James Tenney - The Chronological Development of Carl Ruggles' Melodic Style

The Chronological Development of Carl Ruggles' Melodic Style
Author(s): James Tenney

Reviewed work(s):
Source: Perspectives of New Music, Vol. 16, No. 1 (Autumn - Winter, 1977), pp. 36-69
Published by: Perspectives of New Music
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/832848 .
Accessed: 21/12/2011 16:03
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.
Perspectives of New Music is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Perspectives
of New Music.
http://www.jstor.org
THE CHRONOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT
OF CARL RUGGLES' MELODIC STYLE
JAMES TENNEY
lk4Lr
The music of Carl Ruggles has recently become a subject of theoret-
ical interest again, after a long period of neglect. In particular,
Steven E. Gilbert has pointed out certain features of Ruggles' later
works which are amenable to "trichordal" analysis.' In this paper I
shall report the results of some statistical analyses of Ruggles' melodic
lines, carried out with the aid of a computer.
Certain aspects of Ruggles' music-the general shape of the lines,
the ever-present dissonant sonorities-are so consistent throughout all
of his pieces that one can easily get an impression of singular stylistic
homogeneity-as though there were no significant changes or develop-
ments in style from 1919 (Toys) through 1944 (Organum). My re-
sults suggest just the opposite conclusion-at least with respect to his
melodic writing-and lend support to a statement he made in a letter
to Henry Cowell in January 1926:
More and more I'm gaining that complete command of line which,
to me, is the basis of all music. There is absolutely no comparison be-
tween that which I've done [and] that which I'm doing now. 2
Significant changes in Ruggles' melodic style are manifested in my

statistical results in three ways: ( 1 ) a gradual shift in the distribution
of melodic-interval frequencies; (2) a more and more effective avoid-
1 Steven E. Gilbert "The 'Twelve-Tone
System' of Carl Ruggles: A Study of
the Evocations for Piano", Journal of Music Theory, Vol. 14, 1 (1970), pp. 68-
91; "Carl Ruggles (1876-1971): An Appreciation", Perspectives of New Music,
Vol. 11, No. 1 (1972), pp. 224-232; "An Introduction to Trichordal Analysis",
Journal of Music Theory, Vol. 18, 2 (1974), pp. 338-362.
2 John Kirkpatrick, "The Evolution of Carl Ruggles", Perspectives of New Music,
Vol. 6, No. 2 (1968), pp. 146-166.
CARL RUGGLES' MELODIC STYLE 37
ance of early pitch-class recurrences; and (3) an increase in the fre-

quency and proximity of dissonant relations within his melodic lines.3
Interval frequencies
Tables and graphs of interval-frequency distributions for each piece
and for certain groups of pieces are shown in Figures 1 through 23;
in Figures 24 through 25 the relative frequencies of various intervals
and interval-sets are shown, as a function of their chronological se-
quence (see pp. 43-67). For these latter, the information has been
grouped into six data-points, as follows: (1) the period 1919-23
(which includes Toys, Angels, and the three movements of Vox Cla-
mans in Deserto); (2) Men and Mountains ("Men", "Lilacs",
"Marching Mountains", 1924); (3) Portals (1925); (4) Sun Treader
(1931 ); 4 (5) Evocations I-IV ( 193 7-43 ); and (6) Organum ( 1944).
From these graphs we can get a very clear picture of certain develop-
mental aspects of Ruggles' melodic style. First of all, there is a decisive
trend from a relatively diatonic to a highly chromatic idiom, shown
by the increased use of minor 2nds and major 7th, and a correspond-
ing decrease in the use of major 2nds and minor 7ths. In addition,
there is a significant increase in the frequency of tritones, and (to a
lesser extent) perfect 4ths and 5ths, with a decrease in the frequency
of minor 3rds, major 3rds, and major 6ths-all of which suggest a
progressive elimination of triadic/tonal implications.
In many ways (note especially the graphs for minor 2nds, tritones,
major 2nds, minor 3rds, and major 7ths in Figure 24) there is a radi-
cal change between Portals (1925) and Sun Treader (1931)-and it
was during just this period that Ruggles made the statement to Cowell
quoted earlier. By the same token-according to the same criteria-
his last completed work, Organum (1944), marks a return to some of
the conditions characteristic of the earlier works (see these same in-
terval-plots, Figure 24, and also the superimposed graph for Organum
vs. earlier groups of pieces, Figure 21). In a sense, of course, Portals
is a transitional work, between two fairly distinct style-periods. Whether
3 Note: "dissonant relations" will be used here to mean, exclusively, the rela-
tions of the minor 2nd, major 7th, and minor 9th.
4,Note: partly because of the complexly contrapuntal nature of certain parts of
Sun Treader, and partly because whole long sections of the piece are nearly iden-
tical to earlier sections, I have used only the first half (bars 1 through 118) for
input data. I am convinced, however, that this will in no way lessen the signifi-
cance-or even the effective "accuracy"-of my results.
38 PERSPECTIVES OF NEW MUSIC
it should be considered the last of the early works or the first of the
later works would depend on many factors not considered here, but
the superimposed plot (Figure 22) of interval-frequency distributions
for Portals, the pieces preceding Portals (i.e., 1919-24), and those
following it (1931-44), clearly suggests that it belongs to the early
group, at least in terms of melodic-interval statistics.
Figure 23 shows superimposed plots of interval-frequency distribu-
tions for the early vs. the later periods, and here the trends mentioned
above can be seen quite clearly-the increase in the use of minor 2nds,
tritones, 4ths, 5ths, and major 7ths, and the decrease in the frequencies
of most of the other intervals-especially major 2nds, minor and ma-
jor 3rds, major 6ths, and minor 7ths. The interval-frequency distribu-
tion for all of Ruggles' pieces together is shown in Figure 20. As in the
plots for individual pieces, these are graphed in two ways, one distin-
guishing between ascending and descending forms of each interval,
the other combining these into one plot of "absolute intervals". It is
of interest to note that there are rather significant differences between
ascending and descending interval frequencies for certain intervals-
most importantly, I think, perfect 4ths and 5ths. What this plot tells
us about these two intervals is that ascending 4ths (and descending
5ths) occur much less often in Ruggles' work than descending 4ths
(and ascending 5ths). In the first case, descending 4ths are used 1.75
times as often as ascending 4ths. In the other, ascending 5ths occur
2.17 times as often as descending 5ths. This discrepancy is found in
most of the individual pieces, too (though there are some exceptions
-most notably Organum), as well as in the overall statistics, and
seems to constitute an important tendency in Ruggles' melodic writing.
An explanation of the discrepancy suggests itself immediately. Both
the ascending 4th and (even more) the descending 5th can easily
imply or evoke a V-I cadential sense, "rooting" the melodic line (har-
monically) at the second tone and thus obstructing the ongoing mo-
mentum of the line.
Another sort of asymmetry between ascending and descending in-
terval frequencies can be seen in Figure 25. The smaller intervals (up
to and including the tritone) occur most often in descending form,
while intervals larger than the tritone tend to occur most frequently in
ascending form.5 The shape of the larger melodic gestures implied by
5 Note: The differences between 4ths and 5ths in this
respect, mentioned above,
might be merely a special case of this more general condition, but I believe the
harmonic consideration I have suggested to explain it is, at the very least, an im-
portant contributing factor.
this asymmetry is one involving a faster ascent, and a slower descent,
thus: . I have no way of knowing whether

this is a distinctive feature of Ruggles' style, or whether it is, in fact,
typical of other styles as well (though I suspect it is). In any case, it
might be an interesting line of investigation for someone involved in
comparative studies of musical style.
Pitch-class repetition and dissonant relations
Ruggles' intention to avoid early pitch-class recurrences in his me-

lodic lines has often been mentioned. In New Musical Resources6 (first
published in 1930), Henry Cowell described Ruggles' procedure as
follows:
Carl Ruggles has developed a process for himself in writing melodies
for polyphonic purposes which embodies a new principle ... He finds
that if the same note is repeated in a melody before enough notes
have intervened to remove the impression of the original note, there
is a sense of tautology, because the melody should have proceeded to
a fresh note instead of to a note already in the consciousness of the
listener. Therefore Ruggles writes at least seven or eight different
notes in a melody before allowing himself to repeat the same note,
even in the octave.
And in 1932, Charles Seeger wrote:
The determining feature or principle of the melodic line is that of
non-repetition of tone (either the same tone or any octave of it) until
the tenth progression.This applies rigidly to the leading melody and
characterizes the other parts to a surprisingextent, though in Portals
many repeated notes may be found at the fourth, fifth, and sixth
progression.... Reiteration (immediate repetition) is occasionally ef-
fective, but only occasionally. The repetition of tones resulting from
reiteration of phrase (as in the 6th and 7th measures of Portals and
again in the 9th and 10th) constitutes, I believe, almost the only
exception to the principle.7
The similarity of this "principle" to analogous procedures in the works
of Schoenberg, Berg, and Webern is obvious, but it is important to
6 Henry Cowell, New Musical Resources, (2nd edition), Something Else Press,
(1969), pp. 41-42.
7 Charles Seeger, "Carl Ruggles", The Musical Quarterly, Vol.
XVIII, No. 4
(1932), pp. 578-592.
note that there may have been a slightly different reason for it in Rug-
gles' case. Schoenberg has written:
The construction of a basic set of twelve tones derives from the in-
tention to postpone the repetition of every tone as long as possible.
I have stated in my Harmonielehre that the emphasis given to a tone
by a premature repetition is capable of heightening it to the rank of
a tonic.... It seemed in the first stages immensely important to avoid
a similarity with tonality.8
Although Ruggles undoubtedly shared this desire to avoid giving any

pitch "the rank of a tonic", this was not his only reason, or even his
main one. I believe that what he was primarily concerned with was
freshness-newness, maximal variety of pitch-content-and the sus-
taining of a high degree of atonal or atonical (but nevertheless har-
monic) tension. As Seeger observed:
The harmonic variety, added to the extreme floridity of the melodic
and contrapuntal fabric, gives one a feeling of having heard a great
deal in a very short time.9
This is reminiscent of Schoenberg's remarks about Webern's brevity,
and perhaps tells us something about the brevity of most of Ruggles'
pieces, as well as their small number in his total oeuvre.
The fact that it was Ruggles' intention to postpone pitch-class repe-
titions as long as possible (whether this be after "seven or eight dif-
ferent notes", as Cowell wrote, or "until the tenth progression", as
Seeger described it) is thus well documented. To my knowledge, how-
ever, no systematic effort has yet been made to determine precisely to
what extent this intention was actually realized in the finished works.
In order to investigate this aspect of Ruggles' melodic style, the com-
puter program kept a running count of "Lengths of Strings of Dif-
ferent Pitch-classes" ("LSDP"), and computed overall averages
("ALSD") of these string-lengths for the primary melodic line in each
of Ruggles' pieces. In Toys and Vox Clamans in Deserto the "primary
melodic line" was simply the voice part. In the other pieces it was
generally taken to be the highest part, although secondary, contrapun-
tal parts were sometimes included when there was a temporary cessa-
tion of activity in the upper part. Immediately repeated pitches (or, as
8 Arnold Schoenberg, "Composition with Twelve Tones

(2)", Style and Idea,
(2nd edition), St. Martin's Press (1975), p. 246.
9 Charles Seeger, op. cit. p. 588.
Seeger refers to them, "reiterated tones") were treated as a single

occurrence of that pitch.
In addition to his tendency to avoid early pitch-class recurrences,
there is another characteristic of Ruggles' melodic writing which has
not been dealt with in the analytical literature. I referred to this earlier
as "the frequency and proximity of dissonant relations within his me-
lodic lines". That is, even in the absence of such interval-relations be-
tween consecutive pitches, some such relation will generally be found
between each new pitch and one of the several immediately preceding
pitches. To provide information on this feature, the program was de-
signed to keep a running count of "Lengths of Strings of Consonant
Intervals" ("LSCI"), and to compute overall averages of these
("ALSC") for each piece.
In order to clarify the nature of the statistical measures involved
here, let us consider the following example-the first long phrase in
Portals. The twenty-four consecutive pitches in this initial phrase are
shown in Figure 26. The numbers immediately above the staff
("LSDP") show the lengths of strings of different pitch-classes pre-
ceding (and including) each element in the line. The numbers imme-
diately below the staff ("LSCI") indicate the lengths of strings of
pitches preceding each element which are consonant with respect to
that element ("consonant" being defined here as any interval except
the minor 2nd and its derivatives). Consider, for example, the D (ele-
ment #12) which marks the high-point and approximate mid-point
of the phrase. The value of LSDP is 9, meaning that this D is the
ninth element in a string, all of whose pitch-classes are different. The
value for LSCI is 2, meaning that this D is preceded by only two
pitches in consonant relation to it, the third preceding pitch-the Eb,
of element #9-being in a dissonant relation to it. Note the sudden
change in both values at element #13-the Bb immediately following
this high D. The value of LSDP drops from 9 to 3, while that of LSCI
jumps from 2 to 8. I now suggest that these two measures, averaged
over the total length of each piece, can provide useful indices of an
important aspect of Ruggles' melodic style-its "atonal chromaticism"
-a part, at least, of what Gilbert calls Ruggles' "twelve-tone system".
Other measures are certainly conceivable, but these-especially ALSD
-are particularly significant in Ruggles' case, because they relate so
closely to his declared intentions.
The values for ALSD and ALSC are shown graphically in Figure
27, and it will be seen that there is a nearly perfect correlation be-
tween ALSD and the chronological sequence in which Ruggles' pieces

were written.10 The correlation between chronological sequence and
LSCI is only a little less perfect, reaching its lowest point with Sun
Treader, and then increasing again (though only slightly) in the later
works. Consider for a moment what is meant by the incredibly high
values for ALSD reached in Sun Treader, the Evocations, and Or-
ganum. It is, in each case, almost 9, which means that at every mo-
ment in the process of composing these melodic lines there were only
four pitch-classes remaining to choose from for the next tone-and
not even all of these four would necessarily satisfy certain other con-
ditions, such as the desire for dissonant relations in close proximity.
Very severe constraints indeed, for a music which sounds so free!
At this point I almost feel compelled to apologize for using statistics
in a study of Carl Ruggles' music-or at least to make some effort to
justify it. Carl was a friend and mentor to me, early in my own mu-
sical life, and I know well the disdain he had for theoretical constructs
detached from the expressive, intuitive core of the musical process.
And yet, as Charles Seeger says so perceptively "in memoriam",
[although] Carl was no theorist... he admired it in others, especially

when they worsted him in argument or brought some point to sup-
port his contention."1
I would like to think that the statistical results reported here may in-
deed support his "contention", quoted earlier-
More and more I'm gaining that complete command of line which,
to me, is the basis of all music...
10 The points marked x in Figure 27-and the numbers in parentheses following

the value for ALSD in the tables at the top of Figures 1-18-are values attained
when the "phrase-reiterations" Seeger refers to are deleted from the input data.
ALSD naturally increases somewhat when this is done, but the general trends in
Ruggles' melodic style are well represented even without these deletions.
11 Charles Seeger, "In Memoriam: Carl Ruggles (1876-1971)", Perspectives
of New Music, Vol. 10, No. 1 (1972), pp. 171-174.
* A
10 d
^
N
(46
S
n NS N3 ,0
('4
00
Z10 N
0: .1
1* Ci
t< C-
0r
N 0 d N
sC, -0
(I
-4
N
0
o,0
o
,.Q
C<\ 0
0
(Y
:s
14~ 0*-
b1
? .4
Gn
o0 a:s* o
& *
N ^-t o bQ ?$*t la
?
I s .e I
<0
ON cr
0
o< A
i t- w
I
I110
c*-
It-
4' I
I o
-
lcz
?
o <5
-
IN
N
i 0' tl
o
5^
!
10
0cU
o0
C((
I
\*-
N
4-
I
VI i
N :5
0~ 0
0
10
a
1)
<
0-
lc
k:; -*$
U'
S Q a, dt K oo
c4 ep
A
0
A
<? <I
0 6 TS
o
(M
I
-o
0-
0-
ele
'(ZS
'4,
0-
i-
C--
Qc> 6 c'4
C-)
1-
to 0
to
0-
11) 0
! p- Ot (<)
0
S-o
1
q~
0 4J- II3- 4C)
"0
C)
'$4
m 0
0C)
00 0
e I t
?< As *A o la
.19 0-t '4,

I u
liz
i 0l- -0
r-
q -(:l 0- (,)
A
I 'S % 5-
14 10
0
0 1$
:3- %0
IV .cl
a?,
1 (U
1 kA
\S -
C)
IC .c
ot
bo
6?
1 10 6 c ? 11 cu
(CI 11
I 0 ti I X a 0
ON.
ic
Er(
t,
0( '4
0
*)
i *)
II4-
r-.
vz +4
"ga: X4 0J,~ - a 0 *. %
CARL RUGGLES5 MELODIC STYLE 45
cs ON
0-
C C
CAr
\9
0-
fL
C\
CM
-Cc
0)
0-
0-
"(i
0
4K; CA
0-
CL v
4K
o
O (I
-
0-~ tJ
((
0(
0"
x
_ o-
Za
'5
1-
oQ
0 .-
o
I0t .^
N LA
A
._
e o Ns
^? Y
be* 0
ua)
'4-
^ ^ r
0i ai
0
- a r~ o
N9
Y\\
IZ- V "'- Cr
'4- (^
Nz,
^ 0-
en
'4
<Z
._L
^J co bo
_^
^ts
'1-
'
w& - ; a to i
o-
N
"r\ -I O'I
s0
0.
0'C
0"
_ CS
z
o
ov _IQ c4
CM
0:
.S
'4. 0,
N
o cS
:0- '4-
0
a
C3
0o
a)
! Xo
<4
o
0
'
0
O
W5 I 4o
._
'0
<z *.
$2 ~ ~ 2 0'a L ~j QL o
!- _ N Q
ei
CA
P ao 4)
^~ <> _4
'9- ._
^
kI q ^.
I
o
^
N O
I ^- U
?\ (^ I\
f 3 ')
6-4
ip Z^ 0-?Z - 0
I'.
? A?
M^
N -
*o4
-J -
bo
c)
M. ll
&0 & IQ - t S! co
w -
0-
4.)
? - $
to
..
SM
I3
oN o- b0
I-
o
N C4
N 0-
o-
.b . c rt
'A
0'%
0-
'ii li<
1A
14
3
VN If) 0
"C
C4
o
N.
L)
o N 0
V (
1
N
' 10I N .
^t_ ^ , N
192
u
a
^K 11 .-
0-
m$
*^
0- . ,
-"a 4l-
N
i -1 %r)
'I)
E -c- o s.% S c- o
0
,s t
c\
t^
c-S
_z _
-
1%
-
,N ss
o 04
o' 0-
Ct
C",
VO
C-
0
I '
0 :I
sl o
3~ o
0
o-
ci t-I
C
":
c- o
0
L N
> e NyCNaX
s t~~~~^ %o ,~ -t O C
ln
In ce
._
.S E:
VQ Ic;
0- -I I<o
.C
Q
k
0 0
A6 =
a -0
Cd
1)
o0 ? Gd
O- C
-sT o-
o, \? I
N^ s *o 8'. " Cr
3
0
oj UN)
o
6
<D< 9
.'
<^^
?^ ) GD
.
^^
t)
?^
0 :
9.
,
0
s-e it SN ? cl o
00 N
e0
0r
:5 o '0'
04
'- r'-
0 I-n
0'
0- 0 Cs
9 0
00 N5 00 cM
o
ct
,-
6.
Nc 00
o o-
co
e4
er
btO
o-
o O o ?o
s
sM-
'Ii
r-
'-S 7TN 3,
, i
' IVa
0:
1 --6
39
S
PO N 1a It '
~ a cb
N r.. X v" -,
-,- 1 co
..
ct
CfZ
-
-.
V)
V"~
Il
I0
F4
sLb- N o S -i o
N _
?y '~'- -
F CQ (S
^.s e
:r-.r
:r- y- . { - o
o
t
3:
t
'D:o?
.g cl 5 Y2 >
cZ >
-
?.
?rr b &so I .i o
N
N O- . s ?
J 1
OD- 0
Sz S 8,5 1 s
/ 0 0
o) *Z Zj
? ^
C- t U t
o~ --__
Ut 1o
A
a
C1)
CO .
.s.
I'
U? cv Qb
C
,' .s
o
0-:z
0
-t_
0l
-It
0 co
C-)-
go (0
1-
CM
N
4
-
(n 0ts
'o
n '4-
(It \i
b o4
w
e.\
u- .2
-C)
90
o t'
'r1 "O
'
,at_4a 0, %& . to
cr
l-- (X
O O
O\ 'N
0 as
*o
z
N
-4
\.0!
IE'
?>
o O
06
1 'o $-
4
c^
( -9
^l-
V-
wi
0
zz
(T tC
aC- C0
cn
A
re
or
cc
V. Q
\3l
0 : 8
0 'I-
(N
0.
Ce4
cc I-
-S 0- CM
- IN
CO- I
kl-
tl c0
1S .S
cf. o-
0 or O o
._
-t * 00 I-
C o
r.! 1-
O C'.
T4
r/
0
oo 0- c.
o
o0
(1
iC (w
-0
c
Is
o9
> 0
0 0:-
I St
id1 Q
I
i!.S
> .64' .N
I C)
r-
g Z f S
(I a,
i CS< o
rI ^
: - 3- ,--
^ a -
a C
I 1
--'
s:sb^ ^
0 -
- ,- U 0s
/ ^. I)
c
I I &<
N)
C0
r? 01 :
c N
i 5-
<oQ
lr
ty
I
ri
S-i $- o - 4 rCy o
A N A
-s NQ WN
'03
o V
S
I= 0-
-S
l
0)
P
0e
N cO
4-
Y) $
06 o,
t9 -4 -2
o N
a
Col
V'N
0
o
"0
4). -2) N
:^
0\
0
b l-I ~ &N ~ s
(U
C0
ti)
1-
Nc cz
'r cr
NS
U
-9.
-I!
U) sL4
4'- S' o CZ
Ci-.
053
--.
0-
|i '.. CO
-
No
a v vr)
0 0 --5
?"'
c/
L
e- 0
C S)
0 C
Fs
r\ "1
Irl
ly
V%
V
CQ 0-
4 N
- 14,
N 3- 0;
r-
-i.
C\ 112
t
N co
o Q
r?
$
A.
9\ a
S.-.
ct to l vl
a
0 a-
N
k>
Zp-.
IN- -o
or\
15 I,
OS
I-
a
0
" 00
t\
0 S N 5--
U
N CY (I Q,
r.
0
Q 4.
0 z
0
10
,r,
I C 0
<;!
C)
I OO
' ' I
d
00 (L)
0
-
d 00
>5-
0, M
<i IJ I$
vl-
I
IO
":Z)
'- 4- t.fZ
co *
ie
u1
o<
o <5
Il
kl?
*A
6 aQ o a& * o
A5
SN N Ah
v6.
c-
N
, C
V-I
is U
'S)
lz3
I'
,.-
o
N; 0
Li)
&- Of)
0-
.1:3
-aQO
b
N\ 0
1-o
Isz
s>
40
o
11;
o
0
oIN3
._
M.
0 U
N
e( o 10-
'-i
A.
rA
0 ._
CM
N
3
o
13I l
(O
11
s
N
- I1i 1r lau
9
N>
d
0a I-
zL
LU "-V -,
o0-
--
0 (U
Lu
N>
(^
Io
t S?S ow
M 4. ^- N
l-
A
N\ oo( Is
.q)
"-
I. t,I
C- a '53
0-
0,.
b-
U)
t0
71:
ce
CN
4-
:'. -?l -"
Q
t.
(I, Is
0c cj
L
."
0IS
0
-3 ._
s Vssn tt d a^ ^St -)
0
0
._
A
r- 6
-0 -co
ri -0
c i
L.) -
- 2: b - C-
a
c)
0- Z Z
O-
.cr
11- ?I- ? 0
r,/
5 ^'- 4 0-
9 ui
1o
O' ;L5
o-
0-
-9
I ^J
I
q-
,)
K.
(^-
1^
j03
c I0
o - N
c eso 3o - * N 'o
(I) Cf A
0-
-0
-o ?o \r\
_'
r- U
.1m 0-
0- <3 '--
I
'D CC
^
a-
N? CS
1s 0: I:t,
0)
to
V
,,
'.C a-
En
(0 0-
b on
asI
I C-3
o
*
(N S
N
A 0
No C-.
C'-- I"
VN
01 N 0
-I-
c-
'C 0
ir
,- ,,
I(t
IV
In -^
I
w
l-_
-
11 <^Zv,
In)
ILI %as
-4
Cr
?o
(. t-. (q
, (14
t- cq
"C N
u3~- e t :f 2 co -. -- C
t^
CO
-4-
e .5 oo
bI
..0
10
t4 1 A %'A s o
0-aNv^
A A
Ci o S Ji
^^?
0 " ' b 0"
_0 =
c' r~ A r o
o > 1
a4 r_
/. a ?a
0
N 0
.~0 C 0
91 1^ ? I\
\ 0 V
^
>
o ra0
h
- q v
Y-
(-
f
"0
d
,>o o ON
- "
c o
I ^ ^^ I
"-
" 'o a N
C C--
~ ~
~~~~~~~c ~ ~ N"
~~~---~~--;-,
6?" -
C .e ? 'C
c ei i l
at se s, ds ~~.-- m c i-
A
s It
)0
WI
I;)
It)*
o
14
n-
cz-f
N
z
0-
"-N
C- <-
-tN
N -C4 0,
?b
IQ^
' - S.'
0 ;3
'- t:s
0)
h
14)
(14
itk
0I..
o?.
C"
-o
N 0
cn
r.
0
:5 'S a0
I d u
S
.0 -0
c'1
S 1-4
0. 7
sP rl Cld
1-
. v
L U) I \ S.'
rc.
0bi
0t-
e4
NA, N
0
c;
i 10
QD
:3!
OD t
bC r 0> Cd
0:
%3 (D.
9
0.1
9
c;I D
4
0
IC)
d
LI
%4
~r). o-c' s
0-
CZ to
fA
,CZ e6?;
0O-_o o~~ _~~_ t"'o
tr^
S b
In
i _OI~~~~~~~~~~~~
iQ~~~~~ > < \
-:s
t N
e~ "- "r _'
+ wI soS.
\O S !s <
l> < c >0 eo
e
V-4< 4
s No
^' 4 $\ '
S - .0
_ *
. o 0
^
T I -
- i
0- v)
^ o (
^d \
'? ^ ^{{ * v}~~~~~

<^
Q- ^
^ ^
s5 .^^
i|~
~ ~~~
si
C^T
~~~
oo ^ ^
Oc
gs^
0 t
Io 9
N
lw\
"10
e- p-
9
-; la3 0
V
'4
fg
a
o- ; -a
4,
4- a'.
c,r Lr\
0)
-4
ri z ao
F.
sS
0- r\
iS 0)
-S o N
N o
-
0 3 u
10 0-
sP~~~kyp~~
N 0A
I,A
A
o .0 t" '&4
cA
"s .?
-G
-.
>- c
3?
0 0
0-
0
0-
o
C.- c- %r
I 1'
Ns CI
I,'
.1
0- -..a
,C
(o
11
'3 0* o
3-0 - r
e 0 -.
s-- o
0-
%
W/U4-lrfirul
uruaI P
32
go
30
-
2f K' OrQqivoK
20 */- /9/3-y
18
1*
lf
lo
6
6
o
0
0 1 2 3 v s f 7 e 9
Figure 21 Melodic-interval frequency-distributions for Organum vs. the p
A
I
_ a-o
"f; *Q
0
CD
0
0*
I
b?
11 11 It
S
\%
N
%.x\
x
\O.- D
-I
9 cu
0
&
-o
bo
CM
CM
._
"Vs CA
t%YtoN o
3;Z 0o'7o/U7eI /4 -7ervq/
V 7e"C)eP1u
'3o
28
/' 19/?-/Izr
- /1ql
/- 19l3/
2.
2f
-?x
I \
I0
10
8
20
0o 2 3 Y 5s 6 7 9?
Figure 23 Melodic-interval frequency-distributions for the early vs. the later

% i
370 -3
8 / ?28
' *I,/\jior 2/n VAjor

222 \322
zo 26
18 1
(6 \
O8 ri-7L-o
Br 8 \
, 6b
*
2 2
o I I I I I
,r minor 3r:s I(
It 1f v'fl
'jor 5rd5
^ ~ ~~12
\. ~ / 12
o I I , 0 I I I I |
/A (z 5
/\ pe<P<^C I
8 9
0 I I I I I I 0
2 a.T2
8 9
2o !.
, I I I I I o I ! r !
10 a
6 mh,6or6r ',+hs
o II I 0
Figure 24 Absolute-interval frequencies as a function of chronological sequence.

CARL RUGGLES5 MELODIC STYLE 67
% sQl(e- /4ev4l/3 ( -frirfL,npe) lqrer jinervqIls (> ritonc)

070
48 o_ 0, 4',
w
90
'Z )2.
25 20
2S
s2;
4'
1
0 OI
8 0---0
--
,~~~~~~~~
4
o a I I I I I I
per&c qfS
IA 10
/ ' a sce nd ir /- qcenJdinq
1 IL
j0 o'- dcscerdind
8 8
6 6
0- - - -?- -? - - -
0 O I I I I I I
l% Mords %
miror .- o
a zo o 2o,-
major
J8
/ o
16 ~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~,"
0~
/S\0
10
8
o
6
0 \ 0
\0...
o I ! I I I I
o I I I I I I
Figure 25 Ascending vs. descending interval frequencies.

Ic I
68 PERSPE CTIVES OF NEW MUSIC
II'
t%
I 1I s
vllr
TV?.
,to
.%.
ts
o
* ..
0
j c,o
I4n
0
--1 {h
w^, bO
t.l. 44A
{ I cn
L.
$N
s
I V",
O"
.,
b
0
<^
-4
,to II
I tn
3
ItZA,
lih
t4
-4
Q
<
-4
0-_
7 AL5P
ALcs
2
9%
II a
? ? I I ?I
0 I II I
0I
t(N II
11
W.TM
0- _-0 0-,
O
Q-- ,
la- XC -..
0
Figure 27 ALSD and ALSC as a function of chronological sequence.

James Tenney - The Chronological Development of Carl Ruggles' Melodic Style

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

James Tenney - The Chronological Development of Carl Ruggles' Melodic Style

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

The Chronological Development of Carl Ruggles' Melodic Style

Author(s): James Tenney

Significant changes in Ruggles' melodic style are manifested in my

ance of early pitch-class recurrences; and (3) an increase in the fre-

this asymmetry is one involving a faster ascent, and a slower descent,

thus: . I have no way of knowing whether

Pitch-class repetition and dissonant relations

Ruggles' intention to avoid early pitch-class recurrences in his me-

Although Ruggles undoubtedly shared this desire to avoid giving any

8 Arnold Schoenberg, "Composition with Twelve Tones

Seeger refers to them, "reiterated tones") were treated as a single

tween ALSD and the chronological sequence in which Ruggles' pieces

[although] Carl was no theorist... he admired it in others, especially

10 The points marked x in Figure 27-and the numbers in parentheses following

.19 0-t '4,

48 PERSPECTIVES OF NEW MUSIC

0 " ' b 0"

e~ "- "r _'

'? ^ ^{{ * v}~~~~~

Figure 23 Melodic-interval frequency-distributions for the early vs. the later

' *I,/\jior 2/n VAjor

Figure 24 Absolute-interval frequencies as a function of chronological sequence.

% sQl(e- /4ev4l/3 ( -frirfL,npe) lqrer jinervqIls (> ritonc)

Figure 25 Ascending vs. descending interval frequencies.

68 PERSPE CTIVES OF NEW MUSIC

Figure 27 ALSD and ALSC as a function of chronological sequence.

You might also like