One Day Wonder #196

For 1 horn, 1 trumpet, 1 trombone and tuba.

After yesterday’s wild ride, what kind of piece do I write? Well, I thought I’d give serialism a try. For those unfamiliar, serialism (also known as 12-tone music) is a system that employs all 12 tones in the octave for its purposes. It was developed by Arnold Schoenberg and elaborated by his students, Anton Webern and Alban Berg. Serialism is the cornerstone of 20th century music. It’s also why very few people listen to contemporary music, as it tends to reject conventional melody, harmony and rhythm in favor of the so-called “atonal” approach. Since the time of Schoenberg, serialism was cultivated even further by the likes of Elliott Carter and Milton Babbitt. I liken their stuff to a Rubik’s cube in its complexity; rotate a side one way and the tone row, harmony and dynamics shift accordingly. The works of Carter and Babbitt are not exactly filled with a bounty of human warmth. Since their heyday in the seventies and eighties, serialism has been on the decline. After the fall of the Berlin wall, it really went into a tailspin. And that pretty much brings us to the present. It’s the 21st century and everybody’s writing everything. And I’m writing 12-tone music. Look at me, ma!

This is a very elementary stab at serialism. It’s very clear and methodical. The trombone only has one note – a B-flat – and plays an ostinato rhythm for the entire piece over three bars of 4 and one of 5/8. Our tone row is Bb-G-Db-Gb-E-D-B-Ab-C-Eb-F-A. Since the trombone has the Bb covered, the rest of the ensemble never plays it. So the row unfolds. You hear it in various incarnations: as a melody, in harmony and systematically tossed around the ensemble before it gets restated and further reworked. I really enjoyed writing this. There can be an odd beauty and intensity to this kind of music. I’m not saying that this tune possesses it, but I’m pleased that I can write music that makes sense on a basic theoretical level and doesn’t grate on the ears.

NOTE: I stand corrected! A comment pointed out that Elliott Carter is not a serialist in the strict sense that he employ the 12-tone system in his works. And yes, that's true, but I guess what I was trying to get at is that his writing is extremely systematized and that practice stems from original 12-tone theory. As for the assertion that his music lacks warmth, that's still my belief, but anyone is free to enjoy it as they see fit. See, the composer's job is still to write music that somehow forges a connection with their listeners. Whenever I hear something by Carter (and it's not often) I only hear a system in play, and it doesn't matter whether he's basing his piece on four- six- or twelve-voice chords, it sounds extremely dry and academic to my ears. In short, there's no bond between the piece and me, as it's merely a showcase for whatever system he's employing and not a series of arbitrary aesthetic decisions that have governed all process in the past. His stuff just doesn't move me, because it's missing a very crucial human element in it. That's all!