In Michael Graves's Portland Balding (View om Fth rue), the postmodern aesthet produces § far more omates il colorful, and eclectic architect than had characterized the In national Seyle for om many decades. (Photo: Paschall Ta to the past), butas one toe ps), bua one among many posits tha can be v creat erence and expressive impact. In hopes of th ih dere fseaton tho the puto nay as comeah ken as an inherent attribute of the modem situation, th taken a a nketent ait of he mod station, none ape asic sive World War l, then, f vii sce . then, forms an unusually colorfl sare patchwork of aparcly sconce features’ chaser ehaps mote by diversity chan by any other aspect. As — developments dese with in the ast portion of thi survey often st hare ha conection wth on ae, Unie carlcr phases of {went entry, the cuenta apeas 0 revel no gers art yn common thea ing tgs cape se whe at ee a ine ner ofthe different lines of devele to reside int very stylistic profisionor, ss ialways poste, eae mpl too coset ito beable wo pce the ger pte je shall turn to these more fandentote _ Me stall ¢ more general cultural and e tos in th ial per a fi we must opmaine Be coaeel el pment themselves. Because ofthe diversity and especally Beene a lack othstovieal perspective, twill bemorensenany then esse be selective, focusing onl Pestleave, cuing ly on the developments most called up 13s come to this earn to 1and with attempts to write music with area sary than ever to characteristic of APTER XVI Integral Serialism \HLE POSTWAR COMPOSITIONAL MOOD Emerging from the material hardships and culeural isolate years the younger generation of European_ composers €x Frofeuncdl reaction against their cultural heritage. To them, the tr Peoffatern music seemed inextricably tied to the political and social tuigves af Wie past. Ira new and better world was to be created out of kind of music, fun- the ashes of World War I it would require a new

one subsiutes CITT 77 (subtracting as teenth from the second and last note and adding one tothe four Messiaen alo proposes new type of augmentation and diminst aiding o subtracting a fixed rhythmic value to each member of a tunit (in contrast to the traditional procedure of multiph i amit ture of multiplying or divi eee tnt eg J Od becomes JN Ih oval mea er by a sixteenth) or 2 2 (through dis ese procedures, first apparent in the 1935 i Tie Bs ¥¢ 1935 organ piece La Nat du Seige (where they are explined ina prefce), create comple pliable rhythmic successions, quite different from those of metrical AA characteristic Messiaen innovation is the so-ci A Phychen’ 5 " through which other 4 succession of durations that ret phyed forward or backward: aT ta aich symmetric tects such symmetrical rhythmic structures, as well as to symmeteical pit modes that allow only limited number of tansposttons ee wholetone and octatonic sels) M impossibies." The inherent mitts of the materi ssh a a jim a source of technical interest and esthetic value. rif excerpt fom the sixth movement ofthe Cueto pour a ix Lams (Quiet fr the dof Fine, 94), for ele, wn, sl piano, illstrates aspects of Messian’s rhythmic procedures. (in Exc XE only the pao prt sven: the remainng nse si louble this part at the unison or octave.) Added rhythmic values ap : Example XVI Messiatn, Quart forthe End of Time, sixth moves [12 Dac S.A. Usby min of he pb, Sle epee USA Tod Gobble =e eee frequently, and each measure consists of a nonretrogeadable rhythm. Furthermore, in each successive measure the thythmic values tend to become smaller. ‘Another important aspect of Messiaen's compositional method is the borrowing” of pre-existent material and its transformation through what the composer calls the “prism” of his own musical consciousness ‘Avoiding more traditional models, Messiaen secks inspiration from surces distantly removed from modem Western music. Not only are Ih thythmie theories influenced by the study of Hindu music; actual indy chythmie formulas are frequently employed. Another favored source is Gregorian chant, used as starting point for melodic construc~ tions that freely transform the original melodies to suit new expressive requirements The most consequential body. of material appropriated by Messiae is bird’ song, Most of his works refer at least brifly to bird calls. and Some derive virtually all their melodic content from_this source, For Jnost oF his life Messiaen has taken down in notation the songs of birds Cncountered on his extensive travels. As with other borrowings, incention is not to “imitate” the source but to transform the bird calls so that they become musically meaning! -ompositions such as Réveil des oiseaux (1953) the entire structure mirrors the changing sounds “of birds located in a single habitat during,a particular period of time (in this case, from midnight to midday) ‘A final ingredient shaping Messiaen’s musical character is his deeply. 1 and religious nature, which contributes significantly to the ul mystic expressive detachment and structural rigor of his work. For Messi 1 stitutes not a means of personal expression, but an “obje tive” embodiment of the beauty_and perfection of God's universe. He therefore approaches his work as if from a distance, placing the struc tural demands of his compositional system—his “prism” —between hhimself and the material. The composer's description of plainchant applies equally well to his own work: music that is “truly religious because it is detached from all exterior effect and from all intention.” “the Quartet for the End of Time marked the maturity of Messiaen’s first style period, which continued through the Turangalila-symphonie (1948). Already in the earlier work, the treatment of pitch and rhythm ts independent elements interacting within a complex structural whole js firmly established. The first movement is made up largely of recur ring cycles of predetermined material. The entire piano part comprises tininterrupted repetitions of a sequence of seventeen chords, set to a ‘hythmic ostinato comprising twenty-nine durations. (Pitch and rhyth- mnie sequences thus never coincide, recalling the nonsynchronows ‘ales fnd color of medieval and Renaissance music.) At the same time, the allo states a five-note pitch series in combination with a fifteen-notethythmic series, These two parts form a sort of the principal metodic line, played by the cla patter and accompanied by occasional bird calls in the violin. The eff of these similar or identical materials continuously recirculating in ev changing configurations is one of static timelessness in the large. const ‘mutation in details. Respite Messiaen’s strong disposition toward such “serial” pro dures (for the rhythmic and pitch ostinatos in the Quartet for the End {Time are essentially serial in conception), his pitch language inthis licr period remained freely tonal, based on scalar characteristics that li sic a decided "Impressionist" tinge. However, during a brief critical “experimental” phase beginning, in 1949, Messiaen employ still more rigorous structural methods and adopted total chromaticia Cantéyedjaya and the Quatre Eides de rythme, two piano composite of 1949, and the Livre d'orgue (1951) contain striking examples of 9 tematic pre-compositional planning, In several sections of Cantéyodj the musical material is limited entirely to a few rhythmic figures Indian origin, each always associated witha single invariable pitch * figuration. These several fixed pitch-rhythmic patterns are combined collagelike sequences. Thus all the material within these sections determined in advance, and the actual compositional process becom ral background net in a freely stroph whatever patterns desired For the younger Europcati composers, the critical Messiaen piece w. the third of the Quatre Etudes, entitled “Mode de valeurs -gins with an eighth and adds eighths, The attack types (of which there are also twelve, one being the absen of any indication) and the dynamic levels (only seven) are distributed freely rather than in “stepped” sequence. ‘These three series, prepared “pre-compositionally” the actual writing of the piece—determine its entire content. All four Imusical clements remain absolutely fixed in relation to one another; any siven pitch in a given octave always retains the duration, dynamic: ancl autack type assigned toi inthe series. However, the compo is not serially structured: the Panmple XVE2: sesstaen, Qe ure Fudes de rythme, “Mode de valeurs et A. Series (from preface to score) Geyer pee 7 7 > "perry St Ff ca — me >are their contents presented in the gi the musical elements thi 1 pre-compositional order. Or nselves are det cd, not their success (As suggested by the title, the material is used like a “mode” rat than a “series.”) Nevertheless, what younger composers the work’s rigidly “const aspect—the fact that all four ments oF pitch, rhythm, dynamics, and attacks were first uniquely pi defined for the piece, and then compositionally manipulated throu identical operations—a procedure they felt linked the elements throu, structural analogy. The Etude’s opening measures (Example XVI-2b) reveal the radi consequences of Messizen’s procedure. The score is laid out on th staves, one each for the three twelve-element “modes”: i.e., each n« (on the top staff is drawn from the first, cach on the second staff trot the second, and each on the third from the third. (Although the o of notes is “free,” Messiaen does choose to begin with the openi notes ofthe upper two rows.) The momentary effect is one of perpet change, yet the overall character remains essentially constant throu ‘out. There is no sense of directed motion. ‘The notes seem to spin th selves out freely, as ifin a state of suspended animation. When the pie is over, there is no “ending”; the music simply stops. ‘Although the younger generation took ths Etude asa precedent integral serialism, Messiaen himself followed a different course. WI retaining a preference for chromaticism and for complex, abstract p compositional schemata (such as the elaborate table of numbers used determine rhythmic values in Chronachromic, an orchestral work of 1960) he has never embraced serialism. Indeed, in many respects Messiaen’ general compositional approach has remained consistent with his earl work. His music has always relied on the type of mosaiclike form: structures he favored in the 1930s, in which discrete musical segment are abruptly juxtaposed, with certain elements recurring in static, refzainlike patterns. While this procedure suggests some kinship wit Stravinsky or Varése, the sound of Messiaen’s music—its richly son ‘ous harmony and almost ecstatic expressive quality—is entively his own, Within an output largely dominated by instrumental music, Mes siaen has been especially drawn to virtuosic music for piano and organ, (He was long active as the organist of Trinité in Paris, and his piano ‘music was written for his wife Yvonne Loriod.) His Vingt Regards sur enfant Jésus (1945) and Catalogue d’iseaux (1959) rank among the long est and most difficult piano pieces in the literature. Other large instru mental works inclade Oiseaux exoriques (1956), Couleurs de la cite céleste (1964), and Et exspecto resurrectionem mortworum (1965), all scored for large chamber ensemble, the first ewo with prominent solo piano parts, More recently Messiaen completed his first opera, based on the life of. St. Francis of Assisi, which was premiered in Paris in 1983, tien World War If came to a en Pierre Boulez (b, 1995) 4 it sisted yea and jst isting his fom mee aie Wi nrong ‘mathematics as well as in music, Bi ks song blared wo sew companion ftom pespecive at SoS loge ater dan exresive, Convinced ofthe HO T necessity of tonality, he adopted rigors concep ie aly ordered structure of internal relationships * eaten’s frst major works, the Sonatine for Flute and iano and he viet Gta NT bot competed 146 and sw fenced by tha Second Viennese Schoo, caused a considera ‘break ‘composer was making a fundamental break appeared. Sue ad completely dominated he countrys sitions, and other works Bou- played a decisive role in post ee eo-dessiisn, which ha wae ce te easy 1920, These compo lez composed over the following decade, decisive lem post : ical developments. In addition to its pT witiewement, the First Piano Sonata isa remarkably sr ou ad amb ee a foro youre + compo, Uaguesony he mors ee eormal jo «Traces of traditional thematicism es ompostone Tacs of alin hema can san er Stnough sh thematic content ray Tagmente ee be rred motive partis tht appar highly ware cong rane, The passin Bamps XVI ogi he ean) sexpondence (he tee -naghthrnoee motion in sudden, isolated ys ~ a achievement, emerges out of ong allizations, is typical “Bowler farther developed in the Piano Sonata No. the del of + more psy “tutu” music 2 (948), Unlike the ie, evomovement Fist Sonaa, the Second ian extended fou-moverent Wark He i todie content is almost completely isoled in Boers words os rb ts er of an eel ds that made me eats Form, dcnggrate the slow movement, the frst-movement sonal sond movement, mm. Example XVF3: wouieZ, Piano Sonata No. 1, second 1-12 pcm he ar Sle prev US «1 ans Maas Asin. UsTabl Dura ‘nak Dwamic BRP PPP pp pe 4 fo n by the use of variation forn and finally, in the fourth mov a, deal and canonic form." ‘ ee and anni fn The wor ext oat creresia ssc ad xpi ven a seeenivenes onfon bis a 1 heaton feat music nplished by subject i, ac pjecting its melodic gest isd formal convent oral sive hollowing the Second Sonata, and stilted by the so’ Tht Fae Bask fen orhng towards comply : ism, in which rhythmic, d sol anck dana were strictly predetermined. (Previously he bad applied ‘wer srietly predetermined. Previously he ad mal res only to pic, and ven these ina decidedly atorhodon beter Break pcos sev sale unit more or less independent entities) Bos eater work had a fed Mein: infvnce. bt mii ia tae of oS in his use of additive tl mic structures, What interested Boulez in the Etude, howev rejection of such traditional mots mal musical categories as melo: directional form, and te Gesomens Oa he ea ‘ments of ens on an ual basi 1 First Ewo works in ede 0 works n whi Boule groped ward ch mo he found problematic and eventually withdrew, Hie eet Pe “ he found problematic and eventually withre. His ne tres fo wo anos (1952), aa milestone coca gale, Acknowldgg hi d o Mese, Bose ‘ Sas materi ofthe fist age secon of his pee the ar wate an duration of he pcompostiona mater ofthe "Mode al erin ex Eze XVID), wll redl seve dymamie ype increasing the iter by five tow lev son Tiered imag im four “ses of rel ais ah, oe for ich ms eles z erst each ee Tbe VER) Je XVEA mS SND om ae SF op (he sence af an at tuck atthe ith der uber indie “normal Pere Boules: Conversa with Cétstin Delige (London, 1973), pp. 41~82. = ible XVI-B pee) p> a sf & palad i 4d oo ) set or me SF ae S outer then constructed tw tables of mumbers, one She the order numbers of the qwelve transpositions ofthe original form, the other the mrambers oe ore ewelvetanspaitons of nye or the inverted pitch scries to determine the latter. ‘These order numbers the iver peo ce sme Four dements with Which ey ee er ginal series (ce Table XVIEA), The wansporte of the pitch series up a semitone, for example, produces the new series shown in Table XVEB ‘The first section of Structures I was then composed by reading from the two numerical tables and writing down the pitches, rhythms, ete.» fndicated by the order numbers. The same series is not applied to two Uiferent elements at the same tims ‘Roweverr if the pitches are deter mined by Fe 1 original table, the ti mired by reading from the inverted one. (TI for example, the first pitch of the original pitch series, will not normally be associated with the duration of a thirty-second note, ‘but with some Cner value.) Dynamic and attack characterises do not change with ote ote bat ony shen an ene series of PRES and durations has ‘been completed. ‘Once this method was established, the music could to-some Je extent alt “automatically,” dhe result of a mechanical reading of the nu tables, assiguing the design ‘ed musical values accordingly. Rshigher order” series the ees the sequence whieh he numerical series is read. Certain. ‘critical aspects of the piece are, how= ain Te to the composer's compositions! (gather than “pre-composi- tional”) choice, including tempo and the number of rows used at any given moment, both of which vary from section to section and signif given momfucnee the musics overall character, Ane} important “freedom” concerns the ¢f generally distributes the pitches over as wide a registra eating a mark- ‘Edly Fragmented quality— but the Sas often happens when two OF mare rows A all its appearances are placed in the same register.Example XVI: nourez, Sinucures 1 q second segment, mm, 14 Modéré, presque vi (= 144) be ie resent ‘The opening f measures of the sec sures I (Example XVI-4) illustrate the general character of the simultancously, ‘ond brief formal segment of Sir Hustrate his etre, aswell 8 something . cee. In this segment four rows are et ‘won cch pian. The overall imprewionts obo most always ces OCCU notably Eb (or Db), which appears no less reublyB (or DD, ‘ppears no less than four times (once in example) during the fi assigned to the octave above [i a Salons Ne above Middle C. Che ast two appearan "This rigorous : smpositiona approach was applied o of heehee main sections of Sieh. Here eying een finest extremes, Boulez encountered the unexpected consequeneey lowing from such a rigidly predetermined struts, Net seh lot only was there the practical matter of whether perfor “iste rs jer_performers or listeners a could) ‘more complex problems arose: Firs in modem Westem minic divides he mato disa remaining el tinua that do not read Moreover, where: icsand attacks: sever igh the chromatic scale used. it on “thus be ordered in “sear” forme the dynamics, and attacks~cxist con jelend themselves t0-precise aca the pitch series recise scalar gradation, Table XVI-B is a strict transposition of the original form in Table XVI-A, the other elements have been changed “arbitrarily,” shuffled about solely according to the order numbers dictated by the transposed pitch series; the results are hot in any sense analogous to “transpositions.” Finally, and perhaps ‘most tellingly, the overall effect of Structures Lis paradoxically not that ‘logically plained and rationally structured music, but of musi tha ie least in its details, seems largely random. Even those relationships innost clearly heard (such as the recurring Es of Example XVI-4) sound fortuitous. Indeed, to a significant extent they are the result of chance, for once dhe ris composer has ‘ery little control over what will actually happen at any given moment. "This not to say that Structures Twas a failuro—it timed out to Be a remarkably suggestive and influential composition, both for Boulez himself and for many of his contemporaries. In demonstrating that integral serialism, at least in this radical form, essentially dissolved all traditional aspects of musical structure, including melody, harmony, and formal dircetion, it opened up the possibility of a music in which individual details appear insignificant in relation to the overall, “global” lect. Musical texture, understood in a newer and wider sense, became the main focus of interest, providing a new area for compositional exploration. ‘Although European serialism quickly proved something of a dead end in a purely technical sense, i initiated a radical musical revolution whose consequences are stil felt, And though Boulez himself already departed from the rigid conception of the first section of Structures 1 when composing the two remaining ones (the differences are especially hroticeable in the middle section) and never again returned to such strict methods, his future music (as we shall sec in the next chapter) was fundamentally colored by his carly serial experience SERIALISM IN GERMANY: STOCKHAUSEN Along with Boulez, the European composer most influential in the development of integral serialism was the German Karlheinz Stockhau~ Sen (b. 1928). A turning point in Stockhausen’s early career was his attendance at the 1951 Darmstadt Summer Course in New Music, where hhe heard Messiaen’s Quatre Etudes de rythme. There he also met the young Dutch composer Karel Gocywaerts, who had already begun experi- menting with total serialization and whose recently completed Sonata for Two Pianos (1951) made a strong impression. Immediately after leaving Darmstae Stockhausen composed bis fit serial composion “Krasipiel for oboe, bass clarinet, piano, and three percussionists (1951), air abrupt departure from such earlier, more traditionally oriented st-dent works as the Sonatine for vi aaa ‘olin and piano, completed earlier Stockhausen spe ¥en spent 1952 in P. veka aris, where he studied wit betioned Boule en compoting Suns ck sgmposton: Konn-Punke for chamber orhestta andthe eh Hits LIV, both completed in 1953. To some extent his approve sen aoc ale’ in Sites 1 the vaio mus I elemers are into separate scales of relat nd indivi muted through sel pcrton. As me ten ae Point is the single unit (pitch, ee hich sy other units to form textures Konta-Punte revel similar entire structure is shay eluate essentially pointllistic SAeNEally Pointe” manner, tinted. "The pitches ate seins First containing t undergoes continuous transformation w differences of rhythi é rhythm is nly are the individual durations arrived of sections, which are determined by of twelve of these durations. Stockhane at th is way, but also the lenge the statement ofa single sere Pannple XVES: srocxmaust, Piano Piece I, (As fast as possible) rm ne tn: a ns un sen, om the other hand, takes a relatively large time segment as his basic nitand divides it to arrive at individual durations. In Piano Piece Ithese se the mont part oma the measure, and are dhemselvs Arias eng acordng to seri operations his acount for the ean ond se mes scomingymcusnges) somes ofthe nota. shyhinc elaionships the individual durations are conceived hot so mich as absolute values, calculated for their own worth, but as tneichy appromimate subdivisions of larger values, Only these larger ‘alles are really “fixed,” since—as the composer was certainly aware— no Pini onl oo a ° Picandible resule—presumably intended by the composer to destroy any suggestion of traditional metrical regulation—is constantly chang ing rates of approximate speed, determined by the Jength of the mea~ sate and-dhe deer of fis subdston ‘a tempo simply Tabeled “as fist 35 possible.” (In his subsequent work Stockhausen atempred fo esolve the obvious “contradiction” between notation and actual result by employing a much freer and simpler rhythmic notation.) The first measure of the example—extreme but by no means atypical—calls for Subdivision of the total duration into leven equal units, of which the last five, taken collectively, aie further subdivided into seven slightly Shorter units. Within this abstract double frame of subdivisions, the notated durations tend to accelerate during the measure, though not consistently throughout. “These differences between the Stockhausen and Boulez pieces are not they fundamentally affect the musical character. In homogencous texture, the individual details dissolved within a larger “statistical” pattern, In Piano Piece I, however, one hears strongly pro- filed and differentiated gestures, grouped together to form well-definedve) FoRet- Sevens Cpe poe fT Henig Autograph of Stockhausen’s form-scheme for Inori, a 1973-74 compo: he mos i, a 1973-74 composition oloists, orchestra, and mime. (Courtesy of the composer) upper goal in the sustained fortis van sim major seventh athe beg a iecondl Geen beneath which a more discon a oe io uunds downward as a kind of balancing eweighi 4 inpresioninentily ilk openrloang perf litional antecedent-consequent phrase. oe paren of al e The inclination to think of music in terms of lar for oe anaes elements led Stockhausen away fom ay scraliseal the mie 1, Since he he conte a corer 15) ie devlopmens of the postwar yea a we cal ha ec ti oi wor as One tape boss void in heats masement dng he tir 19308 Qe Bein Hens Pou 170) adhe alt Lah Novo "BR sao Bei 129, ane Me (90073) aed w exceptions, the most active younger Euroy 7 be tid were allo some degree involved with craltechnigaes AMERICAN SERIALISM: BABBITT Unlike Boulez and Stockh: Lalit Bos nd Sodas, who tan to seri ut of i ison wh pl mil deapen eae iry and the esthetic attitudes they embox om Miton Babbit r(b. 1916) conceived serial co eas a Pair lon Bebb hi) cnc socom rowth and exonion ote pinche af "aspal mackie ee Musical life suffered much less disruption from che war in the United 1 Americans at the time found it States than in Europe, and you rely acura to develop fom win dhe European musical tradition, cnet Pye leading contemporary figures were then Hiving inthe vey Babb, who Bega exploring the idea of “extending serial cor (fale elements other than pitch even before his European contempo” re poked more to Schoenberg than to Webern for his musics! precedents. “Katedating not only Bouler's and Stockhausen’ earliest serial fforts bug also Mesciaen's Mode de valeurs et dintenstés, Babbitt's Three Cam- positions for Bano (1947) was the easiest workin which both Beh “noni ements tS ate sh serial opera: Be Tie opening measures ofthe first pice illustrate Babbit's early proach (Example XVI-6). In mm. 1-2 the left hand unfolds the orig- ae rresem of a twelve-tone pitch series, while the right hand presents the samme form transposed at the tritone. Since these two forms arc com= ive first two hexadl ate, as do the last wo (m. 2). (Hlere one recognizes are uence of Schoenberg, whose use of combinatoriality was dis- eatin Chapter IX.) In mm, 3—4 the left hand states the retrograde while the right hand presents the ain forming combinatorial inversion, transposed up a semitone, tuntransposed retrograde, these two rows ag: pairs of hexachords. "The durations in the piece are derived from a series of four numbers G4 3) which, likethe pitch series, isretrograded (2-4-1~5), nverced (125-2-4), and retrogeade-inverted (4~2-5-1. (By analogy with pitch Example XVE6: nansirr, Three Compositions for Piano, No. 1. mim. 1-4 ss 2108) ay =p CS een sc Usb penn 0 opp 157 by Hote omar ns copied 977