Kujawy Village Mazurkas As a Key to Understanding Rubato Within the Time Frame of a Bar in Chopin's Ma
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:,\1 r r.,'¡ MOTION THROUGH TIME: KUJAWY VILLAGE MAZURKAS AS A KEY TO UNDERSTANDING RUBATO WITTIIN THE TIME FRAME OF' A BAR IN CHOPIN'S MAZURKAS Catherine Joy Steer Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at The University of Adelaide Elder School of Music June 2004 coNTq¡[IS Abstract llr Copyright Statement Acknowledgements vi List of Tables viii List of Maps viii List of Plates viii List of Kinetograms viii List of Transcriptions viii List of Score ExcetPts xiii List of CD Examples xvii List of DVD Examples xix INTRODUCTION PART I KUJAWY VILLAGE MAZURKAS:1'[IE INTERACTION OF TEXT' MELODY AND DANCE MOVEMENTS AS A STUDY OF MOTION THROUGH TIME 53 Chapter 1 The Structure of Kujawy Village Mazurkas 54 Chapter 2 The Rhythm or Patterned Motion of Kujawy Village Mazurkas 82 Section I Rhythm represented by the Western Stave System of Music Notation: Patterned Motion which generally conforms to the Measure of a Fixed Beat 83 1. A Temporal Unit: llhe Bar 83 2.The Bar in 1þs Çsnrþxt of the Temporal \ù/hole 95 Section 2 Rhythm in Improvised Performance: Patterned Motion which frequently departs from the Measure of a Fixed Beat, due to the Application of Rubato within the Time Frame of a Bar 109 l. A Temporal Unit: The Bar 109 2.The Bar in the Context of the Temporal Whole l19 PART II CHOPIN'S MAZURKAS: THE EVOCATION OF KUJAWY VILLAGE MAZURKAS AS A STUDY OF MOTION THROUGH TIME 135 Chapter 3 The Sttucture of Chopin's Mazurkas t37 Chapter 4 The Rhythm or Patterned Motion of Chopin's Mazurkas r76 Section I Rhythm represented by the Western Stave System of Music Notation: Patterned Motion which generally conforms to the Measure of a Fixed Beat r77 l. A Temporal Unit: The Bar 177 2.'1he Bar in the Context of the Temporal Whole 207 Section 2 Rhythm in Improvised Performance: Patterned Motion which frequently departs from the Measure of a Fixed Beat, due to the Application of Rubato within the Time Frame of a Bar 229 1. A Temporal Unit: The Bar 230 2.'lhe Bar in the Context of the Temporal Whole 243 CONCLUSIONS 272 BIBLIOGRAPHY 277 AppENDTCES 289 Appendix A List of Chopin's Mazurkas 290 Appendix B Key to Symbols in Transcriptions 292 Appendix C Structure of Chopin's 43 Mazurkas published during his Lifetime 293 COMPACT DISC DIGITAL VIDEODISC ABSTRACT Rubato within the time frame of a bar in Chopin's mazurkas is a phenomenon which has long mystified musicians. When Chopin himself applied it to his mazurkas, the tempo subtly slowed down and, within the same bar, accelerated to make up for lost time, the first beat of the bar thus constantly arriving on time. In spite of extensive research into this type of rubato, there is still little known about it. This thesis therefore investigates the phenomenon. During a conversation with the German-born pianist Hallé, Chopin attributed rubato within the time frame of a bar in his mazurkas to the Polish mazurka itself. Significantly, of the various kinds of Polish mazurkas which Chopin encountered during his lifetime, only those from villages in the region of Kujawy, where he spent holidays as a youth, featured this type of rubato. When it was applied to them, the tempo subtly slowed down and, within the same bar, accelerated to make up for lost time, just as in Chopin's mazurkas. This was achieved, in the case of Kujawy village mazurkas, by close interaction between text, melody and dance movements as they moved through time together. Hence, this thesis argues that Kujawy village mazurkas, particularly the interaction there between text, melody and dance movements, provides a key to understanding rubato within the time frame of a bar in Chopin's mazurkas. This thesis is presented in two parts. The first part studies motion through time in Kujawy village mazurkas. It determines how text, melody and dance movements interacted whilst moving through time together. In particular, it focuses on how they interacted during the application of rubato'¡'ithin the time frame of a bar, in preparation for applying knowledge of this irrteraction to Chopin's mazurkas. With this preparation complete, the second part studies motion through time in Chopin's mazurkas. It determines how the motion might have been influenced by the interaction in Kujawy village mazurkas between text, melody and dance movements. It then - llt - considers how knowledge of this interaction might be used to interpret rubato within the time frame of a bar in Chopin's mazurkas, thereby providing new insights into a phenomenon which in the past has proven to be so elusive. lv This is the original work of Catherine Joy Steer, 2004. @ All rights reserved. It contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution, and, to the best of my knowledge and belief, contains no material previously published or written by another person, except where due reference has been made in the t text. I give consent to this copy of my thesis, when deposited in the University Library, being available for Ioan and photocopying. signed Date: .t.!.'..$'*,rr lc.p.f ACKNO\ryLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the many people who have assisted me in the preparation of this thesis. First and foremost, I wish to express my gratitude to Associate Professor Kimi Coaldrake of the University of Adelaide for her consistently thoughtful and caring supervision of my work. I also wish to express my gratitude to Professor Roderyk Lange of the Institute of Choreology in Poznaú for his considerable guidance and help throughout the course of my research in London, Warsaw, and at his Centre for Dance Studies in Jersey. Whilst undertaking research in London, I was fortunate to receive generous friendship and support from members of the Polish Folk Song and Dance Ensemble Karolinka.In particular, I wish to thank Bronek and Maura Kutereba and family, Bogumil and Danusia Kusiba, and Jurek and Marysia Pockert' Additionally, I am grateful to Associate Professor David Lockett of the University of Adelaide for his assistance in the supervision of my work; Dr. Piotr Dahlig and Mr. Jacek Jackowski of the Institute of Arts, Polish Academy of Sciences, in Warsaw for their preparation of a compact disc containing archival recordings of Kujawy village mazurkas; Dr. John A. Phillips of B & L Music in Adelaide for his typing of rhythms in the thesis, and for his help with proof reading and editing; and Professor Charles Bodman Rae of the University of Adelaide for his valuable comments on the thesis. Special mention must also be made of my friends Teresa Lavers, Toni Pearson and Cho Chun-pang who strongly encouraged me in my work. VI My most heartfelt thanks go, of course, to my loving family. I especially wish to thank my parents Margaret and Nevil Steer for their constant faith in me; my grandparents Hilda and the late Fred Williams for their many kindnesses to me; my brother Bevin Steer and his partner Angela Nolan for their ever-readiness to help me; my brother and sister-in-law Lewis and Amanda Steer for their knack of keeping me in good spirits; and my partner John Pope for the inspiration which he gave me to complete this thesis. Finally, I would like to dedicate this thesis to my piano teacher Lance Dossor. During my lessons with him, I acquired a love of Chopin's music which shall remain with me for the rest of mY life. - vll LIST OF TABLES One-bar Rhythms of the Text in Kujawy Village Mazurkas (Bielawski 85 l97O: lI4). 2. One-bar Rhythms of the Melody in its Unelaborated Form in Chopin's Mazurkas. 183 LIST OF MAPS l. Poland: The Major Cultural Regions (Stçszewski 2001 : 15). J LIST OF PLATES I Harvest Festival, including Village Dances, in front of a Manor House. Painting by M. Stachowicz, I82l (National Museum, Warsaw, in Lange 1996: 85). 5 LIST OF KINBTOGRAMS I Mazurka Dance Movements (whirling to the Right whilst travelling Clockwise around the Circle), transcribed during Fieldwork in Kujawy between 1954 and 1965 (Lange 1988b: 161). 76 2 Mazurka Dance Movements (whirling to the Left whilst travelling Anti- Clockwise around the Circle), transcribed during Fieldwork in Kujawy between 1954 and 1965 (Lange 1988b: 163). l1 Three Rhythmic Variations of the Mazurka Dance Movements (One Bar), transcribed during Fieldwork in Kujawy between 1954 and 1965 (Lange 1988b: 106). 113 LIST OF TRANSCRIPTIONS 1. Instrumental Mazurka from KoScieszki, near Mogilno, in Western Kujawy, performed on Violin by Szczepan Siedlewski (born 1901), and recorded in 1952 (T 1042115) (Krzyzaniak et al. 1975:226,No.497)' 32 2. Vocal Mazurka from Nieszawa in North-Eastern Kujawy, transcribed during Fieldwork in Kujawy in the Mid-Nineteenth Century (Kolberg 1869:231, No.399). 64 3. Vocal Mazurka from Babiak in Southern Kujawy, transcribed during Fieldwork in Kujawy in the Mid-Nineteenth Century (Kolberg 1869:234- 235, No. 404). 64 4. Vocal Mazurka from Przedecz in Southern Kujawy, transcribed during Fieldwork in Kujawy in the Mid-Nineteenth Century (Kolberg 1889:249, No.554). 65 5. Instrumental Mazurka (bars 1-8) from Nieszawa in North-Eastern Kujawy, - vllt - transcribed during Fieldwork in Kujawy in the Mid-Nineteenth Century (Kolberg 1869:231, No. 399)' 6. Instrumental Mazurlia (bars 5-8) from Inowroclaw in North-Western Kujawy, transcribed during Fieldwork in Kujawy in the Mid-Nineteenth Century (Kolberg 1869:257, No. 446). transcribed 1 . Vocal Mazurka from Inowroclaw in North-Western Kujawy, during Fieldwork in Kujawy in the Mid-Nineteenth Century (Kolberg 1869:249, No.