New compositional styles

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Abstract

After the end of the Romantic era of music, one of the most famous new compositional styleswas Arnold Schoenberg’s 12-tone technique which uses all 12 tones of the chromatic scale to

form a set that is then manipulated in various ways to produce an entire piece of music !uite

fran"ly, the end result is difficult to listen to #eedless to say, 12-tone technique has since fallenout of popularity $owever, some composers have modified the 12-tone technique to create

music that is stri"ingly beautiful Samuel %arber is one such composer $is piano piece Nocturne

Op. 33 contains 12-tone compositional techniques, but they are masterfully disguised so as toma"e the piece easier to listen to and understand &y analysis delves into the piece and uncovers

the 12-tone techniques employed with the intent of introducing the music of Samuel %arber to

others and fostering an appreciation for the piece itself

Key Terms

12-tone

Atonality

'ey center &atri(

Rounded binary formSerialism

)onality

)one row


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*ith an oeuvre consisting of orchestral wor"s, piano pieces, songs, and operas, Samuel

%arber made his distinct style well-"nown through many genres $is pieces reveal a very unique

compositional language +ven in his most conventional wor"s, he displays daring and fresh ideas

that grab the attention of performer and listener ali"e $is Nocturne Op. 33 is one such piece

conventional in its form, yet daring in its melodic language

%arber was born in *estchester, ennsylvania in 1.1/ 0n her boo" detailing %arber’s life

and compositions, author %arbara $eyman describes the ennsylvania of this time period to be

very conservative &usicians and, in general, art enthusiasts were met with suspicion and

criticism #onetheless, a young %arber began to show talent at the age of as he improvised

simple melodies at the piano *hile his father was concerned that he needed to focus on

activities other children were interested in, li"e sports, %arber’s mother helped him write down

his earliest compositions when he was At a mere . years old, %arber had already decided on

his lifelong career $e wrote a letter to his mother wherein he states 3)o begin with 0 was not

meant to be an athlet 4 sic5 0 was meant to be a composer, and will be 0’m sure6 7$eyman 8 )he

rest is history

)he late 1.th and early 2/th centuries were times of musical e(ploration 9unctional

harmony had been utili:ed for so long; composers began to e(periment with music outside the

realm of traditional harmony Some of the earliest composers to write and publish pieces

e(ploiting the atonal canvas were the li"es of 9ran: ebussy, and Arnold

Schoenberg 0n fact, it was Schoenberg who famously developed and entire system for

composing and analy:ing one type of atonal music

Schoenberg was an Austro-$ungarian composer who developed 12-tone serialism in the

early 1.2/s 7?riffiths8 )welve-tone serialism comes from the division of an octave An octave is


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the distance from one note to its subsequent appearance either above or below the starting note

0t is called an octave because in any given ma@or or minor scale, there are notes 7including the

starting note8 )he = ma@or scale, for instance, follows thuslyB =->-+-9-?-A-%-= )he octave

can be further divided into smaller intervals 7semitones or halfsteps8, resulting in 12 notes 7=-=

sharp->-> sharp-+-9-9 sharp-?-? sharp-A-A sharp-%8 Schoenberg developed the 12-tone serial

technique by ta"ing each of the 12 notes in an octave and arranging them into a set called a 3tone

row6 in which each note appears only once 7?riffiths8 )o ma"e arranging the notes easier, he

used a number system instead of note names )he +nglish equivalent of this numbering system

7wherein / is =, 1 is = sharp, and so on8 is /, 1, 2, C, D, E, , , , ., t, e 3t6 and 3e6 are shortened

versions of 31/6 and 3116 respectively so that each note can be represented by a single character

An e(ample tone row would be F/, 2, D, e, t, 1, C, E, ., , , G

Schoenberg then manipulated the single tone row in order to produce more tone rows

)he e(ample tone row could start on any pitch 7/ to e8 as long as the intervals between each note

are preserved F/, 2, D, e, t, 1, C, E, ., , , G results in an interval pattern of H2, H2, H, -1, HC,

H2, H2, HD, -2, H1, -2 0f Schoenberg wanted the tone row to start on 1, the tone row would then

loo" li"e F1, C, E, /, e, 2, D, , t, , ., G Since the tone row can start on any pitch, there are 12

different tone rows Schoenberg too" each of the 12 tone rows and reversed them resulting in 12

more tone rows 7F, , , ., E, C, 1, t, e, D, 2, /G would be the reverse form of the e(ample tone

row8 9urthermore, the interval pattern could be inverted 7-2, -2, -, H1, -C, -2, -2, -D, H2, -1, H28

resulting in another 12 tone rows )he inverted form of the e(ample tone row is F/, t, , 1, 2, e,

., , C, E, D, G 9inally, each inverted tone row could then be arranged in reverse order )he

reverse order of the inverted tone row above is F, D, E, C, , ., e, 2, 1, , t, /G Iverall, a single


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tone row can be manipulated to produce D tone rows including the original tone row 7?riffiths8

0n order to organi:e all D tone rows, Schoenberg developed matrices1

0n composing a single piece with tone rows, Schoenberg began by creating a single tone row and

finding all D forms of that tone row within a matri( $e would then use only the information

present in the matri( to compose a piece of music Just because a tone row loo"s li"e a

progression of single notes doesn’t mean that they could not also appear simultaneously 9or

e(ample, any number of pitches may be stac"ed on top of each other to create chords so long as

they maintain the order of pitches within the tone row *ithin the e(ample tone row stated

earlier, pitches /, 2, and D could be presented simultaneously; however, pitches D, 1, and . could

not Schoenberg could switch to using a different tone row only after the currently used tone row

is e(pressed in entirety Schoenberg’s 12-tone serial technique was used by many composers

during the 2/th and 21st centuries, %arber included

%arber’s compositional style is eclectic $e wrote pieces for various instrumentations

*hile his contemporaries chose to continue e(plorations of atonality within 12-tone serialism,

%arber wished to stay in the realm of tonality as much as he could %arber chose to write music

that appealed to audiences who were familiar with classical- and romantic-era wor"s $e was

influenced by the structure of classical and romantic pieces as well as the tonal language of these

ages 7$eyman C8 &any of his compositions feature lyrical, singing melodies that are

approachable by most any listener 0n his own words, %arber states that 3K0 myself wrote always

as 0 wished, and without a tremendous desire to find the latest thing possibleL0 wrote as 0

wanted to for myself,6’ 7$eyman C8 0nstead of strictly following the path of other avant-garde

1 See appendi( A for two different e(amples of matrices


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composers of the day, %arber stuc" with what he found pleasing, borrowing from compositional

styles both old and new

)he piano music of %arber mainly 3reflectsLa synthesis of tonality with atonality,

diatonicism with chromaticism, and antiquity with modernism6 79arleigh 1C8 Since so many of

his fellow composers utili:ed atonal and 12-tone composition techniques, it is not a surprise that

%arber implemented certain aspects of atonality into some of his piano compositions )wo piano

pieces that famously include e(amples of 12-tone serialism are %arber’s Piano Sonata Op. 26

and Nocturne Op. 33 *hile tone rows are evident in both pieces, neither composition is strictly

serial as in the method of Schoenberg %arber’s tone rows are used, instead, to provide various

colors and mood changes

Nocturne Op. 33 combines 2/th-century 12-tone serialism with 1th and 1.th century-

inspired form )hroughout the entirety of the piece, the melody in the right hand is comprised

entirely of tone rows and tone row fragments )he melody can therefore be classified as atonal

per se laying the right hand alone results in star" dissonances throughout the duration of the

piece $owever, %arber brea"s the rules of Schoenberg’s strict 12-tone compositional approach,

masterfully disguising the harsh atonality of the melody $e does so with the left hand which

plays arpeggios of tonal chords that highlight specific tones in the melody %ecause of this

strange combination of tonality and atonality, Nocturne Op. 33 actually has some semblance of a

"ey center )he piece opens with a single measure introduction of the left hand playing an A-flat

ma@or arpeggio )he piece ends DD bars later on a consonant A-flat ma@or chord )o further brea"

from the 12-tone style of Schoenberg’s method, the melody is made up of two separate tone rows

as opposed to @ust one


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)he piece as a whole follows a loose-"nit rounded binary form )his means that there are

three ma@or sections within the piece, labeled as A, %, and A respectively )he first A section

comprises measures 1-1. &easure 1 acts as an introduction that establishes the "ey of A flat

ma@or 708 )he first phrase, (, is made up of a basic idea in measure 2 and a contrasting idea in

measure C that ends in what sounds li"e 9 minor 7vi8 )he second phrase, y, is comprised of a

basic idea in measure D and a contrasting idea in measure E that ends in what could be labeled =

ma@or 70008 hrases ( and y form a period, of sorts *hile it is hard to say whether the quasi

cadence in = ma@or in phrase y is stronger than the 9 minor quasi cadence in phrase (, %arber

hints that = ma@or is stronger because of the ne(t phraseB phrase : is made up of two basic ideas

7mm - and mm -1/8 that are similar in melody and sustain the feeling of = ma@or hrase (

returns in measures 11 and 12, but cadences in = minor 7iii8 hrase y follows in measures 1C

and 1D, but cadences on + flat ma@or 7M8 According to common-practice harmony, M is

hierarchically stronger than iii, so the second statement of phrases ( and y form another period

hrase : returns as well in measures 1E through 1.; this time confirming the "ey of + flat ma@or

9ollowing the structure of binary form, the A section ends with a cadence in the dominant "ey

)he % section begins in measure 2/ 9rom measure 2/ to measure 2D, fragments of

previously used sets are used in imitation *hat at first sounds li"e a sort of informal sequence in

measures 2/-2D is actually an e(ample of invertible counterpoint 0n measure 2/, the fragment is

in the left hand while the arpeggio figure that had been repeating in the left hand from the

beginning of the piece moves to the right hand $alfway through measure 2/, the arpeggio

moves bac" to the left hand while the fragment is played in the right hand )hese two ideas

switch bac" and forth between the right and left hands until measure 2E &easures 2E and 2 are

both basic ideas based on a rhythmic fragment used in an earlier set %arber employs the use of


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invertible counterpoint in the proceeding measures 0n measure 2, the same basic idea is heard

in the left hand while a contrasting idea is heard in the right hand 0n measure 2, the basic idea

moves to the right hand and the contrasting idea moves to the left hand &easure 2. is a long,

non-metered caden:a that begins in +-flat ma@or 7M8, but cadences on a ? dominant th 7MN0008

chord $olding true to binary form, the % section is clearly a digression in its turbulent mood

shift 0t also e(pounds A section material

)he return of the A section sees a few alterations, but is very similar to the first A section

hrase ( is heard in measures C/ and C1 with rhythmic variation, but it cadences on 9 minor 7vi8

again in measure C1 )he following y phrase is the same as it was in the first A section, but

contains an e(tra measure due to a meter change in measure CD hrase ( comes bac" in

measures CE and C with the same set it had used previously, but the arpeggios in the left hand

suggest 9 minor 7vi8 instead of A flat ma@or as in the first two occurrences of phrase ( 0t again

cadences in 9 minor 7vi8 hrase y returns in measures C and C, but it does not reach a

conclusive cadence this time because %arber includes a lin" in measures C-C. that finally

cadences on A flat ma@or 708 0n this second A section, this is the first cadence that has been in the

tonic "ey hrase : finally returns to reinforce the tonic "ey from measures D/ through DC )he

piece closes with a descending doubled octatonic scale2 in measure DD that ends on a dyad that

seems to belong to A-flat ma@or in measure DE

)o assist in blurring the line between tonality and atonality, %arber arranges all of the

complete iterations of rows by framing them 0n his analysis of the piece in the @ournal Piano

Quarterly, James 9arleigh describes %arber’s framing as suchB

2 An octatonic scale is any scale that is comprised of different pitches 7a regular ma@or or minor scale is

only made up of different pitches8 9or e(ample, the octatonic scale described here is + flat-9-? flat-A

flat-A-= flat-=-> 3>oubled6 @ust means that there are two simultaneous scales, both starting on different

pitches 79 and = in this case8


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)he use of serialismLimplies an equality of the twelve tones, butL%arber does not permit such

equality even within the rows themselves +ach complete presentation of either row is

followed by a repetition of the first tone, which thus serves as a frame%y means of this procedure, the first note of each row becomes a tonal anchor, outweighing in importance

the other eleven tones 79arleigh 1-18

0t is vital at this point to note again that %arber uses two distinct matrices in the

construction of this pieceC 0n the first A section 7measures 1-1.8, the primary form of the first

row 7A/B F/,E,e,t,,1,,,D,.,C,2G8D is introduced in measure 1 At the conclusion of the row in

the middle of measure C, %arber repeats the first tone of the row before continuing on to the ne(t

row, thus creating a row that begins and ends with = )he ne(t row 7AR /8 begins at the end of

measure C immediately after the reiteration of =, and it ends on = at the beginning of measure E

AR / is repeated in measure E and ends on = yet again in measure &easure si( also sees the

introduction of the second row used 7%/B F/,,.,e,,2,E,,D,t,1,CG8 *ith no surprise, %/ ends in

measure with a restatement of = %arber repeats the = once more before repeating %/ which

ends on = in measure 1/ &easure 11 sees the return of the first row 7A8, but since it is

transposed, it starts and ends with ? in measure 12 )he ne(t full row 7AR C8 is framed by + flat

and begins in measure 1D &easure 1E contains %C as a succession of dyads, but it still begins

and ends with + flat %C is repeated and again framed by + flat

)he second A section begins very similarly to the first A section A/ returns in measure

C/ framed by = AR / follows at the end of measure C/ and is framed by = as well A/ is repeated

again and framed with = in measure CD &easure C contains A which is now framed by A flat,

3 Refer to Appendi( A for the matrices used in the piece

4 )he subscript letters A or % preceding the name of the tone row 7ie, A/8 refers to either matri( A or

matri( % respectively


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the tonal center of the piece )he remaining sets 7AR in measure C. and % in measures D/-D1

and again in D2-DC8 are framed by A flat

=oupled with each tone row is a set of C rhythmic variantsE 79arleigh 18 )he first variant is

presented in the first statement of A/ in measures 1 through C AR / in measures C through D is

highlighted by the second variant *hen A/ comes bac" in measure E, it is presented in a very

different rhythmic structure than in measures 1 through Chence the third variant )he C

rhythmic variants of the second row appear in measures and with %/ )he second variant is

towards the end of the A section in measures 1E and 1 with %C 9inally, the third variant of the

second row is in measures 1 and 1 with %C again

)hese rhythmic variants are important, because they e(plain the fragments that occur in

the % section )hese fragments sound very similar to previously used rows, but they are

augmented so slightly that they don’t fit into their supposed rows at all %ecause they no longer

fit into their supposed rows, the fragments are then organi:ed by which rhythmic variant they

belong to 0n measures 1. through 21, the first E notes of the first rhythmic variant of row 1 are

repeated imitatively between the right and left hands 0n reality, the fragments present between

measures 1. and 21 actually do complete each other and form whole sets, but their deviation

from e(pectations concerning the rhythmic variants identifies them as fragmentations isolated in

the right and left hands &easures 2E and 2 each contain the first notes of the second rhythmic

variant of row 1 0n measure 2, the second rhythmic variant of row 1 is heard in the left hand,

but it is offset by an eighth-rest )he second rhythmic variant of row 1 continues in the right hand

in measure 2

5 Refer to Appendi( = to see the rhythmic variants in the original score


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)he end result of %arber’s unique compositional style in Nocturne Op. 33 is a hauntingly

beautiful and very distinct wor" $e melds old with new %y using tonal arpeggio figures in the

left hand, %arber softens the harsh 12-tone melody )he familiarity of rounded binary form helps

connoisseurs of both classical and romantic music to understand the direction of the piece *hat

%arber achieves in Nocturne Op. 33 is a bridge from antiquity to modernityhe attempts to ease

listeners of earlier musical eras into a modern paradigm of composition by disguising 12-tone

music with familiar classical composition techniques


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*or"s =ited

%arber, Samuel 3#octurne 7$omage to John 9ield8 Ip CC6 Samuel Barber: Complete PianoWors #ew Oor"B ? Schirmer, 0nc, 1.E. .-1//

9arleigh, James 3Serialism in %arber’s Solo iano *or"s6 Piano Quarterly, 2 7Summer 1./8B 1C-1

?riffiths, aul 3Serialism6 !rove "usic Online O#$or% "usic Online I(ford Pniversityress *eb QhttpBNN/-

wwwo(fordmusiconlinecomsourceuncoeduNsubscriberNarticleNgroveNmusicN2EDE.

$eyman, %arbara % Samuel Barber: &'e Composer an% (is "usic. #ew Oor"B I(fordPniversity ress, 1..2 C-1C


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Appendi( A

&atrices

&atri( A

A0/ A0 E A0 e A0 t A0 A0 1 A0 A0 A0 D A0 . A0 C A0 2

A/ / E e t 1 D . C 2 AR /

A / E C 2 1 e D t . AR

A 1 1 / e . 2 E t D C AR 1

A 2 2 1 / t C . e E D AR 2

A D D . C 2 / E e t 1 AR D

A e e D t . / E C 2 1 AR e

A E E t D C 1 / e . 2 AR E

A e E D 2 1 / t C . AR

A 1 D . C 2 / E e t AR

A C C 2 1 e D t . / E AR C

A . . 2 E t D C 1 / e AR .

A t t C . e E D 2 1 / AR t

AR0/ AR0 E AR0 e AR0 t AR0 AR0 1 AR0 AR0 AR0 D AR0 . AR0 C AR0 2

6 0n this table, tone rows are labeled by their orientation and their starting pitch )he 12 pitches of an octave are

represented with numbers instead of standard lettering 73=, = sharp, >6 becomes 3/, 1, 268 3t6 is the abbreviation of

31/6 and 3e6 is the short form of 3116 )he subscript 3A6 serves to distinguish the rows of matri( A from those ofmatri( % )he subscript numbers give the starting pitch of the row 36 means 3primary6 which means the pitches in

the row occur from left to right in the table 3R6 means 3retrograde6 in which the pitches occur in reverse order7right to left8 306 means 3inverse6 which means that the intervals between the pitches of any primary row are

inverted )hey run from top to bottom on the table 3R06 means 3retrograde inverse6 which means that any invertedrow is in reverse order )hey run bottom to top A/ then refers to a tone row from matri( A that starts on pitch / and

runs left to rightB F/,E, e, t, ,1,,, D, ., C, 2G

AR / would be the reverse orderB F2, C, ., D, , , 1, , t, e, E, /G

A0/ is the inverted form of A/B F/, , 1, 2, D, e, E, , , C, ., tG

A0R / is the inverted form of A/ in reverse orderB Ft, ., C, , , E, e, D, 2, 1, , /G


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&atri( %

%0/ %0 %0. %0e %0 %02 %0E %0 %0D %0t %01 %0C

%/ / . e 2 E D t 1 C %R /

% / C E 2 e 1 t D . %R

%C C . / 2 e E t 1 D %R C%1 1 t / . C E e 2 D %R 1

%D D t 1 C / . e 2 E %R D

%t t D . / C E 2 e 1 %R t

% 1 D C . / 2 e E t %R

%E E e 2 D 1 ) / . C %R E

% 2 E D t 1 C / . e %R

%2 2 e 1 t D . / C E %R 2

%e e E t 1 D C . / 2 %R e

%. . C E e 2 D 1 t / %R .

%R0/ %R0 %R0. %R0e %R0 %R02 %R0E %R0 %R0D %R0t %R01 %R0C

7 See previous footnote for an e(planation of the matri(


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( y : (’ y’ :’

intro bi ci bi ci bi bi bi ci bi ci bi bi 1 2 C D E - -1/ 11 12 1C 1D 1E-1 1-1.

A-flatB 0 vi 000 000 iii M M

A-flat ma@ 9 min = ma@ =-min +-flat ma@

period period

B

bi ci

sequence bi bi 2 2 non-metered caden:a

2/-2D 2E 2 ci bi 2. 2 2

M MN000 +-flat ma@ ? dominant

A

( y’’ (’’ y’’’ :’’’

closing bi ci bi ci bi ci bi ci lin" bi ci material

C/ C1 C2 CC-CD CE C C C C. D/-D1 D2-DC DD-DE

0 vi vi 0 0 A-flat ma@ 9 min 9 min + aug A-flat ma@

period period

A p p e n d i x B

F o r m C

h a r t


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New compositional styles