ALEXANDER SCRIABIN AND HIS MYSTICAL JOURNEY.
MONGOLIAN THROAT SINGING EXPLORE THE SOUNDS OF NATURE
LISTEN MUSICAL LINKS WITHIN CULTURES SPECIAL EDITION
VOLUME I
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MATH IN MUSIC THIS MONTH’S THEME IS MATHEMATICS. MATH THAT CAN BE FOUND IN MUSIC, CULTURE, AND NATURE.
LISTEN PART 1: MATH IN MUSIC All around us, we hear overtones. Emphasis on different overtones are what allow us to distinguish between the different sounds of different instruments. We may not even realize it, but they’ve been hard-wired into our brains. So what are they?
TERMINOLOGY THE FUNDAMENTAL FREQUENCY IS: THE LOWEST RESONANT FREQUENCY AN OVERTONE IS: ANY RESONANT FREQUENCY ABOVE THE FUNDAMENTAL FREQUENCY HARMONICS/HARMONIC PARTIALS ARE: THE WHOLE NUMBER MULTIPLES OF THE FUNDAMENTAL FREQUENCY PITCH IS: THE EAR’S RESPONSE TO FREQUENCY (NAVE, R)
FIGURE 1: HARMONIC SERIES IN C WITH LABELED INTERVALS. BLUE NOTES INDICATE NOTES THAT SOUND OUT OF TUNE AS THEY DIFFER GREATLY FROM EQUAL TEMPERAMENT.
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TWO DIFFERENT CULTURES
EXPLORE THE MYSTICISM OF ALEXANDER SCRIABIN’S “PROMETHEUS” AND MONGOLIAN OVERTONE SINGING.
LISTEN PART 2: TWO DIFFERENT CULTURES “Prometheus: Poem of Fire” Alexander Scriabin was greatly influenced by philosophical doctrines, as can be seen in his extensive use of harmonic language. “Prometheus: Poem of Fire”, one of his most famous symphonies, is particularly well known for it’s dominant use of what is called the mystic chord (Figure 2): a synthetic chord derived from the overtone scale, which ultimately opposes the long-standing major/minor harmonic system. Furthermore, when Scriabin composed this piece, he envisioned a performance in which light would be set “counterpoint” to music. In order to integrate light with sound in performance, he included a part for a light organ (Luce) in the score when it was first published in 1911 and worked with technicians to develop one but failed to due to limitations in technology at that time. Two years later (1913), he wrote another score (known as the “Parisian Score”) with detailed annotation and a table of color-tone translations for the light organ part, which unfortunately was never published. (Powell, Jonathan)
FIGURE 2 SCRIABIN’S “MYSTIC CHORD” IN C (HYACINTH)
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LISTEN PART 2: TWO DIFFERENT CULTURES
The mystic chord is a subset of the harmonic series, as can be seen in figure 4. It’s derived from the notes labeled 8-14 in figure 3, with the major fifth (G in the diagram) taken out. This chord is used extensively in “Prometheus”. (Mystic chord)
FIGURE 3: HARMONIC SERIES SHOWING SUBSET OF WHICH MYSTIC CHORD IS DERIVED FROM. NOTES IN BLUE SHOWING THOSE THAT SOUND OUT OF TUNE. THUS THE LABELED NOTES MARKED WITH “*” MAY DIFFER SLIGHTLY FROM THE CORRESPONDING NOTES OF THE MYSTIC CHORD.
FIGURE 4: NOTES OF THE MYSTIC CHORD IN C WITH INTERVALS FROM THE ROOT LABELED. DERIVED FROM HARMONIC SERIES EXCLUDING THE PERFECT FIFTH (WHICH IS G WHEN THE ROOT NOTE IS C.
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LISTEN PART 2: TWO DIFFERENT CULTURES FIGURE 5 A MONGOLIAN MUSICIAN SINGING AN PLAYING A HORSE HEAD FIDDLE, A TRADITIONAL MONGOLIAN INSTRUMENT (MAGS-TAG)
Mongolian Overtone Singing - “Short Song” & “Praise of Chinggis Khaan” Mongolian Khoomei is a type of throat singing in which the singer positions his or her throat in a certain way as to manipulate the relationships between the fundamental pitches and its overtones, hence why it is also known as overtone singing. Most pieces have a fundamental drone with whistle-like melodies which sound as if the individual is singing two or more notes at once (homophonic texture). Through emphasizing different overtones of the same fundamental pitch, the voice is meant to imitate the rich timbres of nature. (Throat Singing)
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LISTEN PART 2: TWO DIFFERENT CULTURES
Khoomei is thought to have been originated in Mongolia when nomad farmers wanted to call and herd their grazing animals. Songs can be used to tell stories of legends, praise songs, entertainment songs, celebratory songs... etc. There are two basic categories: long and short song, which is melismatic and free rhymed vs syllabic and strictly rhythmic. (Throat singing) The early 20th century in Russia when “Prometheus� was produced was a revolutionary era for the development of musical ideas. The focus was on breaking away from conventional ideas and techniques, and thus composers such as Igor Stravinsky and Sergei Prokofiev experimented with different musical styles and languages. Alexander Scriabin (18721915) was another one of these composers. (Nice, David) Despite the fact that they are two very distinct musical cultures, similarities can still be found. The most significant links can be found in the ways in which layers of sound are combined in various ways to product distinct tone colors, and how the harmonic series serves to be the main structural element of the pieces.
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MUSICAL LINKS INVESTIGATING THE MUSICAL LINKS WITHIN THE MUSIC OF TWO CULTURES: EARLY 20TH CENTURY RUSSIAN MUSIC & MONGOLIAN OVERTONE SINGING THROUGH TEXTURE AND STRUCTURE
LISTEN PART 3: MUSICAL LINKS - TEXTURE
TEXTURE Texture in music refers to the different ways in which sounds and beats are layered (Texture). Similarities in the way in which texture is varied can be found in the music from these two cultures. Audio 1 “Praise of For example, as can be heard in audio 1, in “Praise of Chingghis Chingghis Khaan” Khaan”, sometimes the texture is heterophonic, as occasionally the in unison stringed instrument and the voice are in unison, but slightly varied. However, at other times, the texture is homophonic: the performer plays a drone on the stringed instrument with a focus on rhythm through accented beats, and sings a melody on top.
The texture is also homophonic during the overtone singing portion of the piece, as can be heard in audio 2. As notated in figure 6, the singer sings the fundamental pitch D as the drone and a melody on top with the overtones of E and F# (a major second and major third away from the fundamental D).
Audio 2 “Praise of Chingghis Khaan” Overtone singing
FIGURE 6: NOTATED SECTION OF MONGOLIAN “SHORT SONG” OVERTONE SINGING WITH D AS FUNDAMENTAL. (TRANSCRIPTION BY CANDIDATE)
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LISTEN PART 3: MUSICAL LINKS - TEXTURE
Emphasis is placed on the different tone qualities that can be proAudio 3 duced through manipulation of the vocal folds, as can be seen Mongolian Short and heard in this short song (audio 3 and figure 7). The changes Song Overtone singing in tone quality from the whistle-like overtones to the low and thick notes that are sung are caused by a change in texture (adding and taking away of the layers of sound).
FIGURE 7: EXCERPT FROM MONGOLIAN SHORT SONG OVERTONE SINGING (STOCK, JONATHAN)
Audio 4 Excerpt from “Praise of Chingghis Khan” Furthermore, layers of sound are structured in a variety of ways in Mongolian music, as can be heard in “Praise of Chingghis Khan”. For example, in audio 1, the voice is in the foreground with the stringed instrument in the background. However, as can be heard in the short excerpt (audio 4), the voice finishes its phrase and fades out so that the stringed instrument moves from the background to the foreground.
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LISTEN PART 3: MUSICAL LINKS - TEXTURE Similar to how the fundamental serves as a drone that states the root note of the harmonic series (of which the melody is formed from) in Mongolian overtone singing, the “Luce” section of “Prometheus” by Scriabin serves as a pedal point, stating the root of the mystic chord in each measure. Furthermore, the orchestration of the piece is varied at different point to create different tone colors through changes in texture. For example, as can be seen in figure 8, the same melodic motif is imitated by a variety of woodwinds. The texture alternates between lower registers such as the bass clarinet to higher registers such as the flute, played against the pedal point stating the root note. Like the effect of changing the layering of different sounds, particularly overtones, in Mongolian Khoomei, these alternating textures create different tone colors in the work. FIGURE 8:”PROMETHEUS” M 15-22 (SCRIABIN, ALEXANDER)
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LISTEN PART 3: MUSICAL LINKS - STRUCTURE
STRUCTURE Under the concept of structure, both pieces are structured around the overtone scale. In Scriabin’s “Prometheus” the entire orchestral work is structured and driven by the transformation of the “mystic chord” which is derived from the overtone scale, and consequently is composed of the root, the augmented fourth, the minor sev- FIGURE 9: BEGINNING MYSTIC CHORD IN “PROMETHEUS” M 1-6 (SCRIABIN, ALEXANDER) enth, the major third, the major sixth, and the major second. As can be seen in figure 9 and heard in audio 5, this socalled “mystic chord” is introduced in the very first measure of the work. The note A as written in the “Luce” (light piano) section, is the root note of the chord (the rest of the notes in the chord are D#, G, C#, F#, B), and the rest of the notes from measures 1-12 are based on the overtone scale in the pitch of A.
Audio 5”Prometheus Beginning Chord
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LISTEN PART 3: MUSICAL LINKS - STRUCTURE Starting from measure 13, the same mystic chord is transposed down to Eb (chord consisting of notes Eb, A, Db, G, C, F), as can be seen in Figure 10. FIGURE 10: “PROMETHEUS” M 13 TRANSPOSITION OF MYSTIC CHORD TO EB (SCRIABIN PROMETHEUS)
Chromatic extensions of the mystic chord and such modulations also play a key part in the harmonic development as a structure of the piece. For example, in bars 174-176 (as shown in figure 11, next page), the mystic chord is transposed to B (consisting of the notes B, E#, A, D#, G#, C#) as shown in the “Luce” section. However, these measures also contain notes such as E, C, and D, which are notes not in the mystic chord of B, but rather in the mystic chord of Bb. This is because the Bb played in the “Luce” section along with B provides room for chromatic extensions of the chord, resulting in mystic chord bitonality. In this way, the mystic chord serves as the structural element in this piece: The “Luce” section stating the root note of the mystic chord throughout the piece, and the other notes built around these transposed chords.
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LISTEN PART 3: MUSICAL LINKS - STRUCTURE FIGURE 11: “PROMETHEUS” M 174-176. (SCRIABIN, PROMETHEUS)
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LISTEN PART 3: MUSICAL LINKS - STRUCTURE Similar to how overtone scale serves as the basis for the harmonic language of “Prometheus”, the Mongolian Khoomei music is structured around the overtone scale. As can be seen in figure 12, in this short Mongolian song, the singer sings the fundamental, which is D, and a melody over top, made from the different overtones of D. The first few notes of the harmonic series in D are: D, A, F#, C, E, G, A#, D#... The fundamental note is being sung as a continuous drone while the singer is manipulating his vocal cavities to play a melody on top that is embellished with trills. In this way, this song is also structured around the overtone scale.
FIGURE 12: OVERTONE SINGING IN A MONGOLIAN SHORT SONG (STOCK, JONATHAN)
Audio 6 Mongolian Music Furthermore, as can be heard in audio 6, in “Praise of Chingghis Khaan”, emphasis on the perfect fourth and fifth intervals as well as repe- Melody Excerpt tition and variation of the melody play important structural roles in the piece. the stringed instrument repeatedly plays fifths as a drone, while the melody is sung by the performer. As can be seen in figure 13, the melody has a very small range, and it moves mainly in steps, as well as intervals such as from D to A (or a perfect fifth).
FIGURE 13: VOICE EXCERPT FROM “PRAISE OF CHINGGHIS KHAAN” (TRANSCRIBED BY CANDIDATE)
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LISTEN PART 3: MUSICAL LINKS - STRUCTURE Emphasis on the perfect fifth and perfect fourth intervals can also be seen in “Prometheus”. For example, the movement of the baseline, identified by the lowest pitches, often alter certain notes of the mystic chord to create perfect fifths and fourths.
FIGURE 14: “PROMETHEUS” M 157, ALTERATION OF BASELINE TO CREATE PERFECT FIFTH (SCRIABIN, ALEXANDER)
FIGURE 15: “PROMETHEUS” M 272, ALTERATION OF BASELINE TO CREATE PERFECT FOURTH (SCRIABIN, ALEXANDER)
As can be seen in figure 14, “Luce” indicates that the root of the mystic chord is B, but instead of an E#, which is a part of that chord, the baseline has been moved half a step downwards to E to create a perfect fifth with B. Similarly, in figure 15, the baseline has been moved up a half step to Bb to create a perfect fourth with Eb, the root of the mystic chord as indicated in “Luce”. In this way, Scriabin alters the baseline to create perfect intervals of fourths and fifths to increase the sense of aural ambiguity (and thus intensify the “mysticism” of the piece”), as they are pitches that imply a strong sense of tonality, but are not included in the mystic chord. 16
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CONCLUSION The studied works come from two very distinct musical cultures. While Mongolian Khoomei places emphasis on following ancient traditions, Russian music of the early 20th century possesses a revolutionary spirit that focuses on breaking away from traditional ideas. Regardless, textural and structural links can still be found. The layering of sounds and beats in the pieces create contrast and variety within the works, while pitch and harmony play a dominant, structural role in all of the pieces studied, through their dependence on the harmonic series.
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