Revueltas, La noche de los Mayas + (Cage, Sonata V) + (Reich, Electric Counterpoint)

VERNACULAR FEATURES OF REVUELTAS’ STYLE

use of percussion instruments and irregular meters.

IRREGULAR METER

meter that doesn’t fall into regular 2 or 3 groupings; for example, 5 (3+2) or 7 (4+3).

Cage, Sonata V: INTEGRAL SERIALISM

all musical elements (rhythm, dynamics, register, etc.) are controlled by a series, not just the pitch. An exaggeration of Schoenberg’s original idea.

(Cage, Sonata V): PREPARED PIANO

a piano whose sound has been altered by foreign objects

(Cage, Sonata V): CHANCE MUSIC

music whose performance admits an element of chance.

(Reich, Electric Counterpoint) MINIMALISM

Contemporary musical style featuring the repetition of short melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic patterns with little variation.

(Reich, Electric Counterpoint) CHARACTERISTICS OF MINIMALISM:

 1) Tonal harmonies
     2) Ostinatos
     3) Low frequency of events
     4) Long-term processes

(Reich, Electric Counterpoint) PROCESS MUSIC

A compositional style in which a composer selects a simple musical idea and repeats it over and over, as it’s gradually changed or elaborated upon.