Composition intermediate workbook 2016 17

Composition Intermediate Composition Intermediate Composition Intermediate Composition Intermediate Workbook - 2014-2015 Workbook - 2015-2016 Workbook - 2016-2017 Workbook - 2017-2018 Dr Drew Hammond drew.hammond@glasgow.ac.uk 330 6065

Dear Composition Student,

Welcome to composition at the University of Glasgow. This course is not a “how to” manual; it does not acknowledge any fixed sense of what a composer, in the personal or vocational sense, ultimately is. I will never tell anyone that there is a right way, full stop, to compose, simply because the personal process of composition is deeply idiosyncratic, and has always been, whether you’re talking about Palestrina, Ligeti, Mozart or Jane Stanley. The course is rather designed to help you begin to chisel out your own route with regard to established practices and idioms of the 20th and 21st centuries, with some looks further afield. We want you to be you, educated. That is to say, you must ultimately be yourself, to do what you as an individual are best at doing, and yet at the same time, you will need to open yourself up to the possibility of further enlightenment. This includes trying new things, adopting new perspectives, and taking on approaches that may not make total sense at the beginning, all in an effort to engage in our ultimate goal in higher education: to transform who we are through practice, critical awareness, and generous understanding.

You will need to hold onto this book. This book has a fair amount of manuscript paper in it, but it is a good idea to get your own materials. You will need, then,

• good pencils, • good rubbers, • and a pad of manuscript paper.

The composition moodle will also be important for updating you on the course and providing you with additional materials.

Many of you will of course have been using notation software such as Finale or Sibelius. At Glasgow University we support Finale on all of our music computers because we believe that of the choices available this software suite is the most flexible and comprehensive. If you choose to use something else, please keep in mind that we cannot provide support for that within the subject area. Also keep in mind that there are numerous options that may not be up to the task of providing professional music notation! Finally, learn about xml files, which are best for transferring files between software suites.

A word on taste. You will not be assessed on how happy the music you have written makes you, but on how well you fulfil the intended learning outcomes of the course. Ultimately, your evolving personal aesthetic preferences are key to you and the kind of musician you are always becoming. More important in this context, however, is your spirit of adventure, your inquisitiveness, your hard work, your flexibility and your dynamism. Remember that the musical universe is a large one, and one that we want to know as much about as possible.

But let’s remember that we are not (merely) here to entertain ourselves, but rather to learn about and explore something that is very important about music and about ourselves.

Sincerely,

Drew

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Table of Contents

I. Course Specifications ............................................................................................. 3 II. The two composition written assignments ............................................................ 4 III. Composition Intermediate Tutorial Topics and Exercises ................................... 9 Topic 1 – Clarity and Elegance in Rhythmic Notation ....................................... 9 Topic 2 – Melodic archetypal unity in Debussy’s Syrinx for solo flute (1913) ... 11 Exercise 1 – Melodic Archetypes in Debussy’s Syrinx Topic 3 – A look into ways of thinking about pitches and harmony for your compositions ..................................................................................................... 15 Exercise 2. Rows, interval classes and the precompsitional matrix.

Topic 4 – Time in Music: talea, color, and Olivier Messian’s Quatour pour la fin de Temps, I. “Liturgie de cristal” (1941) ............................................................ 22 Exercise 3 – Thinking about time, Isorhythmic technique Topic 5 – Textures and sound mass: Ligeti’s Ramifications (1968 – 69) and thinking about musical behaviour...................................................................... 33 Exercise 4 – texture and behaviour Topic 6 – Thinking about Form ........................................................................ 40 Exercise 5 – formal outline Topic 7 – Formal Growth from Content ............................................................ 40 Exercise 5 – formal outline Appendix 1 – Suggested Listening List ..................................................................... 44 Appendix 2 – A Summary of Score Concerns in Alphabetical Order ........................ 46

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I. Course specifications Composition, Intermediate MUSIC2005 § § § § § §

Academic Session: 2015-16 School: School of Culture and Creative Arts Credits: 20 Level: Level 2 (SCQF level 8) Typically Offered: Runs Throughout Semesters 1 and 2 Available to Visiting Students: Yes

Short Description A course designed to introduce approaches to free composition.

Timetable Twelve lectures (Fridays 1pm); workshops and tutorials as scheduled in MyCampus.

Assessment 2 Workshop assignments (moderated self-assessment) - 15%, 15% 2 Composition assignments (staff assessed) - 20% (c.2 mins, due end semester 1) and 50% (4-6 mins, due end semester 2).

Main Assessment In: April/May

Course Aims To enable students to develop and apply a range of compositional skills, through exploration of repertoire and techniques based on contemporary and 20th century approaches to composition.

Intended Learning Outcomes of Course By the end of the course, students should be able to: 1. Apply a range of technical means, developed through the course sessions, to create compositions.

2. Apply aesthetic judgment to create clear and stylistic identity in compositions, reflecting engagement with the content of the course sessions and considering issues such as harmony, melodic structure, form, texture, and timbre.

3. Use notation accurately and effectively.

4. Use techniques appropriate and realisable for the chosen medium.

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II. The two composition written assignments For both written assignments, the following passages from the music subject handbook apply. Note however that you will not be required to make parts, unless it is for the workshop with the performance course.

Scores & Notation Many courses (e.g. MTQ1 & 2, Musicianship, Composition) require that you produce staff notation and scores for assignment submissions. Students are strongly advised to consult Instrumentation and Orchestration/Alfred Blatter (New York: Schirmer 2nd Ed.,1997) before embarking on score production.

Presentation Submissions for the Composition courses must be typeset using Finale, unless instructed to do otherwise by the lecturer. Allow yourself enough time to produce a professional-looking score.

All compositions, orchestrations and arrangements must be neatly and legibly presented. The notation you produce may be presented to professional performers to play as part of Composition and Orchestration workshops. Scores and parts unfit for this purpose may attract a grade of H on the basis of illegibility.

Scores should contain both bar numbers and appropriate rehearsal figures (usually letters). They should be presented double-sided and bound on the left hand edge using a comb or spiral binding.

Do not submit original copies of hand-written scores – always submit a clear photocopy.

Notation should be either computer-typeset using Finale, or (if explicitly allowed) hand-written in black ink using a suitable pen (e.g. Rotring) or dark neat pencil (such as a 0.7/0.9mm gauge retracting pencil with B lead). If submitting hand-written notation, always make a fair copy – do not submit ‘working copy’ unless specifically requested to do so. Never submit a pencil original – always a good photocopy. Scores submitted in pencil will be graded H. Parts:

For two-page parts: Tape pages together on the back (only); do not use staples or paper clips.

For longer parts, bind with spiral or comb binding, allowing enough time for page turns.

Parts must include bar numbers and rehearsal numbers (or letters).

Layout:

The score and/or parts should be clearly laid out, neat and easy to read.

Always include details of tempo and metre.

Use metronome marks, and/or standard music expressions, or clear verbal descriptions.

If there’s a metre change at the beginning of a system, the new timesignature must also be placed after the last barline on the previous system.

Be precise with regard to grouping of rhythmic values within the bar. Group 3/4 time in 3 groups of 2 quavers, and 6/8 in 2 groups of 3 quavers.

In quintuple (or septuple) metre, try to beam the component rhythmic values the same way in all parts, if possible (e.g. 3+2 or 2+3 in quintuple metre).

When putting a slur (e.g. bowing or legato mark) over a group of already-tied notes, the slur must extend to the last note which is part of the tie.

As far as possible write slur signs from note-head to note-head (not at the stem of the notes)

Tempo: Time Signatures: Notes and Rhythm:

Technical Matters: Write out repeated passages in full if the repeat is not exact (do NOT follow the example of some Big Band scores and write ‘2x only’, ‘1x only’, ‘both x’ etc.

Do NOT use

type signs to indicate repeated material, write out in full.

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Transposing instruments: Orchestration assignments: transposing instruments should be transposed in the score and in the parts Composition assignments: you may write transposing instruments in your full score at concert pitch so long as this is clearly indicated. (But notate “octave transposers”: e.g. Piccolo or Double Bass at their transposed pitch).

If notating in concert pitch do not include transposition information in score staff names (e.g. indicate: “Horn”, not “Horn in F”). You may indicate your preference (e.g. different trumpets or clarinets) as part of an instrument list on the title pages and/or in a note attached to passages in the score: (e.g. “play on D Trumpet”).

The instrumental parts, however, should always be transposed, with the transposition(s) and all instruments required clearly indicated on the part.

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Submission Assessment Criteria

The submissions will be assessed on the following criteria:

Presentation. Including rudimentary practical concerns such as rhythmic notation, correct beat divisions, practical enharmonic spellings (use of accidentals), score/system layout, spacing and general score tidiness.

Instrumentation. Including suitability of chosen instruments for the music, notational concerns (correct clef, etc), use of correct pitch range for instruments, your understanding of instrumental playing techniques, creative and idiomatic use of instruments, and generally anything to do with instrument use.

Form. Evidence of overall formal shape, evolution and identity.

Language/Consistency. Evidence that some kind of clear aesthetic language is being used.

This language may include harmony/sonority, texture or rhythmic identity, among others.

Material/Development. Includes how the language is being deployed, wrought or 'worked' through the process of composition. This may occur at many levels including form (above).

Composition/Individuality. Is there some 'spark' of individuality or creative voice? Does the composer seem interested and invested in the work? Is there evidence of an individual creative personality?

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Intermediate – Assignment 1 (20%)

Deadline: Week 11, Friday, 2 December 2016. The assignment is to be handed in by 4pm at 14 University Gardens. Work handed in after 4pm will be counted as late in accordance with section 4.2.1 of the Department Handbook.

This assignment is to compose a piece of a couple of minutes’ duration for two to four pitched instruments, using some of the tools you have discovered during the tutorials.

NB Your first composition assignment must be handwritten. We will discuss ways to make need, professional, handwritten score in the tutorials. You should submit a photocopy, NOT THE ORIGINAL, which you keep for your records.

Intermediate – Assignment 3 (50%): ‘Free’ composition

Deadline: Week 2.10, Friday (17st March 2016) By 5pm in the Red Box. Work handed in after the deadline will be counted as late.

Compose a chamber work for any combination of instruments/voice(s) of between 4-6 minutes duration.

Keep in mind this is a chamber ensemble (i.e. probably between 3 and 6 or so instruments, realistically, and no more than 12) and the amount of time in which you have to write the piece (i.e. you need to make a judgment about how much work is involved in writing for the combination).

In writing your piece, you should employ pre-compositional working as discussed in the tutorials and lectures. You could choose to extend the working methods developed in the first composition assignment, or you could use other processes. In general it is usually not fruitful to ‘start at the beginning’ of the piece and try to ‘through compose’ intuitively: rather, you will need some materials in advance from which to select and develop the building blocks of the piece.

Once you have finished composing, you should typeset your score using the Finale notation programme. NB make sure you allow yourself enough time to do this– it is very easy to get caught out without enough time, particularly to get the score layout right in Finale. Practice it in advance!

When the score is finished, ensure it has your matric number on it, ‘Comp Intermediate Assignment 3’, and a title for the piece. Print it out and get it bound, preferably using a ‘Comb Binding’. Submit the score along with a compact disk containing your composition Finale file.

Please also read section 4.10 of the Department Handbook on submission of scores & notation.

You may also wish to include a programme note to accompany your piece, but this is not obligatory.

Please give the piece a title!

N.B. These are only the “written” assignments for composition intermediate, and do not include the course wide workshop assignments.

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III. Composition Intermediate Topics and Exercises Topic 1 – Clarity and Elegance in Rhythmic Notation This topic explores the importance of clarity and elegance in rhythmic notation, as well as the effective use of meter.

Rhythmic notation theory, from abstract to concrete.

1. Pulse or Beat Pulse - sometimes used as a synonym for ‘beat’, but a distinction is occasionally made: for example, 6/8 time 1 may be said to have six ‘pulses’ but only two ‘beats’.

Beat - (1) Unit of measurement of rhythmic pulse of mus. (i.e. waltz as 3 beats to a measure), as indicated in 2 time signature. In 4 4 time each quarter‐note (crotchet) is one beat.

These are abstract. They are generalised, and may be used to represent a wide variety of concrete musical ideas, but are not themselves music.

2. Metre Metre - Term used of regular succession of rhythmical impulses, or beats, in poetry and mus., e.g. 3/4 and 6/8 being described as different kinds of metres. Rhythm is no longer accepted as a sufficiently precise definition, metre being considered as the basic pulse and rhythm as the actual time‐patterns of the notes within a measure. E.g., in 3 4 the 3 beats—strong, weak, weak—are metrical, while the time‐values of the 3 notes actually heard are the rhythm.

This is also an abstract idea: the patterned organisation of pulses or beats.

3. Rhythm Rhythm - (in the full sense of the word) covers everything pertaining to the time aspect of mus. as distinct from the aspect of pitch, i.e. it incl. the effects of beats, accents, measures, grouping of notes into beats, grouping of beats 4 into measures, grouping of measures into phrases, etc.

4. melody, texture, timbre, etc – in other words music These ideas refer to concrete musical phenomena. These things themselves refer to sound, sensed by us as listeners and as performers. It is very important to understand that modern musical notation requires an awareness of the relationship between the abstract pulse, beat, and metre; and the concrete phenomena of music (which do not themselves actually require the abstractions of pulse, beat, and rhythm.)

1 "pulse." The Oxford Companion to Music. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, accessed September 10, 2015, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/opr/t114/e5411.

2 "Beat." The Oxford Dictionary of Music, 2nd ed. rev.. ibid, ibid, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/opr/t237/e1000.

3 "Metre." The Oxford Dictionary of Music, 2nd ed. rev.. ibid, ibid, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/opr/t237/e6757.

4 "Rhythm." The Oxford Dictionary of Music, 2nd ed. rev.. ibid, ibid,

http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/opr/t237/e8496.

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In class exercises Clap these rhythms together whilst Drew conducts.

Example 1

Example 2

Example 3

Example 4

Which rhythm is the easiest to read? Why? Example 5

What one thing can you change in this example that would make it easier? (You don’t get to change the order or length of the durations!)

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Topic 2 – melodic archetypal unity in Debussy’s Syrinx for solo flute (1913) Syrinx for solo flute, by Claude Debussy (1913)

Archetype - 1. The original pattern or model from which copies are made; a prototype (OED) Exercise 1 – Melodic Archetypes in Debussy’s Syrinx Part 1 - Study Sheet and exercise 1) Find patterns in the piece that repeat exactly, note-for-note. Circle them and label them with numbers.

2) Now find patterns in the piece that are not exact repetitions that may be variable. These could be repeated durations, pitches, shapes, relationships, proportions, etc, which are recognizable, but not necessarily exact. Circle these and label them with letters.

3) Now try to distil a few archetypal forms in the piece. These will be more abstract; they are general shapes, described in general terms, like “up” and “down”, or “fast” and “slow”.

What makes this piece coherent, understandable, and not random?

Part 2 - Composition Exercise Before next session come up with a short composition exercise for 2 or 3 single line instruments – keep it simple – that deploys some notion of your own archetypal form. Use the staff notation provided in this book.

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10

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Topic 3 – A look into ways of thinking about pitches and harmony for your compositions Terms for topic 2 Pitch – The location of a sound in the tonal scale, depending on the speed of vibrations from the source of the sound, fast ones producing a high pitch and slow ones a low. The rate of vibration per second is the note's ‘frequency’. 5 Pitch Class – The property held in common by all pitches with the same name; thus middle C and every other C can be said to be a member of the pitch class C. It is particularly important in the discussion of serial music to distinguish between pitch and pitch class, since the classical 12-note series is a sequence of pitch classes, not of pitches.6 Interval – The ‘distance’ between 2 notes is called an ‘interval’, i.e. the difference in pitch between any 2 notes. 7 Traditionally we express interval values in “tonal” terms, e.g. minor second, major second, minor third, major third, fourth, tritone (augmented fourth, diminished 5th) fifth, minor sixth, major sixth, minor seventh, major seventh, octave, and beyond.

For our purposes here, we wish to also understand interval with regard to the smallest normal unit of measurement, the semitone. Semitone = 1 Intervals up to the octave Interval name Minor second Major second Minor third Major third Perfect 4th Augmented 4th/diminished 5th/tritone Perfect 5th Minor sixth Major sixth Minor seventh Major seventh

Semitones 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Interval Class – An understanding of interval whereby the order of the notes is left unspecified. If the two notes, each of which exemplifies a pitch class, are ordered (for example, if one comes after the other), the ‘ordered pitch-class interval’ between them is obtained by subtracting the first pitch-class number from the second, modulo 12. This definition may be hard to get your head around. It might be easier to think of interval class as this: the distance between the pitch classes of any two given pitches reduced to its smallest inversion.

5 "Pitch." The Oxford Dictionary of Music, 2nd ed. rev.. ibid, ibid, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/opr/t237/e7960.

6 Griffiths, Paul. "pitch class." The Oxford Companion to Music. Oxford Music Online. ibid, ibid http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/opr/t114/e5200.

7 "Interval." The Oxford Dictionary of Music, 2nd ed. rev.. ibid, ibid,

http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/opr/t237/e5189.

There are, then, only six interval classes. Why? Interval name Minor second Major second Minor third Major third Perfect 4th Augmented 4th/diminished 5th/tritone Perfect 5th Minor sixth Major sixth Minor seventh Major seventh

Semitones 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Interval class 1 2 3 4 5 6 5 4 3 2 1

Quick quiz, to ensure that you’ve got it: Provide the interval classes for the intervals between the following pitches

1.____ 2.___ 3.___ _ _

4.___ _

5.___ 6.___ _ _

7.___ _

8.___ _

9.___ _

10.___ 11.___ _ _

Also, write out a melody that deploys this list of interval classes in this order (you may start on any pitch). 1, 1, 3, 2, 4, 5, 6, 1, 2, 2

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Inversion – (interval): an ascending major 3rd becomes a descending major 3rd, a

descending minor 2nd becomes an ascending minor 2nd, and so on. 8 This is part of the vertical dimension in notation (free of time or sequence).

*This is different from the traditional, tonal notion of inversion, as it is used in triad inversions. In this sense, the three notes C,E,G(major triad), if inverted on the axis E, become C#,E,G#. Why? Retrograde – The backward-read version of a melody… (i.e. the form obtained by reading the original from right to left) … allows any note in the series to be placed at any octave level [remember pitch class!], the retrograde form of a melody need not give rise to a reversal of melodic contour.9 This is part of the horizontal dimension in notation (fixed in time or sequence).

The pre-compositional matrix (also known as a “magic square” in music and in mathematics.)

This tool is one of many that may be useful. It helps you develop, or “flesh out”, melodic or harmonic ideas prior to making them into concrete melodies and harmonies. Once completed, a precompositional matrix gives you, a) a list of inversions of the row in use that is based on each note of the original row as a starting point, and, b) a list of transpositions of the row that is based on each note of the first inversion.

Instructions 1) Come up with a row, or set of 5 – 12 notes (keep in mind that the bigger the row, the larger and more complicated the matrix).

This is a row I have used on a number of occasions. C, F, F#, G, Ab, Db 2) Insert the row into a 36 cell grid. Provide the intervals above the lines separating the six columns. In this case I am using all pluses, or upward motion, because that is how I initially conceived of the row.

Make sure to give these intervals a direction (+,-), This is because the easiest way to make an interval class inversion is to change the order of the interval, + to -, and vice versa. (next page)

8 Whittall, Arnold and Alison Latham . "inversion." The Oxford Companion to Music. Ibid, ibid, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/opr/t114/e3461.

9 "retrograde." The Oxford Companion to Music. Oxford Music Online. Ibid, ibid,

http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/opr/t114/e5610.

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+5 +1 C

F

+1 F#

+1 G

+5 Ab

Db

3) Provide the inverted intervals down the first column, turn + into – and vice versa next to the lines separating the rows. With these inverted intervals, you may figure out the pitches of your first inversion of the row. +5 +1 +1 +1 -5 -1 -1 -1 -5

C

F

F#

G

+5 Ab

Db

G F# F E B

4)The + and – intervals show the intervallic relationship between all of the cells separated be the line that starts with that ordered interval. In other words, all of the pitches in row 2 below will be exactly 5 semitones below the row above it. Also, all of the pitches in column 2 will be exactly 4 semitones above the pitches in column one.

Fill in the rest of the cells with this information. If all is done correctly, there will be a line of the exact same pitch formed from the top left diagonally to the bottom right. +5 +1 +1 +1 -5 -1 -1 -1 -5

C G F# F E B

F

F#

G

+5 Ab

+5 +1 +1 +1 Db

-5 -1 -1 -1 -5

C

F

G

C

F# F E B

+5

F# G Ab

Db

C C C C

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Exercise 2. Rows, interval classes and the precompsitional matrix.

Come up with a set of pitch classes between about 4 and 6 pitches (this is a starting point, you may use many more eventually!). You can start by: 1) playing chords or melodies on an instrument until you find something you like 2) thinking about interesting characteristics such as interval class symmetry (or asymmetry) 3) trying out arbitrary number combinations and assigning them to either pitch or interval classes – phone number?

4) Or ? (surprise me) 5) Construct a precompositional matrix with these intervals.

Arrange a short exercise on the following manuscript pages that deploys your row, its inversions and transpositions, for 2 to 3 instruments. Try to think melodically (horizontally) as well as harmonically (vertically).

Grid for creating a precompositional matrix

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These pages are provided for exercise 2.

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Topic 4 – Time in Music: talea, color, and Olivier Messian’s Quatour pour la fin de Temps, I. “Liturgie de cristal” (1941) Musical notation and composition – the X/Y axis I divide music composition into two basic categories of abstraction, which in music notation are generally represented along an X (horizontal) / Y (vertical) axis. x axis (horizontal)

y axis (vertical)

duration

harmony

pattern

pitch

time

rhythm

texture

space timbre

tempo/ density form

chord

volume/ dynamics

interval content

These categories are not strictly exclusive, and are represented variously in notation.

Timbre, for instance, is not as explicitly represented as pitch, but has to do as much as anything with the instrument being used. In actual music, of course, mostly we are concerned with how the two above areas work together. The idea of a melody, for instance, is the coming together of pitch (content) as presented through time (form). The importance in composition of this broad distinction is that the two areas of abstraction may be thought of and developed separately. When you play a chord, and think I like that chord, that content does not necessarily yet have any form in time. It may be given form in any way you choose.

This has important implications to the way composers use notation. The end product of your composition submissions need to be streamlined, clear, concise, documents.

But notation in the process of composing does not need to be at all clear. It is probably helpful if you understand what it means, but beyond that… You may find yourself writing in pitches only, with no temporal element at all, or you may find yourself writing in duration only, with no idea of pitch.

You may find yourself describing a timbre in words, then trying to figure out how you can make that timbre with instruments. Etc., etc., etc…

In the last topic, we spoke about primarily y axis, vertical, content ideas, free of time.

This week, we will do an about face and talk about x axis, temporal, rhythmic ideas, bringing some form to the content.

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Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992) and The End of Time time time time time Messiaen was a French composer who through his religious faith, and love of nature and birdsong, developed technical approaches to composition that would become enormously influential to composers of the middle and late 20th century.

Many of his core ideas can be found in Quatour pour la fin du temps (1941). You may have encountered this piece in other educational contexts, but we will review part of the piece here to ensure that everyone is up to speed. The piece was written and premiered whilst Messiaen was in a prisoner of war camp during World War II. It is scored for Bb clarinet, violin, cello and piano, and was inspired by the Book of Revelation, referencing Revelation 10:1–2 and 5–7.

Rev 10.1 And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire, Rev 10.2 …and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth…

Rev 10.5 And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven…

Rev 10.6 And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever… that there should be time no longer: [Drew’s emphasis] Rev 10.7 But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished…

The re-envisioning of time, the idea that “there should be time no longer” is the most powerfully resonant idea in the temporal techniques developed by Messiaen. We will look into this in the ideas of talea and color – the technique of isorhythm – and how they were used in the first movement, “Liturgie de cristal”.

Isorhythm – (from Gk. isos: ‘equal’ and rhythmos: ‘rhythm’). Term coined in 1904 by F. Ludwig to describe the principle found in medieval mus., c. 1300 – 1450 , whereby the same rhythmic pattern recurs in successive repetitions of the melody… Rhythmic repetition was known as talea, melodic as color.10 Talea – a rhythmic configuration, a list of note durations, free of pitch content.

Originally a medieval term usually understood to denote a freely invented rhythmic configuration, several statements of which constitute the note values of the tenor of an isorhythmic motet (or of its first section, if diminution is later applied to the tenor).11 Color – the repetition of pitch content, free of duration. Originally a medieval term used to signify repetition of melodic content in the tenor parts of motets.

10 "Isorhythm." The Oxford Dictionary of Music, 2nd ed. rev.. ibid, ibid. accessed September 20, 2015, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/opr/t237/e5247.

11 "Talea." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, accessed September 20, 2015,

http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/27414.

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Machaut’s Kyrie from La Messe de Nostre Dame

The tenor line of this Kyrie from Guillaume Machaut’s La Messa de Notre Dame (written before 1365) demonstrates talea and color in medieval polyphonic music. talea color

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The idea of talea may be not only as a fixed set of durations, but as a set of proportions between durations. When thought of this way, one may uniformly change the durations of the talea.

(Machaut didn’t actually do this in this Kyrie, but others have.)

Isorhythmic technique in Quatour pour la Fin du Temps Now we turn our attention to Messiaen’s 20th century use of the idea.

In the following pages, you will find the first movement of Quatour pour la Fin du Temsp, “Liturgie de cristal”.

We will listen to this. Have a look through the passage and try to answer the following questions.

1. Where does the first instance of the talea, or repeated durations, of the piano part end?

2. Where does the first instance of the color, or repeated sets of pitch material (chords) in the piano part end?

3. Can you outline the talea and color of the cello part in the score?

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24

25

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Liturgie du Cristal - Talea and Color Messiaen's unsynchronized ostinati cello color

&

œ

œ #œ bœ

œ

cello talea (also may be called rhythmic pedal)

œ.

˙ j j œ œ œ.

˙

j j œ œ œ.

˙

j j œ œ ˙

cello talea rearranged in palindrome form

piano color

˙

œ.

j j j j œ œ œ œ œ. ˙

˙

#œ n bn œœœ n b n œœœ n # n œœœ n n n œœœ # n œœ bœ nœ n œ n n œœ nœ nœ bœ ? b b b b n œœœ b b n œœœ b b n œœœ b b n œœœ n b n œœœ n b n œœœ n n œœ b œœ n œœ bn œœ b b b œœœ n b n œœœ n œ n œ n b b nœ bœ nœ bœ n œ b b œœ b b œœ & b nœ bœ bœ b œ b œ b œ n œ b œ b œ n œ b œ # n œœ bœ b œ bœ b b œœ ? b b n œœ n n œœ b b &b

n bn œœœ

n bn œœœ

bb # n nn œœœœ n b n œœœ # n n œœœ # # # œœœ n n n œœœ # n œœ # n n œœœ n b n œœœ & n n n œœœ n # # œœœ ? bb & # # b œœœ n # n œœœ n b œœ n b œœ n n œœ # n œœ piano talea

œ

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œ

œ

j j œ œ ˙ j j œ œ œ. n n n œœœ n n nn œœœœ b b bb œœœœ

j j? œ œ nœ bœ b n b œœœ

n œœ # n n œœ

bœ n #n n œœœœ # n b # œœœœ b b œœ n n œœ b n œœ b n œœ

œ œ. œ œ œ œ œ. œ. œ. œ œ œ. œ J J J J J J J J J RJ J

b # œœ

b b œœ ˙

?

Questions for discussion 1. Describe this music’s relationship to ¾ time.

2. Are there any cadences in this movement?

3. In what sense may we think of this music as “the end of time”?

Exercise 3 – Thinking about time, Isorhythmic technique On the following pages, experiment with isorhythmic technique, using these steps 1. Write out a melodic line (color), without durations. You can use pitch material generated in the previous tutorials.

2. Write out a list of durations (talea). Your talea are up to you, and you may want to experiment with patterns, or symmetry, or asymmetry, etc. Always ensure that you do not have the same number of notes in your color as you have durations in your talea.

3. Begin to combine the talea and color. Notice just how much melodic variation can be created using the technique. ***You may also want to experiment with more generalised taleae. For instance, I have in the past set up basic abstract patterns like long, short, longer, short, very long indeed, tiny, rest, from which an infinite variety of variations may be derived.

Here are the first three that came to mind, generally going from longer durations to shorter durations.

1. long

2. long

short

short

longer

longer

short

short

very long indeed

very long indeed

tiny

tiny

3. long- short- longer- short- very long indeed- tiny

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Use these pages for composition exercise 3.

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Topic 5 – Textures and sound mass: Ligeti’s Ramifications (1968 – 69) and thinking about musical behaviour The abstract ideas of the previous weeks may still apply to what we are looking into today, but the idea of texture is really a very concrete, present, on-the-surface-ofthings kind of idea.

Traditional textural paradigms Monophony – single melodic line, no accompaniment Homophony – dominant melodic line supported by harmonies, or multiple lines moving together Polyphony – multiple melodic lines interwoven Less common (in common practice classical music) textures Heterophony – simultaneous sounding of melody with elaboration and variation in multiple parts, or a quasi-canonic texture where similar melodies are sounding in close succession12 What is the primary Scottish example of heterophony?

Micropolyphony – minute durations, dense polyrhythmic combinations, and oftentimes microtonal intervals creating a merged “sound mass” of undifferentiated elements Micropolyphonic percussion exercise: clapping variously subdivided meters 1.

2.

3.

4.

12 Whittall, Arnold. "heterophony." The Oxford Companion to Music. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, accessed September 23, 2015,http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/opr/t114/e3240.

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In the following excerpt from György Ligeti’s Ramifications (1968 – 69), find and describe features of the score that you (perhaps) have not encountered before.

What are the “micro” aspects of this passage of music?

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Exercise 4 - texture and behaviour On the following pages, write a short study for three or four instruments or voices that behaves like one of the following scenes (you choose). You can of course use any of the tools you have learned about thus far.

•

waves crashing on a beach

•

race car speeding up/ slowing down/ changing gears

•

spinning top falling to rest

•

building being demolished by explosives

•

a breeze through the trees

•

OR - you make one up

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Topic 6 – Thinking about Form One of the unique things about music is the way that it exists in time. Consider for a moment the difference between listening to a piece of music and examining a sculpture. For one, you cannot look away (listen away?) from a piece of music for a moment and then get back to it; you’ll have missed it! You wouldn’t, for example, be able to listen to Schubert’s “Trout” quintet for a few minutes, leave the concert hall, and come back a week later to finish up. But you could do that with a painting.

When we talk about the way that music changes through time, we are talking about form. Formal characteristics are one of the things that distinguish types of music from one another. For instance, European classical music from the 18th century is very different with regard to how it changes through time than a popular music EDM track from the naughties, which itself would be quite different than a 1970s “phases” piece by the composer Steve Reich. It is important to go deeper and consider how this is related to the living and dynamic nature of sound.

A few questions to consider: 1. In what sense is a high sound high, and a low sound low? Does it have anything to do with being closer to the ground?

2. What happens if you pause a sound recording? How does that differ from when you pause a film?

3. Try to summarise the main formal differences between music of the composer Joseph Haydn and music of the composer Claude Debussy.

4. How does being able to read musical notation change the way we think about musical form?

Formal Planning The following pages are left blank. In class, we are going to look into a simple way of thinking about larger-scale form in your music that does not require consideration of very small details. This way of “storyboarding” or “mapping” form does not require that you nail down every single note, but rather that you create a larger formal vessel that may be filled with specific melodic/harmonic/rhythmic content.

You may use the following pages, but you may also wish to use other pieces of blank scrap paper and tape them together end-to-end. I often use A3 pieces of paper to make formal maps, laying them out on the floor, or attaching them to the wall with blue tack.

This kind of approach may be thought of as “outside looking in”. We are looking at larger formal shapes and considering at another time (before or after) what may occupy those shapes. Is this the only way to think about form?

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Exercise 5 – formal outline Create a formal outline similar to the one we made in class. Remember that this formal outline may be as general or as detailed as is useful. Also, most importantly, remember that such an outline should not be regarded as a set of rules that you should follow. The technique is only useful if it streamlines the process of composition and allows your ideas to flow more freely.

(Use these pages turned sideways (landscape) to make your formal outlines)

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Topic 7 – Formal growth from content In the previous topic we looked at an “outside looking in” way of thinking about musical from, by making a map of the way our musical ideas might unfold through the piece. Remember, such a map should never be treated as a rule to follow, but rather as a template that might streamline the process and enable ideas to flow more freely.

Today we are going to consider the opposite, which is thinking about how the smallest elements of our musical materials may affect larger forms.

In a lot of music there exists some degree of continuity between content (harmony, rhythmic and melodic material, etc) and form. Oftentimes, content may generate form. In this case, one is better off following the implications of the content where they may lead you, leaving aside the question of larger formal change. To put it in simple terms, just do what you think works with the materials you are using and simply see what happens.

There can be no better example of how harmonic content may generate form than in much of the music of the French composer Gérard Grisey (1946 – 1998). Grisey was a composer of music that would become known as spectralism. This type of music arose in the 1970s, using computers to generate spectral analyses of sounds to create a new kind of instrumental music.

Like many genres of music, there is no strict definition of what is, and is not spectralist music (“impressionism” is another example). A lot of composers have considered the term to be misleading, placing too much emphasis on one particular aspect of their processes. One may, however, loosely associate spectralism with a concern for the timbral affect in music that is associated with French composers.

Indeed, Olivier Messiaen is considered to be one of the major antecedents of spectralism.

To start to consider how the harmonic content of Grisey’s music might generate form, let’s have a look at “Partiels” (1975), which is part of the six-movement Les Espace Acoustiques cycle of pieces, composed between 1974 and 1985.

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The first page of Gérard Grisey’s “Partiels” (1975)

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What aspects of this first page of music are different than traditional music notation of the 19th century and before?

The piece is based on a sonogram or spectrogram of an E2 note played on a trombone. The opening is the outlaying of the various partials (notes of the harmonic series) of this note. As you likely know, an instrument’s timbre is based in part on the various intensities of these partials. Grisey’s opening not only concentrates on these intensities, but also on how they evolve through time.

The important point about this piece, as a whole, is that it is not an analysis itself, but instead produces a widely varied composition based in the analysis. The piece goes on to develop the idea of upper partials in an enormous variety of texturally driven passages.

The harmonic overtone series with deviation from equal temperament in pitch cents (100 cents = 1semitones)

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Another excellent example of formal outgrowth of simple content can be found in Kaija Saariaho’s 1998 trio entitles Cendres (alto flute, cello and piano). In this piece, Saariaho begins by expanding on some very simple chordal elements. Let’s have a listen, and a look at the reduction of the opening passages provided below.

Bars 1 - 5

Bars 6 - 9

Bars 10 - 17

It is clear in this piece that Saariaho does not only develop melodies and harmonies, but timbres as well. What timbral aspects are developed in the first pages of Cendres?

Overall, this may be seen as a very organic way of developing musical ideas. To use slightly botanical terms, the musical form sprouts from one small harmonic seed.

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Exercise 6 – formal growth from a “seed” harmony

1. Start with a “seed” harmony idea. You could think of this as a chord, but it may be better to think more generally of it as a collection of pitches. Make sure there is enough to it to generate a fair amount of material – at least five to seven pitches.

2. Using 3 instruments from the small ensemble established in class, and taking the opening bars of Saariaho’s Cendres as a notional formal idea, create three instances of an outgrowth of the “seed” idea, exploring more of the pitches with each successive time. Also use the explorations to create different timbres by mixing/orchestrating the parts, and by using extended technique.

3. Do not use more than 2 sides of an A4 sheet of paper; 1 side is probably enough. Do not worry about making parts at this point as this is short enough to read from the score. Ensure that your transposing instruments are written in their own transposed key.

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Appendix 1 Suggested Listening List This is not by any means an exhaustive list. It is only meant to get you started with a good bit of variety, and to highlight some of the pieces that are covered in our topics in Workbook 1, which are in bold.

Guillaume de Machaut – Kyrie from Messe de Nostre Dame (before 1365) 1900-1925 Leoš Janáček – On an Overgrown Path piano cycle (1901-11) Arnold Schoenberg – “Nacht” from Pierrot Lunaire, Op. 21 (1912) Claude Debussy – Syrinx for solo flute (1913) Maurice Ravel – Piano trio in A Major (1914) Charles Ives – Three Places in New England (1912-16, revised 1926) Charles Ives – The Unanswered Question (1908, revised 1935) 1925-1950 Alban Berg – Lyric Suite for String Quartet (1925) Béla Bartók – String Quartet No. 4 (1928) Igor Stravinsky – Symphony of Psalms (1930) Edgard Varèse – Density 21.5 for solo flute (1936) Anton Webern – Concerto for 9 instruments, Op. 24 (1934) Béla Bartók – Mikrocosmos piano cycle (1926, 1932-39 Olivier Messian –Quatour pour la fin de Temps, I. “Liturgie de cristal” (1941) John Cage – Sonatas and Interludes for prepared piano (1946-1948) 1950-1975 György Ligeti – String Quartet No. 1 Métamorphoses nocturnes (1953-54) Pierre Boulez – Le marteau sans maître (1955) Karlheinz Stockhausen – Gruppen (1955–57) Pierre Boulez – Pli Selon Pli (1962) Luciano Berio – Sequenza IV for piano (1966) György Ligeti – String Quartet No. 2 (1968) György Ligeti – Ramifications (1968 – 69) 47

Luciano Berio – Sequenza VIIa for oboe (1969) Steve Reich – Drumming (1970 –1971) Luciano Berio – Linea (1973) Gérard Grisey – “Partiels” (1975) from Les Espaces Acoustique 1975-2000 Louis Andriessen – De Staat (1972-76) Steve Reich –Music for 18 Musicians (1974 –1976) Franco Donatoni – Spiri (1977) George Crumb – Makrokosmos (1979) Gérard Grisey – Talea (1986) Gérard Grisey – Vortex Temporum (1994) Kaija Saariaho – Cendres (1998)

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Appendix 2 A summary of score concerns in alphabetical order (please also refer to the RSNO guide on Moodle) Accidentals and key signatures -always be clear and consistent -ensure that your approach is appropriate to your music – if you are using a key signature, then the music must actually be in that key -with key signature -provide naturals, sharps and flats when needed – these are 'reset' at the end of the bar, but courtesy naturals in the next to bars are customary -without key signature -provide all sharps and flats, and negating naturals when need – it is customary to remind about your accidentals from one bar to the next Articulations -use them when appropriate, but understand what they do for that instrument – think about the physical act of producing the articulation on a particular instrument -understand the meaning of combinations between articulations (staccato/tenuto or accented staccato), and the combination of staccato/tenuto and slurs (articulated staccato) Barlines -double bar lines indicate section and tempo changes -double bar line, second one thick at the end Bar numbers -very helpful in referring to your score – use them -place them at the beginning of each system, on the top staff only, unless the score is large enough to have sections (not likely in chamber music), then place them over sections Beaming -always to the meter – ensure that you know how to beam to compound meter – and that you know the difference between compound and simple meters of the same duration -sometimes over beaming is a problem, sometimes under beaming is a problem – it is context specific so always consider how it would be clearest to a player who has never seen it before Brackets -always bracket together instrument choirs in larger works (not always appropriate in chamber music) -always bracket together more than one staff per instrument, as in the case of the piano grand staff Brass -remember that they make sound by forcing air from the lungs, and that different instruments require different amounts of air at different dynamics 49

-consider balance – historically brass instruments were used for outdoor purposes, hunting, communication, martial heralding, etc Key -just after the title page -any nonstandard notation that you feel needs explanation -have a good sense of what is typical (look at scores!) and what needs explaining – for instance you don’t really need to tell string players what sul ponticello is Meter -know the difference between simple, compound and complex meters -always beam and group your notes AND rests to the meter -make sure that the metrical approach is appropriate to the rhythms that you are notating.

Page orientation and Size -generally speaking, a portrait score with two or more systems (chamber music, not orchestral) per page -if you have one system per page, and those systems are large enough, make them smaller to enable more systems per page -as a score for study, some submissions do not need a staff size as large as is needed for parts, but staves should always be large enough to be easily readable Percussion -know your percussion notation conventions -use as few staves as possible without becoming unclear or impractical – normally only one staff may be used for ‘mixed’ unpitched percussion -make sure you are aware of the octave range of the pitched percussion for which you are writing Rehearsal Numbers/Letters -useful in practical performance situations -place them above the top staff, preferably in a square or circle enclosure (to clearly differentiate them from other score elements) Rhythms and Rests -make sure that your deployment of rests makes sense with the meter in the same way as your rhythm -be clear about how you are rhythmically dividing a complex meter, for instance 5/8 – are you grouping in 2 then 3, or 3 then 2 – ensure this matches up in all parts vertically -make sure that the simplest way of writing something is always used (always think, save ink) Simile -mostly don’t use this – the use is very context specific, so if you think it’s appropriate to use, ask Drew or some other composition staff member about it slurs, phrase marks, breathing and bowing -don’t just throw them around randomly – make sure they mean something, and that the help the interpretation of the music -slurring to and from the same note head – why do it?

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-slurring over rests – ok in special circumstance, but mostly, why do it?

-generally speaking, it is best to use these lines to indicate what exactly you want people to do, e.g. the length of a bow in string writing, or the breathing and tonguing of woodwind and brass playing Staff names -full names to the left of the staff on the first system – thereafter, use abbreviations – appropriate lists of abbreviations may be found online (makes sure you don’t use cel for ‘cello, for instance – it’s vc) http://imslp.org/wiki/IMSLP:Abbreviations_for_Instruments String harmonics -know what they are, and how they work -know how to notate both natural and ‘artificial’ harmonics -know the difference between node notation (tablature - with diamond note head) and pitch notation -know that they work – be certain Tempo -make sure you provide one (it’s a problem) -even if you use the Italian terms, be sure to use a BPM marking as well – the Italian terms are not necessary Title page -title, composer (matric), year, ensemble, score in c?

Transpositions -get your head around them – start trying to sight transpose – the better you get at this, the easier your life will be -know the difference between key signature and chromatic transposition (one has a key signature, one doesn’t, even for transposing instruments) Tuplets -make sure your tuplets are appropriate to the meter, e.g. two semiquaver triplets on the crotchet beat should be a sextuplet, unless there is a specific reason otherwise -do not cross beats with the tuplet – don’t start at tuplet part way through a beat and end part way through the next beat – like all rhythm, divide to the meter Woodwinds -remember that they make sound by forcing air from the lungs, and that different instruments require different amounts of air at different dynamics, e.g. don’t ask a flute player to play their low C on fff for 25 seconds -know the different types, and how they work – single reeds (clarinets and saxes), double reeds (oboes and bassoons) and edge blown aerophones (flutes and whiskey jugs)

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