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East Meets West in Contemporary Composition

Explore the fusion of Eastern mysticism with Western musical rigor in the works of Scelsi and Sciarrino, influenced by Italian aristocratic mystics. Discover their unique sound structures and experimentation with form and harmony.

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East Meets West in Contemporary Composition

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  1. Contemporary Composition SeminarFall 2012 Instructor: Prof. SIGMAN Thursday 14:00-16:00 Lecture VII

  2. 0. Administrata • Assignment II: review • Assignment III (Cardew, Kagel, Scelsi, and Sciarrino): to be posted 내일; due Friday (금), 10/26 VIA EMAIL • Midterm Exam: 11 월 01 일 • Review: 10 월 25 일 • ?’s?

  3. Italian Aristocratic Mystics: Scelsi + Sciarrino

  4. 0. Carlo Gesualdo (1566-1613) • Prince of Venosa • Experiments with tuning and harmony • Mannerism (마내리즘) • Composer of madrigrals • Influential upon both Scelsi and Sciarrino

  5. Example: Gesualdo, “Io parto”

  6. I. Giacinto Scelsi: The Third Dimension

  7. A. Biography • (1905-1988) • Aristocratic (귀족의)background • Studied with Schönberg in Vienna • 1930’s: Neoclassical period; promoted work of Shostakovich, Hindemith, Stravinsky in Italy • Traveled extensively (alone) in Egypt,India, Nepal… • Met John Cage, Feldman, and other American experimentalists in Rome • Reclusive (은둔하는) • Wore fur coats and hats in summer

  8. B. Venice: East Meets West • In the 1950s, Scelsi developed an interest in Eastern mysticism (신비주의) • He attributed this interest to living in Venice (베니스), an important crossroads of the Roman and Byzantine empires • His music reflects a Western interest in form and material development/rigour with an Eastern (and particularly Byzantine) sense of temporality and aesthetic

  9. Byzantine chant example • Microtonal inflection • Focus upon single pitch centres/drones • Slow evolution • Narrow register • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fr4mAIibx50 • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJ7LGWbxumI&feature=related

  10. C. The “Third Dimension” of Sound • Scelsi used the term “sphericity of sound” to describe his approach to music since ca. 1950 • Sound as 3D object, viewed from different angles • Third dimension = continuum between pitch, timbre, rhythm, and harmony

  11. Example: String Quartet no. 4 (1964) • Microstructure of single tones • Unique string scordatura for each instrument • Notation: 1 staff/string • Local process: harmony (quarter-tone clouds) -> vibrato-> bisbigliando (timbral trills) -> trill/tremolo -> steady tone • Global process: slowly unfolding arc, rising in register • Middle/upper register emphasis; no “bass” • “Virtual fundamental” • Very slow and very fast music at the same time

  12. D. Music and Ritual: Okanagon (1968) • Several versions • For tam-tam, harp, and contrabass • Contrabass = scordatura • Harp = microtonal tuning • Harp and tam-tam played with resonator (tuning key) • No exact repetition • Ensemble as single instrument

  13. E. Improvisation and Transcription: Aitsi and String Quartet No. 5

  14. 1. Aitsi (1974) • For amplified piano • Distortion = transients = ++ microtonal pitch content • Formal proportions/climaxes: structured according to Fibonacci series and golden mean • Durational notation (in seconds) • Attack-resonance exploration • Distilled to its essence: short and concentrated work

  15. 2. String Quartet no. 5 (1984) • Transcription of Aitsi • Microtonal re-mapping

  16. II. Salvatore Sciarrino

  17. A. Bio • (b. 1947, Palermo) • Lived in Rome, Milan, and Umbria • Assistant to Luigi Nonoon La lontananzanostalgicautopicafutura

  18. B. Microvariation of a Sound-Structure

  19. Example: L’orologio di Bergson (1999) • For solo flute • Part of his Opera per flauto (works for flute) • Highly structured • Shifting sense of time • Role of silence/negative space • Exposed flute mechanism: harmonics, whistle tones, key-noise • Microvariation of basic, unstable elements over time • Intense listening: threshold of audibility

  20. C. Ensemble Works I: Introduzione all’oscuro (1981) • Literally “Introduction to the Dark (Side)” • For ensemble of 12 instruments • Threshold of silence • Unstable sonorities: no exact repetition • Iambic/heart-beat element

  21. D. Sciarrino and Gesualdo: Luci mie traditrici (1996-98) • Opera in 2 acts • 3 characters • Plot: Gesualdo murders his wife and her lover • 17th century libretto (Il tradimento per l’onore) • Transcriptions/re-interpretations of Gesualdo madrigals • Baroque ornamentation in vocal parts

  22. E.The Mechanical World: L’Arceologiadel Telefono (2005) • For 13 instruments • “archeology of the telephone” • Traces history of telephone in sound: from Alexander Graham Bell to dial phones, to touch-tone phones to the mobile phone

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