A Chopin. Bartók.

Kodály Analogy
Author(s): István Kecskeméti
Source: The Musical Times, Vol. 122, No. 1657 (Mar., 1981), pp. 163-166
Published by: Musical Times Publications Ltd.
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/962848 .
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in bothcasestheorchestral entryis nota truetutti,setting sonata-basedthree-movement form,whereas Szyman-
a seal on thecadenza,butonlya continuation ofthepro- owskiproduced,in whatis undoubtedly hismostoriginal
cess thatleads to the mainclimaxof theworkor move- musicalstructure, a single-movement workthat in its
ment.Even herethereare similarities, especiallyin the lyricalintensityhas so littleto do with'classical'models
presenceof sequentialharmonicprogressions thatin the thatit is misleading to discussit in thoseterms.
contexthavea strongcohesiveeffect. This important difference of approachis obviousin all
These similaritiesoftexture and idiom,likethecurious the worksin whichtheirrespectivestyleswere firmly
and unaccountable thematicconcordances thatexistbe- established.But it is at leastarguablethatSzymanowski's
tweensomeworks,2 are of courseof a superficial nature; influencepermeated eventhestructure of Bart6k'smost
their fundamentalstyles and approachesdiffersig- experimental workin a fundamental andfar-reachingway.
nificantly. There is nothingin Szymanowski's workto Mosaic structures of markedlycontrasting components
matchthe savageryof the concludingmovement of the are a featureof Szymanowski's works,
'impressionistic'
firstsonata,and it was only later,in the song cycle and the firstmovementof Violin Sonata no.1 is also
Slopiewnie andStabatmater, thatSzymanowski resortedto notablein Bart6k'soutputforits playingoffof different
thearchaicsimplicity and economyofthesortwe findin textures and materials.It is theone movement of all his
theslowmovement ofthesamework.A moreimportant violinworkswhichis themostobviouslySzymanowskian,
distinctionis to be made betweenthe natureof their and theone whichis at thesametimefurthest removed
creativeimpulses.In hisviolinworks,Szymanowski's ap- fromhis usual sourcesof inspiration.It is especially
proachwas fundamentally lyrical.The Mythsaredescrib- significantthat later Bart6k should dislike this un-
ed as poems,and theirassuredflightsof fancycontrast 'cosmopolitan'
characteristically movement to theextent
markedlywith the questing,'experimental'natureof thathe wouldhavelikedto suppressit,leavingonlythe
Bart6k'sdialecticsin Sonatano.1, a fascinating workbut lasttwo,folklikemovements. Finallyithastobe saidthat,
one whichis notas successfully realizedin itsownterms underthe circumstances, it is also significant
thatthere
as theSecondSonata.A similardifference is alsoapparent should be such a strikingcontrastbetweenBart6k's
in theviolinconcertos.Bart6kpreserved thetraditional, privatelyexpressedadmiration forSzymanowski's work
('one of thebestcomposersin theworld')3and his seem-
2 Bothcomposersmadeuse ofnote-orders
inglystudiedavoidanceof mentionof Szymanowski's
madeup ofalternating minor3rdsand namein hispublicwriting. It is a notableomissionin his
semitones.In Szymanowski's worktheyresultin melodiclineswitha rather orien-
talsound,as in Roksana'ssongfromAct2 ofKingRogerandnumerous passagesin
discussionsof 20th-century music,and possiblysymp-
ViolinConcertono.1 (wheretheyhavea vitalstructural significance).In Bart6k's tomaticof some discomfort at the closenessof Szyman-
worktheyseemto be moreharmonic
ofthetonalambivalence
thanmelodicin thattheyderivefromtheex- owski'sartto hisown - andperhapsofa realization that,
ploitation whenmajor3rdsa minor3rdapartareheardin
close proximity.A moreexplicitthematickinshipexistsbetweenthe openingof at leastin thelimitedfieldof violinmusic,comparisons
Szymanowski's ViolinConcertono.2 (1933) and the openingof Bart6k'sViolin
Concertono.2 in thepresenceofmotifs
mightbe odious.
thatmovefromtonictodominant andthen
to theflattenedseventh.The moststrikingresemblance ofall is thatbetweenthe
descendingmotifopeningViolinSonatano.2 and the Sabala folk-motif deriving 3 LetterfromBart6kto hismotherwritten aftera concertand dinnerpartyat the
fromthemusicoftheTatrahighlands, used forthefirsttimeby Szymanowski in houseofHenriPrunieres on 8 April1922at whichRaveland Stravinsky werepre-
thesong-cycle Slopiewnie
(1921). sentas wellas Bart6kand Szymanowski.

A Chopin- Bart6k
- Kod'ilyAnalogy
IstvinKecskemeti

This study reveals a perhaps surprisingresemblance futureof mankind,quoted in a Hungarianarticleon a

amongthree'secondpieces'whicharetobe foundinthree similarsubjectpublished15 yearsago,2and insteadcon-
pianocycles- thePreludesop.28 by Chopin,Ten Easy sider a moredetailedanalysisthat,by approaching the
Piano Piecesby Bart6kand Ten PiecesforPianoop.3 by subjectfromseveralaspects,also coversKodily's work.
Kodily.1 For the time being, one should disregard The comparison is perhapslessconvincing concerningthe
Bart6k'spessimistic
thoughtsabouta raisond'etreandthe thirdpiece,but it is quitestriking
in thecase ofthefirst
two.
1 The originaltitleoftheBart6kcycleis Tiz and Kodily'sis
zongoradarab,
10 piecespourle piano (Zongoramuzsika ki'nnyii No.1
in Hungarian). 2 I. Kecskem6ti:'Egy
(Valsette)fromthe Bart6k-Chopinpirhuzam'[A Bart6k-Chopinparallel],
Kodilycyclewas laterseparated,so advancingour pieceno.2 to no.1. Magyarzene,vii/2(1966)
163

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 As themusicalmaterialitselfcontainsquitea fewdirect Ex.2: Bart6k
analogies,one mayignoreany hypotheses on how these [ ::?-:~:
:::::_::
:::::::i::
:::::::::: :::i:,::":J.::

similarities mighthave arisen.Bart6kmusthave known ................. :

and have played'theChopin preludes,and it is equally ...... .............: ..

possible that Kodily was familiarwith the Ten Easy

Piano Pieces when he composedhis own piano cycle.
Chopincomposedhis preludesbetween1836 and 1839,
. .... .....

Bart6kwrotehis piano cyclein June1908,and Kodily

completedhison 17 March1909.This chronological rela-
tionship is notevidenceofany directinfluences(a subject
outsidethescopeofthisstudy),yetthedatesofcomposi- iiiiiiiiiiiiiil77
12:i27
:777:: ........ :7:!:7 :::::Y:-
?r::::::::::::: ;;;;i;;:;:::
;;:::::: : ::: ::
:= :.....; ........ :: .......i '::~T':
tionofferthefirstfactualsimilarity: thethreecomposers -:' ::::
,
wereof similarage at the timetheywrotethe worksin
question.If one datesPreludeno.2 to 1837,Chopin,who Ilk,
was bornin 1810,wouldhavebeen27 whenhe composed
it (he could nothavebeenyoungerthan26 or olderthan
29 becauseof thecomposition datesof 1836-9). Bart6k V):
.......
...... ...... ..1
. .... ... ... .. ... . . ............
and Kodily were both 27 when theycompletedtheir .. ... . .... . ..............
.. .. . .. ...........
.. . . . :................ : : : ; : . ; :: .: :

cycles. But this attractivesimilarityis misleading:

althoughmoreor less the same age, Chopinwas at the
peak of his career,whileBart6kand Kodily wereat the .. ... . :
.... :...
.. : 5 ..: .::.
, ........................... .......... ... .....
.... ...........

beginning oftheirs.
Bart6k,who reachedmaturity veryearly,was by then
. . .

alreadypreoccupiedwithbasic questionsof humanexis-

..
: :: : :: : :: :
.v......:::
.... : : : :: : . : : : :: : : :::
................

tence- thepurposeoflife,theendoftheworldandofthe -
artsand sciences.His letterto theviolinistStefiGeyerof .
6 September1907 is fullofbroodingreflections on such
questionsand revealshis anxietyabout the futureof
Ex.1: Chopin mankind.3 These ideas are expressedin the secondEasy
:lii:s
:i~ ..........................??::?:?-?:???:
l::-:::::~ii............
?~\?xrI:
??-?i~? Piano Piece Bart6kcomposedonlya littlewhilelater,a
workthatis programmatic in its verytitle,'Painfultor-
ment'.Chopin expressedthe same thought,withoutac-
tuallygivingit a title,in thewindy,desertedValdemosa
.............., Cloisteron the Mediterranean
.........
.................... ...... . ................................
......... islandof Majorca,where
ji... ............
he spentmorethanthreemonthsin an attempt to curehis
fatal illness. Seven decades later Bart6kchose similar
meansto expresshis torments. This elementof torment
1:~~?.......
?:?s:---
.................... --t;:
-i-lsi-~i
--I
....... .. .... ........ i~...: . ........................
:~::................~: and is missingfrom work,a calm,con-
.........
.. agony Kodily's
.........
.........
templative elegy,withidiomaticelementssimilarin some
respectsto thosein theothertwoworks.
All threecomposers,renewersof music in theirown
fields,used the piano to expresstheir contemplative
moods;thisfacilitates comparative analysis.If one com-
z ...................... paresthesethreepieces(see exx.1- 3) one seessomestrik-
AZ AZ. ingsimilarities.
1. Length.By purecoincidence, thelengthsofthethree

3 In a thousandyears,in ten thousandyears,I am surethatmywholeworkwill

havebeen lostwithouta trace;and maybetheentireHungarianpeopleand their
languagewillhavesunkintooblivionforever.Or ifnotbythen- wellthen,some
timelater.The samefateawaitstheworkofeveryone ofus. It wouldnotbe a plea-
santthingto workwithonlythisdepressing thoughtin mind.To be able to work,
in thelivinguniverse.One has to
one musthavea zestforlife,i.e. a keeninterest
be filledwithenthusiasm fortheTrinityaboutwhichyou writeso eloquentlyin
yourletter;if I evercrossedmyself,it wouldsignify'In thenameofNature,Art
and Science. . .'; Bila BartdkLetters,ed. JanosDemeny,withprefaceby Sir
MichaelTippett;Eng. trans.byPeterBalabinand IstvinFarkas,rev.byElisabeth
Westand Colin Mason (Budapest,1971),no.41,p.81.
164

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pieces are verysimilar:Chopin's consistsof 23 bars, structedfroma singlemelody.Equally important is the
Bart6k'sof 22 and Kodily's of 26. songlike nature of all three themes. Chopin's tunehas an
2. Introduction.All threepiecesopenwithan introduc- affinitywithItalianbelcantoand Bart6k'swithHungarian
tion, and notablythe soloisticintroduction (a two-bar folksong.Kodily's is similarto musiccomposedin the
ostinato)of the left-handaccompaniment. The introduc- Hungarianfolkvein,or, moreexactly,its instrumental
tionoftheKoddlypiecetakesthreebarsonlybecausethe versionand thewaythistunemighthavebeenperformed
openingbass note(B flat)is soundedin thefirstbarand is by theleaderofa gypsyband.The tendency to variation,
held intothe secondbar wherethe ostinatoaccompani- withthe melodydissolvingintosmallpatterns, and the
mentbegins. melodiccomplement in theright-hand solo in bar 19 are
3. Ostinato accompanimentand its soloisticuse. This is all reminiscent of thegypsyviolinist'smannerof perfor-
commonto thethreepieces.The ostinatoof
also a feature mance,and in contentconfirmthe typically Hungarian-
the introduction is presentthroughout as an accompani- liketone - a mixture ofprowess,heroismand melancho-
mentoron itsownin singlebars(Chopin,bar 13; Kodily, ly. The tunecomposedhereforthepianocould,indeed,
bars 12 and 24; Bart6k,bars21 - 2). It is also clearfrom be playedon theviolin;eventhelasttwobarsare inside
thetablethattheseleft-hand ostinatosolosoccurat similar the compassof the G string.This seemingly violin-like
places: the beginning,middle and end of each piece. piano piece of Kodily's had severalsuccessors:in the
However,withKodalytheostinatois onlya repetition of pianopartsofpoeticinspiration thatKodalycoupledwith
bare 5thsin groupsof fourquavers.With Chopin and folksongs in the issues of HungarianFolkMusicforvoice
Bart6ktheostinatoarisesfromtheuse of auxiliaryinter- and pianohe conjuresup thetonesof severalHungarian
vals. In theChopinpiecetheseintervals appearsimultan- folkinstruments. A surprisingfeaturecommonto the
eously, and in the Bart6k in a brokenform.Their pieces by Chopin and Bart6kis theirtransposition (see
relentlessnessand spanningmotion,a continuoussucces- below)ofthetheme,whichresembles thatofthenewstyle
sion of perfectand diminishedintervals, createthe im- of Hungarianfolksong.In Bart6k'sthisis onlynatural,
pressionof painfultormentin both pieces. It was this but withChopin it is unexpected, to say the least.Also
ostinatothatfirstdrewmyattention to thesimilarity of both themescontainthe deviationof the thirdmelodic
thetwopieces. linetypicalofHungarianfolksong. The piecebyChopin,
4. Monothematicism. One ofthemostimportant charac- of course,has no fourthmelodicline,exceptperhapsan
teristicsof the analogyis thatall threepieces are con- imaginaryone, as the melodicstructureremainsopen
Ex.3:Koddly withthe complement and would be closed onlywitha
cadentialcodetta.
5. Tendency to transposition. This is one of the most
directanalogies,firstbetweenthe Chopin and Bart6k
w...
4?~--;
..........-
;:?P* ~ ~ II-I~:
1-ilI:----1:I j 0? :0: pieces, wherethereis bitonality, and the tendencyto
transposition is further strengthened bythemonothemat-
............-Ii~
l .............
....
.... .......... .....
~.-??s'?:?:-'.F'i::.:..--i~i'jl.
j
'i:-i?:.....l~ll~ .. icism discussedabove. The Chopin and Bart6kpieces
-r-~~.:~i~~n~::::::~:-i~i-:i~r-:i:l:~:;j-?::li::~11::.N::
f*: show a vaultedtransposition whichopens on the basic
:8~;?,;~I::;;::1::::;::::
::::::::
::-::::-;::::::::::?:::: ::~?l~~:*l::?At
m:::::: level,is continuedin thekeyofthefifth (or,temporarily,
111 40 third [i.e. fourth])degree,then in the thirdstage its
---- leveldropssomewhat, to returnfinallyto thebasic level.
0i 0 ..?w
:??::::??:::
uj.::~:::::
::?-?~:i:77
Naturally,thekeysalso changein stepwiththe levelof
:::: :::::.::::::
.: ::: > :~: :::: 7 the transposition. The processis akinto thatin the so-
40-?
.........:?:
-*-0w
-..
:::::::?:::;:::?::::::::::-.~;a-
~:::"::::
4*:--:-'::-: ::': callednewstyleofHungarianfolksongs. In thecaseofthe
............;J Kodily piece, the variation of the motif is of greater
lo <Uj significance thanits transposition. But it does includea
transposition (true,an octave-transposition) attheresump-
tion,at the startof the second part of the piece (bars
13- 18), then only in the final two bars: a fourth-
transposition descendingto thelevelof thenewtonic.
6. Complement. The mostimportant complements ofall
threepieces are to be foundat moreor less the same
places,namelytheendsof thepiecesat aboutbar 20.
7. Mode.In linewiththeirbasicmoods,all threepieces
are of a minorcharacter.The mode of the Chopin and
Kodily piecesis minor,thatof theBart6kis Dorian.
8. Bitonality. By thisconceptI meana different keyat
thebeginningand theend of thepiece. Bart6k'sworkis
165

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ThefirstpageofBartdk'slast work,
theViolaConcerto
(reproduced bypermission
bV )b, ,Y-
I
of theNew YorkBartdkArchive)

.044-iv46
1014,
Iwo-0
vov
t~4t
L j-
WPM

theonlyoneto stickto D minor.The Chopinpieceopens 'clicking')patternso frequentin the Hungarianver-

in theminordominantkey(E minor)of thefinalminor bunkosh (recruiting music).These melodicline endings
key(A minor),whilethe Kodily workbeginswiththe occurfirstat bar 6 in Chopin'swork,bar 6 in Bart6k's,
minorsubdominant (B flatminor)ofthefinalminorkey and bar 5 in Kodily's piece.
(F minor).(TruethisB flat,at leastas a bassnote,appears 12. Tempomarks.The initialtempomarkin all three
again under the lasttwo bars.) piecesis Lento.This is in keepingwiththebasictoneof
9. Descendingbasses.In all threepieces descending elegy or torment thatcharacterizesthem.
basseshavea decisiveinfluence on keyand harmony 13. Metre.All threepieces open in duple time(4/4).
(but
theonlyone thatchangesmetreas thework
at different places).Chopin'spreluderevealsa two-step Kodily's is
bass fall(E-D and B-A) in thefirsttwomelodiclines progresses (severaltimes).
bass fall(F sharp- F -E) in 14. Espressivo. The songlikecharacter is alsostressed
by
(bars3- 12),and a three-step
thethirdline(bars14- 19).Bart6kusesdescending basses the instruction for expressiveperformance. The very
in the thirdand fourthmelodic lines (bars 11- 14: themesof the three pieces are expressiveby nature.
G-F-E-E flat [-D], and bars 15-22: D-C-B Chopin'stypically Italianbelcantofallsin line withthe
flat- . . . A- . .. F- ... E flat-D). Here,as elsewhere, other although it has no explicitdesignationof an
shows a preference for modulations brought about espressivo mood. But Bart6kand Kodilymarkitat thein-
Kodily
descending basses. In this work severalbasses are like cipit of themelody.
by
pedal-points: B flatinbars1-5, A in bars6- 7, andA flat 15. Dynamics.In harmonywith their elegiac at-
in bars8- 11 (although in bars9 and 11thebassis replac- mosphere,the basic dynamiclevel in all threepiecesis
ed by a pause). piano. Chopin'spiece hardlyrisesabovethis;theBart6k
workis raisedtoa mplevelinthesecondmelodicline,and
10. Unaccompanied melody. The Bart6kpiececonform-
fallstopp duringthethirdline,onlyto risetoforteat the
ingto thefour-line folksong is theonlyoneinwhichthere end ofthe
is no unaccompanied piece.Kodilyreachesforte(bar18),andindeed
melody.Butthisoccursas theother pii~forte
(bar 20),earlier,butconcludesthepiecewitha pp
pieces draw to an end, in bars 17 and 20-21 of the and with
finally ppp dynamics.
Chopin prelude,and in bars 21 and 23 of the Kodily 16.Decelerating ofan unaccompanied
the retardation in a recitative-like The ending. Regardless
piece,during style. or left-hand or whetherbothhandsare
slowmelodyassumesimmediate and a more right-hand part
significance
playingat thesametime,all threeworksarecharacterized
personalcharacter whenthe accompaniment disappears. a
The otherright-hand solosoftheKodilypiece(bars9, 11, by decelerating tempobytheend.Chopin'sinstructions
of 'sostenuto' accompany only the cadentialchordsof
19) are of a rathertransitional nature,but theviolin-like thelasttwoanda half
bars,Bart6k's'calando'referstothe
passage(bar 19) discussedabovecarriesgreaterweight. third but last bar, and 'molto ritardando'to the
11. Melodicsections withiambicendings.The melodic penultimate bar.OnlyKodilyputs'allargando'as earlyas
linesofall threepiecesendin iambicpatterns, in Bart6k's in thesixthbarbeforethefinalone,and 'ritardando' after
and Kodily's case in an iambusof a definitely emphatic an inserted'Tempo I'.
startwhich carriesthe openingof the 'capering'(i.e. musicexamplesreproducedby permissionof thecopyright owners

166

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