CCM: Composition, Musicology, & Theory

16-MTHC-881 (3 G). Stravinsky’s Serial Music in (a Stravinskian) Context (Berry, M, 2:00-4:50, room 3244). There are numerous published analyses of the music Stravinsky wrote after his late-life “conversion” to serialism, including Joseph Straus’s book-length study (Stravinsky’s Late Music, 2001). Some of these studies address the music in a way that brings out relations and techniques important to the analysts, but with no particular reference to the procedures Stravinsky had already established, either in his earlier serial music or before his turn to serialism. Other studies pay attention to how a given work embodies traits of Stravinsky’s own developing serial processes, but without considering to what extent it also embodies more long-standing procedures. And some studies evoke broader contexts, but beyond Stravinsky’s music itself, as when they interpret it in terms more appropriate to the works of other serial composers.
In this seminar, we will progress to Stravinsky’s serial works by first examining some techniques he established decades before, in his “Russian” and “neoclassic” works. We will consider the ways he incorporated melodies “isomelically,” as he abstracted the pitch-class profiles of folk tunes for use in his ballets, and of his own themes for his theme-and-variation works. And we will consider his predilection for pitch-class invariance when working with and adapting the pitch “events” of various such works. Subsequently, we will be able to see how his brand of serialism emerged, in part, as the progeny of these isomelic and pc-invariant practices.
As we focus further on the serial music, we will also grapple with interpreting his most famous serial technique: that of using “rotational-transpositional arrays” as the source for his pitch(-class) materials. Understanding the relations embedded in the music, as a result of the array-generated material, presents interpretive issues not encountered when examining the typical serial procedures of, e.g., the Second Viennese School. We will also find that, to interpret the array-based music, we sometimes need access to Stravinsky's own sketch materials; and thus some degree of sketch study will be introduced in the process.
In 1960, Stravinsky stated that the public was able to see continuity in the music of his various periods much like “people recognize my face, even though it’s older.” Accordingly, seminar participants will develop an understanding of the specifically Stravinskian contexts of which one must be aware, in order to recognize effectively how the same “face” lurks behind even this late music.


		Seminars Offered by the Music Theory Faculty Academic Year 2007–08 (Times subject to change; see quarterly updates. Course prerequisites below.) Fall 16-MTHC-881 (3 G). Stravinsky’s Serial Music in (a Stravinskian) Context (Berry, M, 2:00-4:50, room 3244). There are numerous published analyses of the music Stravinsky wrote after his late-life “conversion” to serialism, including Joseph Straus’s book-length study (Stravinsky’s Late Music, 2001). Some of these studies address the music in a way that brings out relations and techniques important to the analysts, but with no particular reference to the procedures Stravinsky had already established, either in his earlier serial music or before his turn to serialism. Other studies pay attention to how a given work embodies traits of Stravinsky’s own developing serial processes, but without considering to what extent it also embodies more long-standing procedures. And some studies evoke broader contexts, but beyond Stravinsky’s music itself, as when they interpret it in terms more appropriate to the works of other serial composers. In this seminar, we will progress to Stravinsky’s serial works by first examining some techniques he established decades before, in his “Russian” and “neoclassic” works. We will consider the ways he incorporated melodies “isomelically,” as he abstracted the pitch-class profiles of folk tunes for use in his ballets, and of his own themes for his theme-and-variation works. And we will consider his predilection for pitch-class invariance when working with and adapting the pitch “events” of various such works. Subsequently, we will be able to see how his brand of serialism emerged, in part, as the progeny of these isomelic and pc-invariant practices. As we focus further on the serial music, we will also grapple with interpreting his most famous serial technique: that of using “rotational-transpositional arrays” as the source for his pitch(-class) materials. Understanding the relations embedded in the music, as a result of the array-generated material, presents interpretive issues not encountered when examining the typical serial procedures of, e.g., the Second Viennese School. We will also find that, to interpret the array-based music, we sometimes need access to Stravinsky's own sketch materials; and thus some degree of sketch study will be introduced in the process. In 1960, Stravinsky stated that the public was able to see continuity in the music of his various periods much like “people recognize my face, even though it’s older.” Accordingly, seminar participants will develop an understanding of the specifically Stravinskian contexts of which one must be aware, in order to recognize effectively how the same “face” lurks behind even this late music. Winter 16-MTHC-881 (3 G). Sonata Theory and Concerto (Cahn, M, 2:00-4:50, room TBA). This seminar offers a wide-ranging and intensive study of sonata and concerto literature in the context of a complete reading of Elements of Sonata Theory (Oxford, 2006) by James Hepokoski and Warren Darcy, and other literature on musical form. Spring 16-MTHC-881 (3 G). [Title Forthcoming] (Losada, Th, time and room TBA). This seminar will consist of a survey of the literature dealing with chord classification, similarity relationships, and voice leading. Its objective is to explore one of the most publicized current areas of inquiry in the field of music theory. The main literature on the topic is introduced through a comprehensive study of selected articles and books. PRE-REQUISITES 800-Level Seminars Undergraduate: These courses are not open to undergraduates.