3.3 Building on identity

Now that we have established how musical identity is created, it is time to study the language of transformation.

Literature is filled with stories of transformation: In the legend of King Arthur, a commoner becomes the ruler of England; in George Bernard Shaw’s “Pygmalion,” a humble flower girl becomes a “fair lady”; in Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” a miserable miser is transformed into a generous benefactor; in the legend of Siddharta, an Indian Prince gives us his belongings to achieve enlightenment.

Scrooge meets his ghosts; Eliza Doolittle studies diction. How is a musical idea transformed? In music, transformation is achieved through dynamic repetition. Whereas literal repetition repeats the music with all its aspects intact, in dynamic repetition , some new element or quality is added: That is, one or more aspects of the musical material are kept constant while others change. We will first examine how dynamic repetition can refashion an entire theme. We will then study how dynamic repetition itself is accelerated and intensified through fragmentation.

Preserving the melody

Transposition is one of the most basic ways of creating dynamic repetition. In its simplest form, an entire musical passage is shifted up or down, as if it were riding in an elevator.

Preserving the melody but changing its speed modifies the repetition.

To evoke a Witches’ Sabbath in the final movement of his Symphonie Fantastique , Hector Berlioz quotes the “Dies Irae,” the Latin hymn for the dead from the Requiem Mass. Each phrase of the “Dies Irae” is played at three different speeds: First, slow by the low brass; faster and in harmony by the middle range brass; and faster still by the woodwinds.

The melody of Thelonius Monk’s Brilliant Corners is first played at a leisurely pace, then quickens.

Varying the register, instrumentation or accompaniment—either individually or collectively—offers ways to presents a theme in a new light.

In this excerpt from Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 , the repetition of the lyrical theme is refreshed by a change of register, instrumentation and accompaniment. The theme passes from the cellos to the woodwinds.

The repetition in this excerpt from Leonard Bernstein’s Candide Overture is revitalized in a similar way: This time, the theme passes upwards from the cellos to the violins, as the accompaniment becomes more lush.

Olivier Messaien’s Turangalila Symphonie offers an example where only the accompaniment changes. At first, the spiky, rhythmically exacting theme is presented over a spare, murmuring background, accentuated by the percussion. As the theme is prolonged, its support becomes more ornate, with elaborate piano figuration.

Embellishing a melody enlivens its repetition.

The strings initially present the theme of the slow movement of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5, “Emperor.”

Later in the movement, the piano presents an embellished version of the theme.