Research on Stravinsky's Sequence Music

As one of the important representatives of modern music, Stravinsky's creation can be roughly divided into three periods: the early period (Russian style period, 19 19 years ago) and the middle period (neoclassical period,19195/kloc-). Stravinsky's early works are represented by three famous ballet dances, Firebird, petrushka and Sacrifice to Spring, which have distinct Russian national style and strong primitive expressionism. The mid-term creation is represented by ballet "Purcinella", opera-oratorio "King Oedipus", poetry symphony, opera "The Prodigal Son" and some instrumental works, which combines the characteristics of classical music with the language of modern music and is very popular. In his later works, anton webern's sequential music technique was used, and his representative works include dance drama Argonne, TV musical The Flood, Variations for the Band and so on.

In order to understand the characteristics of Stravinsky's late sequential creation, we must start with his mid-term neoclassical creation style. Neoclassicism prevailed in the 1920s, also known as "neo-Baroque", which was opposite to the later romanticism and parallel to expressionism. It is a creative trend of thought aimed at the title and subjectivity of late romanticism in music. Neo-classicism advocates that music does not have to respond to disordered social reality and politics, but should restore the creative styles and techniques of Baroque and Classical periods, emphasize the objective spirit and neutral attitude of music, and oppose the title and drama of music. In short: try to imitate the ancient music style in music, and use modern technology in creative techniques to form a new style of imitating ancient music. At the same time, neoclassicism does not exclude new and modern musical languages.

It is precisely because of neoclassicism, a unique feature that does not exclude new and modern musical languages, that many 20th century avantgarde music forms and schools, such as serialism, expressionism, twelve-tone system and figurative music, have broad development space and sufficient nourishment. At this time, many new musical styles and genres have mushroomed. Stravinsky, who was always immersed in the great aura of neoclassicism, also began to consider the turn of his music creation style and the perfect integration with the new music style. This is the practical significance of Stravinsky's later musical style turn.

Stravinsky was influenced and influenced by Russian music culture in his early years. With extraordinary artistic temperament and extraordinary musical sentiment, he successfully created the dance drama Firebird at the age of 27, which attracted worldwide attention. Stravinsky, who integrated into the world music culture after going abroad, continued to make waves with the advent of works with different styles. As a great artist with extremely keen and active thoughts, it is difficult for people to find clues and signs of his change in his three major creative styles in his life, so every time his style changes, his followers are caught off guard, such as falling into clouds and fog. Throughout Stravinsky's creative career of more than 60 years, he has been constantly seeking innovation and avoiding repeating himself. Therefore, various schools in the 20th century, such as Impressionism, Neoclassicism, Expressionism, Jazz, Twelve-tone System, etc., attracted him, and also had a great influence on the development and growth of some schools in his works with different styles. As an assistant and close friend of Stravinsky in his later years, American conductor Kraft Robert once said: "If Stravinsky is an exciting center of music life in the 20th century, it is not only because of his innovation and other attributes embodied in music, including the strength of his musical personality, but also because he has absorbed more things than his rivals in the whole modern world, including the United States and Europe." Maybe we can say that this is Stravinsky.

Speaking of sequential music, what is sequential music? Or why sequence music has such far-reaching influence and great significance on the process and development of modern music? Sequential music is a new music creation system that became popular in the mid-20th century. As early as the forties, Xi Linjie (1895- 1948) put forward some new ideas and principles that were contrary to the traditional ideas in music theory and creation. He believes that the form of music is related to mathematics, and artistic creation can be created and explained by various mathematical symbols, equations, or charts, diagrams and tables. In the further development of twelve-tone technique, Austrian Wilbern used a similar calculation method to compose music by weaving musical elements into various sequences. After World War II, this sequence structure has developed greatly. Some composers more consciously put all the "factors" of music (pitch, duration, intensity, timbre, starting, etc. ) into a calculation order, called sequence music or comprehensive sequence music.

Nevertheless, people are still puzzled by Stravinsky's turn to sequencing in his later years. As another representative of new music in the 20th century, Schoenberg and Stravinsky, the founders of the twelve-tone system, have always had differences in artistic style and aesthetic concept. Although they have been neighbors for many years, they have never met. After World War II, sequential composition became a very popular music language. Music creation in a brand-new way and method was an amazing step to get rid of the shackles of tradition at that time and played an important role in the enlightenment and development of modern music. Nature has also influenced many young composers, including accomplished composers, to varying degrees. At this time, Kraft also actively introduced the works of Schoenberg, Berger and Wei Boen to Stravinsky, and suggested that Stravinsky study the twelve-tone system. Stravinsky really showed great appreciation for Wilbur's works. Kraft recalled: "No matter what Stravinsky thought about Schoenberg before 1950, from then on, the Russian-American no longer regarded the Austrian-American as the opposite, but regarded him as a great colleague who could learn from him and really learn something." At this time, the sequential composition method has reached a certain height and heat. Some composers no longer satisfy the principle that order is limited to pitch materials, and think that order can control all aspects of music. Such as rhythm, dynamics, range, playing methods, sequence forms, etc., can form an orderly arrangement and development. This technique is reflected in the works of Milton, Boulez, Pierre and Nuo Nuo (Nono). This kind of music, called whole sequence or comprehensive sequence, has exposed the disadvantages of sequence music because of its boring connotation and difficult pure formal techniques. At the same time, Stravinsky, who is over 70 years old, absorbed sequence technology into his music step by step with great care and deliberation. Stravinsky said in "Poetics of Music" that "the more art is controlled and restricted, the more carefully considered, the more free it feels. ..... So, my freedom is the freedom to move within the framework I set for each task. ..... It can even be said that the less I restrict my activities and the more obstacles I set myself, the greater my freedom will be and the more meaningful it will be. " Perhaps it is based on this creative idea that Stravinsky's interest in sequence music is getting stronger and stronger, and the "experimental field" is getting bigger and bigger, from using all kinds of sequences below twelve tones to the combination of multiple sequences; From the continuous use of a part of a piece of music or a movement or paragraph to the continuous use of the whole piece of music; From various small vocal music and instrumental music to large-scale ballet, chorus and orchestra, * * * has created more than 20 works of different genres and forms. Make him a composer of sequential music techniques with his own unique personality.

In fact, in Stravinsky's whole creative career, no matter what style his music turned to, his musical aesthetic thoughts and creative principles were consistent. His neo-classical aesthetic thought is embodied in his profound understanding of tradition and his innovation in the traditional sense. He believes: "Tradition and custom are completely different ... Tradition comes from conscious and thoughtful acceptance. ..... Tradition is based on the continuation of events, and it never implies the repetition of previous events. It is like an ancestral heritage, and the heirs accept it in the tradition and make it bear fruit, and then pass it on. " "Stravinsky's greatness lies in his understanding that to reach the classic level and depth, we must use the past, discard its dross and absorb its essence. On the basis of retaining traditional advantages, we should integrate new factors and the atmosphere of the times to make it develop and grow, and rely on old things as much as new things. " However, the rational, objective and calm temperament upheld by neoclassicism is not incompatible with the style of simple structure, clear timbre and refined texture and order, especially in Stravinsky's works. For example, polyphony has always been an important form in Stravinsky's creation. He always pays attention to the special position of melody in music, and even ignores or ignores the longitudinal harmony in music works in order to emphasize the melody line of each part. He believes that what still exists after all the changes in the system is melody. Therefore, he will use the language of sequence music to write works closely combined with traditional genres, such as Le Secard in chorus, Pasacaglia and Gig in septet, two cannons and variations. In any of his later serial works, you will clearly understand and feel that this is Stravinsky's music through his exquisite orchestration technology, skillful polyphony and multi-part writing ability, rhythmic strength with personality, harmony of chromatic scale, medieval mode, church mode and natural sound system, and unique interpretation of music!

Stravinsky and Schoenberg were pioneers and founders of new music in the 20th century. Their common achievement is to break the traditional seven-tone system and try to explore the possibility of all other music materials. Schoenberg achieved this goal because the romanticists in the later period were highly semitone, abandoned tonality and mode, and used counterpoint writing techniques that lost the sense of harmony until tonality finally collapsed, and established a theoretical system of average twelve tones. In other words, the twelve semitones in the scale are separated from each other and treated equally, thus fundamentally denying the functional relationship between mode and tonality in music. Stravinsky inherited and developed this new musical composition technique on the basis of Schoenberg's "tonality disintegration" and achieved this goal. With the combination of "freedom and atonality" and "classical form", the personality and characteristics of Schoenberg's expressionist music have been further developed. Stravinsky's music is a new synthesis characterized by natural sound and a heterogeneous product of tonality. Therefore, in Stravinsky's late sequence music, he still realized the "twelve tones" with the "frame structure" and "circulation method" in the sequence form.

On the other hand, sequence factors are predicted in many of Stravinsky's early works. For example, the semitone theme of non-repetitive sounds in Firebird (an important masterpiece of Stravinsky's early Russian national style period); In Sacrifice to Spring (Stravinsky's landmark work in the middle period of neoclassicism), unconventional beat points and discordant sounds are interspersed; The theme variation and development with sequential thinking in the variations of two piano sonatas inadvertently show obvious sequential factors.

It can be said that Stravinsky's music style and creative techniques are constantly developing and changing, and long-term creative practice and experience are the natural soil for accepting and developing sequence technology. In this soil, the wonderful work of sequence technology will naturally grow. "Requiem is the final result of 65 years of development and change. This miracle comes from an 84-year-old man, as amazing as the firebird from a 27-year-old boy. "

195 1 At the beginning of the year, Stravinsky composed the three-act opera The Course of the Prodigal Son. This work is not only regarded as the peak of Stravinsky's neoclassicism period, but also marks the end of the neoclassicism period. Since then, Stravinsky has started a new course of using continuous technology to create. This process continued until 1966. During this period, the composer also experienced a gradual and complicated process in the application of sequential techniques. Chorus is Stravinsky's first sequence work, but the content of sequence technology is limited, and the twelve-tone composition technology is only a tentative infiltration. Septet further demonstrates the combination of sequential techniques and traditional techniques, and the innovative consciousness shown from this combination is very eye-catching. In memory of Dylan Marles Thomas, the composer took a step forward in the application of sequence technique, which is Stravinsky's first work to create all movements with sequence technique. Although the original sequence is still not composed of 12 key, it is more rigorous and orderly than previous works with less 12 key. The advent of Elegy became a new milestone in Stravinsky's later series of music creation. In this work, the composer comprehensively used the twelve-tone sequence technique for the first time, and became a mature work that broadened the twelve-tone sequence technique and skillfully combined all previous creative experiences. "Music Movement" is a pure instrumental suite created by the composer in 1959, which is considered to be the most changed work in the whole later works and has obvious avant-garde style. The tonal center of this divertimento is obviously weakened, which is closely related to the neo-modernism in Brittany's Structure or Stockhausen's Contradiction and Wilbern's Concerto. At the same time, Stravinsky has also greatly developed the sequence technology, using the new form of circulation method and longitudinal harmony structure for the first time, emphasizing the use of four basic sequences of 12 tone (P-0, R-0, I-0, IR-0), and combining the techniques of substitution, contraction, segmentation, imitation, segmentation and motivation development, in various complex rhythms. For example, sermon, narrative and prayer (chorus and orchestra), flood (TV musical), Abraham and Isaac (religious narrative) and requiem for ode (chorus and orchestra), we can all feel that the composer's sequential creation techniques are more mature and complex, and gradually form an irreplaceable personality. This period also includes some small works, such as Double Cannons (String Ensemble), Elegy of J.F.K (mezzo-soprano solo), Horn for the Opening of the New Theater (two trumpets) and Owl and Kitten (vocal music and piano). These artistic sketches are all based on the twelve-tone sequence, and the composers are in the so-called "popular" genre. From these works, we can see that Stravinsky is getting wider and wider on the road of sequential creation, and with his high-yield quantity and exquisite skills, he has ushered in the golden autumn of composer's harvest!

For details, please refer to the article "The sunset glow in Modao Sang Yu is still full of sky-the turning point of Stravinsky's late music style and his late serial works"