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Thought a little analysis of various parts of my composition Changing Same might be interesting to share. This is Part 1 of looking under the hood of "19", the first movement from Changing Same; for some non-technical insight you can read here.
"19"
The Arnold Schoenberg opus 19 set and Curtis Mayfield’s “Little Child Runnin’ Wild” influence “19” in ways both subtle and overt. Sometimes rhythmically-modified, but pitch-congruent quotations and motives from those pieces are used directly in a collage-like manner; other times motives are transformed to their intervallic essence and manipulated in different ways. In addition, the subjective emotional character of the pieces or passages affect how they are used in “19.” In all cases, the influence of both pieces freely interacts or fuses with originally composed material.
The influence of “Little Child Runnin’ Wild” mostly involves a repeated cello line that occurs toward the end of the Mayfield piece (Figure 1).
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| Figure 1. “Little Child Runnin’ Wild,” cello motive. |
In “19,” beginning in measure 142 (Figure 2), this “Little Child” cello motive is transformed registrally (starting with F#6 in harp and keyboard 1), rhythmically (mostly eighth notes), and through retrograde. Beginning in measure 149, the transmuted cello motive is accompanied, at least initially, by the same harmonic progression as the original. Borrowing a rhythmic ostinato heard earlier in the refrain of “Little Child,” this harmonic progression is played by the strings.
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| Figure 2. “19” harp and strings, mm. 149-154. |
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| Figure 3. “19” voices, mm. 188-189. |
The Schoenberg set informs “19” in similar ways as “Little Child.” The initial “melody” of the first movement of Schoenberg’s opus 19 (Figure 4) is transformed in “19” (Figure 5) by elongating the initial B4 pitch starting in measure 46 to create a six-measure upper pedal that is resolved in measure 55 by continuing the pitches from the Schoenberg, although rhythmically transformed.
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| Figure 4. Schoenberg opus 19, I, mm. 1-2. |
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| Figure 5. “19” strings, mm. 48-57. |
In addition, a similarity between some elements of opus 19 and “Little Child” is illustrated using pitch class analysis.
The highlighted opening pitches in the right hand of the first movement of the Schoenberg (disregarding repeated pitches) in normal order are [3,5,6,9,10,11] and form a prime set of (012568). The initial tetrachord in the left hand [9,0,7,8] or prime set of (0125), is a subset of the (012568) set. The first two measures of the “Little Child” cello motive, again disregarding repeated pitches, are a normal order of [6,8,9,1] which is a (0237) prime set. The (0125) and (0237) sets are similar by studying the actual pitches [7,8,9,0] and [6,8,9,1], respectively, as well as their interval-class vectors [111120] and [211110]. A closer connection with the opening pitches of the first movement of opus 19 is demonstrated by comparing it with all of the pitches of the “Little Child” cello motive. The complete cello line in normal order is [6,8,9,11,1,2], a (013568) prime set which compares closely with the Schoenberg’s (012568) set.
Check back for Part 2, as to how various elements are combined, as well as some analysis from some other movements of Changing Same.
You can listen to Changing Same: http://www.wqxr.org/#!/programs/newyorknow/2013/mar/25/
("19" is the first movement)
You can also check out the Schoenberg and Mayfield pieces: http://www.numinousmusic.blogspot.com/2013/02/19-from-changing-same.html
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