George Perle-Scriabin-Self-Analyses PDF

Scriabin's Self-Analyses
Author(s): George Perle

Source: Music Analysis, Vol. 3, No. 2 (Jul., 1984), pp. 101-122
Published by: Wiley
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GEORGEPERLE
SCRIABIN'S SELF-ANALYSES
Whatauthority does a composerhaveas analystofhisownmusic?This is nota

question that we are oftenconstrainedto consider,since composersseldom
offerus anythingthat can be construedas an analysiswhen it comes to
explaininghow theirmusicis put together.And we cannotalwaystrustthe
relevanceof the vague and spaciousgeneralitiestheygive us instead,or the
motivations behindthese.WhenSchindleraskedBeethovenwhyhislastpiano
sonatahad onlytwomovements thecomposerrepliedthathe hadn'thad timeto
writea third,a replythatwas quite good enoughforSchindler.In his only
extendedexpositionofthetwelve-tone systemSchoenbergmakesthefollowing
assertionabouttheuse ofinversional formsoftheseries:'Whilea pieceusually
beginswiththe basic set itself,themirrorforms. . . are appliedonlylater'.'
Almosteverytwelve-tone pieceofSchoenberg'scontroverts thisassertionin its
opening bars. Webern, himself a conductor, whose works are meticulously
markedwithexplicitand exhaustivemetronomic indications,seemsto have
had no idea at all oftheirtime-span.The durationsgivenin thescoresandinhis
lettersareas muchas twoorthreetimeslongerthanthedurationsimpliedinhis
metronomic indications.ThoughScriabinadmittedthattherewas 'nothingby
accident'in his music,thathe composed'accordingto definiteprinciple',he
refusedto saywhattheprinciplewas. FaubionBowersquotesa contemporary:
'Scriabin always said that everything in his later compositionswas strictly
to
according "law". He said thathe could provethisfact.However,everything
seemed to conspireagainsthis givinga demonstration. One day he invited
Taneyev and me to his apartment so he could explain his theoriesof
composition. We arrivedand he for a
dilly-dallied longtime.Finally,he saidhe
had a headacheand wouldexplainitall anotherday. That "anotherday" never
came'.2
Yet eventhoughtheydidnotgiveus analyticalsurveysoftheircompositions,
the composersof an earlierage wereconstantlymakingexplicitand detailed
analyticalassertions,in the very act of writingthe notes down. When
Beethoven,in theslowmovementoftheFifthSymphony, spellsForte'spc set
4-27 as Ab C Eb F#in b. 29 and as Ab C Eb Gb in b. 206, he is engagedin
an act of analysis,as well as an act of composition.For Scriabin,as for
MUSIC ANALYSIS 3:2, 1984 101

GEORGE PERLE
Schoenberg,and almostat the same time,a diatonicscale of functionally

differentiated noteswas replacedby a semitonalscale of functionally undif-
ferentiated notes.The notationalsystemwas not replaced,however,and the
newmusic,basedon thematerialoftheuniversalsetoftwelvepitchclasses,had
to makedo withonlysevendegree-names and the'accidental'signsthatpermit
us to modifytheirsignification. The discrepancybetweenthe new musical
languageand the means of notatingit troubledSchoenberg,and in 1924 he
inventedand, withoutsuccess,proposedtheadoptionofa newnotation.
Scriabin,on theotherhand,triedto establishconsistentand uniformrules
forthe continuedemploymentof the traditionalnotationalmeans. Even a
superficialglance at some of the late piano pieces shows thathe was up to
something ofthesort.Forte'sset4-17 [0,3,4,7]playsan important rolein both
theSeventhSonataand thefourthoftheFive Preludes,Op. 74, Scriabin'slast
opus. In theformerthecorresponding notesare invariablyrepresented as A C
E
Db Fb (Ex. 1), and in thelatteras A C C# (Ex. 2). In other a
pieces single
structure is subjectedtocuriousnotationalrevisionswhenitis transposed,as in
Ex. 3, fromOp. 74, No. 3.
Ex. 1 Ex. 2 Ex. 3
A, "Id
i.L. .,4e I
The revised spelling, unlike our example from Beethoven, implies no

distinctionin functionbetweenthe two chords.What it tellsus is thatboth
derivefromthe same set, an octatonicscale whichcontainsits own tritone
transpositionand which- ifwe layitoutso thatthetwonotesthatemploythe
same letter-name, A#and A, occur as boundaryelements- maybe spelled
as
'diatonically',thatis, so thatsuccessivenotesunfoldsuccessiveletter-names
in thediatonicsystem(Ex. 4).
Ex.4
R'
A, . ,.
3i q'
WD*wl
. l
vi
Since thisscale consistsof two 'diminished7th' chords,the same pitch-class

as wellas att6. Scriabinretains
collectionis repeatedat t3and t9transpositions,
102 MUSIC ANALYSIS 3:2, 1984

SCRIABIN S SELF-ANALYSES
the same spelling,regardlessof transposition

(Ex. 5). (Only a single 'non-
harmonic'elementis introducedin the piece, a passingnote,markedin the
example,thatis repeatedin exactlythesamecontextwherever itoccurs.)
Ex. 5
pp
Ex. 1 is basedon thesamescale.The successivet3statementsofthischord,if

we maintaintheprincipleof thePreludeand limitourselvesto thenotational
resourcesgivenin Ex. 4, wouldbe spelledas follows(Ex. 6):
Ex. 6
But anotherkind of notationalconsistency is represented

in the Sonata. The
chord is derivedfroma seven-notesegmentof the octatoniccollection,a
segmentof what may be defined,in referenceto the SeventhSonata, as a
'masterscale'. Scriabin'scuriousspellingsare derivedfroma tertialharmonic
representation ofhis seven-notescale (Ex. 7). Thoughthefourtranspositions
Ex. 7
IAP v.j
vwAl's
are all derivablefromthesameoctatoniccollection,as demonstrated in Ex. 6,3

Scriabinprefersto representthemas corresponding componentsofthefourt3
transpositions ofhisderivedscale.
The derivedheptatonic scalehasimportantpracticaladvantages,as compared
to the octatonic. Since successive t3 transpositionsof an octatonicscale

GEORGE PERLE
are identicalin pitch-classcontent,thereare onlythreeindependentoctatonic

collections:no hierarchical is possible,sincetheintersecting
structuring pitch-
class contentof each witheitherof the othersis alwaysthe same; one of the
component'diminished7th'chordsis retained,theotherone is replaced.The
heptatonicscale,however,has twelveindependentforms,fourforeach ofthe
masterscales, and each formsharesa different collectionof six pitchclasses
witheach of the othersderivedfromthe same masterscale, and a different
collectionofthreepitchclasseswitheach oftheformsderivedfromtheother
two masterscales. The masterscales and the derivedheptatonicscales are
in Ex. 8.4
illustrated
Ex. 8
C30,2
C31
IFof
I
I
C31,3
The tonalvocabularyis stillfrustratingly however,fora musical

restrictive,
languagethatmakesno distinction betweenchordand scale,inwhichthelinear
dimensionunfoldsas a seriesof arpeggiatedsegmentsof paired 'diminished
7th'chords.Scriabinprovidesa sourceofcontrastthrougha variantformofthe
derivedscale, thefinaldegreeofwhichis occasionallyraisedby a semitone,a
revisionthatresultsin a strikingchangeof harmoniccolourby converting a
five-notesegmentofthescaleintoa whole-tone collection(Ex. 9).
Ex. 9
9JrI
104 MUSICANALYSIS3:2,1984

Thatthisis theprimary, thoughnotthesolefunction ofthesemitonalinflection

is madeabundantly clearthroughoutthework.Whentheinflection first
occurs
it entirelyconvertsthe tone materialgivenat thispointintothe whole-tone
segmentofthescale(Ex. 10,b.30). The seventhdegreeis restoredtoitsnormal
form,and thenimmediatelyraised a second time as part of a symmetrical
progression in themiddlevoices(Ex. 10, bs 33-34).
Ex. 10:SonataNo. 7
avecuneceleste
volupt
fres pur, avec une profondedouceur
" '--"
.. m-,,
Each oftheFive Preludesis also based on theoctatonicsystem.No. 3 is an

unproblematicalpiecewhosetonalstructure is sufficiently
demonstrated in Exs
4 and 5. A singleoctatonicpitch-classcollectionis unfolded,withthe same
compositionalrepresentations of the collectionreiteratedat each of its four
equivalentpitchlevels.PreludeNo. 1, onlysixteenbarsin length,is one ofthe
finestof Scriabin'slatepieces. As in theSeventhSonata,theoctatonicscaleis
represented throughitsderivedheptatonicscales. The firstsection,up to b. 4
(minim),5is based on masterscale C31,3; the middle sectioncommencesin
C30,2and returns in b. 6 (crotchet)totheoriginaltonality;therecapitulation -
bs 8 (crotchet)to 12 (minim)- repeatsthe firstsectionat the tritone;the
codetta(Ex. 11) commenceswitha restatement of the closingphraseof the
recapitulation,followedbya cadentialphrasewhosefinalchord,inflecting the
D#oftheprecedingchordto D, givesus theonlyinstancein themovementof
the whole-tonevariantof the heptatonicscale. Appoggiaturas, passingnotes
and neighbouringnotes occur throughoutthe movement.Their special
functionas elementsof melodicfiguration thatare foreignto the 'diminished
7th' componentsof the masterscale is unmistakable.There are only two
'dissonant'notesthatcannoteasilybe explainedin thefamiliarterminology of
MUSICANALYSIS3:2, 1984 105

GEORGE PERLE
Ex. 11: Op. 74, No. 1
app
appP
cq .d3amp,3a
"-'--s
' "' ' ' fr
C31.3
AVIo I-
traditionalharmony, and bothareinstancesofthesamepitchclass,D. The first

instanceis theclimacticnoteat themidpointofthepiece,in theclosingphrase
ofthemiddlesection(Ex. 12). The effectis thatofan interruptedpassingnote
whoseprogressis resumedand completedat theconclusionoftherecapitula-
tionin b. 10 (crotchet),againat theinceptionofthecodetta(Ex. 11), and one
lasttimein theloweroctavein theconcludingphrase.The 'dissonant'D, in a
Ex. 12
6-
API I
3I
C31,3

secondloweroctavedisplacement,finallytakesits place in thelastchordas a

componentof the whole-tonevariantof the heptatonicscale. Structural
principlesexemplifiedin the Sonata are subtilizedand refinedto an extra-
ordinarydegreein thesesixteenbars.
The distinction betweenthetwoformsofthederivedheptatonicscale holds
implicationsforharmonicdifferentiation and structurethatare most fully
realizedin Prelude No. 5. Transpositionalrelationsare determinedby the
contentofthepieceis
Interval-2as wellas theInterval-3cycle.The pitch-class
shownin thefollowing table:
PARTONE, SECTION ONE

Bar(s)
1: G A BbC E6 F G A Bb(C) D, E6 F IA B (C) D E, F G
D6, D6
2: F G (Ab)Bb
3: D#E#F#G# C, E,/Ebb
A B C# I D#E#F#(G#)A B C#I E#Fx (G#)A#B C#D#
4: C#D#(E) F G A
B/B,
PART ONE, SECTION TWO
5: C#D#(E) F#G A Bb
6: C#D#E F#G A Bb
7: E F#G A BbC D6
8: G A BbC D6 E6 F6 G6
PARTTWO, SECTION ONE

9-10: = Bars1-2
11:ABC DEbFG ABC(D)Eb FG I BC#(D)EFGA
12:GA (B6) C D6 E6 F/F6
PARTTWO, SECTION TWO

13:GA (Bb)C Db Eb Fb
14:GA BbC Db Eb Fb
15:A#B#C#D#E F#G
16-17:C#D#E F#GA BbC GABb C Db Eb Fb G
Scriabin'sown bar linesand rhythmic groupingswithineach bar providean

unproblematical basis forpartitioning the compositionintothe pitchcollec-
tions thatare here representedas scales. In representing themthus I have
simplyorderedthepitchesso thatsuccessiveletter-names correspondwithout
exceptionto the composer'sown spelling.The onlylibertyI have takenis in
supplying,in parentheses,the singlenote thatis missingfromsome of the
scales,a noteunambiguously implied,in everyinstance,in theinvariantscale
patternsof the movement.If we eliminateliteralrepetitionsand the final
cadentialchord,wefindthewholemovement containedinonlyfivebars:bs 1-2
returnatt8,tOandt2respectively in bs 3-4, 9-10 and 11-12;b. 5 returns att6in
b. 13; b. 6 returnsat t3,t6and t9respectively in bs 7, 14 and 15; b. 8 returnsat
t6 in b. 16. The secondhalfof thepiece, bs 9-16, is a repetition of thefirst,

GEORGE PERLE
commencing at theoriginalpitchleveland shifting aftertwobarstothetritone.

Three scale-typesappear. The completeoctatonicscale occursonlyat the
close ofeach part.The openingis based on whatwe called,in connectionwith
the SeventhSonata, a variantformof the seven-notesubsetof the octatonic
scale, in which a five-notesegmentof the whole-tonescale is established
throughtheraisingoftheseventhdegree(Ex. 9). This distinctive scale-degree
is indicatedin italicsin theabove table.The whole-tonetypeheptatonicscale
plays such an importantstructural role in PreludeNo. 5 thatit is no longer
appropriate to define it as a formof some otherscale. Transpositions
variant
occur at everyeven pitch-level,so that everyfive-notesubset of the same
whole-tonescale, C21, is represented.In everyinstancethe 'altered'noteis a
componentofa whole-tonecollection(circledin Ex. 13) in thecompositional
foreground.
Ex. 13:Op. 74,No. 5

be/liuLeux-
fier,
bow-- .......................
... .. .. ....
~-~--b------
i r7 1 3
.....
Ib bb ~,i
I.
L%- L iI
a
Y.
ilf i,l [Ji
-Am .
irrl' .mDO 6m-,6"
pointinb. 4 theseventhdegreeis restoredtoits

In b. 2 and atthecorresponding
'normal'octatonicversion,so thattheheptatonicscaleis convertedto a subset
of the octatonicscale. In b. 4 this change serves as a modulationinto a

contrasting episode,bs 5-8, basedon theunalteredformofmasterscaleC31,3.

Here, and at thereturnofthismusicin thelastfourbars,transpositional levels
are determinedby the Interval-3cyclicstructurethatgeneratesthe master
scale: the 'normal'heptatonicscale of bs 5-6 returnsat t3, t6 and t9. The
explicitunfolding ofthemasterscalein b. 16 embracesall fourpitchlevels.Its
apparent tritone transpositionat theclose is onlyan enharmonicrespelling,a
notationalwayof referring back to theverybeginningof thepiece. The final
chord, Eb-Db-G, in associationwith the bass line, A-Eb, summarizesthe
twocyclicstructures, C21and C31,3,on whichthepieceis based,byrestricting
itselfto those notes which are commonto both. The unfoldingof thesetwo
cycles is illustratedin thefollowing outline,whichembracesall thecyclicscale
segments and shows the source of Scriabin'snotationforthem:
Bars
1-4:TonalityC21(CbDb Eb F G A B C#D#E#Fx)
5-8: Tonality
C31,3(C#D#E F#G A BbC Db Eb FbGb)
9-12:TonalityC21(CbDb Eb F G A B C#)
13-17:TonalityC31,3(A#B C#D#E F#G A BbC Db Eb FbGb)
The firstofthetwoPreludesofOp. 67 is a precursorofthisremarkable
little
piece. The whole-tonecollectionshownin Ex. 14, or a transposition
of the
same,occurson thedownbeatoffourteen ofitsthirty-five
bars.
Ex. 14
The onlynotethatis not a componentof theC31,3 octatonicscale in thefirst

twelvebars is the Ab of Ex. 14. Consecutivelyordereddegree-namesin the
composer'sown spellingunfoldas follows(the non-octatonic componentis
bya lower-caseletter):
represented
D#E F#G ab A Bb C Db Eb Fb Gb
The scaleis shiftedto C32,4in bs 15-16:
G#A#B C D E FJ t G
Thereis a returnto the'homekey'in bs 19-20,a tll transposition
ofbs 15-16:
GA Bb C Db Eb FbfGb
MUSIC ANALYSIS 3:2,1984 109

GEORGE PERLE
The C31,3octatonicscaleis maintainedfortheremainder ofthemovement, but

thenon-octatonic elementappearsas d in b.21 and as cbin b.23, whereEx. 14
is transposedat t6and t3respectively
beforereturning toitsoriginalpitchlevel
in b.27. In thelastfourbarsthenon-octatonic elementis omittedaltogether:
E F#G A Bb C Db Eb
The modulationfromC31,3toC32,4is effected
in bs 13-14 (Ex. 15).
Ex. 15:Op. 67,No. 1

~ ~C.=.
C31 (E G Bb Db) is sharedby the two scales; C33 (D F#A C) in the first
scale is displacedbyC32 (F AbB D) in thesecond.The firstchordemphasizes
thesharedcomponentofthescalesandgivesus onlyonenote,F, ofthenewC32
collection.In thefollowingbar thequaverfigurein an innervoice refersto a
prominent as it does
melodicfigureofthefirstsection(bs 4 and 10), returning
of
so, in spite the retention ofthenewnote,F, tothe displacedcomponent, C30,
ofthefirstscale. The missingassociatesofF in theC32 collectionareprovided
in the second chord that accompaniesthe inner-voicemelodyand on the
downbeatof b. 15. This overlappingof C31,3and C32,4maybe illustratedby
interpreting Ex. 15 as a simultaneous
representationofExs 16 and 17.
Ex. 16 Ex. 17
3 ----
----C
C,
C
32,4
of bs 13-14 (bs 17-18) effectsthe returnfromC32,4 to

A tll transposition
C31,3.6
of PreludeNo. 2 of Op. 74 seems
At firstsightthe musicalorthography

bizarreand eccentricto an extreme,withitsspellingofa three-notesemitonal

motiveas inflections
ofa singlescale degree,ofoctaverelationsas augmented
7ths or diminished9ths, of perfect5ths as doubly augmented4ths or
diminished6ths(Ex. 18).
Ex. 18: Op. 74, No. 2

Treslenf,
contemplatif
2Pp4
But here again we discoverthatthe composeris applyingconsistentrules

especiallydesignedfora particular
compositionalcontext.The principlescaleis
C31,3, embellishedthroughthe inclusionof chromaticpassing notes and
representedthroughone or anothersegmentationof the followingseries
(passingnotesare shownin lower-caseletters):
A#B#C#D#E e#F#G g#A Bb b C Db d Eb
A secondscaleis derivedthroughsegmentation
ofthefollowing
series:
B#(Cx) D#E#F#g G#A a#B C D (Eb) F
The basspartthroughout, withtheexceptionofthefirst twobarsandthereturn
ofthesamepassageattheclose,is restrictedtotheostinatofigureshownin b. 3,
interrupted at fourpointsbythefigureon thesecondbeatofb. 4. The second
scale appearsonlywherethisinterruptionoccurs.Otherwiseeverything in the
piece is derivedfromtheembellishedC31,3scale. Orthographic consistencyis
largelydeterminedwithina quaver contextthatfollowsthe pendulum-like
motionofthebass. The notationofb. 9 (Ex. 19), forinstance,derivesfromthe
followingalternationofscalesegments:
A#B#C#D#E e#F#G A Bb C (Db) Eb

Strictorthographicconsistencywouldhaverequiredan enharmonic changeof
A#to Bb on the secondand fourthquaverbeatsof thebar, but Scriabindoes
not carryadherenceto thisprincipleto such a degreeof pedantry.Of more
substantiveinterestarethenewtranspositionalrelationsmadeavailablebythe
inclusionof passingnotesin theprecompositional scale pattern.Thus within
theprincipaltonalitywe findthefiguresshownin Ex. 20.

GEORGE PERLE
Ex. 19
Ex. 20
In PreludeNo. 5 theinfiltration ofa non-octatonic elementis exploitedforits

extension ofwhole-tone relations.In PreludeNo. 2 itisexploitedforitsextension
ofsemitonalrelations.PreludeNo. 4 investigates stillotherimplicationsofthis
variantoftheoctatonicset.Throughthesemitonalinflection ofanyone noteof
the set we derivea second completecycle,the 'augmentedtriad',and this
providesstillanothermeansofharmonicdifferentiation and anotherbasis for
progression amongthethreeoctatonicscales.The t4 and t8 transpositions that
occurthroughout PreludeNo. 4 areas integral toitsmusicallanguageas t3,t6and
t9 transpositionsare integralto themusicallanguageofPreludeNo. 3 and the
SeventhSonata.
Everysimultaneity, withoutexception,is derivablefromone of the three
non-equivalentoctatonicscales, or froma variantin whichone or another
elementof the scale is semitonallyraised or lowered throughchromatic
inflectionand thereby converted intoan elementoftheC3 collectionthatis nota
componentofthegiven octatonic scale. Thoughthereis nevermorethanone
suchchromatically inflectednote in anysimultaneity, theaggregateresultis a
twelve-tone masterscale, each ofwhoseconstituent sub-scalescomprisesone
completeInterval-3cycle, one or another three-note segmentof a second
Interval-3cycle,and one or anothernote of the remainingInterval-3cycle.
Throughchromaticinflection each ofthe threenon-equivalent octatonicscales
is convertibleintosuch a twelve-tone masterscale. The threeoctatonicscales
and theiraggregatevariantformsas represented in Scriabin'sownnotationare
shownbelow (letternamesof variantelementsare italicized;letternamesof
missingelementsarein parentheses):
C31,3:A B/B C D/D#E F/F G/G#A Bb/BC Db Ebb/Eb Bbb

(Fb) Gb(Abb)/Ab
C30,2:D#E F G A Bb/BC/C#D (Eb) F Gb
C32,4: B (C#)D Eb/EF Gb/G BbCb/CDb EbbFb
Ab/A

In the totalityof theirvariantformsall threeoctatonicscales sharethefour

'augmentedtriads'.For example,thefirstand thirdof thethreeabove scales
unfoldall twelvepitchclassesand respectively the'augmentedtriads'
represent
as follows:
C31,3:B D#GB Eb,B E G CAbC~, F A Db,D F#BbEbbGb
C32,4: B Eb G Cb,E AbC Fb,FA Db, D GbB Ebb
The aggregatevariantsof C30,2 thatare exploitedin Prelude No. 4 do not
unfoldthe completetwelve-tone masterscale. Only two 'augmentedtriads'
arerepresented:
C30,2:E#A C#F, F#Bb D Gb
The sharedInterval-4cyclesresultin a muchcloserinterrelatedness ofthe
threeoctatonicscales. This explainswhythereis a morerapidand continual
interchangeof scales than in any of the otherpieces we have examined.
Compositionalimplicationsand characteristic notationalproceduresare both
demonstratedin Ex. 21 and in itst4 transposition,
Ex. 22. The samesequence
of 'augmentedtriads' unfoldsat both pitch levels: C40, C43, C42. The
scale segmentsarerepresented
following in thetwoexamples:
respectively,
C31,3: C#D/D#E F#G/G#

A#B/B# A (Bb)C
C32,4: D Eb/EF Gb/G

AbBbCb/CDb (Ebb)Fb
Ex. 21: Op. 74,No. 4
?TT I
Io--%
LL!
nl
Ex. 22 Ex.23
r_ A
!
,/J

GEORGE PERLE
In Ex. 23 theapparentnotationalinconsistencies (C#and C on thefirstbeat,

Db and B# on the second) are explainedby theconflict
betweencontrapuntal
and harmonicconsiderations. The outervoicesprogressin contrary
motionto
theiradjacentsemitonalneighbours,thusexpandingtheintervalbetweenthe
boundaryelementsofthescale:
C31,3: B CQ (D#)E F G#A (Bb) C Db
The openingbars and theirstrikinglymodifiedrecapitulationat the close
are shown in Exs 24a and b. In the last phrase the interpolationof a tl
Ex. 24a
lent,vague,ind cis
pochiss.
C C
31,3 30,2 133,3 C30,2 C31,3
@I L
r"al
Ex. 24b
Ad
,
L II -- I- ,. -
-
u'
llW-----------------1-----
C3,3
C31,3 C302
C30,2 C31,3
C3 13 C30,.2
C30,2
C32,4
C2,4 1,~3
C31,3
transpositionof b. 2 and rhythmic

augmentation postponethefinalreturnto
the pitch-classcontentof the initial chord. Linearly unfoldedInterval-3
cycles in the closingprogressionrestorethe basic tonality,C31,3, and the
114 MUSIC ANALYSIS 3:2,1984

ofE in thelastchordrestorestheinitialpitch-class
interpolation collection(Ex.
25).
Ex.25
C33
We mustdistinguishbetweenScriabin'sliteraluse oftheoctatonicscale in
Op. 74, No. 3, andantecedentexampleslikethefirst fourbarsofLiszt'sSonetto
104 del Petrarca,in whichthe same pitch-classcollectionis engenderedin a
tonal contextthroughthe recurrentneighbouring-note juxtapositionof two
diminished7thchords.7But in makingthisdistinction we mustrecognizethat
theexamplefromLiszt represents an important latestagein thedevelopment
towardtheintegral,autonomousexploitation ofcyclicintervalrelationsthatwe
eventually findin Scriabin.On theothersideoftheexamplefromLiszt we find
the intervalcycle partitioning musical space in the chromaticprolongation
techniques ofother nineteenth-century composers.Salzerand Schachtercitean
examplefromSchubertin whichthetonalprolongation unfoldsan Interval-2
cycle,fromChopinin whichitunfoldsan Interval-3cycle,and fromWagnerin
whichit unfoldsan Interval-4cycle.8In themusicofRimsky-Korsakov cyclic
progressions play so extensiveand pervasivea rolethattheytendto replace,
ratherthanprolong,the traditional harmonicfunctionsof the diatonictonal
system. In hismemoirs Rimsky-Korsakov citesLiszt and Glinkaas influencing
hisowndiscovery oftheoctatonicscale:'[In Sadko]Glinka'sscale,descending by
wholenotes,has beenreplacedbyanotherdescendingscale ofsemitone-whole
tone,semitone-whole tone,a scalewhichsubsequently playedan important role
in manyofmycompositions'.9
Nothing so surelydemonstratesSchoenberg'sprofoundand productive
conservativism ('I personallyhateto be calleda revolutionist, whichI am not',
he wrote,in a letterdiscussingtheoriginsof thetwelve-tone system)'0as his
extraordinary extensionof tonal prolongationtechniquesin the Chamber
Symphony,Op. 9, a workin whichcycliccollections- thewhole-tonescale,
augmented triads, series of perfectfourths- are integratedinto the
hierarchicalrelationsof the diatonictonal system.This continueddevelop-
ment,inan increasingly perilousharmonicsituation, ofchromatic prolongation
procedures of the sortdescribed by Salzerand Schachter comesto an end with
thefirstatonalpiecesof 1909.

GEORGE PERLE
Scriabin'sparallelevolution,ontheotherhand,leadshimnotinto'atonality',
butratherintoa newkindof'tonality'inwhichsymmetrical ofthe
partitionings
semitonalscale by means of intervalcyclesgeneratenew, totallyconsistent,
referential harmonicstructures. Whatevercannotbe integrated intothesystem
of cyclicrelationsthatdefinesthe pitchmaterialof a givenpiece is simply
eliminated.Scriabin'scompositionalexploitationof these new hierarchical
relationsand newreferential harmonicstructures sometimestendsto be literal
and mechanistic.Therearepassagesthatarehardlymorethanroutinedemon-
strationsof the pitch-classinvariancemaintainedundersuccessivet3 trans-
positionsoftheoctatonicscale.It is almostas thoughhe wereso intoxicated with
theexcitement ofhisdiscoveryofa newtonalsystemthathe sometimesforgot
thatto composemeanssomethingmorethantheliteralsurfacerestatement of
background structural relations.But theFive Preludes show a growing aware-
ness of thelimitations ofhis musicallanguageand an increasingsubtletyand
sophistication inhiscompositional technique.In hiscarefuland sensitiveuse of
'non-harmonic' tonesinPreludesNos 1and2 he confronts theproblemofvoice-
leading in a system thatmakes no distinctionbetween the linearand harmonic
implications of the scale.The intersectionofdifferent
cyclicsystems inPreludes
Nos 4 and 5 enlargestranspositional and formalpossibilities.In PreludeNo. 4
thereis an enormousenrichment oftheharmonicvocabulary.Aboveall,thereis
theextraordinary diversity unityoftheFive Preludesas a group.Thoughall
in
fivemovementsare based on thesameprincipalmasterscale,C31,3,each has,
withinthatbasictonality, itsowndistinctive tonaland harmonicidentity.The
centralmovement,in its simpleand straightforward surfaceunfoldingof the
invariantrelationsinherentin thebasic octatonicscale,has thecharacterofan
axisofsymmetry inthecontextoftheworkas a whole.In sum,theFivePreludes
holdgreatpromiseforwhatScriabinmighthaveachievedin theevolutionofa
comprehensive and coherentpost-diatonic tonalsystem,had deathnotbrought
hisworkto an end,in hisforty-fourth year,so soonaftertheircompletion.
ElsewhereI havestressedtheroleofcyclicintervalstructures intheatonaland
twelve-tone musicof Schoenberg,Bergand Webern,in thestringquartetsof
Bart6k,and in Stravinsky's Le Sacre.11The connectionsbetweenScriabinand
Berg are particularly striking.Ex. 26 fromPreludeNo. 4 is characteristically
Bergian in its simultaneous unfolding ofdifferentcyclicprogressions.We find
numeroussimilarpassagesinBerg'soeuvre,fromthePianoSonata,Op. 1,tothe
ViolinConcertoand thethirdactofLulu.
Ex.26
ALjJ~bb
clf#~t

The same pentachordalpartitioning of the whole-tonescale that plays an

increasingly roleas weprogressfromtheSeventhSonatathroughthe
significant
firstPreludeof Op. 67 to the fifthPreludeof Op. 74 is basic to the musical
languageof Wozzeck.12 The pentachordalwhole-tone collectionplus one 'odd'
notewhichbringsthefirst oftheFive Preludestoa close(Ex. 27) also serves,in
as the closingchord of Wozzeckand as the principal
its t7 transposition,
referential
collectionoftheworkas a whole(Ex. 28).
0p
Ex. 27 Ex. 28
VJT
The famous'mysticchord' of Prometheus givesus the same collectionin its

inversionalform(Ex. 29). Faubion Bowersreportsthaton 27 June1910 'the
Ex. 29
Ai~
newspaperscarriedan announcement thattheMysterium willsoonbe finished

and as Prometheuswas builtfromsixtoneslikethePleiades,theMysterium will
be hitchedto a constellation
ofnine'." SurelywhatScriabinhad in mindwas

GEORGE PERLE
theoctatonicscaleplustheraisedscaledegreethatconvertsa five-note segment

ofthatscaleintoa whole-tone ofnine'givesus the
collection.This 'constellation
'mysticchord'ofPrometheus plus thenormaloctatoniccollection(Ex. 30). The
ofthesame
basicsetofbs 1-12 ofOp. 67 is equivalenttoa tritonetransposition
ofnine'(Ex. 31).
'constellation
Ex. 30
A
lIrPT% U
vw
M
P'1IF
Ex. 31
L -9-
Fm
If cyclicintervalstructures play such an importantrole in the workof so

manydifferent composers,an explanation intermsoftheir'influence'uponone
anotheris surelyinadequate.The intervalcycleis a meansof symmetrically
partitioning, and thus imposingan orderingupon, the functionally undif-
ferentiated pitchclasses of the twelve-tone scale. It is a conceptthatevolves
as wellas through'influences',
'naturally'and 'intuitively', concomitantly with
theweakeningand eventualelimination oftraditional harmonicfunctions and
the replacementof a diatonicscale of unequal degreesby an undifferentiated
semitonalscale. But theintervalcycleis nottheonlymeansof symmetrically
partitioning the tone material.Inversionalcomplementation is another.In
musicbased on a twelve-tone scaleinversionally relatedpitch-classcollections
(Exs 27/28and 29 are so related)are functionally equivalent.But it was only
with Schoenberg'sformulation of the twelve-tonesystemand in the works
immediatelyprecedingthis, beginningin 1920, that the new meaningof
inversionwas axiomatically recognizedin Schoenberg'spractice.(He neverdid
cometo recognizeitas a theorist ofthenewmusic.14) It is, however,implicitly
recognizedin atonalmusic fromthe verybeginning,in the treatment of the
basic cell and in the special role assignedto symmetrical chords- thatis,
chordswhicharetheirownliteralinversion.'5It is largelythroughsuchchords
thatstrictinversionalcomplementation comesto playsucha fundamental role
in the music of Bart6k.'6 At the time of his death Scriabinhad not yet
discoveredthe meaningof inversionalcomplementation fora post-diatonic
tonalsystem,butitseemslikelythathe wouldsoon have done so, in viewofthe
- -
symmetrical thatis, self-invertible pitch-class structures whichprovide
thepitchmaterialofhislate music. In he
fact, frequently exploitsthesymmetry
the
of precompositional pitch structures as a basisfor inversional progressions,

as in Ex. 32, in whichthe two upperpartsand thetwolowerpartsconverge

throughtheirsimultaneoustransposition in oppositedirectionsbyan interval,
t3, thatmaintains thepitch-class oftheoctatonicscale.
invariance
Ex. 32: Op. 74,No. 3

1
11
,'
'w l -W i-I w w
#9I
Whathe failsto recognizeis thefact,orat leasttheimplications ofthefact,that

the whole movementmay be literallyinvertedwithoutdepartingfromthe
pitch-classcontentofthesameoctatonicscale,simplybysubstituting foreach
note of the scale its symmetrical complement,a substitutionthatmay be
realizedat fourdifferent levels(Ex. 33).17 The composerofthe
transpositional
Five Preludesmustsurelyhave been well on theroad to thediscoveryof the
meaningofinversional equivalence.
Ex. 33
Sum7 Sum10 Sum1 Sum4
Would Scriabin'sexperiencein a post-diatonicmusicallanguagealso have

led him,as Schoenberg'seventuallydid, to theconceptofa precompositional
structureembracingthetotalityofpitchclasses- thetwelve-tone set?Prelude
No. 4 suggeststhathe mayhave been movingin thisdirection.Some of the
sketchesfor his projected,but never realized, 'PrefatoryAction', which
Scriabinoriginally
conceivedas a prologuetowhatwas intendedto be his,and
mankind's,ultimateaestheticexperience,the 'Mysterium',provide more
directevidence.'" (Preludes Nos 1, 2 and 4 appear to be spin-offsof the

GEORGE PERLE
projectedwork,sincefragments ofthemappearamongthesketches.)On p. 24
we finda verticalstatementof the twelvepitchclasses (Ex. 34), derivedby
strikingout octaveduplicationsin a 16-notechord(Ex. 35) consistingoffour
'major7th'chordsat successivet3transpositions(pp. 6, 12 and 19):19
Ex. 34 Ex. 35
| t1
-00
ofthetwelvepitchclasses(Ex. 36),
On p. 14 thereis anotherverticalstatement
setdevisedby Bergsomefifteen
one thatis exactlyanalogousto a twelve-tone
yearslaterfor his operaLulu. Reading upwardfromthelowestnotewe findan
octatoniccollectionpartitionedintotwo 'French6th' chordsplus the 'dimin-
ished7th'chordthatis notcomprisedin thatcollection:
Ex. 36
A5. "
9s
A =
WhatI call 'Trope III' in Lulu (Ex. 37) comprisesa basic cellthatcorresponds
tothe'French6th'inthatitalso consistsoftwotritones,20 thesamecellatthet9
-
(or t3) transposition the two together givetheoctatonic collection- and the
'diminished7th'chordrequiredto completethetwelve-tone aggregate.

Ex. 37
A t i~
~) r
The messianicobsessionsof Scriabin'slastyearshave tendedto raisesome

questionas towhathe mightstillhaveaccomplished.It mighthavebeena great
deal,in spiteofhisquirksand delusions.It seemslikelythatsignificant
stepsin
the evolutionof an autonomousand coherenttwelve-tone tonalsystemwere
longdelayedbecauseofhisearlydeath.
NOTES
1. ArnoldSchoenberg,StyleandIdea (London: Faber, 1975),p. 227.
2. FaubionBowers,TheNew Scriabin(New York: St Martin'sPress,1973),p. 129.
3. The consequentcompositionalimplicationsare discussed in my book, Serial
Composition andAtonality (Berkeley:University ofCalifornia,1981,fifth
edition),
pp. 41-3.
4. The octatonicscales are named in Ex. 8 accordingto the terminology forthe
identification
ofintervalcyclesproposedinmybook,VolumeTwo ofTheOperasof
Alban Berg (Berkeley:Universityof California,1984), pp. 199f.The letter'C'
followedbyan interval-class numberidentifies thecycle;a subscriptidentifies
the
transpositionallevelofthespecificcycliccollectionbythepitch-classnumber(0 for
C, 1 forC#,etc.) of one of its elements.Thus 'C30' designatesthe 'diminished
7th'chordthatcontainspitch-classC, 'C31' designatestheone thatcontainspitch-
class C4, and 'C30,1'designatesthe octatonicscale thatcontainsboth. The last
may also be representedas 'C31,3' since the same 'diminished7th' chord that
containsC also containsEb. I have preferred to showa difference ofa wholestep
ratherthan a semitonebetweenthe pitch-classnumbersbecause this seems to
correspondto Scriabin's usual conceptionof the relationbetween the cyclic
componentsofthescale.
5. The durationaltermindicatestheportionofthebarcomprisedin thecitation.
6. The RomanianmusicologistAdrianRatiu,in 'Sistemularmonical lui Skriabin',
Muzica, Vol. 22, Februaryand March, 1972, also describesthe F in b. 13 as an
anticipationof the second octatonic scale; see Roy James Guenther,'An
Examinationof AnalyticalApproachesto HarmonicOrganizationin the Late
Piano Works of AlexanderScriabin',M.A. diss., The Catholic Universityof
America,1974,pp. 123-4.
7. See Paul Lanskyand GeorgePerle, 'Atonality',in TheNew GroveDictionary of
MusicandMusicians(London: Macmillan,1980).
8. Felix Salzer and Carl Schachter,Counterpoint in Composition(New York:
McGraw-Hill,1969),pp. 215-19.
9. N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, MyMusicalLife(New York: Tudor, 1936),pp. 71-2.
10. In Nicolas Slonimsky,MusicSince 1900 (New York: Coleman-Ross,1949,third
edition),pp. 680-1.
11. Perle,op. cit.,pp. vii-ix,15, 38-9, 49-50, 121 (n.6); 'Berg'sMasterArrayofthe
IntervalCycles', TheMusicalQuarterly, Vol. 63, No. 1, January1977,pp. 1-30;

GEORGE PERLE
Twelve-tone Tonality(Berkeley:Universityof California,1977), pp. 11, 76-9,

162-72; TheOperasofAlbanBerg,Vol. 1: Wozzeck,pp. 153, 155-64,and vol. 2:
Lulu, pp. 161-6(Berkeley:University ofCalifornia,1980and 84).
12. Perle,SerialComposition andAtonality, pp. 38-9; TheOperasofAlbanBerg,Vol. 1,
pp. 155-8.
13. FaubionBowers,Scriabin,Vol. 2 (Tokyo: KodanshaInternational, 1969),p. 215.
14. See Perle,reviewofSchoenberg, StyleandIdea, inMQ, Vol. 62, No. 3, July1976,
pp. 435-41.
15. Perle,SerialComposition andAtonality, Chapter2, passim.
16. See Elliott Antokoletz,The Music of Bjla Bart6k (Berkeley: Universityof
California,1984).
17. The giveninversionalrelationis identified by its 'sum of complementation', the
fixedsum, mod. 12, of complementary pitch-class numbers. See Perle, 'Berg's
MasterArray',p. 7; and Twelve-tone Tonality,p. 2.
18. See the briefbut importantarticleon the sketchesby ManfredKelkel, 'Les
esquissesmusicalesde L'Acte Pr alable de Scriabine',RevuedeMusicologie, Vol.
57, 1971,pp. 40-8. I am indebted to Faubion Bowers forbringing thesketches of
the'Prefatory Action'tomyattention and forhisgenerousloan ofhisowncopy.
19. The bracketsin Exs 35 and 36 aremyownaddition.Each setofalternatenotesin
Ex. 35 unfoldsan octatoniccollection.This interpretation is impliedon p. 12,
wherewe findEx. 35, in an enharmonically equivalentspelling,followedby a
second chord comprisingits alternateelementsspelled as a series of 5ths:
Db(b), Abb, Bb, F#, C#, Gx, Dx. That the containmentof all twelve
E,,the 12-notechordof Ex. 34 is not coincidentalis confirmed
pitchclasses in by
Scriabin'sannotation,'12', below the chord. It is followedby a second chord
whichis evidently conceivedas itsresolution, a 12-notechordofeightpitchclasses
(notthe'octatoniccollection',however).
20. This basic cell, the chiefmotiveand pitch-classstructure of theopera,was also
well-known toWebernand Bart6k.See Perle,SerialComposition andAtonality,5th
ed., pp. vii-ix,and Twelve-tone Tonality, pp. 11-2 and 166-7.
122 MUSICANALYSIS3:2, 1984


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Scriabin's Self-Analyses

Author(s): George Perle

This content downloaded from 128.195.66.4 on Thu, 24 Apr 2014 13:22:39 PM

Whatauthority does a composerhaveas analystofhisownmusic?This is nota

MUSIC ANALYSIS 3:2, 1984 101

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Schoenberg,and almostat the same time,a diatonicscale of functionally

Ex. 1 Ex. 2 Ex. 3

The revised spelling, unlike our example from Beethoven, implies no

Since thisscale consistsof two 'diminished7th' chords,the same pitch-class

102 MUSIC ANALYSIS 3:2, 1984

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the same spelling,regardlessof transposition

Ex. 1 is basedon thesamescale.The successivet3statementsofthischord,if

But anotherkind of notationalconsistency is represented

are all derivablefromthesameoctatoniccollection,as demonstrated in Ex. 6,3

MUSIC ANALYSIS 3:2, 1984 103

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are identicalin pitch-classcontent,thereare onlythreeindependentoctatonic

The tonalvocabularyis stillfrustratingly however,fora musical

This content downloaded from 128.195.66.4 on Thu, 24 Apr 2014 13:22:39 PM

Thatthisis theprimary, thoughnotthesolefunction ofthesemitonalinflection

fres pur, avec une profondedouceur

Each oftheFive Preludesis also based on theoctatonicsystem.No. 3 is an

MUSICANALYSIS3:2, 1984 105

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Ex. 11: Op. 74, No. 1

traditionalharmony, and bothareinstancesofthesamepitchclass,D. The first

106 MUSIC ANALYSIS 3:2, 1984

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secondloweroctavedisplacement,finallytakesits place in thelastchordas a

PARTONE, SECTION ONE

PARTTWO, SECTION ONE

PARTTWO, SECTION TWO

Scriabin'sown bar linesand rhythmic groupingswithineach bar providean

MUSIC ANALYSIS 3:2, 1984 107

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commencing at theoriginalpitchleveland shifting aftertwobarstothetritone.

Ex. 13:Op. 74,No. 5

irrl' .mDO 6m-,6"

pointinb. 4 theseventhdegreeis restoredtoits

108 MUSIC ANALYSIS 3:2, 1984

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contrasting episode,bs 5-8, basedon theunalteredformofmasterscaleC31,3.

The onlynotethatis not a componentof theC31,3 octatonicscale in thefirst

MUSIC ANALYSIS 3:2,1984 109

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The C31,3octatonicscaleis maintainedfortheremainder ofthemovement, but

Ex. 15:Op. 67,No. 1

of bs 13-14 (bs 17-18) effectsthe returnfromC32,4 to

110 MUSIC ANALYSIS 3:2, 1984

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bizarreand eccentricto an extreme,withitsspellingofa three-notesemitonal

Ex. 18: Op. 74, No. 2

But here again we discoverthatthe composeris applyingconsistentrules

A#B#C#D#E e#F#G A Bb C (Db) Eb

MUSIC ANALYSIS 3:2, 1984 111

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In PreludeNo. 5 theinfiltration ofa non-octatonic elementis exploitedforits

C31,3:A B/B C D/D#E F/F G/G#A Bb/BC Db Ebb/Eb Bbb

112 MUSIC ANALYSIS 3:2, 1984

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In the totalityof theirvariantformsall threeoctatonicscales sharethefour