE PRACTICE:
DOUZE NOTATIONS
Overview
Exploring a Twelve-Tone Row (Group A)
Exploring Row Properties (Group B)
Exploring Aggregates (Group C)
III. PRINCIPLES OF KINETIC STRUCTURE: SONATINE
Suggested Kinetic Structure in the Introduction
Row Unfolding as a Foreground Determinant
Aggregates as Foreground Determinants
IV. INTEGRATION OF ORDERED DURATION AND
PITCH-CLASS SETS: TEMPO SCHERZANDO
Overall Structure
Integrated Set in the Tempo Scherzando
V. RELAXATION OF KINETIC STRUCTURE
Twelve-Tone Usage
Interplay between the Row and the Pitch-Class Set H
VI. CONCLUSIONS
CONTACT:
1408 Teasley Lane, #1811
Denton, TX 76205
E-Mail: iv71@jove.acs.unt.edu
Phone: 940/566-8626
INSTITUTION: Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester
BEGUN: February 1998
COMPLETED: April 1999
ABSTRACT:
Despite the complex and multi-dimensional nature of rhythm
in non-serial music of the twentieth-century, existing
formal theoretical literature on rhythm in this repertoire
tends to focus on only one aspect of rhythmic structure,
while analytical approaches generally employ eclectic
methodologies. This dissertation presents a theory of
time-spaces that seeks to address the multi-faceted nature
of twentieth-century rhythm in a consistent manner.
Drawing on the work of David Lewin, Elizabeth West
Marvin, Robert Morris, and Yayoi Uno, the study defines ten
interrelated temporal spaces (termed u-time, modu-time,
modu-space, m-time, mod-time, mod-space, vdur-space,
idur-space, cidur-space, and t-space), segments within
the spaces, and transformations on these segments. The
spaces provide a formal way of viewing diverse rhythmic
aspects of a set of articulations, while the transformations
provide a way of observing the changes made between related
sets of articulations.
An introduction provides an overview of literature on rhythmic theory, analysis, and compositional theory. Issues relevant to the application of the theory of time-spaces (segmentation, meter, polyphony, and perception) are then approached through discussion and incorporation of relevant literature and methodologies. The theory is then applied to four of Bartok's chamber works--the Second Violin Sonata, the Fifth String Quartet, the Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion, and Contrasts for Violin, Clarinet and Piano--to reveal characteristic rhythmic structures and transformations, their role in defining form, and their close connection to pitch/pitch-class structure.
Wider application of the theory is demonstrated through analyses of passages from Igor Stravinsky, Elliott Carter, and Conlon Nancarrow. The strengths and weaknesses of the theory are then assessed and its implications explored.
KEYWORDS:
rhythm, time, temporal spaces, time-spaces,
meter, transformation, Bartok, segment
TOC:
I. INTRODUCTION
Overview of rhythm literature
Theory
Analysis
Composition
II. THEORY
III. ANALYSIS
IV. FURTHER APPLICATIONS
Igor Stravinsky, Elliott Carter, Conlon Nancarrow
V. ASSESSMENT OF THE THEORY
CONTACT:
Daphne Leong
10 Manhattan Sq. Dr., #9Q
Rochester, New York 14607
daphne@theory.esm.rochester.edu
tel: (716) 546-5365
fax: (716) 274-1088
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