Dodecaphonic practices and tonal idioms in Frank Martins Ballade

University of Iowa

Iowa Research Online Theses and Dissertations

Spring 2018

Dodecaphonic practices and tonal idioms in Frank Martin's Ballade for saxophone and orchestra Ryan Joseph Smith University of Iowa

Copyright Š 2018 Ryan Joseph Smith This dissertation is available at Iowa Research Online: https://ir.uiowa.edu/etd/6290 Recommended Citation Smith, Ryan Joseph. "Dodecaphonic practices and tonal idioms in Frank Martin's Ballade for saxophone and orchestra." DMA (Doctor of Musical Arts) thesis, University of Iowa, 2018. https://doi.org/10.17077/etd.2dg7sqf4.

Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.uiowa.edu/etd Part of the Music Commons

DODECAPHONIC PRACTICES AND TONAL IDIOMS IN FRANK MARTIN’S BALLADE FOR SAXOPHONE AND ORCHESTRA

by Ryan Joseph Smith

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in the Graduate College of The University of Iowa May 2018 Thesis Supervisor:

Associate Professor Robert C. Cook

Copyright by Ryan Joseph Smith 2018 All Rights Reserved

Graduate College The University of Iowa Iowa City, Iowa

CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL ____________________________

D.M.A. THESIS _________________ This is to certify that the D.M.A. thesis of

Ryan Joseph Smith has been approved by the Examining Committee for the thesis requirement for the Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the May 2018 graduation.

Thesis Committee:

____________________________________________ Robert C. Cook, Thesis Supervisor

____________________________________________ Kenneth Tse

____________________________________________ John Rapson

____________________________________________ Benjamin Coelho

____________________________________________ Nicole Esposito

To my mother, Melani.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I could never have completed this thesis alone. I am deeply grateful for the guidance and warm encouragement I received from my thesis adviser Dr. Robert Cook. I also feel sincere gratitude for Dr. Jennifer Iverson’s enthusiasm about this project during its early stages, her advice in helping me define the scope of my analysis, and her compassionate emotional support. I wish to extend thanks to Dr. Kenneth Tse for teaching me how to express myself through the saxophone with artistry and authenticity, and to Professor John Rapson, who has been my teacher, mentor, collaborator, and dear friend. Finally, I am forever indebted to my family: my mother Melani Smith, father Joe Smith, brother Joel Smith, Lydia Hart, James Skretta, and Justin LeDuc. My academic achievements are a product of their unwavering faith in me, and I owe my wellbeing to their love and support.

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PUBLIC ABSTRACT

Frank Martin’s Ballade for saxophone and orchestra (1938) is an important piece in the saxophone’s repertoire, but it has received little attention from music scholars. It represents one of the Swiss composer’s first works in which he settled into the compositional style of his maturity—a style grounded in balancing conservative and modern compositional practices. This document offers the first detailed analytical study of the saxophone Ballade.

Much has been written about the interplay of dodecaphonic (twelve-tone) and tonal elements in Martin’s mature music. Composers often use twelve-tone practices as a way to systematically organize their music and circumvent tonal references by honoring a series of rigid guidelines established by Arnold Schoenberg in the 1920s. Martin incorporated many dodecaphonic practices into his mature style but refused to do so at the expense of his deeply held convictions regarding tonal harmony in music. This analysis of the saxophone Ballade presents a refined assessment of Martin's twelve-tone practices, especially as twelve-tone, tonally-functional, and non-functional harmonic features of his music interact. In this regard, Martin’s dodecaphonic aesthetic shares a stylistic kinship with the music of Schoenberg’s disciple, Alban Berg, that has not been closely examined in the literature. This connection is demonstrated through a comparison of dodecaphonic practices in the saxophone Ballade with those used in Berg’s Lyric Suite. Finally, an appendix details a few suggestions for possible adaptations to the saxophone part based on those made by Martin in his arrangements of the work for flute and basset horn.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF EXAMPLES .................................................................................................. vii LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................ xi CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ..............................................................................1 Overview of Related Literature ....................................................................................3 Biographical Sketch and Compositional Style ..............................................................9 The Ballades .............................................................................................................. 13 CHAPTER TWO: TWELVE-TONE PRACTICES ........................................................ 17 The Primary Row ....................................................................................................... 17 Secondary Rows......................................................................................................... 41 Non-Row Series and Aggregates ................................................................................ 50 Summary.................................................................................................................... 59 CHAPTER THREE: HARMONY ................................................................................. 60 Pedal Tones................................................................................................................ 61 Tonic/Dominant Relationships ................................................................................... 65 Gliding Tonality ......................................................................................................... 72 The Main Chord ......................................................................................................... 90 Summary.................................................................................................................. 103 CHAPTER FOUR: FRANK MARTIN AND ALBAN BERG ..................................... 104 Is Martin a Twelve-Tone Outlier? ............................................................................ 104 Comparison of the Saxophone Ballade and Berg’s Lyric Suite.................................. 110 CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION .............................................................................. 124 APPENDIX A: TWELVE-TONE MATRICES ........................................................... 126 Primary Row ............................................................................................................ 126 Secondary Row 1 ..................................................................................................... 127 Secondary Row 2 ..................................................................................................... 127 APPENDIX B: POSSIBLE ADAPTATIONS FOR PERFORMANCE ........................ 128 v

BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................................... 135 Primary Sources ....................................................................................................... 135 Secondary Sources ................................................................................................... 136

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LIST OF EXAMPLES

Example 2.1 – Primary row of the saxophone Ballade ................................................... 18 Example 2.2 – Various occurrences of the primary row, mm. 35-54 .............................. 21 Example 2.3 – Primary row, mm. 16-27......................................................................... 23 Example 2.4 – Aurally perceivable primary row triad, mm. 176-181 ............................. 24 Example 2.5 – Primary row trichords and interval vectors ............................................. 26 Example 2.6 – Primary row tetrachords and interval vectors .......................................... 26 Example 2.7 – (0,1,3,4) in the opening saxophone melody, mm. 1-6 .............................. 27 Example 2.8 – Conjunct and disjunct use of (0,1,3,4), mm. 42-45 .................................. 27 Example 2.9 – (0,3,4,7) major-minor harmonic resolutions ............................................ 29 Example 2.10 – Linear use of (0,3,4,7) tetrachord .......................................................... 31 Example 2.11 – Minor-third partitions of primary row tetrachords ................................. 31 Example 2.12 – (0,1,3,4) within transitional theme ........................................................ 32 Example 2.13 – (0,3,4,7) in octatonic transitional theme, mm. 161-175 ......................... 33 Example 2.14 – Octatonic transitional theme, mm. 239-251 .......................................... 34 Example 2.15 – Primary row hexachords ....................................................................... 34 Example 2.16 – Ordered primary row hexachord (0,1,3,4,7,8) segment ......................... 37 Example 2.17 – Unordered primary row hexachords, mm. 74-78 ................................... 38 Example 2.18 – Unordered primary row hexachord and trichord subsets, cadenza ......... 40 Example 2.19 – Unordered primary row hexachords, mm. 364-371 ............................... 41 Example 2.20 – Secondary row 1................................................................................... 42 Example 2.21 – First appearance of secondary row 1, mm. 59-61 .................................. 43

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Example 2.22 – Vertical partitioning of SR1, m. 61 ....................................................... 44 Example 2.23 – SR1, mm. 63-70 ................................................................................... 44 Example 2.24 – SR1 statements in the cadenza .............................................................. 46 Example 2.25 – Harmonized SR1 statement, mm. 341-351 ............................................ 47 Example 2.26 – Secondary row 2................................................................................... 47 Example 2.27 – Secondary row 2 passages .................................................................... 48 Example 2.28 – Hexachord X series .............................................................................. 50 Example 2.29 – X hexachord aggregate ......................................................................... 51 Example 2.30 – X hexachord aggregate partitioned into dyads ....................................... 52 Example 2.31 – Trichord components of X hexachord aggregate ................................... 53 Example 3.32 – Non-aggregate X hexachord harmonizations......................................... 54 Example 2.33 –Twelve-tone aggregates with (0,1,2,4,5,8) hexachords, mm. 16-24 ........ 56 Example 2.34 – (0,1,2,4,5,8) hexachord aggregate, mm. 205-206 .................................. 58 Example 3.1 – D pedal tone and G tonal center in X aggregate theme, mm. 88-92 ......... 62 Example 3.2 – B pedal tone and E tonal center in X aggregate theme, mm. 293-297 ...... 63 Example 3.3 – Tonal cadence in B♭ major ..................................................................................67 Example 3.4 – Straightforward concluding tonal passage, mm. 396-404 ........................ 69 Example 3.5 – Embedded tonal progression, mm. 22-24 ................................................ 72 Example 3.6 – Gliding tonality score excerpts and harmonic reductions ........................ 77 Example 3.7 – Dominant-function main chord resolutions to A ..................................... 94 Example 3.8 – Non-harmonic tone resolutions to main chord, mm. 39-40...................... 96 Example 3.9 – Non-harmonic tone resolutions to main chord, mm. 46-47...................... 97 Example 3.10 – Lower-neighbor non-harmonic tones of the main chord, cadenza .......... 98

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Example 3.11 – Half-cadential gesture with the main chord, mm. 106-110 .................... 99 Example 3.12 – Authentic cadential gesture using the main chord, mm. 138-145 ......... 101 Example 3.13 – Melodic use of the main chord, cadenza ............................................. 102 Example 3.14 – Relationship between the main chord and the primary row, cadenza..................................................................................................................... 103 Example 4.1 – P1 beginning with order position 9, first violins, mm. 176-189 ............. 112 Example 4.2 – P5 beginning with order position 3, alto saxophone, mm. 96-100 ......... 112 Example 4.3 – Reordered I3 statement, mm. 111-113 .................................................. 113 Example 4.4 – Reordered I4 statement, mm. 118-120 .................................................. 114 Example 4.5 – P5 with added pitches, basses, mm. 38-42 ............................................ 114 Example 4.6 – Embellished P1, alto saxophone, mm. 213-222 ..................................... 115 Example 4.7 – Tonal allusion in twelve-tone rows of Berg and Martin ........................ 116 Example 4.8 – Segmental invariance between P3 and P8, cellos and basses, mm. 205-212 ............................................................................................................ 117 Example 4.9 – (0,1,3,4) motives extracted from P3 or P8, alto saxophone, mm. 1-5 .................................................................................................................... 118 Example 4.10 – Derivation of extracted rhythms 1 and 2 from row 2P5, Lyric Suite, third movement, mm. 10-12 (after Headlam, The Music of Alban Berg, 263, Example 5.19a) ................................................................................................. 119 Example 4.11 – Extracted rhythms outside of original row context, Lyric Suite, third movement, mm. 30-31 (after Headlam, The Music of Alban Berg, 263, Example 5.19b) ........................................................................................................ 120 Example 4.12 – Relative rhythmic durations of SR1 .................................................... 121 Example 4.13 – SR1 rhythm outside of row context, alto saxophone, mm. 366-372 ............................................................................................................ 122 Example 4.14 – SR1 rhythm outside of row context, alto saxophone, mm. 386-389 ............................................................................................................ 122 Example B.1 – mm. 46-53 ........................................................................................... 130 ix

Example B.2 – Cadenza ............................................................................................... 131 Example B.3 – mm. 366-378 ....................................................................................... 132 Example B.4 – mm. 390-396 ....................................................................................... 133

x

LIST OF TABLES

Table 2.1 – Primary row hexachords by order position................................................... 36 Table 3.1 – Pedal tones and tonal centers of the saxophone Ballade ............................... 64 Table 3.2 – Various configurations of the main chord .................................................... 93

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CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

Despite his relative prominence with European audiences, composer Frank Martin is widely unknown in the United States. A few isolated works are favored by several groups of musicians (primarily saxophonists, flutists, pianists, and choirs), but the majority of his output remains unfamiliar to American audiences. Born in Geneva and spending much of his life living and working in Switzerland, Martin has been highly praised by the Swiss since the mid-twentieth century. Swiss conductor Ernest Ansermet, one of his most vocal advocates, considered him to be “…undoubtedly the greatest Swiss composer,”—holding Martin in higher esteem than even Arthur Honneger of the renowned group of composers known as Les Six.1 Scholars and critics writing about Martin tend to extol him as a masterful composer who has never quite received the widespread recognition that his work ought to have earned him. American music theorist Janet Tupper, one of the first to analyze his work in considerable detail, comments in 1965 on the slow pace at which audiences (especially American) embraced his work,2 as does Mark Morris: “The music of Frank Martin is slowly becoming recognized as a major musical achievement of the twentieth century, an intensely individual and personal Ernest Ansermet, “Music in Switzerland,” Larousse Encyclopedia of Music, ed.

Geoffrey Hindley, (New York: World, 1994), 486.

1

Janet Eloise Tupper, “Stylistic Analysis of Selected Works by Frank Martin,” (PhD diss., Indiana University, 1964), 1.

2

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voice that is all the more extraordinary for its late development.” 3 Most writers have agreed that “the unique sound of his music is striking, and one that is personal to Martin.”4 Who is to be the arbiter deciding whether the oeuvre of a particular composer has or has not drawn “the attention it deserves?” 5 This is, of course, an entirely subjective question, and, perhaps, the only quantifiable measures of an artwork’s value lie in how audiences receive the work: the number of performances given, critical evaluations, inclusion in school curriculums, etc. Data like these can tell us how successful a composer has been at shaping cultural experiences, but it is insufficient to convey the ineffable quality of aesthetic value. For all of the praise Martin garners from those who write about him, his music has not made its way very deeply into our shared musical culture. This is particularly true in the United States.

Given my own fondness for Martin’s music, this thesis is envisioned as an offering for readers to engage with the richness of his compositional style through detailed musical analysis. To that end, I present several analytical approaches to Martin’s Ballade for saxophone and orchestra. I begin with a discussion of the serial practices at work in the piece. Most of these are found in the melody, as is typical of Martin’s mature twelve-tone aesthetic. They encompass standard transformations and segmentation of a

Mark Morris, “Frank Martin,” A Guide to 20th-Century Composers, (London: Methuen, 1996), 393.

3

4

Tupper, “Stylistic Analysis,” 1.

Frank Allen, “New Works by Frank Martin.” Musical Times 94, No 1328 (1953): 461; Mardia Melroy, “Frank Martin’s ‘Golgotha.’” (DMA diss., University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign, 1988), 3.

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primary twelve-tone row in addition to the use of two secondary rows, one six-note ordered series, and several non-row twelve-tone aggregates. Next I present a discussion of harmony in the Ballade, focusing on tonal idioms and progressions, pedal tones, gliding tonality (a term coined by Rudolf Klein, one of Martin’s biographers), 6 and the main chord (a frequently recurring non-functional triadic sonority). This is followed by a comparison of Martin’s twelve-tone practices in the saxophone Ballade with those of Alban Berg in his Lyric Suite. There are significant parallels between the two composers’ treatment of twelve-tone material. Scholars rightly cite the influence of Arnold Schoenberg in Martin’s work—Martin learned about twelve-tone practices through studying his scores—but, in many respects, Martin’s twelve-tone aesthetic shares a greater kinship with the music of Berg.

Overview of Related Literature Martin was a prolific writer. He contributed many articles to scholarly publications and wrote a number of essays detailing his compositional philosophy. A few of his articles have been published in English translation. One such article, “Schoenberg and Ourselves,” appears in a 1952 issue of The Score.7 In it, Martin outlines his philosophies and compositional practices as they relate to the use of dodecaphony. Other

6

Rudolf Klein, Frank Martin: sein Leben und Werk (Vienna: Verlag Österreichische Musikzeitschrift, 1960), 25.

7

Frank Martin, “Schoenberg and Ourselves,” The Score 6 (May 1952): 15-17.

3

essays appear in three collections of his writings and correspondence. 8 Only a handful of these have been translated into English.

General Martin-related secondary literature The majority of Martin-related scholarship has been conducted in French and German. Six book-length biographical works have been completed by Bernhard Billeter, Andrée Koelliker, Alain Perroux, Maria Martin, and Rudolf Klein. 9 Of these writers, Billeter is probably the preeminent scholar in the field, having contributed two of the biographical works, a book-length study of Martin’s harmony, 10 a substantial bibliography (co-authored by Martin’s wife, Maria Martin), 11 and entries in both the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians and Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart.

Billeter’s bibliography cites more than one hundred books and journal articles.

8

Frank Martin, A propos de—commentaries de Frank Martin sur ses oeuvres (Neuchâtel: A la Baconnièr, 1984); Entretiens sur la musique with Jean Claude Piquet (Neuchatel: A la Baconnièr, 1977); Un Compositeur médite sur son art (Neuchâtel: A la Baconnièr, 1977).

9

Bernhard Billeter, Frank Martin ein Ausserseiter der neuen Musik (Frauenfeld: Verlag Huber, 1970); Billeter, Frank Martin: Werdegang und Musiksprache seiner Werke (Mainz: Schott, 1999); Andrée Koelliker, Frank Martin: biographie; les oeuvres: evolution du style, écriture et expression musicale; le musician et les problems de la composition (Lausanne, 1963); Alain Perroux, Frank Martin ou l’insatiable quête (Drize: Ed. Papillon, 2001); Maria Martin, Souvenirs de ma vie avec Frank Martin, Lausanne, Suisse: Age d'homme, 1990; Klein, Frank Martin.

10

Bernhard Billeter, Die Harmonik bei Frank Martin: untersuchungen zur Analyse neuerer Musik (Berne: Verlag Paul Haupt, 1971).

Bernhard Billeter and Maria Martin, “Dokumente Werkverzeichnis. Bibliographie der Schriften von Frank Martin,” Schweizerische Musikzeitung. Revue musicale suisse 116 (September-October 1976), 378-386.

11

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Martin receives at least a brief mention in most of the standard music encyclopedias and history compendiums. Of these entries, two of the most helpful are by Ernest Ansermet and H. H. Stuckenschmidt. 12 As one of Martin’s teachers and greatest advocates, Ansermet offers a unique perspective in positioning Martin alongside other Swiss composers. Stuckenschmidt provides biographical details that some other sources lack.

Four book-length works comprise the most significant English-language contributions to Martin scholarship. Charles King’s Frank Martin: A Bio-bibliography begins with a biographical essay and comments on the development of Martin’s compositional style followed by a series of brief annotations for each of Martin’s published works.13 The bibliography is extensive, but the majority of items listed are in French, German, or Italian sources. While representing a comprehensive bibliography for its time, numerous articles and dissertations have emerged over the nearly thirty years since its publication in 1990. In Siglund Bruhn’s insightful Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections on Death, the author analyzes death-related themes in Martin’s vocal music. 14 Tupper’s dissertation is one of the first English-language sources to present an in-depth study of Martin’s music. 15 She examines his stylistic development through analyses of

Ansermet, “Music in Switzerland.” H.H. Stuckenschmidt, Twentieth-Century Composers, vol. 2, Germany and Central Europe (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1970), 175-182.

12

13

Charles W. King, Frank Martin: A Bio-Bibliography (New York: Greenwood Press,

1990).

Siglind Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections on Death (Hillsdale, New York: Pendragon Press, 2011).

14

15

Tupper, “Stylistic Analysis.”

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eleven compositions. Maria Martin’s biography, Souvenirs de ma vie avec Frank Martin, was recently translated into English by Erica C. Poventud (2008).16 A number of writers have published Martin-related essays in English-language scholarly journals. One of the best of these sources is Mervyn Cooke’s three-part series outlining the progression of Martin’s compositional style over the course of his career.17 While these are informative and useful articles, Cooke refrains from discussing any one topic in considerable detail. Another important source is Abraham Skulsky’s “Frank Martin: A Clear Understanding of his Ideals of Expression.”18 It was published in 1949, just as Martin was beginning to gain international recognition for his most famous work, the Petite symphonie concertante (1945).

Some of the most promising and extensive analytical writing of the past twentyfive years has come from doctoral dissertations. Michelle Louer and David Keven Roihl have undertaken detailed analyses of Martin’s Le vin herbé, which are of particular relevance to the present study of the saxophone Ballade. 19 This secular oratorio is one of Martin’s most famous works. It was composed during the same time as the saxophone Ballade and features many of the same trademark stylistic qualities of Martin’s mature

16

Maria Martin, Treasured Memories: My Life with Frank Martin, trans. Erica C. Poventud (Bussum, Netherlands: Gooibergpers, 2009).

Mervyn Cooke, “Frank Martin’s Early Development,” The Musical Times 131:1771 (September, 1990): 473-478; “Late Starter: Frank Martin Found Himself Late in Life,” The Musical Times 134:1801 (March, 1993): 134-136; “Late Starter: Mervyn Cooke Concludes His Survey of Frank Martin’s Creative Life,” The Musical Times 134:1802 (April, 1993): 197-199.

17

Abraham Skulsky, “Frank Martin: A Clear Understanding of his Ideals of Expression,” Musical America 69 (August 1949): 8, 18.

18

Michelle Louer, “Frank Martin’s Le Vin Herbé: Compositional Philosophy, Serial Procedures, Dramaturgy and Choral Narratology,” (DMA diss., Indiana University, 2008); Daniel Kevin Roihl, “Frank Martin’s Le Vin Herbé: A Critical Analysis and Guide to Performance,” (DMA. diss., University of Southern California, 2014).

19

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compositional style. Analytical dissertations by Michael Dellinger and Mardia Melroy will also be cited in this thesis. 20

Saxophone Ballade-specific literature Martin wrote a short program note to accompany the saxophone Ballade that is included in a collection of his comments on his own works. As it is only published in French, I present it here in its entirety in English translation: It was with great pleasure that I accepted, in 1938, an invitation from Sigurd Racher to write a piece for your instrument and orchestra. The saxophone is queen when it comes to the dance music of an entire era, yet the saxophone has rarely been featured in the symphony. I would like to reflect on the saxophone’s particular characteristics. In fact, among the wind instruments, the saxophone has the most expressive softness, a softness, that like the French horn, is akin to a human voice with undertones of flute and clarinet. These virtuous traits give it such great lyrical expression.

This compelled me to create a piece centered on expression more than on any formal element, a piece that is romantic rather than classic, in short, a Ballade that, in a narrative lyrical style, caters to the virtuousness of this instrument.

To accompany it, I chose a string orchestra with a piano and drums. The saxophone is central among the wind instruments, and including any other wind instrument, whether brass or reed, would have hindered the saxophone’s freedom.

The piano and the drums, on the other hand, can only help bring out that singing voice.

That is how this Ballade came about, where the saxophone is sometimes melancholic, and sometimes passionate. This would be the first of a small series of Ballades for different instruments: the flute (1939), the trombone (1940), the piano (1939), the cello (1949), the alto (1972).21

Michael Eldon Dellinger, “An Analysis of Frank Martin’s Second Piano Concerto,” (DMA diss., Ohio State University, 1985); Melroy, “Martin’s ‘Golgotha.’”

20

21

Martin, A propos de, 26, unpublished translation by Fayelin Bartram.

7

Few other sources make more than a cursory mention of the saxophone Ballade itself.

Jesssica Leeth writes about two of Martin’s arranged works for flute, one of which is his Deuxième Ballade—a flute arrangement of the saxophone Ballade. She includes historical background and analysis that are relevant to both pieces. 22 Erik Steighner’s work is aimed at saxophonists wishing to develop technical facility in executing the high altissimo writing found in the saxophone Ballade and other significant pieces in the saxophone’s repertoire, but it does not include analysis or historical commentary on the Ballade itself. 23 It is an excellent resource for saxophonists seeking repertoire-specific exercises, including one etude that quotes some of the high altissimo passages in the Ballade.24 Adam Muller presents an anthology of altissimo excerpts for saxophone. 25 He provides details about the commission of the saxophone Ballade as well as a few concise analytical observations.

Jessica Dixon Leeth, “Frank Martin’s Arranged Works for Flute: Sonata Da Chiesa and Deuxième Ballade,” (DMA diss., University of South Carolina, 2015).

22

Erik Vincent Steighner, “A Collection of Etudes Targeting Altissimo Passages in Alto Saxophone Solo Literature,” (DMA diss., University of Texas at Austin, 2008).

23

24

Many resources are available for saxophonists who wish to develop their skills playing in the altissimo register of the saxophone. Highly regarded method books have been published by Sigurd Rascher, Eugene Rousseau, and Donald Sinta, among others.

Adam D. Muller, “High Register Excerpts of Selected Alto Saxophone Concerti: A Critical Anthology,” (DM diss., Florida State University, 2012).

25

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Biographical Sketch 26 and Compositional Style Frank Martin was born September 15, 1890, in Geneva, Switzerland. He was the son of a Calvinist pastor and the youngest of ten children. The importance of religious faith in his family was considerable, and spiritual themes had a profound impact on Martin’s work later in life. His family that was musical and supportive of his interests in composition and performance. Each of his nine siblings played instruments and sang.

Martin was a talented improviser from a young age and started to write his own music by the time he was nine years old. His formal music training did not begin until late adolescence at which time he began studying harmony, composition, and orchestration with Joseph Lauber at the Geneva Conservatory27 (1906-1914), though Martin was never officially enrolled as a student in any conservatory program. He later studied informally with Hans Huber and Fredric Klose, both of whom were also associated with the Conservatory. Skulsky observes that “since these two influential composers, like Lauber, were extremely conservative, Martin remained deaf not only to the music of his contemporaries in other countries, but also to the aesthetics of Debussy and the French Impressionists.”28 During these early years, his influences were primarily German: Bach, Schumann, Mozart, Mahler, and Strauss, among others.29 Influences from French composers— Franck, Fauré, Debussy, and Ravel—came later. In 1917 he began working and studying

A number of English-language resources with more extensive details of Martin’s biography are available. See Skulsky, Tupper, Billeter, Roihl, and King.

26

27

Now known as the Haute école de musique de Genève.

28

Skulsky, “Frank Martin,” 8.

29

Melroy, “Martin’s ‘Golgotha,’” 5.

9

with Ansermet who became a critical figure in guiding Martin toward French music.

Martin’s eventual synthesis of French and German influences in his work is analogous in many ways to the blending of the cultural heritages of French- and German-speaking Switzerland. Dellinger writes, “The result of this fusion, in Martin's best works, is a curious and distinctive mixture of the ascetic and the sensuous.”30 After World War I he lived in Zürich, Rome, and Paris. He returned to Geneva in 1926, where he began a long career teaching at various institutions. He taught rhythmic theory and improvisation at the Jacque Dalcrose Institute in Geneva from 1928 to 1938.

In 1930 he became Professor of Chamber Music at the Geneva Conservatory. The saxophone Ballade was written during his tenure at the Technicum Moderne de Musique, where he served as artistic director from 1933 to 1939. In addition to these teaching positions, he served as the president of the Association des Musiciens Suisses for four years (1942-46), won the Prix de Genève (1951), and was awarded honorary doctorates from the universities of Geneva and Lausanne—all honors that established his importance in his native Switzerland. 31 He moved to Naarden, Netherlands, after World War II, commuting to Cologne for work where he served as Professor of Composition at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik. He held this position from 1950 to 1957, at which time he retired from teaching to focus exclusively on composition. Martin died on November 24, 1974 in Naarden.

Having first established roots in the refined counterpoint and tonal harmony of Bach and then the free-form impressionism of Debussy, Martin continued to search for

30

Dellinger, “Second Piano Concerto,” 1.

31

Roihl, “Le vin herbé,” 2.

10

his own authentic compositional voice well into adulthood. Ansermet writes that “few other composers in the history of music have shown such an example of late development.”32 Around the age of forty he began studying Schoenberg’s twelve-tone scores. Martin became one of the first composers outside Schoenberg’s circles to adopt dodecaphonic practices.33 He was looking for a way to develop and expand his style but had no intention of abandoning tonal hierarchies. He believed these were essential: The partial use of the twelve-tone technique has helped me to liberate myself from the shackles of acquired habits and ready-made rules. The direction in which I could never go in the school of Schoenberg was in the area of atonality: my whole musical experience resisted against it. Against atonality I have the same feeling as before a work of architecture that does not consider the force of gravity in the calculation, as before a world in which there is no vertical, no horizontal, where even a right angle is unknown.34 Martin’s aesthetic sensibility rendered tonal function in music axiomatic—“the foundation of all true music” 35—yet he no longer wished to be confined by tonal conventions. He used twelve-tone practices as a tool for expanding his compositional language, never feeling bound to follow prescriptive rules when they ran contrary to his artistic intuition. Martin was a prolific writer, and his philosophies in this regard are welldocumented in his own words: I must affirm that even if I obeyed, to a certain extent, some more or less arbitrary rules borrowed from the serial technique, I only have done so in search of a source of renovation. But I never felt that an absolute obedience to these rules had a value in itself. All rules after all, are only aimed at an enrichment of style, the Ernest Ansermet, “Music in Switzerland,” Larousse Encyclopedia of Music, ed.

Geoffrey Hindley, (New York: World, 1994), 486.

32

33

Morris, “Frank Martin,” 393.

34

Klein, Frank Martin, 24, quoted and translated in Melroy, “Martin’s ‘Golgotha,’” 9.

35

Martin, jacket notes of Le vin herbé, quoted in Louer, “Martin’s Le vin herbé,” 10.

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classical rules of harmony and counterpoint as well as any new ones, which we are free to adopt if we like. The obedience to these rules is nothing more than an elegance, an intellectual pleasure, which does not prove any value and carries no conviction. The only thing which can convince first the artist, then the listener, is the composer’s faithfulness, to his intimate sense of musical structure of expression.36

In his first published work to include twelve-tone rows, Quatre pieces breves for guitar (1933), Martin adhered more closely to prescribed twelve-tone principles than he would later in his career. 37 The several years that followed were an intense time of experimentation that led to the development of his mature style. Other works in this experimental period are the Rhapsodie for 2 violins, 2 violas, and double bass (1936), the Trio à cordes (1936), and his Symphonie (1936-37). The secular oratorio Le vin herbé (1938-41), scored for twelve solo voices, piano, and string septet, is generally considered to be the first major work that fully represents his newly-developed mature style. Martin himself identifies it as such: It was the first important work in which I spoke my own language… It is in Le vin herbé that I used my language with sureness and even, no doubt, greater ease than in later [works], because I had nothing behind me: all possibilities were on offer. 38

This personal idiom, consisting of a mixture of highly chromatic tonal harmony and twelve-tone practices, became the basis for all his works that followed.

36

Martin, A propos de, 183.

37

Flex Aprahamian, “Frank Martin,” Music and Musicians 19, no. 4 (1970): 45.

Martin, “Entretiens avec Frank Martin,” Zodiaque 103 (January 1975), quoted in Cooke, “Late Starter,” 135.

38

12

The Ballades Concurrent with the writing of Le vin herbé, Martin was also working on the Ballade for saxophone and orchestra. It was commissioned by the influential Germanborn saxophonist, Sigurd Raschèr, and premiered in Sydney, Australia in 1938. This would be the first of five other pieces featuring solo instruments that he also titled Ballade: for flute, piano, trombone, cello, and viola. Martin explains the rationale behind choosing this genre and what its implications are for the narrative character of the works: Why the title of Ballade, which is found so frequently in my works…? It is because I have found in this title the expression which conveys a free form and narrative character for these instrumental works. This is no ballade on the original sense of music for dancing (baller), nor is it a ballade in the sense of a poetic form, such as the ballades of Villon. It is in the romantic connotation of the term that I have taken the title of Ballade – in the spirit of the ballads of Ossian. There is in that something of the epic: it is a story one tells. 39

He arranged two of these for instruments other than those originally designated. The trombone Ballade may also be played on tenor saxophone and the saxophone Ballade may be played on either basset horn or flute. The arrangement for flute was discovered in 2008 by Maria Martin, hidden inside an old chest drawer in the home the two of them shared in the Netherlands. 40 It carries the full title of Deuxième Ballade pour flûte et piano ou flûte, orchestre à corde, piano et batterie, d’après la Ballade pour saxophone alto, orchestre à corde, piano et batterie. It is one of the primary subjects of Leeth’s 2015 dissertation. The Deuxième Ballade is nearly identical to the original for saxophone, but

39

Martin, A propos de, 185.

40

Konstantinos Andreou and Piet Roorda, "Deuxième Ballade—an unknown work of Frank Martin," Polytonon 41 (July-August 2010), 42-43, http://www.konstantinosandreou.com/deuxieme-ballade-an-unknownwork-of-frank-martin/.

13

has a few important differences. Some of these differences and their possible implications for saxophone performance are discussed in Appendix B. Although Le vin herbé is usually identified as the dividing line separating Martin’s exploratory work from the work of his maturity, the saxophone Ballade is similarly representative of his mature output.41 Martin completed the saxophone Ballade before Le vin herbé but began composing both pieces in 1938. At nearly two hours in duration, Le vin herbé is a more substantial piece that achieved greater recognition for the composer than any of his Ballades. This likely contributes to the reason the saxophone Ballade is rarely mentioned in connection to this turning point in Martin’s career.

Adam Muller cites correspondence between Raschèr and Martin revealing that the two were in regular contact with one another during the compositional process of the Ballade. Raschèr assisted Martin by providing details about the technical possibilities and idiomatic tendencies of the saxophone through letters and musical examples. 42 Muller also includes an excerpt from a letter of Martin to a Swiss public radio broadcasting station which provides further details surrounding the commission of the piece: It had already been several years that I had known Sigurd Raschèr and had admired without reservation his musicality and extraordinary mastery of the instrument that he chose for himself, the saxophone, when last year he came to play Debussy’s Rhapsodie and Ibert’s Concertino at one of our subscription concerts. After the concert, while I was introducing him to our fondue nationale,

Tupper places both Le vin herbé and the saxophone Ballade in Martin’s middle period rather than his mature period, but she is an outlier among scholars in this classification.

41

42

Frank Martin, Geneva, to Sigurd Raschèr, Shushan, 1938, transcript in the hand of Sigurd Raschèr, Sigurd Raschèr Archives, Music Room, Raschèr Residence, Shushan, NY, cited in Muller, “High Register Excerpts,” 26.

14

he so kindly asked me to write something for his “pipe”, a temptation that I couldn’t resist.43 The saxophone Ballade may have been the first of Martin’s major works performed in the United States, programmed as part of a 1939 concert intended to promote Swiss music.44 A copy of the original orchestral manuscript of the Ballade along with a version for saxophone and piano with a piano reduction by John Lenehan were published for the first time in 1966. Martin completed the arrangement for basset horn in 1974 for Swiss clarinetist Hans Rudolf Stadler. This version also used Lenahan’s piano reduction and was republished in 1981 with the title Ballade pour saxophone (cor de basset) et orchestre. The latest edition of the Ballade was published in 2005 by Universal Editions and features a piano reduction created by Martin himself. Leeth cites Maria Martin’s account of her husband’s dissatisfaction with Lenehan’s reduction as the motivating force behind the latest version. 45 Martin would have completed the piano reduction sometime between 1966 and 1974.46 Increasing the depth and breadth of English-language Martin scholarship has been the expressed intent of many Martin scholars for at least fifty years. More and more research is being published every year; yet, one is tempted to continue characterizing the

43

Frank Martin, Geneva, to Radio Suisse Romande, Geneva, 30 January 1939, transcript in the hand of Sigurd Raschèr, Sigurd Raschèr Archives, Music Room, Raschèr Residence, Shushan, NY, quoted in Muller, “High Register Excerpts,” 26.

Muller, “High Register Excerpts,” 26. Tupper places the first U.S. performance of Martin’s work in 1929. These may have been less substantial works than the saxophone Ballade (shorter chamber or solo works), or Muller may be in error. See Tupper, “Stylistic Analysis,” 1.

44

Hans Maas, “Frank Martin—Deuxième Ballade,” Fluit, (January 2010): 11, trans, Johnvan der Munnik, cited in Leeth, “Martin’s Arranged Works,” 101.

45

Publication details of the preceding paragraph are taken from Leeth, “Martin’s Arranged Works,” 100-101.

46

15

state of current scholarship as having a “lamentable dearth” of English sources, as Cooke did in 1990.47 The saxophone Ballade is an important piece in the saxophone’s repertoire that has received little scholarly attention. By presenting my findings related to twelvetone practices and harmony in the Ballade and by demonstrating a previously unexamined stylistic kinship between Martin and Berg, this thesis helps expand the slowly-growing pool of English-language Martin scholarship.

47

Cooke, “Martin’s Early Development,” 473.

16

CHAPTER TWO: TWELVE-TONE PRACTICES

Given Martin’s idiosyncratic approach to twelve-tone writing, some traditional methods of analysis fail to provide a complete or accurate picture of its use in the saxophone Ballade. Typically, one might expect to find one or two rows, their transformations (inversion, retrograde, and retrograde inversion), and various row segments governing the vast majority—if not the entirety—of the compositional process.

In the saxophone Ballade, however, Martin samples from an array of dodecaphonic practices while avoiding some of the more common ones (retrograde and retrograde inversion are rarely used, for example). In addition to a primary row, Martin draws on secondary twelve-tone rows, various ordered and unordered segments of the primary row (particularly tetrachordal and hexachordal subsets), implicit tonal features of the row, one series of fewer than twelve notes, and unordered twelve-tone aggregates. Rather than offer a comprehensive serial analysis, this chapter aims to identify and describe these practices.

The Primary Row The primary row and its derivatives make up the majority of the serial material of the saxophone Ballade. The prime form of the primary row is given in Example 2.1.

Twelve-tone matrices for each row of the Ballade are presented in Appendix A. 17

Example 2.1 – Primary row of the saxophone Ballade

Martin predominantly uses the row in melodic settings and only occasionally in harmonic settings. Incomplete row statements are widespread. In keeping with the twelve-tone aesthetic of Martin’s mature work, the row is most frequently given to the low voices of cellos and basses while higher voices receive it less often. Several features of the row are extracted for use as motives and referential collections outside of full-row contexts.

These include typical trichordal, tetrachordal, and hexachordal subset extractions as well as tonal elements. Sometimes the extracted features retain the same sequence of pitches of the primary row while at other times they are used as unordered pitch-class sets.

A great deal of twelve-tone music is constructed so that all or very nearly all of the pitch material can be traced directly back to its place within a source twelve-tone row.

Martin’s approach is far less rigid. Significant portions of the saxophone Ballade have only a marginal or indirect relationship with the primary row. The opening Largo section is particularly noteworthy because, unlike every other large formal section of the piece, the row is present in at least one voice at all times. Only prime-form transpositions of the row are used here; inversions and other ordered row derivatives are avoided until the following Allegro molto section.

The first appearance of the row is foreshadowed by the opening pedal E in the basses and cellos. When the row begins to unfold in m. 16, it becomes retrospectively

18

apparent that the opening pedal tone is in fact the first pitch of P4. 48 When each of the twelve pitches has been stated, the low strings return to a pedal E at m. 28. This coincides with a return to the opening saxophone melody and chordal string accompaniment.

From m. 35 to the final measures of the Largo there are nearly always two rows present in different voices at any given time. The row is featured much more prominently in this section than elsewhere in the piece. Example 2.2 presents a reduced score containing each row statement of this section for ease of analysis (non-row material is either omitted from the example or indicated with small notation). The P9 saxophone row beginning in m. 35 is incomplete on its own. It ends on order number 11 (D5) in m. 38 of the saxophone part. The saxophone then returns to the opening melodic motive (centered on D this time rather than F). Meanwhile, the basses and cellos are given a complete statement of P2 (mm. 34-38) before beginning a long sequence of P5 statements. P5 is gradually introduced in the remaining string voices. The first P5 row is noteworthy because it contains what would appear to be a misplaced C♯ between two iterations of order position 4, G♮, in m. 39. However, the C♯ completes the preceding P9 statement from the saxophone melody. Curiously, the same is not true when a parallel passage using the same rhythm and interval arises in m. 46. Martin introduces an extra note between two iterations of order position 5 (C to F♯), but the extra note does not belong to any of the surrounding rows. The P5 row in the violin beginning in m. 39 is also completed in the saxophone.

48

Labelling conventions in twelve-tone analysis are not standardized. Row forms in this document are labelled according to the first pitch class of the row, with C designated as pitch class 0. P4 refers to the prime-form row beginning on pitch class E. 19

The saxophone is given a modified version of P10 leading up to the climax of this section in mm. 47-49. Although P10 strays from the prevailing P5 texture, it does not represent a complete break from it. The first tetrachord of P5 and the second tetrachord of P10 are invariant (Example 2.2, mm. 49-50). Two non-row pitches in m. 50 begin a sequence of F – E dyads in each voice of the orchestra, appearing first in the cellos and basses, followed by the violins, and completed by the violas (shown in boxes in Example 2.2). This sets in motion a strict two-voice canon of P5 row statements. The two voices of the canon are separated by a quarter note. The second cellos and basses enter with P5 on beat four of m. 50 and the first violins and first cellos begin on the downbeat of the following measure. The remaining strings quickly join the violins and first cellos, leaving only the saxophone outside of the canon. The Largo section ends with an exact repetition of mm. 2-5. Whereas the opening pedal E may be retrospectively interpreted as the first pitch of P4, the pedal E of mm. 54-58 is in fact order position 2 of P5.

20

Example 2.2 – Various occurrences of the primary row, mm. 35-54

21

Example 2.2 – continued

22

Tonal elements of the primary row The tonal underpinnings of the primary row are plainly observable in its first appearance in mm. 16-27 (Example 2.3). The registral partitioning of this passage divides the first eight pitches of the row into four overlapping conventional triads—E minor and G major in the higher register, E♭ minor and G♭ major in the lower. The presence of these chords on the surface of the music is clear enough, though the juxtaposition makes it difficult to aurally perceive them. An analytical reading of Em7 and E♭m7 chords would account for all of these triads more efficiently than the triadic reading presented below.

However, seventh chords do not play the significant role in the saxophone Ballade that conventional triads do.

Example 2.3 – Primary row, mm. 16-27

The final tetrachord of the row is unambiguously tonal. Its first three pitches comprise a second inversion F major triad. The major third of the triad, A♮, then descends to A♭. This segment is regularly extracted as a major to minor harmonic progression that serves as a sign of resolution in the saxophone Ballade. Unlike the preceding juxtaposed triads, this major-minor tetrachord is sometimes more easily aurally perceived. For 23

example, in m. 176 the primary row is given to the first violins (Example 2.4). The P1 row statement opens with a second inversion D major triad (the row begins on order position 9). The sustained nature of this melodic line helps the major triad and subsequent mode shift stand out despite being obscured by dissonant accompanimental figures in the rest of the orchestra.

Example 2.4 – Aurally perceivable primary row triad, mm. 176-181

Intervallic and pitch-class set analysis of the primary row Several analysts commenting on Martin’s melodic style mention his frequent use of minor seconds and minor thirds. 49 In assessing the composer’s general melodic tendencies around the time of the saxophone Ballade, Tupper writes, “All melodies show Martin's preference for an economy of means; he relies on sequences and the use of the same interval types over and over again, with a marked predisposition for the minor third

Leeth, “Martin’s Arranged Works,” 42; Roihl, “Le vin herbé,” 137; Tupper, “Stylistic Analysis,” 29.

49

24

and seconds.”50 Although this assessment is intended for Martin’s melodic style in general rather than the intervallic makeup of his twelve-tone rows in particular, the rows themselves sometimes warrant the same characterization. For example, roughly two thirds of the interval classes used in the three twelve-tone rows of Le vin herbé are minor seconds or minor thirds.51 The same is not true of the primary row of the saxophone Ballade. Its intervallic content consists of six minor seconds, four major thirds, and two perfect fourths (including the interval between the last and first note of the row). Minor seconds make up half of the total interval classes while minor thirds are conspicuously absent. Despite this, the unordered trichord, tetrachord, and hexachord pitch-class subsets of the row do favor both intervals. These subsets are frequently extracted and used as individual compositional units throughout the piece. They occasionally appear in the prescribed order of the primary row but they are more frequently used as unordered pitchclass sets. Some uses of the most commonly extracted subsets are discussed below.

Trichord subsets The pitch-class sets (0,1,4) and (0,1,2) are nearly ubiquitous in the melodies of the saxophone Ballade while (0,1,5) is used less frequently (Example 2.5). When these trichords appear, they are often members of larger primary row subsets. The interval vectors reflect primarly minor seconds and both major and minor thirds. The minor third interval class exists only in the unordered (0,1,4) pitch-class set between the nonadjacent first and third members of the trichord (G and E or A♭ and F in Example 2.5). Even

50

Tupper, “Stylistic Analysis,” 29.

51

Roihl, “Le vin herbé,” 137.

25

though the primary row of the Ballade has no minor thirds, Martin’s use of this interval in unordered segmental extractions reflects his general intervallic preferences.

Example 2.5 – Primary row trichords and interval vectors

Tetrachord subsets Dividing the row into three contiguous tetrachords yields only two distinct pitchclass sets. The first and most commonly extracted subset is (0,1,3,4). The interval vector of (0,1,3,4) shows that minor seconds and minor thirds are twice as prominent as the other intervals in the set. Given that this set appears twice in the primary row and that its intervallic content favors minor seconds and minor thirds, it is unsurprising that it also functions as a fundamental melodic building block of the Ballade. It is used so commonly that a complete accounting of its appearances is impractical. Two examples are given directly below; more examples follow later in this chapter.

Example 2.6 – Primary row tetrachords and interval vectors

26

The first phrase of the opening melody draws on (0,1,3,4) (Example 2.7). The set is rearranged from its prescribed twelve-tone order, but it uses the same notes as the first tetrachord of P3. The two motives of this phrase return many times throughout the work and embody some of the saxophone Ballade’s most recognizable thematic material.

Example 2.7 – (0,1,3,4) in the opening saxophone melody, mm. 1-6

The melodic ordering of (0,1,3,4) varies from one passage to the next, at times arising as a conjunct scale and at other times as two minor thirds separated by a half step. Example 2.8 shows (0,1,3,4) in two successive appearances with different orderings in the solo saxophone.

Example 2.8 – Conjunct and disjunct use of (0,1,3,4), mm. 42-45

Some of the tonal implications of the last tetrachord of the primary row, (0,3,4,7), were mentioned above. It is useful to conceptualize the (0,3,4,7) tetrachord as a consonant triad with both a major and minor third. Unlike (0,1,3,4), this set is rarely used in a strictly linear fashion outside of its original row context. It is usually extracted as a vertical major triad which subsequently “resolves” to a minor triad. The integral nature of 27

this major-minor dualism or resolution is not exclusive to the saxophone Ballade’s compositional rhetoric. Martin uses the same device in his Second Piano Concerto. 52 Example 2.9 contains the three clearest instances. The passage shown in Example 2.9a serves as the culmination of the transitional section beginning at m. 152, ushering in the starkly contrasting Lento of m. 176. Example 2.9b takes place in a parallel formal position, concluding the transitional section of m. 239 before moving on to a short reprise of the opening Lento theme and cadenza. Example 2.9c is taken from the final measures of the piece.

52

Dellinger “Martin’s Second Piano Concerto,” 51.

28

Example 2.9 – (0,3,4,7) major-minor harmonic resolutions a. mm. 166-175

b. mm. 253-257

29

Example 2.9 – continued

c. mm. 399-400

There are a handful of examples in which the (0,3,4,7) tetrachord is extracted from the row for melodic use. Two parallel passages from the piano part in mm. 83-84 and 157158 demonstrate a linear extraction of the set. Rather than the major-minor triad reading that worked well above, the linear setting of Example 2.10 suggests an alternative reading of the tetrachord. These passages divide the set into two stacked minor thirds separated by a minor second. A similar analytical reading is also possible for (0,1,3,4), though the position of the minor second separating the two thirds is located in a different position (Example 2.11).

30

Example 2.10 – Linear use of (0,3,4,7) tetrachord a. piano, mm. 83-84

b. piano, mm. 157-158

Example 2.11 – Minor-third partitions of primary row tetrachords

Each of the contiguous tetrachords from the primary row are subsets of the octatonic collection, (0,1,3,4,6,7,9,10). Whenever the octatonic collection is used in the Ballade, primary row tetrachords are also present—at least in an abstract way. This helps contextualize the transitional theme of rehearsal numbers 9, 18, and 29 (mm. 79, 152, and 239), which is largely octatonic and otherwise demonstrates little influence from the primary row. The first appearance of the transitional theme in m. 79 begins with six notes of the octatonic collection, (0,1,3,4,6,7). Example 2.12a excerpts this portion of the theme and 2.12b shows the two (0,1,3,4) sets within it.

31

Example 2.12 – (0,1,3,4) within transitional theme a. Score excerpt, mm. 79-81

b. Tetrachord subsets

The following example is taken from the transitional theme of rehearsal 18 (m. 152). This passage draws exclusively on the octatonic collection. Example 2.13 excerpts part of the theme beginning at m. 161. Seven notes of the octatonic collection are used immediately in mm. 161-162. The delayed appearance of the final pitch of the set (Gâ™­) corresponds with the major to minor resolution of (0,3,4,7) in Example 2.9a, above.

32

Example 2.13 – (0,3,4,7) in octatonic transitional theme, mm. 161-175

One last example of the octatonic collection in the saxophone Ballade is given in Example 2.14. This passage is the final occurrence of the transitional theme. It uses the octatonic collection exclusively.

33

Example 2.14 – Octatonic transitional theme, mm. 239-251

Hexachord subsets The primary row’s two contiguous hexachords are occasionally used as standalone subsets independent of a twelve-tone context. Their prime forms, (0,1,3,4,7,8) and (0,1,2,5,6,9), are shown in Example 2.15.

Example 2.15 – Primary row hexachords

34

Additional hexachordal subsets are also extracted from the row. Martin’s dodecaphonic practice treats twelve-tone rows as continuous “rings.” While, for analytical purposes, rows must usually be described as beginning on a particular pitch, Martin’s rows, in practice, do not necessarily have firmly designated first or last pitches.

Any pitch-class from the row may be chosen as a starting or ending point. Consequently, any given row may have up to twelve distinct hexachordal (or any other subset) groupings – one for each order position of the row. The prime form of each of the twelve hexachords of the primary row is listed in Table 2.1. When examined in this way, four pairs of matching hexachords emerge: (0,1,3,4,7,8), (0,1,4,5,8,9), (0,1,3,4,5,8), and (0,1,2,5,6,9). These paired hexachords feature prominently in both the melodic and harmonic material of the Ballade. They occasionally appear in their original order from the primary row but are more commonly used as unordered pitch-class sets. The four remaining unpaired hexachords rarely appear outside the context of the primary row.

35

Table 2.1 – Primary row hexachords by order position Order position

Hexachord

1

(0,1,3,4,7,8)

2

(0,1,4,5,8,9)

3

(0,1,3,4,7,8)

4

(0,1,2,3,4,8)

5

(0,1,2,3,4,7)

6

(0,1,3,4,5,8)

7

(0,1,2,5,6,9)

8

(0,1,4,5,8,9)

9

(0,1,2,5,6,9)

10

(0,1,2,4,5,6)

11

(0,1,2,3,5,6)

12

(0,1,3,4,5,8)

There are a handful of passages that make use of ordered hexachord subsets.

These take place in the second major formal section of the piece, Allegro molto (mm. 5878), and during the recapitulation of this section in mm. 340-364. Example 2.16a shows (0,1,3,4,7,8) as it appears in an I11 row statement beginning with order position 3. 53 This material is duplicated either at the same pitch level or at various transpositions in mm. 63

53

R2 beginning with order position 7 is another possible reading. There will always be two possible row form designations for any of the paired hexachord subsets because they appear twice within the primary row. Martin does not use retrograde row forms at any other point in the Ballade, so the I-row form reading seems the more reasonable analytical choice.

36

(I11), 67 (I5), 340 (I0), 348 (I1), and 352 (I6). Although the saxophone gesture in m. 74 (Example 2.16b) only contains five notes, it is consistent with the same I-form hexachord as the preceding example. This is also true of the corresponding restatement of this gesture when it is recapitulated in m. 359.

Example 2.16 – Ordered primary row hexachord (0,1,3,4,7,8) segment a. I11 (order numbers 3-8), m. 58

b. I5 (order numbers 3-7), alto saxophone, m. 74,

The prevalence of unordered primary row hexachords further demonstrates a broad consistency and cohesion in Martin’s twelve-tone aesthetic. Two such hexachords are present in mm. 74-78 (Example 2.17). The first corresponds with the hexachord 37

beginning on order position 2 from P1, the second with the hexachord beginning on either order position 8 of P3 or order position 2 of P5 (this set exists in two P-form rows because of its inversional symmetry). This passage is repeated one half step higher in mm. 359-363.

Example 2.17 – Unordered primary row hexachords, mm. 74-78

It remains unclear whether the unordered row-derived hexachords are byproducts of a compositional language based on smaller units (minor seconds, minor thirds, tonal triads, and primary row trichords and tetrachords), or deliberate twelve-tone row extractions. The cadenza, for example, is rich with unordered primary row hexachords.

The first melodic gesture of Example 2.18a (ending on the fermata) contains three overlapping but distinct hexachords: the first two groupings correspond with the P11/I8 and P6/I3 row forms, respectively. Here, the larger (0,1,2,5,6,9) hexachords are made up 38

of several interlocking (0,1,4) and (0,1,2) trichords, which supports interpreting the hexachords as coincidental byproducts of a compositional language based on smaller subsets. However, the final A♎ of this gesture suggests otherwise. Its presence expands on the I3 hexachord immediately preceding it to encompass seven adjacent pitches of the same row form—order positions 6-12—and creates the next hexachord of I3, (0,1,3,4,5,8). Immediately following the fermata are several instances of (0,1,3,4,7,8) and (0,1,3,4,5,8).54 The ending flourish of the cadenza (Example 2.18b) is another selfcontained occurrence of (0,1,3,4,7,8). This corresponds with either the P11 hexachord beginning on order position three or the first hexachord of I8.

54

The pitch organization of this example may also be explained through examining the relationship of conventional triads to one another. Notice that the first hexachord is partitioned into D minor and C-sharp minor triads. The interplay of major and minor triads in the cadenza and throughout the piece will be examined in chapter 3.

39

Example 2.18 – Unordered primary row hexachord and trichord subsets, cadenza a.

b.

One last passage with row-related hexachords is given in Example 2.19. The first two overlapping hexachords in the saxophone are again made up of several interlocking (0,1,3) sets: [G♯ – E – A], [E – A – F], and [C♯ – B♭ – D]. Unlike the passage shown in Example 2.18, octave displacements are used here in such a way that only one minor third is present and minor seconds are avoided entirely. The internal voice leading of the

40

two (0,1,4,5,8,9) hexachords that follow in mm. 365 and 369 is analogous to the hexachord of mm. 77-78 (shown above in Example 2.17).

Example 2.19 – Unordered primary row hexachords, mm. 364-371

Secondary Rows Two secondary twelve-tone rows are used in the saxophone Ballade. These are derived from either the intervallic configuration or the melodic contour of the primary row and they undergo few traditional twelve-tone transformations. Secondary row 1

41

(SR1) is used as a prominent recurring theme while secondary row 2 (SR2) occupies a less significant role.

Secondary Row 1 SR1 is used at many different transpositional levels but never inverted or retrograde form. With few exceptions, its melodic contour is fixed (octave displacements are not used) and the relative rhythmic durations of each pitch within it are consistent from one statement to the next. In this regard, it functions as a simple twelve-tone theme rather than a fully-developed twelve-tone row. The triadic framework of the primary row is absent in SR1, but both rows share several other things in common. Comparing the linear interval vector of the primary row, <600420>, with the SR1 vector, <700410>, reveals that the totals of each interval type are nearly identical in each row. Additionally, the first tetrachord of both rows is (0,1,3,4). SR1 serves as the declamatory introduction to the second large formal section of the piece (Allegro molto, mm. 58-151). The SR1 theme is developed in the cadenza, and it returns again near the end of the piece (m. 340).

As the Ballade moves towards its climax, Martin extracts the rhythmic structure of the secondary row and inserts new pitch material into it (discussed in Chapter 4).

Example 2.20 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Secondary row 1

42

Example 2.21 contains the first statement of SR1. This row never appears in a single voice in its entirety. In fact, its first appearance is the only instance in which all twelve-pitches of the row are actually present. The saxophone melody uses ten pitches of the row while the remaining two pitches are found in the strings as accompaniment. Each subsequent appearance of SR1 is a fragment of eleven pitches or fewer.

Example 2.21 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; First appearance of secondary row 1, mm. 59-61

Immediately following the conclusion of the saxophoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s SR1 theme in m. 61, the orchestra is given its own statement of SR1P9. This row statement is remarkable because it unfolds in simultaneously sounding dyads in the violas rather than strictly melodically (Example 2.22). Vertical partitioning of twelve-tone rows is uncommon in the saxophone Ballade. This example is one of the few times that SR1 is not used with the rhythmic and intervallic structure of its opening thematic appearance. It contributes to the analytical rationale for classifying it as a stand-alone twelve-tone row.

43

Example 2.22 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Vertical partitioning of SR1, m. 61

The next appearance of SR1 in mm. 63-70 is a ten-note fragment given to the saxophone (Example 2.23). Order numbers 8 and 9 are omitted, perhaps for phrasing or register considerations.

Example 2.23 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; SR1, mm. 63-70

44

SR1 is used extensively in the cadenza beginning about midway through at the 3/4 time signature. Example 2.24 begins with three sequential row fragments. Each subsequent statement occurs one half step higher than the previous (P8, P9, and P10) with nearly identical rhythms. The placement of these three row fragments in close succession highlights a noteworthy property of SR1. The first and last pitches of any two P row forms separated by a minor second are invariant with one another (order number 12 of P8 is invariant with order number 1 of P9, for example). The invariant pitches from these three row statements are omitted, perhaps with the expectation that the listener make the tacit connection of invariance between them.

Example 2.24 concludes with a nearly complete return of SR1P9. The end of the passage coincides with the climax of the cadenza and would seem a logical moment to showcase the row melodically in its entirety for the first and only time in the piece.

Instead, Martin chooses to continue the chromatic descent established in order numbers 8 through 11 (F, E, D♯, D) to end on C♯ rather than completing the row with order number 12 (A♯) and maintaining the integrity of the row. The chromatic descent to C♯ places the climax of the cadenza on the alto saxophone’s lowest note and continues the downward trajectory of the melodic line, creating a more musically intuitive gesture and further demonstrating Martin’s give-and-take relationship with twelve-tone practices. Roihl remarks on a similarly orthodoxy-defying passage in Le vin herbé: “While this [particular twelve-tone] omission could be an oversight, or may even serve some deliberate musical or symbolic purpose, most likely it simply reflects the high degree of latitude Martin accorded himself in incorporating certain features of 12-tone technique

45

into his music.”55 It is clear that Martin does not place value in completing the twelvetone row for its own sake above other compositional inclinations.

Example 2.24 – SR1 statements in the cadenza

SR1 returns near the end of the piece in mm. 341-351 with a statement of P10 followed immediately by P11 (Example 2.25). This is a straightforward recapitulation of the SR1 material first presented in m. 59. The row is harmonized in the piano, primarily with major thirds/minor sixths. Martin regularly harmonizes twelve-tone material in the Ballade. This technique leads to the formation of both SR2 and the series X aggregate, discussed below.

55

Roihl, “Le vin herbé,” 141.

46

Example 2.25 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Harmonized SR1 statement, mm. 341-351

Secondary Row 2 SR2 plays a less significant role than SR1. It is used three times in prime form (mm. 176-181, 190-195, and 213-216), and once in inversion (mm. 222-225). It functions as a note-for-note harmonization of the primary row in each of these instances, predominantly forming major and minor third intervals with the primary row.

Example 2.26 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Secondary row 2

The passage excerpted in Example 2.27a contains three different rows. It is one of the few instances in the Ballade in which the prevailing texture is entirely twelve-tone.

47

Every note can be attributed to a row. The passage in Example 2.27b features SR2 in inverted form.

Example 2.27 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Secondary row 2 passages a. First appearance of SR2, mm. 176-181

48

Example 2.27 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; continued

b. SR2 in inversion, mm. 222-225

The analytical rationale for classifying SR2 as a secondary row is more tenuous than for SR1. SR2 is completely dependent on the primary row for context and is never developed melodically on its own. In each occurrence of SR2, when the simultaneous primary row statement concludes and another statement begins one would expect to find SR2 beginning again as well. Instead, the melodic line continuing on from the end of SR2 ventures into non-serial material. In Example 2.27a, for example, the primary row begins a new statement in m. 181 while SR2 does not. It may be coincidental that the first twelve notes of this primary row harmonization includes every pitch class. Two features stand out that support designating this series a secondary twelve-tone row. First, it is the only twelve-tone aggregate other than the primary row to be used in inversion. Other aggregates are modified by transposition only. Second, the prime form of its two contiguous hexachords are (0,1,2,5,6,9) and (0,1,3,4,7,8). These hexachords are identical to those of the primary row, though they appear in reverse order.56

56

As a result, the primary row and SR2 exhibit hexachordal combinatoriality. For example, P6 of SR2 shares the same hexachords as I10 of the primary row. The relationship appears to be coincidental, as Martin does not exploit it.

49

Non-Row Series and Aggregates The X hexachord The six-note ordered series of Example 2.28 represents a facet of Martinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s serial aesthetic that draws on series of fewer than twelve notes. For ease of discussion, I have named this series hexachord X. Its two trichords, (0,1,5) and (0,1,2), are identical to the two interior trichords of the primary row. The X hexachord places the (0,1,2) trichord within the registral boundaries of (0,1,5), resulting in a fully chromatic (0,1,2,3,4,5) hexachord. It is introduced in mm. 67-73 and overlaps with the simultaneous statement of SR1. As such, the first three pitches of the series are invariant with the last three pitches of P9 of SR1 (see Example 2.23, mm. 67-70).

Example 2.28 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Hexachord X series

The X hexachord aggregate The X hexachord series is used a number of times as a standalone melodic gesture with various rhythmic configurations (mm. 68-70, 71-72, 73, 133, end of cadenza, 293, 354-55, 356-57, 358). Beyond this, it is used as the starting point for a thematic twelvetone aggregate. Beginning at m. 88, an unaltered statement of the series is given to the violas and violins while the saxophone receives an embellished version (Example 2.29a).

Each note of the X hexachord is paired with another note at the interval of a minor third, either above or below the note from the original six-note series. The resulting theme is a

50

twelve-tone aggregate, completed by the pedal D in the cellos and piano. While this theme is used at two different transpositions, it does not receive any other traditional twelve-tone transformations, segmental extractions, or rhythmic variations. The rhythms and order of pitches remain constant each time the theme is used. The minor third pairings are seen more easily when the repeated pitches of the aggregate are omitted (Example 2.29b).

Example 2.29 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; X hexachord aggregate a. Score excerpt, mm. 89-91

b. Repeated notes removed and minor third pairings highlighted, mm. 89-91

51

Many of the subset groupings of the primary row are borrowed and rearranged in the X hexachord aggregate, giving the two pitch collections a marked resemblance to one another. Example 2.30 highlights some of the similarities, extracting the minor third pairings for analysis. Both the aggregate and the primary row contain two occurrences of the (0,1,3,4) tetrachord as well as two minor seventh chords. Furthermore, dividing the aggregate into contiguous hexachords yields two instances of (0,1,3,4,5,8) — one of the doubled hexachords of the primary row (see Figure 2.1, above). Accordingly, the unordered hexachords of the X hexachord aggregate in mm. 89-91 demonstrate combinatoriality with P11 of the primary row beginning with order position 12: [D# – B – A# – D – C# – F#] / [F – A – G# – G – C – E].

Example 2.30 – X hexachord aggregate partitioned into dyads

The embellishing set of pitches added to the X hexachord to create the full twelve-tone aggregate are transpositionally equivalent to the original hexachord itself.

This is seen by dividing the aggregate into its component trichord subsets (Example 2.31). The trichords of the embellishment appear in reverse order from those of the original series. Partitioned in this way, all of the trichord subset groupings of the X hexachord aggregate also exist in the primary row.

52

Example 2.31 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Trichord components of X hexachord aggregate a. Original X hexachord partitioned into trichords

b. X hexachord embellishment partitioned into trichords

It could be reasonable to classify the X hexachord aggregate as a standalone secondary row, given that it always appears with the same order of twelve pitches, but this would deemphasize the importance of the X hexachord as the underlying source material for the aggregate. One last example helps support the aggregate reading.

Differently harmonized versions of the X hexachord appear several times near the end of the piece. In these instances, harmonizing intervals of major thirds and one perfect fifth are used rather than minor thirds as in the X aggregate. The two excerpts presented in Example 33 do not use all twelve pitch classes. Each separate iteration of the X hexachord is indicated with brackets. Notice the similarity of these harmonizations of the X hexachord with the harmonizations of SR1 and the primary row (Examples 2.25 and 2.27a, above).

53

Example 3.32 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Non-aggregate X hexachord harmonizations a. mm. 353-358

b. mm. 372-375

54

Unordered twelve-tone aggregates Some passages in the saxophone Ballade cannot be directly attributed to or derived from any of the series described above but, nonetheless, methodically employ each of the twelve pitch classes in aggregate. The examples below contain instances of clearly delineated aggregates as well as more loosely defined twelve-note groups.

Drawing attention to both ordered and unordered aggregate types continues to illustrate Martinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s personalized aesthetic with regard to twelve-tone writing in the Ballade. The compositional language is often intensely chromatic and dissonant even in the absence of twelve-tone rows. The passages discussed below are two of the most compelling examples of unordered aggregates.

Two particularly compelling examples of this are shown in Examples 2.33 and 2.34. The opening Largo section is shown in Example 2.33, where a series of aggregates coincides with the first statement of the primary row. As P4 unfolds in the cellos, intermediary aggregates are formed with the accompanying pitches in the remaining strings and solo saxophone. Of particular interest here are the hexachordal subsets of each aggregate. The first four measures of this passage are clearly delineated into (0,1,2,4,5,8) hexachords. Each measure contains one pitch from the primary row and exactly half of a twelve-tone aggregate. However, the pattern breaks down as the rhythms of the primary row statement accelerate in mm. 20-21. Although these two measures contain all twelve notes (over the duration of four members of the primary row rather than two), some of the notes are repeated and no meaningful hexachordal analysis here seems impractical.

The hexachord pattern returns in mm. 22-24 with three consecutive uses of (0,1,2,4,5,8).

These are more loosely connected than previously, as the first two hexachords combine to

55

form an aggregate while the third one has no partner. The aggregate pattern transforms into non-aggregate chromaticism as the primary row statement comes to an end in mm.

25-27.

Example 2.33 â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Twelve-tone aggregates with (0,1,2,4,5,8) hexachords, mm. 16-24

56

Example 2.33 - continued

57

Example 2.33 - continued

A parallel passage at mm. 205-206 (Example 2.34) supports the (0,1,2,4,5,8) hexachordal analysis of the preceding example. The rhythms, instrumentation, and transposition have all been modified at m. 205, but the hexachordal aggregate material is identical to mm. 16-19. Here, the harmonic rhythm passes twice as quickly as that of Example 2.33.

Example 2.34 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; (0,1,2,4,5,8) hexachord aggregate, mm. 205-206

58

Summary Various compositional practices contribute to Martinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s twelve-tone aesthetic in the saxophone Ballade. In addition to straightforward, linear primary-row statements, tetra- and hexachordal subsets are routinely extracted from the row. The primary row is responsible for the majority of the Balladeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s twelve-tone source material, but secondary twelve-tone rows, the X hexachord series, and twelve-tone aggregates also add to its serial profile. The capacity for tonal allusion within twelve-tone elements is an integral component. Most of the examples of this chapter have been focused on melody, as this is Martinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s preferred compositional vehicle for engaging with twelve-tone rows. Harmonic material in the Ballade has many more tonal implications and is the subject of the following chapter.

59

CHAPTER THREE: HARMONY

Martin believed a degree of tonality to be fundamental for creating an effective musical rhetoric. His use of tonic and dominant relationships, pedal tones, and both functional and non-functional triads in conjunction with twelve-tone practices in the saxophone Ballade demonstrate the nuanced juxtaposition of tonality and dodecaphony that is characteristic of his mature style. Despite the presence of explicit elements of tonal harmony throughout the saxophone Ballade, the piece does not often sound functionally tonal. Progressions with chords beyond tonic and dominant are exceedingly rare, and harmonic resolutions lack some of the weightiness and predictability of a tonal cadence.

Still, the Ballade is intensely triadic, and there are many instances of clear dominant and tonic relationships (some of these triadic passages derived from the primary row were discussed in chapter two).

Many of Roihl’s observations of tonality in Le vin herbé could easily have been written about the saxophone Ballade. He coins the term “tonal sensibility,” which describes Martin’s tendency to avoid writing long passages of music that fit securely within a particular key, favoring instead transient tonal centers that are loosely defined through four compositional techniques: With rare exception, tonality does not appear to serve in the classical sense as an organizing force in the musical structure, wherein a particular tonal center is sustained throughout the course of a large section or passage; rather, momentary and often fleeting affirmations of various tonal centers occur intermittently 60

throughout the work. These tonal suggestions are proffered by means of four main techniques: (1) the prolongation of a particular tone as a pedal, usually (though not always) in the bass; (2) the suggestion of a local tonic by means of a functional harmonic progression (i.e. a succession of harmonic sonorities suggestive of an authentic cadence); (3) the suggestion of a local tonic through the emphasis of a functional melodic interval in the bass (i.e., a descending perfect fifth or ascending perfect fourth); and (4) the conspicuous use of tonally suggestive sonorities (e.g., major and minor triads), which are often emphasized by virtue of their duration and/or structural placement (e.g., at a point of repose). 57

Progressions beyond dominant and tonic function are essentially nonexistent in the saxophone Ballade. Martin establishes tonal centers by other means, the most common of which in is through extended pedal tones. These are often supported by a line articulating perfect fifths in the bass. Sometimes the harmony gradually shifts from one tonal center to another by way of what Martin scholars have termed “gliding tonality.”

Straightforward tonal cadences are sometimes used at pivotal moments. A significant controlling sonority (the “main chord”) made up of superimposed triads also plays an important role. Each of these harmonic characteristics is discussed below.

Pedal Tones The most common method of establishing tonal centers in the Ballade, and in Martin’s mature music more generally, is through pedal tones.58 Sometimes they are reinforced by tonal chords or bass motion by fifth, but there may be no indication of tonal center beyond the prevailing sustained tone, as is true for the pedal E of the opening Largo section (mm. 1-57). Sometimes the pedal tone of a given passage and the

57

Roihl, “Le vin herbé,”120-121.

58

Ibid., 117.

61

functional tonal center are not the same. When this is the case, the pedal tone is usually a prolonged dominant that supports a tonal center a fifth below it. 59 The X aggregate theme of the Piu mosso, mm. 88-105, shown in Example 3.1 represents one such scenario. The melody of the X aggregate theme contains all twelve pitch classes and features a pedal tone on D with an implied tonal center of G. The tonal center is reached by way of I â&#x20AC;&#x201C; V motion in the low voices, the implied root position G major triad in mm. 88-89, and the continued pedal on the dominant. Throughout the saxophone Ballade, Martin uses this ascending fifth/descending fourth motive in the timpani to emphasize dominant-function pedal tones.

Example 3.1 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; D pedal tone and G tonal center in X aggregate theme, mm. 88-92

This material returns three times in the recapitulation of this section after the cadenza â&#x20AC;&#x201C; twice in G major (mm. 270 and 283) and once in E major (m. 293). The transposed version at m. 293 gives the X aggregate theme to the violins and features a bass line that

59

At mm. 101 and 283, the pedal tone is sustained on the third scale degree of the prevailing tonal center. B is established as the tonal center here through fifth motion in the bass voices. See Example 3.11a.

62

more explicitly confirms the tonic through repeated iterations of E in the bass (Example 3.2).

Example 3.2 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; B pedal tone and E tonal center in X aggregate theme, mm. 293-297

Table 3.1 lists each of the tonal centers established by pedal tone in the saxophone Ballade. Places where these overlap are instances of gliding tonality, discussed below.

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Table 3.1 – Pedal tones and tonal centers of the saxophone Ballade

Measure number

Pedal tone (implied tonal center)

1-16, 28-34, 54-57

E

79-86

G♯ (C♯ tonal center)

87-98, 101-110

D (G and B tonal centers)

152-164

E (A tonal center)

162-175

B♭ (E♭ tonal center)

233-238

D

239-248

E♭ (A♭ tonal center)

245-265

F♯ (B tonal center)

266-268

274-281, 283-292

E

D (G and B tonal centers)

293-297

B (E tonal center)

378-389

G

390-394

E

396-404

G♯

64

Tonic/Dominant Relationships When I – V or V – I relationships are present, they usually mark the beginning or end of large formal sections. These are often indicated by the bass voice alone and may have no accompanying chords to reinforce the tonal relationship. At more significant structural moments, a complete tonic chord is present. Most of the tonic/dominant relationships occur in the formal section of the piece marked by the X aggregate theme (mm. 79-175, Piu mosso), the recapitulation of this section after the cadenza (mm. 270339, Allegro leggero), and the ending coda (mm. 390-404, Prestissimo).

The harmonic formula for I – V progressions generally follows the precedent established in Example 3.1: the timpani (often accompanied by lows strings and piano) introduces a sustained pedal tone on the dominant by way of an ascending fifth or descending fourth. These progressions take place at the beginning of phrases and formal sections, creating an effect of continuation. As such, the I – V timpani motive becomes a distinctly recognizable signal of transition in the saxophone Ballade. 60 Measures 137-144 contain a V – I progression drawing on fully voiced triads accompanied by fifth motion in the bass (Example 3.3). This passage concludes the Piu mosso section with a cadence in B♭. The closing effect of an authentic cadence is achieved despite being obscured by dissonant chromatic pitches. For ease of analysis, the notes of the violins and violas which are doubled in the piano have been omitted from Example 3.3a. The harmonic reduction includes the highest pitch of the piano and string

60

See Example 3.6a: m. 156; 3.6b: mm. 79, 85, 88; 3.6d: mm. 239, 249; and 3.6e: m.

396, for instances of the I – V timpani motive.

65

chord voicing along with the distinct saxophone, cello, and bass parts; the inner voices of the string and piano harmony are omitted.

The voice leading of the passage, modeled in Example 3.3b, contributes to a tonal reading of the progression while simultaneously masking some of its functional impact.

5̂-1̂ motion in the bass and 4̂-3̂ motion in the cello are standard tonal resolutions. The 2̂-5̂ leap in the saxophone is not typical of a perfect authentic cadence but still remains within dominant and tonic sonorities. The first violin and top note of the piano voicing muddle the functional effect of the cadence with 7̂-♭7̂ voice leading precisely where a 7̂-1̂ resolution is called for.

66

Example 3.3 – Tonal cadence in B♭ major a. Score excerpt, mm. 137-144

b. Harmonic reduction, mm. 137-149

67

If Martin’s use of tonal idioms elsewhere in the piece is subtle, nuanced, or disguised, the tonal implications of the final nine measures are straightforward (Example 3.4). The only instances of extended diatonic scalar writing anywhere in the Ballade occur in mm. 397-398. The ascending A♭ Lydian scale leads to the intense and triumphant arrival of a fortissimo G♯ major triad throughout the orchestra in m. 399. 61 G♯ major then “resolves” to G♯ minor in the next measure before being reduced to a perfect fifth in the final two measures. 62 The preceding I – V timpani motives with prolonged pedal points on the dominant and accompanying sense of continuation are brought to closure by the final V – I timpani resolution.

Martin’s enharmonic spellings regularly defy tonal conventions. Here, the violins and saxophone have written A♭ while the rest of the orchestra has written G♯.

61

62

Dellinger describes the interplay between major and minor triads in the Second Piano Concerto as a conflict. The Concerto ends similarly to the saxophone Ballade: a major triad transitions to a minor one before being reduced to an open perfect fifth. Dellinger suggests that this resolves the major-minor dualism conflict at play in the rest of piece. The same observation could be made of the saxophone Ballade. See Dellinger, “Martin’s Second Piano Concerto,” 51.

68

Example 3.4 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Straightforward concluding tonal passage, mm. 396-404

69

Example 3.4 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; continued

70

Example 3.4 – continued

The preceding examples of tonic/dominant relationships all signal the beginning or end of large-scale formal sections. In contrast to these structural tonal passages, consider the chord progression in mm. 22-24 from the opening Largo. Here, the bass descent by fifth is part of a twelve-tone row and not accompanied by a prolonged pedal.

The V – i relationship is ambiguous but reinforced by embedded functional voice leading in the high strings and saxophone. The effect is that of a passing tonal evocation rather than a confirmed tonal center. In particular, the 4̂-3̂ voice leading resolution of the violas over the 5̂-1̂ of the cellos contributes to the effect. Example 3.5 shows the embedded 71

harmony within the full orchestral score. The bottom staves extract the highlighted material in a harmonic reduction.

Example 3.5 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Embedded tonal progression, mm. 22-24

Gliding Tonality References to gliding tonality in Martin-related literature are common, although it is not a standardized term in music theory scholarship, and its meaning is sometimes inconsistent from one writer to the next. Klein initially coined it to describe a specific modulatory technique used by Martin. Both Roihl and Tupper offer translations of the corresponding passage of Kleinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work. Roihlâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s translation is presented here:

72

Martin tends to base his harmonic technique, due to his French culture, on a slow modulation rhythm: he prefers to move away only imperceptibly from the original tonality. The following procedure is, if not the rule, then at least typical of him: first, in one or two voices a tiny melodic step is taken, so that the tonic is not yet lost. With the newly won tones, slowly a new tonal complex is built up, the ancillary being added to the existing, and only at this point is the previous tonic then gently given up, if this is the intention of the composer, if he does not prefer to turn around and return to the starting point. The result of this progression is a virtually imperceptible modulation, a steady gliding across without any sudden effect, almost as the colors of the spectrum merge into each other slowly, so that you cannot tell where red ends and yellow begins. The distance of the target key from the starting point is, by this typical process of Martin’s, usually great: this is also a consequence of avoiding strong harmonic progressions, which generally lead to neighboring keys by the circle of fifths, whereas reaching more distant tonalities generates considerably less harmonic force. Other consequences of this gliding modulation are the preference for expansive sound textures, which are then enlivened by figurations and pedal points. 63 Roihl goes on to quote Billeter’s description of gliding tonality: “The modulation happens gently: usually only one voice of the chord moves at a time, and almost always by minor seconds. The starting tonality is slowly abandoned and the target tonality is gradually attained.”64 Billeter makes a broader observation of the modulatory process in the New Grove Dictionary entry for Frank Martin: “As a result of Martin’s ‘gliding tonality’, a movement rarely ends in its initial key.”65 However, no specific definition of the term is offered in the article, leaving some with a different understanding of the term than initially proposed by Klein. For example, Leeth makes this statement, citing the New Grove: “Often [Martin] ends the work or movement in a different tonal center from which it started. Martin scholar Bernhard Billeter refers to this element in his works as a

63

Klein, Frank Martin, 25, quoted and translated in Roihl, “Le vin herbé,” 110.

64

Billeter, Die Harmonik, 67, quoted and translated in Roihl, “Le vin herbé,” 111.

Billeter, “Martin, Frank,” Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online, accessed March 1, 2018, www.oxfordmusiconline.com.

65

73

‘gliding tonality’….”66 While it is true that Martin’s mature compositions may end with a different tonal center than they begin with, this does not fully encapsulate the idea of gliding tonality as Klein presents it. For another example, consider Melroy’s interpretation upon citing Billeter’s Die Harmonik: “Often an illusion of a tonal center is created but the center keeps shifting, a phenomenon that Bernhard Billeter describes as ‘gliding tonality.’”67 There is nothing factually incorrect with either Leeth’s or Melroy’s statements, but their characterizations of the technique are incomplete without mentioning slow or incremental modulation.

Agreement is more consistent among writers who cite Klein’s work rather than Billeter alone, though different parts of Klein’s description are stressed. Tupper focuses on the slowly moving characteristic of Martin’s gliding modulations 68 while Roihl emphasizes incremental voice leading, coining the term “gliding counterpoint” to complement his analysis. 69 For the purposes of this document, gliding tonality should be understood as a slow modulatory process employing parsimonious voiceleading to connect distantly related tonalities. The music between each established tonality is tonally ambiguous.

Terminological discrepancies aside, large works like Le vin herbé or the Petite symphonie concertante have greater formal capacity to sustain slow-moving, gliding modulations than shorter works like the saxophone Ballade. Martin does use the

66

Leeth, “Deuxième Ballade,” 50.

67

Melroy, “Martin’s ‘Golgotha,” 266.

68

Tupper, “Stylistic Analysis,” 91-92.

69

Roihl, “Le vin herbé,” 111.

74

technique in this piece, but the lengthy process is pared down for its smaller form. The passage that most closely conforms to Klein’s definition unfolds in mm. 152-175 (Example 3.6a). A tonal center of A is established in mm. 152-165 by way of the sustained perfect fifth in the bass voices. B♭ is introduced in m. 162 in the piano and sustains through m. 175. Then, the bass descends to the distantly related tonal center of E♭ in m. 166. Each of the five passages presented in Example 3.6 conclude with a harmonic reduction that demonstrates the gliding process more clearly, highlighting the semitonal voice leading which is obscured by octave displacements and instrument changes in the full score.

The basic pattern of mm. 152-175 is at work in the four remaining passages of Example 3.6. Each follows roughly the same formula (with a few exceptions discussed below): 1) a tonal center is created through clear I – V motion in the timpani and a sustained perfect fifth in bass voices, 2) a nonharmonic tone is introduced in a higher voice, usually a minor second away from one of the members of the previously established sustained interval, 3) the bass moves to a fifth below the newly introduced pitch, modulating to a new tonal center, 4) a major third is added to this fifth in an upper voice, and 5) the major third descends to a minor third.

Examples 3.6c and 3.6e deviate from this formula. Example 3.6c begins with a sustained major third rather than perfect fifth in the low strings and its D tonal center is not reinforced by the timpani. Furthermore, the second tonal center of A♭ is not preceded by a newly introduced nonharmonic tone. The modulation still contains minor second “gliding” motion from D to E♭ and links two distantly related tonal centers, but it lacks the intermediate harmonic ambiguity of the other examples.

75

In Example 3.6e, the nonharmonic B♭ introduced in the saxophone and piano in m. 395 would call for a modulation to E♭ if it were to follow the pattern of the preceding modulations. The modulation instead skips over E♭ to arrive at G♯, another fifth below the one called for. This unexpected resolution, in conjunction with the simultaneous transition to wholly diatonic material, contributes to the impact of the final measures of the piece.

76

Example 3.6 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Gliding tonality score excerpts and harmonic reductions a. mm. 152-175

77

Example 3.6 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; continued

Harmonic reduction:

78

Example 3.6 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; continued

b. mm. 79-90

79

Example 3.6 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; continued

Harmonic reduction:

80

Example 3.6 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; continued

c. mm. 233-241

81

Example 3.6 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; continued

Harmonic reduction:

82

Example 3.6 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; continued

d. mm. 239-257

83

Example 3.6 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; continued

84

Example 3.6 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; continued

Harmonic reduction:

85

Example 3.6 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; continued

e. mm. 390-400

86

Example 3.6 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; continued

87

Example 3.6 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; continued

88

Example 3.6 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; continued

Harmonic reduction:

89

The Main Chord The first chord of the saxophone Ballade is one of the most frequently encountered non-twelve-tone and often non-functional sonorities in the piece. Various configurations and adaptations of this sonority are pervasive in the harmonic organization of the Ballade – so much so that I will refer to all of these as examples of the “main chord.” Consisting of four to six pitches, it is always made up of two or more major, minor, or diminished triads or seventh chords. The (0,1,4,7) core set, played by the violins and violas in m. 1, is always present. The pitch-space relationships of the members of this set are important: the core set is almost always voiced as a minor triad in second inversion with an additional minor third placed above the highest note of the triad.

The triadic underpinnings of the main chord are easily perceived in some of its configurations while other configurations are not obviously triadic. One’s perceptual experience of this relies largely on which member of the chord is in the bass. Defining the main chord in terms of various pitch-class sets helps identify it in places where octave displacements obscure the internal triads. The main chord is used primarily as a vertical sonority, although arpeggiated versions are used in the cadenza.

Table 3.2 lists some of the most common configurations of the main chord. The left column contains each one as it appears in the score. The core (0,1,4,7) set of the violins and violas highlighted with open note heads. The right column breaks each configuration down into its constituent triads and seventh chords. Table 3.2a contains the core set from m. 1 in the violins and violas. This four-note version of the main chord in this precise voicing—a second inversion minor triad with an overlapping diminished triad—is continuously repeated in quarter notes throughout much of the opening Largo

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section at different levels of transposition. Martin was greatly influenced by the music of Debussy, and an inclination toward writing extended passages with chord planing is a legacy from Debussy that Martin embraced in his own music. The core set in this rootposition voicing is found on nearly every quarter-note pulse of mm. 1-15, 28-40, and 5457. It appears in most of the remaining measures of the Largo with modified intervallic shapes and rhythms. This persistent reiteration of the core set of the main chord establishes it as a familiar harmonic unit that Martin later develops. The many combinations of tonal sonorities of the main chord in Table 3.2 paired with the prevalence of the main chord throughout the saxophone Ballade contributes to a harmony infused with tonal chords but often functionally vague.

Table 3.2b-f shows several other common configurations of the main chord.

Notice that 3.2a and 3.2b are subsets of the hexachord of 3.2c, and 3.2e is a subset of both hexachords of 3.2d and 3.2f. All of these various forms are listed here because they regularly appear independently of one another, and the intervallic shape is often the same or similar to these early examples when they are used later in the piece. After (0,1,4,7), the next most common configuration of the main chord is (0,1,3,6,8,9), shown in Table 3.2c. Sometimes the additional two pitches of this set are embedded in close harmony within the root-position voicing of the core (0,1,4,7), as is the case in m. 6, while at other times the added pitches appear in pitch space above the core set. The (0,1,2,4,5,8) set of Table 3.2d is an important hexachord used in non-row derived twelve-tone aggregates beginning in m. 16 and later in the piece. 70

70

See Examples 2.33 and 2.34 91

The embedded triads of the main chord do not always have tonal function, but the configurations given in Table 3.2e and 3.2f open the piece with an indistinct tonal quality. The configuration in Table 3.2e contains a root-position E-major triad with both major and minor seventh. The configuration in Table 3.2f intensifies this dissonance with the addition of a flat ninth. The placement of the minor seventh at the top of the string voicing strengthens the dominant quality of the chord. Its dominant function is eventually supported with weak resolutions to A in mm. 15 and 59. Measure 15 retains the pedal E in the bass, resolving to a second-inversion A major seventh chord (Example 3.7a). The declamatory Aâ&#x2122;Ž in the saxophone at the beginning of the Allegro molto section in m. 59 supports the tonal function of the opening main chord in a subtler manner because the accompanying Bâ&#x2122;­ major harmony in the strings must be disregarded (Example 3.7b).

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Table 3.2 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Various configurations of the main chord a.

Core set, m. 1

b.

m. 1, beat 4

c.

m. 6, beat 4

d.

m. 2, beat 4

e.

m. 1

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Table 3.2 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; continued

f.

m. 1, beat 4

Example 3.7 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Dominant-function main chord resolutions to A a. mm. 15-16

b. mm. 57-59

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A common challenge associated with harmonic analysis of music like Martin’s is developing a vocabulary to describe elements that are neither explicitly dodecaphonic nor tonal. Gliding tonality and the main chord are both part of this vocabulary. The main chord is made up of conventional triads, but they do not always function as such; it shares some intervallic similarities with the primary row, but it is not directly derived from the row; the presence of the core (0,1,4,7) pitch-class set is a defining characteristic, but the main chord has configurations with expanded sets. In a 1960 article titled “Analysis Today,” Edward T. Cone discusses this analytical challenge: The role of harmony in the music of [the twentieth] century, although more extensively explored, is perhaps more difficult…. As a result, one can no longer assume the easily defined functions of obviously tonal music. Chords can no longer be precisely named, nor can their identity be maintained in differing contexts…. The composer can set up arbitrary sonorities that, by their commanding position or by repetition, are accepted as the controlling sonorities – the chords – against which other tones can function in the manner of traditional non-harmonic tones.71 There is no ready-made vocabulary as easy or precise as “tonic” or “dominant” to describe the role of the main chord, but its status as a controlling sonority is established through its extensive repetition in the opening Largo section and through the impact of its reappearances later in the piece. Cone’s assessment of non-harmonic tones is especially appropriate. The following examples show three passages in which non-chord tones resolve to members of the main chord. In Example 3.8, the omitted saxophone and bass pitches of these measures are members of six-note main chord harmony configurations, but the resolutions are most clearly seen by highlighting only the core (0,1,4,7) set of the

Edward T. Cone, “Analysis Today,” in Problems of Modern Music, ed. P. H. Lang, (New York: W. W. Norton, 1960), 42.

71

95

violins and violas. The first violin is fulfilling two functions, serving both as a member of the main chord harmony and beginning a P5 statement of the primary row. 72 The suspensions are marked with an asterisk in Example 3.8a. The resolution in m. 40 on beat four is straightforward while the previous resolution of F to E takes place one beat too late, after the main chord harmony to which the E belongs has already passed. Example 3.8b presents a model for hearing these non-chord tones in the framework of a traditional preparation, suspension, and resolution. Notice that the resolution of the second suspension takes place in a different voice than it is prepared with.

Example 3.8 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Non-harmonic tone resolutions to main chord, mm. 39-40 a. Score excerpt, mm. 39-40

b. Possible model as a traditional preparation, suspension, and resolution

72

See Example 2.2.

96

Similar non-harmonic tone resolutions take place a few measures later between the saxophone and middle string voices (Example 3.9). Again, the omitted pitches from the first violin, cello, and bass are all part of six-note main chord harmony, but the suspension is most clearly seen in the reduction below. The (0,1,4,7) set of beat four in m. 46 is not completed until beat two of the following measure. The Bâ&#x2122;­ in the saxophone marks the beginning of a complete P10 primary row statement. 73 In both this and the previous example Martin combines twelve-tone melody with main-chord harmony, circumnavigating pitch discrepancies between the two by drawing on non-harmonic tone suspension and resolution. This is possible because the main chord is established as a controlling sonority through continued repetition early in the piece.

Example 3.9 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Non-harmonic tone resolutions to main chord, mm. 46-47

The cadenza has a series of melodic main chord iterations that feature lower neighbors. In Example 3.10, the root-position core set of the main chord is set off in brackets with lower neighbor non-harmonic tones indicated with asterisks.

73

See Example 2.2.

97

Example 3.10 – Lower-neighbor non-harmonic tones of the main chord, cadenza

The usual close position voicing of the main chord is exchanged in m. 106 for an open version (Example 3.11). The voicing in the strings (excluding violin I) is a simple B minor triad that is reinforced by 5 – 1 bass motion emphasizing the downbeat. None of the constituent triads of previous iterations of the main chord are tonicized so plainly with root motion by fifth. Adding the pitches from the violin I melody that fall on the beat, G♯ and C♯, along with the F♮ of the saxophone yields the six-note main chord configuration of (0,1,3,6,8,9), or B minor and C♯ major triads. This passage serves as a type of halfcadential gesture, concluding the first theme of the Piu mosso before continuing on to new thematic material.

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Example 3.11 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Half-cadential gesture with the main chord, mm. 106-110 a. Score excerpt (full-size note heads all main chord members), mm. 106-110

99

Example 3.11 – continued

b. Harmonic reduction

The main chord returns at the end of the Piu mosso as part of an authentic cadential gesture (Example 3.12). This passage was analyzed in Example 3.3 for its tonal implications. The core set of the main chord is used in root position in the violas, violins, and piano. This appears within a larger (0,1,3,6,8,9) main chord configuration made up of E♭ minor and F major triads. Pitches marked with an asterisk in mm. 139 and 141 are non-harmonic tones. Every pitch except G♭ moves away by minor second and resolves back to the main chord. This is followed by a transition to a dominant-function B♭ chord in m. 144. This chord is similar to the E dominant harmony of the opening Largo (Table 3.2f). In this instance, a B♭ major chord with both major and minor seventh is used; however, the added flat nine scale degree of the opening chord is exchanged for a flat thirteen. Altogether, this forms a (0,1,2,4,5,8) hexachord, another common configuration of the main chord (Figure 3.2d). The dominant function of this chord is eventually confirmed in m. 166 with a gliding resolution to E♭ major (Example 3.6a).

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Example 3.12 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Authentic cadential gesture using the main chord, mm. 138-145

Two arpeggiated flourishes in the cadenza leave the triadic and core subsets of the main chord especially apparent on the surface of the music. The first of these flourishes is made up of B-minor and Dâ&#x2122;­-major triads (Example 3.13a). The second arpeggiated figure (Example 3.13b) demonstrates a connection between the main chord and the primary row. Following the pattern of the first flourish, it begins with the core set but then deviates from well-established (0,1,3,6,8,9) harmony. An E-major triad is anticipated; Câ&#x2122;Ż-minor is used instead. The result is two minor triads whose roots are a

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minor second apart. The first hexachord of the primary row is consists of two juxtaposed minor triads with the same minor second relationship to one another.74 Example 3.14a establishes that the second flourish of the cadenza is a reordered version of the first hexachord of P2. Taking this connection as a precedent and extrapolating it, a link between the (0,1,3,6,8,9) main chord configuration and the primary row also becomes apparent. This configuration features a minor triad and major triad with roots separated by a major second. The same relationship is present in the primary row. The first arpeggiated figure of the cadenza corresponds with P11 of the primary row (Example 3.14b).

Example 3.13 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Melodic use of the main chord, cadenza a. First arpeggiated figure

b. Second arpeggiated figure

74

See Example 2.3.

102

Example 3.14 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Relationship between the main chord and the primary row, cadenza a. First arpeggiated figure

b. Second arpeggiated figure

Summary The harmonic language of the saxophone Ballade is intensely triadic but only occasionally implies tonal function. Pedal tones, tonic/dominant relationships, gliding tonality, and the main chord all contribute to an eclectic harmonic landscape. This analytical survey of harmonic features shows that harmony rarely draws from twelvetone practices in the same way melody often does, though some connections to dodecaphony through the main chord and verticalized twelve-tone row segments help unite melody and harmony. It is inaccurate to suggest that Martin fully integrates twelvetone practices into tonal harmonyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the two systems are incompatible with one another at a fundamental levelâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;but the particular blending he achieves is distinctly his own.

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CHAPTER FOUR: FRANK MARTIN AND ALBAN BERG

Is Martin a Twelve-Tone Outlier?

The prevailing scholarly narrative of Martin is the story of a composer who, in service of finding his own compositional voice, made adaptations to the pure technique of Arnold Schoenberg to develop his personal style. Critics may then characterize the result of this process as an artistic success or an abject failure. For example, Peter Evans writes in 1962 about Martin’s twelve-tone practices in the Petite symphonie concertante. He argues that “Martin’s solution, to relegate his series to the background and to abandon it, strikes a note of disenchantment (in the most literal sense) for which its occasional reappearances do not atone.”75 He goes on to criticize a larger group of twelve-tone composers who “[seek] anxiously or facetiously, to dispel the charge of being behind the times…,” and employ “…essentially meaningless twelve-note successions….”76 This assessment seems to imply that twelve-tone rows only have worthwhile rhetorical significance within a rigid serial context. Evans summarizes his feelings about Martin’s dodecaphonic practices at the end of the article: It is an interesting moment in the career of any composer trained outside the serial code when he is first attracted by some aspect of it and allows this to engage with not obviously reconcilable traditional usages…. Martin, one of the first in the field, has been content to spread twelve-note successions over the surface of quite Peter Evans, “Compromises with Serialism,” Proceedings of the Royal Music Association 88 (1961-62), 5.

75

76

Ibid., 6.

104

traditionally motivated harmony, and has declared himself fundamentally opposed both to Schoenberg’s aesthetics and to subjugation to rule; the maintenance of this equivocal position has tended to reduce his borrowings to a wearisome mannerism. 77 Evans thus sets Martin’s “wearisome mannerism” in direct opposition to Schoenberg’s “pure” aesthetic. While lauding the technical poise and balance of Berg’s dodecaphony in the same article, Evans suggests that the middle ground chosen by composers like Martin leads to compositional mediocrity. 78 This attitude of serial purity is similar to those held

by Pierre Boulez and his European contemporaries of the Darmstadt School.

Following immediately in Schoenberg’s footsteps, Berg represents a foundational pillar of influence in the field of twelve-tone composition. His music demonstrates a flexibility of interpretation that has been a part of dodecaphony from its earliest stages.

David Headlam, a preeminent Berg scholar, proposes a definition of twelve-tone music that ultimately excludes most of Berg’s later compositional output: We may define “twelve-tone” music as music in which all pitch events in a piece can be traced, without an unreasonable amount of difficulty, to the common source of the ordered intervals of a twelve-note row, taking pieces like Schoenberg’s Variations for Orchestra Op. 31 and Webern’s Symphony op. 21 as examples. In these and similar pieces, material derived from rows by partitions— the compositional grouping of notes non-adjacent in the row or extracted from two or more row forms—generally either (1) replicates ordered or unordered pitch class sets or set-classes from row segments; (2) appears in the context of the ordered row; or (3) is part of a compositional process stemming from the intervallic properties of the row in which every step in the process is derived directly from the previous step. By strict application of these criteria, Berg’s later music, from its tentative beginnings in the Chamber Concerto to the mature

77

Ibid., 13.

78

Ibid., 15.

105

Violin Concerto, is not truly twelve-tone… despite the presence of rows and characteristic twelve-tone techniques.” 79

This leaves one to consider: If Berg—in his pivotal role as a member of the Second Viennese School—and his music do not always (or even most of the time) represent “true” twelve-tone composition, what does? How important is it to qualify this distinction? Schoenberg himself was not always willing to answer this question with certainty: In the last few years I have been questioned as to whether certain of my compositions are “pure” twelve-tone or twelve-tone at all. The fact is that I do not know. I am still more a composer than a theorist.... Whether certain of my compositions fail to be “pure” because of the surprising appearance of consonant harmonies—surprising even to me—I cannot, as I have said, decide.80 Holding each purported twelve-tone work under a microscope and declaring “yes this is” or “no this is not” truly twelve tone communicates very little about the effectiveness or artistic value of a given composition. Writing a decade before Evans, Ernest Krenek comes to the defense of middle-ground composers like Martin: Those who belong to the not always clearly defined circle of the originally initiated—one might say, the “charter members” of the order—complain that the precious metal forged by the master and his immediate disciples is being turned into small change, becoming increasingly worthless in the hands of musicians who appropriate the easily graspable mechanics of the technique for purposes that could as well be pursued without its aid, if they are at all worthy of being pursued…. The notion that the twelve-tone technique has declined by being “watered down” at the hands of too many insufficiently instructed, careless, or lighthearted practitioners presupposes the existence of something that could be

79

David John Headlam, The Music of Alban Berg, (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1996), 195.

Arnold Schoenberg, “My Evolution,” in Style and Idea: Selected Writings of Arnold Schoenberg, ed. Leonard Stein, trans. Leo Black (Berkeley: University of California Press, [1949] 1975), 91–92, quoted in Joseph N. Straus, “A Revisionist History of Twelve-Tone Serialism in American Music,” Journal of the Society for American Music 2/3 (2008): 381.

80

106

called the one and only, genuine, “orthodox” twelve-tone technique. The question arises whether such a thing actually exists, and if so, of what it consists.81

That there is a single, codified twelve-tone system with mandatory compositional conventions is best regarded as a myth perpetuated in some circles (e.g., music theory classrooms) to succinctly capture the essentialism of Schoenberg’s invention. Martin himself expressed concerns about a rigid twelve-tone system during the early days of his experience with dodecaphony: “Admittedly, the twelve-tone technique did at first present itself as something either to be accepted in every detail or else utterly rejected.”82 The divergent views of “orthodox” dodecaphony versus expanded, flexible, or intuitive dodecaphony leave a great deal of room for adaptation by individual composers, and while one may be tempted to label Martin an outlier in the field of twelve-tone composition, this is clearly not the case. Joseph Straus writes about the diversity of approaches to twelve-tone practices in the book Twelve-Tone Music in America and the article “A Revisionist History of Twelve-Tone Serialism in American Music.”83 These works focus most closely on American composers, but he references both Berg and Schoenberg for their own “unorthodox” practices: Schoenberg’s Second Viennese School colleagues, Webern and Berg, offered alternative twelve-tone practices right from the start. The three composers share an interest in organizing the aggregate of all twelve pitch classes and in serial ordering and transformation, but beyond that common concern each pursues the twelve-tone idea in a distinctive direction. And there is no good reason to regard Ernst Krenek, “Is the Twelve-Tone Technique on the Decline?” The Musical Quarterly 39/4 (Oct. 1953), 514.

81

82

Martin, “Schoenberg and Ourselves,” 15.

83

Joseph N. Straus, Twelve-Tone Music in America, (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2009). “A Revisionist History of Twelve-Tone Serialism in American Music,” Journal of the Society for American Music 2/3 (2008): 355-395.

107

Webern and Berg as deviating from an established orthodoxy. What is sometimes referred to as Schoenberg’s “mature style” had not yet crystallized when Webern and Berg created their own distinctive twelve-tone languages and… Schoenberg’s style itself was rather flexible. We should understand Webern and Berg on their own terms rather than as deviating from a Schoenbergian practice that was itself variable.84

One of the issues in defining the core aesthetic values and techniques of twelvetone music that some twentieth-century theorists raise is a concern for compositional unity. Most music of the common practice period may be said to achieve unity through adhering to (or cleverly defying) the conventions of tonal function. In a similar fashion, the derivation of each note from a source row is said to give a piece internal consistency and logic that is lost when prescribed twelve-tone conventions are not followed to the letter. One potential problem with this view is that twelve-tone rows and derivations are not necessarily perceivable by the listener in the way that tonal function is. 85 If listeners are unable to hear the various transformations and segmentations of tone rows in a piece of music, how will they perceive the unity these things are meant to provide? Conversely, composer Roberto Gerhard considers the creation of aurally identifiable rows an unnecessary compositional goal: The fact that the listener may remain unaware of the specific effect [the row] has on him [or her] does not in the least detract from the reality of that effect; just as there can be no doubt that an intelligent listener who is yet entirely ignorant of the principle of tonality may still genuinely enjoy, and even form a valid aesthetic judgment of, a piece written, say, in C major. 86 84

Ibid., 378.

See Diana Raffman, “Is Twelve-Tone Music Artistically Defective?” Midwest Studies In Philosophy 27 (August 2003): 69-87, and Carol L. Krumhansl, Gregory J. Sandell and Desmond C. Sergeant, “The Perception of Tone Hierarchies and Mirror Forms in Twelve-Tone Serial Music,” Music Perception 5/1 (Fall, 1987): 31-77.

85

86

Roberto Gerhard, “Tonality in Twelve-Tone Music” The Score 6 (May 1952): 28.

108

Headlam addresses concerns about musical coherence and unity in Berg’s music: My position on this question is that any relationships that Berg reveals between rows and material on the surface may have dramatic associations or even local musical structural bases, but they are not necessary for musical coherence. Since the rows are not central, their treatment or relationship to the surface need not be consistent. Thus Berg can reorder rows and even add or omit notes without disturbing the language. Although he often carefully related derived materials to the original row, the use of row-derived materials in non-row contexts, the reordering of row segments, and the free addition of non-row-derived notes suggests that the basis of the language is not the rows but the smaller derived and non-derived materials, which are mostly… cyclic-based collections.87 Similarly, twelve-tone rows are not the single defining feature of Martin’s work. Cyclicbased collections play a large role in Berg’s music for creating musical coherence, while Martin draws to a greater extent than Berg on tonal idioms in the absence of explicit twelve-tone material. Headlam continues (emphasis added): With twelve-tone rows thus regarded as one means to an end, rather than an end in and of themselves, questions concerning the number of rows in any one piece or as to whether the row occupies a central position and is audibly related to all events in the piece are not central to analysis. Since musical coherence does not depend on the row as the main referent, no requirement exists for a consistent treatment of rows.88 The emphasized portion of the quotation above is reminiscent of Martin’s view that a composer’s obedience to twelve-tone rules is an “elegance” and an “intellectual pleasure” but not indicative of artistic value by itself. 89 William Glock reiterates a word of caution from T. W. Adorno, warning us “not to think of the twelve-tone method as a technique; rather we should compare it with the arrangement of colors on a painter’s palette. When

87

Headlam, Music of Berg, 197.

88

Ibid., 197-98.

89

Martin, A propos de, 183.

109

this choice has been made, the composition begins. Or is it already completed?” 90 Creating a “true” twelve-tone composition—one in which all pitch events can be traced to the common source of the ordered intervals of a twelve-note row—clearly does not guarantee musical coherence or artistry.

Comparison of the Saxophone Ballade and Berg’s Lyric Suite We know that Martin learned about twelve-tone practices and began incorporating them into his music after studying Schoenberg’s scores in the 1920s and 1930s. It is not surprising, then, that Martin scholars often highlight the similarities and differences between these two composers’ dodecaphonic practices. The degree to which Martin may or may not have studied the scores of Berg is not documented in the literature.

Regardless, many Berg-like twelve-tone principles and practices are at work in the saxophone Ballade. These practices are all related to flexibility with conventional dodecaphonic rules: reordering rows and segments, using segments out of context, incorporating tonal elements and non-row derived notes, etc. The similarities between Berg and Martin in this regard are remarkable.

Headlam outlines seven characteristics of Berg’s twelve-tone writing with specific regard to Berg’s Lyric Suite. These are supported by Berg’s own analyses and commentary: (1) The row is rotated and may be regarded as a “ring,” with relationships that include the wrap-around intervals; (2) the content of segments is reordered; (3) the potential for tonal allusion within segments is encouraged; (4) segmental invariance between rows is exploited; (5) segments are extracted from the row and used in non-row contexts, and the residue (with fewer than twelve distinct pitch-classes) is used as a separate compositional unit; (6) the row is partitioned 90

William Glock, “Comment,” The Score 6 (May 1952): 3.

110

into motives that appear independently of the row context; and (7) partitioning creates motivic rhythms from order positions within the row, and these rhythms are used outside the row context.91 Most of these characteristics also apply to Martin’s twelve-tone practices in the saxophone Ballade. Each one is quoted below and accompanied by a discussion of its relationship to the saxophone Ballade.

1. The row is rotated and may be regarded as a “ring,” with relationships that include the wrap-around intervals.

Neither Berg’s nor Martin’s twelve-tone writing is constrained by the myth that any given appearance of a row must begin with order position 1 and end with order position 12. Often, a row begins or ends somewhere in the middle. Because of the ringlike nature of Martin’s rows, it is necessary to include the interval between order positions 12 and 1 when analyzing their intervallic content.

One straightforward example in the Ballade occurs in mm. 176-189 where the violins are given P1 beginning with order position 9, which then wraps around to end on order position 8 (Example 4.1).

91

Headlam, Music of Berg, 196.

111

Example 4.1 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; P1 beginning with order position 9, first violins, mm. 176-189

Another clear example in mm. 96-100 is given to the saxophone (Example 4.2). P5 begins with order position 3, follows through with one complete statement of the row, and ends with order position 10.

Example 4.2 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; P5 beginning with order position 3, alto saxophone, mm. 96-100

2. The content of segments is reordered.

Row segments are sometimes repeated, reordered, or embellished in the saxophone Ballade. The appearance of I3 in mm. 111-113 helps illustrate this point (Example 4.3). When analyzed in a strictly horizontal manner, the row is out of order: [1], [2,3], [4,5], [6,7], [8, 11], [9, 12], [10]. This reordering is not haphazard or accidental. The row is partitioned into overlapping melodic segments of two or four notes that remain within individual voices. Order positions 11 and 12 are sounded before 9 and

112

10, but the starting note of each melodic grouping is appropriately ordered. This one of only a handful of passages drawing on I-form row statements in the Ballade.

Example 4.3 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Reordered I3 statement, mm. 111-113

A nearly note-for-note transposition of the preceding example occurs in mm. 118-120.

This time, the saxophone is given the tenth note of I4 before the row doubles back to finish in the cellos (Example 4.4).

113

Example 4.4 – Reordered I4 statement, mm. 118-120

Consider the bass line row statement in mm. 38-42 (Example 4.5). The standard order of P5 is unchanged with the exception of C♯ and G in mm. 39 and 40. This is not a clear example of segment reordering in the manner that Headlam associates with Berg— the C♯ appears later in its expected position within P5—but it demonstrates Martin’s willingness to alter the prescribed order of a tone row as he sees fit. This example evokes a similar quality to the non-harmonic tones of the main chord described in the preceding chapter (Examples 3.8-3.10). The misplaced C♯ may be analyzed as an upper neighbor to the expected C♮. Also, recall from Example 2.2 that this C♯ completes the preceding P9 statement in the saxophone.

Example 4.5 – P5 with added pitches, basses, mm. 38-42

114

A related technique, albeit one which Headlam does not address in the present list of Bergian practices, is that Martin sometimes embellishes rows with non-row pitches.

The row may be used as a framework of fixed, target pitches with non-row tones interspersed between them. A striking example of this appears in mm. 213-222 (Example 4.6). Here, the chromatic saxophone melody is constructed around a scaffolding of target pitches from P1.

Example 4.6 – Embellished P1, alto saxophone, mm. 213-222

3. The potential for tonal allusion within segments is encouraged.

Martin’s use of tonal allusion in the primary row of the saxophone Ballade was established in Chapter 2 with a discussion of the row’s (0,3,4,7) tetrachord and associated major-minor triad resolutions. This is similar to Berg’s well-known tonal references in his twelve-tone music. Example 4.7 shows the row from Berg’s Violin Concerto—often cited as a shining example of the composer’s affinity for tonal allusion—and the primary row from the saxophone Ballade. Both rows feature overlapping triads, though each

115

composer achieves this differently. Berg holds the last member of one triad and the first member of the next invariant with one another. Martin’s triads are juxtaposed in such a way that non-adjacent members of one triad alternate with those of another. Berg’s interleaving of perfect-fifth cycles in the first row of the Lyric Suite uses the same alternating technique (Example 4.7c).

Example 4.7 – Tonal allusion in twelve-tone rows of Berg and Martin a. Berg, Violin Concerto row

b. Martin, saxophone Ballade primary row

c. Berg, Lyric Suite row 1

116

4. Segmental invariance between rows is exploited.

Berg and many other twelve-tone composers often connect different row forms to one another with common tones. As such, it is surprising to find that segmental invariance appears to occur only once in the saxophone Ballade. Example 4.8 shows two overlapping row forms in mm. 205-212. The last two pitches of P3 are invariant with the first two of P8.

Example 4.8 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Segmental invariance between P3 and P8, cellos and basses, mm. 205-212

5. Segments are extracted from the row and used in non-row contexts, and the residue (with fewer than twelve distinct pitch-classes) is used as a separate compositional unit.

While Martin readily extracts pitch-class sets from the row to be used in non-row contexts, I have found no evidence in the saxophone Ballade that he ever uses the remaining notes, or â&#x20AC;&#x153;residue,â&#x20AC;? as a separate compositional unit. The primary row tetrachords, (0,1,3,4) and (0,3,4,7), are routinely extracted for motivic use. The opening (0,1,3,4) motives in Example 4.9 may be analyzed as belonging to the first tetrachord of

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P3 or the second tetrachord of P8. Here, they are used independently of any complete row statement. Several additional examples were presented in Chapter 2.92

Example 4.9 – (0,1,3,4) motives extracted from P3 or P8, alto saxophone, mm. 1-5

6. The row is partitioned into motives that appear independently of the row context.

Headlam defines a partition as “the compositional grouping of notes non-adjacent in the row or extracted from two or more row forms.”93 Example 4.10 presents one way in which Berg uses row partitions in the Lyric Suite. The saxophone Ballade does not feature non-adjacent motivic partitioning of rows. However, Example 4.7b, above, is demonstrative of non-adjacent partitioning of harmonic material. The registral and rhythmic separation of triads in order positions 1 through 8 are akin to Berg’s motivic partitions. In this regard, the primary row is a referential collection for all tonal triads found in the Ballade.

92

See Examples 2.7-2.13

93

Headlam, Music of Berg, 195.

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7. Partitioning creates motivic rhythms from order positions within the row, and these rhythms are used outside the row context.

Headlam is referring here to a specific Bergian rhythmic practice. He offers an example from the third movement of the Lyric Suite. In Example 4.10, row 2P5 is split between two separate voicesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;one voice receiving order positions 2, 3, 6, 8, and 9 and the other 1, 4, 5, 7, 10, 11, and 12. These partitions have rhythmic durations in eighth notes of <1-3-2-1-1> and <3-1-2-3-1-1-1>, respectively. Berg then extracts the relative rhythmic durations of the partitions and applies them independently of the row in mm.

30-31 (Example 4.11). This passage features two canons based on the slightly modified rhythmic extractions, <1-3-2-1-3> and <3-1-2-3-1-1-1-2>.

Example 4.10 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Derivation of extracted rhythms 1 and 2 from row 2P5, Lyric Suite, third movement, mm. 10-12 (after Headlam, The Music of Alban Berg, 263, Example 5.19a)

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Example 4.11 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Extracted rhythms outside of original row context, Lyric Suite, third movement, mm. 30-31 (after Headlam, The Music of Alban Berg, 263, Example 5.19b)

Martin uses a similar technique in the Ballade. Rather than extracting the rhythms of individual partitions, he takes the full rhythmic structure of the row and applies it to non-row settings. This works particularly well for SR1 because of its resemblance to a Bergian twelve-tone theme rather than a fully developed twelve-tone row like the primary row. Recall that SR1 appears in a number of different transpositions, but other typical twelve-tone transformations (inversion, retrograde, etc.) and segmentations are not used.

The same approximate rhythmic relationships are present nearly every time SR1 appears.

In its first appearance, these rhythms have an eighth-note subdivision of <4-1-1-1-1-1-22-2-3> (Example 4.12a). Compare the first appearance of SR1 with the SR1P8 statement from the cadenza (Example 4.12b) featuring rhythmic durations in eighth-note triplets of <4-1-1-1-1-1-3-3-3-6>. The relative rhythmic durations of SR1 usually consist of an

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opening long duration followed by a series of short durations, then medium durations, and a final a long duration.

Example 4.12 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Relative rhythmic durations of SR1 a. SR1P9, alto saxophone, mm. 58-61

b. SR1P8, alto saxophone, cadenza

Two passages near the end of the piece have a nearly identical rhythmic structure, borrowing the pre-established rhythms of SR1 outside the context of the row itself. The two phrases of Example 4.13 have the following rhythmic durations in quarter notes: <31-1-1-1-1-1-3-2-3.5> (mm. 366-389) and <3-1-1-1-1-2-2-1-7> (mm. 389-372). This maintains the pattern of a single long duration, then a series of short durations, then medium durations, and a final long duration.

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Example 4.13 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; SR1 rhythm outside of row context, alto saxophone, mm. 366-372

The rhythmic subdivision of mm. 386-389 (Example 4.14) is cumbersome to quantify in the same way as the preceding examples due to the quadruple subdivision, but the SR1 rhythmic pattern is easy to see: a single long duration, a series of short durations, then notes of medium duration. This passage does not end with the final long-duration note of the other examples, but the ritardando in m. 389 creates a similar effect. It is also worthwhile to observe that while neither Example 4.13 nor 4.14 use the pitch ordering of SR1, both are twelve-tone aggregates. The initial ordering of notes is abandoned, but all twelve pitches are still used.

Example 4.14 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; SR1 rhythm outside of row context, alto saxophone, mm. 386-389

The list of comparisons above is by no means exhaustive of the similarities between Berg and Martin. It demonstrates a compositional kinship between the two that has not previously been examined in the literature. While the artistic philosophies 122

governing each composerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s use of dodecaphony may rise from different artistic motivationsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Berg is more methodical in his use of the row as a referential object while Martin tends to view the row as an aesthetic object to be used or discarded freelyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;their approaches are comparable.

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CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION

What [a composer] is aiming at, after all, is a whole in which all the technical workings are interdependent and combine to produce the kind of artistic experience that gives a work its validity and in so doing makes all its procedures relevant. There is no short-cut to achieving this final artistic relevance. No technique is of much intrinsic value; its importance for the composer and his listeners lies only in the particular use made of it to further the artistic qualities and character of an actual work.94 — Elliot Carter

I have presented in this thesis some of the many interdependent compositional techniques and procedures at work in Frank Martin’s Ballade for saxophone and orchestra. Each one has the potential to spark an intellectual curiosity or a desire to investigate the work more closely, but none of them on its own carries much “intrinsic value” for the artwork as a whole. A careful blending of compositional elements creates the “artistic relevance” Elliot Carter describes above and imparts the Ballade with the unique aesthetic signature of Martin’s mature style. Ultimately, this style depends on a balance in compositional approach, a blending of conservative and modern influences and, above all, a commitment to artistic integrity.

In my opinion no composer should ever write a single page that is not as beautiful as he can possibly make it. . . Schonberg's rules can enrich us by rendering our sensibility more acute. . . . But we must keep freedom of action, and reserve the 94

Elliot Carter, Shop Talk by an American Composer, in Problems of Modern Music, ed.

P.H. Lang, (New York: W. W. Norton, 1960), 51.

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right to break some or all of these rules as the spirit dictates. We can enjoy being freed from the cadence and from classical tonality, but we need not necessarily give up our feeling for tonal functions, for the functional bass, and for a system of relationships, which, elementary acoustics show to be based on physical fact.95 Much has been written about Martin’s twelve-tone aesthetic, but placing Martin’s output in conversation with a broader dodecaphonic lineage demonstrates that he is not the atypical outlier some might suggest. Moreover, the long tradition of twelve-tone practices has a well-established history of subjective interpretation.

Melody in the Ballade is the vehicle for most of the twelve-tone material, but much of the melodic content is not explicitly twelve-tone. Rows and their derivatives are employed when desired or swiftly abandoned according to the composer’s intuition.

Harmony in the Ballade is grounded by tonal idioms, but twelve-tone rows, aggregates, and dense chromaticism add nuance and complexity to these traditional tonic-dominant progressions. Triads are virtually ubiquitous, but they are often arranged in different main-chord configurations that may be either functional or non-functional. The result of Martin’s attention to balance in the saxophone Ballade is a compelling work that is satisfying both to listen to and to perform.

Much distance must be traversed for Martin’s music to gain its deserved, but notyet-realized, relevance in American musical culture. I offer this thesis as a modest contribution to the “lamentable dearth” 96 of English-language Martin scholarship, with the modest hope that it may lead to an increased awareness of and appreciation for Martin’s music among saxophonists, music scholars, educators, and audiences.

95

Martin, “Schoenberg and Ourselves,” 16-17.

96

Cooke, “Martin’s Early Development,” 473.

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APPENDIX A: TWELVE-TONE MATRICES

Primary Row

126

Secondary Row 1

Secondary Row 2

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APPENDIX B: POSSIBLE ADAPTATIONS FOR PERFORMANCE

The saxophone Ballade features some of the highest altissimo-range writing found in standard saxophone repertoire, approaching the limit of even the most virtuosic saxophonist’s capability. Indeed, this is the most technically challenging aspect of the piece. We owe this to Sigurd Raschèr, who encouraged all the composers who wrote for him to use this register while most of Raschèr’s saxophonist contemporaries balked at the prospect of being asked to play so high. Many professional saxophonists today possess the technical facility to play the highest altissimo passages of the saxophone Ballade beautifully. Even still, the very highest notes of the piece (reaching written F7 and G7) can be prohibitive and may discourage some saxophonists from performing the Ballade.

First, there is a marked experiential difference between the high saxophone tessitura soaring out over a full orchestra compared with the sound of the same range used in a small recital hall with only piano accompaniment. Concerns of dynamic balance and timbral blending necessarily arise. Second, and more importantly, many saxophonists simply struggle to consistently execute notes in this register with ease, even among players who would otherwise be capable of a masterful and inspiring performance. 97 In

97

Saxophonists are encouraged to consult excellent method books by Sigurd Rascher, Eugene Rousseau, and Donald Sinta for systematic approaches aimed at improving technical facility in the altissimo register. Erik Steighner’s treatise “A Collection of Etudes Targeting Altissimo Passages in Alto Saxophone Solo Literature” is also a valuable resource.

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either case, performers may opt to adapt the saxophone part by transposing the highest passages down an octave rather than avoid performing the piece altogether.

Some will argue that this practice is unacceptable, and they do so for good reason: many performers feel a profound responsibility to honor the composer’s artistic integrity by representing the composer’s expressed intentions exactly. In this philosophy of performance it is imperative to play the altissimo passages of the Ballade as written.

There is no record of Martin having commented on this issue for this piece. However, he did address it when creating the versions of the saxophone Ballade for basset horn and for flute. Because these instruments do not share the same range as the alto saxophone, Martin had to choose specific places to transpose the original saxophone part up or down an octave when the melody approaches the flute or basset horn’s registral limits. For those saxophonists who choose to transpose the highest notes when performing the Ballade, the octave changes Martin employs in the flute and basset horn versions represent viable models.

The following examples present four passages in which range limitations of the flute and/or basset horn led Martin to transpose the original saxophone melody down an octave. Other differences between the three versions are not addressed. The top staff contains the original saxophone version and the bottom staff or staves a suggested modification based on the flute and/or basset horn versions.

Unlike previous musical examples which are all given in concert pitch for the reader’s convenience, I present the following examples in E♭ transposition for alto saxophone. This includes the material from the flute and basset horn parts, which I have transposed to E♭ in order to make their relationship with the original saxophone part

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clear. Providing these examples in E♭ rather than concert pitch is useful to saxophonists who may wish to directly borrow them for performance.

In m. 49 of Example B.1, the flute arrangement ascends even higher than the original to the flute’s concert B6 (written A♭6 here, for saxophone). Saxophonists transposing this excerpt may wish to include the suggested revision from the flute version shown here in the third staff.

Example B.1 – mm. 46-53

The written D7 in Example B.2 is less problematic than F7 or G7, and some saxophonists electing to use modified versions of the other passages may wish to play this one as originally written. Less-experienced players who are unable to produce the written D7, however, would do better to transpose the three final notes shown in Example 130

B.2 rather than the D7 alone. This matches Martin’s choice in both the flute and basset horn arrangements.

Example B.2 – Cadenza

Saxophonists who adapt the original material in Example B.3 might instinctively choose to play the first three measures as written, only transposing the octave at the F♯6 in m. 389. The modified version is modelled after both the flute and basset horn arrangements in which Martin makes the octave change at the beginning of the phrase instead. This shows the composer’s preference for maintaining the upward trajectory of the original melody from the beginning of this phrase, rather than disrupting it with a transposition four measures into it.

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Example B.3 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; mm. 366-378

Martinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s transposition choices for Example B.4 are different in the flute and basset horn parts. The flute changes octaves in m. 392 while the basset horn changes in m. 393. Following the transposition of the flute creates a longer, undisrupted ascent, while following the basset horn keeps more of the melodic line in the register in which it was originally written. Either place could be a suitable choice for saxophonists electing to adapt the original part.

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Example B.4 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; mm. 390-396

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It is impossible to know for sure whether Martin would approve of such adjustments, but his willingness to adapt the flute and basset horn versions for practical reasons provide some justification for saxophonists wishing to do the same. Martin himself was sensitive to the pressures composers and students face from teachers, colleagues, and audiences. He explicitly discusses the limiting nature of obsessing over the evaluation of others when sharing one’s art with the world. He offers the following advice for those preparing to present their work for public scrutiny: The thing is that fear of certain people’s opinion is a poor counselor; it keeps the artist from being quite honest with himself and with his own intuition. Many times… I have seen students tremble with worrying about what someone might say of their compositions! I have always urged them to trust their own judgment….98

Perhaps Martin would advise saxophonists to trust their own judgment as well.

98

Martin, A propos de, 205.

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