Analysis: Mountains, Meadows, Cows

Mountains, Meadows, Cows, (Hory, Louky, Krvy), by Michaela Plachk was written in
January 2013 for the Czech ensemble, Konvergence. The piece runs for about six minutes in
length and is written for piano, viola, classical guitar and Bb clarinet. Plachk says this piece was
inspired by the alpine countryside, and the main element of the piece is its quiet
spaciousness that is distinctive to Konvergence (Pesetsky). Through use of many extended
techniques, form, subtle harmonies and melodies, loose rhythms, and open textures,
Konvergence achieves the quiet spaciousness in Mountains, Meadows, Cows that they are
known for.
Konvergence is a collective of Czech composers co-founded by Tom Plka, husband of
Michaela Plachk. Plka studied composition at the Brno Conservatory and co-founded
Konvergence in 2002. Michaela Plachk joined in 2006 and has since been composing and
playing piano with many performance groups around the world (Konvergence). The ensemble
consists of a viola player, a Bb clarinet player, a classical guitar player, and a pianist. Their goal
was to bring contemporary music composers together to bring new experiences after the eternal
carousels of Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, and all the Romantic-era [composers] which were,
andstill are, dominant on Czech podiums (Weininger). Konvergence is said not to be very
representative of Czech contemporary music for this reason (Pesetsky). Racek explains, At
those moments when the leading phenomena of the international musical avant-garde were
demonstrating reliable new ways of sound and expression for the development of European
music, the mainstream of contemporary Czech music was arrested somewhere at the level of late
Romanticism and Impressionism (195). Czech music today also contains a reliance on folk

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music models and folk stylizations (Beckerman 70). Konvergence has succeeded in trying to
change this with their experimental take on contemporary music of the twenty-first century.
Mountains, Meadows, Cows is through-composed. This type of form does not have clear
sections and is said to be continuous. However, the sections of the piece can be differentiated
using the double bars in the sheet music that Plachk provides. The piece consists of five sections
notated in the table below. The minutes portion of the table is dependent on the performance
itself. These times are taken from the recording provided from the Janurary 2014 show at the
Lilypad in Inman Square.

Sections
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
Section 5

Measures
1-7
8-23
24-34
45-65
66-74

Minutes
0:00-0:40
0:41-2:07
2:08-3:30
3:31-4:56
4:56-5:57

A clarinet solo of mostly ambient sounds and some melodies makes up the first section
of Mountains, Meadows, Cows. This section constructs the atonal disposition of the piece that is
typical of twenty-first century contemporary works. Even though the piece is set at a steady 56
beats per measure, the first section is ametric, therefore giving the first section an ethereal feel.
The clarinet plays very softly into the body of the piano, where it stays for the entirety of the
piece. The piano is directed to keep the sustain pedal down for the whole piece, letting all the
sounds ring out. This is then applied not only to the piano, but the Bb clarinet as well, as it plays
into the strings of the piano. Because of this, the room is never fully silent, since the clarinet or
the piano is constantly ringing out.

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Besides playing into the piano, the clarinet makes use of various other extended
techniques. In measure five, the clarinet makes use of the tremolo, which occurs many times in
the length of the piece. It also makes use of the slap, which creates an abrupt and unexpected
quality that contrasts with the otherwise quiet feel of the first section. The clarinet also uses
many crescendos and diminuendos, which help set the mood and the atmosphere of being in a
field. One could imagine Plachk sitting in the countryside, with the wind whistling by her.
Because there is no meter, the clarinet is instructed to play at its own pace, for the most
part. This is indicated in the score by using tick marks instead of actual measure lines to
differentiate between the little phrases of Section One. At times, the score directs the clarinet to
let the sounds ring out, pausing 0.5 seconds by feeling the acoustics of the space, and then tells it
to play notes as fast as it can. This creates even more of an ametric and disjointed feel. Since a
large portion of the piece is based on the room it is being played in and the acoustics that come
with it, the piece changes every time it is played. The sounds of the room come together with the
instruments and create an altogether new musical characteristic that adds to the quiet
spaciousness that Konvergence identifies with (Pesetsky).
Section Two begins in a 4/4 time signature and begins to include the rest of the ensemble.
In this section, the instruments make use of many more extended techniques, as well as melodic
and rhythmic motives. Section Two also introduces the idea of mixed meter, which is prevalent
in the entire piece. In total, Section Two consists of six meter changes, ranging from 4/4 in mm.
8-12, mm. 14-18, and m. 23, to 3/4 in m. 13, to 2/4 in m. 19, to 5/4 in mm. 20-22. This imitates
the free-form feel that was introduced in the first section by the clarinet. By listening to the piece
and not following along with the sheet music, it is very hard to distinguish the time signature, as

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it seems ametric through and through. However, upon further investigation, it is much more
organized than it seems.
In the very beginning of the section, the clarinet is still ringing out on the A4, as the
piano comes in with a chord made up of an F#4, a E5, and a B5 in measure 7, followed by a
chord make up of an E3, a G#5, and a B#5 in m. 8. While these chords do not provide much of a
harmonic function, the soft timbre of the piano provides a nice contrast to the harsher sounds of
the clarinet. After that, the piano is mostly a background instrument until measure 16, where the
first motive comes in. This piano motive consists of a G4, an A4, a C#5, and a D4. These are not
single notes, but the highest notes of chords that stand out as a melodic motive. Since the piano is
continuously sustained, each chord is added to the next chord, creating clusters. This motive is
heard in fragments again in measure 22 and in measure 23. The measure 22 fragment consists of
the G4, the A4 and skips to the D4 while the measure 23 fragment consists of the G4 and the A4
only. However, they are still recognized as the original motive of measure 16.
The piano makes use of an interesting extended technique in Section Two of the piece.
The piano player, in this case Plachk, takes her finger or her fingernail, and scratches the strings
inside the body of the instrument for a sharp sound. This occurs in measure 18, as well as in
other sections of the piece. Throughout the second section, the piano has many quiet dynamic
markings, but in measure 18, the dynamic marking is mezzo forte. This creates an even more
abrupt quality to the scratching and contrasts with the otherwise soft timbre of the piano.
The classical guitars first appearance in the piece begins in measure 8. In mm. 9-10, the
guitar is instructed to play all strings simultaneously while using a bow. This extended technique
creates tension, but adds to the spaciousness of the piece, as it is more of an ambient sound. In
measure 12, the guitar comes in with a quiet tremolo on an E5, leading to a forte cluster chord

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consisting of an F#5 and a G5. This creates another sudden, harsh sound that dissipates as
quickly as it came on. This is followed by harmonics on an E5 and a D5 in m. 13 and a direction
to play the guitar with a bow on only the low E string in mm. 14 and 15. These extended
techniques also add to the atmosphere of the piece.
Additionally, the guitar serves a melodic function in this section beginning in measure 17,
and again in measure 20. Measure 17 consists of six thirty-second notes comprised of an A5, a
D5, and a Bb4 repeated twice. In measure 20, there is a sextuplet of sixteenth notes comprised of
a Bb5, a D5, and a G4 repeated twice. This implies a G minor chord, however it has no chord
function in the piece, as the piece is atonal. It is followed by another outline of the G minor
chord, but in the same thirty-second note pattern of measure 17. This can be considered the
rhythmic motive of the guitar, and makes many appearances throughout the piece.
The viola plays another background role in the first section. The first time the viola
makes an entrance is in measure 10, with a quiet, but piercing, harmonic. The viola appears again
in measure 14 with a tremolo glissando from a D6 to a D5. On the glissando, the viola has a
pianissimo dynamic marking, so it remains in the background of the piece for the time being. In
measure 18, the viola plays together with the guitar. As the guitar sets up its first tremolo on the
G5, the viola starts a glissando a beat later from a G3 to the highest note it can play. Once the
viola hits that high note, the guitar hits a chord to emphasize the violas glissando. The viola
makes its final appearance in Section Two in mm. 21-23 with another shrill harmonic.
The clarinet does not do too much in the second section. In measure 10, it plays a harsh
sounding chord consisting of an E#4, a G#5, and a D#6. It comes in again with the same chord in
measure 14, after playing a very quiet, low A3. The clarinet remains quiet until the end of
measure 20 when it sounds a louder, put still piano, tremolo on a B5 that has a crescendo leading

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into measure 21. Even though the clarinet plays a minor role in Section Two, it is one of the stars
of Section Three.
Section Three begins ametrically with a clarinet solo for eleven bars. In an interview with
Josef Trestik, a musician familiar with Konvergence, he contemplated the role of the clarinet in
the piece. I was thinking, is this clarinet a soloist or is it part of the ensemble? It seemed to be
like a mini concertina for the clarinet and then the rest of the ensemble (Trestik). This seems
like an accurate description, of the function of the clarinet in Mountains, Meadows, Cows,
because of the amount of solos it takes in the piece, creating a monophonic feel for a good
portion of Mountains, Meadows, Cows. The clarinet brings this next section in with a forte slap
on the A3, which is a jarring contrast to Section Twos quiet peacefulness. The clarinet plays
each of its one-bar phrases at its own pace, with certain notes played as fast as possible, indicated
by a slash. Many of these phrases are legato sections of five to eight eighth notes, and some
phrases are only a single slap, or three accented eighth notes. The contrast between the phrase
lengths in this subsection further helps to create the spaciousness of the piece as a whole.
The clarinet plays a tremolo on an F#5 in measure 35, signaling the other instruments to
start to come back in, as well as the end of the ametric section. Once the other instruments are
back in, the clarinet goes back to its background role, scattering slaps, tremolos, and short
melodic lines through the rest of the section. Section Three is definitely louder than the previous
sections, and that is apparent in the jarring and powerful high tremolo on the A5 in measure 43
and the melodic clarinets line in measure 42.
The guitar comes in with two sextuplets of thirty-second notes in measure 35, ending
with a quarter note harmonic on a B5. Then in measure 36, the guitar has an increasing loud
tremolo on an E5. The guitar gets even louder in measure 39, with three repeated chords

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consisting of an A4, a G#5, and a D#6. These intervals together with the forte dynamic create a
new sense of dissonance that the guitar has not yet explored in the piece.
Section Three is the most important section for the viola. The viola begins in measure 37,
with a tremolo glissando from an A3 to an E3, emulating the mooing sound of a cow. The viola
creates this effect many other times in the piece, including measure 45 at the very end of Section
Three. The viola creates other ambient sounds in this section, such as the harmonics in mm. 3839. The viola comes into the forefront even further in mm. 42-45 as the loudest instrument in the
piece thus far. This begins with the forte tremolo glissando on the G5, leading up to the dynamic
climax at measure 44 consisting of a loud group of eight thirty-second notes in a u-shaped
melodic line. The first four notes, G5-B4-E4-Bb3, are then repeated in retrograde in the last four
notes. The very end of the melodic line has a downwards glissando, leading to the mooing
sound heard in measure 45.
The piano only plays a few cluster chords, in mm. 37-38 and m. 42, and single notes, in
measure 45, in this section. However, the piano makes use of a new extended technique
beginning in measure 36. Since the sustain pedal remains constant during the piece, the pianist
needs to manually mute some notes by placing a finger on certain strings inside the piano. This
occurs in measure 41, as well as in measure 36. The pianist also makes use of the fingernail
scratching from the previous section in mm. 39 and 44.
Section Four is the longest continuous section of the piece. It begins ametrically with
another clarinet solo from mm. 46-51 that is similar to the clarinet solo of the beginning of
Section Three, continuing with the forte dynamics. The clarinet once again brings the other
instruments in with a tremolo on an A5, signaling the end of the ametric section, and bringing the
piece into a 3/4 time signature.

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The clarinet keeps playing small melodies and tremolos from mm. 52-54, increasing in
dynamic. In measure 55, the clarinet is directed to improvise, followed by four seconds of
silence. During this silence, no other instrument is playing, creating a tense break in an otherwise
active section of the piece. The clarinet comes back in in measure 56 with a guitar duet. This
duet takes place from mm. 56-57. These measures are significant because the instruments are
playing together, in an otherwise primarily polyphonic and monophonic piece. The notes the
instruments are supposed to hit together are indicated by a dotted line connecting the two staves
stemming from the clarinet line down to the guitar line. This creates a less disorderly feel than
the rest of the piece, because the two instruments are clearly playing together. Usually, when
more than one instrument plays in the piece, it its polyphonic because it does not seem like the
instruments are playing together.
The viola makes use of a variety of extended techniques in Section Four. In measure 51,
the viola makes use of a new kind of glissando not yet discovered in the piece. This direction
tells the viola to glissando up and then back down immediately, producing an interesting, sliding
noise. The viola also makes use of a muted tremolo in measure 53 with a forte dynamic, which
creates a jarring sound, building the tension. The viola comes in for the last time in section four
in measure 54 with a glissando on a G3 and a C4 harmonic up to a C4 and a F4 respectively. This
leads the clarinet into its four seconds of silence in measure 55.
The clarinet has another solo section from mm. 58 to the end of Section Four, only
interrupted by the guitars forte bowing of all five strings in mm. 58-59 and a few tremolos and
harmonics as background noise. This solo in particular is more leapwise in construction than the
other more stepwise solos. The clarinet ends the section with a mezzo forte tremolo on an F6,

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with the piano coming back after being silent through the entire fourth section on two thirtysecond notes consisting of a D6 and a B6.
The fifth and last section of Mountains, Meadows, Cows contains all four instruments
together. It begins with the G#4, F#5, C#6 chord in the clarinet. This is the same chord as the
clarinet chord in measure 1 of the piece. This chord is stated in measure 66, and then repeated in
mm. 68 and 69. This brings the piece back to the very beginning, with the same ambient feel of
the quiet spaciousness (Pesetsky). The guitar and the viola add to the ambient sounds with
harmonics, muted strings, and short melodies in the guitar in mm. 69 and 73 to end the piece.
The piano has the main melodic role in this section. From mm. 68-74, the piano is
playing a slow, constant melody that helps bring the piece back to its calmer, quiet roots. The soft
timbre of the piano is almost calming, contrasting with the harsher sounds of the other
instruments. In the last measure of the piece, the clarinet, viola, and the piano ring out on an E2
in the piano, a B# 3 in the viola, and an A#3 in the clarinet. This dissonant chord wraps up the
piece in a quiet, uncertain way, reminiscent of the sound of wind.
Josef Trestik comments, [Konvergence has] became more aware of the color of the
sound they use. Through use of extended techniques, quiet harmonies, and taking into account
the acoustics of their performance space, Konvergence has achieved a unique sonority. In
Mountains, Meadows, Cows, Plachk has achieved the quality of quiet spaciousness that
Konvergence has come to identify with (Pesetsky).

Works Cited

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Beckerman, Michael. In Search of Czechness in Music. 19thCentruy Music 10.1 (1986): 61-73. JSTOR. Web. 17 April 2014.
Konvergence. Composers Association of Konvergence n.d. Web. 14
April 2014.
Pesetsky, Benjamin and Luk Olejnk. Cambridge Contemplates
Konvergence. The Boston Musical Intelligencer (2014): n. pag.
Web. 14 April 2014.
Racek, Jan, Ji Vyslouil and Jessie Kocmanov. Problems of
Style in 20th-Century Czech Music. The Musical Quarterly
51.1 (1965): 191-204. JSTOR. Web. 17 April 2014.
Trestik, Josef. Personal interview. 23 April. 2014.
Weininger, David. "Konvergence Brings New Music to Cambridge."
Music. The Boston Globe, 09 Jan. 2014. Web. 17 April 2014.

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