Why patterns?

An analysis of Morton Feldman's "Piano and string

quartet"

by Frank Sani

In discussing his 1978 work Why Patterns? Morton Feldman said:

"The most interesting aspect for me, composing exclusively with patterns, is

that there is not one organizational procedure more advantageous than

another, perhaps because no one pattern ever takes precedence over the

others. The compositional concentration is solely on which pattern should be

reiterated and for how long ..."[1]

Such preoccupation with patterns can be seen in other works from Feldman's

later output (e.g. Triadic memories, 1981; Palais de Mari, 1986), of

which Piano and string quartet (1985) is one.

During our investigation we shall discuss some patterns found in Piano and

string quartet (henceforth referred to as PSQ).

A) MELODIC PATTERNS

From the '70s onwards, Feldman began to 'glue' pitches together to form

melodies. Such compositional interest manifests itself in PSQ, where we

observe five melodies in the 'cello part, as shown in Ex. 1a.

If we transposed the second, third, fourth, and fifth melody so that the first

note of each matched that of the first melody, we would find that the five

melodies are virtually identical - see Ex. 1b. Then we may treat them as one

same melody, in spite of the first and last bearing a time signature (9/8) which

differs from that of the middle three (3/2).

There seems to be no underlying set of rules for such melodic patterns: each

note follows the previous one without change in duration, dynamics, mode of

attack, and the intervallic structure seems to be shaped by inexplicably

subjective choices. What is, if any, the guiding principle of these melodies?

If we transcribed the first of the 'cello melodies to form a chromatic scale as

shown in Ex. 1c, we would accept readily that the interval of a minor second,

or semitone, is an element of vital importance.

It would be tempting to include certain piano figures in the 'melodic patterns'

group, namely those shown in Ex. 2.

Yet are these 'melodies'? 'Broken chords' seems a better definition. Are these

patterns? The 'cello pattern consisted of the repetition of the same element

(the first melody of Ex. 1a). This element appeared in transpositions and in

different time signatures, thus never recurred twice as wholly identical. Yet on

the whole, an overall intervallic and durational outline was kept unchanged.

None of these piano figures appear in such groups as to constitute a pattern:

whenever there is an identifiable group of such figures, as in bb. 245-251, for

instance, this will not reappear except considerably different. So much so, that

we are left to ask the question of whether perhaps it were more suitable

considering each piano figure as a pattern itself. We could look at the piano

figures and try to find repeated elements within each of them: intervals

between tones, duration of tones, anything. What we find is that within each

piano figure there are different intervals and different durations, as well as

different direction of the motion from each tone to the next

(upwards/downwards): in short, there are no repeated elements.

Before we set aside these piano figures, we may take a second look at them

and observe how most of them offer three notes which could be re-arranged as

chromatic scales. This would provide a link to the 'cello pattern of melodies

where we saw how important the minor second interval was. Also, there is

perhaps another link provided by the piano figures, which transports us to the

quartet parts at the opening of the work. There we find a strong semitone

structure in the overall chords played by the string quartet. This occurs at

bb.1-9 to begin with, and then elsewhere.

What is interesting about these opening quartet chords is not that they are

unique in their semitonal structure: it is that the pitches found therein, namely

B/C/Db/D, are the very same ones as in most of the piano figures discussed.

Seeing how these quartet chords occur several more times through the work, it

would be tempting to ask ourselves whether these particular pitches may offer

a pattern of some kind.

It will suffice to point out that in spite of the pitch-correspondence we

identified, it is obvious that the intervallic structure of the B/C/Db/D group is

what matters: the semitone between notes within individual groups is found

elsewhere, and we begin to notice how much of PSQ as a whole is based

(harmonically speaking) on the interval of a second.

Let us quote Feldman, as he spoke in 1982 at a lecture in Toronto, Canada:

"I've been living with the minor second all my life and I finally found a way to

handle it ..."[2]

Looking at other compositions from the 1980s, we notice how PSQ is no

isolated instance of Feldman's adoption of the minor second as a pivotal

interval. For example, in the 1981 Bass Clarinet and Percussion we notice

such trend right from the start of the piece, and persistently throughout the

entire work. Similarly, the 1983 String Quartet II opens and ends with four

pitches a semitone apart. Yet more evident is the minor second in the opening

pages of For Bunita Marcus, written in the same year as PSQ, where only

three pitches a semitone apart are used.

B) CHORDAL PATTERNS

Working with the minor second allowed Feldman to construct a sound-world

which focussed the attention on the shape of chords, on their density, and on

the spacing of tones therein, rather than on their harmonic functionality.

This impressionistic approach becomes evident as we look through the score.

Perhaps it is best to look at the two quartet chords at Ex. 3. These are the basis

for a chordal pattern that begins at b.519 and carries on uninterrupted until

b.806, viz. 287 bars later.

With the piece ending at b. 810, it is already obvious that this is an important

pattern. Also, these two chords occur earlier in the piece, i.e. at bb. 160-1 and

164-5 (in reverse order), then at 201, 458, 479, 483/5, 509-11.

To understand how the chords are changed in shape through their repetitions,

look at the thirty-seven permutations at Ex. 4, which concern the second chord

from Ex. 3. The list following the permutations gives the bar numbers for

every one of them.

Chord Bar nos. Chord Bar nos. Chord Bar nos. 1 160, 161, 164, 165, 201 14 564, 580, 590, 788, 798 27 644, 728 2 458, 565, 566, 578, 579,

588, 594, 784, 790, 799,

800

15 567, 577, 591, 787, 801 28 648, 724

3 479, 483, 485, 509, 510,

511, 519, 520, 521, 522,

16 568, 569, 571, 574, 575,

596, 597, 600, 602, 603,

29 649, 651, 653, 655, 658,

660, 662, 664, 670, 672,

523, 524, 530, 533, 538,

543, 550, 551, 552, 555,

587, 791

775, 776, 778, 781, 782,

803, 804 676, 678, 680, 697, 699,

700, 701, 704, 707, 709,

711, 713, 716, 718, 719,

721, 723 4 477 17 570, 601, 777 30 650, 652, 654, 656, 657,

659, 661, 663, 665, 666,

668, 669, 673, 674, 675,

677, 694, 695, 696, 698,

702, 703, 706, 708, 710,

712, 714, 715, 717, 720,

722 5 487, 561, 583, 589, 789,

795 18 575, 573, 576, 595, 598,

599, 779, 780, 783, 802,

805, 806

31 679, 705

6 525, 534, 537, 547, 548,

549, 558 19 604, 615, 623, 637, 735,

749, 753, 763, 773 32 682

7 526, 531, 539, 544, 545,

546, 559, 585, 592, 786,

793

20 605, 614, 627, 639, 647,

725, 745, 751, 764, 774 33 683, 685, 687

8 527, 535, 541, 554, 557 21 606, 613, 622, 636, 642,

730, 736, 750, 765, 772 34 684, 686, 688, 689, 690

9 528, 532, 540, 556 22 607, 621, 626, 635, 646,

726, 737, 746, 757 35 691, 692, 693

10 529, 536, 542, 553 23 608, 620, 630, 638, 643,

729, 734, 742, 758, 770 36 733

11 560, 584, 586, 792, 794 24 610, 618, 629, 632, 640,

732, 740, 743, 755, 760,

768

37 752

12 562, 582, 593, 785, 796 25 611, 617, 624, 633, 645,

727, 739, 748, 761, 767 38 771

13 563, 581, 797 26 612, 616, 628, 631, 741,

744, 756, 762, 766

This impressive display of inversions is typical of Feldman's late pieces. The

aforementioned For Bunita Marcus is another exquisite example of such

inventiveness. Feldman put it this way:

"Actually I just try to repeat the same chord. I'm reiterating the same chord in

inversions."[3]

"... there is a suggestion that what we hear is functional and directional, but

we soon realize that this is an illusion ..."[4]

Truly enough, the chords of Ex.3 have an inner tension and an almost

cadential feel. Yet after a few reiterations, we realise there is no resolution of

discords, no cadence, and ultimately no directionality. During these repetitions

time stretches to a different level, and we realise that the music has no past or

future, but only a present, which consists of the particular permutation being

played at a particular point in time. As Feldman explained, the permutations

are "... a conscious attempt at "formalizing" a disorientation of memory."[5]

The intervallic make-up of the Ex.3 chords becomes clearer if we re-write

them in a scalic form, thus:

first chord

second chord

= B/C#/D /E;

= F/Gb/Ab/A.

It is obvious that the interval of a minor second, which we have encountered

in the melodic pattern of the 'cello, is present here too, together with the major

second. Such interval is observed in another quartet pattern of two chords

(Ex.5).

Re-written in a scalic form, these chords would give us the following:

first chord

second chord

= G/Ab/A/Bb;

= F/Gb/A/Bb.

These two chords are found at bb. 204, 217, 233, 265, 318, 331, 500-2.

One-chord patterns are also found in the quartet parts. Of these, the most

prominent is the one found at bb.122-7, 280-8, 298-306. Its pitches, re-

arranged scalically, are as follows:

C/C#/D/Eb.

This one-chord pattern is interesting because it involves pitches all a minor

second apart.

Let us now turn back to the chords of Ex.3. These two chords are found also

in the piano part, permutated, at bb. 208-9, 319-20, 332-3, 456-7, 507-8 (in

reverse order). The only difference with the quartet chords is that instead of

being within one bar, the piano ones are spread across two bars, so that there

is one chord in each bar. Such two piano chords, then, form a pattern, as they

are repeated several times.

Other two-chord patterns can be found in the piano part, as listed in Ex.6.

There are also one-chord patterns in the piano part, of which the most obvious

example is the opening chord at b.1 (Ex.7a), repeated unchanged at bb.3, 5, 7,

9, 11/3/5/7/9, then permutated at bb.21/3/5/7/9 (Ex.7b).

Afterwards the chord loses its identity as a pattern and is repeated

intermittently, for example at b.37 in its original form, then as its first

permutation at bb. 47/9, 51/3, 60, after which it is the original chord again at

b.72, and then a second permutation (Ex.7c) occurs at bb. 79, 97, followed by

its first permutation at b. 107, and by the original chord at bb.115/7. The chord

is last seen at bb.443/5/7 (first permutation) and at b.449 (original form).

This chord, in the original and permutated forms, has the highest number of

appearances in the piano part, with a percentage of 10%.

By comparison, the most recurring chords of the quartet parts (as given

in Ex.3) are repeated much more insistently, with respectively 32% and 33.3%

of the total number of bars for the first and second chord.

NB - The piano part 'fills in' between repetitions with its resonances, thanks to

the sustaining pedal, so the percentages do not really tell the whole story here.

As far as the intervallic content of the first piano chord is concerned, it is

worthwhile taking note that here we find minor and major seconds, once

more, as becomes clear by re-writing the chord scalically, thus:

D#/E/F#/G/Ab/Bb.

C) DURATION PATTERNS

"... The reason my music is notated is I wanted to keep control of the silence ...

when you hear it, you have no idea rhythmically how complicated that is on

paper. It's floating. On paper it looks as though it's rhythm. It's not. It's

duration."[6]

Indeed, PSQ is very 'complicated' when it comes to durations. Such

complexity derives from Feldman's attitude, in his late works, to keep notated

music free and 'floating', rhythmically speaking, as if it were a written

transcription of an improvisation. Cage remarked once that Feldman's late

works were Feldman playing his early graph pieces.

The 'free-floating' feel of PSQ is achieved, as Feldman said, through a

complex and painstaking notation of the intended sound-images. This

involves, among other factors, continuous small adjustments of the time-

frame, and that is to say, of the time-signatures. It is precisely by looking at

the time-signatures themselves that we find how they alternate and repeat to

form several patterns, which are listed here:

1. an alternating minim-beat and quaver-beat, with the number of minim-

beats remaining constant and the number of quaver-beats changing

(bb.1-9, 370-8, 388-96);

2. an alternating crotchet-beat and quaver-beat, with the number of

crotchet-beats remaining constant and the number of quaver-beats

changing (bb.21-30, 39-54, 439-50);

3. a series of time-signatures repeated inversely, mirror-like (bb.284-8

mirrored first at bb.298-302 and then at bb.334-8; bb.460-3, mirrored at

bb.465-8; bb.688-90, mirrored at bb.691-3).

There are also a number of instances where a time-signature will not change,

and for a relatively long time, as in the following examples:

bb.523-36, 537-43, 544-53, 558-65, 567-77, 579-648.

Bear in mind that these bar numbers do not take into account repeat bars. For

instance the last example, if it included all repeated bars, would actually give

ninety-four bars. The string of examples shown above is of further interest

when we consider that the longest repetitions of the same time-signature occur

in coincidence with the quartet parts' 287-bars-long two-chord pattern - which,

as we saw earlier on, starts at b.519.

Notably, the aforementioned 94-bars-long example bears the time-signature of

5/4; such time-signature was found to be used about 23% of the times through

the score, and that is more than any other time-signature present therein.

Another duration pattern found in the score is of a visual nature, concerning

the notational sphere of PSQ rather than its acoustic one. If we look at the first

page of the score, for instance, we see how a 'notated' bar alternates with an

'empty' one regularly: this creates a visual pattern of full and empty bars,

which in a way is detached from the acoustic reality of the music - if anything

because in performance the 'empty' bars would contain sound from the piano's

resonances.

Feldman gives confirmation when he says that

"Though these patterns exist in rhythmic shapes articulated by instrumental

sounds, they are also in part notational images that do not make a direct

impact on the ear as we listen."[7]

We know that PSQ was no isolated instance of the visual use of alternating

notated and empty bars. It will suffice to take a look at the 1986 piano

piece Palais de Mari to notice how there too there is a visual use of 'black' and

'white' bars in alternation.

It is impossible not to mention Turkish rugs when writing about Feldman's

late music, and especially with regard to the visual aspect of his scores.

At Ex.8 and Ex.9 we have a visual rendition of the whole piece, with the first

and second of these examples taking into consideration the outlook of the

piano and quartet parts respectively.

Just by looking at these examples, we can begin to see how the 'weaving' of

the durational layer of PSQ seems to follow the alternating squares on rugs of

Turkish origin. Interesting also, is the similarity between the look of the piano

part and of the quartet part up until b.122: thenceforth, there is a discordance

between the parts, which begin to show individual patterns of 'black' and

'white' measures. Such disagreement becomes dramatic - at least visually -

between b.519 and the end of the piece: while the piano presents the usual

alternation of 'black' and 'white' bars, as well as strings of 'white' bars only, the

string quartet presents a total predominance of 'black' measures, due to the

uninterrupted 287-bar two-chord pattern.

D) Conclusion

We have observed hitherto what patterns are present in PSQ, and of these

which are interval patterns and which are duration patterns. Let it be clear

though, that approaching late Feldman is always a risky enterprise, for in spite

of the recurring chords and motifs the music before us will not yield to

conventional analysis. The question 'Why patterns?' remains unanswered: the

opening quote in the present discussion does not reveal, for instance, why the

quartet chords of Ex.3 are given a 287-bars pattern where other chords are not.

We assume it is for no reason at all, for we must acknowledge Feldman's lack

of interest in pitches per se, as he told one of his pupils:

"Timbre and range are the same problem, and both are more important than

pitches. When one knows exactly the sound he wants, there are only a few

notes in any instrument that will suffice. Choosing actual pitches then

becomes almost like editing, filling in detail, finishing things off."[8]

Explaining the patterns as we did, focussing away from pitch-theories, would

still leave room for other alternative approaches to PSQ. Until then, Feldman

holds the key to the modus componendi of this piece.

Notes

1. Morton Feldman, Essays, ed. W. Zimmermann (Cologne, 1985), p129.

2. Excerpt of lecture transcript reproduced here by kind permission of the

author, Linda Catlin Smith.

3. Morton Feldman, Essays, ed. W. Zimmermann (Cologne, 1985), p230.

4. Ibid., p127.

5. Ibid., p127.

6. Ibid., p232.

7. Ibid., p132.

8. Tom Johnson, 'Remembrance', MusikTexte, no.22 (December 1987).

Bibliography

Bryn Harrison, 'The Auditive Memory and its function in the late works

of Morton Feldman', Morton Feldman Page, mfbrynh.htm (May 2000).

John Tilbury, 'On Playing Feldman', Morton Feldman

Page, mftilb.htm (May 2000).

Tom Johnson, 'Remembrance', MusikTexte, no.22 (December 1987).

Jan Williams, 'An interview with Morton Feldman', Percussive Notes,

(September 1983), pp. 4-14.

Molly and Paul Paccione, 'Did Modernism fail Morton Feldman?', ex

tempore: A Journal of Compositional and Theoretical Research in

Music, vol. 6 no.1 (Fall 1992), pp. 13-21.

'Morton Feldman in conversation with Thomas Moore', Sonus, vol.4

no.2 (Spring 1984).

Edward Fox, 'Annihilated Angel', The Wire, issue 134 (April 1995).

Howard Slater, 'The most important flaw', Resonance, vol. 7 no. 1

(December 1998).

Morton Feldman, 'Between categories', Contemporary Music Review,

vol. 2 (1988), pp. 1-5.

Catherine Costello Hirata, 'The sounds of the sounds themselves -

analyzing the early music of Morton Feldman', Perspectives of New

Music, vol. 34 no.1 (Winter 1996), pp. 6-27.

James Saunders, 'Finding time, finding space', New Music, 1999.

'H.C.E. (Here Comes Everybody): Morton Feldman in conversation

with Peter Gena', A John Cage reader, ed. Gena & Brent (New York,

1982), pp. 51-73.

Morton Feldman, Essays, ed. W. Zimmermann (Cologne, 1985).

Discography

Morton Feldman, Piano and String Quartet, Kronos Quartet.

ELEKTRA NONESUCH 7559-79320-2 (1993).