A SURVEY OF SELECTED, ORIGINAL CHAMBER MUSIC FOR SAXOPHONE
WITH DIVERSE INSTRUMENTS BY MARILYN SHRUDE
Andrew Wright, B.M.E., M.M.
Dissertation Prepared for the Degree of
DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS
August 2016
APPROVED:
Eric Nestler, Major Professor Dennis Fisher, Committee Member John Scott, Committee Member Benjamin Brand, Director of Graduate Studies in the College of Music John Richmond, Dean of the College of Music Victor Prybutok, Vice Provost of the Toulouse Graduate School Wright, Andrew. A Survey of Selected, Original Chamber Music for Saxophone with
Diverse Instruments by Marilyn Shrude. Doctor of Musical Arts (Performance), August 2016, 172
pp., 1 table, 164 musical examples, bibliography, 30 titles.
Marilyn Shrude is a champion for contemporary concert music. Throughout her career,
she has written multiple works including the saxophone that utilize its unique timbre. Atonality
is a chief characteristic of her compositional style. Her contributions to the saxophone
repertoire include solos, duos with piano, chamber works, quartets and larger works with band.
This study surveys five chamber pieces that include saxophone with diverse instruments written by Marilyn Shrude. The pieces includes are Splintered Visions (1985), Notturno: In Memorium
Töru Takemitsu (1996), Transparent Eyes (2000), Face of the Moon (2000) and Within Silence
(2012). The analysis of each work includes information pertaining to the creation of cohesion and atonality throughout the piece. Copyright 2016
by
Andrew Wright
ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My sincerest gratitude to Marilyn Shrude for your devotion to chamber music and the saxophone, in addition to your never-ceasing willingness to share your compositional processes through this entire project. Furthermore, a heartfelt appreciation to Dr. Shrude and Dr. Sampen for their unending hospitality while I conducted the interviews. Thank you, Dr. Nestler, for your patience, support and generous expertise during the completion of this document. Likewise, I am grateful to Professors Fisher and Scott for their support and guidance.
My thanks to my family for encouragement through this adventure. Finally, thank you to my loving wife, Jessica, and our two sons, James and Ethan, for your patience and support while
I become “doctor daddy.”
I want to extend appreciation to Schott Music Corporation for example 92 as it an excerpt from Ingolf Dahl’s Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Wind Ensemble. Additionally, gratitude is extended to G. Schirmer Incorporated. Examples 106, 108 and 118 in this dissertation are excerpts from Alfrèd Desenclos’s Prelude, Cadence et Finale, Jacques Ibert’s
Concertino da Camera and Jindřich Feld’s Quatuor de Saxophones, respectively.
iii TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...... iii
LIST OF TABLES ...... v
LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES ...... vi
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ...... 1
CHAPTER 2: NOTTURNO: IN MEMORIAM TÖRU TAKEMITSU ...... 23
CHAPTER 3: TRANSPARENT EYES ...... 54
CHAPTER 4: FACE OF THE MOON ...... 78
CHAPTER 5: SPLINTERED VISIONS ...... 97
CHAPTER 6: WITHIN SILENCE ...... 151
CHAPTER 7: CONCLUSION ...... 169
BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 172
iv
LIST OF TABLES
1. Works premiered at World Saxophone Congresses ...... 6
v
LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES
Music examples are used by permission from these copyright holders:
*1997 by Schott Music Corporation
†1935/1956/1984 by Alphonse Leduc
1. Viennese trichord in C ...... 17
2. Inverted Viennese trichord in C ...... 18
3. Opening motive in measures 1-2 of piano ...... 27
4. Measures 3-8 of piano ...... 28
5. Measures 18-21 of the piano ...... 29
6. Measures 95-102 ...... 30
7. Measure 9 ...... 31
8. Measures 12-13 of violin and saxophone ...... 31
9. Measures 32-34 ...... 32
10. Measures 44-47 ...... 33
11. Measures 89-93 of ensemble ...... 35
12. Measures 75-76 of piano ...... 37
13. Measures 74-75 of ensemble ...... 38
14. Measures 89-91 of ensemble ...... 39
15. Measures 22-24 of piano ...... 40
16. Measures 63-65 of piano and violin ...... 41
17. Measures 78-79 of piano ...... 41
18. Measures 41-43 of ensemble ...... 43
vi 19. Measures 34-35 of ensemble ...... 44
20. Measure 58 of piano ...... 45
21. Measure 83 of piano ...... 47
22. Measures 57-60 of ensemble ...... 48
23. Measures 25-26 of piano ...... 49
24. [0134] set class ...... 49
25. Measures 10 and 11 of violin and saxophone ...... 50
26. Measures 92-93 of saxophone ...... 50
27. [01256] set class ...... 51
28. Measures 36-40 of violin and saxophone ...... 52
29. Measure 1 of first piano ...... 56
30. Measure 1 of first piano condensed into one octave ...... 57
31. Measure 2 of second piano ...... 57
32. Measure 2 of second piano condensed into one octave ...... 58
33. Measures 1-5 of piano parts ...... 58
34. Measures 10-12 of first piano ...... 59
35. Melody from Bach’s Air on a G String ...... 59
36. Measures 2-4 of flute and saxophone ...... 60
37. Measures 6-7 of flute and saxophone ...... 60
38. Measure 9 of flute and saxophone ...... 61
39. Measure 13 of saxophone and pianos ...... 62
40. Measures 14-16 of flute ...... 62
vii 41. Measure 38 of flute and saxophone ...... 63
42. Measures 54-55 of flute ...... 63
43. Measure 40 of flute ...... 64
44. Measure 19 of pianos ...... 65
45. Measure 24 of flute and saxophone ...... 65
46. Measures 57-66 of flute and saxophone ...... 66
47. Measures 91-92 of pianos ...... 67
48. Measure 17 of pianos ...... 68
48b. Measure 17 composite of piano music ...... 68
49. Measures 84-86 of flute and saxophone ...... 69
50. Measure 10 of flute and saxophone ...... 70
51. Measure 19 of flute and saxophone ...... 70
52. Measure 21 of flute and saxophone ...... 71
53. Measure 50 of flute and saxophone ...... 71
54. Measure 43 of first piano ...... 72
55. Measures 46-49 of second piano ...... 73
56. Measure 70 of saxophone and flute ...... 74
57. Measures 58-59 of pianos ...... 75
58. Measures 84-86 of pianos ...... 75
59. Measures 1-3 of guitar ...... 80
60. Measures 6-8 of guitar ...... 80
61. Measures 9-11 of saxophone ...... 80
viii 62. Measure 28 of guitar and saxophone ...... 81
63. Measure 60 of the guitar ...... 82
64. Measures 15-16 of guitar ...... 82
65. Measure 34 of saxophone ...... 83
66. Measures 84-87 of saxophone ...... 83
67. Measure 108 of saxophone ...... 84
68. Measures 50-52 of guitar ...... 84
69. Measures 99-100 of guitar ...... 85
70. Measure 25 of ensemble ...... 87
71. Measure 69 of guitar ...... 87
72. Measures 24-25 of guitar and saxophone ...... 87
73. Measure 64 of saxophone and guitar ...... 88
74. Measure 33 of guitar ...... 89
75. Measure 67 of guitar ...... 90
76. Measure 95 of guitar ...... 90
77. Measure 98 of saxophone and guitar ...... 91
78. Measure 106 of saxophone and guitar ...... 92
79. Measure 20 of guitar ...... 92
80. Measure 23 of guitar ...... 93
81. Measures 22-23 of guitar and saxophone ...... 93
82. Measure 61 of ensemble ...... 94
83. Measures 73-77 of guitar ...... 95
ix 84. Measures 78-82 of guitar ...... 95
85. Measure 130 of piano ...... 99
86. Measures 1-4 of winds ...... 100
87. Measure 18 of harp and percussion ...... 101
88. Measure 89 of winds ...... 101
89. Measures 67-68 of Paule Maurice’s Tableaux de Provence, movement IV ...... 102
90. Measures 150-155 of Tableaux de Provence movement V ...... 102
91. Measures 81-83 of winds and piano ...... 103
92. *Measures 8-9 of Ingolf Dahl’s Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Wind Ensemble,
movement 1 ...... 104
93. Measure 13 of piano and percussion ...... 105
94. Measures 108-110 of first flute ...... 105
95. Measures 46-47 of violins ...... 106
96. Measure 17 of first flute ...... 107
97. Measure 90 of clarinet ...... 107
98. Measure 93 of clarinet and saxophone ...... 108
99. Measures 157-160 of percussion ...... 109
100. Measures 104-105 of clarinet and saxophone ...... 109
101. Measures 10-13 of winds ...... 110
102. Measures 38-39 of winds ...... 111
103. Measures 137-141 of harp, piano and winds ...... 112
104. Measure 146 of piano ...... 112
x 105. Measures 31-32 of winds and piano ...... 113
106. †First measure of finale of Alfrèd Desenclos’s Prelude, Cadence et Finale ...... 114
107. Chord separated with enharmonics ...... 115
108. †Measure 158 of Jacques Ibert’s Concertino da Camera first movement ...... 116
109. Measure 46 of clarinet and saxophone ...... 116
110. Measures 60-62 of piano and harp ...... 117
111. Measures 62-64 of strings ...... 118
112. Measure 58 of clarinet and saxophone ...... 119
113. Measures 8-10 of piano ...... 120
114. Measure 72 of winds, piano and harp ...... 121
115. Measure 111 of first flute ...... 122
116. Measures 99-101 of winds ...... 123
117. Measure 128 of strings ...... 124
118. †Measures 1-4 of Jindřich Feld’s Quatuor de Saxophones, movement 1 ...... 125
119. Measures 76-79 of winds and piano ...... 126
120. Measures 96-97 of piano ...... 127
121. Measure 37 of strings ...... 128
122. Measures 147-150 of winds and strings ...... 129
123. Measure 159 of strings ...... 130
124. Measures 125-126 of ensemble ...... 132
125. Measure 146 of harp and strings ...... 133
126. Measures 43-44 of piano and winds ...... 134
xi 127. Measure 120 of winds, piano, harp and percussion ...... 136
128. Measure 14 of piano and string ...... 137
129. Measure 30 of winds and percussion ...... 138
130. Measures 106-108 of cello and bass ...... 139
131. Measures 136-141 of strings ...... 140
132. Measures 141-145 of piano ...... 142
133. Measures 141-145 ostinato rewritten and condensed into a one octave range ...... 142
134. Measures 149-159 of piano ...... 143
135. Measures 49-50 of harp and strings ...... 144
136. Measure 103 of harp, second flute, clarinet and saxophone ...... 145
137. Measures 6-7 of harp ...... 146
138. Measure 58 of percussion, harp, clarinet and saxophone ...... 146
139. Measures 63-67 of winds ...... 147
140. Measure 40 showing aleatoric notation ...... 151
141. Retuning of violin ...... 152
142. Measure 4 of ensemble ...... 153
143. Measure 13 of violin and saxophone ...... 154
144. Measure 19 of violin ...... 154
145. Measure 31 of violin ...... 155
146. Measure 40 of violin ...... 155
147. Measure 75 of violin ...... 155
148. Measure 94 of violin ...... 156
xii 149. Measure 108 of saxophone ...... 156
150. Measure 22 of violin and saxophone ...... 157
151. Measure 27 of piano ...... 157
152. Measure 43 of violin ...... 158
153. Measure 47 of violin ...... 158
154. Measures 95-96 of saxophone and piano ...... 159
155. Measure 79 of piano ...... 160
156. Measure 80 of piano ...... 161
157. Measure 112 of violin ...... 161
158. Measure 58 of piano ...... 162
159. Measure 61 of piano ...... 162
160. Measure 92 of piano ...... 163
161. Measures 67-68 of saxophone ...... 164
162. Measure 31 of saxophone ...... 164
163. Measure 47 of piano ...... 165
164. Measures 68-69 of piano ...... 165
xiii LIST OF TABLES
1. Works premiered at World Saxophone Congresses ...... 6
xiv CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Significance
Marilyn Shrude is Distinguished Artist Professor of Composition at Bowling Green State
University. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Alverno College, a small
Catholic liberal arts college for women in Milwaukee. Following graduation, according to Mary
Natvig, her “first assignment was to teach music in a Catholic high school in her old neighbor in
Chicago.”1 After her first year of teaching, she decided to pursue a Master’s degree in Music
Education at Northwestern University, a one-year degree program. During 1971, she began to collaborate with saxophonist John Sampen for one of Sampen’s recitals. The duo performed on many occasions, which developed their personal relationship, separate from music and resulting in their marriage. Their professional relationship yielded an affinity for the saxophone and composing music for it. Concurrently, Sampen requested from Shrude, compositions specifically for the saxophone.
As a child, she composed short melodies using the piano but as is typical of young children, she was unable to transcribe them into musical notation. Later in life, she pursued a
Master’s degree in music education at Northwestern University. She hoped to use this degree, according to the composer, “to get her in the ‘back door’ of the composition department.” She was confident that she would be accepted into the music education program and at that time,
1 Mary Natvig, “Marilyn Shrude: Composer, Teacher and New Music Advocate,” Woman of Note Quarterly Vol 4, No. 3 (August 1996): 24.
1 the university permitted music education majors who demonstrated competence performing an instrument to present a recital in lieu of a thesis, an option which she pursued.2
At this point, she had not met the prerequisites for entry into composition classes as she had no portfolio. Yet, she registered for a composition class which went unnoticed by her music education advisor. This class was organized in a small group fashion with both undergraduate and graduate students. Three weeks into the ten-week semester, the administration discovered the error and they approached her professor, Alan Stout, in regard to her participation in the class. Stout, seeing potential in Shrude, approved her stay in his class thus continuing her formal training, and career, in composition. In an interview with the author, she asserted that her life would have been very different if Professor Stout was unwilling to allow her to remain in his class.3
Following the completion of her Master’s degree in 1972, Shrude and Sampen were hired as public school educators. This tenure lasted only one year as Sampen was selected to be the Instructor of Saxophone at Wichita State University. Following a three-year period in
Kansas, the pair returned to Northwestern University in 1976 to pursue doctoral degrees,
Sampen’s in saxophone performance and Shrude’s in composition.
She was admitted into the program based on her ability and without degrees in composition. She received the Doctor of Music degree in Music Composition where her principal teachers were Alan Stout and M. William Karlins. As her dissertation project, she composed a piece entitled Infinity for Symphonic Wind Ensemble for the former director of bands at Northwestern University, John Paynter. According to Frank L. Battisti, “a teacher/
2 Marilyn Shrude, interview by author, Bowling Green, February 3, 2016. 3 Ibid.
2 conductor, Paynter influenced and helped hundreds of wind band/ensemble conductors throughout the world.”4 He was always a supportive figure to Shrude and of her compositions.
Shrude had the opportunity to collaborate with Paynter as she completed her dissertation, even studying conducting privately with him. The piece was premiered by the Northwestern
University Symphonic Wind Ensemble in 1983 and subsequently performed on several occasions by Paynter including a College Band Directors National Association conference. In an interview with the author, Shrude commented how extremely grateful and flattered she felt to have such a prestigious figure in the wind band community perform her music, including
Paynter’s retirement celebration concert from Northwestern University in 1994. Tangentially, this concert celebration also featured her saxophone concerto performed by Sampen.5
As a pianist, she took a different path. Shrude began studying piano in the second grade and as a member of a “blue-collar” family in Chicago, she had no predisposition for higher artistic experiences. At her Catholic elementary school, music lessons were offered during the school day at a cost of 50 cents per lesson. Without consulting her parents, Shrude enrolled in piano lessons knowing that her family did not have a piano for practicing. She was fortunate that the nuns at the school permitted her to practice one hour a day during her lunch time.
After a period of time in the lessons, they realized that Shrude was a talented pianist. They contacted her parents and persuaded them to purchase a piano for their home. The funding for an instrument as expensive as a piano was not readily available and therefore, her parents used every means possible to afford an instrument so that she could develop her talent.
4 Frank L. Battisti, The Winds of Change. (Maryland: Meredith Music Publications, 2002), 102. 5 Shrude, Interview.
3 In 1977, following her time at Northwestern University, she was hired as a part-time
Instructor of Music at Bowling Green State University, the institution where Sampen was contracted as the Professor of Saxophone. She remained in a part-time role at the University until 1984 when she won the full-time position as Professor of Composition and Theory. While employed in this position, Shrude became a champion for contemporary music and was recognized by the University for her service. Her compositions have been recorded by many artists, including Jean-Michal Goury and John Sampen, and performed in many different countries, such as Japan, Scotland and Canada, in an effort to promote newly composed
American music.
She was recognized by the Guggenheim Foundation, American Academy of Arts and
Letters in 1997, Rockefeller Foundation, Chamber Music America in 1993 and 1998, ASCAP,
Meet the Composer, Sorel Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts. In 1984, she was the first woman to receive the Kennedy Center Friedheim Award for Orchestral Music.6 In addition to her role as a composition instructor at Bowling Green State University, she has taught music theory, conducted the new music ensembles, created the MidAmerican Center for
Contemporary Music, led the Department of Musicology/Composition/Theory and was the co- director of the New Music Festival, an internationally known festival drawing accomplished composers such as Karel Husa, John Cage, John Corigliano and Milton Babbitt.7 Currently, she is the coordinator of the Doctoral program in contempary music at Bowling Green State
University.
6 Marilyn Shrude, "Biography," accessed March 4, 2015, http://www.marilynshrude.com/biography/. 7 John Sampen, interview by author, Bowling Green, February 3, 2016.
4 Through her relationship with saxophonist John Sampen, she produced numerous works that have become staples of the classical saxophone repertoire. These works have been performed by internationally known saxophone artists such as Sampen, Frederick Hemke,
Donald Sinta, Jean-Marie Londeix and Jean-Michel Goury. As a result of her association with
Sampen and her developing compositional style, Shrude has formed many different ways to compose for the saxophone. In an interview with the author, she recalled numerous occasions listening to him practice. Her first composition for the saxophone was a quartet, also entitled
Quartet, written in 1972 while she was at Northwestern University. The piece was written for
Sampen and was premiered at the University in May of 1972 by the Northwestern University
Saxophone Quartet; however, Sampen recalled the premiere in a different manner than
Shrude. He and a colleague, Richard Kennell, pre-recorded two voices of the quartet and performed the other two voices with the recording in a live performance. In an interview with the author, she remembered her use of multiphonics in saxophone music inspired by the study of the Swiss oboist Heinz Holliger and his recordings.8 Multiphonics were uncommon in saxophone music at the time, Shrude first used the technique in this piece.
Shrude and Sampen have participated and performed her works in numerous meetings of the World Saxophone Congress, a gathering of international saxophonists held every three years in various international venues. Since 1972, Shrude premiered many works at these events depicted in the following chart:
8 Shrude, Interview.
5 Table 1: Works premiered at World Saxophone Congresses
Date Location Composition Performers July, 1972 Bordeaux, France Music for Soprano Saxophone and Sampen, Shrude Piano July, 1976 London, England Evolution V Sampen, Chicago Saxophone Quartet9 July, 1982 Nuremberg, Shadows and Dawning Theresa Witmer, Germany Shrude Masks Bowling Green State University Saxophone Quartet10 August, 1988 Tokyo, Japan Renewing the Myth Sampen, Shrude September, 1992 Pesaro, Italy and they shall inherit Bowling Green State University Saxophone Ensemble11 September, 1997 Valencia, Spain Continuum Sampen, Shrude Façades by Philip Glass, arranged Sampen, Shrude by Shrude for soprano saxophone and piano “Postmark” from Fearful Sampen, Shrude Symmetries by John Adams, arranged by Shrude for soprano saxophone and piano July, 2000 Montreal, Canada Face of the Moon Frank Bongiorno, Robert Nathanson July, 2012 St. Andrews, Litanies John Cummins, Elissa Scotland Kana, Shrude Within Silence Maria Sampen, John Sampen, Shrude July, 2015 Strasbourg, energy flows nervously . . . in Assembly Saxophone France search of stillness Quartet12
9 Members of the quartet during the premiere of this piece included Robert Black, soprano saxophone; Richard Kennell, alto saxophone; Walker Smith, tenor saxophone; and James Kasprzyk, baritone saxophone. 10 Members of the quartet during the premiere of the piece included Theresa Witmer, soprano saxophone; Lori Moorehead, alto saxophone; John Sampen, tenor saxophone; and Joseph Murphy, baritone saxophone. 11 Members of the ensemble during the premiere of the piece included John Sampen and Amanda Materne, soprano saxophone; Shannon Ford and Kirk O’Riordan, alto saxophone; David Rice and Sarai Hedges, tenor saxophone; Susan Cook and Michael Patlan, baritone saxophone; Marilyn Shrude, conductor. 12 Members of the quartet during the premiere of this piece include Jeff Heisler, soprano saxophone; Ian Jeffress, alto saxophone; Matt Youngblood, tenor saxophone; and Adam Estes, baritone saxophone.
6 The World Saxophone Congress is considered to be some of the most prestigious events for saxophone, the selected participants are highly regarded. The inclusion of many of Shrude’s works for saxophone shows her importance in contributing to the ever developing repertoire of the instrument.
As previously stated, John Sampen’s professional relationship with Shrude has led to the creation of many of her compositions for saxophone. Dr. Sampen is a Distinguished Artist
Professor (Saxophone) and Coordinator of the Woodwind Area as part of the faculty of the
Bowling Green State University. Sampen received recognition by organizations such as the
National Endowment of the Arts and Meet the Composer for his work in the contemporary music genre. He commissioned works by composers William Albright, Milton Babbitt, William
Bolcom, John Cage, Bernard Rands, Frederic Rzewski and Morton Subotnick. Sampen performed throughout the world with ensembles including the Nuremberg Symphony
Orchestra, Orchestra Internazionale d’Italy, New Mexico Symphony Orchestra and Pittsburgh
New Music Ensemble.13 Sampen holds Bachelor’s of Music Education, Master’s of Music in
Saxophone Performance as well as the Doctor in Music in Saxophone Performance degrees from Northwestern University where his primary teacher was Frederick Hemke. Additionally, he studied with Donald Sinta while at the Interlochen Music Camp and studied independently with
Larry Teal.14
Sampen has been instrumental in the commissioning of many works for saxophone by
Shrude and his guidance was pivotal in the creation of many of the scores from her works.
Often, Shrude consulted Sampen regarding the difficulty of certain passages of music asking
13 John Sampen, “Sampen Highlights,” accessed March 4, 2015, http://www.johnwsampen.com/hlights.html. 14 Ibid.
7 him “can you do this.”15 Sampen’s response was always “yes.” As time progressed, Sampen began to reconsider his response examining the consistency of an accurate execution for each passage in question. A quest for consistent accuracy in performance within a passage would lead them to make adjustments to the saxophone music.
Multiphonic fingerings are one of Sampen’s significant contributions to Shrude’s scores.
This is evidenced in each of the pieces studied in this document, in which all of the multiphonic fingerings are provided in the music by Sampen. While including fingerings this is not unique to the music of Shrude, it is helpful in both practice and performance. In an interview with
Sampen, he discussed his participation in the creation of the music for each of the pieces surveyed in this document with the exception of the commission from the Ryoanji Duo
(saxophonist Frank Bongiorno and guitarist Robert Nathanson). In this piece, Sampen’s collaboration in regards to Face of the Moon was limited as Shrude consulted with Dr.
Bongiorno on several occasions in order to shape the saxophone score.16
Renewing the Myth, arguably her most popular piece, was the required piece in the first round for the 3rd International Adolphe Sax Concours in 2002, in Dinant, Belgium, the birthplace of Adolphe Sax. The Concours is one of the most prestigious competitions for saxophone in the world as it is judged by the leading artists and pedagogues in the field.17 As the composer of one of the required pieces, Shrude was asked to participate as one of the judges on the panel.
In this capacity, she adjudicated the 150 participants who performed her piece during the 10- day competition. In an interview with the author, she commented on hearing the multiple
15 Sampen, Interview. 16 Ibid. 17 “Competition,” International Adolphe Sax Association, accessed March 20, 2015, http://sax.dinant.be/en/competition.
8 interpretations of her piece and described how it affected her “inner reception” of the piece stating “she had never imagined her music at such a quick tempo.”18
While composing these works, Shrude had to explore methods of juggling her responsibilities while maintaining productivity as a working parent. Many of her pieces were composed while she was rearing small children. This situation caused her to shift her time devoted to composing to the early hours of the morning before her children awoke. Sampen confirmed her involvement with each piece she composes stating that each one was a large, time consuming project for Shrude.
State of Research
Limited research has been done regarding the music of Marilyn Shrude. Her composition, Renewing the Myth, has been examined in the article “Analytical Considerations in the Preparation for Performance of Marilyn Shrude’s Renewing the Myth” written by Eric
Nestler. This article was published in the Saxophone Symposium, the scholarly journal of the
North American Saxophone Alliance.19 Additionally, research has been completed concerning her composition Music for Soprano Saxophone and Piano in the dissertation of Chris A. Beaty.
The information provided in Beaty’s document focuses on the genesis, performance considerations, and an analysis of form for the composition.20 The piece entitled Solidarność: A
Meditation for Solo Piano has been discussed in the dissertation of Nadine Hubbs. The primary
18 Shrude, Interview. 19 Eric Nestler, “Analytical Considerations in the Preparation for Performance of Marilyn Shrude’s Renewing the Myth,” The Saxophone Symposium, no. 32 (2008): 27-89. 20 Chris A. Beaty, “Annotated Bibliography of Selected Soprano Saxophone Repertoire” (DMA diss., University of Memphis, 2004), 68-73.
9 focus of her work is the “organic nature of Shrude’s music utilizing this piece as a model.”21
According to the composer, other research regarding her works for saxophone is currently in progress but none has yet been published; however, these documents do not overlap with either the analysis or the content of this document.
Other articles regarding Marilyn Shrude exist highlighting her life as a composer. These articles have been published in highly respected periodicals such as the journal of National
Association of College Wind and Percussion Instructors and the Woman of Note Quarterly.
Reviews of her music have appeared in prestigious publication such as the Saxophone Journal and Perspectives of New Music.
Purpose
The purpose of this document is to survey selected chamber music for saxophone with diverse instruments by Marilyn Shrude. The pieces included in the document are Notturno: In
Memoriam Tōru Takemitsu, Transparent Eyes, Face of the Moon, Splintered Visions and Within
Silence. The intent of this document is not to provide a measure-by-measure or note-by-note analysis of each piece. Instead, the desire is to assist the musician in creating a more informed performance of each piece through the study of cohesion with respect to compositional techniques such as motivic development, intervallic manipulation and frugality of material employed by Shrude. Each chapter concludes with a brief analysis of each composition. These facets are critical to the performer’s understanding of the cohesive elements of her music. By
21 Nadine Hubbs, “Musical Organicisms and its Alternatives” (Ph.D. diss., University of Michigan, 1990), 115-126.
10 studying these characteristics, it is hoped that more performances of her music will continue the growth of chamber ensembles.
Sampen feels that the chamber music genre has become a niche for many American composers at the expense of music composed for saxophone and piano. According to Sampen, his concern is “the continued creation of exceptional music for the saxophone regardless of the ensemble.”22 Moreover, the rise in saxophone chamber music could be generated from an interest a search for different timbres.23
Integral to this survey is the knowledge gained from an interview with the composer and to be shared with members of the saxophone community. The intent of the interview is to provide the composer’s insight into her musical concepts while creating these chamber compositions for the saxophone.
Method
The saxophone is no stranger to chamber music. Many of the early works for saxophone were written for small opera pit orchestras such as George Kastner’s Last King of Judah and
Ambroise Thomas’ Hamlet.24 Many other prominent chamber works include the saxophone such as Anton Webern’s Quartet Opus 22 composed in 1930,25 Darius Milhaud’s La création du monde Opus 81 composed in 1923,26 and Heitor Villa-Lobos’ Sextuor Mystique composed in
22 Sampen, Interview. 23 Ibid. 24 Stephen Cottrell, The Saxophone (New Haven, London: Yale University Press, 2012), 104-106 25 “Anton Webern,” accessed April 2, 2016, http://www.antonwebern.com/. 26 Jeremy Drake, “Darius Milhaud,” Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online, Oxford University Press, accessed April 2, 2016.
11 1917.27 These important works pre-date many of the influential concerti and sonatas from the standard saxophone repertoire. The number of chamber pieces for saxophone with diverse instrumentation had declined by 1985,28 Shrude fills the void with her new chamber works.
It is the hope of the composer that her music will elevate the stature of the saxophone in chamber music as a prominent component of the ensemble beyond that of a “caricature” instrument.29 By analyzing her music, the true genius of the composer is highlighted and secondarily, the importance of the saxophone in the ensemble is featured.
The pieces explored in this survey are from the catalog of Marilyn Shrude and constitute the body of her chamber pieces that include the saxophone. The works discussed were all obtained directly from the composer. Three of the pieces have been digitized, using Finale, while the fourth and fifth, Splintered Visions and Within Silence, remains in her manuscript. The five pieces that constitute the primary focus of this survey are: Notturno: In Memoriam Tōru
Takemitsu for violin, alto saxophone and piano; Transparent Eyes for flute, alto saxophone and two pianos; Face of the Moon for alto saxophone and guitar; Splintered Visions for two flutes, clarinet, alto saxophone, piano, harp, percussion and strings; and, Within Silence for violin, alto saxophone and piano. The discussion of each piece includes important information regarding: composition date, publisher, duration and instrumentation along with information pertaining to the commission, premiere, dedicatee(s) and recordings available.
An important component of this survey is information garnered from a two-day interview with Shrude and Sampen. During this time, the author gained many important facts
27 Gerard Béhague, “Heitor Villa-Lobos,” Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online, Oxford University Press, accessed April 2, 2016. 28 James Edward Kaiser, “The Saxophone in Chamber Music: An Annotated Bibliography of Original Published Works” (DM document, Indiana University, 1980). 29 Shrude, Interview.
12 about the life of the composer that have contributed to her career as a composer and pianist.
Additional material received during this period relates to the genesis of each piece along with pertinent facts regarding the intent of each composition. Clearly, the composer’s contributions to this project are highly valued since she has an opportunity to directly express her personal thoughts regarding each piece which benefits performers interested in her music. As Sampen participated in the creation and performance of the pieces in this survey, his insight is highly relevant.
Compositional Style
According to Mary Hatvig, “[Shrude’s] works are highly linear, featuring layered constructions, timbral contrasts and intervallic transformations in both tonal and atonal contexts.”30 Shrude considers herself a contemporary concert music composer. While a detailed definition of this concept is out of the scope of this project, Shrude defines it as “any music that is ‘out there today’ being created in the here and now.”31 In an interview with the author, Shrude stated that not all contemporary music available today is progressive. Some borrow and imitate the styles and practices of the past. According to her, she attempts in each piece she composes to explore new territory and has aspirations to make her language reflect
30 Mary Natvig, “Marilyn Shrude,” Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online, Oxford University Press, accessed January 27, 2016. 31 Shrude. Interview.
13 more innovative practices. In these attempts, she strives to create her own voice, unlike that of any composer of the past.32
As a composer, Shrude expressed a desire to have a tactile experience with an instrument. Being a collaborative artist with Sampen since 1971, Shrude feels this experience has shaped the way she composes for the saxophone. In addition, performing new works by other living composers has allowed her “to participate in the creation of music from the other side of the pen.”33 She experienced how certain passages in composition can be awkward in reality. As a composer, she benefitted from the ability to evolve her music through trial before a passage enters the composition. According to Shrude, “music in performance is different from music on the page. In the creation process, the composer gets a sense of the how the music wants to be. Music seeks its own tempos and dynamics.”34 In regards to performing, Shrude strives to achieve a vocal concept to her style of performing saying that she prefers to perform the melodies as if she were singing.35
Significantly, Shrude was involved as a performer, in the premieres of three of the pieces examined in this document. She spoke of her roles as composer and as pianist as two completely different personas. She found “the act of composing while performing a massive distraction to her role as the performer.”36 She must act solely in the moment and exclude herself from thoughts of music which has already passed in order to perform at the level
32 Shrude. Interview. 33 Ibid. 34 Ibid. 35 Ibid. 36 Ibid.
14 required for her piano parts; however, this role affects the composition. In an interview, she mentioned that following each premiere, each piece received editing.37
As a composer, Shrude still uses pencil and paper as a compositional tool favoring it over the computer. She starts with sketches of general ideas for the composition, which at times only contain structures and broad gestures of the work. Her ideas are initially notated in a rough sketch of the piece. These ideas go through an evolution process before the notes are placed on the page and a further evolution process to refine and complete the composition. In addition, the composer always considers the performers who are commissioning the works.
The final version of the score is engraved by another party.38
The concept of composition through collaboration is the best process to compose for saxophone as well as all other instruments, according to Shrude.39 In composing for the saxophone, she relies on Sampen as a key resource. Following an initial draft of the saxophone part, Sampen “smooths out” many of the awkward sections of the part.40 Shrude trusts Sampen to help with the technical considerations of the music for the saxophone. Through their relationship, Shrude believes that Sampen understands her creativity and her compositional style well enough to make suggestions that stay true to the ideas of the composition. At times, he offered suggestions regarding alternate phrases that are less awkward for the saxophone.
She takes this concept to the other instruments of her compositions as well, often consulting her colleagues and intended performers for compositional considerations for their instrument of expertise. For instance, she includes the fingerings or suggestions for extended techniques
37 Shrude. Interview. 38 Ibid. 39 Ibid. 40 Ibid.
15 into each specific instrumental part, a knowledge she gained from collaborating with numerous musicians.41
Motivic Development
As in the music of many other composers, motivic development is a key device to create a cohesive composition throughout the works of Marilyn Shrude. At times, she explores short melodies as the basis of the development, as in Notturno: In Memoriam Tōru Takemitsu or
Transparent Eyes. In addition, her pieces are often centered around a repeated intervallic motion, as in Face of the Moon. Melodic development is not a new device for Shrude.
Throughout her composition Renewing the Myth, the composer explores and develops the melody from the famous 24 Caprices for Solo Violin Op.1 by Nicolò Paganini. Shrude uses other devices to mask motivic development such as octave displacement.
Intervallic manipulation and repetition are important compositional devices for the composer as an extension of motivic development. According to Shrude, the sound of intervals is an important aspect of her music and therefore intonation becomes even more essential to the performance of her music. Shrude believes many contemporary pieces are “performed without consideration of intonation, distracting from the overall performance.”42 Within each chapter, various aspects of her compositional style will be addressed focusing on the repetition of individual intervals, such as tritones and major sevenths. The major seventh is a recurring interval throughout her music. As Shrude explains, often she “substitutes a major seventh for
41 Shrude. Interview. 42 Ibid.
16 an octave in order to broaden the harmonic spectrum because the octave ‘locks in’ the tonal center too much, resulting in a halted harmonic motion. ”43
Tritones
Tritones serve an important structural role throughout her music. This interval was considered in music of the Renaissance era, as a mistake or “sin” or “diabolus in musica.” In an attempt to explore new materials in contemporary music, many composers have utilized this interval throughout their music, often appearing both as linear melodies and vertical sonorities.44
Viennese Trichord
The Viennese Trichord is a set of pitches described by Allen Forte, who labeled the trichord [016]45, shown in the example below.
Example 1: Viennese trichord in C
The set class consists of the pitches {C, C#, F#} and includes a semitone, perfect 4th and tritone.
The numbers in Forte’s labeling system refer to the number of half-steps from the starting
43 Shrude. Interview. 44 William Drabkin, “Tritone,” Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online, Oxford University Press, accessed February 16, 2016. 45 Dr. Nestler discusses the use of this trichord throughout saxophone literature including works by Henri Tomasi and Alfred Desenclos
17 pitch. As Forte describes in his book, any set class can be inverted and transposed into multiple possibilities.46 Furthermore, according to Harold Reisberg:
Periodically named as a tritone-fourth chord or “Viennese fourth,” this chord was heavily used by the composers of the Viennese school, Arnold Schoenberg, Alban Berg and Anton Webern. Three of the sonorities intervals were dissonances in music of the common practice period. The emphasis on the strong outside interval, the major seventh, removes it from the mild dissonance of stacked perfect fourths.47
Célestin Deliège describes the trichord as an atonal triad, even relabeling it as [017].48
The pitches are {C, C#, G}; however, as Forte describes in his text, each set class is open to inversion and transposition making this atonal triad an inversion of the original Viennese trichord. This is illustrated in the example below using the pitches {C, B, F#} demonstrating a tritone from the beginning and ending pitches.
Example 2: inverted Viennese trichord in C
Other Set Classes
Set class analysis is neither limited to the Viennese Trichord or atonal triad nor is Shrude limited to their use in her music. In fact, Shrude often composes music by utilizing other sets of
46 Allen Forte, The Structure of Atonal Music. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1973), 5 47 Horace Reisberg, “The Vertical Dimension in Twentieth-Century Music,” In Aspects of 20th Century Music. (New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1975), 348. 48 Célestin Deliège, “Atonal Harmony: From Set to Scale,” In Contemporary Music. (England: Ashgate, 2010), 62-63
18 notes – clearly, this a compositional trait. In the analysis portion of this survey, the author explores a number of commonly used set classes arising in her chamber works.
Frugality of Material
Cohesion in any work of music can be created by repetition. Obviously, this is not a tool that is unique to the music of Marilyn Shrude and has been explored throughout the history of music. The concept of frugality in musical compositions differs from melodic development.
Melodic development of thematic material occurs multiple times during a piece as a fundamental device fostering unity. Furthermore, melodic development implies alterations to the original melody interwoven through the composition. The economical use of material, on the other hand, consists of repetition of ideas or passages without alteration.
Timbre
Shrude states, “every instrument has its own unique sound based on the acoustic principles that make sound what it is. I like to think of sound as a very integrated thing.”49
Shrude feels:
…the timbres of each instrument should be combined to form a new texture within the ensemble …the timbre of the saxophone is within the timbre of the piano. The two instruments merge to produce another instrument. One informs the other.50
When composing in a chamber setting, the composer is afforded the opportunity to “think of the saxophone in combination with another wind instrument.”51 She avoids transcribing her
49 Shrude. Interview. 50 Ibid. 51 Ibid.
19 pieces for other instrumental combinations and as such, many of her works exist only in the original instrumentation.
Shrude considers the method by which the instrument resonates in certain registers.
She further applies this concept to include the sound of extended techniques. The composer strives to make the extended technique sonorities an “outgrowth” of the basic, or normal, timbre of the instrument in order to enhance the melodic language of her piece resulting in a large palette of tonal colors to the sound.52
While Shrude is no stranger to the other members of the saxophone family, she often chooses to compose for the alto saxophone due to her preference for its timbre and register.
Shrude believes “the register of the alto saxophone, especially in the lower register of the instrument, was a balance to the registers of the flute and violin.”53 This belief is another example of Shrude’s timbral preference which she extends to each piece discussed in this survey.
In this survey, timbre is represented, along with other compositional aspects of Shrude’s music, as important compositional and stylistic traits. According to Shrude, a project currently being completed will address timbre within her music.
Expression
As with all composers, emotional content is an important facet of the overall compositional style. She strives to utilize a harmonic and melodic language that is “inherently
52 Shrude, Interview. 53 Ibid.
20 expressive by composing with intervals that portray this specific type of music.”54 She writes phrases in a more contoured style rather than angular style in order to capture what she defines as the inherent expressive qualities.55
In the main body of the document, the topic of expression with regard to the examples is addressed. As with the other topics discussed in the chapters, the author shows how Shrude incorporates various compositional devices in order to create musical expression.
Rhythmic Ambiguity
Shrude aspires to blur the regularity of pulse in her music in order to create a heightening of the expressive nature of her music. According to Shrude, controlled aleatoric phrasing is the method by which she creates rhythmic ambiguity. By encouraging free, unmetered sections of the music, the composer is, in a sense, stripping the music of a continuous pulse. Rhythmic integrity is further obscured by the pairing of conflicting rhythms.
For example, the juxtaposition of quintuplet and sextuplet rhythmic figures is a common device employed by Shrude in order to obfuscate the pulse of the music. Within this survey, ambiguity such as this is elaborated upon in the context of specific examples.
Musical Equality through the Removal of Hierarchy
Apart from the concerti she composed, Shrude actively aims to remove any sense of hierarchy between the instruments of the ensemble, as in the relationship of soloist and accompanist, a concept that Shrude asserts to be crucial for the elevation of the saxophone as a
54 Shrude, Interview. 55 Ibid.
21 chamber instrument. Shrude believes, “the instrument should be used as an instrument with a unique timbre and thus equal to the other instruments of the ensemble.”56 She continually focuses on the notion of collaboration, even within the context of a saxophone and piano duo.
In their duo, the composer writes music to successfully seek an equal stature between the saxophone and piano. This concept is achieved in her music through the level of musicianship required from the performers. She successfully elevates each performer to the same level of performance through an equal treatment in the music.
56 Shrude, Interview.
22 CHAPTER 2
NOTTURNO: IN MEMORIAM TÖRU TAKEMITSU
Composed in 1996
Publisher: American Composers Alliance
Instrumentation: Violin, Alto Saxophone and Piano
Dedicatee: Maria Sampen
Available recording: No published recordings exist of the version with violin or clarinet. The
Verismo Trio has recorded the flute version on their 2015 album cloudServer
Duration: 9’
Background
Genesis
Shrude explains her inspiration for Notturno: In Memoriam Tōru Takemitsu in the preface to the piece stating it, “was written in memory of Tōru Takemitsu, the contemporary
Japanese composer who died in 1996, and whose music has always been a great source of inspiration to me. Although the piece bears no direct stylistic affinity to Takemitsu’s music, it borrows freely from the gestural and harmonic language that was so characteristic of his work.”57 In an interview with the author, she expressed an affection for his compositions and the relationship between their fondness of timbre. Shrude was fortunate to meet Takemitsu in a concert at Carnegie Hall in New York. Shrude recalled, “I believe it was 1994 but am not sure. I
57 Marilyn Shrude, Notturno: In Memoriam Tōru Takemitsu For Violin, Alto Saxophone and Piano, (New York, NY: American Composers Alliance, 1996).
23 was in New York City for another meeting. Our friend, Ryo Noda was living there and arranged it. Takemitsu was having a piece performed and we stood in the back of Carnegie Hall.”58
Asaka Takemitsu, Takemitsu’s widow, states “Tōru Takemitsu was the first Japanese composer to receive international recognition in the field of classical music, and is now widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the late 20th century. Largely self-taught,
Takemitsu created his own unique sound world, one not bound by convention, but incorporating ideas from nature, everyday life and other art forms.”59
According to Noriko Ohtake, “the importance of water for Takemitsu is easily detected in the titles of his compositions: Toward the Sea, Waterways, Rain Tree, Rain Dreaming, Rain
Spell. In order to align technically the importance of water with a definitive compositional method, Takemitsu utilized what he calls the ‘SEA’ motive. The letters are replaced by actual pitches, Eb, E and A.”60 This motive correlates to the Viennese trichord, as it includes the same pitch classes and Shrude’s use of it in this piece will be examined later in this chapter.
The title of this piece, Notturno, evokes the concept of an elegiac memory. The word notturno is the Italian translation, preferred by the composer, for the word nocturne. As is commonly known, a nocturne was traditionally composed as “music of the night.”61 Yet, there is no attempt by the composer to follow any preconceived formula for writing a nocturne; instead, she chooses to imply the general characteristic of this type of piece, purposefully producing a programmatic portrait.
58 Shrude, Email Conversation, March 16, 2016. 59 Asaka Takemitsu, A Memoir of Tōru Takemitsu. (Bloomington: iUniverse, 2010), 1. 60Noriko Ohtake. Creative Sources for the Music of Tōru Takemitsu. (Vermont: Ashgate Publishing Company, 1993), 33. 61 Maurice J.E. Brown and Kenneth L. Hamilton, “Nocturne,” Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online, Oxford University Press, accessed February 25, 2016.
24 Throughout this piece, Shrude writes music in the extreme low register of the piano. As a composer, Shrude believes that, “sound in its most pristine iteration works best when you keep the overtone series in mind. Having a low fundamental will help all the notes above resonate more beautifully. With the low fundamental present, we have the advantage of hearing all notes above more richly.”62
Premieres
Notturno: In Memoriam Tōru Takemitsu was premiered on June 10, 1996 in the Bruno
Walter Auditorium at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center. The performing artists at the premiere were: Maria Sampen, violin; John Sampen, alto saxophone; and, Marilyn Shrude, piano. In opposition to a philosophy discussed in the previous chapter regarding transcriptions of her music, this composition has been transcribed, following the advice of John Sampen. Versions of this work exist for flute, alto saxophone and piano as well as clarinet, alto saxophone and piano. The version for flute was premiered on December 3, 2007 at Bowling Green State University by: Yeji Kim, flute; Emily Baer, alto saxophone; and, Ivana
Tjandra, piano. The transcription for clarinet was premiered on February 9, 2011 at Bowling
Green State University by: Kevin Schempf, clarinet; John Sampen, alto saxophone; and, Marilyn
Shrude, piano.
Versions
According to the composer, the creation of a version for flute resulted from various performance opportunities. The composer transposed this work for other instrumentations in order to have her music reach another ensemble. The new version, including flute, was
62 Shrude, Interview.
25 transcribed for a student chamber group containing that instrumentation. The chamber group was searching for a composition to perform in a chamber music competition and following
Sampen’s recommendation, the version for flute, alto saxophone and piano was created.
In the transcription, Shrude made alterations to the score due to balance issues and range constriction in the flute (which substitutes for the violin). These considerations prompted the composer to interchange the music for saxophone and flute maximizing the timbres of the new ensemble.
Later, the version for clarinet, alto saxophone and piano was created to expand performance opportunities. As a substitute for the violin, the timbral blend and balance of the clarinet was more suited for this piece than flute. As the clarinet has a range comparable to the violin, Shrude found re-orchestration unnecessary and therefore simply transposed the violin music for the clarinet.
In recent years, however, the version scored for flute, alto saxophone and piano has become more popular by performing ensembles than the version with either clarinet or violin.
For this reason, the only existing recording of the piece is by the Verismo Trio. Other internationally known ensembles have contacted Shrude requesting the flute version of this piece.63 Sampen states, “as an ensemble, we have performed this piece, in its many iterations, more frequently than any of the other pieces in this study.”64
63 Shrude, Interview. 64 Sampen, Interview.
26 Motivic Development
First Motive
The first motive appears in measure 1 of the piano music, illustrated in example 3. This motive begins with a half-step and the melody is reminiscent of either the Phrygian or Locrian mode as it contains the first three pitches of each.
Example 3: opening motive in measure 1-2 of piano65
The music of the following example illustrates the melodic nature of the opening motive depicting three different interjections. In measures 3 through 8, the first motive appears in the piano combined with a repetition of the pitch class, A#, occurring in various octaves. These occurrences are combined with an instance of the motive in the extreme low register of the left hand building rhythmic displacement. As discussed above, Shrude employs the extreme low registers of the piano to increase the resonant quality of all notes in the phrase. The second interjection begins in measure 5 followed by an elided presentation in measure 6. This example
65 The examples in this chapter are in sounding pitch.
27 demonstrates Shrude’s use of motivic development while concurrently creating a sense of cohesion within this work.
Example 4: measure 3-8 of piano
The first motive returns in measures 18 through 21, and like the opening, Shrude sets the motive in the extreme low register of the piano and in octaves. According to the composer,
“this technique is employed in order to allow the upper notes to resonate as well as creating unity.” In this instance, the motive is accompanied by polychords thereby disguising the melodic line and the harmonic motion, underscoring Shrude’s affinity for atonality.
28 Example 5: measure 18-21 of the piano
This piece concludes with a recapitulation of the opening motive in measure 95. The following example shows the motive appearing one semitone below the original; yet, it returns to the original transposition to end the piece. The motive is initiated in the saxophone in measure 101 with the first three pitches: A#, B and C#; however, the melody is transferred to the violin, with the pitch A#. Melodic transference is a technique Shrude writes earlier in this piece to connect the voices of the ensemble.
29 Example 6: measures 95-102
Second Motive
The second motive occurs in the saxophone at measure 9 and is accompanied by the repeated pitch class, A#, occurring in various octaves. By including this repeated pitch class,
Shrude creates a sense of tonal cohesion with the opening motive. While this motive shares characteristics with the opening motive, it is repeated numerous times in this fashion, and is therefore considered to be the second motive. This motive is shown in example 7.
30 Example 7: measure 9
As shown in a previous example, example 6, Shrude initiates the motive in the saxophone and concludes it in the violin. This example illustrates Shrude’s use of melodic transference to build motivic cohesion within her music, all of which appears in example 8. example 8: measures 12-13 of violin and saxophone
The second motive reappears in measures 32 through 34, as seen in example 9, now accompanied by octave C#s. The repetition of the motive in the saxophone, transposed a whole
31 step higher, is used as a connecting device, linking this music to the music of the previous section. In example 9, the violin harmonizes the motive in parallel perfect fifths. As the music progresses in the violin, Shrude writes rhythmic diminution creating a sense of acceleration, followed by a rhythmic augmentation in the triplet rhythm occurring at the end of the measure.
The technique of creating a fluctuation of rhythmic motion such as this is a characteristic and expressive device common in the music of Shrude.
As seen in two previous examples, the melody is accompanied by the repeated pitch class, A# in octaves, in the piano. Yet, the music in the following example differs as the repeated pitch class is C# rather than A#, contributing to an overall sense of melodic development. example 9: measures 32-34
32 Third Motive
A new motive emerges in measures 44 through 47 in the right hand of the piano. As the first and second motives are primarily melodic in nature, the third motive is harmonic. Since the harmonies are clearly triadic, they are easily analyzed with chord symbols as shown in example
10. Each presentation of the motive is accompanied by different pitches in the bass voice of the piano, however, the new motive is never altered. The composer described these bass notes as a disruption to the harmonic language produced by triadic movement.66 In the following example, in the midst of the A major triad, the composer writes a G# in the bass. Likewise, in the B major triad, Shrude includes a dissonant pitch D-natural in the bass. Voice leading can be seen in the triads as well. The upper notes form the chromatic passage, E – F – F#. Furthermore, the lower notes of the triads form voice leading between the pitches, A – Bb – B forming parallel fifths. These techniques demonstrate how Shrude creates atonality by incorporating dissonant pitches in the bass voice with consonant, triadic sonorities.
Example 10: measures 44-47
66 Shrude, Interview.
33 This motive, represented in augmentation, appears in measures 89-93 of the piano, appearing in example 11. As in the previous example, Shrude creates atonality with the bass notes. The pitch class G#, which accompanied the A major triad in the previous example, appears at the end of measure 89 in the second system of the piano. Additionally, Shrude includes the pitch class D-natural to accompany the B major triad which concludes the motive.
The music illustrated in this example demonstrates Shrude’s use of melodic development as she utilizes a new piano melody to accompany the triadic motive.
34 Example 11: measures 89-93 of ensemble
35 Combining Motives
In measures 75 and 76, a variation of the second and third motives exists as illustrated in example 12. The second motive appears in the upper notes of the sonorities. The harmonies from the third motive are present in inversion, including the G# in the bass, as in the previous two examples. The resultant combination motive is then repeated in diminution. This repetition includes the bass notes from the preceding iteration of the motive transposed by one octave.
The combination of two motives from the piece demonstrates Shrude’s use of melodic development.
In this combined motive, Shrude altered the pitches of the original second motive, which appeared previously with the following pitches, in transposition, {A, Bb, Db, C}. Below, the melody consists of the notes {A, Bb, D, C#}. In order to develop the motive, Shrude adjusted one interval of the melody. The other intervals of the motive remain the same. The adjustment to the melody causes a similar adjustment to the harmonies present in the third motive; therefore, the third sonority is a minor triad. Continuing to disrupt the triadic harmonies,
Shrude employs a bass note to create tonal dissonance. Now that the third sonority has become a minor chord, the bass note Shrude employed for dissonance has been changed to Eb.
36 Example 12: measures 75-76 of piano
Intervallic Manipulation
Sevenths
The interval of a seventh is commonly used by Shrude in her chamber music. She composes music relying upon the seventh in order to build atonality within her compositions. In measure 74, harmonic major seventh intervals appear in the piano following augmented octaves. As Shrude states, “many composers would write this melody in octaves, however, I choose to employ major sevenths in order to disrupt the tonal stability.”67 To further a sense of atonality, she concludes the melody constructed in parallel tritones, found in the violin and saxophone, with harmonic major seventh intervals.
67 Shrude, Interview.
37 Example 13: measures 74-75 of ensemble
In the following example, the major seventh intervals appear in two forms. At the beginning of the example, the major seventh interval sounds harmonically in succession in the piano on beat four, a pattern concluding by an augmented octave, both establishing atonality and punctuating the phrase.
The music in example 14 concludes with a line constructed from melodic major seventh intervals. Shrude uses the melodic major seventh interval to further the disruption of the A major tonality created by the triadic motive firmly established at the beginning of measure 89.
More importantly, the progression of harmonic major seventh intervals in measure 91 is capped by a harmonic augmented octave on beat four, illustrating the cohesion created with
38 the previous section on beat four of measure 89 and underscoring it as a hallmark of Shrude’s compositional style.
Example 14: measures 89-91 of ensemble
Shrude writes a melodic line in measure 22 constructed from a series of harmonic major seventh intervals and punctuated with two minor ninths, similar to that in measure 89. The measure begins with a pair of harmonic minor seventh intervals progressing to harmonic major seventh sonorities concluding in measure 23, with harmonic major seventh interval {Bb, A}. As in the earlier example, the phrase of music containing the series of harmonic major seventh intervals ends with a harmonic minor ninth intervals.
39 Example 15: measures 22-24 of piano
In the phrase beginning in measure 63, Shrude composes a series of major seventh intervals, both melodic and harmonic, in the piano and violin music. In measure 64, the melodic major seventh interval is employed within the grace-note figure to interrupt the repeated pitch,
Db, and is transferred to the violin, transposed to the pitches {Bb, A}. Concurrently, the piano outlines a melodic major seventh between the notes occurring on beats three and four of measure 65. The use of the major seventh intervals, both melodic and harmonic, further builds atonality which is admittedly one of Shrude’s goals.
40 Example 16: measures 63-65 of piano and violin
Shrude’s use of the melodic major seventh intervals continues in the piano part in measures 78 and 79 and illustrated in example 17. More significantly, at the conclusion of the phrase in measure 78, the melodic major seventh interval appears between the note, D in measure 79, and the pitch C# of the cluster chord on beat two.
Example 17: measures 78-79 of piano
41 Tritones
Harmonic Tritones
Commonly, Shrude composes music utilizing dissonant harmonic tritones to disrupt consonant harmonies. In the music of the subsequent example, the parallel tritones, in the violin and saxophone at measure 41, interrupt the consonant harmonic perfect fifth which begins the measure. Shrude resolves the dissonance with the perfect fourth sonority on beat three of the measure {A, D}. The tritone interval returns within the sustained sonority in measure 42 and once again is used to interrupt the consonant harmony created by the harmonic major third {A, C#} sounding at the beginning of the measure. In measure 43, the tritone sonority descends to establish a separate harmonic tritone before resolving to a harmonic perfect fifth {E, B} on beat two. The resolution, in measure 43, allows the harmonic motion to stabilize before returning to the harmonic major seventh sonority in the violin.
Shrude utilizes the dissonance formed by harmonic tritones and major sevenths to establish a sense of atonality within her music.
42 Example 18: measures 41-43 of ensemble
A succession of parallel harmonic tritones emerges in measure 34 between the violin and saxophone highlighting specific notes of the chords found in the piano as seen in the music of example 19. A moment of consonance, on beat two of measure 41, arises from a succession of dissonant tritones as the melody of the saxophone ascends to form a perfect fourth with the violin. By resolving the tritone, Shrude establishes a consonance returning to a flow of harmonic tritones. Following the series of parallel tritones, Shrude composes a major seventh sonority to further create atonality.
43
Example 19: measures 34-35 of ensemble
In the music of the following example, Shrude employs the tritones within a vertical sonority to build a deeper sense of atonality. The example demonstrates how she builds a polychord constructed from pairs of tritones, {Gb, C}, {Ab, D} {Bb, E} and {Db, G}.
44
Example 20: measure 58 of piano
Returning to the music of example 13, Shrude employs parallel tritones building a sense of atonality, a common compositional device to Shrude’s style. The tritones appear in the homorhythmic melody in the violin and saxophone momentarily interrupted, at the conclusion of the measure, by a pair of harmonic major sevenths intervals.
A sequence of harmonic tritones appear between the violin and saxophone in the music of example 11. In measure 91, Shrude obfuscates the F suspended sonority, in the piano, with a series of parallel tritones, in the violin and saxophone. She continues disrupting the inverted triad by composing an augmented octave to complete the measure. More importantly, Shrude engages an ethereal texture as the notes found in the violin are performed utilizing harmonics.
Tangentially, this texture demonstrates how she applies different performing techniques to create a new timbre, a trait common to the music of Shrude.
45 As shown earlier in the music of example 6, Shrude disrupts the recapitulation of the first motive writing a harmonic tritone in the violin and saxophone in measure 102. The technique of melodic transference appears between the saxophone and violin, shown in measures 12 and 13 of example 8. As the melody transfers to the violin, the saxophone sounds the pitch E, creating a harmonic tritone with the pitch A# of the motive. The composer creates cohesion with a return of the opening melody; however, the motive is disturbed by dissonance created by a tritone.
Merging Melodic and Harmonic Tritones
The sonorities created in the music of the following example demonstrate Shrude’s combination of harmonic and melodic tritones. A hidden tritone develops between the pitches
C in the right hand and F# in the left hand of the piano. The dissonance resolves when the melody progresses to the pitch, F#, constructing an octave. This example demonstrates how
Shrude employs melodic and harmonic tritones, concurrently, to advance atonality.
46 Example 21: measure 83 of piano
Viennese Trichord
Melodic Trichords
In the music of the following example, Shrude employs a melodic trichord as a means of disrupting the tonal center established by the repetition of the pitch, Db4. The interruption continues, at the conclusion of the phrase in measure 60, with a melody constructed by two dyads separated by tritones.
47 Example 22: measures 57-60 of ensemble
As shown in the music of example 10, a melodic trichord appears as accompaniment to the harmonic third motive in order to disrupt tonal consonance. By including this melodic trichord, Shrude reaffirms her sense of atonality within a primarily, and unusually, consonant motive of the composition.
Harmonic Trichords
Shrude’s use of the trichord is not limited to melodic instances and the music of the following example demonstrates how she composes the trichord in a harmonic fashion. As a technique to further the disruption of tonality, the series of six harmonic trichords lead to yet another series of three-note cluster chords: {B, C, C#}; {G, G# A}; and {E, F, F#}. Combined with the tonal dissonance of trichords and cluster chords, Shrude’s compositional complications are compounded with rhythmic ambiguity. In this instance, the composer devises rhythmic ambiguity within a pair of quintuplet figures. She employs the trichords and cluster chords to further build a sense of atonality while concurrently disrupting the regular rhythmc pulse within her phrase.
48 Example 23: measures 25-26 of piano
Other Set Classes
The [0134] Set Class
The following example represents the pitches of one of the set class commonly used in
Shrude’s piece.
Example 24: [0134] set class
This set class occurs in measures 10 and 11, illustrated in example 25. The set class appears in measure 10 of the violin as accompaniment to the second motive of the piece and then it is transferred to the saxophone in measure 11. By accompanying a primary melody, Shrude develops the motive.
49 Example 25: measures 10 and 11 of violin and saxophone
The set class returns in the music of example 26. In this instance, the set class is obscured through octave displacement, a compositional technique which is key to Shrude’s style. She builds cohesion in her music through composing phrases with this repeated set class.
Example 26: measures 92-93 of saxophone
The [01256] Set Class
As an extension of the Viennese trichord, Shrude expands it to create other set classes within her music. She composes with various set classes creating unity within this piece and other pieces of her opus. Nestler discusses Shrude’s use of the set class in his examination of her work, Renewing the Myth.68 The following example represents the set class.
68 Nestler, “Analytical Consideration,” 28.
50 Example 27: [01256] set class
This set class occurs in measure 24 of the saxophone within the septuplet concluding the measure, appearing in example 15, as well as measure 92 of the saxophone, depicted in example 26. As the two instances consist of the same pitch classes, Shrude builds melodic unity.
The [01268] Set Class
Shrude continues expanding the trichord to create the [01268] set class. In measure 33, illustrated in example 9, this set class appears, in the piano, in a harmonic fashion accompanying the second motive presented in the violin. Emerging in the piano, the set class is used as chordal accompaniment in measure 41, depicted in example 18. Additionally, the set class develops in measures 34 and 35 in a harmonic fashion while the two solo instruments outline notes found within each chord, displayed in example 19.
Frugality of Material
Economy of Material
Quoting Shrude, “verbatim repeats of phrases within her pieces are uncommon.”69
Example 28 shows an instance of melodic repetition in the violin and saxophone at measure 36 through 40. The melody is presented in the violin on beat 4 of measure 36. The same pitch classes from this melody appear in the saxophone in measure 40, albeit, with a varied rhythm.
69 Shrude, Interview.
51 By repeating the notes of the melody, Shrude creates a sense of melodic connection within this section of the music despite the rhythmic alterations.
Example 28: measures 36-40 of violin and saxophone
The composer uses the same technique of musical economy earlier in the piece. In example 6 above, Shrude creates unity by repeating the melody from the violin, initiated in measure 96. Following this instance, the saxophone performs the melody with a different rhythm. This music exhibits unity on two levels. On the surface, Shrude creates melodic cohesion within this section of the music. On a deeper level, she establishes cohesion within the piece through the technique of repetition of pitch classes, shown in example 28.
The Composer’s Score Edits
A recording of the flute version of this piece, by the Verismo Trio, is the only commercial recording available. As a result of suggestions made by members from the ensemble, the composer edited the score. The first change was precipitated by Shrude’s view of the “motion of the melody: I felt that the longer notes stalled the motion of the melody.”70 In other edits, appearing in example 28, the time signature of measure 37 was changed to . The two dotted- eighth notes were condensed to two eighth notes in the violin/flute/clarinet and saxophone. In
70 Shrude, Interview.
52 the following measure, measure 38, the time signature has been changed to . In the violin and saxophone lines, the rhythm was changed from a half-note and eighth-note to a quarter-note and eighth-note. According to Shrude, these changes will be reflected in future versions of this piece for all instrumentations.71
Yet another change occurs in the flute part at measure 48. To trill from low B to low C on the flute is awkward; therefore, the flutist on the recording chose, with the approval of
Shrude, to alter this trill thereby eliminating the awkward technique.
As mentioned above, differences between the violin and flute versions exist. In measure
40, the original version voices the violin below the saxophone. As the range of the flute proved problematic for this passage, Shrude exchanges the saxophone and flute music further creating a favorable sense of balance.
As a tribute to Takemitsu, Shrude’s compositional style is obvious. She creates a unique timbre by combining the sounds of the violin and saxophone. In order to establish atonality, she employs tritones, sevenths and trichords. As verbatim repeats are self-admittedly not a trait of her compositional style, she builds unity, both melodic and harmonic, through motivic development, repeated cells of notes and adapted restatements of phrases.
71 Shrude, Interview.
53 CHAPTER 3
TRANSPARENT EYES
Composed in 2000
Publisher: American Composers Alliance
Instrumentation: Flute, Alto Saxophone and 2 Pianos
Dedicatee: J.M. Goury and the Quatuor Apollinaire
Commissioned by Selmer France
Available recording: EROL Records 7030
Duration: ca. 10’
Background
Genesis
The title of this piece, Transparent Eyes, is related to the composer’s affection for these two words. As many of her works remained untitled until the late stages of composition,
Shrude often uses a combination of random, but appropriate, words to create titles for her pieces. She writes several words on paper and matches them until the name of the piece is discovered. According to Shrude, in the early stages of composition, Jean-Michel Goury requested a piece “that reflected the French concept of expression versus intellect. The piece embodies a transparent quality beginning with the opening melody of the flute and saxophone.”72
72 Shrude, Interview.
54
Premiere and Commission
Quoting Shrude from the preface of the piece: “Transparent Eyes was commissioned by
Selmer France and is dedicated to Jean-Michel Goury and the Quatuor Apollinaire. The work was premiered on February 20, 2001 in Tel Aviv by members of the quartet: Sophie Goury, flute; Jean-Michel Goury, alto saxophone; Marie Christine Josset, piano; Yves Josset, piano.”73
A small fragment from a work of J.S. Bach is the germinal motive. Building on what is initially a three-note fragment, the material is presented (though never in its entirety) and transformed as the piece unfolds. The ideas are expressed as subtle tints, rather than bold colors, so that the overall effect is veiled. The view, however, is never obstructed; the object can be clearly observed from many angles, just as a mobile as it imperceptibly and quietly turns.74
Instrumentation
Goury granted Shrude freedom in choosing the keyboard instrumentation for this piece.
She ultimately chose two pianos, the instrumentation of Goury’s ensemble, Quatuor
Apollinaire. The ensemble consists of a pair of married couples, Goury and his wife, Sophie, perform the saxophone and flute while Marie Christine and Yves Josset perform the pianos.
According to Shrude, Sophie Goury became an integral part of the revision process as “she would offer suggestions regarding the flute music following the premiere.”75
As this piece is composed for a combination of two pianists, stage appearance becomes an important facet of the performance. Shrude recommends positioning the instruments so that the pianists are facing each other. Thus, in arranging the instruments in this manner, one
73 Marilyn Shrude, Transparent Eyes, (New York, NY: American Composers Alliance, 2000). 74 Shrude, Interview. 75 Ibid.
55 piano cover should be removed in order to prevent the sound from traveling to the back of the stage instead of the audience.76
Motivic Development
First Motive
As in Notturno: In Memoriam Tōru Takemitsu, Shrude uses motivic development for unification within her piece. The opening motive is illustrated in example 29. Throughout the piece, this version of the opening motive only appears in the first piano. At first, one might see this line as random notes representing a wide range. Upon further examination, one will notice that the line is constructed from a simple chromatic phrase, disguised through octave displacement. Example 30 shows the motive within one octave. Octave displacement is commonly utilized by Shrude.
Example 29: measure 1 of first piano
76 Shrude, Interview.
56 Example 30: measure 1 of first piano condensed into one octave
A secondary version of the opening motive, transposed a perfect fourth, appears in measure 2 of the second piano, example 31. Once again, Shrude employs octave displacement to disguise the simplicity of the motive. A representation of the secondary motive rewritten and condensed into a one octave range is shown in example 32.
Example 31: measure 2 of second piano
57 Example 32: measure 2 of second piano condensed into one octave
The music of the next example demonstrates how Shrude develops the motive within the opening phrase of her piece. At the beginning, the original and transposed versions of the first motive appear in a melodic fashion displaced by octaves. Shrude continues both variants of the first motive, melodically and harmonically, in measures 3 through 5. By creating harmonic sonorities from linear motives, Shrude employs a compositional technique common to other works of her opus.
Example 33: measures 1-5 of piano parts
To create melodic unity, she recapitulates the secondary version of the first motive in measure 12. Prior to this occurrence, the composer begins a representation of the primary version of the first motive in measures 10 and 11; however, this occurrence is incomplete,
58 missing the pitch class F#. Instead, the composer completes the secondary form of the first motive in measure 12, evident in the music of the following example.
Example 34: measures 10-12 of first piano
Second Motive
As stated in the preface, this piece borrows a small fragment of a melody composed by
Johann Sebastian Bach, shown in example 35. In an interview with the author, Shrude stated that the inclusion of Bach’s melody “was purely accidental. After composing the work, Shrude discovered the motive had a resemblance to the melody from Bach’s Air on a G String which appears in the Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D Major, BWV 1068.”77 In the original statement of the second motive in Transparent Eyes, the Bach melody is incomplete. The motive is developed throughout the piece culminating in a complete version of the Bach melody, transposed and in a different rhythm, found in the music of example 42.
Example 35: melody from Bach’s Air on a G String
77 Shrude, Interview.
59 The second motive is introduced in the music of the flute and saxophone at measure 2, depicted in example 36. More importantly, the harmonies employed create tension, then resolution. The sonority, in measure 2, is built from a major second {C, D}, a consonant interval followed by a sonority, on beat 1 of measure 3, constructed by a dissonant minor ninth {Gb, G}.
The motive concludes with a perfect fourth {Bb, Eb}, a consonant dyad. The music of example 36 shows how Shrude disrupts consonant harmony with a dissonant sonority and return to consonance, a common compositional trait of her style.
Example 36: measures 2-4 of flute and saxophone
To build melodic cohesion, Shrude recapitulates the second motive in measures 6 and 7 albeit modified. In this instance, she alters the rhythm by reducing the length of each pitch. By truncating the rhythm, not only does Shrude recapitulate the motive, she develops it.
Example 37: measures 6-7 of flute and saxophone
60 In the music represented in the following example, Shrude employs the second motive in a different fashion. Through octave displacement of the third note and transposition of the phrase, she masks the motive. More importantly, Shrude juxtaposes the Viennese trichord with the Bach motive to create atonality.
Example 38: measure 9 of flute and saxophone
In measure 13, Shrude further develops the second motive by adding pitches from the
Bach melody to it and by setting the motive in a rhythmically complex figure. She pairs the melodic representation of the extended motive with a sonority, in both pianos, created from the pitches of the motive. Shrude feels “this is common technique of contemporary music composers as harmony isn’t always vertical. It is very often horizontal.”78
78 Shrude, Interview.
61 Example 39: measure 13 of saxophone and pianos
Shrude restates the second motive in measures 14 and 16, illustrated in the music of example 40. She utilizes octave displacement to mask the occurrences of the motive.
Example 40: measures 14-16 of flute
Demonstrated in the music of the following example, Shrude recapitulates the second motive within a cell of notes in measure 38 and to further develop the motive, she includes timbral trills in the flute music. In this instance, Shrude employs timbral trills in order to construct a new texture within a primary motive.
62 Example 41: measure 38 of flute and saxophone
A curious musical phrase occurs in measure 54 as the composer recasts the second motive. Unlike the presentation in measures 2 and 3, the flute and saxophone begin in unison; more importantly, the motivic development of the Bach melody concludes as Shrude presents it in completion within the music of the saxophone, portrayed in the music of example 42.
Example 42: measures 54-55 of flute
Intervallic Manipulation
Sevenths
Frequently, Shrude employs major seventh intervals to establish atonality in her music and true to form, a pair of melodic major sevenths appear within the following phrase of the flute music. More notably, the two representations of the melodic major sevenths are separated by a semitone. On one level, the interval itself, creates a sense of atonality as well as
63 a jagged melodic line. On another level, Shrude intensifies the sense of atonality through a phrase of music constructed by a series of five chromatic pitch classes {D, D#, E, F, F#} with octave displacement.
Example 43: measure 40 of flute
As in Notturno: In Memoriam Tōru Takemitsu, Shrude writes in the extreme low register of the piano to allow for, in her own words, “better resonance of the upper overtones.”79 In the music of the following example, Shrude writes harmonic major sevenths in the low register of both pianos further fostering dissonance while promoting resonance by utilizing the extreme low notes of the piano. As the keys are slightly depressed and sustained by the sostenuto pedal, the sonority is not sounding in the traditional manner allowing the upper overtones to resonate.
79 Shrude, Interview
64 Example 44: measure 19 of pianos
In the music of example 45, Shrude employs parallel major sevenths in the flute and saxophone. By composing a series of parallel major sevenths, she freely uses dissonant intervals to avoid either a melodic or harmonic resolution and thereby sounding dissonance for the sake of dissonance.
Example 45: measure 24 of flute and saxophone
65 Shrude maintains the technique of writing parallel major sevenths continuing her exploration of atonality. Furthermore, she composed the extended technique of flutter tonguing, producing a new texture within the music of the flute and saxophone.
Example 46: measures 57-66 of flute and saxophone
Shrude continues to write the harmonic major seventh interval in the concluding section of the piece in order to enhance atonality. In the music of example 47, the major sevenths appear both harmonically and melodically. At the beginning of measure 91, Shrude builds a sonority from two cluster chords, {A, Bb, B} and {C, C#, D}, in the pianos, common to the music of Shrude. Following the cluster chord in the second piano, the harmony progresses to a consonant interval of a major third {C, E} which is disrupted by the major sixth {F#, D#} in first piano. The major sixth sonority is not a dissonant sound; however, the combination of the pitches of the major third and major sixth produces two dissonant intervals, a tritone {C, F#} and major seventh {E, D#}. The harmonic tension is further heightened by the sonority of first piano at the conclusion of the measure. Together with the sonority of the second piano, Shrude creates a separate pair of dissonant intervals, a major seventh {C, B} and a tritone {E, A#}, once again stating dissonance for its own inherent sound quality.
66 Example 47: measure 91-92 of pianos
Tritones
Melodic Tritones
As in her other works from her opus, Shrude employs the tritone to foster dissonance. In the music of example 48, Shrude employs melodic tritones, in the second piano, extending the creation of harmonic imbalance built by the augmented octave, {Eb, E} at the beginning of the measure. Significantly, the composite rhythm of the two voices construct three sonorities built from dissonant intervals: augmented octave {Eb, E}, major seventh {Gb, F} and a minor ninth {A,
Bb}. The dissonance is momentarily interrupted by a consonant sonority formed by a major ninth, {B, C#}, in the second dyad of the measure.
67 Example 48: measure 17 of pianos
Example 48b: measure 17, composite of piano music
Significantly, Shrude writes melodies constructed from the dissonant interval of a tritone progressing to consonant sonorities in the phrase represented in the following example.
Measure 84 begins with a pair of dissonant harmonic major seventh intervals {A, G#} and {C, B}.
68 She utilizes the melodic tritone, in the flute in measure 84, to progress to consonant harmonic major ninth {Eb, F}. In measure 85, she writes a melodic tritone in the saxophone identifying the tonal center A, through a perfect fifth {A, E}. The composer follows this sonority with a consonant major second {C, D}. She continues developing the melody through melodic tritones; however, in this instance the composer breaks from the previous pattern by creating a dissonant minor ninth interval. The homorhythmic passage concludes with a restoration of consonance in a perfect fourth sonority {Bb, Eb}.
Example 49: measures 84-86 of flute and saxophone
Viennese Trichord
Melodic Trichords
Shrude uses trichords to foster atonality, clearly a hallmark trait of the composer. As in measure 9, appearing in example 38, she juxtaposes the trichord with the second motive of the piece in the music of example 50.
69 Example 50: measure 10 of flute and saxophone
In the music of the following example, Shrude explores the trichord in a different method than illustrated in the above example. Two representations of the trichord are hidden.
Within the series of dissonance created in the melody, a moment of consonance develops. On beat three of measure 19, Shrude uses a perfect fourth {F#, B} to establish a temporary resolution which is immediately interrupted by a reestablishment of dissonance through a succession of sonorities ending with an augmented octave.
Example 51: measure 19 of flute and saxophone
Shrude fosters atonality utilizing a pair of trichords. In the music of example 52, the trichord simultaneously appears in the flute and saxophone. On one level, the trichord interrupts the consonance established by the parallel major seconds; {B, C#}, {C, D} and
70 returning to {B, C#}. On a profound level, Shrude creates a deeper sense of atonality through a minor ninth {F#, G} which occurs at the conclusion of the phrase. As Shrude once again punctuates the phrase with the augmented octave, one could extrapolate this repeated technique as a compositional trait of the composer.
Example 52: measure 21 of flute and saxophone
In the music of example 53, the notes of the trichord are shared between the flute and saxophone. This representation disturbs a very brief moment of consonance created by octave
Cs. She expands the tonal instability by concluding the phrase with a harmonic major seventh sonority, {F#, F}.
Example 53: measure 50 of flute and saxophone
71 Harmonic Trichords
Shrude continues using harmonic trichords to establish atonality. In the music of the following example, the trichord appears on multiple levels. At the beginning of measure 43, a harmonic trichord appears in the left hand of the piano between two seventh chord harmonies.
More importantly, the sonority appearing at the end of the measure contains multiple instances of harmonic trichords, {F, E, B} and {E, F, Bb}. Shrude uses the technique of overlapping trichords in a melodic context in another work surveyed in this document, Face of the Moon.
Example 54: measure 43 of first piano
Frugality of Material
Economy of Material
As presented above, verbatim repetition of phrases is uncommon to the music of
Shrude. Shrude states that her intentions are “to limit the exact repetition of sections of her
72 music.”80 Yet, Shrude recycles music in a different manner. In the music of measure 24 in example 24, Shrude employs the pitch classes of the opening melody to create the grace-note figure. By utilizing repetition of the melody, Shrude creates melodic cohesion.
In the music of example 55, she recapitulates a sonority from measure 13. In measure
13, the sonority is created by the pitch classes of the second motive, the Bach motive. The pair of sonorities in measure 46 is repeated in measure 48 and 49. On one level, cohesion is established within a section of her music. On a deeper level, cohesion is established with a primary motive of the composition.
Example 55: measure 46-49 of second piano
Inversion
In measure 70, Shrude employs a different compositional technique than the economical use of material in order to create cohesion. The flute and saxophone perform a homorhythmic melody which is cultivated by melodic inversion. The inversion restarts on the upbeat of beat five and continues until the end of the measure. Within the melody formed by inversion, Shrude establishes atonality. The first pitches {F#, G} of the measure form a dissonant minor ninth.
80 Shrude, Interview.
73 Example 56: measure 70 of saxophone and flute
Recurring Chordal Structures
As an additional method to foster unity, Shrude repeats chordal structures. In measures
58 and 59 of both pianos, Shrude builds a chordal structure utilizing triadic harmony. In measures 84 through 85, she recapitulates the chordal structure, however, the music is interchanged between the two piano parts of the score. In the music of the following example, the sonorities have been numbered to display the connection. Even through the rhythmic and melodic structures are different, each sonority from example 57 is present in example 58 with the exception of the fifth and twelfth sonorities.
74 Example 57: measures 58-59 of pianos
Example 58: measures 84-86 of pianos
Shrude’s compositional style is unmistakable in Transparent Eyes. For instance, she develops a motive that was inadvertently borrowed from a piece by Bach. In order to nurture dissonance, she writes tritones, parallel major sevenths and the [016] set class. Interestingly,
75 the composer recapitulates a chordal structure applying an interchange of the music between the two piano parts. Furthermore, the composer punctuates certain phrases with cluster chords and other dissonant sonorities.
76 CHAPTER 4
FACE OF THE MOON
Composed in 2000
Publisher: American Composers Alliance
Instrumentation: Alto Saxophone and Guitar
Commissioned by the Ryoanji Duo
Available recording: Ryoanji Duo, Liscio Recordings LCD-05032
Duration: 8’50”
Background
Genesis
While in Bellagio, Italy in May of 2000 completing a month-long residency at the
Rockefeller Foundation Study and Conference Center, Shrude finalized this piece. According to their website, “the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Residency Program offers academics, artists, thought leaders, policymakers, and practitioners a serene setting conducive to focused, goal-oriented work, and the unparalleled opportunity to establish new connections with fellow residents from a wide array of backgrounds, disciplines, and geographies."81 Shrude was the resident composer. In the evenings during the residency, the participants met for an opportunity to share their work with the others. The poet in residence, Pattiann Rogers, offered her poem entitled “For Any Known Fact: Nude Walking Alone on a Beach in Moonlight.” From
81 Rockefeller Foundation, “Residency Program,” accessed June 6, 2016, https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/our-work/bellagio-center/residency-program/.
77 Rogers’ poem, Shrude extracted the following stanza: The moon is a mirror, surely, but is a mirror a forbidden window becoming itself by its own reflective act, or is it just a dull work of unenlightened imitation? While the title of the composition is not a direct quote from the poem, it was inspired from this line of the poem.82
In the preface to the piece, Shrude states:
…just as the moon is admired for its utter simplicity, it is equally a revelation in complexity – changing (yet constant) from day to month to year. My musical impression is an individual reflection on a reality that has intrigued many artists. In Face of the Moon, I use a germinal two-note motive (repeated, altered, expanded, embellished) to explore a range of emotions – contentment, agitation, calm, elation, disquiet, reflection. The result is a composition of many layers, made more so by the unique combination of saxophone and guitar.83
Premiere
This piece was commissioned and premiered by the Ryoanji Duo consisting of Frank
Bongiorno, saxophone and Robert Nathanson, guitar. It was premiered by the duo at the 12th
World Saxophone Congress in Montreal, Canada on July 6, 2000. In the compositional process of this piece, the music of the guitar evolved through a collaboration with Nathanson since
Shrude was not familiar with the instrument. Following the completion of the work, the guitarist offered technical suggestions to enhance the music which are reflected in the published version of the piece.
82 Shrude, Interview. 83 Marilyn Shrude, Face of the Moon, (New York, NY: American Composers Alliance, 1994).
78 Extended Techniques for Guitar
A unique feature of this piece is the tuning of the guitar strings. At measure 68, the guitarist is asked to perform a quasi-tremolo on the lowest string of the instrument, in order to create a continuous sound. During the tremolo, the guitarist gradually lowers the pitch of the string by turning the tuning peg. Concurrently, the saxophone performs a chromatic phrase.
Shrude requests that the guitarist retune the low E string down one step to D solely to utilize the low D in the upcoming section of her music, measure 68.
The composer offered two performance suggestions for the piece: the guitarist should use amplification in order to achieve a proper balance of the instruments; and second, the duo must perform from the score as as Shrude purposefully did not create separate parts for the instruments.
Motivic Development
Germinal Motive
As Shrude states in the preface to the piece, “in Face of the Moon I use a germinal two- note motive (repeated, altered, expanded, embellished) to explore a range of emotions […].”84
The guitar begins the motive with a repeated whole-step movement, shown in example 59. The cell is accompanied by a bass note, one octave lower than the opening pitch of the motive, constructing a harmonic major ninth interval with the concluding note of the cell. In the first three measures of the piece, the cell of notes is transposed in half-steps; however, in measures
6 through 8, Shrude employs inversion and intervallic expansion to develop the motive, shown
84 Marilyn Shrude, Face of the Moon.
79 in example 60. As the saxophone begins, the motive continues in a similar fashion an octave lower than the guitar, depicted in example 61.
Example 59: measures 1-3 of guitar85
Example 60: measures 6-8 of guitar
Example 61: measures 9-11 of saxophone
Intervallic Manipulation
Seconds
In the music of the following example, Shrude’s use of the germinal motive is expanded from a thematic motive to one that is linking in nature. The motive, in the saxophone, occurs between the last note of each quintuplet and the first note of the following quintuplet. Each pair of notes is connected by a second, either major or minor, which creates melodic cohesion
85 The examples in this chapter are transposed.
80 with the music in the previous examples. Likewise, the germinal motive is further expanded to include a harmonic representation: the guitar accompanies the notes of the saxophone with harmonies. The sonorities include major seconds and minor ninths as well as major sevenths.
As has been seen in the analysis of Transparent Eyes, Shrude has a propensity for concluding phrases with cluster chords. This is evident in Face of the Moon, too. The phrase in measure 28 ends with a {F, F#, G} cluster chord.
Example 62: measure 28 of guitar and saxophone
Sevenths
The music in the following example demonstrates Shrude’s use of seventh intervals creating both dissonance and atonality. In this instance, Shrude writes a succession of six descending, harmonic seventh sonorities following minor sevenths in the guitar resulting in a phrase of parallel major sevenths. More importantly, Shrude employs an inverted form of the germinal motive, demonstrating intervallic expansion, constructed by the progression of minor to major seventh sonorities.
Embedded within this seemingly atonal phrase is a hidden line of tonal consonance. A progression of minor thirds outlines a diminished seventh chord, {C, D#, F#, A}. Shrude uses this progression as a formal organizing device for this phrase.
81
Example 63: measure 60 of the guitar
Shrude continues to employ major sevenths to heighten the level of instability. In measures 15 and 16, the guitar sounds melodic major sevenths within the grace-notes and the quarter-notes which follow, underlying the atonality of the phrase. The chromatic melody constructed by the pitches {A#, A, G#}, is a melodic representation – and transposition – of the chord cluster ending the phrase in measure 28.
Example 64: measures 15-16 of guitar
Shrude returns to the melodic major sevenths within a grace-note figure. In measure 34 of the saxophone, she, once again, writes the melodic major seventh. This figure creates cohesion while simultaneously deepening the sense of atonality.
82
Example 65: measure 34 of saxophone
The music of example 66 shows Shrude’s method of writing the major seventh intervals within a melodic representation of a cluster chord. The first chromatic line, {F#, G, G#}, develops in measures 84 and 85. An additional chromatic phrase is present in measures 86 and 87 utilizing the pitches {B, C, C#}, a transposed version of the previous cell. These cells are separated by a presentation of the Viennese trichord heightening the sense of atonality while serving as a formal, organizing device for this phrase.
Example 66: measures 84-87 of saxophone
The music of the following example shows how Shrude writes the melodic major sevenths to cultivate melodic instability and form a jagged line. The saxophone repeats a pair of pitches, {Bb, A}, to enhance atonality. The composer furthers the sense of imbalance by utilizing a syncopated rhythm within a phrase.
83
Example 67: measure 108 of saxophone
In measure 50, the guitar sounds a major seventh sonority. The resulting tension created from the dissonant harmonic major seventh is resolved to a major tenth in measure 51; however, Shrude immediately returns to dissonance constructing a separate harmonic major seventh to conclude the phrase. Additionally, the music in example 68 demonstrates the composer’s use of intervallic expansion as the major seventh on beat six widens to a major ninth on beat seven and finally, concluding in measure 51, with a major tenth. This technique of intervallic expansion shows Shrude’s manipulation of intervals as a method to develop the germinal motive.
Example 68: measures 50-52 of guitar
Shrude employs the harmonic major seventh intervals to further a sense of atonality, heightening it through the creation of a melodic major seventh. This is exemplified in the music
84 between the first pair of notes in measure 99, {Ab, G} and the first sonority in measure 100, {A,
G#}.
Example 69: measures 99-100 of guitar
Shrude’s use of the major sevenths serves a third purpose. Demonstrated in the music of example 70, the guitar sounds a sonority created by a major seventh interval.
Simultaneously, the saxophone sounds the same sonority in a melodic fashion. By constructing this sonority in a harmonic and melodic method simultaneously, Shrude establishes cohesion within the piece while reinforcing the atonality through this dissonant interval. As the composer employs the technique of simultaneous melodic and harmonic representations of a motive in other pieces of her opus, she develops compositional vocabulary.
85 Example 70: measure 25 of ensemble
Tritones
Melodic Tritones
In measure 69, Shrude composes consonant harmonic perfect fourths to disguise dissonant melodic tritones utilizing a new method, within her music, of developing atonality. As the measure closes with a consonant interval, the dissonance created by the melodic tritones is resolved. Shrude’s adherence to atonality is obvious in her music through the writing of consecutive melodic tritones; what might be less obvious, however, is her use of the diminished seventh chord as an organizational device in this phrase. The lower notes of the sonorities form a diminished seventh chord {C, D#, F#, A} while the upper note, simultaneously form a separate diminished seventh chord {B, D, F, G#}.
86 Example 71: measure 69 of guitar
Harmonic Tritones
In the music of example 72, the dissonance continues as the guitar and saxophone converge on beat two of measure 24; however, the pitches are separated by a minor seventh.
The dissonance remains in the gesture of chromatic quintuplets; likewise, the sonorities created by the homorhythmic quintuplet melodies are separated by a minor seventh. The composer recapitulates the tritone, in measure 25, underscoring atonality. Interestingly, she utilizes harmonic tritones within passages constructed with simple subdivision, at the beginnings of measures 24 and 25; however, she composes parallel major sevenths within the odd-grouping subdivision. In the following phrase, the harmonic tritones create an organizational device for the passage.
Example 72: measures 24-25 of guitar and saxophone
87 In measure 64, Shrude uses a series of parallel tritones to begin the phrase. In order to cultivate atonality, she utilizes whole steps to construct the first four notes of the melody.
Within this phrase, Shrude writes rhythmic figures with a triplet and quintuplet rhythm to mask the rhythmic pulse of the line in order to, according to Shrude, “enhance the expressive nature of her music.”86 These techniques of rhythmic and harmonic ambiguity are clearly characteristics of Shrude’s style.
Example 73: measure 64 of saxophone and guitar
Viennese Trichord
Melodic Trichords
Shrude obviously maintains atonality by writing phrases of music constructed from melodic trichords; however, less noticeable is her use of the trichord to disguise the tonality already established with the repeated pitch F6. She creates a momentary tonal center of F by repeating the note, F6, as well as the note C6, hinting at a dominant to tonic relationship.
86 Shrude, Interview.
88 Following the temporary tonal center of F, she writes the atonal trichord to remind the listener of the underlying tonal instability.
Example 74: measure 33 of guitar
Above, in the music of example 65, the trichord appears in the guitar distinctive from the melody established by the saxophone. Shrude furthers the instability by utilizing the trichord in the grace-note figure followed by a repetition, and even elaboration, of the same trichord in the next phrase in the guitar.
The guitar and saxophone perform a homorhythmic figure beginning with a harmonic minor seventh interval {Bb, Ab} in measure 67. The dissonance is expanded initially by the harmonic minor second interval represented in the triplet figure. On the surface, she composes a set of trichords, in contrary motion, in the guitar and saxophone. Yet, Shrude increases the harmonic dissonance by composing trichords separated by semitones: {F, B, C} and {F#, C, B}.
Furthermore, she punctuates the phrase with a cluster chord {Eb, E, F}, a compositional trait already observed in her other music such as Notturno: In Memoriam Tōru Takemitsu.
89
Example 75: measure 67 of guitar
In measure 95, Shrude utilizes the trichord to interrupt consonance. The guitar sounds a drone-like sonority created by a perfect fifth {D, A}. As the perfect fifth {F#, C#} is combined with the drone, the aural result is a D major-major seventh chord. This sonority is hindered by a trichord generating a moment of dissonance within the perfect fifth drone.
Example 76: measure 95 of guitar
The trichord appears in both voices following a moment of consonance within the harmonic perfect fifth sonority of the guitar drone {D, A} and melodic perfect fourths transposed in the saxophone {D, G, C}. As discussed in regards to the music of the previous
90 example, she fabricates atonality and dissonance through semitones invoked by the simultaneous performance of the trichords, {B, F, C} transposed in the saxophone and {C, F#, C#} in the guitar.
Example 77: measure 98 of saxophone and guitar
In measure 106, Shrude utilizes the trichord to reinforce the atonality. The saxophone leads the measure with a chromatic melody displaced by an octave while the guitar simultaneously sounds the trichord. She recapitulates the trichord in the guitar to conclude the measure. Additionally, the composer employs cross rhythms to create instability within the rhythmic pulse. The measure begins with a polyrhythm created by the juxtaposition of a triplet and a quintuplet. The rhythmic uncertainty is developed by yet another polyrhythm, combined with the trichord, in which a group of sixteenth-notes and a triplet are paired to complete the measure.
91
Example 78: measure 106 of saxophone and guitar
Other Set Classes
The [0167] Set Class
Shrude expands the Viennese trichord in order to achieve both melodic interest as well as variation. For instance, in measure 20, the cell of four notes at the beginning of the measure can be analyzed as the set class [0167]. Interestingly, this set class is constructed by two coinciding trichords, {F#, C, B} and {B, C, F}. This cell repeats in measure 23, shown in example
80.
Example 79: measure 20 of guitar
92
Example 80: measure 23 of guitar
The [0134] Set Class
Apart from the trichord that is omnipresent in the music of Shrude, she composes music that could be deconstructed so that portions of a line or harmony can be analyzed with set class theory. Coincidentally, Shrude writes the set class [0134] as a cohesive device within this piece and within other pieces of her opus such as Notturno: In Memoriam Tōru Takemitsu.
In Face of the Moon, Shrude employs this set class to develop melodic unity within this piece. In the music of example 81, the set class appears within a homorhythmic line. On the surface, two instances of the set class appear in the septuplet found in the music of the saxophone. The second instance is transposed, by a tritone, from the first appearance, thereby building a stronger sense of atonality.
Example 81: measure 22-23 of guitar and saxophone
93
The [01347] Set Class
In the music of example 76, the set class [01347] occurs within the saxophone and guitar music to create a sense of motivic elaboration and variation. Moreover, Shrude composes polyrhythm to build a sense of rhythmic ambiguity, one of her compositional traits. In measure
96, the [01347] set class, in the guitar, interrupts the consonant perfect fifth drone appearing at the beginning of the measure.
Frugality of Material
Canon
In measure 61, Shrude composes a quasi-canon. Each canonic statement consists of two, four note chromatic cells separated by a tritone, {E, F, F#, G} and {Bb, B, C, C#}. Moreover, by utilizing the offset entrances of the ten-note phrase, Shrude obscures the rhythmic nature of the line to form rhythmic ambiguity. example 82: measure 61 of ensemble
94 Recurring Chordal Structure
According to Shrude, she “avoids verbatim repetitions in her music;”87 instead, she applies repeated chordal structures in order to form harmonic integrity, clearly one of her compositional trait. The sonorities, from measures 73 through 77 in example 83, are elaborated in measures 78 through 82, shown in example 84. A chaconne-like progression is created through five repetitions of their chordal structures.
Example 83: measure 73-77 of guitar
Example 84: measures 78-82 of guitar
Prior to writing Face of the Moon, Shrude had little experience with the guitar and this piece was her first venture into composing for the instrument. Yet, Shrude’s compositional style is evident in this piece, seen in the music of the examples in this chapter. She creates atonality through tritones and trichords as well as cohesion utilizing repeated cells of notes along with reoccurring chordal structures. Additionally, she develops a small germinal motive that evolves into a complex piece of music.
87 Shrude, Interview.
95 CHAPTER 5
SPLINTERED VISIONS
Composed in 1985
Publisher: American Composers Alliance
Instrumentation: 2 Flutes, Clarinet, Alto Saxophone, Piano, Harp, Vibraphone, 2 Violins, Viola,
Cello and Bass
Duration: 9’20”
Genesis and Premiere
As with Transparent Eyes, the title, Splintered Visions, originated from the composer’s fondness for the combination of the words. Interestingly, the two pieces within the collection studied in this survey which utilize a combination of random words in the title both have a connection to vision. Furthermore, words related to the concept of vision have appeared as titles for other pieces in her catalog, too. Shrude explains that her affection for the notion of vision was initially accidental, however, more reflection revealed a preference for the idea of
“seeing through things. This concept encompasses the spiritual nature of certain objects in the world, separate from religion.”88
The genesis of this piece originates from the composer’s desire to elevate her craft and
“fill in her repertoire” of compositions for this type of ensemble.89 Additionally, this piece was composed to accomplish a self-appointed goal to write a work in which the climax occurs early
88 Shrude, Interview. 89 Ibid.
96 in the piece. Following the climax, the remainder of the piece erodes. This is contrary to the common practice of composing the climax two-thirds into a piece.90 According to Shrude, inspiration for the piece began with a painting by the artist Robert Motherwell, who typically paints in black and white, in which the image seems to become smaller as it moved to the right.
In Splintered Visions, she attempted to abstract this concept into a musical piece by creating a quick climax followed by a lengthy dénouement.91
This composition is unique in this survey as it is scored for twelve instruments while the other pieces employ a small chamber ensemble ranging from two to four performers. The premiere of this piece occurred during the 6th Annual New Music Festival at Bowling Green
State University on November 9, 1985. The ensemble included Judith Bentley and Kerry
Howlett, flute; Burton Beerman, clarinet; John Sampen, alto saxophone; Gordon Rumson, piano; David Schmalenberger, vibraphone; Ruth Inglefield, harp; Paul Makara and Cheryl
Edwards, violin; Richard Webb, viola; Alan Smith, cello; Victor Ellsworth, bass; and Blake Walter, conductor. Following the performance, a review of the work, written by Robert Hall Lewis, was published in the Perspectives on New Music. In this review, Lewis commented on the compositional aspect used to construct the piece. He praised the “transparent harmony, delicate timbres and well-defined rhythms.”92
Instrumentation
Within this piece, Shrude chooses her instrumentation to reflect her philosophy regarding the consideration of timbre and sonic spectrum. The piece is scored for twelve
90 Shrude, Interview. 91 Ibid. 92 Robert Hall Lewis, “New Music Festival 1985: Bowling Green State University,” Perspectives on New Music, (Fall- Winter 1985), 441.
97 instruments excluding brass. Example 111, below, depicts the string section in which the viola is scored in the treble clef throughout the piece, barring a small section of five notes. According to
Shrude, “typically, the violist reads in the alto clef, however, due to the register necessary for the music, it was better represented in the treble clef.”93 She expressed the “desire to revise the score, utilizing the alto clef, to follow the traditional practices of the instrument.”94
Shrude composed this piece for two flutists. The presence of a second flute is a substitution for the oboe commonly found in the woodwind section. Shrude sought to exploit a specific timbre which matched the other instruments in this ensemble. For this music, Shrude believed the oboe timbre was “too thin and strident.”95 Simple logistics served as a contributing factor to this decision, too. As Shrude recalled, “the performers available for the premiere were flutists. As the flute studio at Bowling Green State University is accomplished, the number of experienced flutists is abundant and therefore, she felt comfortable adding a second flute.”96
In Shrude’s opinion, “the addition of unpitched percussion would be bombastic and distracting for the intimate mood of the piece. For this reason, she uses the vibraphone as the only percussion instrument.”97 Furthermore, she indicates many notations regarding mallet options.
The inclusion of the saxophone in this ensemble was meant, according to Shrude, to contribute to the sound of the lower register of the woodwind section. In this piece, because
93 Shrude, Interview. 94 Ibid. 95 Ibid. 96 Ibid. 97 Ibid.
98 the clarinet is generally composed in the upper tessitura, Shrude felt “the saxophone is needed to complete the lower section of the sonic spectrum.”98
Intervallic Manipulation
Seconds
In measure 130 of the piano music, Shrude writes a cell of six pitches that gradually get faster. The cell is comprised of pitches forming an F augmented triad, in the right hand, and an
Eb minor triad, in the left hand, presented in the following example. More importantly, these triads, when juxtaposed, build a Bb harmonic minor scale, hinting at a sense of tonality. By employing the technique of constructing a scale from adjacent triads, Shrude devises a sense of the key of Bb minor to contrast her general penchant for atonality.
Example 85: measure 130 of piano
Thirds
Splintered Visions utilizes specific intervals to build melodic cohesion. The composition begins with a homorhythmic sixteenth-note figure in the winds. The example below emphasizes the use of the interval of a third, both major and minor, in this homorhythmic line. In the music
98 Shrude, Interview.
99 at the beginning of the phrase, the major and minor thirds are utilized within the sixteenth- note figures and as the rhythmic figures shift to groups with smaller subdivisions, a connection appears between the ending and beginning of each group. As Shrude states, “the motion in intervals of a third is common to contemporary music as it departs from the motion of fourth intervals predominant in the music of the common practice era.”99
Example 86: measures 1-4 of winds100
Shrude’s style is one of musical economy. In the music found in example 87, she creates a melodic representation of a vertical sonority in one instrument while simultaneously sounding the pitches as two vertical sonorities in a different instrument. The following example shows the vibraphone performing a melodic representation of a G augmented-major seventh chord, created by pairing thirds, while the notes are sounded together in the harp. This chord emerges later in the piece as a sustained sonority, transposed, and is depicted in example 88.
99 Shrude, Interview. 100 The examples in this chapter are in concert pitch.
100 Example 87: measure 18 of harp and percussion
Example 88: measure 89 of winds
It may be interesting to observe this same sonority in other standard selections of the saxophone literature. It can be found in the music of Paule Maurice. In her composition,
Tableaux de Provence, the chord appears at the conclusion of the fourth movement emphasizing the end of a phrase. The sonority reappears in the fifth movement of the piece, planed in descending half steps in the cadenza.
101 Example 89: measures 67-68 of Paule Maurice’s Tableaux de Provence, movement IV
Example 90: measures 150-155 of Tableaux de Provence, movement V
In Splintered Visions, in measures 81 through 83, the piano performs the thirds in harmonic dyads and triads while the flutes, clarinet and saxophone perform the thirds as a melodic line, illustrated in example 91. The progression of thirds creates a melodic minor scale beginning with the pitch class, G. Shrude disrupts the tonality established by the G melodic minor scale by closing the phrase with the pitch B-natural. Additionally, this technique resembles an attempt by the winds to melodically mimic chords, like a piano, by rapidly performing the pitches in succession thus propelling the music forward.
102 Example 91: measures 81-83 of winds and piano
Like the aforementioned connection to the Maurice, the music in this passage seems to have a incidental connection with another piece from the standard repertoire. The sonority in the above example can also be found in the Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Wind Ensemble by
Ingolf Dahl. In the music depicted in the example below, Dahl utilizes the intervals of a third found in the G melodic minor scale to construct the opening saxophone melody. In the measure following the saxophone melody, Dahl sounds the sonority in a harmonic fashion in the wind ensemble. The same pitch classes of Dahl’s melody coincidentally appears in Splintered Visions in the above example.
103 Example 92: measures 8-9 of Ingolf Dahl’s Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Wind Ensemble movement 1
Dahl CONCERTO FOR ALTO SAXOPHONE AND WIND ENSEMBLE Copyright © 1977 by Schott Music Corporation Copyright © renewed All Rights Reserved Used by permission of European American Music Distributors Company, sole U.S. and Canadian agent for Schott Music Corporation
Sevenths
The intervallic connections in Shrude’s music are not limited to intervals of a third. As shown in previous pieces of this survey, Shrude often constructs music from the interval of a seventh and it is present in the piano and percussion in measure 13 of this piece, too. The inclusion of the major seventh interval in the music guides the listener to the next section of the music. The tonal instability of the interval establishes a sense of atonality. Another aspect of musical instability is present in this example, too. The rhythmic ambiguity created by writing cross rhythms, a septuplet in the piano juxtaposed with four sixteenth-notes in the percussion, increases the overall instability of the phrase of music and regularity of rhythmic pulse.
104 Example 93: measure 13 of piano and percussion
Melodic major seventh intervals are ubiquitous in the first flute in measures 108-110.
Shrude repeats the interval throughout the three measures. In this example, the major seventh intervals appear both ascending and descending and are transposed. The pitch classes {A, G#} and {B, C} begin the flow of sevenths and are followed by the pitch classes {Eb, E} repeated three times, punctuating the end of the phrase.
Example 94: measures 108-110 of first flute
Shrude composes, as an extension of her penchant for dissonance, the interval of a seventh in a vertical sonority. In the following example, the seventh intervals can be seen as a vertical sonority in the violin parts. The first violin utilizes the minor seventh while the second violin performs a major seventh. The combination of these pitches forms a set of notes separated by a tritone followed by perfect fourths {F, B, E, A}. Within the sonority of these
105 dissonant intervals, a moment of consonance emerges. This technique is similar to the technique employed in example 3 as Shrude harmonizes a vertical sonority with a melodic representation of the pitch classes.
Example 95: measures 46-47 of violins
In example 96, a major seventh interval is created by the first and last note of a septuplet rhythmic figure. More importantly to observe, however, are the notes of the figure – the first six notes originate from measure 1, illustrated in example 86. Shrude uses the pitch class F as an interruption to the repetition of the melody.
106 Example 96: measure 17 of first flute
Major-Major Seventh Chord
In Splintered Visions, Shrude’s use of the interval of a seventh is extended to include the major-major seventh chord. The ensuing example shows the major-major seventh chord as it is represented in the clarinet solo at measure 90. In this example, Shrude firmly establishes the tonal center by writing a D major-major seventh chord. Following the chord, the sustained note,
D5, solidifying the tonality. She continues to center the tonality on D with another presentation of the D major seventh chord. Yet, in order to disrupt the tonal center, Shrude concludes the clarinet solo with the pitch D#. In addition, a motivic line is created with the progression of the melody from D to D# allowing the music to freely flow forward. More importantly, Shrude returns to the note D#5, which concluded the opening section in the winds, shown in example
86. The repetition of the pitch class D#, from the previous section of the music, illustrates the melodic cohesion often relied upon by Shrude in her composition.
Example 97: measure 90 of clarinet
107 The major-major seventh chords are developed in the clarinet and saxophone in measure 93 as they perform a rubato-like melody set in polyrhythms. As in the clarinet solo in measure 90, example 97, the chord appears both at the beginning and the end of the passage.
In example 98, Shrude employs the B major-major seventh, a transposition of D from measure
90. This chord is followed by the sustained pitch class B, as in measure 90, further solidifying the tonality of B major. The duet concludes with major-major seventh chords followed by two sustained notes. An E4 is included in the major-major seventh chord in the saxophone reminiscent of the previous figure. The clarinet continues the tonality of B while the tonality of the saxophone line is unexpectedly changed to B#, creating a stark dissonance. More significantly, Shrude recalls the progression from D to D# in the clarinet solo in measure 90.
Example 98: measure 93 of clarinet and saxophone
Major-major seventh chords appear in the vibraphone at the conclusion of the composition. Example 106 depicts two iterations of the chord. A vertical sonority is created by a melodic representation of the major-major chord through the use of the pedal of the vibraphone.
108 Example 99: measures 157-160 of percussion
Shrude writes parallel major sevenths between the clarinet and saxophone at measures
104-105; importantly, the music in this example highlights a simultaneous appearance of harmonic seventh intervals while concurrently outlining two melodic major-major seventh chords. The notes, occurring on the strong beats of the measure, are separated by a harmonic major seventh interval.
Example 100: measures 104-105 of clarinet and saxophone
Tritones
Melodic Tritones
Shrude uses tritones to underscore her penchant for atonality. The music found in example 101 is similar to that of example 86 which demonstrated the use of melodically ascending and descending major and minor thirds in the winds. In the earlier example, the groups of notes were connected by the interval of a third appearing on strong beats of the
109 phrase. In the following example, the first note of each group at the beginning of the phrase is connected by tritone intervals. The phrase concludes with a leap of a tritone between the last sixteenth-note and the sustained pitch, on beat one in measure 13.
Example 101: measure 10-13 of winds
In measure 38, the interval built by the melodic movement from the anacrusis chord to the sustained-note chord on beat 1 of measure 39 is a tritone. In addition, the sonority constructed by the second flute and clarinet is a vertical representation of the tritone. The following example demonstrates how Shrude employs melodic and harmonic tritones simultaneously. In this example, the sonority formed at the beginning of measure 39 contains the pitches {D, F#, A, Eb}. These pitches previously occurred in the clarinet solo in measure 90, seen in example 99, thereby creating a harmonic representation of the melody.
110 Example 102: measures 38-39 of winds
In example 103, a succession of melodic tritone intervals appear throughout the harp, flutes and clarinet music. In the music of this example, the melody in the harp, which is repeated four times, consists of a pair of descending tritones related by a major seventh and along with the gesture in the piano, forms a quasi-ostinato. The first flute, in measure 139, states the melody with an ascending pair of tritone intervals which is quickly echoed in the second flute and clarinet.
111 Example 103: measures 137-141 of harp, piano and winds
Example 104 shows how Shrude constructs a melody from successive tritone intervals.
More importantly, the specific melodic line portrayed in this example consists of five pairs of tritones representing ten different pitch classes. Missing are the pitch classes {Eb, A}, purposefully omitted to avoid the expectation of completing the chromatic scale.
Example 104: measure 146 of piano
112 Harmonic Tritones
Consistent with many of the pieces in this survey, Shrude’s use of tritones is not limited to melodic contexts. Harmonic tritones are present in the music represented in the next example. For instance, the right hand of the piano sounds an A minor triad in second inversion while the left hand of the piano sounds a D# minor triad in first inversion. The roots of these two triads are displaced by a tritone creating a cluster chord.
Example 105: measures 31-32 of winds and piano
Interestingly, this same polychord exists in Alfrèd Desenclos’s Prelude, Cadence et Finale occurring in the first measure of the finale, at which point the piano bombastically sounds this sonority. Shrude voices the polychord differently than Desenclos, however, by separating the minor triads in close position between the hands of the piano. Yet, the same six pitches are
113 present. In an email conversation with the author, the composer states the creation of this polychord was unintentional, although she claims her affinity for French music may contribute to her use of this sonority.101 The following example depicts Desenclos’ voicing of the polychord in his music, accentuating the tritones and example 107 demonstrated an enharmonic version of this voicing.
Example 106: first measure of finale of Prelude, Cadence et Finale
Prelude, Cadence et Finale Alfred Desenclos Copyright 1956 by Alphonse Leduc
101 Shrude, Email conversion, Feb 21, 2016.
114 Example 107: chord separated with enharmonics
Moreover, Jacques Ibert scored this same polychord in his Concertino da Camera. The following example presents Ibert’s use of this polychord at measure 158 of the first movement.
In Ibert’s voicing of the polychord, the pitch Bb is missing, however, the pitch appears at the conclusion of the measure to fulfill the sonority albeit, briefly. This section from the Concertino de Camera is shown in example 108.
115 Example 108: measure 158 of Concertino da Camera first movement
Concertino Da Camera By Jacques Ibert Copyright 1935 by Alphonse Leduc
Harmonic tritone intervals emerge in the music of the next example in the clarinet and saxophone from measure 46. The tritones appear in the first six notes in a vertical alignment.
The example contains cross rhythms between the two voices on beat three and four generating a sense of rhythmic ambiguity to end the phrase.
Example 109: measure 46 of clarinet and saxophone
116 In measures 60 through 62, the harp and piano perform a unison phrase containing several harmonic tritones. In measure 62, the two pairs of tritones are separated by a half-step
{C, F#} and {B, F} creating a heightened sense of harmonic dissonance.
Example 110: measures 60-62 of piano and harp
A series of tritones is demonstrated in the next example. The section begins with two tritones formed by the violins, viola and cello. The chord is sounded simultaneously with the final sonority of example 110 which is constructed from the same pitches. This instance exhibits how Shrude uses this music as a pivot point to continue a music phrase. The remainder of the example shows how Shrude continues tritone intervals throughout the section. On numerous occasions in this example, the melodic lines of two instruments are merged to form a tritone.
117 Example 111: measures 62-64 of strings
Cadential Tritones
Shrude writes the harmonic tritones as a cadential sonority. The music in the following example represents the merging of melodies between the clarinet and saxophone in a rubato- like passage so that the two instruments converge to form harmonic tritones and serve as a cadence to a larger phrase.
118 Example 112: measure 58 of clarinet and saxophone
Viennese Trichord
Melodic Trichords
As in her other works discussed in this survey, Shrude composes the trichord throughout this composition. Within measures 8 though 10 of the piano solo, Shrude’s use of the trichord can be seen on multiple occasions. As expected, Shrude manipulates the trichord through transposition and inversion, thereby destabilizing a sense of key center. Yet, Shrude creates an overall sense of tonal stability by utilizing the pitch class Bb within each of set class.
119 Example 113: measures 8-10 of piano
The music in example 114 presents the trichord throughout multiple instruments. The trichord can be seen in the sustained notes of the principal flute and concurrently in the harp.
In this section of music, a different trichord briefly appears in the clarinet and saxophone than in the flutes and harp. Additionally, the sonority {A, Bb, Eb, Gb} is constructed rhythmically through half notes displaced by eighth notes in the winds. In measure 72, the sonority in the strings is also constructed from the pitches of the melodic line appearing in the piano. She continues writing the sonority, re-orchestrated, in the strings and follows with a harmonic representation of the melody in the piano in measure 75.
120 Example 114: measure 72 of winds, piano and harp
121 Shrude employs sections of unmetered, aleatoric music as a device to foster rhythmic freedom. The trichord appears on numerous occasions throughout the aleatoric section in the principal flute at measure 111. The phrase prior to the breath mark, begins and ends with a trichord. In the second phrase, the trichords continue with two more instances before the aleatoric section concludes. In this section, Shrude heightens the sense of atonality by writing melodic lines composed of trichords and coupled with the rhythmic ambiguity of aleatoric music, she imbues her music with forward momentum while seeking rhythmic and harmonic resolution.
Example 115: measure 111 of first flute
Harmonic Trichords
In Splintered Visions, Shrude composes music by employing the trichord in both harmonic and melodic contexts. Example 116 displays her harmonic portrayal of the trichord. In these representations, Shrude utilizes the following “roots:” Bb, D and F to form each trichord.
Clearly, these “roots” form a major triad, hinting at a consonant underpinning to the dissonant
[016] set class. Shrude writes harmonic trichords at important structural spots in the phrase, highlighting long notes or sonorities and strong beats, thereby providing formal organization to her music.
122 Example 116: measures 99-101 of winds
In the music of example 105, Shrude presents two trichords within the second flute, clarinet and saxophone. Following this point in the phrase, Shrude juxtaposes the trichords with the A minor/Eb minor polychord in measure 32. The two dissonant sonorities sounding simultaneously contribute to a chaotic combination of chordal punctuations, completing a short phrase and larger section of music.
Shrude uses instrumentation and texture to highlight the tonal fabric in measures 128-
129. She evokes an ethereal quality by writing pianissimo harmonics in the cello and double bass while establishing atonality within the phrase constructed from notes of the [0167] set class. This exemplifies Shrude’s use of timbre to elicit a different sound quality with the trichord. Furthermore, the music in example 117 once again employs the pyramid technique, as has already be seen in example 114, to build the vertical sonority.
123 Example 117: measure 128 of strings
Pyramid technique similar to this can also be found in the saxophone music of Jindřich
Feld. In Feld’s Quatuor de Saxophones, the technique appears in repetition in the opening of the first movement. The subsequent example shows this section of the music.
124 Example 118: measures 1-4 of Quatuor de Saxophones movement 1
Quatuor de Saxophones By Jindřich Feld Copyright 1984 by Alphonse Leduc
Merging of Melodic and Harmonic Trichords
The trichord is shown in many different guises in the music of the subsequent example.
The first instance, in measure 76, involves the principal flute, clarinet and piano stating a melody created from a unison presentation of the trichord. In measure 78, Shrude pairs a melodic trichord with harmonic trichord in the second flute, clarinet and saxophone. The phrase ends with another harmonic representation of the trichord in the second flute, clarinet and saxophone. By utilizing this trichord and merging them, both melodically and harmonically, the harmonic motion is unstable yet progressing forward.
125 More importantly, the pitches of the ostinato in the piano are used to form the sonority in the strings, a technique common to the music of Shrude. By applying the technique of merging melodic and harmonic trichords, she builds unity within the piece.
Example 119: measures 76-79 of winds and piano
126 Other Set Classes
The [01245] Set Class
Within this piece, Shrude composes music which can be analyzed using set class theory.
One such example is the [01245] set class and it appears in the pitches of the music represented in the following example. Also visible and audible in this example, the composer uses polyrhythms to create ambiguity in her music. More notably, on beat three and four of measure 96, the two voices converge, creating harmonic instability with the major seventh. The homorhythmic statement ends on the first beat of measure 97 with the consonant interval of a perfect fifth allowing the forward motion to briefly subside.
Example 120: measures 96-97 of piano
The [01268] Set Class
Shrude writes music easily analyzed with the [01268] set class in many of her works. In measure 37 of this piece, the set class appears in the sonority of the strings while creating cohesion within the piece. This set class can also be seen and heard in other pieces of her catalog as it appears in her work, Notturno: In Memorium Tōru Takemitsu. The chordal
127 sonorities sounding in the strings provides harmonic support for the fast and technical passage work in winds in measures 147 through 150.
Example 121: measure 37 of strings
The [01278] Set Class
A common set class occurring in this piece is [01278]. Shrude uses the set class to provide harmonic accompaniment to the opening phrase of music as shown in the following example. The pitches of the first sonority in the strings are {F, F#, G, C, C#} followed by the second sonority with the pitches {D, Eb, E, A, Bb}.
128 Example 122: measures 147-150 of winds and strings
The music in the following example depicts the set class as the final sonority of the piece. Additionally, this set class appears in earlier sections of the piece as in example 122. By punctuating the end of the piece with this sonority, Shrude prevents the piece from a resolution, leaving the listener unsettled.
129 Example 123: measure 159 of strings
A compositional technique Shrude relies upon in Splintered Visions is the pyramid approach to creating texture. In the pyramid method, as has already been discussed pertaining to music in example 117 and 118, is a vertical sonority built with staggered entrances by voices within the ensemble. The following example further displays how she uses this technique in the strings and winds. Each voice enters the chord at a different moment in the measure. After each entrance, the pitches are sustained to form a complete sonority. More importantly,
Shrude utilizes a technique similar to previous music, shown in example 105. In the earlier example, Shrude uses a melodic phrase to create melodies in other instruments. Shrude disperses each pitch of an eighth-note melodic phrase, seen in the piano, into the other voices of the ensemble. This technique is denoted by editorial lines in example 124 connecting the notes of the piano melody to the pitches in the other instruments of the ensemble. By
130 employing this technique, Shrude creates a sense of melodic and harmonic cohesion between the various voices in the texture. Additionally, the melody found in the piano and vibraphone constitutes all twelve pitches of the chromatic scale. By unabashedly utilizing this scale, Shrude cuts all ties with traditional tonality.
In the following example, with the harp pitch on beat 2 of measure 125, the technique ceases in this section. Shrude commented on this departure saying “I wanted an F# because of the tuning issues that come up. Sometimes you have to compensate because of pedal changes down the road. I believe I went with the F# because it reinforces the F# in the cello.”102
102 Marilyn Shrude, Email Conversation, February 25, 2016.
131 Example 124: measures 125-126 of ensemble
132 The pyramid technique is once again utilized in the harp and strings, in measure 146. By applying the staggered entrances of the pyramid technique in the strings, Shrude duplicates the melodic line, in a harmonic fashion, of the harp. This example illustrates this common technique found in the music of Shrude as well as her pairing of a melodic phrase with a harmonic sonority consisting of the same pitches.
example 125: measure 146 of harp and strings
133 Shrude uses the pyramid technique to build a sonority in the winds from the melody presented in the piano. The method connects this phrase with a previous phrase, shown in example 105, forming unity within the piece. Tangentially, the pitches in the piano represent the [01278] set class.
Example 126: measures 43-44 of piano and winds
Frugality of Material
Economy of Material
In viewing the music from an earlier example, 122, one can see how Shrude recycles the opening melodic phrase stated in the winds, from measure 1 of example 86. Yet, the music of example 122 also illustrates how Shrude varies the phrase. Here, the phrase in the winds is
134 paired with harmonic accompaniment in the strings creating unity while establishing a different texture.
Shrude recapitulates the material from measure 72 into a phrase found in measure 120 illustrated in the music of the following example. The music from measure 72, depicted in example 105, and the music from measure 120, demonstrated in example 127 are identical; obviously, highlighted compositional techniques of the music found in example 105, apply to the music of example 127. These examples portray Shrude’s economy of material creating a sense of cohesion through recapitulation.
135 Example 127: measure 120 of winds, piano, harp and percussion
Building Sonorities from Melodic Phrases
In an interview with Shrude, she discussed the idea of building sonority from a melodic phrase as a means to represent, both melodically and harmonically, a cell of pitches as a technique of atonality.103 For instance, in measure 14, the sonority in the strings and the melody presented in the piano are constructed from the same notes without transposition.
103 Shrude, Interview.
136 Example 128: measure 14 of piano and strings
This type of technique, building sonorities from melodic phrases, also occurs in measure
30 in the music of the winds and vibraphone. The pitches of the melody in the vibraphone are rewritten to form the sonority in the winds. Shrude relates this section of music to another portion of the piece, shown in example 129, through composing music using the pyramid technique in the winds and by doing so, she bridges larger sections of the music to generate consistency of formal structures in her work.
137 Example 129: measure 30 of winds and percussion
In the music of measure 72, Shrude continues the technique of building vertical sonorities from melodic lines. Shown in example 114, the eighth-note melody presented in the piano is the foundation for the melodies in the other instruments. The set class includes the pitch classes {C, D, Eb, E, Gb, A, Bb} and constitutes the pitches from the first measure of the piano melody. These pitches are rearranged to form the notes found in the second measure of the piano melody.
The rhythm of this phrase displays an important aspect of Shrude’s thoughts regarding harmonic cohesion in her music. Shrude uses the pyramid technique in this section; specifically, she builds a harmonic sonority from a melodic phrase, clearly a common compositional technique of her style. Meanwhile, the winds create a harmonic representation of the melody of the piano by sustaining sequential pitch classes of the piano melody. As a compositional
138 connection to an additional piece from her opus, this technique, building harmonic sonorities from a melodic phrase, appears in Transparent Eyes.
Canons
Shrude states in an email conversation with the author:
…strict canons in the style of Renaissance music are avoided. My music has a lot of imitation which is better described as heterophony—‘simultaneous variation of a single melodic line.’ The melodic and rhythmic rigidity of strict canons is why I tend to avoid the overt use of the procedure.104
Likewise, canon is a tool used sparingly in the midst of this piece; yet, in measures 106-108, a quasi-canon appears between the cello and double bass. This canon is not exact as the rhythms have been slightly altered in the imitation: the follower voice concludes the melody with a triplet instead of eighth-notes and therefore Shrude’s term ‘heterophony’ seems an appropriate description. Each pitch is represented in order illustrated in the following example.
Example 130: measures 106-108 of cello and bass
Another use of the canonic technique appears in measures 136 through 141 in the strings. In the following example, the leader voice of the canon occurs in the principal violin, beginning with the note F#4 and ending on the note E4, and is repeated six times. A seventh iteration of the canonic melody begins but is interrupted after three pitches. The follower voice
104 Shrude, Email Conversation, May 1, 2016.
139 appears in the viola beginning in measure 138; however, the rhythm of the canon is augmented. To make a complete follower voice of the canon, Shrude combines the notes found in the second violin and cello. Once again, Shrude’s label of heterophony seems to fit this passage as well.
Example 131: measures 136-141 of strings
Ostinatos
In example 119, an ostinato appears in the piano. The first occurrence of this ostinato begins in the piano portrayed in the music of example 114 and in example 119, Shrude
140 uses the ostinato in the same fashion. Specifically, the phrase of music in example 119 is an augmentation of the phrase in example 114. The notes of the wind section were extracted from the pitches of the piano melody found in example 119. The statement of the ostinato in measures 76 and 77 of example 119 is followed by an iteration in measures 78 and 79. This statement of the ostinato is incomplete as it does not include the final four pitches. Despite this lack of completion, this example highlights how Shrude unifies this section of the music through composing an ostinato.
The sonority, in the strings in measures 76 and 77, is built from the pitches of the ostinato in the piano. This technique was employed previously in example 114 showing
Shrude’s predilection to generate structural integrity, both melodic and harmonic, within her music.
As a contrast to the canon-like statements of the previous examples, Shrude constructs an ostinato as a means to create formal cohesion within sections of the piece. An ostinato figure appears in the piano music beginning in measure 141. This ostinato is masked through octave displacement of specific notes. The following two examples depict this phrase: first, as it appears in the music; and second, compressed within one octave. This ostinato relates to the canonic melody from the previous example as the notes of the ostinato is transposed one semitone higher
141 Example 132: measures 141-145 of piano
Example 133: ostinato in measures 141-145 rewritten and condensed into a one octave range
In the closing section of the piece, Shrude uses an ostinato figure in the piano to establish a rallentando. She presents the motive four times before augmenting the rhythms, causing a relaxation of tempo. By slowing both the melodic motion and surface rhythm without changing the tempo, the phrase implies a sense of conclusion to the piece.
142 Example 134: measures 149-159 of piano
Recurring Chordal Structures
An important method of harmonic cohesion found in this work is Shrude’s reliance upon reoccurring chordal structures. In measure 49, Shrude employs a sonority in the harp to conclude a phrase of the aleatoric music. The short, punctuated chord in the harp is coupled with a sustained sonority in the strings initiating a new section of music. The following example shows this phrase.
143 Example 135: measures 49-50 of harp and strings
The sonority is recapitulated in measure 103 of the harp music. In this instance, the sonority separates two phrases from the winds. As in the previous example, the sonority is combined with a sustained chord formed in the winds illustrated in example 136.
144 Example 136: measure 103 of harp, second flute, clarinet and saxophone
Chromaticism
Shrude employs chromatic phrases to obfuscate the tonal direction of the piece and at times, Shrude uses octave displacement deliberately to disguise these chromatic passages. The technique of writing chromatic lines unfolds in measures 6 and 7 in the harp and involves the notes F#, G and Ab; yet, through octave displacement, the technique is obscured. Example 137 shows this passage. LIkewise, Shrude also obscures chromatics passages through octave displacement in her work, Renewing the Myth, in measure 72.105
105 Nestler, “Analytical Considerations,” 64.
145 Example 137: measures 6-7 of harp
Chromaticism continues in the ensemble at measure 58. In this aleatoric section, the chromatic line is shared by the initial notes of the phrases found in the vibraphone, clarinet with the harp and saxophone. Together, these notes create a hidden descending chromatic passage: the vibraphone begins with the pitch C, followed by the clarinet and harp pitch B and concluded with the saxophone pitch Bb. The following example presents this passage.
Example 138: measure 58 of percussion, harp, clarinet and saxophone
Shrude writes chromatic motives, or germs, spanning a small range as shown in the following example. This technique appears in the winds beginning at measure 63. With each chromatic passage, she enlarges the range. The chromatic melodies begin in the clarinet
146 spanning a minor third. The series in the saxophone further enlarges the range to a tritone. The array of notes in the principal flute expands the range to encompass a perfect fourth while the notes in the second flute, the largest range, extends the range to a perfect fifth. The expansion of the chromatic concept gives the listener a sense of ascending melodic motion while the section remains harmonically unstable. The following example demonstrates this section of the music.
Example 139: measure 63-67 of winds
Shrude employs various compositional techniques within this piece to create melodic, harmonic and formal cohesion as well as atonality. In order to create unity, she utilizes
147 intervallic manipulation, repeated cells of pitch classes and melodic, harmonic and cadential recapitulation of phrases. She builds atonality through the use of tritones and the Viennese trichord. Furthermore, she unintentionally borrows music from compositions of the saxophone repertoire such as Dahl, Ibert and Desenclos, a technique also employed in her work, Renewing the Myth.106
106 Nestler, “Analytical Considerations,” 59
148 CHAPTER 6
WITHIN SILENCE
Composed in 2012
Publisher: American Composers Alliance
Instrumentation: Violin, Alto Saxophone and Piano
Dedicatee: In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of John Cage
Commissioned by John Sampen
Available Recording: No commercial recordings are available at this time
Duration: ca.14’
Background
Genesis and Premiere
As the title of this piece implies, Within Silence is an homage to its dedicatee, John Cage.
In an interview with the author, Shrude expressed a desire to include the word “silence” in the title to honor Cage as this concept is an important facet of his music.107 In 1985, Sampen and
Shrude collaborated with Cage during the annual New Music Festival held at Bowling Green
State University. Following the festival, Sampen contacted Cage to commission a work for saxophone which yielded the work Four5 for saxophone ensemble. Due to their relationship with Cage, stemming from the festival and commission, Shrude and Sampen presented a lecture highlighting the music of John Cage at the World Saxophone Congress in St. Andrews,
107 Shrude, Interview.
149 Scotland in 2012. At a different time during the Congress, this composition was premiered by
Maria Sampen, violin, John Sampen, saxophone, and Shrude, piano.
Notation and Performance Techniques
The score of this piece has yet to be digitized and exists only in Shrude’s manuscript.
Shrude intends to make revisions to the work and will create the final score after those changes have been solidified.
Special notation employed by Shrude in this work includes multiphonic fingerings, aleatoric notation, sub-tone timbres and flutter tonguing. The multiphonic fingerings were generated from the advice of Sampen. A sub-tone timbre is scored for the saxophone while the technique of flutter tonguing is written in other phrases of the piece. These two timbral techniques are used in order to elicit new timbres and can be considered an integral part of her compositional style. Throughout this piece, Shrude uses aleatoric notation in order to create rhythmic ambiguity and does this during sections devoid of pulse, carefully guiding the performers to start a new phrase.
150 Example 140: measure 40 showing aleatoric notation108
This piece contains various types of performance techniques, including alternating methods of striking the strings on the piano as well as quarter-tone fingerings for the saxophone and the violin. Additionally, Shrude uses wavy beams in eighth-note notation to signify a rubato-like technique. The piece requires the saxophonist to execute timbre trills, a technique that is accomplished by adding specified keys to alter the timbre of the note without changing the note itself. To assist the performer, Shrude provides precise fingerings for the saxophonist.
Motivic Development
Like the special tuning requirements of the guitar in Face of the Moon, Shrude requires the violinist to alter the traditional tuning of the open strings in Within Silence. The violinist is asked to retune the second string from D to C, as shown in example 141, establishing a unique
108 The examples in this chapter are transposed.
151 character to this piece. The special tuning of the strings is G, C, A and E, which when reorganized, spells C-A-G-E. Shrude utilized this cell of notes to form the opening motive of the piece. In order for the score to represent these changes, Shrude included systems for both scored pitches along with sounding pitches for the violin. Following a consultation with her daughter, the violinist who performed the premiere, Shrude decided to include a notational system which displayed the sounding pitches below the scored pitches. Performers usually prefer reading the part as it is conventionally written rather than at sounding pitch.109 example 141: retuning of violin
This four-note CAGE motive appears in measure 4, seen in example 142. This example shows the descending melodic representation of the opening motive in the violin which is immediately succeeded by a harmonic representation in the piano. The note sounded by the saxophone heightens the sonority with an Ab one quarter step flat. This note creates harmonic tension with the violin pitch class G. Another level of discrepancy of intonation arises as the piano enters later with the pitch class G#. These five pitches constitute the only five pitch classes found in the first 18 measures of the piece, thereby creating both melodic and harmonic cohesion within this composition.
109 Shrude, Interview.
152 Example 142: measure 4 of ensemble
The following example shows multiple restatements of the opening motive. In this example, two occurrences of the motive exist, one in the saxophone and one in the violin. The transposed Ab/G#, appearing in the previous example, becomes a part of the melodic representation of the CAGE motive. Additionally, the violin increases the tension of this section by progressing to the pitch G#, creating dissonance with the sustained pitch class, G, of the saxophone. This tonal tension allows the piece to progress forward in search of an inevitable harmonic resolution.
153 Example 143: measure 13 of violin and saxophone
In measure 19, Shrude introduces additional pitches to the CAGE motive. In the following example, the pitch class F#, along with previous G#, is added to the opening motive.
The addition of these pitches to the motive develops the melody creating an organic, expressive quality to the music, one of Shrude’s compositional characteristics. More significantly, the consonant perfect fourth sonority appearing at the end of the example resolves the harmonic tension forged in the previous example.
Example 144: measure 19 of violin
In order to establish a sense of melodic cohesion to the piece, Shrude recapitulates the
CAGE motive in the violin in measure 31. This clearly exemplifies the method by which the composer has removed the additional notes from the motive returning to a pure statement of the original motive. Yet, the composer transforms the motive in this representation through an altered rhythm.
154 Example 145: measure 31 of violin
In the music of the following example, Shrude continues to develop the opening motive.
In this presentation, the motive is augmented by the addition of the pitch classes Bb, F# and G#, notes which construct half step relationships with those in the CAGE motive.
Example 146: measure 40 of violin
To produce a chord constructed from the sound of the open strings, Shrude writes a rapid melodic series of notes. By performing accelerated repetitions of the open strings, Shrude mimics a sense of a vertical sonority. The music in the examples below exhibits how Shrude employs a melodic version of the motive in order to sculpt the aural illusion of a vertical sonority. The subsequent examples depict two instances of this technique.
Example 147: measure 75 of violin
155 Example 148: measure 94 of violin
In the following example, Shrude introduces a multiphonic sonority to the opening motive to construct a new texture. The composer suggests a fingering in order to accurately create the sound she is seeking. Significantly, the multiphonic contains two pitch classes from the CAGE motive. This technique establishes the method by which Shrude composes extended techniques with the goal of generating a new timbre while simultaneously developing the motive.
Example 149: measure 108 of saxophone
The next example highlights the retrograde version of the motive. The saxophone presents the CAGE motive in a similar fashion to the music in previous examples. This version of the motive is followed by its retrograde in the violin. The sustained pitch of the violin, G#, creates a dissonance with the sustained pitch, G, of the saxophone further destabilizing the already established tonal center of G.
156 Example 150: measure 22 of violin and saxophone
Utilizing a technique illustrated in previous examples, Shrude introduces an additional note to the CAGE motive. The music of the following example exhibits the composer’s melodic development within the opening motive of the piece. The pitch, Db3, precedes the original motive. This note forms a tritone between the first note of the CAGE motive, G3, underscoring the atonality within the opening motive while establishing cohesion, and like the music in the previous examples the added G# appears at the conclusion.
Example 151: measure 27 of piano
157 Shrude’s use of melodic integrity appears in the subsequent example, example 152. The
CAGE motive, with the additional G#, appears in the violin and followed by a series of melodic major seventh intervals. A variation of this phrase appears in the music illustrated in example
153; however, this version differs as these intervals are meant to be performed quickly. This pair of examples demonstrates a sense of melodic unity and motivic development.
Example 152: measure 43 of violin
Example 153: measure 47 of violin
Tritones
As in the other works in this survey, Shrude composes phrases relying upon the tritone in order to foster a sense of harmonic imbalance. The saxophone performs the note G3 with a subtone, accompanied by a C# in the piano thereby creating dissonance by establishing a harmonic tritone, obsurring the already established tonality of G.
158 Example 154: measures 95-96 of saxophone and piano
Intervallic Manipulation
Sevenths
In example 152 above, Shrude employs a series of melodic major seventh intervals creating harmonic instability. A tremolo-like figure in the violin follows the CAGE motive fabricating timbral interest. In this figure, the violin alternates the pitches {A, G#}, a major seventh interval. This dissonance interrupts the opening motive which creates a sense of tonal instability. Likewise, Shrude is adherence to atonality is obvious with the melodic major sevenths in measure 47 of the violin, shown in example 153. In this music, the violin restates the opening motive and tremolo-like alternation of pitches {A, G#} generating a sense of melodic cohesion. The harmonic tension is further escalated by the acceleration of the tremolo.
159 Viennese Trichord
Melodic Trichords
As has been repeatedly witnessed in the music surveyed in this document, Shrude demonstrates a clear affinity for atonality and one of the tools she uses to achieve this end is writing music with the Viennese trichord. In the following example, the composer writes a melodic trichord to disrupt the sense of tonality established earlier by the CAGE motive. As seen in example 142, the pitches of the opening motive are {G, C, A, E}. In example 155, Shrude writes the pitches {G, C#, G#, E}. The first and last pitches are the same as the CAGE motive, inner pitches are altered by a semitone, continually underscoring atonality while developing the melodic nature of the opening motive.
Example 155: measure 79 of piano
By using the trichord, Shrude produces melodic unity within a section of the music while concurrently establishing atonality. The following example displays a phrase of music similar to the phrase shown in the previous example. In each, a separate trichord appears at the beginning of the phrase. In the above example, the trichord aids in melodic development as the pitches are similar to those of the opening motive; the music in example 156 utilizes the same technique. The five initial pitches, {G, C, F#, A, E} represent the opening motive with the
160 additional pitch class F#. This approach establishes cohesion with the opening motive while constructing atonality through the use of the trichord. The phrase differs as it settles on a sustained pitch rather than the trill-like completion to the phrase of music illustrated in the previous example.
Example 156: measure 80 of piano
Shrude continues to write melodic trichords, disrupting the tonal stability and purposefully avoiding resolution. This is illustrated in the following example as the melodic trichord emerges at the completion of a rubato-like phrase. By punctuating the phrase with two trichords, Shrude maintains atonality and resolution is continually eluded.
Example 157: measure 112 of violin
Harmonic Trichords
Clearly, Shrude composes trichords to further enhance harmonic and tonal instability. In the example below, following the trichords in the beginning, the phrase concludes with a
161 sonority formed by a chromatic cluster {G, Ab, A}, the notes of which are displaced in octaves.
The passage provides a sense of atonality combined with the rhythmically structured ambiguity of the 5:3 rhythmic ratio.
Example 158: measure 58 of piano
As apparent in example 159, Shrude uses a progression of trichords, often alternating with cluster chords, accentuating atonality. The phrase concludes with an array of cluster chords displaced by an octave. Each of the cluster chords appearing at the end of the phrase contains a major seventh interval and by alternating the trichord with the clusters chords,
Shrude constructs harmonic instability while securing motivic cohesion.
Example 159: measure 61 of piano
162 The following example further demonstrates Shrude’s use of the trichord. The trichord appears in the left hand of the piano. More importantly, the chord in the right hand of the piano represents an altered form of the opening motive. The pitches of this sonority {G, A, D, E,
G#} incorporate the note D instead of the original C. The sonority includes G#, shown in the music found in example 143, has a pitch added to the harmonic representation of the opening motive.
Example 160: measure 92 of piano
Other Set Classes
The [01256] Set Class
As illustrated in previous chapters, Shrude expands the content of the [016] set class to form new cells of pitch classes. Additionally, Shrude’s use of the set class [01256] establishes cohesion with other pieces in her catalog. This set class is evident in example 161. The set class has been discussed pertaining to the other works of this survey; however, Shrude employs this
163 set class in works outside of the scope of this document, too, including the passage of music, measure 95, in her work Renewing the Myth.110
Example 161: measures 67-68 of saxophone
The [01289] Set Class
In the following example, Shrude’s writes the set class [01289] in order to lead the listener away from the expectation of a completion of the CAGE motive. The phrase begins with the first three pitches of the opening motive {G, C, A}; however, the motive is interrupted by the presence of the notes identified by this set class. Shrude follows this set class with its repetition of it in a different transposition and inversion.
Example 162: measure 31 of saxophone
Frugality of Material
As discussed many times above, Shrude avoids direct repetition of phrases within her music. Yet, she creates a sense of unity within her music through recycled material, demonstrated in the following examples. The pitches of the melody, presented in the piano
110 Nestler, “Analytical Consideration” 76-78.
164 music in measure 68, are simply a repetition of the melody, in measure 47, utilizing a different rhythmic setting. More importantly, the rhythms of the original version of the melody depict an acceleration of tempo to the completion of the measure. In contrast, the rhythmic notation of the version presented in measures 68 and 69 implies a deceleration of tempo towards the completion of the measure and phrase.
Example 163: measure 47 of piano
Example 164: measure 68-69 of piano
In Within Silence, Shrude displays her compositional style in various methods. In order to create atonality, she employs the trichord and tritones. Cohesion is developed by repetition
165 of cells of pitch classes, recapitulation of phrases and melodic development. Furthermore, as a tribute to a fellow composer, this piece relies on different methods of notation to capture and elicit the stylistic traits and inspirations of John Cage, especially silence and aleatory.
166 CHAPTER 7
CONCLUSION
The music of Marilyn Shrude is quite complex and in the opinion of the author, deserving of more attention. Her opus often highlights the saxophone. The five chamber works discussed in this survey aid in the contribution to, and even an elevation of, the role of the saxophone in chamber music. Previous composers often used the saxophone as a “caricature” instrument, solely present to represent another aspect, or historic purpose like jazz, of the instrument. In opposition to this practice, Shrude’s use of the saxophone explores its unique timbre. In an interview with the author, she stated that her affinity for the instrument is due, in large part, to its timbral qualities: “the presence of the timbre is full and well supported throughout the entire range of the instrument.”111
Shrude’s compositional style and vocabulary are evident in each work discussed in this document. Clearly, the composer has a penchant for atonality as she composes music constructed from tritones and trichords, both harmonic and melodic, throughout each piece; however, atonality is not the most distinguishing characteristic of her compositional style. Her use of timbre and texture is of the highest regard. In Notturno: In Memoriam Tōru Takemitsu, she composes notes in the extreme low register of the piano, in measures 3 though 8, in order to increase the resonance of the entire ensemble and build, in her own words, “a new palette of tonal colors.”112
Motivic development is an integral part of Marilyn Shrude’s compositional style as four of the pieces in this survey substantiate. On a small scale, Shrude develops a two-note germinal
111 Shrude, Interview. 112 Ibid.
167 motive within Face of the Moon. On a larger scale, Notturno: In Memoriam Tōru Takemitsu,
Within Silence, Transparent Eyes and Face of the Moon employ motives as a unifying attribute.
In Transparent Eyes, the motive was inadvertently borrowed from the music of Johann
Sebastian Bach. Interestingly, she unwittingly borrows music and techniques from standard repertoire for the saxophone, such as Alfrèd Desenclos’s Prelude, Cadence et Finale and Ingolf
Dahl’s Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Wind Ensemble, in her piece, Splintered Vision. As a result of years performing alongside her husband, John Sampen, and his students, phrases from saxophone repertoire surface in her music. In contrast, the motive in Within Silence was deliberately composed as an homage to a colleague.
According to Shrude, “harmony isn’t always vertical. It is very often horizontal.”113 For instance, this abstract concept is represented in measure 72 of Splintered Visions as well as measure 13 of Transparent Eyes. Shrude’s adherence to and accentuation of atonality is apparent within this compositional philosophy.
Shrude’s compositions illustrate a clear knowledge of the saxophone. As she often involves Sampen in the compositional process, the music for the saxophone is intensely idiomatic. To punctuate melodic lines, she writes a multiphonic in measure 108 of Within
Silence. To form new textures, she utilizes flutter tonguing in measures 61 through 66 of
Transparent Eyes. Both of these techniques are idiomatic to the saxophone
The demanding artistic skill and technical prowess necessary from each musician in the ensemble shows that an extensive comprehension of concert contemporary music is a necessity. As stated previously, the timbre of the saxophone combined with the other
113 Shrude, Interview.
168 instruments in the ensemble is of high importance to Shrude and therefore, intonation, both harmonic and melodic, must be carefully considered.
In the words of Shrude, it interests to her to hear her works “through an educated performance. Being highly invested in each piece, a performance of my works should be a commitment from the performers.”114 In an interview with the author, she stated that “a composer takes a risk in every composition. How is the audience going to interpret the composition? Are the musicians going to perform the work successfully?”115 These questions are obviously not unique to Marilyn Shrude and are shared by other composers. As serious, thoughtful performers, we have the duty to accurately embody and represent the intent of the composer.
Marilyn Shrude has a prominent place among concert contemporary music composers.
Her works have gained critical acclaim among scholars as well as influential saxophone artists of study and performance. Her creativity redefines the place of the saxophone in chamber works as she composes for its unique timbre.
Using the saxophone for its own merits apart from its historical niche is an important aspect of Shrude’s style. As she continues to compose for the saxophone in chamber settings, her music will certainly continue to gain critical acclaim and be performed by musicians worldwide.
114 Shrude, Interview. 115 Ibid.
169 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Articles
Brown, Maurice J.E. and Kenneth L. Hamilton, “Nocturne,” Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online, Oxford University Press http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/20012 accessed February 25, 2016.
Drabkin, William. “Tritone,” Oxford Music Online, accessed February 16, 2016.
Lewis, Robert Hall. “New Music Festival 1985: Bowling Green State University.” Perspectives on New Music, Fall-Winter 1985: 441-442.
Natvig, Mary. “Marilyn Shrude,” Oxford Music Online, accessed January 27, 2016.
Natvig, Mary. “Marilyn Shrude: Composer, Teacher and New Music Advocate.” Woman of Note Quarterly, Vol 4, No. 3 (August 1996): 24-27.
Nestler, Eric. “Analytical Considerations in the Preparation for Performance of Marilyn Shrude’s Renewing the Myth.” The Saxophone Symposium, no. 32 (2008): 27-89.
Books
Battisti, Frank L. The Winds of Change. Maryland: Meredith Music Publications, 2002.
Cottrell, Stephen. The Saxophone. New Haven, London: Yale University Press, 2012.
Deliège, Célestin. “Atonal Harmony: From Set to Scale.” In Contemporary Music, edited by Max Paddison and Irène Deliège, pp. 51-76. England: Ashgate, 2010.
Forte, Allen. The Structure of Atonal Music. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1973.
Ohtake, Noriko. Creative Sources for the Music of Tōru Takemitsu. Vermont: Ashgate Publishing Company, 1993.
Reisberg, Horace, “The Vertical Dimension in Twentieth-Century Music.” In Aspects of 20th Century Music, edited by Gary E. Wittlich, pp. 322-387. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1975.
Takemitsu, Asaka. A Memoir of Tōru Takemitsu. Bloomington: iUniverse, 2010.
170 Dissertations
Beaty, Chris A. “Annotated Bibliography of Selected Soprano Saxophone Repertoire.” DMA diss., University of Memphis, 2004.
Hubbs, Nadine. “Musical Organicisms and its Alternatives.” Ph.D. diss., University of Michigan, 1990.
Kaiser, James Edward. “The Saxophone in Chamber Music: An Annotated Bibliography of Original Published Works.” DM document, Indiana University, 1980.
Interviews
Sampen, John. Interview by author. 3 February, 2016, Bowling Green, Ohio. Digital recording. Composer’s home, Ohio.
Shrude, Marilyn. Interview by Andy Wright. Personal Interview. Bowling Green, OH, February 3, 2016.
______. Email message to author. 2016.
Scores
Shrude, Marilyn. Face of the Moon. New York, NY: American Composers Alliance, 1994
______. Notturno: In Memoriam Tōru Takemitsu. For Violin, Alto Saxophone and Piano. New York, NY: American Composers Alliance. 1996.
______. Splintered Visions. New York, NY: American Composers Alliance, 1985.
______. Transparent Eyes. New York, NY: American Composers Alliance 2000.
______. Within Silence. New York, NY: American Composers Alliance 2012.
Recordings
Goury, Jean-Michel. Quatuor Apollinaire: Salam Tours. Recorded 2002. EROL Records 7030, 2002.
Ryoanji Duo. Images: New Music for Guitar and Saxophone. Recorded 2003. Liscio LCD-05032, 2003.
171 YouTube. “WSCXVI Sampen Shrude Trio Within Silence by Marilyn Shrude.” Accessed March 4, 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfzMnn_Q8dQ.
Websites
International Adolphe Sax Association. “Competition.” Accessed March 20, 2015. http://sax.dinant.be/en/competition.
Rockefeller Foundation. “Residency Program.” Accessed June 6, 2016. https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/our-work/bellagio-center/residency-program/.
Sampen, John. “Sampen Highlights.”Accessed March 4, 2015. http://www.johnwsampen.com/hlights.html.
Shrude, Marilyn. "Biography." Accessed March 4, 2015. http://www.marilynshrude.com/biography/.
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