| One might wonder what glue holds today's | | | | actually confided his new approach to Mahler, who |
| divergent compositional trends together. | | | | vehemently disagreed with him regarding its |
| By mid-20th century there appeared to be | | | | validity. Interestingly, shortly thereafter, Mahler |
| proliferation with no hope of unity. Free atonality, | | | | was to develop a variant of his own on the idea |
| serialism, free chance, indeterminacy, stochastics, | | | | of tone coloration that bears distant roots within |
| clustering, eclecticism, collage, protocubism, | | | | the klangfarbenmelodic handling. |
| neo-classicism, dada, neo-baroque, | | | | This variation upon Schonberg's 'theme' was a |
| neo-romanticism, impressionism and expressionism | | | | quasi-hocket handling of tones in a melody (the |
| all were touted in various quarters as the wave | | | | 12th century hocket form is a contrapuntal |
| of the future. Ultimately, post-modernism | | | | handling which prescribes sudden interruptions with |
| emerged as an 'antidote' to the complexities and | | | | alternation of voices). In this method each |
| difficulties inherent within certain of these trends, | | | | separate tone was assigned its unique instrument |
| especially in total serialism and indeterminacy. | | | | so that tone color is changed within the phrase, |
| One of the prominent features of | | | | almost note-by-note, but each color was assigned |
| post-modernism lies in the use of collage in | | | | to a discrete pitch. This is not real tone-color |
| composition. This technique relies upon a gathering | | | | melody, but a distant cousin; one, the distinction |
| together of seeming-diverse sounds, patterns, | | | | of which, I believe will clarify some crucial |
| styles, etc. in a soup of mixed effects. However, | | | | differences between certain seemingly similar |
| this 'solution' is really a refusal to choose. If one | | | | trends in advanced music (e.g., between that of |
| believes that one may escape the grueling | | | | Penderecki or Ligeti, and that of Xenakis, which |
| demands of original work by hiding from disciplined | | | | we examine later). |
| choice behind that which has gone before, the art | | | | This particular handling of Mahler's can be seen in |
| of serious composition need proceed no further. | | | | his masterpiece, 9th Symphony (1909-10), in the |
| One may as well say, "I give the responsibility for | | | | opening measures. A tone is repeated, but stated |
| original work to someone else. I can entertain | | | | in different instruments (horn, cello, harp), then |
| listeners without it." | | | | elaborated by pitch additions with harp and muted |
| I believe that the signs of decay in a culture are | | | | horn shaping the phrase in a set of answering |
| reaped by such attitudes. The apex of the ancient | | | | mottos. This handling was expanded greatly in the |
| Greek and Roman civilizations, for example, | | | | work of Anton Webern, especially in his |
| existed in the days of high literature and of original | | | | Symphonie (1929), and Concerto (1934). |
| mathematical discovery. Those days gave way to | | | | This concept of tone-color melody ushered in a |
| ones of 'commentary' upon older original work. | | | | new concentration upon special tone qualities that |
| This led to decay. A civilization that cannot create | | | | invites much further work. Not much is done in |
| afresh, but can only re-create, will decay. | | | | this arena in universities, inasmuch as collaging and |
| Composition and new music, as research and | | | | set-ordering are emphasized, instead. Tone-color |
| teaching tools, best serve to achieve the goal of | | | | melody demands an understanding and a focus |
| returning music to its triple role. Entertainment is | | | | that are inherent in the disciplines associated with |
| good in its appropriate context; but only research | | | | truly sound-based composition. The nature of |
| and teaching can elevate art making to a lofty | | | | sound and the way we perceive it are part and |
| status. These are the activities that protect the | | | | parcel of both sound-based composition in general, |
| mind from intellectual atrophy. | | | | and klangfarbenmelodie in particular. Indeed, |
| The work of one prominent composer of the last | | | | klangfarbenmelodie is a special technique within the |
| century serves as a pertinent example for all | | | | general concept of sound-based composition. |
| present-day composers. This composer, the | | | | Within more recent developments, Xenakis' work |
| greatest radical in music history, was basically | | | | has introduced a couple of very interesting |
| self-taught. Arnold Schonberg needed no | | | | variations on Schonberg's concept of tone-color |
| stereotypical crutch, though, to help him launch his | | | | melody, as unexpected as this interrelationship |
| revolution from which music will never recover. | | | | may seem to be. A special case is found in |
| His mantra was to explore; to be true to oneself. | | | | Xenakis' delicate early masterwork, Atrées - |
| This severity of purpose resulted in his special | | | | (Hommage à Pascal - 1962). The opening of |
| gifts to us, not the least of which is "tone-color | | | | section one unfolds a static single tone subjected |
| melody". It is a method that required of him | | | | to some sophisticated color variations. Flat |
| travel along the hard road, a road that offered no | | | | (non-vibrato) tones in clarinet and violin transform |
| simple answers. | | | | to tremolo (violin) on the same pitch, and back. |
| His Germanic term, Klangfarbenmelodie, has stuck | | | | These and similar fabrics evolve and emerge on |
| by virtue of its own ring. This approach requires | | | | that same pitch for a period of a couple minutes. |
| an exceptionally keen rigor. It also requires deep | | | | More in a theoretical context, Xenakis discusses in |
| understandings of the nature of sound, hard won | | | | great detail his handling of timbral (or cloud |
| through study and focus upon one's most | | | | amalgamations) evolutions in his groundbreaking |
| advanced composing skills. Today, we can | | | | book, Formalized Music: Thought and Mathematics |
| continue to create great and original work through | | | | In Music (Iannis Xenakis, Pendragon Press, |
| similarly disciplined methods, thereby avoiding the | | | | Stuyvesant New York, 1962), pp.50-63, chapter II |
| pitfalls associated with easy eclecticism. | | | | "Markovian Stochastic Music - Theory". He outlines |
| How can the concept of klangfarbenmelodie be | | | | here his use of logic screens by which timbre |
| marshaled to rescue musical discipline from torpid | | | | may be evolved through time. A more |
| conformity? Music's rescue can be achieved | | | | controversial look at tone color in Xenakis' work |
| through a real understanding of the historical | | | | concentrates upon examining his handling of clouds |
| development of klangfarbenmelodie and its role in | | | | of sound in Pithoprakta (1955-56), or the |
| the music of diverse 20th century composers. | | | | granularities in Bohor I (1962). |
| First, what is klangfarbenmelodie? Is it simply | | | | I implore the listener/reader, upon encountering |
| tone-color melody? What is that? The answer to | | | | these two works, to treat the massive array of |
| these questions requires a little background, so | | | | individual particles of sound not as a collection of |
| the following survey provides a tracery for what | | | | individual, discrete tones, but as a single, |
| occurred throughout the 20th century. | | | | sound-mass in flux: one that bubbles, gurgles and |
| Schonberg freed music from the bonds of | | | | erupts. Here lies the basis for a crucial distinction, |
| traditional tonality. This freedom enabled him to | | | | previously suggested, to be made between |
| concentrate on sound qualities, as opposed to | | | | Xenakis' work and that of other seemingly related |
| arrays. The regimen of expressionism demanded | | | | composers of the so-called cluster camp |
| absolute focus upon appropriate sounds to | | | | (especially Penderecki and Ligeti). This distinction |
| capture an ambience that would conjure certain | | | | emerges from the fact that Penderecki and Ligeti, |
| feelings. Some of these emotions were unpleasant | | | | in their work of this kind, do not really handle |
| and extraordinary. They required special sounds | | | | masses containing innumerable, inseparable, |
| conveying unusual traits. In his work with this, | | | | packets in flux, as does Xenakis. Their early |
| Schonberg noticed that changing timbre was | | | | pieces (notably Threnody: To the Victims of |
| capable of carrying the freight of musical patterns. | | | | Hiroshima - Penderecki - 1959-61; and |
| The transformation of color (the variance of | | | | Atmospheres - Ligeti - 1961) handle massed |
| preferred harmonics within the overtone series) | | | | bands of sound that usually move as a unit, |
| acted in a manner akin to transformation of pitch. | | | | rather than in flux. They do handle points, but |
| So, whereas pitch change conferred a melody | | | | when they do, these points remain discrete and |
| upon a stream of sound, timbral change ought to | | | | separable. Timbral variation in the work of these |
| be able to perform an analogous function. | | | | composers is more like that in Webern's work: |
| Let's examine two opposing techniques that | | | | discrete tones, discrete tmbres. Xenakis' work has |
| Schonberg brought to bear: one was | | | | the characteristic of a large mass under real |
| Sprechstimme, or speech-song, a kind of inexact | | | | timbral evolution, part of which is internal |
| pitch setting; the other was intense tone-color | | | | granularity. This quality of single-tonal |
| control within an exact pitch context. These | | | | transformation is elaborated even more in the |
| diverse techniques actually worked harmoniously | | | | work of Giacinto Scelsi, albeit on a very miniature |
| with one another to enrich the sound spectrum | | | | scale. |
| available to Schonberg. And they required high | | | | Scelsi's work brings klangfarbenmelodie to a |
| discipline in sound manipulation. Though this | | | | climax. Never in musical history has a single tone |
| exacted considerable effort, Schonberg was up to | | | | received more intense scrutiny than it does in |
| the task! | | | | Scelsi's work. (One critic even considered Scelsi's |
| A crucial work in this oeuvre was the Five Pieces | | | | work to consist entirely of transition!). The best |
| for Orchestra (1909). The classic third movement, | | | | example here is the epic Quattro Pezzi (1959). In |
| Farben (Colors), consists of a slowly emerging | | | | this work, microtonal variations within variable |
| sound flux with changing instrumentation and | | | | amplitudes combine with variable vibrato and |
| special handling to elicit evolving timbres. In theory, | | | | dynamical variations, as sound breaks into split |
| Schonberg posited, a whole melody could be | | | | octaves. These split sounds thusly amplify the |
| devised within a single tone --timbral variation | | | | harmonics. This is strange music in which serpents |
| alone -- thereby carrying the role normally | | | | from another world seem hurled through |
| associated with pitch variation. ( in fact, the tones | | | | unimagined dimensional barriers. Sounds 'orbit', then |
| in Farben's setting do transform between pitches | | | | hover. This is delightful plasma of sound in turmoil! |
| very gradually, leading to a slightly impure | | | | I wonder if Schonberg could ever have imagined |
| realization of the master's original concept.) He had | | | | this, or the sound world of Xenakis! |