Music 421, Fall 2007: Materials of Contemporary Music
Class 4: September 26, 2007 - neoclassicism: Satie, Stravinsky
neoclassicism as a response to World War I: “straightening up”, nostalgia, and the declaration of order
(as opposed to a prewar expressionism now perceived as anarchic)
Arnold Whitall describes neoclassicism as the “suppression of expressionism”
”the term ‘neo-classical is unlikely to become a useful analytical concept but will doubtless survive
as a conveniently adaptable literary formula”
so this is not a return to business as usual (or composition as history)
the “neoclassic” tends to be a historical surface covering new forms/approaches
and in the case of Stravinsky in particular, history is a vast resource for plunder
Bach, Pergolesi, Mozart, Gesualdo, etc. are all fair play for mining and revision
Whittall suggests that we consider looking for “classical” notions of balanced form and
perceptible thematic process (symmetryand simplicity are also often cited)
but Stravinsky in particular oftens presents his own kinds of distortions
Louis Andriessen / Elmer Schönberger The Apollonian Clockwork
”A Motto”: investigating the fugue theme from the Symphony of Psalms second movement
”a paradigm for the neoclassical Stravinsky”
since the historical reference is much more a matter of seeming than being
though there are Bach codings for the connoisseur:
reference to the theme of the Musical Offering with its chromatic descent
reference to Art of the Fugue through ‘HCAB’ pitch cells
reference to generic Bach fugue:
implied counterpoint, step progression, tonic and dominant functions encapsulated
(except that Andriessen/Schönberger will argue that the dominant function doesn’t)
”a paradigm for Stravinky’s improvising“
pointing in the direction of jazz rather than classical fantasia
and quasi-improvisational since Stravinsky’s aesthetic is ultimately about control
beginning again and again... “the tacking together of breathless motifs according to:”
additive construction
montage principle
melodic cells rhythmically varied in pairs
variable ostinato (“the whole is understood in terms of the detail”)
harmonic stasis
in particular the registral fixing of the pitch “B” in the theme blocks tonal function
the fugue theme isn’t heard as a theme until repeated transposed by a fifth
”Octotony”
octotonic scale is the regular alternation of semitones and whole-tones
only three such scales (plus transpositions) are possible in equal temperament
Stravinsky’s usages: combining tonal and linear understandings....
or four major triads related by minor thirds....
or combinations of dominant seventh chords related by minor thirds....
Stravinsky’s particular interest in major triads with an added minor third
dominant minor ninth with an added tritone: the Petrushka chord
”not a harmonic function but an objet sonore avant le lettre“
”enhemitonic” refers to the pentatonic scale CDFGA
pushing octotony backwards in history: Debussy, Scriabin, Rimsky, Glinka, Chopin
