Morton Feldman: ‘Madame Press Died Last Week at Ninety’
The most salient aspect of Feldman’s composition, ‘Madame Press Died Last Week at Ninety’, is a repetitive figure played by the flute, and briefly by the trumpet. trumpet. Each reiteration of this figure is accompanied by a different chordal harmonization, resulting in a texture which is primarily homophonic. One might expect Feldman’s Feldman’s shifting harmonies, which which avoid the typical resolutions of functional harmony, to sound completely disjointed, but each reharmonization relates to the flute motif, giving the work consistency. consistency. The rhythm is consistent and the pulse is evident, however they do not demand the listener’s listener’s attention. Feldman’s composition seems to disregard dynamic contrast, opting for dynamic consistency, momentarily punctuated by sparse instrumentation and silence at the the beginning, middle and end. This piece effectively demonstrates Feldman’s ingenious approach to composition, expanding upon a simple concept, in this case the flute motif, to create appealing music. Ligeti: ‘Lontano’
In ‘Lontano’, an ingenious orchestral work, Ligeti co ncerns himself with creating evocative timbres, achieved through the layering of many parts. Throughout the piece, Ligeti consistently uses long overlapping notes to create vibrant homophonic textures, augmented by ostinatos, which briefly surface before being swallowed by the surrounding atmosphere. For the most part, this work remains tonally ambiguous, occasionally reaching p oints on the brink of harmonic discernibility, discernibility, only to lapse back into imperceptibility. imperceptibility. ‘Lontano’ has no discernible pulse, instead focusing on smooth dynamic and tonal tonal transitions which move the piece forward. There are no evident leaps in individual instrumental lines. Each line seems to either move in stepwise motion or not at all. Ligeti’s Ligeti’s decision not to use a melody as as the focal point allows the listener to experience the convergence of many tones, creating massive soundscapes. Charles Ives: ‘Three Places in New England’
Ives’ orchestral suite, ‘Three Places in New England’, c onsists of three movements, each of which juxtapose chromaticism and tonality tonality to create tasteful sonic landscapes. Both the first and final movement unfold slowly, in direct opposition to the energetic second movement, which is full of horn blasts and patriotic themes. ‘The “St. Gaudens” in Boston Common’, the first movement, builds progressively until reaching a thunderous climax featuring a resolution to a consonant major chord. This movement exemplifies Ives’ unique blend of chromatic and tonal harmony. The accompaniment is largely atonal, which supports a diatonic melody, melody, resulting in a work which is simultaneously simultaneously accessible and inventive. In regards to rhythm, the pulse is fairly evident throughout the piece. The work is largely largely homophonic, however moments of polyphony and monophony are present as well.
Pierre Boulez: ‘Le Marteau Sans Maitre’
‘Le Marteau Sans Maitre’, an atonal work by Boulez, is comprised of nine movements, inspired by three poems by Rene Char (Radice, 284). As evidenced by their titles, Movements I, III and VII are inspired by Rene Char’s poem ‘L’artisanat furiex’. The first movement of this work alternates between monophonic and polyphonic textures, while the third and seventh movements are largely polyphonic. Often, there is no discernible pulse, exemplified in the first movement, where long notes are often suddenly interrupted by the rapid succession of a few notes. Throughout these three movements, instrumental and vo cal lines feature many large intervallic leaps and sudden shifts in dynamic level. In the third and seventh movements, Boulez’s juxtaposition of contrasting timbres, creating fluctuant multi-timbrel textures, seems to have been influenced by Webern’s pointillistic compositional technique. Interestingly, Boulez’s composition does not include any low frequency range instruments. ‘Le Marteau Sans Maitre’ clearly abandons the principles of functional ha rmony, resorting to shifts in texture to create a sense of movement. Radice, Mark A. Chamber Music: An Essential History. Michigan: University of Michigan, 2011. Subotnick: ‘A Sky of Cloudless Sulfur’
Subotnick’s electro-acoustic composition, ‘A Sky of Cloudless Sulfur’, focuses on the creative arrangement of percussive sounds. A pulsing rhythmic ostinato underpins the majority of this work, providing the listener with a point of reference amidst dense, seemingly polyrhythmic, sections. Subotnick’s intentional use of silence as a compositional tool, polarizes moments of sparse instrumentation and moments of cacophonous density. In addition, this work exploits the large dynamic range possible with electro-acoustic sound production, featuring both barely audible and forcefully loud sections. At various points throughout the piece, the percussive sounds seem to take on tonal qualities, informed by diatonic harmony. At times, the piece has an inconsistent and sporadic rhythm, in direct opposition to the structured rhythms which can be found in other places.
