ANANALYSISOFTWOCHAMBER-WINDCOMPOSITIONSBYPAULHINDEMITHANDTWOFULLBAND
COMPOSITIONSBYFRANKTICHELI
by
JonathanPoquette
AnAbstractofasupportingdocumentsubmittedinpartialfulfillment
oftherequirementsforthedegreeofMasterofArts
intheDepartmentofMusicUniversityofCentralMissouri
April,2016
ABSTRACT
by
JonathanPoquette
In conducting recitals held on October of 2015 and April of 2016, four pieces—
Angels in the Architecture, Wild Nights!, Kammermusik No. 7 Op. 46 no. 2 and Septett
fürBlasinstrumente—were performed at the University of Central Missouri in partial
fulfillment of a Master of Arts degree in Instrumental Conducting. This supporting
document highlights the compositional style and techniques used by each composer
throughout their lives, as it relates to the wind band repertoire.
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CHAPTER5
ANANLYSISOFFRANKTICHELI’SWILDNIGHTS!
CommissionedbytheCaliforniaBandDirectorsAssociationincelebrationof
their50thanniversary,FrankTicheli’sWildNights!waspremieredattheSaroyan
Theateron18February2007withTimothySalzmanconductingtheCaliforniaAll-
StateSymphonicHonorBandinFresno,California.Thecompositionisinspiredby
EmilyDickinson’spoem,WildNights!
WildNights!WildNights!
WereIwiththee,WildNightsshouldbe
OurLuxury!
FutilethewindsToaheartinport,-
DonewiththecompassDonewiththechart.
RowinginEdenAh!thesea!
MightIbutmoorTo-nightinThee!
EmilyDickinson(1830-1886),anAmericanpoet,wroteWildNights!in1861,
anditwaslaterpublishedin1891.145Themeaningofthispoemisoftenthesubject
ofdebateamongstEnglishscholars.Mostbelievethatitsuggests“bolderoticism.”146
145TheprimarytextofEmilyDickinson’spoemsisTheCompletePoemsofEmilyDickinson,ThomasH.Johnson,ed.(Boston:Little,BrownandCompany,1960).146PaulFaris,“EroticisminEmilyDickinson’s‘WildNights!’TheNewEnglandQuaterly,40no.2(June,1967):269.
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AccordingtoPaulFaris,thesubjectofthispoemisnoterotic,butratherdepictinga
stormynightonthesea.Hisanalysisfollows:
Stormynightsontheseaoflifearebuffetingme,andIneedtheedesperately.IfIcouldonlybesafeinharborwiththee,thewindshowlingoutsidewouldlosetheirfutileeffortstogetatuswouldonlygiveusaluxurioussenseofoursufficiencyineachother.Iwouldberowingpeacefullywiththeeinparadise,nolongerdependingdesperatelyoncompassandchart.Butah,Idonothavethee,andtheseadoesbuffetme.OthatImighthavethyprotectivepresence!147
BasedonTicheli’sprogramnote,“Ifocusedmostheavilyonthelines[oftheoriginal
text]‘Donewiththecompass,/Donewiththechart’and‘RowinginEden!/Ah!the
sea!,’”itisplausiblethatlikeFaris,Tichelibelievedthispoemdepictedastormy
nightontheunsettledsea.148Healsostates“tomyknowledgenoonehasusedthis
wonderfullysensuouspoemasthebasisforapurelyinstrumentaltonepoem.”149
Thetonepoem–“aprogrammaticcomposition,usuallyinonemovementfor
orchestra[orlargeinstrumentalensemble]”–wasfirstintroducedtomusicduring
theRomanticera(1800-1910).150FranzLisztbeganwritinginstrumentalpieces
inspiredbyplays,novels,poetry,paintings,legends,andhistoricaleventsthat
incorporated“thematictransformations,enharmonicism,andtheuseofaugmented
triads,diminishedintervals,thewhole-tonescale,parallelharmonicmotion,and147Faris,274.148FrankTicheli,WildNights!ProgramNote(Brooklyn,NY:ManhattanBeachMusic,2007),3.149Ticheli,WildNights!,3150DavidPoultney,StudyingMusicHistory:Learning,Reasoning,andWritingAboutMusicHistoryandLiterature,2nded.(UpperSaddleRiver,NJ:PrenticeHall,1996),149.
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delayedresolutions.”151Thiscompositionalstyle“culminatedinthetonepoems
(includingDonJuanandAlsoSprachZarathustra)ofRichardStrauss,whoexpanded
therangeofextramusicalsubjectstophilosophyandeventoautobiography(Ein
Heldenleben).”152Bylabelingthiscompositionasa“tonepoem”Ticheliimpliesthere
isaprogrammaticcontextforthiswork.
Regardingthiswork,heincludesthefollowingintheprogramnote:
Throughoutthepiece,evenduringitsdarkermiddlesection,themusicismercurial,impetuous,andoptimistic.Ajazzysyncopatedrhythmicmotivepermeatesthejourney.Unexpectedeventscomeandgo,lendingspontaneityandasenseoffreedom.Theworkiscomposedinfivedistinctsections,butcontainedwithineachsectionarenumeroussurprisesandadevil-may-careswagger.Surprisesarefoundateveryturn,andcontinuerightthroughtothefinalcadence.153
SimilarlytoAngelsintheArchitecture,theanalysisthatfollowswillidentify
clearlydefinedforms,theremovalofdoublingsduringsustainednotes,biting,
muted-brassattacks,layeringtextures,andtransparencywithinWildNights!As
mentionedinChapter4,Tichelioftencomposesmusicwithinaclearform.Wild
Nights!formisoutlinedinTable5.1.
Table5.1:WildNights!FormalOutline
151Poultney,149-150.152Ibid.153Ticheli,WildNights!,3.
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Form Tonality Characteristics
A F Major Varying textures build until the climax in m. 54
m. 1-65 Very rhythmic; repeated motives; Syncopated theme
B Octatonic Ostinato in woodwinds; Lyrical solo in saxophone, flute, oboe, and trumpet
m. 66-125 "Jazzy" theme features syncopation and makes use of the octatonic scale
A' F Major Varying textures
m. 152-194 Modified recapitulation
C Whole Tone Chime-like woodwind figures; developed sixteenth note figures
m. 195 - 239 Developing sixteenth notes motives; Ostinato; chorale-like section
Coda G-flat Triplet figures in woodwinds; scale in Brass
m. 240-252 Thickening textures to a dramatic conclusion
Withanexplosiveintroduction,thefirstmeasureofWildNights!providesan
excellentexampleofoneofTicheli’scompositionalcharacteristics.Tocreatea
dramaticentrancebutstillallowthesupportinglinestobeheard,heremoves
doublingsonthesustainednotes.Followingtheimpactoftheopeningmeasure,mm.
2-3featurechromaticplaningofmajortriadsalternatingbetweentrumpetsandlow
brass.AccordingtoRalphTurek,“planingreferstotheparallelmelodicmotionofto
ormoremusicallines.”154Furthermore,chromaticplaningprovidesparallelmotion
of“preciselythesamesizeinterval,yieldingachromaticseriesofidenticalharmonic
154RalphTurek,TheTheoryforToday’sMusician(Boston,MA:McGrawHill,2007),666.
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structuresthatconformtonoparticularkey.”155Thereforethealternating,
descendingbrasslineservestodestabilizethetonalcenterofthepiece.156
Thefirsttheme(Figure5.1)isasyncopatedmelodythatiscenteredonF,
whichsoundsimprovisedandalludestothejazzinfluenceofthispiece.
Figure5.1:WildNights!mm.6-15.
Thisthemeiseight-measureslongandresemblestheantecedent-consequentphrase
relationshipofaperiod.Theantecedentphrase(mm.6-10)contains,asWilliam
Caplindescribesit,thebasicidea(BI)(mm.6-8),characterizedbysyncopated
155Ibid.,667.156Ibid.,666.
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ascendingscalarfigureintheclarinetsandeuphonium,andthecontrastingidea(CI)
(mm.8-9),characterizedbyasyncopated,disjunct,andarticulatemotiveinthe
upperwoodwindsandxylophone.157Furthermore,theconsequentphrase(mm.10-
15)containsmaterialthatissimilartotheBI(mm.10-12)andtotheCI(mm.13-15).
Afterabrieftransition(mm.16-19),Theme1repeats(mm.20-28),butis
embellishedandscoredentirelyintheeuphoniumvoice.However,surroundingthe
melody,Tichelilayersthemusicwithwoodwindflourishes,brassaccentednotes,
andmotivesoftheCIthroughouttheensemble(Figure5.2).
Figure5.2:WildNights!m.23.
157“Thecontrastingideaachievesits‘contrast’withthebasicideamostobviouslybymeansofmelodic-motiviccontent.Inaddition,secondaryfeaturessuchastexture,dynamicsandarticulationmayachievethecontrast.Thebasicideaandcontrastingideadiffermostsignificantlywiththeirharmonicorganization.Thebasicideaisusuallysupportedbyatonicprolongationalprogressionandthecontrastingideamustclosewithacadentialprogression.”SeeCaplin,49.
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ConcludingtherestatementofTheme1,Tichelidevelopstherhythmicnatureofthe
CIwhilepresentinganewthemeintheFrenchhorns(mm.31-37)(Figure5.3).
Figure5.3:WildNights!mm.31-37.
Whilethemelodicmaterialisdifferent,Theme2isrhythmicallysimilartotheBIin
Theme1.SincenonewmelodicmaterialispresentfortheremainderofSectionA,it
canbedeterminedthattheentireAsectionisbasedontheTheme1’smelodicand
rhythmiccomponents.Ticheliaddsvarietytothissectionbydevelopingmotives,
layeringthemesand/orcompositionaldevices,andusingcompositionaltechniques,
suchaschromaticplaningtodestabilizetheharmonicstructureofthesection.
TheBsection(mm.66-151)highlightsthe“jazzy”natureofthispiece.The
sectionhasajazzfeelbecausethemelodyandaccompanimentfiguresareusinga
differentharmoniclanguage.AtthebeginningoftheAsection,Tichelihighlightsan
ostinatofigureintheclarinets,andthisostinatoisrepeatedintheBsectionexceptit
isarticulateddifferently.Thechangeinarticulationprovidesadrasticcharacter
changefromtheAsection,whichisthenfurtherenhancedbecausetheharmonic
languageismodifiedtoresemblethatofanoctatonicordiminishedscale.
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AccordingtoBruceBenwardandMarilynSaker“theoctatonicscaleisan
eightnotescalecomposedofalternatingwholeandhalfsteps.”158Becausethisscale
issymmetricalthereareonlythreeformstheoctatonicscalepossiblebeforethe
scalerepeatsitself(Figure5.4).159
Figure5.4:OctatonicScaleForms
Benwardwrites,“Jazzmusiciansrefertothisscaleasdiminishedbecausethechords
resultingfromthisscalespitchesisdiminished.”160Thediminishedtriads,andmore
specificallydiminished-seventhchordsareessentialtoajazzimproviser,because
“eachof[thediminished-seventhchord’s]notesmaybeusedaseithertheleading
toneorasthetonicofanewkey.”161Therefore,thediminished-seventhchordisthe
idealpivotchord,haspredominantfunction,andcanhelpfacilitateharmonic
158BruceBenwardandMarilynSaker,MusicinTheoryandPractice,7thed.Vol.1.(Boston,MA:McGrawHill,2002),39159ZacharyPoulter,TeachingJazzImpovinYourJazzEnsembles(Lanham,MD:Rowan&LittlefieldEducation,2008),75.160BenwardandSaker,39.161RichardDasher,TheoryofMusic(Portland,ME:J.WestonWalch,1994),153.
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substitutionssuchasthetritonesubstitution,whichhelpstocreatemore
suspensefulimprovisedlinesandchordprogressions.162
ThebeginningoftheBsectionfeaturestheuseoftheoctatonicscale.In
Figure5.5thebasslineisnoted.
Figure5.5:WildNights!mm.66-68.
Itcanbeseenthatthenotesofthisbasslinearecontainedinthethirdformofthe
octatonicscale.Furthermorethisfive-notebasslinerepeatsitselfuntilm.85,which
suggeststhatthisisavampsectiontofeatureasoloist.Tichelifulfillsthis
expectationwithanaltosaxophonesolo(mm.69-85).Thesaxophonesolo(Figure
5.6)alsomakesuseofthethirdformoftheoctatonicscale,asrepresentedinthe
pitchcollectioninFigure5.7.
162Atritonesubstitutionistheprincipleofreplacingadominant-seventhchordwith“anotherdominantseventhchordwhoserootisatritoneawayfromtheoriginalroot.”Inaddition,“Thissubstitutionencouragesachromaticbasslinethatcreatesinterest,chromaticism,andmelodicintegrityinthebass.”SeeRichardLawnandJeffreyHellmer,JazzTheoryandPractice(Belmont,CA:AlfredPublishing,1996),114.
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Figure5.6:WildNights!mm.69-85.
Figure5.7:Thirdformoftheoctatonicscale.
Thoughtheflutesandsecond-trumpet,supportthealtosaxophone,thesololine
(Theme2)resemblesthatofanimprovisedsolo.
Injazz,thesoloistimprovisesoverchordprogressions.AccordingtoPoulter,
agreatjazzsoloexhibitsseveralessentialcharacteristicsinorderforittobelabeled
asagreatsolo.Severalofthecharacteristicsincludetheintegrationofspecialeffects
(grace-notes),creatingacontourtothesolo,andinteractingwiththerhythm
section.163Ticheliincorporatesallthreeofthesecharacteristicsinthesaxophone
163Poulter,27-32.
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solo(see.ex.7).Heusesgrace-notestosmoothlytransitionfromonenoteto
another(mm.69,71-74),whichcreatesafreefeelingforthesoloist.Also,theshape
ofthesolobeginsandendsonthesametwonotes(F-sharp,G),andthemiddlethe
climaxofthelinecoincideswiththehighestnoteofthephrase.Collectivelythe
shapeofthissoloresemblesonethatincreasestensiononlytoresolveattheend.
Finally,thesolobecomeslessrhythmicallyactiveattimeswhentheaccompaniment
figuresbecomemoreactive.Thisresemblestheinteractionasoloistwouldhaveina
jazzsetting.
Measures85-96featureanothersoloist,atrumpet,butthissolosection
accentuatesaccompanimentfiguresthataremoreactive.Thissecondsolosection
buildstoashoutsectionofthepieceinwhichthewoodwindsectionplaysthe
secondthematicmaterialinmm.96-118.Afteragrooveisestablishedbythebass
lineinm.118,whichischaracterizedbyharmonicplaningofmajor-tenths,the
entirewoodwindsectionandlowbrasssectionlayerTheme2andthenewbassline
whichleadsdirectlyintoaretransition(mm.130-151)backtotheAsectioninm.
152.
ThereturnoftheAsection,accordingtoTicheli,isshorter,butotherwise
similartothatofthefirststatementofA.164However,therearedifferencesthatlead
thissectiontobelabeledasA’ratherthanashorterrestatementofA.Thebiggest
differencesbetweenthetwostatementsoftheAmaterialarethatTicheliremoves
thematerialpresentinmm.54-66intherestatement;hetakeslesstimeto
transitionbetweendevelopmentsofTheme1(forexamplethecrescendoinmm.
164Ticheli,WildNights!ProgramNote,3.
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51-53inthefirststatementofAisonlytwomeasureslonginthereturnofA,mm.
193-194);andtheinstrumentationismanipulatedinmm.167-177fromtheoriginal
inmm.18-28.
Thefinalsectionbeginsinm.195withanunpredictedchangeincharacter
andstyle.Theoveralleffectofmm.195-199isthecalmbeforethestormand
reflectstheninthlineofthepoem,“RowinginEden.”Thebell-likefiguresinthe
vibraphoneandclarinetssignifythattheintensityoftravelingwithoutacompassor
mapisoverbecause“Eden”hasarrived.However,inm.200Tichelidepictsthe
tensionofthewavesapproachingwithsixteenthnotesinthetrumpetsandthenin
m.201intheFrenchhornsandtrombones/euphonium(Figure5.8).
Figure5.8:WildNights!mm.200-201.
This“wave-like”effectbecomesthebasisfortheremainderofthissectionandI
assertthatthissectionofmusicdepictsthetextofDickenson’spoem.Tocapturethe
energyofthestormandtheseabecomingunsettledandmorefierce,Ticheli
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increasestherhythmicmomentumandthickenstheorchestration.Justasthesea
becomesunpredictable,sodothe“wave-like”motivesthroughoutthissection.This
characterofthepiecebuildstoonethatrepresentsasailor’sdesiretotriumphover
theseainm.229.Hethenthickenstheorchestrationtorepresentthatofthelast
majorswellinthecodamm.240-248.DramaticallyrepresentingthetextofEmily
Dickinson’sWildNights!,Ticheli’stonepoemfeaturesseveralcompositional
characteristicsthathavebecomedefiningtraitsofhiswriting.First,WildNights!is
programmatic,acommonthreadforallofhisbandworks.Second,heusesbrass
instruments,sometimesmuted,toarticulateshortrhythmicmotives,eliminates
doublingsofsustainednotestocreateathinnertexture,andlayersmusicalideasto
createacomplexsonority.Finallyheoftenusestransparencyoftexturestoallow
individualtexturestoemergewithinaclearlydefinedformalstructure.
