INTERMEDIAL AND AESTHETIC INFLUENCES ON ERIK SATIE'S LATE COMPOSITIONAL ...

130 Pages·2013·6.89 MB·English

The Pennsylvania State University
The Graduate School
School of Music
INTERMEDIAL AND AESTHETIC INFLUENCES ON
ERIK SATIE’S LATE COMPOSITIONAL PRACTICES
A Thesis in
Music Theory
by
Michael S. Boerner
© 2013 Michael S. Boerner
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements
for the Degree of
Master of Arts
May 2013
The thesis of Michael S. Boerner was reviewed and approved* by the following:
Taylor A. Greer
Associate Professor of Music
Thesis Advisor
Maureen A. Carr
Distinguished Professor of Music
Marica S. Tacconi
Professor of Musicology
Assistant Director for Research and Graduate Studies
*Signatures are on file in the Graduate School.
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ABSTRACT
Artistic works involving a variety of mediums tend to be approached and
analyzed from a single artistic viewpoint, failing to consider the interactions of the
different mediums that define the work as a whole. The creative process is influenced by
the types of mediums involved, individuals participating in the collaboration, and the
overall aesthetic climate of the period.
Erik Satie (1866-1925) created numerous intermedial works in the last decade of
his life where the medium impacted the compositional practices contained within his
music. Satie was also tangentially involved in a number of artistic and aesthetic
movements, such as Cubism, Dadaism, and early Surrealism, which influenced his
integration. His personal relations and collaborations with prominent artists of these
movements, such as Francis Picabia, André Breton, and Pablo Picasso. The works
investigated in this thesis highlight Satie’s consideration of extramusical influences and
include Sports et divertissements (1923), Parade (1917), Relâche (1924), and Cinéma:
Entr’acte (1924).
Two additional pieces composed by the Dada artist Georges Ribemont-Dessaignes
(1884-1974) will also be examined as a point of comparison with Satie’s works. Pas de la
chicorée frisée (1920) and Le nombril interlope (1920) are included to highlight the
influence of contemporary aesthetics on artists working primarily in nonmusical
mediums. In this instance Ribemont-Dessaignes adopts the musical medium as a means
to express Dada tendencies.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................vi
LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................viii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................ix
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND METHODOLOGY ..............................................1
1.1 Overview ......................................................................................................1
1.2 Objectives ....................................................................................................3
1.3 Methodology and Musical Literature ...........................................................5
1.4 Analytical Components ................................................................................9
1.5 Historical Context ......................................................................................13
1.6 Artistic Aesthetics ......................................................................................16
CHAPTER 2: SPORTS ET DIVERTISSEMENTS. .............................................................18
2.1 Conception .................................................................................................18
2.2 Analytical Components ..............................................................................21
2.3 Aesthetic Implications ................................................................................32
CHAPTER 3: PARADE ......................................................................................................34
3.1 Conception .................................................................................................34
3.2 Analytical Components ..............................................................................35
3.3 Aesthetic Implications ................................................................................48
CHAPTER 4: RÊLACHE AND CINÉMA: ENTR’ACTE ..................................................51
4.1 Conception .................................................................................................51
4.2 Analytical Components ..............................................................................54
4.3 Aesthetic Implications ................................................................................75
CHAPTER 5: LE NOMBRIL INTERLOPE AND PAS DE LA CHICORÉE FRISÉE. .......77
5.1 Conception .................................................................................................77
5.2 Analytical Components ..............................................................................79
5.3 Aesthetic Implications ..............................................................................101
CHAPTER 6: SYNTHESIS AND CONCLUSION ........................................................103
6.1 Intermedial Synthesis ...............................................................................103
6.2 Conclusion ...............................................................................................108
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APPENDIX A: MOVEMENTS FROM SPORTS ET DIVERTISSEMENT. ....................109
APPENDIX B: DADA PROGRAMS ..............................................................................114
BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................116
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LIST OF FIGURES
CHAPTER 1
1.1 Two examples of Satie’s illustrations. ........................................................10
CHAPTER 2
2.1 Melodic motive, “Le Flirt,” Sports et divertissements, first system ..........25
2.2 Ostinato figure, “Le Flirt,” Sports et divertissements,
first system .....................................................................................25
2.3a Transposition/variation on scalar material, “Le Flirt,” Sports et
divertissements, first system. ..........................................................26
2.3b Transposition/variation on non-melodic material, “Le Flirt,” Sports et
divertissements, second system ......................................................26
2.4 Ostinato variation/deterioration, “Le Flirt,” Sports et divertissements,
third system ....................................................................................27
2.5a Martin, “Le Bain de mer” (1914). ..............................................................30
2.5b Martin, “Le Bain de mer” (1922). ..............................................................31
2.6a Martin, “Le Flirt” (1914) ...........................................................................32
2.6b Martin, “Le Flirt” (1922) ...........................................................................32
CHAPTER 3
3.1 First violins, “Dance of the Little American Girl,” Parade,
mm. 215-218 ..................................................................................44
3.2 Cello, double bass, trombone, and clarinet parts, “Dance of the
Little American Girl,” Parade, mm. 219-222 ................................44
3.3 Piano Reduction, “Entrance of the American Girl,” Parade,
mm. 199-206 ..................................................................................45
3.4 Piano Reduction, “Entrance of the Chinese conjurer,” Parade,
mm. 76-85 ......................................................................................46
3.5 Melodic fragment, “Dance of the Little American Girl,” Parade,
mm. 207-210 ..................................................................................47
CHAPTER 4
4.1 Extracted melody, “Overture,” Relâche, mm. 8-16 ...................................57
4.2 Piano reduction, “Overture,” Relâche, mm. 8-16 ......................................59
4.3 Piano reduction, “Overture,” Relâche, measures 24-32 .............................59
4.4 Piano reduction, “Entrée de l’Homme,” Relâche, mm. 1-18 .....................61
4.5 Piano reduction, “Entrée de l’Homme,” Relâche, mm. 26-34 ...................62
4.6 Expanded voice leading, “Les Hommes regagnent leur place et
retrouvent leurs pardessus,” Relâche, mm. 9-32. ...........................64
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4.7 Piano reduction , Cinéma, mm. 169-172 ...................................................68
4.8 Piano reduction , Cinéma, mm. 173-180 ...................................................69
4.9 Chopin, Piano Sonata No. 2, Op. 35, Marche funèbre, mm. 1-4. ..............69
4.10 Extracted melodic fragments “Marche funèbre,” Relâche. ........................70
4.11 Piano reduction, “March funèbre,” Relâche, mm. 189-212. ......................70
4.12 Ogives No.1, phrases 1-4 (A and B sections) .............................................71
4.13 Satie’s notes for Cinéma: Entr’acte with indications of
orchestral scoring ...........................................................................72
4.14 Piano reduction, Cinéma, mm. 293-313 ....................................................73
CHAPTER 5
5.1 Georges Ribemont-Dessaignes, Grand musicien (1920) ...........................81
5.2 Melody and accompaniment, Pas de la chicorée frisée, mm. 11-22 .........84
5.3 Alternating rhythm and repetition, Pas de la chicorée frisée,
mm. 23-27 ......................................................................................84
5.4 Melody and accompaniment, Pas de la chicorée frisée, mm. 40-54 .........86
5.5 Chordal cadential gesture, Pas de la chicorée frisée, mm. 9-10. ...............87
5.6 Decimal time signature and rhythmic development, Pas de la
chicorée frisée, mm. 55-70 ............................................................89
5.7 Homophonic “chorale” texture, Pas de la chicorée frisée, mm. 91-92 .....90
5.8 Stylistic invocation of waltz, Pas de la chicorée frisée, mm. 93-97. .........91
5.9 Coda/closing material, Pas de la chicorée frisée, mm. 98-103 .................91
5.10 Carefree use of consonance and dissonance material, Le nombril
interlope, mm. 1-9. .........................................................................92
5.11 Syncopated alternation and chromatic gesture, Le nombril
interlope, mm. 10-11. .....................................................................93
5.12 “Passion” passage, Le nombril interlope, mm. 16-24. ...............................95
5.13 Original statement of random pitch alternations, Le nombril
interlope, mm. 26-27. .....................................................................96
5.14 Elaborated statement of random pitch alternations, Le nombril
interlope, m. 31 ..............................................................................96
5.15 Multilayered statement of random pitch alternations, Le nombril
interlope, m. 32 ..............................................................................96
5.16 Contrasting melodic phrases with identical rhythms, Le nombril
interlope, mm. 48-55. .....................................................................97
5.17 Exact notation with “Approximativement” performance marking,
Le nombril interlope, mm. 57-67 ...................................................98
5.18 Georges Ribemont-Dessaignes, Silence (c.1915) ....................................101
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LIST OF TABLES
CHAPTER 2
2.1 Transpositions and text of melodic fragment in “Le Flirt” ........................29
CHAPTER 3
3.1 Form and Descriptions of 1917 Score of Parade. ......................................41
3.2 Form and Descriptions of 1919 Revised Score of Parade. ........................42
CHAPTER 4
4.1 Phrase, key, and counterpoint inversion of “Danse de la Brouette” ..........65
CHAPTER 5
5.1 Sectional form and characteristics of Pas de la chicorée frisée. ................91
5.2 Sectional form and characteristics of Le nombril interlope .......................99
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First and foremost, I would like to thank Dr. Taylor Greer for advising me in this
venture in musical aesthetics. Without his guidance and suggestions I would certainly still
be trapped in a mire of modernist terminology. I would also like to thank Dr. Maureen
Carr for being the original source of encouragement for my interest in this topic and her
keen feedback through the whole process.
Innumerable thanks go to Dieter Beijersbergen for supplying me with access to
the original musical manuscripts of Georges Ribemont-Dessaignes. Without them the
comparative goal of this thesis would have been mere speculation.
I should also like to thank my friend Tessa Fox for her editorial feedback, and my
friend Alicia Bradford for her constant support all through my program. Of course none
of this would be possible without the unconditional love and encouragement of my
family, for which I am deeply grateful. Thank you all.
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To the memory of Dr. Carl Wiens,
for introducing me to a world within music
I had never known existed.
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