‘Linking’ and ‘Morphing’: Harmonic Flow in Elliott Carter's ‘Con Leggerezza Pensosa’

Abstract

Elliott Carter's harmonic practices have thus far successfully defied universalizing theories of pitch organization. While Carter clearly works within a pitch 'universe' that encompasses the total chromatic, his approach to pitch organization has avoided systems based on temporal ordering of the aggregate. 1 Instead, Carter has employed a number of techniques for organizing pitch, which engage in various ways with other structures in his music, such as structural polyrhythms and formal designs. 2 One pitch technique involves the use of a so-called key chord 3 or referential sonority which provides points of harmonic unification throughout the piece. A key chord, however, is not a source set 4 used to generate all the pitch material, or to derive principles of harmonic progression in a piece. These aspects of pitch generation and harmonic progression present interesting challenges to an analysis that seeks to understand the unifying pitch patterns in Carter's music. Con Leggerezza Pensosa, a trio for clarinet, violin, and 'cello that Carter wrote in 1990, is one such piece that makes use of a key chord. This key chord is the set type 6-z17 [0 1 2 4 7 8], otherwise known as the All-Trichord Hexachord (ATH). 5 The ATH is the most predominant and consistently appearing sonority in Con Leggerezza Pensosa and its function as a referential sonority is clearly evident in homogeneous, tranquil sections of the piece where it receives the most intense focus. However, in other sections the ATH alternates with quite a variety pitch materials. These materials often form sonorities that share interval and pitch features with the ATHs surrounding them and are in that sense integrated rather than contrasted with the ATH sonorities. 1 See Andrew Mead, 'Twelve-Tone Composition and the Music of Elliott Carter' in West Marvin and Hermann (eds.), Concert Music, Rock, and Jazz since 1945: Essays and Analytical Studies (New York, Univeristy of Rochester Press, 1995), pp. 67-102, for a discussion on Carter's approach to the aggregate compared with 'twelve-tone' approaches. 2 In the dissertation 'The All-Trichord Hexachord: Compositional Strategies in Elliott Carter's Con Leggerezza Pensosa and Gra.' (diss., La Trobe University Melbourne, 1999) I examine ways in which specific pitch structuring techniques interact with other structures in Con Leggerezza Pensosa and Gra for solo clarinet. See also John Link, 'Long-range Polyrhythms in Elliott Carter's Recent Music.' (diss., City University of New York, 1994) for a comprehensive study of Carter's polyrhythmic techniques and David Schiff, The Music of Elliott Carter (London: Eulenburg, 1983) on formal designs in Carter's music. 3 Else Stone and Kurt Stone (eds), Writings of Elliott Carter.

Narratology in the Practice Session Model of Elliott Carter's String Quartet No. 5

“…However, these transitional shapes acquire their meaning only through references to the initial image (where they came from) and the final image (where they are heading). 19 One set of collections that Carter used extensively prior to String Quartet No. 5 but which appears less frequently in the late late music is all-interval 12-note rows, although Jenkins describes a sketch in which this is considered, and ultimately rejected, for this quartet.…”

Harmony in Elliott Carter’s Late Music

“…[19] The derived core harmonies also help to enrich one of the most edifying approaches to Carter's harmonic practice, first described by Marguerite Boland (2006) as "morphing." Example 18a shows a transitional passage from Carter's Quintet for Piano and String Quartet.…”