Nove~ber 27, 1962 A bit
of review,
and one or two new items on phrasing:
Phrasing is a sort of punctuation. We use commas, parentheses, dashes and assorted devices to group together these words in a sentence which make in passing a sense unto themselves, even though it be subordinate and qualifying to the sense of the whole. Similarly we use periods to terminate the independent ideas which go to make up a paragraph. These punctuations imply varying degrees of pause before proceeding to other, but related ideas. The successful reading of poetry is the ability to comprehend (and convey) a whole architecture of word groupings -- groupings not only of sense but also of rhythm and pitch, color and accent -- so that truth and beauty become one. This is more than a little analagous to the successful performance of music. How do we know what notes are to be grouped together ical
in the mus-
phrase?
We have discussed the rhymthmic qualifications: how the extended notes in melodies are frequently ports of arrival, and the smaller notes which precede them the route and labour which makes arrival possible and predictable, and which justifies a degree of repose before proceeding on the new journey. Similarly,' the so-called down-beat (which we are used to calling the 0 strong-beat") is also a 1Jort of arrival, but one which derives its meaning from the energy and thrust of the up-beat. In truer terms the up .... bect is marked by the expenditure of energy and the down-beat by repose. (We ought 1tweak- 11 and ,:,strong- 11.) simply to reverse the designations Text In some music the words of the text will impose the;ir natural grou~ing upon musical Dhrasing though, as we have seen, this is seldom true of an intricate polyphonic work which may take only two or three words and weave them into a musical essay of ten to twelve minutes. Pitch In addition, however, to diagnostics of rhythm and text, are th ere any strictly tonal guideposts which will aid us in the grouping of notes in convincing nhrases? In a previous
letter we have remarked that when a melody ris es it marks in general an intensification of energy, and when it falls it signifies a relaxation. Therefore we must look for those melodic fragments which bear an upward thrust, and balance th em sensitively and minut ely with those fragments which signify respite. Two, progression by sc ale-wise motion is a v astly different affair from progression by melodic leap. We must look for the succession of ~ot cs which are adjac ent in pitch, and cons ider interrupti on of adjacency to mark a sort of parenthesis or indicate that wet re off on a new or qualifyin g i dea .
-2-
Three, the repetition of a short melodic pattern in an ascending or descending series we call sequence and imitation. Such imitation (even of 0 fragments) is an nauthor -ized guide to what the creator felt as inner or outer boundries of his phrase. In reverse
summary:
(1) Explore the varieties
of sequence and imitation -- partial or complete, right side up or upside down, backwards or forwards -- and let them be heard.
(2)
Grant to adjacent scale-wise motion one sort of articulation and to its interruption another sort.
(3)
Convey the inner and hidden dialogue, the ying and yang, the up and down, the question and answer, male and female, boygirl, tension and relaxtion.
(4)
P.e considerate of the text. It might just coincide with rrelodic or harmonic accentuation -- and this moment is the pentecost of song.
(S)
An up-beat is a spring-board. The higher you have to bound the harder you must hit the board.
(6)
Cultivate the forward look. ~elody is a vagabond, incorrigibly searching the world for a place "really" to settle down. Even punctuation is not a period of retrospect, but of marshelling strength and scanning the horizon. The last note we sing is the one to which all others lead.
R. S.
ANNOUNCEMENTS : Rehearsal
Sunday, December 2, at 3:00 p.m. all tenors.
Rehearsal
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