CANTILLATIONS
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A Musical Composition
For Electric String Quartet and Amplified Free-Bass Accordion
James F. Nightingale
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A thesis submitted to the f~culty of
the Music Department of
California State University, Northridge
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for
the degree of Master of Arts in Music
January 1977 .
Approved:
Ca,lifornia State University, Northridge
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ABSTRACT
Cantillations for electric string quartet and amplified accordion is a set of musical impressions
of the first nine poems contained in Wallace Stevens' Thirteen Ways Of Looking At A Blackbird.
The impressions are generally descriptive of either the literal narrative of the poems, the subjective colors and activeness of their language or sound, or of my interpretations of their philosophic
content. As such, whereas the stylistic character of the settings remains consistent, the fonnal
structures employed vary greatly.
I interpret Stevens' blackbird as representing simultaneously two aspects or approaches to the
same concept: death as conceived spiritually (or superstitiously inasmuch as Stevens was an
atheist) and traditionally (or agnostically) in our Western culture; and as that inevitable moment
of repose at one extreme of nature's pendularcycle. Stevens viewed death in a factual, nonreligious way. He saw it as the essential equal of life, saying , in essence, without death there
could be no life. He extended this philosophy further: without conflict there could be no harmony; without contrast -no interest. Stevens believed in balances in everything and as a result
considered death as the necessary eatalyst to rebirth or regeneration. The inevitable cycle represents the essence of Stevens.
With this in mind and noting the cyclical structure of the poems in the work, my setting is
fashioned into a large three-part cycle (only the first two of which are included as part of the
thesis) with the first and last poems representing what Stevens called the point of purest whiteness -iciest cold; that moment when omega and alpha become one, and the seventh poem
(the middle piece of the second part ) representing the warm brilliance of the high point of
summer when the opul~nce of life reaches its climax.
The musical cycle is realized via a systematic increase of density - both texturally and emotionally -from the·first piece to a high point in the seventh and eighth pieces, and,by way of an
inversion of the same process, a gradual decrease to the thirteenth and last piece. The two aspects of the blackbird mentioned earlier, the culturally influenced and the philosophic, are
motivically represented in the two musical gestures presented in the opening piece: the quasi
chant and the sustained high pitch. These two ideas are the only structural elements used motivically.
Due to the resultant excessive duration of all three parts of the setting combined, and the
fact that the first two parts possess a highly satisfactory symmetry unto themselves, I have
chosen to limit this thesis project to the nine pieces of parts I and II.
James Nightingale (1976)
Amplification symbol: "R'' in the upper chamber signifies reverberation on; "V" in the
lower chamber signifies vibrato on. The number below the box is the volume setting.
Rest of appox. 1 second.
Rest of appox. 2 to 3 seconds
Three quarter-tone sharp.
One quarter-tone sharp.
One quarter-tone flat.
Three quarter-tone flat.
Improvisation: Any pitch.
Improvisation: Any pitch in area centered by slash.
Improvisation: Any major or minor 2nd in area centered by slash.
Improvisation: Any three or four note cluster in area centered by slash.
Seating Arrangement
Each string instrument is connected to an amplifier capable of producing both
reverberation and vibrato (or tremolo) effects via a simple contact microphone.
The accordion is likewise attached. Amplifiers must be close enough to be controled by the players.
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