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A n I magined D rama of C ompetitive O pposition in C arter 's S crivo in V ento , with N otes on N arrative , S ymmetry , Q uantitative F lux and H eraclitus

A n I magined D rama of C ompetitive O pposition in C arter 's S crivo in V ento , with N otes on... ABSTRACT Carter's music poses struggles of opposition, for instance in timbre (Double Concerto), space (String Quartet No. 3) or pulse (String Quartet No. 5). His preference for the all‐interval tetrachords, 4–Z15 (0, 1, 4, 6) and 4–Z29 (0, 1, 3, 7), is also well known. From these facets of Carter's music, I develop a narrative interpretation of his Petrarch sonnet–inspired solo flute piece, Scrivo in Vento (1991). Specifically, I forge narrative pathways by imagining the two tetrachords as active agents opposed in competition. Previous Scrivo analyses (Capuzzo 2002; Childs 2006) stress continuity by revealing Q‐transforms and common‐note voice leading between the tetrachords. While acknowledging such features, my analysis emphasises oppositional struggle by tracing the tetrachords as separate entities which cooperate and conflict as they manoeuvre to outdo each other. The analysis advances three theses: (1) it guides listening to and reading Scrivo in a way which resonates with Carter's concern for the aesthetics of oppositional struggle, his choice of a sonnet as inspiration and his affinity for all‐interval tetrachords; (2) it shows that music‐analytical detail can be organised into dramatic narratives by (a) projecting dramatic roles onto categories asserted by a formal theory and (b) treating the formal theory's relations metaphorically as actions performed by each role as the musical work unfolds; and (3) it shows how detailed pc‐set analysis can support a Heraclitean view of music: a flux of opposing forces seeking and resisting unity. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Music Analysis Wiley

A n I magined D rama of C ompetitive O pposition in C arter 's S crivo in V ento , with N otes on N arrative , S ymmetry , Q uantitative F lux and H eraclitus

MAILMAN, JOSHUA B.
Music Analysis , Volume 28 (2‐3) – Jul 1, 2009
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Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
© 2011 The Author. Music Analysis © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd
ISSN
0262-5245
eISSN
1468-2249
DOI
10.1111/j.1468-2249.2011.00295.x
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

ABSTRACT Carter's music poses struggles of opposition, for instance in timbre (Double Concerto), space (String Quartet No. 3) or pulse (String Quartet No. 5). His preference for the all‐interval tetrachords, 4–Z15 (0, 1, 4, 6) and 4–Z29 (0, 1, 3, 7), is also well known. From these facets of Carter's music, I develop a narrative interpretation of his Petrarch sonnet–inspired solo flute piece, Scrivo in Vento (1991). Specifically, I forge narrative pathways by imagining the two tetrachords as active agents opposed in competition. Previous Scrivo analyses (Capuzzo 2002; Childs 2006) stress continuity by revealing Q‐transforms and common‐note voice leading between the tetrachords. While acknowledging such features, my analysis emphasises oppositional struggle by tracing the tetrachords as separate entities which cooperate and conflict as they manoeuvre to outdo each other. The analysis advances three theses: (1) it guides listening to and reading Scrivo in a way which resonates with Carter's concern for the aesthetics of oppositional struggle, his choice of a sonnet as inspiration and his affinity for all‐interval tetrachords; (2) it shows that music‐analytical detail can be organised into dramatic narratives by (a) projecting dramatic roles onto categories asserted by a formal theory and (b) treating the formal theory's relations metaphorically as actions performed by each role as the musical work unfolds; and (3) it shows how detailed pc‐set analysis can support a Heraclitean view of music: a flux of opposing forces seeking and resisting unity.

Journal

Music Analysis – Wiley

Published: Jul 1, 2009

References

  • ‘What the Sorcerer Said’
    Abbate, Abbate
  • ‘Narrative Archetypes: a Critique, Theory, and Method of Narrative Analysis’
    Almén, Almén
  • ‘The Evolution of Elliott Carter's Rhythmic Practice’
    Bernard, Bernard
  • ‘Problems of Pitch Structure in Elliott Carter's First and Second String Quartets’
    Bernard, Bernard
  • ‘Elliott Carter and the Modern Meaning of Time’
    Bernard, Bernard
  • ‘Listening through Reading: Musical Literacy and the Concert Audience’
    Botstein, Botstein
  • Review of David Schiff, Music of Elliott Carter
    Capuzzo, Capuzzo
  • ‘Lewin's Q Operations in Carter's Scrivo in Vento ’
    Capuzzo, Capuzzo
  • ‘The Complement Union Property in the Music of Elliott Carter’
    Capuzzo, Capuzzo
  • ‘Structural and Transformational Properties of All‐Interval Tetrachords’
    Childs, Childs
  • ‘Inversional Symmetry and Transpositional Combination in Bartók’
    Cohn, Cohn
  • ‘Three Ways of Reading a Detective Story – or a Brahms Intermezzo’
    Cone, Cone
  • ‘Schubert's Promissory Note: an Exercise in Musical Hermeneutics’
    Cone, Cone
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    Cook, Cook
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    Hanninen, Hanninen
  • ‘Orientations, Criteria, Segments: a General Theory of Segmentation for Music Analysis’
    Hanninen, Hanninen
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    Harrison, Harrison
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    Hasty, Hasty
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    Huovinen, Huovinen; Tenkanen, Tenkanen
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    Karl, Karl
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    Lewin, Lewin