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Hermeneutic analysis on Sicut Umbra by Luigi Dallapiccola

Seong Lee

1. Introduction

Sicut Umbra (1970) is one of the last pieces Luigi Dallapiccola (1904-1975) composed.

in which he combines twelve-tone technique and “a free approach to aggregate completion”1. In

addition, Dallapiccola is known for incorporating diatonic harmonies in his twelve-tone

technique, notably in Quaderno Musicale di Annalibera. In Sicut Umbra, implications of

diatonic chords and scales can be observed, and these have strong connections to the text of the

piece. This essay will examine how the text is supported by the row, vertical chords and visual

symbols (constellations) in the piece.

Dallapiccola chose the three poems for Sicut Umbra (mov. II, III, IV) from the book

Piedra y Cielo (1918) by Juan Ramon Jimenez (1881-1958). Jimenez was a Spanish poet who

received the nobel prize in 1956. His poems were heavily influenced by the French symbolist

movement2. Arthur Rimbaud and Rabindranath Tagore were Jimenez’s most influential poets.

From Rimbaud, Jimenez learns symbolism, and from Tagore, he learns mysticism. When using

symbolism and mysticism, Jimenez was aware of “divergent emotional reactions from the same

thing”3, and that a “Single part of reality is infinite in aspects, never completely

comprehensible”. In Segunda antolojia poetica, #440, Jiminez notes the immense difference

between the lighthouse sending forth its beam at night and the sad brick tower it becomes in

daytime. Walter Pattison, a Jimenez scholar states that the nature of his poems is the “interplay

1 Kennedy, Steven Alan. 1990. On looking up by chance at the constellations: Luigi Dallapiccola's Sicut umbra.,2 Ángel Manuel Aguirre. Juan Ramón Jiménez and the French Symbolist Poets: Influences and Similarities3 Pattison

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between the poet's soul and reality, a flash of comprehension, a moment of ecstatic oneness with

some natural beauty, wave of emotion disclosing the essence of something.”

Jimenez was heavily influenced in translating Rabindranath Tagore’s poems into Spanish

between 1915 and 1922, in which Piedra y Cielo was written. In Fruit-Gathering (II) Tagore

writes: “Now at the end of youth my life is like a fruit having nothing to spare, and waiting to

offer herself completely with her full burden of sweetness”. While in Piedra y Cielo, Jimenez

writes: “Now all my fruits are in my granary. What a joy with each day to try out a new one....

how pleasant the refreshment of my maturity!”4. From this, Graciela Nemes argues that Jimenez

values inner beauty more than the looks. This also matches the principles of French symbolism,

which seeks the hidden meaning in the objects.

In regards to mysticism, Jimenez uses and prefers nature in his poems over mankind. To

understand this, it is important to know his early life. At the age of 19, Jimenez lost his father,

which led him to depression and was sent to Paris (where he had an affair with his doctor’s wife)

then to Madrid (at a Sanatorium run by nuns) to be treated for his mental illness. While at the

Sanatorium, Jimenez wrote many erotic poems about nuns which were eventually discovered and

led him to be expelled from the facility. Like his influential poet Arthur Rimbaud, Jimenez

leaves the catholic church. Pattison states that “In a general way the realities Jimenez prefers are,

in order of descending importance, nature, man-made things, humanity, and individuals”5. As the

title of the book suggests, Piedra y Cielo contains elements of nature.

4 Graciela Nemes. 1961. Of Tagore and Jimenez. 3225 Pattison

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Table 1: Poems

El Olvido (poem #114)

Olvido, hermoso olvido,libertador finalde nuestro nombre puro,en la imajinacion del tiempo feo!— Hombres, hombres, hombres…, ay!-Oh, venideros dias,en que el alma, olvidada con su nombre,habra estado, en si, en todo,y no estara, con otro, en nada!

Recuerdo (poem #9)

Come Medanos de oro,que vienen que van, son los recuerdos.El viento se los lleva,y donde estan, estan,y estan donde estuvieron,y donde habran de estar…— Medanos de oro—.Lo llenan todo, martotal de oro ineffable,con todo el viento en el…— son los recuerdos —.

Epitafio ideal de un marinero (poem #67)

Hay que buscar, para saberTu tumba, por el firmamiento.— Llueve tu muerte de una estrellaLa losa no te pesa, que es un universoDe ensueno —En la ignorancia, estasEn todo (cielo, mar y tierra) muerto

Forgetfulness

Forgetfulness, beautiful forgetfulness,final liberatorof our immaculate name,in the imagination of an ugly time!— Mankind, mankind, mankind … ah!-Oh, future days,in which the soul, with its name forgotten,will have been, in itself, in all,and will not be, with another, in nothing!

Memories

Like golden sand-dunes,that come and go, such are remembrances.The wind carries them away,and where they are, they are,and they are where they were,and where they ought to be…— Golden sand-dunes—.They permeate all,absolute sea of ineffable gold,with the wind ever present...such are remembrances—.

Ideal Epitaph for a Sailor

We must look, if we want to findyour grave, overhead in the sky.— Your death rains from a star.The tombstone is light upon you,for it is a dream universe —.Unknowing, you dwellin all- sky, sea, earth-dead.

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The two main themes in the poems are death and memory. Jimenez scholar, George

Cornelius, states that “Death is the final enemy of the soul which Christ overcomes in Rev.

21:14. Death becomes an important theme in Piedra y Cielo as an enemy to be overcome.6”

These two themes form a polarity, as one most likely loses all memories when he/she dies. The

first poem, El Olvido describes the opposition between death and memory, as ‘forgetfulness’

ultimately represents death. The second line of the poem confirms this with ‘final liberator’.

“immaculate name” then, represents one’s soul (which occurs in line 7), or inner beauty that is

possibly being tormented by “an ugly time”, or mankind. Indeed, mankind is repeated three

times in the following line. In this fashion, ‘the future days’ could be interpreted as afterlife,

where the soul’s name is ‘forgotten’. The ending of the poem, ‘nothing’ suggests that this poem

is indeed about death. However, the use of future tense suggests that death has not happened yet.

Both death and memory find their places in the first poem, as the protagonist prays for the ‘final

liberator’ to come and erase all the memories, particularly the negative ones (‘mankind,

mankind, mankind...ah!’).

The next poem, Recuerdo appears to be about memories, from looking at its title.

However, the poem starts with ‘golden-sand dunes’ instead, which Jimenez uses as an analogy

for remembrances. Golden-sand dunes as an imagery could be interpreted as a symbol for death,

as life-forms can be hardly found in deserts. {insert death-drive here? human body becoming

‘sand’?} When memories “come and go”, this can mean that life-forms are being born and dying.

In lines 3-6, the pronoun “they” can be substituted by virtually anything--including lives or men,

especially amongst the topic of death. Likewise, “they” in line 8 could be substituted by afterlife.

Afterlife may indeed permeate all after one becomes a bodyless soul or a ghost, and “absolute

6 Cornelius, George S. 1987. Juan Ramón Jiménez: psyche and symbol in the Diario, Eternidades, and Piedra y cielo., 355

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sea of ineffable gold” sounds too romanticized or unreal to be happening in the real life. This

poem could be interpreted as describing the connection between death (‘golden-sand dunes’) and

memories (‘remembrances’), which are opposites.

Another interpretation of Recuerdo is to treat the memories that “come and go” as a sign

of slow and lingering death, where a person slips in and out of conscious. Jimenez understood

the different meanings that a symbolism can have, and it is up to the audience to interpret his

works in various ways. In this interpretation, the poem describes the pain and agony of lingering

death. For a dying person, remembrances would actually permeate all, as he can look back to his

past when he was young and healthy. Since it is agonizing to be dying slowly, the ego may be

looking back to his past, where everything is permeated.

In the final poem, Epitafio Ideal de un Marinero, the protagonist dies, as this is the first

time when the word ‘death’ is mentioned. ‘Sky’ in the second line may be interpreted as a

symbol for an ideal death, as it is associated with heaven (opposed to underground, or hell). This

poem is almost entirely about the nature, which symbolizes the dead body becoming the nature

itself.

It appears that Dallapiccola chooses to present the poems in a chronological order, from

embracing the death (El Olvido), in between death and life, or lingering death (Recuerdo) to

afterlife (Epitafio Ideal de un Marinero). In this order, nature occurs more frequently toward the

end, where human body forms a union with the nature. Likewise, the opposition between

memory and death becomes less apparent toward the end. Dallapiccola certainly treats death and

memories as oppositions. Memories are set to music with more tertian chords and phrases, while

death is set to music with more chromatic phrases and dissonant chords; notably with interval

classes 1 and 6.

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2. The row

Ex.1, the initial appearance of the row (P1), mm.1-2

The row consists of a lot of interval classes 1 and 6; notably in the beginning of the row.

The portions of the row with ic-1 and 6 stand out against other portions, representing the polarity

(death and memories) in the poems. In the first measure of the piece, Dallapiccola clearly

presents the oppositions with the chromatic (012) trichord followed by dominant 7th chord

implication.

Ex.2, polarity observed in mm.1.

Here, Dallapiccola has to tweak the row so that he can achieve the A7 chord in the

second half of the measure. Order numbers 1, 4, 5 and 7 are sustained or emphasized to form the

A7 chord, as the dominant 7th chord cannot be achieved by the P-form of the row. However,

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order numbers 3-5 can be interpreted as a half diminished 7th chord, and numbers 9-11 form a

diminished triad.

The polarity between chromaticism and diatonicism can be confirmed in beginning of the

second movement (mm. 13-18). This is the first entrance of the soprano; where the first line

contains a polarity. It translates as: “Forgetfulness, beautiful forgetfulness, final liberator...”.

Forgetfulness is associated with memories; while final liberator represents death. When the

soprano sings “forgetfulness, beautiful forgetfulness” the music implies tertian harmonies

(reminiscent of older music) but when she sings “final liberator” the music becomes highly

chromatic.

Ex.3, mm.13-18, polarity in the 2nd movement

Measures 14 to 16 clearly contain some tertian harmonies, and the use of an I-form of the row

helps in creating diatonicism. The order numbers 3-5 of the I-form can be interpreted as

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dominant 7th chord, while order numbers 9-12 can be interpreted as a triad with an added flat

2nd degree.

When Dallapiccola wishes to emphasize certain intervals, he repeats certain parts of the

row. For example, in the third movement, Dallapiccola often repeats the first 3 pitch classes of

the P-form to emphasize ic. 1, specifically the set class (012).

ex.4, mm. 57-60, Flute phrase

In the third movement, the Flutes (in C and G) never play the row form without some kind of

alterations when the soprano voice is not present. This makes the music highly unpredictable in

its pitch content as well as phrase durations. Like other pieces written in the 12-tone technique,

Sicut Umbra contains a lot of phrases containing 12 notes, but the third movement is unique with

unpredictable phrase lengths.

In fact, the repetition of certain parts of the row is a text-painting in the third movement.

The beginning of the poem reads: “Like golden sand-dunes, that come and go, such are

remembrances”. The set class (012) is highly emphasized with the repetition in the beginning of

flute phrases, and it ‘comes and goes’ throughout the third movement. In addition, there are

multiple occurrences (mm. 61-64, mm. 68-72, mm. 89-95, mm. 124-127) of trichordal arrays

made of only (012)s.

In the second movement, there is a section where the music behaves like third movement.

Here, the soprano sings “Oh, future days, in which the soul, with its name forgotten..”, and

indeed, the Soprano repeats the order numbers 1-3 in quintuplet rhythm, just like in the third

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movement. Then, the trichordal array of (013) follows the soprano phrase. Although this

trichordal array is made of the set class (013) rather than (012), it should be considered as a

foreshadow of the third movement because of the text (“future days”) and it is the only

occurrence of a trichordal array in the second movement.

The second movement contains a tetrachordal array which is used to create the dramatic

climax. In mm. 24-26, a series of the tetrachord (0167) is used to accompany the soprano voice,

which sings in Fortissimo. The tetrachord (0167) emphasizes ic-1 and 6, which represent death in

the work. Here, the soprano sings “Mankind, Mankind, Mankind… ah!”, in which “mankind” is

used as a negative connotation. The pitch content of the soprano line emphasizes ic-1 and 6 as

well, singing the P-1 row but with order numbers 5, 6 and 10 omitted. Omitting such order

numbers make every note of the phrase a part of dyads in ic-1 or ic-6. The omitted numbers 5,6

and 10 can be found in the instrumental parts, but they are separated from the vocal line.

The fourth movement also contains a number of phrases and motives that are not part of

the row, but these are visual symbols that Dallapiccola is known for in other works such as

Cinque canti (1956) and Concerto per la notte di Natale dell’anmo (1956)7. These visual

symbols form the shapes of constellations, which will be discussed later in the essay.

3. Vertical chords

Vertical chords play an important role in supporting the text in Sicut Umbra. Dallapiccola

depicts death with more dissonant chords, and memories with more tertian chords. The third

movement is a great example of this with its title “recuerdos (memories)”. The poem contains

two occurrences of the word “recuerdos” in the lines 2 and 11. The rest of the poem is not

directly about the memories, but it is about the “golden sand-dunes”. In fact, the word “oro

7 Ahn, Sun Hyun. 2004. Musical language and formal design in Dallapiccola's Sicut Umbra. College Park, Md: University of Maryland. http://hdl.handle.net/1903/1526., pg6

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(gold)” appears more frequently (3 times) than the word “recuerdos”. The “golden sand-dunes”

are used as an analogy for memories but Dallapiccola uses more dissonant chords to portray the

“gold sand-dunes” while he uses more tertian chords to portray the word “recuerdos”.

I have previously argued that ic-1 and 6 represent death while tertian chords represent

memories. However, in the third movement, Dallapiccola chose to create the polarity between

the analogy of the memories (golden sand-dunes) and the actual memories (recuerdos). With no

direct mention of death in the poem, this is the only option of creating polarity in this movement.

Thinking of visual symbolism, the “golden sand-dunes” may recall death rather than memories.

In the desert, one cannot easily see living creatures, but may suffer from loneliness and the

burning temperature.

Most of the third movement is very dissonant sounding, with the set class (012)

emphasized, as discussed earlier. The two occurrences of the word “recuerdos” are set to music

with implications of diatonicism. The first of these occur in mm. 84.

ex.6, showing the implications of diatonicism in mm. 80-84.

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Clearly, this phrase becomes more consonant toward the end, where the word ‘recuerdos’

occurs for the first time in the poem. Soon, the dissonant sounding trichordal arrays made of

(012) follow in mm. 89-95, and the music is back to depicting the other end of the polarity:

golden sand-dunes. The other occurrence of the word ‘recuerdos’ is at the measure 130, where

the music appears to imply G minor.

ex.7, showing the tertian chordal implications in mm.129-132

Here, every note that the soprano sings belongs to G minor. Vertically, there is a strong

implication of iio7 in m. 131 that resolves to tonic (it is the G triad with split third) in the

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following measure. Not only these two occurrences of the word “recuerdos” have tertian chords

accompanying them, but they also appear to be establishing key areas. These moments can be

interpreted as a reference to music of the common practice period, thus supporting the text

“recuerdos”. While most of the third movement emphasizes the (012) trichord as well as the

interval class 6, the two instances of the word “recuerdos” are accompanied by tertian harmonies,

maintaining the polarity.

4. Topics

There has been some scholarship of pitch motifs and intertextuality in Dallapiccola’s

music, especially in his opera Ulisse. Brian Fearn states in his book:

It is clear that, having spent more than a decade so absorbed in the composition of his opera Ulisse, Dallapiccola was unable to escape from the shadow of the opera when he composed Sicut Umbra (like shadow). The presence of the opera is felt through the image of the sea which occurs both in the second poem (“El recuerdo”) and in the third (“Epitafio ideal de un marinero”). At both of these points (mm. 116 and 182), the three-chord Sea leitmotif that had opened Ulisse is quoted. The row upon which Sicut umbra is based begins with the three tones that had formed the “Question” motif in Goethe-Lieder, in Three Questions with Two Answers, and in Ulisse, and this provides a further link with the opera. Indeed, one might legitimately regard the final song of Sicut Umbra, with its evocation of the sea as a fit tomb for a sailor lost at sea, as an epitaph for Ulysses himself.

The sigh motif can be found all over the piece, notably in the fourth movement, and it is

one of the elements that differentiates the movement from the previous movements.

Traditionally, the sigh motif has represented sorrow and death. Of course, in Sicut Umbra, the

sigh motif represents death, and the symbolism is supported by the motif’s interval content--ic.1.

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The first instance of the sigh motif in the fourth movement is in the Violoncello, m. 173.

Then, the voice has it in mm. 182-184. In m. 190, the Bass Clarinet has the motif, then it is

transferred to the Clarinet in A with its long trill. These sigh motifs can be observed in the first

movement as well, in measures 3 and 8, and they foreshadow the 4th movement.

In fact, the first movement contains elements of all proceeding movements. The first

three measures resemble they second movement’s vocal entrance, where (012) is followed by a

dominant 7th chord. The flute (C) part in m. 4 is a direct reference to m. 171 of the fourth

movement. Measure 9 contains the same pitch classes as the string parts in m. 100-103 of the

third movement. Thus, the first movement could represent memories. (This needs to be

somewhere else)

In the third movement, visual symbolism could be observed, starting at m. 61. Here, the

three Clarinets play the (012) trichordal-arrays, and the horizontal lines of these trichords can be

interpreted as the visual description of the “sand-dunes” that “come and go”. Visually, these

short lines that go up and down look like “sand-dunes” in the desert. Also, it can be interpreted

that the short (012) lines are a series of sigh motifs.

Likewise, the fourth movement contains passages that look like waves. The first instance

of this at m.141 in the wind instrument parts. In mm. 145-146, this rising then falling motion

could be observed in both winds and string parts. After m. 185, the waves appear stacked on top

of another, depicting the storm-raging sea. This interpretation of rising then falling arpeggio as

waves of water is similar to Wagner’s Leitmotif of nature and water.

5. Second movement (El Olvido, the forgetfulness)

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The second movement starts with a homophonic texture, which is a strong contrast from

the first movement, where the texture was largely polyphonic. The music in the second

movement appears to have ‘forgotten’ the polyphonic texture of the first movement, supporting

the title of the movement. In addition, the Flutes completely drop out in the second movement,

and the second movement is performed only on the instruments that have not been used yet. In

this movement, it can be observed that Dallapiccola uses the groups of instruments similarly to

Giovanni Gabrieli’s ‘consort’ of instruments. The strings start (mm. 10-11) then trades off with

Clarinets (m. 12). This movement establishes an expectation of adding new instrumental

‘consorts’ in the future movements. This expectation will be one of the most important factors in

driving force or development of the entire piece.

Another different element in the second movement is the interval content of the

horizontal lines because the row is used vertically to make chords. While the first movement

used the row only horizontally, the first three numbers of the row are used to form the first chord.

The three string instruments in the first two measures only have leaps which is a contrast from

the first movement where a lot of the stepwise motions could be found. While the first movement

started and ended with the (012) trichord in close-positions, measures 10-14 disguises the close-

position of the (012) trichord by having horizontal leaps and large vertical space (between viola

and cello; clarinet and bass clarinet). The row itself is harder to hear in the second movement

because of the texture and larger instrumentation, as if the row itself had been ‘forgotten’.

However, the row is, of course present in the movement, and it could be interpreted that the ego

is still haunted by the past memories even though he thought he had forgotten them.

As discussed earlier (pages 7-8), measures 14-16 contains tertian harmonies with added

notes, while measure 17 and thereafter the music becomes highly chromatic, supporting the text

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“libertador final” (final liberator). Here, the (012) trichord of I-11 row in m.16 is repeated in

m.17, literally ‘liberating’ the music from the strict 12-tone technique. Also, the overall texture

in mm. 17-19 appears to be freed up compared to the beginning of the movement where the strict

homophonic texture was found.

In measures 20-23, increased harmonic tensions could be observed, and this is also the

first instance of “outside-row pitches” (Ahn 66). From 3rd beat of m. 20 to m.22, the Violin and

Viola play in minor 9ths, which had not been observed in the piece yet. The parallel minor 9ths

creates particular dissonant but playful quality, which could be a musical representation of the

text “en la imajinacion del tiempo feo” (in the imagination of an ugly time). As a listener,

measures 20-22 would be a shocking moment with parallel minor 9ths (“ugly time”) with

outside-row pitches (“imagination”). In a piece that is based on a row, hearing outside-row

pitches can be interpreted as an “imagination”. The parallel minor 9ths help bringing the

attention of listeners to the instrumental lines, as if they are saying “I’m playing outside the row

here!”. The vocal line in mm. 19-23 however, outlines the P-4 row with some repetitions of some

pitches, staying relatively “pure” (“puro” in the libretto) compared to the instrumental lines.

When the Soprano sings the text “puro”, the strings have tremolo which could be opposite of a

“pure” sound. This could be interpreted as either a poetic irony or emphasizing the ego

(Soprano)’s pureness despite the “ugly time” (“tiempo feo” in the libretto).

As discussed earlier (pages 9-10), the Soprano voice sings the P-1 row while instruments

have three (0167) tetrachords in mm. 24-27. The instrumental lines had been playing outside-row

pitches since m. 20, but the terrible human nature (“hombres” in the libretto) brings back the

ego’s past memories that he wanted to “forget”. In measure 28, the instruments return to playing

in the row forms.

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In mm. 28-37, the instruments even bring back the canonic texture from the first

movement. As it brings older materials, the “mankind” (“hombres”, mm. 24-27) appears to be a

huge set-back to the development of the piece, which is in-line with Jimenez’ preference of

nature over mankind. Unable to forget the memories (the row and the canonic texture), the ego

now looks ahead in the future, with “Oh, venideros dias…” (Oh, future days). The quintaplets in

m. 31 is a foreshadow of the succeeding movement, hoping that the future comes soon. The ego

now realizes that the only way to truly forget his memories is to die. The row will always be

present until the rest of the movement, but it would ultimately be “forgotten” at the end of the

entire piece. The end of the second movement suggests gradual disappearance of the row itself,

as the I-10 row in mm. 45-48 is missing members 5 (E) and (B). The two missing notes from I-

10 row are found in the piccolo Clarinet and the Bass Clarinet lines, held over from the previous

chord that was part of RI-0 row. However, a listener may still notice the lack of the entire row

form in mm. 45-48, especially when the sustaining notes are marked PPP.

Like the poem, the movement disappears into nothing (“nada”), in terms of dynamic

markings. However, the act of becoming nothing has not occurred yet, as the text is in the future

tense and it had mentioned the “future days”. The end of the movement is somewhat peaceful,

with only the piccolo Clarinet present in PPP dynamic. This suggests that forgetting the row is a

positive experience. Overall, the ego in the movement ultimately fails to “forget” as the title

suggests, in fact, he remembers his past memories. However, he realizes and imagines his

imminent death, which he hopes would be quick and painless, in accordance with Jimenez’ ideal

death. Of course, what the ego imagines would not necessarily be the unfolding truth in the

future. The movement directly (quintuplets) foreshadows the third movement, as well as

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indirectly foreshadows the fourth movement, where the actual death or the disappearance of the

row occurs.

6. Third Movement (El recuerdo, memory)

The third movement starts with the strings with three-note chords, similar to the second

movement. Not only the instruments are the same, the disjunct property of the lines is similar to

the second movement. Measure 57 re-introduces the Flute, which had not been used in the

second movement. Measures mm. 49-60 already suggests a past “memory,”, in fact, this

movement is the only movement that does not introduce a new group of instruments. While in

the second movement the ego attempts to forget his memories by using completely new set of

instruments, in the third movement he only uses the instruments that have been used at least

once. Until m. 60, the identification of the row materials is easy, and the ego has no problem

remembering the row. In fact, he appears to try to remember the row, which is a contrast from

the previous movement. In m. 57, the Flute repeats members 1-3 of the P-11 row and then

repeats members 6 -7 and 8-11 of the same row form, as if he could not remember the row in his

first try but is able to remind himself of it after an initial false-start.

Measures 61-64 presents a trichordal array made of the (012) trichords, which could be

interpreted as Clarinets trying to remember the P-forms of the row which the alto Flute is able to

remember in mm. 64-67. Another interpretation is possible too:o, that the Clarinets are actually

thinking about specific parts of the memory as they play the first three members of the P and I-

forms of the row. Working with specific parts of the memory, the ego is able to make some sense

out of it (he is still able to complete aggregates with just (012) trichords) but it does not complete

a full picture (the aggregates are out of order vis-à-vis the row). After another set of false starts,

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the ego now remembers the row with the alto flute passage (mm.64-67), confirming that the

movement is about memory, where the row is the complete memory and parts of the row are just

partial memories or attempts and recovering a memory. However, with more trichordal arrays to

come (mm. 68-73, mm. 89-95, mm.125-131), the memory is being fragmented whether the ego

wants it or not.

Like the flutes, the soprano sings the row (m.74), with repeating certain parts. The overall

order of the row is still observed, but the tritone is repeated several times in the first row that the

soprano sings (mm. 74-84). The tritones here support the text visually with its hermeneutic

association with death, as the soprano sings about sand-dunes in the desert, where life-forms are

hardly found. It is also possible that the ego is thinking about his own death of his own or

someone else’s.

Even though the title of the movement is “memory,”, the text and music suggest a strong

subject matter in death. If “sand-dunes” represent death with the imagery of a lifeless desert,

almost the entire poem is about death, except for the two instances of the word “memory.”. In

fact, the poem is still comprehensible with all the occurrences of the phrase “golden sand-dunes”

substituted by ‘death’.

Like deaths,that come and go, such are remembrances.

The wind carries them away,and where they are, they are,and they are where they were,and where they ought to be…

— death—.They permeate all,

absolute sea of ineffable gold,with the wind ever present...such are remembrances—.

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With the first passage of the voice, the relationship between death and memory is established.

Fragmented rows (012 trichordal arrays) suggests that the ego’s memory is slipping away, and

his death is near. With this in mind, the next soprano passage (mm. 96-106) is even more

daunting.

The string tremolo in m. 97 is a text-painting, on the word “wind.”. String tremolo has an

association with Sturm und Drang, and its harsh sound is appropriate for portraying death. The

tremolo also represents death of memory itself, as tremolo disguises the pitch content, making it

difficult to recognize the row form. At measure 98, the Clarinets take over the texture from the

strings, literally representing the the text “the wind carries them away.”. The last string chord in

m. 96 and the first chord of the clarinets in m. 97 create tritones (between Violin and Piccolo

Clarinet; between Violoncello and Bb Clarinet), supporting the idea of ‘Golden sand-dunes’ as a

metaphor for death. Here, the Clarinets (the ‘winds’) carries deaths away.

The soprano line in mm. 100-102 emphasizes the tritone again, on the text “where they

are, they are.”. Here, the members 4-5 of the P-5 row are taken over by the Oboe from the voice,

depicting the word “where” in the text. The vocal line also depicts the ubiquitous nature of death

with its disjunct melodies that involves jumping between the vocal tessituras, as if death were in

every register (the vocal line cannot escape it). More visual symbols can be found in the vocal

line, as the word “méedanos” (sand-dunes) is depicted visually by alternating between A# and B,

reminiscent of the wavy sand in the desert. In fact, the (012) trichordal-arrays in this movement

could be interpreted as a visual representation of “Médanos” as well. The word “oro” (gold) in

m. 108 is vibrantly decorated with a melisma, reflecting the visual nature of gold. Also, the first

interval in m. 108 is a tritone, suggesting that gold is related to death. In the context of this poem,

“gold” is used as a part of the golden sand-dunes in a lifeless desert, but outside of the poem, the

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word gold itself could be a metaphor for death as it represents wealth, the and cause ofd many

wars. In addition, the tritone is able to divide the octave into half, representing the perfection and

power that are associated with gold. Measures 116-123 also feature the tritone with the word

gold, followed by a melisma on the word “ineffable.”

The instrumental chords in this movement always contain IC-1, creating tension in the

harmonies. This is one of the reasons why almost the entire movement is chromatic, except for

the two instances of the word “memory.”. When the row is divided into 4 parts, each trichord

would contain at least one IC-1, and the vertical chords in this movement reflect this property.

The chromatic instrumental chords are a contrast to the vocal line in mm. 130-138, when the

pitches of the vocal line are part of the key of G minor. Here, the text contains the word

“memory,”, hence looking back to the tonal music of the past, but the chromatic instrumental

chords in mm.133-135 disturb the establishment of tonality. However, it is worth noting that in

m. 132, the violin has D and Bb, and with the G in the Violoncello part in the previous measure,

the strings are able to form a G minor chord for a split second before resuming with chromatic

chords. The soprano line in mm. 130-138 could be interpreted asthat the ego is looking back to

the past even though his circumstances (strings) do not allow it.

7. The constellations in thee the fourth movement

The constellations in the fourth movement should be analyzed independently, as it

contains visual symbols (Augenmusik)that are not part of the row form. In his thesis, Steven Alan

Kennedy states that “In the fourth movement, constellations are clearly visual, notational

constructions that are closely related to row forms, as will be seen, and yet they maintain an

identity apart from the row.”8”. The constellations may contain symbolic meanings that may not

8 Kennedy, Steven Alan, 3.

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be known to an audience with a limited knowledge in the mythology and history behind them.

This chapter will examine the mythology and history behind the constellations and how they

might support the text of the piece.

The movement starts with the constellation “Volans,”, which is the short form of “Piscis

Volans” (flying fish).9. This constellation may represent a foreign object or place, as a fish out of

water is not in its natural habitat. Naturally, a fish that remains out of water will die: thus there is

an association between Piscis Volans and death. With the Harp, Celesta and Vibraphone

(instruments that may evoke something of the celestial world) introduced in the movement, the

mood is very different compared to the previous movements. Also, the subject matter of the text

has been shifted from “recuerdos” (memory) of the third movement to death. In many ways, it is

logical to start the movement with “Volans.”. In addition, the highest three pitches (melody) of

“Volans” may evoke the (014) motif from Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire (1912), movement 8-

Nacht. Nacht from Pierrot Lunaire and Sicut Umbra’s fourth movement share the same subject

matter, such as death and night.

While “Volans” opens the movement suggesting a contrast from previous movements, it

is the next constellation, “Cassiopeia” that sets the mood and the subject matter of the

movement. In m. 140, the first instance of “Cassiopeia” is played by the Vibraphone. The pitches

in the scoreIt haves a distinct ‘W’ shape that suggests mysteriousness or hesitation in direction.

In addition, Dallipiccola writes the word “Cassiopeia” in the score. Symbolically, “Cassiopeia”

represents arrogance, pain and torture. In the Greek mythology, Queen Cassiopeia was punished

and tortured for boasting of her beauty. The mythology corresponds well with the text of the

piece that contains death, and specifically to the line, “Tu tumba, por el firmamiento” (your

9 Staal, Julius D.W. (1988), The New Patterns in the Sky, McDonald and Woodward Publishing Company, ISBN 0-939923-04-1

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grave, overhead in the sky). Later in the piece, “Cassiopeia” appears near this part of the text, in

m.149.

In m. 143, “Volans” appears again. This reaffirms the symbolic meaning of the

constellation: new beginning, or something of foreign land. In the same measure, the soprano

voice enters for the first time in the movement. Here, “Volans” starts a new section that is voice-

centered, and driven by the row (as opposed to constellations that are not part of the row in the

earlier section, mm. 139-142).

The first line of the text translates to “We must look, if we want to find…”, and this is

supported by the next constellation, “Columba” in m. 148. “Columba” means dove in Latin, and

here, it specifically refers to Noah’s dove that was sent from the Arc to look for dry land after the

great flood. “Columba” supports the text “Saber”, which means to find.

The four constellations (Cassiopeia appears twice) in mm. 151-155 all support the text

“por el firmamiento” (overhead in the sky). All the constellations that appear in this section can

become visible year-round, depending on the location. “Ursa Major”, “Ursa Minor” and

“Cassiopeia” are considered the most easily identified constellations in the northern hemisphere.

On the other hand, “Triangulum Australe” is seen all year-round near the south pole. With

references to both northern and southern constellations, it can be interpreted that “the search”

(saber) should take place everywhere on the earth. Throughout the piece, “Cassiopeia” appears in

two different forms (prime and inversion), suggesting different locations or time.

The line “Llueve tu muerte de una estrella” (your death rains from a star) is supported by

constellations “Ursa Minor” (m. 154) and “Pegasus” (mm. 157-159). “Ursa Minor” contains the

star “Polaris”, this is the only instance in the piece where Dallapiccola notates the name of a star.

After two measures, the soprano voice enters, therefore “una estrella” (a star) must be the

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reference to “Polaris”, the 45th brightest star in the sky that is used for navigation. Then,

“Pegasus”, the flying horse that carried the thunderbolts of Zeus, appears in m. 157. Since rain

carries thunderbolts, “Pegasus” could be supporting the word “Llueve” (rains).

In mm. 166-170, the constellations may reveal Dallapiccola’s opinion about the ego’s

death in the poem. Two of these constellations, “Andromeda” and “Cassiopeia” are mother and

daughter, who were both punished and tortured. Then, “Volans” (which symbolizes foreign

object or place) can now turn torture into death. “Libra” represents the justice, therefore it can be

interpreted that the ego’s death is justified. George Cornelius states that “the ego dies, but it is an

ideal death of the old nature which will resurrect in newness of life… The death of the poet will

also eliminate the phantasizing, the ignorance of self, and open the way to become consciously

aware of the laws which rule the collective unconscious, and by extension, spiritual reality”10.

The constellations in this section clearly reflect Cornelius’s interpretation, which could be same

as Dallapiccola’s.

8. row materials in the fourth movement

The first instance of the row in the movement is found in mm. 143-151, with the R-11

form. Like in the third movement, the vocal line here repeats and emphasizes the tritone,

representing the word “tumba” (grave). The word “saber” (to find) features a long melisma that

starts initially with a minor third (Gb-Eb), enlarges to a fourth (Eb-Ab) then to a tritone (Ab-D).

The tritone is repeated again, meaning that the journey to “find” something has ended. The vocal

line enlarges its intervallic content until it cannot be augmented anymore (tritone). The tritone

can be a symbol for the grave here.

9. Conclusion

10 Cornelius, 387

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The first movement presents the row form, which the entire composition is based on.

After the first movement, the row form becomes less and less apparent in its original form. In the

second and third movements, Dallapiccola obscures the row, with some order numbers repeated.

Use of the trichordal and tetrachordal arrays can be interpreted as a way to create moments of

surprise and climaxes. The piece develops as it finds more ways to complete aggregates without

going through the row form. In the fourth movement, the constellations are not part of the row

forms. This can be a symbolism for the death of the ego in the poem, as the row forms seem to

fade away as the piece progresses.

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PoemJuan Ramos Jimenez(1881-1958)

Leyenda (legend)Piedra y cielo (stones and sky) (1917-18, pub. 19)

(George Cornelius diss.) “mythic system to the economic, social and political context of the time.”

Composer’s Background

Movement 1-row forms, canon (suggesting old memory), Written at last.Measures 1-3=taken from 2nd movementMeasures 4-5=taken from 4th movementMeasures 6-8=flipped measures 1-3, row from movement IIIMeasure 9= taken from movement 3

Movement 2-Poem, imagery, First line- Dominant 7th, “beautiful forgetfulness”Second line- chromatic, Final liberator (death???) Liberation from tonalityThird line, begin half steps and tritone leap, but A7ADD4 on ‘puro’ (before A7ADD4, it’s stacked 11, responding to ‘name’)Fourth line, begin with c# dim, Dom7, ‘ugly’--only human voiceFifth line, “hombres”, dissonant chords, melody, IV 1, 6

Sixth line, Future days- quintuplet of the next movementSeventh line, soul with its name forgotten, leaping voice part, highly chromatic, leapsTHEN, 013 canon, first 3 notes of minor scale. “Name”: cannon ending on a chord, stacked 11.Eighth line, entire line is made of stacked 11. I5 stops, incomplete, nineth line, incomplete I5 row

Movement 3-disonnant

26lots of 012, as chromatic as possibleFirst line, sand-dunes, vocal melody literally rise and downSecond line, “memories”: non-stop runs stop. Also, tremolo. In the transition, repeat of mov.3 beginningThird line, wind--tremolo, stacked 11, m2nds. (The wind--seconds, therefore, intense, dramatic)Fourth, 5th, sixth lines, m2nds continues, similar text lineSeventh line, golden sand-dunes, m2nds, eighth line, chromatic line+tritone. “They permeate all,”Nineth line, sea of ineffable, quintuplet flute.10th line, wind ever present, the entire vocal melody only made up of m2nds and tritone11th line, such are remembrances, reminiscence of g minor.

Movement 4-ConstellationsInspired by the sky at Aspen music festivalMovement that really connects D and JRJ, both inspired by American things

“Volans”, “Nacht motif, schoenberg”?First line, “We must look”--”Volans”, bird searching for new landif we want to find-- third, fourth then tritone. Find that tritone, and begins next phrase

Second line, your GRAVE (tritone). M shaped like Cassiopeia. Overhead in the sky (ursa major)Third line, your death rains from a star, melody mostly made up of tritone and m2Fourth line also, tritone and stacked 11sFifth line, “dream”, really audible stacked 11s. Sixthline, “unknowing”--”ignorancia”, paired up with Cassiopeia, who is beautiful but arrogant. “You dwell”-- Cassiopeia and the instrument used to torture her7th line, sigh motive, “muerto”, dead. Sky-Columba, Sea-quintuplet, earth-c# minor-ish, second movement. After voice ends her melody, first movement-like, up and down appears.

Find more sigh motives. Page 52, flute, same notes as first movement. translate all the vocal instruction, or any other instructions

Memory: Tonality?

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Themes:Nature, Row, Tonality, Constellations, Memory, vocal line leaps.Prime things to show11th as cadence. (012) (downbeats of every bar?)Nacht text. Murdering all memory.

MKlein chopin fourth balladeChart of every movement, sections. Monelle (raymond) TopicRobert HattenAsk Michael Klein, Topic Theory.

RowDallapiccola