Joseph Straus - A Principle of Voice Leading in The Music of Stravinsky

Society for Music Theory
A Principle of Voice Leading in the Music of Stravinsky Author(s): Joseph Straus Source: Music Theory Spectrum, Vol. 4 (Spring, 1982), pp. 106-124 Published by: University of California Press on behalf of the Society for Music Theory Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/746013 . Accessed: 06/12/2013 04:08
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A Principle of Voice of Stravinsky Music
Leading
in
the
Joseph Straus
A significantbody of twentieth-century music (by Stravinsky and others) is organized aroundfunctionaltone-centersbut is not tonal in the traditionalsense. The search for a comprehensive and self-containedtheory of this music is one of the most important tasks facing students and teachers of twentiethcenturymusic. We need a theorywhich can accountnot only for surfacestylistic featuresof this music but for its deep structural organizationas well. To be successful, such a theory would have to providea systematicand coherentview of pitch organizationat all levels of structure.Specifically, the theorywe seek mustaddresstwo principalquestions:First, whatis the natureof the tone-centersin this music, the fundamental sonoritiesoperat the level of structure? what is the Second, ating background means of progressionbetweenthese background harmonies?In other words, our theorymust considerboth harmonyand voice leading. This paper describes a prevalentfeatureof voice leading in Stravinsky's music, one which I call "pattern-completion." collection or set Accordingto this principle,a certainunordered of notes (generally a tetrachord)is established as a structural norm for the composition, pervadingthe surface of the music
(both melodic and harmonic)and governingthe tonal motion at all levels of structure.Throughrepetition,this normativeunit becomes so engrainedin the listener's consciousness that the sounding of part of the patterncreates an expectation for the unit completionof the pattern.In otherwords, when a normative of n elementshas been established,the appearance of any subset of that unit containingn-1 elements will create an expectation for the single missing element. Further,this principle is also valid for structurally relatedtones even if they are widely separated in time. The basic pattern for a certain composition might be the tetrachord formed by the first four notes of the majorscale or their inversion, a tetrachordlike ABC#Dor ABbCD.l Various forms of this tetrachord-transposedor inverted-may appear frequentlyas definablemelodic andharmonicunits. As a result, the soundingof threenotes which might, with the additionof a will arousean expectasingle note, createthattetrachord-type,
'This is tetrachord 4-11 in Forte's nomenclature.(The Structureof Atonal Music, New Haven:Yale UniversityPress, 1973). In this paper,this tetrachord will be referredto as TetrachordA.
Voice Leading in the Music of Stravinsky
107
tion for the missing note. Furthermore, the arrivalof the missing note will bringwith it a sense of cadenceor of structural arrival. In the case of ourexample, the appearance of the notes F, E, and D would create the expectation of the arrivalof C since the C alone is capable of completing an expected form of the normative unit. By systematicuse of a single normativepatternat all levels of structure,Stravinskyis able to achieve a high degreeof musical coherence. By exploiting the need for completionof this single unit, he is able to create directionality,cadential arrival, and, ultimately, tonal centricity as well. Pattern-completionthus consists of two fundamental of a single aspects: 1) establishment unit for a collection-type or patternas the normativestructural composition and 2) exploitationof the listener's desire for the completion of that unit.
InSymphonies of Wind Instruments, pattern-completion is the
Example 1. Symphoniesof WindInstruments,5 mm. afterRehearsal1
(R1)
EbF G Ab = TetrachordA
.
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I
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). bLL
J
L J. .
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key to understandingthe musical organizationfrom melodic motives to backgroundstructure.Like so many of Stravinsky's

compositions, Symphonies of Wind Instruments is highly sec-
tionalin its constructionwith distinctiveandcontrasting musical materialsstrikinglyjuxtaposed.Let us considerjust one distinctive bit of musical material,the two-measuresegment shown in Example 1. This motive occurs first at the startof the piece and recurs, transformed,several other times. As the example shows, the melody (set forthby the firstoboe) consists of the notes Eb,F, G, andA. These fournotes comprise a form of the tetrachord which I designatedabove as Tetrachord A. At the melodic highpointof the phrase,the chordconsists of the notes G, Ab, B1, and C, another version of the same tetrachord,equivalent to the first by inversion. Subsequentharmonizationsof the same melody make even more consistent vertical use of this tetrachord,as Example 2 shows. In Example2b, the melody in the firsttrombone(GABC = Tetrachord A) is accompanieda sixth below by a parallelform of Tetrachord A (BCDE) in the second trombone.A thirdform
of the same tetrachord occurs on the downbeatof the (FPGAB) second measure. Althoughthe above examples consideronly a single motive, the piece as a whole is similarly permeated with forms of Tetrachord A. Throughpervasive, explicit use, this tetrachord becomes the normativestructural unit for the piece. This gives to directthe Stravinskythe power, throughpattern-completion, tonalmotiontowardspecific pitches, to createcadences, to form links between sections, and, ultimately, to unify the piece as a whole. Let us see first of all how Stravinskyuses pattern-completion to link the distinctsections of the piece. Frequently,throughout one entire section of music, a prominentinstrumental line will use only threenotes of a tetrachord. The fourthnote, completing the pattern,arrivesat the beginning of the subsequentsection. The music leadingto Rehearsal8 (R8) providesan illustration of
108
Music Theory Spectrum
Example 2a. One measure after R27 D E Ft G = TetrachordA Db Eb F Gb - TetrachordA
A
? Copyright1926 by EditionRusse de Musique. Copyrightassignedto Boosey & Hawkes, Inc. Used by permission.
Example 2b. R11
EH!I Trps.,
I!
pesante
Tbns.
._
GABC= CD E
F G A B = TetrachordA
) Copyright1926 by EditionRusse de Musique. Copyrightassignedto Boosey & Hawkes, Inc. Used by permission.
Voice Leadingin the Musicof Stravinsky
109
this procedure. This passage is one of the few substantially revised by Stravinskyin preparingthe generally-known 1947 versionof this piece. In the original 1920 version, the accompanying partsbetween R6 and R8 consist of generally chromatic parallelmotion in the second and thirdflutes at the distanceof a major seventh. The chromaticmotion ceases at the end of the A, passagewhen the second flute statestwo formsof Tetrachord the second of which culminateson F as the subsequentsection begins (Example 3). Pattern-completionis even more prominently used in the 1947 edition. In the revised version of this passage (the last measures of which are shown in Example 4), the melody remains unchanged. The texture of the accompanimentis also unchanged,with the second and thirdflutes moving in parallel majorsevenths. The actual notes of the accompaniment,how-
altered.Withone briefexception, each of ever, are substantially the accompanyingflute parts in this passage now consists of only three notes. In each partthe three notes form a trichordal subset of Tetrachord A and, in each part, the trichordis comas the pleted subsequentsection begins. In addition,the melody at the end of the passage uses four notes--GI, Al, Bb, and A. A clear sense of arrival C--yet anotherform of Tetrachord and connection is created by these pattern-completions. In the same way, pattern-completion bringsaboutthe princimusical climax of the at Rehearsal 54. At Rehearsal pal piece 51, the lowest sounding parts (bassoons 2 and 3 and tuba) alternate Aftera briefinterruption, these partsresume BbandAK. at Rehearsal52 with DI addedin bassoons 2 and3. The trichord is thus establishedandrapidlyrepeatedin these lowest AK-Bb-DI parts. The tension built up by repetitions of this trichordis
3. Onemeasure beforeR8 Example
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110
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released at Rehearsal 54, the climactic moment, when C is introduced in the lowest parts, completing Tetrachord A. A schematic reduction of these events is contained in Example 5. Tetrachord A not only motivates the climax, but defines it as well. At Rehearsal 54, the lower brass intruments state three parallel forms of this tetrachord. The lowest of these, and the most prominent, is the CDEF tetrachord stated by the tuba, third trombone, fourth horn, and first and second bassoons. This is in the first and second trombones and accompanied by EFPGOA CODOE#FP in the second and third trumpets. The completion of by Tetrachord A motivates the climax; saturation of the musical surface with Tetrachord A defines the climax, as Example 5 shows. So far we have considered only surface presentations of Tetrachord A, as a melody or a chord or a line used to link sections. Now let us see how pattern-completion can bring about
large-scale tonal coherence. For that purpose, let us turn again to the motive we discussed earlier, shown as Example 1. Briefly, the successive transpositions of this motive as the piece progresses create a sense of directed motion from F down to C, a motion which spans the entire composition. Example 6 shows the principal notes of the major occurrences of this motive in the piece. In its first occurrence at five after Rehearsal 1, the motive is unambiguously centered on F: both the soprano and bass voices begin and end on F. At one after Rehearsal 27, both outer voices, particularly the bass, are centered on E. The motive is stated again at Rehearsal 28, concluding this time with a bass descent to D. Subsequent statements of this motive also focus on E or D. Successive transpositions of this single motive thus establish a large-scale bass descent from F through E to D. Since Tetrachord A is the normative unit for this piece, these
111
5 Example
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rachordA, as Examples 1 and 2 show; the transpositions of this culminatmotive statea large-scaleformof the same tetrachord, CCDfEgFg= (A) Trump. 2,3 ing in the final chord of the piece. >_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~. We have considered only the transpositionsof a single motive, butthis large-scalebass descentfromF to E to D andfinally to C is confirmed by other compelling musical evidence. ExTromb. 1,2 EFtGCA =) ample 7 shows the backgroundstructureof the piece with an intermediatearrival on C at Rehearsal 54 and the definitive descent to C at the end of the piece. of a descendingfourthis not arbiThis backgroundstructure 3 Tromb. = Tuba, EFGA ) notes present at the background these chosen. Rather, trarily level a patternwhich pervadesthe piece at the surface level, a = ) CDEF A. The ultimatearrival patternwe have been calling Tetrachord of pitch-class C completes the composing-out of this basic pattern.In this way, the foregroundand backgroundstructures of this piece are shown to be governed by a single musical principle:the principle of pattern-completion.
R28
R27+1
threenotes are felt as incomplete;only the arrivalof pitch-class C will terminatethis bass motion by completing the expected A. And pitch-classC is in fact attainedin the formof Tetrachord structural bass at the two most important pointsin the piece, first at Rehearsal 54, the dramaticclimax of the piece (shown in Example5) andfinally in the last measure,as the bass note of the final chord of the piece. The melodic motive we have been discussing contains prominentsmall-scale statements of Tet-
The pattern-completion model containsthe potentialfor constructiveambiguity. In certaincases, a subset of the normative patterncan be completedin eitherof two ways. If, for example, CDE may be is Tetrachord the normativepattern A, the trichord F and CDEF are both or since BCDE either B, completed by A. In some pieces, both of the expectations forms of Tetrachord arousedby an ambiguoussubset may be fulfilled, either simultaneously or at different times. The first scene of Les Noces provides a clear example of the realizationof two expectations aroused by the incomplete statementof the basic pattern. InLes Noces therecan be no doubtas to whatthe basic pattern is. In the first scene, and throughoutthe entire piece, melodic lines are generatedfrom reiterations,transpositions,and inversions of a single three-notecell first stated as BDE (set 3-7 in Forte's nomenclature),which I will referto as TrichordA. This three-notecell is extraordinarily pervasive.A few exampleswill suffice here (Example 8).
As in Symphonies of Wind Instruments, this pattern also
112
Example 7 RO R9 R26 R54 R57 R75
FEDC = TetrachordA
2. The desire to hear complete statementsof the normative is an important unit(the row or the pattern) elementof structural articulation.In serialtheory, this is called aggregate-formation; in pattern-completion, it is simply called completion. 3. The normative unit may be subjected to certain inversion, retrograde, transformations-transposition, rotation-without losing its identity. The crucialdifferencebetween the two has to do with orderis an unordered ing. The normativeunit in pattern-completion collection. Stravinskymakeslittle or no distinctionwith respect to the orderin which he presentsthe notes in the basic unit. The three-note subsets of a four-note basic unit are felt as being equally incomplete, equally in need of completion. In serial composition, on the other hand, ordering is of fundamental importance.The position occupied by a pitch-classin the tonerow is the essence of its structuralrole in a serial work. A succession of notes is precisely what defines a pitch particular series. With these similarities (and this one crucial difference) in mind, a brief discussionof the final scenes of Agon may answer some questions of stylistic consistency and inconsistency in Stravinsky'smusic. If Agon (and other compositions from the 1950s) can be shown, despite their serial manifestations,to be organized, like Symphoniesof WindInstruments,by means of a more unified view of Stravinsky'scompattern-completion, positional language may emerge. Agon occupies a pivotal position in Stravinsky's stylistic development, coming at a time of his growing interest in serialism. He began work on it in 1953, soon after his "neoclassical" style had reachedits apogee with The Rake's Progwork on it in orderto compose In Memoress. He interrupted riam Dylan Thomas (strictly serial with a five-note row) and serial elements), returningto CanticumSacrum (incorporating
influences the backgroundharmonic structureand directs the tonal motion throughpattern-completion. From the beginning of the piece to Rehearsal9, the structurally significantbass notes are D# and Bb, as Example 9 shows. This pairof notes implies two possible continuationsin order to complete the basic pattern.EitherCO or C will complete the basic pattern, since both B'CD? and BbCWDI are forms of TrichordA. Both of these possibilities are in fact realized. The C arrives in the bass at Rehearsal 16 (and again at Rehearsal17) at the dramaticclimax of the movement. At this moment, the dynamicmarkingis fortissimoandthe textureis as full as possible as the chorusand soloists must almost shout the words, "Va, Va." At the end of the movement (before Rehearsal27), C#is attainedin the bass for the first time. The first of the two implied notes is thus statedat the dramaticclimax of the piece, the second at the end of the piece. The most important structural events in the piece arethusbest understood in termsof 10 summarizes these structural pattern-completion.Example motions. There are striking points of similarity between patterncompletion and serial theory, including the following: 1. Compositionalorganizationin both cases is governedby a fromthe preconceivedpitch collection which may be abstracted For serial the is collection composition. composition, governing the tone-row; for pattern-completion it is the compositions, pattern.

Example 8. Les Noces: Measures 1-4, R9, and last three mm.
113
MM. .
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114
Example 9
RO-R1 R1-R2 R2 R4 R5 R7
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Example 10
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and completing Agon in 1957.2 The opening of Agon, with its ostinati and short, reiterated melodic fragments, is stylistically reminiscent of many earlier compositions. The latter parts of the piece reflect Stravinsky's new compositional approach, incorporating serial procedures with varying degrees of strictness. Agon's juxtaposition of two highly contrasting musical styles raises a number of important theoretical and analytical questions: In what sense isAgon a unified, coherent piece of music? How are transitions made leading from one stylistic area to another? This last question is posed most forcefully by the recapitulation of the opening material of the piece in mm. 561 ff.
after a lengthy serial section. Like other of Stravinsky's works from the early 1950s, Agon can pose difficult problems to the analyst who approaches it from the standpoint of orthodox serial theory.3 The difficulties confronting serial analysis and, more important, the internal evidence of the music, suggest that the central organizing principle of those parts of Agon which are generally considered serial is in fact pattern-completion, which may mimic in certain ways the appearance of twelve-tone serialism. Tetrachord C (prime form: 0134) is the normative pattern for Agon, particularly for the concluding quarter of the ballet (mm. 41 lff.) where it is extraordinarily pervasive.4 Let us consider just the music between m. 520 and m. 561, which begins with the only unambiguously serial passage in the entire concluding quarterof the ballet. Between m. 520 and m. 542, every note can be accounted for as part of some row-form. Each row-form is stated one note at a time with almost no overlapping of forms. The passage is thus strictly, almost naively serial (Example 11). There are, however, numerous points of similarity between this section and the non-serial sections which precede and follow it. An imbrication of the tone-row (Example 12) shows how important a subset Tetrachord C is, or, to put it more accurately, such an imbrication shows the way in which the tone-row has been generated from overlapping forms of Tetrachord C. In addition, the row is deployed in this section to isolate by means
2Eric Walter White, Stravinsky:The Composerand His Works (Berkeley: University of CaliforniaPress, 1966), p. 451.
3The following articlesand books show both the uses and the limitationsof serial analysis for Agon: Serial Techniquesin White, Stravinsky,pp. 449-56; David Ward-Steinmann, the RecentMusic of Igor Stravinsky(DMA Dissertation,Universityof Illinois, 1961);LawrenceMorton,"Current Chronicle,"Musical Quarterly,43 (1957), 535-41. 4Thisis set 4-3 in Forte'snomenclature. The pervasive,controllinguse of this tetrachordin this part of Agon has also been observed by Henri Pousseur in "StravinskyBy Way of Webern,"Perspectivesof New Music, 10(1972), 13-52 and 11 (1972), 112-45.
Voice Leadingin the Musicof Stravinsky Example 11. Agon The Row: C A Ab Cb Bb Di D F E E GbG Measure 520 523 526 529 531 534 536 539 541
115
Row Form
Po RIo Io I0
R1o Po R1o RI7 17,RIo
Example12
C A A \ B \ F \ E/
C/
D/
of registercertainforms of Tetrachord C which arenot contiguous elements in the row (Example 13).5 At m. 553, a transitionto the diatonicopening materialof the ballet begins with a statement(subsequentlyreiteratednumerous times) of the tetrachord CEGA (4-26). This chord, which is of centralimportancein the diatonicopening music, has played virtually no role in the serial and proto-serial music which immediatelyprecedes it. How has the strikingintroductionof this chord been prepared? In mm. 520-42, the music is strictly
5Theuse of non-contiguouselementsof the row to formpitch-classsets which are subsets of the row in the music of Schoenberg is a principaldiscovery of MarthaMaclean Hyde in "The Roots of Form in Schoenberg's Sketches," Journal of Music Theory, 24 (1980), 1-36.
serial. From m. 542 on, the twelve-note units begin to dissolve into smaller fragments, particularlyforms of Tetrachord C. In this context, four distinct musical lines lead to the chord in m. as 553, the arrivalof which is motivatedby pattern-completion, 14 shows. Example Beginning in m. 549, the first trumpetstates the first eleven pitches of RI7. The ninth, tenth, and eleventh pitches of this row-formare Gs, B, and Bb.The arrivalof G in the chordat m. 553 thus provides the twelfth and concluding element of a row-formand completes a form of Tetrachord C. Beginning in the same place (m. 549), the second trumpetstates overlapping forms of Tetrachord C. The last three notes of this line (Bb, A, and FO)also lead to G. The same mechanism is used in the trombonesand stringsto lead to A and C which, along with G, of appearin the chord at m. 553. In m. 561, the recapitulation the openingmusic of the balletbegins with a pentachord consisting of the chorddiscussed above (CEGA) with an F in the bass. Like the notes of the CEGAchord,this F is presentedas boththe last element in a row statement(Io)andthe completionof a form of TetrachordC. The entranceof the chord CEGA at m. 553 and the subsequententranceof the opening music of the ballet at m. 561 are the most striking and dramatic musical events of the entire concluding quarterof Agon. The injection of these unexpected elements into a contrasting musical context has a powerful impact. As in Symphoniesof WindInstrumentsand countless otherpieces by Stravinsky,the source of the dramastems from the sharp,violentjuxtapositionof contrasting elements. InSymphonies of WindInstruments,the disparatesections are linked with the completingnote arrivingas the by pattern-completion, new section begins. The same is true of these two crucial moments in Agon. The music of the recapitulation is different from the music which precedes it, yet the two are powerfully linked by pattern-completion. The traditionalcritical view of Stravinskyduring the early part of this century was that his music was antitheticalto the
116
MusicTheorySpectrum
Example 13
?
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521 522 523 524

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r
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Example 14
C m. 549 550 551 552 553
? Copyright 1957 by Boosey & Hawkes, Inc. Used by permission.
117
serialismof Schoenbergandhis followers. Criticswho held that view were naturally shocked when, later in his career, Stravinskyadopted serial proceduresin his own music. More recently, revisionist accountshave tried to show that the serial music of Stravinskyactually behaves much like his pre-serial music.6The theoryof pattern-completion attemptsto show that the opposite is also true-that the pre-serialmusic of Stravinsky principleswhich are not at actuallymakes use of organizational all far removed from the principles of serial composition. If Stravinsky, throughout his career, was preoccupied by the quasiserialmanipulationof certain normativepatternsand determined pitch selection and structureon the basis of those manipulations,then his adoptionof twelve-tone serialismneed no longer be viewed as a dramatic stylistic change. On the contrary,Stravinsky'sserial compositions, like his earliermusic, are seen to express certaincommon organizationalprocedures referredto here as pattern-completion. Let us turnnow to the Symphonyin C, concentratingon the exposition of the first movement. This movement is clearly modeled on a traditionalsonata-allegro form. It is in threelarge sections: an exposition which contains two contrasting with coda. The subsections,a development,anda recapitulation essence of the major-keysonata-allegro form, however, lies not in its proportionsor thematic manipulations, but in its tonal relations, specifically in the polarityof tonic anddominant.But since this tonic-dominant tonalrelations polarity,andtraditional in general, are mere vestiges in Stravinsky'smusic, a new tonal in C, the logic gives new meaningto the old forms. InSymphony tonal logic springsfrom a tension between a triadon C and one on E. These two triads compete for priority throughoutthe piece; in fact, this entire movement may be seen as an expression of the polarity of the triad on C and the triad on E.
6See, for example, MartinBoykan, "Neoclassicism and Late Stravinsky," Perspectives of New Music, 1 (1963), 155-69.
The implicationsof organizinga large movement on such a tonal polarityare too numerousto discuss here. What concerns us immediatelyis the question of large-scale voice leading. In otherwords, given thatthereis a fundamental polaritybetweenC and E in this piece, how is that polaritygiven expressionin the music? How is it composed-out?Ratherthan showing the numerousand prominentsurfacepresentations of Tetrachord A, I will simply assertthat it is the basic patternfor this movement. Using thatpattern,Stravinskyexpresses the polarityof C and E by means of pattern-completion. The first partof the exposition is orientedtowardpitch-class C. The music of the first theme is shown as Example 15. The tonal orientationof this passage is not entirely unambiguous. The accompanimentconsists of only two notes, E and G. The melody assures that this passage is oriented somewhat more toward C than toward E. Nevertheless, a certain tension between C and E remains here as it does throughoutthe entire introductionand first theme area. A traditionalsonata-allegroexposition juxtaposes two contrastingtonal areas. Symphonyin C does so as well, although herethe choice of a secondaryareais dictatedby the logic of the C-E polaritycomposed-outby pattern-completion. The second area centers on the F majortriad. The music is virtually static around this triad until near the end of the exposition. The principaltonal motion of the exposition is thus from C to F, an intervalwhich has powerfulharmonicand voice-leading implications. There is one significantharmonicarea which intervenesbetween the C and the F, an area orientedtoward pitch-class D. The D is particularlyprominent in the transitional passage leading to the F-centeredsecond theme. From m. 74 to m. 93, the music is dominatedby a figure derived from the opening motive andfeaturinga pedalon D. Partof this figureis shown in Example 16. This passage might appearto be a prolongationof the dominant of G major or minor and it does occur at a place in the
118
MusicTheorySpectrum
Example 15. Symphony in C
Ob I
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? Schott& Co. Ltd., London 1948. Copyrightrenewed. Used by permissionof AmericanMusic Distributors sole U.S. agentfor Schott European Corporation, & Co. Ltd.
119
movement where V of V would be expected in a traditional sonata form. The harmonic logic of Stravinsky's exposition, however, has little to do with traditionaltonal relations;this D leads to F not to G. The large scale harmonic motion of the exposition up to and includingthe second theme group is summarized in Example 17. the tonal In accordancewith the logic of pattern-completion, A as motion has thus been directedtowardE. With Tetrachord the normativestructural unit, the C, D, andF shown in Example 17 must be completedby the arrivalof E, since CDEF is a form We arethus led to expect the arrivalof E of the basic tetrachord. and, ultimately, the exposition does end solidly and unambiguof the entireexposition is summarized ously on E. The structure in Example 18. The arrival on E thus both completes the basic patternand affirms the central duality of C and E. The exposition begins then directs the motion orientedtowardC. Pattern-completion forwardto E. As a final example, let us considerthe opera-oratorio Oedipus Rex. Despite the greatlengthandcomplexityof this work, many of its most significant cadences and arrivalscan be explained with referenceto the establishmentand completion of a single pattern. The basic patternfor Oedipus Rex is trichord3-3 in Forte's nomenclaturewith a prime form of 014. This trichord will be referredto here as TrichordB. The opening chorus is particularlyrich in occurrences of TrichordB both at the middleground and foregroundlevels. At the outset of the piece, the tonal center is clearly BK.In the middle of the opening chorus there is a strong cadence on D' and, at the end of the opening chorus, the music returnsto Bb. There is one additionalstrongcadence duringthe opening choof the openingchorusis thus rus, on pitch-classA. The structure a composing-outof the basic pattern,Trichord B, as Example19 shows. The influence of the basic patterncan be felt in the details of
17 Example
m.26
m.75 m.98
I
v_'
t- r
Example 18
mm. 26
75
98
145
>E
Example 19. Oedipus Rex
RO
R9+2
R10+4
R16-2
:9 b
bTrichord
TrichordB
120
MusicTheorySpectrum
the opening chorus as well. The trills which embellish the opening chordsof the piece, for example, are not merely decorative. Rather, they create four different forms of the basic patternwhich would not be presentin their absence. The basic patternis embeddedin each of the chords. In Example 20, the top line of the lower system shows the notes of each chordon a single staff. The lower line shows the embeddedsubsetformsof the basic pattern. TrichordB is, in fact, the only three-note subset common to all of these chords. As a final small-scale instance of TrichordB in the opening chorus, considerthe music at threebefore Rehearsal21, shown in Example21. Here, the chorusimploresOedipusfor the final time to rid Thebes of the plague. They call three times for his aid, andeach time, the melody consists of threenotes, E, F, and D1,which constitutea formof the basicpattern.The influenceof the basic patternis thus felt in every dimension of the opening chorus: melodically (see Example 21); harmonically, in the opening chords (see Example 20); and at the level of structural motion (see Example 19). As in Symphoniesof WindInstrumentsandAgon, the basic patternin Oedipus Rex is used to connect disparatemusical sections. The transition fromOedipus'solo, "Sphynga Solvi," to the chorus which follows at Rehearsal 61 (after a brief interruption by the Speaker)is broughtabout in the following C in the bass at three measures before Reway. A structural hearsal 56 initiates a long bass descent arrivingon E1 at Rehearsal58. The Ebis sustaineduntilthe end of Oedipus'ariaand throughthe brief choral utteranceand spoken monologue just after it. At Rehearsal61, the chorusbegins on B, completinga form of the basic pattern, as Example 22 shows. The patternis also used to directthe tonalmotionof the entire Considerthe principaloccuroperathroughpattern-completion. rences of the so-called Fate Motif-the repeated minor thirds-which occurs first at Rehearsal 2.7 In its first occurin Pictures and 7Accordingto RobertCraftand Vera Stravinsky(Stravinsky
rence, Bb is in the bass. The motive comes back toward the middle of the piece transposedso thatBO ratherthanBbis in the bass. The dyad Bb-BW formed by these bass notes is an incomplete statementof the basic pattern.Eitherof two notes, D or G, could serve to completethe basic patternsince bothB-Bb-Dand areexamplesof it. In fact, bothof these implicationsare B-Bb-G realized in Oedipus. The G is the tonal center upon which the piece ends. At the end of the piece, the Fate Motif comes back, this time with G as the bass note. The transpositions of the Fate Motif thus outline a form of the basic pattern. Or, to put it anotherway, this patternformsthe structural of the background piece, as shown in Example 23. But the D which, like the G, was implied by the first two occurrencesof the Fate Motif also arrives. The D arrivesat a momentof tremendousdramaticand structural importance,the momentof revelationwhen Oedipusrealizeswho he is and what he has done. This passage (shown in Example 24) seems to hover at first between B and D, then finally, at the end of the passage, descends decisively to D. In this way, the dyad Bb-B thus points aheadboth to the conclusion of the entireopera(on G) and to the climactic dramaticmoment (on D). Example 25 summarizesthese large-scale motions. Furthermore,it is not too far-fetchedto suggest that these large-scale structuralarrivals have a dramatic as well as a musical significance. The statementof Bb and B initiates an inexorable motion first toward D and then toward G. These arrivalssymbolize both the irresistiblefate that has Oedipus in its graspandthe knowledgewhich comes with his acceptanceof that fate. The most significant structuralmotions of this immense work can thus be encompassed and understood in a simple and direct way, namely the establishmentand completion of a single basic pattern.
Documents, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1978, p. 264) the music at one measureafter Rehearsal2 where the motive first appearswas the first musical notationStravinskymade when he began work on Oedipus Rex.
121
Example 20 The OpeningMusic
I.
I .
Kae
dit
nos
pe
l? -ibbti
8---
'Z
HarmonicReduction
(S5
7~~~~-
~5
b8a
ba - -
MotivicSubsets (forms of TrichordB)
b bbb, 4A
WV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
O t;
? Copyright 1927 by Edition Russe de Musique;renewed 1952 ? Copyrightand renewalassigned to Boosey & Hawkes, Inc. Revised version ? 1949, 1950 by Boosey & Hawkes, Inc.; renewed 1976, 1978. Used by permission.
122
Example 21. Three measures before R 21
E F Dbt = Trichord B
!N
a8
~'r-'
se vsse
I.
r
nos,
i-t-r'
rva s ae
rr
-rva nos, se nos!
1.
liWbUbba~ ~ ~j.e;
,.
..
^ ^i ^
---I
___
'
Example 22
Example 23
R56-3
R58
R61 "r
R2
R61
R201
.1:-. k_g ,
b.
I 1 T i CE6B = TrichordB
? Copyright 1927 by Edition Russe de Musique;renewed 1952 ? Copyrightand renewalassigned to Boosey & Hawkes, Inc. Revised version ? 1949, 1950 by Boosey & Hawkes, Inc.; renewed 1976, 1978. Used by permission.
123
Example 24
,.~
Flr-lrJ (Ed.
(exit)
Lux
fa
cta
st!
r ~r--r -
PP
H&
J%J LJ..J
H148 b........
Example 25 end
R2 R61 R169 BbBD = TrichordB
:):
J I
>
J1
'l
BbBG = Trichord B
? Copyright 1927 by Edition Russe de Musique;renewed 1952 ? Copyrightand renewal assignedto Boosey & Hawkes, Inc. Revised version ? 1949, 1950 by Boosey & Hawkes, Inc.; renewed 1976, 1978. Used by permission.
124
MusicTheorySpectrum
The analyses undertakenin this paper suggest that patterncompletion is a consistentorganizingprinciplein Stravinsky's music. Whetherthe piece is "impressionistic"(Symphonies of WindInstruments), "neo-classical" (Symphonyin C), "Russian" (Les Noces), or "proto-serial" (Agon), the same principles apply:pervasiveuse of a normativepatternandexploitation of the desirefor completestatements of thatpattern.Irrespective of the apparent shapesthe style of the piece, pattern-completion voice leading. This sub-surfacesimilarityis achievedin partby Stravinsky'srestrictinghimself to a small repertoireof sets to use as basic pattern. Furthermore,the sets he does use are protean in characterin that they can be used in a variety of harmoniccontexts. Tetrachord C (4-3), for example, is a subset of both the octatoniccollection (frequentlyused by Stravinsky) and of one of the tone-rows in Agon. Tetrachord A (4-11) is a of both the scale and of various folk-like melodies subset major used by Stravinsky.The deploymentof this small repertoireof proteansets in a consistent way is a majorunifying threadin a compositionaloeuvre disparatein so many other ways. Perhapseven moreimportant, depicts the pattern-completion close relationbetween the musical foregroundand background in Stravinsky'smusic. The ostinati and repeatedmelodic fragof Stravinskycan now be relatedin an ments so characteristic of the music. Thatis, patterns which to the structure organicway are stated as chords or ostinati or recurringmelodic fragments are then seen to be composed-out over large spans. In some cases, as we have seen, the composing-outof the basic pattern can span an entire composition. is whatappearsto be a consistentlyuseful Pattern-completion tool for describingboth small- and large-scale voice leading. It is perhapsStravinsky'smost significanttechniquefor forming cadences, directingtonal motion, and articulatingstructure.If proves to be of use in analyzing an even pattern-completion broader spectrum of twentieth-centurymusic-that which is organizedaroundfunctionaltone centers but is not tonal in the
traditional sense-it might form partof thatnew theoryfor this music which we all seek.

Joseph Straus - A Principle of Voice Leading in The Music of Stravinsky

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Joseph Straus - A Principle of Voice Leading in The Music of Stravinsky

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Society for Music Theory

A Principle of Voice of Stravinsky Music

Voice Leading in the Music of Stravinsky

Example 1. Symphoniesof WindInstruments,5 mm. afterRehearsal1

key to understandingthe musical organizationfrom melodic motives to backgroundstructure.Like so many of Stravinsky's

Music Theory Spectrum

Example 2a. One measure after R27 D E Ft G = TetrachordA Db Eb F Gb - TetrachordA

Example 2b. R11

Voice Leadingin the Musicof Stravinsky

3. Onemeasure beforeR8 Example

Voice Leadingin the Musicof Stravinsky

Music Theory Spectrum

Example 7 RO R9 R26 R54 R57 R75

Voice Leadingin the Musicof Stravinsky

........r : .............. H \'w~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)-: .............. .........

- Ka, He KJHb {,BLOO - jt

toi, con - so-le

ACD= GAC EGA= =

- cy, no - e - cy, Py tresse on pei peig-ne - ra

Music Theory Spectrum

R16 R27 C = TrichordA

R1o Po R1o RI7 17,RIo

521 522 523 524

C m. 549 550 551 552 553

? Copyright 1957 by Boosey & Hawkes, Inc. Used by permission.

Voice Leadingin the Musicof Stravinsky

..' Cb {-. Vcl

Example 16. Measure 83ff.

i-s un} :~_ '

Voice Leading in the Music of Stravinsky

Example 19. Oedipus Rex

Voice Leading in the Music of Stravinsky

Example 20 The OpeningMusic

MotivicSubsets (forms of TrichordB)

Music Theory Spectrum

Example 21. Three measures before R 21

Voice Leading in the Music of Stravinsky

R2 R61 R169 BbBD = TrichordB

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