David S. Carter “The Connection Between New and Old”: Rhythmic Process in Late Webern, Late Stravinsky, and Their Predecesso
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David S. Carter “The Connection Between New and Old”:1 Rhythmic Process in Late Webern, Late Stravinsky, and Their Predecessors A dissertation submitted to the Bienen School of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Music, program of Music Composition Northwestern University Evanston, Illinois June 2013 1 See p. 10 & n. 34 for the remainder and source of this quotation of Robert Craft regarding Stravinsky. Table of Contents I. INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................... 1 II. WEBERN, STRAVINSKY, AND THEIR INTEREST IN EARLY MUSIC..................... 4 III. STRICT RHYTHMIC PROCESS GENERALLY. .......................................................... 16 IV. THREE PRE-TONAL COMPOSERS AND RHYTHMIC PROCESS. ......................... 21 A. THE AGNUS DEI OF MACHAUT ’S MESSE DE NOSTRE DAME ............................................... 22 B. DUNSTAPLE ’S DIES DIGNUS DECORARI . ............................................................................... 30 C. ISAAC ’S JOHANNIS BAPTISTAE PROPER FROM CHORALIS CONSTANTINUS , VOLUME II. .... 40 V. STRICT RHYTHMIC PROCESS IN WEBERN AND STRAVINSKY. ......................... 49 A. WEBERN ’S USE OF CANON IN HIS 12-TONE WORKS ............................................................. 50 1. Symphony, Opus 21. ......................................................................................................... 51 2. Webern’s Concerto, Opus 24, third movement. .............................................................. 65 3. Das Augenlicht, Opus 26. ................................................................................................ 69 4. Webern’s second Cantata, Opus 31, sixth movement. .................................................... 75 B. STRAVINSKY ’S USE OF STRICT RHYTHMIC PROCESS IN HIS LATE WORKS .......................... 82 1. Canticum Sacrum . ........................................................................................................... 83 2. Agon. ................................................................................................................................. 95 3. Variations (Aldous Huxley in Memoriam) . .................................................................. 104 VI. CONCLUSION................................................................................................................... 109 BIBLIOGRAPHY......................................................................................................................114 ii I. Introduction From the earliest days of polyphony in the medieval era to today composers have made use of strict rhythmic process — most commonly isorhythm and canon (canon usually also controlling pitch). After a period following the death of Bach in 1750 during which canon and other strict rhythmic process were in a position of relative disfavor, they made a return in the twentieth century, with Anton Webern being one of the primary composers to look to pre- classical forms of rhythmic process (in his case primarily canon and rhythmic canon) as a resource for composition. These techniques could be used as structural devices that could, to some extent, take the place of the tonal structures that had underlain most Western art music in the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic eras but that had been rejected by Schoenberg, Webern, and Berg. Igor Stravinsky in his late period was heavily influenced by Webern’s work, and also turned to strict rhythmic processes as a compositional resource. As was the case with Webern, Stravinsky looked to music of the distant past as a model for the rhythmic and pitch techniques he sought to employ in his own music. Despite the huge differences in musical language between the music of the earlier and later eras, we see in works from both times similar questions regarding the extent to which rhythmic process is in tension with other musical parameters, the extent to which it is buried beneath the musical surface, and the structural weight that it has in comparison with the work as a whole. Looking at these factors in the music of late Webern and late Stravinsky, we see a contrasting approach, with rhythmic process for Webern an all- encompassing compositional tool and for Stravinsky a means of signification. This dissertation will look at uses of strict rhythmic process both in the pre-tonal music that was a resource for Webern and Stravinsky in their use of these techniques (focusing on particular pieces of Machaut, Dunstaple, and Isaac) and in some of the primary pieces of these twentieth-century composers that made use of these techniques: Webern’s Opus 21, Opus 24, Opus 26, and Opus 31; Stravinsky’s Canticum Sacrum , Agon , and Variations (Aldous Huxley in Memoriam) . It will seek to compare composers’ approaches to these techniques, looking in particular at the extent to which these rhythmic processes work in concert with other musical parameters and with the structure of the rest of the piece, and the extent to which these rhythmic processes conflict, interfere, or interrupt other parameters and the remainder of the work. The pre-tonal pieces I have chosen to focus on (Machaut’s Messe de Nostre Dame , Dunstaple’s motet Dies dignus decorari , and Isaac’s Johannis Baptistae mass-proper cycle) certainly do not exhaust the works that were important to Webern and Stravinsky in their study of earlier music. Nevertheless I have chosen a limited set in order to focus in-depth on these exemplars and how they relate to the techniques used by Webern and Stravinsky in their works. There is historical evidence that all three of these works were to some extent studied by Webern, Stravinsky, or both and that they played a role in these composers’ understanding of rhythmic process. Prior to my discussion of individual works, I will provide some background regarding Webern’s and Stravinsky’s turn to pre-tonal music and Stravinsky’s interest in Webern, as well as some background regarding the types of rhythmic processes these composers used. I have organized my discussion in chronological order of the composition of the pieces. Ordering the pieces in this manner helps to emphasize the historical differences between the works and the fact that Webern and Stravinsky learned from the pre-tonal works, as well as that Stravinsky’s late compositions drew on Webern. It is important to emphasize, however, that from the point of view of rhythmic process the connections between pieces occur as much between works of different eras as between those of the same. One of the primary ways of looking at the processes in these works is examining the extent to which they work in concert with or against other 2 musical parameters (a question that is closely related to whether the techniques are readily identifiable aurally), as well as the structural role these processes play in the given works. An example of the latter concern is that a motet like Dies dignus decorari makes use of isorhythm throughout its length, with a single process the foundation for the entire work, while in Isaac’s Johannis Baptistae mass-proper cycle and even within its sequence (on which I focus), Isaac alternates chant, non-canonic polyphony, and canon, such that the canon is only one element of a more diverse texture. These sorts of concerns — the extent of tension with other musical parameters and the role of the rhythmic process within the larger work — appear in all ten of the works on which I will focus, with no clear lines of demarcation based on musical eras or type of rhythmic process. While I focus on the rhythmic aspects of isorhythm, canon, and rhythmic canon, ultimately these techniques cannot be separated from the realm of pitch. “Canon,” as the term is normally used today, is usually just as much a pitch construction as a rhythmic construction; isorhythm was often accompanied by isomelism, restating a pitch series with different rhythms. I therefore in this essay consider questions of the relationship of rhythm in these processes to pitch, as well as to other musical parameters. To varying degrees composers using these techniques approach them by either separating rhythm from pitch or by closely aligning rhythm and pitch, with many possible intermediate approaches. There is also a great deal of variety in how composers approach the relationship between rhythm in these processes and other musical parameters besides pitch. Despite the fact that in isorhythm pitch and rhythm are usually more independent than they are in canon, I seek to find the common ground between these two techniques. Even in canon there can be a separation or tension between rhythm and pitch. For instance, in Webern’s Opus 26, Das Augenlicht , the composer at times uses straightforward strict 3 rhythmic imitation while employing cancrizans pitch imitation (see, e.g., mm. 8-13); both pitches and rhythm are being strictly imitated (though Webern switches the octaves of some of the pitches), but with two conflicting types of imitation. Even with imitation by inversion, a degree of separation arises between the transparency of the rhythmic imitation and the indirect nature of the pitch imitation. It therefore makes sense to examine the relationship between rhythm and pitch both in isorhythmic passages and canonic passages. II. Webern, Stravinsky, and their interest in early music. Webern’s compositional interest in early music is unsurprising given that he engaged in serious scholarly study of pre-tonal works as