SAN FERNANDO
VALLEY STATE
COlLEGE
CANTUS ET CONTINUUM
~,
A THES'S SUBMiTTED IN PARTIAL
SATISfACT\ON
FOR
OF THE
REQU\REMENTS
THE DEGREE OF MASTER
OF ARTS 'N
MlIS\C
\
BY
JOEL N. KABt\KOW'
JiJNE)
1968
SAN
rERN~.Nt:c
V,A.L.LE'(
M~.Y
..
II
ST,A.TE
\966
COLLEGE
JOEL
KABAKOW
FOR ORCHE5TRA
AND
C\-IO\R
19~B
lii
APPROXIJ4A'IE DURA TION:
I
II
III
TOTAL -
14' 50·
ORCHES'IRA :
" Plutes (1st. alternate.wlth piocolo, 3rd. wlth amplified flute)
" Oboes
" Clarinets in Bb
2 Bas. Clarinet. in Bb (alternate as 5th. and 6th. clarlnets ln Bb)
2 Bassoons
2 Horns in F
2 Trumpets in Bb
2 T:rombone s
Statlona17 Percusslon: 3 Tympan1, Tenor Drum, Timbales, Snare Drum,
Tam-tams (high, medium, and low), Chinese
Go~,
Trlan&le, Claves,
Glockensplel, Vibraphone, Xylophone,
Celeste
Harp
Plano
Revolvlng Percussion (second movement only): Bass Drum, 2 T1-mpani,
2 Tenor Drums, 2 Snare Drums, 2 sets of Indian Tablas, 2 Congas,
2 sets of Bongos, 2 Trapped Ttmbales, 2 palrs of OlaTes, 2 sets of
Castanettes, 2 Tam-tams (h1&h), 3 suspended Cymbals (high, medium,
low), 3
~langles
(high, medium, low), Glockenspiel, 3 sets Maracas
Cholrl 8Sopranos, 8Altos, 8Tenora, 10Basses
Strloca: Vln I (8), VlnII (8), Vla I ("), Vla II ("), Vc I ("),
Vc II ("), Dba (5)
EXPLANA TI0N OF
Sn~BOLS:
A} General:
j.
Highest possible pitch on the instru.'llent (no definite pitch)
•
Lowest possible pitch on
~le
instrument (no definite pitoh)
J,
End of one measure or section elided with beginning of the
next (given by conductor)
t
Inll1ledinte cut-off of tone (given by conduc tor)
\J-+
III Z><
C
.I
Ad-libi tum interpretation repeated over the segment for
nUlTlber of timos indlcatGd nbpve (2X means twice, 3X mea.ns thrice
cnd so -on)
~~----Ad-libltmn
J
reiteration of segmont until oonduoted release
Breath pause
I
B) S,trirlf,;:J:
\\\ill
Any notes as quickly as possible
--tHf-,
~
~
[~trUcp,
the strln,,;s l"li.t.il tho op.:))':' hand
PIn.;! betvTeen tm11np; 1'e';8 and llut on hlgrlest string
~~ Glissandi wit}). tre:nolo
7'~
Rapid F!;lls::a.mdo up or down
c) Chorus:
With the spoken voice
Rapid ?;lissandi
EXPLANA TION OF SECOND TI10VE!.lE;'JT:
A) RevolvinG percussion:
All p~rcussion instI'umonts witl1 the exco})tlC1!1 of tho la.rg;e GOl1!?: are to
be arran,,;ed by the pla.:rers themselvE.~8 upon a 1'~10torlzed revolving stage
wi. th a diameter of apprcxl!illl. toly 10 feet. r.rho drum.s shc"l..11d be placed
on the outur periphery of the platform, and the metals anj dl'Y _,;ourds
to the inside yet at arm's length from the position of the .fixed players.
'Ihus the inner circle and outer oircle indicuted in the notation of the
ad-libi tum yet proport.ional nota.tion of the movement ar(j established.
fue two players are to take their positions on stools directly opposite
each other', each wi thin roac~l of all the instrunents on the pIs. tforrn as
it rotates. The Gong should be stationed next to player I. In performance,
the players shall place all l1eces::::ary beaters on a hancly stand.
B) General:
'lhe conductor's part in the movement does not vertically coincide with
the various se£)nent attacks because Gome of' the se~;Inents a.ppear in
several of the s'uccessive combinations of ser;ments which are determined
by o.lphabetiea.l order. Nevertheless, the oonductor controls the duration.:! of All letter(3d st)ctions of tile movornant aB the k:3cper of timo.
In the "ripieuc It ;;wc tion, 0.11 players l:1erel:r play throu;::,;l1 all of thoir
ossL~ned so: ,uents tryin~; to re0apt1H~'} the feelin;; with which they prevlol:.ely per.t:or"r!;ecl
\j
ABSTRACT
CAN'lUS ET CONTINUUM
For Orohestra
and Choir
by
Joel Kabako1r
Master of Arts in Musio
June, 1968
Cantus
~
Continuum is a oomposition written for the
follo1rin, oombination of instruments and voioes:
Orchestra,
4 Flutes (1st. alternates with piooolo, 3rd. with
amplified flute)
4 Oboes
4 Clarinets in Bb
2 Bass Clarinets (alternate as 5th. and 6th. olarinets
2 Bassoons
in Bb)
2 Horns in F
2 Trumpets in Bb
2 Trombones
stationary Peroussion: 3 TYmpani, Tenor Drum, Timbales,
Snare Drum, Tam-tams (high, medium, and low), Chinese
Gong, Triangle, Claves, Glookenspiel, Vibraphone,
Xylophone,
Cele.ste
Harp
Piano
Revolving Peroussion: Bass Drum, 2 Tympani, 2 Tenor
Drums, 2 Snare Drums, 2 sets of Indian Tablas,
2 Congas, 2 sets of Bongos, 2 Trapped Timbales,
2 Pairs of Claves, 2 sets of Castanettes, 2 Tamtams (high), 3 Suspended Cymbals (high, medium, and
lOW) 3 Trian&les (high, medium, and low), Glockenspiel,
3 sets of Maraoas
Choir,
Sopranos (8)
Altos (8)
Tenors (8)
Basses (10).
The soore order of this oombination reads as follows:
Choir
Piooolo
Flutes
Oboes
Clarinets in Bb
Baas Clarinets
Bassoons
Horns
'Irumpets
Trombones
Stationary'Peroussion (order presented above)
Celeste
Harp
Piano
..
Strines
Revolvins Percussion (order deter.m1ned acoording to
prooedure stated in explanation of symbols)
The oomposition is divided into three movements whioh
are designated solely by Roman numerals, not by titles.
~e
major design of the work centers around the juxtaposition of
two conflicting texts in the first movement, the oombining and
reoombining of musioal segments wherein the ohoir becomes an
instrumental element in the seoond movement, and the emergenoe
of a single textual force in the third movement.
'!he compositional prooedures of Cantus
.!i ...C...o...n...t ....in........uum= have
been subjeot to all the oonventional ricors of counterpoint
and harmony despite its seeming incompatibili ty with aleatory.
But instead of the fin1te pitoh and in-phase vertioality of
tonal praotioe, this oompoaition utilizes temporal "attaok
olusters" and phaaioally varied "pitoh oontinuum" passages
muoh in the style ot the oontemporary Polish Sohool. The oontrol ot thes. new musioal parameters may be approaohed with
a oonventional aenae ot proportion and time juat as the abstraot
disoipline ot cood balanoe applies equally to all periods ot
aoulpture. Thus in the new and unfamiliar style ot this oomposition thesis we nevertheless witnesa the eternal prooess of
olassioal art.
~e
tirst movement is a continuous open torm with many
varied secmental inter-relations. The non-aynohronous style
ot exeoution of fixed pitoh-rows and ostinati oreate a oonstant
yet ever-ohan&inc sensation like the motion in a stream ot
water. For althoUCh the musioal aecments are determined in pitoh,
dynamioa, and instrumentation, the interior
r.nyt~
and tempi
are onl1 aucce.ted throuch proportional notation and relative
durations. And trom behind this aemi-aleatorio oontinuum
emerces the dual text settinc, whioh only in tleetine moments
beoomes a true torecround idea. An intense struc&le between a
centle love lyric ot R.A. Halpern and a teohno10cioal ode ot
Lawrenoe Hauben ohallence eaoh other tor primaoy, and in so
doinc, the texts are overtaken by pure musio.
The seoond movsment is in a oontinuous telesoopine torm,
syatematioal1y employinc tinite pitoh segmenta presented in the
"oonoertato" seotion. The piotorial aesthetio tor this movement
Vi i i
is oertainly Cubism. But acalnst the "sound blook." ot oomblned and permuted segments, an Independent percussion sroup
is set oonsistinc ot two players at the extreme points ot a
tixed axis throU&h whioh a circular percussion stage reTOlves.
1he oonductor, who has been cueinc all prominent entranoes and
releases heretotore, merely sets the revolvinc percussion in
motion with a sinale cue, thereby leaYine the two players to
persist on their own like some inoessant machine until the end
of the moyement. 1he constant re-use ot distinotive segments
in yaryins combinations in the movement establish its basically
motivic nature. So too, the chorus cives up it. textual role
and becomes motivio in the movement. In the end, the motivio
elements of the movement exhaust themselves in a culndnatinc
"ripieno", yet the unrelentinc percussion beneath courses on
throuch a cadenza-like passage.
~e
third movement oommenoes without pause. In ceneral,
it is more oonventional in theory, employinc muoh ordinary
notation and for.mal clarity. In tact, this last movement is
in a kind of rounded-binary form. A-B-A' with a truncated retur.a. Another way to describe the movement formal17 would be:
introduotion(A)-choral seotion(B)- tutti recapitulation(A').
There is a weloome textual oonaenaus in the movement, and the
work ends on a quiet thou&h ironio note, expressing the illusion of treedom in Man.
The approximate durations of the movements are, 4'50", 5'5",
and 4'55" respeotively.
should be about 14'50".
~e
pertor.manoe time of the whole