20th Century Music History

Darmstadt School

Ferienkurse fur neue Musik/Summer Course for New Music

• established by Steinecke: cultural officer

• performances and discussions about music otherwise muted by political climate in Germany

Messiaen’s Works and Achievements

• organist at St. Trinite, Paris Conservatory

• La Nativite

  • Dieu parmi nous

• Quartet for the End of Time

• La jeune France

• The Techniques of My Musical Language

• Four Rhythm Studies

La jeune France (young France)

• group led by Messiaen

• against the frivolity (“excessive, meaningless” ornamentation) of contemporary French music: should be deeper

La Nativite

• Messiaen

• meditations for organ on the birth of Christ

  • features “Dieu parmi nous”, “God With Us”

Camp Stalag

• camp for prisoners of war in Poland

• Germany occupied France and captured many, including Messiaen

• Brull: German officer who appreciated music; petitioned for M’s release

• guards would assist in providing materials

Quartet for the End of Time

• Messiaen alongside friends and musicians in Camp Stalag

• staple of 20th c. music, especially his

Messiaen’s Style

• Roman Catholic “Mystic”

• synesthesia

• ornithology: bird sounds

• modes of limited transposition

• integral serialism

• non-retrogradable rhythms

• piano works for late wife

modes of limited transposition

Messiaen modes - eventually become the same scale again

• whole tone scale: two half steps

• octatonic: three

• 3rd method: four

The Technique of My Musical Language

• Messiaen

• translated by Satterfield

• explains how modes can only be transposed so many times before returning to itself

integral serialism

• Messiaen style

• rows of melody, harmony, rhythm, timbre etc

• repeating patterns

palidromatic/non-retrogradable rhythm

• Messiaen style

• rhythm is the same if read back to front/inverted

Quatre Etudes de Rhythme (Four Rhythm Studies)

• written by Messiaen

• modes of durations and intensities

• numerical organization of pitch, dynamics, timbre, time

  • duration scale: three overlapping tempi (high, middle, low of piano), superimposed (all at once but all heard equally)

Pierre Boulez

• Dermstadt

• IRCAM: Institute of Research into Acoustics, instrumental design, computers in music

• believed anything published before 1900’s was trash

• stubbornness led to an inability to keep a job.. not writing to standards

  • New York Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, opera house

RCAM: Institute of Research into Acoustics, instrumental design, computers in music

• think tank requested by French government for musical advancement

• led by Boulez - became waste of time and money on lavish lunches

Boulez’s works

• Le Marteau sans Maitre: Hammer without a Master

• Pli selon pli: fold over fold

• Derive I

  • based on Paul Sacher: wealthy wife, Sacher foundation (autographed compositions, library of works and commissions)

• Derive II

Stockhausen

• leading figure of Dermstadt

• believed he was sent to save music..

• father of electronic music

• aleatoric (left to chance), serial composition, spatialization

Stockhausen’s Works

• Kontrapunkt

• Gesang der Junglinge

  • merged German electronica and French musique concrete

  • boy soprano and electronic tape

• Licht: Die seben Tage der Woche

  • 7 operas for each day of week

• Klang: Die 24 Studen des Tages

  • chamber pieces

• Helikopter Streichquartet

  • standalone AND scene three of Licht: Wednesday

Sofia Gubaidulina

• studied composition at Moscow Conservatory
  Works:

• Offertorium: violin and orchestra

  • based on Bach’s “Musical Offering”

• Violin Concerto No. 2 “In tempus praeseus” (in the present time)

  • Annie-Sophie Matter (renowned violinist) premiered it with Berlin Philharmonic, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle