City Research Online City, University o London Institutional Reository Citation: Marti, Cécile (2017). Seven toers: an orchestral cycle ocused on dierent musical temoralities. (Unublished Post-Doctoral thesis, Guildhall School o Music and Drama) This is the acceted version o the aer. This version o the ublication may dier rom the inal ublished version. Permanent reository link: htt://oenaccess.city.ac.uk/17282/ Link to ublished version: Coyright and reuse: City Research Online aims to make research oututs o City, University o London available to a ider audience. Coyright and Moral Rights remain ith the author(s) and/or coyright holders. URLs rom City Research Online may be reely distributed and linked to. City Research Online: htt://oenaccess.city.ac.uk/ ublications@city.ac.uk
Seven Toers: An Orchestral Cycle ocused on Dierent Musical Temoralities Cécile Marti Submitted or the Degree o Doctor o Music (DMus) Guildhall School o Music and Drama Deartment o Comosition March 2017
Table o Contents List o Illustrations Acknoledgments Submitted Work A Note on Octaves Abstract iii v vi vi vii 1. Introduction 1 1.1 The Comosition Proect and Title 1.2 Temorality 6 1. Temoral Theories o Stockhausen and Lachenmann 9 1. Kramer s Concets o Temorality 1 1.5 Temoral Tyes 16 1.6 The Seven Tyes 19 1.7 Relation o the above Seven Temoral Tyes ith onathan Kramer s Temoral Tyes 22 1.8 Seven Toers (ST) and their Tyes o Time 2 2. Analytical Commentary 25 2.1 Comosition o a Ne Orchestral Cycle: Seven Toers 1-7 25 2.2 Seven Toers 1 - Microstructure and Macrostructure 26 2.2.1 Seven Toers 1, th Sace: Static Time 1 2.2.2 Seven Toers 1, 6 th Sace: Directed Time 2. The Tyes o Time related to a Temorary Peak or to a i
Climax 0 2. The Qualities o Ambiguity in ST and ST 2..1 ST 2..2 ST 5 2.5 Time in Sections: ST5 and ST7 50 2.6 Linking Elements 56 2.6.1 To Central Tones 56 2.6.2 Harmonic Sectra 56 2.6. The Motive 58 2.6. Melody 1 61 2.6..1 Counteroint o Melody 1 62 2.6.5 Melody 2 65 2.6.6 Melody 68 2.6.7 Melody 69 2.6.8 The Tetrachord 72 2.6.9 The Chorale 7 2.6.10 Adacent Elements beteen the Pieces 75 2.7 Conclusion 77. Aendix 8.1 List o Orchestral Cycles 8 Bibliograhy 8 Scores Cited 85 Recordings Cited 86 ii
List o Illustrations Ex.1: Museggtürme Ex.2: Helmut Lachenmann Eight Sound Tyes Klangtyen 1 Ex.: The our Basic Tyes and the Variations summarised in one urther Square 20 Ex.: Comarison o Kramer s and Marti s Terminologies 2 Ex.5: Structure o the Orchestral Cycle 27 Ex.6: Structure o ST1 28 Ex.7: Beginning o Moment 2 and Moment 29 Ex.8: ST1-th Sace, bar 217-221 Ex.9: Beginning o ST, Texture o Violoncellos Ex.10: ST1-6th Sace, rom bar 27 6 Ex.11: ST1-6th Sace, bar 27-295 7 Ex.12: Culmination Points and Climaxes ithin the hole Seven Toers Cycle Ex.1: Chords in the Winds in ST 6 Ex.1: Diagram o Structure in ST 7 Ex.15: elice Varini: Ellisse nel Traezio 2010 8 Ex.16: Beginning o ST5, Woodinds 51 Ex.17: Diagram o Structure in ST7 5 Ex.18: Harmonic Sectrum 57 Ex.19: our Harmonic Sectra in ST 57 Ex.20: ST6, Seven Harmonic Sectra 58 Ex.21: Motive 59 iii
Ex.22: ST1, Motive in bar 26-268 60 Ex.2: ST and ST7, Motive as Six Tuned Pitches 61 Ex.2: Melody 1 in ST1, bar 107-11 61 Ex.25: ST1, rom bar 217 62 Ex.26: ST7, Melody 1 and its Counteroint 6 Ex.27: Counteroint o Melody 1 6 Ex.28: irst six Pitches o Melody 1 and its seven Transositions used in ST7 6 Ex.29: Melody 2 65 Ex.0: ST1-rd Sace, bar 128-11 65 Ex.1a: ST2, bar 115-120 66 Ex.1b: ST2, bar 121-128 67 Ex.2: ST, bar 50-57 67 Ex.: Melody 68 Ex.: ST-bar 58-69 69 Ex. 5: ST7, Extract o Melody deviated rom the Counteroint 70 Ex.6: ST7, hole Melody 71 Ex.7: Structure o the Tetrachord 72 Ex.8: ST1-5th Sace, the Tetrachord, bar 22-2 7 Ex.9: ST5, beginning o Harmonisation o Melody by the Tetrachord 7 Ex.0: ST2, Chorale, slit in our Segments 7 Ex.1: ST5, ragments o the Chorale in the Violins, rom bar 12 75 Ex.2a: ST1, bar 07-09 (near the End o the Piece) 76 Ex.2b: ST2, bar 1-5 77 iv
City, University o London Northamton Square London EC1V 0HB United Kingdom T + (0)20 700 5060 THE OLLOWING PARTS O THIS THESIS HAVE BEEN REDACTED OR COPYRIGHT REASONS:. 8, Examle 15- elice Varini s Ellisse nel Traezio.city.ac.uk Academic excellence or business and the roessions
Acknoledgments I ould like to exress my dee gratitude to my Princial Suervisor Proessor ulian Anderson or his excellent suort on my comosition and thesis. His accuracy and constructive suggestions during the develoment o this research ork has been very much areciated. I ould also like to thank my Co-Suervisor Proessor Paul Neland or his guidance, his comrehensive eedback and very suortive encouragement. A secial thank should be given to Kasar Zehnder, the rincial conductor o the Sinonie Orchester Biel Solothurn (SOBS), ho made the orld remiere o the entire orchestral cycle Seven Toers ossible. All musicians and institutions involved in the roect I ish to deely thank or bringing the comosition to lie: Camerata Geneva, Berner Symhonieorchester (BSO), SOBS, Vokalensemble Ardent, Suléments Mausicaux, HKB (Hochschule der Künste Bern). I ould also like to extend my thanks to all sonsors and donators o the concert in Biel involved, namely the Pro Helvetia, Ernst von Siemens Musikstitung, ondation Suisa, Stanley Thomas ohnson oundation. I am deely thankul or the inancial suort o the Albert Koechlin oundation in Lucerne, Sitzerland, the elloshi o the Siss National oundation, Geert und Lore Blanken-Schlemer oundation, Sitzerland, August Weidmann oundation, Sitzerland, and rivate sonsor Bettina Ricklin. inally, I ould like to thank the City o London Cororation and the Guildhall School o Music and Drama or the generous scholarshis or tuition ees, hich have made my research ossible. v
Submitted Work One Score and one CD Seven Toers 1-7: Cycle or large Orchestra and Choir, Seven oined Pieces by Cécile Marti, 2012 2015. A Note on Octaves Octaves are identiied ith various naming systems. Among the most common notation is scientiic itch notation hich is used in this ork. The itch s octave is identiied starting at sub contra (c 0)-contra (c 1)-great (c 2)-small (c )-1 line (c )-2 lines (c 5), etc.(see examle belo).? C0 C1 C2 C C C5 C6 C7 vi
Abstract This dissertation examines ormal asects o a seven ork orchestral cycle. The comosition is structured as a series o distinct ieces hich can be layed either indeendently or as one uninterruted musical erormance lasting 78 minutes. The temoral dimension o music is a determining actor in both the comosition o music and its ercetion by the listener. This issue is articularly acute in the case o such a substantial, uninterruted musical statement; thereore I have had to examine questions o temorality in some detail hilst comosing this cycle. In the olloing research I try to distinguish dierent temoral structures rom each other and sho ho they can shae music dierently. Temorality ill be irst discussed in a ider context ithin the ield o music generally. This is olloed by a discussion o the seven dierent tyes o time exemliied in the seven ieces o the orchestral cycle. To achieve coherence throughout a cycle o 78 minutes duration, one needs some linking elements. Some o these elements ill be illustrated in the musical analysis o the cycle itsel. This research asires toards a deeer understanding o musical develoment in time. It is ossible that the tyologies might have a ider alicability and assist other comosers to shae music over longer durations such as those I have emloyed in this cycle. This research can ossibly also give some urther indications as to ho the listener might ollo music over large sans o time. vii
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1. Introduction The desire to rite a iece or orchestra lasting the ull length o a concert gre over several years. A irst ste relating to the idea o riting a iece o large scale ormat occurred hen my irst orchestral iece Bubble Tri as rehearsed in Germany in 2008. When the ork as layed, I realised that the end o the iece as too short. As a result o this exerience I transerred the musical idea o the end o this iece to the start o my next ork, the violin concerto AdoRatio, hich I began one year aterards. 1 Through this unusual exerience, I became more engaged ith the idea o linking discrete ieces and combining them into a single continuous sequence. Another stage in conronting the idea o large scale time ormat occurred through attending several concerts. The comoser s ortrait concert is a common tye o ne music event. In addition, rogramming series o concerts o one comoser s music o romantic reertoire and early 20 th century s music increases in oularity. It is not uncommon to exerience more aesthetic and musical satisaction listening to a single comoser s music over a hole concert than in more mixed concerts. One o the most striking as at Lucerne estival 2010, eaturing a trilogy o orchestral ieces erormed lasting about 0 minutes in total, ritten by the comoser in residence Dieter Ammann; it as layed by the Lucerne estival Academy conducted by Pierre Boulez. 2 Ater hearing the ork, I realised I ould have reerred to listen to more music by Ammann or the rest o the concert; consequently I let the hall. 1 As it inally turned out, at this time I linked our ieces into a cycle, each one continuing material rom the receding iece to the olloing one. The ieces Bubble Tri (or orchestra), AdoRatio (violin concerto), ProLogus (violin solo), Wave Tri (or orchestra) are linked and ormed to a unity that they can be erormed either as single ieces or as an ongoing iece o 60 minutes duration. The ieces are ritten beteen 200-2011 and have all been remiered as single ieces, but not yet as a continuous cycle. 2 The concert took lace at KKL Lucerne on 25 August 2010 and the rogram included: Anton Webern, Passacaglia or orchestra o.1 and Variations or orchestra o. 0, Dieter Ammann, Core - Turn (orld remiere) - Boost or orchestra, Alexander Scriabin, Le Poème de l Extase o. 5 or orchestra. 1
I then became obsessed ith the ossibility o realising a concert-length cycle o orchestral ieces. To devote an exanded eriod o time to one roect released the creative reedom to concentrate ho musical material develo over a hole evening. In a modern context, it is comaratively rare to encounter contemorary music o large scale ormat. By large scale ormat I think o ieces lasting at least one hour. One single movement orchestral ieces lasting over thirty minutes Morton eldman s Cotic Light reaches ust a thirty minutes are still o rare occurrence. Perhas the rising redominance in 20th century music o this genre can be seen as a starting oint or the use o increasingly long durations. A signiicant number o orchestral cycles, aearing in the second hal o the 20th century, also demonstrate a tendency toards long time sans. The 201 Donaueschingen Music Days had as its theme large scale ieces, culminating (among other remieres) in three ne commissions o comositions each lasting a hole concert u to a length o seventy minutes. The idea o large scale ormat ieces can arguably be traced back to the 19th century, but is outside o the scoe o this research. The ocus o the resent submission is not a historical exloration o the evolution o large scale orchestral ieces, but rather a ersonal creative exloration o the ossibilities inherent in exanded musical develoments evolving over the course o a single evening. Originally the Seven Toers ere devised to be comosed as one single movement iece. I slit the ieces into seven arts because o the act that I initially started this ork ithout commission o a erormance. Thus, I decided to structure the comosition as a Morton eldman rote several chamber music ieces o unusually long duration in the early 80s, e.g. or Phili Guston scored or lute, ercussion and iano (1985, lasting hours) or the String Quartet II (198, lasting over 6 hours). Gérard Grisey s cycle L Esaces Acoustiques, comosed 197-1985, is one o the best-knon such cycles. This cycle already introduced the idea o oining movements together to orm a continuing develoment, e.g. the inal age o the 2nd art o this cycle, Périodes, becomes the oening age o the rd iece, Partiels. 2
series o ieces hich could be layed indeendently by several orchestras. Hoever, the outcome o the hole roect as a cycle o seven distinct ieces hich are linked to each other; they can be erormed either searately or continuously as a large scale single ork ithout a break beteen the seven ieces. Within the overall seventy-eight minute duration, each single iece lasts beteen six and nineteen minutes. The observation and dierentiation o temoral develoment over the course o the entire cycle o ieces is the ocus o this research. Several characteristics o temoral tyes are established hich build a red thread across the hole ork. Each o the seven ieces exlores one o the established temoral tyes (or an exlanation o the Seven Temoral Tyes, lease see section 1.5 and 1.6). The undamental question o ho temorality may unction in ne music ill be discussed irst. The dierent time tyes ill then be described in detail. The core o the discussion ill be the deloyment o these temoral tyes ithin the comositions o all seven ieces. Through this research I aim to achieve a deeer understanding o the relationshi beteen large scale orm and the temoral develoment o music. 1.1 The Comosition Proect and Title At the time I began to comose the irst iece o the orchestral cycle, the question o the title became imortant as a ocus o my creative research. The very irst insiration as Seven Toers, reminding me o the beautiul chain o toers in Lucerne here I lived or many years. This chain o toers, called the Museggtürme (see draing belo), consists o nine toers oined by an 870m long thick all and as built beteen the 1th and 18th century. Seven o the nine toers sho a dierent shae and each toer has its on name: or examle the 5th toer is called Zytturm ( toer o time ). What ascinates me is
the diversity o ormat ithin a unity. I considered devoting each o my ieces to one o these toers, but to build a roect ith nine arts ithin an overall 78 minutes ould have shortened the duration o the ieces excessively. Seven orchestral ieces alloed me to rite music o more extended durations; consequently this seemed a more exciting and aroriate comositional ormat or this temoral and ormal research. I reerred to kee the idea o a chain o toers simly as a ersonal reerence oint throughout the creative rocess. Examle 1: Museggtürme 5 A toer is characterised by its height and shae. It is structured internally either as a single oen sace, sub-divided into levels; or else it may include a siral staircase to move uards or donards. The image o a toer slit into several levels generated an interest in dierentiating the musical saces I as comosing. In this ay, the irst art o the concet or my roect, the micro-structure, as established: Seven Toers 1 Seven 5 Museggtürme (knon as ell as Museggmauer) consists o to oined ords: Musegg is the name o the hill here the toers are laced and türme means toers. The names o the toers are called and ritten by a Siss dialect. The draing o the structural acing o the toers are artly reroduced and illustrated here ith ermission. Verein ür die Erhaltung der Museggmauer, (2012), Die Türme [Online]. Available rom: htt://.museggmauer.ch/index.h?id=2 [Accessed: 28th November 201]
Saces (ST1). I divided this into seven sections as an equivalent to the macro-structure o six urther ieces in succession (ST2-7). The overall idea as to invite the listener to alk imaginatively through all seven dierent saces, exeriencing their diverse atmosheres in a shorter time san. The term sace is commonly used in describing both music and time. In daily language e describe temoral changes through satial metahors hich relate changes to a beore and ater in sace. The rench hilosoher Henri Bergson 6, ho has ritten extensively on time relating to sace, asserts: [...] We set our states o consciousness side by side in such a ay as to erceive them simultaneously, no longer in one another, but alongside one another; in a ord, e roect time into sace, e exress duration in terms o extensity, and succession thus takes the orm o a continuous line or a chain, the arts o hich touch ithout enetrating one another. 7 As he imlies, e exerience time or duration hich is stated as the same - as a simultaneity o succession extended in sace. or instance, he oints out that e exerience a melody consisting o a succession o tones as a hole, as i erceived simultaneously. 8 Sace has multile deinitions: as an interval o time, a continuous area or exanse or the dimensions o height, deth, and idth ithin hich all things exist and move. 9 The concet o a sounding sace is a designation that corresonds to our habit o 6 Henri Bergson (1859-191) as one o the most inluential rench hilosohers o the late 19 th century - early 20 th century. His hilosohy emhasises duration as the basic element and creates the leitmotiv o élan vital vital imetus the evolutionary rocess o natural groth. 7 Bergson, Henri, (1971), Time and ree Will, An Essay on the Immediate Data o Consciousness. Translated by. L. Pogson, George Allen Unin, (irst ubl. 1910),. 101 8 Bergson, Henri, (201), Philosohie der Dauer. In Gilles Deleuze, (ed.), elix Meiner Verlag Hamburg, (irst ubl. 1957),.28 9 Oxord Dictionaries, (201), sace. Oxord Dictionaries [Online]. Available rom: htt://.oxorddictionaries.com/deinition/english/sace [Accessed: 5th uly 201] 5
thinking o music as moving through something e.g. in vertical sace rom a loer osition to a higher one in terms o itch, or in terms o time in lateral sace erhas even rom let to right, as in Western music notation. A sounding sace is also the rameork ithin hich, and through hich, the actual sequence o musical events is shaed through time. Erin Stein ointed out: Music extends in time, and a san o time illed ith music is a real thing, as a sculture is in sace. 10 While exloring and discovering the dierences o temoral transormation I ound that at least seven tyes ere clearly distinguishable. I ket seven in the title o my cycle o ieces as this number became an increasingly signiicant element in the entire structure o the cycle: the seven saces o the irst toer, ST1, became the seven toers o the hole cycle, and both o these sets o seven directly embodied the seven tyes o musical time. 1.2 Temorality Temorality may be deined as the study o the assing o time, as e exerience it, the change o one resent moment to the next resent moment. Deending on ho moments are shaed and ho a moment can be erceived, the notion o time might be deemed a subective exerience. Bergson describes time as the real duration as the exerienced time or clock time. or him, time is exerienced indivisibly as an uninterruted continuity. 11 Bergson s ritings may ell have inluenced Karlheinz Stockhausen s intensive studies o musical time and duration, as there aears to be some overla o terms and thought. Stockhausen rites that e exerience the assing o time in the intervals beteen 10 Stein, Erin, (1962), orm and Perormance, aberaber, London,.8 11 Bergson, Henri, (201), Philosohie der Dauer..28 6
changes a somehat Bergsonian notion. He calls the duration o time Zeitdauer. By Zeitdauer he means the distance or as he exressed it the interval beteen a start and an ending o a single action. 12 Another hilosohical exloration o temorality should be mentioned, not least as it too bears some resemblance to Stockhausen s terms and theories. Edmund Husserl, 1 ho established the disciline o henomenology, stated: The no o the ercetion accords to the no o the memory. We run through the melody in our imagination, and hear the irst tone then the second tone etc. At any one time a tone is in the resent no 1 [etztunkt]. Husserl adds that the rimary tone merges both ith the receding and olloing tones, to aid the ercetion o the resent moment ithin continuity. He describes the resent moment as a tail o a comet: the tail ollos the current no o our ercetion hat he calls the retention. The retention means the immediate moment ater an action. or instance, hen e listen to a melody the retention is the moment o resonances let in our ercetion immediately ater the melody has inished. The action and its retention then move urther into the ast and can be recalled in our memory at any time, hat Husserl calls the secondary memory. 15 This notion o the etztunkt and its searation rom ast and uture are closely echoed, consciously or not, in much o Stockhausen s riting and talks about moment orm: in one article, Stockhausen even 12 Stockhausen, Karlheinz, (196), Struktur und Erlebniszeit. In Dieter Schnebel, (ed.), Karlheinz Stockhausen,Texte zur elektronischen und instrumentalen Musik, DuMont Schauberg vol. 1, Köln, article originally ublished 1955. Original text: Den Ablau der Zeit erleben ir in den Intervallen zischen Veränderungen. (Translated by mysel),. 86. 1 Edmund Husserl (1859-198) as a German hilosoher. Phenomenology is the study o aearances and the structures o exerience and consciousness. 1 Husserl, Edmund, (1980), Vorlesungen zur Phänomenologie des inneren Zeitbeusstseins. In Martin Heidegger (ed.), Max Niemeyer Verlag Tübingen, ritings originally ublished in 1928. Original text: Dem etzunkt der Wahrnehmung entsricht ein etztunkt der Erinnerung. Wir durchlauen die Melodie in der Phantasie, ir hören gleichsam zuerst den ersten, dann den zeiten Ton us. eeils ist immer ein Ton (bz. eine Tonhase) im etztunkt. (Translated by mysel)..29 15 Husserl, (1980),.29 7
reers to this tye o orm as no-orm etztorm 16. He exlains urther that moment can be described as an autonomous thought in the resent, 17 hich is analogous to Husserl s idea o rimary memory. According to Husserl, thereore, the no is the ongoing continuity o the ast, the state o existing in time hich is termed temorality. Music unolds continuously in time, as recalled in the memory o the listener. A hole iece can be remembered as a unity hoever imrecisely. Morton eldman emhasises that the listener only hears hat he remembers: We do not hear hat e hear... [e hear] only hat e remember. 18 This radical statement emhasises the henomenology o musical ercetion it shos that a hole iece o music can only be reconstructed by the listener through memory. We cannot hear an entire iece o music in the resent; e only remember it (more or less accurately). Similarly Wolgang Rihm has commented: The listener hears the music ater it haened. 19 He relects on here music exists (e.g. in the score itsel, in the erormance or ust only in the moment o releasing the sounds); and ho music exists (e.g. as sound aves, energy or as a notion or a trace o the music beore or ater its real sound exerience). Rihm even states that seaking about music is equivalent to seaking about something non-existent. 20 The ocus on change in the resent, in other ords the change rom one moment to 16 Stockhausen, Karlheinz, (196), Momentorm, neue Zusammenhänge zischen Auührungsdauer, Werkdauer und Moment. In Dieter Schnebel, (ed.), Karlheinz Stockhausen,Texte zur elektronischen und instrumentalen Musik, DuMont Schauberg vol.1, Köln, article originally ublished 1960,. 205 17 Stockhausen, (196),. 200 18 Deorce, Arne,(ed.), (2008), Morton eldman, Patterns in a Chromatic ield [Online]. Available rom: htt://.cnvill.net/mdeorce.d [Accessed: 20th une 201]. 19 Rihm, Wolgang, (2002), Oene Enden Loses zu Klang und Schrit. In: Ulrich Mosch, (ed.), Wolgang Rihm, Oene Enden, Carl Hanser Verlag, München Wien. Original text: Der Hörer hört die Musik nachdem sie ar. (Translated by mysel),.11. 20 Rihm, (2002), Musik scheint vor und nach sich selbst existent zu sein als Ahnung und Sur. Dazischen, als sich selbst, ist sie nicht. Man kann es radikal so ormulieren: Reden über Musik ist reden über etas, das es nicht gibt..11 8
the next, is hat e really exerience acoustically. or this reason, I have ocused my research on observing ho temoral changes and continuities dier rom each other. The dierentiation o temoral change, and the consequent imulse to delineate categories o musical time, as strongly encouraged by studying the temoral categorisations set u by Stockhausen and Lachenmann. Both described articular characters o musical moments on the basis o their individual aesthetic standoint. As a structural basis, both start rom the most contrasting musical characters: the static versus the dynamic. In beteen these oosites, they shae and relect on musical time quite dierently in their theories (and, indeed, in their music). Beore demonstrating my on vie o temoral change, the exlorations o Stockhausen s and Lachenmann s ideas are useul starting oints on musical temorality, hich in turn insired my ersonal research on this toic. 1. Temoral Theories o Stockhausen and Lachenmann Karlheinz Stockhausen began riting on musical time in the mid 50s. He exlains: When e listen to music, the rocesses o change occur at dierent seeds in succession. 21 Sometimes there is more time given to register changes and sometimes less. He argues that e erceive time as a succession o changes. We can erceive time dierently deending on the intensity o musical events both their acoustical content and the raidity ith hich they succeed each other. A great degree o acoustical contrast rom one event to the next i.e. a high degree o surrise ill result in a ercetion o very raid change: time ill aear to move very ast. On the other hand, hen music develos in a less volatile ay, musical time can be erceived as a long continuous eriod; in the 21 Stockhausen, Karlheinz, (196), Struktur und Erlebniszeit. In Dieter Schnebel, (ed.), Karlheinz Stockhausen,Texte zur elektronischen und instrumentalen Musik, DuMont Schauberg vol. 1, Köln, article originally ublished 1955. Original text: Hören ir ein Musikstück, so olgen die Veränderungsvorgänge verschieden rasch aueinander. Einmal haben ir mehr Zeit, Veränderungen zu erassen, ein andermal eniger. (Translated by mysel),. 86 9
Bergsonian time sense o real duration. Stockhausen develoed his time theories into his ne concet o moment orm. Moment orm consists o indeendent single moments: on the one hand these are linked into larger relationshis called moment grous; on the other hand they slit into single sections o individual moments, called moment tyes. A moment 22 tye reresents a distinctive musical characteristic. Stockhausen states: When certain characteristics remain constant or a hile a moment is going on. 2 His irst musical elaboration o moment orm as the iece Kontakte or iano, ercussion and -track tae, comosed in 1958-60. He describes to musical characteristics o duration; one an individual shae and the other a divisible structure. In time these elements can occur ithin seconds or minutes as a non-directional stasis (static), a directional rocess 2 (dynamic) in German Zustand (statisch) or Prozess (dynamisch) or a combination o the to. The orm o the ork is built by measuring and varying the degree o change (Veränderungsgrad ) 25 over the entire length o Kontakte. Stockhausens concets o time as embodied in moment orm ere rooted in his relections on the duration and timbre o single sounds as acoustical entities. He recorded a ide variety sorts o sounds rom daily lie and investigated them in minute detail. This lead him to various urther seculations on time and timbre. rom the late 190s, advances in recording technology had a oerul inluence on comosers concets. The ability to seed u or slo don sounds ith a relative lack o acoustical 22 Stockhausen, Karlheinz, (196), Momentorm, neue Zusammenhänge zischen Auührungsdauer, Werkdauer und Moment.. 189-210 2 Stockhausen, Karlheinz, (201), Lecture [Part 1/] Moment-orming and Integration (Momente), (1972), Available rom: htts://.youtube.com/atch?v=mvynlkgcot=162s [Accessed: 0th August 2016], time: 1 18 2 Stockhausen, (196), Momentorm, neue Zusammenhänge zischen Auührungsdauer, Werkdauer und Moment,.201 25 urther exlanations on Veränderungsgrad can be olloed in: Stockhausen, (196), Struktur und Erlebniszeit,. 90 10
26 distortion as esecially crucial in this resect. Stockhausen seculates that a hole Beethoven symhony comressed into one second (ithout itch transosition) ould create a unique characteristic o timbre and dynamic shae. Conversely, i a given sound o one second s duration ere stretched in time to an extend over tenty minutes this ould generate a hole iece o music. Its large orm extended in time ould be the exansion o the micro-acoustic time structure that as originally in the sound. urther electronic exlorations and indings centred around the seeding u o electronically generated ulses to such an extent that the ulses ere no longer erceivable as a rhythm but rather as a itch in hich the multitude o ulses created the itch s timbre. Such exeriments ere crucial to Kontakte esecially almost every electronic sound made in this ork as generated this ay. Such studio exeriments involving the extreme comression or exansion o sounds, as in the assage rom rehearsal mark X /17 0,5 to at least 18,5 in Kontakte, 27 here a single sound is broken don into its individual comonents, hich in turn are exanded till they orm a hole section o music dissolved the threshold beteen temoral categories, beteen micro acoustic time structure and the larger musical structure o the iece, hich must surely have romted Stockhausen to develo his moment orm concets in detail over the same eriod. 28 Helmut Lachenmann develoed the notion o the moment by ocusing on the characteristics o sounds rom a dierent standoint. His categories o sounds are a summary o non-divisible textural and timbral characteristics based on: itch, timbre, dynamic and duration. In addition to this denotation he outlines: As imortant as these 26 Stockhausen, Karlheinz, (201), Lecture 5 [Part 1/] our Criteria o Electronic Music (Kontakte), (1972), Available rom: htts://.youtube.com/atch?v=7xygti7kkiy, [Accessed: 1st Aril 2016], time: 10-1 27 Stockhausen, Karlheinz, (1966), Nr.12 Kontakte, ür elekronische Klänge, Klavier und Schlagzeug, Auührungsartitur, Universal Edition, Vienna,. 19-20 28 Stockhausen, Karlheinz, (201), time: 28-1 11
our attributes [i.e. itch, timbre, dynamic, duration] is the dierentiation beteen sound as stasis and the sound as a rocess (...) 29 a inding hich bears a striking similarity to Stockhausen s thought, mentioned above. Lachenmann s ne vocabulary o musical terms or sounds and their characteristics date rom 1966, to years beore his irst ully mature comosition Air or ercussion and orchestra, here it ould seem he used these ideas in creative ractice or the irst time. Lachenmann discerns eight dierent tyes o sonic events hich he calls Klangtyen 0 ( sound tyes ). There are to basic tyes. One is called Kadenzklang ( cadential sound ) 1, based on an analogy ith the sonic curve o a musical cadence: an increase and a olloing decrease in the volume o a sound. A schematic diagram shos this tye simly as a single curve (see irst igure in Ex. 1). The second basic tye is the exact oosite: called arbklang ( timbre sound ), it is entirely static and ithout internal change. Six urther tyes o sound are subordinated to the to basic tyes ust exlained. Three tyes belong to the Kadenzklang category: Imulsklang ( imulse sound ) describes a sound consisting o an imulse olloed by a ading resonance, like a iano attack ith the edal deressed. Einschingklang ( ade-in sound ) ades in rom nothing, then ades aay ithin an artiicial reverberation. Ausschingklang ( ade-out sound ) starts at ull volume but eatures a comlex ade-out by gradually bringing ne layers ithin a sound to the textural surace. The last three tyes are subordinated to the arbklang category: luktuationsklang ( luctuating sound ) delineates a more or less eriodically reetitive 29 Lachenmann, Helmut, (1996), Klangtyen der Neuen Musik. In ose Häusler, (ed.), Helmut Lachenmann, Musik als existentielle Erahrung, Breitko und Härtel, Wiesbaden, article ritten in 1966/9, Original text: Genauso ichtig aber ie diese vier Bestimmungen ist die Unterscheidung zischen Klang als Zustand einerseits und Klang als Prozess andererseits (...). (Translated by mysel).1 0 Lachenmann, (1996),.1-20 1 The translations o the Klangtyen by Lachenmann are translated by mysel. 12
texture. Texturklang ( texture sound ) stays ithin a given texture but may change its harmonic ield. The Strukturklang ( structure sound ) delineates olyhonic sound suraces. The diagrams shon belo, adated rom Lachenmann s article, illustrate his sound tyes. The musical examles indicated on the right side o the igures are given by Lachenmann. Examle 2: Helmut Lachenmann Eight Sound Tyes Klangtyen 2 Kadenzklang Volume Helmut Lachenmann,Trio luido, bar 18 and 186. Duration Imulsklang Karlheinz Stockhausen, Gruen, to bars beore rehearsal mark 9. Einschingklang Luigi Nono, La terra e la comagna, bar 159/160. Ausschingklang György Ligeti, Aaritions, bar 9. arbklang György Ligeti, Atmoshères, bar 1-6. luktuationsklang Anton Bruckner, Symhony No, strings at the beginning. Texturklang György Ligeti, Aaritions, score age 19. Strukturklang Karlheinz Stockhausen, Gruen, score age 2. 2 Lachenmann, (1996),. -18. The 8 igures shon are created by mysel on the basis o Lachenmann s diagrams on his Klangtyen. 1
Both Stockhausen s exlanations o the various temoral categories in Momentorm and Lachenmann s categorisation o his Klangtyen ere o crucial imortance to my on creative research into temorality or the resent roect. Reading their ritings on time and orm described above, it became clear that dierent tyes o musical time and timbre could be viably organised into searate but clearly discernable categories. rom the contrasts beteen these sonic or temoral categories it as ossible to build orms rom a resh ersective. Such relections on the shaing o music suggested to me an entirely ne ay o exeriencing musical orm an area on hich, hoever, they are less articulate (large-scale orm is not discussed in their articles). This in turn led me to my on relections on musical temorality. 1. Kramer s Concets o Temorality To basic temoral develoments as a linear and a nonlinear groth ere idely discussed by Kramer in the late 1980s. Both Stockhausen and Lachenmann created their ideas o moment orms on undamentally oosed categories: as static or dynamic character. This can directly be comared ith Kramer s idea o searating time sense into linearity and nonlinearity. Unlike either Stockhausen or Lachenmann, hoever, Kramer extends his investigation into the longer term develoment o temoral structures. It is clear that, until the 1960s, linear develoment as most common in our listening exeriences o Western art music. Since the aearance o minimal music rom the 60 th hich eatures music o limited materials as constant harmony, steady ulse and reiteration o motis or musical hrases the ercetion o musical time has been broadened: Comosition 1960: 7 by La Monte Young might exemliy the most extreme Kramer, onathan D., (1988), The Time o Music, Schirmer Macmillan Ne York 1
o motionless temoral exerience consisting as it does o ust the itches B and to be held or a long time, as the comoser instructs. Kramer deines his to oosite temoral modes: While linear rinciles are in constant lux, nonlinear determinations do 5 not gro or change. urthermore, he discerns ive dierent tyes o musical time. Moment orm deined by Stockhausen as transerred by Kramer into moment time. Kramer s vie o moment time deviates rom the notion I have: Although a moment-orm comosition is not totally static, moment time does deend on stasis ithin moments. 6 Kramer connects the sense o moment time to discontinuous develoment and calls it a static temoral rogression. I mysel have a dierent vie on moment time as I ill outline belo. Stockhausen ocuses on dierentiating his various moments; Kramer, hoever, ocuses on examining the hole orm o a iece and its develomental characteristics. Here, e already see dierent vies on ho e erceive music sounding in time. I have established a list o seven tyes o time hich ollos a similar ath to Kramer regarding long-term musical develoment. Although I encountered Kramer s book at a more recent stage o this research, hen my orchestral cycle as nearing comletion, I adated his terminology in terms o time tye to my on creative uroses. As exlained above, asects o Husserl s henomenological aroach also heled ocus my temoral investigations. The resultant temoral time tyes established by mysel ill be exlained in the next section. I hoe that the tyes outlined ill give more inormation on ho musical temoralities can be erceived both rom moment to moment, and over a hole ork. 7 Mertens, Wim, (198), American Minimal Music, Kahn Averill, London,.26 5 Kramer, (1988),. 21 6 Kramer, (1988),. 210 7 To give a urther examle o the categorisation o time sense Gérard Grisey set u a dierent category o musical develoment in time exlained in his article Temus ex Machina: A comoser s relection on musical time. This category is based on order as maximum redictability and disorder as zero redictability. 15
1.5 Temoral Tyes My tye times are rooted in observing the ork o the living comosers I met hen I started comosing in 200. I begun studying comosition ust one year later, at hich time I had very little listening exerience in the ield o contemorary music. My discovery o ne music thus coincided ith the start o my comosing. The music o my irst teacher, Dieter Amman, let an esecially dee imression on me. His aesthetics are much inluenced by azz imrovisation. He rites music don as he hears it in the moment o creation, instinctively. He oten told me that one musical idea releases an ininity o ne ideas in his mind: it can sometimes be diicult or him to choose only one next idea or the next ste in each comosition. This unusually sontaneous method o comosition results in musical shaes on both small and large scale o great unredictability. I ould liken his general aesthetics to my category, exlained belo, o Moment Time: a comletely unredictable succession o unoreseen sel-contained moments. 8 Encountering Georg riedrich Haas, ho as invited or a guest lecture at Hochschule Luzern - Musik hilst I studied there, rovided a shar contrast. Haas s music diers rom Ammann s music considerably in terms o the length o develoment o one idea. Unlike the music o Ammann, Haas s music ocuses on long devotion to and observation o a sonic entity as it gradually transorms. 9 His musical elements and the durations o their transormation are careully structured in advance. I ould describe the develoment o Haas s most characteristic music ith my category o Transorming Time. These to oosite temoral exeriences in the music o Ammann and Haas resectively, are the starting oint or my research on comosers aesthetics o time. urthermore, my idea on time 8 To give to musical examles: Dieter Ammann, The reedom o Seech, or ensemble, 1995/96 and Gehörte orm- Hommages or string trio, 1998. 9 To give to musical examles: Georg riedrich Haas, Natures Mortes or orchestra, 200 and In Vain or 2 instruments, 2000. 16
structured in sections evolved through listening to the music o Beat urrer, hich I encountered at the time I met Ammann and Haas. urrer s music 0 oten creates textures ithin a chosen itch area, hich is maintained or a eriod o time and then changes abrutly to a dierent texture and itch area. These three comosers and a number o others have shon me ho dierently music can be shaed over time. These relections have aided me in thinking about temoral tyes in music. our basic tyes (see section 1.6) try to emhasise some distinctive characteristics o musical time structures. All our are based on their strength o transormational ace. While one tye roceeds ithin a strongly goal oriented develoment, another tye seciically avoids this. Transormation may haen at an extremely reduced rate o change, or may even be avoided altogether. I elements change requently on a micro level Moment Time can be erceived. Three urther tyes are set u hich are a variation o the our basic tyes. These are called Time in Sections. When temoral develoment is interruted and clearly contrasted ith dierent material, ne sections are built. or resent uroses, the term Section is deined as lasting anything rom aroximately one minute u to several minutes in duration. Moments last rom one second u to aroximately one minute. Both Moment Time and Time in Sections create units, one on a micro level and the other one on a macro level. The examle o timings given should not be seen as rigid but oen and varying deending on the musical context. The temoral tyes outlined belo are sometimes not easily distinguishable. Elements o one tye may be ound in the others, esecially hen examining micro moments. The searation into categories is thereore admittedly somehat artiicial. To recognise one o these tyes in its ure state hilst 0 To give to musical examles: Beat urrer, Nuun or 2 ianos and ensemble, 1995/96 and Presto or lute and iano, 1997. 17
listening to music may also be as much a ersonal exerience as any kind o universal certainty. Music can never be entirely itted into ixed categories, so some overla and ambiguities ithin and beteen temoral categories cannot be avoided. The times outlined belo should be seen as a guideline asiring an ideal o distinctive characters. More tyes could be imagined: or examle, mixed tyes ith several overlaying layers simultaneously. But as these are not used in the Seven Toers cycle as I conceived and realised it, they are not investigated here. On comleting the last iece o the cycle the temoral tyes became more clear to me, as or the irst time I could no had an overvie o the entire cycle. Relecting no on the resultant ieces and ho the temoral tyes are erceived and distinguished rom each other, I realise that in uture I may ish to reine some musical details ithin the Seven Toers cycle in order to better emhasise the roerties o the outlined tyes o time. 18
1.6 The Seven Tyes Directed Time (strongly directed and goal oriented develoment) Transorming Time (continuously transorming develoment ithout a goal) Moment Time (micro moments, unredictable develoment) Basic Tyes Static Time (very slo motion, static eatures) Transorming Time in Sections Moment Time in Sections Variations Static Time in Sections Directed Time in Sections as not considered in this research ork or the reason that orming a clear goal as one o the most diicult comonents. Aart rom comosing a direction going to a high or lo itch (as instanced in ST1-6 th Sace, see section 2.2.2) I hardly could imagine orming a clear goal ithin this roect. In addition, I ished to avoid conusion beteen to tyes o similar characteristics: Directed Time and Transorming Time. The next diagram may assist to clariy the deinition o my tyes o time. The last square (Time in Sections) summarises three variations o the basic tyes. The classiication o one o the three variations deends on the redominant basic tye involved. 19
Examle : The our Basic Tyes and the Variations summarised in one urther Square Directed Time Transorming Time Static Time Moment Time Time in Sections Directed Time Directed Time rogresses ithin a strongly and ersistently goal-oriented develoment achieving a inal goal. This music roceeds continuously in one clear direction. Once the goal is reached, the music stos or a musical section ends. Transorming Time This tye ocuses on ongoing develoment, hich continues ithout necessarily reaching a inal goal or even imlying one. This tye may be described as a continuum o earlier successions transorming into ne consequences. The ne consequences or ideas are strongly connected to the earlier ones as they continue transorming the music, rather than roviding a strong contrast. 20
Moment Time This tye o time oers a mosaic o discrete moments ithout any overall direction. It has no unctional beginning or ending. Moments are either uxtaosed or else, they can ade into each other and build grous o moments. The orm in moment time consists o little units o contrasting sel-contained areas - micro moments o a length ranging rom aroximately one second u to one minute. 1 Static Time This is characterised by a very slo motion verging on stasis. Slo motion means that harmonic rogression or timbral change develos so sloly that any change is nearly imercetible. Since there is no beginning or end, this tye o circular music ust starts and stos at a certain moment, according to the needs o the musical context. Transorming Time in Sections The beginnings/endings o sections in this tye can either change sharly or gradually according to musical context and exressive necessity. When a ne section arrives by gradual transition the elements o the ne section need to be clearly articulated and searated rom the receding section, desite the gradual nature o the transition. Moment Time in Sections Moment Time in Sections is characterised by coherent grous o musical moments orming a larger section. When ne musical elements arrive and shae such grous o moments in many musical arameters simultaneously, a ne area or section has started. 1 I do not use any kind o oen orm notation in my scores (as instanced, or examle, in Stockhausen s Klavierstück XI), yet this tye o musical time, ith its intensely ragmented and discontinuous nature, aims to suggest analogous tyes o oen orm in sound, hilst being strictly notated in reality. 21
Static Time in Sections Sections are clearly searated by an immediate change to a ne texture, sound area or a ne musical element. Change is sudden. The sections do not have transitions beteen one another. Each section is ithin itsel urely static. 1.7 Relation o the above Seven Temoral Tyes ith onathan Kramer s Temoral Tyes Kramer set u ive tyes o time, but gives them slightly dierent names throughout his book The Time o Music. The listed tyes belo are a collection o his tyes (including the dierent versions given in the book), set u in comarison ith my tyes o time. In addition, some musical examles rom various comosers are listed those given by Kramer and some given by me. 22
Examle : Comarison o Kramer s and Marti s Terminologies Kramer Terminologies 2 Goal Directed Linear Time/ Goal Directed Time/ Directed Linear Time Examle (Kramer): All tonal music develoing toards a cadence Nondirected Linear Time/ Linear Time Ex.: Alban Berg, Chamber Concerto, 1 st movement Vertical Time/ Nonlinear Time Ex.: La Monte Young Comosition 1960: 7 Moment Time/ Multily-Directed (Nonlinear) Time/ Multile Time Ex. I. Stravinsky Symhonies o Winds Discontinuous Time: Moment Time/Multily-Directed Linear Time Ex.: C. Debussy eux, Schönberg Chamber Symhony No.1 Marti Terminologies Directed Time Examle (Marti): C. Nancarro Canon X Transorming Time Ex.:. Anderson Ditych, art II - Pavillons en Air Static Time Ex.: M. eldman Cotic Light Moment Time Ex.: K. Stockhausen Kontakte Time in Sections Ex.: G.. Haas Natures Mortes (Transorming Time in Sections) Ex.: L. Andriessen De Staat (Static Time in Sections) The examles cited in Ex. give an idea o my tyes o time in a broader musical scoe, and I hoe to sho their validity ithin a range o other music. The iece by Conlon Nancarro ill be discussed in greater deth in section 2.2.2. The other cited orks are no briely exlained in terms o my on temoral tyes. The second movement o Ditych (Pavillons en l Air) by ulian Anderson develos as an on-going gradual continuous change, starting in a very lo register, increasing in range, volume and dynamic, reaching a climax o intensity and itch range ater about to 2 Some o Kramer s terminologies outlined in Examle can be ound on the olloing ages: Kramer, (1988), Goal Directed Time.25 and.61, Linear Time.20, Vertical Time.55, Nonlinear Time.20 and.0, Moment Time.207, Multily-Directed Time.50, Multily-Directed Linear Time.6 2
thirds o the iece. The iece continues as the texture sloly decreases in volume and ends on d (the iece then terminates ithin an unexected gesture). Morton eldman s Cotic Light exhibits a strictly limited range o harmonic change throughout its aroximately thirty minutes duration. The texture set out at the oening continues throughout the iece ith very small changes. Within this deined range o activity, eldman creates an imressive variety o micro-variations. The overall result, hoever, remains static - that is, ithin a clearly recognisable area o musical texture, timbre and acing - desite these small changes. Karlheinz Stockhausen s Kontakte as already discussed in section 1. as an examle o Moment Time. Natures Mortes by Georg riedrich Haas transorms musical elements at a gradual ace. The elements ithin the sections change continuously. Each section shos a transorming develoment leading to a ne section o sharly contrasted material. Louis Andriessen s De Staat exemliies music structured as a succession o contrasting sections hich change abrutly rom one to the next. Each section stays ithin its established materials, and there are almost no transitions. 1.8 Seven Toers (ST) and their Tyes o Time ST1 = Moment Time in Sections, 16 ritten in 2012/201 ST2 = Transorming Time, 8 ritten in 201 ST = Moment Time, 10 ritten in 201 ST = Static Time, 6 ritten in 201 ST5 = Transorming Time in Sections, 12 ritten in 2015 ST6 = Directed Time, 7 ritten in 2015 ST7 = Static Time in Sections, 19 ritten in 2015 2
2. Analytical Commentary 2.1 Comosition o a Ne Orchestral Cycle: Seven Toers 1-7 The ormal concet o the hole cycle has already been exlained. Each tye o time is exlored searately in one o the seven individual ieces hilst in the irst iece, Seven Toers 1, subtitled Seven Saces, the outlined tyes are gradually introduced in each musical sace o the movement. A diagram relating the orm o ST1 to other ieces in the cycle is seen belo. Whilst many comosers do not ork on a large scale iece in chronological order, an imortant eature o the comosition rocess in Seven Toers is that it as comosed in exactly the order o erormance, i.e. the irst iece to be comosed as the irst iece, and the inal iece as the last to be comleted. So the order in hich the listener hears the events is exactly the same in hich it as comosed: each iece evolved rom its recedent one. To achieve coherence throughout the large scale orm, linking elements ere used across the hole cycle: these are discussed in section 2.6. An asect o the comosing rocess that became creatively ascinating as Seven Toers develoed as the realisation that one musical idea imlies ininite o ossibilities o develoment and groth. I exloited this in many ays across the seven ieces. Choosing to introduce a ne musical idea at a certain oint in the cycle but only develoing it later in the ork ithin ne circumstances oered many resh creative ossibilities. These ossibilities are most evident in the Linking Elements exlained belo 25