As part of the research point into Boris Blacher, I found some interesting references to his works for flute, including the Divertimento op. 38; written for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet and Bassoon.
Listening to it at first, it seems dissonant and jerky; the constantly changing rhythmic patterns means it is difficult to keep a beat or predict what is going happen next; it's quite hard work to listen to from this respect and wouldn't by suitable as background music. Whilst it isn't what I would usually listen to, the unexpected changes and new ideas make it intriguing to listen to.
Blacher uses dissonant chords regularly, often with notes semitones apart. His melodies don't have the same elegance as something out of the classical/romantic era, but he is still able to create flowing lines. It is very reminiscent of works by Schoenberg.
At times it seems as though he has written a section as a series of random notes with nothing to connect them. If you consider that he put the same emphasis on rhythm as melody when he wrote the music you get an appreciation of why it sounds very different to music from earlier eras.
Each instrument seems to have a separate voice but they all seem to have a similar level of involvement, as though it were calculated. The middle passages seem to have a lead instrument with the rest accompanying, but the lead instrument changes with the start of a new section.
Ultimately this style of music is very difficult to listen, and therefore appreciate. Underneath the surface, however, there is a lot of detail and precision that goes into composing works like these, even if it does then end up sounding quite random (there's something ironic about that).
Wednesday 26 December 2012
Project 2: Duets
Snare and Tenor Drum Duet (2/2)
Triangle and Suspended Cymbal Duet
I wanted to do something different with this duet. The triangle part is constant all the way through; a sort of ostinato with the same rhythm and dynamic. The aim was to create a feeling of monotony; the music would keep ticking over regardless of what the other part does. The suspended cymbal then adds the character to the piece; large variations in dynamic with different rhythms. It sometimes mimics the triangle (there's diminution in bar 8) but eventually it ends with the triangle none the less.
Snare and Tenor Drum Duet (7/8)
The main basis for this duet was variations around the quaver, 2 semiquavers group (or the inverse 2 semiquavers, quaver). The first 3 bars act as an introduction; the grouping is first played with in bar 4 with the tenor drum interjecting at different points in the bar and accents being used to mark when a part starts to play. Bars 6 and 7 are a call and response with some establishment. Bars 9 and 12 are an echo of the previous bar's music, but with rests where the semiquavers were. Accents are used to draw out the quavers in the preceding bars.
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Wood Block and Tambourine Duet (5/8)
I mixed the grouping a bit more in this duet; there's no really dominant grouping. It starts as 2+3, but then has more of a 3+2 feel for a couple of bars. In bars 6 and 7 I wanted to create a three the bar feel (2+2+1) which is brought out in the accented quavers. I used the dynamic marking to draw out the dominant lines; the continuous semiquavers are used to give a grounded accompaniment to the other more detached line.
I wrote this duet as a call and response between the two drums in the style of a march. The rhythmic idea presented by the snare drum is mimicked by the tenor drum, before switching roles in the next section. Accents are used to emphasise the beats, starting with 2 in a bar then 4 in a bar then ending with 8 in a bar.
Triangle and Suspended Cymbal Duet
I wanted to do something different with this duet. The triangle part is constant all the way through; a sort of ostinato with the same rhythm and dynamic. The aim was to create a feeling of monotony; the music would keep ticking over regardless of what the other part does. The suspended cymbal then adds the character to the piece; large variations in dynamic with different rhythms. It sometimes mimics the triangle (there's diminution in bar 8) but eventually it ends with the triangle none the less.
Snare and Tenor Drum Duet (7/8)
The main basis for this duet was variations around the quaver, 2 semiquavers group (or the inverse 2 semiquavers, quaver). The first 3 bars act as an introduction; the grouping is first played with in bar 4 with the tenor drum interjecting at different points in the bar and accents being used to mark when a part starts to play. Bars 6 and 7 are a call and response with some establishment. Bars 9 and 12 are an echo of the previous bar's music, but with rests where the semiquavers were. Accents are used to draw out the quavers in the preceding bars.
.bmp)
Wood Block and Tambourine Duet (5/8)
I mixed the grouping a bit more in this duet; there's no really dominant grouping. It starts as 2+3, but then has more of a 3+2 feel for a couple of bars. In bars 6 and 7 I wanted to create a three the bar feel (2+2+1) which is brought out in the accented quavers. I used the dynamic marking to draw out the dominant lines; the continuous semiquavers are used to give a grounded accompaniment to the other more detached line.
Research Point - Variable Metre
Boris Blacher
Boris Blacher was a German 20th Century composer, born in 1903. He was a renowned teacher; his first post came in 1938 when he was appointed director of a composition class at the Dresden Conservatory by Karl Böhm. He was forced to resign from this post in 1939 as his teaching didn't comply with National Socialist policy; he was accused of writing degenerate music. After the Second World War his teaching career continued when he was appointed Professor at the Musikhochschule in West Berlin in 1948, a post he held until 1970.
His experimentations with rhythm and development of the concept of variable metre were inspired by Schoenberg’s note-rows; a non-repetitive ordering of the twelve notes of the chromatic scale. He used variable metre to bring musical variety to his works by expanding and contracting measures. Blacher chose to displace the centre of attention from harmony to rhythm (Francis Burt, “The Teaching and Ideas of Boris Blacher,” The Score 9 (1954)).
In her 2009 PhD thesis "Elasticity in three compositions with flute by Boris Blacher" Cecilia Taher explores Blacher's use of variable metre, proposing that there is more to variable metre than providing logic to the apparently arbitrary rhythm of modern music. She proposes that the concept of expansion and contraction of measure is also applicable to pitches and textural development; the aural effect of "elastically developing music". She states that Blacher's compositional style evolved, such that in his later compositions the traditional concepts of form and texture are replaced by a new idea of constantly moving, elastic shape. Her thesis goes onto to look at durational and pitch organization, form, texture and their interactions in Blacher's works.
The above figure shows the distribution of time signatures through the 2nd and 4th movements of Blacher's Duet for Flute and Piano (1972). It shows how Blacher creates rhythmic variation through ever changing time signature.
Boris Blacher was a German 20th Century composer, born in 1903. He was a renowned teacher; his first post came in 1938 when he was appointed director of a composition class at the Dresden Conservatory by Karl Böhm. He was forced to resign from this post in 1939 as his teaching didn't comply with National Socialist policy; he was accused of writing degenerate music. After the Second World War his teaching career continued when he was appointed Professor at the Musikhochschule in West Berlin in 1948, a post he held until 1970.
His experimentations with rhythm and development of the concept of variable metre were inspired by Schoenberg’s note-rows; a non-repetitive ordering of the twelve notes of the chromatic scale. He used variable metre to bring musical variety to his works by expanding and contracting measures. Blacher chose to displace the centre of attention from harmony to rhythm (Francis Burt, “The Teaching and Ideas of Boris Blacher,” The Score 9 (1954)).
In her 2009 PhD thesis "Elasticity in three compositions with flute by Boris Blacher" Cecilia Taher explores Blacher's use of variable metre, proposing that there is more to variable metre than providing logic to the apparently arbitrary rhythm of modern music. She proposes that the concept of expansion and contraction of measure is also applicable to pitches and textural development; the aural effect of "elastically developing music". She states that Blacher's compositional style evolved, such that in his later compositions the traditional concepts of form and texture are replaced by a new idea of constantly moving, elastic shape. Her thesis goes onto to look at durational and pitch organization, form, texture and their interactions in Blacher's works.
 |
| (From Taher, 2009) |
The above figure shows the distribution of time signatures through the 2nd and 4th movements of Blacher's Duet for Flute and Piano (1972). It shows how Blacher creates rhythmic variation through ever changing time signature.
.bmp) |
| (From Taher, 2009) |
The figure above is an extract from Divertimento, op. 38 (1951); it shows there is an ever changing number of quavers in each bar, but Blacher (or the publisher) doesn't state the new time signature at the start of each bar. It's almost as though he is trying to demonstrate that the changing time signatures are a natural progression and do not need to be implicitly stated.
The figure above shows the geometric inversion of time signatures used by Blacher. This figure reminded me of the cycle of fifths diagram used to depict key signatures. I think this is what Taher (and Blacher) were trying to do; it draws a link between pitch and rhythm to create the idea of horizontal (rhythmic) and vertical (tonal) development.
 |
| (From Taher, 2009) |
The figure above shows the geometric inversion of time signatures used by Blacher. This figure reminded me of the cycle of fifths diagram used to depict key signatures. I think this is what Taher (and Blacher) were trying to do; it draws a link between pitch and rhythm to create the idea of horizontal (rhythmic) and vertical (tonal) development.
Monday 24 December 2012
The Snowman / The Snowman and the Snowdog
I watched "The Snowman" again this year; it's a Christmas tradition for me. I remember playing "Walking in the Air" on the flute; it was the first piece I ever performed in public and I was scared witless. It was only in the last few years that I realised that it must have been the music that draw me to it in the first place rather than the visual artistry. First realised in 1982, they marked its 30th anniversary this year by creating a sequel: "The Snowman and the Snowdog". That aired this evening, and they kept the music at the core of the experience just like the original (which was shown last night).
The film itself has no dialogue and is completely silent, so the music must portray precisely what the images are showing. I imagine for the composers, Howard Blake for the original and IIan Eshkeri and Andy Burrows for the sequel, the experience of doing this was very similar to the requirements of the silent films of the 1910s and 1920s. Different elements of orchestral writing are used to portray different feelings, emotions and actions on the screen. High string motifs, harp and glockenspiel are used to portray magic and mystery, quick scales, glissandi, trills and percussion interjections are used for sudden or surprise elements. Both films have a sombre moment at the end where the young boy realises the snowman has melted. This is reflected in the music with low woodwind motifs and 'melancholy' strings; long sustained notes and the use of octave unison in minor chords to paint a picture of hurt and sadness.
At the beginning of "The Snowman and the Snowdog" in particular, each character is portrayed by a different instrument; the young boy by a solo violin, the mother by a flute and the old dog by an oboe. The latter seems very appropriate, the oboe having an earthy, bitter tone compared to the lightness of the violin and flute. This reminded me of "Peter and the Wolf" by Prokofiev, where each character is portrayed by a different instrument or section of the orchestra. The difference is, whereas Prokofiev introduces each character separately, interjected by the narrator, in The Snowman films the effect is more subtle; the solo instruments are just prominent within the overall texture of the music.
Unlike Peter and the Wolf, where the narration clarifies the music, the music for The Snowman films is likely to have been written in the style of more traditional film music, where every effect and moment must be perfectly timed to occur simultaneously with the motion picture. The motion picture version of Peter and the Wolf has been created the opposite way; the visual images have been created to match in time with the music.
The film itself has no dialogue and is completely silent, so the music must portray precisely what the images are showing. I imagine for the composers, Howard Blake for the original and IIan Eshkeri and Andy Burrows for the sequel, the experience of doing this was very similar to the requirements of the silent films of the 1910s and 1920s. Different elements of orchestral writing are used to portray different feelings, emotions and actions on the screen. High string motifs, harp and glockenspiel are used to portray magic and mystery, quick scales, glissandi, trills and percussion interjections are used for sudden or surprise elements. Both films have a sombre moment at the end where the young boy realises the snowman has melted. This is reflected in the music with low woodwind motifs and 'melancholy' strings; long sustained notes and the use of octave unison in minor chords to paint a picture of hurt and sadness.
At the beginning of "The Snowman and the Snowdog" in particular, each character is portrayed by a different instrument; the young boy by a solo violin, the mother by a flute and the old dog by an oboe. The latter seems very appropriate, the oboe having an earthy, bitter tone compared to the lightness of the violin and flute. This reminded me of "Peter and the Wolf" by Prokofiev, where each character is portrayed by a different instrument or section of the orchestra. The difference is, whereas Prokofiev introduces each character separately, interjected by the narrator, in The Snowman films the effect is more subtle; the solo instruments are just prominent within the overall texture of the music.
Unlike Peter and the Wolf, where the narration clarifies the music, the music for The Snowman films is likely to have been written in the style of more traditional film music, where every effect and moment must be perfectly timed to occur simultaneously with the motion picture. The motion picture version of Peter and the Wolf has been created the opposite way; the visual images have been created to match in time with the music.
Project 1: Percussion Solos
Side Drum
I tried to use some of the pipe band drumming elements that I had read about such as the Scotch Snap rhythm and Flams.
Tambourine
This tambourine solo is built around some variations of the Habanera rhythm, adding elements such as trills and grace notes. It adds something a bit different, bars 5-6 are based around a rumba rhythm.
Wood Blocks
Again, I used the wood blocks example in the course notes as a starting point, but I wanted to do something slightly different. Having been learning a few songs out of West Side Story, I wanted to use the same time signature variation that Bernstein uses in 'America'; alternating 6/8 and 3/4 with strong emphasis on the 2 vs. 3 beats in a bar. I started with a basic 2 bar pattern then, using a rondo-esque structure I built on it each time it returns. It was only after writing this that I noticed that variable metre is introduced on the next page . . .
I tried to use some of the pipe band drumming elements that I had read about such as the Scotch Snap rhythm and Flams.
Suspended Cymbal
I used the suspended cymbal example in the course notes as a starting point for this. I tried to create a similarly mysterious, almost sinister piece.
Tambourine
This tambourine solo is built around some variations of the Habanera rhythm, adding elements such as trills and grace notes. It adds something a bit different, bars 5-6 are based around a rumba rhythm.
Wood Blocks
Again, I used the wood blocks example in the course notes as a starting point, but I wanted to do something slightly different. Having been learning a few songs out of West Side Story, I wanted to use the same time signature variation that Bernstein uses in 'America'; alternating 6/8 and 3/4 with strong emphasis on the 2 vs. 3 beats in a bar. I started with a basic 2 bar pattern then, using a rondo-esque structure I built on it each time it returns. It was only after writing this that I noticed that variable metre is introduced on the next page . . .
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