A Simple Case of Variation

Author(s): Arnold Whittall

Source: The Musical Times, Vol. 108, No. 1490 (Apr., 1967), pp. 320-321
Published by: Musical Times Publications Ltd.
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/953865
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this 'more or less represents.whatthe ageing Moeris words 'Then he began to sing', the introductionto
decidedto sing after all'. Here the musicdistils the the famous passage in the sixth Eclogue which has
very essence of the poem and of Vergil'semotional creationas its theme,'how seeds of earthand air, of
world. In shape it is virtually an extremely free water and fluent fire were brought together and
sonata movement, the haunting melody of the marriedin a vastness of empty space; how every-
opening being encrustedon its returnwith baroque thing began from this, and what were gases con-
embellishments. The music almost seems to be densed to form our globe'. Here the musicalform
suspendedin time and space,creatingan atmosphere and the melodic shape spring directly out of the
of extraordinarystillness within a heroic passion, accentuation of Vergil's lines. The music moves
and is suffusedwith that warm,in a sense resigned, swiftly and excitedly in powerful, incisive strokes,
yet highlychargedlyricismwhichis one of the most building up the cumulative tension through a
persistent characteristicsof Henze's creative per- brilliantrondo to the final ecstatic cry with which
sonality. 'the whole shore was echoing, Hylas, and again
The finale, entitled 'Silenus', begins with the Hylas'.

A Simple Case of Variation

by Arnold Whittall

One of Webern'ssimplestand shortestsingle move- simultaneously,a gradual elimination of these

ments is the second Canon from Opus 16, for differencesby a sharingof characteristics.
clarinetand voice. This was composedin 1924,just Bars 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 begin on a B (t or b)or a G,
before Webern adopted Schoenberg's 12-note and eventuallyrise, usuallyvia a B, to a C? or Db.
method, and it demonstrateswith great clarity the Bars 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 beginon a C# or an A (? or b,
technique of free variation which both led him to enharmonicallyexpressedas G# in bar 10), and all
12-note music and which also enabled him to be except bar 10 fall to or throughan A. The intervals
more free of traditionthan Schoenberghimself. in this basic patternare varietiesof second or third,
The clarinetpart of the Canon is quoted as Ex 1 and the first real evidence of interpenetrationis
-the voice entersin bar two with an inversionat the when the perfect fourth which begins bar 3 is
tritone. In Ex 2 octave displacements,expression echoed at the end of bar 4. The enharmonicequiva-
marks and rhythm have been eliminated. Several lent of these same notes (Ab/Eb: G#/D#) will be
things become clear. First, bars 1 and 2, taken to- stated in bar 11 as evidenceof complete interpene-
gether, form a G minorish motif with a clear rise tration of one 'side' by the other.
and fall. The intervalpattern of bar 1 is basically In bar 5 the interval of a semitone appears for
differentfromthat of bar2, containingno semitones, the first time in an odd-numberedbar. In bar 8 an
but the note C is common to both and is ap- even-numberedbar has the crucialBb which so far
proached and quitted in a similar, though not, of has been peculiarto the odds.
course, identical manner. Ex 2 demonstrates a The climaxcomes with bar 10, which is a sequen-
gradual divergence from this initial polarity, in tial repetition of bar 9, a semitone higher. This
which odd-numbered bars establish one set of means that both bars have a B? moving to C? in
characteristics,even-numberedbars another; and, them. Bar 11 is a close relativeof bar 4, and bar 12

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ir
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320
 summarizesthe whole piece. Apartfrom its obvious
cadentialresemblancesto bar 6, it is an interversion
of the first three notes of bar 8, a transposedin-
version of the first three notes of bar 9, a returnto
the beginning,with its final B, mirroringthe first
note, and a restatementof the basic intervalsof the
piece.
The relative simplicity of the rhythms would
make it fairly easy to speak of a paralleltechnique
of variation,were it not for a considerableelement
of exact repetition. Thus bars 1 and 10arerhythmic-
ally identical, as are bars 3 and 11. There is no
rhythmic interpenetrationto parallel that of the
pitches. All that can be said is that the odd-
numbered bars contain simpler rhythms than the
evens-an example of Webernianirony?
Like much of Webern'smusic, this Canon seems
to have originatedas a meditationon BACH. The
initial eight-notemotif derivesfrom a free combina-
tion of elementsfrom BACH (notes one, three and
MARTIN
DALBY
by
Tim Souster
Martin Dalby was born in Aberdeen in 1942 and
educated at Aberdeen Grammar School. His
musicaleducationbegan in 1957 with threeyears as
a viola player in the National Youth Orchestra;
years which must have helped him to gain insight,
not only into musicin general,but into the detailsof
orchestraltechniqueand the psychologyof players.
In 1960, Dalby won a scholarshipto the Royal
Collegeof Musicwherehe studiedcompositionwith
Herbert Howells and viola with FrederickRiddle.
Dalby's great debt to Howells is particularlynotice-
able in the sphere of word-settingand the keen
awarenessof poetry in generalwhich must go with
it. Riddle impressedhim not only with his playing
but also with his acutely perceptive mind. The
four) the closely relatedform Bt,, A , F#, G (notes
two and eight), with the inversion of BACH pro-
viding an Ab (Ex 3). Whethersuch manipulations
providedthe basic materialof the piece or not, how-
ever, the finishedcomposition demonstratesa type
of serialism-as distinct from 12-note technique-
which permits interval relationships to be free
rather than fixed. In its reliance on enharmonic
equivalentsit is firmly rooted in late 19th-century
chromaticism,but the brevity of the basic motivic
materialexplainsits appealto a composerwho was
anxious to avoid the use of classical and romantic
forms. Of course, such a microscopic technique
would be worthless without an acute aural sensi-
bility, able to transformEx 2 into Ex 1. If Webern
was a serialistbeforehe was a 12-noter,he neverlost
his gift for beautiful melodic writing, which, by
virtue of its freely evolving motivic content, can
accuratelybe describedas thematic.
Music examples quoted by kind permission of Alfred A. Kalmus
Ltd/UniversalEdition
[Photo Radio Times]
emphasisduringDalby's formativeyearswas always
on practical musicianship. Further orchestral
experiencewas gainedfrom playinga tuba whichhe
had originally borrowed from his father. After a
week's experiment he had mastered the basic
manoeuvreswithin the range of one octave, which
just enabled him to begin playing with a military
band. Tuba-playing,both in orchestrasand bands,
has remaineda favouriteoccupation.
While still at the RCM Dalby extended his
knowledgeof instruments,quite by accident, in yet
anotherdirection. Due to some misunderstanding he
found that he was expected to play one of the per-
cussion parts in the Bart6k Sonata for two pianos
and percussion. Five weeks,of whichDalby enjoyed
321