2an2re019 MTO 18.2: Johnston, George Crumb's Black Angels Between Romanticism and Modernism and Postmodernism: George Crumb’s Black Angels Blair Johnston KEYWORDS; quota Hepokorki, Crumb Jn, pastiche, teleological genesis, romanticism, postmodernism, Losada, Bass, Day, ABSTRACT: This article discusses the we of tonal quotation pastiche in George Crum Black Angels (1970) in the context ofan analysis f che entire work. I draw from Losada’s work on postmodernism and collage to understand the organization of the quotation/pastche movements, and I draw fom Bass’s work on Crum to ‘understand the non-ronal pitch structures inthe quartet 26a whole. But I suggest thatthe quartet—an unusual ‘combination of palindromic design and goal-oricted, programmatic activity~also engages the porndigms of Erlisung (Darcy) a lologiesl genesis (Hepokosk’), which suggest a Ink between Black Angels and the romantic symphonic tradition and which provide a context for understanding the role played by the uotation/ pastiche movements inthe work. ciel Moy 282 PDF text | PDF examples Volume 18, Nur 2 ne 2012 Copyright © 2012 Sic fo Msi Tesny [1] Te title ofthis essay is prepostionally reprehensible, but I mean to play on the title ofa recent article by Catherine Losada (2008) in order to highlight a defining feature of George Crumb’s electric string quartet Black Angels (composed in 1970): Crurnb's certain ways to the works Lorada discusses, of musical plot archetype closely associated with nineteenth imagining, in stylistically ecleetie manner that i sila ia century romanticim and the nineteenth-century symphony in particular.) Iwill present Black Angels the against the backdrop of what Warren Darcy has called “the drive toward a metaphysical Elisung” “victory-through-struggle paradigm so important to the nineteenth-century symphony," where an “initially troubled beginning” is ultimately redeemed or, in some cases dramatically fails to be redeemed (Datey 2001, 49-50). And Iwill use this backdrop to get atone ofthe issues posed by Black Angels: how two isolated interior movements featuring tonal quotation/pastiche—~a topic Losada addresses—relate tothe rest of the quart: conceptually and structurally [2] Darcy (2001, 52) reinforces the Evltsung plot by relating ito Hepokoski’s theory of “teleological genesis.” ‘According to Hepokorki, “as an individual compositon’s processes unfold, [the composer] often uses them as through ‘which "a higher or fuller condition” i attained (1993, 26).2) End-oriented integration of ths kind isnot only structural but, as Darcy and Hepokotki present it, somehow “revelatory” (Darcy 200%, 52, after Hepokoski 1993, 26-27). Darcy and Hepokoski are concemed specifically with points late in a work where tonal, a matrix within which something else is engendered, usually a decisive climax or final goal (eles thematic, and forma elements congeal in an expresively postive way, perhaps fr the fist ime in the work. have found that this provides an appealing way to hear Black Angel, and one of my goal in this esy willbe to show thatthe quartet has tls of sorts—witha culminating point where seemingly disparate ideas exposed catly inthe work and recycled in various ways asthe work progress are syathsied (3) This goals itself ily seraighforward, "There is afer all__Example 1. Cramb’s diagram of Black Angel nothing particularly insightfl about my claim that Black Aaglsiavolves an Erlsung/telos-typ pot. Richatd Seinite mtosmt orgisuesimte.12.18.2/mio.12.18.2 johnston himcrum®_1972 ans.2an2re019 MTO 18.2: Johnston, George Crumb's Black Angels (2007-2012) has noted Crumbs “lifelong empathy with PROGRAM the Clasical and Romantic repertory," and he bas wwew suggested that “darkness to light” and "despair to (pe oe mans redemption” paradigms are characteristic ofthe compote’ workin general Crumb (1972) al Blac Angele Vietnam-era “voyage of the soul." and the three main sections ofthe work have programmatic ile that would sectn to make an Erlung/teletype pt explicit, at shown in Frample 1 (taken from Crumb 1971): 1. Departure (Fall from Grace), I. Absence (Spiritual Annihilation, and I Retr (Redemption). And if the tle ofthe fst movement in the third stage (“God-mnusic") docs not suggest Hepokosk's filler o higher condition, it would be Aifficl to imagine a te that would, One gos into the piece ansicipaing is engagement withthe Ero paradigm, and, having Dave's comments in mind one tight even say shat Black Angels as a certain “symphonic” character (elk oes) (4) To suppor: the paradigms and to invoke precurors, Crumb has spread the trappings of “romanticism "is darker pole, at least—thick ehroughout the work, The titles of some movements recall the nightmare scenes ‘common in ninetcemth-century at and literature; others suggest things ancient or lst The grotesque Paganiniana and distorted Dies irc in "Devil-music™ (no. 4) recall the early-romanti Kalan virtuoso hitsel™ long withthe “Devil's til!” of his musical ancestor, Tattini (Crumb 1972), and they aso reall what Longyear (19%, 10) called the "macabre dabolism of Berliog, List and Mahler.” Inthe program's nadir (Absence”), Crumb even quotes a work by Schubert—the slow movement ofthe “Death andthe Maiden” {Quareer—that, by its very nickname, has romantic-eraasocations with death, And consider the Welachmerz that runs through much ofthe quartet: Vietnam-era exhaustion camouflaged a stereotyped nincteeath- century atts worldview. (Thisis a “troubled beginning” indeed) [5] Bur the gulf between the nineteenth century and 1970 is wide, and I do not claim that Crunb has merely refieshed a romantic plot to supply a ready-made skeleton for his allegorical program. Several fctots related +0 Crumb's well-known eclecticism recontextualize Darcy and Hepokoski's paradigm, calling for additional ‘theoretical and analytical perspectives (hence, the other terms in my tite). These factors prompt a second, somewhat less straightforward goal inthis esay: to show how Crumb has transformed—or perhaps I should say filtered the Erlsung/tele paradiga in Black Angel. Iie filtered by an approach to pitch organization that is ooted, as Richard Bas (1991, 1994) has shown, in procedures from estly post-tonal models, which means shat the proceses of synthesis are different technically from those diseussed by Darcy and Hepokoski. Its als and ‘tered by a late-twentcth-century approach to the combination snd recombination of diverse mat compositional methods in a work (including quotation/pastiche), which means tat the teleological “matin” ‘ncompatics wider array of basic clements—the kind of multiple surfaces that Jarnezon (1990) suggest ate a basic feature of postmodern art. And, pthaps most importantly, is approach to large-scale design that coexists and contasts starkly withthe linea teleological narrative ‘expressed by the program. The “rotational form’ that Hepokork and Darcy associate with telalopical genesis ‘sof relatively lite use here. In its place is kind offeed-backward/feed-forward proces that takes place across the quartet's many interconnected movements slated events present structural features apparently ‘out-of context, and late events and materials draw upon those features, clarifying them and sliding our understanding of them in eteospect(fed-backward), while tthe sae ime providing potential conditions forthe more Fly formed structural context ofthe cullsinatng pot (Fed-forward). Musial form in Black lered by a symmetrical, nmerological Angels—an interaction of symmetrical design and goal-oriented activity, and the very interesting temporality that eesults—is rather different than it sin Mahler of Sibelius I. Preliminaties [6] A certain ambivalence is built into the large-scale plan of Black Angels Crumb’s diagram (see Example 1 again) shows thatthe quartet 25a whole has a palindromic form—a “huge arch-Hike design which is suspended ‘rom the three "Threnody’ pigces” (Crumb 1972). The structural “shythm" of such a design clealy differs teleological proces, [Numerical formulas suggest how each movement involves what Crumb (1972) calls the "magical relationships" between the “fateful numbers thirteen movements in symmetrical pars, the seventh movernent a centerpiece") Certain movernents stand ‘out inthis plan, The three Threnody movements mark beginning, midpoint, and end, “Devil-music” (no. 4) from the unidirectional structural thythm ofan Erlécug-oriented program and ofa ste and 13, and the palindrome is similarly numerological: mtosmt orgisuesimte.12.18.2/mio.12.18.2 johnston himcrum®_1972 ans2an2re019 MTO 18.2: Johnston, George Crumb's Black Angels and “God-music” (90 10) ae symmetsial and conceptual opposites, and bisect the spans between the Theenodies.“Pavana Lachrymae” (p06) and “Sarabanda dela Muerte Oscura” (p08), bo! revolve around death, and both of which involve tonal quotation/pastche, fan the midpoint. Asymmetry the number of instruments featured i cach movement supports the formal plindzome. Crusab writes “ut.” “i,” “duo,” of “slo a the begining ofeach movement (om the diagram and on the score), making clear the sequence [4,3,2.1,2,3,4.3,2, 1,2, 3,4] whichis symmetrical asa whole and also in of whose tt aly. [7] Atthe same time, Example t makes it clear up neatly with the quartet's three-stage programmatic plan, “Departure,” “Absence,” and “Return” are ‘unequal and asymmetrical. They have different numbers of movements (five, four, and fous), and the the numerologically determined palindrome dacs not line ‘midpoint of the work as a whole is not infact the midpoint of the second stage. The programmatic content of the symunetrically paired movements isnot itself always symmetrical, The "Bones and Flutes" “Lost Bells” music should rerum in no. 11 and no. 12, respectively, but actually chey return together in no.9 (at the end ofthe second stage rather than inthe third stage) to pave the way into "God-musi.” "Devil- music” occurs in passing within the fist stage ofthe program, but its partner “Godd-musie" marks, a music and the dramatic wa, the beginning of the third stage(° The “Ancient Voices” music near th end has o equivalent cater nthe work, And soon This palindrome tmp. [8] Not shown on the diagram, but apparent in performance, is how the temporal proportions of the symmetrically paired movernents are uneven. The biggest movements in the sccond half of the work ("God ‘musc” and “renody III") are significantly longer than the corresponding movements in the first half of the ‘work ("Devil-music” and “Threnody 1"), and the lesser movements in the second half are compensatingly brief. In the firs stage, at the specified tempos, no movement is shorter than about 45 seconds and none is longer than about 2 minute and a half In the third stage, “God-musie” and “Threnody 11” both last beter shan three minutes in performance (the only other movement ths long is “Threnody Il," the centerpiece), and the other two movements wisps, really—together last les than a minute, In other words, there isa redistribution of formal weight asthe quartet progreses the fist stage Feavues five relatively equal ‘movements, while the third stage is focused on the two substantial movements that bear most of the programmatic weight and that relate to the Erlénng/tlo:paradigan most clearly [b] Steinte (Steinite 2007-2012) has suggested that Crumbs music is “essentially reflective and illustative, static rather than dynamic.” But | find Edward Pearslls observation that opposition and interaction of ‘equilibrium and disequilibriia~stasis end motion —aze central in Crumb's works to be more revealing and mote suggestive for analysis (Persil 2005). The coexistence of two different large-scale stuctural rhythms in Black Angels—one symmetrical (by the numbers, 50 to speak), the other programmatic (against the numbers)— isa casein point. The palindrome is static, balanced atthe center. The voyage of the soul, on the other hand, i active and quite goal-oriented; it is a trajectory. [10] Ie is this juxtaposition of stasis and goal-oriented action that ereates large-scale ambivalence—ot pethaps ‘even bona fide contradiction, as apparently incompatible formal principles ae brought together. Other aspects of musical organization ae similarly heterogencous, Black Angel, like many Crumb works, features 3 ppolystylstc mix of compositional methods, harmonic structures, rhythmic and metric approaches, and ‘extended performance techniques that would appear on the fice of i to have lite in common with the works dliscussed by Darcy and Hepokoski. The quartet would appear instead to have rather more in common with _pre-1950s post-tonal models and—especially inthe two quotation/pastiche movements, whose old-fashioned tonality sticks out in the non-tonal mise en seéne—with the postmodernist collage compositions discussed by Losada (Losada 2009). An analysis of Black Angels must necessarily deal with and even emerge from its eclecticism, [11] Crumb’ debt to early post-tonal composers is clear enough. His works feature a “Webernesque poincillsm” and, with an exaggerated “atmospheric chiaroscuro” (Stentz 2007-2012) a predilection for small, well-defined bythe cells, and, with them, tightly knit motvie and harmonic cell (in an essentially tonal context) that have been well described using pitchclas st theoretic language (Bass 1991) an inclination for syzametricl pitch formations like thor in Bazték, Scriabin, and Debusy (Buss 1991 and 1993) sn interest in unconventional ways of generating musical ori including numerology (ink Piro nse) and idiosyncratic, highly detailed musical notation [12] Without abandoning these post-tonal influences, during the 1960s Crumb embraced style pluralism — «a bringing together of self-consciously diverse materials and methods within a work, The extreme heterogeneity of instrumentation and the emphasis on extended performance techniques in Crumb’s works ‘an seem to redefine what i isto “play” a given instrument, what an instrument's sound-palete is, and even ‘what an instrument's genetic associations are. In Black Angels, the four performers speak, shot, play 2 variety mtosmt orgisuesimte.12.18.2imio.12.18.2 johnston himcrum®_1972 ans2an2re019 MTO 18.2: Johnston, George Crumb's Black Angels cof percussion instruments use thimbles and other objects on their electrically amplified string instruments, and Dow a chorus of tuned wine goblets. (The work isa quartet, to be sure; but one wonders iii really a “string {quarte.”) And the notational eccentricities, exaggerated theatricality, and ritualistic elements in Crumb’s ‘music can blur the boundaries between different media and czeative domains {13] Some of Crumb's works contain patsges of tonal quotation and/or pastiche combined disomy with seliclly distinct, newly composed ms, rising the kindof tractral and conceptual ius that Losada has considered in detail, The quotation of Chopin's op 6 inthe eleventh movement of Makrokomas I (2972) anu the quotation ofthe Dbminoe Fugue fom The Well: Tempered Clavier, Book Ii the fh ection of -Mokroboomo (1974) ate parsicolaly famous, Mos important fr tis xa, of courte, ae the quotation fom Schuber's “Death andthe Maiden” Quartet and the appearance of«Rensistncesraband in the sixth ani eighth movements of Blak Angel Losada's analysis of postnoderit collage compositions by Rochbers Berio, and Zimmermann shows how disparate materials may be related through complementation”: one element or material fills the “significant gaps" in another until a state of “chromatic saturation’ is reached (Losad2 2009, 61-64). Asin twelve-tone works, aggregate completion marks ‘boundaries, and the “ack of ft” between different elements in the dissonant assemblage perhaps paradoxically ‘contributes to continuity and structure.) {14 Iwill draw from Losada (2008 wo explain the pitch organization ofthe quotaton/ pastiche passages in ‘lad Anges Bue the musical contexts in which the passages appear are so unlike the contexts ofthe Rochherg, Brio, and Zimmermann works she analyzes that it is necesary to understand them ina diffrent -way. Following Losade's typology for musical borrowing, Crurab is not engaged in collage here a all, but rather, in something more like her type 4, “quotation froma limited number of sources” (the Schubert overeat) and type 3, “style allusion” (he sarabande movement, in both cases with th addition of dlssonant original music (Loads 2008, 327—28n1).) Lona (2009, 60) points out tha ina tue collage ‘composition, iis difficult or even impossible to say which materials provide the conceptual or structural fame and which are the famed, In Black Angels, there i little doube thatthe quotation/pastiche passages, ‘which representa small minority of material, are framed by Crumb's original music. Hierarchy is quite clear CCrumb’s muse represents the “realty” in relation to which the quotation/pastiche music is heard, This ppethaps simplifies matters aesthetically, but it eaves the question of how to understand the role of| _quotation/ pastiche in Black Angels quite open. It sa question I will return to in part III of the essay afer laying analytical groundwork in pat I TL. Culmination [15] In Black Angels, dramatic eliza and Hepokoskiantelor Example 2, Palindromic form and programmatic sate separate events (and the fl isnot the final word). One fron in Black Angels thang fom the palindromic form; the other emerges from the program. Example 2 shows the noisy climax ia : “Vhrenody IK” a the midpoint ofthe paindeome and aso 3 $ Se {quieter point of culmination (and “return”) in "God Z . ‘musi."°) "God-musc™ certainly stands out in a nomber cof ways. Crumb's performance indications fr the major movements before God-music (90.1, 4, and 7) are "Vibrant, intense!” “In romantic-phantastic style!” and “Fusiously, with great energy!” all wth exclamation points Then, “God-music": “with profound ealm,” and ‘Adagio, a conventional Italian tempo designation. The (ato) performance indication for “Threnody It” is different, 100 "disembodied, incorporea!”—suggesting a change of tone Example 3. Black Angels, “God-music” (no. 10), in the wake ofthe Adagio. As shown in Example 2, “God measures 1-4 ‘music” is the only movement that features a stooth, conventional dynamic curve internally. Other movements, including and especially “Devil-music” (the antipode of “God-music") feature jagged, abrupt juxtapositions of ‘extreme dynamics (between movernents and within ‘moverens) As shown in Example 3, “God-mnusic" has a ‘key signature, It has time signatures and bar-ines, Earlier ‘movements, with the exception of “Sounds of Bones and Flutes” (00.2) and “Danse Macabre” (ao. 8) involve measured time, not metered time. "Timbres ate clear in (cle cg sete ee) mtosmt orgisuesimte.12.18.2/mio.12.18.2 johnston himcrum®_1972 ans2an2re019 MTO 18.2: Johnston, George Crumb's Black Angels God-music and registers are appropriately elevated: bowed crystal glasses accompany 2 legatssimo, treble register cello solo (there is no bass here), Other movements, especially “Devil-musc,” are gritty and distorted. [16] The clear timbral, dynamic, metic, and reistral profiles in “God-music” ae reflected in a lucidity of| ‘melodic and harmonic material. Bass 1991 study of Malrolemae [and LI demonstrates that tightly knit, rigorously tcated pitch materials are significant—reallystructural~in Crurb's music, Bast shows that pitch ‘organization has a kind of depth in Crumb's music, with an integration of parts into wholes rather than Toose assemblages of bits and pieces, and he suggests that Crumb's procedures are similar to procedures heard in carly twentieth-century modernist works. (Bass 1994 makes the debt to modernist precursors explicit.) Small melodic and hatmonic cells described as piteh-class sets “function as primary structural wnits from which Inrger sets and scale types are generated through symmetially conceived arangements ofp... These trichords and tetrachonds ate. reated to certain larger cllctions which reprten fair sale types, including the whole-tone collection... and the anemitonc pentatonic collection” (ae 1991, 3) Bas ter ads the octatoni oletion o his lit of larger cllections [17] “God-music" isan exceptionally clear example of the Example 4, Analysis of “God-music”(n0. 10), characteristics that Bas as described. In terms of pitch Vox Dei (ola cello) ‘organization, the movement is limited, well-defined, and ‘even systematic in a way that earlier movements in Black Angels seem not tobe. Example 4is an analytical reduction ‘of just the solo cello part~ "Vox Dei” in “God-musie.” (Some repeated notes and segments ae omited from the reduction) Crumb (1972) notes the movement's “sustained ‘Bemajo tonality.” More formally, perhaps, ts centered on pitch-clss BE (ee again the B major triads and key signature in Example 3) i features triads and seventh chords, iis based on OCT, 5) with a shift to OCT in the middle and a transformation to WT, atthe end, and it ‘uses what Crumb calls the “tritonal axis of the piece” (ikea) (A/D8) as a structural frame for a limited number of salient motivic cells") [18] The movement features a dynamic curve and a trajectory of harmonic departure and retuen (stable— ‘unstable—stable) that combine to create a tripartite form (A1—B-A2) over the span of 13 measures plus 7 ‘measures (Crumb's formula “13 and 7”), reflecting both the larger departure-return program and numerological Famework of the quartet asa whole, In the A1 section, the B major tonic and OCT.) ate ‘stablished, anda single non-colection tone (F) is introduced inthe melody. In the Bb section, increasing non collection intrusions result ina sift to OCT, Intensiiation in dynamics and register lead to a highpoint ‘on the leading tone of B major (peed Bb rather than Af), which rsolves—or pechaps, given the drop in dynamics, dssipates—ito BE forthe A2 section, At the end, OCT. tums into W'T; a8 the Vox Dei rises fiom axis tone AE to axis tone Dt [19] Example § focuses in on just the opening ofthe Vox Example 5, Analysis of Vox Dei, measures 3-4 Dei. The trtonal axis (A/DA) provider a fame fr this smaller gesture, too. Inthe example, three motivic ells ae indicated using ptch-clss et labels (016), which is formed by the highest tone, AE, and the lowest tones D# and Co (i, the addition of one tone tothe titonal axis); (028), which is formed by the tritonal axis plus Bf, the Ist note in the gesture; and, perhaps ost salicnty, (014), which e formed discretely by AB, F8, and BF at the beginning and the end ofthe gesture, Although these cells are not indicated in Example 4 interlocking (016), (026), and, «specially (014) cells are prominent throughout the melody. Indeed, it would be dificult to avoid this, ‘considering how many (014), (016), and (026) subsets ze contained in an octatonic collection") The OCT a5, environment in “God-musie"—a remarkably clean octatonicism allows 2 kindof exystallization, a (ie oes) coming together of motivic elements and other pitch-stracrural features in a stable, quasi-tonal context. [20] The motivieclements, the OCT, and WT collections, the teitonal axis and the Bk-cenricity Thave desribed in the Vox Dei all appear earlier in Black Angels, but in bits and pieces. Bach feature surfaces separately, in obscurity—inaudibly, even—and only gradually comes to fruition. Example 6 shows the hideous mtosmt orgisuesimte.12.18.2/mio.12.18.2 johnston himcrum®_1972 ons2an2re019 MTO 18.2: Johnston, George Crumb's Black Angels beginning of “Threnody I" (no 1). Several features ate sgoificant in light of my aoalysis ofthe Vox De in “God-msic" The first violin begins on high DE, and ts (0268) segment, subset ofboth OCT and WT, includes the A/DE eritonal ais. Will thete features be noticed in a content so dynamically, rhythmically, and ‘imbrally bewildering? It will depend upon the listener and upon the performance, but probably not. (1 likely that I'm awate of them only because I have performed the first violin pat) Bue this is my point. At the ‘sar of "Threnody I," there i no reaon to suspect that che fextures Ihave described willbe significant. Thi structural potential emerges only a the work proceds ‘Example 6, Analysis of “Threnody I” (no. 1), ‘Example 7. Analysis of "Threnody I” (n0. 1), beginning end (eka ie (cekcocaagesed inn) [21] Already at the end of the frst movement the A/D# tritonal axis litte more prominent, as shown in Example 7 And neve cell emerges from the xi at this point: trchord (A, D8, E). This cel becomes movi and is featured throughout che work often but not always tits orignal pitch lve), butt i wed ose scikingly in "Devil-music” no. 4) so Twill cll tthe “dvi cord” (16). Crumb (972) notes thatthe chord represents the ftefal manbers7 and 13, and Example 8 sugess away of udenstanding how.) [22] In movement no. 2, “Sounds of Bones and Flutes,”an Example 8 The “devil chord” in relation 107 excerpt from which is shown in Example 9, the melodic and 13 and the tritonal axis rmaterial inthe fist violin part features longer actatonie segments (frst pentachordal then hexachordal), somewhat more palpable BE-centrcty, and gain, the ttonl xis , Socaina ther diy contr nimovenene no 3,%boe BB Bl." the mide portion of which x shown in Example ow 10, a seven-stroke moment of timbral clarity (harmonics) * os and interalic consonance (overlapping perfect fifths, or seven semitone) foreshadows the more substi (ions laication and consonance in “God-muic™ and new motivi el (026), asec ofthe opening (0268) now given a contour and hythmc profil sorfices aang focal pitch cls BE. Thus, material presented atthe Beginning ofthe quare takes oot tthe end ofthe fit, ‘movement, and new rater surfaces om it and gradually Becomes significa inthe ellowing movements But a context in which to coordinate the patches of B cetricty, the srappy ctatonic and whole-one seginents, andthe various harmonic nd melodic el has no yet formed, and won't fly form, argue, until “God.” Example 9. Analysis of “Sounds of Bones and Example 10, Analysis of “Lost Bell (0.3), Flt" (no. 2) riddle groupe a mcasutes 1-4; b, measure 7 (ck alge i) (ek ngs thee, ten) mtosmt orgisuesimte.12.18.2/mio.12.18.2 johnston himcrum®_1972 ans2an2re019 MTO 18.2: Johnston, George Crumb's Black Angels [23] Asshown in Example 11, “Devise” (no. 4) features a “ugly, obscene” pedal tone Dev ine, and it features the "evil chord throughout the Vox Diabali solo violin part. Motivc cell (016) surfaced quite tentatively in the Bist moverment. Ie is by contrast bombastic in “Devils Macabre,” retains the Dis irae and the devil chord, and it provides, forthe fist ime inthe work, metered rather than measured rhythms, Development continues in the climactic central movement, “"Threnody Il BLACK ANGELS!" (no. 7). As shown in Example 12, the movement begins with superact (0167), which it clearly an extension of (016) and which isan actatnic coagulant. Bis again on top, and, unlike “hrenody "The next movernent, "Danse 1," thie time it is accented and repeated. The opening of no, 7 also contains the clearest statement yet of the A/DE tritonal axis—unison,fertissimo. And shortly after the excerpt in Example 12, the devil chord returns dramatically a ts original pitch level in both violin parts Example 11. Analysis of “Devil-music” (n0.4), Example 12. Analysis of “Threnody Il: BLACK. beginning ANGELS!” (no.7), beginning (eek cage seine) (cheng ae) IHL Quotation (24) Here, in the heart ofthe “Absence” stage of the Black ‘Bample 13. Angels program, Lam in a postion to consider in more a Schubert, “Death and the Maiden” Quartet, cltail the two quotation/pastche movements. In "Pavana ‘movement Il, measures 1-24; b, Crumb, Lachrymae” (20. 6),2 quotation from the beginning of the “Pavana Lacheymae” (no, 6), Insect Sounds second movement of Schubert's “Death and the Maiden” Quartet and dissonant commentary ae combined. The Schubert material used by Crumb and its coreespondence ‘with Cramb's movement ae shown in Example 132. The Schubert material is played by the lower three instruments while violin [adds non-tonal “insect sounds” (shown in ‘Example 136, recalling “Threnody I” ("Night ofthe Electric Insects") programmatically and materially. As discussed in mote detail below, Cramb has recomposed (ek cle, the ad tien aspects ofthe Schubert; pricy significant isthe conision of tome pitches fom the Schubert materi. hin meaue 1, leaving a bare ih on the downbes in place of Schubert's G mint tad. [25] Losada’s “chromatic complementation” and ‘Example 14. Chromatic complementation and “chromatic nturation” provide way to ge into the saturation in “Pavana Lachrymae.” page’ pitch organization. Example 14 is Losada-style analysis of pitch-clas space (Lada 2009, 67-71) In the diagram, pitehlass conten is sbown verily ait peas in time, which shown by measure mambers horizontally Following Lorad,a pitch clas once herd i considered to bein pay forthe ret ofthe paaage The two rater that Crumb puts together—the Schubert qtation and bis own on-tonal “insect sounds"—ar in somne sent incommensurable: the orginal music doesnot “fe” (Burkholders term again the tonal premises of the Schubert material, and the individuality of the materials is he thus maintained, Yet tthe same ne the fat that they ae dissonant with one another ensure a gradu saturation of (iene pitch-clss space, and the material are thus complementary mtosmt orgissuesimte12.18.2/mio.12.18.2 johnston himcrumb_1972 782an2re019 IMTO 182: Johnston, George Crumb's Black Angels even as they are dijunct, As shown in Example 14, the insect musi contains, even emphasize, pte clases rot heard inthe Schubert quotation and the aggregate gradually completd."® The only pitch class ising tthe etd ofthe “Pavana” is ES, which isthe lowest tone in the fr chord of “Threndy 1” and which therefore supplies alin between movernents—2 formal articulation. And the complementation here has another aspect. The final thirteen-second span of insect sounds in the Pavana is, ignoring the til, a complete statement ofthe OCT; collection (the “God music” octatonic), which significantly doesnot include Schubert's tonie GE, [26] In the “Sarabanda dela Muerte Oscura” (a0. 8), 2 pastiche of a Renaissance sarabande (Crumb [1972] describes it as "stylistically synthetic") is treated inthe same Example 15.Lack of ft between insect sounds and patiche mic “Sarabanda de la Muerte ‘Oscura” (no. 8), measures 7-12 ‘way: non-tonal “insect sounds” ate superimposed on tonal ‘material. As shown in Example 15, one factor in the movement's organization is again a lack of fit between the ‘components, although the specific mechanisms of Losada's theory are somewhat less clear here. Each segment of insect sounds begins with a note that creates an iel with the simultaneously sounding melodic pitch in the tonal layer. “The insect material has a kind of bite, and the dissonance tha creates the bite is what ls out pitch-class space in the movement, And it is worth noting thatthe lat three (clckt cages ine) ‘harmonics inthe insect sounds are pitch-clas Example 16. Chromatic complementation and saturation in Crumb, Malrokasmas I, no, 11 fove-Death Music") [27] These are not isolated applications of ‘complementation/saturation technique in Crumb's music. Dream Images ( The quotation from Chopin, op. 66 in Makrokosmos I, no 11: Dream Images ("Love-Death Music’) is treated similarly. As shown in Example 16, the primary melodie tones in Crumbs original music (ignoring grace note) at the star of the movement create diatonic pentachord [D§, BAF, GH, AR]. The rst quoted segment of Chopin's Db major melody features [Db, Bb, 1, Gp, Ab, Bh], which alimot saturates pitch-las space. The second quoted segment of Chopin’s melody contains [C#], and the third quoted segment~nea the end ofthe movement~contains {H, the remaining ptch chs, Eventhough Crumbs own melody has expanded past the inital pentachord inthe (ek cares na ‘meantime, it is satisfying to hear che final phrase of the Chopin quotation filling the last gap in the original pitch-clas space. And if the chords inthe lowest register are considered, a more general complementation results: naturals on top, ats in the mide, sharps (quasi-B major) on the bottom, [28] Bur the fice that there is some consistency inthe methods of pitch organization Crumb uses in quotation/pastiche passages docs not explain why such passages should appen at all in Black Angels, or why they should happen inthe middle ofthe work. The surrounding movements baedly seem accommodating Thisis lack of 8 movements play in the scheme of the whole? In the cae ofthe Pavana, there is a clea connection between the nickname of the Schubert quartet, the title of the Crum movement, and the nadir of the quartet’ program. fon larger scale, of course. Nevertheless the question remains: what roles do these But there ae more structural connections, too, Nos. 6 and & contribute specific elements to the clarification and synthesis in “God-music,” and they contribute elements that are lacking inal the other movernents save ““God-music.” Mas obviously, they contribute the sound of triads, lasting meter, clear homophonic texture, and more sustained tonal centrcity, (Iti tempting to hear no. 6's G minor and no. §'sD minor a balanced a third above and a third below the B major of “God-music,") But because “God-music” is only quasi-tonal and because pitch organization in the quartet asa whole is non-tonal ite necesary to consider both the tonal and the non-tonal implications ofthe quotation/ pastiche material [29] Example 17 shows how Crumb modified the Schubert material in “Pavana Lachrymae” (no. 6)—how he ‘emaciated i, or, per the program, spiritually annihilated i, ‘Example 17. Comparison of Schubert, “Death and the Maiden” Quartet, movement [Land ‘Crumb, lad Angels, “Pavana Lachryta” (no (8) The thee lower insteuments inno. 6 ate played senza 9 vibrato and in an unorthodox manner that approximates the sound of a consort of vol ("a fragile echo of an ancient mtosmt orgissuesimte12.18.2/mio.12.18.2 johnston himcrumb_1972 ans2an2re019 MTO 18.2: Johnston, George Crumb's Black Angels ‘music”). Crumb made several alterations to Schubert's ope nt music, which are indicated in red in the example, Crumb's ‘tempo is lower than Schubert's. Tonic chords on the downbeats have no thitds and dominant chords have no ‘bass In fact, in a reversal of normal procedure, Crumb’s “foreground” —the actual msc heard in Black Angele ‘contains Fewer notes than the “background” supplied by Schubert's original movement, These modifications keep ‘the Schubert material at arms’ length timbraly, harmonically, and stylistically, putting Crumb in a position (honed the) to extract different ideas from the quoted material than we ‘might normally recognize ina tonal context. Bxampk 18, Analysis of "Pavana Lachrymae” melody in relation to "God-music,” Vox Dei a $s SSS (koalas) [30 As shown in Example 18, melodic tones (FB, G, A, Bb] may be understood as syzincticaltetrachord (0134), which isan octatonie subset. In the second phrase especially, when scale degree 2 is omitted (at the asterisk in Example 18), she melodic boundary tones—fir, last, highest, lowes-—coutlne motivic cell (014) in contour that maps nestly onto the opening gesture of the Vox Dei in “God-music." And Crumb has constructed the pastiche “Sarabanda" so that it duplicates features ofthe Schubert quotation, 28 shown in “Example 19. Ir hegins with the same kind of inital ascent to scale degree 3, now inthe key of D minor, and its boundary trichord, (014), is the sme, Thos, in addition to the more abvioustmmal textural, metric, and tonal features described above, the quotaton/pasiche movements contribute a significant motive cll. 014), so prominent in the Vox Dei, is nota significant fictor in any ofthe earlir movements except the "Pavana” snd the “Sarabanda” Iis extracted from the Schubert and sarabande melodies through a post-tonl way of reimagining tonal pitch material, and fed forward into the “God-music”syehess. [1] Thave focused on melody up to this point. What about Example 19. Analysis of pastiche material in the accompanying crystal glass harmonies in “God-tnusic"? “Sarabanda de la Muerte Oscura” (0.8) In movement no. 2, octatonic segments centered on BE are heard, but ina non-octatonic harmonie context. In ‘movements no. 1 and no.7, melodic Bocentrcity is suggested, but in an upper voice only. No real harmonic suppor provided, In"God- musi," the harmonie accompaniment fom the gles i octatonic ice the ‘clad, nd it i fmly centered on BE. In ater word, ‘melody and harmony are integrated in a conventional way not with fagments, echoes, ox hints, bur ina genuine, ‘well-formed context, Asis well known, a varity of tonal triads and seventh chords can be built on the four nodes of anoctatonie collection, Over the course of “God-music,” triads and/or seventh chords appear on all four OCT 3) nodes (B, Db 5, G4/AD), and systematically 4 time, then thee at atime, then four a tne, Example (etree mt ies) Dis an analysis ofthe crystal glass music. The top safT ‘Example 20. Analysis of “God-music” (ao. 10), gives the music more or lest a8 written. On the bottom crystal glases| staff, some enharmonic spellings ae used to cavity the tertian nature ofthe chords. Unlike the distant, hollowed- ‘out triads in movements no, 6 and no. 8, these chords shimmer, Some non-collection neighbor chords appear between triads in section Al: (014)s that reflect the mtosmt orgisuesimte.12.18.2imio.12.18.2 johnston himcrumb_1972 ons2an2re019 MTO 18.2: Johnston, George Crumb's Black Angels prominest (014) cells inthe cello melody. In sections B and @ ‘A2, the remaining nodes of OCT. are used, filing out rT the octatonic context. And different neighbor chords appear; (016) and (026), the other motive cll I described. inthe Vox Dei and in earlier movements, ate now incorporated into the quasi-tonal context as embellishing [82] leis even possible to hear the contour ofthe topmost voice in the crystal glass asa doppelganger ofthe deep pedal ‘one Diet irae in "Devil-music” (sce Example 11 again), “The dialectic here reflects both the quartet's palindromic framework and its drive toward Erldsang, In terms ofthe palindrome, Devil-musie and God-music are locked 1 standpoints of into opposing and apparently equal postions, formally and conceptually. Yet, from internally consistent pitch organization, dynam and timbral clarity, and tight-knit musical form, God-musie is far the “better-formed” mavement~a revelation structurally and timbrally as well as programmatically TV. Compromise [33] There is more music after movement no, 10, of course—ultimatel sence’ “disembodied, incorpoteal” muse, quite unlike the gritty, noisy music inthe “Departure” and ges, and equally unlike “God- ‘usic”"—and the lst word, literally, is “titteen,” spoken by the second violinist in Japanese. Many things are different after “God-music.” As the end ofthe work approaches, the asymmetries embedded in Crumb's large-scale palindrome are increasingly apparent. By placing the reprise ofthe "Lost Bells” and "Bones and Flutes” music at the end of the “Absence” stage of the program instead of the “Return” stage (where they ‘belong), and by replacing them with the “Ancient Voices” music—a clear reference to hs ather famous work ‘of 1970, and something that has no prog ‘expressive condition at the two ends ofthe palindrome, And although “Tlhrenody III" (no, 13) contains some smatic parallel earlier in the work ~Crumb differentiates the of the noisy mus mn “Threnody 1,” it sin many ways a very different sore of movement: quieter, more varied in material and gesture, and more than twice as long. [34] 1f"God-music” culminates, then ""Threnody III” perorates. There is litle in ie that hasnt bees heard. before inthe quartet, and it contains more differen kinds of music from more different places in the quartet ‘than any other single movement, Yet as it goes it cems to unravel the synthesis achieved in “God-music” “Elements evaporate, and the ambiguity and instability ate characteristic of Crumb's conclusions in general. But inthe case of Black Angels, 1 sic and teleoogical/ programmatic premises. The snuggles even to hear the final pppp moments. This is not surprising: ‘hink i also reflect an interaction of the work's palin is occurs with “Threnody II” at the midpoint, in accordance with the quartet ends with neither a climax ( palindrome) nor a culmination this occurs with “God-musie” about two-thirds of the way in, in accordance ‘with the program), but rather with a series of movements that seem even more shadowy than theit symmetrical partners at the beginning of the quartet. Ina hypothetical version of Black Angel that had no these final movements would be numerological/palindromic framework but only the program to guide i ‘nonessential. They might be replaced by 2 bona fide coda, or the work might end om its revelatory highpoint. But Crumb's design is numerological and it ion, “God-mnasic” isin its most logical location, It is not the last movement because “Devil-music” palindromic, I needs thirteen movements, not tex, and, upon isnot Gist. "Devilmusi snot fst but rather fourth because the quartet begins witha tutti movement, not solo movement, (Se again the sequence of instruments in Example 1.) The quartet must begin with tut ‘would not be ttt, and there would be three slo central, climactic “Thhrenody I ‘movements, not two, undermining the essential God-Devil polarity. Placing "God-music” tenth solves the ‘puzzle created by these interlocking conditions: but it also Teaves a considerable musical space after the ‘culminating point™—and a space that muat be filled by music that, however changed, recalls the music in the ‘opening movements, Revelation in Black Angels therefore cannot last, and the els breaks dow. It i goal, Dut, unlike Hepokoskis, not final (35] The percussive timbres, regula shythms, and jagged dynamic shapes in no. 11,12, and 13 quickly undo the shimmer and reglarity of “God-muse." Some elements ofthe los do emain awhile, “Ancient Voices” (00. 1) cds monophonically on B (olin I). "Ancient Voices (Echo)” (no. 12) is satrated with titones and with (026). “Threnody It” (o, 13) brely reals the opening 21 seconds of “Threnody 1," including the fire violins octatonic/whole-tone (0268) with BE and the A/D axis. But the vigor i gone, and by 2 idle ofthe movement all vstiges of B-centrct are gone too. Ther is perhaps a kindof tonality inthe “cho ofthe pace saabande that is heard inthe second balf of “Threnody I.” But, hough this mtosmt orgisuesimte.12.18.2/mio.12.18.2 johnston himcrum®_1972 rons2an2re019 MTO 18.2: Johnston, George Crumb's Black Angels ‘material is notated atthe same pitch level ait was when it ist appeared in movement no, the violinists and ‘the violist put thimbles on their fingertips and use these to make sound rather than 2 bow, resulting in a “ghostly, phantasmal” timbre in which precise pitches are difficult to make out. When the cello joins, here and there, with fragments ofthe “Sarabanda” melody in its highest register, it sounds as though the Vox Dei has somehow lost ts way. [36] Sul, as shown in Example 21, the very last Example 21, Analysis of “Threnody IU" (po. 13), end {gesture inthe quartet may be heard as a kind of ‘summarya kernel statement of the structural world in Black Angel. The erysal gles ftom “God- music” reappear (bit with glass rods now, not bowed), and the seven-stroke gesture from “Lost Bell (ce Example 9 again) outlines the titonal axis asthe words “seven” and “thirteen” are “whispered. Fittingly, the tetrachord here, (0146), contains motivic subscts (014), (016), and (026) in ‘ways that are not hard to hear, (cick carge sn ies) Conclusion [37] One way of understanding my analysis of Black Angele would be to say that Crumb fused a romantic paradigm and postmodernist methods as way to resolve Adomno's “modernist dilemma”: “How to create 2 ‘unity which does nat conceal the fragmentary nature and chaotic state ofthe handed-down musical material and yet which does not simply mizzor fragmentation through identification with it, but which is able to ‘embody, negate and transcend it” (Paddison 1993, 158). However, in spite of the fact that Ihave drawn on the composer's comments to support my analytical points, in the end I don't know how Crumb himlf reads Black Angele or fhe would find it appealing to describe the work in such terms, He might eal the quartet a ‘postmodernist work in which romantic paradigms and modemist concepts of pitch organization are components ofa disturbing Foucaultian “heterotopia” (Foucault 1970, 48); or he might call ita neo-romantic ‘work that embraces moderaist pte structures and a postmodemist perspective on the recombination of ‘materials without privileging them; or he might even consider the work an essay in modernism. Maybe al of these and maybe none of ther [38] All the same, i is worth noting that Crumb has recently tried to downplay the significance of ‘numerology for understanding Black Angel: “Yes, this busines of san 13s came nto the music. don't, remeber what they even mean. It was more technical, structural I got caried away with the Friday the 13" ching. 1 think its important inal msc [not to reveal too much] Besthoven doce’ give wall of what's in his mind. There are references to Shakespeare in his letters, but nt in the coe. Mahler's Third originally had descriptive titles forall ofthe movements, but he dropped them. Even more abstract music i probably connected with other ideas—poetry, landscapes, and ‘other things. [ls better to] le the listener make the connections” (quoted in Burwasee 2004, [8)) It's tempting, then, to think chat Crumb's own hearing of Black Angel: emphasizes, if ony a litle, the work's program its quintessentially romantic program —and the paradigms related to it. One cannot help but notice that the two composers he refers to here are Beethoven and Mabler. The nineteenth-centary symphonic ‘tradition was not lost on Crumb, and it is possible to heat his string quartet as something ofa latter-day essay in that tradition —reffacted by a century's worth of new perspectives, but stil vital in its way. Blair Johnston Indiana University Bloomington, IN 47405, johnstbl@indiana.edu Works Cited mtosmt orgisuesimte.12.18.2/mio.12.18.2 johnston himcrum®_1972 ans2an2re019 MTO 18.2: Johnston, George Crumb's Black Angels Adamenko, Victoria. 2005. “George Crumb's Channels of Mythification.” American Music 23 (3): 324-54, 2007. Neo-Mthlogim in Music: From Scriabin and Schoenberg to Schithe and Crab, Hillsdale, NY: Pendragon Pres. Bass, Richard, 1991, “Sets, Scales and Symmetries: ‘The Pitch-Structural Basis of George Crumbs Makrolosmas 1 EI.” Music Theory Spectrum 13 (1): 1-20. 1994, “Models of Octatonic and Whole~Tone Interaction: George Crumb and His Predecessor.” Journal of Maie Theory 38 (2): 155-86. Bernard, Jonathan. 1981, “Pitch/Register in the Music of Edgard Varése.” Music Theory Spectrum 3: 1-28 1987, The Masic of Edgord Varde. New Haven: Yale University Press Bertensson, Sergei and Jay Leyda, 1956, Serge Rachmaninoff A Lifetime in Musi. New York: New York University Pres. Borroff, Edith, 1986. Three American Composers. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, Burkholder, J. Peter. 2007-2012 “Collage.” Grove Music Online butp://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/artcle/grove/musie/53083 (accessed 4 June 2012). ‘Burwasser, Peter, 2004, “Symphony of Destruction” (interview with George Crumb). Philadelphia City Pepe, March 18-24, btp://archivescitypaper.net/artiles/2004-03-18/cover3 shtml (accesed 4 June 2012) Clendinning, Jane Piper. 1995, “Structural Factors in the Microcanonie Compositions of Gy8ray Ligeti.” In Concert Music, Rec, and Jazz since 1945: Essays and Analical Studies, ed. Elizabeth West Marvin and Richard. Hermann, 229-56. Rochester: University of Rochester Press. Crumb, George. 1971. Front matter. Black Angels. New York: C. F. Peters. 1972, Linee notes. George Crumb/Charles Jones, Black Angel for Blctric String Quartet/String Quartet Na. 6, Sonatina, with the New York Sering Quartet, CRI SD 283, 33 % rpm, Dahihaus, Car. 1980, Between Romanticism and Modernism. Trans, Mary Whittall, Berkeley: University of (California Pres, [1980] 1989, Nieteensh-Century Musi, Trans, J. Bradford Robinson, Berkeley: University of (California Pres, Darey, Warten, 2001, “Rotational Form, Teleological Genesis, and Fantasy-Projection inthe Slow Movement cof Mable's Sith Syenphony." 198% Century Musie25 (1): 49-74, Foucault, Michel. 1970. The Order of Things. New York: Pantheon. Hepokoski. James. 1993 Sibelius: Spmphony No. s. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Jameson, Frederic. 1990. Postmodernism; o, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism. Durars, NC: Duke University Press Lake, William, 2010, “7 and 13 (and Other Prime Numbers: George Crumb's Numerology and Proportional Schemes in Black Angel” Paper delivered a the 2010 Music and Numbers Conference, Canterbury Chi (Church University, UK, May 14, 2010. LLongyear, Rey M. 1988, Ninelenth-Century Romanticon in Masi 3 edition, Englewood Cliff, NJ: Prentice Hall Losada, C, Catherine. 2008, “The Process of Modulation in Musical Collage.” Music Anat 27, nos. 2-3: 295- 336. 2009, "Between Modernism and Postmodernism: Strands of Continuity in Collage Compositions by Rochberg, Berio, and Zimmermann.” Music Theory Spectrum 31 (1): 57-100. McNamee, Ann K. 1985, “The Role ofthe Piano Introduction in Schubert's ‘Lieder, 2: 95-106, ‘Music Analysis 4, nos. 1~ mtosmt orgisuesimte.12.18.2/mio.12.18.2 johnston himcrum®_1972 rans2an2re019 MTO 18.2: Johnston, George Crumb's Black Angels Paddison, Max, 1993, Adorno’s Musial Aesthetics, Cambridge: Cambridge Jniversity Press Pearsall, Edward. 2005. "Dialectical Relations among Pitch Structures in the Music of George Crumb.” In ‘George Crumb and the Alchemy of Sound, ed, by Steven Bruns and Ofer Ben-Amots, Colorado Springs, CO: ‘Colorado College Music Pres. Steinite, Richard. 1978, “George Crumb.” The Murical Times 119 (1628): 844-47, 2007-2012. "Crumb, George.” Grove Music Online butp://www oxfordmusiconine.com/subscriber/ artile/grove/music/06903 (accessed 30 May 2012) Discography Crumb, George. 2003, Unto rhe Hilly Black Angels. Ann Crurab, Orchestra 2001, James Freeman, Mirs Quartet, ‘Complete Crumb Edition, Vol. 7. Bridge 9139, compact die —. 2004, Makrokssmos, Volumes I &-L/Otherworldy Resonances. Robest Shannon, Quattro Mani, Complete Crumb Edition, Vol. 8. Bridge 9155, compact dis Schubert, Franz. 1991. “Trout” Quintet/“Death and the Maiden.” Atar recorded 1982-1983. Telice 9031-74783-2, compact dsc |, Haydn-Trio, Vermeer Quartet, Footnotes ee Romanticiom and 1, Losadas title itself plays on the title Dablhauss well-known 1980 monograph, Bet Modernism, although she docs not otherwise draw from the monograph and it does not appear in her bibliography. Simiaey, the present attcle relates to Dahlhaus 1980 only diagonally (ifat al), Some of the ‘material in ths article was presented at the 2010 Music and Numbers conference (Canterbury, UK) and atthe 2011 Indiana Univentty Graduate Theory Association Symposium (Bloomington, IN). Aspects of my interpretation ae informed by a coaching session I had with Cramb prior to 1999 performance of Black Anglin Ann Azbor, ML ‘Return to text 2, Darcy and Hepokoski present thet idea in relation to orchestral works by the generation of composers ‘born around 1860: Sibelius, Mahler, Strauss, and the lke, Hepokoski suggests (1993, 2-23), following arguments made earlier by Dablhaus (1989 and elsewhere), that these composers should be considered “modern.” Yet surely Darcy (200%, 49) is correct when he suggests thatthe plot archetype i itself «quintessentially romantic, andthe distinction that Hepokoski and Dahlhaus are making (“late romantic” vs cently “modern”), critical though itis for understanding Sibelius, Male, and Strauss, seems unnecessarily ‘Sine-grained for discussion of Crurmb’s work. Return to text 3 romantic conventions and who was bora not long after the composers discussed by Darcy and Hepolcosi ‘ulminating poine” isthe term coined for such moments by Rachmaninoff, who was himself steeped in Rachmaninof?'s comments are contained ina letter to Marietta Shaginyan that is quoted in 1956, 195) and in many other places. Return to text 4. Burwsser (2004) discusses the Vietnam War and other traumas af the late 1960s in relation to Black Angels ‘Return to text 5. Crumb (1972) als lists some of the ways that 7 and 13 are involved in smaller ways: “phrase-length, ‘groupings of single tones, durations, patterns of repetition, ... an important pitch element, and] a kind of ritualistic counting in various languages.” I will consider the “pitch clement” in pat Il of the esay, ‘Return to text 6. The score calls fr thirteen seconds of silence between the “Departure” and “Absence” stages and between the “Absence” and “Revura” stages. “God-music™ (no, 10) is asa result. music” (no, 4), which follows the preceding movement without break, 1p quite differently feo “Devil~ ‘Return to text mtosmt orgisuesimte.12.18.2/mio.12.18.2 johnston himcrum®_1972 rans2an2re019 MTO 18.2: Johnston, George Crumb's Black Angels 7. Borroff (1986, 239) notes the “balanced imbalance of the total structure” in passing Return to text 8, “Lack of ft" is Burkholder's (2007-2012, 2) term, As he puts i in a passage alo cited by Loss fit isan important factor in preserving the individuality of each [element in 2 collage] and conveying the ‘impression ofa diverse assemblage. Return to text 9, The typology in Losids 2008 is drawn fiom het 2008 dissertation, Return to text 10, Rachmaninoff suggests that a work's culminating point need not be climactic in the usual sonse—that it might be quiet (Bertennson and Leyds 1956, 195). Return to text 11, See Figute 1 and the accompanying prose in Bass 1991, 5, [Return to text 12. On the “eritonal axis” in Black Angels, see Adamenko 2007, 195. Crumb described the significance ofthe axis to Adamenko in a 1997 interview, without, however, offering many specific. Infact, his handwritten sketch ofthe axis s reproduced by Adamenko (2005, 342) has only two notes and no clef. (In Adatnenko 2007, a typeset version of the skesch replaces Crumb's handwritten version, anda treble clef is added, resulting in the tritone C/FR) It seems thatthe sketch, which was created at distance of almost thirty years and ‘presumably on the spur of the moment, should be taken as a general rubric, not a precise account of how the gly suggests that A/D# isthe axis, snot C/F#t—or atthe very last that A/DE is one particulazly important axis, Some of Crumb's remarks are axis works in che composition. My analysis ofthe quartet in this essay indeed confusing, particularly his claim that “In Black Angels | used a titone, which cortesponds to the number seven” (Adamenko 2007, 198). This would seem inconsistent with an interpretation of che numbers seven and thirteen as measured in semitones (perfect fifth, not tritone, and minor ninth), which i useful for ‘understanding other aspects ofthe quartet’ pitch organization (as discussed below), Adamenko (2007, 195— 200) clarifies Crumbs comments somewhat, but it must be admitted that a certain obscurity remains Return to text 13. Figure 3 and the accompanying discussion in Bass 1991, 9 addres similar interlocking (014), (016), and (026) sets in octatonic contexts in Cramb's musi ‘Return to text 14, On the somewhat confusing relationship between intervals and the “fateful numbers" 7 and 13, see again rote 12 above and Adamenko 2007, 195-200) ‘Return to text 15, Losada (Losada 2008) acknowledges 2 smilaity to Jonathan Bernard's (1981 and 1987) graphs of pitch space in Vartie’s music and to Clendinning’s (1995) "range graphs” of pitch in Ligeti works Return to text 16, This analysis would of course be changed ifthe alternate version of movernent no. 6 (given in the ‘published score’s appendix) is played instead, In the alternate version, the theee lower instruments gradually ‘atten pitch as they play the Schubert material. Clearly the sense of G minor as tonic would be lost a this. happens, and pitch space would be saturated ina very different way. However, Ido not feel compelled to altemate version in my analysis, for two reasons: Crumb ultimately chose to put the alternate ‘version in an appendix, and he told the author's ensemble to perform the regular version, not the alternate version. For a discusion of how the alternate version may bear on the quartet's meaning, see Adamenko 2007, 88-89, ‘Return to text 17."There i also a motive relationship between Crumb's melody and Chopin's: a neighbor figure fllowed by 4 rising filled-in third. Return to text ts forerunner inthe 18, Fora somewhat different Schenkerian reading of the Schubert passage (or ath accompaniment of the song “Tod und Das Madchen”) see McNamee 1985, 102-103. ‘Return to text mtosmt orgisuesimte.12.18.2/mio.12.18.2 johnston himcrum®_1972 vans2an2re019 MTO 18.2: Johnston, George Crumb's Black Angels Copyright Statement Cori © 2012 by he aie fe Mac Theory Alright rene [1] Copy invdal tems publi in Mas Thor Onin (MF) a eld by he ashore ppeaing in BFPO maybe saved and sore in clectrni or apr, ani my be shared ation individ fx prpoes of hry sarc or dcusin, bt may ‘ab epsbthed in any frm, conc opi, withou re, wen emison fm the mor) and advance nition ofthe ton of TO. 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