DOCSLIB.ORG

Birdsong in the Music of Olivier Messiaen a Thesis Submitted To

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Birdsong in the Music of Olivier Messiaen a Thesis Submitted To P Birdsongin the Music of Olivier Messiaen A thesissubmitted to MiddlesexUniversity in partial fulfilment of the requirementsfor the degreeof Doctor of Philosophy David Kraft School of Art, Design and Performing Arts Nfiddlesex University December2000 Abstract 7be intentionof this investigationis to formulatea chronologicalsurvey of Messiaen'streatment of birdsong,taking into accountthe speciesinvolved and the composer'sevolving methods of motivic manipulation,instrumentation, incorporation of intrinsic characteristicsand structure.The approachtaken in this studyis to surveyselected works in turn, developingappropriate tabular formswith regardto Messiaen'suse of 'style oiseau',identified bird vocalisationsand eventhe frequentappearances of musicthat includesfamiliar characteristicsof bird style, althoughnot so labelledin the score.Due to the repetitivenature of so manymotivic fragmentsin birdsong,it has becomenecessary to developnew terminology and incorporatederivations from other research findings.7be 'motivic classification'tables, for instance,present the essentialmotivic featuresin somevery complexbirdsong. The studybegins by establishingthe importanceof the uniquemusical procedures developed by Messiaen:these involve, for example,questions of form, melodyand rhythm.7he problemof is 'authenticity' - that is, the degreeof accuracywith which Messiaenchooses to treat birdsong- then examined.A chronologicalsurvey of Messiaen'suse of birdsongin selectedmajor works follows, demonstratingan evolutionfrom the ge-eralterm 'oiseau' to the preciseattribution of particular materialto particular birds. in later periods,the composerexplores new instrumentationand accompanying harmonies (or , chordalcomplexities) to create,as closelyas possible,the uniquetimbres and other idiosyncrasies of birds' vocalisations;at the sametime, Messiaenbegins to introducea much larger variety of speciesinto his music,using birdsong from all overthe world. 7be representationsof birdsongare muchmore 'authentic',or at leastmore colourful, than in previousworks andperhaps, with the accompanyingportrayal of landscapein (for example)Catalogue, greater verisimilitude is created. The inclusionof so manyexotic speciesin the scoresof, for instance,Sept Harkar and Chronochromieis a resultof Messiaen'smeticulous ornithological investigations and painstaking notations.More importantly,the monophonicbird styletends increasingly to be replacedby other texturessuch as two-voicehomophony, hornorhythin, hybrid forms andpolyphony. The mostpertinent works of this final periodare evaluated,clearly displayingthe manyfeatures of eachbirdsong and call, andtheir part in the structureof the pieces.Conclusions are drawn concerningthe technicalmeans by which the composerrealises the distinguishingfeatures of each birdsong.The thesisis sustainedby a closestudy of threeelements governing Messiaen's treatment of birdsong;(rbythm., melody and structure),especially considering the closerelationship between them. Therehas not previouslybeen a systematicattempt to analyseMessiaen's pieces in this way. This researchprovides a coherentstructural overview of Messiaen'semployment of birdsong, displayingrecurring patterns found in the useof rhythm,melody and structure.Further, the recent publicationof Messiaen's'Trait6 de Rythme,de Couleuret d'Ornithologie' enablesthe researchto be genuinelyup-to-date, using the composer'spersonal comments on, and analysesof, birdsongs found frequentlyin his music. ii Acknowled2ements I shouldlike to thank AlphonseLeduc in generaland Hilary Thomsonat United Music PublishersLtd in particularfor permissionto quote extractsand musicalexamples from copyright material.I shouldalso like to thank ProfessorMichael Bridger, my tutor for the four years,and MichaelFrith, my secondsupervisor. Special thanks must go to my parents for their continuedsupport and financialhelp: they havegenerously paid for fees,books and scores.Finally, my thanksto PerryKeenlyside and PeterHill for additionaladvice. iii Foreword In a critical study of this kind wherea musicaldevelopment is surveyedover a substantial period (1928-1987),it is inevitablethat certainworks aregiven more attentionthan others:as importantinnovations are cited, the correspondingsection is given a higherlevel of analysis,and theseinnovations are shownboth in the "motivic classification'tables and in the musicalexamples. Nevertheless, in order to follow the thesisin detail, it will be usefWto havescores to hand.Throughout the thesisI haveemployed a numberof symbolsin bold in order to give specificdirections to the reader.For example,[p6, s2, b4l signifiespage six, systemtwo, at bar four, further, IH/7 indicatesa musicalexample in ChapterIII, numberseven. iv Contents ChapterI Background 1-14 ChapterII Issuesin MessiaenResearch 15-44 ChapterIII MusicalLanguage of Messiaen 45-59 ChapterIV The Notation of Birdsong 60-72 ChapterV Characteristicsof 'Le Style Oiseau'in Works 1933-1948 73-127 ChapterVI The ExperimentalPeriod 1949-1951 128-168 ChapterVII R6veil desOiseaux and OiseauxExotiques 169-219 ChapterVIII Catalogued'Oiseaux 220-263 ChapterIX Use of Birdsongin SelectedWorks 1960-1987 264-336 Conclusion 337-356 MusicalExam ples 357-457 Bibliography 458-463 Dissertations 464 Discography 465466 V Gloi-tarv Key: - DK- original terms 0: ornithological terms NI: Nfessinen'sterms agrandissementasymmitrique (1%1):This tcchniqueinvolves the repetitionof a melodiccell: notesare transposed up or down, while othersremain the same. alternator (DK): Two notesinterchange one after the other in a patternof equal durations,often serniquavers.Common intervals are the tritone or augmentedoctave. bird call: A short, declarnatorysequence of pitches. birdsong:A sectionof musicwhich has been identified by the composerwith a specificbird. A birdsongcan be shortwith repetitivefeatures, but morecommonly it is melodicand more elaborate than a call. block for7n: This term is usedby a few musicologists.It refersto an episodic compositionalstyle which is contrary to a more 'developmental'form. Most of the piecesin CataloguedDiseaur juxtaposemany passages, usually representations of bird vocalisationsand depictionsof habitats.The phrase'block form' is extendedto encompassthe devicewhere instrumentalgroups within the ftmework of an orchestralwork - typically strings,piano and tunedpercussion, woodwind and xylophone-trio- play in their respectivegroups. chirp (0): A shortýoften staccato,high-pitched sound which is usuallyat leastan octaveabove surrounding pitches. chromatic rhythm (M): A seriesof durationsin which eachnote progressively diminishesor augmentsby one primaryunit (see'Regard de I'Onction Terrible' from Vhigl Regardssur I'Difwit Jesus). - chordal-complexes:An inventedchord which is often usedto simulatethe timbre of birdsong. circadian time-scale(M): Tenn employedby Messiaendescribing the form of a piece beinga microcosmo& andrelating to, the 24 hour daily cycle. ethologist: Scientistof animalbehaviour, attempting to elucidatedevelopment, function and evolutionof animals. harmonic litany (51): A melodic cell of two or more notes repeated with several different harmonisations. vi hors tempo (NI): This techniqueis almostaleatoric in effect, althoughthe birdsongs are notatedprecisely. Certain birdsongs, played by specificinstruments, are heralded by a sign from the conductorand, therefore, play in their 'own time' independentof the rest of the orchestra.This effect is found in 'The Sermonto the Birds' from Saini Franýois d Assise(1975-83) and in the polyphonictutti sectionsof Un 111railel des Oiseaux.(1986). inferior resonance/lowerresonance (M): This techniqueis frequentlyused by Messiaenand is producedwhen a chordis playedloudly in the bassof a pianoand set againstother chordsor notes.In CataloguedDiseaux, the fiandamentalphrases of birdsongare often accentuatedby the coloursproduced by superioror inferior resonances.See also "superiorresonance'. interruption call (DK): In earlyworks, thereare manyshort exclamatoryfigures that interrupt anothertexture: I refer to theseappearances as 'interruption calls', although they arevery often not labelled'style oiseau'.Frequently, the complexityof the chord usedin an 'interruption call' may give it an alarmingquz! ity. Theseshort 'interruption calls' appearthroughout birdsong. interversion system(M): A systematisedform of permutation:by additionor subtraction,rhythmic values increase or decreaseby one durationalvalue (e.g. the serniquaver).This systemis usedin retrogradeorder or, in the caseof Chronochronfie (for example),durations may be subdividedinto sets,providing rhythmic patternsfor the structure. melograph mona (0): An apparatusthat providesan objectiveregistration of frequencyand pressure level in musicalsounds. There is a markedimprovement over the sonagram:the analyserhas a fasterresponse, and a 'variable"filter is included, isolatingthe fundamentalmelodic line in the birdsong. motivic classirication(DK): A tabularmethodology which showsunderlying characteristicsin somevery complexbirdsong. The phrase'motivic classification'is my short handfor this codification.The 'motivic classification'develops from a table usedto investigatethe chorusof larks in Messede la PentecOte.Each rhythrn and pitch characteristicis given a letter: x, y andz... representpitch predominance,while a, b and c... areused to demonstrateother features.Metrical forms and plainsong terminologyare alsoused in conjunctionwith thesecodes. These findings are set out in a table which givesa comprehensivebar-by-bar or phrase-by-phraseaccount
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Schenkerian Analysis in the Modern Context of the Musical Analysis
    Mathematics and Computers in Biology, Business and Acoustics THE SCHENKERIAN ANALYSIS IN THE MODERN CONTEXT OF THE MUSICAL ANALYSIS ANCA PREDA, PETRUTA-MARIA COROIU Faculty of Music Transilvania University of Brasov 9 Eroilor Blvd ROMANIA [email protected], [email protected] Abstract: - Music analysis represents the most useful way of exploration and innovation of musical interpretations. Performers who use music analysis efficiently will find it a valuable method for finding the kind of musical richness they desire in their interpretations. The use of Schenkerian analysis in performance offers a rational basis and an unique way of interpreting music in performance. Key-Words: - Schenkerian analysis, structural hearing, prolongation, progression,modernity. 1 Introduction Even in a simple piece of piano music, the ear Musical analysis is a musicological approach in hears a vast number of notes, many of them played order to determine the structural components of a simultaneously. The situation is similar to that found musical text, the technical development of the in language. Although music is quite different to discourse, the morphological descriptions and the spoken language, most listeners will still group the understanding of the meaning of the work. Analysis different sounds they hear into motifs, phrases and has complete autonomy in the context of the even longer sections. musicological disciplines as the music philosophy, Schenker was not afraid to criticize what he saw the musical aesthetics, the compositional technique, as a general lack of theoretical and practical the music history and the musical criticism. understanding amongst musicians. As a dedicated performer, composer, teacher and editor of music himself, he believed that the professional practice of 2 Problem Formulation all these activities suffered from serious misunderstandings of how tonal music works.
    [Show full text]
  • Point Counter Point"
    University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School 1940 Aldous Huxley's use of music in "Point Counter Point" Bennett Brudevold The University of Montana Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Brudevold, Bennett, "Aldous Huxley's use of music in "Point Counter Point"" (1940). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 1499. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/1499 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A1D005 HUXLEY'S USE OF MUSIC IB F o m r c o i m m by Bennett BruAevold Presented in P&rtlel Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Master of Arte State University of Montana 1940 Approveds û&^'rman of Ëxaminl]^^ ttee W- Sfiairraan’ of Graduate Ccmmlttee UMI Number; EP35823 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation RMishing UMI EP35823 Published by ProQuest LLC (2012). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author.
    [Show full text]
  • Harmonic, Melodic, and Functional Automatic Analysis
    HARMONIC, MELODIC, AND FUNCTIONAL AUTOMATIC ANALYSIS Placido´ R. Illescas, David Rizo, Jose´ M. Inesta˜ Dept. Lenguajes y Sistemas Informaticos´ Universidad de Alicante, E-03071 Alicante, Spain [email protected] fdrizo,[email protected] ABSTRACT Besides the interpretation, there are many applications of this automatic analysis to diverse areas of music: edu- This work is an effort towards the development of a cation, score reduction, pitch spelling, harmonic compar- system for the automation of traditional harmonic analy- ison of works [10], etc. sis of polyphonic scores in symbolic format. A number of stages have been designed in this procedure: melodic The automatic tonal analysis has been tackled under analysis of harmonic and non-harmonic tones, vertical har- different approaches and objectives. Some works use gram- monic analysis, tonality, and tonal functions. All these in- mars to solve the problem [3, 14], or an expert system [6]. formations are represented as a weighted directed acyclic There are probabilistic models like that in [11] and others graph. The best possible analysis is the path that maxi- based on preference rules or scoring techniques [9, 13]. mizes the sum of weights in the graph, obtained through The work in [4] tries to solve the problem using neural a dynamic programming algorithm. The feasibility of the networks. Maybe the best effort so far, from our point proposed approach has been tested on six J. S. Bach’s har- of view is that of Taube [12], who solves the problem by monized chorales. means of model matching. A more comprehensive review of these works can be found in [1].
    [Show full text]
  • Focus 2020 Pioneering Women Composers of the 20Th Century
    Focus 2020 Trailblazers Pioneering Women Composers of the 20th Century The Juilliard School presents 36th Annual Focus Festival Focus 2020 Trailblazers: Pioneering Women Composers of the 20th Century Joel Sachs, Director Odaline de la Martinez and Joel Sachs, Co-curators TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 Introduction to Focus 2020 3 For the Benefit of Women Composers 4 The 19th-Century Precursors 6 Acknowledgments 7 Program I Friday, January 24, 7:30pm 18 Program II Monday, January 27, 7:30pm 25 Program III Tuesday, January 28 Preconcert Roundtable, 6:30pm; Concert, 7:30pm 34 Program IV Wednesday, January 29, 7:30pm 44 Program V Thursday, January 30, 7:30pm 56 Program VI Friday, January 31, 7:30pm 67 Focus 2020 Staff These performances are supported in part by the Muriel Gluck Production Fund. Please make certain that all electronic devices are turned off during the performance. The taking of photographs and use of recording equipment are not permitted in the auditorium. Introduction to Focus 2020 by Joel Sachs The seed for this year’s Focus Festival was planted in December 2018 at a Juilliard doctoral recital by the Chilean violist Sergio Muñoz Leiva. I was especially struck by the sonata of Rebecca Clarke, an Anglo-American composer of the early 20th century who has been known largely by that one piece, now a staple of the viola repertory. Thinking about the challenges she faced in establishing her credibility as a professional composer, my mind went to a group of women in that period, roughly 1885 to 1930, who struggled to be accepted as professional composers rather than as professional performers writing as a secondary activity or as amateur composers.
    [Show full text]
  • Bmus 1 Analysis Week 9 Project 2
    BMus 1 Analysis: Week 9 1 BMus 1 Analysis Week 9 Project 2 Just to remind you: the second project for this module is an essay (c. 1500 words) on one short post-tonal work from the list below. All of the works can be found in the library; if they’re not available for any reason, ask me for a copy. (Most can be found online as well.) Béla Bartók, 44 Duos for Violin, no. 33: ‘Erntelied’ (‘Harvest Song’) Harrison Birtwistle, Duets for Storab, any two movements Ruth Crawford-Seeger, String Quartet, movt. 2: ‘Leggiero’ or movt. 3: ‘Andante’ György Kurtag, Játékok Book 6, ‘In memoriam András Mihály’ Elisabeth Lutyens, Présages op. 53, theme and variations 1-2. Olivier Messiaen, Préludes, no. 1: ’La Colombe’ Kaija Saariaho, Sept Papillons, movements 1 and 2 Arnold Schoenberg, 6 Little Piano Pieces, Op.19: No. 2 (Langsam) Igor Stravinsky, 3 pieces for String Quartet, no. 1 Anton Webern, Variations op 27: no. 2 What to cover You may format your essay as you wish, according to what best suits the piece you’ve selected. However, you should aim to comment on the following (interrelated) features of your chosen work: • Formal Design o How is this articulated? This may involve pitch / tempo / changes of texture / dynamics / phrasing and other musical features. • Pitch Structure o Use of interval / mode(s) / pitch sets / 12-note chords and other techniques • Nature and Handling of Melodic and Harmonic Materials o How is the material constructed, treated, developed and/or elaboration in the work? Do not forget the importance of rhythm as well as pitch.
    [Show full text]
  • Aspects of Structure in Olivier Messiaen's Vtngt Regards Sur L'enfant-Jesus
    ASPECTS OF STRUCTURE IN OLIVIER MESSIAEN'S VTNGT REGARDS SUR L'ENFANT-JESUS by DAVID ROGOSIN B.Mus., l'Universite de Montreal, 1978 M.Mus., l'Universite de Montreal, 1981 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES School of Music We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA March 1996 © David Rogosin, 1996 AUTHORIZATION In presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my department or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Department of The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada Date DE-6 (2/88) ASPECTS OF STRUCTURE IN OLIVIER MESSIAEN'S "VINGT REGARDS SUR L'ENFANT-JESUS" ABSTRACT The paper explores various structural aspects of the 1944 masterwork for piano, Vingt Regards sur I'Enfant-Jesus, by Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992). Part One examines elements of the composer's style in isolation, focusing prin• cipally on the use of the modes of limited transposition to generate diverse tonal styles, as well as the use of form and "cyclical" or recurring themes and motifs to both unify and diversify the work.
    [Show full text]
  • Olivier Messiaen's Personal Expression of Faith in His Major Solo and Chamber Works with Piano from 1940 to 1944
    Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports 2012 Olivier Messiaen's Personal Expression of Faith in His Major Solo and Chamber Works with Piano from 1940 to 1944 Marie Arlou C. Borillo West Virginia University Follow this and additional works at: https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd Recommended Citation Borillo, Marie Arlou C., "Olivier Messiaen's Personal Expression of Faith in His Major Solo and Chamber Works with Piano from 1940 to 1944" (2012). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 4835. https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/4835 This Dissertation is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by the The Research Repository @ WVU with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Dissertation in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you must obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/ or on the work itself. This Dissertation has been accepted for inclusion in WVU Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports collection by an authorized administrator of The Research Repository @ WVU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Olivier Messiaen’s Personal Expression of Faith in His Major Solo and Chamber Works with Piano from 1940 to 1944 Marie Arlou C. Borillo Dissertation submitted to the College of Creative Arts at West Virginia University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance Keith Jackson, D.M.A.
    [Show full text]
  • Magis Rythmus Quam Metron: the Structure of Seneca's Anapaests
    Magis rythmus quam metron: the structure of Seneca’s anapaests, and the oral/aural nature of Latin poetry Lieven Danckaert To cite this version: Lieven Danckaert. Magis rythmus quam metron: the structure of Seneca’s anapaests, and the oral/aural nature of Latin poetry. Symbolae Osloenses, Taylor & Francis (Routledge): SSH Titles, 2013, 87 (1), pp.148-217. 10.1080/00397679.2013.842310. halshs-01527668 HAL Id: halshs-01527668 https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-01527668 Submitted on 24 May 2017 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Magis rythmus quam metron : the structure of Seneca's anapaests, and the oral/aural nature of Latin poetry 1 Lieven Danckaert, Ghent University Abstract The aim of this contribution is twofold. The empirical focus is the metrical structure of Seneca's anapaestic odes. On the basis of a detailed formal analysis, in which special attention is paid to the delimitation and internal structure of metrical periods, I argue against the dimeter colometry traditionally assumed. This conclusion in turn is based on a second, more methodological claim, namely that in establishing the colometry of an ancient piece of poetry, the modern metrician is only allowed to set apart a given string of metrical elements as a separate metron, colon or period, if this postulated metrical entity could 'aurally' be distinguished as such by the hearer.
    [Show full text]
  • Cristian Macelaru Conductor Yefim Bronfman Piano Debussy Prelude
    Please note that Pierre Boulez has withdrawn from these concerts due to illness. the Cso welcomes Cristian macelaru, who has graciously agreed to conduct. Please note that Bartók’s Divertimento for string orchestra replaces messiaen’s Chronochromie. Program oNe HuNDreD TweNTY-SeCoND SeASoN Chicago symphony orchestra riccardo muti Music Director Pierre Boulez Helen regenstein Conductor emeritus Yo-Yo ma Judson and Joyce Green Creative Consultant Global Sponsor of the CSO Thursday, March 7, 2013, at 8:00 Saturday, March 9, 2013, at 8:00 Tuesday, March 12, 2013, at 7:30 Cristian macelaru Conductor Yefim BronfmanPiano Debussy Prelude to The Afternoon of a Faun Bartók Piano Concerto No. 2 Allegro Adagio—Presto—Adagio Allegro molto YefiM BroNfMAN IntermIssIon Bartók Divertimento for String orchestra Allegro non troppo Molto adagio Allegro assai stravinsky The Song of the Nightingale CSO Tuesday series concerts are sponsored by United Airlines. This program is partially supported by grants from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Comments by PhilliP huscher Claude Debussy Born August 22, 1862, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France. Died March 25, 1918, Paris, France. Prelude to The Afternoon of a Faun he year Debussy returned to and the lively exchange of ideas, TParis from Rome—where and in time he and Mallarmé he unhappily served time as the became friends. In 1898, he was upshot of winning the coveted Prix among those first notified of the de Rome—he bought a copy of poet’s death. Stéphane Mallarmé’s The Afternoon Mallarmé’s poem, The Afternoon of a Faun to give to his friend Paul of a Faun, was published in 1876, Dukas, who didn’t get beyond the in a slim, elegantly bound volume preliminary round of the competi- with a line drawing by Edouard tion.
    [Show full text]
  • AN ANALYSIS of GEORGE SAINTSBURY's a HISTORY of ENGLISH PROSODY Ours Is a Time in Which Those Interested in Language and Literature Are Much Concerned with Theory
    AN ANALYSIS OF GEORGE SAINTSBURY'S A HISTORY OF ENGLISH PROSODY Ours is a time in which those interested in language and literature are much concerned with theory. I believe that, to understand our own theories, we can learn from studying the theories of those who have gone before us. In the field of prosody, George Saintsbury's 3- volume A History of English Prosody, which was written almost a century ago, is based on a remarkable theory of the English language, and of versification, which has never been methodically analysed, but which in my view still provides, in its very unsoundness, a provocative challenge to those of us who would like to describe the facts of English prosody more accurately today. Saintsbury's colossal work remains important because it has until fairly recently dominated much prosodic thinking, and because he covered a much larger range of writings (historically and otherwise) than any other prosodist has ever attempted to cope with. He cannot be accused, for example, of limiting his analysis to what literary scholars usually descibe as iambic verse. In what follows I shall try to lay bare just what Saintsbury's theory is, and what is wrong with it. I also intend to show why a fairly representative late twentieth-century `literary' approach such as my own will serve us better as a way of describing the varieties of verse-writing which Saintsbury discusses. Indeed, one central complaint I have about his method (and that of many theorists) is that he treats totally different kinds of writing as though they will, or should, all fit into his theoretical mould.
    [Show full text]
  • The Forms of Hebrew Poetry
    THE FORMS OF HEBREW POETRY CONSIDERED WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE CRITICISM AND INTERPRETATION OF THE OLD TESTAMENT BY GEORGE BUCHANAN GRAY D.LITT., D.D. PROFESSOR OF HEBREW AND OLD TESTAMENT EXEGESIS IN MANSFIELD COLLEGE AND SPEAKERS LECTURER IN BIBLICAL STUDIES IN THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD HODDER AND STOUGHTON LONDON NEW YORK TORONTO MCMXV PREFACE IT is impossible to go far at the present day in any serious attempt to interpret the prophetical books, or the books commonly called poetical, or certain other parts of the Old Testament, without being faced by questions relating to the forms of Hebrew poetry. I was myself compelled to consider these questions more fully than before when I came to prepare my commentary on Isaiah for the "International Critical Comment- ary," and in the introduction to that commentary I briefly indicated the manner in which, as it seemed to me, the more important of these ques- tions should be answered. But it was impossible then, and there to give as full an exposition of the subject as it requires. In the present volume I have ampler scope. Yet I must guard against a misunderstanding. Even here it is not my pur- pose to add to the already existing exhaustive, or at least voluminous, discussions of Hebrew metre. My aim is different: it is rather to survey the forms of Hebrew poetry, to consider them in relation to one another, and to illustrate v vi FORMS OF HEBREW POETRY their bearing on the criticism and interpretation of the Old Testament. I have no new theory of Hebrew metre to set forth ; and I cannot accept in all its details any theory that others have elaborated.
    [Show full text]
  • Messiaen's Influence on Post-War Serialism Thesis
    3779 N8! RI. oIo MESSIAEN'S INFLUENCE ON POST-WAR SERIALISM THESIS Presented to the Graduate Council of the North Texas State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of MASTER OF MUSIC by Thomas R. Muncy, B.A. Denton, Texas August, 1984 Muncy, Thomas R., Messiaen's Influence on Post-'gar Serialism. Master of Music (Theory), August, 1984, 106 pp., 76 examples, biblio- graphy, 44 titles. The objective of this paper is to show how Olivier Messiaen's Mode de valeurs et d'intensites influenced the development of post- war serialism. Written at Darmstadt in 1949, Mode de valeurs is considered the first European work to organize systematically all the major musical parameters: pitch, duration, dynamics, articulation, and register. This work was a natural step in Messiaen's growth toward complete or nearly complete systemization of musical parameters, which he had begun working towards in earlier works such as Vingt regards sur 1'Enfant-Jesus (1944), Turangalila-symphonie (1946-8), and Cantyodjaya (1949), and which he continued to experiment with in later works such as Ile de Feu II (1951) and Livre d'orgue (1951). The degree of systematic control that Messiaen successfully applied to each of the musical parameters influenced two of the most prominent post-war serial composers, Pierre Boulez and Karlheinz Stockhausen, to further develop systematic procedures in their own works. This paper demonstrates the degree to which both Boulez' Structures Ia (1951) and Stockhausen's Kreuzspiel (1951) used Mode de valeurs as a model for the systematic organization of musical parameters. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF EXAMPLES..-.........-...
    [Show full text]