Reimagining Formal Functions in Post-Tonal Music

Abstract

Modernist concepts of temporality (“non-linear time”) are variously cross-related to conventional concepts and qualities of time (“linear time”) (Kramer 1988, 20–65). This is exemplified by Salvatore Sciarrino’s creative method, which reconciles more conventional elements of discursive organicist design (processes of accumulation, multiplication, and transformation) with strategies of rupture and formal deterioration (“little bang,” “window form”). This unique mixing of “linear” and “non-linear” strategies is staged within a soundscape of mostly minimal dynamics and reduced activity at the edge of silence, sensitizing the listener toward micro-alterations. This article introduces key strategies in Sciarrino’s temporal form based on analytical investigations of three works that differ substantially in duration, density, and genre: Quintettino no. 1 (1976, ca. 3 min.) for clarinet and string quartet, Efebo con radio (1981, ca. 11 min.) for voice and orchestra, and the music theater work Da gelo a gelo: 100 scene con 65 poesie (2006, ca. 110 min.). My analyses are framed by a discussion of the relationships between musical beginnings or endings and constellations of duration and density. Sciarrino’s works prominently feature a semanticization of musical material by metaphorical, agential, or paratextual means that is also evident in his interpretation of Anton Webern’s orchestral piece op. 6, no. 4 (1909). The analyses demonstrate how the composer’s explicit and implicit semanticization of his material allows the listener to understand Sciarrino’s works as reimaginations of conventional formal functions in which the familiar appears unfamiliar.