QUARTET FOR WOODWINDS

A Thesis Presented to The Graduate Faculty of the University of Akron

In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Music

Seth Kenyon

August, 2019 QUARTET FOR WOODWINDS

Seth Kenyon

Thesis

Approved: Accepted:

______Advisor Director of the School of Music Dr. Jamie Wilding Dr. Marc Reed

______Co-Advisor Dean of College of Arts and Sciences Dr. Robert Brownlow Dr. Linda Subich, Ph.D.

______Executive Dean, Graduate School Dr. Chand Midha, Ph.D.

______Date

ii TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER Page

I. PROCESS OF COMPOSITION…………………………………………………..….1

Choosing the Instrumentation……………………………………………..………1

Compositional Technique…………………………………………………….…...1

Conceptual Timeline……………………………...……………………………….2

Tonal Considerations and Inspirations………………………………………….…2

II. MELODIC CONTENT…………………………………………………………...….4

1st Movement ……………………………………….…………………………….4

2nd Movement……………………………………………………...………………8

3rd Movement………………………………………………………….…………10

III. HARMONIC CONTENT…………………………………………………………..16

III. FORM………………………………………………………………………………..19

iii CHAPTER I PROCESS OF COMPOSITION

Choosing the instrumentation

I will start by defending my choice in choosing the instruments that I did. The quartet consists of music for the oboe, flute, clarinet, and bassoon and forgoes the inclusion of the French horn. As I was working on this piece many people asked why I did not choose to write for the standard woodwind quintet. The simple answer is that I did not want to write for 5 voices and had already convinced sketches for 4 voices. Otherwise there where considerations based on the melodic agility of the horn and the overall timbre of the ensemble. As I will discuss further on in my thesis there is a great deal of imitation throughout all three movements. The horn while a terrific instrument does not have the proper agility required to play some of the more rhythmically active melodies. For this reason, I could not hear the horn in imitation of the more agile instruments in the ensemble.

Process of composition (overview)

Nearly all the music was composed at either the piano or the organ being written into sketches or into my composition software. I often composed the music on a piano reduction score as it easily allowed me to play through the music as I was writing. This also helped me to check where my melodies where in octave registration as to avoid unnecessary voice crossing.

1 While at the organ I made use of the stops that where appropriate for the instruments that I was writing for. Though the organ does not function like a real woodwind player, there are stops that imitate the timbre of most of the woodwind instruments. The major difference that I needed to consider was that the organ does not need to breathe, and woodwind players do. With this in mind I tried to write in as many breaths as I thought necessary.

Conceptual timeline

After nearly completing the first movement I had started on what became the third and final movement. The third movement was nearly half way done when I started working on the second movement. I wanted to make sure that the harmonic language was similar between all three movements and that there was a sense of unity in their style. After several sketches I was able to select what material would ultimately make up the second movement. Having composed the first and most of the third movement I decided to incorporate elements of these movements into the second. This allowed the second movement to become reflective as to what had occurred in the first movement, and to offer foreshadowing of what was to come of the third movement. For this reason, there is a great sense of unification between the movements. As well this was a way in which I utilized my material efficiently.

Tonal considerations and inspirations

The tonality of the quartet would best be described as neo tonal. While there is a great deal of dissonance throughout the work there are many tonal centers that the ear can latch onto. The final movement is perhaps the most tonally conservative in that it utilizes

2 traditional harmonic structures and some diatonic relationships. Still there are sections in both the first and second movement that utilize triadic and project clear tonicization.

Some of my inspirations to list a few came from Alexander Scriabin’s late music, and the early music composed by Arnold Schoenberg, Alban Berg’s and . As well I was inspired by the music of Bela Bartok. The reason I gravitated to the early works of Berg, Schoenberg, and Webern is because of their unique tonal language. Their early works often utilize traditional forms, and harmonic idioms but still hint at some tonal obscurity. This tonal obscurity isn’t fully expressed until their later compositions at the height of atonality and expressionism. There is a happy medium that I have found pleasing in their early works that I wanted to emulate in my own way. In doing so I chose to utilize some of their harmonic constructs such as the Viennese trichord throughout the movements to add interest to the harmonies and melodic content.

3 CHAPTER II

MELODIC CONTENT

First Movement

Most of the melodic content was derived at the piano by way of improvisation. I started off by improvising around a Viennese trichord and composed the bassoon line that we hear at the beginning of the first movement. The Viennese trichord is typically seen in chordal form consisting of a perfect forth stacked upon a tritone in no particular order. As well it can contain a perfect fifth instead of a perfect forth as they are inversions of the same interval. After having composed the first melodic line I improvised melodies based on its melodic content.

To better understand how these melodies, work in relation to one another I have utilized set theory. The Prime set for a Viennese trichord is (016) and can be seen in all through the composition in various forms but most often is used in melodic content. To be exact there are only 17 measures excluding the final measure that do not contain some melodic ordering of the (016) prime set. In the first measure of the first movement we can see that both the flute and bassoon share the same prime pitch set (016). What is interesting is that both melodies utilize different transpositions and orderings of the prime set but still reach towards the same pitch E at the height of their melodic contour.

While the Flute and Bassoon initially share the same prime set the Oboe and Clarinet utilize another closely related prime set in their opening set of pitches as well. Both the

4 Oboe and Clarinet share the prime set (026) in transposition. This can be seen as a slight variation on the (016) prime set as it is only one step away from the (026) set. Most likely this is due to my improvisation around the pitches of the (016) set and explains why they sound quite similar in their tonality. As well the use of the sixteenth note ascending triplet brings a sense of unity to the melodies as they enter.

a. 1st mvt. mms 1-4 [red - (016), orange - (026)]

Besides the (016), and (026) set there are two other sets that are in consistent use

throughout the first movement. These are the (014), and (015) prime sets. Like the (026) set

these are closely related sets as they only differ by one or two half steps and contain two of

the same intervals. The (015) set appears in measure 24 but doesn’t become the spotlight until

measure 36 in which it is becomes the most integral set in the melodic material. Still there are

some occurrences of the (016) set that can be seen bellow.

5 b. 1st mvt. mms 36-40

After the (015) set is introduced we see a variety of other closely related sets that are short lived and less integral to the composition. They serve to bring a bit of contrast to the previous sets. For example, in measure forty-three we can observe the introduction of the initial melodic structure from the beginning but utilizing the (027) set instead. This sounds very stable in contrast to the previous sets being that it is ordered in such a way to consist of two perfect fourths. Still the melodic rhythm and contour is mirrored exactly and aids in the total unification of the movement.

c. 1st mvt. mms 43-44

6 After this point moving towards the climax and then towards the end, we can observe the more predominant sets discussed previously. To further solidify the (016) set we can observe the recapitulation of the A section at measure sixty followed by a final homo-rhythmic gesture in all four instruments that outlines the (016) Set. In the penultimate measure all four instruments enact a sixteenth note triplet using the (016) set in transpositions. This further solidifies the tonal language of the first movement as the sixteenth note triplet is also integral to the melodic framework.

Besides intervallic and set relationships there are also rhythmic patterns that aid in the overall unification of the music. Though the pitch content changes throughout the first movement the sixteenth note triplet figure remains consistent in much of the movement. As well the contour and intervallic relationships remain quite similar.

d. 1st mvt. mms 1-2 Bassoon.

e. 1st mvt. mms mms 3-4 clarinet.

Second Movement

Just as in the first movement there is a great deal of imitation amongst the instruments as melodic ideas are passed off to one another. While there are melodic motifs the upper voiced melodies, especially in the first half of the second movement tend to move downward or

7 upward chromatically. The descending or ascending chromatic material is possibly the most

predominant motive of the second movement. Here we can see the upper voices moving

downward chromatically. This downward chromatic motion is passed around instruments and

can be seen in almost every measure of the movement.

As the piece progresses the melodies open in their intervallic structure and utilize the (016) set amongst other sets shared between movements. Starting at measure 21 we can observe that the

Oboe now has expanded its melodic range to include larger intervals such as perfect fourths, Tri-

Tones, Perfect fifths, and even major and minor sixths. As a result of opening the intervallic range of the melodic material the melodies start to reflect material from the first movement.

From measure twenty-five to twenty-six we can observe two motivic quotations from the first movement in the clarinet and oboe. When it appears in the second movement it is in a much slower tempo where the eighth note gets the beat at 80 bpm, but it still sounds reminiscent of the prior movements melodic content.

8 f. 2nd Mvt. mms 26-27, oboe, clarinet.

Besides the obvious quotations of the first movements primary melody there are significant similarities in the melodic contour and use of the (016) prime set as seen in the oboe. The main difference is where the rhythmic activity occurs and that the contour is inverted.

g. 2nd Mvt. mms 18-19, clarinet.

By measure 28 all instruments are now expanded in their melodic range and utilize larger intervals. We can see this best at measure thirty-one which is the climax of the second movement.

Here we can observe that the flute, oboe, and clarinet all utilize the (016) set in their opening set of pitches with increased rhythmic activity. From this point on the melodies consist of chromatic downward motion while still utilizing larger intervals.

9 h. 2nd Mvt. m 32

Third Movement

In the third movement the primary melody is a bit more elaborate being several

measures long and presenting two meters. As well there is a diversity of pitch

material in that 10 out of the 12 pitch classes are presented. Part of the reason this

melody is more elaborate than the melodies prior is because it serves as the

subject for the fugal sections of the third movement. I wanted to create something

that could be quite versatile and utilized in fragmentation successfully.

The melodic content of the third movement is much more tonally stable than

the prior movement. For example, there are major thirds present and in measures

one, three, and four. As well the melodic material outlines linear major seventh

10 chords. This makes the third movement more consonant overall and less tonally

obscure.

i. 3rd mvt. mms 1-4, clarinet.

As in typical fugue style the movement opens with an exposition in which all four instruments get to voice the subject material presented above. After the first subject played by the clarinet ends the subject is picked up by the flute and the clarinet enacts the counter subject. It should be noted that the Subjects answer is always tonal and not real and enters in a fifth above each previous entry. This countersubject is contrasting in that it contains longer note values and more often serves to add harmonic support to the music.

.

j. 3rd mvt. mms 5-8, clarinet.

All melodic material from this point on is derived from the Subject and Counter

Subject. The Subject being of higher importance can be seen in many different applications throughout the piece. In typical fugue style you can observe the subject

11 and countersubject in inversion, fragmentation, augmentation, and in improvised

variations.

Often the fragmented form of the subject is used in episodes in-between entries of

the subject. These episodes serve to tie the entries together. For example, we can see

that leading up to the first entry at measure twenty after the exposition there are

several measures in which only the opening measure of the subject material is used.

Here it is already being used in inversion and with some elaboration. Similarly, we

can see snippets of the countersubject in inversion as well.

k. 3rd mvt. mms 17-19 The first entry after the exposition appears in the clarinet at measure twenty. Here we can see that the subject has been inverted and furthermore the final staccato measure of the subject is prolonged.

12 l. 3rd mvt. mms 20-22 This prolongation of the final measure of the subject serves as the underlying rhythmic motion for several measures after this entry. During this time the first three measures of the subject is voiced by the flute and together with the underlying movement in the clarinet which is enacting the final measure of the subject the full subject is embodied.

This texture is used several times as the overall form is that of a palindrome.

g. 3rd mvt. mms 23-25 After this point the most notable and interesting change to the subject occurs at measure thirty-seven. Here we can see that the subject being voiced by the bassoon is

13 somewhat varied in pitch durations and is also presented in inversion. Though many of the notes are augmented in duration it is not a complete augmentation and some durations remain similar to the initial subject. This entry is best described as being inverted, with improvised augmentation. The modified subject is then passed to the flute at measure 44 with the main difference being that it is not inverted in comparison to the original subject.

h. 3rd mvt. mms 37-41 Bassoon. Directly following the flutes entry of the subject, we reach what can be considered the development of the piece or the apotheosis at measure fifty. From measure fifty to measure sixty-four the melodies tend to wander and are mainly constructed as fragments in variation of the first measure of the original subject. It’s not until measure sixty-five that the subject is fully present in the music. The melody is passed between the flute and

Oboe in which the flute starts and ends the melody while the Oboe enacts what would be the second measure of the original subject. The only thing missing in this version of the subject is the final measure that presents the staccato articulation with large leaps.

Though you could argue that the proceeding pulsated staccato section embodies some sense of this missing measure.

14 i. 3rd mvt. mms 65-70 flute, clarinet. From measure seventy until the end, melodic content is restated from prior sections and little melodic development is seen. This is of course due to the palindrome form. The only big difference we see throughout the rest of the piece is the orchestration, tonal areas and the addition of a coda.

15 CHAPTER III

HARMONIC CONTENT

In both the first and second movement I purposely tried to avoid harmonies that where too consonant. I did this by avoiding triadic intervals and traditional harmonic functions. For the most part harmonies are constructed by utilizing dissonant intervallic relationships such as the tritone in conjunction with half step relationships.

This of course maintains the usefulness of the (016) set that I also used in the melodic construction. Besides the harmonies that have an obvious cadential structure most harmonies in the first two movements are somewhat incidental.

However, there are some triadic harmonies present in a few areas that are worth noting. When we reach the B section of the first movement at measure twenty there are clear triadic harmonies in the lower voices. The harmonies that are outlined by the bassoon, clarinet, and oboe consist of a D flat major triad in second inversion that moves to a in root position. Though these are simple triadic harmonies the flute plays a melody that is contrasting in pitch content and sounds somewhat poly tonal in conjunction. This harmonic structure is reiterated again starting at measure 26 with the harmonies now being in the top three voices and the bassoon playing the juxtaposing melody. This harmonic structure appears once more at measure 49 and serves as climactic material for the first movement.

Other triadic/traditional harmonies can be found at the ends of phrases and often have an altered dominant quality. One such example can be seen at the end of measure 25 in the second movement where we hear a G in

16 second inversion that is followed by a C major seventh harmony that is outlined by the bassoon and clarinet. For these movements I tried to keep the melodic lines moving chromatically and thus the C tonality is short lived.

The third movement while similar in its tonal language presents more tonal consonance than the first two movements. This is most likely due to the implied harmonies outlined by the melodic material. As stated previously the subject for this movement outlines a major seventh harmony without the fifth. This naturally led me to more consonant harmonies and influences that overall tonality of the movement.

For example, we can observe at measure twenty-three to measure twenty-six the

Clarinet is outlining the same MM7 Harmony as it sequences from a C sharp MM7 to a B MM7. This harmonic pattern can be seen every time this section of music is reoccurs.

j. 3rd mvt. mms 23-26, clarinet. While most of the third movement is quite contrapuntal there are several sections that contain pulsated harmonies. At measure thirty-seven we can see that the upper voices are enacting quartal harmonies in homorhythm. The quartal harmonies plane in a downward chromatic motion until they stabilize on a e flat Major triad in first inversion at measure forty-three. What is interesting is that the melody is quite polytonal in conjunction to the quartal harmonies. This adds a bit of harmonic interest and is quite similar in its function to that of the triadic harmonies discussed in the first

17 movement. Both sections present somewhat consonant harmonies against melodies that are quite dissonant in conjunction.

k. 3rd mvt. mms 37-40

18 Form

First Movement

A B C (Dev) B’ A’(coda) Mm, 1------19, 20------29, 30------48, 49------59, 60-----64/End

Second Movement

A B Coda [ a b a’] [ a b] Mm, 1------9, 10-----13, 14------21, 22------31, 32------43, 44-----46/End

Third Movement

A B C D C’ B’ A’ Coda Exposition Development Exposition Mm, 1-----22, 23----36, 37----49, 50------70, 71---76, 77----86, 87----103, 104---111/End

19