Musical Links

Melody

Ostinatos

In both City Trees and in Udan Mas there is the use of ostinatos. An ostinato is a continually repeated musical phrase or rhythm.

In City Trees, Markowski sets an ostinato in the low register of the clarinets along with the marimba. This ostinato run is set Bb minor.  This phrase is first expressed in clarinets from measure 1-24. The repeated phrase is picked up in the bassoons and alto saxophones in measures 31-35. The clarinets return with the ostinato motif in measure 47 and it ends in measure 58. In measures 152-156, the trumpets pick up this melodic line and add a brassy timbre to the motif that was only previously carried in a reedy timbre. Adding the line into the trumpet part creates a different feel to the already acquainted feel of it with the clarinets and bassoons. This musical phrase in passed among different instruments in the ensemble. As Marc R. Dickey stated in his analysis of the piece, he expresses how it “evokes curiosity and expectation”. This motif gives the music a sense of unity because throughout the entire piece it reoccurs and brings back a familiar feel. This melodic phrase is legato and piano. It keeps the pulse and gathers the intensity for the piece. This excerpt is constantly brought back into the piece for an amnesia- like feeling.

Figure 1.1

Figure 1.1 is an excerpt from City Trees. This line was taken from the Bb clarinet 3 part in the first four measures of the piece. This ostinato run reoccurred numerous times throughout the piece in many different instruments. The motif is a simple eight note run that adds an urgent and majestic feel to City Trees.

The use of ostinatos are also set in the Gamelan piece, Udan Mas, as they commonly are in this type of music. In gamelan music, musical phrases or melodic patterns are repeated numerous times with little variations. The metallophones hold and carry the ostinato while the gong marks when it is repeated. Udan Mas is in a cyclical form, which uses constant ostinatos and repetition. Because of the immense amount of repetition used in Traditional Gamelan music, it often uses the last note of a cycle as the first note of the following cycle. The metallophones playing the ostinato motif counts as the backbone of Udan Mas. Since Gamelan music is not in the standard musical notation, the lengths of the notes are not set/certain. This Indonesian music is in their own notation, Gamelan notation, which consists of numbers destined to a certain Gamelan instrument.

Figure 1.2

Figure 1.2 is an excerpt of the melody in Udan Mas. It is in the Gamelan notation where each number represents a different gong or note on a metallophone. The excerpt shows the ostinato from the piece in its own notation. The notation of the music is not for the purpose of playing, but is for the preservation of the pieces for the court records. Gamelan music began as an oral tradition and is completely memorized.

Figure 1.3

Figure 1.3 is a transcription of the ostinato melody in Udan Mas. This notation is a close representation of the melody in the Gamelan piece. These notes are a close approximation and show the ostinato in the melody.

Tempo Variations

Towards the end of both City Trees and Udan Mas, ritardandos, rallentandos and fermatas are added to build a state of calm and a resolution. They give direction to the music.

In City Trees, there are lots of ritards. This ornamentation adds expression and a sense of animation to the storyline of the piece. They assimilate the on-looking of the beautiful site and wonder of how these trees were able to survive in the "concrete jungle" of New York City. The tempo is increased in measure 180 from 60bpm to 80bpm. This sets up the first ritard to occur for the conclusion of the piece.This gives room to slow down without it being too slow and miserable. The first ritard, rit., for the concluding song is in measure 170 and occurs until 174, where the tempo is decreased to 60bpm. This part of City Trees is the last section and acts as the last push towards the ending of the piece. This final section has a very concluding and grandiose feel. A rallentando, rall., is used in measure 178 to add emphasis on the entire band playing the same rhythm and pushing to the whole note or half note resolution. The last rall. is used in the fifth measure from the end which leads into two fermatas in the piece. In measure 203, there is a fermata on an F Major Seventh chord in the higher ranged instruments; flute, clarinet (1,2,3, and 4), horn (1,2,3, and 4), and the harp. This chord leads into the fermata on measure 204 that is played in the lower ranged instruments; contrabass clarinet, bassoon, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, trombone (1,2,3, and 4), tuba, and the string bass. the chord modulates from the first to an F Major chord.

*Insert Excerpt of the 2 Ritards in M. 203-204 in City Trees*

 

Figure 2.1

Figure 2.2

Figure 2.1 is an excerpt of the second-to-last fermata in the entire piece of City Trees. The fermata takes place in the flute, clarinet (1,2,3, and 4), horn (1,2,3, and 4), and harp parts in measure 203. Figure 2.2 is an excerpt of the last fermata in City Trees and is played in the contrabass clarinet, bassoon, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, trombone (1,2,3, and 4), tuba, and string bass parts in measure 204. Figure 2.1 is in a higher register with a more delicate timbre, which leads into the next fermata in Figure 2.2. That fermata is in a lower range with a brassier, rich timbre.

In Udan Mas, there is one major ritardando, the Final Ritard. A Final Ritard is the most common type of tempo-change and is the typical decreasing tempo for the end of the piece of music. In most Gamelan pieces, a gradual ritard signals the end of the piece and Udan Mas follows this trend. Before this ritard, there is a sudden surge in tempo. Just as it occurred in City Trees, an acceleration is used to set up the coming section that is filled with tempo variations to slow down the music. The ritard decreases the tempo over a period of time until the gong marks the end of the piece with its final stroke. This occurs in the recording at 1:15 to the end of the video.

Texture

Aleatoric

City Trees and Udan Mas both have an aleatoric texture. An aleatoric piece of music involves elements chosen at random by the composer. Almost like they took ink and just splattered it onto the paper. Both pieces are structured into this form. Both ensembles feature a variety of instruments that would make it impossible for them all to play the same melody. This leads to the necessity to put some instruments on an accompaniment part. In both of these pieces, there are certain instruments for certain parts in the pieces.

In American Wind Band Contemporary music, there are many layers to the music. This occurs because of the different instruments and their timbres. The high winds usually play the melody and frilly sections while the low brass is playing the accompaniment and the root of the chord. The middle voices are the ones with the countermelodies and the other sections of the chord. In City Trees, Markowski follows this trend only in a couple sections of the piece. He doesn't define an instrument to a specific part but instead swaps the melody around to every section. Even while Markowski includes every instrument to the melody he still places some on the accompaniment and backbone to the piece.

Figure 3.1

Figure 3.1 is an excerpt of City Trees. It is measure 77 and gives an example of the polyphonic texture in the piece. The eight notes and triplets are held in the Bb clarinet parts while low brass and middle voices hold a chord. This excerpt demonstrates how the piece has different independent lines happening at once.

In Gamelan music, there are many instruments that each have their own independent parts to the music. In relation to Western Instruments, small kettle-gongs or the bonang panerus, are the instruments with the main melody line. The large hung gongs and drums outlines the music and gives the basic layer, or backbone, to the music just as the low brass does in City Trees. The metallophones have the same responsibilities as the middle voices do in Western music, which is the countermelody to the piece. All of these instruments layer together to form the music and polyphonic texture.