Musica Iagellonica 2004

I SSN 12339679
Al i cja JARZEBSKA (Cr acow)
The Problem of Articulation
in Stravinskys Music
I n hi s publ ished revi ews and conversations Stravinsky many ti mes
str essed the i mportance of adequate sound ar ti cul ati on i n hi s musi c.
The styl i sti c per formance pr obl em i n my musi c i s one of arti cul ati on
and r hythmi c di cti on. Nuance depends on these. Ar ti cul ati on i s mai nl y
separati on, and I can gi ve no better exampl e of what I mean by i t than
to reader to W. B. Yeatss r ecordi ng of three of hi s poems. Yeats pauses
at the end of each l i ne, he dwel l s a preci se ti me on and i n between each
wor d one coul d as easi l y notate hi s ver ses i n musi cal rhythm as scan
them i n poeti c metres
1
.
By the word of ar ti cul ati on he understood mai nl y the effect of
separati ng successi ve pi tches and thei r ti mbr e as wel l as the effect
of groupi ng them wi thi n bi gger formal uni ts. Therefore, arti cul ati on
i n Stravi nskys musi c i s connected wi th the ti mbre of si ngl e pi tch,
and wi th the parti ti on of musi cal ti me on hi erar chi cal l y di fferenti ated
formal uni ts.
I n hi s scores the composer does not propose new arti cul ati on
si gns for new types of ti mbre. I n notati on, these vari ous ti mbres,
241
1
Stravinsky in Conversations with Robert Craft, Har mondsworth, Mi ddl esex:
Pengui n Books Ltd, 1962, p. 132.
connected wi th the effect of shor t sound, are suggested for performer s
by the superposi ti on of tradi ti onal si gns of arti cul ati on, di fferent
rhythmi c val ues wi th (or wi thout) rest, and someti mes by addi ti onal
verbal i nformati on that thi s note ought to be real l y short and
separated fr om the fol l owi ng one (e. g. trs court, accentue et assez
court, trs serr). Str avi nsky was convi nced that gr aphi c si gns i n
hi s scores are not the symbol s of i magi ned sonori ti es and they do
not gi ve ful l i nformati on on the new sonori ty proposed by hi m. So
he regarded hi s recordi ngs as i ndi spensabl e suppl ements to the
pri nted musi c.
[...] styl i sti c questi ons i n my musi c ar e not concl usi vel y i ndi cated by the
notati on; my styl e r equi res i nter pr etati on. Thi s i s tr ue and i t i s al so why
I regard my r ecordi ngs as i ndi spensabl e suppl ements to the pr i nted musi c.
But that isnt the ki nd of i nter pr etati on by cri ti cs mean. What they woul d
l i ke to know i s whether the bass cl ari net r epeated notes at the end of
the fi r st movement of my Symphony in Three Movements mi ght be
i nter pr eted as l aughter ; what di fference coul d thi s make to the perfor mer?
Notes ar e sti l l i ntangi bl e. They are not symbol s but si gns
2
.
I n Str avi nskys musi c the arti cul ati on of pi tches i s a resul t of
hi s searchi ng for a new sonor i ty and a new mean of hi erarchi cal
di vi si on of musi cal ti me. I t i s rooted i n hi s concepti on of composi ti on
as the constructi on of sounds i n ti me. Therefore, the anal ysi s of
arti cul ati on i s especi al l y i mportant for the adequate theoreti cal
i nter pretati on of Stravi nskys composi ti onal method as wel l as for
the styl i sti c perfor mance of hi s musi c.
I n thi s arti cl e I wi l l focus on thr ee aspects of arti cul ati on i n
Str avi nskys musi c: (1) on the ti mbr e effect as a r esul t of
si mul taneous legato-staccato of the same pi tch (or doubl ed i n octave);
(2) on the arti cul ati on of short sounds repeated as pul sati on; and
(3) on some means of arti cul ati ng a hi erarchi cal l y bi gger for mal
uni ts based on a repeated sound.
1. The simultaneous l egato-staccato articulation of the same
pitch
A speci fi c ki nd of pi tch ar ti cul ati on as a si mul taneous
legato-staccato i s especi al l y characteri sti c for Stravi nskys musi c.
Alicja J arzebska
242
2
Stravinsky in Conversations with Robert Craft, op. ci t., p. 132.
There are two types: (1) legato-staccato on the same pi tch and (2)
legato-staccato on di fferent pi tches usual l y pl ayed at vari ous regi sters.
The r efi ned effect of ti mbre as si mul taneous legato-staccato on
the same pi tch was i nvented by Stravi nsky i n the twenti es and
used by hi m al most to the end of hi s composi ti onal car eer. Gardner
Read l i nked thi s effect wi th the new scori ng for wi nd i n Stravi nskys
neocl assi cal works. He wrote, that:
I n hi s wi nd scor i ng Str avi nsky abrogated the standar d col or devi ces
of the I mpr essi oni sts and Expressi oni sts fl utter tongui ng, gl i ssandos,
r ai sed bel l s, and the l i ke i n favor of a techni que of di sti ncti ve arti cul ati on
new i n the hi story of i nstrumentati on. Br i efl y stated, thi s i s the doubl i ng
of si mi l ar i nstr uments usi ng opposi ng types of arti cul ati on. For exampl e,
two fl utes wi l l be joi ned i n uni son on a mel odi c passage; the fi r st fl ute
wi l l pl ay even, l egato notes, whi l e the second fl ute wi l l produce the same
pi tches staccato, or doubl ed-tongued, or wi thcross-accenti ng, or i nterspersed
wi th rests
3
.
I n Stravi nskys scor es, wri tten i n the course al most forty years,
one can noti ce vari ous exampl es of the arti cul ati on of the same
pi tch as si mul taneousl y legato and staccato. The composer used
thi s ki nd of arti cul ati on mai nl y i n the mel odi c l i ne but someti mes
the uni son pl ayed as legato and staccato i s al so connected wi th the
moderati ng moti on of pi tches based on a repeated fi gure or wi th
a rapi d successi on of sounds.
I n Str avi nskys musi c one can di fferenti ate three types of scori ng.
I n the fi rst type the si mul taneous legato-staccato of the pi tches
joi ned i n uni son i s pl ayed by the same i nstruments, e. g. by two
oboes or two bassoons. For exampl e i n Symphony of Psalms (1930)
the composer super i mposes the oboes and bassoons pi tches
arti cul ated legato wi th the same oboes and bassoons pi tches executed
staccato by other i nstrumental i sts (I , nos. 45). I n Persefone (1934)
he joi ns i n thi s way pi tches pl ayed by two fl utes (no. 131) and i n
Canticum sacrum (1955) by two oboes. Pi tches pl ayed by oboes
as legato-staccato ar e doubl ed at two octaves by a trombone
portamento (Exampl e 1). He al so used thi s ki nd of ar ti cul ati on at
pi ano wor ks; i n Sonata for two pianos (1944), the pi ani st has to
pl ay a successi on of pi tches (doubl ed i n octave) as legato-staccato
(Vari ati on 3).
The Problem of Articulation in Stravinskys Music
243
3
Gardner READ, Style and Orchestration, New York-Schi rmer Books, 1979, p. 181.
I n the second type of scori ng the si mul taneous legato-staccato
arti cul ati on i s performed by two di ffer ent i nstruments bel ongi ng to
the same group, e. g. stri ngs or wi nd. One can see the uni sono
legato-staccato pl ayed by vari ous stri ngs: vi ol a and cel l o for exampl e
i n Concertino (1920) for stri ng quartet (no. 17), and executed by
var i ous woodwi nds: fl ute and cl ari net i n Octet (1923) for wi nd
i nstruments (no. 26). I n the score of Canticum sacrum Stravi nsky
joi ns i n uni son the organs pi tches arti cul ated legato wi th the same
pi tches on the bassoon pl ayed staccato (bars 13641). I n the thi rd type
of scor i ng the si mul taneous legato-staccato arti cul ati on i s pl ayed by
two i nstruments bel ongi ng to di ffer ent groups of i nstruments. For
exampl e i n Septet (1953) the composer super i n posed the bassoons
pi tches arti cul ated marcato wi th the cel l os pizzicato (I , no. 6).
Thi s ki nd of arti cul ati on was used al so by others composers.
One can see i t, for exampl e, i n Wi tol d Lutosl awski s Concerto for
piano and orchestra (1988); here (nos. 8586) the theme of passacagl i a
i s pl ayed si mul taneousl y by two bassoons staccato as semi quaver s
wi th rest and by vi ol i ns and doubl e-basses as repeated semi quaver s
(non staccato) (Exampl e 2).
2. The articulation of sounds repeated as pulsation
The second type of si mul taneous legato staccato arti cul ati on
that of di ffer ent pi tches usual l y pl ayed at vari ous regi ster i s
al so very char acteri sti c for Stravi nskys musi c. I t support the contr ast
between two musi cal acti ons i n the textur e connected wi th the i dea
of mel ody wi th accompani ment. I n Stravi nskys works, the mel ody
arti cul ated legato i s usual l y accompani ed by the staccato-effect, e.
g. by pul sati on of separated sounds performed as the var i ous
combi nati on of staccato, spiccato, pizzicato, marcato, and noted as
the repeated r hythmi c val ue wi th (or wi thout) the rest. Thi s di fferent
ki nd of the ti mbr e-pul sati on (someti mes cal l ed ostinato) i s at the
core of Stravi nskys concepti on of musi c. I n hi s publ i shed sketches
of The Rite of Spring the composer wr ote: Musi c exi sts when there
i s r hythm, as l i fe exi sts when there i s a pul se
4
. Therefore, a r egul ar
Alicja J arzebska
244
4
I gor STRAVI NSKY, The Rite of Spring. Sketches 191113, (Facsimile
Reproductions from the Autographs), London Boosey and Hawkes, 1969, p. 36
(Appendi x I , p. 12).
moti on of sounds, grouped i n var i ous ways for formal uni ts, i s
accordi ng to hi m l i ke a pul se i n a bi ol ogi cal organi sm.
The ti mbre of a pul se-sound i s usual l y a mi x of few i nstrumental
col ors and vari ous arti cul ati ons of the same or few di fferent pi tches.
I n the score thi s effect i s noted as a sophi sti cated combi nati on of
many types of the si gn-arti cul ati ons and as a superposi ti on of the
var i ous rhythmi c val ues.
Gener al l y one can di ffer enti ate two types of pul sati on-
-accompani ment: the composer r epeats (1) onl y one ki nd of
ti mbr e-pul se (as a, a, a, ...), or (2) two ki nds of sonori ti es (a, b)
i n vari ous ways.
As an exampl e of the fi r st type of ti mbre-pul se successi on (e.g.
a, a, a...) we may take a fragment of Mavra (1922) (no. 144 of the
score), where the same sound i s repeated i n rather sl ow moti on
(one sound-pul se takes about 2/3 second, crotchet = 80). I t i s notated
as two rhythmi c val ues: crotchet and quaver (wi th the rest)



and l i nked wi th a vari ous si gns of arti cul ati on: pizzicato, staccato,
spiccato, sforzato, arpeggio, grace notes. Thi s ki nd of the ti mbr e i s
performed by woodwi nds (two cl ari nets spiccato, two bassoons
staccato, ones of them wi th grace note), str i ngs (cel l os chord
arpeggio, doubl e-basses one note pizzicato), and percussi on (ti mpani
staccato wi th two grace notes). Al l i nstruments repeat a euphoni c
chord i n the l ow r egi ster: FB e g and have to pl ay i t sforzato
wi th a pi ano dynami c. That i nstr umental accompani ment i s
connected wi th the expresi ve mel odi c phrase sung by the tenor
(Cook Mavra), the hero of thi s opera buffa. (Exampl e 3).
I n Str avi nskys musi c the second type of pul sati on-accompani ment,
e. g. the r epeti ti on of the two sonori ti es (a, b), i s associ ated wi th
an i mpressi on of vari ous, usual l y moderate or fast moti ons and
wi th the di ffer ent model s of thei r successi on. The fol l owi ng exampl es
wi l l i l l ustrate a repeti ti on of the two vari ous ti mbr e-pul ses i n
successi on accordi ng to the thr ee schemes: (1) ab ab ab... . ; (2)
aa
1
bb
1
aa
1
bb
1
... ; and (3) abba
1
abba
1
... .
The fi rst scheme one can see i n the score of opera Mavra
(fragment no. 12) wher e the mel ody sung by the soprano (Parasha)
i s accompani ed by two sonori ti es i n a moderate moti on. I n sum
there are el even pul ses; each taki nges 1/4 second. I n the score the
fi rst type of ti mbr e-pul se (a) i s noted as a quaver, the second one
The Problem of Articulation in Stravinskys Music
245
(b) as a super i n posi ti on of quaver and semi quaver wi th rest
(i n the tempo crochet = 120).
Stravi nsky contrasts these two ti mbre-pul ses wi th others by the
di ffer ent regi ster and the arti cul ati on of the pi tches pl ayed by stri ngs
staccato or pizzicato. The fi r st one (a) i s a resul t of the per formance
on l ow stri ngs (cel l os and doubl e-basses) of a si ngl e pi tch (doubl ed
i n octave) arti cul ated staccato. Thi s ki nd of the ti mbr e i s repeated
as a successi on of the pi tches: c , d, e, f , g, g .
The second ti mbr e-pul se (b) i s a col or-mi xture of hi gher stri ngs
(vi ol i ns and vi ol as) and brass (trumpet); they repeat two sl i ghtl y
di fferenti ated chor ds (bf
1
a
1
or bg
1
a
1
) ar ti cul ated pizzicato
(stri ngs) and staccato (tr umpet). The composer was i nterested i n
subtl e nuances of arti cul ati on; he wanted each group of hi gher
str i ngs (vi ol i ns, vi ol as) to pl ay si mul taneousl y two pi tches pizzicato
and i nstructed, that the i nstrumental i sts have to arti cul ate the
i nter val real l y together, non arpeggio de 2 doigts. (Exampl e 4).
As an exampl e of the fast pul sati on of two sonori ti es based on
the scheme: a a
1
b b
1
we may take another fragment of Mavra
(nos. 69); her e a l yr i cal mel ody sung by tenor (Husar ) i s
accompani ed by 64 repeti ti ons of the separ ated sounds (one
sound-pul se takes about 1/8 second
5
). The fi rst ti mbre-pul se (a)
i s pl ayed by l ow str i ngs (cel l os, doubl e-basses) and woodwi nds (2
cl ar i nets, 2 bassoons); i t i s contrasted wi th the second one (b),
whi ch i s performed by hi gher stri ngs (2 vi ol i ns, vi ol a) and brass
(3 trumpets). Both are repeated i n a sl i ghtl y weaker versi on: a
1

i s pl ayed onl y by woodwi nds wi thout the accent and staccato, (non
spiccato), and b
1
onl y by stri ngs (non staccato).
These two ti mbre-pul ses ar e al so contrasted by regi ster; a
sounds i n the l ower and b i n the hi gher r egi ster. At the begi nni ng
of thi s fragment (i n the fi rst two bar s), both ti mbre-pul ses sounds
as the chord B-mi nor, but l ower stri ngs and woodwi nds pl ay thi s
chord as BDF Bdf , and hi gher stri ngs and brass as the
tr i chor d h-d
1
f
1
. Later these chor ds ar e di ffer enti ated; the
ti mbr e-pul se a i s based on the pi tches BDF B dg and the
ti mbr e-pul se b on a c
1
e
1
.
Alicja J arzebska
246
5
I n the score i t i s notated as semi quaver i n the tempo cr ochet = 120
Exampl e 1. I gor Stravi nsky, Canticum sacrum, bar 15461
&
&
B
8
5
8
5
8
5
1
2
Oboes
Trombone
q = 72
poco sfp sempre sim.
sempre poco maro.
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Exampl e 3. I gor Str avi nsky, Mavra, no. 144
The Problem of Articulation in Stravinskys Music
247
I n the scor e these two di ffer ent ki nds of ti mbre (ab) are
joi ned wi th the superi mposi ti on of two rhythmi c val ues (quaver
and semi quaver), wi th var i ous si gns of arti cul ati on and addi ti onal
verbal i nformati on (see Tabl e 1 and Exampl e 5).
Tabl e 1
a Vc- pizzicato, Cb- spiccato, excessivement court
1 Fg spiccato wi th accent,
and 2 Cl , 1 Fg spiccato wi th accent, sfz, trs serr;
i n sum al l i nstruments pl ay chord BDF Bdf (4 ti mes)
and l ater BDF B dg (12 ti mes)
a
1
onl y 2

Cl , 1 Fg staccato (but wi thout accent)
i n sum they pl ay chord Bdf (16 ti mes)
b 2 trumpets staccato
and violins and violas du talon, spiccato wi th accent, sf
b
1
onl y vi ol i ns and vi ol as du talon (but non spiccato and wi thout
accent);
i n b and b
1
al l i nstruments pl ay i n sum the chord bd
1
f
1
(8 ti mes)
and l ater a c
1
e
1
(24 ti mes)
&
&
&
B
&
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3
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Vlno. I
Vlno. II
Vla.
1
Cor. in Fa
2
1
Tr. in La
2
Vc., Cb.
PARASHA
non arpeg.
de 2 doigts
non arpeg.
de 2 doigts
non arpeg.
de 2 doigts
(pizz.)
(pizz.)
(pizz.)
arco
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staccatiss.
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- - - - -
Exampl e 4. I gor Str avi nsky, Mavra, no. 12
a a b b
1 1
Alicja J arzebska
248
Exampl e 5. I gor Stravi nsky, Mavra, no. 6
The thi rd model of pul sati on-accompani ment i s composed from
the two ti mbr e-pul ses (a, b) and the weaker versi on of the fi rst
one (a
1
), e. g. a b b a
1
a b b a
1
... one can see at no. 75 of the
score of Mavra. Thi s fragment gi ve an i mpressi on of the moderate
moti on; each ti mbre-pul se noted as quaver (i n tempo hal f-note =
80) takes about 1/5 of second.
The ti mbre-col or of the fi rst one (a) i s a resul t of onl y one pi tch
pl ayed by l ow stri ngs (cel l os and doubl e-basses) staccato at a p
dynami c; the ti mbre-col or of the second one (b) i s connected wi th
the hi gher r egi ster and wi th the i nter val of a thi r d executed by
brass (1 trumpet, 2 trombones) al so staccato and at a pp dynami c.
Stravi nsky vari ed the ti mbr e of the fi r st pul se by usi ng di fferent
bowi ng: the ti mbre-pul se named a i s a down bow bowi ng down
and a
1
an up bow (Exampl e 6).
&
&
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&
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&
&
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2
4
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4
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2
4
2
4
2
4
2
4
2
4
2
HUSAR
1
Cl in La
2
1
Fag.
2
Vc.
Cb.
Pi mosso {q = 120}
du talon
du talon
du talon
S
S
S
S
S
S
pizz.
excessivement court
sempre sf
sempre sfz et tres serr
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- - - - - - - - - - - -
1
Tr. in Do
2
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Vlno. I
Vlno. II
Vla.
A
The Problem of Articulation in Stravinskys Music
249
Exampl e 6. I gor Str avi nsky, Mavra, no. 75
3. The articulation of hierarchically bigger formal units based
on repeated sounds
I n Str avi nskys musi c the ar ti cul ati on of hi erarchi cal l y bi gger
formal uni ts based on repeated sounds, i s connected fi rst of al l
wi th the repeti ti on of two or three bars wi th di ffer ent meter and
secondl y wi th the r epeti ti on of a l i near i nterval l i c str ucture as an
ostinato fi gure. To i l l ustr ate Stravi nskys method of constr ucti on
and the modi fi cati on of hi erar chi cal l y bi gger formal uni ts (whi ch
I cal l respecti vel y segment and secti on) I wi l l focus on two exampl es
from the opera Mavra.
At the fi rst fragment (nos. 3740), the vocal mel odi c l i ne sung
by the contr al to (Mother of Parasha) and doubl ed by hi gher stri ngs
(2 vi ol i ns, vi ol a) i s accompani ed by two di fferent ti mbre-pul ses
r epeated 27 ti mes accor di ng to scheme: a b a b .... Thi s
sound-repeti ti on gi ves an i mpressi on of a rather sl ow moti on (each
pul se takes about 1/2 second; i t i s noted as quavers i n tempo
quaver = 132). Two ti mbre-pul ses ar e contr asted by regi ster, by
i nstrument and by the arti cul ati on of pi tches. The fi rst ti mbre-pul se
(a) i s pl ayed at a l ow regi ster as one note staccato (doubl ed i n
a b b a
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Alicja J arzebska
250
octave: Ff) by l ow str i ngs (cel l os, doubl e-basses) and wi nds
(2 bassoons, 1 hor n). The second one (b) as chord (e
2
g
2
c
3
or
f
2
a
2
c
3
) i s pl ayed at a hi gher regi ster onl y by wi nds (3 hor ns
staccato, 2 cl ari nets non staccato and 1 cl ari net pi ccol o wi th accent).
The two bi gger for mal uni ts, e. g. segments (A, B), ar e a resul t
of the regul ar repeti ti on of two di ffer ent bar s grouped as 3/8 + 4/8
(A) or 4/8 + 3/8 (B). These segments are r epeated i n two ver si ons
as A or A
1
and B or B
1
, because the metri c accent i s at one ti me
on the ti mbre-pul se a and at another ti me on b.
Thi s fragment i s di vi ded i nto two, hi erar chi cal l y l argest for mal
uni ts, e. g. the secti ons X (no. 37) and Y (nos. 3839).
Therefore, each hi er ar chi cal l y hi gher for mal l evel (I I V) i s
a montage of the two (sl i ghtl y contr asted) uni ts from the l ower
formal l evel .
I . The two ti mbre-pul ses (quavers) wi th the metri c accent, as a,
b or wi thout the metri c accent as a
1
, b
1
;
I I . The two bars x (3 ), y (4 ); the proportion of its duration is 3 : 4.
There are two ver si ons of these two bar s:
as x = a+ b
1
+ a
1
or x
1
= b+ a
1
+ b
1
;
and y = b+ a
1
+ b+ a
1
or y
1
= a+ b
1
+ a+ b
1
I I I . The two segments A (7 ), B (7 ) i n two versi ons,
as A = (x + y) and A
1
= (x
1
+ y
1
)
B = (y + x
1
) and B
1
= (y
1
+ x)
I V. The two secti ons X (24 ), Y (32 ); the proporti on of i ts dur ati on
i s 3 : 4.
The montage of the two uni ts i s connected wi th par al l el (ab
ab ..) or symmetr i cal rel ati ons (aba). But Stravi nsky mi xes these
two general structur es of montage to gi ve an i mpressi on of broken
paral l el or br oken symmetry.
At the segments A and B the montage of bar s i s usual l y paral l el
(as xy xy... or yx, yx ... .), but at the end of the secti ons i t i s
symmetri cal (as xyx, or yxy). Ther e i s the same effect of broken
paral l el or broken symmetr y at the hi ghest formal l evel formed
by montage of the secti ons X and Y. The fi rst secti on (X) i s
a symmetri cal montage of segment A (as A A
1
A), and the second
one (Y) a paral l el successi on of segment B (as B B
1
B B
1
).
The porti ons of musi cal ti me, e. g. the durati on of uni ts i s
a l i ttl e di fferenti ated and connected wi th the proporti on 3: 4 (between
two bars x: y as wel l as segments X : Y). The arti cul ati on of the
hi erarchi cal l y di fferenti ated formal secti ons i s as fol l ow (Tabl e 2).
The Problem of Articulation in Stravinskys Music
251
Tabl e 2.
As an exampl e of Stravi nskys other method of arti cul ati ng
musi cal ti me for hi erarchi cal l y di fferenti ated uni ts, we may take
nos. 16 of opera Mavra. I t i s the famous ari a of Parasha (soprano)
where the vocal mel ody, connected wi th a tr adi ti on of I tal i an bel
canto and Russi an romance, i s accompani ed by the i nstrumental
pul sati on of separate sounds that i s so characteri sti c of Str avi nsky.
At the l owest for mal l evel there i s regul ar exchange of two
ti mbr e-sounds (a b) whi ch gi ve an i mpr essi on of rather sl ow moti on;
the l ength of one ti mbre-pul se noted as a quaver i s about 1/2
second
6
.
The fi rst ti mbr e-pul se (a) i s a r esul t of onl y one pi tch pl ayed
i n l ow regi ster staccatissimo by stri ngs (cel l os, doubl e-basses) and
brass (1 horn, tuba) at piano dynami c l evel . The second one (b),
as a tr i chord (i n two vari ants rel ated one to another as domi nant
to toni c), i s performed at a hi gher regi ster by brass (3 horns) i n
normal ar ti cul ati on (e. g. the composer does not suggest the
arti cul ati on staccato). So as usual , the contr ast between the
(no. 37) (no. 38) (no. 40)
X (24 ) Y (32 ) 3 : 4
A A A B B
1
B B
1
x + y x
1
+ y
1
x + y + x1 y + x y1 + x
1
y + x y
1
+ x
1
+ y
3/8 4/8 4/8 3/8
b b
A = a B = a
x y y x
1
b b
A
1
= a B
1
= a
x
1
y
1
y1 x
. .
. .
. .
. .
. .
. .
. .
. .
. .
. .
. .
. .
. .
. .
. .
. .
Alicja J arzebska
252
6
I n the score the tempo i s noted as cr otchet = 69.
ti mbr e-pul ses a and b i s a r esul t of di ffer ent r egi ster s,
i nstrumentati on and arti cul ati on. The successi on of a b sounds,
whi ch form the background formal l evel , i s r epeated 105 ti mes (so
i t takes about 1,5 mi nute).
Segments A, B and C, as the next hi erarchi cal l y formal uni ts,
are a resul t of the repeti ti on of three di fferent l i near i nterval l i c
str uctures (as osti nato fi gures) formed by the ti mbre-pul se a. I n
segment A the osti nato fi gure i s based on the chord B mi nor, i n
segment B on G mi nor, and segment C on D mi nor
7
. The
durati on of these segments i s rel ated to the pr opor ti on 4 : 7 : 3,
because the osti nato fi gur es i n segment A are composed from four
pitches (B FD F), in segment B from seven (B GDGB GD)
and i n segment C from thr ee (AFD).
The four bi ggest formal uni ts secti ons X, Y, Z, X
1
are the
resul t of the repeti ti on of these thr ee l ower formal uni ts. The
cadences i n the mel odi c l i ne str ess thi s di vi si on of the
pul sati on-accompani ments for the bi ggest formal uni ts. Al so the
repeti ti on of the fi r st osti nato-fi gure (A) i s connected wi th the
repeti ti on of the same mel ody.
The durati on of each secti on i s di fferent; i t depends on the
number of osti nato fi gure repeti ti ons. At the fi r st secti on (X) the
fi gure named A i s repeated 7 ti mes
8
, at the second one (Y) the
uni t B appear ed twi ce, at the next one (Z) the osti nato-fi gure named
C i s executed 5 ti mes, and at the l ast secti on (X
1
) the fi rst i nterval l i c
str ucture i s repeated 12 ti mes. Therefore, the dur ati on of the
secti ons, whi ch form the sequence X Y Z X
1
, i s rel ated to the
proporti on 2 : 1 : 1 : 3 (28 : 14 : 15 : 48)
9
.
Wi thi n each secti on Stravi nsky repeats the same porti on of ti me
connected wi th the osti nato-fi gures, but he modi fi es them by changi ng
the metri c accent One ti me i t i s connected wi th the ti mbre-pul se
a and another ti me wi th b, as i s shown i n the scheme:
The Problem of Articulation in Stravinskys Music
253
7
At the segment A the ti mbre-pul se b i s connected wi th two chords: B mi nor
and F7 major, at segment B wi th G
7
major and C mi nor, and i n segment C wi th A
7
major and D mi nor.
8
The fi rst pi tch (B ) is pl ayed by Tb and Vc and doubled in octave by Cr and Cb.
9
(nos. 12) X 7 ti mes A 4 ti mes ab = 28 cr otchet (2)
(no. 3) Y 2 ti mes B 7 ti mes ab = 14 cr otchet (1)
(no. 4) Z 5 ti mes C 3 ti mes ab = 15 crotchet (1)
(nos. 56) X1 12 ti mes A 4 ti mes ab = 48 cr otchet (3)
The scheme of secti on Z
3
4
3
4
3
8
3
4
3
4
3
8
bars
b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b
a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a ti mbr e-pul ses
ostinato figure C
Ther efor e, each secti on i s di vi ded at once r egul ar l y (by the
osti nato-fi gur es of a ), and proporti onal l y (by the metri c accent)
10
.
Throughout the fi r st secti on of the song (X ), there are three
pl anes; the bass (a) mai ntai ns a steady four-beat patter n, but
the toni c-domi nant off-beat chor d sequence i n the hor ns (b) fol l ows
an i ndependent pattern, basi cal l y of si x beats (as D
7
T T D
7
T D
7
)
whi ch l eads to systemati c confusi on between the functi ons of rhythm
and harmony. These two pl anes Str avi nsky averages out i nto
a r egul ar al ternati on (fr om the poi nt of the vocal entr y) of 3/4 and
5/8 bars, whi ch fi ts none of them and so i mpl i ci tl y i ntr oduces
a four th. Meanwhi l e Parasha si ngs a metr i cal l y free fol k tune across
both accompanyi ng schemes.
The scheme of secti on X
3
4
3
4
5
8
3
4
5
8
3
4
5
8
3
4
5
8
b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b
a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a
Str avi nskys musi cal styl e depends not so much on pi tch
or gani zati on as on the refi ned nuances of ti mbr e-sound and i ts
arti cul ati on. Thi s i s why hi s scores al though l ooked so si mpl e, are
Alicja J arzebska
254
10
The successi on of the bar s noted i n the scor e i s as fol l ow:
X 4/4; 3/4, 5/8; 3/4, 5/8; 3/4, 5/8; 3/4, 5/8;
Y 3/4, 2/3, 3/4, 2/4, 3/4;
Z 3/4, 3/4, 3/8; 3/4, 3/4, 3/8;
X1 2/4, 3/4, 3/8, 2/4, 3/4, 5/8, 6/8,
3/4, 3/4, 3/4, 5/8, 3/4, 5/8, 3/4, 5/8, 3/4, 5/8
So the composer changes the l ength of the bars accordi ng to the pr oporti on 1 : 2, 2 : 3,
3 : 4, and 5 : 6.
X 8 : 6 : 5 : 6 : 5 : 6 : 5 : 6 : 5
Y 3 : 2 : 3 : 2 : 3
Z 2 : 2 : 1 : 2 : 2 : 1
X1 4 : 6 : 3 : 4 : 6 : 5 : 6 : 6 : 6 : 6 : 5 : 6 : 5 : 6 : 5 : 6 : 5
i n real i ty so di ffi cul t for the performers. The composer compl ai ned
that:
For fi fty years I have endeavour ed to teach musi ci ans to pl ay
i nstead of i n certai n cases, dependi ng on the styl e. I have al so l aboured
to teach them to accent syncopated notes and to phrase before them i n
or der to do so
11
.
I hope that thi s arti cl e present some pri nci pl es of Stravi nskys
method of the arti cul ati on and composi ti on that wi l l be useful for
the performers as wel l as for the theori sts of twenti eth-century
musi c.
The Problem of Articulation in Stravinskys Music
255
11
Stravinsky in Conversations with Robert Craft, op. ci t., p. 133.