joseph straus - a principle of voice leading in the music of stravinsky

Society for Music Theory

A Principle of Voice Leading in the Music of StravinskyAuthor(s): Joseph StrausSource: Music Theory Spectrum, Vol. 4 (Spring, 1982), pp. 106-124Published by: University of California Press on behalf of the Society for Music TheoryStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/746013 .

Accessed: 06/12/2013 04:08

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

.

University of California Press and Society for Music Theory are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserveand extend access to Music Theory Spectrum.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 78.104.70.246 on Fri, 6 Dec 2013 04:08:26 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=ucal

http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=smt

http://www.jstor.org/stable/746013?origin=JSTOR-pdf

http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp


A Principle of Voice Leading in the

Music of Stravinsky

Joseph Straus

A significant body of twentieth-century music (by Stravinsky and others) is organized around functional tone-centers but is not tonal in the traditional sense. The search for a comprehen- sive and self-contained theory of this music is one of the most important tasks facing students and teachers of twentieth- century music. We need a theory which can account not only for surface stylistic features of this music but for its deep structural organization as well. To be successful, such a theory would have to provide a systematic and coherent view of pitch organization at all levels of structure. Specifically, the theory we seek must address two principal questions: First, what is the nature of the tone-centers in this music, the fundamental sonorities oper- ating at the background level of structure? Second, what is the means of progression between these background harmonies? In other words, our theory must consider both harmony and voice leading.

This paper describes a prevalent feature of voice leading in Stravinsky's music, one which I call "pattern-completion." According to this principle, a certain unordered collection or set of notes (generally a tetrachord) is established as a structural norm for the composition, pervading the surface of the music

(both melodic and harmonic) and governing the tonal motion at all levels of structure. Through repetition, this normative unit becomes so engrained in the listener's consciousness that the sounding of part of the pattern creates an expectation for the completion of the pattern. In other words, when a normative unit of n elements has been established, the appearance of any subset of that unit containing n-1 elements will create an expectation for the single missing element. Further, this principle is also valid for structurally related tones even if they are widely sepa- rated in time.

The basic pattern for a certain composition might be the tetrachord formed by the first four notes of the major scale or their inversion, a tetrachord like ABC#D or ABbCD.l Various forms of this tetrachord-transposed or inverted-may appear frequently as definable melodic and harmonic units. As a result, the sounding of three notes which might, with the addition of a single note, create that tetrachord-type, will arouse an expecta-

'This is tetrachord 4-11 in Forte's nomenclature. (The Structure of Atonal Music, New Haven: Yale University Press, 1973). In this paper, this tetrachord will be referred to as Tetrachord A.



Voice Leading in the Music of Stravinsky 107

tion for the missing note. Furthermore, the arrival of the missing note will bring with it a sense of cadence or of structural arrival. In the case of our example, the appearance of the notes F, E, and D would create the expectation of the arrival of C since the C alone is capable of completing an expected form of the normative unit.

By systematic use of a single normative pattern at all levels of structure, Stravinsky is able to achieve a high degree of musical coherence. By exploiting the need for completion of this single unit, he is able to create directionality, cadential arrival, and, ultimately, tonal centricity as well. Pattern-completion thus consists of two fundamental aspects: 1) establishment of a single collection-type or pattern as the normative structural unit for a composition and 2) exploitation of the listener's desire for the completion of that unit.

InSymphonies of Wind Instruments, pattern-completion is the

key to understanding the musical organization from melodic motives to background structure. Like so many of Stravinsky's compositions, Symphonies of Wind Instruments is highly sec- tional in its construction with distinctive and contrasting musical materials strikingly juxtaposed. Let us consider just one distinctive bit of musical material, the two-measure segment shown in Example 1. This motive occurs first at the start of the piece and recurs, transformed, several other times.

As the example shows, the melody (set forth by the first oboe) consists of the notes Eb, F, G, and A. These four notes comprise a form of the tetrachord which I designated above as Tetrachord A. At the melodic highpoint of the phrase, the chord consists of the notes G, Ab, B1, and C, another version of the same tetrachord, equivalent to the first by inversion.

Subsequent harmonizations of the same melody make even more consistent vertical use of this tetrachord, as Example 2 shows. In Example 2b, the melody in the first trombone (GABC = Tetrachord A) is accompanied a sixth below by a parallel form of Tetrachord A (BCDE) in the second trombone. A third form

Example 1. Symphonies of Wind Instruments, 5 mm. after Rehearsal 1 (R1)

Eb F G Ab = Tetrachord A

. J. I J

r r I r r T

G Ab Bb C = Tetrachord A

? Copyright 1926 by Edition Russe de Musique. Copyright assigned to Boosey & Hawkes, Inc. Used by permission.

of the same tetrachord (FPGAB) occurs on the downbeat of the second measure.

Although the above examples consider only a single motive, the piece as a whole is similarly permeated with forms of Tetrachord A. Through pervasive, explicit use, this tetrachord becomes the normative structural unit for the piece. This gives Stravinsky the power, through pattern-completion, to direct the tonal motion toward specific pitches, to create cadences, to form links between sections, and, ultimately, to unify the piece as a whole.

Let us see first of all how Stravinsky uses pattern-completion to link the distinct sections of the piece. Frequently, throughout one entire section of music, a prominent instrumental line will use only three notes of a tetrachord. The fourth note, completing the pattern, arrives at the beginning of the subsequent section. The music leading to Rehearsal 8 (R8) provides an illustration of

I '[6 L J. .

bLL ).

I t, -

Ll I



108 Music Theory Spectrum

Example 2a. One measure after R27

D E Ft G = Tetrachord A Db Eb F Gb - Tetrachord A

A


Example 2b. R11

EH!I I! -

Trps., pesante

_ GABC= Tbns. ._ CD E

F G A B = Tetrachord A

) Copyright 1926 by Edition Russe de Musique. Copyright assigned to Boosey & Hawkes, Inc. Used by permission.




this procedure. This passage is one of the few substantially revised by Stravinsky in preparing the generally-known 1947 version of this piece. In the original 1920 version, the accompanying parts between R6 and R8 consist of generally chromatic parallel motion in the second and third flutes at the distance of a major seventh. The chromatic motion ceases at the end of the passage when the second flute states two forms of Tetrachord A, the second of which culminates on F as the subsequent section begins (Example 3).

Pattern-completion is even more prominently used in the 1947 edition. In the revised version of this passage (the last measures of which are shown in Example 4), the melody remains unchanged. The texture of the accompaniment is also unchanged, with the second and third flutes moving in parallel major sevenths. The actual notes of the accompaniment, how-

ever, are substantially altered. With one brief exception, each of the accompanying flute parts in this passage now consists of only three notes. In each part the three notes form a trichordal subset of Tetrachord A and, in each part, the trichord is completed as the subsequent section begins. In addition, the melody at the end of the passage uses four notes--GI, Al, Bb, and C--yet another form of Tetrachord A. A clear sense of arrival and connection is created by these pattern-completions.

In the same way, pattern-completion brings about the principal musical climax of the piece at Rehearsal 54. At Rehearsal 51, the lowest sounding parts (bassoons 2 and 3 and tuba) alternate Bb and AK. After a brief interruption, these parts resume at Rehearsal 52 with DI added in bassoons 2 and 3. The trichord AK-Bb-DI is thus established and rapidly repeated in these lowest parts. The tension built up by repetitions of this trichord is

Example 3. One measure before R8

C D E F = Tetrachord A


( a^jtj^-^, +r '"Q ^ *? RT

Lj , J S e) -r %I, I I I




Example 4

L

Fl.

F^

- -i I_

lift _- e _-

Z fCLmf DLoELn o in =

* J I J - I - IDb EbEt a= ) a;

, . . -

r ,,

- r L ' CDFLR = ( ? s1t i?64- f-k

I. I - I I Li rigdoice mRv,

? Copyright 1926 by Edition Russe de Musique. Copyright assigned to Boosey & Hawkes, Inc. Revised version copyright 1952 by Boosey and Hawkes, Inc. Used by permission.

released at Rehearsal 54, the climactic moment, when C is introduced in the lowest parts, completing Tetrachord A. A schematic reduction of these events is contained in Example 5.

Tetrachord A not only motivates the climax, but defines it as well. At Rehearsal 54, the lower brass intruments state three

parallel forms of this tetrachord. The lowest of these, and the most prominent, is the CDEF tetrachord stated by the tuba, third trombone, fourth horn, and first and second bassoons. This is

accompanied by EFPGOA in the first and second trombones and

by CODOE#FP in the second and third trumpets. The completion of Tetrachord A motivates the climax; saturation of the musical surface with Tetrachord A defines the climax, as Example 5 shows.

So far we have considered only surface presentations of Tetrachord A, as a melody or a chord or a line used to link sections. Now let us see how pattern-completion can bring about

large-scale tonal coherence. For that purpose, let us turn again to the motive we discussed earlier, shown as Example 1. Briefly, the successive transpositions of this motive as the piece pro- gresses create a sense of directed motion from F down to C, a motion which spans the entire composition. Example 6 shows the principal notes of the major occurrences of this motive in the

piece. In its first occurrence at five after Rehearsal 1, the motive is

unambiguously centered on F: both the soprano and bass voices

begin and end on F. At one after Rehearsal 27, both outer voices, particularly the bass, are centered on E. The motive is stated again at Rehearsal 28, concluding this time with a bass descent to D. Subsequent statements of this motive also focus on E or D. Successive transpositions of this single motive thus establish a large-scale bass descent from F through E to D.

Since Tetrachord A is the normative unit for this piece, these

i4 _ , a 4) +s, e , - ,

-:---- --

.l

- I . I I , I

''1 l I_




Example 5

R51 R52 R54 Trump. 2,3 ^ - >_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.

Tromb. 1,2

4):

Tuba, Bassoons 2,3 Tuba, Tromb. 3

4): l~t~;?A

A BbCDb (

CCDfEgFg = (A)

EFtGCA =)

EFGA = )

CDEF = )

Example 6

R1+3 R27+1 R28

three notes are felt as incomplete; only the arrival of pitch-class C will terminate this bass motion by completing the expected form of Tetrachord A. And pitch-class C is in fact attained in the bass at the two most important structural points in the piece, first at Rehearsal 54, the dramatic climax of the piece (shown in

Example 5) and finally in the last measure, as the bass note of the final chord of the piece. The melodic motive we have been discussing contains prominent small-scale statements of Tet-

rachord A, as Examples 1 and 2 show; the transpositions of this motive state a large-scale form of the same tetrachord, culminat- ing in the final chord of the piece.

We have considered only the transpositions of a single motive, but this large-scale bass descent from F to E to D and finally to C is confirmed by other compelling musical evidence. Ex- ample 7 shows the background structure of the piece with an intermediate arrival on C at Rehearsal 54 and the definitive descent to C at the end of the piece.

This background structure of a descending fourth is not arbi- trarily chosen. Rather, these notes present at the background level a pattern which pervades the piece at the surface level, a pattern we have been calling Tetrachord A. The ultimate arrival of pitch-class C completes the composing-out of this basic pattern. In this way, the foreground and background structures of this piece are shown to be governed by a single musical principle: the principle of pattern-completion.

The pattern-completion model contains the potential for con- structive ambiguity. In certain cases, a subset of the normative pattern can be completed in either of two ways. If, for example, the normative pattern is Tetrachord A, the trichord CDE may be

completed by either F or B, since BCDE and CDEF are both forms of Tetrachord A. In some pieces, both of the expectations aroused by an ambiguous subset may be fulfilled, either simul- taneously or at different times. The first scene of Les Noces provides a clear example of the realization of two expectations aroused by the incomplete statement of the basic pattern.

InLes Noces there can be no doubt as to what the basic pattern is. In the first scene, and throughout the entire piece, melodic lines are generated from reiterations, transpositions, and inver- sions of a single three-note cell first stated as BDE (set 3-7 in Forte's nomenclature), which I will refer to as Trichord A. This three-note cell is extraordinarily pervasive. A few examples will suffice here (Example 8).

As in Symphonies of Wind Instruments, this pattern also

Q tt-f-?

11

-= " _" I . {




Example 7

RO R9 R26 R54 R57 R75

FEDC = Tetrachord A

influences the background harmonic structure and directs the tonal motion through pattern-completion. From the beginning of the piece to Rehearsal 9, the structurally significant bass notes are D# and Bb, as Example 9 shows.

This pair of notes implies two possible continuations in order to complete the basic pattern. Either CO or C will complete the basic pattern, since both B'CD? and BbCWDI are forms of Trichord A. Both of these possibilities are in fact realized.

The C arrives in the bass at Rehearsal 16 (and again at Rehearsal 17) at the dramatic climax of the movement. At this moment, the dynamic marking is fortissimo and the texture is as full as possible as the chorus and soloists must almost shout the words, "Va, Va." At the end of the movement (before Re- hearsal 27), C# is attained in the bass for the first time. The first of the two implied notes is thus stated at the dramatic climax of the piece, the second at the end of the piece. The most important structural events in the piece are thus best understood in terms of pattern-completion. Example 10 summarizes these structural motions.

There are striking points of similarity between pattern- completion and serial theory, including the following:

1. Compositional organization in both cases is governed by a preconceived pitch collection which may be abstracted from the composition. For serial composition, the governing collection is the tone-row; for pattern-completion compositions, it is the pattern.

2. The desire to hear complete statements of the normative unit (the row or the pattern) is an important element of structural articulation. In serial theory, this is called aggregate-formation; in pattern-completion, it is simply called completion.

3. The normative unit may be subjected to certain transformations-transposition, inversion, retrograde, rotation-without losing its identity.

The crucial difference between the two has to do with ordering. The normative unit in pattern-completion is an unordered collection. Stravinsky makes little or no distinction with respect to the order in which he presents the notes in the basic unit. The three-note subsets of a four-note basic unit are felt as being equally incomplete, equally in need of completion. In serial composition, on the other hand, ordering is of fundamental importance. The position occupied by a pitch-class in the tone- row is the essence of its structural role in a serial work. A particular succession of notes is precisely what defines a pitch series.

With these similarities (and this one crucial difference) in mind, a brief discussion of the final scenes of Agon may answer some questions of stylistic consistency and inconsistency in Stravinsky's music. If Agon (and other compositions from the 1950s) can be shown, despite their serial manifestations, to be organized, like Symphonies of Wind Instruments, by means of pattern-completion, a more unified view of Stravinsky's compositional language may emerge.

Agon occupies a pivotal position in Stravinsky's stylistic development, coming at a time of his growing interest in serialism. He began work on it in 1953, soon after his "neo- classical" style had reached its apogee with The Rake's Prog- ress. He interrupted work on it in order to compose In Memo- riam Dylan Thomas (strictly serial with a five-note row) and Canticum Sacrum (incorporating serial elements), returning to




Example 8. Les Noces: Measures 1-4, R9, and last three mm.

MM. . 80.

Ko -a - - b MO - R KO... Tres - - se, tres- - se, ma

........r : .............. \'w~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)-: .............. ......... H C'

(I

a I 75 7--- --8 ' -t ^A

sff sempre

= 120.

B D E = Trichord A

I

hR p- -it n p -Prn^V - V S. HeyraHb, He KJi4b_ Jie - 6e-nym - Ka, He KJHb {,BLOO - jt

s. He K.wib, He KJHab_ J_e - 6e- aym - ca, He KHmib ni no - Atc

iv. Con-so - le toi, con - so-le toi, pe - tit oi seau, ne

HeKRlH1b, He KAHM'b -_ ne - te -a - m Ka, He KA'ib BIL no - t i-. Con-so -le toi, on - so-le toi, 6e tit oi seau, ne

sr tiJ r _ b ) c4,i - a - - TO - Ba... Bleu corn - me__ mes yeux.

s fI ..4e-T-b.LJ j) r-H

. I

C# E F# = A

ACD=

GAC =

EGA=

Soprano Solo.

PIANO. a 2m.

d

C)J .I - - _

- cy, no - e - cy, Py - cy Ko - cy ,e - cy Hac - TiMmI rpe6neMb, pac- ie - cy. tresse on peig-ne - ra On la peig-ne - ra bien a - vec le peig-ne fin.

Tr e ) ) U-_) J) ) J)h " b ho

pei

-t-

{

-- - - -

d

II




Example 9

RO-R1 R1-R2 R2 R4 R5 R7

- 9 :r f tf : If

Example 10

R16 R27

BbDO - C = Trichord A

b6rr; t -'

i I B1D1S - C = Trichord A

and completing Agon in 1957.2 The opening of Agon, with its ostinati and short, reiterated melodic fragments, is stylistically reminiscent of many earlier compositions. The latter parts of the

piece reflect Stravinsky's new compositional approach, incor-

porating serial procedures with varying degrees of strictness.

Agon's juxtaposition of two highly contrasting musical styles raises a number of important theoretical and analytical questions: In what sense isAgon a unified, coherent piece of music? How are transitions made leading from one stylistic area to another? This last question is posed most forcefully by the

recapitulation of the opening material of the piece in mm. 561 ff.

2Eric Walter White, Stravinsky: The Composer and His Works (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1966), p. 451.

after a lengthy serial section. Like other of Stravinsky's works from the early 1950s, Agon can pose difficult problems to the

analyst who approaches it from the standpoint of orthodox serial

theory.3 The difficulties confronting serial analysis and, more

important, the internal evidence of the music, suggest that the central organizing principle of those parts of Agon which are

generally considered serial is in fact pattern-completion, which

may mimic in certain ways the appearance of twelve-tone serialism.

Tetrachord C (prime form: 0134) is the normative pattern for

Agon, particularly for the concluding quarter of the ballet (mm. 41 lff.) where it is extraordinarily pervasive.4 Let us consider

just the music between m. 520 and m. 561, which begins with the only unambiguously serial passage in the entire concluding quarter of the ballet. Between m. 520 and m. 542, every note can be accounted for as part of some row-form. Each row-form is stated one note at a time with almost no overlapping of forms. The passage is thus strictly, almost naively serial (Example 11).

There are, however, numerous points of similarity between this section and the non-serial sections which precede and fol- low it. An imbrication of the tone-row (Example 12) shows how

important a subset Tetrachord C is, or, to put it more accurately, such an imbrication shows the way in which the tone-row has been generated from overlapping forms of Tetrachord C. In

addition, the row is deployed in this section to isolate by means

3The following articles and books show both the uses and the limitations of serial analysis for Agon: White, Stravinsky, pp. 449-56; David Ward-Steinmann, Serial Techniques in the Recent Music of Igor Stravinsky (DMA Dissertation, University of Illinois, 1961); Lawrence Morton, "Current Chronicle," Musical Quarterly, 43 (1957), 535-41.

4This is set 4-3 in Forte's nomenclature. The pervasive, controlling use of this tetrachord in this part of Agon has also been observed by Henri Pousseur in "Stravinsky By Way of Webern," Perspectives of New Music, 10(1972), 13-52 and 11 (1972), 112-45.




Example 11. Agon

The Row: C A Ab Cb Bb Di D F E E Gb G

Measure 520 523 526 529 531 534 536 539 541

Row Form Po RIo Io I0 R1o Po R1o RI7 17, RIo

Example 12

C A A \ C/ B \ D/ F \ E/ E G G

of register certain forms of Tetrachord C which are not contiguous elements in the row (Example 13).5

At m. 553, a transition to the diatonic opening material of the ballet begins with a statement (subsequently reiterated numerous times) of the tetrachord CEGA (4-26). This chord, which is of central importance in the diatonic opening music, has played virtually no role in the serial and proto-serial music which immediately precedes it. How has the striking introduction of this chord been prepared? In mm. 520-42, the music is strictly

5The use of non-contiguous elements of the row to form pitch-class sets which are subsets of the row in the music of Schoenberg is a principal discovery of Martha Maclean Hyde in "The Roots of Form in Schoenberg's Sketches," Journal of Music Theory, 24 (1980), 1-36.

serial. From m. 542 on, the twelve-note units begin to dissolve into smaller fragments, particularly forms of Tetrachord C. In this context, four distinct musical lines lead to the chord in m. 553, the arrival of which is motivated by pattern-completion, as Example 14 shows.

Beginning in m. 549, the first trumpet states the first eleven pitches of RI7. The ninth, tenth, and eleventh pitches of this row-form are Gs, B, and Bb. The arrival of G in the chord at m. 553 thus provides the twelfth and concluding element of a row-form and completes a form of Tetrachord C. Beginning in the same place (m. 549), the second trumpet states overlapping forms of Tetrachord C. The last three notes of this line (Bb, A, and FO) also lead to G. The same mechanism is used in the trombones and strings to lead to A and C which, along with G, appear in the chord at m. 553. In m. 561, the recapitulation of the opening music of the ballet begins with a pentachord consist- ing of the chord discussed above (CEGA) with an F in the bass. Like the notes of the CEGA chord, this F is presented as both the last element in a row statement (Io) and the completion of a form of Tetrachord C.

The entrance of the chord CEGA at m. 553 and the subsequent entrance of the opening music of the ballet at m. 561 are the most striking and dramatic musical events of the entire concluding quarter of Agon. The injection of these unexpected elements into a contrasting musical context has a powerful impact. As in Symphonies of Wind Instruments and countless other pieces by Stravinsky, the source of the drama stems from the sharp, violent juxtaposition of contrasting elements. In Sym- phonies of Wind Instruments, the disparate sections are linked by pattern-completion, with the completing note arriving as the new section begins. The same is true of these two crucial moments in Agon. The music of the recapitulation is different from the music which precedes it, yet the two are powerfully linked by pattern-completion.

The traditional critical view of Stravinsky during the early part of this century was that his music was antithetical to the




Example 13

? Viole

Violoncelli

Contrabassi

I c'- .jp - r marc. ,p 620 pizz. 521 522 523 524

I ma"rc.< --

.r t.t.j

.piu.

Example 14

m. 549 550 551 552

? Copyright 1957 by Boosey & Hawkes, Inc. Used by permission.

C

553

A .4pcn-tPmnn 1 -

I

6




serialism of Schoenberg and his followers. Critics who held that view were naturally shocked when, later in his career, Stravinsky adopted serial procedures in his own music. More recently, revisionist accounts have tried to show that the serial music of Stravinsky actually behaves much like his pre-serial music.6 The theory of pattern-completion attempts to show that the opposite is also true-that the pre-serial music of Stravinsky actually makes use of organizational principles which are not at all far removed from the principles of serial composition. If Stravinsky, throughout his career, was preoccupied by the quasiserial manipulation of certain normative patterns and de- termined pitch selection and structure on the basis of those manipulations, then his adoption of twelve-tone serialism need no longer be viewed as a dramatic stylistic change. On the contrary, Stravinsky's serial compositions, like his earlier music, are seen to express certain common organizational procedures referred to here as pattern-completion.

Let us turn now to the Symphony in C, concentrating on the exposition of the first movement. This movement is clearly modeled on a traditional sonata-allegro form. It is in three large sections: an exposition which contains two contrasting subsections, a development, and a recapitulation with coda. The essence of the major-key sonata-allegro form, however, lies not in its proportions or thematic manipulations, but in its tonal relations, specifically in the polarity of tonic and dominant. But since this tonic-dominant polarity, and traditional tonal relations in general, are mere vestiges in Stravinsky's music, a new tonal logic gives new meaning to the old forms. In Symphony in C, the tonal logic springs from a tension between a triad on C and one on E. These two triads compete for priority throughout the piece; in fact, this entire movement may be seen as an expression of the polarity of the triad on C and the triad on E.

6See, for example, Martin Boykan, "Neoclassicism and Late Stravinsky," Perspectives of New Music, 1 (1963), 155-69.

The implications of organizing a large movement on such a tonal polarity are too numerous to discuss here. What concerns us immediately is the question of large-scale voice leading. In other words, given that there is a fundamental polarity between C and E in this piece, how is that polarity given expression in the music? How is it composed-out? Rather than showing the numerous and prominent surface presentations of Tetrachord A, I will simply assert that it is the basic pattern for this movement. Using that pattern, Stravinsky expresses the polarity of C and E by means of pattern-completion.

The first part of the exposition is oriented toward pitch-class C. The music of the first theme is shown as Example 15. The tonal orientation of this passage is not entirely unambiguous. The accompaniment consists of only two notes, E and G. The melody assures that this passage is oriented somewhat more toward C than toward E. Nevertheless, a certain tension between C and E remains here as it does throughout the entire introduction and first theme area.

A traditional sonata-allegro exposition juxtaposes two contrasting tonal areas. Symphony in C does so as well, although here the choice of a secondary area is dictated by the logic of the C-E polarity composed-out by pattern-completion. The second area centers on the F major triad. The music is virtually static around this triad until near the end of the exposition. The principal tonal motion of the exposition is thus from C to F, an interval which has powerful harmonic and voice-leading implications.

There is one significant harmonic area which intervenes between the C and the F, an area oriented toward pitch-class D. The D is particularly prominent in the transitional passage leading to the F-centered second theme. From m. 74 to m. 93, the music is dominated by a figure derived from the opening motive and featuring a pedal on D. Part of this figure is shown in Example 16.

This passage might appear to be a prolongation of the dominant of G major or minor and it does occur at a place in the




Example 15. Symphony in C

Ob I -

^ .,f

. ^ .S t |

Viol :I

.V ,l ... . .I .' -. .I .- .

.

Li L j

Viole

_

. ?

Vcl __ _ _ _ 4. _ . _ _$ ____ My y , . _Z. Cb {-. rv - - -' - - ..' : F

lp~-~ Cb ~ ~ '~ - ~ ~ ' ~

Example 16. Measure 83ff.

[17

A

f

1' do Xd

un} i-s di >-P -

:~ _ - ' --- ry .~-~ - ,,~ ,~ ~~

? Schott & Co. Ltd., London 1948. Copyright renewed. Used by permission of European American Music Distributors Corporation, sole U.S. agent for Schott & Co. Ltd.

'V,ioI I I i i fff-f




movement where V of V would be expected in a traditional sonata form. The harmonic logic of Stravinsky's exposition, however, has little to do with traditional tonal relations; this D leads to F not to G. The large scale harmonic motion of the exposition up to and including the second theme group is summarized in Example 17.

In accordance with the logic of pattern-completion, the tonal motion has thus been directed toward E. With Tetrachord A as the normative structural unit, the C, D, and F shown in Example 17 must be completed by the arrival of E, since CDEF is a form of the basic tetrachord. We are thus led to expect the arrival of E and, ultimately, the exposition does end solidly and unambiguously on E. The structure of the entire exposition is summarized in Example 18.

The arrival on E thus both completes the basic pattern and affirms the central duality of C and E. The exposition begins oriented toward C. Pattern-completion then directs the motion forward to E.

As a final example, let us consider the opera-oratorio Oedipus Rex. Despite the great length and complexity of this work, many of its most significant cadences and arrivals can be explained with reference to the establishment and completion of a single pattern. The basic pattern for Oedipus Rex is trichord 3-3 in Forte's nomenclature with a prime form of 014. This trichord will be referred to here as Trichord B.

The opening chorus is particularly rich in occurrences of Trichord B both at the middleground and foreground levels. At the outset of the piece, the tonal center is clearly BK. In the middle of the opening chorus there is a strong cadence on D' and, at the end of the opening chorus, the music returns to Bb. There is one additional strong cadence during the opening chorus, on pitch-class A. The structure of the opening chorus is thus a composing-out of the basic pattern, Trichord B, as Example 19 shows.

The influence of the basic pattern can be felt in the details of

Example 17

m.26 m.75 m.98 I

Example 18

mm. 26 75 98 145

C >E

Example 19. Oedipus Rex

RO R9+2 R10+4 R16-2

:9 b bTrichord

Trichord B

v_' t- r




the opening chorus as well. The trills which embellish the opening chords of the piece, for example, are not merely deco- rative. Rather, they create four different forms of the basic pattern which would not be present in their absence. The basic pattern is embedded in each of the chords. In Example 20, the top line of the lower system shows the notes of each chord on a single staff. The lower line shows the embedded subset forms of the basic pattern. Trichord B is, in fact, the only three-note subset common to all of these chords.

As a final small-scale instance of Trichord B in the opening chorus, consider the music at three before Rehearsal 21, shown in Example 21. Here, the chorus implores Oedipus for the final time to rid Thebes of the plague. They call three times for his aid, and each time, the melody consists of three notes, E, F, and D1, which constitute a form of the basic pattern. The influence of the basic pattern is thus felt in every dimension of the opening chorus: melodically (see Example 21); harmonically, in the opening chords (see Example 20); and at the level of structural motion (see Example 19).

As in Symphonies of Wind Instruments and Agon, the basic pattern in Oedipus Rex is used to connect disparate musical sections. The transition from Oedipus' solo, "Sphynga Solvi," to the chorus which follows at Rehearsal 61 (after a brief interruption by the Speaker) is brought about in the following way. A structural C in the bass at three measures before Re- hearsal 56 initiates a long bass descent arriving on E1 at Re- hearsal 58. The Eb is sustained until the end of Oedipus' aria and through the brief choral utterance and spoken monologue just after it. At Rehearsal 61, the chorus begins on B, completing a form of the basic pattern, as Example 22 shows.

The pattern is also used to direct the tonal motion of the entire opera through pattern-completion. Consider the principal occurrences of the so-called Fate Motif-the repeated minor thirds-which occurs first at Rehearsal 2.7 In its first occur-

7According to Robert Craft and Vera Stravinsky (Stravinsky in Pictures and

rence, Bb is in the bass. The motive comes back toward the middle of the piece transposed so that BO rather than Bb is in the bass. The dyad Bb-BW formed by these bass notes is an incomplete statement of the basic pattern. Either of two notes, D or G, could serve to complete the basic pattern since both B-Bb-D and B-Bb-G are examples of it. In fact, both of these implications are realized in Oedipus. The G is the tonal center upon which the piece ends. At the end of the piece, the Fate Motif comes back, this time with G as the bass note. The transpositions of the Fate Motif thus outline a form of the basic pattern. Or, to put it another way, this pattern forms the structural background of the piece, as shown in Example 23.

But the D which, like the G, was implied by the first two occurrences of the Fate Motif also arrives. The D arrives at a moment of tremendous dramatic and structural importance, the moment of revelation when Oedipus realizes who he is and what he has done. This passage (shown in Example 24) seems to hover at first between B and D, then finally, at the end of the passage, descends decisively to D. In this way, the dyad Bb-B thus points ahead both to the conclusion of the entire opera (on G) and to the climactic dramatic moment (on D). Example 25 summarizes these large-scale motions.

Furthermore, it is not too far-fetched to suggest that these large-scale structural arrivals have a dramatic as well as a musical significance. The statement of Bb and B initiates an inexorable motion first toward D and then toward G. These arrivals symbolize both the irresistible fate that has Oedipus in its grasp and the knowledge which comes with his acceptance of that fate. The most significant structural motions of this im- mense work can thus be encompassed and understood in a simple and direct way, namely the establishment and completion of a single basic pattern.

Documents, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1978, p. 264) the music at one measure after Rehearsal 2 where the motive first appears was the first musical notation Stravinsky made when he began work on Oedipus Rex.




Example 20

The Opening Music ^ I . f

Kae - - - dit nos pe -

-ibbti l? 'Z I

8 - - -

(S5 7~~~~- ~5 b8a ba - - Harmonic Reduction

Motivic Subsets (forms of Trichord B)

b bbb, 4A O t; WV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

? Copyright 1927 by Edition Russe de Musique; renewed 1952 ? Copyright and renewal assigned to Boosey & Hawkes, Inc. Revised version ? 1949, 1950 by Boosey & Hawkes, Inc.; renewed 1976, 1978. Used by permission.

I.




Example 21. Three measures before R 21

E F Dbt = Trichord B

!N ~'r-' r i-t-r' rr se vsse rva nos, se -rva nos!

a8 I. nos, s e 1. a

liWbUbba~ ~ ~j.e; . ,. . .

^ ^ ^i ---I ___ ' _ I

Example 23 Example 22

R56-3 R58 R61

.1:-. k_g , b. R2 R61 R201

"r I 1 T i CE6B = Trichord B





Example 24

Flr-lrJ ,.~

(exit)

Lux fa cta e st!

r - ~r--r 1

PP

H & V J%J LJ..J H14- 8 b........

Example 25

R2 R61 R169 BbBD = Trichord B

I 1 > I

BbBG = Trichord B

end

r


(Ed.

)

:): J J1 J I 'l




The analyses undertaken in this paper suggest that pattern- completion is a consistent organizing principle in Stravinsky's music. Whether the piece is "impressionistic" (Symphonies of Wind Instruments), "neo-classical" (Symphony in C), "Rus- sian" (Les Noces), or "proto-serial" (Agon), the same principles apply: pervasive use of a normative pattern and exploitation of the desire for complete statements of that pattern. Irrespective of the apparent style of the piece, pattern-completion shapes the voice leading. This sub-surface similarity is achieved in part by Stravinsky's restricting himself to a small repertoire of sets to use as basic pattern. Furthermore, the sets he does use are protean in character in that they can be used in a variety of harmonic contexts. Tetrachord C (4-3), for example, is a subset of both the octatonic collection (frequently used by Stravinsky) and of one of the tone-rows in Agon. Tetrachord A (4-11) is a subset of both the major scale and of various folk-like melodies used by Stravinsky. The deployment of this small repertoire of protean sets in a consistent way is a major unifying thread in a compositional oeuvre disparate in so many other ways.

Perhaps even more important, pattern-completion depicts the close relation between the musical foreground and background in Stravinsky's music. The ostinati and repeated melodic fragments so characteristic of Stravinsky can now be related in an organic way to the structure of the music. That is, patterns which are stated as chords or ostinati or recurring melodic fragments are then seen to be composed-out over large spans. In some cases, as we have seen, the composing-out of the basic pattern can span an entire composition.

Pattern-completion is what appears to be a consistently useful tool for describing both small- and large-scale voice leading. It is perhaps Stravinsky's most significant technique for forming cadences, directing tonal motion, and articulating structure. If pattern-completion proves to be of use in analyzing an even broader spectrum of twentieth-century music-that which is organized around functional tone centers but is not tonal in the

traditional sense-it might form part of that new theory for this music which we all seek.



joseph straus - a principle of voice leading in the music of stravinsky

Documents

century music

music theory spectrum

music of stravinskyauthors

stravinskys music

music theorystable url

selfcontained theory

jstor terms

jstor archive