Klangfarbenmelodie
Klangfarbenmelodie (German for "sound-color melody") is a musical concept that treats timbre as a melodic element. Arnold Schoenberg originated the idea that timbres could be viewed melodically.
History
[edit]In 1911, Arnold Schoenberg analyzed musical sound (Klang) as consisting of pitch, timbre, and volume. He noted that pitch was the only element that had undergone close examination, but he viewed it as subordinate to timbre, "...tone becomes perceptible by virtue of tone color, of which one dimension is pitch". He looked forward to a more sophisticated appreciation of tone color. Schoenberg also described a "futuristic fantasy" of tone color "progressions whose relations with another work with a kind of logic entirely equivalent to that logic which satisfies us in the melody of pitches". He rhapsodized:
Tone-color melodies! How acute the senses that would be able to perceive them! How high the development of spirit that could find pleasure in such subtle things![1]: 421–2
In its original sense, Schoenberg envisioned klangfarbenmelodie as purely a sequence of tone colors. The pitch could be static, but the changing timbres would create a kind of melody.[2] Just as melody and counterpoint gave birth to unique forms, Schoenberg believed that klangfarbenmelodie would require new forms that suited their nature.[3] His concept eventually became synonymous with the pointillistic technique of dividing the different notes of a melody between various timbres. This evolution of Schoenberg's concept is the familiar meaning of klangfarbenmelodie.[4]
There are many historical precedents to the concept. In practice, composers are writing in hocket when they deploy klangfarbenmelodie.[5] The technique can also be found in polyphonic precedents like Annibale Padovano's treatment of the cantus firmus in his music.[6] By the 19th century, sophisticated treatment of timbre was common in works like Claude Debussy's Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune.[7]
Usage
[edit]Schoenberg explored klangfarbenmelodie in Five Orchestral Pieces op. 16 (1909). The third piece in the suite is titled "Farben".[8] It features a standing chord that is translated into a klangfarbenmelodie through the restless orchestration.[9]
Anton Webern made extensive use of the technique. It is evident in Sechs Stücke op. 6 (1909)[10] The first of Webern's Fünf Stücke op. 10 (1913) and his orchestration of the six-part ricercar from Bach's Musical Offering are also notable examples:[8]
Webern's Concerto for Nine Instruments op. 24 (1934) thoroughly demonstrates his preoccupation with klangfarbenmelodie.[7] It is also a landmark in the development of serial music, which continued the treatment of timbre as a parameter that could be controlled. Serialism was a continuation of the Second Viennese School's innovations. Composers like Karlheinz Stockhausen systematized musical parameters like pitch, rhythm, and timbre.[2] Klangfarbenmelodie was particularly influential in the development of electronic music.[8]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Schoenberg, Arnold. Theory of Harmony. Translated by Roy E. Carter. University of California Press, 1978.
- ^ a b Rushton, Julian. "Klangfarbenmelodie." Grove Music Online. 2001. Oxford University Press.
- ^ Schoenberg, Arnold. Style and Idea. University of California Press, 1985. 485.
- ^ Hoffer, Charles. Music Listening Today. Schirmer Cengage Learning, 2010. 297.
- ^ Ball, Philip. The Music Instinct: How Music Works and Why We Can't Do Without It. Oxford University Press, 2010. 237.
- ^ Ensemble Ricercars by Cristofano Malvezzi, Jacopo Peri, and Annibale Padovano, in Recent Researches of the Music of the Renaissance, Volume XXVII. Edited by Milton A. Swenson. A-R Editions. xv.
- ^ a b Samson, Jim (1977). Music in Transition: A Study of Tonal Expansion and Atonality, 1900–1920. W. W. Norton & Company, 1977. 195–6.
- ^ a b c "Klangfarbenmelodie", The New Harvard Dictionary of Music. Edited by Don Randel. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1986. 430–1.
- ^ Rösing, Helmut. "Klangfarbe." Klangfarbe und Sound in der ›westlichen‹ Musik, Klangfarbe in der abendländischen Kunstmusik. MGG Online, edited by Laurenz Lütteken. RILM, Bärenreiter, Metzler, 2016–.
- ^ Forte, Allen. The Atonal Music of Anton Webern. Yale University Press, 1998. 110.
External links
[edit]- Patteson, Thomas. "Anton Webern: “Orchestration of the six-part ricercar from the Musical Offering of J. S. Bach” (1935)", Acousmata. May 5, 2009.
- Concerto Op. 24 by Anton Webern.
- Five Pieces for Orchestra by Arnold Schoenberg.
- Fuga Ricercata arranged by Anton Webern.