Chapter 8: Post-Modernism

8.1 OBJECTIVES

1. Identify the timeframe of the Post-Modernism Period
2. Identify functions of music of the Post-Modernism Period
3. Connect prominent composers of the Post-Modernism Period with well-known works.
4. Recognize unique instrumentation of the Post-Modernism Period
5. Critically evaluate stylistic characteristics of the Post-Modernism Period
6. Synthesize music of the Post-Modernism Period with today’s culture

8.2 KEY INDIVIDUALS

• Igor Stravinsky
• John Williams
• Karlheinz Stockhausen
• Koji Kondo
• Philip Glass
• Pierre Schaeffer
• Steve Reich

8.3 INTRODUCTION AND HISTORICAL CONTEXT: 1950 TO TODAY

The music of this period mirrored the urgency and turmoil in the world at large. For many composers, the raw emotion and sentimentality reflected in the music of the nineteenth century had grown tiresome. Thus, they began to push the musical language into new areas. Sometimes, this meant bending long-established musical rules to their very limits, and, in some cases, breaking them altogether. As composers rushed to find new ways of expressing themselves, different musical camps emerged, each with their own unique musical philosophies. We now categorize these musical approaches as “primitivism,” a continuation of “Neoclassicism,” and “minimalism.”

8.3.1 Rhythm

In preceding centuries, music was typically relegated to logical, symmetrical phrases that fell squarely into strict meters. Igor Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring (Le Sacre du Printemps) famously undermined the audience’s expectation of the role of rhythm by abandoning strict meter for rapidly changing time signatures. Instead of the steady familiar time signatures containing three or four beats, Stravinsky peppered in measures containing an odd number of beats such as five or seven. This created a sense of unease in the audience by removing something from the music that they had previously taken for granted: a steady and unwavering sense of meter. Why did this become famous? The premiere, that initial exposure of the Rite of Spring to an audience in Paris in 1913, so disturbed the listeners that a dash to exit the theater ended in a riot.

8.3.2 Texture and Timbre

Texture is formed by adding layers of sound. One way that this can be accomplished is by using traditional instruments in nontraditional ways. For example, John Cage famously composed piano pieces that called for objects such as coins and tacks to be placed on the strings to create unique effects. This technique is known as prepared piano. You may have added playing cards to your bicycle spokes in your youth. He did the same thing with cards on piano strings. By adding various common household items, a thicker and somewhat familiar texture was injected into the music. On the other hand, as memorable melodies and traditional harmonies began to break down, some composers looked to new tonal colors (timbres) through the use of new instruments such as synthesizers, instruments that generated a wide variety of sounds electronically. This created timbres that some heard as cold or tinny – a new phenomenon for the listener in the audience.

8.4 PRIMITIVISM IN MUSIC

Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) was truly a cosmopolitan figure, having lived and composed in Russia, France, Switzerland, and the United States. His music influenced numerous composers, including the famed French composition teacher Nadia Boulanger (the same one who taught Copland). Stravinsky caused quite a stir when the ballet entitled The Rite of Spring premiered in Paris in 1913. He composed the music, and the ballet was choreographed by Sergei Diaghilev. The orchestral version (just the music) has become one of the most admired compositions of the twentieth century.

Stravinsky’s use of “primitive” sounding rhythms (aggressive pounding, handclaps, open handed slaps on the skins, etc.) to depict several pagan ritual scenes makes the term “primitivism” seem appropriate. Use the listening guide below to follow Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring.

LISTENING GUIDE

Audio

• Composer: Igor Stravinsky
• Composition: Rite of Spring, Sacrificial Dance
• Date: 1913
• Genre: Ballet music
• Form: Specific passages accompany changes in choreography

Performing Forces: Full orchestra

Table 1: Listening Guide for Rite of Spring, Sacrificial Dance

8.5 NEOCLASSICISM

Recall from the previous chapter that many composers in the Western world composed in the style of previous Classical composers – Neoclassicism. Both Béla Bartók and Zoltán Kodály preferred to compose within Classical Period structures. Numerous other well-known composers incorporated neoclassic techniques and philosophy into their compositions. Stravinsky was among them, and his ballet entitled Pulcinella (1920) is an early example of neoclassical style. It was based on music that Stravinsky originally thought was written by the Baroque composer Giovanni Pergolesi. Stravinsky borrowed specific themes from these earlier works and combined them with more modern harmonies and rhythms. Listen to how in some sections the music closely approximates the style and sounds of Baroque composers, while in other sections it sounds much more aggressive, primitive, and modern.

Stravinsky, Pulcinella

8.6 MINIMALISM

Minimalism is a movement that began in New York during the 1960s, and it stands in stark contrast to much of the music of the early twentieth century. Minimalist composers sought to distill music down to its fundamental elements. Minimalist pieces were highly consonant (unlike the atonal music of earlier composers) and often relied on the familiar sounds of triads. Instead of featuring rhythmic complexity, minimalist composers established a steady meter. And, unlike twelve-tone music, which avoided repetition at all costs, minimalist composers made repetition the very focus of their music. One may expect this music to sound much like the music of earlier periods. Instead, though, change was introduced slowly through small variations of repeated patterns, and, in many cases, these changes were almost imperceptible to the listener. Arguably the most famous two composers of the minimalistic style were Steve Reich (b.1936) and Philip Glass (b.1937). Glass composed pieces for small ensembles comprised of wind instruments, voices, or organ, while Reich’s music often featured various percussion instruments.

As we have encountered in other “isms,” minimalism was not confined to the realm of music. In Barnett Newman’s (1905-1970) painting (Image 7.5) Voice of Fire (1967), we see that many of these same concepts of simplification applied to the visual arts. Minimalist painters such as Newman created starkly simple artwork consisting of basic shapes, straight lines, and primary colors. This was a departure from the abstract expressionists such as Jackson Pollack in the same way that Steve Reich’s compositions were a departure from the complexity of Arnold Schoenberg’s music.

Steve Reich’s Music for 18 Musicians is a composition featuring eleven related sections performed by an unorthodox ensemble consisting of mallet instruments, women’s voices, woodwinds, and percussion. Section VII below is constructed of a steady six-beat rhythmic pattern that is established at the beginning of the piece. Over this unfaltering rhythmic pattern, various instruments enter with their own repeated melodic motifs. The only real changes in the piece take place in very slow variations of rhythmic density, overall texture, and instrumental range. All of the melodic patterns fit neatly into a simple three-chord pattern, which is also repeated throughout the piece. Most minimalistic pieces follow this template of slow variations over a simple pattern. This repetition results in music with a hypnotic quality, but also with just enough change to hold the listener’s interest.

LISTENING GUIDE

Audio

• Composer: Steve Reich
• Composition: Music for 18 Musicians
• Date: 1976
• Genre: Minimalist Composition comprising eleven sections

Performing Forces: orchestra

Table 2: Listening Guide for Music for 18 Musicians

8.7 THE LATE TWENTIETH CENTURY

Modern electronic inventions continue to change and shape our lives. Music has not been immune to these changes. Computers, synthesizers, and massive sound systems have become common throughout the western world. Next, we will touch on some of the important trends that started in the 1940s and 1950s and continue to the present. We will also look at an important genre, movie music!

8.7.1 Musique Concrète

Musique concrète (a French term meaning “concrete music”) is a type of electro-acoustic music that uses both electronically produced sounds (like synthesizers) and recorded natural sounds (like instruments, voices, and sounds from nature). Pierre Schaeffer (in the 1940s) was a leader in developing this technique as was Edgard Varèse.

Unlike traditional composers, composers of musique concrète are not restricted to using rhythm, melody, harmony, instrumentation, form, and other musical elements. The video linked below offers an excellent narrative on musique concrète.

Musique concrète

Below is a link to one of Pierre Schaeffer’s musique concrète compositions.

Pierre Schaeffer, Études de bruits (1948)

8.7.2 Elektronische Musik

Elektronische Musik (German term meaning “electronic music”) is composed by manipulating only electronically-altered sounds (not recorded sounds.) Notes, rhythms, and the like may be used together but at different times. Notes may be altered to become something else. Like Expressionism, both musique concrète and elektronische Musik did not last long as popular techniques. Karlheinz Stockhausen was a leader in the creation of elektronische Musik.

The link below is to an example of elektronische Musik.

Gesang der Jünglige(Song of the Youths)

8.7.3 Laptop Orchestras

With the development of laptop computers, a new wave of interest has sprung up world-wide in electronic music of all types. Musicians can now easily link laptops together to form ensembles; they can also link laptops in other locations, even around the globe. Software is being developed that allows for all types of musique concrète and elektronische musik compositions and combinations. The Princeton Laptop Orchestra is a leader in this area of experimental composition and performance.

Princeton Laptop Orchestra

8.7.4 Film Music

Although operas and symphonic concerts are no longer especially popular, movies still provide a taste of traditionally Classical music. Symphonic music lives on in our everyday lives in the form of music for film, as well as for television shows, commercials, and video games.

More than any other form of media in current trends, film has made an indelible mark on our culture. The first known public exhibition of film with accompanying sound took place in Paris in 1900, but not until the 1920s did talking pictures, or “talkies,” become commercially viable. Inevitably, part of the magic of film is due to its marriage with music. After opera, film music was the next step in the evolution of music for drama. In fact, film music follows many of the same rules established by the nineteenth-century opera and before, such as the use of overtures, leitmotifs, and incidental music. Many of the most famous themes in the history of film are known throughout the world in the same way that an aria from a famous opera would have been known to the mass audiences of the previous century. For example, who of us cannot sing the theme from Star Wars?

Unlike the music of forward-thinking twentieth-century composers such as Schoenberg and Webern, music for film is not designed to push musical boundaries; instead, it draws on compositional devices from across the vast history of Western music. Music for a film depicting a love story might rely on sweeping melodies reminiscent of Wagner or Tchaikovsky. A science fiction movie might draw on dense note clusters and unconventional synthesized sounds to evoke the strangeness of encountering beings from another world. A documentary might feature music that is emotionally detached, such as the twentieth-century minimalistic style of Phillip Glass. Musical styles are chosen to complement the visuals. The following example is one of the most famous melodies in cinema history, the main theme from Star Wars, composed by John Williams. Because Star Wars tells a story in a “galaxy far, far away,” its music should logically sound futuristic, but director George Lucas opted for an entirely different approach. He asked composer John Williams to create something romantic in nature to ground the characters of this strange universe in something emotionally familiar. Williams achieved this goal by creating a musical landscape deeply rooted in the style of Wagner, especially in his use of heroic themes and leitmotifs. Listen to the example below and pay special note to the sense of adventure it evokes.

LISTENING GUIDE

Audio

• Composer: John Williams
• Composition: Star Wars Main Title
• Date: 1977
• Genre: Motion Picture Soundtrack

Performing Forces: orchestra

Table 3: Listening Guide for Star Wars Main Title

We talked about leitmotifs in our chapter on nineteenth-century music. The music of Star Wars relies heavily on this technique, and most of its characters have their own unique themes, which appear in different forms throughout the movies. Perhaps the most famous of these leitmotifs is the “Force Theme.”

8.7.5 Music for New Media

Although the movies continue to flourish in the twenty-first century, new technologies bring new media, and, with it, new music. One of the fastest growing examples of new media comes in the form of video games. The music of the first commercially-available video games of the 1970s was rudimentary at best. Fast-forward to the twenty-first century, and video games feature complex and original musical backdrops which complement incredibly realistic graphics and game play. These games require a cinematic style of music that can adapt to the actions of the player.

Listen to the example below from the original for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Early video game music is not unlike Renaissance music in that it was limited to polyphony between a few voices. The original NES system put significant restraints on composers, as it was only possible to sound three to four notes simultaneously, and a great deal of effort was put into getting as rich a sound as possible within these constraints. Listen below to the two versions of the main Zelda theme (called the “Overworld Theme”). Conceived by acclaimed video game composer Koji Kondo, it is one of the most famous video game themes of all time. This theme has been featured in almost all of the Legend of Zelda games. Notice how the composer uses imitative polyphony to create the illusion of a full texture. Notice that this is built on a steady repeated percussive pattern.

LISTENING GUIDE

Audio

• Composer: Koji Kondo
• Composition: The Legend of Zelda (Overworld Theme)
• Date: 1986
• Genre: Video Game Music

Performing Forces: orchestra

Table 4: Listening Guide for The Legend of Zelda (Overworld Theme)

The second version of the theme is a testament to the advances made in the technological capabilities of video game music. An updated arrangement of the theme from Nintendo’s 2011 release, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, it features the “Overworld Theme” in the game’s credits sequence. If you did not know this music belonged to a video game, you could imagine it as a soundtrack to a blockbuster adventure movie.

LISTENING GUIDE

Audio

• Composer: Koji Kondo
• Composition: The Legend of Zelda (Overworld Theme)
• Date: 1986 (2011 arrangement)
• Genre: Video Game Music

Performing Forces: orchestra

Table 5: Listening Guide for The Legend of Zelda (Overworld Theme)

8.8 CHAPTER SUMMARY

In this chapter we introduced the style called primitivism and the music of Igor Stravinsky. We saw how minimalist composers sought to create music from its most fundamental rhythmic and melodic elements, returning to the consonant sounds of triads and the strict application of steady meter. We learned that musique concrète was a combination of recorded and electronic sounds and that the German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen was the leader in elektronische Musik. We saw that the Princeton University Laptop Orchestra is an important leader in laptop computer ensembles. Finally, we looked at music for motion pictures and at one of the most recent developments in electronic and digital entertainment: music for video games.