A Triumph of Musical Order? Multiple Sources of Inspiration in “Prelude and Canon,” Forty-Four Duos no. 37

It has been a hot topic in Bartók literature whether he followed some particular order, or relied on creative intuition when he composed. His own statem ents appear to be ambiguous, that is, he occasionally stressed that he consciously worked out his musical language, but on other occasions he emphasised the role of intuition. A contrapuntal short piece from the Forty-Four Duos, namely no. 37 “Prelude and Canon”, can be considered an appropriate material in order to examine how these different viewpoints are applied in an analysis (and to evaluate how appropriate the application of these viewpoints is). From a technical point of view, the Canon part of this piece deserves special attention, as it contains three different types of canon one after another. While the dux always remains in E, each comes is on different degrees (G, A, then B) and different temporal distances (one, two, and three crotchets). This can be regarded as a kind of compositional virtuosity; especially because it is not easy to write such canons on an original theme, much less on an original folk tune. Thus, this piece might be considered an example of how Bartók rationally and consciously worked out his compositions. Such a view can be refined, or possibly superseded by the examination of the original folk tune. The genre of the original folk tune, “párosító” [matchmaking song], as well as the way of its actual performance on the original recording gives us an insight into how an apparently systematic application of the compositional technique is nevertheless related to what we would call a secret programme. Thus, it was probably not only a particular folk song but also the people's life surrounding the folk song which fascinated the composer, and he tried to vividly encode a typical village scene into a piece of art music.

Forms of Time in Nineteenth-Century Music: Geology, the Railway, and the Novel

European art music in the nineteenth century was characterized by both an expansion and a contraction of the timescale typical of earlier periods. On the one hand there was an outpouring of miniatures, primarily for piano; on the other there was a proliferation of instrumental works, especially symphonies, lasting anywhere from 40 minutes to over an hour. Although it is possible to refer these changes to developments in compositional technique, their wider significance derives from the era’s production of several new and epoch-making forms of time––that is, of ways to conceive, order, and experience time. Time literally changed during the nineteenth century, and music changed along with it. The long span of geological ‘deep time’, the compressed and precisely measured time of railway travel, and the temporal complexity of the multiply plotted novel all have musical parallels. Robert Schumann’s Symphony No. 4 in D minor Op. 120 (1841), César Franck’s Symphony in D minor (1888), and Frédéric Chopin’s Prelude No. 18 in F minor Op. 28 (1835–9) provide pertinent examples.

Sometimes the Music Wins

This study applies Kofi Agawu’s proposed method for analyzing texted music (1992), in which the music and the text are analyzed separately before they are considered together, to an early madrigal by Willaert. Focusing primarily on counterpoint, I offer a detailed study of Willaert’s complex compositional technique. I show that he responded to the poem in many ways, but at the same time he made many purely musical decisions. Finally, I consider what his motivations for these decisions might have been and enumerate musical means he used to respond to the different aspects of his text.

Compositional Technique as a Tool of Political Statement in the Works of Louis Andriessen

Relevance of the study. The work of Louis Andriessen, a Dutch composer, is regarded as a significant contribution to the formation of music culture of the second half of the 20th century. Despite his influence, however, there are practically no research papers in domestic musicology that would analyze Andriessen’s work and personality or his professional musical and political activities. One of the main research topics related to Andriessen’s work is the influence of politics on music. The topic itself is quite particular and somewhat controversial because it always leaves a lot of questions that need further clarification, may require a different perspective and a new approach. One of such questions with a controversial view is a discussion of how compositional techniques can be influenced by and formed based upon the composer’s political views. Main objective of the study. Taking into consideration Louis Andriessen’s own experiences, analyze how his compositional techniques created political content of his works, and particularly the writing of the cantata “De Staat” (“The Republic”) by Plato. Methods. The following were used in the research analysis: biographical (in the analyses of the style and work of the composer); historical (in the analyses of the cultural and socio-political context); comparative (in the analyses of the political and aesthetic views and standpoints of artists); analytical (in the analyses of the musical works). Results/findings and conclusions. There were several reasons that led Louis Andriessen to appeal to minimalism. The main reason was the composer’s desire to respond to his fellow composers that themselves were searching for their own applicable techniques and style to disseminate political ideas. Minimalism was particularly attractive to the composer because it was relevant, easily accessible to the general public, and reflective. At the same time, it was politically appropriate and democratic. The musical and political activism of Andriessen was aimed at creating a new type of communication and relationships between a composer and a performer, a performer and audience, and ultimately at creating a new musical community. This new type of communication and community is reflected in the composer’s work “The Republic”. For performers in particular, “The Republic” became a practical exercise similar to the style of Lehrstück B. Brecht, which allowed performers to adapt to new musical interactions proposed by the composer. Andriessen was able to achieve this goal by using hocket techniques — i. e., by removing the role inequality among performers and emphasizing the expressive importance of each performer in a musical composition. However, Andriessen’s compositional techniques used in “The Republic” to reflect his political views did not support, but rather emphasized the composer’s contradictory political position and in particular his binary position to Plato’s views on the place of music in politics. Nevertheless, it was “The Republic” that started the creation of a unique performance and approach in musical composition called “Andriessen’s approach”, which would successfully combine minimalism with traditional European compositional techniques, modern and experimental techniques, and components of music at large. At the very end, the unique combination of the aforementioned compositional techniques is what identifies the specificity of the content of Andriessen’s music. Significance of these results consists in the point of view on the question of how a compositional technique forms political content in the music written by Louis Andriessen

Compositional Technique as a Language Mechanism: from Rule to Sound

Relevance of the study. lies in study of the concept of “compositional technique”, identifying its specificity as a linguistic mechanism. The technique of composition is functioning between language and text and thereby finds its concretization at the level of the composer, his thinking and style. In the typological similarity of the elements of each technique and, at the same time, in constant renewal, the understanding of the composition technique as a tradition is manifested, which seems essential for understanding the development of music in the 20th — early 21st centuries. The analysis of technique reveals its participation in the process of transition of language into speech at the moment of creating a certain work, which is also extremely important in modern musical culture. Scientific novelty. For the first time in Ukrainian musicology composition techniques have been analyzed in the aspect of language and the functioning of technology as a linguistic mechanism has been investigated. The purpose of the study is to analyze the specifics of the composition technique as a linguistic mechanism, the peculiarities of its functioning in the creative process in the linguistic aspect, to consider typical techniques in well-known established techniques as the corresponding rules for the embodiment and development of the material. Methods. The research is based on systemic and functional methods. The results and conclusions. The study of the composition technique in the aspect of the musical language allows us to renew our understanding of its specifics. The moment of selection of parts and the rules for their further combination emphasize the “general” nature of the composition technique. Being between language and text, technology functions as a linguistic mechanism, out of all the variety of a huge number of elements of the language, choosing only “its own” number, limits and concretizes the possible combination of these elements. The systemic nature of the compositional technique determines the functionality of the parts of each technique. With all the difference in established techniques, it is the functionality of the elements that reveals the general nature and similarity of processes in each technique. Significance of these results consists in the statement of the fact that reception in technology due to repetition and recognizability becomes the rule, offering options for its embodiment. The typing of techniques is very important for the composition technique. Simultaneously, each new incarnation of this technique renews and develops it.

Sonoric as a Compositional Technique the Attempt of Critical Analysis

Relevance of the study. Sonoric is a widespread definition in Post-Soviet countries musicology. However, it is the only one in the system of contemporary compositional techniques that does not have English analogue. This fact conditioned to a number of questions related to this technique: what English terminology should be used as an analogue of sonoric or sonoristic? Why is there no such compositional technique as sonoric in European (with the exception of Poland) and American musicology? Is sonoric a compositional technique? The actualization of these issues makes it possible to solve both terminological problems and partially approach to the creation of a complete theory of contemporary composition techniques. The purpose of the study is to attempt to identify the structural core of sonoric as a compositional technique, the parameter (or parameters) of tone or noise material, for which organization it is responsible. Methods. This article is based on the method of systemic analysis of phenomena, general methods of theoretical research (analysis of a term, its semantic boundaries, correlation with other concepts), as well as specific musicological methods of a musical text analyzing. The results and conclusions. The authors of the theory of the sonoric compositional technique (Yu. Kholopov and A. Maklygin) suggest its use both in a general (a certain quality of concords) and in a narrow sense (a compositional technique that operates with timbre mass). In the process of a critical analysis of the concept of sonoric, it was noted that there are no precise criteria for distinguishing between the sound phenomena described by sonoric. Its methodological underpinning is based more on the elements of psychoacoustics and the theory of perception (without the direct use of the methods of these sciences) than on the theory of music. This thesis is proved by comparing the concepts of sonorically colored harmony and sonoric harmony. Postulating a reliance on synesthesia, the sonoric proposes to use a set of subjective associations to describe a sound phenomenon, relying on imaginative rather than technological characteristics. The analysis of sonoric texture types showed that point, line, spot, stripe, etc. are not original ways of tone and noise sounds organization, but are based on various combinations of pointillistic, cluster, polyphonic, micropolyphonic tools. Based on this conclusion, the idea that sonoric formations are not technically unique is formed. Such sonoric texture types are created by using a certain set of methods typical for various compositional techniques.

Harmonytimbre's Structures in the Works of Vladimir Tarnopolski: On the Problem of Harmonic Analysis of New Music

Композиторская техника Владимира Тарнопольского основывается на создании индивидуальных детализированных звуковысотных структур, которые трактуются как единые звучности. Композитор называет такие структуры «гармониетембрами». Можно не только рассматривать их с точки зрения тембровой краски, но и анализировать их звуковысотную структуру, преобразование которой происходит по законам гармонии. В статье проанализирована гармоническая сторона гармониетембровых структур в музыке Тарнопольского на примере сочинений разных лет: «Кассандра» (1991), «Маятник Фуко» (2004), «Be@thoven. Invokation» (2017). В результате анализа выявлены основные приемы работы с гармониетембрами и сформулированы закономерности построения звуковысотных структур в музыке Тарнопольского. Vladimir Tarnopolski's compositional technique is based on the individual detailed pitch structures, which are interpreted as a one sound. The composer calls such structures “harmonytimbres.” We can consider them not only from the point of view of timbre character, but also analyze their pitch structure, which develops according to the laws of harmony. The article is devoted to the harmonic side of harmonytimbre's structures in Tarnopolski's music on the example of his works from different years: “Cassandra” (1991), “Foucault's Pendulum” (2004), “Be@thoven. Invokation” (2017). As a result of the analysis, the main methods of working with harmonytimbres are identified and the regularities of constructing pitch structures in Tarnopolski's music are formulated.

"Er hat geschmack, und über das die größte Compositionswissenschaft"

Leopold Mozart's letter to his daughter of 16 February 1785, describing a performance of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's latest string quartets in the presence of Joseph Haydn claims that Haydn considered Mozart to have taste, and also a profound knowledge of composition. Contrasting interpretations of this statement are considered, including the relationship between taste and compositional technique, involving discussion of some sketches for Mozart's quartets and investigation of Haydn's statement against the background of 18th-century aesthetics.

Zu Eginald Schlattners Roman Drachenköpfe (2021). Eine literarische Replik auf Iris Wolffs Erzählung Drachenhaus

"On Eginald Schlattner’s Novel Drachenköpfe/Dragon Heads (2021) – A Literary Replica of Iris Wolff’s Story Drachenhaus/Dragon House. The author of the article examines the story and the discourse of Eginald Schlattner’s 2021 novel Drachenköpfe and identifies some novelties in the context of his life’s work: Schlattner’s new novel focuses on the 1960s and sets out thematically where his trilogy published by Zsolnay Verlag 1998-2005 ended historically. In Drachenköpfe, the Transylvanian-German writer continues or even develops upon the compositional technique that he mainly appropriates starting with his monumental Wasserzeichen/Watermarks, published in 2018. Thus, Drachenköpfe is regarded both as a literary text and as an artistic reflection, and by the metaphor of disease it certainly does justice to its turbulent world-historical period of publication. Keywords: the 1960s, Romania, literary text and art reflection, metaphor of disease "

Sound Embodiment of Rene Eespere’s Piano Cycles: Experience of Performance Analysis

The novelty of the article lies in expanding knowledge about the contemporary outstanding musicians using the example of the performance analysis of the piano cycles of the Estonian composer Rene Eespere in the context of their sound embodiment. The purpose of the article is to identify the specificity of the sound embodiment of R. Eespere’s piano cycles: “4 ostinato” and “24 preludes” (first book). The research methodology is based on an integrated approach that combines the principle of musical-theoretical and performance analysis, which are necessary for solving the tasks set in the article. Results and conclusions. The article examines the creativity of the Estonian composer Rene Eespere on the example of his piano cycles “4 ostinato” and “24 preludes” (first book). The paper detects the key tasks that arise before the performer and contribute to the sound embodiment of the proposed compositions. The basis for this research was the personal performance experience of the article’s author; work in the class of Professor S. Yushkevich; audio and video recordings of piano cycles, as well as direct communication with R. Eespere in the format of electronic correspondence. The article reveals the main features of his composer style, which synthesizes the traditions of Western European and national culture. In addition, the work shows R. Eespere’s gravitation towards minimalism in music. Ostinato is a characteristic manifestation of the composer’s creative thinking in these piano cycles. This compositional technique determines the different emotional orientation of each piece. The article also examines the variants of texture formulas in the proposed piano opuses, which require mobility from the performer in changing pianistic techniques. Analytical study of these works made it possible to identify the following performance tasks: the stability of intricate rhythmic complexes, subtle dynamic nuances, timbre variety, moderate pedalling, as well as the use of expressive key touch. In general, the sound embodiment of the piano cycles of the Estonian composer R. Eespere brings out new facets in understanding of musical context and contributes to the formation of a performance experience so valuable for the development of modern piano art.