Twelve-Tone Technique and Modality in Nikos Skalkottas's Music

IMS-RASMB, Series Musicologica Balcanica 1.1, 2020. e-ISSN: 2654-248X

Twelve-tone Technique and Modality in Nikos Skalkottas’s Music by George Zervos

DOI: https://doi.org/10.26262/smb.v1i1.7754

©2020 The Author. This is an open access article under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution NonCom- mercial NoDerivatives International 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided that the articles is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made. Zervos, Twelve-Tone Technique and Modality…

Twelve-Tone Technique and Modality in Nikos Skalkottas’s Music

George Zervos

Abstract In Nikos Skalkottas’s compositional output, the use of modality through the folk tradition, is not limited to some of the tonal works, such as the 36 Greek Dances, but it also extends to the strictly or freely twelve-tone works; indeed, this is the case throughout the composer’s creative life. Given the changing character of the ways in which this folk tradition is incorporated into a twelve-tone and, in general, an atonal environ- ment, we chose two works from different periods, in order to show the modes in which the composer manages to connect the various aspects of the twelve-tone with modality: these are the first movement of Sonatina No.2 for violin and piano (1929), and the first movement of Petite Suite No.1 for solo violin and piano (1946). More specifically, in the first case, we will show the ways in which the prime row is transformed into a diatonic- chromatic-like modality, and in the second case we will discuss the function of the combination of two complementary hexachords through which two sets are produced. The first set is characterized by a kind of ‘tonal direction’ and is based on melodic models of a chromatic kind, and the second is based on mainly harmonic complexes and melodic figures of atonal character.

Keywords: twelve-tone technique, modality, “tonalization”, “tonal” direction.

Written in 1929, Sonatina No.2 for violin and piano must have been, if not the first, given that several of the works from this period have been lost, then surely one of the first works in which Skalkottas combines so clearly the twelve-tone technique with ele- ments, mainly of melodic character, that allude to folk music. This combination, which in this particular case is also one of the first steps towards the ‘tonalization’ of the rows, a practice that becomes more obvious in his twelve-tone works written after 1945, is not achieved through the use of two different themes; rather, following his usual practice, Skalkottas uses themes which only seem different, while in fact the second theme derives from the first through the right transformations.

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The prime form of the twelve-tone row that represents the first theme (bars 1-17) consists of two similar hexachords, the second of which is a transposition of the first by an augmented fourth: (T0) E, F sharp, A, A flat, G, F natural; (T6) B flat, C, E flat, D, C sharp, B natural (example 1).

Example 1

It is worth noting that this tritone relation is also extended to the harmonic background of the theme, creating a melodic-harmonic pattern, as it becomes evident in the comparison between bars 1-8 and 9-17,1 while a second internal pattern is achieved through the minor third and the perfect fourth intervals, which result from the movement of the ground notes of the harmonies on the piano between bars 1-4 and 5-8 (E flat → G flat, B → E) and between 9-12 and 13-17 (A → C, F → B flat) (example 2).

Example 2

1 Eva Matzourani, The Life and Twelve-Note Music of Nikos Skalkottas (Farnham: Ashgate, 2011), 156.

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The thematic core of the second theme consists of 2 plus 2 bars (bars 28-31), in which the pitch material of the first two bars coincides with that of the first hexachord of the first theme at Τ5 (Α, Β, D, C#, C, Bb), but in different order (D, C#, Bb, A, B, C), and E flat, which belongs to the second hexachord (Τ5 = Εb, F, G#, G, F#, E), completes the melody of bars 28-29, so that a folk-like melody is formed (example 3).

Example 3

The next two bars consist of the notes D, C#, Bb, A, which were already present in bar 28, plus G, F# and E, which belong to the reordering of the second hexachord: Eb, G, F#, E, F, Ab. E marks the end of the melody of the theme, but it is not the “key” of the theme. The real “tonal centre” of the theme is the note G, and this becomes apparent gradually: although the beginning of the theme, D in b.28, is the result of the descending succession of the notes G b, F, E, D#, E, D of the violin (b.22-27), which allude to the key of G (and this is confirmed by the note G of the left hand in bar 28), the harmonic accompaniment at this point, and especially the chord Eb-Gb-A-B (ascending) in bar 27, alludes to the dominant of E, which is, as we already mentioned, the final note of the theme. The “key” of G is further emphasized in bar 30 by the melodic figure of the left hand: C, Bb, A, D in bar 29 which “resolves” in the G of the left hand in the following bar, in a clearly tonal way.

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The theme essentially ends in bar 31, and the pitches F and Ab, with the addition of which all 12 notes are present, could be also omitted, since they do not contribute di- rectly to the construction of the theme, unless we supposed that after the diatonic ending of bar 31 (A, G, F#, E), a chromatic ending followed (Ab, F, E), which is not, however, the case. At this point, we must refer to the construction of the first and second themes, as well as to their differences. While the first theme consists of 6+6 different pitches, the second theme is a sentence (a-b-a-b΄) using common pitches, in which chromatic and diatonic geni alternate, allude to Greek folk music: D, C#, Bb, A=chromatic (bars 28 and 30), A, B , C, D, Eb=diatonic (bar 29), D, C#, Bb, A=chromatic, and A, G, F#, E=diatonic. If we add the remaining two pitches F and Ab, it can be observed that, together with the pitches E, F and G of bars 32-33, they create a chromatic genus, thus completing the cycle of chromatic and diatonic successions and eventually connecting the twelve-tone technique to modality. As we noted above, Skalkottas does not use these pitches as the theme ending, but as a transition-transposition (in bars 32-33) of the theme by an ascending fifth (bars 34-37), that is, in T7, and an ending in B (bar 37), which brings the whole second thematic group to a conclusion, followed by a second repetition of bars 28-31 in T0 (bars 42-45). In this way, a thematic and tonal ternary structure of the type of tonic–dominant relationship is created (I →V→I): a=Τ0 (bars 28-31) – transition (bars 32-33) – b= Τ7 (bars 34-37) – transition (bars 38-41) – a΄=Τ0 (bars 42-45). (example 4) Dur- ing the recapitulation, this relation turns into Τ7(Α)→ Τ2(Ε)→ Τ0(D), which could also be symbolised as: V→(V)V→I.

Example 4

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As we have already noted, the “tonalizations” of this type are not so strong, since they are dependent on the function and the emphasis the composer wishes to give at a cer- tain point. For example, in order to stress the transition of the second theme to the dominant in bars 34-37, that is, in order to make the initial A of the violin more pro- nounced, a stronger “tonalization” process is present in the lower voice of the transition (bars 32-33), where a strong tonal cadence on the left hand of the piano in these bars leads to the note D, root of the chord D-A (bar 34). From the above, we can conclude that in this movement of the Sonatina, and as regards the articulation of the two themes, there are two different kinds of ‘logic’ that inter- weave: the twelve-tone logic of the first theme, in which the two similar hexachords are in a tritone relationship: Τ0 (Ε), Τ6 (Βb), and the ‘tonal–modal’ logic of the second theme, which is characterized by the ‘tonal’ progression D(T0)→A(T7)→D(T0) and A(T7)→E(T2)→D(T0) of the sections of the exposition and the recapitulation respectively. At this point, it is impossible to avoid a reasonable question which concerns the relationship between the two themes, and therefore the mode of construction of the prime row, since the second theme is produced from the first: did the ‘tonalized’ second theme arise in an ‘accidental’ manner, through the reordering of the pitches of the prime row, that is, after the prime row of the first theme had been chosen, or were the pitches that comprise the prime row of the first theme chosen in such a way so that their reordering creates the second theme? The answer does not come easy; if, however, we take into consideration Skalkottas’s compositional skills, we lean towards the second interpretation, given that the Greek composer must have designed everything from the beginning, leaving nothing to chance, which explains the speed at which he completed his works. This argument is reinforced by the internal order of the prime row of the first theme, which makes ‘tonal’ allusions that are, as we already saw, fortified in the second theme. These tonal hints are the result of a series of factors, which create the sense, or, rather, the illusion of this ‘tonalization’: i. the pitch content (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) and the internal order of the pitches of the first hexachord: Ε, F#, A, Ab, G, F, combined with the rhythmic pattern of bars 1-8, could lead the melody of the violin to the initial pitch, E, or A (after E), ii. According to the same logic, its transposition by an augmented fourth (Bb) leads to Bb. iii. The first pitch of the second hexachord, Bb, is a perfect fourth away from the last pitch, F, of the first hexachord, creating in this way a tonic- subdominant relationship. iv. The above-mentioned patterns (melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic) between sections at bars 1-8 and 9-17, and sections at bars 1-4, 5-8 and 9-12, 13-17, create, through repetition and regularity, an illusion of ‘tonality’. Taking the above into consideration, we can assert that, overall, and mainly from the standpoint of aural perception, the ‘tonal–modal’ logic prevails over the twelve-tone logic; this argument is reinforced by the total domination of the second theme over the first, given its memorable tonal profile and its faithful recapitulation, in contrast to the

137 Zervos, Twelve-Tone Technique and Modality… clearly twelve-tone first theme which never appears in its sixteen-bar form (bars 1-17), except when it reaches the end (bars 95-102), where it is truncated into eight bars, and is represented by the melody of the piano in bars 1-16, rather than by the pitches of the row, which are now exposed as a chord rather than as a melodic line. The altered recapitulation of the first theme indicates, in the final analysis, its ‘inability’ to become fully thematicised, despite its twelve-tone nature which is essentially used as a matrix for the construction of the second theme, which is essentially the main theme of the first movement of the Sonatina. The dual formal interpretation of this movement as a sonata form, that is: a. Exposition: first theme (A) (bars 1-17), second theme (B) (bars 28-52), Development (bars 52-76), Recapitulation: B (77-94), A (95-102), Coda (103-106), or b: Exposition: Α (bars 1-17), Β (bars 28-52), Development (bars 52- 67), Recapitulation: Α (bars 68-76), Β (bars 77-94), Coda: (bars 95-106), is indicative exactly of this lack of a fully stable profile of the first theme, since its reappearance at the end of the development (bars 68-76), in a significantly altered form, can be considered as the beginning of the recapitulation rather than the last part of the development, in which case its more faithful reappearance in bars 95-102 can be seen as part of the coda, thus altering the formal model from A–B–development–B–A to A–B–development–A– B. In Petite Suite No.1 for solo violin and piano (1946), Skalkottas invents a new manner of combining folk musical tradition with the twelve-tone technique: in the first movement, a rondo-like form (A-B-A΄-Β΄-Α΄΄-Αcoda΄΄), there is no identifiable twelve-tone row which is used as the basis for organizing the horizontal and vertical dimension of the composition, as was the case with Sonatina No.2 for violin and piano. Here, the twelve-tone technique applied consists of the use of two complementary hexachords: E, F#, G, Ab, A, Bb, and: B, C, Db, D, Eb, F, which are connected to each other via an Ο0 =RΙ1 relationship. The first of those hexachords (a) is used for the construction of the first theme (violin), and the second (b) for the harmonic accompaniment (piano) (example 5).

Example 5

However, as can be observed in the thematic core of the first two bars (example 6), the pitches of the first hexachord are used in a tonal manner, given that they tend to ‘resolve’ to E flat, with the exception of A, a pitch which is ‘foreign’ to the melody and which completes the six pitches of the hexachord and does not appear to participate in the tonal progression of the melody.

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Example 6

The fact that this E flat, which belongs to the second hexachord and which is the root of the first chord (Eb-B-D), is emphasized via being repeated four times on the left and the right hand of the piano line in the first two bars, is far from accidental. The manner of construction of the melody of the violin in the first two bars, which is characterized by this specific ordering and the note repetitions, indicates that the tonal logic prevails over the twelve-tone/ atonal logic, which characterizes the piano accompaniment rather than the pitch affinity of the two hexachords which could lead to similar resolutions, whether tonal or atonal. This tonal progression is completed in the next two bars, in which the main motif of the first theme starts on B flat, and ends, again, in E. And we say that the progression is completed because, if we exempt the sustained A, the

139 Zervos, Twelve-Tone Technique and Modality… melody of the violin exposes the pitches of the descending chromatic D mode, starting on E flat (example 7): Εb, Db, Cb, Bb, Ab, G, Fb=E, Eb, where F# is foreign to this mode, but is present in the first hexachord, like A.

Example 7

So, in bars 3-4, the violin exposes the seven pitches of the mode, with the addition of F# and A, while the rest three (C,D,F) are played on the piano; in this manner, a matrix of 12 pitches is created. These four bars, along with the next four, create an eight-bar sentence of the kind of A1=a-a΄-b-c (2+2+2+2), which is repeated two times with some alterations, thus creating the first theme A (bars 1-24, 8+8+8) of the movement. The second eight-bar section, A2, starts on B and is based on the same chromatic D mode starting on A flat, as does the third and last section, A3, which starts on E and uses C sharp or D flat as a starting point of the mode. Similar to E from the first eight-bar sentence, which ‘resolves’ to E flat, A and D from the second and third eight-bar sen- tences also ‘resolve’ to A flat and D flat respectively, as we can see in the lower line of the piano, thus forming an internal ‘tonal’ progression: Εb (Α1) → Ab (Α2) → Db(Α3). The second theme, B, is also based on the chromatic D mode; B does not only have the same length as A (bars 25-49), but it is also constructed in a similar manner: 8+10+7. The thematic core of the first section, played again on the violin, starts on an A flat-E flat chord, and its tonal center is A flat, while Skalkottas constructs the melody of the theme on the chromatic mode F, Gb, Ab, Bbb = A, C, Db, Eb, = E (using, namely, both pitches below Ab), using the rest four pitches on the piano accompaniment (bars 25- 26). (example 8). The second section starts on the same melody of the violin, this time played a 5th upwards (Bb); this section, too, is based on D mode but starts on Eb (bars 33-34), while section B ends in an altered repetition of the second section whose tonal center is, again, Eb, and which is exposed in the piano line (bars 43-44), ultimately completing, from a tonal perspective, the progression: Αb→Eb+Eb.

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Example 8

Bars 50-63 are an incomplete reappearance of A (Α΄), since the first eight bars are omitted, thus turning the ‘tonal’ progression from Eb→Ab→Db to Αb→Db, and they lead to an extended reappearance of B (B΄, bars 64-91), which has the following character- istics: i. The melody on the violin in bars 25-26, 33-34, and 43-44, is inverted (bars 64- 65, 72-73, and 82-83 respectively) (example 9); ii. From a harmonic perspective, these three melodies are based on the chromatic modes of C and D – in the latter two cases – and their tonal centers are Ab, Eb, and G, respectively, completing the progression: Αb→Eb→G; iii. In bars 90-91 a, clearly dominant, Bb-D-F chord appears, which pre- pares the reappearance of section A, once again altered, in the form of A΄΄ in bar 92, thus completing the overall ‘tonal’ progression of this section (Ab→Eb→G→Bb).

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Example 9

A΄΄ consists of two 16-bar sections (A΄΄ = bars 92-107, and Αcoda΄΄=108-123), the first being the main body of the recapitulation of A, and the second being a kind of extended coda whose first eight bars are characterized by the successive repetition of the second bar of the thematic core of the first theme in a downward stepwise melodic movement. Upon comparison between Α΄΄ and A of the exposition, we can observe the following significant differences: i. The three appearances of the initial thematic core of the first four bars in sections Α1, Α2, and Α3 of the exposition, whose ‘tonal’ centers are Eb, Ab, and Db respectively, are truncated into one (bars 92-95), in the initial ‘tonality’ of Eb; ii. Of the eight bars of Α1, the seven are recapitulated, while only the last four bars of A2 remain now, since bars 9-12 of the exposition have been omitted; iii. Α3 is replaced by the transitional section of bars 103-107; iv. Although we do not experience the same strong sense of ‘tonalization’ which was created by the, now absent, thematic cores of Α2 and Α3 (Αb and Db respectively), these ‘keys’ are still present in bars 99-102 and 103-107, appearing in a harmonic, rather than melodic-thematic, form, as it appears in the pitch content of bars 101 and 103, whose pitches form the harmonic complexes of the ‘keys’ of Ab and Db: just like the Eb of the Εb-Β-D chord of the first bar (left hand of the piano line) represents the ‘key’ of Eb of Α1, the pitches G# of G#-E-G (bar 101) and C# of C#-A-C (bar 103), represent the ‘keys’ of G#=Ab and C#=Db respectively. Of course, these tonal centers cannot be made audible to the same extent, since the respec- tive melody of the thematic core on the violin, which tends to ‘tonalize’ those pitches,

142 Zervos, Twelve-Tone Technique and Modality… is absent. The fact, however, that Skalkottas brings back, at least partially, the ‘keys’ of sections A2 and A3 in bars 99-102 (Ab) and 103-107 (Db=C#), indicates that, on the one hand, this is the final reappearance (recapitulation) of the first theme A in the context of the following formal pattern (Α-Β-Α΄-Β΄-Α΄΄), and that, on the other hand, the weakening of the ‘tonal’ centers Ab and C# (Db), as well as the, closely related to this weakening, progression Ab→Db in these sections, will be perhaps compensated at some point later; something which will indeed happen in the next and last section of the movement. In conclusion, the analogy between sections A of the exposition and Α΄΄ of the recapitulation, can be described as follows: Α=Α1 (8 bars, Εb) + Α2 (8 bars, Αb) + Α3(8 bars, C#=Db), A΄΄=Α1΄΄+Α2 (11 bars, Eb→Ab) + Α3΄΄(5 bars, C# ). The compression of section A by eight bars in its final reappearance-recapitulation under the form of A΄΄ (24 instead of 16 bars), the closely related to its absence of the two four-bar thematic cores of bars 9-12 and 17-20, as well as the weakening of the ‘keys’ of Ab and C# whose main carriers are exactly those cores, create a relatively ‘loose’ structure in the recapitulation compared to the tension present in sections Α1, Α2, and Α3 of the exposition, which is compensated by Skalkottas via a brilliant, tempestuous coda which is an extension of the recapitulation – a second recapitulation of cadential character (Acoda΄΄), we could argue – and whose main characteristic is the continuous repetition (five times in eight bars: 108-115) of the melodic figure of the thematic core of the second bar of A, in a downward succession: E, D, C, Bb, A, ‘resolving’ to Eb, C#(Db), B, A, G#(Ab) respectively, played on the left and right hand of the piano line. From bar 108 on, the tension of these successive ‘resolutions’ is increasing via rhythm and texture, and escalates at bar 114-117, in which the last, apparently, pitch of the succession, G#, prevails, before quickly turning into its enharmonic pitch Ab towards the end of bar 117 and the beginning of 118, and, quite strikingly, in the form of a dominant seventh chord on the left hand of the piano line: Ab-C-Eb-Gb !!! The sense of a ‘tonic’ Ab chord is enhanced in bars 118-121 by the melody of the violin which exposes the thematic core of A2 whose ‘tonal’ center is Ab, although this pitch is not the final ‘key’ of this section, since the seventh Gb enhances its function as a Db (or C#) dominant, which is the ‘key’ to which the passage eventually resolves. (example 10)

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Example 10

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Other observations which reinforce the argument that the passage ends in C# are: the existence of a C#-E-G# chord in the bar before the last on the right hand of the piano line, the final chord of the violin in the final bar F-C#-E, and, finally, the pitch content of the last bar in general, which corresponds exactly to that of bar 17, that is, the beginning of section A3, which revolves around the key of Db (C#). We should note that the absence of Bb, which should normally be there, is explained by its constant presence in the preceding bars, 120-122, as a pitch which is included in the pitch content of A2. The ending in Db is also explained by the fact that both A and A΄΄ resolve to this pitch (via an Eb→Ab→Db course in the first case, and an Ab→Db in the second); it would therefore be quite strange if the passage ended in Ab. It is noteworthy that the harmonic transitions from B΄ to A΄΄ and from Α΄΄ to Acoda΄΄ occur in similar manners: in both cases, there is an intervention of Bb, the ‘dominant’ of Eb; what is different is that in the first case there are two bars which intervene (90-91), while at the same time the left hand of the piano line plays a dominant Bb-D-F, whereas in the second case (bars 107-108) Bb (the higher voice on the left hand and the sustained note on the right hand of the piano line at the beginning of bar 107) is rather ‘concealed’: this pitch should be the final one, given that the thematic core of A1 starts on C# – as is the case – but then D would be expected to lead to F, and not to E. In that case, the accompanying chords would be Bb-F#-A and Ab-C-G and the ‘tonal’ center would be definitely Bb, which, however, is totally prevalent anyway, given that it is heard constantly in the higher voice of the left hand until it ‘resolves’ to the Eb on the right hand of the piano line in the second half of bar 108. And indeed, the pitch content of those two chords is present in bar 107: Bb-F#-A are played on the violin (bar 107) and C-G, along with Bb, on the left hand of the piano line (bars 107-108), while Ab is the ‘weakest’, appearing twice in the melody of the violin as a semiquaver. There are three reasons for the appearance of D, instead of an E, in bar 107: i. If the composer used F after D, it could appear like there was a new starting point of A1 starting on C# and ending on Bb, which is, however, a process that Skalkottas ‘saves’ for later, in bars 108-109, where he uses F# as a starting point in order to resolve to Eb; ii. The use and persistence of E serves another purpose, namely its use as a pedal point, which is a necessary accompaniment of the appearances of the melody of the thematic core of A, in this case starting on Bb. As a result, just like A is the pedal point of section A1 and the resolution of Eb, E is the pedal point of the melody which resolves to Bb, thus creating an augmented fourth interval; iii. The substitution of F by E gives an impression of being out of tune, functioning in this way as a musical ‘warning’ that this time something different will follow: more specifically, the arrival of the final section of Αcoda΄΄. However, besides the existence of tonal centers in the melodic thematic cores of A and B (in the case of B the existence of a key becomes more noticeable), the overall formal structure of the movement is permeated by a kind of ‘tonal’ relationships, closely related to these cores, which, according to what has already been said, could be described as follows:

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Α (Εb→Ab→Db) B (Ab→Eb) A΄ (Αb→Db) B΄ (Ab→Eb→G→Bb) A΄΄(Εb→Bb)

Acoda΄΄(Εb→Ab→Db)

As can be seen in the above outline, the ‘tonal’ structure of the movement fully coincides with many of the formal-harmonic models of classicism: i. If we consider Db (C#) to represent the ‘key’ of the piece, then the second theme, B, is rightly in the dominant (Ab), and is also correctly repeated in the dominant of the dominant (Eb); ii. Given that section A starts on the ‘tonal’ center Eb, at the end of section B΄ Skalkottas uses a dominant Bb, which will lead us again to the Eb ‘key’ of the recapitulation A΄΄; iii. The same pitch, Bb, will be used again at the end of A΄΄ in order to lead us to the initial Eb ‘key’ of the last passage of Αcoda΄΄; iv. Like section A, Αcoda΄΄ is also permeated by the same harmonic succession Eb→Ab→Db (C#), saving for the fact that this succession concerns – with the exception of the relatively more thematic core of Α1 – the solely harmonic, rather than the thematic-harmonic, course, as was the case of the section A of the exposition. The main differences and similarities between the two works under discussion could be described as follows: i. In the case of Sonatina No.2 for violin and piano of 1929 a specific twelve-tone row which represents the first theme can be identified, while the second theme is a ‘tonal product’ of this row; on the other hand, in the case of Petite Suite No.1 for solo violin and piano (1946) such a tone-row which plays the role of a melody that will be thematicised is not present: rather, the two, clearly tonal, themes of the movement are accompanied by a piano line which includes all pitches which are not present in the themes, thus creating an aggregate of twelve pitch classes that appear in the lines of the violin and the piano; ii. Although in the second case there is no identified tone row, Skalkottas distributes the twelve tones into two hexachords, the second of which is the retrograde inversion of the first (Ο1=RI2). However, despite this affinity, the melody of the pitches of the first hexachord (violin) tends towards ‘tonalization’ – especially the thematic cores of the two themes – while the pitches of the second hexachord (piano) accompany via atonal chord and melodic combinations which complement the ‘tonal-like’ melodies of the violin. The simultaneous use of complementary ‘tonal’ and ‘atonal’ hexachords in this work is a process through which Skalkottas introduces a new type of twelve-tone technique, which not only allows a row to be used in a much freer manner, since its identification is no longer necessary, but also makes possible the combination of tonality and atonality; iii. Although in both works the formal models in use are classical (sonata form in the first and rondo in the second one), in the second case the overall articulation of form has been organized

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‘tonally’, both at a micro- and at a macrostructural level, in contrast to the first case, in which tonality defines, as we have already seen, only the internal articulation of the second theme, and especially its melodic component. Therefore, not only are sections A and B divided into three ‘tonal’ regions (Eb→Ab→Db and Ab→Eb), but the overall form follows, from a harmonic perspective, the continuous palindrome succession of the ‘tonal’ regions Eb→Ab→ Db, Db→Ab→Eb. The appearance of the ‘tonal’ center Bb at the end of sections Β΄ and Α΄΄ is completely justified, since it functions as a ‘dominant’ of Eb, ‘tonal starting point’ of the first theme A, which, like in the exposition (A), must also end in the ‘tonic’ Db in the last section of the piece (Αcoda΄΄). In this way, the harmonic progression at the end of A΄΄ and the whole section of Αcoda΄΄ can be outlined as follows: Bb→Eb→Ab→Db; it is, without doubt, a progression with clear classical harmonic implications. The argument that Db is the ‘key’ of this movement is reinforced by the fact that the second theme (B) revolves around the region of Ab, which is, however, the dominant of Db; iv. In both cases, Skalkottas chooses hexachords (whether they are products of an identified row, as in the first case, or not, as in the second) in such a way that he can produce diatonic and chromatic tetrachords from them, which, in their turn, form modes which are widely used in Greek folk musical tradition. In this sense, the created ‘tonal’ centers are the result of a modality which manifests itself in a melodic manner on the violin, despite the fact that the ‘resolutions’ of these melodic patterns are exposed by the root notes of the piano chords, whose total pitch content is not, however, ‘tonalized’. We have to point out that the transpositions of large-scale sections (T7, T5 etc.) which Skalkottas uses in many of his twelve- tone works, especially in the recapitulation, function more as allusions to tonality rather than as real ‘keys’, since a tonal direction of the melodic lines is missing, which, in its turn, would be able to influence harmony, thus creating ‘tonal regions’ like those in the case of the discussed works. As a result, not only are these transpositions not perceived as modulations to several tonal regions, like, for example, that of the dominant or the subdominant, but they also cannot function as such, unless it is in a sym- bolic/ schematic manner.

Reference

Matzourani, Eva. The Life and Twelve-Note Music of Nikos Skalkottas. Farnham: Ash- gate, 2011.

148 Zervos, Twelve-Tone Technique and Modality…

Biography: George Zervos received the post-graduate diploma D.E.A. from the University of Paris I-Panthéon-Sorbonne. His thesis on «The crisis of theme in the work of the Second Vienna School composers: Schönberg, Berg, Webern» earned him a Ph. D degree in Musicology from the University of Thessaloniki in 1995. He has published several articles and three books on music of the 20th century. George Zervos is also a composer who has composed chamber and vocal music, as well as works for orchestra. His music has been recorded and performed in Greece and abroad. He teaches 20th century music at the University of Athens.

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