Where's that vocal entry? Metric and Hypermetric play in Benjamin Britten, 1943-1945

Society for Music Theory 2015, St. Louis Stuart Paul Duncan, Yale University

EXAMPLE 1: Grimes's hypermetric disruption of the Borough's interlocking four-measure four-tune hypermeter in the scene "Old Joe has gone fishing."

��

��

��

��

��

Grimes:

Tune 1:

Tune 2:

Tune 3:

Tune 4:

1

2

G��� 0 0 0

81

When

f

B�

Peter's entry upsets the course of the round.

I

B 5had

5gone

5fish

Bing

B�-

5 4 4When

B�He

B 5had

5gone

5�fish

Bing

B�-

5 ?

G���Old

ff

5Joe

5 :has gone

5! � 5fish

5ing

5- and

5Young

5Joe

5 :

has gone

5� 5fish

5ing

5- and

5You

5Know

5 :has gone

5! � 5fish

5ing

5- and

5found

5them

5a

5shoal.

p

5 ? 4 0 0 0

G���Pull

ffBthem

Bin

Bin

5han'

Bfuls

B- and

Bin

5can

Bfuls

B- and

Bin

5pan

Bfuls.

B-

p

4 ? 0 0 0

G���sweet

ff

5

ly,

5 ?

Gut

5them

5com

5plete

5

- ly,

5

-

?Pack

5them

5up

5neat

5

ly,

5

-

?Sell

5them

5dis5

creet

5- ly.

5-

p

4 0 0 0 0

G���O

ff

Bhaul

Ba

5 5 5 5way!

5 5 '-

B : 5 4O

Bhaul

BI� : B : p

? ?Old

pp

5�Joe

5 :

has gone

5� 5fish

5ing

5- and

5 B : 0Old

5!Joe

5:

has gone

5� 5fish

5ing

5- and

5

WHERE'S THAT VOCAL ENTRY? 2 STUPAULDUNCAN@GMAIL.COM

EXAMPLE 2: "Pastoral," Serenade, mm. 1-5, direct grouping conflict.

EXAMPLE 3: "Oh my blacke Soule!" The Holy Sonnets of John Donne, mm. 1-5.

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��

q2 3 4 ��

����

��

5

Voice

Horn

String Section

1

2

G����� 0

duple vocal/hornmeter:

=

�#

(

=The. .

Day's.

5I� 5I�.

grown.

5I�.

old;.

5I�

.the.

5I�

.faint.

5I�

.ing-. .

Sun

5I� BI

G����� 0 0 0 = = 5� 5 5 5 5G����� 55I- 55I 55 ::� 55I 55I 55 ::� 55I 55I 55 ::� 55I 55I 55 ::� 55I 55I 55I 55I ::������

�#

(mixed string meter:

55I- 55I 55 ::� 55I 55I 55 ::� 55I 55I 55 ::� 55I 55I 55 ::� 55I 55I 55I 55I ::

2 3 4

Voice

Piano-GEE 0 4 =: 5� 5 :: 5I� 5 :� 5� 5 :� 5

E $ B 5$ 5E � 5$ 5$ 5� 5� 5�

-

5� 5�-

5� 5� 5��

GEE55 55 :: 55 55 55 :: 55 55 55 :: 55 55 55 :: 55 5 5 : 5 ? 0

�EE� �5

5 55 :: 55 �55 55 :: 55 �5

5 55 :: 55 �55 55 :: 55 �5

5 55 :: 55 �55 55 :: 55 �5

5 55 :: 55 �55 55 :: 55

1 2 3 4

Voice

Piano-GEE 3 0 4 = 5� 5 : 5I� 5� 5 5

E � B 5E � 5� 5� 5 :� 5� 5� 5

� 5��

GEE55$55 :::: 55

$55 :::: 55

$55 :::: 55

$55 :::: 5

$5 :: 3 ? 0

�EE� �55

$55 :::: �55

$55 :::: �55

$55 :::: �5

5$55 :::: �55$

55 :::: �55$55 :::: �55

$55 :::: �55

$55 :::: 55

$

����

��

1q

2 3 4 5

Voice

Piano-GEE 0 0

duple vocal meter: '

�

Oh

��BI

#

my

��

5Iblacke

�

5ISoule!

���BE

� ��

5�now

5�thou

�

5�art

5�sum

���5 :�

mon

5�- ed

�

5�- By sick

��5� 5�

nesse,

�

5-

GEE ? 355$55 :: 55 55 55 :: 55 55 55 :: ?55 55 55 :: 55 5 5 : 5

$3 = 4 ? 35$5 : 5 5 5 :

�EE ?

��

3� �55$55 ::

displacement conflictbetween two pulses

� �55 55 55 :: � �

55 55 55 :: � �55 55 55 :: � �

55 55 55 :: � �55 55 55 :: � �

55 55 55 :: � �55 55 55 :: � �

55 55 55 ::

WHERE'S THAT VOCAL ENTRY? 3 STUPAULDUNCAN@GMAIL.COM

EXAMPLE 4: Interplay of the Borough's four tunes and the direct hypermetric displacement conflicts formed.

Boroughmembers

G ���Old

80

5Joe

5 :has gone

5! � 5fish

5ing

5- and

5Young

5Joe

5 :has gone

5� 5fish

5ing

5- and

5You

5Know

5 :has gone

5! � 5fish

5ing

5- and

5found

5them

5a

5shoal.

5 B 4Old

5Joe

5 :has gone

5! � 5fish

5ing

5- and

5TUNE 1

duple hypermeter:

Timpani

����7 (q) 1m.

4m.2m.

5...

5 : 5� 5 5 5 5 5.

5 : 5� 5 5 5 5 5..

5 : 5� 5 5 5 5 5.

5 5 5 B :8)))))))))))))))))))))) 5...

5 : 5� 5 5 5 5

Boroughmembers

���Pull

� B

them

B

in

B

in

5han'

B

fuls

B- and

Bin

5can

Bfuls

B- and

Bin

5pan

Bfuls

B-

B 4Pull

B

them

B

in

B

in

5

TUNE 2

duple hypermeter:

Double Bass

7 (q) 1m.

����

4m.2m.

.

.

.

5� = 4 ?

pp5 ?

.5 4 ? 5 4 4

.

.

5 4 ? 5 4 4.5 4 5 0

f...

5� = 4 ?

pp5 ?

TUNE 3

7 (q) 1m.

�

4m.2m.

���Bring...

5them

5in

5sweet

5ly,

5-

4 4Gut.

5them

5com

5plete

5- ly,

5-

?Pack..

5

them

5up

5neat

5ly.

5-

?Sell.

5them

5dis

5creet

5- ly.

5-

4 4Bring...

5them

5in

5sweet

5ly,

5-

4 4Gut.

5them

5com

5-

duple hypermeter:

TUNE 4

���O

4m. .

B�haul

BIa

5 5 5 5way!

5 5 '

-

B : 54

O

B

haul

BI� :a

5 5 5� 5 5 5way!

5 5 B-

4O.

Bhaul

BIa

5 5 5 5 5 5-

WHERE'S THAT VOCAL ENTRY? 4 STUPAULDUNCAN@GMAIL.COM

EXAMPLE 5: Grimes's hypermetric interruption of the Borough's four tunes and the direct hypermetric grouping conflict formed.

Grimes

Tune 1: Mrs Sedley &

Boles

Tune 2: Nieces &Balstrode

Tune 3:Auntie &

Keene

Tune 4:Chorus

1

2

G��� B�B 5 5 5 B B�

-

5 4 4 B� B 5 5 5� B B�-

5 ? B� B 5 5 5� B B�-

5 ? 4 B B� B 5 5

-

53

4 0

G��� 5 5 5 5 ? 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0G��� B B

-

4 ? 0 0 0 0 5 5 : 5� 5 5 5

-

5 55 55B 4 0

G��� 5 5-

4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0G��� B� : ? 4 4 5� 5 : 5� 5 5 5

-

5 B : 05! 5 : 5� 5 5 5

-

5 B : 4 4 ? 0 0 ? ? B :

Peter

Tune 4.

Chorus

1

2

G���...

?Bring

5�him

5�in

5�with

5��hor

5�ror!-

5� ?.

?Bring

5�him

5�in

5�with

5�ter

5��ror!-

5� ?

.

.

?And

B 5bring

5�him

5�in

5�with

5��sor.

5�row!-

5� 4 4 0O

.

.

.

Bhaul

B 5 5 5a

54

way!.

B :-

0

G���haul

''��a

BB::

way,

''- O

BB::

haul

BB BB��a

f

BB 4Old

f

5!Joe

5E :has gone

5E � 5!fish

5Eing

5- and

5 0Young

f

5!Joe

5E :has gone

5E � 5!fish

5Eing

5- and

5

G��� 0 0 0 ? ?a

pp

B! :way!

'!-

5 4 4 ? ?a

B! :-

Peter

Tune 4.

Chorus

1

2

G���O

Bhaul

B 5 5 5a

54

way!

'-

5 5 5a

54

way!

'-

5 5 5 ' 4 ? 0

G��� 0You

f

5!know

.

5E :has gone

5E � 5!fish

5Eing,

5- You

5know

.

5E :has gone

5E � 5!fish

5Eing,

5!- and

5found,.

5a

5Eshoal,

5!and

5Efound

.

.

5Ea

5Eshoal,

?.

5EYou

5EKnow,

.

.

5!You

5EKnow

.

5Ehas

5Efound

.

.

5Ethem

5a

5

G���way

'! 5 ? 0 0

potential duple meter

0

#�

0

WHERE'S THAT VOCAL ENTRY? 5 STUPAULDUNCAN@GMAIL.COM

EXAMPLE 6: Climax of "Old Joe has gone Fishing."

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Chorus(red.)

Horns in F

Upper Strings and Woodwinds (red.)

Lower String (red.)

Keene.

Timpani

2 Nieces

Bol.

Auntie

Mrs. S.

Bal.

1

2

1

2

1

2

G���BB BB 55 55!! 55 BB BB

-

4 455 BB BB 55 55 55 BB BB

-

4 455 BB BB 55 55!! 55 BB BB

-

4 455 BB

IBBI

55 BBI

''I

55?

G���GROUP 1

BB BB 55 55!! 55 BB BB 55 55 55 BB BB 55 55 55 BB BB 55 55 55 BB BB 55 55!! 55 BB BB 55 55 55 BBI BBI 55 BBI ''I BB::

G���555

�= 4 4 0 0

555

�= 4 4 0 0

555

�= 4 4 0 0

555

�= 4 4 0 0

����

q

55�= 4 4 55M

4 ? 55M4 ? 4 55

.M 55M 55M

3

55�= 4 4 55M

4 ? 55M4 ? 4 55

.M 55M 55M

3

55�= 4 4 55M

4 ? 55M4 ? 4 55

.M 55M 55M

3

55�= 4 4 55M

4 ? 55M4 ? 4 55

.M 55M 55M

3

���� 0 5 5 : 5!� 5 5 5-

5 5 5 : 5� 5 5 5-

5 5 5 : 5!� 5 5 5-

5 5 5 5 5 B 4 5 5 : 5!� 5 5 5-

5 5 5 : 5� 5 5 5-

5 5 5 : 5!� 5 5 5-

5

�GROUP 2

0

q qq

q

5� 5 : 5� 5 5 5 5 5� 5 : 5� 5 5 5 5 5� 5 : 5� 5 5 5 5 5� 5 5 5 B :8)))))))))))))))))))) 5� 5 : 5� 5 5 5 5 5� 5 : 5� 5 5 5 5 5� 5 : 5� 5 5 5 5

G��� ' B : B : 4 ?: ? ? B : 'I 5 5 5 5 5 5 '-

B : 5 4 B BI : 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 B :-

5 ? 0

Gi ��� ' B : B : 0 B B B 5 B B

-

B 5 B� B-

B 5 B B-

?: 5 5 : 5� 5 5 5-

5 5 5 5 5 B 4

G���GROUP 3

B 4 4 5 5 5 5 5-

4 4 5 5 5 5

-

5

-

? 5 5 5 5

5

-

? 5 5 5 5

-

5

-

4 0 B B B 5 B B-

B 5 B B-

B 5

G��� ' 5 ? B B B 5 B B-

B 5 B B-

B 5 B B-

5 5 5 5

54 4 5 5 5 5

-

5-

? 5 5 5 5 5-

4 4 5 5 5-

����

w

''

qq

55q

?5� 5 5 5 5 4 4 5 5 5 5

-

5-

? 5 5 5 5 5-

? 5 5 5 5 5-

? 5 5 : 5� 5 5 5-

5 5 5 : 5� 5 5 5-

5 5 5 : 5� 5 5 5-

5

WHERE'S THAT VOCAL ENTRY? 6 STUPAULDUNCAN@GMAIL.COM

EXAMPLE 7: Peter Grimes, Act III (following Interlude V), Grimes's final rendition of "Old Joe."

Select Bibliography

Brett, Philip. "Britten and Grimes" in Music and Sexuality in Britten, Selected Essays, ed. George E. Haggerty (California: University of California Press, 2006): 16. Cohn, Richard. “Complex Hemiolas, Ski-Hill Graphs and Metric Spaces.” Music Analysis 20, no. 3 (2001): 295-326. ________.“Dramatization of Hypermetric Conflicts in the Scherzo of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.” Nineteenth Century Music vol. 15, no. 3 (1992): 22-40. Forrest, David. "Prolongation in the Choral Music of Benjamin Britten." Music Theory Spectrum 32, no. 1 (2010): 1-25. Krebs, Harold. Fantasy Pieces: Metrical Dissonance in the Music of Robert Schumann. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. Lerdahl, Fred and Ray Jackendoff. A Generative Theory of Tonal Music. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1983. London, Justin. Hearing in Time: Psychological aspects of Musical Meter. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012. Malin, Yonatan. Songs in Motion: Rhythm and Meter in the German Lied. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010. Mark, Christopher. Early Benjamin Britten: A Study of Stylistic and Technical Evolution. New York: Garland, 1995. Mirka, Danuta. Metric Manipulations in Haydn and Mozart: Chamber Music for Strings, 1787-1791. Oxford University Press, 2009. Rupprecht, Philip et al. Rethinking Britten. Edited by Philip Rupprecht. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012. Rupprecht, Philip. Britten's Musical Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001.

49

Peter

Chorus(reduction)

1

2

Gi ="Turn

5the

5E�skies..... back

5I 5I 5IE 5I 5 =and

5Ebe gin

5�-

5I 5I 5I 5Ia

5I 5IE 5IEgain!"

5I� 5E

-

?: 0

G 0 0Pe

5�ter- Grimes!

55��BBE ::::

rall.

Peter

Chorus

1

2

GiOld

5EJoe

5 :

has gone

5E � 5fish

5Eing

5E- and

5Young

5Joe

5 :

has gone

5E � 5!fish

5ing

5E- and

5You'll

5know.....

B : 5who's

5MEgone

5M3

fish

5�ing

5-

4when

5Myou

5M

land

BI

5M�the next

5M� 5M

Eshoal!

5ME 4 ?

G 55� = 4 ?� 0pppp(quasi niene)�

Pe

5$

ter- Grimes!

55� $ 55E :: 55

� = 4 G