UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI

14 August 2007
Date:___________________

Brian Christopher Moseley

I, _________________________________________________________,
hereby submit this work as part of the requirements for the degree of:
Master of Music
in:
Music Theory
It is entitled:
Integrating Analytical Elements through Transpositional Combination
in Two Works By George Crumb

This work and its defense approved by:

Dr. C. Catherine Losada

Chair: _______________________________
Dr. David Carson Berry
_______________________________
Dr. Steven J. Cahn
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
 Integrating Analytical Elements through Transpositional Combination in Two
Works by George Crumb

A Thesis Submitted to the

Division of Graduate Studies and Research

of the University of Cincinnati

in partial fulfillment of the

requirements for the degree of

Master of Music

in the Division of Composition, Musicology, and Theory

of the College-Conservatory of Music

2007

by

Brian C. Moseley

B.M. Furman University, 2004

Committee Chair: Dr. C. Catherine Losada

 ABSTRACT

This study investigates ways that transpositional combination (TC) can be used to

enhance our understanding of the pitch, form, and extra-musical elements of George Crumbs

Vox Balaenae and Lux Aeterna. Through TC, this thesis develops the idea that Crumbs music

often contains basic pitch material from which larger sets or collections are generated, and that

this process is often allied with other musical elements.

Chapter one approaches Vox Balaenae through a perspective that appreciates how small

pitch-class sets interact with referent pitch collections. This interaction is related to extra-musical

ideas that accompany the composition. Chapter two focuses on the details of the TC process. As

an analytical cornerstone, this chapter applies new concepts to an analysis of musical form in Lux

Aeterna in order to show how the smallest details of the generative process impact the overall

form of the piece in a significant way.

ii
iii
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my sincere thanks to my advisor, Dr. Catherine Losada, whose

guidance, encouragement, and critical mind provided me with the means to undertake this

project. She offered her time in copious quantities and was an outstanding mentor. I also owe a

great debt to Dr. David Carson Berry and Dr. Steven Cahn for their valuable suggestions. Their

courses, our conversations, and their careful reading have shaped this project in innumerable

ways. My parents, Will and Danielle Moseley, remained patient and confident during the time I

worked on this project; I thank them both for providing unfailing motivation and for reminding

me to enjoy my work. Finally, I thank Jessica Barnett, who has been my greatest source of

encouragement and support.

iv
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction..1

Chapter One:
Transpositional Combination, Collectional Interaction and their Extra-Musical Significance
in Vox Balaenae.......6

Chapter Two:
Transpositional Combination and the Analysis of Form in Lux Aeterna..38

Conclusions....80

Bibliography..84

v
 Introduction

George Crumbs reputation as a composer has long rested upon his novel use special

timbral effectsa characterization that has diverted attention away from other interesting

features of his compositions. Recent theoretical studies (canvassed below) have begun to

acknowledge this concern by addressing issues of pitch organization and musical form. This

studys contribution to the growing body of Crumb scholarship will consist of an investigation of

various ways that transpositional combination can be used as an analytical tool to enhance our

understanding of the pitch and formal structure of two of his compositions, Vox Balaenae (1971)

and Lux Aeterna (1972).

Analytical approaches to Crumbs music have generally proceeded from either a

descriptive viewpoint that catalogs various surface features of a composition, or a more rigorous

analytical approach that seeks to discover underlying processes or structural models. The

descriptive approach often details the multitude of timbral effects found in a typical composition

by Crumb. This approach is appealing because Crumbs compositional style is so readily

identifiable by its exploitation of new sonorities.1 Kenneth Timms analysis of Vox Balaenae

(Voice of the Whale) is representative of the descriptive approach. In his analysis, Timm devotes

considerable attention to the timbral catalog of the piecewhere he finds thirty-eight types of

individual timbresand these timbres relationship to the sound of whales, apparently

1
Robert Vernon Shuffetts analyses of Crumbs compositions from 197175 are perhaps the most
comprehensive studies to adopt the descriptive-analytical approach. Robert Vernon Shuffett, The Music, 197175,
of George Crumb: A Style Analysis (D.M.A. thesis, Peabody Conservatory of Music, 1979). See also Stephen
Chatman, George Crumb: Night of the Four MoonsThe Element of Sound, Music & Man 1/3 (June 1974): 215
224; reprinted in revised form in Don Gillespie, ed., George Crumb; Profile of a Composer (N.Y.: C. F. Peters
Corporation, 1986), 1986); and also David Lee Ott, The Role of Texture and Timbre in the Music of George Crumb
(Ph.D. diss., University of Kentucky, 1982).

1
attempting to link the types of timbres used to the title of the composition.2 Unfortunately,

Timm explores only how these different effects are juxtaposed or superimposed and does not

relate his observations to other musical dimensions. While Timm devotes separate sections of his

analysis to Timbral Organization, Whale Sounds, and Extra-musical and Programmatic

Aspects, he does not incorporates these observations into a format that suggests, for instance,

how the different timbres and the whale sounds reflect extra-musical elements of the piece.

Rigorous analytical approaches that attempt to integrate the many musical dimensions of

a Crumb composition have become more prevalent.3 In his dissertation and a series of articles,

Richard Bass discusses both the pitch material and formal structures in Crumbs Makrokosmos I

and II. His analyses elucidate the underlying processes whereby primary pitch materials are

assembled into organizational schemes. Through these analyses, Bass is able to make

generalizations about not only the types of pitch constructions found in the Makrokosmos, but

also the typical ways that these pitch constructions are organized on a larger scale. Symmetry is

found to be a facet of both small and large pitch-class sets, as well as the formal structures that

organize the pitch material. Bass states that in these pieces, basic pitch materials function as

primary structural units from which larger sets and scale types are generated through

2
Kenneth Timm, A stylistic analysis of George Crumb's Vox Balaenae and an analysis of Trichotomy.
(D.M.A diss., Indiana University, 1977): 1725.

3
Richard Bass, Pitch Structure in George Crumbs Makrokosmos, Volumes 1 and II (Ph.D. diss.,
University of Texas, 1987); Bass, Sets, Scales, and Symmetries: The Pitch-Structural Basis of George Crumbs
Makrokosmos I and II. Music Theory Spectrum 13 (Spring 1991): 120; Bass, Models of Octatonic and Whole-
Tone Interaction: George Crumb and his Predecessors, Journal of Music Theory 38 (1994): 155186; see also,
Thomas R. de Dobay, The Evolution of Harmonic Style in the Lorca Works of Crumb, Journal of Music Theory
28/1 (Spring 1984): 89111. David Headlams approach is interesting in that it attempts to integrate both timbral
and pitch-structural approaches using spectrograms to analyze frequency amplitudes. David Headlam, Integrating
Analytical Approaches to George Crumbs Madrigals, Book I, no. 3, in George Crumb and the Alchemy of Sound,
Steven Bruns, Ofer Ben-Amots, Michael D. Grace, eds., (Colorado Springs: Colorado College Music Press, 2005),
235267.

2
symmetrically conceived arrangements of pcs.4 In fact, the creation of large pitch-class sets

(many of them being common referential collections like the whole-tone, octatonic, and

pentatonic) through the combination of basic pitch material seems to be a common feature of

many of Crumbs compositions. Ciro Scotto notes this feature of Crumbs Processional as well,

though he finds that Basss emphasis on symmetry is too constricting.5

Like Bass and Scotto, this thesis develops the notion that Crumbs music often contains

basic pitch material from which larger sets or collections are generated. In order to study the

methods of generation and their results, transpositional combination is used extensively as an

analytical starting point. Transpositional combination was first formalized by Richard Cohn and

has proven to be a powerful tool in the analysis of twentieth-century music.6 Cohn has published

a number of articles expanding concepts originating in his dissertation and applying this set of

concepts to composers as diverse as Bla Bartk, Alban Berg, and Steve Reich.7 Recently,

articles by Mark McFarland and Ciro Scotto have used transpositional combination in novel

ways to explore music by Claude Debussy and George Crumb.8 The diversity of approach

4
Bass, Sets, Scales, Symmetries, 3.

5
Ciro Scotto, Transformational Networks, Transpositional Combination, and Aggregate Partitions in
Processional by George Crumb, MTO 8.3 (2003).

6
Richard Cohn, "TC in Twentieth Century Music" (Ph.D. diss, University of Rochester, 1987). Marianne
Kielian-Gilbert is an earlier exploration of transpositional combination. Marianne Kielian-Gilbert, Relationships of
Symmetrical Pitch-Class Sets and Stravinskys Metaphor of Polarity, Perspectives of New Music 21 (Autumn
1982): 209240; and also, Kielian-Gilbert, Pitch-Class Function, Centricity, and Symmetry as Transposition
Relations in Two Works by Stravinsky, Ph.D. diss, University of Michigan, 1981).
7
Richard Cohn, Inversional Symmetry and Transpositional Combination in Bartk, Music Theory
Spectrum 10 (1988): 1942; Cohn, Properties and Generability of Transpositionally Invariants Sets, Journal of
Music Theory 41 (Autumn 1991): 132; Cohn, Transpositional Combination of Beat-Class sets in Steve Reichs
Phase-Shifting Music, Perspectives of New Music 30 (Fall 1992): 146177.

8
Mark McFarland, Transpositional Combination and Aggregate Formation in Debussy, Music Theory
Spectrum 27 (Fall 2005): 187220; Scotto 2003.

3
evident in all of these articles indicates that transpositional combination is a highly flexible

analytical tool that is able to adapt to different compositional styles and analytical needs.

Transpositional combination is an effective tool for studying Crumbs music because it

allows the analyst to explore how basic pitch material is replicated at different transpositional

levels to form larger musical units. In addition to this process-oriented approach that generates

upwards from smaller pitch constructs, transpositional combination allows an analyst to view

passages downwards from a referential collection and compare the generative paths of sections

that make use of different referential collections. While this difference may seem slightlike

two sides of the same cointhis thesis takes the viewpoint that the two perspectives can

generate different approaches to listening. In a composition with a multitude of referential

collections, transpositional combination encourages a hearing that recognizes interaction among

these collections. But in a less collectionally interesting environment, transpositional

combination allows the listener to attune to the multifarious processes and means by which a

single collection is generated.

The first chapter of this thesis approaches Vox Balaenae through a perspective that

appreciates the role that small pitch-class sets have in creating and facilitating interaction among

referent pitch collections. It argues that this interaction is a structural feature of the variation

process that occurs in the piece. In addition to distinguishing between types of variation, the use

of transpositional combination leads to some conclusions regarding relationships between pitch-

structure and extramusical content.

Chapter two begins with a discussion of additional concepts allied with transpositional

combination that more accurately represent particular realizations on the musical surface. These

concepts allow greater attention to be paid to the generative process. The final portion of this

4
chapter applies these concepts to an analysis of musical form in George Crumbs Lux Aeterna, a

composition that makes use of a single referential collection. This analysis shows how the

smallest details of a generative process can impact the overall form of the piece in a significant

way.

5
 Chapter One: Transpositional Combination, Collectional Interaction and their Extra-Musical

Significance in Vox Balaenae

Characterizations of George Crumbs compositional style frequently invoke referential

pitch collections to generalize about passages of music. Some use the terms descriptively to

assert a measure of unity,9 while others have discussed more intricate features of these

collections involvement with a compositions pitch structure.10 This chapter will discuss

Crumbs Vox Balaenae (1971) using transpositional combination to examine the role of

referential collections in the composition.11 It will investigate the nature of interaction among

referential collections, using transpositional combination as an investigative tool to discuss types

of collectional shifting that are important variation techniques in Vox Balaenae. 12 The final

portion of this chapter discusses interaction as it relates to quotation and extramusical ideas

associated with the composition.

9
Shuffett, 1979.

10
Richard Bass approaches some portions of the Makrokosmos I and II in this way, though he generally
concentrates his efforts on the symmetrical disposition of primary units that ultimately generate these collections.
Bass, Sets, Scales and Symmetry, 36.
11
Kenneth Timm and Russell Steinberg are the only other published analyses of this work. Kenneth Timm,
1977; Russell Steinberg, Meta-Counterpoint in George Crumbs Music: Exploring Surface and Depths in Vox
Balaenae (Voice of the Whale), in George Crumb and the Alchemy of Sound, Steven Bruns, Ofer Ben-Amots,
Michael D. Grace, eds., (Colorado Springs: Colorado College Music Press, 2005), 211233.

12
Arthur Berger and Pieter van den Toorn have discussed similar types of interaction in Stravinskys
music, and Richard Bass has placed interaction between octatonic and whole-tone elements in the context of
Crumbs predecessors. Dmitri Tymoczko has contested van den Toorns approach arguing that the octatonic and
diatonic interaction is less a feature of Stravinskys than proposed. However, rather than discussing these
collections generative basis in smaller units, Tymoczko discusses Stravinskys use of various modes of the minor
scale. Arthur Berger, Problems of Pitch Organization in Stravinsky, Perspectives of New Music 2 (Autumn
Winter 1963): 1142; Pieter van den Toorn, The Music Of Igor Stravinsky, (New Haven: Yale University Press,
1983); Dmitri Tymoczko, Stravinsky and the Octatonic: A Reconsideration, Music Theory Spectrum 24 (Spring
2002): 68102. see also Bass, 1994.

6
 Transpositional combination (TC) was first formalized by Richard Cohn to describe

pitch-class sets that may be formed by combining transpositionally related sets.13 Example 1

illustrates a transpositional combination. Here, two (03) dyads are related to one another through

T4. Their union produces set-class (0347), which is said to bear the TC property.14 Without

overcomplicating this preliminary discussion, a note on the standard symbols should suffice. The

brackets segment the musical surface into transpositionally related pitch-class sets, and the *

between the set-class and the interval of transposition is the conventional way of indicating TC.

Because transpositional combination is an operation, the transpositionally related set-classes and

their transpositional relationship are referred to as operands: 3 and 4 in this case.15 The table

underneath the example summarizes the operation. The two operands are represented along the

border of the table and their combination is shown in the center. The union is created by adding

the two operands to one another. In a TC operation, the transpositionally related set is shown in

its normal order, and the level of transposition is represented by a dyad.

13
Cohn, TC in Twentieth Century Music, 5961.

14
In Inversional Symmetry and Transpositional Combination in Bartk, Cohn compares transpositional
combination and inversional symmetry. Specifically, Cohn points out that many set-classes that bear the property of
inversional symmetry also bear the TC property. Framing his argument in reference to Bartk scholarship, Cohn
notes that it can be fruitful to represent sets as products of transpositional combination than inversional symmetry.
Cohn, Inversional Symmetry, 2027.

15
Dyads are generally abbreviated as single numbers. In Example 1, 3 represents the (03) set-class and 4
represents the (04) set-class. TC operations may have more than two operands. Crumbs music generally makes use
of low cardinality sets, and as a result, I have found that binary operations generally suffice as representations.
Cohn, TC in Twentieth Century Music, 7783.

7
Example 1, 3 * 4 TC operation

4 3 6
0 E 2
E 2

Analysis of the variations from Vox Balaenae reveals three variation procedures

involving transpositional combinations that result in collectional interaction.16 All of the

variation techniques allow similar melodic motives or structural features to exist in different

collectional contexts. The first two variation procedures use either of the two TC operands as a

convergence point that connects different collections: Type I variation utilizes a set-class

operand common to more than one collection as a pivot between collections; Type II variation

maintains a common transposition operator to shift collections while varying the other operand.

Figure 1 lists the dyadic, trichordal, and tetrachordal subsets of the diatonic, octatonic and

whole-tone collections. The overlapping portions of the Venn diagram contain collectionally

ambiguous sets that are members of at least two collections, and as a result can be used as

convergence points to connect the collections.17 Example 2a is a model of Type I variation, using

16
Vox Balaenae is organized formally into a prologue followed by a set of variations and an epilogue. The
variations move chronologically through five geological eras. The musical associations with these eras are intended
to roughly represent them. For instance, Crumb places a quotation from Strausss Also Sprach Zarathustra in the
Cenozoic variation to coincide with the first appearances of man in that era. George Crumb, Liner Notes from
George Crumb: Eleven Echoes of Autumn, Four Nocturnes, Vox Balaenae, Dream Sequence, performed by Hans
Peter Frehner, flute, Samuel Brunner, cello, Viktor Mller, piano ([Zrich]: Jecklin Edition, 705, 1996).

8
(026) as a convergence point. Here, each line shows two TC realizations with (026) as a

common set-class; the first two trichords of each line are identical and the second trichord in

each line is related to the first by transposition. In the first line, (026) * 2 forms a nearly

complete whole-tone collection, while in the second, (026) * 3 creates a six-note subset of the

octatonic collection. In this example, (026) is a literal convergence point that connects two

different collections.18 Conversely, Type II variation maintains the transposition value, T6, as a

point of convergence while varying the transposed set-class, as shown in Example 2b. This type

of variation is generally more abstract because the transpositional relationship is most often a

more structural feature that may be less salient on the musical surface.

Variation Type III will be discussed extensively in the second half of this chapter. This

procedure subjects an overtly diatonic objectsuch as the perfect fifth, triad, or majorminor

seventh chordto a T6 transposition that creates an octatonic collection. Though diatonic and

octatonic collections are similar in terms of subset contentthey share all of the major and

minor triads, dominant and half-diminished sevenths, and the fully-diminished seventh, among

othersthis chapter argues that diatonic-octatonic interaction is not simply the result of subset

similarity. The significance of diatonic-octatonic interaction is traced to the use of a recurring

quotation of the Nature theme from Richard Strausss Also Sprach Zarathustra that Crumb

slightly alters so as to juxtapose diatonic elements and the octatonic collection.19 The final

17
If this hypothesis regarding the importance of collectional interaction in Crumbs music is sound, it
should follow that a survey of Crumbs music would reveal a predilection for these collectionally ambiguous set-
classes. In fact, Richard Bass shows that, other than the prominent octatonic subset (014), Crumb does indeed tend
to use these set-classes as motives in many of his compositions. Bass, Sets, Scales and Symmetries, 57.
18
In some ways this is similar to common-tone modulation in tonal music, where a triad common to more
than one key is used as a common element to modulate from one key to another. I will also show examples where
the convergence point is abstract, not literally belonging to either of the two collections.
19
Crumb often uses quotation in his music. Steven Bruns has published extensively on this subject. Steven
Bruns, In stilo Mahleriano: Quotation and Allusion in the Music of George Crumb, The American Music
Research Center Journal 3 (1993): 939; Bruns, Les Adieux: Haydn, Mahler, and George Crumbs Night of the

9
 portion of this chapter illustrates that collectional interaction is suggestive in relation to

extramusical features of Vox Balaenae.

Figure 1, dyadic, trichordal, and Example 2, two types of TC that use

tetrachordal subsets of the diatonic, convergence points to connect octatonic and
octatonic, and whole-tone collections whole-tone collections.

a) Type I

b) Type II

A clear example of Type I variation characterizes the shift from the Sea Theme to the

first of the variations, Archezoic. Both are shown in Example 3 with prominent statements of

the collectionally ambiguous pitch-class set (025) indicated.20 In the Sea Theme, boundary

statements of transpositionally related (025) realizations combine to form a diatonic collection,

while in the following Archezoic variation the same set-class combines through TC to create

Four Moons, in George Crumb and the Alchemy of Sound, Steven Bruns, Ofer Ben-Amots, Michael D. Grace, eds.,
(Colorado Springs: Colorado College Music Press, 2005), 101132.

20
All of the musical examples in this chapter are from George Crumb, Vox Balaenae for Three Masked
Players, New York, C.F. Peters Corporation, 1971.

10
an octatonic collection. In this process, (025) becomes a literal convergence point allowing

variation in collection while maintaining set-class consistency. As Example 3a shows, the Sea

Theme embeds four realizations of pitch-class set (025). The lower bracket connects the first

and last statementsthe last related to the first by T2. As the addition table beside the example

shows, these two (025) realizations result in a five-note subset of the diatonic collection when

combined at this transposition. All but two of the pitches that fall in between these two framing

statements are duplications. It is quite clear that in the Sea Theme, (025) is functioning as a

motivic force that, when subjected to TC at this transposition level, creates the overall diatonic

environment.

(025) is accentuated as a convergence point at the beginning of the Archezoic variation,

shown in Example 3b.21 The same [D, E, G] form of (025) that ended the Sea Theme begins

this variation, as is shown by the arrow connecting the (025) statements. However, this

realization of (025) is almost immediately followed by its transposition at T6, which creates a

subset specific to the octatonic collection. Example 3b summarizes this interaction in which the

[D, E, G] form of (025) is used as a point of convergence to connect two different collections.

The collectional contrast between the two sections is a representation of the process of variation,

while the common motivic content establishes a link between the sections.

A more abstract version of Type I variation is operative in the transition from the end of

the Archezoic variation to the beginning of the Proterozoic variation, shown in Example 4.

In this passage, (026) serves as an abstract convergence point linking the octatonic collection at

the beginning of Archezoic to the whole-tone collection at the end, which prepares the

collectional environment of Proterozoic where (026) becomes the primary motive in an

21
In Examples 3b and 4a from Archezoic, the piano is divided into two staves, of which only the top
represents the actual sounding pitches. The bottom staff represents the chisel-piano effect and indicates the note
on which the chisel is placed.

11
 entirely whole-tone context. Example 4 reproduces the end of Example 3b on the top staff, where

an (025) * 6 realization created the octatonic collection discussed above. The continuation of the

passage varies the (025) motive by expanding the boundary interval from (05) to (06), producing

Example 3, (025) used as a convergence point

a) Sea-Theme

2 3 5 8
b) Archezoic 0 1 3 6
1 3 6

Diatonic (02357)

6 9 E 2
0 3 5 8
3 5 8

Octatonic (013679)

c) schematic showing the convergence point that connects the Sea Theme and Archezoic variation

12
 Example 4, (026) as a convergence point connecting octatonic and whole-tone

a) end of Archezoic

2 2 4 8
0 0 2 6
0 2 6
Whole-tone

b) whole-tone beginning of Proterozoic

13
 c) middle of Proterozoic, juxtaposition of (025) and (026) reinforce movement
back to octatonic

the [F, G, B] (026) set-class that is boxed-in on the left portion of the second staff. Continuity is

explicit between the (025) statements at the beginning of Archezoic and this (026) statement.

Aside from their timbral relationship, they are melodically and rhythmically similar.

Furthermore, the octatonicism of the first half of Archezoic is somewhat preserved because

(026) is an abstract subset of this collection, although it is a subset of a different octatonic

collection than that which was established. Example 4a shows through the arrow that this (026)

set-class is subsequently projected into the cello where it is a pivot that links the prior

octatonicism to whole-tone collections that are established through two iterations of (026) * 2.

In the Proterozoic variation that follows Archezoic (Example 4b), there is a

continuation of the whole-tone collection prepared at the end of Archezoic. (026), which

established itself in the shift from octatonic to whole-tone at the end of Archezoic asserts itself

as the primary set-class motive in the flute at the beginning of Proterozoic. Note that the union

of the two (026) motives here forms a larger (0268) that is ambiguous as to which collection it

14
belongs, octatonic or whole-tone. Only the whole-tone environment at the end of the previous

variation leads to a whole-tone hearing at this moment. After a brief, solo cello statement, the

flute reenters (Example 4c) playing a passage clearly linked to the beginning of the variation. As

witnessed earlier in Archezoic, (025) and (026) are stated in succession here and (026) is

emphasized as a convergence point that allows a shift back to the octatonic collection in the

succeeding cello passage. This is an unambiguous change as all of these pitches belong to an

octatonic collection, even the cellos grace notes.

Underneath the score in Examples 4ac, a line follows the progress of each collection

through Archezoic and into Proterozoic. To restate these observations, (026) is an abstract

convergence point whose membership in both the octatonic and whole-tone collection allows it

to serve as a link between the two; the dotted line underneath the [F, G, B] trichord in

Archezoic (Example 4a) indicates that it belongs to neither the previous octatonic collection

nor the following whole-tone collection literally. Instead, this (026) prepares the subsequent

whole-tone environment, which is established through (026) * 2 operations. Motivically, this

(026) and the previous (025) are related to each other through a simple expansion.22 In

Proterozoic, (025) reemerged and its juxtaposition with (026) signaled a movement back to the

octatonic collection in the succeeding passage (Example 4bc). (025) is collectionally specific in

these passages; in other words, its presence always signifies an octatonic environment. On the

other hand, (026) prepared the whole-tone environment through its ability to function in either

the octatonic or whole-tone environment.

As was discussed above, Type II variation makes use of the transposition operator as a

convergence point, while varying the transposed set-class. Thus far in the composition, (025) and

22
Miguel Roig-Francoli discusses this type of extension in A Theory of Pitch-Class-Set Extension in
Atonal Music, College Music Symposium 41 (Fall 2001): 57-90.

15
(026) have demonstrated a motivic dominance, with (025) pervading the Sea Theme and the

beginning of Archezoic, and (026) asserting itself at the end of Archezoic and the beginning

of Paleozoic.23 In the Mesozoic variation, these two set-classes are juxtaposed as the motivic

material in simultaneous, but clearly differentiated textural strands. The convergence point

connecting the two is T6, which is involved in TC operations with both set-classes. The TC

operations in each strand produce different collections such that the juxtaposition of (025) and

(026) is reinforced through collectional contrast as well.

In Mesozoic, the two strands are demarcated by both texture and instrumentation. The

piano, reduced on the lower staff of Example 5a, plays the lower strand in which each hand

maintains a different realization of (025) such that there is a T6 relation between hands. (Example

5b shows this relationship as it appears in the score.) Each occurrence of this TC relationship

creates a six-note subset of the octatonic collection. Note that an allegiance to a single octatonic

collection is not maintained throughout the variation; as the specific pitch realizations of (025)

change, the TC relationship remainscausing a regular alternation of two different octatonic

collections.

The upper strand, shown on the top staff of Example 5a, is a unison melody played by

flute and cello. This strand contains four instances of (026)the other motivic trichordat both

the beginning and the end of the passage. At both moments, (026) is involved in a TC

relationship with its T6 partner. As such, each of the two strands articulates different trichords,

23
Some initial findings show that thinking of these variations in different modular contexts is illuminating
in regards to the connection between (025) and (026). For instance, the mod-12 set-classes (025) and (026) in this
example are identical when thought of as step-class sets in mod-8 (octatonic) and mod-6 (whole-tone) spaces,
respectively. Thinking in different modular spaces emphasizes the similarities between the slightly-different
(mod-12) trichords and seems to show quite effectively how collectional shifting is a variation procedure involving
different modular spaces. Matthew Santa, Defining Modular Transformations, Music Theory Spectrum 21
(Autumn 1999): 200229; Santa, Analysing Post-Tonal Diatonic Music: A Modulo 7 Perspective, Music Analysis
19 (Spring 2000): 167201.

16
but are related through the T6 convergence point. While the specific trichords are different, the

quality of the transformation relating the trichords is the same.

Question marks in Example 5c make it clear that an (026) * 6 relationship is not specific

enough to articulate a whole-tone collection by itself in the manner that (025) * 6 formed specific

octatonic collections in the lower strand. In other words, the result of (026) * 6 is (0268), a set-

class common to both the octatonic and whole-tone collections. In order to specify the

collectional context of the upper strand, a more remote T2 relationship connects the two (026) * 6

statements, as seen on the upper portion of Example 5a and further clarified in 5c. To summarize

briefly, the lower strand articulates the octatonic collection through (025) * 6, while the upper

strand articulates the whole-tone collection through two T2 related statements of (026) * 6. T6

serves as the convergence point connecting the strands and reinforcing the collectional

interaction. The textural juxtaposition is reinforced by set-class(025) and (026)and

collectionaloctatonic and whole-tonejuxtaposition.

Collectional interaction in Mesozoic is more intricate than simple juxtaposition,

however. Smaller boxes in Example 5a show that the collectional ambiguity of the (026) trichord

allows the trichords in the upper strand to function as a member of whichever octatonic

collection is being articulated in the lower strand at that time while simultaneously serving in the

network of transpositions that create the whole-tone collection in the flute and cello. At the

beginning of the passage, the initial, [D, F, A] (026) trichord of the upper strand is not only a

member of the (026) * 6 operation that ultimately creates the whole-tone collection, but it is also

a constituent of the octatonic collection unfolding in the piano. When B is introduced as a

component of the second, [A, B, D] (026) trichord, the piano part rests momentarily because B

17
is not a member of the first octatonic collection. When the piano reenters, a new octatonic

collection is produced that includes the B and the remaining pitches of this new (026) trichord.

This example shows a Type II variation technique where the transposition operator

functions as a convergence point, creating a collectionally rich environment where octatonic and

whole-tone interact with one another in a very interesting way.24 Both TC operations in the upper

and lower strands articulate different collections by using different set-classes, (025) and (026)

which were the same set-classes responsible for collectional shifting in the Sea Theme,

Archezoic, and in Proterozoic. The T6 transpositional level serves as a convergence point

that relates the collections as does the (026) trichord which maintains membership in whichever

octatonic collection is unfolding in the piano at that time.

24
This example does not necessarily posit that these collections exist simultaneously, which would
admittedly be difficult to process as a listener. However, I do believe that our collectional perspective evolves over
the course of the variation such that the final (026) * 6 relationship, which is of a T2 relationship to the first (026) *
6, could cause us to begin to hear the influence of the whole-tone collection at the end of the passage. In his analyses
of Strainvskys early ballets, Antokoletz often points out passages in which two or more collections might be
operative simultaneously. It is not clear from his discussion how Antokoletz expects listeners to process multiple
collections simultaneously, however. Elliot Antokoletz, Interval Cycles in Stravinskys Early Ballets, Journal of
the American Musicological Society 39/3 (Autumn 1986): 587580, 609614.

18
Example 5, T6 serving as a convergence point

a) reduction of Mesozoic

b) lower strand

b) lower strand

c) T2 relationship in the upper strand specifices the whole-tone collection

T2

19
 The remainder of this chapter will explore a final type of variation that uses the

referential power of quotation to invoke diatonic tonality. Type III variation maintains T6 as a TC

convergence point; the other operand is a diatonic pitch class set with the perfect fourth/fifth (05)

as one of its constituents. Such a TC operation will always generate an octatonic collection or

one of its collectionally specific subsets as shown in Example 6a, a catalog of Type III variation

models. Though the transposition operator is maintained as a convergence point in these

examples, this type of variation is fundamentally different from Type I or Type II variation. Type

III variation contrasts objects whose associations are diatonicperfect fifths, triads, and major-

minor seventhswith the octatonic collections that these objects create as a result of T6

transpositional combination. In other words, Type III variation does not juxtapose fully-formed

collections like the previous examples of variation did. Instead, the examples of Type III

variation that follow contrast the diatonic associations we experience when hearing a triad with

the octatonic collection it belongs to as a result of its membership in a TC operation. In other

words, diatonic is perceived through referentially.

Type III variation does bear an important relationship to the variation techniques

explored in the first part of this chapter, however. In these passages, (025) and (026) were

primary motives, and they were often juxtaposed and implicated in defined types of interaction

between specific collections. Example 6b shows that the transformation of (025) into (026)

involves the expansion of (05) into (06). This difference is related to the Type III variation in

Example 6b, which shows that that the two central constituents of Type III variation are the

transposition operator, T6, and a perfect fourth/fifth, (05). To reinforce the significance of this

type of collectional interaction, the remainder of the chapter spends some time relating the

conflict between the collections to a recurring quotation of the Nature theme from Also Sprach

20
Zarathustra. The final portions of the chapter discuss how this conflict is resolved in the

epilogue of the composition and observes some connections that link the conflict between

diatonic and octatonic to a similar conflict in Strausss Also Sprach Zarathustra and some

extramusical aspects of the Vox Balaenae.

Example 6, Type III variation

a) Type III variation models

b) relation of Type III variation to (025)/(026)

motives

Strausss Nature theme from Also Sprach Zarathustra is first heard in the prologue to

Vox Balaenae that precedes the set of variations just discussed. At the moment marked Parody

of Also Sprach Zarathustra, Strauss theme appears in a slightly altered form, as shown in

Example 7a. In Also Sprach Zarathustra (Example 7b), the climactic chords that form the center

of the theme contrast C major and minor sonorities, which upon repetition become C major and

F major. The repetition, in fact, is a transpositional combination of (037 * 5) that defines the

21
diatonic collection. In Crumbs parody, the Nature theme is stated in B, and maintains the

major/minor contrast in the two climactic chords. But, instead of transposition by perfect fourth,

the roots instead are related by T6. Substitution of the perfect fourth with a tritone imparts an

octatonic quality upon Crumbs parody. The piano timpani strokes that follow add the pitch A

so that the complete pitch content of this quotation is a seven-note octatonic subset. To state the

Example 7, contrast between the Nature theme as it appears in Vox Balaenae and its
appearance in Also Sprach Zarathustra
a) Vox Balaenae, Vocalise

b) Also Sprach Zarathustra, mm. 512

22
relationship to collection interaction more explicitly, Crumbs quotation undoubtedly references

diatonic tonality through the ascending perfect fifth that begins the passage and the two triads

that form the climactic chords; however, the alteration of the root relationship (an expansion of

T5 to T6) results in a passage whose pitch content is unambiguously octatonic.

This quotation establishes the collectional conflict that occurs repeatedly throughout Vox

Balaenae and specifies the conflict as a juxtaposition of diatonic objects that belong to an

octatonic collection. Example 8 presents a passage from the Cenozoic variation that contains a

shortened portion of the quotation at its conclusion.25 In this variation, Crumb combines perfect

fifths at T6 to produce small octatonic sets that are further combined at T3 to produce a complete

octatonic collection. Immediately following this TC passage, a reappearance of the Nature theme

ensues. As the example shows, TC of the first FC dyad with its T6 transposition results in

(0167) and the further combination of (0167) at T3 produces a complete octatonic collection. In

the succeeding velocissimo passage, chains of 5 * 6 TC realizations continue, followed by a

complete T6 transposition of the entire first half of the passage. After which, Crumbs parody of

the Nature theme reappears as a concluding gesture shown with only the two altered triads and

timpani strokeswithout the ascending perfect fifth that began the quotation in Vocalise.

The quotations appearance here in Cenozoic places the 5 * 6 operations occurring before it in

the context of the conflict that was first articulated in the prologue (Example 7a). Like the faux-

diatonicism of the triads and fifths of the altered quotation there, the perfect fifths in this passage

become members of an octatonic collection when combined with their T6 partners.

In other words, in Cenozoic and in the quotation from the prologue, the diatonic

collections fundamental intervalthe perfect fifthis forced into an octatonic context through TC

25
This quotations reoccurrence in the Cenozoic variation is significant. In the history of Earth, the
Cenezoic era is believed to have witnessed the appearance of man. Crumb and others have pointed towards this
quotation as a representation of man, and as such, it is fitting that it occurs here for the first time in the variations.

23
 Example 8, 5 * 6 TC operations in Cenozoic followed by an abridged version of the Nature theme

24
Example 9, 5 * 6 TC operations in Paleozoic followed by (0258) * 6 realizations that complete the octatonic collection
Example 10, end of the Cenozoic variation

a) End of Cenozoic

b) Network of Transpositions

c) Network that shows composing-out of (025)

25
at T6. A similar passage from the Paleozoic variation is shown in Example 9. Oscillating

quintuplet figures in all three instruments are implicated in 5 * 6 TC operations. As was the case

with the 5 * 6 passages in Cenozoic, the TC relationship is made explicit here as a contrast

between harmonic perfect fifths and melodic tritones. Following the quintuplet passage, an

isolated cello statement combines two T6 related major-minor sevenths that are referent to the

octatonic collection. This new combination is interesting in that, apart from its inversionally

related partner, the major-minor seventh is the only diatonic, triadic construction collection that

contains both the perfect fifth and the tritone, the two operands most fundamental to the conflict

that has been proposed. 26

The reciprocal relationship between the perfect fifth and the tritone that results in the

proposed collectional interaction also occupies the end of Cenozoic, the final variation before

the concluding epilogue. In this passage, shown as Example 10a, (025) functions as an object

persistently transformed at T6. A six-note octatonic referent results from this transformation,

which is further transformed at T5. A network showing these transformations is indicated as

Example 10b. The examples show the (025) trichords as T5 transformations because the lowest

and highest pitch of each trichord are most salient, and these pitches are related through T5. This

network is a good model of the reciprocal TC relationship between the perfect fifth and the

tritone; both are shown as primary transpositions at different levels of the network.

Grouping and ordering contribute to our perception of this relationship. The segmentation

in Examples 10a and 10b follows from the regular alternation of (025) trichords with reversed

contour. The directionality of the trichords marks the lowest pitch of each ascending trichord and

the highest of each descending trichord, creating the path of associations indicated by beams in
26
Also notice that the spelling of the major-minor sevenths, {DFAC} in particular, indicates a
conceptual linkage to the diatonic here.

26
Example 10ca network like Example 10b, but with the content of each node specified. Each

beam in the example indicates the composing out of (025), the trichordal object that began the

network.27 Interestingly, the tritone is subjugated to a certain degree here. Because T5 is the

higher-order operand, it somewhat overwhelms the T6 connections, which are already hidden to

some extent by the directional opposition between the T6-related (025) trichords.

To summarize briefly, Examples 710 demonstrated a specific type of collectional

interaction in which diatonic objects were combined with their T6 partners, resulting in octatonic

collections. This type of variation is defined as Type III in order to distinguish it from two other

types of variation that literally juxtapose fully-formed collections. The origin of the relationship

between the perfect fifth/fourth and tritone can be traced to the Sea Theme that began the

variation set. Example 11 uses various shapes to indicate the role of each in the Sea Theme.

Two perfect fifths/fourths articulate each boundary of the phrase and three delineate the central

portion of the phrase, each of these originating from the high G that initiates the central section.

The lone tritone occurs between A and D, marked by a box in the example. Lines and

collectional labels under the example indicate possible collectional contexts for each portion of

the phrase. Notice that the tritone marks a collectional shift from diatonic to octatonic. A dotted

line indicates that this shift gradually unfolds, but is explicit at the arrival on A. The boundary

perfect fifths highlight the ability of this interval to function in either of the collectional contexts,

a property that is consistently articulated in the Cenozoic and Paleozoic variations shown in

Examples 810.

27
Joseph Straus, Atonal Composing-Out, in Order and Disorder: MusicTheoretical Strategies in 20th-
Century Music (Leuven University Press, 2004), 3151.

27
Example 11, reproduction of Sea Theme showing the perfect fifths, tritone, and
collectional contexts in which each of these occurs

Admittedly, this last point calls attention to a potential criticism of Type III variation;

namely, if nearly all of the dyadic, triadic and seventh-chord subsets of the diatonic collection

including all of the dyads, major, minor, and diminished triads, the major-minor seventh, and

half-diminished seventhare also subsets of the octatonic collection, why posit collectional

interaction at all? Comparing the subset content of these two collections reveals that, at least

abstractly, these sonorities are just as much a part of the octatonic collection as they are part of

the diatonic collection.28

The simple answer is that the perfect fifth, major and minor triads, as well as the major-

minor seventh immediately evoke diatonic connotations because of their ubiquitous appearance

in the centuries of diatonic music that preceded Vox Balaenae and with which most listeners are

very familiar. The quotation of the Nature theme (Example 7b) from Also Sprach Zarathustra

certainly reinforces the correlation. In its unaltered form, the rising fifth of the theme, along with

the tonic pedal, and prominent triads are unambiguously diatonic. Appearances of this theme

throughout Vox Balaenae are quite identifiable, and the TC operations in passages from

28
In Properties and Generability of Transpositionally Invariant Sets, Richard Cohn uses modular sub-
universes and interval cycles to show that sets with certain properties will always result in an octatonic collection
or one of its subsets through T6 transposition. Essentially, the diatonic objects I have cited all have the perfect fifth
in common. Because of their asymmetry, the pitch classes of a perfect fifth also belong to T1 related tritones: CG is
found in the T1 related tritones CF and CG. As a result, when any perfect fifth is transposed by T6, the remaining
pitches of the T1 related tritones are produced: CG transformed at T6 produces FC. This result is (0167), a
characteristically octatonic subset. Adding a major or minor third above or below any pitch in the CG fifth will
only increase the cardinality of the octatonic subset. For instance, adding a B above the CG fifth produces a CG
B object (026) that when transposed at T6 produces FCE and their union creates (013679). Richard Cohn,
Properties,1720.

28
Paleozoic, Cenozoic, and others are heard in relation to the diatonic connotations of these

quotations.

From this viewpoint, collectional interaction, or conflict, in Vox Balaenae originates in

the alteration of the Nature theme. The remainder of this chapter will discuss the resolution of

this conflict in Vox Balaenae. In addition, it will discuss some further relationships to Strausss

Also Sprach Zarathustra. A type of collectional conflict also pervades this composition, and the

resolution in the Vox Balaenaes final passage seems to have a corollary in Also Sprach

Zarathustra. Notions of conflict and resolution are of extramusical or programmatic importance

in both compositions. The conclusion of this chapter will make some observations about how

interaction or conflict in Vox Balaenae and its subsequent resolution in the closing passage

relates to issues of mankind, technology, and Nature that were important topics at the time of

Vox Balaenaes composition.

A final appearance of the Nature theme quotation appears in Vox Balaenaes epilogue,

entitled Sea Nocturne and shown in Example 12.29 In this passage, the Nature theme is further

shortened from the version shown in the Cenozoic variation (Example 8); it now includes only

the final timpani strokes without the tritone-related triads. A reprise of the Sea Theme

quotation (Example 11) follows this shortened quotation and leads into the final piano gestures

of the piece. Figure 3a collates the pitch content of these final moments: the right hand

quintuplets and BF pedal of the left hand are on the top line; the central staffs A and F,

which are circled in Example 12, are on the bottom line. This figure shows that the pitch content

of these final gestures embeds a pentatonic collection as well as an octatonic collection. The

syncopated A and F are the only pitches that prohibit the pitch content at the end from being
29
This entire passage is written with a key signature of 5 sharps. Due to space constraints, I could not
reproduce the portion that includes the key signature except on the bottom portion of the example.

29
completely diatonic. In other words, the pitch content of the passage embeds the collectional

conflict previously articulated through TC. By stratifying these octatonic pitches against the

pentatonic quintuplets and pedal, neither collection is able to fully assert itself. The reemergence

of the Sea Theme in this passage refers to the conflict in a similar manner, as it has been

mentioned numerous times in this chapter as a passage that exemplifies the collectional

interaction with which this chapter has been concerned. Like the final moments of the piece, the

Sea Themes pitch content may also be represented by Figure 3a.

As a final affirmation of the conflict, two T6 related perfect fifths occur as pedal pitches

in the left hand of the closing passage, indicated by the arrow in Example 10. Not only is this 5 *

6 transpositional combination reminiscent Type III interaction that occurred in Cenozoic and

Paleozoic (Examples 89), but these exact pitch classes also made up the first instance of

tritone related triads in the initial quotation of the Nature theme (Example 7b). Taken together,

the occurrences of A and E in the Sea Theme and as the stratified accompaniment to the

pentatonic quintuplets in the concluding passage, as well as this final occurrence of a 5 * 6 TC

operation strongly affirm the conflict between diatonic and octatonic.

This conflict is resolved at the end of the composition. The boxed-in portion of Example

11 shows that immediately after the (dying, dying . . .) indication, the quintuplet piano gesture

returns two final times without the stratified A and E. In other words, only diatonic elements

return, without interference from octatonicism. Crumbs notation and performance directions are

suggestive here. Perhaps (dying, dying . . .) is written not only as an indication of dynamics

and mood, but also as an indication of the final octatonic interference.

30
Example 12, Collectional conflict and resolution at the end of the Sea Nocturne

31
Figure 3, various representations of the pitch content at the end of Sea Nocturne

a) b)

c)

Visually, the piano staves collapse after the final statement of A and F to fill the space vacated

by the two octatonic pitches.

Through Type II variation, this chapter has repeatedly mentioned that the composition,

the perfect fifth represented diatonicism and the tritone was the single element that impeded

diatonicism.30 Two final observations about the conflict and resolution at the end of the

composition can be gleaned from this remark. First, the B-major pentatonic that ends the piece

(Figure 3b) is not only a common substitute for the diatonic collection, but it is also a large

diatonic subset entirely generable through a partial cycle of perfect fifths. As a result of its

generation, it does not have the tritone found in a complete diatonic collection. In other words,

30
Of course the perfect fifth is the common element that connects these diatonic objects in the
composition. As mentioned in note 26, Cohn has shown that the asymmetry of the perfect fifth allows for its
inclusion in the octatonic collection when combined with its T6 relation.

32
the one element responsible for impeding diatonicism in the variations and up until the final

moments of the piece is conspicuously absent at the end of the composition. Second, the final

octatonic elements, A and E, that formed the stratified accompaniment to the aforementioned

pentatonic collection can be regarded as half-step alterations of the BMajor collections key-

defining tritone, as shown in Figure 3c. Interpreting an alteration here again suggests that these

octatonic elements are disruptive forces, and that their disappearance at the end signals a return

to diatonicism.

Example 13, Also Sprach Zarathustra, 8 measures after rehearsal 17

This collectional conflict is reminiscent of a similar conflict between C major and B

major/minor in Richard Strausss Also Sprach Zarathustra.31 For instance, at the climax of the

composition shown in Example 13, the ascending fifth of the Nature theme emerges,

accompanied by an emphatic C pedal. Immediately following its statement and a pause, a new

section suddenly begins in the remote key of B minor, juxtaposing the two tonalities.32

31
This conflict is a salient feature of the piece that has been discussed since the compositions premier and
by Strauss, himself. John Williamson, Strauss, Also Sprach Zarathustra (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press,
1993), 31-38, 66-67.

33
 Of more interest to our discussion, the C/B conflict is amplified at the end of Also Sprach

Zarathustra, just as the collectional conflict is magnified at the end of Vox Balaenae (Example

14). Like Vox Balaenae, the passage is written with a B-major key signature, which the upper

woodwinds, strings, and harp articulate with unambiguous B major triads in much the same way

that the right hand of the piano articulated B pentatonic in Vox Balaenae. Every B-major triad,

however, is interspersed with the rising perfect fifth motive from the Nature theme, stated in C

major. A and F are these fifths corollaries in Vox Baleaene. That this passage is representative

of the C/B conflict is no more apparent than at the end Also Sprach Zarathustra, where the final

B-major chord is followed by three solitary Cs. All of these correlations suggest that Crumb

might have had this passage in mind while composing Vox Balaenae. Interestingly however,

Strausss music seems to end with this conflict firmly intactneither B major or C major

subside at the end of the piece.33 But in Vox Balaenae, the resolution of the collection conflict is

apparent as the octatonic elements clearly subside in favor of diatonicism.

Example 14, Also Sprach Zarathustra, mm. 97987

32
The passage after the fermata is based on the Longing motive. This motive generally occurs in the key
of B minor. Its juxtaposition with the Nature motive, which usually occurs in C major, is a consistent source of
conflict. John Williamson, Strauss, 7087.

33
The statements of C at the end can be interpreted as the fifth of an altered V7 chord in second inversion,
in which case B major is the controlling tonality. However, the final statements of C, even after the final B major
chord, indicate that the conflict between the tonalities is somewhat in effect here as well. Ibid., 70.

34
 Conflict is compelling in relationship to the extra-musical circumstances surrounding

both Vox Balaenae and Also Sprach Zarathustra. Comments by Crumb and others suggest that

Vox Balaenae bears some association to the relationship between mankind and Naturea

growing concern in 1971, at the time this piece was written.34 Vox Balaenae, or Voice of the

Whale, was composed as Crumbs reaction to hearing a tape of humpback whales singing. The

Vocalise portion of the composition emulates the sound of humpback whales as the flautist is

required to sing and play at the same time. While the subject matter and many of the geologically

named variations suggest a time period before the appearance of man, Crumbs requirement that

performers wear masks indicates an underlying human element. In the preface to the score

Crumb states that the masks by effacing a sense of human projection, will symbolize the

powerful impersonal forces of nature".35 Along these lines, one early reviewer suggested that

Vox Balaenaes symbolism is a condemnation of man's arrogant dominion over the ocean's

most mighty dwellers.36

The Nature theme quotations are evocative in this regard. As mentioned earlier, Crumb

himself has stated that the emergence of man . . . is symbolized by . . . the Zarathustra

reference.37 That the quotation is the source of conflict in both Vox Balaenae and Also Sprach

Zarathustra is symptomatic of its symbolism. For Strauss, Also Sprach Zarathustra was a

34
The first Earth Day was held on April 22, 1970, only a year before Vox Balaenae was completed.
Roughly basing compositions on world events or current thought is not unlike Crumb. Black Angels, composed a
year before Vox Balaenae, has some basis in Crumbs thoughts about the Vietnam War.

35
Crumb, Vox Balaenae, 2.

36
Alan Segall, George Crumb: Voice of the Whale, liner notes by the author, Zuma Records 102, 1994,
compact disc; Michael Walsh, Works by George Crumb, liner notes by the author, New World Records 3572,
1992, compact disc.

37
George Crumb, George Crumb: Eleven Echoes of Autumn, Four Nocturnes, Vox Balaenae, Dream
Sequence, liner notes by the author, Jecklin Edition 705, 1996, compact disc.

35
manifestation of his rejection of Schopenhauerian metaphysics and his acceptance of many of

Friedrich Nietzsches ideas.38 In particular, Strauss was greatly influenced by Nietzsches belief

in the power of the individual, the bermensch, to control his or her own destiny.39 The Nature

theme in Also Sprach Zarathustra often interacts with other motives that generally represent

human characteristics like longing, desire, and passion. In Vox Balaenae, this bermensch, as

evoked through the quotations of the Nature theme, create an image of man as an oppressive

force.40 Throughout the piece, the theme is repeatedly forced into octatonic contexts. The

influence of octatonicism only dissolves at the end of the composition. I have mentioned only a

few of the many interpretive possibilities that arise from a view of collectional conflict and

resolution in the composition.41 A more exhaustive accounting of these possibilities is a possible

course for future study.

In this study, the goal was to use transpositional combination as a tool to understand this

conflict. To summarize, the chapter has shown that collectional interaction is an important

variation technique in the set of variations that occupies the central portion of Vox Balaenae. It

38
Bryan Gilliam, Richard Strauss, Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed 15 May 2007),
<http://www.grovemusic.com>.

39
Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus spoke Zarathustra : a book for all and none, trans. Adrian Del Caro
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006).

40
Interestingly, the opening motif from Also Sprach Zarathustra was widely used in Stanley Kubriks
1968 film, 2001: A Space Odyssey, which deals with themes of human evolution and technology, often in relation to
nature. 2001: A Space Odyssey, prod. and dir. Stanley Kubrick, 141 min. MGM, 1968, DVD.

41
Some ideas for interpretive study that arise from analysis include the gradual decrease in length of the
Nature theme quotation, which seems to exert less influence as the composition continues. In addition, the use of B
Major in the Sea Nocturne seems to have some relationship to the B Major close of Also Sprach Zarathustra. It is
interesting that Crumb used B Major, and not C Major, as an overall tonality for the composition. In Also Sprach
Zarathustra, C major accompanies the Nature theme in most passages, but in Vox Balaenae this theme is always in
B major. By using B major, Crumb requires the flautist to have a B pedal and forces the cellist to tune the cello
scordatura. Finally, a future study might examine the role of electronics in the composition. Such use of technology
is certainly suggestive in a piece that is based on the role of mankind and nature.

36
discussed three types of variation, all of them relying to some degree on the notion of a

convergence point to connect collections. The first type used an object as the convergence point,

while the second viewed the transposition operator as the point of convergence. Using these

types of variation, changes in collectional context often represent the variation process, while the

common motivic or structural TC operand is the link between variations. The second half of this

chapter discussed a more specific type of variation technique that involves the perfect fifth and

the tritone, and contrasts diatonic objects that are defined by the perfect fifth with the octatonic

collections that are created through T6 transpositional combination. An additional discussion

involved the similarities between these types of TC and Crumbs quotation of the Nature theme

from Also Sprach Zarathustra. As shown, this conflictfirst articulated in the Nature theme

quotationis not simply a feature of pitch and structural organization, but it may have important

implications for an extramusical interpretation of the composition, as well.

37
 Chapter Two: Transpositional Combination and the Analysis of Form in Lux Aeterna

The previous chapter discussed how transpositional combination functions in interaction

among referential collections, and defined three TC-based variation techniques involving this

interaction. Because large pitch collections were the primary concern, that discussion focused

mostly on the results of a TC operation, and used transpositional combination only to model how

the collections were attained. This chapter will discuss ways to refine the TC apparatus in order

to model more closely how operands in a TC operation are represented on the musical surface,

and will use these refinements to discuss form in George Crumbs Lux Aeterna. In this chapter,

the referential pitch collections discussed in the previous chapter will be relegated to a

subservient role, and operands and specific representations of the TC process will be brought to

the fore.

Though a lot of Crumbs music seems susceptible to collectional analysis, such pursuits

can easily gloss over important surface details. In Crumbs music, individual intervals are highly

significant. As a composer deeply interested in symbolism, intervallic motives often portray

extramusical ideas. In Black Angels for instance, the (016) trichord is generally represented as a

tritone [06] with an appended perfect fifth [07] as a symbol of the polarity between the Devil and

God. While collectional analysis could refer these sonorities to particular collections, these

generalizations might miss the symbolism inherent in the details.

The previous analysis of Vox Balaenae relied on an abstract TC matrix that represented

most passages as unordered collections of pitch classes without recognizing the register,

temporal order, or other surface alterations that may be of significance. The beginning of this

chapter discusses some extensions of the TC apparatus that refine the abstract matrices presented

38
in the first chapter to illustrate the various ways that TC may present itself on the musical

surface. An analysis of Bartks Fourths illustrates how the details that these refinements

elucidate are influential with respect to musical form. Following this will be a discussion that

approaches musical form in Crumbs Lux Aeterna from this new perspective. Implicit in this

study is a movement away from generalizing passages with referential labels such as whole-tone

and octatonic, and a refocusing of analytical attention toward the components that create these

large pitch-collections (i.e. their TC manifestations).1 The final section of this chapter will

discuss this transition and, in particular, TCs generative function with respect to many of these

referential pitch collections.

As mentioned, the first chapter relied on an abstract TC operation, one that was neutral

regarding temporal and registral attributes of a particular musical passage. This section

introduces transformations of TC operations that specify attributes such as register and temporal

ordering. In his dissertation, Richard Cohn has explored many of these concepts in extraordinary

depth.2 I have chosen to summarize his work in the following pages because many of these

concepts are not well known and because this chapter proposes some alterations that are meant to

simplify the process and allow the geometry of the TC matrix to model the music visually in a

more compelling manner.

1
As my analysis of Vox Balaenae shows, collectional analysis can be significant. However, in pieces that
are collectionally unremarkable, attention to the referent collection itself must recede into the background and the
detailsthe way that a collection is generatedshould become more important.

2
Cohn, TC in the 20th Century, 152324.

39
 The steps discussed below are as follows, proceeding from the most abstract

representation to the most specific: (1) The pair of operands are represented in an operation as an

object and a transposition; (2) the entire operation is transposed to represent actual pitch-classes

and the matrix is created; (3) the matrix is formatted to represent the musical dimensions of a

passage; (4) the matrix is permuted to represent temporal and/or registral ordering. Each of these

steps represent transformations of an operation by changing the geometry of the matrix. These

changes in the matrixs geometry distinguish the present studys approach from Cohns, which

represents format changes and permutations within a standard matrix that does not change.

The TC operation

A TC operation represents the union of two transpositionally-related pitch-class sets. The

operands in a TC operation represent an object and a transposition.3 Objects are always

represented as pitch-class sets in normal form, transposed to zero,4 and transpositions are

directed intervals.5 (As a result, inversionally-related set-classes may not be represented in the

same manner; this stipulation occurs because inversionally-related set-classes do not always

produce the same larger set when transposed by the same interval.6) In the operation, an object is

3
In this discussion, I consider only binary operationsthose with one object and one transformation. This
seems to suffice for most of Crumbs music. However, passages with three or more operands are not uncommon in
music, and in these cases, TC operations generally contain one object and two or more transformations; the first
transformation acts on the object, creating a new object upon which the subsequent transformation acts.

4
In general, the objects are collections of pitches that undergo a transformation. In my analyses, objects are
afforded that status because they seem to belong together as a musical unit.

5
As was the case in the first chapter, dyads are generally abbreviated as single numbers. Cf. p. 4, n. 14.

6
Cohn, TC in 20th century, 7077 discusses this in more detail in reference to the Unique Result
Condition.

40
listed first and is followed by its level of transposition. In Example 1a, (035) is serving as an

object that is transformed by T6. Example 1b is not as easy to define because it is not clear

whether the object is [05] or [06]. Here, the object is given as [06] and each of the [06] dyads is

related through a T7 transformation. Had context dictated a different reading, this could be

indicated as (5 * 6), choosing the [05] verticalities as objects and a T6 transformation instead.7

Example 1, (035 * 6) and (6 * 7) TC operations

a) b)

Abstract: (035 * 6) (6 * 7)

Transposed: T10(035 * 6) T6(6 * 7)

The transposed TC operation and the TC matrix

In order to represent the actual pitch-classes present in a passage, the entire TC operation

is transposed, as represented by the Transposed portion of Example 1. The T-value is equal to

the lowest pitch of the first object in the passage, once that object has been put in normal form.

In Example 1a, T10 is applied to the entire operation because the lowest pitch of the initial

(035)which is represented in normal form in the passageis A, or 10. In Example 1b, F is

the lowest pitch of the initial object, ic6, so that the T-value is T6. Note that had Example 1b

been represented as (5 * 6), the T-value would have been T1.

7
This difficulty generally arises when the TC operation involves temporally adjacent verticalities and both
operands are dyads. Context always plays a role in making decisions about which is the object, and which is the
transformation.

41
 After assigning the transposition value, the resulting pitches can be modeled in a pitch-

classspecific matrix like the one shown in Example 2. Notice that the matrix is similar to the

addition table used in the previous chapter; the difference being that this TC matrix does not

contain the operands along the outer borders. The abstract matrix shows the operation,

transposed to begin on zero. The transposed matrix transposes the abstract matrix by the T-value,

as determined from the lowest pitch of the initial object in normal form.

Example 2, T10(035 * 6) operation and its matrix representation

T10(035) * 6

Formats8

Formatting an operation further specifies the matrix by assigning a horizontal or vertical

dimension to each operand, depending upon whether the operand is realized melodically or

8
Cohn, TC in the 20th Century, 180186. Cohns format classes and mine are the same though I have
chosen to represent them differently. Cohn seems concerned with representing all reformatting, a change from HV
to V2 for instance, as alterations of a basic matrix. As a result, he labels formats on the matrix even if the matrices
dimensions are not isographic with the actual musical dimensions. This allows Cohn to use complex formats and
permutations without changing the basic shape of the matrix. For visual clarity, I have chosen to allow the matrix to
mutate so that it isographically represents the musical surface.

42
harmonically. Formatting changes the geometry of the matrix if necessary so as to maintain

isography with the temporal and/or registral order of the transpositionally related objects as

presented in the music.9 In a simple operation with only two operands, there are three possible

formatting situations: (1) the objects are presented melodically and the transpositions occur

vertically (HV); (2) the objects are stated vertically, as are the transpositions (V2); and (3), the

objects are realized melodically, as is the transposition (H2).10

An HV formatting of the T10(035 * 6) operation is shown in Example 3a. [A#, C#, D#]

and [E, G, A]the objects of the TC operationare represented as melodic elements and

assigned the H dimension in the matrix. T6 transformations connect the two objects vertically.

The matrix represents the melodic (035) trichords along the rows and the T6 transformation in

the columns. A dimension exchange is shown in Example 3b: here, the (035) trichords are

represented as harmonic entities and T6 connects the temporally adjacent structures. When the

object of the TC operation is a verticality as it is in Example 3b, it is represented vertically in the

columns of the matrix, changing the geometry of the matrix. Cohn does not represent the

operation in this way. Instead, he always shows the object on the bottom row, whether or not the

object is realized melodically or vertically. Using his method, the matrix in Example 3b would

look the same as 3a. To indicate the difference in dimension, Cohn places a V below the row to

express its vertical realization. 11

9
As mentioned, this is my own contribution. Cohn is not concerned with preserving isography between the
matrix and the score.

10
The temporal ordering of objects, whether they are presented melodically or chordally, will be discussed
below as part of the permutation process.

11
Cohn, TC in the 20th Century, 182. Cohn uses the terms congruent and non-congruent to
represent Examples 3a and 3b, respectively, because 3a is isographic or congruent with the musical score while 3b is
not.

43
Example 3, HV formatting of (035 * 6)

a) b)

A V2 format materializes when the object and transposition both occur vertically. In this

format, the operands are labeled V1 and V2 and refer to levels of relation within the sonority: V1

is a local level and V2 a more remote level. Generally speaking, V1 contains the object while V2

represents the transposition value. For instance, in Example 4a the V1 operand is (035)the two

trichordal verticalitiesand V2 represents the T6 transposition that relates the two trichords. In

4b, the dimensions are exchanged and V1 now represents the three (06) dyads and V2 is the T3,5

transposition.12

12
When a transposition operation has two or more subscripts, I am indicating a transposition of the original
object by both values. In the case of Example 4b, the AE dyad is transposed at T3 and at T5.

44
Example 4, V2 formatting of T10(035 * 6)
a) b)

An H2 format arises when all of the pitches in a TC operation occur melodically. As in

the V2 format, H1 and H2 represent local versus remote levels of melodic structure. The H1

operand is the transposed object, while the H2 operand is the deeper level transpositional

relationship between the objects. Examples 5a and b show two realizations of an H2 formatted

operation.

Example 5, H2 formatting of T10(035 * 6)

a) b)

45
Permutations13

In any TC realization, each operands presence is implied, though not always explicitly

present. That is to say that the realization itself may not always emphasize the operands in a way

that makes them aurally salient. For an operand to be explicit, it must be realized in a way that

emphasizes the interval (not just the interval class) or the pitch-class set (not just the set-class).

In Example 6 for instance, permuting (a) by retrograding the order of the upper trichord in (b)

renders the T6 operand inexplicit; while it may be considered a (hidden) structural element, the

realization does not emphasize T6. Example 6b is a partially explicit realization where only

(035) is aurally salient as a component of the operation. Example 6a, on the other hand, is fully

explicit because both operands are emphasized in the realization. As a further example, (c) is

completely inexplicit because, despite being implicitly present, neither (035) or T6 will be

easily heard in a transpositional relationship.14 Notice that the H and V values below each

passage represent the explicit operands, along with the dimension in which they will be heard

Example 6, three permutations of T10(035 * 6)

a) Fully-Explicit b) Partially-Explicit c) Inexplicit

13
Cohn, TC in the 20th Century, 174180. This study follows Cohns basic process of permutation.

14
Ibid., 164170.

46
 Permutations are defined as operations performed on a TC matrix that alter the temporal

or registral order of the pitches in the operation, and as a result, may affect the explicitness of

one or more of the operands in an operation. Some permutations have no effect on the

explicitness of a realization: imagine retrograding all of the pitches in Example 6a, for instance.

Others cause the operands to become partially explicit, as in Example 6b. A final category,

Example 6c, renders all operands completely inexplicit.

In a P-type permutation, any change in a column or row of the matrix is accompanied by

a corresponding change in all other columns and rows. If this condition is met, the realization of

the operation is fully explicit. Example 7b and 7c shows two P-type permutations of T10(035 *

6), as indicated by the arrows in the example. In each of these examples, the P permutation

causes a change in the temporal ordering so that the (035) trichords and their T6 relationships to

one another are preserved.

Example 7, P-type permutations of T10(035 * 6)

a) b) c)

H-type permutations represent instances where the horizontal component of a realization

remains explicit, and the vertical component loses explicitness. In these cases, the pitch-classes

located on the horizontal axis (the rows of the matrix) remain invariant while those in the

columns do not. The H-type permutation shown in Example 8b, for instance, retrogrades the

47
 temporal ordering of only the upper trichord. The rows of the matrix retain the same pitch-

classes, contributing to the explicitness of the H operand, (035). However, the permutation

causes the pitch-class content of the columns to change, obscuring the vertical T6 relationship.

Example 8, H-type permutations of T0(035 * 6)

a) b) c)

The opposite occurs in a V-type permutation. Here, the columns retain pitch-class content

while the rows experience some change in content. As a result, only the vertical relationship is

explicit. In Example 9, the arrows show that the V-type permutations of T10(035 * 1) in (b) and

(c) retain the T1 relationships , while the [035] object is obscured. V = 1 is shown here to

indicate that the vertical operand, [01] is the only explicit operand.

Example 9, V-type permutation of T10(035 * 1)

a) b) c)

48
 Finally, X-type permutations hold neither operand explicit, creating completely inexplicit

operations. In these passages, neither operand is aurally salient. As a result, we may not hear

these passages as exhibiting TC at all. Examples 10(b) and (c) show instances of inexplicit TC

realizations in relation to a fully explicit passage shown as Example 10(a).

Example 10, X-type permutations of (035 * 1)

a) b) c)

Examples 810 showed permutations of HV formatted operations.15 Permutations may

also be applied to the H2 and V2 formats. Two new permutation types need to be introduced to

account for these situations. As shown in Example 11a, within the H2 format a P-type

permutation holds both operands explicit, an H1-type permutation emphasizes only the H1

operand, and an H2-type permutation creates a situation in which only the H2 operand is

explicitly present. As Example 11b shows, similar permutations apply to the V2 format.16

15
In Cohns dissertation he explores multi-dimensional realizations of TC that occur when a passage has
more than two operands. Cohn, TC in the 20th Century, 265324. My alterations to Cohns system will work with
these multi-dimensional passages. I have not included them here because they would take considerable space to
discuss and are not especially relevant to the examples I will discuss in Crumbs Lux Aeterna.

49
Example 11, permutations of the H2 and V2 format

a)

b)

One great benefit of looking at music from this TC perspective is that it allows us to view

large sets as embodiments of transpositionally related intervals or small sets. This perspective

16
In discussing formats, I mentioned that within H2 and V2 format types, the H1 and V1 dimensions are
generally reserved for objects and the H2 and V2 dimensions are most often transpositions. Conversely, an H1 or V1
permutation will maintain the object as an explicit part of the realization but hide the transposition. Following this
logic, it would seem that an H2 or V2 permutation would obscure the object while maintaining the transposition. As
this is a conceptually difficult situation to imagine (how can we have transpositions of objects without the objects
being present?), these examples are difficult to hear from a TC perspective at all.

50
regards a TC set-class as realized in a passage not as a collection of equally important intervals

and sets (as may be suggested by an interval vector, for instance) but as a dynamic collection in

which certain intervals or set-classes are more prominent than others. As an illustration, Example

12 shows two realizations of set-class (0145). While its interval vector, < 201210>, may suggest

that the set contains six equally important intervals, the two realizations in Example 12 clearly do

not give equal prominence to all of them. By viewing Example 12a as a fully explicit realization

of (1 * 4), these intervals become more important in the makeup of this realization of (0145). As

a contrast, 12b retains the ic1 dyads and obscures the transpositional relationship, suggesting that

ic1 is the most prominent constituent of this realization. While the two belong to the same set

class, they have different presentations that may be used in different ways in a composition. The

importance of a permutation lies in its ability to maintain set-class consistency even while the TC

constituents of that set-class may intensify and recede in importance.

Example 12, two TC realizations of (0145)

a) b)

51
Residual intervals and Transpositionally-Invariant Set Classes

In addition to TC operands, other intervals can be described as byproducts of a TC

operation.17 Cohn calls these byproducts residual intervals, and in a composition these intervals

can acquire significance, often serving as operands in new TC operations.18 In Example 12a, a

residual interval ic3 occurs between C and E. In Example 12b, ic4 is the more salient residual

interval, occurring between C and F. In a non-permuted or formatted TC matrix, the residual

intervals always occur between diagonal-opposed pitch classes.

At this point, an analytical example should clarify how some of the ideas discussed so far

can be used in analysis. Example 13 shows the score of Bartks Fourths from the fifth book of

the Mikrokosmos.19 Fourths is an exploration of a pedagogical and compositional problem. The

pedagogical problem is maintaining perfect fourths in both hands, while moving each hand in

contrary motion. Compositionally, Bartks piece strives toward the purely quartal sonorities

(0257) suggested by the title and represented in the second half of the composition. From mm. 1

34, Bartk systematically avoids the completely quartal sonority as an explicit vertical harmony.

However, beginning in m. 35 the fourths in each unambiguously create quartal chords.

This compositional problem and its resolution can be fruitfully explored through

transpositional combination, as the perfect fourths in the right and left hand of the piano are

explicitly presented as objects related through varying degrees of transposition. The following

17
These other intervals are the remaining, non-operand, intervals in a set-classes interval vector.

18
Cohn, TC in the 20th Century, 190.

19
Richard Parks offers a thorough pitch-class set analysis of this composition. Some aspects of his study
are represented in my analysis, especially his observations on p. 260 concerning the adjacency interval series of the
transpositionally-related fourths. Richard S. Parks, Harmonic Resources in Bartks Fourths, Journal of Music
Theory 25/2 (Autumn, 1981): 245274.

52
Example 13, Bela Bartks Fourths

53
54
analysis will locate the source of conflict in the piece in the level of transpositional relation

connecting the perfect fourths. This transposition value affects the residual intervals that result

from each transpositional combination. Ultimately, Bartk satisfies the problem by using a TC

operation that contains a perfect fourth as a prominent residual. A format change accompanies

the moment of resolution, formally splitting the piece into two large sections.

In the first section, from mm. 134, the TC relations are all members of the V2 format

class where the object is the perfect fourth, and the transpositional level is variable; in other

words, this passage contains various statements of 5 * x. Example 14 abstractly represents the

TC possibilities of 5 * x. As the score shows, Bartk always insures that no duplicate pitch

classes result in a TC operation. For instance, in m. 3 on the last eighth-note, Bartk introduces a

slight deviation from the strict contrary motion in order to avoid the duplicates that would have

resulted from 5 * 7.20 Had 5 * 7 been the operative TC realization, the right hand pitches would

have been D and G, with D being a duplicate of a left hand pitch. As such, we can further

define the pitch relationships in the first half of the piece as V2 formatting of 5 * x, where xthe

transformational relationshipsis any integer but 7(5).21

20
Other passages that show Bartk altering the strict contrary motion to avoid duplicate pitch-classes are
found in m.7, mm. 910, and mm. 1314.

21
Because a transpositional relationship and its mod-12 complement will produce the same pitch-classes
when transposing any object, they are assumed as equivalent TC representations. For instance, T0(5*8) and T0(5*4)
produce the pitches CF, and AD. As shorthand, I will indicate this operation as 5 * 8(4) when referring to an
abstract situation or stipulation.

55
Example 14, TC representations of 5 * x

That Bartk does in fact follow these stipulations is confirmed by the transformational

graph of the first phrase, shown in Example 15. The horizontal transformations show the phrase

moving in strict contrary motion, while the vertical transformations the level of transpositional

relationship between the two hands. Notice that the only point in which Bartk deviates from

strict contrary motion occurs at the end of the passage, marked with an asterisk. Here, the T11

transformation in the left hand is accompanied not by T1 in the right hand, but instead by T2,

insuring that the penultimate verticality is not formed by 5 * 7, which would have resulted in

duplicate pitches.

Example 15, transformational graph of the first phrase, mm. 14

56
 In order to produce a four-note quartal sonority, Bartks composition must find the

transpositional combination that produces a perfect fourth as a residual interval. Example 14

shows that 5 * 10(2) is the only transpositional combination that produces a quartal sonority with

ic5 as a prominent residual between the two transpositionally-related fourths. Furthermore,

Example 14 shows that the residual intervals of 5 * 9(3) and 5 * 11(1) are ic4 and ic6, interval

classes that are situated symmetrically around ic5. With this in mind, the 5 *3 and 5 * 1 TC

operations chosen at the outset of the piece (see Example 15) are those whose residuals surround

ic5.

5 * 3 and 5 * 1s symmetrical relationship around the quartal sonority is emphasized at

the beginning of the phrase that begins in m. 9, as shown in the score of Example 13. In this

passage, the contrary motion established at the beginning continues, but Bartk introduces a

canonic component as well, separating the right and left hands by an eighth-note. A 5 * 11

verticality begins the passage, but when the left hand moves to the next sonority an eighth-note

ahead of the right hand, a 5 * 10 sonority results that creates the first instance of a quartal

sonority in the composition. By introducing the canonic component, this passage foreshadows

the purely quartal situation that will arise later in the composition.

The resolution to quartal tetrachords occurs in mm. 3536, which is shown in Example

16a. At this moment, each perfect fifth is transposed at T10, creating the 5 * 10 TC relationship

that produces purely quartal tetrachords, with the fourth as the most prominent residual.

Example 16b shows that the immediate repetition of mm. 3536 in mm. 3738 is a T-5

transformation, creating a larger scale perfect fourth relationship between the two passages. The

matrices in Example 20b also show that the resolution to quartal harmony in these measures is

accompanied by a format change. Up to this point, the composition has been characterized

57
 entirely by V2 formatting, with the TC objects and transformations occuring as verticalities. As

such, mm. 3538 is striking in that the resolution to quartal sonorities is accompanied by a

change to the H2 format.

In a larger sense, the form of the composition can be represented through the changing

geometry of the TC matrices, as is shown abstractly in Example 17. This example views mm. 1

34 as an attempt to locate the transpositional level that will produce a perfect fourth as a residual

interval and form a quartal tetrachord. The resolution of this problem in mm. 35ff is accompanied

by a change in format and the dissolution of contrary motion.

Example 16, Bartks Fourths, mm. 3538

a)

b)

58
Example 17, formal diagram of Fourths that shows the changing geometry of the matrices
occuring along with a change in prominent residuals that parses the piece into two sections

II

II

Transpositional Combination and Referential Pitch Collections

In Properties and Generability of Transpositionally Invariant Sets, Cohn discusses the

relative ubiquity of transpositionally-invariant (TINV) setslike the octatonic and whole-tone

collectionsin the music of the twentieth-century. He suggests that the group of TINV sets are

not common because of any special property these sets have, a priori.22 Following David Lewin,

22
Among their special properties, Cohn points out that TINV always map onto themselves at some non-
zero transposition, that they generally have the ability to interact with diatonic collections, and they are susceptible
to displaying inversional symmetry. However, Cohn points out that a sets ability to map onto itself at a non-zero
transposition only impoverishes the sets fund of resources. The ability of many of these sets, like the octatonic
and whole-tone, to interact with diatonic collections is interesting, but Cohn notes that similarity measures show
relatively little similarity between TINV collections and the diatonic. Finally, many other sets display inversional
invariance and are capable of exhibiting inversional symmetry; however, TINV sets are much more common. Cohn
Properties and Generability, 24.

59
who is concerned more with transformational processes than set-class identification,23 Cohn

instead suggests that TINV are frequent byproducts of standard transformational routines.24

Cohn demonstrates this initially in terms of chromatic sequential explorations in

nineteenth-century music. In transformational terms, these passages contain diatonic objects that

are continuously transformed through chromatic sequence. For instance, Example 18a

reproduces Cohns Example 1b25, where a three-note diatonic motive [F, E, A] from Wagners

Die Walkre is sequenced through a series of transpositions by minor third, an (014) * (0369)

transpositional combination that produces an octatonic collection (Example 18b). Regarding this

and other passages from composers of diatonic, tonal music, Cohn suggests that claiming these

composers strode through the looking-glass into a revolutionary new octatonic universe is to

miss the point. It seems much more likely that [these composers were] simply pursuing diatonic

routines through chromatic territory, and that the octatonic collection is a result of this

evolutionary transformational move, not its revolutionary cause.26

Such is the case in many twentieth-century compositions, as well. Cohn shows passages

from Bartk, Scriabin, and Webern where transpositional combinations sequenced through

chromatic territory generate entirely octatonic passages.27 In these cases, the octatonic collection

materializes as a result, not as a starting point. While Cohn never suggests that analysts should

23
David Lewin, Generalized Musical Intervals and Transformations (New Haven: Yale University Press,
1987).

24
Cohn, Properties and Generability, 7.

25
Ibid., 8.

26
Ibid., Properties and Generability, 7.

27
Ibid., Properties and Generability, 10.

60
abandon collectional thought, his observations acknowledge that the processthe

transformational routineis at least as important as the collection itself.

Example 18, Wagner, Die Walkre, Act II, scene 4 reproduced from Cohns Example 1b

a)

b)

The emphasis on process and generation as opposed to (or in addition to) referential

object or collection has implications in analyses of Crumbs music. As the first chapter

demonstrated, Crumbs compositions frequently reveal an allegiance to one or another referential

pitch collection. However, Cohns article suggests that a generative approach may produce an

important analytical payoff that might be otherwise ignored or missed through a collectional

analysis that ultimately generalizes large spans of music under a single collectional umbrella.

Transpositional combination is effective in studying these musical details because it recognizes

not only objects and collections as well as the transformative or generative process, but through

various formats and permutations, TC appreciates the specific ways that these objects and

processes are realized.

The remainder of this chapter will use these concepts towards an analysis of form in

George Crumbs Lux Aeterna. Musical form in George Crumbs compositions has been a

61
favored topic among Crumb scholars in recent years. While differing in approach, these studies

have all shown that his compositions contain carefully constructed and diverse formal

structures.28 Richard Bass has shown that the symmetrical, pitch-structural basis of the

Makrokosmos is developed principally through symmetrical organizational (formal) schemes.

More recently, both Bass and William Lake have discussed Crumbs use of simple and complex

proportions in a manner not unlike Ern Lendvais study of form in Bartks music.29

This study will approach form in Crumbs Lux Aeterna from a new angle by discussing

transpositional combination as a form-defining principle and process.30 From the collectional

perspective, it is a rather banal piece; the composition lasts thirteen minutes, most of which are

dominated by a single whole-tone collection. The following analysis uses the TC refinements just

discussed to explore how this collection is realized. While transpositional combinations do

generate whole-tone collections in the composition, this analysis will show how the specific

realizations of transpositional combinations are determinants of form in the piece, a formal point

28
Richard Bass, in his article The Case of the Silent G applies Golden Section Principles to the theme
from Crumbs Gnomic Variations. He finds that a missing pitch, G as in Gnome, coincides with the golden
section. In Form and Temporal Proportions in Ancient Voices of Children, Lake discusses proportions including
the Golden Section and the ways that these proportions interact with the dramatic trajectory of pieces in the Crumbs
Ancient Voices of Children; Bass, The Case of the Silent G: Pitch Structure and Proportions in the Theme of
George Crumb's Gnomic Variations," in George Crumb and the Alchemy of Sound, Steven Bruns, Ofer Ben-Amots,
Michael Grace, eds., (Colorado Springs: Colorado College Music Press, 2005), 157-170; William Lake, Form and
Temporal Proportions in George Crumbs Ancient Voices of Children, in George Crumb and the Alchemy of Sound,
Steven Bruns, Ofer Ben-Amots, Michael Grace, eds., (Colorado Springs: Colorado College Music Press, 2005), 83
100.

29
Lendvais analyses of Bartk attempt to apply Golden Section and Fibonnaci principles not only to form
and temporal proportions, but also melodic construction and harmony. Ern Lendvai, Bla Bartk: An Analysis of
His Music, (London: Kahn and Averill, 1971).

30
Musical form and its relation to TC is also explored by Richard Cohn in his dissertation. Many of my
ideas about form in Lux Aeterna originate in Cohns TC approach to formal structure in his analysis of Bartks 4th
String Quartet and Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion. Cohn, TC in the 20th Century, 325481 In these
analyses, Cohn shows how sections are characterized by TC properties and how a sense of musical syntax is created
through syntagmatization processes. Overall, my approach differs from Cohns in that I am exploring TCs influence
on a larger scale and using the tools to view Lux Aeterna through two different formal lenses.

62
of view that would be obscured through an entirely collectional lens. In addition, the following

analysis aims to use TC as a way to understand the dynamic trajectory of the Lux Aeterna and its

interaction with the more obvious formal structureobservations that would also be difficult to

explore by viewing the composition simply as a manifestation of a single whole-tone collection.

Two initial observations concerning the formal structure of Lux Aeterna are summarized

in the two halves of Figure 1. (The length of each section in seconds is indicated as a rough

approximation of duration.) First, the composition seems to be divided into sections that undergo

a formal liquidation, as shown in Figure 1a. The initial portion of this analysis will discuss how

the A sections are defined by certain TC or non-TC properties. This liquidation divides the

composition asymmetrically as indicated by the steadily decreasing durations. In consort with

the formal liquidation, the compositions dramatic trajectory reaches a climactic point at roughly

the midpoint of the composition, creating a nearly symmetrical parsing as shown in Figure 1b.

This climax is reinforced by louder dynamics, greater rhythmic density, and fuller

instrumentation. The final portion of this analysis will show that the pitch material that leads to

this climax is the result of a TC process initiated at the beginning of the piece.

63
 Figure 1, Formal diagram of Lux Aeterna reflecting two observations. First (a), sections in Lux
Aeterna seem to be steadily liquidated, dividing the composition asymmetrically. Second (b), the
composition contains a climatic passageindicated by the arrowthat divides the composition
symmetrically.

a)

b)

Figure 2 gives a detailed view of the formal liquidation, indicating the fact that the A

sections are made up of three consistently ordered subsections. While the length of each A

section diminishes in length only approximately throughout the piece, each B section decreases in

length systematically and is distinguished from the A sections by tempo, instrumentation (these

passages use sitar and recorder), and an identifiable rhythmic pulse that A sections lack. The B

sections sound improvisatory, as well, though the pitch content of these passages is restricted to

the whole-tone collection.

Other than the passages labeled non-TC, the pitch content of each A section is made up

exclusively of a single whole-tone collection. Using TC as an analytical tool, these subsections

can be distinguished by particular TC operations, formats, and permutations, which are collated

64
in Figure 3 for future reference. The following discussion illuminates these details. This generative

approach allows not only a better understanding of passages organized by TC, but also sheds

some light on the non-TC passages, as well.

Figure 2, While both A and B sections are slowly liquidated, the B sections do so systematically. A
sections are further segmented into three consistently ordered subsections identified by specific TC
or non-TC properties.

Figure 3, Table showing the TC similarities and differences between TC1, non-TC, and TC2
sections.

TC1 non-TC TC2

TC (2 * 6) Transpositional objects (2 * x), where x is 2, 4, or

operation are borrowed from TCx 6.
sections; disruptive ic1
precludes TC parsing

Format HV = horizontal + Mostly H2. Vibraphone H2 = completely

Type vertical realization and Crotale chords are horizontal realization
V2.

Permutation Mostly fully explicit N/A Particular partially

Type realizations; some explicit permutation
partially explicit
realizations

65
TC1 sections, shown in Example 19, consist nearly exclusively of (2 * 6) TC operations realized

in an HV format, and presented in both fully and partially explicit representations.31 As the TC

operations in Example 4 show, the pitch material in nearly every TC1 section can be derived

from some transposition of 2 * 6. Musically speaking, this operation signifies ic2 as a motivic

force and T6 as its most common transformation; from the standpoint of abstract operations,

every TC1 section is identifiable through a web of ic2 dyads subjected to T6 transformations. All

of the TC1 sections share the HV format class, as well. In each passage this is manifest not

chordally, but canonically. The HV format is represented clearly by the matrices in Examples

19b and 19d, where the fully-explicit realizations equally emphasize both operands. However,

because of a permutation in Example 19a and 19c, an alternate matrix is given that better shows

the retrograde melodic relationship between the ic2 dyads. Interestingly, this permutation

emphasizes only ic2 explicitly and hides the transformational relationship. As a result of the

permutation, the ic2 dyads are disposed symmetrically around the pitch F, which is the very

next pitch in both passages.32

Shown in Example 20, the four TC2 sections also consistently use ic2 as an operand. The

other operand is variable but maintains the whole-tone background established in the TC1

passages. TC2 passages are characterized by entirely horizontal (H2) formatting. H2 formats

have two, melodically presented operands: a local operand (H1), and a more remote operand

(H2). In all of the TC2 sections, ic2 is the H1 operand and the H2 operand is variable. An H1-type

permutation causes only the ic2 operand to be heard explicitly; the variable H2 operand is present

structurally, but is not aurally salient. Both Examples 20a and 20d (the first and last TC2

31
In Example 4a and 4b, Crumb asks the percussionist to place a crotale on the top of timpani to produce a
timbral effect. This is indicated in these examples on a separate score. In these passages, only the upper staff is
audible. All examples are taken from George Crumb , Lux Aeterna, New York, C.F. Peters Corporation, 1972.

32
The F is shown only in Example 4c. Space limitations prevented showing it in Example 4a.

66
Example 19, TC1 sections

67
sections) use this permutation to surround F symmetrically in the same way that the HV format

in Examples 19a and 19c disposed the two ic2 dyads symmetrically around F. In the B sections

that follow each TC2 section, F is given considerable emphasis as a point of centricity.

Example 20, TC2 sections

To summarize briefly, the TC approach generalizes the generative path taken in each

section as well as the specific way that this path is traversed. Both TC1 and TC2 passages pursue

68
2 * x TC operations while maintaining the background whole-tone collection. The formatting

change from TC1 to TC2 is obvious through a comparison of the geometry of the matrices in

Example 20 to those in Example 19. While permutations are common to every TC2 passage, the

permutations affect some portions of TC1 as well.

Example 21 shows the non-TC sections that lie in between each TC1 and TC2 section and

contain the majority of Lux Aeternas text. Quite strikingly, non-TC sections do not exhibit the

consistent TC parsing that characterizes the other portions of Lux Aeterna, and as a result, they

are not analyzable as belonging to a whole-tone collection either. In fact, these passages are the

only non-wholetone passages in the composition.

However, as the circles and transpositions in the example show, these passages do

contain TC operations in which the objects, the circled portions of the example, are ics 2, 4 or

6those intervals common to the TC1 and TC2 sections. In every one of these passages a

disruptive ic1 always prohibits TC from attaining status as the sole organizing force; these

disruptive ic1s are shown in the example with grey, slashed noteheads. The disruptive role of ic1

is especially apparent in the tubular bell and crotale chords that initiate the first and last non-TC

sections (Examples 21a and d) and come near the end of the second and third non-TC sections

(Examples 21b and c). Each of these sonorities can be divided into two trichordal halves, based

on instrumentation. Each trichord is written so that the upper and lower pitches form interval 4

and the middle pitch is a half-step from one of these boundary pitches. In Example 21a for

instance, the tubular bells have boundary pitches of A and D, and the crotales have boundary

pitches of E and Aboth interval 4. The middle pitch in both trichords, however, is a half-step

above or below one of the boundary pitches, forming a disruptive ic1 that negates any

69
transpositional relationship. Furthermore, the tubular bellss trichord is a half-step above the

highest pitch of the crotales trichord.

Another representative example is shown in Example 21b where after the initial

ascending ic1 from C to B, the soprano sings a steadily descending line of ic2s that follow a clear

transpositional path. If not for the initial ascending ic1 this passage would be easily analyzable

through both a whole-tone and TC lens. In 6c, each quintuplet figure in the bells and vibraphone

contains three unique pitches. The upper two pitches of these figures, circled in the example, all

belong to ic4 and are transpositionally related to one another; however, the initial, registrally

displaced pitch of each figure forms an ic1 with one of the two upper pitches, obscuring the

transpositional relationship.

Through the boxes, Example 21 also shows that ic1 is an expressive force in conjunction

with the text in each of these non-TC sections. The most striking instance is shown in Example

21b, where the soprano proclaims Domine (Lord) in conjunction with an extraordinary ic1 leap

two octaves down from B5 to A2. However, ic1 occurs along with important words in all of the

non-TC sections. In the first and fourth sections, Lux and aeterna are highlighted through an

ic1 oscillation and a descending ic1, respectively. In the third section, Requiem is emphasized

in long note values as a leap downward from E5 to D4. The importance of ic1s relationship with

the text underscores its important function as a disruptive element among the ics 2, 4, and 6 that

accompanied the TC operations in each TC1 and TC2 section.

So far this analysis has shown that TC1 and TC2 sections can be grouped together as

similar because they share general TC characteristics: both use ic2 as a motivic operand and use

transformations that maintain the whole-tone background; however, the analysis has also pointed

out ways to distinguish between these sections through formats and permutations. The approach

70
Example 21, non-TC sections

71
allowed views the non-TC sections in light of transpositional combination and understands these

sections pitch organization as chromatic colorations of the more consistently applied TC

technique that characterized surrounding sections. The A sections, which are constructed from

this regular ordering of TC1non-TCTC2, diminish in length throughout the composition

alongside the systematically diminishing B sections. Consequently, the overall impression is of a

formal liquidation that parses the piece asymmetrically.

In contrast to the asymmetry created by formal liquidation, the dramatic trajectory of Lux

Aeternas formal structure is much more symmetrical, as was indicated in Figure 1. The

following analysis argues that the dramatic trajectory is influence by a TC process called

syntagmatization. In the syntagmatization process, interval byproducts, or residuals, of a TC

operation become fully explicit TC operands in a later portion of the composition. In this way,

the residual intervals attain greater importance as the composition progresses and attain a

structural function.

Figure 4, Diagram showing Lux Aeternas dramatic trajectory. The climax is reinforced through
dynamics, greater rhythmic density, register, and pitch organization.

72
 Residual intervals of transpositionally-invariant set classes always belong to the same

interval class. For instance, as the arrows in Example 22 show, the two residual intervals of the

transpositionally-invariant (0268) are CG and DF, both members of ic4.

Example 22, residual intervals of the transpositionally-invariant set-class, (0268)

This property creates an interesting situation when a TC operation involving a transpositionally-

invariant set class is permuted. In particular, because the residual intervals are the same, they

appear to be explicit when permuted. In Example 23b, a 2 * 6 operation undergoes an H-type

permutation, which maintains the explicitness of ic2 in the horizontal dimension but hides the T6

transpositional relationship. When the permutation occurs, the ic4s that were residuals in

Example 23a become verticalites, creating a situation in Example 23b where T4 and not T6 may

seem to be the transpositional relationship: the impression is of 2 * 4, not 2 * 6. However, this

impression is false. Ic4 in this Example 23b is not an explicit interval. In fact, it is not even an

operand. (As Example 23c shows, a 2 * 4 operation produces a completely different set-class.33)

33
This interesting result occurs because both ics2 and 4 are interchangeable in their ability to create (0268)
when transpositionally combined with ic6. For instance, T0 (2 * 6) = T4 (4 * 6).

73
Example 23, full and false explicitness; syntagmatization

a) fully-explicit (0268) b) falsely explicit (0268) c) fully-explicit (0246)

The relationship between Example 23b and 23c is illustrative of a TC process called

syntagmatization.34 In a passage where Example 23c occurs after Example 23b, the false

explicitness of ic4 in 23b is realized as full explicitness in 23c. In other words, interval-class

explicitness of the vertical operand in 23b becomes interval explicitness in 16c; or, contrary

motion created by the permutation in 23b becomes parallel motion in 23c. The illusory 2 * 4 in

23b becomes an actual 2 * 4 in 23c. The relationship is indicated by the question and

exclamation marks that appear along with the musical dimensions. A question mark indicates

false explicitness, such as occurs with ic4 in Example 23b. An exclamation mark indicates that

the operand has become fully explicit through the process of syntagmatization.

Alternations between full and false explicitness have important implications that influence

the dramatic trajectory of Lux Aetnerna, as shown by the question and exclamation marks in

Figure 4. Many passages introduce a falsely explicit ic4 whose implications are realized in the

following passage. As mentioned, this ebb and flow often takes the form of contrary versus

parallel motion. As I will show, ic4 is ultimately freed from the falsely explicit environment and

allowed to function solely as a fully explicit operand. At this moment, shown by the large arrow

34
Cohn, TC in the 20th Century, 223.

74
in Figure 4, the upward parallel motion that results from the full explicitness stimulates the

climax of the composition, where ic4 breaks free from ic2 and the whole-tone collection that has

served as the background for most of the piece.

Example 24 presents the beginning of the piece, where the first instance of this process

occurs. Here, the initial T1(2 * 6) operation is permuted, rendering ic6 inexplicit and causing ic4

to appear to be an explicit operand. These ic4s occur between C and A in the first percussion

part and E and G in the second percussion part, the ic2s are present as verticalites.35 The

implications generated by the false explicitness of ic4 in the opening are realized as full

explicitness in the subsequent passage. As Example 24 illustrates, the TC operations immediately

following the opening are T5(2 * 4) and T9(2 * 4), and in both cases, ic4 is an explicit operand

along with ic2. Musically speaking, the ic4s in the first part of this example become interval 4s

in the second half. This change is emphasized as the instrumentation and format of the operation

change along with the explicit intervals. Another way of hearing the passage recognizes that the

contrary motion in the initial TC operation becomes parallel motion in the subsequent passage.

In fact, alternations between contrary and parallel motion, as a result of changes in

partially-explicit and fully-explicit TC realizations, characterize the first half of the composition.

The contrary motion, in particular, prohibits any sort of climactic moment produced through

registral achievement. As mentioned earlier, in the climatic section of Lux Aeterna, ic4 finally

asserts its full potential and completely breaks free of false explicitness, projecting the

syntagmatization process onto a larger scale. In the process, ic4 ultimately sheds the ic2 operand

35
The false explicitness of ic4 is even more illusory in a live performance. Because each instrument
plays an ic4 dyad and the ic2 dyad results only from their relationships to one another, their physical location serves
to isolate the two ic4s.

75
and the whole-tone background. Fundamental to the climactic character that the passage takes on

are fully-explicit (2 * 4) realizations that cause all of the instruments to move in parallel motion.

Example 25 shows this portion of Lux Aeterna. Here, the soprano and other instruments

form what may be described as a TC canon, each voice continuously stating horizontally

formatted, fully explicit versions of (2 * 4). As mentioned, the full explicitness creates parallel

motion that causes each member of the ensemble to move uniformly higher in tessitura. Notice

the importance that T4 has taken on by this point in the composition. In both the soprano and in

the bass flute, the long note values accentuate the T relationships between the oscillating ic2
4

dyads. Shown on the bottom left-hand portion of the score, the vibraphone sheds the motivic ic2

that has been fundamental in each section of the piece thus far and states a complete 4 * 4

transpositional combination over the span of the two measures that lead to the high point of the

passage. This moment is significant in that it is the only passage in the entire composition in

which ic2 is not a member of a TC operation. Thus, in conjunction with the climax, ic4 has finally

attained a sense of fully-explicit TC freedom. To emphasize the point, immediately following the

climax the vibraphone plays a descending series of ic4 verticalities that eventually break free of

the whole-tone background through T5 transformations. The result of this passage in terms of its

referent collection is the complete chromatic, an important contrast to the surrounding whole-

tone passages.

76
Example 24, In this passage from the opening of the composition, the falsely-explicit ic4 is
subsequently realized as a fully explicit ic4 in the following passage.

77
Example 25, Climactic passage of Lux Aeterna

78
 Unlike the liquidation process that created a formal asymmetry, the dramatic trajectory

that results from this TC process splits the composition nearly in half. In effect, the symmetry

and asymmetry of these two readings cut across one another, as Figure 1 shows. Of interest is

the coincidence of the climatic portion of the piece with the second TC2 section. Such a

coincidence suggests that the two differing formal perspectives are carefully intertwined, this

passage being the fulcrum upon which the two formal perspectives rest.

This analysis has shown that transpositional combination can be an effective entryway

into a study of musical form. While emphasizing the interesting dual-nature of formal structure

in Lux Aeterna, the analysis also accentuated the importance of viewing this music beyond mere

collectional labels. In this piece, using the general term whole-tone to describe a passage would

have seriously overlooked important compositional details. Rather, TC viewed these passages as

moments where single intervals receded and gained in prominence, all against the same

harmonic background. In some ways, TC operands and residual intervals act as dynamic interval

vectors, pointing out the intervallic ebb and flow contained within any given set-class.

79
 Conclusions

The objective of this thesis has been to discuss various ways in which transpositional

combination can be used as a tool that promotes analysis that integrates many features of a

composition. As others have noted, the combination of basic pitch material to generate larger sets

or collections is a prominent characteristic of many of Crumbs compositions.36 In both chapters

of this thesis, transpositional combination was used to describe how the interaction of generative

material and larger structures function in two compositions by Crumb and how the resulting

processes interact with other musical dimensions.

Chapter one focused on the results of TC operationsthe referential collectionsand

compared the specific generative paths used to create these referential collections in order to

discuss their interaction. Attuned to the set of variations and the variation process that occupies

Vox Balaenaes core, the chapter distinguished between three types of variation involving

different manipulations of the two components of a transpositional combinationthe object and

its transposition. These variation types always involved a change in referential collectionthe

varied elementwhile retaining either an object or its transposition as a shared attribute.

The final type of variation discussed in chapter one involved a discussion of elements of

musical quotation and the extramusical meaning of Vox Balaenae. The concept of variation

invoked relied specifically upon a listeners perception of, or identification with, the diatonic

tonality and tonal pulls of familiar tonal quotations. Crumbs alteration of Richard Strauss

Nature theme from Also Sprach Zarathustra is a type of variation that involves a change in

collection (from diatonic to octatonic) while maintaining a diatonic object as shared attribute. A

36
Bass, Sets, Scales, Symmetries, 3; Scotto, Transformational Networks, Transpositional Combination,
and Aggregate Partitions, 14.

80
listeners perception of these quotations, and the ways in which they are varied, may recognize

both the diatonic elements and the transformations that force them into an octatonic context.

This chapter integrated these aspects of pitch structure and variation with the extra-

musical content associated with Vox Balaenae. In particular, both Also Sprach Zarathustra and

Vox Balaeane were shown to engage in a dialogue between collections. The diatonic/octatonic

interaction in Vox Balaenae is reflective of a similar conflict between C major and B

major/minor in Strauss Also Sprach Zarathustra. Furthermore, conflict as an element of pitch

structure in both compositions seems reflective of the intellectual ideas surrounding Vox

Balaenaes composition; namely, the interaction or conflict between man and nature.

Chapter two discussed the formal implications of specific features of a TC realization

the ordering and presentation of operands or transformations. In order to discuss these attributes

in as specific a manner as possible, chapter two began by discussing refinements to the TC

apparatus that better represent the particular way that a TC operation is realized in a passage of

music. Unlike chapter one, which was interested primarily in the results of the TC operations,

this chapter revolved around the generative process itself and the ways that this generative

process is carried out.

As an analytical capstone, Lux Aeterna was discussed from two formal perspectives that

attempted to appreciate diverse facets of the compositions organization. Sections were defined

based upon specific TC properties. Not only were the types of operation taken into consideration,

but also the ways that these operations are realized in the composition. By ascribing TC

properties to certain regularly recurring passages, non-TC passages were able to be understood in

reference to an overall TC context. Because the non-TC passages contained the majority of Lux

81
Aeternas text, these passages deviations from TC organization were discussed in connection

with expressive features of the text.

The overall liquidation process that is essential to the formal organization was contrasted

with the symmetrical character of Lux Aeternas dynamic trajectory. The increased register,

dynamic level, rhythmic activity, and instrumentation that result in the climax of the composition

were shown to coincide with the realization of a TC process that was initiated at the beginning of

the piece. This process involved the residual intervals that result from any TC operation, as well

as their increased importance as an operation is permuted. Ic4, which was a prominent residual

interval at the opening of the piece, is subsequently elevated to the status of a controlling TC

operand at the climax of the composition. This process also involves the disposition of operands

at the opening and at the climax. At the beginning of the piece, the permutation of operands that

gave rise to the prominent ic4 resulted in contrary motion between the two operands, prohibiting

a climax due to any sort of registral achievement. On the other hand, TC operations that

distinguished the climax arranged the operands in parallel motion, forcing the register of the

music to rise towards the climax.

Though the TC approach placed an emphasis on details of pitch organization in both

chapters of this thesis, the analytical payoff is significant. By starting with a greater

understanding of pitch organization, the analyses were able to approach other musical elements

and discuss them in relation to concrete analytical findings. Vox Balaenaes pitch organization,

based on three types of variation produced from slightly different approaches to transpositional

combination, was integrated with extramusical ideas surrounding the piece. The small details of

Lux Aeternas construction were related to larger formal constructions. Because every

dimensionmusical and otherwiseof Crumbs compositions is intricately constructed,

82
integrative analytical approaches that seek to understand the sum of a compositions parts may

be the most valuable.

83
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