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Listening Log №21 – György Ligeti – Ten Pieces for Wind Quintet (1968)

This blog entry will continue with the studies on polyphony, however tis will be the beginning of a short series on recommended pieces demonstrating contemporary takes on polyphony. For this first entry I listened to the first piece from the work Ten Pieces for Wind Quintet by Hungarian-Austrian composer György Ligeti (1923-2006).

Ligeti is a composer closely associated with avant-garde explorations in composition and form. His compositions often feature extensive use of electronics, closed tonal clusters, ambiguous sonority, and a concern for the interaction of sound in the environment.

György Ligeti (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Ten Pieces for Wind Quintet is roughly organized into ensemble pieces (odd numbered) and solo pieces (even numbered). The main focus of this listening entry is on the first of these ten pieces (Molto Sostenuto e Calmo), which is an ensemble piece, where no discernible focus falls on any one voice within the quintet. The instrumentation is as follows:

Alto Flute in G
English Horn
Clarinet in Bb
French Horn in F
Bassoon

The piece has two distinct sections and these sections are not so much distinguishable due to a thematic change, but rather, there’s a distinct jump in register and a modulation in texture and dynamics. In the first section, the instruments move and change in ways that are not immediately apparent, there doesn’t seem to be any vertical coordination between the changes in notes from the instruments. The effect is that there seems to be a stumbling movement that is passed on horizontally from one instrument to the next. If this is combined with the staggered changes in dynamics, blunt crescendo/decrescendo pairs, then there is a feeling of constant falling experienced (I’m stretching it, but kind of like a Shepherd tone of sorts).

Excerpt from Molto Sostenuto e Calmo showing the staggered entrances and overlapping dynamic changes.

I’m very interested by this type of polyphonic writing now that I’ve had some more exposure to it. This particular piece subverts a lot of the traditions in polyphonic writing that I know of, yet it manages to allude to idea of staggered voice entries in traditional polyphony. I would imagine it would be interesting to analyze the intervalic movement of each voice and see if this is a patterned feature of the piece, but at first listen the implied movement of the piece, even if very slow and ambiguous, was a main focal point for my attention.

Listening Log №15 – Henry Purcell – ‘An ape, a lion, a fox, and an ass’ [Round] (17th c.)

I will be doing a few different listening log entries on catches and rounds by Henry Purcell, so I will introduce him here briefly as a composer and then refer back to this post later.

Henry Purcell (1659-1695)1 is considered one of the greatest English composers due to the tremendous influence he had on his contemporaries and on the development of and English voice in music. Furthermore, he has been highly revered and influential subsequently with his music widely performed and adapted to this day. He composed widely for vocal ensembles, including secular and religious works, as well as various operas, sonatas, songs, and music for theatre.

Importantly to this section of the course, Purcell was a very prolific composer of rounds and catches, many of which were composed for entertainment purposes and which were very popular in their time2. Common themes of these vocal works include wine, women, mythology, and politics. A collection of many of his catches and rounds, titled Henry Purcell: Catches, Rounds, Two-part and Three-part Songs lists some 57 catches and an addition 50 three and four part songs. Lyrics to many of these are unlikely to have been written by Purcell himself, with poets and lyricists contributing their words and crafting these to interplay with the overlapping lines.

Purcell by John Closterman, 1695 (Source: WikimediaCommons)

One such work taken from the collection mentioned above is An Ape, a Lion, a Fox and an Ass, a catch detailing the stages of men and women throughout their lives, comparing them to animals in the way they behave. The lyrics are light and bawdy, comparing men to mammals and women to birds, with allusions to the deterioration in character with age. The music itself is simple enough harmonically and rhythmically, but would require a singer to stretch around an octave and a half in range, which could be tricky with a few drinks. I can’t sing at all, so I know I would struggle. 

An Ape, a Lion, a Fox, and an Ass,
Do shew forth Man's Life as it were in a Glass:
For Apish we are till Twenty and one,
And after that, Lions till Forty be gone;
Then witty as Foxes till Threescore and Ten,
but after that Asses, and so no more Men.

A Dove, a Sparrow, a Parrot, a Crow,
As plainly sets forth how you Women may know:
Harmless they are, till Thirteen be gone,
Then Wanton as Sparrows till Forty draw on;
Then Prating as Parrots till Threescore be o'er,
Then Birds of ill Omen, and Women no more.

The version notated above is in D minor, and the common trope of having a V7 chord (A7 in this case) to lead back to D minor is employed. I’ve seen this with a few of the catches I’ve listened to and it’s not only good voice leading, but would also serve as a good cue to bring all the voices back to the start of the catch, should any one be lost (again: drinking). 

References: 
1. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henry-Purcell
2. Shay, R., 2002. Review: Two Sides of Purcell's Vocal Music. Early Music, 30(2), pp.291-293.

Recording:
Deller, A. 2008. Alfred Deller: The Complete Vanguard Classics Recording. London: Musical Concepts.

Sheet music:
Purcell, H. Catches, Rounds, Two Part and Three Part Songs. New York: Novello & Co. 1922.[online]