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Author Duan, Ran

Publication Date 2015

Supplemental Material https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1wv0j95z#supplemental

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A Thesis submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts

Music

Ran Duan

Committee in charge:

Professor Chinary Ung, Chair Professor Anthony Davis Professor Lei Liang

2015

Ran Duan, 2015

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The Thesis of Ran Duan is approved and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication on microfilm and electronically:

______

______Chair

University of California, San Diego

2015

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Signature Page……………………………………………………………………… iii

Table of Contents………………………………………………………….……….. iv

List of Figures ……………………………………………………...……………..... v

List of Supplemental Files ……………………………………………………...... viii

Abstract of the Thesis………………………………………………………….…… ix

Spectral Illuminations on Edgard Varèse’s Ionisation…………………………….. 1

Hearing Chinese: a survey of dialects and their musical applications…………….. 17

Style and Genre in Lear on the 2nd Floor……………………………….…………. 38

Twist II for Flute and Musical Saw……………………………………………….. 60

A Wheelchair Man’s Speech for Bass Clarinet, Double Bass and Percussion...…… 67

Asphyxia for Septet…………………………………………………………………. 73

Audio Tapes on file in the Mandeville Library

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1.1: Opening Section………………………………………………………… 1

Figure 1.2: Rehearsal 1……………………………………………………………... 2

Figure 1.3: Rehearsal 2……………………………………………………………... 4

Figure 1.4: Rehearsal 3……………………………………………………………... 4

Figure 1.5: Rehearsal 4……………………………………………………………... 5

Figure 1.6: Rehearsal 5……………………………………………………………... 6

Figure 1.7: Rehearsal 6……………………………………………………………... 7

Figure 1.8: Rehearsal 7……………………………………………………………... 8

Figure 1.9: Rehearsal 8……………………………………………………………... 9

Figure 1.10: Rehearsal 9-10……………………………………………………….. 11

Figure 1.11: Rehearsal 11…………………………………………………………. 12

Figure 1.12: Rehearsal 12…………………………………………………………. 13

Figure 1.13: Rehearsal 13…………………………………………………………. 14

Figure 1.14: The Entire Work……………………………………………...………. 15

Figure 2.1: Yuen Ren Chao’s Approach for Transcribing Tonal Pitch Variation in

Spoken Languages……………………………………………..…………………...21

Figure 2.2: Phrase No.1………………..………………………………………. 24

Figure 2.3: Phrase No.2………………...………………………………………. 25

Figure 2.4: Phrase No.3…….…………...…………..…………………………. 26

Figure 2.5: Phrase No.4……………..…………….……………………………. 26

Figure 2.6: Phrase No.5……………...…………………………………………. 27

Figure 2.7: Phrase No.6……………...…...……………………………………. 28

Figure 2.8: Phrase No.7………………...... ……………………………………. 28

Figure 2.9: Phrase No.8………………..…………………………………………. 29

Figure 2.10: Phrase No.9………………..………………………..…………………. 30

Figure 2.11: Phrase No.10..……………..………………………..…………………. 30

Figure 2.12: Phrase No.11..…...………...………………………..…………………. 31

Figure 2.13: Phrase No.12..………...…...………………………..…………………. 31

Figure 2.14: Phrase No.13..………………..……………………..…………………. 32

Figure 2.15: Phrase No.14..……………...……...………………..…………………. 33

Figure 2.16: Phrase No.15..……………...... …………………..…………………. 33

Figure 2.17: Phrase No.16..………...…...………………………..…………………. 34

Figure 2.18: Phrase No.17..…………...…...……………………..…………………. 35

Figure 3.1: Bar 36, Scene 1, Piano..…………..………………………..…………. 39

Figure 3.2: Bar 55, Scene 1, Piano..……………...…………………..…………. 39

Figure 3.3: Bar 55-59, Scene 1, Piano..………...……...…………………..…….... 40

Figure 3.4: Bar 87-89, Scene 1, Drum Set……………………..…………….……. 41

Figure 3.5: Bar 87-89, Scene 1, Piano….…………………………………………..41

Figure 3.6: Bar 109, Scene 1, Nora……………………………………………..… 42

Figure 3.7: Bar 109, Scene 1, Piano Reduction…………………………………..…42

Figure 3.8, Bar 127-128, Scene 1, Bassoon……………………………………….. 42

Figure 3.9: Bar 161-164, Scene 1, Double Bass……………………………………..43

Figure 3.10: Bar 1-3, Scene 2, Piano………………………………………………..44

Figure 3.11: Bar 10-11, Scene 2, Piano……………………………………………..44

Figure 3.12: Bar 90-93, Scene 2, Piano……………………………………………..44

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Figure 3.13: Bar 5-9, Scene 3, Clarinet (in C)………………………………………45

Figure 3.14: Bar 112-115, Scene 3, Voices and Piano Reduction…………………..45

Figure 3.15: Bar 10-14, Scene 4, Full Score……………………………...…………46

Figure 3.16: Bar 1-4, Scene 5, Piano Reduction……………………………………..47

Figure 3.17: Bar 24-30, Scene 5, Tara………………………………………………47

Figure 3.18: Bar 53-57, Scene 5, Tara and Piano Reduction………………………...48

Figure 3.19: Bar 35-38, Scene 6, Jenna and Piano Reduction……………..………...48

Figure 3.20: Bar 60-63, Scene 6, Jenna and Piano Reduction…………………..…...49

Figure 3.21: Bar 33-38, Scene 7, Nora and Piano Reduction………………………...50

Figure 3.22: Bar 62, Scene 7, Nora and Bassoon…………………………………...50

Figure 3.23: Bar 124-129, Scene 7, Mortimer and Piano Reduction……………...... 51

Figure 3.24: Bar 1-2, Scene 8, Piano Reduction……………………………………..51

Figure 3.25: Bar 14-15, Scene 8, Piano Reduction…………………………………..52

Figure 3.26: Bar 28-29, Scene 8, Lawyer and Piano Reduction……………………..52

Figure 3.27: Bar 91-94, Scene 8, Nora, Lawyer and Piano Reduction………………52

Figure 3.28: Bar 115-119, Scene 8, Nora, Lawyer and Piano Reduction……………53

Figure 3.29: Bar 132-140, Scene 8, Voices and Piano Reduction…………………...54

Figure 3.30: Bar 155-158, Scene 8, Doctor and Piano Reduction…………………...55

Figure 3.31: Bar 208-210, Scene 9, Jenna and Piano Reduction…………………….56

Figure 3.32: Bar 295-297, Scene 9, Tara and Piano Reduction……………………...56

Figure 3.33: Bar 388-389, Scene 9, Lyla and Piano Reduction……………………...57

Figure 3.34: Bar 114-117, Scene 9, Judge and Piano Reduction……………………..57

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LIST OF SUPPLEMENTAL FILES

Asphyxia.wav

- A live recording of my composition asphyxia for septet.

TwistII.wav

- A live recording of my composition Twist II for flute and musical.

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ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS

Searchings

Ran Duan

Master of Arts in Music

University of California, San Diego, 2015

Professor Chinary Ung, Chair

My Master's thesis is consisted by three papers and three compositions. They represent most of my work over two years at UCSD. The study Spectral Illuminations on Edgard Varèse’s Ionisation utilizes spectral analysis technology to examine Edgard

Varèse’s Ionisation section by section. It unveils Varèse’s sophisticated craft of orchestration and reveals structural development in a unique way. In Style and Genre

x in Lear on the 2nd Floor, I investigate genre and style throughout Anthony Davis’ opera

Lear on the 2nd Floor, and to study the composer’s approach to integration. In Hearing

Chinese: a survey of dialects and their musical applications, I explore an integrative approach to composition drawing from the Chinese language’s sonic qualities. This study demonstrates the great potential for the musical application of Chinese dialects, and how they might drive novel compositional ideas. The three compositions search for new possibilities of creating, developing, merging and organizing sonic materials.

Spectral Illuminations on Edgard Varèse’s Ionisation

Introduction

The main purpose of this paper is to analyze the orchestrational technique for percussion instruments that Edgard Varèse creates and applies in his extraordinary percussion ensemble work Ionisation. I will use spectral analysis technology to analyze a recording section by section that was performed by Chicago Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Pierre Boulez. From this analysis, I want to look closely at how Varèse constructs and organizes this unique soundscape and find the relationship between different textures and their sonority.

Opening Section - Bar 1 to Bar 8

Figure 1.1: Opening Section

In the opening section (figure 1.1), Varèse starts with gongs, tam-tams, bass drums, rolling snare drum, and cymbals. All instruments are played by soft articulations.

It creates a sustaining-texture, like a drone, which is mixed by metal, skin, and air- friction sound. The spectrum figure shows that in the beginning, the energy mainly remains below 500Hz. While this drone texture decays, the energy gradually shifts to the wind machines and brings out harmonics between 800Hz and 2,000Hz. The unique buzzing-sound of wind machines leads to another attack of the drone, then a crescendo to Forte on the suspended cymbal suddenly opens the spectrum up to 10,000Hz with its complex harmonic content. On bar 4, Varèse introduces maracas and tambourine. The tambourine brings an even higher frequency range, from 6,000Hz to 13,000Hz. Besides high frequency, the bass drum and the resonance of gongs also make a good support from the ground. In these six bars only, Varèse successfully expands the spectrum from the bottom to near the top. It creates a suitable preparation for the next two bars, which is a short “explosion” in both the spectral and dynamic aspects. The usage of triangle in the last bar dramatically articulates the brightness between 6,000Hz to 16,000Hz.

Rehearsal 1

Figure 1.2: Rehearsal 1

In this passage, the musical character highly contrasts with the previous one in three main aspects - timbre, rhythmic density, and dynamic. Just by looking at the spectrum figure (figure 1.2), we can tell that the rhythm is steadier, the energy mainly distributes in the middle to low frequency, and everything is dynamically soft except two strong attacks. The short rhythmic motives on bongos, tambour militaire, and maracas combine together as a polyrhythmic idea, which increase the unpredictability.

The accent in the 2nd bar of Rehearsal 1 creates a false downbeat that interrupts the continuity. However, this passage still has a steady rhythmic sound. The stabilization is created by two aspects. 1) Rhythmically speaking, behind the polyrhythm there is a sensible pulse or pattern that is formed by a gently evolving rhythmic idea. 2) The inner balance of the distribution for different frequencies. When looking at the score and spectrum figure carefully, we find that the bass drum, cymbal, bongos, tambour militaire and maracas not only distribute in different frequency ranges, but also have different rhythmic density. All the little differences are so carefully crafted and combined to create an organic sonority which makes a good balance between frequency and rhythmic density.

Rehearsal 2 and 3

Figure 1.3: Rehearsal 2

This short passage of Rehearsal 2 is a combination and compression of the entire previous material (figure 1.3). The first four bars use the sustained texture that comes from the beginning, and the fifth bar recalls the rhythmic texture from Rehearsal 1. Not many new materials can be found in this passage, but from the spectrum figure, it is quite interesting to see the shifting of the rich harmonic content made by wind machines.

Figure 1.4: Rehearsal 3

The material of Rehearsal 3 shows much more rhythmic density and the texture has an antiphonal quality (figure 1.4). On the spectrum figure, we can see a clear picture of call-and-response relationship that is presented by a solo repeating snare drum at first, and then is followed by a ‘choir’ of wood blocks, sleigh bells, castanets and tambourine.

The graphic of the spectrum is very helpful for understanding this juxtaposition of two different types of sonorities – white-noise-like snare drum hits and a sort of pitched, chord-like sound.

Rehearsal 4 and 5

Figure 1.5: Rehearsal 4

In the previous section, the 32nd note repeating material on the snare drum actually makes a very smooth preparation for Rehearsal 4. Regarding rhythmic materials, Rehearsal 4 (figure 1.5) is similar to Rehearsal 1 (figure 1.2) in that they both start with 32nd notes repeating on tambour militaire. So, from the spectrum figure, we can see the first half looks like the rhythmic texture in Rehearsal 1, however with much more low frequency energy. Instead of using bongos, Varèse brings in two bass drums.

The mumbling sound created by hitting the bass drums quietly generates a kind of

6 hidden tension and breaks the natural balance in the original Rehearsal 1. The tension becomes a kind of power that drives the music into the 2nd half of Rehearsal 4, where not only the bongos come back, but also the ‘choir’ (woodblocks, sleigh bells, castanets, and tambourine) from Rehearsal 3 (figure 1.4) appears again. The woodblocks have a contrapuntal part with the bongos in a higher frequency. Sleigh bells, castanets, and tambourine basically have the same chord-like texture. From the spectrum figure, we can clear see that the frequency energy gets much more complicated in the second half.

The bongos sit around 200Hz to 600Hz, woodblocks are 1,000Hz to 2,000Hz, and above

3,000Hz belongs to the sleigh bells, castanets, and tambourine. However, not only the spectrum becomes more complex, the rhythm becomes denser too. With all kinds of different rhythms combined together, the sense of pulse is gradually less clear.

Figure 1.6: Rehearsal 5

But this situation doesn’t last very long. Starting from the first bar of Rehearsal

5, the number of instruments dramatically drops off, so that in the last beat of the 2nd bar of Rehearsal 5, the spectrum is almost empty and there are only three soft attacks

7 on the woodblocks left (figure 1.6). Though just one second long, it’s a dramatic moment and a perfect transition to the next bar, where the rhythmic texture comes back again. In this spectrum figure, it shows that the complexity becomes almost as low as the first time we saw this texture, except there is some slightly additional energy above

7,000Hz since Varèse adds a guiro on top of original instrumentation and this additional timbre brings a very unique and “crispy” tone color. On the 7th bar of Rehearsal 5, an interesting moment happens on the woodblocks part. There arrives a five-second long woodblock solo because other instruments start dropping off in this bar. In fact, to me, this is a greatly expanded version of the one-second-woodblocks-solo-moment mentioned in the beginning of this paragraph.

Rehearsal 6

Figure 1.7: Rehearsal 6

After the woodblocks transition, the rhythmic texture comes back again in

Rehearsal 6, but just for two bars (figure 1.7). The 3rd player then brings two bass drums into the spectrum. The bass drums and wind machine change the character of the music because there is a lot of tension added by the low frequency from the bass drums and

8 the shifting energy from the wind machine. Interestingly, in a short period, this tension doesn’t seem to move that much. At that time, the audience may start asking questions like, “Where is this music going?” But the next section is extremely shocking.

Rehearsal 7

Figure 1.8: Rehearsal 7

For this section, just looking at the spectrum can be quite daunting (figure 1.8).

From the sound, audience can even get much more impact. The triplet-eighth rhythms played by crash cymbal, bass drum, concerro, bongos, side drums, tambour militaire, claves, maracas, suspended cymbals, and tambourine create a huge explosion of energy that never occurred in the previous sections of the piece. The energy comes from two aspects:

1) The consistency of the triplet rhythm. The rhythm in the previous part gradually gets complicated, but here this simple triplet pattern aggregates all dispersive energy to one focus-point on the time domain.

2) The spectrum of the triplet part shows that Varèse successfully utilizes almost the whole spectrum of the instruments mentioned above. The hard attacks on bass drum and cymbals create a massive amount of complex frequency and energy.

Another important feature of this section is that Varèse uses snare drums to interrupt and contrast with the “explosive” texture. This imbalance adds an unstable factor. What Varèse does is enlarge the interruption and reduce the “explosive” texture little by little, like a crossfading effect for two types of sonorities. It is my opinion that the reason Varèse chooses snare drums as the main instrument is because the complex vibration on the snare drum creates a white-noise type of sound that distributes to the whole spectrum. In this way, regarding frequency-complexity, there is still a common factor that can be traced from these significant differences between the two types of sound. In the end of this section, it is worth noting that woodblocks are again used as a transitional element.

Rehearsal 8

Figure 1.9: Rehearsal 8

This section also keeps a high level of energy (figure 1.9), but it is very different from

Rehearsal 7. The differences are shown by the rhythmic density and frequency distribution. This section consists of three main groups:

1) Lion’s roar, low woodblock, cymbal, bass drums, castanets and tambourine

This group features the unique timbre of a lion’s roar. It has an exclusive

density below 700Hz. Choosing cymbal and bass drums to accompany the

lion’s roar is very intelligent because their sound doesn’t cover the lion’s

roar, but adds a deeper impact in low frequency and brightness in high

frequency. It makes this group compatible with the others.

2) Cow bells, large bass drum and Tambourine

In terms of rhythm, this group could be considered as remaining material

from the triplet union texture of Rehearsal 7. It also contains a hard attack

on the bass drum, which is a very clear connection through timbre. The

emphasis on the cowbells actually makes the sound of this group very

interesting because of the extreme timbre contrast between the great

intensity of the cowbells’ high frequency and the impact from the large bass

drum’s low frequency.

3) Bongos, snare drums, side drum, mid and high woodblocks, maracas

This one is the most energetic group of all three. The sixteen-quintuplet

unison texture dominates the whole section because of its high intensity on

both rhythm and dynamics. The spectrum figure also shows a dense energy

below 2,000 Hz.

In my opinion, rehearsal 8 is the most exciting section so far in this piece. The alternation of the three groups makes the music highly unpredictable in both rhythm and timbre. However, the unpredictability here is definitely not random since Varèse’s orchestration really carries out the unique timbre of each group. Because of that, the audience can easily recall their characters and then they will actively predict the music when they are listening to it. There is thus a great satisfaction generated each time the music goes beyond people’s prediction.

Rehearsal 9-10

Figure 1.10: Rehearsal 9-10

Compared to the previous two sections, the overall energy level of Rehearsal 9 is much lower (figure 1.10). It’s a logical shift, since the sonority is already saturated and won’t go much further even if we kept making huge impacts such as in Rehearsals

7 and 8 (figure 1.8-1.9). Varèse chooses not to use drums, but features wind machines and metals. The bended pitches from two wind machines are very refreshing, while anvils and triangle highlight the upper side of spectrum. Player 2 recalls the intro materials on tam-tams and gong with mezzoforte dynamic to support the low end.

On the second half of the spectrum figure – where Rehearsal 10 located – there are clearly three kinds of textures that shift rapidly. Those dense attacks in the first chunk are snare drums that recall materials from Rehearsal 3. Then anvils and triangle flash a bit of rhythmic material that hearkens back to Rehearsal 9. Shortly thereafter, woodblocks take over this role and wind machines start to fade in again. Compared to

Rehearsal 9, there are a lot of activities happening in just ten seconds. An interesting fact is that those rapid shifts create a sense of space-time-like movement due to the different location of each player and the brief recall of early materials.

Rehearsal 11

Figure 1.11: Rehearsal 11

If we compare the spectrum figures, Rehearsal 11 is a continuation and shares many similarities with Rehearsals 9 and 10. In this passage, materials get developed, recombined and expanded across the whole ensemble. The sonic activities increase until they form a climax with a tutti hit, and then are followed by a long decay of gongs, tam- tams, cymbals, and wind machine – a rare moment in this piece in which the audience

13 suddenly hears the space/silence because of dropping sonic activities. It’s very intuitive to see on the spectrum figure how the energy in this section accumulates then fades out.

Rehearsal 12

Figure 1.12: Rehearsal 12

Rehearsal 12 starts with bass drums, castanets, and tambourine playing together

(figure 1.12). The impact-like sound shares some similarities with the material in

Rehearsal 7 but is also very different in terms of the density of energy. The hits in

Rehearsal 12 have a lot less energy since Varèse chooses to use a thinner orchestration and leaves the bongos, snare drums, and cymbals out. It causes a hollow mid-frequency in the spectrum if we compare it with Rehearsal 7. After this, it’s the poly-rhythmic motives that we see often in Ionisation, especially since Rehearsal 9, with even denser rhythms and louder dynamics across the whole ensemble – that hugely contrast with the tutti hits in terms of rhythmic complexity and timbral variety.

Rehearsal 13

Figure 1.13: Rehearsal 13

After a massive crescendo in the end of Rehearsal 12 and near five minutes journey in percussion land, Varèse leads the audience to the final section by surprisingly striking on pitched instruments such as piano, tubular chimes, and glockenspiel (figure

1.13). The tremendous clusters that are as wide as 2.5 octaves on the piano’s low register, along with the complex chords that are built by three instruments together in a higher register, open up a new dimension in the spectrum, which we experience for the first time in this piece. We can clearly see those pitches and their harmonic contents on the spectrum figure. Besides pitches, Varèse recalls the tutti rhythm on tam-tams, cymbals, and gongs. Wood blocks, bongos, and snare drums echo the short rhythmic motive. The wind machines sustain and flow in the various attacks like ghosts. All these different ideas repeat in their own pulse – like polyphony/polyrhythm in a panoramic view. In the end, everything gradually fades out in the silence.

Conclusion

Figure 1.14: The Entire Work

From this analysis, I have discovered some of the brilliant ideas that Edgard

Varèse uses for percussion writing. It is clear to me that Varèse constructed this piece very carefully from a single atom to the entire overall large structure. He uses only a few motives (or textures), yet his orchestration generates infinite variety and possibility.

From the spectrum figure above (figure 1.14), we can see that the music is clearly not linearly developed. There is a good deal of back and forth in terms of rhythmic density, as well as through dynamics and frequency distribution. For these reasons, the music is highly interesting and unpredictable.

References

Edgar Varèse, Ionisation, with Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Pierre Boulez, recorded December, 1995, Deutsche Grammophon 471137, 2001, compact disc

Hearing Chinese: a survey of dialects and their musical applications

Introduction

After years of exploring sound on instruments and human voices, my ears have become sensitive to subtle variations of timbre and sonority. In the last several years, these variations have piqued my musical imagination, leading me to seek new structural strategies in my compositions. I am particularly interested in the notion of creating structure with respect to the timbral quantum, rather than the motive. Among the most compelling sources of these fluctuations is the human voice. Whether acting as a purely instrumental voice, invoking language, or exploring the marginal world of breath and whispers, the voice boasts an incredible potential for timbral variety.

Through my examination of the intersection of the voice and language, specifically the many dialects of Chinese, I hope to improve my timbral sophistication, and discover new and different approaches to composition. I also intend to deepen and enrich my understanding of the Chinese cultural patrimony, and to gain a better comprehension of language's role in shaping Chinese civilization over time. Also it is an interesting perspective that helps me to understand the root of Chinese civilization.

However, China's sprawling territory, massive population, lengthy and complex history, and highly individuated cultural groups make this proposition quite daunting. To facilitate my research, I plan to organize my efforts episodically: first, I will assemble a general concept, and then delve deeply into linguistic studies of each region. My primary goal

18 in presenting this paper is to give a précis of my research. I will provide an overall impression of the Chinese language as it relates to my musical interests, followed by a discussion of the most prominent dialect, Mandarin, as well as its subgroup dialect,

Henan, in greater detail.

Chinese Language

Considering similarities in language among China's 56 recognized ethnic groups, linguists generally agree that Chinese can be divided into seven major dialects1:

1) Northern, also known as Mandarin. This dialect spoken in a large part of China,

include northeastern, Central Plains, northwestern and southwestern.

2) Wu (吴), also Zhejiang (浙江) dialect, spoken in southwest part of Jiangsu (江

苏)province and most of Zhejiang province. Shanghai (上海) dialect is a

representative subdivision of Wu dialect.

3) Gan (赣), also Jiangxi (江西) dialect, mainly located in Jiangxi province,

northwestern of Fujian (福建) province, eastern of Hunan (湖南) province and

southeast part of Hubei (湖北) province.

4) Min (闽), mainly spoken in Fujian (福建) province, east part of Guangdong (广东)

province, western of Leizhou (雷州) peninsula, Hainan (海南) province, Taiwan (台

湾) island and in Chinese community in several Southeast Asia countries

5) Yue (粤), also known as Cantonese, spoken in most of Guangdou (广东) province,

1 Yuan, Jiahua 袁家骅. "Han yu fang yan gai yao" 汉语方言概要 [A synopsis of Chinese Dialects]. 2nd ed. Beijing: Yu wen chu ban she 语文出版社, 2001, 22

southeastern of Guangxi (广西), Hongkong (香港) and overseas Chinese.

6) Xiang (湘), also Hunan (湖南) dialect, spoken in most part of Hunan (湖南)

province.

7) Kejia (客家), spoken in south part of China includes provinces of Guangdong (广

东), Fujian (福建), Jiangxi (江西) and Guangxi (广西). Also speaks in Taiwan (台

湾) and overseas Chinese live in Southeast Asia countries.

Mandarin

Mandarin (also known as the northern dialect) is the foundation of modern standard Chinese, spoken by over 70% of China's population across the north, central, and southern regions. Pinyin system is used for transcribing and learning the pronunciation of Mandarin. Unlike most Western languages, words in Chinese are represented by logograms; these must be transliterated before they can be translated into other languages. The official system for romanizing the Mandarin dialect is Pīnyīn, a system developed in the 1950's. An initial followed by a final with a diacritical marker is used to indicate the pronunciation of a Chinese character.

The 23 initials can be categorized by its way of moving the vocal organs:

 Bilabial: b [p], p [pʰ], m [m]

 Labiodental: f [f]

 Alveolar: d [t], t [tʰ], n [n], l [l], z [ts], c [tsʰ], s [s],

 Retroflex: zh [ʈʂ], ch [ʈʂʰ], sh [ʂ], r [ʐ~ɻ]

 Alveopalatal: j [tɕ], q [tɕʰ], x [ɕ]

 Velar: g [k], k [kʰ], h [x]

 Approximant: y [j], w [w]

The 39 finals can be categorized by their structural character:

 Simple finals: a [ä], o [ɔ], e [ə], ê[ɛ], i [i], u [u], ü[y], -i(front) [ɨ], -i(back) [ɨ], er [ɑɻ]

 Compound finals: ai [aɪ̯ ], ei [eɪ̯ ], ao [ɑʊ̯ ], ou [oʊ̯ ], ia [i̯ ä], ie [i̯ ɛ], ua [u̯ ä], uo [u̯ ɔ], üe

[y̯ œ], iao [i̯ ɑʊ̯ ], iu [i̯ oʊ̯ ], uai [u̯ aɪ̯ ], ui [u̯ eɪ̯ ]

 Nasal finals: an [än], en [ən], in [in], un [u̯ ən], ian [i̯ ɛn], uan [u̯ än], üɑn [y̯ ɛn], un

[u̯ ən], ang [ɑŋ], eng [ɤŋ], ing [iŋ], ong [ʊŋ], iang [i̯ ɑŋ], uang [u̯ ɑŋ], ong [ʊŋ], iong

[i̯ ʊŋ]

Regarding compound finals, there are two points worth mentioning: first, the compound final consists of two or three vowels, and its pronunciation requires a smooth and even glide between each vowel; second, the main vowel is pronounced relatively louder and with more clarity than the secondary (or tertiary). For instance, the main vowel of ai [aɪ̯ ], ei [eɪ̯ ], ao [ɑʊ̯ ], ou [oʊ̯ ] is the first vowel; the main vowel of ia [i̯ ä], ie

[i̯ ɛ], ua [u̯ ä], uo [u̯ ɔ], üe [y̯ œ] is the latter vowel; the main vowel of iao [i̯ ɑʊ̯ ], iu [i̯ oʊ̯ ], uai [u̯ aɪ̯ ], ui [u̯ eɪ̯ ] is the vowel in middle and other two vowels are secondary.

Chinese is a tonal language. In Pinyin system, diacritical marks (ˉˊˇˋ) are used for indicating the four tones. Each diacritical mark represents a relative pitch change.

The first tone (ˉ) has a flat contour, the second (ˊ) rises, the third (ˇ) falls and then rises, and the fourth (ˋ) falls. There is also a fifth tone, sometimes referred to as the neutral tone, with no diacritical mark. Chinese-American linguist and composer Yuen Ren

Chao (3 November 1892 – 25 February 1982) invented an approach for transcribing

21 tonal pitch variation in spoken languages2 which is widely uses in the study of Chinese dialects:

Figure 2.1: Yuen Ren Chao’s Approach for Transcribing Tonal Pitch Variation in Spoken Languages

Figure 2.1 shows Chao’s approach to transcribing the tonal contours of

Mandarin. Chao's notation bears more than a passing resemblance to the Western five- line staff; here, "1" to "5" represent the range of the speaker's voice, from low to high, and the arrows represent the glide from one pitch to the next. For instance, the famous mā, má, mǎ, mà can be indicated as ma55, ma35, ma214, ma51. This approach makes it more comprehensible in terms of learning and study, especially for doing comparative research of the pitch variations between different dialects.

To the composer's eye, Pinyin is almost like a detailed score; it indicates precise information about sonic parameters, such as attack (initials), sustain (finals), volume and timbre variations (compound finals), and pitch contour (diacritics, and Chao's notation). A simple experimental composition could be realized by:

 Crafting attacks by assigning initials to corresponding instrumental articulations.

For example: collecting data by deconstructing the motion of teeth, tongue, lips,

and facial muscles during the pronunciation of initials, then mapping the data to

2 Wang, William S-Y., "Yuen Ren Chao", Language, Vol. 59, No. 3 (Sep., 1983), pp. 605–607

instrumental parameters such as air pressure, bow position, speaking into the

instrument, et cetera.

 Using finals to shape instrumental sustain. Where the initials would be assigned to

attacks, finals would correspond to sustains, the vowel transitions mapping to

morphs between various techniques. String players might reflect these vowel glides

in their bow placement, pressure, and left hand technique (half-pressed, fully-

pressed, muted), continuously moving between hollow, distorted, smooth, and

harsh sounds. Winds, conversely, might move through sonically-related

embouchure positions, fluttering, multiphonics, overblowing, and alternative

fingerings.

 Using the five tones. This could be applied in a direct way, with the instrument's

pitch reflecting tonal contours of the language, or in more interesting ways such as

singing into the instrument, etc.

The examples above pertain to single instruments; however, these precepts would be well applied to ensemble and orchestra writing, where the expanded range of sonority and timbre would allow for even greater exploratory depth. The discussion thus far has concerned the potential musical applications of the Mandarin dialect. However, it is only one of the seven major dialects, each one having unique and divergent qualities, including phonemes, pacing, tones, and energy. Many of them sound like completely new languages. Furthermore, each major dialect has a number of regional variants, some of which are hugely contrastive to their parent dialect. Such a rich and varied body of language could serve as a nigh-endless resource for inspiration and creativity. In the

23 next segment of my paper, I will compare Mandarin with one of its variations, the Henan dialect.

Henan Dialect

In The Language Atlas of China (中国语言地图集), the linguist Rong Li divides Mandarin into eight dialect subgroups, with Henan belonging to the "Plains

Mandarin" subgroup. In terms of pronunciation, though Henan has many similarities with Mandarin, it is readily distinguishable by its very different tonal system. As a native

Mandarin speaker, my impression is that Henan sounds dramatic and vivid, whereas

Mandarin sounds a bit flat by comparison. To study the tonal variations, I invited a native Henan dialect speaker who was a radio announcer and also speaks Mandarin perfectly to record two samples based on the same text: one in Mandarin, and one in the

Henan dialect. On the next step I applied spectrum analysis on both samples and extracted the pitch contour of the fundamental frequency for accurate comparison. The texts I chose came from an excerpt of a Henan opera, Hua Mulan: "Who said women are not as good as men?" This approach allowed me to identify the differences between

Henan and Mandarin, and illustrated the way different dialects influence traditional music.

Below are a series of figures presenting my research findings:

1. phrase-by-phrase score examples of the recorded excerpt from Hua Mulan;

2. Chinese lyrics, as well as accompanying Pinyin romanization;

3. spectrally-analyzed pitch contours of Mandarin and Henan, side by side;

4. English translation of the lyrics, with my observations.

Figure 2.2: Phrase No.1

Lyrics translation of Figure 2.2: Brother Liu, your talking is too biased.

 The third character “ge” has a flat tone in Mandarin. In Henan Dialect, it has a clear

rising motion which fits the melody Bb to F better.

 On the next character “jiang”, the flat contour on Henan dialect sounds closer to the

melody.

 On the last three characters “li tai pian”, the pitch contour between the score and

Henan dialect is highly similar, including the slide up in the last bar.

Figure 2.3: Phrase No.2

Lyrics translation of Figure 2.3: Who said that women are idlers?

 The first character “shui” is rising tone in Mandarin, and a falling tone in Henan.

The melody F to Bb fits Henan Dialect perfectly.

 On the character “xiang” the falling contour in Henan Dialect suits the melody

better than the third tone – falling-rising tone in Mandarin.

 The grace note in the last bar fits the falling contour in Henan Dialect.

Figure 2.4: Phrase No.3

Lyrics translation of Figure 2.4: Men fight at frontier.

 The Mandarin pronunciation of “da zhang” sounds almost opposed to the written

melody, but the Henan pronunciation fits quite coherently.

 “dao bian guan” –another prime example showing the influence of Henan

pronunciation on the melody.

Figure 2.5: Phrase No.4

Lyrics translation of Figure 2.5: Women spin cotton into thread at home,

 “nü zi fang zhi” – the pitch contour of Henan dialect is closer to the melody.

Comparing the spectrum, Henan dialect is more fluctuant and more connected while

the Mandarin has more gaps between words.

Figure 2.6: Phrase No.5

Lyrics translation of Figure 2.6: (They) farm during the daytime,

 “bai tian qu” –the Henan dialect the pitch contour demonstrates a clear relationship

to the melody, while the Mandarin contour is counterposed.

 Although the Mandarin part here doesn’t work with the melody that well, its

spectrum perfectly represent the diacritical marks on the Pinyin line.

Figure 2.7: Phrase No.6

Lyrics translation of Figure 2.7: and spin cotton at night.

 Here, the melody here clearly follows the tonal contour of the Henan Dialect.

 Interestingly, the overall pitch contours between Henan Dialect and Mandarin are

almost opposite.

Figure 2.8: Phrase No.7

Lyrics translation of Figure 2.8: (They) work hard through night and day.

 Henan Dialect spectrum shows several big up-and-down contours and the Mandarin

is flatter and more stepped.

 “zhou ye” and “ba huo gan” – in these two places, the Henan pronunciation fits

better with the melody.

Figure 2.9: Phrase No.8

Lyrics translation of Figure 2.9: So that, the soldiers have food and clothes.

 Surprisingly, in this passage the Mandarin pronunciation generally works much

better than Henan dialect while the latter apparently contradicts the melody in

“jiang shi men” and “chi he chuan”. This may be a result of its musical decision

since the melody gives a sense of cadence.

Figure 2.10: Phrase No.9

Lyrics translation of Figure 2.10: If you don’t believe me,

 The tone of Mandarin works better in this passage too because Henan dialect

fluctuates too much compared to the flat melody on the first three characters.

 Both spectra on the last two characters “xin na” are almost identical and fit the

melody very well.

Figure 2.11: Phrase No.10

Lyrics translation of Figure 2.11: please look at ourselves.

 In this part the melody is affected more by the Henan dialect although the pitches

are not as dramatic as the contour showed in the spectrum.

Figure 2.12: Phrase No.11

Lyrics translation of Figure 2.12: Our shoes, socks

 The grace note in the second bar perfectly represents the character of Henan dialect.

 Comparing both spectra, you can see that they are almost mirrored. This clearly

shows the difference between the two tonal systems.

Figure 2.13: Phrase No.12

Lyrics translation of Figure 2.13: and our clothes,

 For the first three characters “hai you yi” the Mandarin is volatile compared with

the flatness of the melody, and the Henan dialect fits better here. However, on the

last two characters, "he shan", Henan sounds exaggerated, and Mandarin is more

suitable for the melody. It may be unwise to read too much into this short example,

these quibbles reveal the difficulty of writing a practicable melody for Chinese

languages, since composers have to constantly deal with the conflict between

melodic contour and the natural tones of the language.

Figure 2.14: Phrase No.13

Lyrics translation of Figure 2.14: they all made by them (women).

 In the first bar Mandarin fits the melody well but from 2nd bar Henan dialect works

better, especially for the last two characters “lian na”.

Figure 2.15: Phrase No.14

Lyrics translation of Figure 2.15: There are many heroines

 Generally Henan dialect is more suitable in this passage, for instance the pitch

contour of “xu duo” and the grace note and pitch slide in the last bar.

 In the 2nd bar, the spectra of two dialects are mostly mirrored.

Figure 2.16: Phrase No.15

Lyrics translation of Figure 2.16: also made great achievements.

 It seems neither of two two dialects fit very well in this passage.

 “Gong lao” – completely different pitch contour between Henan dialect and

Mandarin.

Figure 2.17: Phrase No.16

Lyrics translation of Figure 2.17: (They) guard the country and against with the

enemies generation after generation.

 The melody of this passage sounds heavily like Henan dialect speaking, especially

when combined with the grace notes, which emphasize the dramatic tonal character

and it makes the lyrics highly comprehensible to a Henanese audience.

Figure 2.18: Phrase No.17

Lyrics translation of Figure 2.18: How can say women are not as good as men?

 This is the ending phrase of this excerpt and the melody shows a clear sense of

cadence. For characters in first two bars “zhe nv zi men” and last bar “nan”, Henan

dialect comforms closely to the melody.

 Starting from the second bar, the spectrum between two dialects are almost mirrored,

which means their tones are mostly opposite in these characters.

Conclusion

This comparative study has helped me to understand the tonal system of Henan dialect in a very intuitive way. Also I gained insight into traditional Chinese music. By examining the pitch contours of Henan dialect and Mandarin side by side, I found this could be a great resource for creating heterophonic or micro-polyphonic texture. I imagine that, in the future, I will collect and study hundreds of samples from different

36 dialects, extract the pitch contours, layer them in instrumental groups, and assign corresponding articulations from the dialectal pronunciation. Even such a simple and straightforward approach may create exciting results, and would certainly be worth the effort. Over time, my investment in these studies will deepen and broaden my compositional attitudes, helping me to cultivate a true, unique voice.

References

Li, Rong, and Theo Baumann. Language Atlas of China. Hong Kong: Longman, 1988.

Wang, William S-Y., "Yuen Ren Chao", Language, Vol. 59, No. 3 (Sep., 1983), pp. 605–607

Yuan, Jiahua 袁家骅. "Han yu fang yan gai yao" 汉语方言概要 [A synopsis of Chinese Dialects]. 2nd ed. Beijing: Yu wen chu ban she 语文出版社, 2001.

Style and Genre in Lear on the 2nd Floor

Introduction

In the chamber opera Lear on the 2nd Floor, composer Anthony Davis’ music integrates diverse genres and styles, from classical opera, to jazz, to hip hop and reggae, in order to organically support the plot and characters and constantly bring about freshness and unpredictability. The purpose of this paper is to discover the genres and styles that appear throughout this opera and to study Davis’ method of integration.

Anthony Davis has been a primary source of information and insight in the construction of this thesis.

Scene 1

The instrumentation of Lear on the 2nd Floor is clarinet, bassoon, violin, viola, cello, double bass, piano, two sets of percussion, and live electronics. The opera starts with a shimmering texture – a custom hexatonic scale (consists of F, G, Ab, Bb, C# and

E) flowing between violin and piano and three sustaining pitches (F, Ab, E) softly played by clarinet, vibraphone, viola, and piano. The orchestration shows an impressionistic thinking and creates a sense of suspense. Four bars later, Nora enters the opera with the lyrics, “A canary in a coal mine is no bird of paradise…” and the atmosphere maintains its texture for a while.

Starting from bar 36 (figure 3.1, piano part), a tango-like rhythmic idea played by clarinet, bassoon, cello, double bass, piano and percussion dramatically shifts the mood.

Figure 3.1: Bar36, Scene 1, Piano

Correspondingly, Nora’s vocal part displays her presence with simple but straightforward rhythms like syncopation and triplets. According to Davis, the music resembles a ‘weird march’ that has a strong Stravinsky influence. It’s about the importance of science. The musical elements - especially rhythm – show her persona, her knowledge and authority, her confidence in understanding the material, that she is on top of the world in the public view. The chords Davis has chosen are structured by

3rd’s, 4th’s and 7th’s. Besides rhythm, the force of the forward momentum comes from the dissonance in the harmony.

On the piano part of Bar 55, two chords stack together (figure 3.2):

Figure 3.2: Bar 55, Scene 1, Piano

The chord on the left hand has the same structure as figure 3.1’s left hand. The one on the upper staff, which is doubling the vibraphone, is another transposition. The minor 2nds between two chords create a further unstable factor when compared to figure

3.1. According to Davis, his decision regarding pitches has a certain amount of jazz

40 influence since 7th chords are most notably used in jazz harmony. Simultaneously, the favor of dissonance shows an influence of chromaticism. Contrary to harmonic clusters that are usually found in common contemporary music, its hybrid-influenced structure creates an erratic and beautiful tension out of a few notes.

Figure 3.3: Bar 58-59, Scene 1, Piano

The piano part in bar 58 (figure 3.3) is similar to earlier examples in terms of chord structure. On the other hand, the groove of sixteenth notes on the left hand

(doubling with double bass pizz. and percussions) is a new element. The irregular rhythmic patterns and accents that are added on the last note of each group shift the sense of pulse and create a chaotic effect when adding materials from other instruments.

This echoes the overall plot very well, since Nora’s vocal part represents her mental breakdown during her public speech, reiterating the sense of chaos. Davis says that he has done some “weird gamelan music” in the past which is not traditional gamelan, but has his own interpretation of the instrument, and that this is the origin of these lively rhythmic patterns.

Nora’s speaking ends in a disaster that is caused by her disorder. The following is the scene in which Nora meets with the doctor. After the doctor calls, “Nora, look at me,” in bar 87, we can hear a march-like rhythm played on the drum set (figure 3.4).

Figure 3.4: Bar 87-89, Scene 1, Drum Set

The angular rhythm showed above is quite similar to Nora’s “weird march” rhythm in terms of seriousness. The pattern is martial, authoritarian, and almost militaristic. It represents the doctor who examines Nora. On other instruments, we can hear the same rhythm being played with the same chord structure shown in the first three figures. It brings a sense of irony when different transpositions of this dissonant chord combine with the march rhythm. The piano part (doubling with bassoon and strings) shows the approach: (Figure 3.5)

Figure 3.5: Bar 87-89, Scene 1, Piano

Speaking of irony, there is another example in bar 109. When Nora asks “Did you check the proteins?” there is a dramatic leap on the last note (figure 3.6). The operatic singing along with the lyrics is especially humorous and ironic. “It’s kind of playing with Wagner. Heroic, scientific thing!” remarks Davis. In the same section in the ensemble part, there is a short pattern (figure 3.7) that is very similar to the “gamelan” theme we saw in figure 3.3. Considering the situation from the first time this theme is being introduced, one can assume Nora is becoming excited here.

Figure 3.6: Bar 109, Scene 1, Nora Figure 3.7: Bar 109, Scene 1, Piano Reduction

Starting from bar 127, while Nora and the doctor are talking about the death of

Nora’s husband Mortimer, a haunting melody played by the bassoon (figure 3.8) suddenly drags everything into a dark and sorrowful space. This theme represents death, love, and Nora’s sense of grief over the loss of her husband.

Figure 3.8: Bar127-128, Scene 1, Bassoon

Piano and strings support the bassoon by quietly playing sustaining chords which are based on the F minor melodic scale. Eight bars later, the key moves up a major 2nd to G minor and the original bassoon melody seamlessly shifts to the cello.

Additional sonorities are added from bass clarinet and vibraphone. Furthermore, the violin and viola move to a much higher register. Sonically, those variations profoundly support Nora’s pain. It may be difficult to find a direct influence for this section, but it’s still worth taking into consideration Davis’ exceptional musical sensibility and orchestration technique.

Starting from bar 161, an articulating pattern can be found in the double bass and piano parts while the drums play a funk groove (figure 3.9). It is a “Kind of swing

43 music,” as it is described by Davis. In swing music, a significant rhythm section of double bass and drums is essential, and offbeat notes or weak beats are frequently emphasized3.

Figure 3.9: Bar 161-164, Scene 1, Double Bass

This 13/4 ostinato repeats eight times as a base for supporting the doctor’s statement. It starts in an Ab octatonic scale which naturally has a kind of unique tension since it is based on a diminished 7th chord. At the fifth repeat, bar 177, Davis modulates the key from Ab to F while the ensemble becomes more active, thus moving the music forward. It reaches a climax in bar 184, which is a Gb note in the doctor’s voice contrasted against the low F in the double bass and piano.

Scene 2

This is Nora’s youngest daughter Lyla’s scene. To describe Lyla’s character, this scene starts with a much lighter orchestration compared to scene 1. This gives the audience an impression of innocence. “I call it naive music,” says Davis. Its tonality, rhythm, and harmony are all simplified with more space.

In general, the chord progression in this scene shows a clearer jazz influence than scene 1. In the introduction, the ensemble creates a kind of laid-back vibe by playing a short pattern in D Dorian mode with downward motion (figure 3.10). In bar

3 J. Bradford Robinson. "Swing." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/27219, (accessed May 1, 2014).

10, that pattern evolves into a more articulated version – the staccato marks are obvious.

Plus, using syncopations instead of on-beat chords and changing the meter from 6/4 to

7/4 (4/4+4/3) make it rhythmically very interesting (figure 3.11).

Figure 3.10: Bar 1-3, Scene 2, Piano Figure 3.11: Bar 10-11, Scene 2, Piano

Starting with bar 90, we can find that pattern again, but in fact, a new variation.

It has some dramatic changes but we can still trace their similarities, for instance, in the syncopation on the right hand and up-and-down contour of the bass line (figure 3.12).

Figure 3.12: Bar 90-93, Scene 2, Piano

Davis comments that the groove starting in bar 90 is almost like the 70’s pop song “Do You Know the Way to San Jose” by Burt Bacharach, especially because of the syncopated rhythm. The rhythmic pattern and harmony also show a bossa nova influence which should be playful and sweet. However, it’s very interesting that the lyrics are not that enjoyable, as you hear lines like “…blood types don’t seem to match,” or, “That’s the cause of all pain. Drives you insane.” In this context, the music makes everything seem out of place. The effect is that it seduces the audience into a place where they feel familiar and comfortable, but then it gets disturbing.

Scene 3

Everything that happens in scene 3 is from Nora’s imagination and mainly between Nora and her husband Mortimer, who we already know is dead. This scene starts with a pattern that is very similar to figure 3.11. It only lasts for four and half bars, then suddenly the ensemble becomes a bit brutal. The fast passage that is played by the ensemble in unison (figure 3.13) sounds like a proper tribute to Messiaen’s “Quartet for the End of Time.”

Figure 3.13: Bar 5-9, Scene 3, Clarinet (in C)

Then Nora “meets” with her husband in her imagination. At first, the singing is a bit intense and the ensemble part shares some similarities with the march pattern. Then, from bar 94, Nora’s husband sings a haunting and beautiful aria while the ensemble recalls the husband/death/love theme underneath. A new section starts at bar 112 and

Davis adopts stride music – an old style of jazz piano from the 1930s – in the piano part

(figure 3.14).

Figure 3.14: Bar 112-115, Scene 3, Voices and Piano Reduction

The single bass note on the strong beats combined with a chord on weak beats

(with swing rhythm) are clear evidence of a stride music influence. This part represents

Nora’s mind. The vocal part shows that she imagines her daughters singing together to express how they love her. It’s a part of the fantasy and the old stride style makes everything that much more surreal.

Scene 4

Figure 3.15: Bar 10-14, Scene 4, Full Score

The story of this scene is between Nora and her nurse. Davis applies reggae music throughout the whole scene with a couple inserts for contrast. Figure 3.15 shows the full score of bar 10-14; this is the starting point of the nurse theme. A classic reggae groove pattern is played by the piano, double bass, and drums, and there is an antiphony texture between the singer and woodwinds section. Reggae music works extremely well with the nurse’s persona, which is playful and uplifting. However, the nurse, in a way, represents the angel of death in this opera. It’s another example of how Davis creates a sense of alienation between the music and story by utilizing distinctive styles and genres.

Scene 5

Figure 3.16: Bar 1-4, Scene 5, Piano Reduction

Scene 5 starts with a very agile and bouncing motive (figure 3.16) in the ensemble part and continues for twenty-three bars of evolving and self-expanding. This accumulates the energy for what comes next. Adjacent to a small climax that is created by a fast-rising-scale gesture on the ensemble, Tara - Nora’s middle daughter - joins with a confident and even a little aggressive voice (figure 3.17) while the ensemble still continues the materials from figure 3.16.

Figure 3.17: Bar 24-30, Scene 5, Tara

The vocal writing for Tara’s part seems very unpredictable – Davis flexibly utilizes and combines various rhythms, alternates meters between 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4, applies upbeats and syncopations, and for the melody, incorporates big leaps as well as chromatic phrasing. However, when look at it carefully, we can discover that all the pitches and rhythms actually come from natural speech – a similar approach to

Schoenberg’s Sprechstimme, or ‘speech-voice’ in German.

In bar 53, when Tara talks about the court, the ensemble suddenly shifts to an ostinato (figure 3.18) which is a variation of the 13/4 ostinato used in scene 1 - the

48 doctor’s examination (figure 3.9). Recalling this ostinato is useful for showing the authority and importance of the court. A very interesting aspect is that in bars 53-54, even Tara’s singing becomes a bit mechanical and robotic, representing the seriousness and coldness of court in an ironic way.

Figure 3.18: Bar 53-57, Scene 5, Tara and Piano Reduction

Scene 6

Jenna, Nora’s eldest daughter, is angered by Nora’s unexpected visit. From the piano reduction score in figure 3.19, the ensemble supports Jenna’s anger by alternating between clusters and the “gamelan” pattern that was introduced in scene 1 (figure 3.3 and 3.7), thus creating a momentum with percussive effect simulation.

Figure 3.19: Bar 35-38, Scene 6, Jenna and Piano Reduction

In bar 60, Jenna starts telling the story of how she entered the improper world of the pornography industry (figure 3.20). Davis remarked that the music for this part was

49 inspired by Charles Mingus, one of his favorite jazz composers. The context of this part is about creating a “smoky vibe” and the kind of corny jazz music fits perfectly. The structure of this song is also related to much of Mingus’ music. Traditionally in an

AABA song, people repeat the A section. In this instance, the A section doesn’t repeat, but goes directly to the bridge – starting in bar 70 （two-beat feel on drum set）with the lyrics “Be Vivid.”4. It has a tempo change and becomes more rhythmic. In bar 86, the music returns to the A section with the line, “So I entered the scene…,” then the B section comes back again in bar 96 with, “Try the scene with an accent.” In terms of lyrics, both sections start with the same format – an order from the director. In bar 112, an up-tempo version of section A starts, almost like a bebop version.

Figure 3.20: Bar 60-63, Scene 6, Jenna and Piano Reduction

Scene 7

This scene happens in a storm. At the beginning, Nora wanders around somewhere in the middle of the night in search of a cab. Figure 3.21 is an excerpt of this section and from the piano reduction score we can see the ensemble plays a fast gesture while Nora has rests, and changes to a sustaining texture while Nora is singing.

4 The lyrics “Be Vivid” play with a real porn film company that calls “Vivid”.

Sometimes the ensemble also highlights the rhythm of Nora’s singing and adds excitement. “It’s kind of a weird recitative,” says Davis.

Figure 3.21: Bar 33-38, Scene 7, Nora and Piano Reduction

There is an interesting moment in bar 62 when Nora sings, “I have duck’s feet” and the bassoon part starts with syncopation and large leaps in pitch – sonically, this draws the picture of Nora waddling in the storm. (figure 3.22)

Figure 3.22: Bar 62, Scene 7, Nora and Bassoon

After Mortimer asks Nora, “Would you dance with me?” an authentic tango- style accompaniment starts in the ensemble in bar 124 (figure 3.23). Like the “duck’s feet” and many of previous examples, the degree of coordination between Davis’ music and the context is extraordinary high. At the same time, Davis’ music is not totally controlled by the context and instead he lends his creativity and artistic sense to the opera.

Figure 3.23: Bar 124-129, Scene 7, Mortimer and Piano Reduction

Scene 8

One significant feature in this scene is the conflict and tension which is created by the interactions between Nora, Tara, the doctor, and the lawyer. While including new musical ideas, the previous materials are referred back to in many places as well. These references help in building a firm connection with earlier scenes both musically and contextually. In the beginning, the fast ensemble gesture (figure 3.24) that plays in unison sounds similar to an expanded and developed version of the accompaniment in figure 3.21 in terms of the rhythmic density and pitch range. An unusual stride pattern

(figure 3.25) arrives in bar 14 that then leads to a small climax at bar 19.

Figure 3.24: Bar 1-2, Scene 8, Piano Reduction

Figure 3.25: Bar 14-15, Scene 8, Piano Reduction

In bar 28, a contra motion between the ensemble’s ostinato and the lawyer’s singing mirrors the minor 3rd and major 7th intervals (figure 3.26). This is not the only place this happens, and in this section the melodies always fall in an opposite direction.

Figure 3.26: Bar 28-29, Scene 8, Lawyer and Piano Reduction

After several modulations and a building up of momentum, it leads to a climax in bar 91 (figure 3.27) by interlocking Nora and the lawyer’s singing with a contra- motion and repetitive lyrics, which also augment the energy.

Figure 3.27: Bar 91-94, Scene 8, Nora, Lawyer and Piano Reduction

The dramatic rhythmic idea that starts at bar 115 (figure 3.28) – alternating between syncopations and triplets – is again inspired by Gamelan music. Davis describes Balinese music as “very dramatic and rhythmic,” which is demonstrated in this passage. Later on, there are repeating-building textures in the ensemble, as well as a call and response between the two singers as a means of building the tension. “What is it you want? What is it you want?” These lyrics are mostly shouted from Tara and the lawyer’s mouths. Then, the music suddenly drops to almost nothing on bar 125 when

Nora sings, “I want you to go” – the ensemble goes away and just Nora’s voice stays.

It’s probably the most dramatic moment in this scene so far. As Davis says, “Sometimes the most dramatic thing is not having anything.”

Figure 3.28: Bar 115-119, Scene 8, Nora, Lawyer and Piano Reduction

Figure 3.29: Bar 132-140, Scene 8, Voices and Piano Reduction

In bar 132, Nora starts to “beat back” the lawyer (figure 3.29). Through the repetitions in both the ensemble and the voices, Davis successfully creates a kind of hyper-emotion – Nora’s rage is coming through. Later, in bar 150, the 13/4 “swing” ostinato that was used in scene 1 (figure 3.9) and scene 5 (figure 3.18) comes back again with the doctor reading a chart about Nora’s illness – the circumstance is almost exactly same as the one in scene 1. The doctor’s part, “There are significant cognitive

55 challenges,” applies speech rhythm (figure 3.30). By using the speech rhythm technique,

Davis makes the lyrics much clearer to audience’s ears, while creating a kind of rhythmic tension. “English is a rhythmic language, particularly in American English…

[In this part] there is a hip-hop influence, especially Miles Davies, like the way he plays trumpet – dah-bah-dah-bah, bah!” In this way, Davis describes his approach to this passage. This is another example of the astonishing breadth of musical resources contained in this opera.

Figure 3.30: Bar 155-158, Scene 8, Doctor and Piano Reduction

Scene 9

The first part of this scene functions as an interlude. Davis decides to make a musical space between the end of scene 8 and the court story that comes next. Davis references a jazz piece he composed years ago called “Sudden Death.” There are vast varieties of materials presented in this short interlude. In the score there are seven letter markers for dividing phrases and each phrase has its own character. For instance, in letter C, there is a free jazz improvisational section and from letter D to F the material gradually morphs from a swing rhythm, to regular, to double speed, and by letter G, there is a more chaotic texture created by using sixteenths again with triplets and huge

56 leaps in pitches. The overall direction is from simple to complex and from spacious to busy.

In the court section, Jenna, Tara, and Lyla come to the podium to make statements one by one to the judge. For coordinating each character, Davis recalls material from each of their scenes respectively. When Jenna tells a lie, we can hear her smoky Mingus-style jazz song (figure 3.31). When Tara gets aggressive, we can hear the bouncing motive in the ensemble (figure 3.32). When Lyla expresses her concern about Nora, we can hear the “naive music” (figure 3.33).

Figure 3.31: Bar 208-210, Scene 9, Jenna and Piano Reduction

Figure 3.32: Bar 295-297, Scene 9, Tara and Piano Reduction

Figure 3.33: Bar 388-389, Scene 9, Lyla and Piano Reduction

The judge also has his own theme, which is very kind and soft. It is not only a proper representation of his personality, but also seamlessly connects the other characters’ parts.

Figure 3.34: Bar 114-117, Scene 9, Judge and Piano Reduction

Scene 10

In the last scene, Davis ends the opera by reintroducing Mortimer’s theme – or the death theme – along with the reggae theme. In the uplifting and joyful atmosphere created by the reggae music, “It is time to fly,” Mortimer takes Nora away and returns to the heart of memory.

Conclusion

Listening to Anthony Davis’ Lear on the Second Floor, one is amazed by the vast varieties of different characters and colors portrayed by the music. However, even with this level of variety, everything still coherently functions as a whole. It gives an impression that all these styles/genres like tango, martial music, jazz, boss nova, semi- atonal classical music, free improvisation, and many more are all part of Davis’ native language. This combination of vastly different influences could not be accomplished without his profound experience, knowledge, and respect of history.

References

J. Bradford Robinson. "Swing." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/27219, (accessed March 1, 2014).