La Creation Du Monde – Darius Milhaud

Milhaud, is french for Milhouse?

Man this is a great score to look at for learning more about composition. I’ve previously encountered Milhaud via his ‘Bull on the Roof’ piece which is a very oddball wild drunken seedy bent cabaret spoof in as many different keys as you can poke a baton at. ‘La Creation…’ doesn’t disappoint for those keen to hear more of Milhaud’s wild party music, though the craziness features far less prominently. It’s actually sounds more tonal and ‘normal’ (cough, cough) than I had anticipated.

Very first thing that caught my attention was the sax. The piece begins with strings and sax, but despite being clearly able to hear a sax over the strings it took me a few moments to locate it on the score. Where does one place a sax on an orchestral score? I initially look at the woodwind section. No. I pass the brass section and the piano and look amongst the nine percussion parts. Still no luck. I listen closely to the music and identify the melody so I can spot it on the score. Bingo. Wedged between the violins and cello is the sax – almost masquerading itself as the viola (which is actually absent from the work).

The piece is broken up into five sections. Each section features some amount of new material, but as the piece progresses themes from previous sections make appearances all over the place to help give the piece some common elements.

The first section begins in D minor with the Basses moving to F# every third bar, then progressively with greater regularity to create some impressive tension. At figure 3 the tonal centre moves to A Minor over a C# in the Bass. Then the bass moves down the arpeggio of A Major with the A Minor sound still in the other instruments. Once the basses reach the E they then head another half step down to Eb as Milhaud begins to move in more exciting chromatic ways. The first section mostly contains notes the value of a crotchet or greater, with the exception of a slightly syncopated figure that is first heard in the trumpets. The movement of the orchestra is very flowing and slightly choral like. Continuous movement of parts allows for constant tension and release in the music.

The motifs used are very simple and are used sequentially. 1 or 2 bar phrases are constantly heard in different keys or by different instruments. It’s amazing how much music can be created from such a small idea.

The second section has a strong rhythmic pulse with use of the piano and many of the percussion parts. A small canon begins the melodic material for this section with the Double Bass, Trombone, Sax and the Trumpet all playing the same line with staggered entrances.

From the third movement onwards, previous motifs/sequences are heard – though often in a varied state. At figure 18 we hear a reworking of the first section with a rhythmically augmented variation of a motif from the second section. I could continue on and discuss how fun the jazzy clarinet solo is, but it’s the use of sequences (which are often varied through augmentation/diminution etc…) used throughout the piece that I’ve found most interesting and I’ll definitely hold onto this score for a while to get a better understanding of how he has gone about creating ‘Du Monde’.

Warren.

Obsession

Kim's project

dear composers

you might already know about this but one of our past, and very talented composition students, Kim Lajoie has been involved in an interesting project called Obsession. There will be a performance of the project soon and it might be interesting for you to go and see what people do after they leave the course (on THURSDAY 6th MAY at the East Brunswick Club – see the link for more). Kim has worked on a number of projects with past students from Monash and some of them are involved with Obsession. Anyway I hope all of you are going well. All the best.

Peter Mc

Berg – Lyric Suite

Berg’s Lyric suite is a 6 movement piece for String Quartet. The title comes from Berg’s interpretation of the piece as being “essentially unsymphonic” in contrast to the “symphonic character of most string quartets”. It also refers to Alexander von Zemlinsky’s (to whom the piece is dedicated) piece “Lyric Symphony”, which Berg quotes in this piece.

Rene Leibowitz (1947) analyses the piece and conclused that it is “entirely written in the twelve-tone technique, [it] is a sonata movement without the development. Thus the recapitulation follows directly upon the exposition; but, because of the highly advanced twelve-tone technique of variation, everything in this movement is developmental.”

It is therefor important to pay special attention to analysing the tone-rows used by Berg in order to write the piece. Taking the first movement, there are two ways in which to look at the tone-rows.

Using regular analysis one can conclude that the tonerow is as follows

However, George Perle (who did the analysis), suggests writing it as follows :

Taking just the first bar, Berg starts with two open string double stops in the 2nd violin part, first G-D and second A-E. Balancing these double stops are C and F followed by B and F# in the viola and cello, respectively.

Although common sense dictates not to look at the content of these chords, as they are derived from 12 tone, but I thought it very interesting. If you place all the notes within one octave, the first chord consists of two sets of two notes just a tone apart, separated by a larger interval, and the second “chord” is the same, but down a minor 3rd. Once you spread it out, however, and suddenly the chord makes more sense.

Scarily, I like 12tone more and more. I’ve always liked the concept, but always balked when listening. I can, now, quite happily sit there and listen to two hours of 12-tone.

All the way through this piece, I am amazed at the level of detail Berg puts into this piece. Not only does he give some sort of dynamic marking almost every bar, but he also marks exactly who has the “first voice” and who has the “second voice”, who has the same rhythm as the first voice, and who are the accompanying parts, all the way through. There is a constant barrage of articulation and techniques, and written footnotes to help the performer interpret the piece. If I am going to take anything away from this piece, besides the amazingly musical use of 12tone, it is this phenomenal level of detail.

Saska

Voiles – Claude Debussy

Voiles means 'sails or veils'. What? This isn't funny or humorous at all? WELL ****!

Voiles, for solo piano, is the second prelude from his Premier Livre. I found this piece incredibly interesting to listen to due to the apparent lack (for the most part) of a tonal centre. This is due to Debussy’s use of the whole tone scale which permeates the entire piece with the exception of a small passage that is in the pentatonic scale and a couple of chromatic runs. This whole tone scale gives the piece a feeling of drifting along, not aimlessly but without a clear direction. The Bb in the bass in bar 5 would suggest that to be the tonal centre of the piece but I think that due to the nature of the whole tone scale the piece defies conventional harmony and therefore does not use a tonal centre at all. The descending thirds motif has a haunting quality that I do rather like and in conjunction with the chords in the left hand gives the piece a very haunting feel. This free-flowing section is juxtaposed by a very distinct and rather beautiful midsection, in which Debussy changes the tonality and pitch class to a pentatonic scale. This section, while coming as a surprise, does not feel at all out of place within the context of the primarily whole tone piece. It serves as a short brk from the obscure harmony of the whole tone sections by providing a tonal centre and more conventional harmony. Overall I really enjoyed this piece and it showed me how the use of a scale can be used to portray specific emotions.

Claude Debussy- ‘Jeux’ (1913)

‘This was the first result ‘Jeux’ came up with in Google images‘

Jeux is a large scale orchestral work by Debussy, which was originally intended as an accompaniment for a ballet production. It is often considered his most ambitious orchestral work, yet it was under appreciated during its original run, being overshadowed by The Rite of Spring, which premiered in the same month.

Debussy is viewed as a pioneer of impressionist music, music that evokes or suggests a particular idea/atmosphere, rather than showcasing extreme emotion or depicting a particular story. Debussy however disliked being categorized into this style of composition and no more does this ring true when I listen to this piece.

Jeux displays some of Debussy’s most extreme and daring compositional work. With rapid dynamic shifts, fast descending motifs and atonal harmony (which was already prominent in much of Debussy’s work, but on a much grander scale). The piece goes through a cycle of contrasting moods and textures with moments of intense beauty, harsh dissonance and uplifting (almost anthemic) climaxes. The wave of emotions that are prevalent throughout the piece shows a shift in style from Debussy’s previous works, displaying a more expressionistic approach to composing.

In this regard, Debussy’s latter period could be considered a reaction to the ‘Impressionist’ term he was becoming labeled with at the time. Though the stylistic change doesn’t undermine the familiar characteristics he’d already established, it merely presents them in a new and challenging way. The perception of the ever-changing moods in this piece are not simply limited to ‘happy,’ ‘angry’ or ‘sad.’ His application of whole-tone/atonal harmony discovers moments of ambiguity and wonder, musical landscapes that have the possibility to shift in any direction desired. Crucial excerpts that prove difficult to pinpoint a definitive tonal centre and a clear sense of harmonic progression.

This mixture of contrasting styles proves to be an inspiring listen and displays the sheer diversity Debussy was capable of.

Shannon

Mozart Symphony #41 ‘Jupiter’ K551 – Movement 1

The piece begins loudly with the full orchestra stating the key (C Major) with some rapid perfect cadences then it is suddenly stripped back to just strings who play a very soft melodic figure that almost questions what came before it with it’s gradual rising melody with each rise in melody followed by a ‘sigh’ back down a step. The initial 23 bars are fairly predictable of the style and the writing of Mozart with the use or terraced dynamics and the winds/brass playing block chords whilst the strings supply a bit of interest. The rhythmic sequence of ‘crochet – dotted quaver – semi quaver – crotchet – crochet’ is found in many Mozart compositions.

Mozart uses small motifs, often no greater than 1 bar in length and then makes use of these ideas in various different harmonic or rhythmic modulations throughout the piece to continuously provide the listener with familiar material.

The movement seems to consist of three sections which are then repeated. Whist it starts and ends in C major, the piece constantly modulates and each time we hear material it is generally within a different key and despite being divided fairly visibly into sections, sequences from each section appear throughout the piece.

The part I consider to be the second (or B) section begins with a very simple 3 note melodic idea consisting of ascending semitones. It reminds me of the 2^nd motif in the first movement of Mozart’s 40^th which descends by semitone. Given they were written around the same time I wonder if Mozart did this intentionally.

One of my favourite bits is the use of a bars silence prior to a change of key which is pronounced by the full ensemble at forte. It gives the effect of the modulation to the new key great power.

Some research into this piece I’ve done suggests the 4^th movement is of greater compositional interest due to it’s extensive part writing so I’ll aim to do one of my future posts on that movement.

Warren

Manuel de Falla – El Amor Brujo (Love, The Magician) – #7 Ritual Fire Dance

It’s not on the ‘list’ but I temporarily have this score in my possession so thought I’d do a post on it anyway.

The ritual fire dance is probably the most recognised work from this suite, and with good reason. It really stands out from the 11 other pieces in the work despite not involving the mezzo soprano soloist.

Whilst de Falla’s use of trills and grace notes are really important to the style and sound of the piece, after some close inspection it was the extremely simple, yet somewhat complex harmonic structure that really intrigued me and I believe is the key to this piece.

The piece has very static use of the bass note. In bar 17 we settle on the bass note C with that continuing as the root for 40 or so bars. Over 2 bar phrases the basses spell out a C minor arpeggio |C G| Eb G|. The violas move between E natural in the first bar to F in the second thus giving the first bar a major feel and the second bar a minor feel with the extra tension of the added 4^th (11^th). On top of this the oboe plays melodic material using the notes of the ascending melodic minor in Bb. The second half of the oboe melody changes to use the scale of F major and the violas raise their second note to a G, instead of the F. It is truly a frenzy of tension – as the score suggests “to drive away the evil spirits”.

The next section sees the bass playing D. The cellos and violas stack above the bass in 5ths (A & E) whilst the other instruments providing harmonic substance use the notes of the C major triad. This builds for eight bars and then my new favourite 4 note melody ever is presented by the horns and violins. I had a play of this bit on the piano and the melody has much less power if the notes of the C major chord are not present on top of the D,A,E in the lower parts. This section moves onto the next with some subtle chromatic shifts in both melody and harmony.

The bass then moves to B and over the top we hear a transformation of one of the main themes heard throughout the larger work. This transformation has an augmented rhythm and is decorated with grace notes to help make what previously is more a rhythmic figure to flourish as melodic material.

In the fourth section the basses play E in what is a fairly quick transitional section consisting largely of the trills between the violas and clarinets that opened the work.

De Falla repeats through these sections, but when we next hear the 4^th (E) section he choose to strongly reinforce the tonal centre and E Major chords are pumped out in tutti for 14 bars, until the last two bars of the piece play a mixture of triplet-quaver and quaver descending figures in A5 (or Power Chord for all you guitarists) for a very powerful and abrupt conclusion.

Warren

Toru Takemitsu – A Flock Descends Into The Pentagonal Garden

Greetings:

I’d steal Timothy’s image from his original post on this piece, but I can’t really be bothered.

This piece starts with a harmonic tonal center of B natural, the first motive (see diagram) begins on C but climaxes on B; I initially thought there would be more straight pentatonic pitch collections, however it seems that Takemitsu employs the pentatonics more subtly than I can detect. I actually remember reading about them in his book Confronting Silence, but can’t remember right now what they say. Never-the-less; the implication is that there are superimposed pentatonic modes with multiple tonalities. It seems that the total pitch collection is ten out of the twelve equal tempered notes.

Diagram:

Included in the above analyis is the motivic shape used by Takemitsu in the first couple of sections of the piece. The first motive is transformed and re-presented accross multiple instruments/groups of instruments for timral effect, as is the second motive. This re-presentation of material (with harmonic and melodic ornamentation) carries on until a new motive is presented in section C.

The new motive is simply: quaver, quaver, dotted-crotchet, quaver-rest, quaver, quaver (which if you divide into eighth notes is a palindromic or symmetrical rhythm of ten quavers; it is the same played forward or backward. However, because of the dotted crotchet, this symmetry is interrupted). This rhythmic material is transformed, elongated and re-presented timbrally and rhythmically accross multiple time signatures. This new material is also presented canonically in multiple instrument registers creating harmonic density (see cadences). We also hear a further interpreted presentation of the material from the first two sections, again transformed.

Cadences

A big feature of this piece is timbral and dynamic cadences. Rather than using the standard harmonic cadence sequences (V-I, IV-I etc), the composer has chosen to create tension through dynamics and relieve that tension with silence, this carries throughout the entire work. On this theme of silence, Takemitsu spaces his instruments intelligently, using the registeral differences to create silence between sounds; not just the obvious treatment of silence (rest, no playing), but silence between other sounds.

Indeterminacy and conducted improvisation

Takemitsu, courtesy of his influence by John Cage, had an interest in indeterminate music (which was not used so much in his later works). A Flock Descends Into The Pentagonal Garden incorporates this theory by telling musicians to play their stated material at their own tempo until the conductor gives queue number 6, which is the queue to continue the written score. This creates a section somewhat akin to the “chorus” section in a jazz ensemble, but without the melodic improvisation. Rather, the melodic material is stated and the players interpret the tempo of this material. In this way, it could be seen as “conducted improvisation”, vaguely similar to minimalist music by Cage, Reich, Reilly, etc.

Final notes

The tempo throughout the piece is slow, this leads to the expressive performance of material that would otherwise be potentially too fast for the same effect. In this sense, the tempo is very important to the effect of the piece.

The piece itself (like a lot of Takemitsu’s work) is based on nature; in this case a Japanese garden in the shape of a pentagon (five sides – where the pentatonic scales should be coming from) and a flock of birds that he observed descending into this garden.

-Vin

Lonh – Kaija Saariaho

Lonh is composed for soprano voice and electronics, a strange but very effective musical combination.

Throughout the work the soprano sings a text (Lonh) written in an old French language by a poet and composer named Jaufré Rudel. According to the performance notes, no one knows for sure how this language is pronounced, although Saariaho followed the pronunciation given to her by a specialist in French medieval literature. The poem itself is a tale about someone aching for a distant love (Lonh means ‘from afar’).

The best words to describe the soprano vocalist in the recording I listened to are chillingly beautiful. Through the process of setting Lonh to music, the emotional qualities already associated with the poem are now enhanced tenfold by this mesmerising vocal line. Saariaho has also chosen the articulation of the soprano very carefully; the voice is required in various passages to whisper, to sing with as much air as possible, to employ a speaking voice, even to move as slowly as possible from a breath tone to a normal tone. Dynamics in the soprano part are just as significant, with the addition of al niente, where the dynamics fade to nothing, and dal niente, where notes are brought out of silence and a crescendo rises seemingly from nowhere. The result of these carefully planned dynamics and articulations is contrast after contrast; notes with heavy vibrato and air will leap out at you, before a sudden drop to a half-spoken whisper is barely able to be heard. Combine these elements with a lot of rhythmic freedom and you have yourself an incredibly stunning vocal experience.

If the soprano part was not haunting enough, in come the electronics. These consist of nine quadraphonic sound files (quadraphonic was an early version of surround sound, where speakers were positioned at the four corners of a listening space, reproducing signals that were independent of one another). These sound files are set off and played throughout the piece, one after the other. Often a new sound file will begin before the previous one has concluded. The electronic sounds include things such as a mixture of wind and whispering voices, singing voices and pitched bells, rain, processed girls’ voices and filtered bird and forest sounds. Obviously each of these sound files would have been carefully created and altered to the composer’s desire. The overall effect created is one of a surreal, almost otherworldly atmosphere. Perhaps this is why I could not stop seeing images of space as I was listening to the piece.

Pitched and non-pitched percussion are also employed throughout, adding a mysterious metallic timbre to the work. Although on the score the percussion seem to play rhythmically in time, they do not effect the piece’s overall freedom.

Anyone eager to sample a breathtaking soprano performance should try this piece. Combined with the hypnotic electronics, Saariaho has created an amazing new way of interpreting the good old romance poem.

Please listen to my radio show,

Signing off,

Tully

Nodal 1.7.0

Well we’ve been working away on Nodal and I have to say I actually rather excited by what has emerged. Anyway here is a demo of what will be the final version. It features keyboard triggering so that you can play the networks and MIDI controller information so that all of the parameters that are part of the MIDI world can be sequenced.