Music: A Living Language

548 Pages·1982·17.766 MB·

by  Tom Manoff

TOM MANOFE
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MUSIC:

a living language
also by Tom Manoff
The Music Kit
MUSIC:

a living language

TOM MANOFF
Cover photograph by Christian Steiner
Jacket design by Antler & Baldwin Design Group
Layout by Ben Gamit
Copyright © 1982 by Tom Manoff
All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Manoff, Tom.
Music: a living language.
1. Music—Analysis, appreciation. I. Title.
MT6.M267M9 780’ .1'5 81-22346
ISBN 0-393-95194-4 AACR2
W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, N. Y. 10110
W. W. Norton & Company Ltd. 37 Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3NU
7890
In memory of my mother
. and our ancient family line
the wind’s smoke, the sun's shadow
— MICHELANGELO
Acknowledgments
P. 133: Transcription of Viderunt omnes by Edward Roesner.
P. 165: Text for Nuper rosarum flores from Norton Anthology of Western
Music, Vol. I, edited by Claude Palisca (New York: W. W. Norton,
1980).
P. 173: Translation of Pase el agoa by Lawrence Rosenwald from Pleasure of
the Royal Court H-71326, © 1976. Nonesuch Records, A Division
of Warner Communications Inc.
Pp. 185,186: Two excerpts from the musical West Side Story lyrics by Stephen
Sondheim © 1957, 1959 by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sond-
heim. G. Schirmer Inc. Chappell and Co. Inc. Music Publishers.
P. 299: Translation of Lied der Mignon by Philip L. Miller in his The Ring of
Words: An Anthology of Song Texts (New York: W.W. Norton,
1973).
P. 335: Translation of Rastlose Liebe from The Book of the Hanging
Gardens by Steven Ledbetter, H-71320 © 1975. Nonesuch Records,
A Division of Warner Communications Inc.
P. 409: Translation of Dividido el corazon reprinted from Dark and Light in
Spanish New Mexico: Alabados and Bailes courtesy of New World
Records.
Pp. 419-20: Discussion of Appalachian Spring with permission of Aaron Copland.
P. 422: Excerpt from Elliott Carter’s notes from Double Concerto H-71314
© 1975. Nonesuch Records, A Division of Warner Communications
Inc.
P. 440: Banquet from For the Roses, © 1972 Crazy Crow Music. Used by
Permission. All rights reserved.
P. 440: Judgment of the Moon and Stars from For the Roses, © 1972 Crazy
Crow Music. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
P. 441: Quote from Shadows and Light, © 1975 Crazy Crow Music. Used
by permission. All rights reserved.
Pp. 442,443: Amelia from Hejira, © 1976 Crazy Crow Music. Used by permis-
VI sion. All rights reserved.
Contents

Preface, xvii
Foreword, by Robert Irotter, xix
Introduction, 1
Listening Beyond Style
Music and Culture. Genre. The Importance of Stylistic Detail.
The Historical Connection. The Interlocking Strands of Musical
Culture
1 Materials of Music-l, 7
The Demonstration Melody
Rhythm
Some Aspects of Rhythmic Organization. Pulse, Beat, and
Periodicity. Tempo. Meter. Time Signatures. Syncopation
Forward Potential
The Rhythmic Bond
Phrase and Form
Rhythm Gives Life to Form
The Notation of Rhythm. Notes Control Space. Rests. Score.
Rhythmic Texture vii
Vill

2 Materials of Music-II, 27
Pitch
Pitch Names. Accidentals. Dynamics
Timbre—Tone
Instrumental Timbre. Pitch Range
Melody and Harmony
Interval. Consonant and Dissonant Intervals. Chord
Melody and Scale
Half Steps and Whole Steps. Major and Minor Scales. The
Chromatic Scale. Church Modes
Melodic Shape
Melodic Shape and Scale
Form, Shape, and Song
Melody and Motive
Variation. Describing Melody. Development. Melody and Mo-
tive—Summary
Texture— Monophonic and Polyphonic
Foreground and Background
Polyphonic Texture
The Art of Counterpoint. Melodic Shape in Polyphony. Disso-
nant Polyphony
The Interplay between Linear and Harmonic Organization.
Texture—A Continuum
3 Materials of Musi- IcII , 70
The Magic of the String
The Octave. Octave and Scale
Tonality
Tonality and Harmony. Tonality and Key. Tonality and Form.
Harmonic Series, Ionality—Summary
The Major—Minor Tonal System
Modal Harmony. Cultural Conditioning and tlhe Major—Minor
Tradition
Basic Principles of Form
Repetition. Contrast. Unity and Variety. Balance and Propor-
tion. Summary
Describing Form
Phrase-Groups. Phrase Design. Sectional Forms: Binary and
Ternary. Continuous Form. Introduction and Coda