The Piano Prelude in the Early Twentieth Century: Genre and Form
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THE PIANO PRELUDE IN THE EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY: GENRE AND FORM by Siew Yuan Ong, B.Mus.(Hons) This thesis is presented for the degree of Master of Arts of The University of Western Australia School of Music Faculty of Arts 2005 Abstract This thesis focuses on a group of keyboard pieces composed in the first half of the twentieth century entitled ‘prelude’, and explores the issue of genre, investigating the significance in the application of this generic title, and the development of the piano prelude in this period. The application of a generic title often invokes the expectation of its generic features – its conventional and formal characteristics. Though the prelude is one of the oldest genres in the history of keyboard music, it has relatively few conventions, and hence, with the abandonment of its primary function – the prefatory role – in the nineteenth century, it has been considered an indeterminate genre. Rachmaninoff, however, asserted that a generic title should carry with it appropriate generic manifestations, which parallelled similar generic concepts in literature. This expectation of generic traits is like setting up a ‘generic contract’, offering an invitation to either conform or reform, and thus affecting its course of development. A survey of the prelude’s historical development points to six rather consistent generic conventional and formal characteristics: (i) tonality, (ii) pianistic/technical figuration, (iii) thematic treatment and formal structure, (iv) improvisatory style, (v) mood content, and (vi) brevity. Though these general characteristics may overlap with other genres, it is their collective characteristics that have contributed to the genre’s unique identity. These features form the basis for an exploration of the conformity to, or further evolution of, these characteristics in the preludes of the early twentieth century. From the substantial number of piano preludes composed in this period, selected sets, representative of the various stylistic manifestations of the period, are analysed in relation to the identified generic characteristics. The examination reveals that these preludes, though apparently diversified in style and outlook, exhibit affinity in one form or another to the generic characteristics. Each example exhibits different treatments of the generic characteristics reflective of twentieth-century developments, whilst retaining its generic identity. The prelude is thus an amalgamation of a tonal, technical and affective piece, which may be considered a combination of a tonal essay, a study/toccata, and a character piece; and collectively, a sequence of tonalities, a collection of pianistic technical studies, and a compendium of musical styles/genres in miniature. i Contents Page Abstract i Contents ii List of Tables iii Acknowledgements iv Chapter 1 Introduction 1 Chapter 2 The Late-Romantic Piano Preludes: Rachmaninoff 27 Chapter 3 The Impressionistic Piano Preludes: Debussy 49 Chapter 4 Jazz and Folk Elements: Gershwin and Kabalevsky 77 Chapter 5 The Neo-Classical Preludes: Shostakovich 107 Chapter 6 Towards Atonality: Scriabin, Ornstein and Perle 127 Chapter 7 A General Survey of Other Preludes in the Period 173 Chapter 8 Conclusion 214 Bibliography 224 Appendix A A Comprehensive List of Piano Preludes Composed in the 232 First Half of The Twentieth Century Appendix B The Duration of Bach’s Forty-eight Preludes from Das 235 wohltemperirte Clavier Appendix C The Duration of Chopin’s Twenty-four Preludes, Op. 28 236 ii List of Tables Page Table 1.1 Prelude: Relationships between its Functions, Conventions and Formal 25 Feature Table 2.1 Rachmaninoff Preludes: Pianistic/Technical Contents and Presentations 32 Table 2.2 Rachmaninoff Preludes: Thematic Treatments and Formal Plans 34 Table 2.3 Rachmaninoff Preludes: Tempo Markings and Mood Contents 40 Table 2.4 Rachmaninoff Preludes: Tempo Markings and Durations 42 Table 3.1 The Relationship between Debussy’s Oeuvre and his Musical Developments 51 Table 3.2 Debussy Preludes: Pianistic/Technical Contents and Presentations 55 Table 3.3 Debussy Preludes: Thematic Treatments and Formal Plans 58 Table 3.4 Debussy Preludes: Tempo Markings and Mood Contents 62-63 Table 3.5 Debussy Preludes: Tempo Markings and Durations 65 Table 4.1 Gershwin Preludes: Pianistic/Technical Contents and Presentations 82 Table 4.2 Gershwin Preludes: Thematic Treatments and Formal Plans 83 Table 4.3 Gershwin Preludes: Tempo Markings and Mood Contents 86 Table 4.4 Gershwin Preludes: Tempo Markings and Durations 86 Table 4.5 Kabalevsky Preludes: Pianistic/Technical Contents and Presentations 89-90 Table 4.6 Kabalevsky Preludes: Thematic Treatments and Formal Plans 91-92 Table 4.7 Kabalevsky Preludes: Tempo Markings and Mood Contents 94-95 Table 4.8 Kabalevsky Preludes: Tempo Markings and Durations 96 Table 5.1 Shostakovich Preludes: Pianistic/Technical Contents 113 Table 5.2 Shostakovich Preludes: Thematic Treatments and Formal Plans 115-116 Table 5.3 Shostakovich Preludes: Tempo Markings and Mood Contents 118 Table 5.4 Shostakovich Preludes: Tempo Markings and Durations 120 Table 6.1 Scriabin’s Preludes and his Musical Developments 129-130 Table 6.2 Scriabin Preludes: Pianistic/Technical Contents and Presentations 134 Table 6.3 Scriabin Preludes: Thematic Treatments and Formal Plans 135 Table 6.4 Scriabin Preludes: Tempo Markings and Mood Contents 138 Table 6.5 Scriabin Preludes: Tempo Markings and Durations 138 Table 6.6 Ornstein Preludes: Pianistic/Technical Contents and Presentations 143 Table 6.7 Ornstein Preludes: Thematic Treatments and Formal Plans 143 Table 6.8 Ornstein Preludes: Tempo Markings and Mood Contents 145 Table 6.9 Ornstein Preludes: Tempo Markings and Durations 145 Table 6.10 Perle Preludes: Modes and Ending Chords 149 Table 6.11 Perle Preludes: Pianistic/Technical Contents and Presentations 151 Table 6.12 Perle Preludes: Thematic Treatments and Formal Plans 151 Table 6.13 Perle Preludes: Tempo Markings and Mood Contents 154 Table 6.14 Perle Preludes: Tempo Markings and Durations 154 Table 7.1 Messiaen Preludes: Tonalities, Modes and Associated Colours 178 Table 7.2 Szymanowski Preludes: Pianistic/Technical Contents and Presentations 182 Table 7.3 Martinů Preludes: Pianistic/Technical Contents and Presentations 183 Table 7.4 Berkeley Preludes: Pianistic/Technical Contents and Presentations 183 Table 7.5 Bowen and Casadesus Preludes: Pianistic/Technical Contents 184 Table 7.6 Messiaen Preludes: Pianistic/Technical Contents and Presentations 185 Table 7.7 Crawford Preludes: Pianistic/Technical Contents and Presentations 186 Table 7.8 Ginastera Preludes: Pianistic/Technical Contents and Presentations 188 Table 7.9 Szymanowski Preludes: Thematic Treatments and Formal Plans 190 Table 7.10 Martinů Preludes: Thematic Treatments and Formal Plans 190 Table 7.11 Ginastera Preludes: Thematic Treatments and Formal Plans 191 Table 7.12 Berkeley Preludes: Thematic Treatments and Formal Plans 192 Table 7.13 Crawford Preludes: Thematic Treatments and Formal Plans 192 Table 7.14 Messiaen Preludes: Thematic Treatments and Formal Plans 193 Table 8.1 Prelude: Relationships between its Functions, Conventions and Formal 215 Characteristics (revisit) iii Acknowledgements I would like to express my profound thanks to the many people who have given their assistance in one form or another in the preparation of this thesis. Special acknowledgements and thanks are due to the following: I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. David Symons, for his patience, constant encouragement, insightful guidance and excellent editorial advice rendered throughout my candidature. I would also like to thank my co-supervisor, Professor Roger Smalley, for his time and helpful advice regarding both subject matter and the preparation of the text. I wish to thank Miss Jennifer Wildy, librarian of the Wigmore Music Library, for her ever-ready kindness, helpfulness and professional assistance given throughout the research period. I also wish to extend my appreciation of the service rendered by the librarians of the University of Western Australia, and especially the staff of the Scholars’ Centre, for their tireless, unyielding efforts in obtaining materials through interlibrary loans and making them available throughout this period. I would also wish to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to Dr. John Sharpley for his inspiring insight and comments, to Mr. Paul Hopwood for his excellent recommendation of references on the concept of ‘genre’, and to Mr. Paul Ho for his advice and assistance in computer programme for musical examples. Their valued assistance has made my research much easier. Finally, I would like to thank my whole family, especially my mother, for their endless love, encouragement and support in various forms; and also the Ho family for their enormous help, forbearance and understanding throughout this time. Above all, I owe my greatest appreciation and gratitude to my Lord Jesus Christ, the giver and sustainer of my life, who has enabled me to complete this thesis in good faith and spirit. iv Chapter 1 Introduction The term ‘prelude’ has various meanings: in music, it is an instrumental piece of short to medium length for a variety of media, varying from organ, piano, chordal instruments such as lute and guitar, to chamber group and orchestra. It may be an introductory movement to a liturgical ceremony, vocal music, stage or theatrical work, or other instrumental piece(s) such as a fugue or suite. It may also be an independent concert piece without necessarily having