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The String Quartet ' 9 STRING TECHNIQUES, NOTATION SYSTEMS AND SYMBOLS IN SELECTED 20TH CENTURY STRING QUARTETS by ZILLAH THERESA HOLDCROFT submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF MUSICOLOGY in the DEPARTMENT OF MUSICOLOGY at the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA PROMOTER : PROF. D. J. REID JUNE 1999 0001760674 CONTENTS CONTENTS i SUMMARY xiv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS *v MOTIVATION xvi FORMAT xix INTRODUCTION 1 PART I : HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE Chapter One MUSIC IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 2 A Brief History 2 Romanticism 2 Extension Process of Traditional Syntax 4 Impressionism : Neo-Classicism 4 Debussy. Stravinsky. Bartok. Hindemith 12-Tone Method 5 Schoenberg. Webern. Berg Futurism 6 Varese The Avant-Garde Boulez. Stockhausen. Cage 6 Post 1945 Onwards 7 Chapter Two ^ THE STRING QUARTET ' 9 A Brief History 9 Unity and Distinction 9 Origins of the String Quartet 9 Trio Sonata - Italy and Germany 10 String Quartet : Classical 11 Franz Josef Haydn (1732-1809). Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1750 - 1791). 11 Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) String Quartet : 19th century - Romantic Period 13 Franz Schubert (1797-1828). Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) . Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) . Robert Schumann (1810-1856) 11 The 20th Cen tu ry String Qu a rtet 14 String Quartet 1900-1950 14 Systematic Dissolution and Decline o f Traditional Syntax String Quartet 15 Early Decades o f the 20th century Early 20th Century Compositional Innovations 16 France : Claude Debussy (1862-1918) 16 Thematic Metamorphosis : Kaleidoscopic Textual Changes : Polytonality Germany: Schoenberg - Webern - Berg - Hindemith 17 Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951) : 12-tone Method and Inclusion 17 o f Soprano Voice Comment 18 Alban Berg (1885-1935) : Romantic Expressionist: 12-tone Method 18 and Tonal Associations Anton von Webern (1883-1945) : Pointillist and Extreme Economist 18 Paul Hindemith (1895-1963) : neo-Classicist - Expanded Tonality 20 Comment 21 Europe 21 Hungary: Bela Bartok (1881-1945) : Reconciliation o f Folk and 21 Contemporary Practices Comment 24 England 25 America 26 Charles Ives (1874-1954) : Radical Thinker 26 Ives' Rhythmic Approach 27 Descriptive Titles 28 Comment 29 Henry Cowell (1897-1965) : Experimentalism 29 Additional American Composers o f Early 20th century String Quartets 30 Comment 30 Russia : Arts and The Central Committee 30 Shostakovich (1906-1976) and Prokofiev (1891-1953) 30 Shostakovich (1906-1976) 31 Comment 31 Prokofiev (1891-1953) 32 Comment 32 Stravinsky (1882-1971) 32 Comment 33 Comment: Neo-classicism : Serialism 34 Chapter Three NOTATION 37 Modification : Continuity : Change : 37 A Chronological Perspective A History of Notation - A History of Music 37 Problems o f editing Mediaeval and Early Renaissance Music 38 Rests 39 Table o f Contemporary Rest Values 39 Interpretative Confusion : Uncertainty 40 A Need for Explanatory Notes in 14th and 15th Centuries Notation Systems 41 Western Notation - A Brief History 42 Comment 45 Comparison : Correlation and Extension 46 Ill Notational Change : Broad Chronological Categories 47 The Needfor New Notation : A Survey o f Thoughts 48 Opinions - from 1990s Notating non-Standard Effects 49 Time/Pitch Relationships 1920s 50 Decline o f Standard Notation - post 1945 52 Stylistic Upheaval - 1950s 53 Inherited Notation Symbols around 1945 54 Convention : Index o f New Notation (1964) 56 Old Instruments - New Sounds : The String Quartet Post 1945 57 Survival of the Genre post 1945 62 New sounds : New Language 62 PART II: INVESTIGATION RHYTHM : TEMPO : PITCH EXTENSIONS : RIGHT HAND TECHNIQUES : TIMBRE : REPEATS : STAVES : SUNDRY TECHNIQUES : SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION Chapter Four RHYTHMIC NOTATION 65 Introduction 65 Time Signatures 67 Modern Innovations 67 Dissolution o f time signatures 71 Contemporary Use o f Unconventional time signatures 71 String Quartets (1900-1957) : Webern : Hindemith: Bartok: Schoenberg 72 Webern : String Quartets (1905-1938) 72 Hindemith: String Quartets Nos. 1-6 (1921-1949) 73 Comment 75 Bartok: String Quartets Nos. 1-6 (1908-1943) 75 Comment 77 Schoenberg: String Quartets Nos. 1-4 (1904/5-1936) 77 Use o f Time Signatures : 1900-1952 78 Comment 78 Use o f Time Signatures : 1950- 79 Comment 81 Unusual Time Signatures 81 Comment 82 Numerators and Denominators 82 Alternating Meters 83 Variable Meters ^ * 83 Comment 86 Quartets not listed that contain variable meter 86 Mixed Meters 87 Fractional Meters 87 Polymeters - combination time signatures 89 Comment 91 Dispensing o f Denominator 91 Replacement o f time signature 92 Comment 93 Metric Modulation 94 Early Proportions - Proportio 91 Metric modulation - common pivotal element 97 0001760674 » M I S A f I sm nnr^, ,(0rary * Qf, /*■ 'n* - r • » i, l ARV L,_ 785-7194 HOLD 0 0 0 1 7 6 0 6 7 4 iv Barlines 98 Barlines in the 20th century 98 Irregular Placement o f Barline 99 Irregular Barlines and Polymeters 99 Contemporary use o f Modified Barlines and Polymeter 100 Irregular Dotted Barlines 101 Dotted Barlines : Secondary Pulsation Indicators 101 Dotted Barlines ; Motivic Emphasis 102 Extended Dotted Barlines : Ensemble Orientation 103 Dotted Barlines : Subdivision o f Irregular Meter 104 Further examples o f displacement o f Barline 104 Comment 107 Beaming 107 Changing concepts o f Beaming - the Reasons 107 Early use o f Beaming and Slurs : 1900 - 109 Functional Variations to traditional beaming 109 Beaming to accentuate ostinato pattern 109 Ostinato across barline 110 Beam ing across barline/chromatically rising ostinato pattern 111 Double Ostinati patterns 111 Imitative ostinati in inversion 112 Non-functional use o f Ostinati 112 Beaming incorporating Rests 114 Beaming and Sequences : Melodic and Rhythmic 115 Beaming o f indicators o f metric division changed to indicators 118 of rhythmic groupings Beaming and Elimination o f Accent 119 Asynchronous/Arhythmic Group Beaming: Elimination o f Pulse 120 Deceptive beam ing o f Multiple Note-Groupings 122 Beaming to indicate phrases 124 Traditional syntax - other uses 126 Comment 126 Duration 128 Demise o f Conventional Symbols 130 Rhythmic Plurality 132 Comment 136 New Rhythmic Symbols and Meanings 137 Proportionate Notation 137 Proportional Spacing with Conventional Notation 138 Spatial Notation : Traditional notation : single notes 139 New Duration Symbols and Extended Beams ^ 147 American Innovation 147 Proportional Spacing and Beaming 149 Extended Beaming and noteheads 149 Beaming without noteheads 150 Beaming with noteheads and stems : separate and joined 152 Indicating short duration at end o f beamed noteheads 153 Beamed Notehead Extension for Continuous Pitch 154 Legato/Non legato 155 Vertical Lines as Connectors 156 Duration and Slurs 157 Beamed Spatial Notation : Advantages and Disadvantages 158 Spatial Notation and Superimposed Numbers 161 Proportional Notation and Superimposed Indicators 162 Comment 162 Modification o f Traditional Indicators in Contemporary 165 Irregular Indicators V Clarifying Notes and/or Numbers 165 Use o f Small Figures 165 Addition o f Clarifying Notes and/or Numbers 169 Double figure equations - numerals only 169 Equations - double numerals coupled to note values 170 Single numerals and notes values 171 Single numbers indicating inconsistent groupings 172 without note values ' 175 Double figure ratios/beaming across barline 173 Comment 174 Summary : Rhythmic Notation 175 Extensions and Additions to Rhythmic Notation 176 Time Signatures 176 Numerator and Denominator 176 Irregular Rhythms 176 Beaming 176 Metric Modulation 177 New Principles - Notation o f Approximate Values 177 Proportionate Notation 177 Extended Beams 177 Chapter Five TEMPO Metronome markings and Qualifying words 179 Descriptive Words and Metronome Marks 180 Debussy. Webern. Schoenberg. Hindemith 180 Contemporary Composers : Tempo and Mood Indicators 184 Tempo and Frame Notation 186 Descriptive Words and Tempo Markings 187 Contemporary Usages :European and American 187 Comment 189 Metronome Markings : Extensions and Modifications to Functions 189 Tempo : Units per seconds 189 Horizontal Lines 191 Horizontal Line : Basic Time Unit per Second. 191 Indicated by Dotted Horizontal Line Horizontal Lines : Variable Units per Seconds 192 Horizontal Lines : Exclusive use Time Units per Second 193 Within a Composition Two Unlike Notation Systems Controlled by Time Unit 194 Horizontal Line : Constant Time Unit: Note Equal to Time Unit 195 per Second Proposed Square Brackets 197 Proposed Rounded Brackets 197 Other Tempo Requirements 197 Horizontal Line : Constant Time Unit 198 Varied Tempo Indicators within a Composition 199 Holliger: String Quartet (1973) 199 Time Unit: Total Line in Seconds 200 Tempo choice between Two Time Units 201 Tempo choice between Two Metronome Speeds 201 Time Units for Portion o f the Line 202 Sectionalised Time Units : Repeated in a Single Line 202 Combination o f Tempo Indicators in a Single Line : 203 vi Metronome Marks and Time Units Tempo in Words 203 Constant Set o f Units per Bar: Regulated by Metronome Mark 203 Comment 203 Gielen: Streichquartett, "Un viewr souvenir" (1983) 204 Mixed tempi markings Various time units marked separately in a single line 204 A variety o f horizontal time units within a single bar 204 Combinations o f beamed time units and standard note values 204 Perpendicular markings controlling an irregular selection o f 204 separate units per bar Selection o f irregular groupings - different time signatures 205 Separate metronome tempi withing one bar 205 Horizontal line incorporating long time unit per line 206 Irregular selection o f quaver note groupings,
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