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University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
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Three periods in Frank Martin's compositional evolution as exemplified in Messe pour double choeur, In Terra Pax and Requiem
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Three periods in Frank Martin's compositional evolution as exemplified in Messe pour double choeur, In Terra Pax and Requiem
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Content
THREE PERIODS IN FRANK MARTIN’S
COMPOSITIONAL EVOLUTION AS EXEMPLIFIED IN
MESSE POUR DOUBLE CHOEUR, IN TERRA PAX AND REQUIEM
by
Jenny Ching Yee Wong
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE THORNTON SCHOOL OF MUSIC
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS
(CHORAL MUSIC)
December 2017
ii
For Mom, Dad and David…
iii
Acknowledgements
The completion of this document represents the efforts of a whole village. The
fruition of this document could not have been possible without the dedication and care of
my tireless dissertation committee, Dr. Jo-Michael Scheibe, Dr. Cristian Grases and Dr.
Tram Sparks, whose guidance and nurturing always challenged me to do better as a
writer, musician and person. I also owe my thanks to Dr. Nick Strimple, with whom I
first had a conversation, among many inspiring ones, that sparked the topic and premise
for this dissertation.
My entire path leading to this step of my career was paved by a plethora of
teachers and mentors who have allowed me room and motivation to grow, and inspiration
at every step. While I may not be able to thank each and every one here, it is my honor to
have an opportunity to thank, in addition to my aforementioned teachers, Donald
Brinegar, Simon Carrington, Ronnie Kay Yen Cheng, Grant Gershon, Matthew Halls,
Morten Lauridsen, Larry Livingston and Helmuth Rilling.
I could not possibly have started or completed this journey without the
unconditional support and encouragement of my family and loving circle of friends, who
were my constant bridge over troubled water.
iv
Table of Contents
Dedication ii
Acknowledgements iii
List of Tables vi
List of Figures viii
List of Musical Examples ix
List of Illustrations xxii
Abstract xxiii
Chapter 1 Introduction 1
PART ONE
Chapter 2 Martin’s Early Influences (until 1933) 6
Chapter 3 Martin and Bach 11
Chapter 4 Tonality, Modality and Sonority 19
Chapter 5 Dalcroze Eurhythmics and Folk Rhythms 23
Chapter 6 Background of Messe pour double choeur a cappella 29
Chapter 7 Analysis of Messe pour double choeur a cappella 33
Chapter 8 Thematic Metamorphosis and Motivic Unity 93
PART TWO
Chapter 9 Martin’s Middle Period (1933-1944) 106
Chapter 10 Religion and Martin’s Middle Period 109
Chapter 11 Text-setting and In Terra Pax 115
Chapter 12 Numerology in In Terra Pax 128
v
Chapter 13 Instrumentation in In Terra Pax 143
Chapter 14 Tonality and Harmony of the Middle Period 145
Chapter 15 Twelve-tone Technique 159
Chapter 16 Motivic Devices in In Terra Pax 173
Chapter 17 Motivic Unity and Thematic Metamorphosis in In Terra Pax 202
Chapter 18 Structure in In Terra Pax 211
Chapter 19 Rhythmic Treatment in In Terra Pax 223
PART THREE
Chapter 20 Martin’s Mature Period (1945-1974) 225
Chapter 21 Context for REQUIEM (1971-72) 229
Chapter 22 Text-setting in Requiem 234
Chapter 23 Instrumentation and Sonority in Requiem 243
Chapter 24 Numerology in Requiem 250
Chapter 25 Structure in Requiem 255
Chapter 26 Twelve-tone Technique 260
Chapter 27 Tonality and Harmony 271
Chapter 28 Rhythm 282
Chapter 29 Compositional Devices 291
Chapter 30 Conclusion of Martin’s Compositional Culmination 316
Bibliography 321
Appendix A Complete List of Martin's Compositions 330
vi
List of Tables
Table 1 Messe pour double choeur, reverse Golden Mean 17
in the five movements
Table 2 Formal and harmonic structure of Kyrie movement, 34
Messe pour double choeur
Table 3 Harmonic movement of each iteration of Kyrie eleison, 35
mm. 37-57
Table 4 Vantine's proposal of theme and variations structure in Credo 56
Table 5 Maldjieva's proposed through-composed sections in Credo 57
Table 6 Rhythmic arrangement, claps and thekas of Hindustani Tin taal 71
Table 7 The inversion of intervals in Martin’s four-note motif 84
at mm. 2-4 and mm. 44-45, compared with B-A-C-H motif
Table 8 Modal scales created through alterations of the 86
Agnus Dei theme
Table 9 Bi-tonality in Agnus Dei 88
Table 10 Martin’s Messe pour double choeur, Agnus Dei, 90
rhythmic pattern modified and manipulated against meters
Table 11 Duration of notes of each setting of Agnus Dei qui tollis 92
peccata mundi
Table 12 Harmonic interaction and independence between Piano II 149
and lower strings, violins and tenor, Movement VI,
Rehearsal 4
Table 13 Tonal or pitch centers of the eleven movements of 152
In Terra Pax
Table 14 Juxtaposition of bass line and open fifths in Movement I, 156
mm. 1-8 downbeat
Table 15 Movement IV, six-tone row and twelve-tone complement 168
formed by the first phrase of the hymn, mm. 1-3,
supplemented by tenor solo, Bass II, Alto II, tenor and bass
(Rehearsal 3 to three measures after Rehearsal 3)
vii
Table 16 Sentiments conveyed through the textual choices of the 213
eleven movements, as summarized by the present author
Table 17 Movement VIII, fifteen statements of the passacaglia, with 217
key center and instrumentation
Table 18 Bruhn’s analysis of seven phrases in first section of 252
the Dies Irae
Table 19 Requiem, symmetry of symbolism in the eight movements 257
Table 20 Requiem, each movement with beginning pitches 258
and ending key
Table 21 Requiem, each movement with beginning pitches 271
and ending key
Table 22 Agnus Dei, consonant and dissonant intervals created 280
by organ chord (one measure before Rehearsal 8)
viii
List of Figures
Figure 11.1 Martin's selection and order of biblical texts for In Terra Pax 117
Figure 12.1 Johann Jacob Schmidt’s Der Biblische Mathematicus 130
Figure 12.2 Rumsey's compilation of significant numbers relevant to Bach 131
Figure 14.1 Harmonic and tonal motion of In Terra Pax, Movement IV, 146
stanza 1, mm. 1-25
Figure 17.1 Movement XI, mm. 17-25, reversed whole-step and half-step 207
intervals between the first and second set of four pitches
in the bass line
Figure 18.1 Symmetry in terms of structures in the movements of 214
In Terra Pax
ix
List of Musical Examples
Example 3.1 Cross image formed through realization of Bach’s 13
Crucigeros canon over Goldberg Soggetto
Example 3.2 B-A-C-H motif, J.S. Bach, Die Kunst der Fuge, 15
last Contrapunctus, mm. 192-196
Example 4.1 Messe pour double choeur, Kyrie, A Aeolian mode 20
on first Kyrie, mm. 1-5, Alto II
Example 5.1 Asymmetric meters of five used in Bulgarian folk dances, 27
in different groupings
Example 5.2 Fourteen-beat Jhoomra tal meter used in Hindustani 28
folk music, grouped in [3+4+3+4]
Example 7.1 Kyrie, m. 27, SATB double choir, bi-chord on beat 4 36
Example 7.2 Messe pour double choeur, Kyrie, A Aeolian mode 37
on first Kyrie, mm. 1-5, Alto II
Example 7.3 Messe pour double choeur, Kyrie, SATB double choir, 38
plagal entrance of subject in Soprano II after Alto II and I,
mm. 6-10
Example 7.4 Gloria, mm. 1-3, SATB double choir, dotted motif 41
Example 7.5 Kyrie, SATB double choir, dotted motif first used 42
in mm. 37-50
Example 7.6 Gloria, mm. 1-15, SATB double choir, opening outlining 44
B Aeolian mode, suggestive of B minor/D major, ending on
D minor in m. 15, with dominant seventh chord at m. 4
Example 7.7 Gloria, mm. 21-25, SATB double choir, chromatic shift 46
between F♮ and F#, and B♮ and B♭
Example 7.8 Gloria, mm. 117-122, SATB double choir, final triumph 47
of B♮ over B♭ in Tenor I in m. 120
Example 7.9 Gloria, mm. 58-69, SATB double choir, implications 49
of key center of D through parallel fifth pedal at
Domine Deus in Choir II at m. 58, and D Aeolian theme
at Agnus Dei, Filius Patris in Choir I at mm. 59-62
x
Example 7.10 Gloria, mm. 85-86, Bass I and Bass II, D Aeolian 50
descending outline at Quoniam tu solus Sanctus
Example 7.11 Gloria, SATB Choir II, suspension cadence at Jesu Christe, 51
mm. 56-57
Example 7.12 Messe pour double choeur, Gloria, seven cross images 53
within the Agnus Dei theme (mm. 59-68):
1. A – E – F – D, 2. A – B♭ – A – C,
3. A – C – B♮ – G, 4. B♮ – G – A – F,
5. F – E – G – F, 6. E – G – F – E, 7. E – F – E – D
Example 7.13 Credo, mm. 1-2, Soprano II and Alto II, thematic motif 56
that sets the text Credo in unum Deum
Example 7.14 2014 Bärenreiter Urtext Edition, Messe pour double choeur 60
a cappella, Credo, SATB double choir, mm. 49-51,
ET HOMO FACTUS EST.
Example 7.15 Messe pour double choeur, Credo, 63
ET HOMO FACTUS EST. Alto I and Soprano II,
mm. 49-51
Example 7.16 Bach’s Messe in h-moll, Et incarnatus est, 63
piano reduction, mm. 1-10
Example 7.17 Bach's Messe in h-moll, Crucifixus, 64
piano reduction, mm. 1-11
Example 7.18 Messe pour double choeur, Credo, pitches of 65
Crucifixus motif, Tenor I, mm. 51-53
Example 7.19 Bach's Messe in h-moll, pitches used in Crucifixus, 65
SATB voice parts, mm. 1-12
Example 7.20 Martin’s Messe pour double choeur, Credo, 65
et resurrexit theme, Soprano II, mm. 68-70
Example 7.21 Bach’s Messe in h-moll, Credo, et resurrexit theme, 66
Soprano I, mm. 1-3
Example 7.22 Bach's Matthäus-Passion, motivic material, 67
Flauto traverso I and II, Oboe I and II, mm.1-3
xi
Example 7.23 Messe pour double choeur, Sanctus, ethereal theme, 69
Soprano I, mm. 6-9
Example 7.24 Messe pour double choeur, Sanctus, 70
symmetrical counter-theme, Soprano II, mm. 9-12
Example 7.25 Messe pour double choeur, Sanctus, opening 72
repeated rhythmic figure, Tenor I, Bass I and
SATB Choir II, mm. 1-3
Example 7.26 Messe pour double choeur, Sanctus, 73
symmetrical counter-theme, Soprano II, mm.9-12
Example 7.27 Messe pour double choeur, Kyrie theme, Kyrie, 73
Alto II, 1-5, with similar contour, pitch class
and symmetrical ideas
Example 7.28 Messe pour double choeur, Sanctus, symmetrical stratum 73
repeated and passed between Tenor II and Bass II,
mm. 17-20
Example 7.29 Messe pour double choeur, Sanctus, multiple rhythmic strata 75
at work, SATB double choir, mm. 22-34
Example 7.30 Messe pour double choeur, Sanctus, 76
stratum of sixteen eighth notes, Soprano I, mm. 43-46
Example 7.31 Messe pour double choeur, Sanctus, 76
stratum of sixteen eighth notes, Alto I, mm. 43-46
Example 7.32 Messe pour double choeur, Benedictus, stratum 77
consisting of even eighth notes,
Alto II, Tenor II and Bass II, mm. 76-78
Example 7.33 Messe pour double choeur, Benedictus, 78
second stratum, Alto I, Tenor I and Bass I, mm. 77-79
Example 7.34 Messe pour double choeur, Benedictus, third stratum: 79
a. Soprano II, m. 85; b. Alto I, Tenor I and Bass I, mm. 90-91
Example 7.35 Bach, Messe in h-moll, melodic motif that begins Agnus Dei 81
text, m. 9, m. 27, m. 31
Example 7.36 Martin’s Messe pour double choeur, Agnus Dei, 83
opening vocal line, Choir I in octaves, mm. 2-4
xii
Example 7.37 Bach’s Messe in h-moll, Agnus Dei, alto solo, 83
opening vocal line, mm. 9-13 beat 1
Example 7.38 Martin’s Messe pour double choeur, Agnus Dei, 83
melodic contour of opening vocal line,
Choir I in octaves, mm. 2-4
Example 7.39 Bach’s Messe in h-moll, Agnus Dei, melodic contour 83
of alto solo, opening vocal line, mm. 9-13 beat 1,
transposed down a minor third
Example 7.40 Martin’s Messe pour double choeur, Agnus Dei, 85
Soprano I and Alto I, mm. 2-4
Example 7.41 Martin’s Agnus Dei, first four pitches of opening 86
vocal theme, all voices in Choir I, from mm. 2-4,
compared with the first four pitches of the
closing vocal theme, Soprano I, in mm. 44-45
Example 7.42 Messe pour double choeur, Agnus Dei, SATB 87
double choir, mm. 45-51, final harmonic motion
towards G major
Example 7.43 Martin’s Messe pour double choeur, Agnus Dei, Bass II 89
rhythmic pattern in Choir II
Example 7.44 Martin’s Messe pour double choeur, Agnus Dei, 91
modified rhythmic pattern in Bass II, mm. 17-23
Example 8.1 Messe pour double choeur, Gloria, SATB Choir I 93
in octaves, mm. 59-60, setting of the Agnus Dei text,
a. original and b. reordered (descending)
Example 8.2 Messe pour double choeur, Agnus Dei movement, 93
SATB Choir I in octaves, m. 2, four-note motif,
a. original and b. reordered (descending)
Example 8.3 Messe pour double choeur, Gloria, SATB Choir I 94
in octaves, mm. 59-68, setting of Agnus Dei text
outlining D Aeolian mode
Example 8.4 Messe pour double choeur, Agnus Dei movement, 94
SATB Choir I in octaves, mm. 2-4, opening vocal line
outlining B Aeolian scale
xiii
Example 8.5 Messe pour double choeur, Agnus Dei, SATB Choir I 94
in octaves, mm. 2-4, Agnus Dei theme, no rhythm
Example 8.6 Messe pour double choeur, Gloria, SATB Choir I 94
in octaves, mm. 64-68, Agnus Dei theme
(shortened, from the eighth pitch onwards)
Example 8.7 Messe pour double choeur, Gloria, SATB Choir I 95
in octaves, mm. 59-68, setting of Agnus Dei text,
no rhythm (complete)
Example 8.8 Messe pour double choeur, a. Agnus Dei, mm. 2, 95
SATB Choir I in octaves, four-note motif compared with
b. the first four notes of the Quoniam theme in Gloria,
mm. 85, Bass I and Bass II
Example 8.9 Messe pour double choeur, Credo, incipit, mm. 1-2, 96
Soprano II and Alto II
Example 8.10 Messe pour double choeur, Kyrie, beginning of 96
Kyrie theme, mm. 1-2, Alto II
Example 8.11 Messe pour double choeur, closely-related prime forms 99
of the first four pitches, Kyrie and Agnus Dei themes,
Kyrie mm. 1-2, Alto II, and Agnus Dei, mm. 2,
SATB Choir I
Example 14.1 Triadically embedded twelve-tone material in 148
gliding tonality, In Terra Pax, Movement VI, Rehearsal 4
Example 15.1 Movement I, mm. 1-8, twelve-tone row in 163
trombones and tuba
Example 15.2. Movement I, mm.1-8, twelve-tone row in trombones alone 163
Example 15.3 Movement I, one to seven measures after Rehearsal 12, 165
strings
Example 15.4 Movement I, Rehearsal 12 – seven measures after 165
Rehearsal 12, eleven-tone row in strings
Example 15.5 Movement II, chromatic stepwise descent creating 166
eleven-tone row throughout entire movement, flute and horn
xiv
Example 15.6 Movement II, chromatic stepwise descent creating 166
eleven-tone row throughout whole movement,
clarinet and bassoon
Example 15.7 Movement III, m. 1 - Rehearsal 1, 167
complete twelve-tone row in Violin I and cello
Example 15.8 Movement III, Rehearsal 4, chromatic ascending 167
twelve-tone row, Piano II passed to Piano I
Example 15.9 Movement VI mm. 1-5, twelve-tone aggregate, 169
Violin I and II
Example 15.10 Movement VI, three measures after Rehearsal 6, 169
Piano 1, top voice of right hand and left hand,
transposed to same octave and rewritten in enharmonics,
completing a twelve-tone aggregate
Example 15.11 Movement I mm. 1-8, bass trombone, tuba, 169
rewritten in enharmonics, missing D#/ E♭
Example 15.12 Movement VIII, mm. 1-8, beginning in the viola and cello, 171
passacaglia bass line which completes a twelve-tone row
Example 16.1 Franck, Sonata for Violin and Piano in A, Movement II, 174
quasi lento, mm. 80-85, piano, right hand, top note
Example 16.2 Franck, Sonata for Violin and Piano in A, mm. 80-85, 174
piano, right hand, rearranged into B-A-C-H motif contour
Example 16.3 Franck, Sonata for Violin and Piano in A, Movement II, 174
mm. 98-99, piano, right hand, top note, B-A-C-H motif
modified and transposed to G# - A – C - B
Example 16.4 The use of the inversion of the B-A-C-H motif in 175
Le vin herbé
Example 16.5 Movement XI, one measure after Rehearsal 11, 176
B-A-C-H motif transposed in parallel fifths in horns
(written in sounding pitch and enharmonically,
and transposed in octave for comparison),
compared with original B-A-C-H motif
xv
Example 16.6 Movement XI, Rehearsal 12, English horn, Clarinet I, 177
and Trombone II, overlap of four presentations of
B-A-C-H motif (transposed in octave and
written in enharmonics for clarity)
Example 16.7 Movement XI, two measures after Rehearsal 12, 177
English horn, Clarinet I, and Trombone II, B-A-C-H motif
in original key and parallel fifths (transposed in octave
and written in enharmonic for clarity)
Example 16.8 Bach Cantata No. 150, Movement IV, mm. 1-8, 181
Violins I and II, bassoon, SATB choir,
continuous stepwise ascending passage
Example 16.9 Bach, Cantata No. 131, Movement V, mm. 2-3 183
after Rehearsal W, alto, and Rehearsal X, soprano,
chromatic fourth ascending line
Example 16.10 Bach’s Messe in h-moll, Crucifixus, mm. 1-11, 184
SATB choir and piano reduction,
descending chromatic bass
Example 16.11 Purcell, Dido and Aeneas, Dido’s Lament 185
“When I am Laid in Earth,” mm. 1-11, Dido and
piano reduction, chromatic descending bass
Example 16.12 Bach’s Crucigeros canon, descending and ascending 185
chromatic passages
Example 16.13 Franck, Sonata for Violin and Piano in A, Movement II, 186
mm. 10-15, piano and violin
Example 16.14 Franck, Sonata for Violin and Piano in A, Movement II, 186
mm. 14-22, violin
Example 16.15 Franck, Sonata for Violin and Piano in A, Movement II, 187
mm. 48-63, violin and piano
Example 16.16 In Terra Pax, Movement I, mm. 1-8, bass trombone, tuba, 188
chromatic ascent
Example 16.17 In Terra Pax, Movement III, Rehearsal 4, Piano II 189
passed to Piano I, stepwise ascending passage
Example 16.18 Movement VI, passage of ascending semitones 190
from one measure after Rehearsal 6
xvi
Example 16.19 Movement IX, disconnected chromatic ascent divided 192
into four continuous individual ascents in the strings,
mm. 1-3, Rehearsal 1 to two measures after, Rehearsal 2
to five measures after, and four measures before
Rehearsal 3 to two measures after Rehearsal 3
Example 16.20 Movement XI, Rehearsal 8 - downbeat of Rehearsal 11, 193
chromatic ascent, upper voices, Violin I, viola, Piano I,
Piano II, cello (transposed when necessary for clarity)
Example 16.21 Movement XI, Rehearsal 17, multiple stepwise 194
ascending lines in Piano I (written out of meter
and rhythm for clarity)
Example 16.22 Movement II, chromatic semitone descent. 195
a. flute and English horn; b. clarinet and bassoon
Example 16.23 Movement II, choir line on text Mon Dieu, pourquoi 196
m’as-Tu abandonné? original and transposed
Example 16.24 Movement I, Rehearsal 12, “Day-of-wrath phrase,” 197
reduction
Example 16.25 Day-of-Wrath phrases in Movement III 198
Example 16.26 Movement I and Movement VIII, 201
thematic tertian diminished triads
Example 16.27 Retrograde intervals of diminished triad, 201
Movement IX, tenor solo, three measures after
Rehearsal 3 to the end of the movement
Example 17.1 Movement X, mm. 1-3, recurring [0257] descending 203
motif in Flute I, oboe, Trombone I, Violin I top, Viola I,
and [0235] ascending motif in Cello II and solo double bass
Example 17.2 Movement V, recurring [0257] descending motif, 204
Rehearsal 2-seven measures after Rehearsal 2,
Soprano I, Tenor II
Example 17.3 Movement X, m. 1-2 beat one, Flute I, oboe, 204
Trombone I, Violin I top, Viola I [0257] descending motif
Example 17.4 Messe pour double choeur, Agnus Dei movement, m. 2, 205
SATB Choir I in octaves, [0135] motif
xvii
Example 17.5 In Terra Pax, Movement XI, Rehearsal 4, 205
[025] motif in oboe, horn and Piano I, left hand
Example 17.6 Movement XI, one to four measures after Rehearsal 13, 206
descending 025 motif in girls' choir
Example 17.7 Movement XI, recurring [0135] ascending motifs at 209
a. Rehearsal 3 in strings and b. Rehearsal 7 in woodwinds
Example 18.1 First verse of the hymn tune in Movement IV, m. 1 215
to two measures before Rehearsal 3, first presented
in tenor solo and Choir II basses, which is then
repeated three times
Example 18.2 Movement VI, quasi-passacaglia theme 216
Example 18.3 Movement VIII, passacaglia bass line, 216
first presented m. 1- Rehearsal 1, in viola and cello
Example 18.4 Repeated rhythmic and harmonic progression in 220
Movement X, m. 1-Rehearsal 1, strings
(doubled in woodwinds and trombones)
Example 19.1 Movement X, passacaglia bass line, re-measured, 224
m. 1-5, Cello II and solo double bass
Example 22.1 Requiem, Dies Irae, Lacrimosa, Rehearsal 32, 238
descending chromatic scalar passages
in SATB choir and soloists
Example 22.2 Offertorium, Gregorian chant 240
Example 22.3 Requiem, Offertorium, mm. 1-8, allusion to 240
Gregorian chant, SATB choir, led by cantor-like soprano
Example 22.4 Offertorium, two measures before Rehearsal 3 – 241
two measures after Rehearsal 3, allusion to
Medieval chant, SATB choir
Example 22.5 Requiem, In Paradisum, mm. 8-11, soprano solo 241
Example 23.1 Requiem, Dies Irae movement, Recordare, 245
five measures before Rehearsal 13, oboe solo and tenor solo
xviii
Example 23.2 Requiem, Dies Irae movement, Preces meae, 245
one measure before Rehearsal 23, tenor solo
Example 23.3 Requiem, In Paradisum, one measure after Rehearsal 4, 245
harpsichord ascending to highest possible pitch, F6
Example 25.1 Requiem, Lux aeterna, Rehearsal 3, SATB soloists 259
and SATB choir, descending circle of fifths
Example 26.1 Requiem, Kyrie, mm. 1-5, SATB choir, consonant tone rows 261
Example 26.2 Requiem, Kyrie, measures 2-6 after Rehearsal 1, 264
mostly consonant tone rows, trumpets and trombones
Example 26.3 Dies Irae, Rehearsal 10, bass solo, 265
a cappella twelve-tone row
Example 26.4 Sanctus, Rehearsal 2, SATB soloists, 267
unison twelve-tone row
Example 27.1 Introitus, Rehearsal 2, bass solo 272
Example 27.2 Requiem, Dies Irae, oro supplex et acclinis, 274
Rehearsal 30, ATB choir, gliding tonality
Example 27.3 Dies Irae, Lacrimosa, Rehearsal 32, 275
timpani, organ and strings, gliding tonality
Example 28.1 Asymmetric meters of seven and nine used in 283
Bulgarian folk dances, in different groupings
Example 28.2 7/8 meters in the Dies Irae, Rehearsal 1, SATB choir 286
Example 28.3 Dies Irae, Recordare, five measures before 286
Rehearsal 13, melismatic tenor solo
Example 28.4 Dies Irae, Preces meae, one measure before 286
Rehearsal 23, melismatic tenor solo
Example 28.5 Sanctus, three measures before Rehearsal 9, 287
flute, clarinet, bassoon, hemiola
Example 28.6 Sanctus, written-out trills and ritardandi, 289
mm. 3-7 after Rehearsal 7, soprano solo
xix
Example 28.7 Sanctus, written-out trills and ritardandi, 289
mm. 5-6 after Rehearsal 10, SATB soloists
Example 29.1 Golgotha, Movement V, multiple appearances 292
of the B-A-C-H motif
Example 29.2 Requiem, Kyrie, Christe section, Rehearsal 4, 293
B-A-C-H distortion, first appearing doubled in
harpsichord, oboe, Violin I and bassoon
Example 29.3 Requiem, Dies Irae, Rehearsal 2, trumpets, pitches 294
forming three times of three simultaneous B-A-C-H motifs
Example 29.4 Requiem, Dies Irae, Quærens me, sedisti lassus, 294
three measures before Rehearsal 15 to Rehearsal 15
Example 29.5 Pitches that form the phrase Quærens me, sedisti 295
lassus, Dies Irae, three measures before Rehearsal 15
Example 29.6 Pitches that form the phrase Quærens me, sedisti 295
lassus, rearranged into B-A-C-H motif combinations
Example 29.7 Dies Irae, oboe solo after Quærens me, sedisti lassus, 295
one measure before Rehearsal 15 to two measures after
Rehearsal 15, created from B-A-C-H motif
Example 29.8 Requiem, Dies Irae, redemisti crucem passus, 296
one measure after Rehearsal 15, tenor solo,
created from overlapping B-A-C-H motifs
Example 29.9 Requiem, Dies Irae, tantus labor non sit cassus, 297
two measures before Rehearsal 16, tenor solo,
created form distorted B-A-C-H motifs
Example 29.10 Requiem, Dies Irae, theme from Recordare, 298
five measures before Rehearsal 13, tenor solo,
compared with B-A-C-H motif
Example 29.11 Requiem, Dies Irae, Inter oves locum praesta, 299
one measure before Rehearsal 26, bass solo,
created from B-A-C-H configurations
Example 29.12 Requiem, Dies Irae, B-A-C-H configurations from 300
Statuens in parte dextra, three measures before
Rehearsal 27, SATB soloists
xx
Example 29.13 Requiem, Dies Irae, Voca me, Rehearsal 29, 302
SATB soloists and SATB choir
Example 29.14 Dies Irae, oro supplex et acclinis, Rehearsal 30, 303
tenor and soprano soloists, incomplete B-A-C-H attempts
Example 29.15 Dies Irae, Lacrimosa, Rehearsal 32, SATB soloists 304
and SATB choir, overlaps of manipulated B-A-C-H
contours at the texts
Example 29.16 Requiem, Dies Irae, Huic ergo and parce, 304
Rehearsal 35, alto and bass soloists and choir,
ascending direction B-A-C-H interval contours
Example 29.17 Requiem, Dies Irae, Huic ergo and parce, 305
Rehearsal 35, alto and bass soloists and choir,
B-A-C-H contours
Example 29.18 Requiem, Agnus Dei, B-A-C-H motifs in mm. 2-3, 305
mm. 4-5, mm. 6-7 and mm. 8-11, alto solo
Example 29.19 Requiem, Introitus, Rehearsal 1 to five measures after, 307
tenor solo, Requiem aeternam theme first appearance
Example 29.20 Requiem, Dies Irae, two measures after Rehearsal 37, 308
choir soprano and tenor, Requiem aeternam theme
Example 29.21 Requiem aeternam motifs, Kyrie (mm. 2-6), 309
Offertorium (mm. 1-3), Agnus Dei (mm. 2-5)
Example 29.22 Dies Irae, Rehearsal 12 to five measures after, 310
oboe solo, first appearance of “Recordare” theme
Example 29.23 Dies Irae, mm. 5-8 after Rehearsal 12, tenor solo, 310
Recordare theme
Example 29.24 Requiem, Kyrie, mm. 1-5, SATB choir, 312
canon at perfect fifths
Example 29.25 Requiem, Dies Irae, Lacrimosa, Rehearsal 32 to 313
four measures after, SATB soloists and choir,
perfect fifth canon
xxi
All published musical examples of Messe pour double choeur a cappella were
reproduced © by 2014 Bärenreiter-Verlag, Kassel, used with kind permission.
All published musical examples of In Terra Pax and Requiem were reproduced with kind
permission © Copyright 1953 by Universal Edition A.G., Wien, and © Copyright 1972
by Universal Edition A.G., Zürich.
xxii
List of Illustrations
Illustration 3.1 Bach’s personal monogram, intertwined initials JSB, 12
underneath a crown
Illustration 21.1 St. Mark's Basilica, Venice 231
Illustration 21.2 Interior of St. Mark’s Basilica, Venice 231
Illustration 21.3 Interior of Monreale Cathedral, Palermo 232
Illustration 21.4 Greek temples of Paestum, near Naples 232
xxiii
Abstract
Swiss composer Frank Martin (1890-1974) is one of the uniquely significant
compositional voices whose work spanned across the twentieth century, yet only a
handful of his works are universally known, including Messe pour double choeur a
cappella, validated by performances from the world’s leading choral ensembles.
Research on the Messe pour double choeur a cappella is often isolated from the rest of
Martin's career, of which little is known of his other choral works. The present
dissertation investigates three important sacred choral works by Martin, Messe pour
double choeur a cappella (1922-26), In Terra Pax (1944), and Requiem (1971-72), in a
discussion of his early, middle, and mature compositional years. In doing so, this
dissertation aims at a more comprehensive overview in terms of the progression of
Martin's choral writing, while making musical connections between Martin's music and
his influences. It is hoped that an added perspective may bring forth more interest in a
more comprehensive investigation into Martin's works and encourage programming
connections to other composers.
1
Chapter 1 : Introduction
“Frank Martin had the courage to tackle face on the problem [...] of musical language
possible in our time in all its generality and transcendence. That is why, once achieved,
his feat is of universal consequence.”
- Ernest Ansermet
1
Over the last fifty years, the Messe pour double choeur a cappella by Swiss
composer Frank Martin (1890-1974) has been recognized by the world’s finest choral
ensembles as a twentieth-century masterpiece. Nonetheless, little is known of Martin’s
other choral works and of his evolution as a composer of the choral genre. This
dissertation is a discourse on three important sacred choral works by Frank Martin, Messe
pour double choeur a cappella (1922-26), In Terra Pax (1944), and Requiem (1971-72),
as a representation of his early, middle, and mature compositional years. Although
written far apart and at different stages of Martin’s life, all three works are sacred, multi-
movement, and share a theme of peace. Moreover, the Messe and Requiem share specific
liturgical texts, including the Kyrie, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei, though written fifty years
apart. This dissertation aims to analyze the three works to shed light on Martin’s
compositional progression as a choral composer, and how significant personal and
historical circumstances and musical influences contributed to shaping this compositional
evolution.
Despite several researches on Martin’s Messe pour double choeur, there are still
gaps and undiscovered elements in the existing analyses about the Messe. At this author’s
final D.M.A. recital at the University of Southern California, the program included the
1
"Frank Martin - Composer," Société Frank Martin and the Frank Martin Stichting, last modified 2016,
https://www.frankmartin.org.
2
Agnus Dei from Martin’s Messe pour double choeur. In the author’s score study, it was
discovered that the Agnus Dei’s opening theme bore a remarkable resemblance to the
Agnus Dei from Johann Sebastian Bach’s (1685-1750) Messe in h-moll BWV 232. This
has not been noted in any existing research about the piece. The realization led the author
to research if there were other traces of J. S. Bach’s Messe in h-moll in the other
movements of the Messe or other works, or whether there may be traces of other
composers’ influences.
A significant discourse on the periods of Martin’s works exists in Janet E.
Tupper’s 1964 Ph.D. dissertation at Indiana University, titled “Stylistic Analysis of
Selected Works by Frank Martin.”
2
Tupper’s comprehensive analysis at the time proved
that there existed three compositional periods in Martin’s career. In her document, she
detailed various aspects of an early, a middle, and a mature period. However, only one of
her selected works had any choral component, Le vin herbé, a secular opera. None of the
examples Tupper analyzed included Martin’s sacred choral works. It will become
apparent in this dissertation the importance of these sacred choral pieces to Martin and
why their analyses are necessary in the discussion of Martin’s unique musical language.
It is impossible to get to the core of Martin’s music without considering its religious
undertones, which are best exemplified in his sacred choral works. Martin wrote:
Let us therefore dare to use this beautiful word creation, not to puff up our pride
or to try to stand on the same level with the creator. Rather in all meekness and
caution, in order not to let this important component of our vital power go to
sleep. For it is given to all of us to create…
3
2
Janet E. Tupper, “Stylistic Analysis of Selected Works by Frank Martin,” (PhD diss., Indiana University,
1964), University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan.
3
Zdravena Venelinova Maldjieva, "Structural Analysis and Analytical Comparison of Style and
Compositional Technique Between A “Mass for Double Choirs A cappella” and “Five Songs of Ariel”
based on the “Tempest” by Shakespeare Composed by Frank Martin," (D.M.A. diss., University of
Southern California, 2004), 15.
3
Secondly, Tupper’s dissertation was written in 1964, while Martin was still alive
and composing, and therefore could not have been a comprehensive view of Martin’s
entire career. Tupper’s study delineates the first period until 1933, the middle period until
the early 1940s, and the mature period from 1944 onwards. The latest example Tupper
analyzed, Etudes pour orchestre à cordes, was dated 1955-56. Martin continued
composing for nearly twenty more years, including Requiem, written in 1971-72, one of
his last works. Meanwhile, Mervyn Cooke classifies Martin’s early development up until
the beginning of the Second World War.
4
This document serves to augment Tupper’s and
Cooke’s analyses with an additional perspective on Martin’s large major choral works,
and analyzes how Martin’s techniques evolved in the context of three compositional
periods.
There are no existing dissertations that discuss and analyze Martin’s In Terra Pax
and Requiem. Significantly lesser known by choral musicians than the Messe, both works
are extensive and revealing about important junctions in the composer’s life. There is
little likelihood that someone listening to either of these two compositions for the first
time would relate them to the same composer who wrote the Messe pour double choeur.
These works share similar ideas and philosophies, but clearly exemplify a composer who
has continually reinvented himself.
This dissertation is comprised of three main sections. The first section (Chapters
Two to Eight) is an overview of Martin’s early years as a composer, with a synthesis of
Martin’s Messe pour double choeur a cappella (1922-26) as a sample of his early period.
4
Mervyn Cooke, "Frank Martin's Early Development," The Musical Times 131, no. 1771 (1990): 473,
doi:10.2307/1193659.
4
Concerning the Messe pour double choeur, existing dissertations were all published
before the most updated 2014 Bärenreiter Urtext edition. Bruce Lynn Vantine’s
dissertation (1982) comparing the Messe to three other twentieth-century masses,
5
and
Zdravena Venelinova Maldjieva’s dissertation (2004) comparing the Messe pour double
choeur and Songs of Ariel,
6
both used the 1972 Bärenreiter edition published in Kassel. In
the 2014 urtext edition, it is noted that the 1972 edition was produced after “proof sheets
were sent to the composer during the production period, but unfortunately there is no
evidence of his replies. Nor was the edition given a critical commentary.”
7
The research
conducted for this dissertation aims to provide additional findings.
Furthermore, Maldjieva’s dissertation analyzed certain aspects of Martin’s Messe,
but only alluded to connections with Bach in passing, with no mention of numerology,
the B-A-C-H motif, Golden Mean, or folk rhythm influences.
8
The present document
highlights pre-existing arguments about the Messe that are relevant to Martin’s
compositional evolution, while more importantly incorporating elements that have not
been documented, especially those in connection with Bach, specifically the Messe in h-
moll BWV 232. This section also clarifies the historical context and Martin’s personal,
musical, and religious ethos up to the writing of the Messe, including his Calvinist roots,
education, travels, and influence of Bach and Émile Jaques-Dalcroze (1865-1950).
5
Bruce L. Vantine, “Four Twentieth-Century Masses: An Analytical Comparison of Style and
Compositional Technique,” (PhD diss., University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 1982), University
Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan, 44.
6
Maldjieva, "Structural Analysis,” 128.
7
Martin, Messe, 46.
8
Maldjieva, "Structural Analysis.”
5
Since there is little existing documented research on In Terra Pax and Requiem,
the next two sections seek to provide an overall survey, as well as aspects related to their
corresponding periods. The second section presents a discussion and analysis of In Terra
Pax (1944), as a culmination at the end of Martin’s middle period. Commissioned by the
Radio Geneva “when it became clear that the end of the Second World War was in
sight,”
9
to commemorate the eminent peace in Europe, the oratorio coincided with a
unique, revealing period of time in Martin’s personal life and his religious and
compositional ethos. Evident and distinct compositional characteristics in In Terra Pax
include a personalized twelve-tone style, gliding tonality, chromaticism, formal structural
elements, numerological and thematic motifs in connection with Bach, and rhythmic
development from his association with the Dalcroze Institute. Correlations are made
between In Terra Pax and other works of this period.
The third portion is a discourse on Requiem (1971-72), one of Martin’s last
compositions, as exemplary of his mature period and a culmination of his compositional
style as well as religious faith. Completed two years before his death, Requiem was
written during the only period of Martin’s life when he was exclusively devoted to
composition.
9
Frank Martin. In Terra Pax: Oratorio Breve. Wien: Universal Edition, 1953. Preface.
6
PART ONE
Chapter 2 : Martin’s Early Influences (until 1933)
“Frank Martin has always belonged to the elite of the musical world due solely to his
creative genius, nurtured by the silent meditation in his work and by the fervour of his
faith.”
- Pierre Fournier
1
It is difficult to categorize Martin’s music. Born at the turn of the twentieth
century, Martin found himself facing the dilemma that many others faced, on the one
hand deeply immersed in the extended harmony of the likes of Gustav Mahler (1860-
1911) and Richard Wagner (1813-1883), on the other unable to escape the early
twentieth-century avant-garde aesthetics. Under these circumstances, it was essential for
him to continually re-evaluate, discover, and renew his own aesthetic amid the prevailing
voices of early twentieth-century atonality and serialism. In the face of the increasingly
intellectual music that responded to a world of turmoil and war, Martin’s music
represents a pendulum swing back to the spiritual in music. The originality of Martin’s
music appears to center around an honesty and a certain integral sense of responsibility to
his faith during a time when many contemporaries were busy pushing the limits of
Western music in order to create their own brand. In Entretiens sur la musique, Martin
recalls a dream from his youth, in which he was with a Master, stern and dressed in
black.
2
Together they visited a magician, charming and dressed in white. The magician
had the key to heaven but did not know how to use it, a knowledge that only the Master
1
"Frank Martin – Composer."
2
ABC Classics, "Frank Martin: The Complete Piano Music, Julie Adam and Christine Logan," CD cover,
Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 2005, 3.
7
possessed. This dream often served as a reminder to Martin not to blindly follow the
fashionable trends of the day, but to honestly remain his true self, in music and in
religion.
3
Martin could be seen as an excellent learner, always gleaning the best from his
role models, but reinventing their techniques into his own. He amassed discoveries from
Bach, late-Romantic idioms and twentieth-century inventions, his individual
interpretation of twelve-tone technique and what he termed “gliding tonality,”
4
together
with an utmost reverence for music of the earlier, more spiritual times. In his own words:
I am no iconoclast; I have unlimited admiration for the works of the great masters.
That is where we find the fullest, richest, and the most fertile nourishment for our
spirits. But there is one condition: that we preserve the vitamins of these victuals.
Masterworks, particularly those in music, are abused if they contain no element of
discovery for listeners.
5
From an early age, Martin was immersed in music in a family of ten children, of
which he was the youngest.
6
Born into a Huguenot family who settled in Geneva from
persecutions in France, Martin was grandson to Charles Martin-Labouchère, treasurer of
the Geneva Conservatoire from its founding in 1835, and a bassoon player in the Geneva
Orchestra.
7
As a child, Martin would improvise on the piano, exhibiting a particular
3
Ibid.
4
Bernhard Billeter, s.v. "Frank Martin," in Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online (Oxford University
Press).
5
Bruhn, Frank Martin's Musical Reflections, 234.
6
Siglind Bruhn, Frank Martin's Musical Reflections on Death (Hillsdale, NY: Pendragon Press, 2011), 11.
7
Cooke, "Frank Martin's Early Development," 473.
8
inclination for minor modes and “infinitely more interest in harmonies than in
melodies.”
8
Living in Geneva exposed him to the Germanic musical traditions that were in
vogue. As a student of mathematics and physics at the University of Geneva, Martin most
likely discovered revealing correlations between music and math, which evolved into
thoughtful excursions on numerological and proportional implications, and later, a
personal twelve-tone technique. During this time, Martin was simultaneously studying
composition privately with Joseph Lauber (1864-1952), who introduced him to César
Franck’s (1822-1890) chromaticism and evasion of conventional cadences. Lauber’s own
teachers included French composer Jules Massenet (1842-1912) and German composer
Joseph Rheinberger (1839-1901).
9
His approach with voice-leading and Franco-
Germanic harmonic movement would later manifest itself in Martin’s smooth, often
stepwise voice-leading and modal shifts in his sacred works. Martin felt that Lauber was
“a very good technician; but less of an artist,”
10
a trait not unlike later technical
composers of twentieth-century serialism that Martin wanted to break away from, such as
Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951).
In his twenties, he built on his reverence of the Germanic musical idiom by
turning to the Romantic French composers for inspiration. In the late 1910s, through the
8
Frank Martin and Jean-Claude Piguet, Entretiens sur la musique (Neuchâtel: La Baconnière, 1967), 13.
Publication of a series of interviews conducted by Radio Suisse Romande. Translated in Daniel Roihl,
“Frank Martin’s, Le vin herbé: A Critical Analysis and Guide to Performance,” (D.M.A. diss., University
of Southern California, 2014), ProQuest, 9.
9
Robert V Glasmann, A Choral Conductor's Analysis for Performance of "Messe Pour Double Choeur a
Capella" by Frank Martin (Ann Arbor (MI): University Microfilms International, 1989), 6.
10
Claves Records, "Das Märchen Vom Aschenbrödel / Le Conte De Cendrillon – Orchestre De La Haute
école De Musique De Genève," CD, Challenge Records International, last modified February 27, 2013,
http://www.challengerecords.com/products/1361992265/.
9
introduction of conductor Ernest Ansermet (1883-1969) and his orchestra, the Orchestre
de la Suisse Romande, he experimented particularly with imitating the French
impressionists. He was captivated by Maurice Ravel’s (1875-1937) masterful
orchestration, Claude Debussy’s (1862-1918) harmonic style, Gabriel Fauré’s (1845-
1924) modal inflections and lyricism, Franck’s luscious chromaticism and modulations,
along with folk music and exotic rhythms
11
. Martin directed the Choeur Romand for
Debussy’s opera Pelléas et Mélisande – as well as Wagner’s operas – attesting to his
affiliation with the French impressionist and late German Romantic idioms.
12
Mervyn
Cooke notes that Martin’s works, as early as the Violin Sonata (1913), exemplify
Franck’s influence in the avoidance of conventional cadences, particularly in the slow
movement of which resembles the Choral of Franck’s Prelude, Choral et Fugue.
13
Meanwhile, the Piano Quintet (1919) and Pavane couleur du temps (1919) both reflect
the “sonorous refinement… of Ravel and late Debussy.”
14
Later, the Trio sur des
melodies populaires irlandaises (1925) reveal influences of Ravel’s Piano Trio.
15
After serving in World War I as a sergeant and army telephone operator, Martin
travelled from 1918 to 1926, the same period in which he completed the Messe pour
double choeur a cappella (1922-1926), absorbing the musical cultures of the major
cultural capitals of the world.
16
In 1918, Martin also married his first wife Odette
11
Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections, 15.
12
Cooke, "Frank Martin's Early Development," 475.
13
Ibid.
14
Ibid.
15
Ibid., 476.
16
Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections, 12.
10
Micheli.
17
The same year, he wrote Les Dithyrambes, a cantata for which Ansermet
praised Martin “not as a symphonist but as a lyrical composer, an artist whose music is
above all songlike, but song with a long breath, stretched partly towards distances, partly
towards depths.”
18
After leaving Geneva for Zurich in 1919, Martin moved to Rome in
1921 and then Paris in 1923, during which he built a respectable emerging reputation as
composer and pianist.
19
The spread of jazz in the 1920s coincided with Martin’s stay in
Paris, and played a role in Martin’s early development, resulting in pieces such as
Ouverture et foxtrot (1924). The exploration was fleeting, since he felt that jazz was sans
âme (without soul),
20
and therefore contrary to his own philosophies for composition.
Cooke draws attention to the pinnacle of Martin’s first creative period as Quatre Sonnets
à Cassandre (1921), which looks forward to Martin’s mature style, with “a fondness for
small melodic intervals, carefully controlled dissonance levels which prolong harmonic
tension and avoid resolution, subtle sensitivity to textual nuances, formal schemes
directly inspired by literary structures…”
21
Ramirez delineates Martin’s earliest stage of
development until 1933, when he wrote his first partially serial work Quatre Pièces
Brèves for guitar.
22
17
Cooke, "Frank Martin's Early Development," 475.
18
Bernard Martin, Frank Martin ou la realité du rève (Neuchâtel: La Baconnière, 1973). Quoted and
translated by Cooke in "Frank Martin's Early Development," 475.
19
Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections, 12.
20
ABC Classics, "Frank Martin: The Complete Piano Music,” 8.
21
Cooke, "Frank Martin's Early Development," 475.
22
Jake Allen Ramirez, "Perspectives on the Musical Lives and Works of Mauro Giuliani, Manuel de Falla,
Manuel Ponce and Frank Martin," (PhD diss., University of Texas at San Antonio, 2013), 31.
11
Chapter 3 : Martin and Bach
“The best of Martin has a monumental honesty,
a gratifying inevitability that makes his music deeply rewarding.”
- Martin Anderson
1
One of the first major formative musical impacts on Martin was the music of
Johann Sebastian Bach. Martin was transformed by a performance of Bach’s Matthäus-
Passion BWV 244 in Geneva in 1902 when he was twelve years old
2
. Martin recalled his
first encounter with Bach as
“the greatest musical experience of my life and from the
beginning to the end, in some measure I lost consciousness”
3
. This transformative
experience would remain with Martin through his development and maturation, and
shape his aesthetic preference in a voice that reimagined the music of his predecessor.
Evidence of Bach’s influences can be found in Martin’s predisposition toward music as
an expression of faith, symbolic motifs paying tribute to Bach, symmetrical and
proportional structures, numerological implications, and the use of Baroque fugal
structures and formal construction. In his early Messe pour double choeur a cappella,
Martin even alludes to Bach’s own Messe in h-moll BWV 232. During Martin’s mature
career, Bach’s impact took the form of a deeper theological and philosophical concept,
such as the peaceful embracing of death.
1
Martin Anderson, "Reviewing two Martin CD recordings: Five Songs of Ariel / Passacaglia for Organ /
Mass for Unaccompanied Double Chorus. Jörg Straube with the Norddeutscher Figuralchor (Thorofon
CTH 2261), and The Four Elements / In Terra Pax. Matthias Bamert conducting the London Philharmonic
Orchestra and the Brighton Festival Chorus (Chandos 9465)," Fanfare: The Magazine for Serious Record
Collector, 20:2, 1996, 297-298.
2
Hans Heinz Stuckenschmidt, Twentieth Century Composers, Vol. II: Germany and Central Europe, (New
York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1970), 175.
3
ABC Classics, "Frank Martin: The Complete Piano Music,” 3.
Recorded August-November 2003 Eugene Goossens Hall at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s
Ultimo Centre.
12
Beginning from his early period, Martin would prominently feature the cross
image in his music. He was likely introduced to it through his admiration of Bach, who
was known to illustrate the cross as well. The importance of the cross to Bach stems from
the Lutheran theology at the time, theologia crusis,
4
meaning that God revealed himself
primarily in the crucified Jesus Christ.
5
The importance of the cross image to Bach is
evident in his personal seal, used as early as 1722, consisting of a crown over a
monogram
6
(Illustration 3.1). Timothy A. Smith analyzes that Bach’s intertwined initials
with its mirror image under the crown, “JSB.” The initials, combined with its mirror
image, becomes an “X” (Greek 'chi'), illustrating that Bach, with Christ, bear the cross,
adumbrating the epigram..."Christ will crown those who carry His cross."
7
Illustration 3.1. Bach’s personal monogram, intertwined initials JSB, underneath a crown
8
4
Markus Rathey, "Two Unlikely Sisters: The “Cross” and the “Crosses” in BWV 12 and 69a," Bach 38,
no. 1 (2007): 8, http://www.jstor.org.libproxy1.usc.edu/stable/41640559.
5
Ibid., 4. According to Luke, 14:27, “Whoever does not bear his cross and follow me cannot be my
disciple. He cannot be a Christian, and he cannot be a part of me, the Crucified.”
6
Timothy A. Smith, "That "Crown of Thorns”," Bach 28, no. 1/2 (1997): 149.
http://www.jstor.org.libproxy1.usc.edu/stable/41640437.
7
Ibid., 148-149.
8
Ibid., 149.
13
Moreover, Bach himself wrote the phrase Symbolum: Christus Coronabit Crucigeros
(Symbol: Christ will crown those who carry His cross.) underneath a little-known canon
inside the flyleaf of a book of a theology student, Johann Gottlieb Fulda
9
(Example 3.1).
The canon, when solved, formed the cross image “X,” the Greek Christological symbol,
through “a double canon in contrary motion, above a ground quotation of the first phrase
of the Goldberg soggetto.”
10
Example 3.1. Cross image formed through realization of Bach’s Crucigeros canon over
Goldberg Soggetto
11
9
Ibid., 147.
10
Ibid., 144.
11
Ibid., 147.
14
Further evidence of Martin’s abundant illustration of the cross as an influence by
Bach stems from the numerology of Bach’s Matthäus-Passion, the specific piece that
made the first lifelong musical impact on Martin.
12
Timothy A. Smith records “the
significance of the forty-eight pitches in the three uppermost orchestral parts and the
fourteen notes in the bass part of the Centurion’s confession Wahrlich, dieser ist Gottes
Sohn gewesen (Truly, this was the Son of God, NBA 63b). Briefly, the number forty-
eight is the sum of the letters I + N + R + I (the inscription affixed to the head of the
cross). Smith argues that by writing a bass line of fourteen notes in this musical passage,
13
Bach puts himself at the foot of that cross:
14
“Some have theorized that this amazing
passage is in the form of a visual/aural cross; the two measures of double chorus and
orchestra becomes the vertical beam, and the Evangelist plus continuo in orchestra I
being the transept.”
15
In addition, Martin’s extensive use of the B-A-C-H motif is prime evidence of his
admiration of Bach. Both eldest and youngest sons of Bach, Wilhelm and Johann
Christian, attest that Bach used the motif in the counter-subject of the last contrapunctus
of Die Kunst der Fuge (Example 3.2).
16
Other proven works include the second Kyrie in
12
Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections, 24.
13
Timothy A. Smith, “More Evidence of Numeral-Logical Design in Bach's “St. Matthew
Passion”,” Bach 17, no. 2 (1986): 25-26, http://www.jstor.org.libproxy1.usc.edu/stable/41640264.
Using the formula of A=1, B=2, so on and so forth, Bach scholars such as Smith generally acknowledge 14
to be a representation of Bach’s name (B+A+C+H) = [2+1+3+8] = 14).
14
Ibid.
15
Ibid.
16
John Hawkins. A General History of the Science and Practice of Music, 2n ed., London: Novello, Ever,
and Co., 1875, Vol. II, p.853, as quoted by Elinore Barber in "Bach and the B-A-C-H Motive." Bach 2, no.
2 (1971): 3-5. http://www.jstor.org.libproxy1.usc.edu/stable/24026092, 3.
15
the Messe in h-moll BWV 232, Canonic Variations on “Vom Himmel hoch da komm’ ich
her,” Musical Offering, and Sinfonia in F minor BWV 795.
17
Example 3.2. B-A-C-H motif, J.S. Bach, Die Kunst der Fuge, last Contrapunctus,
mm. 192-196
Martin would certainly have been cognizant of the B-A-C-H motif. Notable works
by German, French, and Swiss composers whom Martin admired and studied, who pay
tribute to Bach in this way, include Robert Schumann’s (1810-1856) Sechs Fugen über
den Namen: Bach (1845),
18
Franz Liszt’s (1811-1886) Präludium und Fuge über das
Motiv B-A-C-H (1855),
19
Schoenberg’s Variations for Orchestra Op. 31 (1926-28),
20
Arthur Honegger’s (1892-1955) Prélude, arioso, and fughetta on the name BACH for
piano, H 81 (1932).
21
Surprisingly, most of the above works date after Martin’s own use
of this motif in the Messe, meaning Martin would have been one of the earliest in the
17
Elinore Barber. "Bach and the B-A-C-H Motive." Bach 2, no. 2 (1971): 3-5.
http://www.jstor.org.libproxy1.usc.edu/stable/24026092, 3.
18
Ibid., 4.
19
Ibid.
20
Malcolm Boyd, Oxford Composer Companion: J.S. Bach (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003),
50.
21
Ibid.
16
twentieth century to adopt its use so extensively. This motif will accompany Martin into
his mature compositional period, as will be exemplified in the other two works of this
research, In Terra Pax and Requiem.
Moreover, Martin’s adoption of theologically significant numbers in his music
reflects a possible association with Bach’s use of numerology. The combination of an
admirer of Bach and a mathematics student at the University of Geneva makes it highly
likely that Martin’s use of theologically-significant numbers was not accidental. While
Bach’s numerological symbolism in his music almost certainly played the most important
role, Schumann and Alban Berg (1885-1935), such as E♭, C, B♮, A in Schumann’s
Carnaval,
22
and A, B♭, B♮, F in Berg’s Lyric Suite,
23
two composers who influenced
Martin,
24
also used numerological cryptograms in their music. The abundant occurrence
of numbers such as three, four, seven, and eight at theologically significant text, will
prove its importance in Martin’s awareness.
A further possible element of Bach’s music that Martin learned from is the use of
Golden Mean proportions, which can be identified in multiple instances in the Messe.
Whether intentional or not, an awareness of Golden Mean proportions seems to appear in
most movements, as well as in the work as a whole, producing arcs and markers on the
macro and micro levels which sustain the work’s interest.
25
The reverse Golden Mean
22
Beate Julia Perrey, The Cambridge Companion to Schumann (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
2007), 72.
23
Douglas Jarman, The Music of Alban Berg (Berkeley & Los Angeles, California: University of California
Press, 1985), 228.
24
Andrew L. Yarrow, “Weekender Guide,” New York Times, March 9, 1990.
http://www.nytimes.com/1990/03/09/arts/weekender-guide.html
25
The Golden Mean of the five movements are as follows: Kyrie: m. 62 (61.8), where the most voices sing
Christe together in a homophonic texture. Gloria: m. 75 (75.4) on deprecationem, one measure from the
17
also highlights some significant moments (Table 1). While some implications of the
reverse Golden Mean are stronger than others, the featuring of the Crucifixus text of the
Credo, Hosanna in the Sanctus, and significant meter changes of the Agnus Dei divulge a
considerable argument on the reverse Golden Mean within movements.
Table 1. Messe pour double choeur, reverse Golden Mean in the five movements
Movement Measure Remarks
Kyrie 38 one measure from the theologically significant
third exposition on the text Kyrie eleison
Gloria 47 all voices in Choir I and Tenor II sing Domine
Deus homophonically forte with accents
Credo 52 first setting of the pivotal text Crucifixus, also
two measures from the capitalized ET HOMO
FACTUS EST
Sanctus 43 first setting of the important recurring text,
Hosanna
Agnus Dei 20 (m. 19.5
rounded up)
first 3/4 measure of the movement
Without evidence from the composer himself, discussions on Golden Mean raise the
question of whether this compositional proportion was pre-planned or stemmed from the
composer’s sophisticated instincts. Nonetheless, Martin did speak of “a system of
relationships which elementary acoustics shows to be based on physical fact,”
26
evidence
biting dissonance on “o-nem”, with doubled E♭ against doubled D. Credo: 85 (84.6), second time of cantus
firmus et ascendit. Sanctus: m. 70 (69.8) on hosanna, two measures from m. 72, the highest-pitched
hosanna. Agnus Dei: 32 (31.5), the eighth time Agnus Dei text is sung in Choir II, most climactic phrase of
the movement, with the highest tessitura for S1 and II, TI and II, BII.
26
Frank Martin, "Schoenberg and Ourselves," The Score 6 (May 1952): 17.
18
of such “physical” relationships in his compositions. From an early age, Martin’s studies
in mathematics and physics developed an astute awareness for such disciplines in his
music.
27
Martin would have been very much familiar with Bach’s use of Golden Mean
proportions, such as in Die Kunst der Fuge BWV 1080,
28
Passacaglia for Organ BWV
582,
29
Johannes-Passion BWV 245
30
and Was mir behagt, ist nur die muntre Jagd BWV
208.
31
With the predominant influences of Bach, as well as Debussy and Ravel, whose
music display Golden Mean manifestations in pieces such as Reflets dans l’eau and
Oiseaux tristes from Miroirs,
32
it was very likely that such ideas of proportional
construction would have been present in Martin’s thinking.
27
Cooke, "Frank Martin's Early Development," 473.
28
Charles Madden, Fib and Phi in Music: The Golden Proportion Musical Form (Salt Lake City, Utah:
High Art Press, Inmusic (Book 4), 2005).
29
Ibid.
30
Tushaar Power, "J.S. Bach and the Divine Proportion," (PhD diss., Duke University, 2001), ProQuest.
31
Ibid.
32
Roy Howat, "Debussy, Ravel and Bartók: Towards some New Concepts of Form," Music and Letters 58,
no. 3 (1977): 288-291, doi:10.1093/ml/58.3.285.
19
Chapter 4 : Tonality, Modality and Sonority
There is a marked relative clarity in the tonality and modality of Martin’s early
period, as is displayed in all the movements of the Messe. While at times Martin deploys
brief episodes of modal inflection and bi-tonality to create ambiguity, these episodes are
ephemeral and always gravitate to pitch centers, sometimes more than one. There is a
characteristic emphasis of the tonal center and its fifth in Martin’s early melodic
creations, and motion through plagal relations or relations by fifths.
1
The use of
suspension cadences and double pedals also give Martin’s music an ancient flavor.
Tupper asserted that “Chord-types are sometimes derived through the use of a pedal, or
double pedal, with a moving part,” often dissonant or inflected.
2
The mostly diatonic
compositional style also makes clear the outlines of modes, unlike his later periods,
which preserved the modal quality, but traversed to more chromatic and tonally obscure
spheres of sonority.
On the one hand, the clarity of individual vertical chords is apparent in the form
of root-position triads, disclosing a relative lucidity in tonality. On the other hand, the
clarity in tonality is achieved through a horizontal formation of tonality (Example 4.1).
Tupper suggested that in Martin’s early music, “The horizontal formation of a tonality
that was present in some early music, as in a Bach solo partita or in Gregorian chant, has
1
Tupper, “Stylistic Analysis,” 24.
2
Ibid., 58.
20
once again become increasingly important.”
3
Not only does the horizontal formation of
tonality create thematic unity across the movements, they also create tonal implications
which may augment or defy the vertical sonorities.
Example 4.1. Messe pour double choeur, Kyrie, A Aeolian mode on first “Kyrie,”
mm. 1-5, Alto II
Still, the fact that Martin’s early works were clearly tonal and less chromatic does
not mean his tonal language was predictable or conventional. Tupper suggests that:
Chord formations which are to be found in works from his early period
correspond to those that he used throughout his career. Non-tertian chord types,
such as quartal or quintal harmony… as well as a profusion of triads, seventh, and
ninth chords. In addition, hybrid types of chords which can be considered new
constructions because of their combination of intervals suggestive of both tertian
and non-tertian sonorities…
4
Martin’s use of such hybrid chords is evidence of the influence of composers in Paris
around 1925, including Honegger, Darius Milhaud (1892-1974), Igor Stravinsky (1882-
1971), and Sergey Prokofiev (1891-1953).
5
Bi-tonality is an integral aspect of Martin’s tonal concept, used simultaneously to
advocate for and challenge tonality. The inclination for juxtaposing ambiguous functional
sonic building blocks creates a unique palate for Martin’s compositional language. In the
1960s Rudolph Reti arrived at the term “pantonality,” claiming that “a great number of
3
Ibid., 12.
4
Ibid., 54.
5
Ibid.
21
composers did not wish to express themselves in atonal structures but took over and
further developed that new concept of tonality which Debussy had initiated.”
6
Martin,
born forty years after Debussy and overlapped three decades with him, followed in this
succession of Debussy’s tonal legacy, claiming that “His music is for me absolutely
capital.”
7
Although Martin’s early music did not venture as far as pantonality until his
mature period, he heavily incorporated bi-tonality in the Messe, which adopted the same
principles. Debussy’s pantonality implied that “a multitude of tonical relationships
intensify, counteract and annul each other, so that finally their spirit rather than their
mechanism is a compositional directive...”
8
Reti identifies:
But Debussy’s melodies are not centered on the concept of the classical cadence,
on the dominant-tonic effect with its leading note. Yet… there are always tonics
sounding through, that is, focal points on which the melodic shape hinges.
9
Despite the prominent uses of bi-tonality and frequent shifting between
ambiguous tonal centers, Martin’s early tonal language is not harsh. Although the
intervals that result may be technically dissonant, the sonorities that emerge from his
early period are not jarring. As Vantine describes, Martin’s tonal language of this period
is “dissonant within a diatonic ambitus.”
10
Martin’s version of dissonance often exhibited
shimmering timbres rather than grating disharmony.
Another sophisticated tool Martin employed is what he termed “gliding tonality.”
His techniques of frequent modulation and effectively inflected melodies most likely
6
Rudolph Reti, Tonality in Modern Music (New York, N.Y.: Collier Books, 1962), 77.
7
Martin and Piguet, Entretiens, 117. Translated in Roihl, “Frank Martin’s,” 12.
8
Ibid., 137.
9
Reti, Tonality, 39.
10
Vantine, “Four Twentieth-Century Masses,” 76.
22
stemmed from Franck, whose harmonic system Martin admitted he was undeniably
influenced by in his early periods.
11
Franck, fellow Belgian-French, had the personal
motto, “Modulate, modulate!”
12
Debussy, his student, is recorded to have said, “César
Franck
is a modulating machine.”
13
Billeter highlights the essence of “gliding tonality” as “perfect triads are moved in
unusual progressions. Dissonant chords are developed in smooth part writing, often over
a static bass that indicates the momentary tonal center. As a result of Martin’s ‘gliding
tonality,’ a movement rarely ends in its initial key.”
14
11
Tupper, “Stylistic Analysis,” 64.
12
Richard L Crocker, A History of Musical Style (Newburyport: Dover Publications, 2014), 479.
13
Ibid.
14
Billeter, s.v. "Frank Martin," in Grove Music Online.
23
Chapter 5 : Dalcroze Eurhythmics and Folk Rhythms
A large portion of Martin’s early period was spent studying Dalcroze’s theories.
By the time Martin was born, Dalcroze had begun developing Eurhythmics, the
cornerstone of Dalcroze studies. A Swiss pedagogue, Dalcroze’s method was familiar to
students and musicians in Geneva, where Martin spent his early life. Martin specifically
recalls humming Dalcroze songs at six years old in Geneva.
1
Martin’s intrigue for rhythm
had begun even before he attended the Institut Jaques-Dalcroze from 1924-1926 and was
certified in Eurhythmics. That same year he completed the Messe. Martin proceeded to
teach at the Institute for almost a decade until 1937, displaying a clear preoccupation with
rhythm.
Dalcroze’s rhythmic theories evidently influenced Martin’s music. Apart from
bodily movement, the major premises of the Dalcroze method included the prioritization
of irregular beats, anacrusic rhythms, syncopation, and changing meters.
2
Tupper
considered changing meters an integral part of Martin’s early works, both vocal and
instrumental,
3
as exemplified in the use of mixed meters in the Messe to serve the text. In
1
Frank Martin, preface to Émile Jaques-Dalcroze: L'homme, Le Compositeur, Le Créateur De La
Rythmique (Neuchâtel: Éditions de la Baconnière, 1965), 8. Translated in Daniel I Rubinoff, “Émile
Jaques-Dalcroze’s Influence on Frank Martin: 1924-1937,” (PhD diss., York University, 2011), ProQuest
(NR90332), 100.
2
Le Collège de l’Institut Jaques-Dalcroze, “The Dalcroze Identity: Theory and Practice of Dalcroze
Eurhythmics,” Associazione Italiana Jaques-Dalcroze, last modified November 10, 2010,
http://www.dalcroze.it/wa_files/Dalcroze_Identity.pdf. An English document first drafted by the
Qualifications and Training Committee of the College of the Institut Jaques-Dalcroze, Geneva, Switzerland
at a meeting held in London in 2006, and delivered for final revision and preparation for publication to
Marie-Laure Bachmann, Madeline Duret, présidente du Collège in 2010.
3
Tupper, “Stylistic Analysis,” 108.
24
Dalcroze’s book Rhythm, Music and Education (1921),
4
Dalcroze wrote about how the
anacrusis functioned as the “motor impulse” of music.
5
Frequent metric changes were
therefore an integral part of Dalcroze Eurhythmics.
6
Through complementary rhythm,
one group of students may sustain longer rhythms, while the rest would complement by
filling in juxtaposing shorter, more irregular rhythms. At the Émile Jaques-Dalcroze
Centennial Conference in Geneva in 1965, Martin spoke on the “Sources of Musical
Rhythm,” elaborating how different rhythms affect physical movement. He emphasized
the development of rhythmic units and progression, “phrasing, periodicity, punctuation,
exposition of a theme, and response.”
7
The present research will discuss how these
rhythmic behaviors manifest themselves in the Messe, In Terra Pax and Requiem. Rather
than being confined by technical rhythmic restrictions, Martin’s sophisticated sensibility
of rhythmic techniques allowed him “a liberation of rhythm which is akin in spirit to that
in music of the 14
th
century.”
8
In his early stages, Martin was captivated by the “self-imposed problem of
handling three or more layers, each of which was really independent in itself, but which
became fused together in a masterly and inevitable manner.”
9
This technique, possibly
stemming from the layered materials created through complementary rhythm, was
4
Émile Jaques-Dalcroze, Rhythm, Music and Education (New York, NY: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1921).
5
Rubinoff, “Émile Jaques-Dalcroze’s Influence, 158.
6
Ibid., 43.
7
Juana De Laban, "Emile Jaques-Dalcroze Centennial Conference," Ethnomusicology 10, no. 3
(1966): 322-24, doi:10.2307/924350.
8
Tupper, “Stylistic Analysis,” 106.
9
Iain Hamilton, “Swiss Contemporary Music”, in Howard Hartog, European Music in the Twentieth
Century (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1976), 153.
25
applied to many layers of stratification both rhythmically and thematically, as is
displayed in the Messe pour double choeur. Martin would return to this early trait in his
late period, taking it to more sophisticated heights, as will be shown in Requiem.
Furthermore, Martin stressed the importance of not being restricted by rhythm,
through rhythmic writing that defied barlines, evident in the Messe. In Martin’s 1927
essay, “La mesure et le rythme,” later published by Dalcroze in the 1927 issue of his
journal, Le Rythme, Martin wrote concerning metric music:
Let's see how and why barlines and measures are formed. In music that doesn't
use it, like ancient music, plainchant, [and] all exotic music, we find two types of
rhythmic activity: one which is based on the rhythm of language - we are talking
really about prose - and ... the Gregorian chant, there, we will find unequal
values, accented notes, prolonged notes, others light or shortened, without
regularity or arithmetical periodicity. There is nothing in this music which would
lead us to the knowledge that it has a regular barline.
10
In addition, Martin was “at pains to point out that he had discovered many
rhythmic possibilities for himself well before his acquaintance with Jaques-Dalcroze.”
11
During the early few decades of Martin’s career, he was interested in Bulgarian and
Indian rhythms, as substantiated by Bernhard Billeter, premier Martin scholar in The
Grove Music Online,
12
as well as The All Music Guide to Classical Music: The Definitive
Guide to Classical Music,
13
and Complete Classical Music Guide.
14
Glasmann’s
15
(2005)
10
Frank Martin, "La mesure et le rythmes,” Le Rythmes 19 (March 1927), 2. Translated in Rubinoff,
“Émile Jaques-Dalcroze’s Influence, 42.
11
Cooke, "Frank Martin's Early Development," 476.
12
Billeter, s.v. "Frank Martin," in Grove Music Online.
13
Chris Woodstra, Gerald Brennan, and Allen Schrott, All Music Guide to Classical Music: The Definitive
Guide to Classical Music (San Francisco, Calif: Backbeat, 2005), 798.
14
The Complete Classical Music Guide (New York, New York: Dorling Kindersley, 2012), 242.
15
Glasmann, “A Choral Conductor's Analysis,” 9.
26
and Pak’s
16
(2014) dissertations agree with the influence of Bulgarian rhythms, while
Cooke
17
and Tupper
18
affirm the same influences with the addition of ancient Greek
meters. Such interest in exotic rhythms manifested itself in asymmetric meters and
polyrhythms in his early period and in the Messe. Cooke identifies ancient Greek meters
in Martin’s Oedipe-Roi (1922) and Oedipe à Colone (1923), and the influences of
“Stravinskian” additive rhythm in Trio sur des melodies populaires irlandaises (1925).
19
Tupper and Cooke both point out that in Rhythmes (1926), Martin experimented with
ancient Greek meters of longa and brevis in the first movement, explored polymetrical
accents of “Far East” polyrhythms in the second movement, while using asymmetric
Bulgarian additive rhythms in the third movement.
20
21
As pointed out by the above multiple scholars, Greek and “Far East” Indian
rhythms had an evident influence on early works such as the Messe and Trio sur des
melodies populaires irlandaises.
22
Bulgarian and Balkan music often employed rhythms
that were asymmetric, such as five, seven, nine, eleven beats per measure. These odd
number measures would be divided into groups of "quick" or "slow" beats. Meters of
16
Pak, "Invention through Synthese” : Former Composers Observed in Frank Martin’s Hùit Préludes pour
le Piano," (PhD diss., Indiana University , 2014),
https://scholarworks.iu.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/2022/18555/Pak,%20Jooeun%20(DM%20Piano).pdf?s
equence=1, 4.
17
Cooke, "Frank Martin's Early Development," 476.
18
Tupper, “Stylistic Analysis,” 105.
19
Cooke, "Frank Martin's Early Development," 476.
20
Ibid.
21
Tupper, “Stylistic Analysis,” 105.
22
Ibid., 108.
27
seven beats per measure would be divided into either [3-2-2] (stressed on beats 1, 4, 6) or
[2-2-3], or [2-2-1-2]. Groups of three beats would be known as a “slow” unit, while
groups of two beats would be known as a “quick” unit.
23
Knowing that Bulgarian rhythms had an influence on Martin, it is appropriate to
claim evidence of Bulgarian rhythms in Martin’s organization of the same number of
beats divided into different combinations. In the Messe, for instance, a grouping of five
beats could be [2+3], like the Bulgarian folk dance paidushko horo, or [3+2] (Example
5.1), alternating with standard 4/4 measures, which would correspond to the Bulgarian
folk dance pravo horo. Such Bulgarian rhythms lent themselves to Martin’s penchant for
Gregorian chant, which follows the “rules” according to the Solesmes method of groups
of twos and threes, and served Martin’s priority of highlighting the text.
Example 5.1. Asymmetric meters of five used in Bulgarian folk dances, in different
groupings
24
Likewise, Indian rhythms, which Martin also experimented with,
25
employ meters
known as tala, which are repeating rhythmic phrases. Talas would be played on a
percussion instrument, to a sequence of chanted syllables known as thekas. These theka
intonations whose inflections ebbed and flowed, whose stressed beats changed, were not
unlike the Medieval chants that Martin utilized in the Messe. Like Bulgarian rhythms,
23
Borislav Petrov, "Bulgarian Rhythms: Past, Present and Future," Dutch Journal of Music Theory 17, no.
3 (2012): 157-159, http://upers.kuleuven.be/sites/upers.kuleuven.be/files/page/files/2012_3_2.pdf.
24
Ibid., 160.
25
Tupper, “Stylistic Analysis,” 108.
28
Hindustani talas employ different groupings with the same number of beats in a measure.
For instance, the Jhoomra tal (Example 5.2) and Dhamar tal are both made of fourteen
beats. The former is grouped as [3+4+3+4], while the latter is grouped as [5+2+3+4].
26
While Martin may not have been aiming to write according to these rhythmic
organizations, his interest in these rhythms are informative to the understanding of
rhythmic treatment in his music, in combination with Dalcroze rhythmic treatments.
Example 5.2. Fourteen-beat Jhoomra tal meter used in Hindustani folk music, grouped in
[3+4+3+4]
27
26
Sarah M. Van Doel, "Sikh Music: History, Text, and Praxis," (Master's of Arts in Music thesis, Tufts
University, 2008), ProQuest, 57.
27
“Taals of Indian Classical Music,” ShadjaMadhyam: A Complete Portal for Indian Classical Music |
ShadjaMadhyam, last modified 2014, http://www.shadjamadhyam.com/indian_taals.
29
Chapter 6 : Background of Messe pour double choeur a cappella
“It was written back in 1922, well before Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms made it
fashionable for French-speaking composers to strike a monkish pose. It sounds like a
Renaissance mass lost in time, aware nonetheless of long centuries passing and new
horrors unfolding.”
- Alex Ross, The Rest is Noise
1
There exists similarities in the background and motivation behind Martin’s Messe
pour double choeur and Bach’s Messe in h-moll. Having grown up under Calvinist
traditions, the Roman Catholic mass setting was foreign to Martin, reminiscent of Bach’s
composition of a Roman Catholic mass as a Lutheran. Bach scholar Christoph Wolff (b.
1940) wrote, “We know of no occasion for which Bach could have written the B-minor
Mass, nor any patron who might have commissioned it.”
2
In a similar way, in Martin’s
own words:
…church and art represent today two separate words and therefore a
contemporary can write only in exceptional cases for the immediate liturgical
use.
3
He further elaborated:
I did not want it to be performed... I considered it … as being a matter between
God and myself.
4
1
Alex Ross, The Rest is Noise (New York: Picador, 2008).
2
Christoph Wolff, Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician (Oxford: Oxford University Press,
2014), 441.
3
Roman Vlad, trans. Bratuz, Rassegna Musicale 24 (March 1954): 39. Quoted in Vantine, “Four
Twentieth-Century Masses,” 4.
4
Marc Rochester, "Frank Martin Mass for Double Choir, Passacaille for organ; Ildebrando Pizzetti Messa
di Requiem de profundis, performed by the Westminster Cathedral Choir and James O’Donnell," CD
cover, Hyperion. 1998.
30
Secondly, Bach’s Messe in h-moll (1733-1749) spanned more than a decade of
composing and reworking of earlier compositional materials.
5
Likewise, Martin spent
four years composing the Messe pour double choeur. Martin began the Kyrie, Gloria and
first part of the Credo in 1922, added the second part of the Credo in 1924, and finally the
Agnus Dei in 1926. The time and care both Bach and Martin spent on their masses reveal
the personal nature of these works.
Musicians today owe their thanks of Martin’s Messe to Franz W. Brunnert. For
almost forty years, Martin did not wish for it to be performed and scrutinized by the
public. In 1962, Brunnert, choirmaster of the Hamburg’s Bugenhagen-Kantorei, had
serendipitously seen the Messe mentioned in a source, and pursued Martin for the score.
6
One year later, the Messe received its premiere. The score was not published until 1972,
fifty years after Martin first began its composition.
7
Martin also arranged the Agnus Dei
for solo organ in 1966, published by Bärenreiter in 1978, a clear sign of his shift in
willingness to share it with the public.
8
In his Messe, Martin’s first sacred choral work, he reveals an awe of his
predecessors which he never departed from. In Four Twentieth-Century Masses: an
analytical comparison of style and compositional technique, Bruce Lynn Vantine
identifies that Martin’s Messe has been labeled as neo-classicist, like the masses of
Poulenc, Stravinsky, and Hindemith.
9
He firmly believed in the emotional expression of
5
Johann Sebastian Bach, Messe in h-moll BWV 232 (Kassel: Bärenreiter-Verlag Karl Vötterle GmbH &
Co. KG, 2010), XVII-XIX.
6
Martin, Messe, V-VI.
7
Charles W King, Frank Martin: A Bio-Bibliography (New York: Greenwood Press, 1990), 172.
8
Martin, Messe, V.
31
music, the significance of tonality, historical musical forms, and less extravagant musical
structures, all of which are apparent in the Messe. Due to his view of the composer as
servant, and subsequent desire to remain anonymous in his religious works,
10
Martin was
less concerned about consciously seeking a personal brand of compositional style.
Instead, he absorbed and utilized all the historic modes of composition he found to be
effective in spiritual expression, and molded it into his own voice without pretense.
While this trait would remain true throughout his later career, it began with and was
evident in his early period.
From the present analysis of the Messe, it can be identified and summarized that
Martin’s early period, marked by a musical and emotional immediacy, displayed the
following traits and influences:
• Lauber’s smooth voice leading with scalar writing and small intervals.
• Counterpoint and fugal elements from the Baroque, especially Bach. Martin also took
from Bach’s symbolic writing through the use of numerology and proportions.
• Polychoral and polyphonic writing from the Renaissance, points of imitation in
motets.
• Clear harmonic and modal motions from French impressionists, including their
techniques of bi-tonality, modal inflections, root-position triadic chords used in
alternation with added notes, such as seventh and ninth chords.
9
Vantine, “Four Twentieth-Century Masses,” 1.
10
Maria Martin, "O Tod, wo ist Dein Stachel? - zum Oratorium "Golgotha" von Frank Martin," by Günther
Johannes, www.kantorei.ch, last modified April 2, 2008,
http://www.kantorei.ch/fileadmin/user_upload/pdf/interview-m-martin.pdf.
32
• Expressive, coloristic harmony and wide registration in voices and instruments used
by late German Romantic composers such as Brahms, Wagner, and Mahler.
• Rhythmic layers influenced by Dalcroze and folk rhythms, creating speech-like,
chant-like, and melismatic rhythms that defy barlines, including asymmetric,
complementary and mixed meters, and avoidance of downbeats.
• Thematic and motivic metamorphosis creating unity.
• Tertian, quartal, and quintal harmonies, and plagal harmonic motion.
• Less chromaticism - chromaticism is used to inflect modes.
This convergence of techniques formed the foundation of a compositional journey that
ultimately materialized in Martin’s middle and mature styles.
It is impressive that the Messe was written so early in Martin’s career, when its
maturity and sophistication are considered. Martin would experiment with many
techniques that would stay through his career. Such refinement is exemplified in each of
the movements, which are analyzed below.
33
Chapter 7 : Analysis of Messe pour double choeur a cappella
Kyrie
On top of the threefold text, the music of the Kyrie movement also reveals a
general ternary structure (Table 2). While the music does not conclude with a full
recapitulation of the A section after a differing Christe section, there are enough similar
features to tie the first A section (mm. 1-57) to the ending section (mm. 88-100). This
author adopts one of the views Maldjieva suggests: The A section is comprised of a main
imitative chant-like section (mm. 1-27) and a conclusion (mm. 28-36).
1
Three settings of
Kyrie can be identified in the A section, the second (mm. 28-36) and third (mm. 37-57) of
which are related by the dotted figures. Right after the highest pitch so far in the piece,
B5, the first Kyrie section lands on an ambiguous C-Bm incomplete cadence and elides
into the Christe text. Unlike endings of phrases of the Kyrie text at m. 27 and m. 36, the
Christe section is not marked by a double barline. The B section consists of three settings
of Christe (mm. 58-72, mm. 73-79, and mm. 80-87), which create an ABA form within
itself, the first and last sections adopting the same thematic material.
1
Maldjieva, "Structural Analysis,” 21.
34
Table 2. Formal and harmonic structure of Kyrie movement, Messe pour double choeur
A B A
Kyrie Christe Kyrie
mm. 1-27 (A major)
mm. 28-36 (E major)
mm.37-57 (B minor)
mm. 58-72 (B minor)
mm. 73-79 (B Aeolian)
mm. 80-87 (F# major)
mm. 88-100 (Coda) (F# minor)
ending on E (V/A)
After an AA’B structure, the Kyrie interrupts and elides with the Christe section right in
the middle of a phrase, concluding the movement with only two last iterations of the
Kyrie eleison text in the reprise. The use of continuous eighth notes, however, are enough
to relate it to the opening A section, though it functions more as a coda than a
recapitulation. The concluding E major chord also tonicizes the home key of A major.
The Kyrie movement is an immediate display of Martin’s reinvention of
techniques from early influences. Melodically, the smooth stepwise voice-leading in both
the settings of the Kyrie and Christe texts displays a “balanced, repetitious phrase with a
center arch that shows the influence of a vocal idiom because of the use of a majority of
conjunct intervals and a somewhat limited range,” typical of Martin’s early period.
2
The
opening melismatic phrases are free from the governance of time and meter and full of
possibility, while the seemingly random pace and the spontaneous starting and stopping
of the phrases and sections reflect an organic rhythm, reminiscent of medieval chant and
prayer. The opening sustained pitch A displaces the notion of rhythm and meter, as if in a
pause. The tension of such a “still moment” is a concept that will also be used in In Terra
2
Tupper, “Stylistic Analysis,” 29.
35
Pax, while the figure of a movement beginning with a single pitch will also be presented
in Requiem.
A typical clarity of tonality is displayed with homophonic settings of the text
Kyrie eleison, which begin and end on root-position triadic chords. Nevertheless, they
often move in unconventional progressions, presenting unfinished phrase structures that
propel the rhythm of this movement. Beginning from m. 37, each iteration of Kyrie
eleison can be charted harmonically as shown in Table 3.
Table 3. Harmonic movement of each iteration of Kyrie eleison, mm. 37-57
Measures Harmonic movement
37-38 C major – A minor
39-40 E minor – D major
41-43 E minor – A minor
44-47 F major – C major – E minor – A minor
48-49 G major – E minor
50-51 B minor – A major
52-57 B minor – E minor – C major – B minor
Typical of Martin’s early compositional technique, while he utilized simple
harmonic sonorities, such as root-position triadic chords, they were often used
unconventionally. Contrarily, while he utilized complex sonorities, the simplicity of other
aspects in the music such as form (as seen in the symmetry of mm. 37-57) and thematic
repetition would balance the complexity. Martin’s use of bi-tonality can be seen at the
cadence of the first continuous phrase on the text Kyrie (m. 27), with a bi-chord
36
consisting of pitches E, G, F#, C#, and B. The cadential satisfaction is not minimized
because the consort of pitches create the tertially-related triad E, G, and B, on top of the
quartally- or quintally-related fifths F# and C#. The hybrid chord is also clarified through
its spacing with the F#-C# on the lower register and E-G-B on top (Example 7.1).
Example 7.1. Kyrie, m. 27, SATB double choir, bi-chord on beat 4
The first sixteen measures display a horizontal formation of tonality, so that a
tonal center is strongly sensed through the linear themes, even without vertical sonorities.
The tonal center of the Kyrie theme is defined through its motion departing from A and
insistent returning to A through the pitches of a modal scale. The first pitch A, together
with the pitches that immediately follow, outline the complete scale of the Aeolian mode
on the first iteration of the text Kyrie (Example 7.2). The other pitch that is highlighted is
37
E, which appears four times, more than any other pitch in the first five measures. The
deliberate emphasis of the tonal center and its fifth in melodies is a characteristic of
Martin’s early melodic creations.
3
Example 7.2. Messe pour double choeur, Kyrie, A Aeolian mode on first Kyrie, mm. 1-5,
Alto II
Vantine highlights the fact that Martin often displaces the expectation of the
dominant-to-tonic progression by a “plagalized progression,” or moving in the opposite
direction of the circle of fifths.
4
In Die Harmonik bei Frank Martin, Bernhard Billeter
proposes that throughout the Messe pour double choeur, Martin’s “gliding tonality” is
achieved through adding accidentals to these opening seven pitches to alter the inflection
and generate gradual modifications in pitch center along the circle of fifths.
5
Within the
opening theme, the foreground contains the perfect fifth A and E, and less importantly, G
and D, with D being a plagal relation of A in mm. 1-2. Meanwhile, in the background, in
the diminished triad B-D-F, B is a plagal relation of E in m. 3. The outline of the
descending gamut of the distinctive tritone may suggest a contrasting color of
disappointment and incompletion, while representing a journey of the two remotest points
3
Ibid., 24.
4
Vantine, “Four Twentieth-Century Masses,” 14.
5
Bernhard Billeter, “Die Harmonik bei Frank Martin.” Schweizerischen Musikforschenden Gesellschaft,
Serie II, Vol. 23, Bern und Stuttgart: Verlag Paul Haupt, 1971,” 59. Translated in Vantine, “Four
Twentieth-Century Masses,” 13.
38
on the circle of fifths: F – C – G – D – A – E – B, the complete pitches that also create
the A Aeolian scale. The combination of B-D-F-A together create the sonority of a half-
diminished seventh chord. The sonority, reprised again in mm. 13-17 and throughout the
movements, defies expectations of dominant-tonic resolutions. Billeter points out that
Martin achieves this through shying away from leading-tones in chords in the Messe.
6
Another example is the entering theme of the Soprano II on D, modulating to D Aeolian
mode, a perfect fifth down from A Aeolian instead of the typical upward perfect fifth in
imitative counterpoint (Example 7.3). The introduction of E♭ in m. 10 further confirms
the migration away from A. The Kyrie movement ends with a plagal cadence from A
minor to an E major.
Example 7.3. Messe pour double choeur, Kyrie, SATB double choir, plagal entrance of
subject in Soprano II after Alto II and I, mm. 6-10
6
Ibid., 59-60. Translated in Vantine, “Four Twentieth-Century Masses,” 20.
39
Numerologically, in the initial contrapuntal exposition, the male voices are heard
to declaim Kyrie together three times, signifying the Trinity. Afterwards, the text Kyrie is
heard nine times (three times three) in homophonic declamation in all voices, suggesting
a perfect representation of the Trinity. Meanwhile, the text Christe can be heard twelve
times (three times four) in total. According to Jakob Schmit’s 1736 Der Biblische
Mathematicus, the number three symbolized the Trinity and the spiritual, while the
number four suggested the Church and the physical and earthly creation.
7
Gloria
The structure of the music in the Gloria movement corresponds to the structure of
the text. After the introduction (mm. 1-15), Martin sets the text et in terra pax (and on
earth peace) in a fugal manner, acknowledging early styles of religious choral writing.
The text-setting is mostly syllabic to accommodate the more extensive text. However, he
presents the subject and countersubject simultaneously. Also, the episodes enter at a third
above rather than at the fifth. Martin shifts from imitative counterpoint gradually to
polychoral writing beginning in the setting of Gratias agimus tibi (m. 39), and propter
magnam gloriam tuam (mm. 44-51), evidence of the influence of the Venetian polychoral
style.
8
Similarly, at mm. 95-104, polychoral writing is used to set the text Quoniam tu
7
Johann Jacob Schmidt, Biblischer Mathematicus, Oder Erläuterung Der Heil. Schrift Aus Den
Mathematischen Wissenschaften ... Als Ein Anhang Ist Beygefüget ... G. Sarganecks Versuch Einer
Anwendung Der Mathematic in Dem Articul Von Der Grösse Der Sünden-Schulden (1736). Translated in
Smith, "More Evidence,” 25.
8
Arthur Honegger (1892-1955), one of Martin’s national contemporaries in musical composition, as well
as a fellow admirer of Bach’s music, was known to utilize this polychoral style, for instance, in the
“Ouverture” of his Suite archaïque.
40
solus Sanctus. The fugal setting of the Cum Sancto Spiritu section aligns Martin with
traditional settings of the Gloria text settings. Yet Martin does not compose a strict fugue
but incorporates polychoral homophonic writing.
Thematically, Martin ties the movement together using sonic and rhythmic
devices. Characteristic of Martin’s early period, he utilized “basic motivic units of
construction which are transposed sequentially or which take part in thematic
metamorphosis.”
9
In the later periods, his music would be more selective in the use of
thematic material, reserving them only for the setting of distinct text. Instead of the
traditional incipit of the Gloria, Martin begins the movement with a more extended
introduction comprised of two phrases that set the text Gloria in excelsis Deo. Both
sequential phrases in the introduction approach the cadence in plagal motion with a major
seventh chord rather than dominant to tonic. The dotted motif set to the murmuring
praises of Gloria (Example 7.4) will be used throughout the movement to unify the
extensive text, at Laudamus te (m. 29), Gratias agimus tibi (m. 39), Domine Deus (m. 47
and m. 58), Domine Fili unigente (mm. 53-55), Quoniam (m. 85), and Cum Sancto
Spiritu (mm. 104-105).
9
Tupper, “Stylistic Analysis,” 11.
41
Example 7.4. Gloria, mm. 1-3, SATB double choir, dotted motif
In fact, the dotted motif is transplanted from the Kyrie movement, at the section
beginning at m. 37 (Example 7.5). At Glorificamus te, the introduction of the movement
is also recalled through the textural build-up as well as the arrival on the major seventh
sonority (m. 37). Martin unifies the entire movement by recalling a final instance of the
major seventh sonority at the united declamation of Amen from all voices on fortissimo
(m. 109).
42
Example 7.5. Kyrie, SATB double choir, dotted motif first used in mm. 37-50
43
44
In terms of tonality, the Gloria movement displays great clarity despite modal
inflections. The opening Gloria in excelsis outlines B Aeolian mode, suggestive of B
minor/D major tonal area (Example 7.6).
Example 7.6. Gloria, mm. 1-15, SATB double choir, opening outlining B Aeolian mode,
suggestive of B minor/D major, ending on D minor in m. 15, with dominant seventh
chord at m. 4
45
The major seventh sonorities (e.g. m. 4) conform to Tupper’s study that Martin’s early
harmonic language included an abundance of hybrid chord formations. The introduction
cadences in m. 15 on D minor, solidifying the tonal center of the movement, D. Both
46
sections at mm. 16-57 and mm. 85-122 begin in D Aeolian mode, despite “Fauré-esque”
shifting of inflections beginning at m. 16, the between F♮ and F#, and B♮ and B♭
(Example 7.7).
Example 7.7. Gloria, mm. 21-25, SATB double choir, Chromatic shift between F♮ and
F#, and B♮ and B♭
The same modal shifts contend with each other until the conclusion of the movement,
where B♮ has the last triumph over B♭ before the final cadence at m. 120 (Example 7.8).
47
Example 7.8. Gloria, mm. 117-122, SATB double choir, final triumph of B♮ over B♭ in
Tenor I in m. 120
The successive addition of A♭ and D♭ (mm. 32-44) shifts the modality briefly to F
Aeolian at Benedicimus te (m. 31) and Gratias agimus tibi (m. 39), before anchoring at G
Aeolian at Domine Deus (m. 47).
Similar to the Kyrie, the Gloria also traverses tonally in a plagal motion from an
overall tonal area of D to A Major. From the text Gratias agimus tibi, Martin travels
tonally through an overall circle of fifths progression beginning on D♭ major (m. 39),
through E♭ major (m. 41), B♭ minor (m. 44), F minor (m. 45), C minor (m. 46), G minor
(m. 47), arriving at the dominant of D Aeolian (m. 57), setting up the resolution to the
tonal center of D. The progression through the circle of fifths also reinforce the “plagal
movement” that characterizes Martin’s early stage. Various other “checkpoints” reinstate
48
the pitch center of D throughout the movement, such as the parallel fifth pedal at Domine
Deus at m. 58, the D Aeolian theme at Agnus Dei, Filius Patris in Choir I (mm. 59-62)
(Example 7.9), the D Phrygian reference with B♭ and E♭ in Choir I at suscipe
deprecationem nostrum (mm. 74-76), the D Aeolian descending outline at Quoniam tu
solus Sanctus at mm. 85-86 (Example 7.10), and the annunciation of Amen on D in the
tenor and bass of both choirs at mm. 112-117. Lastly, the Amens on D, underline a
descending G Aeolian scale on the text Patris in Soprano I, harmonically plagal
downwards from D, before arriving at a cadence on A major, an upward plagal motion
from D.
49
Example 7.9. Gloria, mm. 58-69, SATB double choir, implications of key center of D
through parallel fifth pedal at Domine Deus in Choir II at m. 58, and D Aeolian theme at
Agnus Dei, Filius Patris in Choir I at mm. 59-62
50
Example 7.10. Gloria, mm. 85-86, Bass I and Bass II, D Aeolian descending outline at
Quoniam tu solus Sanctus
Besides plagal harmonic movements and modal writing, Martin’s predilection for
ancient devices is affirmed through the prominent use of suspension cadences, organum-
like drones or pedals, and early metric proportions. Suspension cadences can be found in
m. 53, m. 57, m. 99 (Example 7.11, notably on the text Jesu Christe) and m. 122.
51
Example 7.11. Gloria, SATB Choir II, suspension cadence at Jesu Christe, mm. 56-57
Organum-like sonorities as in the parallel-fifths drone setting of Domine Deus in Choir II
against Agnus Dei in Choir I from m. 58 through m. 84. This reference to an ancient
sonority also attests to Tupper’s analysis that the chords that emphasize perfect fifths are
“used in combination with a melody so that the wide intervals appear at the bottom, and
the ever-decreasing distance appears between notes at the top.”
10
At mm. 78-81, the D
open-fifths drone in Choir II is set against the dissonant chords in Choir I of E♭ major -
B♭ major - C minor - G♭ minor - A♭ major - E♭ major – A minor. The result is a harsh
juxtaposition, possibly suggesting the wrath of the Judge “who sits at the right hand of
God the Father.” Rhythmically, at m. 39, the marking of half note equals dotted half note
represents the ancient device of sesquialtera – shifting of metric proportions, also used in
early motet settings.
The text Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, which takes place in the Agnus Dei
movement is embedded in the text of the Gloria movement, set in Choir I (mm. 59-68).
10
Ibid., 55.
52
Domine Deus, Rex coelestis,
Deus Pater omnipotens.
Domine Fili unigenite Jesu Christe.
Domine Deus, Agnus Dei, [author’s italics]
Filius Patris.
Qui tollis peccata mundi,
miserere nobis.
Qui tollis peccata mundi,
suscipe deprecationem nostram.
Qui sedes ad dextram Patris,
O miserere nobis.
O Lord God, Heavenly King,
God the Father Almighty.
O Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son.
Lord God, Lamb of God,
Son of the Father.
Thou that takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us.
Thou that takest away the sins of the world, receive our prayer.
Thou that sittest at the right hand of the Father,
have mercy upon us.
When isolated, the first four notes creates the same “X” cross image which often
appeared in Bach’s music as a result of the B-A-C-H motif type of sequential voice-
leading (Example 7.12). In her study of Martin’s later Golgotha (1945-1948), Siglind
Bruhn expounds on the use of the B-A-C-H motif to be “understood to trace a reclining
cross when the outer and inner pairs of its four tones are connected, is best known in the
version associated with the name B-A-C-H, where it consists of two descending
semitones linked by a rising minor third. This is the version quoted – at the same pitch
level or in transposition and/or inversion – by numerous composers after Bach, in vocal
and instrumental works explicitly or implicitly addressing suffering.”
11
11
Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections, 129.
53
Example 7.12. Messe pour double choeur, Gloria, seven cross images within the Agnus
Dei theme (mm. 59-68): 1. A – E – F – D, 2. A – B♭ – A – C, 3. A – C – B♮ – G, 4. B♮ –
G – A – F, 5. F – E – G – F, 6. E – G – F – E, 7. E – F – E – D
Remarkably, Martin creates an entire theme for the Agnus Dei text with a total of
seven overlapping cross images, linking “Lamb of God” to the Crucifixion. That Martin
decided to write a passion oratorio Golgotha on the Crucifixion twenty years later, after
being inspired by Rembrandt’s The Three Crosses, is not a surprise.
12
Furthermore,
Martin’s fascination with the Crucifixion and Passion is reflected in the subject matter of
his penultimate composition Polytypque (1973), whose sub-title is Six images de la
Passion du Christ. In the later Agnus Dei movement, Martin sets the same text using the
same imagery.
Additionally, the significance of the inflection shift of B♭ against B♮ cannot be
overstated, as the two qualities of the pitch B create a presentation of the B-A-C-H motif
(B♭ - A – C - B♮) in the exact key and order in pitches six to nine of the theme, on top of
suggesting a modal shift in the latter part of the theme. The position of the B-A-C-H
motif in the middle of a theme (mm. 59-68) may seem questionable, especially with the
separation of a quarter-note rest in m. 63. Nonetheless, its occurrence at the Agnus Dei
text, coupled with the cross images, set in unison octaves in all four voice parts of Choir
I, affirms its importance.
12
Ibid., 114.
54
Proportionally, the imitative passage of Cum Sancto Spiritu (m. 100) happens to
be the reverse Golden Mean of the entire Messe pour double choeur (m. 199.7 of the total
number of measures, rounded up to 200). Martin stamped his personal mark by
preserving an imitative structure but not a strict traditional fugue, and instead
incorporating polychoral writing. The positioning of this concluding passage of the
Gloria should not be overlooked. Within the Gloria movement itself, the reverse Golden
Mean also aligns with all voices in Choir I and only the tenors in Choir II singing Domine
Deus, in a homophonic texture forte with accents (m. 47).
Numerologically, there is a significant juxtaposition of the text Domine Deus on
parallel fifths, presented three times against the text:
Agnus Dei, Filius Patris, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.
Qui tollis peccata mundi, suscipe deprecationem nostrum.
Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris, miserere nobis.
Lamb of God, Son of the Father, who take away the sins of the world, have mercy
on us;
Who take away the sins of the world, hear our prayer.
You Who sit at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us.
At the same text, the seven cross images within the theme are also significant. While
Johann Jacob Schmidt’s Der Biblische Mathematicus (1736) identifies seven as the
number representing grace and the Holy Spirit,
13
seven is also mentioned remarkably
often in the book of Revelation, signifying the completion of God’s plan.
14
The seventh
day was also the day of the Sabbath, when creation was complete (Genesis 2:2). To Bach,
the number seven (three plus four) characterized the tension between perfect soul, anima,
13
Schmidt, Biblischer Mathematicus. Translated in Smith, "More Evidence,” 25.
14
For instance, the seven seals of God’s judgment, seven angels with seven trumpets (8:2), seven letters to
seven churches in Asia, seven spirits before God’s throne (1:4), seven golden lampstands (1:12) and seven
stars in Christ’s right hand (1:16).
55
number three, and imperfect body, corpo, number four.
15
As the later section on In Terra
Pax will reveal, Martin appears to similarly regard seven as the biblical number for
spiritual perfection and completion, of the end of such a struggle between soul and body.
With this in mind, Martin’s use of seven cross images at the text “Lamb of God, Son of
the Father, who take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us” reveals a twofold
meaning, in this author’s opinion. Firstly, it suggests an intense conviction of causing the
Son of the Father to have to be sacrificed as Lamb of God for man. Secondly, it appears
to this author to portray a completion of God’s perfect will through the Lamb of God.
Credo
Like the Gloria, the structure of the Credo corresponds to the sectionalized text.
While Vantine proposes the structure of a theme and four variations, Maldjieva believes
the resemblance of the sections is insufficient to label the movement a theme and
variations. Based on the extensive section on motivic unity of this movement later in this
dissertation, this author agrees that while there is great motivic cohesion, some of
Vantine’s proposed “variations” are less convincing than others. Vantine’s structure is
shown in Table 4.
15
For instance, in BWV 161, he uses seven and its multiples musically to illustrate the desperate yearning
to leave this life for the next.
56
Table 4. Vantine's proposal of theme and variations structure in Credo
Measures Theme or Variation
1-10 Theme
11-44 Variation one
45 –67 Variation two
68 – 99 Variation three
100 - 137 Variation four
While a strong argument can be made that the entire Credo is based on the thematic motif
that sets the text Credo in unum Deum, regarding the subsequent sections as “variations”
appears to be difficult. The section that Vantine calls “variation four” is the only “variation”
that begins with the same motivic phrase in mm. 1-2 (Example 7.13).
Example 7.13. Credo, mm. 1-2, Soprano II and Alto II, thematic motif that sets the text
Credo in unum Deum
“Variation three” utilizes the same intervals, but they are reversed in order and follow an
entirely different rhythmic phrasal structure. “Variation two” presents the motivic theme
not at the beginning, but rather at the end of the “variation,” in two voice parts only. Lastly,
“variation one” appears to bear no resemblance to the thematic material in mm. 1-2 at all.
57
Contrarily, Maldjieva proposes that the following sections are through-composed beyond
the constraints of traditional forms, and repeats due to its extensive text (Table 5):
16
Table 5. Maldjieva's proposed through-composed sections in Credo
Measures
1-10
11-22
23-30
31-44
45-51
52-67
68-86
87-99
100-122
123-137
Martin maintains a clarity in modality and plagal harmonic motion in the Credo.
Martin’s concept of tonality reveal Debussy’s influence of a “whole melodic line… to be
understood as a musical unit mainly through its relationship to a basic note.”
17
The first
half of the movement anchors on the pitch center of D. The incipit displays D Dorian
mode and fluctuates between E♭ and E♮ until arriving at a D Aeolian modal area on m.6.
By m. 22, E♭ and B♭ suggest D Phrygian mode. The tonal center of D ends with the
declaration of God’s nature at the text Qui propter nos homines, et propter nostram
salutem descendit de coelis. (Who for us men and for our salvation descended from
heaven.) The next section of text, Et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto ex Maria Virgine: et
homo factus est. (and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost, of the Virgin Mary, and was
made man,) describing the miraculous incarnation and life of Christ, takes on a different
16
Maldjieva, "Structural Analysis,” 41.
17
Reti, Tonality, 39.
58
tonal center, Bm to – Em. In m. 44, the text coelis (heaven) cadences on F# open fifths,
which pivots as a subdominant moving in a plagal motion into Bm, the tonality of the
next pivotal textual section. Characteristic of Martin, the ensuing section moves a further
step in plagal motion down the circle of fifths to Em (mm. 49-67). Through moving a
fourth step in plagal motion down the circle of fifths, Christ’s resurrection at Et resurrexit
tertia die (And on the third day He rose again) is depicted in A major (from m. 68),
supported by an inverted pedal ostinato on E in the Soprano I. A major shifts into A
Aeolian at m. 87, arriving at a cadence on a B major chord on m. 98 on the text non erit
finis (shall have no end). B major shifts in plagal motion downwards to E Aeolian once
again when the text describes the Holy Spirit at Et in Spiritum Sanctum (And in the Holy
Ghost) (m. 100). Pedals on the pitch E are sustained through different voice parts until
the arrival at E major (m. 123), a new color possibly describing a new baptism –
Confiteor unum baptisma (I acknowledge one baptism). Inflections with both A♮ and A#
sustain a final question on the concluding modality. Against these inflections are pedals
of fifths on G# (Bass II, Alto I) and D# (Soprano II, Tenor II, Soprano I), before a swift
stepwise descent into a two-measure open fifth of F# and C# in m. 135. A# finally
triumphs and the movement anchors on B major in a plagal cadence on F# major.
Thus the entire movement can be analyzed as one of two possibilities. Firstly, it
can be a progression of tonal areas along the circle of fifths, in two directions, from D
three steps upwards to B, downwards two steps to A, and upwards three steps to F#:
D major – (missing A) – E minor – B minor
– E minor - A major – E major - B major – F# major
59
Secondly, it can be read as a macro progression four steps upwards along the circle of
fifths from D up to F#:
D major – (E minor – B minor – E minor) - A major – E major - B major – F# major
The Credo movement is the first time in the Messe where all eight voice parts
declaim portions of text such as factorem coeli et terrae, visibilium omnium et
invisibilium (maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible)
homophonically in identical rhythms from mm. 4-10 – the only exception being Soprano
I dropping out at mm. 9-10. The sense of solidarity displayed by the same unmistakable
homophonic texture returns throughout the movement, distinguishing the Credo from the
other movements.
Another homophonic declamatory passage happens at Et incarnatus est de Spiritu
Sancto ex Maria Virgina. ET HOMO FACTUS EST (mm. 45-51). Astonishingly, in the
2014 Bärenreiter urtext edition, the text ET HOMO FACTUS EST is capitalized in the
score (Example 7.14).
18
In Maldjieva’s dissertation (2004), the score he references does
not have this capitalization.
19
Vantine’s dissertation (1982), which also referred to the
1972 Bärenreiter score, mentions the text but without capitalization, which leads this
author to believe that the modification was a recent correction for the 2014 urtext edition
used for this dissertation, based on the “second fair copy” autograph full score.
20
The
emphasis on these words reflect Martin’s confession when asked how a composer should
convey faith in Jesus Christ in his music, “For the spirit to be able to manifest itself
18
Martin, Messe, 23.
19
Maldjieva, "Structural Analysis,” 45.
20
Martin, Messe, 46.
60
among humans, it has to be incarnated, just as Christ incarnated himself in order to act
among humans.”
21
Example 7.14. 2014 Bärenreiter Urtext Edition, Messe pour double choeur a cappella,
Credo, SATB double choir, mm. 49-51, ET HOMO FACTUS EST.
In the urtext edition, it is noted that “punctuation marks, capitalization and hyphenation
have been added and standardized as they were largely omitted in the autograph.”
22
This
deliberate modification, together with the instruction plus lent – very slow – highlights
21
Frank Martin, Bernard Gavoty, and Maria Martin, Un compositeur médite sur son art (Neuchâtel: A la
Baconnière, 1977), 138-140. Translation in Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections, 26.
22
Ibid.
61
these four words, directly constituting the heart of Christianity – the miracle of Christ
being made man in order to die on the cross for all mankind.
23
While Martin revered
tradition, this was an unambiguous attempt to communicate the text the way it astounded
him personally. In his own words, “Masterworks, particularly those in music, are abused
if they contain no element of discovery for listeners.”
24
The juxtaposition of the
capitalized text set with a pianissimo dynamic further enhances the startling effect of the
text modification.
Martin’s awe is underlined by the juxtaposition of the contending forces of E
minor versus B minor under the text. The passage from Et incarnatus est is in B minor,
polarized by a double pedal of B in the sopranos and F# in Bass II. At ET HOMO
FACTUS EST, however, Martin adds an E pedal below a progression in B minor: E minor
(iv) – A major (♭VII with added B) – B minor (i) – F# minor (v) – G major7 (VI7) – E
minor (iv). Tupper’s observation that “Chord-types are sometimes derived through the
use of a pedal, or double pedal, with a moving part,” once again proves true.
25
This
contention may possibly illustrate the specific moment when Christ’s body and soul,
flesh and will, struggled against each other. It is not a random choice, therefore, when
Martin chose to reuse the identical passage from Et incarnatus est in both the Cantate
pour le Temps de Noël (1929-30) and his passion oratorio Golgotha (1945-48).
26
23
This brings to mind Beethoven’s additions of “ah” and “o” to “miserere nobis” in his Missa Solemnis.
Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis also accentuated the text “et homo factus est” by having the tenor solo
proclaim “et, et homo factus est.”
24
Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections, 234.
25
Tupper, “Stylistic Analysis”, 58.
26
Martin, Messe, VI.
62
Beginning at m. 68, superimposition of thematic layers take place at the fugal
passage on the et resurrexit theme, of which each is imitated contrapuntally. Firstly, there
is the pentatonic inversion theme that begins in Soprano II, functioning as a fugal subject.
Secondly, there is a descant on the pedal point of E in Soprano I, almost functioning as a
cantus firmus above the counterpoint. Thirdly, Soprano II presents a counter-subject,
which reaches higher than the subject, is extended by more rhythmic values that are
longer, and raised to a higher dynamic level (meno p), all of which cause it to appear less
ornamental and fleeting than the subject itself. Fourthly, there is a dimension comprised
of quarter notes. Lastly, the bass sections in both choirs have a bell-like tonic-dominant
motif in half notes. The five dimensions embellish, enhance, and strengthen each other.
Throughout the movement, Martin pays tribute to the techniques of early religious
music and composers. As in the Gloria, Martin preserves the incipit that precedes the
movement. The entire Choir II sings the incipit harmonized, followed by a brief
polychoral episode by both choirs. The Renaissance points of imitation at mm. 23-30
reinforce the sonorities of early religious composition.
The relationship between Martin’s and Bach’s masses cannot be overlooked. At
ET HOMO FACTUS EST, the persistent reference of Bm is an unmistakable reference to
the et incarnatus est movement in the same key in Bach’s Messe in h-moll. The addition
of the E pedal foreshadows the shift into the solid E minor at Crucifixus, the same key of
Bach’s Crucifixus. Furthermore, the thematic material in Soprano II and Alto I at ET
HOMO FACTUS EST (Example 7.15) derives from the incipit. The descending theme,
built from seconds and tertian intervals, is reminiscent of Bach’s et incarnatus est
63
(Example 7.16), with its descending first inversion minor arpeggios beginning from the
same pitch B, and seventh chords containing tertian intervals.
Example 7.15. Messe pour double choeur, Credo, ET HOMO FACTUS EST. Alto I and
Soprano II, mm. 49-51
Example 7.16. Bach’s Messe in h-moll, Et incarnatus est, piano reduction, mm. 1-10
64
The Crucifixus motif which immediately follows, outlines a tritone, conforming to
the traditional sonority of master works such as Bach’s Messe in h-moll and Beethoven’s
Missa Solemnis. Bach’s Crucifixus is underlined by a descending “lament” chromatic
bass from E downwards to B, famously repeated thirteen times, with twelve identical
repeats and a modified thirteenth repeat. (Example 7.17).
Example 7.17. Bach's Messe in h-moll, Crucifixus, piano reduction, mm. 1-11
Interestingly, Martin sets the text Crucifixus to appear a total of thirteen times in the
different voices. Whether knowingly or not, Martin takes the stepwise descending motion
in Bach’s lament bass and applies it to the melodic theme in his setting, creating the
65
Crucifixus motif. Instead of Bach’s perfect fourth overall descent, Martin’s descends
through an overall interval of a tritone (Example 7.18). The inner descending secondal
intervals of Martin’s motif also mirrors the pairs of melodic descending seconds in
Bach’s iterations of the text Crucifixus (Example 7.19, pitches [1-2], [3-4], [8-9]).
Example 7.18. Messe pour double choeur, Credo, pitches of Crucifixus motif, Tenor I,
mm. 51-53
Example 7.19. Bach's Messe in h-moll, pitches used in Crucifixus, SATB voice parts,
mm. 1-12
Martin takes the two-note sigh-figures and elaborates them to become four-note figures.
The interjected tritone sonority (pitches [5-7]) in Bach’s setting becomes Martin’s larger
outlined interval. Moreover, the Martin’s Crucifixus motif takes place at the reverse
Golden Mean of the Credo at m. 52.
The pentatonic theme that recurs at et resurrexit (Example 7.20) bears a striking
resemblance to Bach’s setting in the Messe in h-moll (Example 7.21).
Example 7.20. Martin’s Messe pour double choeur, Credo, et resurrexit theme, Soprano
II, mm. 68-70
66
Example 7.21. Bach’s Messe in h-moll, Credo, et resurrexit theme, Soprano I, mm. 1-3
Both settings adopt an imitative counterpoint theme based on a second inversion triad.
While the two settings are set a fifth apart, both are set to sharp-key major modes –
Martin’s in A major and Bach’s in D major. Both begin with an anacrusic ascent that
begins on the fifth degree and passes through the tonic, arriving on the third, which
begins a general descent. Both themes end on two even quarter-note enunciations of -rex-
it. In the middle portion, Martin’s theme meanders downward by seconds and thirds
before a mirror contrary motion to the end of the phrase. Bach’s theme meanders up
through descending triplet-sixteenth notes by seconds, up higher to a G before another
secondal-motion descent to the end of the phrase.
As discussed earlier, Bach’s Matthäus-Passion left a lasting imprint on Martin
since his childhood.
27
Matthäus-Passion opens with a chorale describing Jesus’
Crucifixion, with the cantus firmus text O Lamm Gottes unschuldig, am Stamm des
Kreuzes geschlachtet (O Lamb of God, innocent, slaughtered on the stem of the Cross),
which begins in the same E minor that Martin set to the Crucifixus text. The melodic
theme in the orchestra in Bach’s setting (Example 7.22) also reflect the same stepwise
contour as Martin’s Crucifixus motif.
27
Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections, 24.
67
Example 7.22. Bach's Matthäus-Passion, motivic material, Flauto traverso I and II, Oboe
I and II, mm.1-3
Rhythmically, Tupper documented that Martin’s early period demonstrated a preference
for compound meters.
28
The Credo is the first movement where Martin employs
asymmetrical meters, possibly due to his early influences from the Dalcroze Institut and
Bulgarian and Indian folk rhythms. The entire Et in Spiritum Sanctum section (mm. 100-
115) is the first time the asymmetric 5/8 meter appears, alternating with 6/8, except for
two measures. This shift into asymmetric and compound meters happens to fall on the
Golden Mean of the whole Messe (m. 101, m. 323.2 of the whole work), only one
measure away from the text “and in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, and the giver of Life.”
Moreover, the 6/8 meter used in this section is identical to the Et in Spiritum Sanctum
section in Bach’s Messe in h-moll. In Martin’s Messe, the specific words that are set to
5/8 meters are potentially due to the nature of these words being almost exclusively
associated with faith in God and specifically the Holy Spirit. Applying these 5/8
measures therefore instills in the text a spiritedness and uninhibited power that is
characteristic of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4). The texts set to 5/8 meters include:
28
Tupper, “Stylistic Analysis,” 108.
68
vivificantem – (giver of life) (m. 103)
procedit – (proceeds from) (m. 106)
Filio – (the Son) (m. 108)
adoratur (worshipped) (m. 110)
conglorificatur (glorified) (m. 112)
Et unam Sanctam catholicam et apostolicam Ecclesiam (and in one holy
catholic and apostolic Church) (both 3/8 and 5/8, mm. 116-122, except m.
121).
Martin’s use of these 5/8 measures suggests a possible influence of the Bulgarian
paidushko horo since each of Martin’s 5/8 measures are arranged as [2+3], in alignment
with the rules of Bulgarian rhythm. The longest continuous phrase set to 5/8, alternating
with 3/8 and 4/8, proclaims the last element of the Nicene Creed.
Sanctus
The Sanctus movement consists of three sections, mm. 1-34, mm. 35-75, and mm.
76-113. The first and last sections are composed with ideas that conform to multiples of
three, such as three, six, nine, the numbers for the Trinity, perfection, and the angelic
number, respectively.
29
Examples include, but are not limited to three sections, three
talas, three syllables, three times, three claps, etc. The number three also interacts with
other perfect numbers such as four and its multiples (eight and sixteen) and seven. In this
way, the movement is structurally symmetrical. Even the last proclamation of Hosanna
29
Ibid.
69
heard in the Soprano I displays perfect symmetry with the pitches E – B – E, forming the
image of a triangle, symbolizing the Holy Trinity. Meanwhile, the middle section, pleni
sunt coeli et terra gloria tua (heaven and earth are full of your glory) consists of
imperfect numbers, two, five, and eleven, symbolizing human imperfection, the passion,
and judgement.
30
The Sanctus movement is an exhibition of Martin’s numerological, sonic,
rhythmic and symmetrical preferences. The opening threefold Sanctus aligns with the
theological imagery of the Trinity. The opening eighth-note build-ups on the text Sanctus
are first repeated three times (mm. 1-3), then six times (three times two) (mm. 9-11),
forming Martin’s characteristic basic motivic unit for the movement. At mm. 9-11, the
motivic unit is fragmented and assigned alternately to Choir II and Choir I, creating a
polychoral effect that lasts throughout the movement. This time the exaltations of Sanctus
are set six times, doubling the threefold praises in the earliest measures.
From m. 1 to m. 34, the fragmented ethereal theme (Example 7.23), likely representing
the Holy Spirit, is set three times, while the symmetrical counter-theme (Example 7.24),
representing God, is set seven times. With seven potentially representing spiritual
completion and the end of the struggle between body and soul to Martin, the sevenfold
setting of the symmetrical counter-theme portrays the perfection of God and the Trinity.
Example 7.23. Messe pour double choeur, Sanctus, ethereal theme, Soprano I, mm. 6-9
30
Ibid., 25.
70
Example 7.24. Messe pour double choeur, Sanctus, symmetrical counter-theme, Soprano
II, mm. 9-12
Seven times three is twenty-one, a perfect number, as set by early sacred music composer
Orlando di Lasso in Lagrime di San Pietro, a set of twenty-one madrigale spirituali
recording Peter’s threefold denial of Christ. The final movement of di Lasso’s work, a
Latin motet, denotes Jesus being crucified – Vide Homo, quae pro te patior (See, man,
how I suffer for you), signifying the completion of God’s will.
In terms of sonority, like Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, Martin sets the Sanctus in
a minor mode, not to be celebrated in an ordinary way, but to be revered as mysterious.
The opening murmurs of Sanctus each ascend in the voice parts in F# Aeolian mode in
the order of F#, G#, C#, and E, illustrating what appears to be trance-like praises rising
upwards to the heavens. Tupper’s observation of the “profusion of triads, seventh, and
ninth chords”
31
in Martin’s early period is also affirmed in m. 6, where Martin moves to
A Aeolian mode through the inflection of a C♮ on a D dominant seventh sonority, a
familiar sonority from the major seventh sonorities in Gloria and the diminished sevenths
in the Kyrie.
The Sanctus movement substantiates Martin’s technique of stratification of
rhythmic motivic layers, potentially stemming from his fascination of Indian folk
rhythms, specifically, talas, which are recurring rhythmic phrases chanted to sequences
of chanted syllables called thekas. In this movement, the text Sanctus seems to take the
31
Ibid., 54.
71
function of these thekas. One particular resemblance of Martin’s rhythmic motifs to
Hindustani talas is the similarity of mm. 31-34 to the most common Tin taal (three
claps).
32
The Tin taal is made up of sixteen beats, divided into four measures of four
beats. The first, fifth, ninth, and thirteenth beats would be accompanied by a clap. Mm.
31-34 are written in 4/4. Amidst this climactic layering of strata marked forte, also the
third and final repetition of the fragmented Soprano I theme, the Soprano II and Alto II
sing four measures of four even quarter notes. Each first beat of the measure is stressed
with an accent, beats one, five, nine and thirteen, potentially imitating the rhythmic
principles of the Tin taal (Table 6).
Table 6. Rhythmic arrangement, claps and thekas of Hindustani Tin taal
33
Taal clap clap
Maatraa
(beat)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Bols
(chant
syllable)
dha dhin dhin dha dha dhin dhin dha
Taal clap clap
Maatraa
(beat)
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Bols
(chant
syllable)
dha tin tin ta ta dhin dhin dha
Martin’s distinct layers across the movement interact with each other and take
turns functioning as the foreground or background. The initial ascending Sanctus
functions as one stratum, forming an ostinato-like basic unit of continuous eighth notes
32
Van Doel, “Sikh Music,” 57.
33
Ibid.
72
entering one after another (Example 7.25). In m. 9, the stratum in the foreground shifts to
the symmetrical theme that begins in Soprano II (Example 7.26), recalling the Kyrie
theme in its symmetrical descending-then-ascending contour back to the same pitch, the
initial tied-over long note, and the even eighth notes in the center (Example 7.27). This
thematic stratum is repeated in rhythm and pitch five times before it is transposed and
repeated another two times, a total of seven times, Schmidt’s number for the Holy
Spirit.
34
The theme is not only symmetrical in pitch: even the rhythmic values attached to
the pitches are identical, except for the difference of one eighth-note value on pitch C#.
The symmetrical “perfection” of this counter-theme, a potential illustration of God, is
juxtaposed with the lively, dance-like nature of the fragmented theme, likely depicting
the Holy Spirit.
Example 7.25. Messe pour double choeur, Sanctus, opening repeated rhythmic figure,
Tenor I, Bass I and SATB Choir II, mm. 1-3
34
Schmidt, Biblischer Mathematicus. Translated in Smith, "More Evidence,” 25.
73
Example 7.26. Messe pour double choeur, Sanctus, symmetrical counter-theme, Soprano
II, mm.9-12
Example 7.27. Messe pour double choeur, Kyrie theme, Kyrie, Alto II, mm. 1-5, with
similar contour, pitch class and symmetrical ideas
At m. 17, the primary rhythmic stratum shifts back to continuous eighth notes, now in a
different melodic configuration. The symmetrical five-pitch figure that begins in the Bass
I is passed to the Tenor I in contrary motion, creating a further layer of symmetry
(Example 7.28). This stratum is repeated three times, with the last time at m. 20 slightly
altered to become continuously ascending.
Example 7.28. Messe pour double choeur, Sanctus, symmetrical stratum repeated and
passed between Tenor II and Bass II, mm. 17-20
74
From m. 23 onwards, five different strata which had been presented are repeated
together to create a multiverse of rhythms (Example 7.29):
1. Symmetrical counter-theme in sopranos beginning with long tied note into
dotted quarter note, followed by even eighth notes
2. Dotted quarter note, eighth note, quarter note in tenors and basses, also found
in Kyrie and Gloria
3. Half note, eighth note or quarter note in tenors and basses
4. Continuous even eighth notes in Soprano II and Alto II, then Alto I
and Tenor I
5. Fragmented theme of quarter note, eighth note in Soprano II
75
Example 7.29. Messe pour double choeur, Sanctus, multiple rhythmic strata at work,
SATB double choir, mm. 22-34
76
Strata created through even eighth notes recur throughout the movement into the
B section marked plus vite, but again in a different melodic configuration. The eighth-
note motivic units conform to intervals of seconds and thirds, as is typical of Martin’s
early smooth voice-leading. In the B section, the continuous eighth notes are heard in all
voices of Choir II, chanting pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua on the same pitch. The
motif [6+5+5 or 6] (eighth notes) is repeated once at mm. 42-44. A new stratum appears
in asymmetric 5/8 measures for the first time at the reverse Golden Mean of the Sanctus
(m. 43), setting the first appearance of the important text, Hosanna. From mm. 43-54,
then mm. 57-72, Hosanna exaltations are presented in stepwise descending motion,
arranged as [2+3+2+3+2+4] (eighth notes) (Example 7.30). Attached to this dotted
quarter note Hosanna stratum, the motivic stratum of continuous eighth-notes runs
through the entire B section, and then at m. 105 to the end of the movement (Example
7.31).
Example 7.30. Messe pour double choeur, Sanctus, stratum of sixteen eighth notes,
Soprano I, mm. 43-46
Example 7.31. Messe pour double choeur, Sanctus, stratum of sixteen eighth notes, Alto
I, mm. 43-46
The B section marks asymmetry, or imperfection. The pleni sunt coeli text only
appears twice instead of a perfect three times. Together, the motif of accented dotted-
quarter-note exaltations and continuous eighth notes on the text Hosanna is repeated
77
eleven times. As will be discussed in detail in the analysis of In Terra Pax, eleven is the
biblical number for chaos and judgement. The asymmetric 5/8 meters do not exclusively
conform to the Bulgarian paidushko horo assignment of [2+3], especially in the stepwise
descending Hosanna fragments, which are arranged 3+2, though their use may stem from
his early interest of Bulgarian folk rhythms. The asymmetric meters, together with
Martin’s two-fold pleni sunt coeli and eleven-fold Hosanna motif, intentionally leave an
instability and incompleteness to the movement before the Benedictus, which then
announces “blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”
The numerological reference to Trinity in the Benedictus section cannot be
overlooked. The Benedictus section is composed of three overlapping strata, which
function in a manner similar to the isorhythms of late Medieval polyphony. In Choir II,
one stratum is formed by the motif consisting of three repetitions of four eighth notes
over the syllables Benedictus, ending on a penultimate long note on the syllable dic
(Example 7.32). The motif is repeated regardless of the measure lines, and later begins on
a different beat of the measure (m. 82 and m. 86). This three-fold Benedictus stratum is
repeated seven times, the number of the Holy Spirit, again musically manifesting seven
times three equals twenty-one. An additional three times is repeated with a twofold
Benedictus (mm. 98-103).
Example 7.32. Messe pour double choeur, Benedictus section, stratum consisting of even
eighth notes, Alto II, Tenor II and Bass II, mm. 76-78
78
The second stratum begins in Choir I in m.77, also outlining the text Benedictus,
with a motif consisting of the following rhythmic values in units of eighth notes: [3-1-3-
1-1-1-2-3 (or 2)] (Example 7.33). This rhythmic motif is repeated independent of the first
stratum of even eighth notes. As a result of the independent movement, the strata of
different lengths converge at different points. The second stratum repeated nine times,
Schmidt’s “angelic number” referring to nine choirs of angels,
35
and three times three, a
perfect representation of the Trinity. The only occurrence of the complete text of the
Benedictus adopts a similar figure, repeated a “perfect” three times to match the text
proclaiming “he who comes in the name of the Lord” (mm. 100-106). This time, the
Hosannas from the B section are no longer set in broad quarter notes in 5/4. The earlier
stratum of the symmetrical mirror-motion theme on the text Hosanna returns in mm. 106-
110 to propel the rush to a climactic end, in a plagal cadence from D major to A major
then to a brilliant E major.
Example 7.33. Messe pour double choeur, Benedictus, second stratum, Alto I, Tenor I
and Bass I, mm. 77-79
The third and final stratum of the Benedictus section occurs in two versions. The
first appears three times (m. 85, 86, 87), with the rhythmic values in units of eighth notes
35
Ibid.
79
of [1-2-3-1] (Example 7.34a). This then morphs into a modified version of [1-1-4-1]
(Example 7.34b), repeated six times.
Example 7.34. Messe pour double choeur, Benedictus, third stratum: a. Soprano II, m. 85;
b. Alto I, Tenor I and Bass I, mm. 90-91
a.
b.
The intertwining of these three strata constructs the entire section from mm. 76-103. The
complete text benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini is interrupted by declamations of
Hosanna eight times from mm. 104-113. Of these eight declamations, the first two are
motifs of three hemiola-like half notes (three times six). The next two are diminished
rhythmically to one quarter note followed by two half notes, also repeated twice. Lastly, a
further diminution reduces the form to three quarter notes (in m. 110, the last note is an
80
eighth note). According to Schmidt, as will be discussed in depth in the section on In
Terra Pax, eight is the biblically significant number symbolizing resurrection and a new
covenant.
36
Agnus Dei
Based on the following evidence, it is very possible that the Agnus Dei of Bach’s
Messe in h-moll was in Martin’s thinking as he composed his own Agnus Dei, the last
movement to be completed. Firstly, Bach’s and Martin’s Agnus Dei movements bear a
resemblance in terms of form. Martin’s Agnus Dei employs a theme and variations form,
with each variation of the theme delineating a new section. With the somewhat
“constant” passacaglia bass – rhythmically all in quarter notes and set to a repeated text –
underneath the varied melodic theme, the movement can be interpreted as having features
of a passacaglia variation movement, which Bach was also fond of, as seen in the
Crucifixus section of his Messe in h-moll. Bach’s Agnus Dei movement also contains
elements of a theme and variations form— a theologically-significant three invocations
of the Agnus Dei text, each beginning with the same melodic motif transposed (Example
7.35), as well as a passacaglia-like bass line that begins with a similar harmonic motion
each time:
36
Ibid.
81
m. 1: g – D – g – e° (i – V – i – ♮vi)
m. 9: g – D – g – g (i – V – i – i)
m. 23: d – A – d – G (i – V – i – IV)
m. 27: d – A – d – d (i – V – i – i)
m. 31: g – D – g – g (i – V – i – i)
Example 7.35. Bach, Messe in h-moll, melodic motif that begins Agnus Dei text, m. 9, m.
27, m. 31
a. b. c.
Structurally, Martin’s Agnus Dei theme in Choir I is sung six times (three times two) —
five times in its essential original form (mm. 2-4, mm. 11-13, mm. 16-18, mm. 24-26,
and mm. 39-41), followed by a coda. In Bach’s Agnus Dei, the last invocation dona nobis
pacem is set to separate music in the final movement. Like Bach, Martin sets the text
dona nobis pacem to different music than the Agnus Dei text.
Numerically, the Agnus Dei seems to hold some evidence of Martin’s awareness
of theologically significant numbers, as in the other movements. In Choir II, the Agnus
Dei text is set ten times. Ten, made up of two perfect numbers (three plus seven) is a
theologically perfect number, the number of God’s commandments, also represents
man’s responsibility to God.
37
The ninth recurrence beginning at m. 38 embeds the
opening Agnus Dei four-note motif in the Soprano II but is delayed two quarter notes on
the syllables Dei qui tol-, yet another instance of Martin’s all-encompassing motivic
37
Ibid.
82
unity. Between Choirs I and II, the text Agnus Dei is sung sixteen times. The number is
biblically symbolic for God’s love, made up of eight plus eight, the number symbolizing
a new beginning and covenant. Sixteen is also four times four, the number for Creation,
the fourfold manifestation signifying Creation being made perfect and complete. Martin
may or may not have been aware of the more complex numbers, though he could not
possibly have been oblivious to the use of three and its multiples, so well known to have
been used by Bach and other early composers.
In a possible gesture of homage to his predecessor, Martin sets a single measure
of rest in Choir I in m. 1. In Bach’s version, the alto solo’s melodic theme begins after an
eight-measure passacaglia-like introduction that begins from and returns to G minor in
the continuo. Martin translates this into a one-measure introduction on an open-fifth
stagnant drone in Choir II on B and F#, before Choir I enters with the melodic theme.
The even quarter notes in Choir II of Martin’s Agnus Dei is in line with the solemn
nature of Bach’s steady quarter-note pulse in the continuo of Bach’s Agnus Dei.
The key of B minor anchored in Choir II’s open fifths immediately alludes to the
key of Bach’s Messe in h-moll, even though Bach’s Agnus Dei itself is in G minor. More
importantly, the unison octave chant in Choir I (Example 7.36) opens with the same first
four notes as the Agnus Dei theme of Bach’s Messe in h-moll (Example 7.37), transposed
down a minor third. The rest of the chant-like theme follows an astoundingly similar
contour of Bach’s Agnus Dei theme (Example 7.38 and Example 7.39), also used earlier
in Ach, bleibe doch, the soprano aria in Bach’s Ascension Oratorio BWV 11.
83
Example 7.36. Martin’s Messe pour double choeur, Agnus Dei, opening vocal line, Choir
I in octaves, mm. 2-4
Example 7.37. Bach’s Messe in h-moll, Agnus Dei, alto solo, opening vocal line, mm. 9-
13 beat 1
Example 7.38. Martin’s Messe pour double choeur, Agnus Dei, melodic contour of
opening vocal line, Choir I in octaves, mm. 2-4
Example 7.39. Bach’s Messe in h-moll, Agnus Dei, melodic contour of alto solo, opening
vocal line, mm. 9-13 beat 1, transposed down a minor third
As is more obvious when only the pitches are placed side by side in the same key, the
two examples reveal that the first four intervals are identical in Martin’s and Bach’s
Agnus Dei settings. The first six intervals would be identical too, with the only exception
being Bach’s D# (in the transposed key) versus Martin’s D♮. In addition, even after the
first seven pitches, the contour remains remarkably similar. In both cases, the end of the
84
line is a stepwise descent through the pitches D, C# (C♮ in Bach’s case), and B, with an
added passing note A in Bach’s version.
Upon closer examination, the four-note motif that begins Martin’s Agnus Dei
theme, can be interpreted as a manipulation of the B-A-C-H motif. The close relationship
between the B-A-C-H motif and Martin’s four-note Agnus Dei motif is displayed in
Table 7. The numerical intervals between the B-A-C-H motif and Martin’s B-A-F#-G
opening of the vocal theme in the Agnus Dei are identical, with the difference being the
quality of the intervals (major or minor). This reflects Martin’s consistent penchant for
modal shifts by manipulating whole and half steps.
Table 7. The inversion of intervals in Martin’s four-note motif at mm. 2-4 and
mm. 44-45, compared with B-A-C-H motif
B-A-C-H motif
(B♭-A-C-B♮)
B-A-F#-G
(mm. 2-4)
E-F-A-G
(mm. 44-45)
Intervals
(descending or
ascending)
Minor second Major second Minor second
Minor third Minor third Major third
Minor second Minor second Major second
In the Agnus Dei, Martin achieves thematic metamorphosis through modal
inflection in six statements developed from the original theme, all developed from the
basic unit of the four-note motif. Tupper writes, “In these early works Martin writes
themes consisting of many motifs which then become the basis of succeeding phrases.
Transposition is important for variety, because the elements of construction, i.e., the
85
motifs, remain constant enough so that their identity is not hidden.”
38
The opening
melodic theme is essentially a descending diatonic scale with a few alterations in its order
and direction. All the pitches of the diatonic natural B minor, or B Aeolian scale appear
essentially in order: B-A-G-F#-E-D-C#-B, comprising of a minor then a diminished
tetrachord (Example 7.40).
Example 7.40. Martin’s Messe pour double choeur, Agnus Dei, Soprano I and Alto I,
mm. 2-4
Through deliberate chromatic alterations of the original theme, Martin was able to
create multiple variations on the theme. The same scale is transposed up a fifth at mm.
39-41. The other three statements are either transposed or inflected modally in a “Fauré-
esque” manner (Table 8). In mm. 11-13 and mm. 24-26, the theme is identical in pitch to
the opening except the inflection of C# instead of C♮, creating a Phrygian rather than the
original Aeolian scale. Likewise, mm. 16-18 comprises two diminished tetrachords,
shifting the color from brighter to darker, with Phrygian being the darkest of the modes
besides Locrian. After the climactic outcry leading to the highest tessitura at the end of
the fourth statement of the theme, the dynamics soften with a modal shift back to a
brighter, less turbulent Aeolian mode of the theme at mm. 39-41, before leading into the
peaceful coda.
38
Tupper, “Stylistic Analysis,” 21.
86
Table 8. Modal scales created through alterations of the Agnus Dei theme
Measures Scale Mode (Tetrachords)
2-4 B-A-G-F#-E-D-C#-B Aeolian: minor – diminished
11-13, 24-26 B-A-G-F#-E-D-C-(B) Phrygian: diminished –diminished
16-18
F-E♭-D♭-C-B♭-A♭-G♭-(F)
Phrygian: diminished – diminished
39-41 F#-E-D-C#-B-A-G#-(F#) Aeolian: minor – diminished
As is fitting, at the last statement of the text Agnus Dei (mm. 44-47), the four-note motif
is inverted in contour as well as the quality of the intervals. Martin transforms the four
intervals into an ascending-then-descending motif of the same contour and almost
identical intervals of an ascending minor second, ascending major third, followed by a
descending major second (Example 7.41).
Example 7.41. Martin’s Agnus Dei, first four pitches of opening vocal theme, all voices
in Choir I, from mm. 2-4, compared with the first four pitches of the closing vocal theme,
Soprano I, in mm. 44-45
Harmonically, underneath the inverted four-pitch motif, E-F-A-G, the music is
stripped of all accidental modal inflections to a C major tonality, above an E pedal by
which Martin contrasts the earlier austere harmonies with a brilliant G major conclusion,
in stark contrast to the initial solemn B minor character. The concluding G major cadence
87
provides a sense of finality and stability, putting a halt to the modal turmoil. The final
sonorities towards G major (Example 7.42) progress as follows:
E minor7 (E pedal beneath G major) – A minor9 – D minor9
– D minor7 – D minor7 (G pedal) – G major
Example 7.42. Messe pour double choeur, Agnus Dei, SATB double choir, mm. 45-51,
final harmonic motion towards G major
These final chords emphasize the open timbre of tertian seventh and ninth sonorities that
Martin had a prepossession with in his early period. From m. 47, E travels in plagal
motion down the circle of fifths to A, D, and finally to G. In this final cadential
progression, Martin preserves the interval of plagal movement from cadences in other
movements, but reverses the direction so that finally the cadence is approached through
88
dominant-tonic motion. From m. 38, F# progresses in plagal motion down a fifth to B,
and another step down to the E tonal area from mm. 44-47.
Tonally, the isolated movement of the two choirs in the Agnus Dei best
exemplifies the use of perfect triads in unconventional progressions, while the dissonant
chords are softened by smooth voice-leading. Like the other movements, except the
Gloria which ends on the dominant, the Agnus Dei follows the general principle of
gliding tonality in not ending in its initial key.
39
At the coda, Martin exercises his early
tonal ambiguity through bi-tonality, by tension and relaxation of vertical chordal
sonorities against the use of pedals. The homophonic nature of the last four measures
especially highlights this dual tonality. Table 9 displays examples of bi-tonality in the
Agnus Dei movement.
Table 9. Bi-tonality in Agnus Dei
Tonality 1 Tonality 2
m. 13 E minor (Soprano II, Alto II) A minor (Tenor II, Bass II)
m. 16 F minor (Soprano II, Alto II)
B♭ minor (Tenor II, Bass II)
m. 47 G major (Choir I) E pedal (Choir II)
m. 50 F major or D minor7 (Soprano I,
Alto I, Tenor I, Soprano II, Alto II,
Tenor II)
G pedal (Bass I, Bass II)
Considering that Martin was later interested in the twelve-tone technique, there
are instances in the Agnus Dei where hints of this interest may be found. For instance, the
opening vocal theme descends through seven out of the twelve pitches of the chromatic
39
Billeter, s.v. "Frank Martin," in Grove Music Online.
89
octave. The seven-tone row created through the first twelve measures are missing the
pitches B♭, G# (A♭), F♮, D# (E♭), and C♮. The first new note outside of this seven-note
tone row, C♮, introduces itself at m. 13. Beginning from mm. 16, the missing pitches
introduce themselves swiftly one by one, as if in apology for their earlier absence – F♮,
E♭, C♮, A♭, B♭, in a manner resembling a twelve-tone complement. Martin’s
transpositions of modal scalar themes lent themselves conveniently to his later
investigations of a personal twelve-tone language.
On a basic level there are two interactive forces at work in the Agnus Dei, a
melodic pattern and a rhythmic pattern. As in the Benedictus, the Agnus Dei is composed
from the repetition of a rhythmic and melodic pattern in non-synchronous ways. The
rhythmic pattern in Choir II comprises eighteen even quarter notes (Example 7.43). The
constant quarter notes in Choir II pulsate through the entire movement, with not a single
break until the tied-over whole notes at m. 44.
Example 7.43. Martin’s Messe pour double choeur, Agnus Dei, Bass II rhythmic pattern
in Choir II
Of the ten repetitions of the text in Choir II, six identical rhythmic patterns occur.
In the beginning, the eighteen-beat rhythmic pattern falls within two measures of 5/4 and
two measures of 4/4. Each presentation completes the threefold text, Agnus Dei qui tollis
peccata mundi, miserere nobis. This exact rhythmic pattern is repeated four times until
m. 17, and then twice again from mm. 24-31. Yet the rhythmic pattern does not remain
90
constant (Table 10). Martin manipulates the metric placement so that the rhythmic pattern
is not only shifting against the melodic pattern, but also shifting against the metric stress.
Table 10. Martin, Messe pour double choeur, Agnus Dei, rhythmic pattern modified and
manipulated against meters
Measures Rhythmic pattern /
Time signature (in
quarter notes)
Total number of
beats (quarter notes)
1-4 5 5 4 4 18
5-8 5 5 4 4 18
9-12 5 5 4 4 18
13-16 5 5 4 4 18
17-23 5 5 4 3 3 3 2 25
24-27 5 5 4 4 18
28-31 5 5 4 4 18
32-37 beat 2 5 5 5 5 4 2 (of 4) 26
37 beat 3 - 41 2 (of 4) + 3 =5
5 5 4 4
18
42-47 4 4 4 5 4 3 24
48-51 (different text) 3 4 5 5 17
For instance, at m. 17, the rhythmic pattern begins as before, but then is desynchronized
with the previous metric organization (Example 7.44). The final 4/4 measure is replaced
by three measures of 3/4 and one measure of 2/4, adding up to twenty-five instead of
eighteen beats. The first 3/4 measure that breaks the mold of the rhythmic pattern falls on
the reverse Golden Mean of the Agnus Dei movement (m. 20, rounded up from m. 19.5).
91
Similarly, at m. 32, the two initial 5/4 measures are succeeded by two more measures of
5/4 and a measure of 4/4, plus an extra two beats to complete the text, totaling twenty-six
beats. Here is the only instance where the text Agnus Dei does not begin on the downbeat
of a measure, but on beat three in a 4/4 measure. Especially here it is revelatory how
Martin took the original eighteen-beat rhythmic pattern and shifted it against the meter.
The original 5/4 measure is subtly divided into the last two quarter notes in m. 37 and the
succeeding 3/4 measure, which then transitions back into the original [5-5-4-4] quarter-
note sequence.
Example 7.44. Martin’s Messe pour double choeur, Agnus Dei, modified rhythmic
pattern in Bass II, mm. 17-23
While within Choir II itself, there is not a relatively fixed melodic pattern, Choir
I’s recurring Agnus Dei theme begins in the same way each time – sometimes transposed
– followed by variant numbers of petitions of miserere nobis. The melodic pattern
functions in tandem and interacts against Choir II’s even quarter-note rhythmic pattern, in
a way that is reminiscent of the interactions between talea and color in isorhythm.
From variation to variation, the lengths of the miserere petitions fluctuate.
Regardless, within the Agnus Dei theme, Martin never departed from the original by a
variance of one or two eighth notes, and a strong predilection of an overall symmetrical
structure. Table 11 displays the length of notes in all six times the text Agnus Dei qui
92
tollis peccata mundi is set in Choir I, in terms of eighth notes. The first (mm. 2-4) and
last (mm. 44-47) are symmetrical with identical combinations of rhythmic durations.
Within the symmetrical bookends, the encased four settings are also symmetrical, with
one slight modification in the last note length of the second statement in mm. 11-13.
Table 11. Duration of notes of each setting of the text Agnus Dei qui tollis peccata mundi
Measure Duration in eighth notes
2-4 222212212154
11-13 222212212142
16-18 222212212144
24-26 222212212144
39-41 222212212144
44-47 222212212154
In the Agnus Dei movement, the purpose of the 5/4 meters are not to evoke
instability, but rather to create liberty for the text. The movement begins in the
asymmetric 5/4 meter, interacting freely with 4/4 and 3/4 meters, recalling Tupper’s
statement of Martin’s early characteristic of changing meters
40
and early interest of
Bulgarian asymmetric meters and rhythmic combinations. From m. 44 to the end, the
rhythmic explorations and relative instability from syncopations and asymmetrical meters
are dispelled by steady homophonic half notes and quarter notes in both choirs at the
single iteration of the plea dona nobis pacem (grant us peace).
40
Tupper, “Stylistic Analysis,” 108.
93
Chapter 8 : Thematic Metamorphosis and Motivic Unity
Martin achieved a cohesive trajectory throughout the movements of the Messe
through reinventing the basic motivic units. One example is found in the Gloria
movement at the text Agnus Dei, Filius Patris, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.
The musical material shares motivic unity with the later Agnus Dei movement. When
reordered slightly, the resemblance between the construction of the two contexts of the
same text becomes more evident (Example 8.1 and Example 8.2). Both opening four
notes reveal stepwise descending contours, with the only exception being the first interval
of a third in the setting in the Gloria.
Example 8.1. Messe pour double choeur, Gloria, SATB Choir I in octaves, mm. 59-60,
setting of the Agnus Dei text, a. original and b. reordered (descending)
a. b.
Example 8.2. Messe pour double choeur, Agnus Dei movement, SATB Choir I in
octaves, m. 2, four-note motif, a. original and b. reordered (descending)
a. b.
Furthermore, the two themes similarly outline descending Aeolian modes. In the Gloria,
D Aeolian is outlined (Example 8.3), while the Agnus Dei outlines the B Aeolian scale
(Example 8.4). In addition, both themes employ very similar descending contours. The
resemblance is even more obvious when the latter component of the Agnus Dei theme in
94
the Gloria is isolated beginning from pitch C and compared against the Agnus Dei
movement (Example 8.5, Example 8.6 and Example 8.7). The last three pitches in both
themes descend stepwise through identical intervals – F – E – D in Gloria, and D – C# -
B in Agnus Dei.
Example 8.3. Messe pour double choeur, Gloria, SATB Choir I in octaves, mm. 59-68,
setting of Agnus Dei text outlining D Aeolian mode
Example 8.4. Messe pour double choeur, Agnus Dei movement, SATB Choir I in
octaves, mm. 2-4, opening vocal line outlining B Aeolian scale
Example 8.5. Messe pour double choeur, Agnus Dei, SATB Choir I in octaves, mm. 2-4,
Agnus Dei theme, no rhythm
Example 8.6. Messe pour double choeur, Gloria, SATB Choir I in octaves, mm. 64-68,
Agnus Dei theme (shortened, from the eighth pitch onwards)
95
Example 8.7. Messe pour double choeur, Gloria, SATB Choir I in octaves, mm. 59-68,
setting of Agnus Dei text, no rhythm (complete)
To further strengthen the relationship between the Gloria and Agnus Dei movements, the
Quoniam theme set in all voices also embeds the four-note motif from the later Agnus
Dei movement. The first four notes of both themes consist of identical intervallic
movement (Example 8.8).
Example 8.8. Messe pour double choeur, a. Agnus Dei, mm. 2, SATB Choir I in octaves,
four-note motif compared with b. the first four notes of the Quoniam theme in Gloria,
mm. 85, Bass I and Bass II
a. b.
The Harvard Dictionary defines “thematic metamorphosis” as “the modification
of a musical subject or motif made with a view to change its personality.”
1
Through
thematic metamorphosis, Martin used two four-note motifs in their original and modified
forms to connect the movements. For the interests of this dissertation they will be named
[0257] and [0135], with each number from zero being the number of semitones from the
first pitch, with the smallest interval packed towards the beginning, the same way set
class theory named prime forms to analyze music of the Second Viennese School. The
numeric prime form names are used in this document only for the purpose of giving a
1
Willi Apel, ed. Harvard Dictionary of Music (Heinemann Educational, London, 1970), 442.
96
name to the thematic motifs. Undeniably Martin had strong affinities with mathematics
and Schoenberg, though he was likely composing in terms of thematic unity and sonority,
and not thinking in terms of prime forms.
The beginning motivic units of both the Kyrie and Credo movements create the
prime form [0257], which generates great cohesion for the Credo movement and the
entire work. The opening of the Credo begins with the same first two intervals as the
Kyrie in the exact key, but Martin slips in a C before the final pitch. Not only are the
pitches the same, the two themes adopt the same tonality and a similar agogic rhythmic
value in their first notes (Example 8.9 and Example 8.10). The identical pitch pattern is
repeated at “et invisibilium” to reiterate the thematic motif (mm. 8-10).
Example 8.9. Messe pour double choeur, Credo, incipit, mm. 1-2, Soprano II and Alto II
Example 8.10. Messe pour double choeur, Kyrie, beginning of Kyrie theme, mm. 1-2,
Alto II
A unique aspect of the prime form [0257] is that its inversion and retrograde are
the same form. It is possible that Martin potentially used the sonority of [0257]
predominantly in the Credo to portray the characteristic of one God who is ever the same,
omnipresent, and able to do anything. Later in the movement, Martin transposes the motif
up a whole step at the dramatic text ET HOMO FACTUS EST in the Soprano II and Alto I
97
(mm. 49-51). Afterwards, it is transposed an octave up and stacked in three parallel
voices at Et iterum venturus (m. 87), also in three parallel voices at cujus regni (m. 96),
up a fifth at Et in Spiritum Sanctum (m. 100) and qui ex Patre Filio (mm. 104-105).
Martin even modifies the four-note motif to generate more thematic material, such as the
retrograde or reordered at the pentatonic theme at et resurrexit (m. 68) potentially to
depict the supernatural, or augmented at the opening of the Credo to include five pitches
[02579]. Notably, the first and last times the motif are applied out of order, the text
describes the resurrection. The original motif is transformed possibly to illustrate the
supernatural power of God. At m. 68, when the motif is taken out of order, there are two
overlapping four-note motifs of [0257]. This five-note augmentation of the original motif
occurs in almost all instances in the Credo. At mm. 90-92, the theme is manipulated on
multiple dimensions, stacked in three voices in the original order, followed by its
contrary motion and again the original.
The following demonstrates all the instances of prime form [0257] in its original
and metamorphosed forms:
Original:
Kyrie: mm. 1-2, Alto II
Credo: m. 1, Soprano II, Alto II mm. 8-10, Alto I, Soprano II
98
mm. 29-30, Soprano I, Soprano II mm. 49-51, Alto I, Soprano II
m. 100, Soprano I, Tenor II, Bass II mm. 104-105, Soprano I, Tenor II
m. 87, stacked in parallel voices m. 96 (stacked in parallel voices)
in Soprano I, Soprano II, Alto II in Soprano I, Soprano II, Alto II
mm. 90-92 (stacked in three voices, followed by retrograde then original)
in Soprano I, Soprano II, Alto II
Sanctus: mm. 12-13, Soprano I
99
Retrograde/Inversion:
Credo: mm. 68-70, Soprano II, then mm. 70-72, Alto II (motif retrograde,
original, followed by retrograde and overlapped)
Out of order:
Credo: mm. 129-130, Soprano I (motif out of order)
While the first four pitches of the Kyrie create prime form [0257], the four-note
motif of the Agnus Dei creates the closely-related [0135] (Example 8.11), which is found
in abundance throughout the work. The four-note motif of the Agnus Dei appears familiar
because it possesses identical intervals with the first four pitches of the Kyrie, except the
last, which goes down by a whole tone instead of up by a semitone.
Example 8.11. Messe pour double choeur, closely-related prime forms of the first four
pitches, Kyrie and Agnus Dei themes, Kyrie mm. 1-2, Alto II, and Agnus Dei, mm. 2,
SATB Choir I
Martin used both prime forms to generate other motifs, through modifying the
order, transposition, and augmentation and diminution, on top of its original forms. In the
100
Gloria movement, [0135] appears in its “original” form same as in the Agnus Dei (m.
85), two overlapping forms (m. 64), and two overlapping out-of-order forms (mm. 116-
117) in a descending G Aeolian scale in half notes on Patris. In the Credo, the last
presentation of the central text Crucifixus is presented in descending prime form [0135].
In the Sanctus, exaltations of the text Dominus Deus (m. 4) and Gloria (m. 38) adopt the
inversion form and other times modified inversions (m. 8, m. 33). Declamations of
Hosanna in the Sanctus also adapt the same pitch class in descending stepwise motion
(e.g. mm. 43-46). Even when the motif shifts in modal inflection (mm. 51-54), rhythm
(mm. 53-55), transposition (mm. 63-66) and metric placement (mm. 71-74), Martin
preserves the [0135] prime form. When the prime form shifts slightly, Martin preserves
the descending stepwise contour (mm. 59-62). At the Benedictus section, Martin embeds
the [0135] prime form vertically (m. 86). At the highest tessitura of the ever-heightening
Sanctus, Martin adapts yet another re-ordered form of the prime form [0135] on the last
presentation of the text hosanna in excelsis (m. 110-112).
The following demonstrates all the instances of prime form [0135] in its original
and metamorphosed forms:
Original:
Gloria: m. 85, Bass I, Bass II Agnus Dei: m. 2, SATB Choir I
101
Inversion (exact)
Sanctus: m. 4, Tenor I m. 38, Soprano I
Quasi-Inversion (the exact inversion would make the first interval a whole step and the
last interval a half step):
Sanctus: m. 8, Soprano I m. 33, Soprano I
Agnus Dei: mm. 44-45, Soprano I, Alto I (stacked in parallel sixths, the bottom
voice is an exact inversion)
Overlapping (same pitch class):
Gloria: m. 64, SATB Choir I in octaves
102
Out of order (descending stepwise):
Gloria: mm. 116 beat 3 -120, Soprano I
Credo: mm. 55-56, Soprano I
Sanctus: mm. 43-46, Soprano I
mm. 51-54, Soprano I
mm. 110-112, Soprano I
103
Vertical:
Sanctus: m. 85 and m. 87, Soprano II, then m. 86, Soprano I
[0257] and [0135] together:
Sanctus: mm. 6-8, Soprano I
The contention between [0257] and [0135] form the crux of the work. Although
the Agnus Dei was the last movement to be written (1926), four years after he began
composing the Messe (1922), the Agnus Dei’s [0135] prime form can be found in the
four earlier movements. It is therefore difficult to determine whether the motivic unit
[0257] or [0135] first generated the thematic material for the entire Messe. Melodically,
these prime forms also lent themselves to Martin’s smooth, small-interval voice-leading,
with all the internal intervals being seconds or thirds. In the Sanctus, after the murmurs of
the text Sanctus on the foreign-sounding [0247] ascents, the Soprano I sings an eerie,
dance-like theme in the mm. 6-8. As aforementioned, this fragmented ethereal theme is a
convergence of both familiar sonorities, [0135] and [0257]. Here, the version of pitch
class [0257] is augmented to become [02357], the extra interval foreshadowing the pitch
class of [0235] that will, together with [0257], become the motivic skeleton of In Terra
Pax.
104
Sonorities that were outside of these two basic motivic units seemed to signify
extraordinary or otherworldly moments in the text. One significant prime form that stands
out due to its text is prime form [0246] at the text Crucifixus. [0246] is a single interval’s
difference from [0135]. Instead of a half step followed by two whole steps, [0246] is
three consecutive whole steps, bookended by the distinct sonority of a tritone. It is not
until the last presentation of the text Crucifixus in mm. 55-57 that it is presented in the
basic prime form [0135].
Another notable prime form we have discussed that also outlines a tritone is
[0136]. Significantly, these prime forms only occur in the Credo within the section which
surrounds Christ’s Crucifixion. Specifically, the texts set to the outline of a tritone are qui
propter nos homines (Who for us men) and Crucifixus etiam pro nobis (He was also
crucified for us). Contrarily, the two most significant prime forms depict perfect outer
intervals. [0135] outlines a perfect fourth, while [0257] outlines a perfect fifth. This guilt
that Martin seems to highlight is potentially yet another connection with his idol Bach,
whose Johannes-Passion famously highlights the guilt of man. Perhaps a more relevant
example exists in the famous opening movement of the Matthäus-Passion, Kommt, ihr
Töchter, helft mir klagen (Come, ye daughters, help me lament), in which Bach sets the
text Seht — Wohin? — auf unsre Schuld (Look! — Where? — to our guilt). [0136] also
appears at qui propter nos homines (mm. 36-38) and etiam pro nobis (mm. 58-59) in the
Credo. Also in the Credo, the prime form [0158] is found at Confiteor unum baptisma (I
acknowledge one baptism) (m. 123). These prime forms are varied from the prime forms
of [0135] and [0257] by one chromatic step.
105
Meanwhile, in the Sanctus, Martin inserts another version to possibly evoke a
sense of the foreign or mysterious. The opening ascending four pitches that murmur the
text Sanctus create the prime form [0247], the dissonant intervals of which, including a
minor second and a tritone, create an otherworldly sonic nature. Above these recurring
murmurs of [0247] are echoes of the recognizable [0257] (mm. 6-8, m. 10), and [0135]
(m. 4 and m. 8).
Prime forms modified from [0135] and [0257]:
Credo: mm. 51-53 [0246], Tenor I, Tenor II mm. 58-59 [0136], Soprano I
Sanctus: mm. 1-3 [0247], Tenor I, Bass I, Tenor II, Bass II
Martin’s predilection for thematic metamorphosis extended itself beyond a single
work. He would borrow certain themes from his other works. In In Terra Pax, he adapts
the first four notes of the Kyrie of the Messe pour double choeur (the identical motif –
pitch class [0257] – also appears at the text Domine Fili unigenite, in the Gloria
movement, and m. 12, Sanctus) into Movement X of In Terra Pax, Notre Père. The
characteristic stepwise chromatic passages in the later work are also an augmentation and
modification of the diatonic stepwise prime form [0135].
106
PART TWO
Chapter 9 : Martin’s Middle Period (1933-1944)
“…filled with dignity, mystery and a simplicity born of true sophistication…”
- Bernard Holland
1
By the time Martin wrote most of his best-known works, he was already in his
fifties. The maturation of his compositional style was a relatively long process. Cooke
proposed that the serial Piano Concerto No. 1, written in 1933-34, was the high point of
Martin’s early development. Martin confessed:
I truly found myself very late… it was only towards the age of forty-five [1935]
that I discovered my true language. Before, certainly, I had written some works
with a definite character which are either still played or rediscovered. But I had
not developed a technique which was my own. For me the solution was to be in a
position to become the master of total chromaticism. I had found with Schoenberg
an iron jacket, from which I took only that which suited me, that which allowed
me to fashion my true manner of writing. And I can say that my most personal
output begins around the age of fifty (1940). If I had died then, I could never have
expressed myself in my true language.
2
Martin further claimed that his secular oratorio Le vin herbé (1938-1941), was “the first
important work in which I spoke my own language… I used my language with sureness
and even, no doubt, greater ease than in later [works], because I had nothing behind me:
all possibilities were on offer.”
3
Martin’s middle period proved prolific for Martin even
beyond the choral genre. Sechs Monologe aus Jedermann for baritone and piano or
orchestra (1943–1944), a popular work for solo voice, was also written at the end of the
middle period. While Tupper’s dissertation demarcates Martin’s mature period as
1
Bernard Holland, "Oratorio: ‘Le Vin Herbé’," New York Times, April 21, 1985, 61.
2
"Entretiens avec Frank Martin," Zodiaque 103 (January 1975). Translated in Cooke, "Late Starter. Frank
Martin Found Himself Late in Life," The Musical Times 134, no. 1801 (1993): 134, doi:10.2307/1193856.
3
Ibid.
107
beginning with Petite Symphonie Concertante written in the next year,
4
In Terra Pax,
written just a year before, displays characteristics of the middle period. For the purposes
of the present research it will be discussed with reference to these characteristics.
By the time Martin felt his compositional language first solidified with
compositions such as Le vin herbé, he had spent eleven years working at the Dalcroze
Institute in Geneva (1928-1938), and was also deep into a reinvention of Schoenberg’s
twelve-tone technique. On top of thematic motifs and references to his predecessors,
Martin’s music was now underlined by a multi-dimensional approach in a mature
adaptation of twelve-tone technique, French-impressionist extended tonality and
chromaticism, as well as a mature understanding of rhythm.
The transition of compositional style may have further resulted from Martin’s
growth and epiphanies in a time of changing personal and universal circumstances. The
year 1939 was of twofold despair for Martin. In 1930 his marriage with Odette Micheli
ended in a divorce, and he married Irène Gardian in 1931. In 1939, his young wife Irène
suddenly died, leaving Martin with four children to raise alone.
5
To add to the blow, it
was the same year World War II was declared. Music was Martin’s defense mechanism
against a world that seemed to be against him on all fronts. From 1939 onwards, Martin’s
compositional ethos, especially for his vocal music, centered around the themes of death,
and its counterparts, love and peace, as displayed in In Terra Pax. Technically, In Terra
Pax exemplifies the following characteristics of Martin’s middle period, which will be
discussed in detail in the subsequent chapters:
4
Tupper, “Stylistic Analysis,” 4.
5
Bruhn, Frank Martin's Musical Reflections, 12.
108
• a personalized, freer approach to setting religious texts as an expression of faith
• a personalized twelve-tone style by which the organization of the twelve tones
often embedded consecutive pitches that form triads and were harmonized by
consonances, and where the twelfth tone was often left unreached or used as a
pedal
• less lyrical modal themes, replaced by chromaticism and tone rows
• gliding tonality from Franck; independent bass lines and parallel chord streams of
Debussy and Ravel
• archaic structures such as canons and passacaglias, which replaced imitations of
Renaissance polyphony or Baroque and Classical fugal counterpoint
• thematic unity from modal motifs
• continued influence of Bach in thematic motifs, numerological symbolism, and
proportional structures
• Dalcrozian rhythmic treatments, such as complementary rhythm
109
Chapter 10 : Religion and Martin’s Middle Period
“True peace can be for us nothing but a hope and, even more than a hope: goodwill,
faith, a bridge built toward a wholly uncertain future that must nonetheless be prefigured
in our mind, even if we cannot believe in its material, terrestrial realization.”
- Frank Martin
1
As is true of Bach’s music, a discussion of Martin’s music would be futile without
the consideration of his religious faith. In The Rest is Noise, Alex Ross exalts Martin to
be “… one of the greatest religious composers of the last two hundred years, with
Messiaen his only contemporary rival.”
2
Son to a Calvinist minister, Martin was deeply
religious and identified himself as Protestant. Martin’s transformative experience with
Bach’s Matthäus-Passion at twelve years old not only directed his aesthetic inclinations,
it also gave him perspective on the composer’s deep responsibility in composing religious
works. Ernest Ansermet wrote, “Martin[’s]... musical palette is perfectly suited to giving
life to impalpable concepts and fantasy. But he is equally capable of expressing a tragic
vehemence and of showing an epic quality necessary to the construction of immense
choral and religious works.”
3
Yet Martin’s mastery of and openness to sacred music did not come without a
long struggle of conscience. Martin spoke openly of his agony over writing religious
works:
Given that religious consensus no longer exists in our time, the artist wishing to
create a religious work faces the impossibility of finding a basis for a general
understanding with his audience. Each listener will approach his work from a
1
Martin, À propos de...commentaires, 67. Translated in Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections, 96.
2
Alex Ross, "Ferruccio Busoni, Frank Martin," The New Yorker, January 29, 2001.
3
Ernest Ansermet, "Frank Martin," in Larousse Encyclopedia of Music (New York: World, 1971).
110
different angle, and even those who happen to share the author’s attitude toward
religion may not always find a genuine relationship to the work’s form and
message… it is normal that even the truest faith rests on a layer of spiritual and
emotional concepts that are deeply rooted and almost unchangeable.
4
Martin did not always hold the same view to expressing religion through music. The
same year Martin wrote the oratorio In Terra Pax (1944), he wrote of his dilemma of
using music as a tool for personal expression in his essay “Expression ou incarnation”:
I have introduced the term incarnation as the antithesis of the term expression. To
me, it simply symbolizes the fact that a work of art, in its highest purpose, never
directly expresses the artist’s innermost emotions. […] Indeed, the feeling thus
expressed is of little moment. All that counts is that the work is beautiful, that the
artist received and cherished it in that region of the spirit which is beyond joy and
sorrow.
5
This reservation during the middle period would drastically change three decades later. In
a 1973 letter in response to David Coolidge Jr. concerning In Terra Pax, Martin clarified
his change of stance:
… I have been led to faith through music… When I set the Passion of Christ to
music, I came to understand that I had a true faith, which I had resisted since I
couldn’t express it in words or in thoughts of an intellectual nature. So it was
really through music that I arrived at faith. And this faith is very much alive in
me, but impossible to express in other ways than through music… Any sentiment,
any thought, any faith cannot manifest itself in the world unless it incarnates in
some matter. This matter may be a text, astute, a painting, or a musical work. By
becoming matter in this way, the spirit begins to lose some of its true character.
For the musician, it lived as pure spirit, yet to begin a work, there has to be notes,
chords, and rhythms. That is a painful moment. And it is most often only when
one truly renounces the will to find an adequate expression of one’s feelings that
one finds something, something quite humble and much below what one had
dreamed of. Thus the spirit loses much of its force, in terms of spirit. But some
part of it has incarnated itself in matter, in a piece of music, and that matter
becomes capable — sometimes — of recreating the spirit or of awakening the
spirit in other people.
6
4
Martin, “Le compositeur moderne,” 123-132. Translated in Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections,
24.
5
Martin, Messe, VI.
111
Martin’s confessions reveal a twofold internal struggle. The letter to Coolidge Jr.
reveals Martin’s “painful moment” when a musician translates emotions into notes, “the
spirit loses much of its force.”
7
On the other hand, “and this faith is very much alive in
me, but impossible to express in other ways than through music… Any sentiment, any
thought, any faith cannot manifest itself in the world unless it incarnates in some matter”
reveals that he felt the composer’s calling to put the spirit into matter for his audience.
Martin was concerned that the masses would not share his religious faith, and mentions
his ethical dilemma at becoming the subject of praise. Instead, he believed in the
practices of early Christian composers who wrote religious music anonymously. Martin’s
third wife Maria Boeke Martin (Martin married Odette Micheli in 1918, Irène Gardian in
1931and Maria Boeke in 1940), a Dutch flautist and composer, also a former student,
affirmed that “He felt that this music ought to be performed to God’s and not the
composer’s glory; that is why he insisted that his Messe be given anonymously or not at
all.”
8
Due to this conundrum, Martin rarely wrote sacred works for the first half of his
career before 1944. Martin’s theology is reminiscent of Bach’s, who often signed his
manuscripts with Soli Deo Gloria,
9
and claimed “The aim and final end of all music
should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul.”
10
At the
6
Martin, Gavoty, and M. Martin, Un compositeur médite, 138-140. Translation in Bruhn, Frank Martin’s
Musical Reflections, 26.
7
Ibid.
8
M. Martin, "O Tod.”
9
John Butt, The Cambridge Companion to Bach (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011).
10
Gregory Wilbur, Glory and Honor: The Musical and Artistic Legacy of Johann Sebastian
Bach (Nashville, Tenn: Cumberland House, 2005), 1.
112
same time, the stark contrast between the contexts of Bach’s and Martin’s times comes to
mind. The Baroque era honored the sacred as a matter of fact, while the twentieth century
tended increasingly towards exalting the secular and profane, and valued intellectual
confrontation and opinions of the individual. Martin’s sentiments are also reflective of
Franck’s, another composer who had an admitted influence on him. Franck’s student
Louis Vierne (1870-1937) recalled him to display a "constant concern for the dignity of
his art, for the nobility of his mission, and for the fervent sincerity of his sermon in
sound... Joyous or melancholy, solemn or mystic, powerful or ethereal...”
11
The commission for the oratorio In Terra Pax brought about a change in Martin’s
view towards having the public scrutinize his sacred compositions. Unlike the Messe
which he desired to keep between God and himself, In Terra Pax was a hugely public
affair. Martin expressed:
I was overjoyed by this request, but even more perhaps, I was filled with anxiety.
For I had to consider not only the theme of war and peace, and how to express the
concomitant suffering and joy, but also the state of mind of people everywhere
when the time came for such a prodigious release from tension, with the […]
delirious joy of the moment, the anxiety for the future which must inevitably
follow, and the infinite sadness at all the ravages of war.
12
As he said, the oratorio In Terra Pax was not an occasional work, for “the problems
created by war and peace are eternal problems.”
13
11
Jack Reed Crawford and Louis Vierne, Mes Souvenirs (1976), 43, Rollin Smith, Toward an Authentic
Interpretation of the Organ Works of César Franck (The Complete Organ, 6) (Pendragon Press, 2002), 24.
12
“In terra pax (1944),” Frank Martin, À propos de...commentaires de Frank Martin sur ses
oeuvres (Neuchâtel: A la Baconnière, 1984), 65. Translated in Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections,
93.
13
‘Entretiens avec Frank Martin.’ Zodiaque, vol. 103 (January 1975). Translated in Cooke, “Late Starter,”
134.
113
In Terra Pax bore a twofold incentive for Martin, one personal and the other
universal. Maria Martin recalls her husband’s confession regarding the composition of
the oratorio In Terra Pax in 1944: “The need to follow a narrative step by step, to express
what it expresses and not (or at least not consciously) anything else, frees me from the
current catastrophic state [the Second World War] and from what was for me, from a
terrestrial point of view, my personal catastrophe [the death of Irène]. Without any
subject, it was impossible for me not to return there and, however sublimated that
expression might be, it would be lead for my art.”
14
When René Dovaz, director of Radio
Geneva, commissioned Martin to write a choral composition for the foreseeable
celebration on the day of the eminent end of World War II, which would happen a year
later, it provided the perfect subject. Martin wrote:
Of my own accord and at such a moment I would never have had the idea of
tackling a subject of consequence, of such burning importance. But since I was
asked, commissioned even, I only had to give it my best. And with what joy! For I
found myself almost in the position of an old master working for the Church. No
need to convince the audience of the necessity of such a work, it was not my
responsibility. I had only to make sure that I offered listeners something
appropriate for this day of peace that would be so mixed of joy, anxiety, and
atrocious memories. The work’s duration and scoring were prescribed; protracted
hesitations were thereby avoided. Thus in August, September, and October 1944 I
wrote In terra pax, at times racing against the speed of the allied forces. Alas,
they left me far too much time!
15
In 1969, the oratorio In Terra Pax was performed at the Vatican. Pope Paul VI invited
Martin to attend the performance and was thoroughly impressed by the work.
16
14
Maria Martin, Treasured Memories: My Life with Frank Martin, trans. Erica C. Poventud (Bussum:
Gooibergpers, 2009). Quoted in Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections, 28.
15
Frank Martin, "Le compositeur moderne et les textes sacrés," Schweizerische Musikzeitung 86 (1946) :
128. Translated in Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections, 94.
16
Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections, 12.
114
In writing In Terra Pax, Martin was writing for peace for a universal
audience. Dovaz specifically instructed Martin to write for three choruses of different
denominations — Catholic, Protestant, and a girls’ choir for the depiction of a purified
Jerusalem. The music tips its hat to Catholic liturgy by alluding to Gregorian chant, while
also incorporating hymn-like music in respect to Martin’s fellow Protestants. Although
the composition is written entirely in French, the unusual Latin title suggests that Martin
wanted to draw the attention of not only fellow Francophiles, but all mankind, following
the example of composers writing sacred music in the vernacular. Martin later even
added a version in German, for the work to reach German-speaking peoples in the same
immediate way, evidently taking into account “the state of mind of people everywhere
when the time came.”
17
Martin understood that a prayer for peace must be a common
peace that all nations could participate in. In Martin’s own words, “There can be no true
peace without a turning into oneself and without genuine forgiveness.”
18
In Terra Pax
therefore invokes universal forgiveness for both victors and losers, and divine restoration
in the face of irreversible human tragedy.
17
“In terra pax (1944),” Frank Martin, À propos de...commentaires de Frank Martin sur ses
oeuvres (Neuchâtel: A la Baconnière, 1984), 65. Translated in Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections,
93.
18
Martin, "Le compositeur moderne," 131-132. Translated from Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical
Reflections, 95.
115
Chapter 11 : Text-setting and In Terra Pax
Half of Martin’s total compositional output consists of vocal and choral music.
Throughout the three stages of Martin’s career, he remained consistent in employing
liturgical and biblical text, as is exemplified in the three compositions that are the focus
of the present research. Martin spoke of an “inner conscience” that led him to set texts in
ways that imitated speech.
1
Martin paid great attention to textual inflection and the
emotional response of phrases, granting his music freedom from rhythmic restrictions, so
that his music tended to lend itself well to timeless and fantastical topics.
Notwithstanding, Martin’s vocal catalogue is not exclusive to sacred texts, but include
Greek mythology, classic plays, Shakespeare, contemporary Rainer Maria Rilke, among
other secular poetry and prose. Other choral works during the middle period exemplify
the same desire for direct expression, with specific choices of text, including Le vin herbé
(1940-1941), Die Weise von Liebe und Tod des Cornets Christoph Rilke (1942–1943),
and Sechs Monologe aus Jedermann (1943–1944).
The text of In Terra Pax was handpicked, modified, and put in order by the
composer based on passages in the Bible. Martin commented, “I decided to divide my
work, which was not to exceed three quarters of an hour, into four short parts and to seek
the Bible texts appropriate to each.”
2
Twenty years after the Messe, instead of the text
Dovaz sent him by a Swiss poet, Martin remained loyal to his responsibility as a
1
Bernhard Billeter, Frank Martin: Ein Aussenseiter Der Neuen Musik (Frauenfeld: Huber, 1970), 57.
Translated in Vantine, “Four Twentieth-Century Masses,” 38.
2
Martin, À propos de...commentaires, 65. Translated in Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections, 93.
116
composer as well as a deeply religious man. He insisted on a religious text, the only text
that could serve the complexity of emotions at such a unique time calling for universal
healing, in hopes that man may seek refuge in the relevance of the divine and reach a
common spiritual awareness.
3
Melismatic textures no longer dominate, replaced by a
syllabic recitative style. Symmetrical structures, text-painting, symbolisms, and modal
melodies display a sensitivity to the text and subtext.
Martin was intentional in the order of biblical passages. The excerpts do not
follow the order of books in the Bible. Passages from the same chapter would be
separated into non-consecutive movements. Unlike the relatively fixed liturgical texts of
the Messe and Requiem, Martin had the freedom to cater the text to the music. Figure
11.1 illustrates the selection and order of texts which Martin adapted for the eleven
movements.
4
3
Martin, “Le compositeur moderne,” 263. Quoted in Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections, 25.
4
A full translation can be found in Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections, 262-268.
117
Figure 11.1. Martin's selection and order of biblical texts for In Terra Pax
+, °, * and Ù denotes the passages that come from the same chapter from the Bible
The choice of texts was integral to the construction of the oratorio. The books
incorporated were Revelation, Psalms, Isaiah, and a single movement containing two
New Testament gospels, Matthew and Luke. Revelation describes the apocalypse at
God’s judgement and the world to come.
5
The Psalms are poetry that express man
seeking God. The Book of Isaiah prophesies about the messianic deliverer to save man,
6
and the two gospels from the New Testament reveal Jesus’ life story culminating in the
fulfillment of God’s salvation.
7
5
Bart D. Ehrman, The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings (New
York: Oxford University Press, 1997), 398-400.
6
Ibid., 57.
7
Ibid., 79-80, 99-102.
118
For the opening of the oratorio, Martin chose an apocalyptic text that is
deliberately visceral to make a harsh castigation. The opening text from Revelation 6:4
especially poses a striking statement in contrast to the work’s title In Terra Pax, the peace
of which is achieved at the oratorio’s conclusion. Instead of “on earth peace,” the text in
Revelation 6:4 describes a rider being given power to “take peace from the earth.”
Beginning from Movement III, and also in Movements VI and VIII, the text no longer
derives from a single biblical passage, but is taken from multiple passages in Isaiah.
Movement IV begins to interrupt the text of an initial Psalm with a different Psalm.
Movement V incorporates texts from two different biblical books, Isaiah and Psalms.
Movement VII incorporates texts from six different biblical passages from both Isaiah
and Psalms. Movement IX is the only instance where the text incorporates the Gospel
books from the New Testament. Martin meticulously sets only three of the nine
Beatitudes from the book of Matthew to music:
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
These specific Beatitudes speak directly to people of the world who have just suffered a
universal catastrophe. The first Beatitude speaks to those who have lost loved ones who
are grieving. The second speaks to those who are in anger and desire revenge, but also of
the contrasting mercy of God, whose example they should seek. The third speaks
specifically to the theme and purpose of the oratorio – urging man collectively to make
peace. Movement IX also incorporates a passage from Luke (23:34a), presenting what
119
Martin considered “Christ’s essential words, and the greatest of them all … Among the
greatest commandments, to forgive and love one another:”
8
Père, pardonne-leur, car ils ne savent ce qu’ils font.
Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.
Movement X returns to the simplicity of a single biblical passage, as in the first two
movements, to accentuate the significance of the Lord’s Prayer. The last movement is
compiled of Revelation passages, interjected by a single phrase from Isaiah 6:3b:
Saint! Saint! Saint le Seigneur Dieu!
La terre entière est pleine de sa gloire!
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory.
This is followed immediately by a reprise of Revelation 4:8b, revealing Martin’s
sensitivity towards carefully placing the texts to give them contextual and emotional
relevance:
Saint! Saint! Saint le Seigneur Dieu!
Le Tout puissant
Qui était, qui est et qui sera!
Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God’
who was, and is, and is to come.
The only other passage that is reprised in the oratorio is Psalm 22:1a. It first appears in
Movement II and is then presented twice in Movement IV:
Pourquoi m’as-tu abandonné?
Why have you forsaken me?
8
Martin, “Le compositeur moderne,” 131-132. Translated in Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections,
95.
120
Martin does not simply repeat this evidently important question. At both instances, he
notably adds two extra-biblical text pourquoi donc (why then) before the question,
emphasizing man’s agony.
Additionally, Martin’s specificity with text is demonstrated through his omission
or interruption of a certain biblical passage, such as a passage from Isaiah, with a passage
from Psalms, only to continue or supplement the missing passage in another movement,
as in Movements VI, VII and VIII. Martin also often chose to omit certain lines of
biblical text or switch the order of lines within a Psalm, such as in Movement V, where
the order of lines in Psalm 51 oscillates from verse 1 to 4a and 14a before going back to
7b and 12a. Furthermore, there are frequent instances where Martin departs from the
original text and paraphrases or replaces certain words with his own word choices to
highlight certain themes. These replacements enhance the cohesion and emotional
response of the work to its intended audience. For instance, each time the original biblical
text mentions “Jerusalem” or “Zion,” Martin replaces it with cité (city), la terre (earth),
or peuple (people), as is evident in Movements VI, VII and XI, allowing the work to
speak to a broader audience, only with one exception in Movement VII addressing Sion.
Martin’s deliberate text decisions are unmistakable in his description of the narrative of
Parts III and IV:
In Part III we leave the world, the social side of war and peace, and enter into the
intimate sphere of personal attitude. Here comes Isaiah’s long description of the
Lord’s Servant, a description that functions simultaneously as a prefiguration of
Christ. And when this prophecy ends, chanted by the alto soloist, the tenor speaks
some of Christ’s essential words, and the greatest of them all: “Father, forgive
them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Among the greatest
commandments, to forgive and love one another. No other text could have served
as a conclusion.
For the end, however, I needed something capable of leading back to a
less intimate and more collective sentiment. I searched for a feeling of pure
121
admiration, which might convey at the same time that true peace can only exist on
a purely spiritual level. […] The chorus, alternating with the soloists and the girls’
choir, sings “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty, who was, and is, and is to
come,” a text that the author of the Apocalypse had himself taken from Isaiah’s
vision and through which humans can join the celestial chorus praising God. It is
thus no longer a question of a peace that can be achieved through weapons.
9
Symbolism and Themes
Martin’s middle period, during which he questioned the world around him as well
as the role and means of his music, reveals a deep consciousness of symbolism and
thematic significance. While In Terra Pax is plagued with questions and contrasting
imagery, the music also reflects a bold attempt at imparting theological, spiritual, and
social ideals that are greater than the art itself, the means of which will be discussed
below.
When In Terra Pax was commissioned, Martin, like the rest of the world, was
grasping with the reality and aftermath of war, while anticipating the peace that would
surely follow but could not be fully envisioned yet. As predicted, World War II would
officially end the next year. In Bruhn’s words, the world was at the “still moment
between war and peace,” “the very threshold between war and peace, the still moment of
the armistice day, when the military hostilities have ceased but the horrors are not yet out
of sight, when a better and safe life is about to begin but has not yet become reality.”
10
Textually, recurring themes and imagery of contrast exhibit the instability of the
historical moment between war and peace, and maximize cohesion between movements.
9
Ibid.
10
Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections, 108.
122
The recurrence of the text terre (earth), being in the Latin title In Terra Pax (on earth
peace), appears in Movements I, III, VI, VII, VIII, X and XI. Central pairs of themes in
Martin’s selection of text include earth and heaven, war and peace, darkness and light,
judgement and forgiveness. Pairs of polar opposites extend to the imageries of “high” and
“low,” “red” and “white,”
11
“to see” and “unable to see,” “lifted up” and “stricken down.”
Except in Movement IX, every movement illustrates a struggle between two opposites.
The following illustrates the consistency of thematic contrasts throughout the
movements, shedding light also on Martin’s care in the organization of texts:
Earth and heaven (sky): Movements I, III, X, XI
Light (day) and darkness (night): Movements II, III, IV, V, VI
High and low: Movements IV, VII, VIII
Red (blood) and white (snow): Movements I, V, XI
Indeed, within the title of the work, the text in terra (on earth) is directly juxtaposed with
pax (peace), which Martin believed could “only exist on a purely spiritual level,”
12
delineating the paradoxical nature of the composition’s conception. Textually, the theme
of darkness and light sometimes takes the figurative form of being able “to see” or being
“unable to see.” The scriptural texts in the first and last movements both mention a
“Seer,” referring to John. In Movement I, the text describes John’s terrible vision of the
Judge breaking the first four of the seven seals of the judgement scroll – bringing about
11
It is the author’s opinion that the recurring contrasting imagery of “red” and “white” in three movements
of In Terra Pax signifies Christ’s blood and purification of sins respectively.
12
Martin, “Le compositeur moderne,” 131-132. Translated in Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections,
95.
123
catastrophe. In the final movement, the Seer describes the ecstatic vision of sanctification
and glorification of man in reunion with God.
Musically, Martin achieves this contrast through rhythm, harmony, and texture.
As will be discussed later, complementary rhythm is often used to juxtapose contrasting
text and ideas. Harmonically, conflicting implications are presented through the stability
of consonant chords against the instability of unconventional progressions. Traditional
textural structures such as canons and passacaglias are challenged by complicating
alterations. These devices serve to highlight the ephemeral and sinful nature of man
against God’s unchanging and perfect forgiveness.
It is interesting to the author that the texts of Bach’s sacred vocal works also often
presented contrasting themes and imageries. In Bach’s Cantata “Weinen, klagen, sorgen,
zagen” BWV 12, which Bach parodied in the Crucifixus of Messe in h-moll, the same
concept of contrasting imagery abounds. For example, in the aria Kreuz und Kronen sind
verbunden (Cross and Crowns are bound together), the librettist Samuel Franck uses the
contrasting imageries of Kreuz—Kronen (cross—crowns), Kampf—Kleinod (fight —
prize), and Qual—Trost (torment—comfort).
13
Questions
In Terra Pax takes a questioning approach in terms of Martin’s textual choices,
including biblical texts that incorporated a remarkable recurrence of questions. The
frequent appearance of questions reflects confusion and reluctance to accept the status
13
Rathey, "Two Unlikely Sisters,” 2.
124
quo. These questions also maximize the cohesion of the oratorio from movement to
movement, adding a dimension that drives a linear narrative of questions seeking
answers. The text of every movement from Movements I-VIII contains questions, with
Movement VI as the only exception. The last three movements of the oratorio also
contain no more questions. The textual arrangement of questions within the composition
transitions from the terror of God’s judgement (Movement I), to abandonment
(Movement II), guilt (Movement III), despair (Movement IV), repentance leading to hope
(Movement V), obedience (Movement VII) and faith and summoning (Movement VIII),
elaborated below.
The text of the first movement ends with a question which describes the power of
God’s apocalyptic judgement on a sinful earth:
Car le jour est venu, le jour de sa colère. Le grand jour, le jour de sa colère.
Et qui donc pourra subsister?
For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?
14
Movement II begins and ends with the same pleading question from Psalm 22, repeated
in this movement and reprised in Movement IV, where it recurs twice.
Mon Dieu, mon Dieu, pourquoi m’as-tu abandonné?
Pourquoi t’éloignes-tu sans me secourir, sans écouter ma plainte ?
Mon Dieu, mon Dieu, pourquoi m’as-tu abandonné?
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from the words of my groaning?
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
15
14
Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections, 262.
15
Ibid., 263.
125
Movement III opens with a question by Isaiah son of Amoz, to whom a vision of Judah
and Jerusalem appeared. He accuses “the sinful nation, a people whose guilt is great,”
and warns them to repent:
Quel châtiment nouveau vous infliger, quand vous multiplies vos révoltes?
Why should you be beaten anymore?
Why do you persist in rebellion?
16
Movement IV presents the most questions, a total of seven questions to complete Part I of
the oratorio. The questions contrast God’s perfect plan with man’s questioning:
Pourquoi donc, pourquoi m’as-tu abandonné?
Why then, [Martin’s addition] why have you forsaken me?
Est-ce donc pour les morts que tu fais des miracles?
Les morts se lèvent-ils pour te louer ?
Parle-t-on de ta bonté dans le sépulcre, de ta fidélité dans l’abîme?
Do you show your wonders to the dead?
Do those who are dead rise up and praise you?
Is your love declared in the grave,
your faithfulness in Destruction?
Pourquoi, Seigneur, repousses-tu mon âme?
O pourquoi donc t’éloignes-tu de moi?
Why, O Lord, do you reject me
and hide your face from me?
Why then, [Martin’s addition] why have you forsaken me?
17
While the completion of Part I ends on a question of desperation, Part II opens with a
different kind of question. In Movement V, the question signals the beginning of hope,
marked by repentance and an eager welcoming of light to overcome darkness:
16
Ibid.
17
Ibid., 263-264.
126
Sentinelle, que dis-tu de la nuit?
Watchman, what is left of the night?
18
Movement VI remarkably presents no question. For the first time in the oratorio, the text
presents a clarity and confidence in God’s salvation – “There will be no more gloom.”
This movement, where the Golden Mean of the oratorio occurs, thus functions as the
“still moment between war and peace.” This still moment creates a pivot for the questions
thereafter to shift towards hope and redemption from fear and war. In Movement VII, the
question is presented at the end of a section before Chorus I and II enter. The question
portrays man’s increasing repentance and obedience to God’s sovereign mercy and grace:
Une voix dit: Crie! Et je réponds: Que crierai-je?
A voice says, “Cry out.”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”
19
Movement VIII begins Part III with a different kind of question:
Qui a cru à nos prophéties? Qui a reconnu le bras de l’Eternel?
Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
20
By this stage of the oratorio, the persona has transitioned to a state of peace, and his
question at the end of the movement becomes one of invitation to those who believe and
still need redemption and forgiveness:
18
Ibid., 264.
19
Ibid., 265.
20
Ibid., 266.
127
Et qui donc, parmi nous,
a cru qui’il était retranché de la terre des vivants,
et frappe pour les péchés de tous?
And who among us has believed
that he was cut off from the land of the living
and stricken for the transgression of all?
21
These questions no longer challenge God, but accuse man of his disobedience and
address reassurance for those who believe. Movements IX-XI contain no more questions,
as man has transitioned into a peaceful state of reunion in God’s kingdom. Movement IX
culminates in the ultimate forgiveness: Jesus’ prayer at his Crucifixion. Similarly,
Movement X states the unquestionable Lord’s Prayer. As the line “on earth as it is in
heaven” states, the two realms, once separate, are now unified. The last movement
portrays the unequivocal fulfillment of the ultimate biblical prophecy of God’s salvation.
21
Ibid., 267.
128
Chapter 12 : Numerology in In Terra Pax
Martin displayed an interest for multi-dimensional, coherent and specific uses of
numerology in his middle period, as is exemplified in In Terra Pax, and will be explained
below. Martin made use of numerology to portray the struggle between war and peace,
disclosing a solid influence of Bach, who frequently incorporated thelogically-significant
numbers in his music. Bach was likely to have been familiar with books that surrounded
the topic, including one by Andreas Werckmeister (1645-1706), an organist Bach
admired, Musikalische Paradoxal-Discourse (1707),
1
containing a chapter Von der
Zahlen geheimen Deutung (Of the secret meaning of numbers) which ventured into the
semantics of biblical numbers and their use in music.
2
Other books that Bach had most
likely read are J. J. Schmidt's Der biblische Mathematikus (1736),
3
and Ernst-scherzhafte
Gedichte, III, published by Bach's librettist Picander in 1732,
4
in which he used gematria
in his poetry.
5
Bach’s applications of numerology in his music, such as the Messe in h-
moll BWV 232, Johannes-Passion BWV 245 and Matthäus-Passion BWV 244,
Goldberg Variationen BWV 988, Das wohltemperierte Klavier BWV 846-869, are
substantiated by comprehensive researches such as Malcolm Boyd’s Oxford Composer
1
Andreas Werckmeister, Werckmeister's Musicalische Paradoxal-Discourse (1707), trans. Casey
Mongoven (2016).
2
Rumsey, "Bach and Numerology,” 147.
3
Schmidt, Biblischer Mathematicus, as translated and quoted in Rumsey, "Bach and Numerology,” 147.
4
Christian Friedrich Henrici, Ernst-Schertzhaffte und Satyrische Gedichte: Mit Kupffern. 3. 3 (Leipzig:
Boëtius, 1737). Translated and quoted in Rumsey, "Bach and Numerology,” 147.
5
Gematria refers to the method by which the Western alphabet is each assigned a consecutive number,
beginning with A = 1, B = 2, C = 3, etc., usually employed in art for symbolic purposes.
129
Companion: J.S. Bach (2003),
6
Timothy A. Smith’s More Evidence of Numeral-Logical
Design in Bach's “St. Matthew Passion” (1986)
7
and THAT “CROWN OF THORNS”
(1997),
8
Yo Tomita’s study on The Goldberg Variations (1997)
9
and David Rumsey’s
Bach and Numerology: ‘dry mathematical stuff’? (1997).
10
Rolf Schweitzer wrote in the
foreword of Johan Bouman’s book Musik zur Ehre Gottes, “Bach’s symbolism of
numbers rested on biblical and ancient ideas, also used by Augustine.” Johan Bouman
describes it as follows: “God's Word commands numbers. He has ordered all of creation,
all things in measure and number and weight. (Wisdom 11, 20). If a work by human
beings follows these proportions, then God is glorified...” In this sense Bach has created
an architectural design analogous with the also numerically ordered creation. Numbers,
musical-rhetorical ideas, and words can logically create a meaningful unity.”
11
Martin, a
consummate musician and a man of mathematics, likely thought along the same terms.
The Oxford Composer Companion: J.S. Bach by Malcolm Boyd lists the
following four categories describing how Bach used numbers in his music: Enumeration,
Operation, Translation, and Interpretation.
12
The present research will use the same
6
Boyd, Oxford Composer Companion: J.S. Bach.
7
Smith, "More Evidence,” 24-30.
8
Smith, “That “Crown”,” 148-149.
9
Yo Tomita, "J. S. Bach: The "Goldberg" Variations BWV 988," Home | Queen's University Belfast, last
modified 1997, https://www.qub.ac.uk/~tomita/essay/cu4.html.
10
Rumsey, "Bach and Numerology,” 143.
11
Johan Bouman, Musik zur Ehre Gottes: die Musik als Gabe Gottes und Verkündigung des Evangeliums
bei Johann Sebastian Bach (Giessen: Brunnen, 2000), Foreword by Rolf Schweitzer. Translated by Jane
Newble in “Number Symbolism – Discussions Part 1,” Bach Cantatas Website, last modified June 13,
2017, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Topics/Numbers.htm.
12
Boyd, Oxford Composer Companion: J.S. Bach.
130
means, with the exception of the mode of “Translation,” to discuss numerology in
Martin’s music.
Enumeration: Counting the number of notes, measures, parts, movements and
other musical elements
Operation: Transforming numbers through mathematical procedures such as
addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
Translation: Translating the alphabet into gematria according to A=1, B=2, C=3,
etc.
Interpretation: Implications of the numbers on the subtext of the music
13
Figure 12.1 presents the biblically significant numbers according to Schmidt’s
Der Biblische Mathematicus,
14
while Figure 12.2 exhibits the numbers significant to
Bach, which Rumsey compiled from different scholarly authorities:
15
Figure 12.1. Johann Jacob Schmidt’s Der Biblische Mathematicus
One the symbol of unity and of God
Two suggests the two natures of Christ – the human and the divine
Three the divine number suggesting the Trinity and, thusly, all spiritual
things, and the three days that Christ spent in the tomb.
Four suggests the four evangelists and, therefore, the Church. Also in
connection with the four elements, all things physical.
Five symbolic of the wounds of Christ.
Six the number of creation and perfection, symbolizing divine power,
majesty, wisdom, love, mercy and justice.
Seven the number of charity, grace, and the Holy Spirit. Also used in
reference to the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit, the seven deadly
sins, and the seven joys and sorrows of the Virgin Mary.
13
Ibid.
14
Schmidt, Biblischer Mathematicus. Translated in Smith, "More Evidence,” 25.
15
Rumsey, "Bach and Numerology,” 153.
131
Eight symbolizes the resurrection, for it was on the eighth day after his
entry into Jerusalem that Christ arose from the grave.
Nine the angelic number, referring to the nine choirs of angels.
Ten the number of Commandments.
Twelve the number of apostles.
Thirteen the number of faithlessness and betrayal.
Figure 12.2. Rumsey's compilation of significant numbers relevant to Bach
1 God, Unity.
2 Man, Eternal Word (God’s Son and the second person in Trinity).
3 Trinity.
4 Earth, World.
5 Mankind (Werckmeister; later, Johann Jacob Schmidt in his Biblische
Mathematicus of 1736 notes that in Revelations it is associated with weakness or
Fall of Man: the fifth epistle goes to the dead community of Sardes; the fifth
trombone call is for the star fallen from heaven; the fifth anger of God; and so
on).
6 Completion (with 7 and 8): 6 is 1 x 2 x 3 and 1 + 2 + 3, the only even perfect
number and the number of days God worked at creation (thus 6 Trio sonatas, 6
Brandenburg concertos, 6 Schübler chorales, suites etc.).
7 Holy Spirit; the Sleep of God; the finality of finalities; 7 gifts of the spirit, and so
on. (St Augustine also comments on 7 in like vein.)
10 Commandments.
11 Exceeding the Commandments (Prautzsch; the most grievous breaking of
commandments having been the crucifixion of Christ).
12 Completeness, again: 3 x 4 (related to 7 = 3 + 4); eternal 12 Portals of the Holy
City (Revelations); after Gregory the Great = Symbol of the Churh (Trinity of
God declared to the 4 ends of the earth).
132
13 Severe misfortune; Death (as it is today).
14 B + A + C + H
17 Completeness of Holiness (10 + 7).
19 God and the LAW; throne of God in judgement (10 + 9).
24 Elders in heavenly Jerusalem (Revelation 4:4).
29 S + D + G (Soli Deo Gloria – with which Bach habitually signed off his works)
and/because = J + S + B.
33 Earthly life of Christ.
40 Penance as ordained by God (40 days rain before the flood; 40 years wandering in
the desert; 40 days fast on Mount Sinai; 40 days Jesus in the desert).
Eleven
While the number eleven does not appear in Schmidt’s Der Biblische
Mathematicus, evidence shows that it is generally interpreted as the biblically significant
number for chaos and judgement, leading to the fulfillment of prophecy.
16
Appearances
of the number eleven in the Bible reflect these same concepts. The Apostle John saw
eleven things on the final apocalyptic day. “The eleventh hour” is mentioned in the
Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard (Matthew 20:1–16). The parable ends with the
moral: “So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.”
The passage hastens those who choose to believe at the last minute. The number eleven is
comprised of [4+3+4(3+1)], which could be interpreted as earthly Creation and heavenly
peace being connected, and that God’s perfect peace is as much on earth as it is in
16
E. W. Bullinger, Number in Scripture: Its Supernatural Design and Spiritual Significance ([S.l.]:
Alacrity Press, 2014).
133
heaven. Eleven is also the opposite of the perfect number ten, the number of God’s
commandments
17
. In Bach’s passions, the eleven disciples appear in eleven individual
entries, another example of eleven being the number of the fulfillment of prophecy, with
the one disciple who will betray Jesus. Specifically, in Matthäus-Passion, when Christ
declares that “Truly I say one of you will betray me,” the chorus responds with eleven
responses of Bin ich's? (Is it I?), also representing the eleven disciples besides Judas, as a
fulfillment of the prophecy of betrayal.
18
Unlike the Messe pour double choeur or the Requiem, Martin had a free hand in
deciding how many movements to write in In Terra Pax. His choice of eleven
movements is thus no accident, but potentially intentionally juxtaposes the central theme
and prophecy of “peace on earth” with the disorder that must precede it. In Movement
XI, bells are first rung four times on pitch C, before being rung eleven times on C#, aptly
signifying the fulfillment of the ultimate and final biblical prophecy in the text:
Now the dwelling of God is with men.
They will be his people,
and God himself will be with them and be their God.
Four
In contrast to number three, representing the Trinity and the Holy Spirit, a symbol
for the triune God, the number four [3+1] is often related to the Creation and “earth,” the
physical and the corporal body.
19
In the biblical account of creation, on the fourth day,
17
Ibid.
18
Rumsey, "Bach and Numerology,” 148.
134
God completed the creation of the material earth and sky before placing living creatures
in it. God created the sun, moon and stars, to mark seasons, “to give light on the earth”
and “to separate light from darkness” on the fourth day (Genesis 1:14-19). Number four
is therefore also a symbol for division: God divided light from darkness. In Genesis 2:10-
11, the river of Paradise was parted into four heads, signifying division. There are four
cherubim in Genesis 3:22-24, the same four at the Apocalypse. Mention of the cherubim
in the Bible is always related to the earth created by God. In Revelation 6, the beginning
of the text that Martin set for In Terra Pax, the cherubim announce the arrival of the
Creator, the judgment and destruction of those who destroy the Lord’s Creation, and
praise Him whose kingdom will come on earth. The fourth clause of the Lord's Prayer,
“thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10b) is the first that mentions
the earth. The fourth of the Ten Commandments commands to keep Sabbath day (Exodus
20:8-11), the seventh day of Creation, set apart as holy and a day of rest, drawing a
connection between numbers four and seven.
Perhaps coincidentally, the oratorio is in four parts, potentially relating it to the
overarching emphasis of “peace on (the created) earth.” Part I has four movements, while
Part IV is a large single movement. Throughout the first movement, the number four
recurs in various contexts, relating to the theme of “earth.” Although the Book of
Revelation mentions seven seals, Martin only set music to the biblical text describing
four of the seven seals, each of the four musically illustrated by a Scotch snap rhythmic
figure. Within the biblical text, the four seals correspond with four horses in four colors,
white, red, black, and pale respectively. The fourth seal contains a black horse with a
19
Ibid., 153.
135
rider named Death. The biblical text describes Death, who “takes peace from the earth,”
being given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by four ways – sword, famine, plague,
and wild beasts of the earth. In Movement VII, the praises from Isaiah 9:6 are four-fold –
“Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.” The
symbolic fourth movement represents an emotionally intense, dark point in the trajectory
of the composition. This movement describes an earthly sentiment of doubt and
abandonment, with text such as “lowest pit,” “darkest depths,” “grave,” and
“destruction,” marking the death of earthly created realm. Here Martin sets the question
“Why have you forsaken me?” three times, adding up to a total of seven questions in this
movement, the significance of which will be discussed below.
Musically, the recurrence of four-note motifs appears to highlight the number
four. The end of Movement IV is a strophic hymn presented four times, and incorporates
four times the sonority of sustained open fifths on B in the strings, horns, timpani, and
lower winds. The fifths, played four times on B instead of the initial key center of B♭,
signals the end of the section, but also the end of the old created, physical earth into the
new realm. In Movement VIII, four horn calls herald the twelfth statement of the
passacaglia, announcing the text Cependant il a porté nos souffrances, il s’est chargé de
nos douleurs (Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering), also famously set in
Handel’s Messiah, “Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.”
136
Three
As number four signifies earthly Creation, number three signifies perfection and
the Trinity.
20
21
Bach’s Clavier Übung III dedicated to the Holy Trinity, utilizes the
number three in multi-dimensional ways.
22
Textually and musically, the number three
manifests itself in In Terra Pax. In this composition, Parts II and III each comprise of
three movements. The choral parts are written for three choirs. The intervals of major and
minor thirds abound in many motifs throughout the oratorio. In Movement IX, the text no
longer contains the number four but shifts to number three. The text encompasses what
Martin called “Christ’s essential words, and the greatest of them all…Among the greatest
commandments, to forgive and love one another.”
23
Martin chose to set only three
Beatitudes to music. In Movement VI, the B-A-C-H motif is presented three times, a
symbol of the perfection of God’s plan. In Movement VIII, the passacaglia appears
fifteen times, a perfect, symmetrical, non-retrogradeable organization of 3+3+3+3+3. The
biblical text used for Movmenet VIII records the suffering of Christ, whose death on the
cross would according to the Bible fulfil the atonement for man’s sins:
24
20
Schmidt, Biblischer Mathematicus. Translated in Smith, "More Evidence,” 25.
21
Rumsey, "Bach and Numerology,” 153.
22
Ibid., 148. Bach used twenty-seven pieces (3x3x3), with internal divisions of three and a triple fugue at
the end.
23
Martin, “Le compositeur moderne,” 131-132. Translated in Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections,
95.
24
The biblical text from Isaiah 53:4-5 refers to Isaiah’s prophecy that Jesus Christ will suffer and die on the
cross to atone for man’s sin against God.
137
Cependant il a porté nos souffrances, il s’est chargé de nos douleurs
et nous l’avons considéré comme puni, frappé de Dieu et humili.
Mais il était blessé pour nos fautes, brisé pour nos péchés.
Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities.
Number three abounds in the final Movement XI. The Seer John describes the apotheosis
of man into heaven, following the destruction brought about by Judgement Day. The
glorious reunification with God is represented by three choirs, first by the girls’ choir,
then joined by two mixed choruses, singing “Holy, holy, holy!” The three-fold text is
interspersed three times, embedded in two biblical sources. At the end of the oratorio,
Martin conflicts the final tonality of D until the last three measures, where he eliminates
all conflicting elements to preserve the “perfect” D major chord.
Three against Four
Martin appears to make use of the dichotomy of numbers three and four to depict
the struggle between heaven and earth, God and man, war and peace. Throughout the
oratorio, there is a gradual shift from an emphasis on the number four to the number
three, and an increasing convergence of the two numbers through addition and
multiplication. The number seven will be used extensively as discussed below. In the
final movement, the praise of the four living creatures, the lion, ox, man, and eagle, and
the twenty-four elders (a multiple of both three and four) are both three-fold in nature –
“who was, and is, and is to come,” and “glory, honor, and power.” The remarkable shift
from the number four in the first movement into the dominance of the number three in the
138
last movement completes a symmetrical arch in terms of numerical significance. It is
highly possible that the shift symbolizes the transformation from “the first heaven and the
first earth” into “a new heaven and a new earth”, brings forth “peace on earth” – in terra
pax.
Seven
Schubart’s study records the number seven to represent grace, the sevenfold gifts
of the Holy Spirit and the seven deadly sins.
25
The number seven frequently appeared in
Bach’s Orgelbüchlein.
26
As the earlier section on Martin’s Messe disclosed, Bach utilized
the number seven [3+4] to characterize the struggle between soul and body. In In Terra
Pax, Martin adopted the number seven likely to portray the end of earthly struggle and
fulfillment of spiritual completion. The seventh day, the day of the Sabbath, saw the
completion of God’s creation, and was set apart as a holy day of rest. In Revelation, the
book which In Terra Pax draws most extensively from, the number seven is mentioned
often, fulfilling the completion of God’s plan. Bruhn notes that “the Book of Revelation
mentions 14 (2x7) different sevenosomes.”
27
The seven seals of God’s judgment
symbolize the completion of God’s punishment of a sinful earth. After the breaking of the
seventh seal, there are seven angels with seven trumpets (Revelation 8:2), heralding
God’s wrath and apocalyptic events leading to the completion of God’s Kingdom. In
25
Schmidt, Biblischer Mathematicus. Translated in Smith, "More Evidence,” 25.
26
Rumsey, "Bach and Numerology,” 148.
27
Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections, 182.
139
addition, there are seven letters to seven churches in Asia, symbolizing the fullness of the
body of Christ, and seven spirits before God’s throne (Revelation 1:4), seven golden
lampstands (Revelation 1:12) and seven stars in Christ’s right hand (Revelation 1:16). In
Revelation 5:12, the angels in the heavenly realms praise the Lord with a seven-fold
blessing: "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom
and strength and honor and glory and praise!” Contrarily, in the next verse, the earthly
creatures’ praises are four-fold – “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be
praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!” Movement IV presents the
most number of questions, a total of seven. Movement VII marks the first half of the
oratorio, but is also the only movement in the first half that is orchestrated for bells,
foretelling the completion of God’s plan. In Movement IX, the shift from the number four
to three in the text potentially signifies forgiveness. The last orchestral stepwise ascent
consists of seven continual stepwise pitches before Jesus’ ultimate statement of
forgiveness, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” The first
three are separated from the last four, creating [3+4=7]. Thus [3+4] most likely signifies
God’s heavenly peace and forgiveness on earth’s sin, leading to the fulfillment of peace.
Eight
The number eight is the biblically significant number symbolizing resurrection
and a new beginning and covenant. Jesus’ resurrection occurred on the 17
th
of Nisan, the
first month of the Jewish religious calendar, the eighth day after which he was chosen as
the sacrifice for man’s sins. In the oratorio, there are eight different voices: soprano, alto,
140
tenor, baritone, bass soloists, Chorus I, Chorus II, unison girls’ choir, appearing to
represent different characters or groups of people in the Bible. Together, the eight vocal
parts herald the good news of Jesus’ resurrection, leading to the fulfillment of God’s
purpose to redeem man and restore peace on a new earth. In Movement VII, both timpani
and bells play a total of eight times. At the first A section of the rondo form, the timpani
plays a total of eight times, while the text describes:
Consolez, consolez mon people dit votre Dieu. Parlez à la terre entière selon son
chœur, et criez-lui que son temps de guerre est accompli, que son iniquité est
pardonnée, qu’elle a reçu de la main de l’Eternel au double de tour ses péches.
Une voix crie: Préparez au désert le chemin de l’Eternel, aplanissez dans la
solitude une route pour votre Dieu! Que tote vallée soit comblée, que toute
montagne soit abaissée, que les coteaux se changent en plaine et les défilés étroits
en vallons! Alors la gloire de l’Eternel sera manifestée, et toute chair en même
temps la verra. Car la bouche de l’Eternel a parlé.
Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and
proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been
paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. A
voice of one calling: “In the desert prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in
the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every
mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged
places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind
together will see it. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
Movement VII is the only movement in the first half where bells are employed. At the
last A section at Rehearsal 14, the bells are played a total of eight times, possibly
signifying the rebirth of man, and heralding the rebirth of a new heaven and earth. The
final eight blows ([7+1] in the final chord), doubled by the timpani, create a thirty-eight-
measure C pedal, possibly symbolizing the final judgement and fulfillment for God’s new
covenant. “They thus mark the very threshold between war and peace, the still moment of
the armistice day, when the military hostilities have ceased but the horrors are not yet out
141
of sight, when a better and safe life is about to begin but has not yet become reality.”
28
In
the final movement, at Rehearsal 11 and 12, the B-A-C-H motif is presented eight times,
horizontally and vertically overlapping. This potentially conveys the fulfillment of God’s
new covenant and the apotheosis of man back into his heavenly kingdom, with all singing
praises of “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power.”
Fourteen
The number fourteen was significant for Bach as well as for Martin. Bach arrived
at number fourteen by adding together the alphabetical gematria values of the letters of
his own name – B+A+C+H = [2+1+3+8 = 14].
29
30
In addition, the number fourteen is a
multiple of seven, representing double measure of spiritual completion, deliverance or
salvation. At the Passover, which occurred on the fourteenth day of “the first month,”
God delivered the firstborns from death, and led to Israel’s birth as a new nation.
31
Centuries later, it was on the fourteenth day of the first month that God made covenant
promises to Abraham of his son Isaac and Christ to deliver man.
32
In 30 A.D., on the
fourteenth day of the first month, Christ was crucified to fulfill man’s deliverance from
sin.
33
Mathematically, [14 = 8(4+4)+3+3]. The number eight is made up of two number
28
Ibid., 108.
29
Smith, "More Evidence,” 24.
30
Tomita, “The ‘Goldberg’ Variations.”
31
"Meaning of the Number 14 in the Bible," The Bible Study Site,
http://www.biblestudy.org/bibleref/meaning-of-numbers-in-bible/14.html.
32
Ibid.
142
fours, the number for God’s creation, signifying a new creation created in place of the
old, thus revealing a new beginning on earth. Number three, representing heavenly
perfection, is also presented twice, implying a new earth and a new heaven.
In In Terra Pax, the number fourteen, used indicatively in Movement VII,
possibly exemplifies the new beginning into a new heaven and earth. At the second
episode of the rondo form, the bells are rung fourteen times before the final A theme. The
fourteen rings are made up of eight on the pitch B♭, two on pitch A, back to B♭, then
three on the pitch B♮. Unlike the triumphant eight on the same pitch C at the end of the
movement, these fourteen bell rings appear to have a different character – an ominous
warning to people who have experienced fear of God’s wrath which must occur before
His deliverance:
Réveille-toi, lève-toi, peuple de Dieu!
Tu as bu de sa main la coupe de sa colère.
Tu as bu jusqu’à la lie la coupe d’étouridissement!
Awake, awake! Rise up, people of God,
you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup of his wrath,
you who have drained to its dregs the goblet that makes people stagger.
Likewise, the passacaglia in Movement VIII is intentionally repeated fourteen times after
the theme, by the end of which the suffering and glory of Christ, and the salvation of
man, are completed.
33
Ibid.
143
Chapter 13 : Instrumentation in In Terra Pax
Considering Martin's aforementioned display of Ravel’s influence by both Bruhn
1
and Cooke,
2
a sensitivity towards sonority reminiscent of Ravel is evident in Martin’s
specific instrumentation, especially during the middle and mature periods. The far-from-
generic instrumentation is not surprising considering that Martin was a seasoned chamber
musician and a solo pianist. Written also in the middle period, Le Vin herbé is scored for
twelve voices, seven strings and piano. Ballade for flute, piano and strings (1941) from
the middle period also reflects a chamber music palette.
In Terra Pax, scored for soprano, alto, tenor, baritone and bass soloists, two
SATB choirs, a girls’ choir, and orchestra, also calls for two piano parts on top of bells
and celesta. Similar to turba choruses in Bach’s passions, the chorus serves to provide
commentary or represent groups of people. The girls’ choir, which only sings once,
represents the renewed souls that have been purified by God’s sacrifice. The baritone solo
often represents John the Revelator, while the bass solo represents God’s voice as
prophesied by Isaiah in Movement III.
In Terra Pax reflects Martin’s adept use of specific instruments for text and
mood-painting, especially percussion instruments. In Movement IV, which asks the
question “why have you forsaken me?” the timpani persistently plays steady half notes
since the first measure, simulating a person banging on the door seeking answers. To
accentuate the impact of the question “Why then, why have you forsaken me?” Martin
1
Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections, 15.
2
Cooke, "Frank Martin's Early Development," 475.
144
severs the continuous pulsating heartbeat and sets the proceeding verse without it to
demonstrate hopefulness mixed with unsilenceable doubt:
Do you show your wonders to the dead?
Do their spirits rise up and praise you?
Is your love declared in the grave,
your faithfulness in Destruction?
The timpani re-enters with the same steady half notes as the persona continues his
anguished questioning:
But I cry to you for help in the night, Lord;
in the morning my prayer comes before you.
Why, Lord, do you reject me
and hide your face from me?
The same embittered half-note timpani figure returns in Movement VII at Rehearsal 5,
only for four measures this time, demanding an answer to another question:
A voice says, “Cry out.”
And I said, “What shall I cry?
The timpani part that underlines these questions forms a stark contrast with the timpani
part with a regal character that erupts at the beginning of the movement, underlining the
text “comfort my people,” as well as the celebratory bells that conclude the movement.
Symmetrically, Movement XI, the last movement of the second half, corresponds
with Movement VII, the last in the first half, both scored with bells. In Movement VII,
the bells potentially symbolize the prophecy of the final judgement and God’s new
covenant with man, which is fulfilled in Movement XI, signified again by bells. The last
movement also includes celesta, whose ethereal sound accompanies the girls’ choir
singing of the text describing sanctification restored through the Lamb’s blood. Martin
also included a small female choir in Cantate pour le temps de Noël (1929-1930), an
incomplete Christmas Cantata from which he borrowed ideas into In Terra Pax.
145
Chapter 14 : Tonality and Harmony of the Middle Period
Functional and Non-functional Harmony
The harmonic vocabulary of Martin’s middle period did not necessarily change in
terms of types of chord formations, which remained key-centered, and built upon tertian,
quartal, and quintal intervals, though Martin did venture into more chromatic and
dissonant territories.
1
Martin felt that without diatonic and consonant elements, “a
meaningful musical expression became an impossibility.”
2
In 1952, Martin ascertained
that “We need not necessarily give up our feeling for tonal functions, for the functional
bass, and for a system of relationships which elementary acoustics shows to be based on
physical fact.”
3
Tupper recorded that apart from 1930-1932, Martin never relinquished a
“functional bass” and dominant-tonic-subdominant relationships.
4
In Terra Pax exhibits an increased austerity to Martin’s language and is much
more chromatic than the early Messe pour double choeur, though still preserving a degree
of conventional harmonic motion. Movements II, V, and X suggest a certain conventional
dominant-tonic motion, moving from B♭ major to E♭ major, F major to B♭ major, and E♭
major to A♭ major respectively. The first stanza of the hymn in Movement IV
demonstrates these principles. Below an ever-sequencing vocal melody, the movement
1
Tupper, “Stylistic Analysis,” 60.
2
Frank Martin, “À Propos de mon Concerto de Violon,” La Revue Musicale 212, no. 113 (April 1952),
113. Translated in “Stylistic Analysis,” 69.
3
Martin, "Schoenberg and Ourselves," 16-17.
4
Tupper, “Stylistic Analysis,” 69.
146
imparts a sense of instability tonally and harmonically. Nonetheless, the harmony is
firmly rooted in the key center of B minor, which sustains a pedal throughout (there is a
double pedal of C and B at m. 14). Above the B pedal, tertian-chord harmonies operate
independently. Figure 14.1 displays the choral harmonic progression:
Figure 14.1. Harmonic and tonal motion of In Terra Pax, Movement IV, stanza 1,
mm. 1-25
Measure 1 2 3 4 5 6
Chord b b° b c a° a#°7
Function i vii°7/c i/c i vii°/b vii°7/b
Key area B minor -------- C minor - B minor --------
Pedal Bped
Measure 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Chord a#°7 G g#° F F – f f – c#°7 c#°7
Function vii°7/b VI/b vii°/a I/f I-i/f i/f- vii°7/d vii°7/d
Key area -------- ----- ------ F major F minor D minor --------
Pedal Bped
Measure 14 15 16 17 18 19
Chord d#°7 d#°7 F F f f – g#°7
Function vii°7/e vii°7/e I I i i/f-vii°7/a
Key area E minor -------- F major /
F minor
------ ------ E minor
Pedal Cped +Bped
Measure 20 21 22 23 24 25
Chord E E – C Maj7 f#ø7 f#ø7 –d#°7 e – c# b
Function I I-VIMaj7 iiø7 iiø7-vii°7 i/e
iv-ii/b
i
Key area ------ ----------- ----- ------------ ------- B minor
Pedal Cped+Bped Bped
Even though some of the chords do not achieve resolution, their harmonic implications
are indubitable. The abundance of diminished-seventh chords implies respective
147
resolution key centers, creating “gliding tonality” (explained below) above the rooted B
pedal. They depart function regardless of the absence of their expected resolutions.
As shown in Figure 14.1 above, the key centers suggested progress as follows:
B minor – C minor – B minor – F minor – D minor
– E minor – F minor – E minor – B minor
Even in the overall tonal areas, there are undertones of conventional dominant-tonic-
subdominant functional relationships that resemble an authentic cadence (in B minor):
i – ♭ii – i – ♭v – iii – iv – ♭v – iv – i
On a micro level, the chordal progressions also exemplify an authentic cadence in iv-ii-i
harmonic motion in B minor. This authentic cadence is in especial contrast with the
depiction of turbulence and emotional anxiety in the second and third stanzas which are
“harmonized without harmonic release.”
5
Martin’s language did, however, change in terms of frequency of use of such
“conventional” harmonies, contributing to an overall less harmonically stable period.
6
Although his music during this period is essentially “tonal,” the tonality itself is often
difficult to establish, shifting quickly and for long durations between tonal pillars. The
by-product of preserving root-position chords while intensifying chromaticism was more
chromatic “bass lines [that] took on a melodic character that had been less noticeable
previously,” which also made it more challenging to discern the tonal center.
7
5
Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections, 110.
6
Tupper, “Stylistic Analysis,” 60.
7
Ibid., 65.
148
Influenced by his Francophile predecessors, Debussy and Ravel, Martin
juxtaposed functional harmony with non-functional harmony – those that accentuate or
contradict the key center, evident in In Terra Pax.
8
Tupper presents her observation:
Non-functional harmony consists of a deliberate violation of the foregoing
harmonic system by the use of parallel chord streams (Debussy and Ravel), and of
a complete abandonment of harmonic restrictions in some cases, with novel uses
of sonorities, frequently of a contrapuntal nature. To this may be added free
chordal associations in tertian harmony, with a preference for root movements of
seconds or thirds; i.e., non-directive or modal successions.
9
In Example 14.1, Piano II and lower strings form the following chord progression, all in
root-positions, mostly triads or tertian harmony, except the last C-F#-G chord formation:
B♭ minor – D♭ major – E♭ major – C minor – F minor – D minor – G major
– E minor – A major – B♭7 – B major + G major – C open fifths + F# major
Example 14.1. Triadically embedded twelve-tone material in gliding tonality, In Terra
Pax, Movement VI, Rehearsal 4
10
8
Apel, Harvard Dictionary, 324-325.
9
Tupper, “Stylistic Analysis,” 63.
10
Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections, 21.
149
The initial pitch center of B♭ minor is quickly destabilized by non-functional harmony
moving in parallel chord streams, much in the style of Debussy and Ravel. Meanwhile,
the bass line in the violins moves by steps of seconds and thirds, always corresponding to
the chord tones of Piano II and the lower strings. The tenor, however, moves
independently creating a melody of its own, which sometimes correspond to the chordal
formation in Piano II, the lower strings, and the violins, but also often stray from those
harmonies (Table 12). Moreover, the Piano II and lower strings, and the tenor and violin
create twelve-tone combinatorial aggregates.
Table 12. Harmonic interaction and independence between Piano II and lower strings,
violins and tenor, Movement VI, Rehearsal 4
Piano II and
lower strings
B♭ minor D♭ major E♭ major C minor F minor
Violins A♭ major G major G major A♭ major
Tenor F major E♭ major C major E♭ major E♭ major
Piano II and
lower strings
D minor G major G major E minor
Violins A major B major D major E major
Tenor D major D major D major B major
Piano II and
lower strings
A major B♭7 B major + G
major
C open fifths
+ F# major
C open fifths
+ F# major
Violins C# major D major D# major G major C major
Tenor E major E major F# major F# major
150
Martin’s unique harmonic language developed so that the bass line could often be
entirely independent of the upper voices. At times, the bass line may imply the same
harmonies directly above. At other times, the bass line would be unrelated to the tonal
and usually consonant harmonies directly above, a skill he acquired from Debussy.
Martin’s nephew directly quotes him elaborating:
In being ‘beside tonality,’ a bass note might suggest and prepare the next
harmonic evolution. In this way, there will be a kind of tension developing
between the chords and the bass, a tension that maintains an incessant forward
motion.
11
As in the tenor line in Example 14.1, this is evident in the Messe and In Terra Pax,
creating and evading between colors and timbres.
Gliding Tonality
Martin coined the term “gliding tonality” to describe his personal stylistic
signature.
12
Musicologist Rudolf Klein accurately describes in regards to Golgotha
(1945-48):
…Martin tends toward a slow rhythm of modulation […]. He begins with a tiny
step in one or two voices without leaving the bass note. By adding ever more new
tones he gradually builds a new tonal complex, and only at this moment gingerly
lets go of the bass […] The result is an almost imperceptible modulation, a
constant gliding onwards without impacts, like the way the colors of the spectrum
shade off one into the other without allowing one to say where red ends and
yellow begins.
13
11
B. Martin, Frank Martin ou la realité, 63-64. Translation in Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections, 17.
12
Billeter, s.v. "Frank Martin," in Grove Music Online.
13
Rudolf Klein, Frank Martin: sein Leben und Werk (Wien: Verlag Österreichische Musikzeitschrift,
1960), 25. Translated in Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections, 17.
151
The process, involving ambiguous harmonic relationships that shift between tonal
centers, is marked by consonant chords which may embed the twelve-tones, and move in
parallel motion reminiscent of Debussy or unconventional progressions, finally
concluding in a different key.
14
In order to facilitate frequent “gliding tonality,” Martin’s
middle period stayed away from key signatures altogether, a remarkable difference
between In Terra Pax and the Messe pour double choeur. While the lack of a key
signature suggests a more obscure sense of tonality, without the connotations of the key
signature, Martin was liberated from having to conform to any hierarchy of key areas,
permitting the music to progress freely to any remote key.
In In Terra Pax, restrained chromatic lines created from Martin’s basis of motivic
units lend themselves to “gliding tonality,” resulting in chords that might not follow their
expected progressions. Table 12 demonstrates the “imperceptible modulation” of the
independent bass line in the tenor. This continuous movement of colors in turn
contributes to a sense of the infinite in Martin’s music.
With the exception of Movements I, IV, and VIII, all the movements begin and
end on different keys. As exemplified in Table 13, Martin’s language in his middle period
remained true to key centers. For the purposes of this research, the present author has
summarized the overall subject of the text of each movement for comparison.
14
Tupper, “Stylistic Analysis,” 20.
152
Table 13. Tonal or pitch centers of the eleven movements of In Terra Pax
Movement Beginning
tonal area
Concluding
tonal area
Author’s proposed theme
Part I I B♭ major End of the earthly Creation
II B♭ major E♭ minor Prayer in doubt
III B♭ major B major
Woe and Chaos
IV B major / B minor Despair
Part II V F minor B♭ major Supplication
VI B♭ major C# major Peace (“peace” times three)
VII B♭ major
C major Assurance
Part III VIII
E major Praise
IX C# major /
C# minor)
E♭ minor Forgiveness - Beatitudes
(“peace”)
X E♭ minor A♭ major Prayer of trust - Lord’s
Prayer
Part IV XI C major D major A new beginning
(“Holy, holy, holy”)
The first three movements all depart from the same tonal area of B♭ major, which is
brought back at Movements VI and VII. The shift from B♭ major to B major by the end
of Movement III and beginning of Movement IV, and the tritone leap from B major to F
minor by the beginning of Movement V illustrate Martin’s unconventional harmonic
progressions. The return to B♭ major in Movement VI coincides with the Golden Mean of
the work, where the text first shifts from darkness to light. Movement VII, into which the
tonal center of B♭ major continues, transitions clearly into exaltation. The tenacious hold
153
of B♭ finally relinquishes completely in Movement VII, when the text announces the
good news which changes the mood of the work thereafter:
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given.
The oratorio finds its conclusion in a key foreign from the rest of its movements on a D
major chord, which has not been a tonal area in the previous ten movements. This
perhaps symbolizes the transition of God’s peace having arrived on earth and a new
beginning. This is not far-fetched, as according to Christian Schubart's Ideen zu einer
Aesthetik der Tonkunst (1806), D major is “The key of triumph, of Hallejuahs, of war-
cries, of victory-rejoicing. Thus, the inviting symphonies, the marches, holiday songs and
heaven-rejoicing choruses are set in this key.”
15
Martin’s setting of “Holy, holy, holy”
aligns with Schubart’s theory.
While the overall progression of movements such as Movement II, V and X
suggest a conventional dominant-tonic motion, the internal progressions toward the tonal
areas are not through functional harmony. For example, in Movement VI, the tonal area
of B♭ is approached through D♭, four measures after Rehearsal 3.
15
Schubart, Christian Friedrich Daniel, and Ludwig Schubart. C.F.D. Schubart's Ideen zu einer Aesthetik
der Tonkunst. Stuttgart: Scheible, 1839. Translated in Rita Steblin, A History of Key Characteristics in the
Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries (Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press, 2002), 165.
154
“Polymelody” and Primary Sonic Forms
In his middle period, Martin strayed from the counterpoint-based music of his
early period, displaying a general lack of memorable, lyrical modal themes or fugal
subjects. Instead, he conceived “polymelody” through the harmonic motion. In “Défense
de l’harmonie” (1943), Martin ascertained:
Harmony moves in time, as does melody. Like melody it is dependent on
temporal dimension, i.e., on rhythm. No chord has any significance outside of its
position in a harmonic progression, and frequently there is more polymelody in a
sequence of homophonic chords conceived as harmonies than in counterpoints
whose only merit is that they allow us simultaneously to hear several tunes that do
not care for one another. That is really no more than child’s play, even if it
presupposes a certain technique. It changes only once the various melodies and
the one assuming the function of the bass line are woven together to engender
some harmonic sense which in turn endows the melodies with signification and
sustains them.
16
Billeter elaborates that Martin’s harmonic emphasis effectively pursues “primary sonic
forms” rather than “primary melodic forms,” music that comprises a slow overall
momentum despite the intricate movement of individual voices.
17
Billeter considers the
energy of “primary sonic forms,” often found in pentatonic and modal music, symbolic
for the static, timeless, universal existence.
18
Through “gliding tonality,” a fabric of
constant harmonic modulations creates the impression that the music is undisturbed and
unanswered until its conclusion. As exemplified in Messe pour double choeur, In Terra
Pax, and Requiem, Martin’s music often requires time to unfold slowly and
16
Frank Martin, "Défense de l’harmonie," Schweizerische Musikzeitun 83 (1943): 10; reprinted in Frank
Martin, Un Compositeur médite sur son art: Écrits et pensées recueillis par sa femme (Neuchâtel: À la
Baconnière, 1977), 82. Translated and quoted in Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections, 16.
17
Bernhard Billeter, Frank Martin: Werdegang und Musiksprache seiner Werke (Mainz: Schott, 1999), 94-
98. Translated in Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections, 16.
18
Ibid.
155
incrementally. In Terra Pax displays an orchestral fabric that is slow-moving and
coloristic, upon which the vocal lines interact to create polymelody. Unlike the earlier
Messe, In Terra Pax contains fewer individual melodic themes and subjects. The first
sounds exemplify the unending motion of harmonic implications through gliding tonality,
independent bass lines, and polymelody. Movement I opens with the sonority of open
fifths on B ♭ and proceeds to open fifths on C, underlined by a prolonged B ♭ pedal in
the tuba bass line. After the introductory B ♭ open fifths, Martin builds suspense through
two iterations of a rhythmic motif of two half notes arriving at a whole note, then
augmented to four half notes arriving at B open fifths. The following seven measures and
the downbeat of m. 8 reveal an ascending progression of twelve chords, comprising of
open fifths in the upper voices, mostly by half step, with the exception of whole steps
between B ♭ to C and D to E. This incessant chromatic modulation of open fifths from B
♭ ascending to a remote B makes the function of every note a passing tone, displacing
the hierarchy of tones. Right from the beginning of the work, Martin sets the stage
perfectly for a sense of loss and war, with the senseless equality of tones likely
representing the inescapable universal suffering of all men in the war. Meanwhile, in the
rather harmonically-independent bass line played by the tuba, the bass note sometimes
coincides with the open fifths above it, while at other times it is “beside tonality”
19
(Table
14, non-chord-tone bass notes underlined).
19
B. Martin, Frank Martin ou la realité, 63-64. Translated in Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections,
17.
156
Table 14. Juxtaposition of bass line and open fifths in Movement I, mm. 1-8 downbeat
Open
fifths:
B♭
C C# D E E#/F F# G G# A A# B
Bass
(Tuba)
B♭ B♭
A D D C# F# F# E A F# B
Modality
In addition to the influence of Debussy and Ravel, Martin’s language during his
middle period is also evident of the influence of Franck’s continuous modulations,
Honegger’s non-functional chords, and Fauré’s modal inflections between chromatic and
non-chromatic tones.
20
In Movement VII, beginning from five measures after Rehearsal
5, Martin deliberately fluctuates between C♭ and C♮, depicting the text:
Toute chair est comme l’herbe, et son éclat se fane comme la fleur des champs.
L’herbe sèche, la fleur tombe, quand le vent de l’Eternel souffle sur elle.
Vraiment le peuple est comme l’herbe.
All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field.
The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them.
Surely the people are grass.
Emulating the Sanctus movement of Fauré’s Requiem, where Fauré oscillates between
D♭ and D♮, Martin builds tension through shifting colors from dark to bright through
manipulating the quality of C. The ephemeral nature of each instance of C♭ and C♮ can
be interpreted as Martin allegorizing the fleeting nature of man and earthly glory —
exalted one day and brought down the next. At the text “But the word of our God stands
forever,” the music changes rhythmically into longer note values — homophonic quarter
20
Cooke, "Frank Martin's Early Development,” 473-475.
157
notes. The longest rhythmic value – a dotted half note tied over to a quarter note – falls
on C♮, this time unchanging and certain, first presented in Chorus II, then sustained and
confirmed through Chorus I.
Modal melodies include the B♭ Aeolian / B♭ Dorian opening in Movement V, the
great canon in G Mixolydian in Movement VII at Rehearsal 14, and Movement X, Notre
Père. Movement X continues the manipulation of C♮ and C♭, where Martin oscillates
between E♭ Aeolian and E♭ Dorian modes. Harmonized mostly by root-position triadic
chords, the orchestra consistently plays C♭ in their passacaglia while the chorus
consistently sings C♮. The pitches forming the two modes are as follows:
E♭ Aeolian: E♭ - F - G♭ - A♭ - B♭ - C♭ - D♭ - E♭
E♭ Dorian: E♭ - F - G♭ - A♭ - B♭ - C♮ - D♭ - E♭
In Movement XI, this modal inflection is taken even further to incorporate a double
chromatic inflection of E♭ versus E♮ and D♭ versus D♮. The double options of C-D♭-E♭-
F and C-D-E-F create the dichotomy of a C Phyrgian or C Ionian mode. At Rehearsal 1,
Martin creates bi-tonality between C major and D♭ open fifths. Against the C – G – D
open fifths in the horns, bells (with an additional E to reinforce a C major triad), Piano I,
and the strings, he writes open fifths on D♭ - A♭ in the woodwinds and Piano II. This
conflict depicts the imminent convergence of heaven and earth and the judgement that
must ensue. At Rehearsal 4, the motif is transposed, with F-C open fifths in the flute,
clarinet, Piano II, and bass solo, juxtaposed against B-F# open fifths in the right hand of
Piano I and upper strings. Meanwhile, as is characteristic of Martin, there is a third layer
of open fifths between C# and G# in the oboe, bassoon, horn, bells, and the left hand of
Piano I. The three-fold perfection (perfect fifths) that is also chaotic (dissonant tonalities)
158
can be seen as symbolizing God’s perfection which is yet incomprehensible and can only
be known after fulfillment of His judgement. At the conclusion of the oratorio, with all
voices on a unison D for the last nine measures, Martin shakes the secure tonality of D in
the woodwinds and brass, first with A♭ major, followed by E♭ major and E♭ minor, his
last modal manipulation between G and G♭. It would not be amiss to interpret the
threatening sonority from the resulting dissonance as a warning of the precariousness of
man’s situation and his predisposition to take God’s salvation for granted. Only in the last
three measures does Martin eliminate all conflict and settle in a pure D major chord.
159
Chapter 15 : Twelve-tone Technique
By his forties, Martin was captivated by the groundbreaking concept of
Schoenberg’s atonality and twelve-tone technique.
1
At twenty-four years old, Martin
wrote a series of instrumental works tackling the avant-garde serialist techniques of the
day, while preserving the integrity of harmonic function. Schoenberg’s Harmonielehre
2
was published in 1922, the year Martin began writing his Messe. Schoenberg’s
provocative twelve-tone technique was rapidly rising in popularity. Martin, well-
connected to the Germanic tradition and involved in new music, began to forage into a
personal twelve-tone method definitive to his compositional evolution. Cooke points out:
From this point onwards, the composer increasingly felt the need for a method of
abstract organization which would rationalize his complex harmonic language
without destroying the more fully developed interest in conventional counterpoint
which had been present in his music since the mid-1920s. Not surprisingly, the
necessary inspiration came from Schoenberg's dodecaphonic techniques.
3
In the beginning, the double-edged sword of twelve-tone technique left Martin
feeling conflicted. It was at once advantageous and counter-intuitive to his personal
aesthetics. He despised the rigidity of the method and what he saw as a lack of sensitivity
to the actual musical experience. In Martin’s own words, “Personally, I owe much to
Schoenberg and his theory, at the same time as I condemn him with all the force of my
1
Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections, 12.
2
Arnold Schoenberg, Harmonielehre (Wien: Universal Edition, 1922). Translation by Roy Carter,
(Berkeley & Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1978).
3
Cooke, "Frank Martin's Early Development," 476.
160
musical sensitivity for having introduced atonal music into the world.”
4
Martin did not
blindly follow the rules of dodecaphony, but adapted and modified it to create a new
idiom. He clarified:
All rules, after all, are only aimed at an enrichment of style… The obedience to
these rules is nothing more than an elegance, an intellectual pleasure, which does
not prove any value and carries no conviction. The only thing which can convince
the artist, and then the listener, is the composer’s faithfulness to his intimate sense
of musical structure and expression.
5
Unlike Schoenberg’s theory that all pitches were created equal, annihilating all
presupposed function of tones, Martin preserved a hierarchy of the function of tones.
Schoenberg’s twelve-tone technique opened a universe to Martin sonically. The
use of twelve-tone technique and tone rows lent itself to Martin’s thematic unity through
metamorphosis of motivic devices. Although Martin still used motivic cells such as the
prime forms [0257] and [0135] of the Messe, he was now creating twelve-tone rows. In
his middle period, tone rows took over the recognizable themes of his early period. He
elaborated:
Further, the use of a single twelve-tone row certainly gives unity to a large-sized
work, even if the ear does not recognize this row in its different forms, presented
sometimes melodically, sometimes split up between two or more real parts. It
remains at the heart of the work, being much closer in character to a highly
complicated mode than to the subject of a fugue, which keeps its own particular
rhythm as well as its melodic outline.
6
Martin expressed his gratitude towards twelve-tone technique:
We can enjoy being freed from the cadence and from classical tonality of the
diatonic mode without otherwise giving up our sense of tonal functions, of the
4
Martin, Un Compositeur médite, 119. Translated in Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections, 18.
5
Martin, À propos de...commentaires. Translated in Cooke, “Late Starter,” 135.
6
Martin, “Schoenberg and Ourselves,” 17.
161
functional bass, and of a hierarchy of relationships which elementary acoustics
shows to be based on physical fact.
7
As a result of Martin’s twelve-tone studies and refined adaptation of the technique, he
was able to expand a richer palette and more creative melodic invention, independent
from seemingly-contradictory bass lines or harmonizing triads moving in unexpected
progressions:
This research has taught me to find melodic lines that are richer and more
dynamic, chord progressions that always renew themselves, bass motions that are
expressive and unexpected; finally they taught me to keep each melodic line at a
distance from the music that surrounds it, thus giving it much independence.
8
The need to include all twelve tones led Martin to use sequences more in In Terra Pax
than he did in the Messe. Each verse of the hymn in Movement IV is set to three
sequenced phrases. Maria Martin recalls Martin being drawn to Berg’s methods of
reconciling tonality and twelve-tone techniques, so that his twelve-tone technique, while
often employing serialism, still implied harmonic tonal centers, and accommodated the
smooth voice-leading of Lauber.
9
During his middle period, Martin experimented with different degrees of
serialism. In 1933-34, Martin wrote the Piano Concerto No. 1, his first major work to use
serial techniques. In the Piano Concerto, Cooke noted a trait that foreshadowed Martin’s
mature period, “The series is [here] predominantly deployed linearly and often restricted
to a single contrapuntal voice.”
10
In both the Piano Concerto and String Trio of 1936,
7
Ibid., 16-17.
8
Martin, Un Compositeur médite, 119. Translated in Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections, 18.
9
Cooke, "Frank Martin's Early Development," 478.
10
Ibid., 476.
162
Cooke identified, “Unadulterated triads are here conspicuously avoided as a harmonic
element, but are frequently outlined melodically, thereby setting up a tension between
vertical and horizontal dimensions entirely typical of Martin’s mature style and a notable
departure from the Schoenbergian model.”
11
This also marks a departure from Martin’s
early abundance of root-position triads. In 1936, Martin continued to compose
Symphonie, which, with the String Trio, he claimed to have “followed the rules of
dodecaphony most closely, yet without giving myself up to atonality.”
12
Le vin herbé
(1938-1941), retelling the Tristan and Isolde myth, employs seemingly disparate elements
of parallel organum and pedals, chromaticism and dissonance over static bass lines, as
well as twelve-tone rows that form triads. By then, Martin had settled on adopting a
looser use of serialism. Hans Werner Henze commented on Le Vin herbé, “So that’s what
twelve-tone music sounds like… so beautiful and so tender! Such lavish sounds!”
13
A
few years later, Martin would complete In Terra Pax. The “lavish sounds” and
“tenderness” that Henze noted in Le Vin herbé is also evident in In Terra Pax.
Specifically, Martin’s twelve-tone method ascertained that:
1. His tone row would consist an order of pitches encompassing consonant triadic
segments,
2. one of the twelve tones would be chosen as a pedal under the other eleven
creating a line,
11
Cooke, "Late Starter,” 134.
12
Martin, À propos de...commentaires. Translated in Cooke, "Late Starter,” 134.
13
Hans W. Henze and Stewart Spencer, Bohemian Fifths: An Autobiography, trans. Stewart Spencer
(London: Faber & Faber, 1998), quoted in Michelle Louer, "Frank Martin’s Le Vin herbé: Compositional
philosophy, serial procedures, dramaturgy and choral narratology," (PhD diss., Indiana University, 2008),
ProQuest, 10.
163
3. returning to the original tone after traveling through eleven different pitches, so
that the remaining twelfth tone stays unreached, and/or
4. supporting the serial tone row with consonant harmonies
14
In In Terra Pax, the first nine of the twelve opening chords create a twelve-tone
row, doubled in the brass and the woodwinds (Example 15.1). When the trombone parts
on a single stave are isolated, the present author is able to discover the ease with which
Martin creates a twelve-tone even with just the trombones (Example 15.2), through
utilizing a chromatic stepwise passage by which each pair of perfect fifths move up by
semitone until all twelve tones are reached. Parallel chord streams that appear to be
influenced by Debussy and Ravel are evident.
Example 15.1. Movement I, mm. 1-8, twelve-tone row in trombones and tuba
Example 15.2. Movement I, mm.1-8, twelve-tone row in trombones alone
From Rehearsal 3 until four measures after, the same motivic open-fifth chords complete
another vertical twelve-tone aggregate, this time with the exception of F#. The
incomplete statement of the twelve tones fulfills Martin’s personal twelve-tone theory of
“traveling through eleven different pitches, so that the remaining twelfth tone remains
14
Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections, 18.
164
unreached.”
15
The open fifths also ensure that the tone rows are supported by consonant
harmonies in both chordal sequences. The melodic and rhythmic chordal motif of two
half notes arriving at a whole note by half steps recurs throughout Movement I. At two
measures before Rehearsal 2, the flute, clarinet, bassoon, and bass interrupt the baritone
solo with a shortened version. This time Martin vertically achieves a twelve-tone
combinatorial aggregate except E♭ and A♭. At Rehearsal 5, Martin uses five of the seven
chords to complete another vertical twelve-tone aggregate between parts.
Exemplary of Martin’s middle period, the baritone solo’s first entrance at
Rehearsal 1 cannot be described as a lyrical melodic theme. Martin displaces the sense of
tonality through the chromatic vocal line, covering all of the twelve tones except E♭ and
F. Each succeeding baritone phrase presents another effort to complete all twelve tones,
with each instance achieving all but one to two pitches. Examples include:
• Four measures after Rehearsal 3 - five measures before Rehearsal 5, missing F, F#
• Four measures after Rehearsal 5 - three measures after Rehearsal 6, missing B, G
• Rehearsal 7 until two measures before Rehearsal 9, missing E
• Rehearsal 9 until eight measures after Rehearsal 9, missing B♭
• Rehearsal 12 until seven measures after Rehearsal 12, missing F#
The tone row also conforms to Martin’s twelve-tone method, in which the tone row
embeds triadic segments (Example 15.3), mostly not in root-position, such as F-B♭-D♭
(the 6
th
, 7
th
, 8
th
pitches), B-D#-G# (the 10
th
, 11
th
, 12
th
pitches) and A-D-F (the 18
th
, 19
th
,
20
th
pitches) (Example 15.4).
15
Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections, 18.
165
Example 15.3. Movement I, one to seven measures after Rehearsal 12, strings
Example 15.4. Movement I, Rehearsal 12 – seven measures after Rehearsal 12, eleven-
tone row in strings
166
Instances of twelve-tone rows and combinatorial aggregates can be found in every
movement except Movement X. In Movement II, Mon Dieu, pourquoi m’as-Tu
abandonné?, the unison chorus travels through all twelve pitches of the chromatic scale,
except F#, fulfilling Martin’s return to the original tone after eleven different pitches, to
leave the twelfth tone unreached. Coincidentally, the skillfully crafted tone row in the
flutes and English horn (Example 15.5), which descend stepwise throughout the
movement from C♭ (B), resolves on G♭ (F#) as its final sounding pitch at the end of the
last vocal line, somewhat effectuating Martin’s principle of having the twelfth tone as a
pedal. The same G♭ also sounds in the viola to complete in the final E♭ major triad in the
strings, the consonant harmony supporting the tone row accomplishing the third
requirement. In the same movement, the descending line in the flutes and horns
completes a twelve-tone row except E♭. The partnering line in the clarinets and bassoons
also creates a twelve-tone row except C (Example 15.6). Despite these intentional
“incompletions,” both E♭ and C are found in the unison chorus part.
Example 15.5. Movement II, chromatic stepwise descent creating eleven-tone row
throughout entire movement, flute and horn
Example 15.6. Movement II, chromatic stepwise descent creating eleven-tone row
throughout whole movement, clarinet and bassoon
167
Movement III presents a complete twelve-tone row in octaves in the Violin I and
cello (Example 15.7). From the beginning of the movement to Rehearsal 2, these voices
cover two complete runs of the twelve pitches of the chromatic scale, all in staccato
quarter notes, sometimes upward and sometimes downward, with the stepwise motion
frequently interrupted, almost pictorial of the panicked escape of sinners under God’s
wrath. The twelve-tone aggregate which continues throughout the scattering figures in the
movement seem to display the extensive destruction of God’s wrath, and that no sinner is
able to escape God’s judgement.
Example 15.7. Movement III, m. 1 - Rehearsal 1, complete twelve-tone row in Violin I
and cello
The staccato scattering motion in the strings is handed over to Pianos I and II at
Rehearsal 2 until Rehearsal 4, when the character of the stepwise motion changes to a
smoother and legato passage. A twelve-tone row is created except C, which is
supplemented in the trombones (Example 15.8).
Example 15.8. Movement III, Rehearsal 4, chromatic ascending twelve-tone row, Piano
II passed to Piano I
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 (1) (4) 11(5) (6) (8) (9) (1)
168
Movement IV presents a hymn that is repeated three and a half times. As
mentioned earlier, the technique of sequencing and modulating became much more useful
and frequent in Martin’s middle period, facilitating the travelling through all twelve
tones. The sequential first verse of the hymn completes all twelve tones except A. Of the
twelve tones, six are completed in the first sub-phrase which forms the basis of the
sequence (mm. 1-3). The identical sub-phrase begins the second verse at Rehearsal 3.
This time, however, the six pitches that are left out in the Alto II, tenor and bass, are
complemented at the canon in the Alto I and alto solo, forming a twelve-tone
complement (Table 15).
Table 15. Movement IV, six-tone row and twelve-tone complement formed by the first
phrase of the hymn, mm. 1-3, supplemented by tenor solo, Bass II, Alto II, tenor and bass
(Rehearsal 3 to three measures after Rehearsal 3)
1 2 3 4 5 6
B C# D F E
E♭
In the first section of Movement V, a twelve-tone row is completed between the tenor’s
question addressed twice to the Watchman, “what is left of the night?” and the
Watchman’s subsequent reply.
The twelve-tone aggregate in Movement VI is created by violins I and II forming
the beginning of a passacaglia-like theme, combining to achieve twelve-tone
combinatoriality (Example 15.9). In a similar fashion, the passage modulates upwards in
7 8 9 10 11 12
F# G# A C
B♭
G
169
a second presentation, once again achieving twelve-tone combinatoriality, this time
between the Violin I and viola.
Example 15.9. Movement VI mm. 1-5, twelve-tone aggregate, Violin I and II
Both statements begin with identical intervals, thus sounding like a passacaglia. The last
time the “passacaglia” theme appears at Rehearsal 1, it also begins with similar intervals,
but quickly shifts into a different version. This time, the only pitch missing from the
twelve tones is D#, complemented by the lower strings. Three measures after Rehearsal
6, a twelve-tone row is again made possible through a chromatic ascending passage
(Example 15.10). The motif beginning on the same B♭, eradicates the “imperfection” set
up in the corresponding passage in Movement I (Example 15.11) where D# / E♭ is
deliberately left out.
Example 15.10. Movement VI, three measures after Rehearsal 6, Piano 1, top voice of
right hand and left hand, transposed to same octave and rewritten in enharmonics,
completing a twelve-tone aggregate
Example 15.11. Movement I mm. 1-8, bass trombone, tuba, rewritten in enharmonics,
missing D#/ E♭
170
In Movement VII, the first episode of the rondo form (section B, four measures
after Rehearsal 5—one measure before Rehearsal 7) presents a modal shifting play
between C♮ and C♭. Underneath, a curious bass line appears to move in angular motion,
but in fact, this bass line creates a twelve-tone row except D. Nonetheless, the hymn
embedded within the second episode of the rondo form (Rehearsal 9), sung by the alto,
baritone and bass solos, completes a twelve-tone row. While Movement VII is not the
symmetrical counterpart of Movement IV, the other movement containing a hymn, this
completed twelve-tone row fulfills the void that was created in Movement IV with the
missing A.
Movement VIII is comprised of a twelve-tone row in a passacaglia in the cello, a
masterful convergence of Martin’s old and new sensibilities (Example 15.12). The third
statement of the passacaglia (m. 16 beat three) is harmonized with consonances in the
viola, which also presents all twelve tones except F#. The consonances, often in root-
position, mitigate the austerity of twelve-tone rows. Example 15.12 reveals the triadic
segments embedded within the row. While the triadic segments are not adjacent, they
form the pillars of the passacaglia theme, being the longer note values and arrival points
of each sub-phrase, such as E-G-B♭, (E)-B-G# and D/D#-F#-B. Movement IX creates a
consonantly harmonized twelve-tone aggregate in the strings.
171
Example 15.12. Movement VIII, mm. 1-8, beginning in the viola and cello, passacaglia
bass line which completes a twelve-tone row
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 (4) (3) (7)
Movement XI is filled with twelve-tone row aggregates. In the opening meno
mosso section, the baritone and bass solo lines together form an eleven-tone row without
F. The baritone solo provides six pitches G, B, C#, F#, A, C, while the bass solo provides
the remaining complementary five pitches. The perfect fifths in the horns, strings, and
pianos harmonize the tone row with consonances. From four measures after Rehearsal 1
until fourteen measures after Rehearsal 1, the strings pulsate at steady dotted half notes,
forming a twelve-tone aggregate except B♭, once again supported by consonances. In
Rehearsal 6, a further combinatorial twelve-tone aggregate is completed in the brass in
eight measures in long dotted half notes that seem to suspend time, marking a transition
into a new beginning. Above the twelve-tone aggregate the baritone solo sings, Il
essuiera toutes larmes de laurs yeux et la mort ne sera plus, et il n’uy aura plus ni deuil,
ni cris, ni (He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or
mourning or crying or pain), signifying the arrival of the new covenant. Rehearsal 8-10
presents complete twelve-tones row in chromatic steps, while the male voices in the
choruses sing Saint! Saint! Saint le Seigneur Dieu! Le Tout puissant (Holy! Holy! Holy is
the Lord God Almighty!) One measure after Rehearsal 11, the six chords in the horns
which incorporate the overlapping B-A-C-H motif (discussed below) also form a twelve-
tone aggregate with the trombones and tuba, highlighting the text, Tu es digne, notre
172
Seigneur et notre Dieu, de recevoir l’honneur, la gloire et la puissance. (You are worthy,
our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power.) Rehearsal 12 presents another
twelve-tone aggregate in the overlapping B-A-C-H motifs together with the missing C#
in the horns, and tenor, baritone, and bass soloists. Rehearsal 17 presents the final twelve-
tone aggregates in both right and left hands of Piano I and the right hand of Piano II, in
triadic and consonant fashion.
173
Chapter 16 : Motivic Devices in In Terra Pax
B-A-C-H motif
The B-A-C-H motif, described by Samuel Barber (1910-1981) as “melodically
cogent and harmonically potent”
1
with its unstable chromatic intervals, was well-suited to
Martin’s writing. During Martin’s middle period, the motif was easily incorporated into
his rich harmonic idioms of the late nineteenth century, and into his adaptation of
Schoenberg’s twelve-tone style. Hans-Heinrich Eggebrecht (1919-1999) hypothesized
that Bach used this motif to express his Lutheran theology – man’s desire to reach the
“tonic” and God’s salvation.
2
Franck, whose influence on Martin’s music was crucial, also incorporated the
similar idea of the B-A-C-H motif in his music, notably in his most famous Sonata for
Violin and Piano in A. In the second movement, the B section marked quasi lento (m. 80)
begins with a distinct progression of four chords, then modified and transposed to
become the exact intervals that form a B-A-C-H motif (Example 16.1 and Example 16.2).
The same happens at mm. 94-99, the second attempt of which again produces the exact
intervals of the B-A-C-H motif (Example 16.3).
1
Barber. "Bach and the B-A-C-H motif," 3.
2
Hans-Heinrich Eggebrecht, J. S. Bach's "the Art of Fugue": The Work and Its Interpretation, trans. Jeffrey
L. Prater (Iowa State University Press, 1993), 8.
174
Example 16.1. Franck, Sonata for Violin and Piano in A, Movement II, quasi lento, mm.
80-85, piano, right hand, top note
Example 16.2. Franck, Sonata for Violin and Piano in A, mm. 80-85, piano, right hand,
rearranged into B-A-C-H motif contour
original (mm. 80-81) re-ordered and written in enharmonics
original (mm. 84-85) re-ordered and written in enharmonics
becomes exact B-A-C-H motif
Example 16.3. Franck, Sonata for Violin and Piano in A, Movement II, mm. 98-99,
piano, right hand, top note, B-A-C-H motif modified and transposed to G# - A – C - B
The B-A-C-H motif is also employed in other monumental works of Martin’s
middle period. In Le vin herbé, it appears in the form of A# - B – G# - A♮, an inversion
of the motif (Example 16.4).
3
Traditionally, composers have quoted the B-A-C-H motif
to allude to man’s sin against God. Martin’s inversion of it seems to change the
3
Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections, 48.
175
implication to God’s redemption of man. Derivations of the B-A-C-H motif would
continue into Martin’s mature period (post-1945).
Example 16.4. The use of the inversion of the B-A-C-H motif in Le vin herbé
In In Terra Pax, Martin preserves the intervals of the motif, and saves it for
abundant use at the conclusion of the oratorio, when the text describes the salvation of
man being fully achieved in the fulfillment of biblical prophecy. The motif is used in its
original form in two movements, Movement VI, the pivoting central movement as well as
the Golden Mean, and Movement XI, the final movement, where peace is fulfilled. In
Movement VI, the quasi-passacaglia theme begins with the B-A-C-H motif in its original
transposition, B♭ - A – C - B♮, in octaves between Violin I, cello and bass. This first
occurrence of the B-A-C-H motif is placed fittingly over the Revelation text that
describes the world to come – Mais les ténèbres ne règnerons pas toujours sur la terre
lourde d’angoisse. (Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom on the earth for those who
were in distress). Fittingly, the first time Martin sets the B-A-C-H motif is at the
movement where there are no more questions. The B-A-C-H motif is presented for a total
of a theologically-perfect three times, the second and third modulated, in a quasi-
passacaglia manner.
In Movement XI, one measure after Rehearsal 11, Martin writes a direct quote of
the B-A-C-H motif in the horns. Martin accentuates the motif by six chords in parallel
fifths in the horns (Example 16.5). Furthermore, he overlaps the chords so that the first
176
four dyads form two instances of the B-A-C-H motif – one in the top voice and one in the
lower voice, and the last four dyads likewise form two instances of the B-A-C-H motif.
Example 16.5. Movement XI, one measure after Rehearsal 11, B-A-C-H motif transposed
in parallel fifths in horns (written in sounding pitch and enharmonically, and transposed
in octave for comparison), compared with original B-A-C-H motif
a.
b.
The sonority of this motif is highlighted by the minimized texture. The horns, trombones,
and tuba are the sole musical material above the baritone and bass solo, who are singing
“You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power.” The
trombones and tuba also reference the B-A-C-H motif with their pitches G# - G - A - B♭,
which is the motif transposed out of order in the last two pitches (B – A – H – C).
Moreover, the parallel fifths in the horns conveniently form a twelve-tone aggregate,
missing A, which is supplemented in the trombones and tuba. The multifold emphasis on
that which is “perfect” in these five measures serve to highlight the central significance of
the text. At Rehearsal 12, the motif is continued in the English horn, Clarinet I, and
Trombone II. What follows are six chords creating another overlap of four recurrences of
the motif, creating a total of eight occurrences (Example 16.6):
177
Example 16.6. Movement XI, Rehearsal 12, English horn, Clarinet I, and Trombone II,
overlap of four presentations of B-A-C-H motif (transposed in octave and written in
enharmonics for clarity)
Two measures after Rehearsal 12, as if to reassure this is no mistake, Martin once again
quotes the B-A-C-H motif, this time in its original key, supported by a full orchestration
in parallel fifths (Example 16.7). In the strings, the motif is further underscored by
syncopation and metric displacement through punctuated rests in between each of the
four pitches, a conspicuous verification of each pitch of the motif. This supports a second
proclamation of the same text. At Rehearsal 12, the six chords also form a twelve-tone
aggregate, all but missing C#, supplemented in the horns, and tenor, baritone, and bass
soloists. Additionally, Martin proceeds with the only inclusion of the girls’ choir and
celesta, heightening the significance of the motif and building up a final suspense to the
climactic conclusion of the work. Instead of Bruhn’s proposition of the B-A-C-H motif
“explicitly or implicitly addressing suffering” in Golgotha,
4
it is the author’s opinion that
in In Terra Pax Martin used the B-A-C-H motif to reflect the completed perfection of
God’s will.
Example 16.7. Movement XI, two measures after Rehearsal 12, English horn, Clarinet I,
and Trombone II, B-A-C-H motif in original key and parallel fifths (transposed in octave
and written in enharmonic for clarity)
4
Ibid., 129.
178
As in the Agnus Dei of the Messe, there are episodes in which Martin
manipulated the order or intervals between the four pitches of the motif to generate
multiple derivatives with any four stepwise consecutive pitches, while preserving the
unmistakable referential sonority of B-A-C-H. Instead of two descending half steps
connected by a minor third, Martin sometimes substituted with whole steps at one or both
ends of the motif, or a major third instead of a minor third in the center. Sometimes,
instead of descending half steps, Martin would alter the direction to ascending half steps.
Martin even stretched the intervals beyond consecutive pitches so that he was able to
create a larger intervallic vocabulary for cohesion throughout the work, while preserving
the overall contour of the motif. As will later be discussed, these derivatives include, but
are not limited to, the prime forms of [0123], [0124], [0135], [0235], [0236], [0238],
[0257], creating a rich glossary of sonorities.
The first four chords that we hear at the opening of the piece contain the pitches F
– G – G# - A in the top voice. When re-arranged, these four pitches form one whole step
and a half step connected by a major third,
maintaining the contour of the B-A-C-H motif.
The following displays the numerous examples where Martin created a rich vocabulary of
tetrachords all stemming from the B-A-C-H motif:
Written: Rearranged in enharmonics and transposed to
compare against B-A-C-H motif:
Movement I, first four chords, top line, English horn, clarinet, Trombone II [0124]:
179
Movement VIII, mm. 1-2, viola passacaglia [0235]:
Movement VIII, Rehearsal 2, viola harmonization of passacaglia [0257]:
Movement IX, three measures after Rehearsal 3 to the end, tenor solo [0236]:
“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
Movement X, mm. 1-2, Cello II and solo double bass, bass passacaglia theme [0235]:
Movement X, mm. 1-2, Flute I, oboe, Trombone I, upper melodic theme of passacaglia
[0257]:
Movement XI (Part IV), measures 4-7 after Rehearsal 1, Cello I and double bass [0235]
while baritone solo sings:
Et je vis descender du ciel, d’auprès de Dieu, la ville sainte, la nouvelle cité
(I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God)
180
Movement XI, Rehearsal 3, Violin II top and Viola I [0135] while baritone solo sings:
Et j’enten dis du trône une vois forte qui disait: Voici le tabernacle de Dieu avec les
hommes. (And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is
with men.’)
Movement XI, Rehearsal 7, bassoon, clarinet, English horn [0135], while baritone solo
sings:
Car tout ce qui était a disparu. (For the old order of things has passed away.)
Movement XI, Rehearsal 14, girls’ choir on unison [0238] singing:
Et nous n’avons plus faim, et nous n’avons plus soif (Never again will we hunger; never
again will we thirst.)
Stepwise Chromatic Passages
Martin used stepwise chromatic passages liberally in virtually every movement to
illustrate the text. Both ascending and descending stepwise passages lent themselves to
conveniently completing twelve-tone aggregates and rows.
The abundant use of the motif in In Terra Pax seems to reveal further evidence of
Bach’s influence on Martin. Bach often used stepwise passages as a musical feature to
depict the text. In Bach’s Cantata 150 “Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich,” Bach employed
stepwise motion to depict man’s longing for God, as well as God’s leading man out of his
181
sinful state. In Movement IV, “Leite mich in deiner Wahrheit” (Lead me in your truth), a
continuous stepwise ascending passage is passed upwards between the chorus parts, then
to the two violin parts (mm. 1-6), underlining the text (Example 16.8).
Example 16.8. Bach Cantata No. 150, Movement IV, mm. 1-8, Violins I and II, bassoon,
SATB choir, continuous stepwise ascending passage
5
5
Johann Sebastian Bach, Cantata 150 Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich (Stuttgart: Carus-Verlag, 2010), 23-
24.
182
Even more pertinent, in Cantata 131 “Aus der Tiefe ruf ich zu dir,” Movement V, Bach
used the ascending chromatic motif in the fugue to portray God’s merciful redemption of
man from his sinful state (Example 16.9). The ascending chromatic fourth motif
articulates the text from Psalm 130: 7-8 about Israel hoping for mercy and redemption
from the Lord: aus allen seinen Sünden ([He will redeem Israel] from all its sins).
183
Example 16.9. Bach, Cantata No. 131, Movement V, mm. 2-3 after Rehearsal W, alto,
and Rehearsal X, soprano, chromatic fourth ascending line
On the other hand, Martin’s use of descending chromatic passages in In Terra
Pax, as in the Messe pour double choeur, again recall the chromatic descending lament
bass used by composers such as Bach and Purcell, for instance in the Crucifixus
movement from Messe in h-moll, as mentioned in Part One (Example 16.10) and Dido’s
Lament (Example 16.11). Bach’s Crucigeros Canon, discussed in the section on Messe,
also adopts the Schmerzenfigur in m. 2 in the lower voice in Canon I and then in its
contrary motion, ascending chromatic steps in m. 4 in the top voice of Canon I (Example
16.12).
184
Example 16.10. Bach’s Messe in h-moll, Crucifixus, mm. 1-11, SATB choir and piano
reduction, descending chromatic bass
6
6
Johann Sebastian Bach, Hohe Messe in H moll BWV 232 (Leipzig: C. F. Peters, n.d), 96-97.
185
Example 16.11. Purcell, Dido and Aeneas, Dido’s Lament “When I am Laid in Earth,”
mm. 1-11, Dido and piano reduction, chromatically descending bass
7
Example 16.12. Bach’s Crucigeros canon, descending and ascending chromatic passages
8
7
Henry Purcell, Dido and Aeneas (London: Novello, Ewer & Co., n.d., 1892), 63.
8
Smith, “That ‘Crown,’” 147.
186
Moreover, Franck, whose music Martin revered, used a similar device in his
famous Sonata for Violin and Piano in A. In the second movement, mm. 10-15, both right
and left hands in the piano reveal chromatic descending passages (Example 16.13):
Example 16.13. Franck, Sonata for Violin and Piano in A, Movement II, mm. 10-15,
piano and violin
9
The violin solo that enters at the end of this passage is also pertinent, not only because it
is made up of ascending chromatic steps, but because it simultaneously completes a
twelve-tone aggregate (Example 16.14).
Example 16.14. Franck, Sonata for Violin and Piano in A, Movement II, mm. 14-22,
violin
9
César Franck, Sonata in A Major for Violin and Piano (Mineola: Dover Publications, 1991), 7.
187
Prevalent stepwise descending passages also take place in the left hand (mm. 48-54) and
the right hand (mm. 56-62) of the piano (Example 16.15).
Example 16.15. Franck, Sonata for Violin and Piano in A, Movement II, mm. 48-63,
violin and piano
10
10
Ibid., 10.
188
Admittedly influenced by Franck from his early period,
11
Martin would have known of
his Sonata (1886),
12
when he wrote In Terra Pax. The whole of Franck’s Sonata is
exemplary of skills that Martin learned. On top of stepwise chromatic passages, frequent
modal inflections overflow, harmonic and melodic triadic motion abounds, together with
ever-modulating sequences and unstable harmonic motion, all of which evidence his
influence on Martin’s music.
Ascending Stepwise Passages
The opening seven measures of Movement I continually ascend stepwise, mostly
by semitone, begins with B♭ and ending with B♮ (Example 16.16). The constant
movement by intervals of seconds evokes the impression of heading towards the
unknown. The sameness of rhythm erases all hierarchy of pitches, while the starting and
stopping adds to the sense of confusion.
Example 16.16. In Terra Pax, Movement I, mm. 1-8, bass trombone, tuba, chromatic
ascent
Like Bach, Martin used the chromatic ascent possibly to depict man’s dire need for God’s
redemption from sin. In Movement III, the continuous stepwise ascending figure is used
to depict the text the baritone solo sings, which describes the eerie darkness that covers
the earth as a consequence of God’s wrath (Example 16.17):
11
Martin, “À Propos de mon Concerto.” Translated in Tupper, “Stylistic Analysis,” 64.
12
Ibid.
189
Car le soleil s’obscurcira dès son lever, et la lune n’aura plus de clarté.
The rising sun will be darkened And the moon will not give its light.
Example 16.17. In Terra Pax, Movement III, Rehearsal 4, Piano II passed to Piano I,
stepwise ascending passage
In Movement VI, from one measure after Rehearsal 6, Martin writes an extended
ten-measure chromatic ascending passage in three voices (Example 16.18). With a few
exceptions, the passages ascend by the rate of one semitone per quarter note. The first
voice traces between Piano I (right hand, top note, left hand, top note), Piano II (right
hand, top note), Violin I (1
st
stand, top note), Violin I (2
nd
stand, bottom note), Violin II,
Viola (1
st
stand, top note), Viola (ripieno), Cello (1
st
stand, bottom note) (Example
16.18a). A continuous ascending passage by semitone is revealed from D through E# of
the third octave above. The only non-semitone intervals are whole steps, from E to F#, C
to D, and D# to E#. A second ascending passage of semitones is passed between Piano I
(right hand, middle note, left hand, middle note), Piano II (right hand, second note from
the top and left hand, top note), Violin I (ripieno), Violin II (top note), Viola (1
st
stand,
bottom note) and Viola (ripieno, top note) (Example 16.18b) beginning from B through
C# two octaves above, this time a complete continuous chromatic scalar passage until the
last four pitches, from F# to G#, A to B and B to C#. A third ascending passage of
semitones begins from G through two octaves to G#. This ascent is passed between Piano
190
I (right hand, bottom note, left hand, middle note), Piano II (right hand, third note from
the top), Violin II (bottom note), and Cello (1
st
stand, top note) (Example 16.18c). The
whole-step exceptions are B to C#, and F# to G#.
Example 16.18. Movement VI, passage of ascending semitones from one measure after
Rehearsal 6.
a. Piano I (right hand, top note, left hand, top note), Piano II (right hand, top note), Violin
I (1
st
stand, top note), Violin I (2
nd
stand, bottom note), Violin II, Viola (1
st
stand, top
note), Viola (ripieno), Cello (1
st
stand, bottom note);
b. Piano I (right hand, middle note, left hand, middle note), Piano II (right hand, second
note from the top and left hand, top note), Violin I (ripieno), Violin II (top note), Viola
(1
st
stand, bottom note) and Viola (ripieno, top note);
c. Piano I (right hand, bottom note, left hand, middle note), Piano II (right hand, third
note from the top), Violin II (bottom note), and Cello (1
st
stand, top note)
a.
b.
c.
Contrarily, the lower voices in the cello and double bass move in descending motion in
each measure. The continuous ascending semitones and their contrary descending motion
in each measure in the bass creates an expanding vertical trajectory, which seems to
illustrate the text “for the Lord has comforted his people and all the ends of the earth will
see…” The canon between the two voices conclude in a duet at the text “the peace of our
God,” ending on a C# major chord, before the music erupts into praises from “all the ends
of the earth” in Movement VII. The three passages in Movement VI function as an
elaboration of the passage in Movement I. The intentionally matching thematic material
191
that Martin used to depict chaos and loss in the opening measures of the oratorio, with
punctuated breaks throughout the chromatic movement, changes function likely to depict
glorification to the ends of the earth in Movement VI, with extended, smooth ascending
chromatic passages. In Movement I, Martin deliberately leaves out D# / E♭ in the twelve-
tone aggregate so that only eleven of the twelve tones are passed through. In Movement
VI, the same passage passes through all twelve tones including D#, again possibly to
reinforce God’s complete glorification.
The same stepwise ascent occurs in the opening of Movement IX, transposed up
from Movement I. Instead of the continuous ascent in Movement I, the ascent in
Movement IX is segmented into four continuous ascents (Example 16.19), each
demarcating a segment of text from the Sermon on the Mount. In addition, unlike the mf
dynamic and con moto in Movement I, Movement IX opens in pp dynamic and andante
molto tranquillo. The first three ascending passages consist of two four-note ascents, then
a six-note ascent, each functioning as a quasi-continuo in a recitative for each Beatitude.
The last ascent consists of seven continual stepwise pitches, but punctuated by rests after
the first three, creating [3+4=7] and hovers on E♭ open fifths, under the text “Father,
forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” In Martin’s own words, these
are “Christ’s essential words, and the greatest of them all…Among the greatest
commandments, to forgive and love one another. No other text could have served as a
conclusion.”
13
Martin acknowledges that Christ’s prayer at the Crucifixion is the ultimate
statement of peace and forgiveness. The same passage of chromatic ascent that suggested
13
Martin, “Le compositeur moderne,” 131-132. Translated in Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections,
95.
192
chaos in Movement I, here represents the breaking up of chaos – a new beginning and a
new covenant – as Movement IX increasingly shifts from the darkness of earth’s sin into
the realm of heavenly peace.
Example 16.19. Movement IX, disconnected chromatic ascent divided into four
continuous individual ascents in the strings, mm. 1-3, Rehearsal 1 to two measures after,
Rehearsal 2 to five measures after, and four measures before Rehearsal 3 to two measures
after Rehearsal 3
Throughout the movement, the vocal line sung by the tenor solo, representing Jesus,
meanders upwards mostly by step from the initial F up to D, with each Beatitude or
Commandment beginning on a higher starting pitch. This might represent the “blessed”
quality of Jesus and his being taken up to be with the Father after his last suffering at the
Crucifixion, which we are reminded of with the last line of text in this movement,
“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing.”
The longest, fastest, and most urgent continuous stepwise ascending passages take
place in the last movement. At Rehearsal 8-10, the tempo is ♩= 72, and each quarter note
of the ascending passage is accented. Although not every step is a half-step, the allusion
to the earlier half-step ascending motifs is apparent. In the upper voices, the duration of
the overall ascent from D# to D# one measure before Rehearsal 11 lasts a remarkable
eighteen measures (Example 16.20). The effect of urgency is augmented by the
configuration of pitches in each measure. With few exceptions, each measure begins with
a repeated first pitch ascending half-step above then whole-step above. The pitch then
descends by a half-step to the pitch previously missed, before commencing another
193
ascent. At Rehearsal 10, C# is passed onto other voices which continue their upwards
pilgrimage. In the lower voices, the configuration is slightly different but maintains an
overall upward ascent. Each measure consists of two ascending whole-steps, before
falling two half-step intervals and repeating. The augmented spatial and temporal
distance creates the depiction of an everlasting praise of God’s holiness to all the ends of
the earth. Each line exhibiting a constant overall upward struggle eventually arrives on
the text “God,” symbolizing man’s final reward of God’s deliverance.
Example 16.20. Movement XI, Rehearsal 8 - downbeat of Rehearsal 11, chromatic
ascent, upper voices, Violin I, viola, Piano I, Piano II, cello (transposed when necessary
for clarity)
At Rehearsal 15 and 16, the last ascending stepwise passage spans a total of twenty-four
measures. The rising sequential passage from earlier returns in the strings for ten
measures. At Rehearsal 17, the stepwise ascent is passed to the two piano parts. Multiple
individual ascending lines from different starting pitches are created by the different
voices in both piano parts (Example 16.21). The passages in both right and left hands of
194
Piano I, and the right hand of Piano II complete twelve-tone aggregates. Meanwhile, the
upper vocal melody, doubled by Violin I, also keeps ascending in its overall tessitura,
painting the text, La terre entire est pleine de sa gloire! (The whole earth is full of his
glory). The ascent in the strings resumes for five more measures at Rehearsal 18, totaling
to twenty-four measures, culminating in the oratorio’s climactic conclusion. At Rehearsal
19, the five soloists pass their praises to each other, one by one in ascending pitches.
Example 16.21. Movement XI, Rehearsal 17, multiple stepwise ascending lines in Piano I
(written out of meter and rhythm for clarity)
Descending Stepwise Passages
Martin contrasts the ascending passages with chromatic descending passages to
depict different textual connotations. In Movement II, the flutes, doubled by the English
horns in octaves, present a continuously descending stepwise line from C♭ (B), down an
octave to G♭ throughout the movement (Example 16.22a). With the exception of whole-
step intervals between A to G and F♭ (E) to E♭♭ (D), all the intervals are semitones.
Underneath the top descending line, a parallel descending line begins from a semitone
below, B♭ (Example 16.22b). This line is doubled by the clarinets and bassoons in
octaves, descending from B♭ to G♭ more than an octave below. All intervals are
semitones, except the whole-steps B♭ and A♭, D♭ and C♭ (B) and A♭ and G♭.
195
Example 16.22. Movement II, chromatic semitone descent. a. flute and English horn; b.
clarinet and bassoon
a.
b.
The two descending chromatic lines do not move at the same rate. One line often remains
static while the other continues its descent. Therefore, Martin is able to maneuver away
from dissonances at times and arrive at an E♭ minor triad. The jarring semitone
difference between the two descending lines, technically the smallest interval in Western
music, presents the furthest figurative distance and greatest tension. Furthermore, against
the chromatic descent in the woodwinds, the chorus sings in unison a line that keeps
reaching upward but falls short, repeatedly asking “My God, why have you forsaken
me?” Martin employs this dual fabric of conflict seemingly to illustrate the furthest
possible, unattainable distance between God and man. In its first occurrence, the line
ascends through the first three pitches, but returns immediately to the previous pitch, C♭.
As if in a second attempt to rise above, the attempt fails and only arrives at D♭, lowered
from the previous D, before returning to the initial B♭ (Example 16.23a). The
meticulously-calculated choral line possibly symbolizes man’s struggle to reach upwards
for God’s help but falling back to his miserable state. The theme is transposed up in a
196
second attempt to ask the same question (Example 16.23b). The last time the chorus asks
the question, the movement ends in the key it began, with the chorus on the pitch from
the opening.
Example 16.23. Movement II, choir line on text Mon Dieu, pourquoi m’as-Tu
abandonné? original and transposed
a. b.
Day-of-Wrath phrase
In Part I of the oratorio, Bruhn identifies a “Day-of-Wrath phrase” which heralds
the warning of God’s wrath on Judgement Day. The motif occurs in the first and then in
the third movement. In Movement I, Rehearsal 12, Choir I sings the text “For the day has
come, the great day, the day of His wrath.” This is musically depicted in the orchestra’s
turbulent harmonic conflict of A major with D minor back to G# minor. In addition, the
strings underneath present a twelve-tone row missing F# (Example 16.24).
197
Example 16.24. Movement I, Rehearsal 12, “Day-of-wrath phrase,” reduction
14
The same progression returns transposed in Movement III at Rehearsal 2 (Example
16.25a) and then later at three measures after Rehearsal 8 (Example 16.25b). As Choir I
echoes the baritone solo’s warning in Movement I at the day-of-wrath phrase, here Choir
I echoes the bass solo’s heed, with the text “a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger,” and
“in the day of his burning anger” respectively.
14
Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections, 109.
198
Example 16.25. Day-of-Wrath phrases in Movement III
a. Three measures to six measures after Rehearsal 2, SATB Choir I;
15
b. Three measures to ten measures after Rehearsal 8, bass solo and SATB Choir I
16
a.
b.
15
Martin, In Terra Pax, 34-35.
16
Ibid.,
47-49.
199
Tertian intervals
Besides the stepwise secondal motion that abounds in the oratorio, the interval of
the third remains crucial in Martin’s writing, not only harmonically in the formation of
triads, but also melodically as a motivic device to serve the text. As Martin notes in his
discussion of his personal twelve-tone technique, his tone rows would often “consist an
order of pitches encompassing consonant triadic segments.”
17
The vocal lines of all
eleven movements begin with an initial interval of either a second or a third. By first
presenting the major third motivic figure in Movement III, on the text Malheur (Woe) in
the bass solo, Martin disputes the conventional affects of major and minor modes. This is
in accordance with Schoenberg’s theory of displacing the hierarchy of the twelve tones
and the resulting intervals. The major third next appears in Movement V in the tenor solo,
on the text Le Matin vient (Morning is coming) and Repentez-vous (Repent). In
Movement VI, the soprano solo sings alone for the first time when the text proclaims
Qu’ils sont beaux sur les montagnes (How beautiful on the mountains [are the feet of
those who bring good news]), representing the voice of the herald of good news. This text
is also accentuated by minimal orchestration of only a sustained tremolo in the violins. A
luminous example of Martin’s text-painting, the soprano vocal line reaches up starkly by
a major third on the text “beautiful” and “mountains,” repeated by the tenor solo. The
soprano solo then repeats the same major third interval on the text paix (peace), while the
tenor solo interjects with an expanded vertical interval of a perfect fourth on “salvation.”
Finally, the soprano line soars, outlining a major triad on the text Ton Dieu règne! (Your
17
Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections, 18.
200
God reigns!) In Movement VII, Choir II opens with a major third, on the text Consolez,
[consolez mon pueple dit votre Dieu] (Comfort, [comfort my people, says your God].)
Another notable text-painting example takes place at the end of the second episode,
where the soprano solo sings the highest vocal pitch B5 on the text Dieu (God),
surpassing all previous pitches, the text-painting exalting God’s supremacy over all
Creation. The motif is ultimately brought back in the final Movement XI. Fittingly, this
reprise of the rising major third motif paints the text Puis je vis un nouveau ciel (Then I
saw a new heaven and a new earth) in the baritone solo, highlighting the words “heaven”
and “earth” with the major third. The rise from C to E instead of C# to E# in Movement
VI, seems to represent the shift to “a new heaven and a new earth.”
In the contrary, the darker minor third is heard as the first sung interval in
Movement I, in the baritone solo, on Lorsque l’agneau rompit le premier sceau (As the
Lamb opened the first of the seven seals). The phrase encompasses two minor thirds,
creating a diminished triad that evokes instability (Example 16.26a). While the triad on
F# is diminished, in Martin’s language it preserves its dominant function on top of the
key center of B in the drones of the lower strings. Counter-intuitively, the identical
intervallic theme is found in Movement VIII (Example 16.26b), this time setting the text
Voici mon serviteur, mon élu en qui mon âme prend plaisir (Here is my servant, whom I
uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight.)
201
Example 16.26. Movement I and Movement VIII, thematic tertian diminished triads
a. Movement I, Rehearsal 1-two measures after Rehearsal 1, baritone solo;
18
b. Movement VIII, mm. 8-11, alto solo
19
a.
b.
Movement V also begins with a minor third in the tenor solo on the text Sentinelle, [que
dis-tu de la nuit?] (Watchman, [what is left of the night?]). In Movement IX, the text of
the Beatitudes ends with Jesus’ supplication at his Crucifixion, Père, pardonne-leur, car
ils ne savent ce qu’ils font. The minimized sustained chord texture under this text
highlights the tenor solo melodic material, which ends with the retrograde of the motif in
Movement I and Movement VIII. Instead of the ascending diminished triad, “for they do
not know what they are doing” is set to two descending minor thirds, A♮-G♭(F#), and
G♭-E♭, creating a descending diminished triad (Example 16.27).
Example 16.27. Retrograde intervals of diminished triad, Movement IX, tenor solo, three
measures after Rehearsal 3 to the end of the movement
20
18
Martin, In Terra Pax, 2.
19
Ibid., 126.
20
Ibid., 151.
202
Chapter 17 : Motivic Unity and Thematic Metamorphosis in In Terra Pax
In Martin’s middle period, while there were generally fewer memorable melodic
themes, In Terra Pax stands out by returning to recurrence of recognizable themes, which
take on an important role of sustaining the listener’s interest.
1
As with the Messe, themes
demonstrate a comprehensive motivic unity throughout In Terra Pax. As a basic motivic
unit, the semitone intervals of the B-A-C-H motif generated other four-note motifs to
create motivic unity. As in the study of the Messe, the motifs will be discussed according
to their prime form names, used in this research only for the purpose of giving a name to
the thematic motifs. Once again, Martin himself was likely not thinking in terms of prime
forms but thematic metamorphosis, motivic unity, and sonority.
In Movement X, Martin stays true to the requirement of a passacaglia bass line.
The bass line begins with E♭ - F - G♭ - A♭ (and returns to E♭), reflecting a prime form of
[0235], while the recurring melodic material in the upper voices poses a prime form of
[0257] (Example 17.1). As a sonority, Martin developed a particular inclination toward
prime form [0257], which permeated the Messe twenty-two years earlier. In In Terra Pax,
The same [0257] sonority is employed in the E♭ Aeolian melody in Movement V
(Rehearsal 2 to the end) (Example 17.2). The same transposition and series of pitches in
the chorus, E♭ - D♭ - B♭ - A♭, ties the two movements together.
1
Cooke, "Late Starter,” 136.
203
Example 17.1. Movement X, mm. 1-3, recurring [0257] descending motif in Flute I,
oboe, Trombone I, Violin I top, Viola I, and [0235] ascending motif in Cello II and solo
double bass
2
2
Martin, In Terra Pax, 152.
204
Example 17.2. Movement V, recurring [0257] descending motif, Rehearsal 2-seven
measures after Rehearsal 2, Soprano I, Tenor II
3
Movement V is the first time the text describes man’s repentance. The Lord’s Prayer of
Movement X also describes repentance (Example 17.3). It is possible therefore to
interpret [0257] as a sonority Martin associated with repentance. In Movement VIII, at
the third statement of the passacaglia (m. 16 beat three), the viola begins with [0257] as
well.
Example 17.3. Movement X, m. 1-2 beat one, Flute I, oboe, Trombone I, Violin I top,
Viola I [0257] descending motif
The [025] descending motif is embedded in other moments as well. The two
beginning intervals of a descending major second and descending minor third, are found
in both the [0257] and [0135] (Example 17.4) prime forms of the Messe.
3
Ibid., 68-69.
205
Example 17.4. Messe pour double choeur, Agnus Dei, m. 2, SATB Choir I in octaves,
[0135] motif
In In Terra Pax, Movement XI, at Rehearsal 4, the second time the bi-tonal snaps with
the bells occur conceals a layer of C# - B – G# in the oboe, horn, and Piano I, left hand
(Example 17.5). At Rehearsal 13, the only appearance of the girls’ choir and the celesta,
they sing and play the prime form [025] at every measure in the form of pitches B – A –
F#, doubled by the oboe, Piano II, right hand, Violin II, and viola (Example 17.6). The
girls’ choir sings the text:
Nos robes sont lavées, nos robes sont blanchies dans le sang de l’Agneau.
Et nous n’avons plus faim, et nous n’avons plus soif,
Car l’Agneau nous conduit aux sources de la vie.
Our robes are washed and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Never again will we hunger; never again will we thirst.
For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be our shepherd;
He will lead us to springs of living water.
With the sonority of [0257] likely representing repentance, it would not be a stretch to
interpret the distinct sonority of prime form [025], placed so deliberately, to symbolize
the purification of man’s sin by the Lamb’s blood through repentance.
Example 17.5. In Terra Pax, Movement XI, Rehearsal 4, [025] motif in oboe, horn and
Piano I, left hand
206
Example 17.6. Movement XI, one to four measures after Rehearsal 13, descending 025
motif in girls' choir
4
Like [0257], the prime form [0235], which begins the passacaglia in Movement
X, is a symmetrical, non-retrogradeable motif that derives from the [025] genus. The cell
comprises major seconds at each end connected by a minor second. Martin uses this
4
Ibid., 180.
207
prime form in multiple movements for unification, possibly representing the fulfillment
of God’s plan. In Movement VIII, it is used as the opening four-pitch motif –
E – A – F# - G – that begins the passacaglia. While this is not the same order as in the
ascending motif in Movement X, it comprises the same internal intervals. In the final
Movement XI, measures 4-7 after Rehearsal 1, [0235] occurs in the same order as in
Movement X, in the lower strings in steady dotted half notes, in the form of F# - A♭ - A –
B, as the baritone solo sings, Et je vis descender du ciel, d’auprès de Dieu, la ville sainte,
la nouvelle cite, ornée comme une épouse qui s’est parée pour son époux. (I saw the Holy
City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride
beautifully dressed for her husband). In the lower strings, to illustrate this marriage
imagery, Martin follows the first four pitches which form the prime form [0235] with
four pitches that create reversed intervals between the four pitches. As a result, the two
sets of four pitches create a kind of intervallic complement for each other, as husband and
wife do (Figure 17.1).
Figure 17.1. Movement XI, mm. 17-25, reversed whole-step and half-step intervals
between the first and second set of four pitches in the bass line
F# - A♭ - A – B
W H W
E - F - G - G#
H W H
Similarly, in the opening theme of Movement VI, Mais les ténèbres ne règneront
pas toujours sur la terre lourde d’angoisse (Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom
for those who were in distress), which begins similarly to a passacaglia, the B-A-C-H
motif [0123] is followed by [02357], an augmented variation of [0235], containing the
208
pitches D# - C# - C – A# - G#. After the next two pitches G# - A, Martin builds yet
another further augmentation, [023457], containing the pitches B♭ - C - D♭ - D - E♭ - F.
Another variation of [0235] occurs at the end of Movement IX, where Martin sets the text
of Christ’s ultimate prayer of forgiveness: Père, pardonne-leur, car ils ne savent ce qu’ils
font. (Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.). The pitches A, G, G♭, and
E♭ create a foreign sonority through the prime form [0236], expanded from [0235].
Martin identified the text as “Christ’s essential words, and the greatest of them
all…Among the greatest commandments, to forgive and love one another. No other text
could have served as a conclusion.”
5
At Rehearsal 14 of Movement XI, after the girls’
choir’s recurring descending [025], they also sing an expanded version of [0235], [0238]
in an inverted ascending direction.
6
In fact, the [0235] motif is a variation from the opening chords in Movement I.
The four-note motif in the English horn, clarinet, Bassoon I, and Trombone II consists of
F - G - G# - A, and B♭- C - C# - D in Bassoon II and Trombone I and III. Both versions
create the asymmetrical prime form [0124] – minor second, minor second, major second
– differing from the prime form [0235] by one interval. The fact that the oratorio opens
with the asymmetrical [0124] and ends with the symmetrical [0235] may be used to
symbolize a trajectory of the final victory of God’s perfection over man’s imperfection.
At Rehearsal 3 and Rehearsal 7 in the last movement, there is an unusual
recurring ascending motif deriving from the prime form [0135] (Example 17.7). It
5
Martin, “Le compositeur moderne,” 131-132. Translated in Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections,
95.
6
In the author’s opinion, both expanded variations of [0235] create foreign sonorities, which may
symbolize God’s extraordinary act of forgiveness, beyond man’s comprehension.
209
appears first in the form of C# - D – A – B in the strings, then A - B♭ - F – G in the
woodwinds.
Example 17.7. Movement XI, recurring [0135] ascending motifs a. Rehearsal 3 in strings
7
and b. Rehearsal 7 in woodwinds
8
a.
b.
7
Martin, In Terra Pax, 164.
8
Ibid., 171.
210
The prime form embodies the dichotomy of the first “perfect” major second, God, versus
the second “imperfect” minor second, man. The wide ascending intervals in octaves can
be interpreted as man being taken up into heaven. The reference to the prime form
[0135], which was used prominently in the Messe especially in the Sanctus and Agnus
Dei, also recalls the threefold “Holy, holy, holy” text in both the Sanctus of the Messe
and Movement XI of In Terra Pax. In the latter, the [0135] motif takes place right before
the text “Holy, holy, holy.” It is the author’s opinion that Martin may have used the
motivic sonority of [0135] to embody a state of eternal praise brought about by Christ’s
sacrifice.
211
Chapter 18 : Structure in In Terra Pax
Symmetry
The tenacious grip of his predecessors never let go of Martin, manifesting in an
adherence to classical forms and proportional dimensions. On a macro level, In Terra
Pax is in four large parts. Structurally, in a symmetrically inverse relationship, Part I
incorporates four movements while Part IV is one movement. Parts II and III each
consists of three movements. In terms of duration, according to the 1996 Chandos
recording by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Brighton Festival Chorus, and Matthias
Bamert,
1
the first half consisting of Parts I and II totals twenty-four minutes while the
second half consisting of Parts III and IV totals a near-symmetrical twenty-three
minutes.
2
In the 2005 Profil recording by the Munich Radio Orchestra, Bavarian Radio
Symphony Chorus, and Marcello Viotti, the first half totals to twenty-two minutes while
the second half also totals twenty-one point five minutes.
3
In terms of voicing, the first and last movements both begin with baritone solo.
The second and penultimate movements both employ unison chorus supported by steady
quarter notes and half notes in the orchestra. Symmetrical pairs of movements,
Movements III and IX, and IV and VIII begin with soloists. The first and last, second and
1
Chandos Records, “Martin: The Four Elements / In Terra Pax. Matthias Bamert, London Philharmonic
Orchestra and Brighton Festival Chorus,” 1996.
2
Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections, 97.
3
Profil Records, “Paradisi Gloria: Frank Martin's In terra pax, Pilate, Golgotha, Munich Radio Orchestra,
Bavarian Radio Symphony Chorus, Marcello Viotti,” Günter Hänssler, 2005.
212
penultimate, fifth and seventh movements all correspond to each other by employing
choruses, while the central Movement VI is composed entirely of soloists.
Textually, the first and last movement both begin and end with text from the book
of Revelation, mentioning the Seer’s contrasting visions, one of terror and the other of
ecstasy. Both are in the key area of B♭. The ends of both Part I (Movement VII) and Part
II (Movement XI) speak of God’s salvation and peace fulfilled upon “all the ends of the
earth” and “the whole earth” respectively. Movements II and X correspond with text
describing Jesus’ seeking and praying to God. The former portrays a prayer that is
doubtful. The latter illustrates a contrasting prayer that is obedient. Movements III and IX
mirror each other – the former presents the bass solo (with Choir I) describing a cursed
Israel bringing catastrophe upon earth, while the latter presents the tenor solo blessing the
repentant ones and their promised forgiveness in God’s peaceful kingdom. The central
Movement VI takes its text entirely from the book of Isaiah, while the encompassing
Movements V and VII both take texts from Psalms and Isaiah.
Thematically, in Movement VI, the center as well as Golden Mean of the work,
the integral theme and title of the work – the word “peace” – appears three times.
Movements I and XI form a symmetrical arch of opposites, as well as the corresponding
pairs Movement II and X, III and IX, IV and VIII, V and VII (Table 16).
213
Table 16. Sentiments conveyed through the textual choices of the eleven movements,
as summarized by the present author
Movement Sentiment
Part I I End of the earthly Creation
II Prayer in doubt
III Woe and Chaos
IV Despair
Part II V Supplication
VI Peace (“peace” x 3)
VII Assurance
Part III VIII
Praise
IX Forgiveness - Beatitudes
(“peace”)
X Prayer of trust - Lord’s Prayer
Part IV XI A new beginning
(“Holy, holy, holy”)
Archaic Structures
Martin’s obsession with ancient chant and Greek modes, Baroque and Classical
formal structures, the harmony of the Romantic era, with an ever-evolving development
of his own twelve-tone technique, shaped him into an all-rounded conglomeration of
Western music history. The return to archaic formal structures was reflected in the
structural choices in In Terra Pax.
214
In terms of the individual structures of the eleven movements, the second and
penultimate, and Movements V and VII correspond with ternary forms (Figure 18.1). In
Movement VII, the A section consists of a chorale tune theme. An aaba hymn is
embedded in the second episode, sung by the alto, baritone and bass solos, colla parte
with oboe, English horn, and bassoon. A great fugue on the original chorale tune theme
concludes the movement. Even number movements employ repetitive structural
techniques such as passacaglia, theme and variations and ternary forms. These traditional
repetitive forms, especially in the Movements IV and VIII, allow Martin to set longer
passages of text.
Figure 18.1. Symmetry in terms of structures in the movements of In Terra Pax
4
Movement II is an elaboration of a theme built on pourquoi m’as-Tu abandonné?
(why have you forsaken me?) The simple ternary ABACA form fits the ABA structure of
the text. On a macro-level, the music also forms an ABA structure, with a truncated last
A section. The movement can also be interpreted as the same question being presented
three times, each beginning with Mon Dieu (My God). The B section begins with the
same half-step interval on the same rhythm, though modulated up a minor third. This
way, the second movement could be read as a theme and variations movement rather than
an ABA ternary form.
4
Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections, 100.
215
Movement IV is a strophic hymn. The movement begins in a passacaglia-like
fashion, presenting a hymn four times (Example 18.1), two of the four times asking the
same question pourquoi m’as-Tu abandonné? The second verse begins a canon at the
fifth between Choir II and the alto solo and altos of Choir I. Likewise, the fourth verse
begins as a canon at the fifth with sopranos and tenors followed by altos and basses. Both
canons shift quickly into a canon at the tritone after two sub-phrases, Martin’s way of
reinventing the old. These canons are further complicated by unstable changes in the
horizontal interval in terms of duration and vertical interval in terms of pitch between
entrances of voices.
Example 18.1. First verse of the hymn tune in Movement IV, m. 1 to two measures
before Rehearsal 3, first presented in tenor solo and Choir II basses, which is then
repeated three times
5
Movement VI begins with a bass line that is set like a passacaglia: despite
variations in the succeeding sub-phrases, each presentation of the bass line commences
with two sets of two eighth notes, separated by eighth-note rests, followed by a grouping
of three eighth notes (Example 18.2a, Example 18.2b and Example 18.2c). This motif
5
Ibid., 101.
216
takes place three times until the più mosso section at m. 15. Each presentation is elevated
to a higher key and intensifies through augmentation of rhythmic cells.
Example 18.2. Movement VI, quasi-passacaglia theme
a. mm. 1-5, cello, double bass
b. mm. 6-9, double bass, cello except last two pitches
c. Rehearsal 1, double bass, cello except last four pitches
Movement VIII is an exhibition of Martin’s ability to interface old and new
sensibilities. As the mirror movement of Movement VI, the hymn, Movement VIII
comprises a passacaglia presented fifteen times (Example 18.3).
Example 18.3. Movement VIII, passacaglia bass line, first presented m. 1- Rehearsal 1, in
viola and cello
The first eight statements are identical and set in the same key center. The voicing
expands and rhythmic and harmonic interest increase with each successive statement
(Table 17).
217
Table 17. Movement VIII, fifteen statements of the passacaglia, with key center and
instrumentation
Statement Key
center
Instrumentation Remarks
1. mm. 1-8 E Viola, cello Unison
2. mm. 9-16 E Viola, cello Unison, accompanying alto solo
3. mm. 17-24 E Viola, cello Harmonized homophonically
4. mm. 25-32 E Viola, cello With complementary rhythm
5. mm. 33-40 E All strings Expanding orchestration
6. mm. 41-48 E Strings, English
horn
Homophonic
7. mm. 49-56 E Flute, oboe,
English horn,
clarinet, bassoon,
horn, strings
Harmonized with dissonance
8. mm. 57-64 E Bassoon, horn,
trumpet, timpani,
strings
Unison with syncopated trumpet
9. mm. 65-72 F# Horn, trombone,
strings
Different key
10. mm. 73-92 G# Strings Bass line becomes solo in viola,
rhythm altered
11. mm. 92-105 D# Horn, strings Bass line becomes solo in viola,
rhythm altered
12. mm. 106-114 A Horn, strings
13. mm. 115-122 B Horn, strings
14. mm. 123-130 D Horn, strings
15. mm. 131-145 E Flute, clarinet,
trombone, strings
Homophonic, pitches in last
presentation of beginning four-
note motif out of order
218
The third statement is homophonically harmonized by the viola. The fourth statement
employs complementary rhythm against the bass line, while the fifth statement adds
violins in imitation. The sixth statement returns to unison with the widest orchestration of
the movement repeating the passacaglia theme. By the seventh statement, the bass line is
barely recognizable, no longer harmonized by consonant intervals and triads but by
dissonances. The eighth statement, like the sixth, returns to unison between all
instruments except syncopated trumpets that fill in the empty beats in the passacaglia
bass with complementary rhythm. This syncopation idea is later echoed by the violins in
the ninth statement, and then the horns four times between the eleventh and twelfth
statement.
Beginning from the ninth statement, each statement modulates to a new “key,”
thus going through the twelve-tones of the chromatic scale in a different order each time.
For the tenth and eleventh statements, Martin alters the rhythm of the passacaglia and
extracts it into a solo melody for viola solo, displaying his attentiveness to timbral
choices. The emerging solo viola carrying the theme aptly illustrates the text “He grew up
before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground.” The last reiteration of
the full passacaglia ends in the original key as the beginning, supported by an affirmative
E pedal. After fifteen iterations of the passacaglia, Martin concludes with the four-note
motif that begins the passacaglia, E – A – F# - G, modulated to C – F - D - E♭. However,
in a clever twist, Martin deceptively omits the first pitch C, only to present the pitch C
out of order, after F, D and E♭. Even then he destabilizes the music by quickly
descending another minor second to B to complete the closing E major chord.
219
Movement X, Notre Père, a passacaglia à la Bach, is representative of Martin’s
neo-classical approach to synthesize the past and future of music in his own language.
Martin repeats the entire harmonic, rhythmic and instrumentation fabric in the orchestra
below a varied melody in the chorus (Example 18.4). The E♭ Aeolian bass orchestral
progression is as follows:
i – ♭VII – III – iv – i – i – ♭VII – III – IV – V – V – VI – III – VI - IV
220
Example 18.4. Repeated rhythmic and harmonic progression in Movement X, m. 1-
Rehearsal 1, strings (doubled in woodwinds and trombones)
6
6
Martin, In Terra Pax, 152-153.
221
After three identical repetitions of the orchestral harmonic and rhythmic progression in
the same key, Martin modifies the progression, first through augmentation then
diminution. The movement ends with a truncated version of the progression, bringing
back an almost-identical last two of the four harmonic sub-phrases.
The final movement consists of a canon. Unlike the canon in Movement VI, the
temporal distance between entrances remain regular, as if to depict the unchanging mercy
of God, and thus the united, unchanging praises of “Holy, holy, holy.” In Movement VI,
the text within the canon between soprano and tenor solos exalts the beauty of those who
bring hope of God’s salvation. In the final movement, the text describes God’s fulfilled
salvation. This is similar to the text in the canon in Movement VII, which also declares
that God’s salvation has arrived to those who believe:
Poussez vers Dieu des cris de joie, vous toutes nations!
Peuples, chantez la gloire de son nom!
Célébrez-le par vos louanges! Sachez que l’Eternel est Dieu !
Toute la terre, prosternée devant lui, chante sa grandeur.
Car sa bonté a toujours duré, à toujours sa fidélité.
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the Lord is God.
All the earth bows down to him and sings his praise.
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Golden Mean
As previously mentioned, Sigling Bruhn suggests that the recurring theme in In Terra
Pax is the “still moment between war and peace.”
7
This moment occurs at the central
7
Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections, 93.
222
movement in Movement VI, where the Golden Mean of the eleven movements falls – [11
x 0.618 = 6.798]. Movement VI, Mais les ténèbres ne règneront pas toujours
(Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress) at the Golden
Mean, is the first movement – the other being Movement IX – in the whole work that has
the word paix (peace) in its text, appearing a significant three times. Moreover, the word
la terre (earth) is also found. Here, the text first shifts from darkness to light and
reassurance, describing les ténèbres ne règnerons pas toujours (no more gloom), and
toutes les extrémités de la terre verront la paix de notre Dieu (all the ends of the earth
shall see the salvation of our God). Movement VI also presents no questions, the only
movement in the first eight which does not include questions in its text. If this were not
evidence enough of Martin’s instincts towards Golden Mean proportions, Movement VI
is also the point at which the tonal area returns to the opening B♭. The tonal center of B♭
proceeds in the following Movement VII, the first movement that transitions clearly into
light in an elaboration of praise.
223
Chapter 19 : Rhythmic Treatment in In Terra Pax
From 1928-1938, Martin’s extensive research with Dalcroze and the Dalcroze
Institute solidified an understanding of rhythmic development and informed the rhythmic
aspects of his middle period.
1
His writing began to migrate from heavily relying on
asymmetrical rhythms of his early period.
2
Unlike the Messe, none of the eleven
movements in In Terra Pax employ asymmetric meters. Most movements are in simple
common time. This likely stemmed Martin’s priority of neo-classic formal structures at
this period, which did not lend themselves to uneven meters.
In Movement X, Notre Père, Martin personalizes the passacaglia form through
rhythmic treatment. A passacaglia typically employs triple meter. Without looking at the
score, the face-value perception of the music is in a steady triple meter. Written in 3/4
time signature, the passacaglia bass appears as follows, mixed with an ending 2/4 meter
before repeating itself (Example 19.1).
Example 19.1. Movement X, passacaglia bass line, re-measured, m. 1-5, Cello II and solo
double bass
However, counter-intuitively, Martin writes the movement in 4/4, and achieves a
displacement of stressed beats from the typical beats one and three. Instead, phrases
1
Ibid., 12.
2
Other works during the middle period exhibit the same migration from Martin’s early preference for
asymmetric meters, and a preference for simple common time. Le vin herbé (1938 and 1940-1941)
also
exhibits a preference for 4/4 meter, followed by 3/4 in frequency. Ballade pour trombone et piano (1940) is
predominantly in 4/4, followed by 6/8, 3/4 and 2/4 in terms of frequency.
224
begin alternately on traditionally weak beats two and four. The rhythmic pattern is
repeated five times, with two slightly modified, augmented to accommodate the straying
tonality. To add a layer of complexity, on top of the multi-dimensional deceptive triple
sensation in quadruple notation, Martin lays a vocal unison line that is rhythmically free,
chant-like, and enters primarily on syncopated or weak beats. The rhythmic and metric
treatments of irregular beats, syncopations, complementary rhythms, and mixed meters
are all evidence of the imprint of Dalcroze studies.
Other movements reflect rhythmic techniques which Martin familiarized himself
with at the Dalcroze Institute. Movement II, its symmetrical counterpart Movement X, as
well as Movements VIII and IX all utilize a persistent, steady quarter notes and half notes
motif in the orchestra, while the chorus fills in complementary shorter and syncopated
rhythms, typical of Dalcrozian studies. Often, Martin applied such complementary
rhythm with stagnant pitches or stepwise voice-leading, so as not to detract from the text.
Additionally, in Dalcroze fashion, Martin displaced stressed beats and entrances of text
by prioritizing text over measure lines. In Movement II, written in 4/4 meter, the first
declamation of Mon Dieu enters on beat two, with Dieu falling on beat three (m. 1). The
second time it enters on “one-and,” with Dieu falling on beat two (m. 2). The last time
they enter on “three-and,” with Dieu falling on beat four (m. 16).
At Movement XI, from Rehearsal IX to the end, one of the most important textual
passages declares the purpose for both the oratorio and for humanity. Each time the
threefold text “Holy, holy, holy” is set, the French text Saint is set on syncopated or weak
beats, creating multiple entry points in the orchestra and chorus, appearing to the author
to be creating an image of all the earth praising God in a spontaneous Pentecostal fashion.
225
PART THREE
Chapter 20 : Martin’s Mature Period (1945-1974)
“may these pieces … bring each listener
that very private joy which music can sometimes give.”
- Frank Martin
1
Martin’s last period marks a culmination of his technical refinement. Tupper
marks the beginning of the mature period with Petite Symphonie Concertante (1944-45),
Martin’s best-known work for orchestra. Meanwhile, Musinfo, the Database of Swiss
Music, delineates the period from 1956 onwards, during which Martin left Amsterdam
for Naarden, and his works La tempête (1952-1955) and Le Mystère de la Nativité (1957-
1959) received their world premieres by the National Opera in Vienna and in Salzburg in
1960 respectively.
2
By 1945, Martin’s international reputation was secured by the success
of Petite Symphonie.
3
In 1947, Martin won the composition prize of the Association des
Musiciens Suisses, of which he was President from 1942 to 1946.
4
In 1951 he won the
Prize de Genève and the Philharmonia Symphony Award in 1959 for Concerto pour sept
instruments à vents.
5
1
ABC Classics, "Frank Martin: The Complete Piano Music,” 9.
2
"Frank Martin - Composers - Biography – Musinfo."
3
Cooke, "Late Starter. Mervyn Cooke Concludes His Survey of Frank Martin's Creative Life," The Musical
Times 134, no. 1802 (1993): 136, doi:10.2307/1002475. Cooke, "Late Starter,” 136.
4
Ibid., 198.
5
Ibid.
226
On a personal front, Bruhn claimed that there were two periods in Martin’s life
during which he intensely reflected on death, the first being the years immediately after
the Second World War, and the second being the immediate years preceding his death,
6
both of which belong to this final period. Not unlike Bach, Martin expressed to Jean-
Claude Piguet in 1966 that he perceived “for ten years, between ages 50 and 60, after
having lost my wife…in friendship with death.”
7
8
If Martin’s middle period could be
interpreted as a reflection of the chaos he encountered universally and personally, the last
period could be seen as his reconciliation with life in this world and hope for the next.
Coupled with his first wife Irène’s death in 1939 was the death of a kindred spirit a
decade later, that of Rumanian pianist, Dinu Lipatti, for whom Martin wrote the Eight
Préludes for piano, but who died of leukemia before he had finished perfecting the
composition for performance. Other works during this final period also highlight his
fascination with death, including Poèmes de la mort (1969-71).
9
Martin’s last
composition, completed ten days before his death, was Et la Vie l’emporta – (and life
wins it), exhibiting Martin’s hope in the victory of everlasting life over death.
10
Martin’s
personal sentiment regarding the inspiration of Fantasie sur des rythmes flamenco (1970-
73) exhibits a similar acceptance of fate and death:
6
Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections, back cover.
7
Frank Martin, Jean-Claude Piguet, and François Félix, Correspondance Franck-Martin-Jean-Claude
Piguet: 1965-1974 (Genève: Georg, 2001), 5. Translated in Roihl, “Frank Martin’s,” 21.
8
Martin’s reflections on death in his music are not unlike Bach’s sentiments in many of his compositions,
such as Komm, du süße Todesstunde BWV 161 (Come, Sweet Hour of Death), and Komm, süßer Tod,
komm selge Ruh BWV 478 (Come, Sweet Death, Come, Blessed Rest).
9
Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections, 27.
10
Ibid.
227
… After a prolonged silence a difference dance form appears – a Soleares …
[which] denotes solitude … nostalgia, revolt and acceptance of Fate.
11
In 1946, Martin and Maria moved to the Netherlands and gave birth to two
children, son Jan Frank and daughter Anne-Thérèse in 1946 and 1949.
12
By 1956 Martin
moved to the suburb of Naarden, where he focused on composing until his death. Retiring
in 1957, Martin was able to dedicate his time to composing.
13
The final period marked
Martin’s last productive years when he travelled to the United States and Israel.
14
During
this mature period, Martin’s music was championed by Paul Sacher, director of the Basel
Chamber Orchestra.
A significant shift occurred towards the end of Martin’s middle period into his
mature period. The completion of In Terra Pax marked an emancipation in Martin’s
willingness to compose sacred choral music, generating “a burning conviction and
dispelled all misgivings which he had about his involvement with religious music.”
15
The
passion oratorio Golgotha (1945–48) was followed by Trois chants de Noël (1947), Notre
Père (1953), Le Mystère de la Nativité (1957-1959), the organ piece Agnus Dei pour
orgue (1965-66), Requiem (1971-1972) and finally his penultimate composition
Polytypque (1973), subtitled Six images de la Passion du Christ. It was also during this
period when most of Martin’s most well-known pieces were written, when he shared the
Messe pour double choeur with Brunnert, who performed its premiere in 1963. In
11
ABC Classics, "Frank Martin: The Complete Piano Music,” 7.
12
"Frank Martin - Composers - Biography - Musinfo," Musinfo - The Database of Swiss Music, last
modified 2004, https://musinfo.ch/index.php?content=maske_personen&pers_id=258&setLanguage=en.
13
Cooke, "Late Starter. Mervyn Cooke Concludes,” 198.
14
"Frank Martin - Composers - Biography – Musinfo."
15
Martin, In Terra Pax, Preface.
228
addition, Martin arranged the Agnus Dei for organ solo in 1966. Such a change of his
perspective of the sacred Messe as a private matter may have stemmed from decades of
personal and compositional self-seeking, coupled with witnessing the world shaken by
the Second World War. Compared to his early and middle periods, the last period was the
only one that was not plagued by a World War.
Martin’s music during this last period reflects his contemplations on the futility
and fragility of man, and the healing the world needed. His music reflects a distillation of
only the central aspects in terms of subject matter and musical language, so that Tupper
noted “the late works are somewhat simpler.”
16
The more Martin’s compositional
language matured, the clearer it became that his investigations into technical possibilities
always stemmed from a sense of responsibility in expressing something larger than
himself. This calling gave him an organic relationship with his music, which was not
founded on the basis of contrived techniques, but profound sensitivity and connection to
the subject matter and historical context. In Un compositeur medité sur son art,
Responsabilité du compositeur and Entretiens sur la musique, Martin wrote, “Creation –
this little word arouses deep longing in us, and we know in our hearts that this is our task
– however small our contribution may be. It is the only thing which is spiritually
absorbing.”
17
16
Tupper, “Stylistic Analysis,” 99.
17
ABC Classics, "Frank Martin: The Complete Piano Music,” 3.
229
Chapter 21 : Context for REQUIEM (1971-72)
All of these are merely technical considerations. You do not write a requiem in
order to flaunt your ‘expertise’, and if Mozart said of his Requiem ‘I put all of my
knowledge into it’, then we should understand that he said this because he put
something completely different into it. What I have tried to express here is the
clear wish to accept death, to make peace with it, to view it straight on with all the
fears, both physical and spiritual, that it conveys, looking face-to-face at what was
our life, with so little of what it could have been, so full of weakness and failure;
but also look at it in full confidence that we shall be forgiven and can expect true,
eternal rest. What I have tried to show here is not the image of a description of
this rest, but the ardent prayer that it will be achieved through mercy. I fully
identified with this liturgical text, whose richness evokes in succession the
expectation of rest, imploring, pure adoration or the fear of Judgement Day,
despite all that can make it foreign to the intellect. These images that originate
from the Middle Ages come directly from my deepest thoughts. Although it
cannot be clearly expressed by any language, I have tried to formulate this
thought of death in my music. May it bring some people the same feeling of trust
and peace that moved my soul while I was working on it.
- Frank Martin
1
The emergence of the Requiem did not stem from liturgical purpose. Like the
Messe, Martin’s Calvinist childhood did not direct him in the choice of a Roman Catholic
Requiem. Martin’s desire for a Requiem could be to achieve a sense of completion both
as a deeply religious believer and a composer leaving behind a legacy. Martin had always
known he would write a Requiem in his lifetime, and was similarly intrigued and
intimidated by the subject.
2
The nineteenth and twentieth-century Requiems of Hector
Berlioz (1803-1869) in 1837, Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) from 1865 to 1868,
Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) in 1874, Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) from 1961 to 1962,
1
Martin, À propos de...commentaires, trans. Rosemary Bridger-Lippe. Quoted in Frank
Martin, Requiem (Zürich: Universal Edition, 1976), XII.
2
Martin, Requiem, XI.
230
Stravinsky in 1966, and Krzysztof Penderecki (b. 1933) from 1980 to 2005, already
challenged the status quo of sonority, volume, language, text, and emotional context.
Despite Martin’s admission, “Is a person ever ready for such a task?”,
3
he could not resist
the personal work that had already begun taking form in his mind. Around 1968-1969,
Martin’s friend Jean-Claude Piguet earnestly urged Martin to put to paper and ink his
ideas of a Requiem, and Martin set to work in 1971, coming to a realization:
[…] I should have written a Requiem. Then, or later! You fear that this "later"
will never come, and I understand because I fear it as well. Yet I have a kind of
faith that whispers in my ear (as with Haydn) that things will happen as they
should and that my life shall not end without my having written my Requiem. [...]
The Requiem, then, should serve to celebrate, so to speak, my 80 years, at the end
of 1970. It's good to count the time and speculate on the future!
4
At the same time Martin came across an inspiration that triggered the
composition. (Illustration 21.1, Illustration 21.2, Illustration 21.3 and Illustration 21.4):
…in January 1971 I took a trip to the Mediterranean and had the opportunity, in
solitude, to see St. Mark’s in Venice, Monreale Cathedral in Palermo and the
Greek temples of Paestum, near Naples. These three monuments, which express
the feeling of adoration so perfectly, awakened in me the desire to build a temple
dedicated to adoration in my own way, with my own modest means.
5
The beauty and spiritual inspiration from the trip Martin took with Maria and their
daughter Anne-Thérèse dispelled the last of Martin’s hesitations. At the old age of eighty-
one, Martin wrote his Requiem.
3
Ibid.
4
Martin and Piguet, Correspondance, 5. Translated in Roihl, “Frank Martin’s,” 26.
5
Ibid.
231
Illustration 21.1. St. Mark’s Basilica, Venice
6
Illustration 21.2. Interior of St. Mark’s Basilica, Venice
7
6
"THE HORSES OF ST. MARK," Horse and Man - Exploring the Bond Between Equines and Their
People, last modified October 15, 2014, http://www.horseandman.com/people-and-places/horses-st-
mark/10/15/2014/.
7
Inspium, "St. Mark’s Basilica The Glorious ‘Church Of Gold’ In Venice," Around De Globe, last
modified December 3, 2015, http://arounddeglobe.com/st-marks-basilica-glorious-church-gold-venice/.
232
Illustration 21.3. Interior of Monreale Cathedral, Palermo
8
Illustration 21.4. Greek temples of Paestum, near Naples
9
8
"Full Day Tour to Monreale & Palermo from Palermo," Best of Sicily Tours and Travel to Sicily | Tour
Of Sicily, last modified 2017, http://www.tourofsicily.com/tour/full-day-tour-to-monreale-palermo-from-
palermo/.
9
Mikedemana's Bucket, "Greek style temple in Paestum, Italy," Photobucket, last modified 2017,
http://s721.photobucket.com/user/mikedemana/media/Southern%20Italy/Italy02_Paestum.jpg.html.
233
According to Martin’s faith, there could be no ultimate rest and peace without
wrath and death. The two go hand in hand, and the agent that makes it possible is God’s
mercy, which he clarifies with the Requiem. Martin expressed his intention for
composing the Requiem:
… the clear will to accept death, to make peace with it, to see it fully in all the
physical and moral anguish it entails by forcing us to face what our life has been,
so little worthy of what it could have been, so full of weaknesses and failures. But
also to consider it with the full confidence of forgiveness, expecting from it the
true and eternal repose. What I have tried to signify here is not the image or
description of this repose, but the ardent prayer to obtain it through grace.
10
In May 1973, the eighty-three-year-old Martin conducted the world premiere of the
Requiem in Lausanne Cathedral.
11
Regarding its reception, Martin wrote to his son Jan-
Frank:
Something quite extraordinary has happened, in the sense that nobody considered
this Requiem as a work of art that one can admire or reject. Everybody was
hooked to the message it represents: the message of peace with death, of
confidence, despite some tormented and violent passages. I was completely
amazed, for from the musical point of view it is not easy to hear.
12
Unlike In Terra Pax which meditates on death as a horrific power exhausted in
war, Requiem receives death with reverence, confidence, and even a fascination. Martin’s
Requiem is not reassuring like that of Fauré and Maurice Duruflé (1902-1986), his
Francophile colleagues. Instead, it is more turbulent, chromatic, and preserves the
inclusion of the Dies Irae – by far the longest section – the text of which exhibits the
reality of death and God’s judgement.
10
Frank Martin, “À propos du Requiem,” program notes for the premiere (May 1973), reprinted in Martin,
Un compositeur médite, 142. Translated in Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections, 28.
11
Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections, 13.
12
Ibid., 165. Translated from Martin’s letter to his youngest son on 14 May 1973, reprinted in Martin, Un
compositeur médite, 249-250.
234
Chapter 22 : Text-setting in Requiem
As with his conventional choice of a traditional orchestra and organ, Martin chose
to return to a relatively traditional text. Requiem incorporated the liturgical movements
Introitus, Kyrie, Dies irae, Offertorium, Sanctus, Agnus Dei, In Paradisum, and Lux
Aeterna. Regarding the text, he wrote:
I fully identified with this liturgical text, whose richness evokes in succession the
expectation of rest, imploring, pure adoration or the fear of Judgement Day,
despite all that can make it foreign to the intellect. These images that originate
from the Middle Ages come directly from my deepest thoughts.
1
The burial hymn In Paradisum was traditionally sung after the Requiem Mass,
while the body was being carried to leave the church to the grave,
2
and was an addition to
the missa pro defunctis text first incorporated by other French-speaking composers such
as Fauré’s Requiem, written between 1887 and 1890, and Duruflé’s Requiem, written in
1947. Fauré and Duruflé both inserted In Paradisum to the conclusion of the Requiem.
Fauré also incorporated the Lux Aeterna as the end of the Agnus Dei. Instead of ending
the Requiem with this additional movement, Martin inserted it in front of the Lux aeterna,
part of the Communion antiphon. As a result, instead of somberly concluding with the
hymn that blesses the dead to have eternal rest, Martin’s Requiem ended by hopefully
describing eternal life in reunion with God and the saints forever. Instead of the emphasis
1
Martin, À propos de...commentaires, trans. Rosemary Bridger-Lippe. Quoted in Frank Martin, Requiem,
XII.
2
Ron Jeffers, Translations and Annotations of Choral Repertoire, Volume 1: Sacred Latin Texts (Corvallis,
OR: Earthsongs, 1988), 85.
235
on the last line of text in In Paradisum, aeternam habeas requiem (may you have eternal
rest), the emphatic conclusion ends on quia pius es (for you are merciful).
3
Additionally, unlike Fauré’s and Duruflé, Martin did not include the Libera Me
portion of the text. Neither did he, like Fauré’s and Duruflé, extract the Pie Jesu text, the
final couplet of the Dies Irae sequence,
4
as a separate movement between the Sanctus and
Agnus movements. Martin did, however, keep the partial Pie Jesu text that traditionally
appears at the end of the Dies Irae movement.
5
The responsory Libera Me, which
implores God to deliver man from the fearful day of death and judgement, is not
traditionally part of the liturgical Requiem text, but “sung after the Mass during the
Burial Rite while the coffin is sprinkled with holy water and incense.”
6
The exclusion of
the textual movement may stem from the perspective on death that Martin wanted to
portray, calling for potential future research.
7
Unlike Fauré’s and Duruflé’s more meditative settings, Martin decided to set the
entire Dies Irae sequence. Martin’s inclusion of the Dies Irae movement is significant,
since the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) reforms, specifically the Consilium for the
Implementation of the Constitution on the Liturgy, withdrew the Dies Irae from the Missa
pro Defunctis.
8
Archbishop Annibale Bugnini explicated:
3
It is the author’s opinion that the specific reorganization of movements shifts the focus from acceptance of
rest to hope for God’s mercy.
4
Jeffers, Translations, 70.
5
Ibid.
6
Ibid., 85.
7
The author speculates that Martin’s deliberate omission of text – the Libera Me – and the digression from
Fauré and Duruflé’s setting of the Pie Jesu as a separate movement, seem to reflect his belief that there was
no longer further need to plead with God – demonstrating a confidence in the certainty of mercy.
236
They got rid of texts that smacked of a negative spirituality inherited from the
Middle Ages. Thus, they removed such familiar and even beloved texts as the
"Libera Me, Domine", the "Dies Irae", and others that overemphasized judgment,
fear, and despair. These they replaced with texts urging Christian hope and
arguably giving more effective expression to faith in the resurrection.
9
The inclusion of the Dies Irae is significant in that Martin saw the need to “see it
[death] fully in all the physical and moral anguish.”
10
The Dies Irae, “a sublime and
awesome portrayal of the Last Judgement and of the emotion aroused in the Christian at
the prospect of the end of all things,”
11
precisely highlighted the emphasis of judgement
that Martin viewed as indispensable.
12
Likely, since he was not Catholic, he possibly also
saw license to include the Dies Irae against the above recommendations of the Second
Vatican Council. At the 1990 International Frank Martin Symposium, Maria, Martin’s
wife, reinforced his ethos behind writing the Dies Irae – his faith in mercy but also in the
certainty of judgement:
My husband needed this Dies irae for reasons of faith, in order to show that with
trust and faith one can overcome any terror.”
13
Martin himself wrote, “All of us
have the profound sentiment that we must be judged. We feel responsible for our
actions, guilty or otherwise. […] The too easy life that we actually live creates
neuroses as the people retain, more or less unconsciously, the feeling that they
will be judged – a feeling inherent in every normal human being. But as they do
not own up to their mistakes, they remain burdened and cannot be liberated. The
Dies irae expresses this admirably. Again and again it returns to mercy. It
contains images of incredible beauty, such as, for example, “quaerens me sedisti
8
Annibale Bugnini, The Reform of the Liturgy, 1948-1975 (Collegeville, Minn: Liturgical Press,
1990), 773.
9
Ibid.
10
Martin, “À propos du Requiem,” program notes for the premiere (May 1973), reprinted in Martin, Un
compositeur médite, 142. Translated in Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections, 28.
11
Jeffers, Translations, 73.
12
Ibid.
13
Dietrich Kämper, Frank Martin: das kompositorische Werk: 13 Studien (Mainz: Schott, 1993), 182.
Translated in Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections, 186.
237
lassus” (Seeking me, you sat down weary). After all that initial outburst depicting
universal judgement, suddenly a simple phrase, “quid sum, miser, tunc dicturus?”
(What am I, miserable one, to say?), leads us back to ourselves. I admit that
composing this Dies irae, I lived it with extraordinary intensity.
14
In an almost-programmatic fashion, the Dies Irae paints the image of the apocalyptic day,
uncloaking the terror of God’s wrath as a prerequisite for eternal rest. The text, which
Berlioz described as “sublimely gigantic poetry,”
15
is longer than the total sum of text of
the other movements. Textually, this most programmatic and longest movement dwells
on judgement, referring multiple times to “fire”:
Solvet sæclum in favilla (Will dissolve the world in ashes)
Ne perenni cremer igne (lest I be burned up by eternal fire)
Flammis acribus addictis (sentenced to acrid flames)
Cor contritum quasi cinis (heart is as crushed as the ashes)
Qua resurget ex favilla (on which from the ash arises)
Therefore, even though the Requiem was written within a decade of the Second Vatican
Council reforms, Martin set the entire sequence to music.
Even the sections of the Dies Irae that do not describe terror and refer to mercy
and peaceful images are not set to quiet man’s doubts but to underscore distress. Passages
such as Recordare Jesu pie (Remember, merciful Jesus), Inter oves locum praesta (Grant
me a place among the sheep), and Voca me cum benedictis (Call Thou me with the
blessed) juxtapose music that unsettles rather than assures. Nearing the end of the Dies
Irae, instead of the typical grieving interpretation of the Lacrimosa such as Mozart’s,
14
Frank Martin, "Entretiens avec Dom Angelico Surchamp," Zodiaque 103, no. 25 (n.d.), 12-13. Translated
in Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections, 177.
15
Jeffers, Translations, 74.
238
Martin’s is an anguished cry demanding God to spare the guilty ones, set forte and
incorporating trumpets and trombones. The forte entrances of all voices in Martin’s
Lacrimosa section of the Dies Irae suggest that many will not be granted mercy. To
illustrate the souls that are not saved, the vocal parts follow a descending chromatic
scalar passage, by which all voice parts continuously descend into the abyss by
semitones, a device from In Terra Pax (Example 22.1).
Example 22.1. Requiem, Dies Irae, Lacrimosa, Rehearsal 32, descending chromatic scalar
passages in SATB choir and soloists
16
Martin saved the very last text of the Dies Irae to highlight mercy, connecting it with the
end of the Requiem which highlights God’s redeeming intervention of mercy. The former
uncertainly implores, Pie Jesu Domine, dona eis requiem. Amen (Merciful Lord Jesus,
grant them rest. Amen), mirroring the latter, which faithfully declaims and hopes, quia
pius es (for you are merciful).
Regarding text-setting, Martin’s mature period generally revealed more
polyphonic procedures,
17
at times with strict imitation of counterpoint,
18
used to illustrate
the text in Requiem. Imitative forms were used to set the repeated text in the Kyrie and
16
Martin, Requiem, 60.
17
Tupper, “Stylistic Analysis,” 159.
18
Ibid., 164.
239
Sanctus. The choral entrances at the beginning of the Kyrie display a canon at the perfect
fifth. In the Preces meae section of the Dies Irae, imitative counterpoint takes place in the
orchestra at Rehearsal 21. In the Sanctus, the twelve-tone row on the text pleni sunt coeli
et terra gloria tua is imitated in a strict canon by all chorus parts, albeit a tritone apart. In
the Agnus Dei, the B-A-C-H motif sung by the alto solo is imitated by the organ.
Martin’s approach appears to identify with the Second Vatican Council’s views:
Gregorian chant, other things being equal, should be given pride of place in
liturgical services. But other kinds of sacred music, especially polyphony, are by
no means excluded.... Religious singing by the people is to be skillfully fostered,
so that in devotions and sacred exercises, as also during liturgical services, the
voices of the faithful may ring out.
19
In further accordance with these decrees, Martin alluded to Medieval chant in the
Offertorium to honor the “images that originate from the Middle Ages,”
20
his humble
imitation of the ancient temples which were his inspiration. Martin evidently phrased the
text to preserve the stresses and punctuation of phrases as in the chant (Example 22.2 and
Example 22.3), and enhanced it with twentieth-century effects such as tremolos in the
strings.
19
“CHAPTER VI SACRED MUSIC,” "CONSTITUTION
ON THE SACRED LITURGY - Sacrosanctum Concilium." Vatican. Last modified 2017.
http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-
ii_const_19631204_sacrosanctum-concilium_en.html. Points 112-118.
20
Martin, À propos de...commentaires, trans. Rosemary Bridger-Lippe. Quoted in Frank Martin, Requiem,
XII.
240
Example 22.2. Offertorium, Gregorian chant
21
Example 22.3. Requiem, Offertorium, mm. 1-8, allusion to Gregorian chant, SATB choir,
led by cantor-like soprano
22
Likewise, the text et semini ejus (and his seed) is set in a free-flowing melisma in the
soprano (Example 22.4). Through rhythmic precision and voicing, Martin paints the text
“[Abraham] and his seed” as sprouting forth in purity into a new realm.
21
Schola Gregoriana Mediolanensis, Musica Sacra CANTO GREGORIANO - Missa pro
Defunctis (Giovanni Vianini, 2000), 12, http://javanese.imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/6/6f/IMSLP227321-
WIMA.4c8a-Missa_pro_Defunctis2.pdf.
22
Martin, Requiem, 68.
241
Example 22.4. Offertorium, two measures before Rehearsal 3 – two measures after
Rehearsal 3, allusion to Medieval chant, SATB choir
23
In the In Paradisum movement, to establish the attained state of eternal rest,
Martin also reverted to Gregorian chant. Traditionally, the Gregorian chant to the
antiphon was set to Mixolydian mode. In the Requiem, Martin set the music with a modal
flavor. The first ascending soprano solo scale (Example 22.5) rises through these pitches
creating the following intervals:
D# F F# G# A# B C# D E F
W H W W H W H W H
The scale derives from two overlapping Aeolian hexachord gamuts:
l, t, d r m f (s)
D# F F# G# A# B C# D E F
l, t, d r m f (fi)
Example 22.5. Requiem, In Paradisum, mm. 8-11, soprano solo
23
Ibid., 70.
242
The soprano ascends from the independent persisting bass pedal D#, as if symbolizing a
departure from one realm to another. This stepwise ascending figure also connects to the
stepwise melismatic ascents in the Sanctus, highlighting that both movements look
forward to the eternal paradise. Once again, the allusion to chant is augmented by the
instrumentation of the harpsichord, this time with organ, which provide an archaic timbre
that accompanies the leading “angelic” voice of the soprano solo.
The anguished and ominous nature of the Sanctus is intensified through register,
declamatory, and rhythmically-free rhythms, dissonance and thickening instrumentation.
Instead of a jubilant major mode, dissonance is created through diatonic individual
melodic lines. The unusual anguish and anxiety recalls the Sanctus from Beethoven’s
Missa Solemnis in its B minor key. Likewise, the Agnus Dei in Martin’s Requiem
expresses anxiety and hollowness, through instrumentation, dissonance, twelve-tone rows
and falling figures, instead of painting a serene picture of eternal rest like Fauré or
Duruflé Requiems, or a passionate demand for mercy like Mozart’s.
It is not until In Paradisum that rest is established. After the soprano’s initial
exposition, for a total of twenty-six measures (Rehearsal 2 to the end of the movement), a
continuous ascension of eighth notes is carried upwards between different voices. The
journey ends on the ethereal timbre of the solo harpsichord’s highest possible pitch, F6,
emphasizing the arrival into paradise. Lux aeterna is the final movement in which the
Requiem text describes the eternal triumph of light. Unlike the opening movement’s
pianissimo entrance on the solo pitch G, Lux Aeterna begins with a fortissimo pitch G,
with the texture and eleven-part homophonic vocal declamation expanding to the thickest
in the work.
243
Chapter 23 : Instrumentation and Sonority in Requiem
It is important to remember that Martin’s Requiem was written at a time when
composers such as Berlioz, Verdi, and Britten had explored the vocabulary of the
Requiem Mass to its fullest extent in terms of orchestration, volume, size, structure, and
text. Yet Martin chose to return to an unassuming configuration of traditional orchestra
and organ. Martin’s mature period choral compositions were often scored for soloists,
chorus and orchestra, as is evident in nine large major works.
1
Otherwise, Martin’s late
works employed concerto-type interactions between large and small ensembles.
2
Martin
would select consorts of instruments to play in specific movements to suit the text of the
movement. Likely from studying Ravel’s music, Martin was able to create specific
soundscapes to set his most personal texts.
Martin had ruminated long and hard over various ensembles for his Requiem,
even the idea of a jazz orchestra, but decided after such detours to return to a regular
instrumentation of mixed choir, soprano, alto, tenor, baritone and bass soloists, orchestra,
organ, and harpsichord.
3
Martin had previously experimented with the specific addition
of an organ in Golgotha, the cantata Pseaumes de Genève and Erasmi Monumentum.
Unlike the stereotypical colla parte support function of the organ in many well-known
preceding Requiems such as Fauré’s and Duruflé’s, Martin’s organ part is equally
important as the orchestra, at times a solo instrument and at times part of the ensemble.
1
Tupper, “Stylistic Analysis,” 223.
2
Ibid., 247.
3
Martin, À propos de...commentaires, trans. Rosemary Bridger-Lippe. Quoted in Martin, Requiem, XI.
244
The only movement that does not include organ is the Offertorium. The first organ
entrance in the Kyrie is presented as a solo, independent from the chorus. In other
movements, the organ often maintains an independent rhythmic and harmonic texture.
Particularly in the Agnus Dei, the organ duets with the alto solo in an intimate dialogue
with thin instrumentation.
4
A similar passage takes place in the Dies Irae in a duet
between the organ and bass solo. Instead of being anti-climactic, the minimalized texture
provides an intensified focus on the text. Keeping in mind that Martin’s Agnus Dei in
Messe pour double choeur displays persuasive influences of Bach, the specific choice of
an alto solo with organ in his Requiem also reflects a possible influence of Bach’s choice
of alto solo with continuo in the Agnus Dei of his Messe in h-moll.
During these late years, Martin explored with the spectrum of colors and
capacities of instruments, resulting in virtuosic instrumental writing.
5
For instance, in the
Dies Irae, the duet between the organ and bass solo is angular and maneuvers between the
available registers in the organ (Rehearsal 11). In the Recordare section, the theme is set
to extreme registers of both instruments and voices to depict trepidation, while the oboe
solo writing accompanying the tenor solo is virtuosic (Example 23.1). Extreme registers
also appear in the cello and tenor solo at the Preces meae section (Example 23.2), and in
the Offertorium and Sanctus movements. In In Paradisum, the movement ends on the
highest possible pitch of the harpsichord, F6, creating an “otherworldly” timbre (Example
23.3). Furthermore, with his mastery in timbre, Martin was able to intensify consonance
and dissonance.
4
The distinctly thin instrumentation appears to the author that Martin is perhaps painting the isolation man
feels from God.
5
Tupper, “Stylistic Analysis,” 248.
245
Example 23.1. Requiem, Dies Irae movement, Recordare, five measures before Rehearsal
13, oboe solo and tenor solo
Example 23.2. Requiem, Dies Irae movement, Preces meae, one measure before
Rehearsal 23, tenor solo
Example 23.3. Requiem, In Paradisum, one measure after Rehearsal 4, harpsichord
ascending to highest possible pitch, F6
The Requiem displays a refined and specific palate in sonorities which is
exemplary of Martin’s mature period, as demonstrated in Petite symphonie concertante
(1944–1945) scored for harp, harpsichord, piano and two string orchestras, Concerto
pour sept instruments à vents (1949) and his last work Polyptyque (1973) for violin and
two small string orchestras. In the Requiem, the Offertorium consists of no soloists, no
woodwinds, and no organ, creating a hollow texture, fitting for the prayer for the
departed. More importantly, the unique timbre of the harpsichord is employed, also
alluding to ancient worship, and is called for in all movements except Dies Irae, Agnus
Dei, and Lux Aeterna. Martin seemed to favor scoring for the harpsichord during this
246
period, also found in Petite Symphonie Concertante. Meanwhile, the Dies Irae and
Sanctus incorporate a percussion battery. The array of percussion includes tom-toms,
cymbals, two gongs, tam-tam, bells and glockenspiel, together with three kinds of drums.
Both movements incorporate bells, which Martin saved only for specific moments in In
Terra Pax.
In Requiem, Martin used some instruments in unexpected ways to elicit specific
sonorities, revealing the influence of twentieth-century experimentalists. The different
timbres employed by Martin may be to reflect the different emotions and qualities of
God. In the Kyrie, at Rehearsal 9, the strings are ridden with jarring glissandi, creating a
threatening effect while the soloists’ text pleads for mercy. In the Dies Irae, the choral
voices are notated with cross note heads, marked parlé bas sans timbre (spoken soft,
without timbre) to create a lifeless character. This recalls the Dies Irae of Verdi’s
Requiem, at the text quantus tremor est futurus, quando judex est venturus, cuncta stricte
discussurus, notated the same way to effect anxiety. In the Offertorium, Martin creates a
sound effect in writing tremolos in the strings for sixteen measures, possibly suggesting
the excitement at the announcement of good news or the tremor caused by the awe of
God. Together with the chant-like chorus, this creates the archaic sonority that is
characteristic of all of Martin’s stages. In the Sanctus, individual soloists whisper Osanna
with written-out trills, depicting an otherworldly chorus of angels.
The percussion is used in unexpected ways as well. In the Dies Irae, Martin used
coloristic instrumentation and sound effects, starting with the gong and unpitched
percussion. Unlike the strong, dramatic percussion that begins the Dies Irae in Verdi’s
Requiem, Martin’s percussion timbres paint the encroaching day of Judgement. Glissandi,
247
trills, mutes all contribute to produce a soundscape of fear. The build-up of the percussion
battery, especially the snare drum and tom-toms in asymmetrical 7/8 meter, perhaps
signifying God’s wrath like an army enclosing in to judge man. Bells and glockenspiel
are included to add to the sonority appearing to portray impending catastrophe.
Contrarily, in the Sanctus, the percussion is not employed for volume and clamor, but
rather to create atmosphere. At Rehearsal 5, the cymbals, gong grave, tam-tam, and bells
are all marked pp and ppp. When the bells are playing a rare ff, their character is not
exuberant, but rather evoke the signal of imminent catastrophe – perhaps the arrival of
the Judge. The gongs only appear in the Dies Irae and the Sanctus, the two most
extensive movements. The use of gongs can be seen as a symbol of royalty as well as a
death knoll, possibly illustrating the mystery of death leading to the arrival of the King.
In the Sanctus, it appears for three measures accompanying the text Osanna, seemingly
depicting the symbolic death of the old and transitioning into the new.
As for brass instruments, the trumpets and trombones are called for together in
most movements except the Offertorium, Agnus Dei, and In Paradisum. Even in their
earliest usages dating back to Baroque operatic music, trombones were used for
programmatic purposes referring to death or the underworld, as seen in Monteverdi’s
L’Orfeo and Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice. Mozart carried on this tradition, employing
trombones as a symbol of death and judgement in Don Giovanni, and a symbol of the
supernatural and religious in Die Zauberflöte. In the latter, Mozart extended the
significance of trombones to represent light and triumph. Such usage of the trombones
was carried forth in Haydn’s Die Schöpfung and Beethoven’s Christus am Ölberg, so that
by the twentieth century, connotations of the trombones have come to represent a dual
248
significance of death versus light. Martin’s scoring for trombones in multiple movements
could be seen as portraying the triumph over death. In the introduction of the Dies Irae,
the trombones ominously punctuate the percussion and string effects with their own
glissandi. Trumpets and trombones reconvene at the chant-like Qui Mariam absolvisti
(Thou who didst absolve Mary Magdalene) in the treble voices, beginning with three
calls likely signifying the eminent judgement, since the text pleads for salvation from the
“eternal fire” – Ne perenni cremer igne (that I burn not in the everlasting fire), until the
cursed have been dealt their final sentence Confutatis maledictis, Flammis acribus
addictis (when the accursed have been confounded, and given over to the bitter flames).
In an unusual instrumentation, Martin retains the trumpets and trombones at Lacrimosa.
In very few selected moments, Martin chooses to set the text a cappella to
highlight the human voice and text. In the Introitus, the text Requiem aeternam. Dona eis
Domine (grant them [rest], O Lord) is invariably presented a cappella. The last time is set
with only the soprano and alto choral voices. At the end of the Kyrie, there are four brief
measures of a cappella singing the text Kyrie eleison. Even as the organ joins in at
Rehearsal 11 it is marked pp to preserve the a cappella effect. The hollow a cappella
setting disrupts the listener’s expectation, seemingly to reveal death in its reality, full of
undeniable fear. The Dies Irae responds with an episode of eight a cappella measures of
imitative canon on the similar text Pie Jesu Domine. Dona eis requiem. Amen. Similarly,
the disjunct twelve-tone a cappella setting of pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua and
Osanna in the Sanctus portrays a perplexed rather than rapturous character. The setting of
the text, unlike In Terra Pax, is melismatic and voices are often treated like instruments,
resembling more of the writing in Messe pour double choeur.
249
Additionally, Martin’s understanding of the instruments is apparent in the
performance instructions after each movement, which allowed for the acoustics to ring
and for the energy he had built up to be released before the next movement commenced.
He utilized the element of time as a sonority through the means of silence. Each
movement has specifically-timed pauses at their conclusions – except Introitus, In
Paradisum and Lux Aeterna. Every moment except the Dies Irae and Sanctus also begins
with rests. Thus the length of pauses corresponded relatively proportionately with the
length of the movements, with the pause after Dies Irae being the longest and that after
Agnus Dei being the shortest:
Introitus: attaca subito
Kyrie: pause de 8 à 10 sec.
Dies Irae: longue pause (25 à 30 sec.)
Offertorium: pause courte (5 secondes)
Sanctus: pause assez longue (12 sec.)
Agnus Dei: pause brève (5 à 6 sec.)
In Paradisum: no marking
Lux Aeterna: no marking
250
Chapter 24 : Numerology in Requiem
From the present research, there is abundant evidence that up through the end of
his career, Martin never departed from his sense of duty to articulate theology through
less conspicuous medium, such as the use of biblically significant numbers. As
exemplified in the earlier periods, he was most likely following in the legacy of Bach,
who embedded meticulous, meaningful techniques in his music, so that participants of
worship could perceive a simple ultimate beauty. Likewise, while most of the hidden
symbolisms of faith within the music would not have been identified by the audience,
Martin stayed true to making his Requiem an all-encompassing statement of faith, as in
the Messe.
Eight
The number eight is a particularly significant number in the Requiem. According
to Schmidt’s Der Biblische Mathematicus, the number eight represents man’s
resurrection from death into eternal life.
1
The Requiem comprises eight movements, with
eight vocal parts, soloists and choral, who represent the multitudes who have died and are
yet to be resurrected. The initial Requiem aeternam motif, to be discussed later, returns at
the conclusion of the Lux Aeterna in all eight vocal parts, the text supplicating for
“eternal rest.” In the Sanctus, octatonic stepwise descents are embedded at the text pleni
sunt coeli et terra gloria tua, depicting God’s glory leading to man’s eternal life. The
1
Schmidt, Biblischer Mathematicus. Translated in Smith, "More Evidence,” 25.
251
Agnus Dei consists of eighty-eight measures, two adjacent numbers representing
resurrection, possibly symbolizing the resurrection of all mankind following the
resurrection of the Lamb of God.
Three
With the number three being the well-known symbol for Trinity, Martin utilized
many three-part structures textually and musically. The number three was also used
prominently in the oratorio Golgotha of the same period, which opens with three cries of
“Father! Father! Father!” presented three times in the first movement. In Requiem,
ternary forms can be found such as in the ABA forms of the Introitus, Kyrie, Agnus Dei,
Lux Aeterna, and the aabaca rondo of the Sanctus. Throughout the Requiem, implorations
and adorations were considered incomplete until they had been made three times, praying
to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, corresponding to the ternary forms. These include the
sections of text Exaudi, Domine Jesu Christe, Rex gloriae, Sanctus and Agnus Dei. In the
last movement, the return of the musical material of the text Requiem is heard three times
between the eight vocal parts. In the Dies Irae, the trumpets play the transposed B-A-C-H
motif out of order three times before the text Quantus tremor est futurus. The bass drum
roll and suspended cymbal are also heard three times at Confutatis maledictis.
Seven
As stated in earlier chapters, seven is the biblically significant number of the Holy
Spirit and the spiritual completion of God’s Word, concerning both Creation and
252
Judgement. In the Introitus, there are seven individual vocal entrances of the text
Requiem. The Dies Irae, the movement of apocalyptic catastrophe, utilizes the number
seven profusely, beginning with seven unpitched percussion instruments in 7/8 meter.
Bruhn also proposed that Martin devised the first section of the Dies Irae movement into
seven phrases,
2
describing the “universal” judgement as opposed to the individual (Table
18):
Table 18. Bruhn’s analysis of seven phrases in first section of the Dies Irae
3
Phrase Measures/Rehearsal
1 1-8
2 9-18
3 19-28 / [2]
4 29-46 / [3-4]
5 47-69 / [5-7]
6 70-80 / [8]
7 81-89 / [9]
In the Sanctus, each exultation of Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus in the chorus is hailed by the
bells sounding four times, the addition to the threefold Sanctus, totalling the number
seven, possibly indicating the fulfillment of mercy through the triune God.
Five
The number five is the symbolic number of Christ’s passion.
4
Martin mentions the
fire of judgement five times in the text. In the Dies Irae, the movement in which the text
2
Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections, 181.
3
Ibid.
4
Schmidt, Biblischer Mathematicus. Translated in Smith, "More Evidence,” 25.
253
describes the fire of judgement, as well as the only movement that employs the
glockenspiel, the glockenspiel and bells play an A octave five times at Rehearsal 8. In
addition, the number four symbolizes earthly creation and man’s incompleteness. The
number five (four plus one) thus possibly conveys God’s intervention to redeem the
incompleteness of earthly created man. Martin superimposes this symbol of Christ’s
passion with the textual description of judgement: Liber scriptus proferetur, in quo totum
continetur, unde mundus judicetur (The written book will be brought forth, in which all is
contained, from which the world shall be judged), insinuating that redemption and
judgement are flip sides of the same coin.
Eleven, Forty-four, Eighty-eight
As discussed in In Terra Pax, number eleven is associated with chaos and
judgement.
5
In Requiem, in the Dies Irae, the portion consisting of man’s petition to God
for mercy comprises eleven stanzas, from Quid sum miser tunc dicturus? (What then
shall I say, wretch that I am) through Oro supplex et acclinis (I pray in supplication on
my knees). In the Lux Aeterna, Martin set the widest vocal texture, an eleven-part vocal
divisi, in homophonic declamation on the text dona eis Domine (grant them [rest], O
Lord), man’s last entreaty to God. The same eleven-part divisi ends the Requiem on the
text quia pius es (for You are merciful).
Remarkably, the last three movements share a fascinating relationship. The
concluding three movements consist of numbers of measures that are multiples of eleven,
5
Bullinger, Number in Scripture.
254
relating to the final judgement. The last two movements share the exact number of
measures, forty-four, while the third from the last movement has double the number of
measures, eighty-eight (forty-four times two). The number forty-four is a number of
paradox. The number is made up of two adjacent number fours, representing earthly
creation, which has not yet joined the heavenly realm. Forty-four is also four times
eleven, earthly creation facing judgement. Moreover, forty-four is two times the number
twenty-two, which different scholars interpret as the number of Hebrew alphabets, the
number of Revelation, the number of things God created in six days of creation, also the
number for God’s chosen “Sons of Light.”
6
6
"Meaning of the Number 22 in the Bible," The Bible Study Site,
http://www.biblestudy.org/bibleref/meaning-of-numbers-in-bible/22.html.
255
Chapter 25 : Structure in Requiem
Golden Mean
While it cannot be said definitively that the Golden Mean was a governing force
in the construction of Martin’s structural proportions, his instinctive awareness towards
such proportions was undeniable.
1
The Golden Mean of the Requiem takes place at the
Sanctus (eight movements times 0.618 = 4.944, rounded up to five.) At the end of the
second episode before the Benedictus section, the woodwinds alone play a hemiola,
slowing down with a ritardando and diminuendo. This “standing still” seems to mark the
passing and dissolution of the realm of humankind, to make way for “he who comes in
the name of the Lord.” This “still moment” across two measures happens exactly at the
Golden Mean of the movement (m. 60 or m. 61 of ninety-eight measures). On the other
hand, the Golden Mean of the work could be interpreted more exactly to be in m. 46 of
the Offertorium (eight movements times 0.618 = 4.944.) The distinctly recognizable
flourish on the text semini ([Abraham and his] seed) returns for the second time. The lack
of the third iteration appears to create hope for the promise “to cross from death into the
life” to be fulfilled. Yet another calculation of the Golden Mean in terms of exact
measure numbers ([62+91+315+49+98+88+44+44 = 791 x 0.618 = 488.838]) happens in
the Offertorium at m. 20. Sopranos declaim Rex gloriae (King of glory) for the fourth and
1
As previously discussed, Martin’s awareness of Golden Mean proportions is displayed in the many
musically or textually-significant moments that coincide with multiple movements of the Messe pour
double choeur and In Terra Pax. See Chapter 3, Chapter 7 and Chapter 18.
256
last time at the highest register, over the rest of the chorus singing lucem sanctam (holy
light), illuminating the giver of eternal repose.
Like the Sanctus, the Golden Mean within other movements also underline
essential text and notable moments which highlight rest, death and judgement. In the
Introitus, the Golden Mean occurs at m. 38 (62 x 0.618 = 38.316), where the text ad te
omnis caro veniet (unto Thee shall all flesh come), the only time earthly “flesh” is
mentioned, stating the central theme of the flesh having to die before the soul can find
rest. This text is set almost entirely a cappella, with only a sustained organ pedal, right
before returning to the A section Requiem Aeternam. Musically, in the longest Dies Irae,
the exceptional orchestral fugal passage (Rehearsal 21, m. 188) occurs extremely close to
the Golden Mean of the movement both in rehearsal number (37 x 0.618 = 22.866) and
measure numbers (315 x 0.618 = 194.67). Textually, this fugal passage leads to the text
Preces meæ non sunt dignæ (my prayers are not worthy) which describes man’s
repentance for mercy, also mentioning being burned up by the eternal fire of judgement.
In the simultaneously haunting and intimate Agnus Dei, the Golden Mean occurs at m. 54
(88 x 0.618 = 54.384), one measure away from the final, most extended and intense of the
three times of the text, which implores the Lamb of God, dona eis requiem sempiternam
(grant them everlasting rest). In the In Paradisum movement, the Golden Mean (44 x
0.618 = 27.192) occurs at the second and last time the text In Paradisum deducant te
angeli (may the angels lead you to Paradise) is set in the soprano solo in a stepwise
ascent, perhaps illustrating man finally being taken up into the eternal paradise to rest. In
the Lux Aeterna, the Golden Mean ([44 x 0.618 = 27.192]) takes place at the
257
extraordinary eleven-part homophonic declamation of the text dona eis Domine (grant
them [rest], O Lord), man’s last entreaty toward God for rest.
Symmetry
Martin never departed from his awareness of symmetrical designs. First of all,
Martin created a dimension of symmetrical structure through the symbolic meaning
behind the liturgical text. As In Terra Pax was centered around the theme of peace, so
Requiem centers around the theme of mercy. Martin professed that he saw the Requiem
text as a succession of the four elements surrounding mercy – “rest, imploring, pure
adoration or fear.”
2
The movements can be categorized according to these themes as
follows (Table 19):
Rest: Introitus, In Paradisum, Lux Aeterna
Imploring: Kyrie, Offertorium, Agnus Dei
Pure adoration: Sanctus
Fear: Dies Irae
Table 19. Requiem, symmetry of symbolism in the eight movements
Introitus Kyrie Dies
Irae
Offertorium Sanctus Agnus
Dei
In
Paradisum,
Lux
Aeterna
Rest Imploring Fear Imploring Adoration Imploring Rest
A second dimension of symmetry exists in terms of structure and compositional
devices. Each of the eight movements begin with a single pitch, except for Dies Irae and
Offertorium, which begin with two simultaneous pitches. In the Introitus, the solitary
2
Martin, À propos de...commentaires, trans. Rosemary Bridger-Lippe. Quoted in Martin, Requiem, XII.
258
pitch G that begins the work, followed by other single voices, is mirrored in the
corresponding Lux aeterna, while the Kyrie and In Paradisum both begin with a single
pitch E♭/D#. The Offertorium and Sanctus both begin with a pitch C (with an added F in
the Offertorium) (Table 20).
Table 20. Requiem, each movement with beginning pitches and ending key
Introitus Kyrie Dies
Irae
Offertorium Sanctus Agnus
Dei
In
Paradisum
Lux
Aeterna
G
E♭ E♭ /
D
F / C C C# D# G
A major B
minor
with
C# ped
C#
major
E major / C
minor
A major B
major
E♭ major
A major
The Introitus and Lux aeterna, which share musical material, both begin on a single pitch
G but both conclude in A major. The whole-step interval perhaps signifies the transition
from life to eternal life after death. Both Introitus and Lux aeterna follow an ABA ternary
form musically and textually. Nonetheless, Martin contrasts the symmetry by setting the
three sections of Introitus as slow-fast-slow, whereas Lux aeterna adopts a fast-slow-fast
structure. Both movements open by referring to the beginning twelve-tone row in the
Introitus:
G C E B F# G# | A D# F D C# A#
In the Lux aeterna, the organ line accumulates the following nine pitches from the row,
despite not covering all twelve pitches:
G D F# E B | C# A D# A#
These two rows bear a high resemblance in that both begin and end with the same
pitches. Also, the last four pitches of the latter row derive from the last six pitches of the
259
former row. The same applies to the first five pitches of the latter row, which except D,
derive from the first six pitches of the former row. In the Lux Aeterna, the descending
circle of fifths material (Example 25.1) was an idea introduced in the Introitus. Also
mirrored in the bookend movements is the rising second inversion triad motif at et lux
perpetua luceat eis (and may perpetual light shine on them). Meanwhile, the Kyrie and
Agnus Dei correspond with a three-part text-setting, even though they are not
mathematically symmetrical movements in the overall structure.
Example 25.1. Requiem, Lux aeterna, Rehearsal 3, SATB soloists and SATB choir,
descending circle of fifths
3
3
Martin, Requiem, 105.
260
Chapter 26 : Twelve-tone Technique
By his mature period, Martin acknowledged the double-edged sword of
Schoenberg’s twelve-tone technique – the necessity of examining it while preserving the
beauty of expression and order of European composition. In 1952, he said:
But it is essential to realize that it will only do this if, at the same time, the
composer refuses to let it [Schoenberg’s technique] rob him of all the riches
accumulated through centuries of experiment and discovery. I cannot believe that
poverty is ever a virtue in art, especially when it is self-imposed. If art has any
meaning it is that it can unite elements which seem irreconcilable, that it can, for
instance, express unbearable pain or disordered passion in terms of a serene order
and beauty. In a technical sense, it must reconcile demands which seem
contradictory, as Bach did when he used infinite contrapuntal subtlety within a
perfectly ordered harmonic scheme.
1
In his mature period, he continued to develop a tonal serialism, by which he sought to
construct tone rows more consonant and relevant to audiences, with a marked movement
away from the tone row as a governing force of musical form.
2
Unlike the middle period,
where the tone rows were often set horizontal in single contrapuntal voices,
3
the tone
rows are set in voices in juxtaposition or counterpoint with each other, sometimes
forming vertical aggregates. Martin’s mature period adopted “modulating rows”
4
and
often in even note-values that were immediately transposed.
5
As exhibited in Requiem,
tone rows were very much a central component. Ironically, in a work whose title is “rest,”
Martin created a sense of restlessness in the music through twelve-tone rows.
1
Martin, "Schoenberg and Ourselves," 17.
2
Tupper, “Stylistic Analysis,” 250.
3
Cooke, "Frank Martin's Early Development," 476.
4
Cooke, “Late Starter. Mervyn Cooke Concludes,” 199.
5
Ibid.
261
As the Kyrie exhibits, Martin’s twelve-tone technique embedded the supposedly
angular language amid consonant environments. Therefore, he was able to create
simultaneously a symbolic need for release while still preserving a musical
comprehensibility to his audience. The saturation of tone rows especially in the
introduction of the Kyrie evokes a fitting tension and lack of resolution at the beginning
of the composition, creating a need for musical release. The movement opens with a tone
row in the two choral lines which forms a combinatorial twelve-tone aggregate (Example
26.1), each doubled by two voices. Vertically, pairs of tones form consonant harmonies:
Alto, bass: E♭ - G – G♭ - F – A – G# - B – D# - D – C – E (missing B♭, C#)
Soprano, tenor: B♭ - D - D♭ - C – D – G# - B – G – F# - A – F (missing E♭)
Combinatorial twelve-tone aggregate: E♭ - B♭ - G - G♭ - F – D - D♭ - C – A – G# - E – B
Example 26.1. Requiem, Kyrie, mm. 1-5, SATB choir, consonant tone rows
6
Within these tone rows, each delivery of the text Kyrie eleison consists of an introduction
on the text Kyrie followed by five responses of eleison in the alto and bass, and four in
6
Martin, Requiem, 11.
262
the soprano and tenor. Foreshadowing the analogous text-setting in the corresponding
Agnus Dei, each successive segment set to eleison ends with a falling minor second.
7
At Rehearsal 1, multiple twelve-tone rows occur simultaneously, creating an
image of instability and loss. The first organ solo comprises two lines in contrary motion,
each forming a complete twelve-tone row (written here enharmonically for easier
comparison):
Right hand:
D♭ A D B B♭ E E♭ G♭ F A♭ G C
Left hand:
E♭ G♭ F A♭ G D♭ C A D B B♭ E
The two rows are essentially identical rows beginning from different points. The first five
pitches of the left hand row form the second half of the right hand row in exact order,
with the added pitch C. The last seven pitches of the left hand row, except C, form the
first six pitches of the right hand row. Between the two rows, the only switched pitches in
order are C and D♭. When placed on top of each other, it can be observed that eight of the
twelve pairs of simultaneous eighth notes remain consistent in their pairing (in bold type).
A is always simultaneous with G♭, D always with F, etc. Between these consistent
pairings, the interval is exclusively either a dissonant minor second or a minor third,
intervals important in Martin’s mature period.
8
These intervals keep in line with the
specific sonority of the Requiem aeternam motif, to be discussed later. Except the
beginning and ending pairs of pitches, the intervals alternate between seconds and thirds,
so that the dissonances are immediately resolved each time to sound less disruptive. The
7
The consistent falling minor-second figure on the text eleison appears to the author to musically suggest
man repeatedly calling out for God, but to no response.
8
Tupper, “Stylistic Analysis,” 244.
263
deceptive rows seem to repeat themselves after the two measures but Martin quickly
changes after five or six pitches to continue the instability. Seven measures after the
organ’s entrance, the same idea is transferred to the harpsichord, with a complete twelve-
tone row in both hands once again.
Right hand:
F E A B♭ G♭ B A♭ G D♭ C E♭ D
Left hand:
A G# G C E♭ D F E B♭ A G♭ B A♭ G D♭ C E♭ D
Similar to the tone rows in the organ, the left-hand row in the harpsichord begins with the
last three pitches of the right-hand row, then continues from the beginning pitch of the
right-hand row. In this instance, A and B♭ switched in order. The first three pitches in the
left hand, A, G# and G do not belong to the row. The tone rows are repeated for ten
pitches before changing. The harpsichord rows also differ from the organ rows in being
more consonant. The only interval of a major second is B♭ and C. Every other interval
created by the displaced rows are thirds. Meanwhile, a third twelve-tone row occurs in
the trumpets and trombones, recalling mm. 1-5 in the chorus lines (Example 26.2):
D♭ A♭ F E E♭ C B G B♭ G♭ D A
264
Example 26.2. Requiem, Kyrie, measures 2-6 after Rehearsal 1, mostly consonant tone
rows, trumpets and trombones
Martin preserved the opening vertical intervals from the choral entrance. The rest of the
vertical sonorities are mostly consonant, mitigating the austere nature of the twelve-tone
row. The Christe theme covers all twelve tones and becomes increasingly agitated, in an
almost pagan-like ritual, led first by soprano and tenor solos and echoed by the masses.
To heighten the sense of instability, the Dies Irae effectively elicits the use of tone
rows in each phrase of text for text-painting purposes after the initial sussura text.
Sonically, the abundance of tone rows equalizes the function of the tones. The unison
Tuba mirum creates a tone row except F# and A, the former becoming a pedal in the
horns, while the latter is supplemented in the strings and bassoon. Mors stupebit presents
a row in the soprano and tenor without D, supplemented in the alto and bass (E♭, G♭, C,
B, B♭, G, F#, E, A, C#, A♭, F). Liber scriptus presents a tone row in the soprano and alto
without the pitch G, supplemented in tenor and bass parts (E, A, C, D, B♭, B♮, C#, E♭,
G♭, A♭, F). The next section of text, Judex ergo cum sedebit presents another tone row
missing A, used as a pedal underneath. Martin aptly uses all twelve pitches (F#, G#, F,
D#, C#, E, C, B, B♭, D, G) to describe the text:
265
Judex ergo cum sedebit
Quidquid latet apparebit,
Nil inultum remanebit.
When therefore the Judge will sit,
whatever hides will appear:
nothing will remain unpunished. [author’s Italics]
The bass solo at Quid sum, miser, tunc dicturus? presents a complete twelve-tone row a
cappella (Example 26.3), highlighting the isolation and despair of the text,
Quid sum miser tunc dicturus,
Quem patronum togaturus,
Cum vix justus sit securus?
What am I, miserable, then to say?
Which patron to ask,
when the just may hardly be sure?
Example 26.3. Dies Irae, Rehearsal 10, bass solo, a cappella twelve-tone row
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12
Immediately afterwards, at Rehearsal 11, Martin sets only the organ in punctuated pulses
to accompany the bass solo,
Rex tremendae majestatis,
Qui salvandos salvas gratis,
Salve me, fons pietatis.
King of tremendous majesty,
who freely savest those that have to be saved,
save me, Source of mercy.
Here Martin overlaid three tone rows against each other, two complete twelve-tone rows
in the organ and a tone row missing C and B in the bass solo (D, G, F#, B♭, F, D♭, E♭, E,
266
A, G#). The two twelve-tone rows in the organ form combinatorial twelve-tone
aggregates with one another, with the register altered the second time:
Right hand: A E♭ G♭ D A♭ G | C# C F B B♭ E
Left hand: C# C♮ F B B♭ E♮ | A♮ E♭ G♭ D♮ A♭ G♮
From the duet section between the bass solo and the organ, until the tenor solo
duet with the oboe supported by strings, with the exception of three instances, each tone
row is missing two to three pitches. Each time Martin supplements these pitches through
the pedal in the organ or strings, so that only one or no pitch is missing. At Ne me perdas
illa dies (Lest Thou lose me in that day), Martin leaves out the three pitches D#, G# and
B, even after supplementing the other missing two, G and B♭ in the strings pedal. Martin
contrasted this incompletion immediately by the complete twelve-tone row in the oboe, at
the next contrasting passage of text describing redemption and being sought, Quærens
me, sedisti lassus: Redemisti Crucem passus (Seeking me, you sat down weary: having
suffered the Cross, you redeemed me). Another complete twelve-tone row in the oboe
concludes this section of text. The only three complete continuous twelve-tone rows in
the same part are in the organ and then in the oboe, never in the vocal solos. Not only
does Martin’s setting of Voca me cum benedictis (Call Thou me with the blessed) present
identical intervals of the B-A-C-H motif repeatedly, all voice parts also create a perfect,
complete combinatorial twelve-tone aggregate:
STB soli, AB chorus, Violin I, viola: B C B♭ A G# G♮ F# C# F♮
A solo, ST chorus, Violin II, cello: E E♭ D
In the Offertorium, Martin discharges the saturated chromatic stress in the Dies
Irae. Although the chorus forms a combinatorial twelve-tone row at Libera animas
267
omnium fidelium defunctorum de poenis inferni et de profundo lacu (deliver the souls of
all the faithful departed from the pains of hell and from the bottomless pit), almost every
syllable falls on a triadic chord, imparting a sense of comfort. Martin also tended to
create more consonant tone rows, both in vertical harmonies and horizontal intervals.
After the sacrifice made in the Offertorium, in the Sanctus, abundant twelve-tone rows
are balanced with smooth perfect fifth combinations. In the opening theme, a twelve-tone
row is hidden in the alto, bass, and strings, smoothened by the three ordered pairs of
perfect fifths:
B-E G#-C# (D♭)-G♭ C-(G♭) B♭-(G♭) F-(B♭) A (A#)-D# G-(C) D-(A♭)
Furthermore, the dominant-tonic motion of perfect fifths implies different tonal centers,
resulting in pantonality typical of Martin’s mature period. Immediately afterwards, all
four soloists sing a twelve-tone row in octaves, which begins a cappella, with no repeated
pitches, to the text pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua (Example 26.4), then imitated in a
strict canon by all chorus voices.
Example 26.4. Sanctus, Rehearsal 2, SATB soloists, unison twelve-tone row
The twelve-tone row is configured in the form of segments of circle of fifths:
9
A | G# C# F# | F B♭ E♭ | D G C | B E
9
It is the author’s opinion that the use of a twelve-tone row at this point is to paint the text “heaven and
earth are full of your glory,” thus using all twelve tones.
268
The transposed segments within the row classify it as what Cooke called “modulating
rows,”
10
typical of Martin’s mature period. Embedded within the twelve-tone row are
four sets of three pitches related by perfect fourths.
11
The twelve-tone complements of the
three statements [in parentheses] create another complete twelve-tone aggregate:
Original: A – G# – F# – F♮ – E♭ – D – C – B (complement: C#, B♭, G, E, G#)
First transposition:
A♭ – G – F – E – D – C# – B – B♭ (complement: C, A, F#, E♭)
Second transposition:
B♭ – A – G – F# – E – E♭ – D♭ – C – B♭ (complement: D, B, A♭, F)
At the second refrain (Rehearsal 3), continuous chromatic scales in the opposite
direction set the text Sanctus, ascending from D2 in the cello (one measure before
Rehearsal 3) to the A♭6 in the Violin I solo (fourth measure after Rehearsal 3). In the
chorus, A2 in the bass solo (Rehearsal 3) ascends to B5 in the soprano solo (two
measures after Rehearsal 4). The ten measures of ascending chromatic scales are
followed by twenty-five measures of an extended oscillating passage of chromatic
stepwise motion until three measures before Rehearsal 9. As in In Terra Pax, these
chromatic scalar passages do not provide the sense of arrival one would expect in a
triumphant Sanctus. Instead, the music evokes a sense of the mysterious supernatural.
The Agnus Dei movement is built on a tone row, beginning from the vocal line,
missing the pitch C (repeated pitches in parentheses):
C# E D# | (D#) F# E# | D A G# B | (F#) G (F#) | A# (A♮)
10
Cooke, “Late Starter. Mervyn Cooke Concludes,” 199.
11
In addition, there is a continuous stepwise octatonic descent of A - G# - F# - F♮ - E ♭ - D - C – B within
the row, a device used in In Terra Pax.
269
The tone row comprises five groupings, all of which end with a falling minor second
interval, evoking a recurring sense of loss. The row recurs throughout the movement in
variations. This occurs three times in the alto voice with the threefold text, but it is also
presented in the organ after the alto’s first statement, transposed up by a minor sixth
except the last pitch, and then again in the original key:
A C B D C# A# F E G E♭ A♭
Underneath the alto solo, there is an eleven-tone row in the organ pedal, missing D#:
C B♭ A G♭ D B E C# G# F G
Underneath the tone row, both right and left hands of the organ part each complete all
twelve pitches.
Right hand:
C# C D D# A B A# F E G G# F#
Left hand:
A C B A# G# F# F G E C# D# D
With the transpositions of the tone row, Martin created symmetry between the first and
last presentation in terms of its key center (here listed with the beginning pitch):
C# - A - D♭ - F - C - C#
In In Paradisum, continuously rising chromatic scalar passages depict the text In
Paradisum deducant te Angeli; in tuo adventu suscipiant te Martyres, et perducant te in
civitatem sanctam Jerusalem…aeternam habeas requiem (May the angels lead you into
paradise; may the martyrs receive you at your arrival and lead you to the holy city
Jerusalem…may you have eternal rest). The stepwise ascension travels through all twelve
270
tones, equalizing the twelve tones.
12
As in the harpsichord entrance (Rehearsal 2) which
ascends from E4 to B♭5 and continues downward with C5 up to F6, the chromatic
stepwise passages create a cyclic motion. The same circular motion takes place in the
echoes of the soprano ascending stepwise passage from D#4 ascending to F5, back to
G#4 ascending to E5, and lastly G4 ascending to G5, creating a twelve-tone aggregate.
The final complete twelve-tone row takes place in Lux Aeterna, on the text et lux
perpetua luceat eis, cum sanctis tuis in aeternum, quia pius es (and may everlasting light
shine upon them; with your Saints forever: for you are merciful) (four measures after
Rehearsal 4 to the end):
E♭ A♭ B♭ C D B C# F# A E F G
The text describing eternal rest is accentuated with a victorious fortissimo conclusion.
The final words quia pius es (for You are merciful) form a twelve-tone combinatorial
aggregate in all voices in the five syllables, missing F# and B♭, encompassing all
consonant triadic harmonies.
12
The stepwise ascension through all twelve tones equalize all twelve tones and appears to the author to
imply the equal footing of all souls before God’s judgement as they depart from the earthly realm.
271
Chapter 27 : Tonality and Harmony
“I don’t know why the heavenly angels have gotten into the habit of making music of
adoration with so much dissonance.”
- Frank Martin
1
As in his middle period, Martin continued to dispose of the use of key signatures
in his mature period. “The use of a third-relationship became more obvious, as well as the
intentional clouding of final cadences.”
2
Table 21 reveals the tonal progressions of third
relationships between the Introitus and Kyrie, and the In Paradisum and Lux Aeterna in
their opening pitches, while the Dies Irae, Offertorium and Sanctus display third-relations
in their ending keys.
Table 21. Requiem, each movement with beginning pitches and ending key
Introitus Kyrie Dies
Irae
Offertorium Sanctus Agnus
Dei
In
Paradisum
Lux
Aeterna
G
E♭ E♭ / D
F / C C C# D# G
A major B
minor
w/ C#
ped
C#
major
E major / C
minor
A major B
major
E♭ major
A major
Unlike his early and middle periods, Martin rarely employs bi-tonality in his
mature period. In its place, pantonality, or pandiatonicism is employed, whereby “several
tonics exert their pull simultaneously and counteract one another regardless of whether
any of them is to become the ultimate one.”
3
For instance, in Concerto pour sept
instruments à vents (1949), Martin’s “succession of powerful root-position triads creates
1
Frank Martin, Victor Desarzens, and Peter Sulzer, Lettres à Victor Desarzens. Témoignages de
collaboration et d’amitié entre le compositeur et son interprète. (Lausanne, Suisse: L’Âge d’homme,
1988), 60. Translated in Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections, 174.
2
Tupper, “Stylistic Analysis,” 101.
3
Ibid., 96.
272
an effective contrast to the melodic serial derivations prevailing elsewhere.”
4
In the
Requiem, the Dies Irae reveals a multitude of diminished triads implying various tonics,
and multiple authentic-cadence tonicizations at the Recordare. Even in the beginning
Introitus, the two sets of tones related by open fifths contend with each other – G and C,
against E, B and F#.
The quick succession of horizontal tonicizations reinforce pantonality while also
recalling the horizontal formation of tonality from Martin’s early period, which led to a
return to more lyrical melodic themes, after a more dissonant and chromatic middle
period. In Introitus, Rehearsal 2, the bass solo sings the text Te decet hymnus, Deus in
Sion, et tibi reddetur votum in Jerusalem (A hymn, O God, becometh Thee in Zion and a
vow shall be paid to thee in Jerusalem) (Example 27.1). Although seemingly disjointed,
the phrase is made of melodically diatonic or triadic segments.
Example 27.1. Introitus, Rehearsal 2, bass solo
Due to the horizontal cadential dominant-to-tonic motion, the three phrase segments
travel through solidly implied tonal centers of F# major, A♭ major, then E♭ major.
4
Cooke, "Late Starter,” 134.
273
Evidently, the melodic lines are often not harmonized, “but rather repose on a chord or a
tone complex that is only modified with each phrase.”
5
The cadences of Martin’s mature period recall a certain simplicity of those in his
early period, “dominant to tonic harmony, or upon melodically arrived at ‘rest tones,’ i.e.,
linear cadences,” while preserving a certain chromatic language of his middle period.
6
In
the Offertorium, at the sopranos’ declamatory Rex gloriae, fear is replaced by awe,
depicted through dynamics and register, but also through a II-V-I (F major – B♭ major –
E♭ major) cadential harmonic motion. The opening three phrases of the Sanctus illustrate
such cadences, closely resembling in concept and sonority to the Gloria of the Messe and
the major seventh cadences of the two beginning phrases. After chromatic meanderings,
Martin always concludes movements on satisfying triads for a degree of stability. Tupper
noted that “Cadential structures, usually containing upper or lower leading-tones, show
great variety without taking recourse in stereotyped progressions, nor compromising with
the need for a definite sense of finality.”
7
Martin preserved his trademark frequent modulation, or “gliding tonality,” in the
Requiem through unrelated root-position triads against independent bass lines, multiple
pedal points and smooth voice-leading. In the Dies Irae, at Rehearsal 30, the chorus
performs a textbook demonstration of “gliding tonality” underneath the B-A-C-H motifs
in the soloists (Example 27.2). Never departing from a distinctive smooth voice-leading,
Martin “begins with a tiny step in one or two voices without leaving the bass note. By
5
Martin, À propos de...commentaires, trans. Rosemary Bridger-Lippe. Quoted in Martin, Requiem, XII.
6
Tupper, “Stylistic Analysis,” 99.
7
Ibid., 245.
274
adding ever more new tones he gradually builds a new tonal complex, and only at this
moment gingerly lets go of the bass […].”
8
In doing so, Martin was able to move from a
D minor sonority through F major, D♭ major, E minor, E♭ major, C minor, F#9 and arrive
at E diminished with an added F#, a sonority he already used in Quærens me, sedisti
lassus. Meanwhile, instead of Martin’s typical independent bass line, he used an
independent line in the Violin II that is mostly dissonant at a semitone against the
“harmonic progression” in the chorus, Violin I, viola and bass.
Example 27.2. Requiem, Dies Irae, oro supplex et acclinis, Rehearsal 30, ATB choir,
gliding tonality
9
8
Klein, Frank Martin, 25. Translated in Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections, 17.
9
Martin, Requiem, 59.
275
At the Lacrimosa section, the timpani, organ, and strings constantly create such a
“new tonal complex” beginning with small steps in some parts (Rehearsal 32) (Example
27.3). Gradually all the parts join in, moving in small descending steps. Only in the
timpani does the static B♭ persist through six measures before it “gingerly lets go” and
moves to the E♭ to join in a new sonic universe.
Example 27.3. Dies Irae, Lacrimosa, Rehearsal 32, timpani, organ and strings, gliding
tonality
10
10
Ibid., 60-61.
276
Harmonically, Martin’s mature period, “while still basically chromatic, it
incorporates more pure triads than the dissonant structures so much in evidence during
the middle period.”
11
This period reflected a less dissonant idiom and frequent
modulation, with a generally lengthened time span between functional chords or stable
key centers. As a result, there was a “slow gliding from one tonal area to another.”
12
For
instance, in the first movement of the Petite Symphonie Concertante (1945) of the same
period, “coloristic passing chords prolong the structural chords of the dominant
harmony.”
13
This was achieved sometimes through chordal prolongation, “extending, in a
temporal sense, certain chords over others,”
14
such as in the extended diminished triad
11
Tupper, “Stylistic Analysis,” 85.
12
Ibid., 245.
13
Ibid., 95.
277
sonorities of In Dies Irae. Beginning at Rehearsal 11, between the two overlaid twelve-
tone rows, there are three four-note groupings in each twelve-tone aggregate. Each of the
six chords function as triadic cadences with an additional note. Without exception, each
chord embeds a diminished triad with an additional semitone from one of the triadic
members:
A – C#/C♮ - E♭ [0236]
B - D - F/F#
E - G/G# - B♭ [0236]
This particular tone row sets up a sonority that will be used later. At Recordare Jesu pie
(remember, merciful Jesus), a similar sonority of prime form [0236] is used, comprising
of a diminished triad with an added color note, a sonority used only once in the previous
In Terra Pax, at the moment when Christ calls out Père, pardonne-leur, car ils ne savent
ce qu’ils font (Father, forgive them, they know not what they do). As in a traditional
recitative, the vocal line is supported by harmonic implications in the orchestra. Each
textual statement begins with a pedal in the strings accompanied with pizzicati, always in
diminished triads with an added color note, the same sonority from Rex tremendae
majestatis (King of tremendous majesty). The diminished triads each serve to prolong a
dissonant sonority that evokes a sense of loss. Harmonically, the strings progress from A
diminished (added D) to B diminished (added G♭), to E diminished (added A♭) to A
diminished (added D♭). Although the diminished triads evoke a threatening nature, the
bass notes of the chords, A – B – E – A, create an implied I – ii – V – I cadential
progression. Furthermore, in the voicing of the chords, Martin creates another implied vii
14
Ibid., 94-95.
278
- ♭VII – V – I cadential progression through the bass notes of the chords, C – C♭ – A♭ –
D♭. The tonalities of A, D♭, together with the implied tonics of B♭, C, F, contend for
supremacy.
At Quærens me, sedisti lassus, the strings shape a similar cadential progression
from B diminished (added G♭), to E diminished (added A♭), to A diminished (added D♭)
to D diminished (added G♭), creating an implied vi - ii - V – I (B – E – A – D) cadence.
Meanwhile, the bass notes, this time always being the added notes to the diminished
triads, create an independent harmonic cadential line #V - ii - V – I ( D - A♭ - D♭ - G♭).
While the V – I implied cadential motions cannot be dismissed, the superimposition of
different tonicizations, A on top of D♭ at Recordare Jesu pie, and D on top of G♭ at
Quærens me, sedisti lassus, create simultaneous tonicizations that are tritones apart, and
through exclusively diminished triads. Meanwhile, the threatening nature of the
rhythmically-displaced pizzicatos amalgamate to the sense of instability. The contention
demonstrates Tupper’s observation that “groups of sonorities as a whole evoke an
atmosphere that expresses neither atonality nor a “key,” but a more complex structural
condition…a multi-tonal state of fluctuating tonics.”
15
A dissonant chord takes place at the downbeat of Rehearsal 16 between the winds
and strings, contrasting “merciful Jesus” with the arrival of the “just Judge of revenge.” A
similar dissonance later returns at Rehearsal 30 between the D in the organ and the C# in
the oboe, prolonging the sense of instability. Deriving from the sonority of Rex
tremendae majestatis, the chord, containing pitches B – D – F/F#, forms a B minor triad
superimposed on a B diminished triad at the text juste judex ultionis (just Judge of
15
Tupper, “Stylistic Analysis,” 96.
279
revenge). The simultaneously awe and terror-inspiring sonority is aggravated by the
horizontal and vertical juxtaposition of triadic members that are a semitone apart, F and
F# vertically, and G and G# horizontally following immediately in the horns.
At Rehearsal 26, the same confrontational sonority from Rex tremendae
majestatis is preserved, transposed from the original form. Each chord conceals a
diminished triad with an added semitone, building dissonance upon dissonance at the text
Inter oves locum, praesta (Grant me a place among the sheep, and take me out from
among the goats). The nine chords can be most easily seen from the organ part:
1. B – D/D# - F
2. C# - E – G/G#
3. F# - A/A# - C
4. D# - F#/G – A
5. F - A♭ - B/C
6. A# - C#/D – E
7. G - B/B♭ - D♭
8. A - C - E♭/E
9. D - F/F# - A♭
The accumulated dissonance is not dispelled until the exceptional tenth chord comprising
of G# - B – D#/E, a G# minor triad superimposed on an E major triad, at the text statuens
in parte dextra (setting me on the right side). Martin was therefore able to create a
heightened sense of stability and comfort in the rare moments that present melodic
resolutions and tonal melodies. Such moments include the conclusions of Offertorium,
Sanctus, and Agnus Dei movements.
280
Dissonances are balanced with consonances, perhaps representing that fear of
God’s punishment is never without hope for God’s salvation. Harmonically, In the Agnus
Dei, before the alto solo’s last delivery of the text, the organ rests on an unsettling chord
(one measure before Rehearsal 8), containing the pitches B, A#, E, C#, C♮, creating
tension through the dissonant tritone and minor second. However, between these five
pitches, the same pitches that create the most dissonant intervals also contribute to
consonant intervals of the perfect fifth and minor and major sixths (Table 22).
Table 22. Agnus Dei, consonant and dissonant intervals created by organ chord
(one measure before Rehearsal 8)
Dissonant Intervals Consonant Intervals
B and A# m2 B and E P5
A# and E TT A# and C# m3
C# and C♮ m2 E and C# M6
B and C# M2
B and C♮ m2
A# and C♮ M2
The last four measures end on an uplifting ascent from scale degree one to two to three,
with the last melodic B resting on a satisfying cadential B major resolution. In the
movement In Paradisum, Martin musically depicts the text ending on a sonorous,
comforting E♭ major triad, described as “The key of love, of devotion, of intimate
conversation with God.”
16
In the last four measures of Lux Aeterna, the harmonic
16
Schubart, Schubart's Ideen. Translated in Steblin, A History, 163.
281
progression travels from F major through an A♭ open fifths with an added B, to G major,
arriving at a cadence on A major. The harmonic progression thus displays a ♭VI - ♭VII - I
overall cadence voiced with parallel ascending motion triads. Moreover, Schubart
identifies A major with characteristics such as satisfaction, “hope of seeing one's beloved
again” and “trust in God.”
17
17
Ibid.
282
Chapter 28 : Rhythm
Similar to Martin’s early and middle periods, Martin generally utilized simple
meters during his mature period, which offered flexibility in their organization.
Meanwhile, 3/2 meters rose in importance and frequency due to its subdivision potential.
1
In Petite Symphonie Concertante, 3/2 was divided into multiple groupings, such as [6+6],
[4+4+4], or [12+12].
2
In Requiem, 3/2 meters abound in the Dies Irae, including the Mors
Stupebit, the syncopated Liber Scriptus, Confutatis, the syncopated Lacrimosa and the
Pie Jesu.
Asymmetric meters and compound meters became much less frequent in the
mature period,
3
as seen from their absence in Concerto pour sept instruments à vents,
Petite Symphonie Concertante and Violin Concerto.
4
However, in Requiem, Martin
preserved the use of both, reserved for special textual purposes. The uneven meters lent
themselves easily to the tumultuous view of death and judgement. The Dies Irae is
therefore in 7/8 ( ) , while 9/8 meters can be found in the Agnus Dei and In
Paradisum. Such uses of meters of seven may have stemmed from his early interest in
both Bulgarian and Indian meter groupings, in the similar Bulgarian meters Ruchenitza
and Chetvorno Horo (Example 28.1), and the Indian meter Rupak tal.
1
Tupper, “Stylistic Analysis,” 129.
2
Ibid.
3
Ibid., 245.
4
Ibid., 129.
283
Example 28.1. Asymmetric meters of seven and nine used in Bulgarian folk dances, in
different groupings
5
A further tendency in Martin’s mature period in regards to rhythm is an
increasingly free-flowing and improvisatory rhythmic treatment, resulting from thorough
meter and tempo changes, multi-metric changes and metric displacement. Meticulous
shifts between meters and tempi, exemplary of Dalcroze Eurhythmics,
6
exhibit Martin’s
ability to express the text and subtext, regardless of metric definitions. In the Dies Irae,
rapid meter changes assist in creating an atmosphere of chaos and instability. Through
metric displacement, Martin is able to equalize the various beats within a measure, in the
same way he equalizes the twelve tones of the chromatic scale. In the Dies Irae, From
Rehearsal 11 through Rehearsal 15, in the strings underneath the tenor solo, Martin also
employed “motoric accentuation,”
7
inserting rests at different beats of the measure to
create tension through stopping and starting the rhythmic current. Whether in the voice or
5
Petrov, "Bulgarian Rhythms,” 160.
6
Rubinoff, “Émile Jaques-Dalcroze’s Influence, 43.
7
Tupper, “Stylistic Analysis,” 132.
284
strings, strong beats almost never occur on downbeats, which often contain rests. The
tenor solo functions as a recitative, in duet with the meticulously-notated oboe, while the
strings underneath support with commentating pizzicatos. The Offertorium demonstrates
the chant-like, improvisatory-like rhythmic treatment that was first demonstrated in the
Introitus and the Kyrie.
In a similar manner, In Paradisum demonstrates a rare instance of polymetricism
between 2/4 and 6/8 meters, characteristic of the mature period. First demonstrated in the
orchestra and soprano solo, the precision and planned rhythmic counterpoint between
multiple metres and asymmetrical meters such as 9/8 against 3/4 create a paradoxic
rhythmic freedom. The rare use of both polymeter and compound meters are atypical of
Martin’s mature period. Furthermore, In Paradisum reveals rhythmic superimposition
between choral homophony and free triplet ascents in the instruments.
Rhythmic influences of the mature period include additive folk rhythms and
frequent multi-metric changes. Such influences demonstrate Martin’s fascination for
Stravinsky’s and Béla Bartók’s (1881-1945) additive rhythmic and metric treatments,
which he notably taught Stockhausen while teaching at the Cologne Hochschule between
1950 and 1957.
8
Meanwhile, the emphasis on syncopations reveals the influence of
Stravinsky’s irregular accents “without rebarring the measure.”
9
Stravinsky’s influence of
irregular accents is evident in the section Quærens me, sedisti lassus (three measures
before Rehearsal 15) in the Dies Irae. Despite its 4/4 meter, the music flows rhythmically
free of meter and could in fact be notated in a different time signature without hugely
8
Jonathan Harvey, The Music of Stockhausen: An Introduction (Berkeley: University of California Press,
1975), 15. Quoted in Cooke, “Late Starter. Mervyn Cooke Concludes,” 198.
9
Tupper, “Stylistic Analysis,” 128.
285
disturbing the inflection. In the opening of the Dies Irae, ostinatos, or “serializing
rhythmic patterns”
10
typical of the mature period are evident in the chorus’ rhythms
marked parlé bas sans timbre (whisper without timbre) and in the orchestra. In addition,
Martin employed multiple ostinato as accompaniment to melodic material.
11
Such
rhythmic mottos sometimes counter the existing metric perception, such as in the
Recordare theme at Rehearsal 15. The section beginning from Quid sum, miser, tunc
dicturus? (what shall I, miserable wretch, say?) through tantus labor non sit cassus (let
not so much hardship be lost) merges the sensibilities of traditional recitative. The strings
harmonically support the solo recitative in homophony, with theatrical pizzicati and con
sordini effects and twentieth-century harmonic and rhythmic treatments.
Typical of this period is also the use of march rhythms, as in the tom-tom at
Rehearsal 3.
12
A further influence in this period was Spanish Flamenco rhythms, which
his daughter Anne-Thérèse was passionate about. This brought about Fantasie sur des
rythmes flamenco of 1970-73, to which his daughter would dance, shortly before his
death. Spanish rhythms also manifested in syncopated rhythms in many works, including
the Etudes of 1956. Flamenco music frequently groups asymmetric measures such as
seven into [3+2+2] or [1+1+1+2+2]. The frequent use of asymmetrical 7/8 meters in the
Dies Irae may be related to this influence (Example 28.2). In addition, Flamenco music
favored melismatic text-setting, as did Balkan folk music, evident in the Requiem
(Example 28.3 and Example 28.4).
10
Ibid., 130.
11
Ibid., 155.
12
Ibid., 246.
286
Example 28.2. 7/8 meters in the Dies Irae, Rehearsal 1, SATB choir
Example 28.3. Dies Irae, Recordare, five measures before Rehearsal 13, melismatic tenor
solo
Example 28.4. Dies Irae, Preces meae, one measure before Rehearsal 23, melismatic
tenor solo
The Sanctus exhibits a microcosm of Martin’s rhythmic craftsmanship. The
movement shifts twelve times between 3/4 and 4/4 meter. The opening largo delineates
an evident 3/4 meter, countered by strong syncopated beats accentuated in the bells and
lower choral voices. Between the two rhythmic groups of voices, one stressing the
downbeat, the other stressing beat two, Martin used what Tupper addressed as “motoric
accentuation,” using rests at different points of the measure in the voices to create tension
through stopping and starting the rhythmic current.
13
In fact, the Sanctus is the only movement in the work that does not begin with
rests but is pitched on the downbeat (the Dies Irae, which also begins without rests,
13
Ibid., 132.
287
begins unpitched with a gong grave in 7/8). Soon after, Martin increasingly dissolves the
strong triple meter into a rhythmically-free fabric, employing syncopations, stressed pick-
up beats, ties and meter changes. At the first episode of the rondo, at piu mosso
(Rehearsal 2), the text pleni sunt coeli et terra is set for the first time. Although Martin
shifts to 4/4 meter, the choral voices are syncopated, and the orchestra collectively avoids
the downbeat at two measures after Rehearsal 2. As the rondo form progresses to the
second textual refrain (Rehearsal 3), syncopated entrances on the text Sanctus and quick
continuous sixteenth notes intensify the movement’s urgency and mask the perception of
meter. The meter changes between 3/4 and 4/4 evoke the spontaneous praises from the
choirs of angels. Hemiolic devices often end sections, displacing metric stability. For
instance, at the end of the second episode before the Benedictus (three measures before
Rehearsal 9), there is a rare moment where time stands still (Example 28.5). The
woodwinds alone play a hemiola along with a ritardando and diminuendo.
Example 28.5. Sanctus, three measures before Rehearsal 9, flute, clarinet, bassoon,
hemiola
288
In the Sanctus, Martin preserved his ability for creating multiple strata of
rhythmic activity.
14
Sustained chords in the organ, sporadic trills in the strings and
tremolo in the cymbals add to the layered rhythmic complexity by enshrouding where the
rhythms fall within the meters. By the second episode at Rehearsal 5, the ever-constant
sixteenth notes in the woodwinds are juxtaposed by triplets in the strings, alternating with
the improvisatory-sounding harpsichord in sextuplets, which bleeds into the solo and
choral voices and later the woodwinds. Multiple rhythmic layers from Rehearsal 5
through Rehearsal 7 are at work:
1. Continuous sixteenth notes in the woodwinds
2. Percussion oscillating between irregularly stressed beats one, two, and three
3. Continuous triplet eighth notes in the strings
4. Sustained organ chords, later stressing beats two and three, some sporadic
entrances
5. Steady eighth notes in the strings, some sporadic trills, hemiola-like chords
6. Sustained long notes, flourishes and trills in choral voices with triplet eighth-note
pick-ups
7. Continuous sextuplets in harpsichord
Even the text does not help to clarify meter. Martin evades the traditional
expectations of word stresses on strong beats. Flourishes and written-out trills on the text
Sanctus and Osanna further obscure beginnings and ends of rhythmic figures and create a
hypnotic effect (Example 28.6 and Example 28.7). The written-out trills also incorporate
14
Ibid., 162.
289
organic, written-out ritardandi through transitioning from sixteenth notes to triplets to
duple eighth notes (Example 28.6 and Example 28.7).
Example 28.6. Sanctus, written-out trills and ritardandi, mm. 3-7 after Rehearsal 7,
soprano solo
15
Example 28.7. Sanctus, written-out trills and ritardandi, mm. 5-6 after Rehearsal 10,
SATB soloists
16
15
Martin, Requiem, 85-86.
16
Ibid., 91.
290
Furthermore, the entire movement frequently shifts between tempo markings,
augmenting the unstable nature of the rhythm. The tempo accelerates from the first
refrain’s largo ( = 56) to the first episode’s piu mosso ( = 76), transitioning un poco
animando into the second refrain’s un poco piu mosso ( = 80), and still increasing
animando into the second episode’s andante con moto ( = 88). The acceleration comes
to a halt and instead eases through a ritardando into a completely different character in
molto piu moderato ( = 60) at the Benedictus, and then into con moto ( = 72) at the
Osanna through an animando. The incessantly fluid tempo markings add to the spirited,
rhythmically-free writing. Besides tempo markings, the dynamic markings in the Sanctus
are meticulously specific, with beginnings and endings of markings such as crescendi
often falling on the middle rather than at the beginning or end of measures, creating
another layer of rhythmic and metric ambiguity.
It is not until the concluding Rehearsal 12, where all voices sing Osanna, that the
praises become unified in a clear triple meter, and Martin marks pause assez longue (12
sec.) at the end of the movement. This fluidity of tempo and dynamics carries into the
Agnus Dei, where shifts occur in even quicker succession.
291
Chapter 29 : Compositional Devices
B-A-C-H Motif
The derivations of the B-A-C-H motif from Martin’s early and middle periods
continued in his mature period. The motif lent itself well to the melodies of the mature
period, which emphasized the intervals of minor seconds and minor thirds,
1
precisely the
two intervals that form the B-A-C-H motif. Incidentally, the other integral thematic
motif, the Requiem aeternam motif discussed below, also encompasses the intervals of
the minor third and minor second.
The B-A-C-H motif appears in other works from the mature period. Pak’s
dissertation (2014) substantiates Martin’s usage of the B-A-C-H motif in its original and
derived forms in Hùit Préludes pour le Piano (1948).
2
Prelude Six from Hùit Préludes,
written also in 1948, employs the B-A-C-H motif before its final canon motif. The Fourth
Étude from Études, written in 1956 for string orchestra and then another version for two
pianos, includes a figured chorale in the style of Bach’s passions, as well as the B-A-C-H
motif in the middle chromatic section. Furthermore, the work begins with an Overture
that incorporates the fugal writing of Bach, as well as the dotted French overture rhythms
reminiscent of Handel, revealing Martin’s overarching admiration of music of the
Baroque.
1
Tupper, “Stylistic Analysis,” 244.
2
Jooeun Pak, "Invention through Synthese: Former Composers Observed in Frank Martin’s Hùit Préludes
pour le Piano," (PhD diss., Indiana University, 2014),
https://scholarworks.iu.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/2022/18555/Pak,%20Jooeun%20(DM%20Piano).pdf?s
equence=1, 9.
292
A particular derivative of the B-A-C-H motif, which Bruhn identifies as a “cross
motif,” were also used notably in the passion oratorio Golgotha (1948).
3
In Golgotha,
Martin preserved the image of the cross – the central theme of the Passion – through
manipulation of the intervals between the pitches. In Movement V, the “cross motif”
appears when Jesus cries out to his Father three times in the Garden of Gethsemane, a
single moment of weakness in Jesus’ life that portrays his human nature. Multiple
instances of the B-A-C-H motif occur at ‘s’il n’est pas possible que cette coupe passe’…
Il retourna vers ses disciples…car leurs yeux étaient apesantis et ils ne savaient que lui
répondre. (‘If it is not possible that this cup pass far from me, your will be done!’ When
he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not
know what to say to him) (Example 29.1). Each rendition of the motif represents the
suffering of Jesus, both man and Son of God
Example 29.1. Golgotha, Movement V, multiple appearances of the B-A-C-H motif
4
3
Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections, 129.
4
Ibid.
293
In the Requiem, the most recognizable themes are constructed from derivations of
the B-A-C-H motif. These include the Requiem aeternam, Recordare Jesu pie, and Agnus
Dei motifs, to be discussed below. In the Introitus, the tenor, the first soloist, sings the
exact pitches of the B-A-C-H motif, in the order of C-H-A-B. At Rehearsal 5, the alto
and soprano solo imitate each other beginning with pitches that derive from the B-A-C-H
motif.
In the Christe section of the Kyrie, allusions to the B-A-C-H motif appear
repeatedly over every measure, most transparently in recurring measures in the
harpsichord, but also in the oboe, bassoon, and Violin I. Instead of directly quoting the
motif, Martin takes the second half of the motif and inverts it, so that E moves a minor
second upwards instead of downwards (Example 29.2).
5
Example 29.2. Requiem, Kyrie, Christe section, Rehearsal 4, B-A-C-H distortion, first
appearing doubled in harpsichord, oboe, Violin I and bassoon
In the Dies Irae, the B-A-C-H motif manifests in multiple instances. At Rehearsal
2, the trumpets, which Martin selected only specific moments for, play pitches that form
the B-A-C-H motif, but out of order, in three different transpositions simultaneously three
times – B - B ♭ - A - A ♭, A - A ♭ - G ADies Irae, th♮ - E ♭ - D (Example 29.3).
6
5
The author speculates that while the B-A-C-H cross motif symbolizes the salvation of God through
Christ’s suffering, the distortion of it may signify the as-yet incompletion of God’s mercy.
6
It is the author’s opinion that the multiple allusions to the number three in the usage of B-A-C-H motifs is
likely intentional to reflect the intervention of the triune God. However, the distorted order of the motifs
seems to signify the mercy that cannot yet be completed until the Judgement.
294
Example 29.3. Requiem, Dies Irae, Rehearsal 2, trumpets, pitches forming three times of
three simultaneous B-A-C-H motifs
Reordered and transposed versions of the B-A-C-H motif are especially abundant
in the passage of text that refers directly to the cross, describing redemption through the
Crucifixion: Quærens me, sedisti lassus: Redemisti Crucem passus: Tantus labor non sit
cassus (Seeking me, Thou sattest tired: Thou redeemedst having suffered the Cross: let
not so much hardship be lost) (Example 29.4).
Example 29.4. Requiem, Dies Irae, Quærens me, sedisti lassus, three measures before
Rehearsal 15 to Rehearsal 15
This phrase is created by pitches related by B-A-C-H motif interval combinations
(Example 29.5). When re-arranged, the pitches reveal two overlapping B-A-C-H motif
figures. The first is a variation on the B-A-C-H intervals, while the second is the exact
intervals reordered (Example 29.6). The proceeding oboe line is also created from pitches
that form two overlapping B-A-C-H motifs with exact intervals but out of order
(Example 29.7).
295
Example 29.5. Pitches that form the phrase Quærens me, sedisti lassus, Dies Irae, three
measures before Rehearsal 15
Example 29.6. Pitches that form the phrase Quærens me, sedisti lassus, rearranged into
B-A-C-H motif combinations
Example 29.7. Dies Irae, oboe solo after Quærens me, sedisti lassus, one measure before
Rehearsal 15 to two measures after Rehearsal 15, created from B-A-C-H motif
a. Oboe solo, original
b. Pitches that form oboe solo
c. Oboe solo created from B-A-C-H motifs
At the phrase that states the cross directly, redemisti crucem passus (Thou redeemedst
having suffered the Cross), Martin superimposes three B-A-C-H motifs together
(Example 29.8). The central motif at the exact text crucem is distorted in interval by a
whole step between E♭ and D♭ instead of the original semitone.
296
Example 29.8. Requiem, Dies Irae, redemisti crucem passus, one measure after Rehearsal
15, tenor solo, created from overlapping B-A-C-H motifs
a. Redemisti crucem passus, original
b. Pitches that form redemisti crucem passus material
c. Redemisti crucem passus created from overlapping B-A-C-H motifs
At the text tantus labor non sit cassus (let not so much hardship be lost), the tenor solo
joins in unison with the oboe for the first time. The pitches become more angular,
reflecting the text “hardship” and “lost.” The pitches continue to be derived from the B-
A-C-H motif. Except the first F-E-G-F# iteration, the overlapping motifs manifest in
increasingly unrecognizable, distorted intervals, though preserving the contour of the
cross image (Example 29.9).
297
Example 29.9. Requiem, Dies Irae, tantus labor non sit cassus, two measures before
Rehearsal 16, tenor solo, created form distorted B-A-C-H motifs
a. Tantus labor non sit cassus, original, tenor solo doubled by oboe solo
b. Pitches that form tantus labor non sit cassus
c. Tantus labor non sit cassus created from distorted B-A-C-H motifs
At Rehearsal 17, the repeated F - A - A♭ - C reflects intervals of two major thirds
connected by a minor second, a varied mirror inversion of the intervals that form the B-
A-C-H motif:
7
M3 H M3
F – A – A♭ - C
H m3 H
B – A – C – H
7
It is the author’s opinion that the use of a varied mirror inversation of B-A-C-H motif intervals is fittingly
set to the text describing man’s guilt when seeing his sin against God, causing Christ’s atonement on the
cross.
298
The first four pitches of the Recordare theme (Example 29.10a) refer to the
pitches that form the B-A-C-H motif, but once again distorted (Example 29.10b). The
thematic figure is built from four beginning pitches consisting of two minor seconds at
each end connected by an altered major second. When re-arranged, the pitches form the
same cross image as the B-A-C-H motif.
8
Example 29.10. Requiem, Dies Irae, theme from Recordare, five measures before
Rehearsal 13, tenor solo, compared with B-A-C-H motif
a. Original theme from Recordare
b. First four pitches of the theme compared with B-A-C-H figure, re-ordered and written
in enharmonics
The present research observes that Martin was able to allude to the B-A-C-H
motif through any two or more pairs of notes adjacent to each other, either by semitone or
whole-tone. The beginning four pitches of Inter oves locum praesta (place me among the
sheep) adopted similarly varied intervals from the B-A-C-H motif re-ordered but
noticeably varied from the Recordare (Example 29.11a). Although the text describes the
serenity of “a place among the sheep,” the music is far from being serene and secure,
with the B-A-C-H motifs often distorted and asymmetrical. As Example 29.11b shows,
8
It is the author’s opinion that the recurrence of this variation of the B-A-C-H motif at specific relevant
texts throughout the Dies Irae seems not only to reflect man’s plea for God’s mercy, but admonishment
toward man for having nailed Christ to the cross.
299
although each four-pitch group creates the contour of the B-A-C-H cross image, none of
the four variations contains the identical intervals.
Example 29.11. Requiem, Dies Irae, Inter oves locum praesta, one measure before
Rehearsal 26, bass solo, created from B-A-C-H configurations
a. Inter oves locum praesta, original
b. B-A-C-H configurations within Inter oves locum praesta
At the declamation of Martin’s ultimate hope, Statuens in parte dextra (setting me
on the right side [of judgement]), each of the four choral voices displays overlaps and
variations of the B-A-C-H motif (Example 29.12). There is a single exact B-A-C-H motif
in the correct order in the soprano solo, created through the pitches F – E – G – F#, albeit
interspersed with an extra pitch (Example 29.12a). Every other four-note configuration in
all four soloists contains distorted manifestations. Through such manipulation, Martin
seemed to illustrate the uncertainty of being “set on the right side.”
300
Example 29.12. Requiem, Dies Irae, B-A-C-H configurations from Statuens in parte
dextra, three measures before Rehearsal 27, SATB soloists
a. Statuens in parte dextra, soprano solo
b. B-A-C-H configurations, soprano solo
c. Statuens in parte dextra, alto solo
d. B-A-C-H configurations, alto solo
e. Statuens in parte dextra, tenor solo
f. B-A-C-H configurations, tenor solo
301
g. Statuens in parte dextra, bass solo
h. B-A-C-H configurations, bass solo
Exact intervals and transposition of the B-A-C-H motif take place abundantly at
Voca me, cum benedictis, (Call Thou me with the blessed) albeit in the wrong order. Voca
me, cum benedictis is typically set to music of intimate comfort of God’s goodness, such
as in Mozart’s Requiem. Martin overthrew such a presumption by setting it meno forte,
with a full eight-part vocal texture, supported by brass and percussion on top of strings.
The unison vocal forces sing repeated transpositions of the B-A-C-H motif in a howling
manner. Martin first quotes the B-A-C-H motif in its exact “correct” transposition in five
voice parts, albeit in the wrong order of H-C-B-A (Example 29.13).
302
Example 29.13. Requiem, Dies Irae, Voca me, Rehearsal 29, SATB soloists and SATB
choir
9
Contrarily, the ensuing phrase oro supplex et acclinis, cor contritum quasi cinis (I
meekly and humbly pray, [my] heart is as crushed as the ashes) presents repeated failing
attempts of completing the B-A-C-H motif in the soprano and tenor solos. The four
“imperfect” attempts as are follows (Example 29.14):
C# C♮ B | G# G♮ A# | D# D♮ C# | C# A# A♮ C♮
9
Martin, Requiem, 56.
303
Example 29.14. Dies Irae, oro supplex et acclinis, Rehearsal 30, tenor and soprano
soloists, incomplete B-A-C-H attempts
a. C# - C♮ - B: missing B ♭ / D
b. G# - G♮ - A#: missing A♮
c. D# - D♮ - C#: missing C♮ / E
d. C# - A# - A♮ - C♮: missing B
Coincidentally, the four pitches missing are D, A, E, B, four consecutive points on the
circle of fifths.
10
The Lacrimosa also comprises overlaps of manipulated B-A-C-H
contours at the texts dies illa (that [sorrowful] day) and ex favilla (from the burning
ashes) (Example 29.15). Coincidentally, these two textual segments originate from the
beginning of the Dies Irae movement, Dies iræ, dies illa, solvet sæclum in favilla.
10
In the author’s opinion, in consideration of the significance of the perfect symbolism of the circle of
fifths seen in other movements, discussed below, the consequent exclusion of this symbol by omitting four
points on the circle of fifths may further accentuate man’s imperfection apart from God.
304
Example 29.15. Dies Irae, Lacrimosa, Rehearsal 32, SATB soloists and SATB choir,
overlaps of manipulated B-A-C-H contours at the texts
a. Dies illa, soprano and tenor soloists and choir soprano and tenor: B – A# - D – C#
- (E)
b. Dies illa, alto and bass soloists and choir alto and bass: E – D# - G – F# - (A#)
c. Ex favilla, soprano and tenor soloists and choir soprano and tenor: C – B – D – A
(out of order)
In a rare moment of hope at Huic ergo parce, Deus (Spare him therefore, God), Martin
modified the direction to ascending but preserved the B-A-C-H contour (Example 29.16
and Example 29.17).
Example 29.16. Requiem, Dies Irae, Huic ergo and parce, Rehearsal 35, alto and bass
soloists and choir, ascending direction B-A-C-H interval contours
305
Example 29.17. Requiem, Dies Irae, Huic ergo and parce, Rehearsal 35, alto and bass
soloists and choir, B-A-C-H contours
a. b.
In the Benedictus section, the text qui venit in nomine Domini (He who comes in
the name of the Lord) oscillates between two dark tetrachords. The first appears in the
four pitches G - A♭ - B♭ - C♭, the same intervals that form the pitches of the B-A-C-H
motif. The second is a tetrachord with the first four pitches of the Locrian and Phrygian
modes, the darkest modes.
In the Agnus Dei, each of the three-note combinations derives from the B-A-C-H
motif (Example 29.18). The entire vocal phrase Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi,
dona eis requiem (Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, grant us rest)
consists of four “attempts” at the B-A-C-H motif, with only the final one succeeding but
still not in its original form. Each attempt is a version of the B-A-C-H motif transposed
missing one additional pitch (in parentheses). The pitches in small type are pitches
outside of the motif:
Example 29.18. Requiem, Agnus Dei, B-A-C-H motifs in mm. 2-3, mm. 4-5, mm. 6-7
and mm. 8-11, alto solo
a. Agnus Dei, mm.2-3, original
306
b. Agnus Dei, mm.2-3 derived from B-A-C-H
c. Agnus Dei, mm.4-5, original
d. Agnus Dei, mm.4-5, B-A-C-H motif
e. Agnus Dei, mm.6-7, original
f. Agnus Dei, mm.6-7, B-A-C-H motif
g. Agnus Dei, mm.8-11, original
h. Agnus Dei, mm.8-11, B-A-C-H motif, written enharmonically
307
The last of the four attempts succeeds in creating the illusion of a complete B-A-C-H
motif, with two minor seconds connected by a major third instead of minor third. It is
fitting that the Agnus Dei movement, whose text Agnus Dei qui tollis peccata mundi
(Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world) describes the Lamb of God taking
away the sins of the world by dying on the cross, is constructed entirely from contours
that form the B-A-C-H “cross motif,” sung by the alto solo then imitated in the organ.
Requiem Aeternam Motif
Throughout the Requiem, the motion of an ascending or descending third
followed by a second in the opposite direction can be identified in multiple movements.
The movements where this motif occurs create a symmetrical structure, namely the
Introitus, Kyrie, Dies Irae, Offertorium, Agnus Dei, and Lux Aeterna, unifying the theme
for “eternal rest.” The present research will address the theme as the Requiem aeternam
motif. The Requiem aeternam motif – a descending minor third contour followed by a
rising minor second – first appears in the Introitus (Example 29.19).
Example 29.19. Requiem, Introitus, Rehearsal 1 to five measures after, tenor solo,
Requiem aeternam theme first appearance
The theme is recalled at the end of the Dies Irae and the Lux Aeterna, the symmetrical
counterpart of the Introitus, where the theme returns in a full vocal texture of all eight
solo and choral voices to underline the text requiem aeternam dona eis (Grant them
eternal rest, O Lord). At the conclusion of the Dies Irae, Pie Jesu Domine, dona eis
308
requiem (merciful Jesus, Lord, grand them rest) textually mirrors the beginning of the
Introitus – Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine. Musically, Martin solidifies the recall
by bringing back the Requiem aeternam motif from the Introitus (Example 29.20).
11
Example 29.20. Requiem, Dies Irae, two measures after Rehearsal 37, choir soprano and
tenor, Requiem aeternam theme
In the rest of the movements the theme is inverted in direction (Example 29.21).
The sub-phrase et lux perpetua luceat eis is a variation generated from the requiem
aeternam motif. The theme displays the “chromatic lyrical character”
12
Tupper observed
in Martin’s mature period melodies. Except in the Offertorium, the upward, yearning
wider interval is followed by the narrower interval in the opposite direction, and falls
short of returning to the initial pitch. The “failure” to return to the “tonic” creates an
endless yearning in the music, which aptly suited Martin’s avoidance of conventional
cadences. Nonetheless, the ending pitch is higher than the initial pitch, perhaps symbolic
of man’s reaching, falling short, yet still being lifted and laid to rest in peace in spite of
his sins. In the Kyrie, at two to six measures after Rehearsal 1, instead of simply inserting
an ascending minor third followed by a falling minor second, Martin succeeded the
11
It is the author’s opinion that typical throughout the Requiem, Martin varied the motifs in meter and
transposition as if to indicate the stumbling nature of man’s faith, and to keep displacing the listener’s
expectation.
12
Tupper, “Stylistic Analysis,” 250.
309
upward minor third with two falling minor seconds, and two more attempts at upward
minor thirds, each falling down a minor second. At Rehearsal 9, each reiteration of the
text Kyrie is presented with the Requiem aeternam motif.
Example 29.21. Requiem aeternam motifs, Kyrie (mm. 2-6), Offertorium (mm. 1-3),
Agnus Dei (mm. 2-5)
a. Kyrie, mm. 2-6, choir alto and bass in octaves, consecutive motifs
b. Offertorium, mm. 1-3, choir soprano
c. Agnus Dei, mm. 2-5, alto solo
Recordare Theme
Even the sections of the Dies Irae that refer to mercy and peaceful images, such as
Recordare Jesu pie (Remember, merciful Jesus) juxtapose music that unsettles and
destabilizes rather than assures. This Recordare theme, first seen at Rehearsal 12 in the
Dies Irae, presented in the oboe solo (Example 29.22) then the tenor solo (Example
29.23), describes one of the most serene passages of text in the entire Dies Irae, yet
musically suggests otherwise. The upward scalar ascent of the first four pitches
310
encapsulates the outer interval of a tritone. The upward-reaching motion is unfulfilled
because of its imperfect interval. Immediately afterward the syncopated entrance,
instability is created by a thirty-second-note snap connected to a triplet, ending with a
cascade of falling sixteenth notes. The Recordare theme is often set to extremes of
instruments’ and voices’ registers, the tension seeming to imply the chaos before mercy.
Example 29.22. Dies Irae, Rehearsal 12 to five measures after, oboe solo, first appearance
of Recordare theme
Example 29.23. Dies Irae, mm. 5-8 after Rehearsal 12, tenor solo, Recordare theme
Although the Recordare theme returns several times throughout the Dies Irae, it never
returns in the same rhythmic configuration twice. Each statement is varied slightly so that
the melodic contour and basic rhythmic structure are retained just enough to be an
unmistakable recall. There is an irony in asking God to “remember,” while each time the
music is “remembered” differently.
Extremely close to the Golden Mean of the Dies Irae, at Rehearsal 21, Martin
takes the thematic material from Recordare Jesu pie and sets it in fugal fashion in the
orchestra. Perhaps in this rare moment of imitative polyphony, Martin pays homage to
311
Bach. Although the extended orchestral passage is not set to any text, the return of
musical material suggests repeatedly pleading for God’s remembrance. At Confutatis
maledictis, the same material from Recordare Jesu pie returns, this time rapidly shifting
between duple 3/2 and 2/2 meters almost at every measure. At Rehearsal 23, the tenor
solo Preces meae non sunt dignae (My prayers are not worthy) is set to the same strained
supplication with increasingly distorted thematic material. The oscillating two pitches at
Preces meae also recalls the earlier Quærens me, sedisti lassus.
Perfect Fifths
The usage of perfect fifths as a motif or building block is one of Martin’s unifying
devices in the Requiem, employed in the Introitus, Kyrie, Dies Irae, Sanctus, and Lux
Aeterna. Unlike the middle period, these perfect fifths no longer adopted parallel chord
streams. On the one hand, the natural and perfect quality of perfect fifths may allude to
the archaic “perfect” sonorities of medieval organum. On the other hand, the use of
perfect fifths lent themselves to Martin’s pantonality through tonicizing different key
centers. Moreover, the perfect fifth sonority alluded to the ancient sonorities of Medieval
organum worship. Nevertheless, Martin often confronted the perfect fifths.
Martin begins the Requiem with a twelve-tone row stemming from a first seed of
G, in the following order, displacing all sense of stability and direction:
G C E B F# G# A D# F D C# A#
13
13
Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections, 167. The present author has switched the order of the row
from Bruhn’s analysis. The order of B and E can be switched because they appear at the same instant
vertically.
312
The row consists of two sets of tones related by perfect fifths, G and C, and E, B and F#.
However, the trend of perfect fifths does not continue throughout the introduction, and
the consonance is diminished by the tension created with between the pitches B and F#
with C. The phrase Te decet hymnus (Rehearsal 2) presents the following pitches:
D# A# G# C# F# B C F G
When the order of the first two pitches and the last three pitches are switched, the series
obtained becomes a complete descending series of the circle of fifths missing three
pitches (in parentheses):
A# D# G# C# F# B (E A D) G C F
In presenting tone rows in these implied alignments, Martin is able to musically redeem
the austere quality of twelve-tone rows.
In the Kyrie, the choral entrances begin with a canon at the perfect fifth (Example
29.24), by which Martin merges two ancient forms. The vertical consonant sonorities
allude to the parallel organum of the Middle Ages, while the horizontal entrances at the
fifth allude to the canon.
Example 29.24. Requiem, Kyrie, mm. 1-5, SATB choir, canon at perfect fifths
14
14
Martin, Requiem, 60.
313
In the Lacrimosa section of the Dies Irae movement, the alto and bass entrances followed
by the soprano and tenor at a perfect fifth above (Example 29.25) recall the choral
entrances from the Kyrie. Although the Lacrimosa follows the same perfect fifth canon,
the music is not consonant because of the surrounding dissonant tonal complex. In the
Kyrie, following the initial entrance a perfect fifth apart, each melodic figure rises higher
than the previous figure, before descending by a semitone. In the Lacrimosa, the descents
are more extended, descending by four semitones instead of one.
Example 29.25. Requiem, Dies Irae, Lacrimosa, Rehearsal 32 to four measures after,
SATB soloists and choir, perfect fifth canon
At the end of the Dies Irae, the movement representing the most chaos, Martin
inverted the circle of fifths. Unlike the Introitus and Kyrie, the Pie Jesu Domine section
begins with an initially descending and “broken” circle of fifths.
A – D | F# (and C#) – B – E – A – E
The initial pitch A descends to D but does not continue down to G. Instead, the series is
interrupted by F# in the tenor and bass beginning a new descending chain of fifths. After
the alto and bass choral entrance on pitch A, instead of descending to D, the soprano and
314
tenors enter on the inverted ascending perfect fifth E.
15
Additionally, the Lacrimosa
begins with repeated grating dissonances in the timpani in tremolo augmented fifths,
distorted from the perfect open fifths in the choral canon and the Kyrie. In return, the
harsh augmented fifths ensure the stark contrast of the perfect fifths at the end of parce,
Deus (spare us, God).
In the Sanctus, the abundance of twelve-tone rows is balanced with smooth
perfect fifth pitch combinations. The opening theme, a twelve-tone row, consists
primarily of pairs of perfect fifths (repeated pitches in parentheses, vertical sonorities in
bold):
B-E G#-C# (D♭)-G♭ C-(G♭) B♭-(G♭) F-(B♭) A (A#)-D# G-(C) D-(A♭)
The text pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua in all voices presents another complete
twelve-tone row, made to sound tonal through the relations of perfect fifths. The row
consists of four groups of three consecutive points on a complete descending circle of
fifths:
A | G# C# F# | F B♭ E♭ | D G C | B E
1. G#, C#, F#
2. F, B♭, E♭
3. D, G, C
4. B, E, (A, from the beginning of the row)
15
The inability to continue the circle of fifths at the Pie Jesu Domine section appears to the author to
represent the difficulty of reaching God’s perfect salvation.
315
In Lux Aeterna, the Requiem aeternam motif is passed downward along the circle of
fifths beginning on E♭, then A♭, D♭, G♭, C♭ and F♭, varied from the beginning Requiem
aeternam motif in the Introitus.
Noting how central the interval of the perfect fifth is in the Requiem, the B-A-C-H
motif takes on an extra dimension of significance.
16
The pitches B♭, A, C, and B are
symmetrical points on the continuous spectrum of eight points on the circle of fifths, with
only A and C switched in order:
B♭ F C G D A E B
16
The multiple dimensions of the B-A-C-H motif appear to the author to possibly further reinforce the
concept of God’s perfect salvation through Christ’s death on the cross.
316
Chapter 30 : Conclusion of Martin’s Compositional Culmination
I think that the various changes which occur in the nature and character of a
composer’s inspiration follow a natural law rather than obeying a voluntary
decision… I believe that the “atonal” experience was necessary for me in order
to develop an authentic vocabulary.
- Frank Martin
1
In 1974, Frank Martin passed away after falling into a coma. Maria reflects:
I think—I hope—that Frank realized—it was only a few moments before he fell
into a coma—that he approached the encounter with death, for which he was
better prepared than anyone else. This death that he did not fear and that he had
long considered as a friend who gives us rest and final peace.
2
Far from an accidental fragment, the Requiem was a deliberate work of
completion at the end of Martin’s life, clarifying the essence of his theological and
compositional values. Martin’s numerous influences effected a long period of maturation
not only musically, but in terms of his constant meditation on his faith. During the last
stage, more so than ever, all technical aspects in his music converged to contribute to a
personal, meaningful language of expression of faith. Until the end of his life, Martin saw
composing as his duty, to speak to all men regardless of their religion and ethnicity, and
even speak to those even after his own time. Unlike his early period, Martin found an
increasing responsibility to speak openly of his faith, and how he arrived at faith through
music in his middle and mature periods.
3
Unlike his Messe, which was kept from public
1
Henri Jaton, "Frank Martin at 70," Musical America 69 (1960): 111.
2
Maria Martin, Souvenirs de ma vie avec Frank Martin (Lausanne: L'age d'homme, 1990), 272. Translated
in Roihl, “Frank Martin’s,” 27.
3
Martin, Gavoty, and M. Martin, Un compositeur médite, 138-140. Translation in Bruhn, Frank Martin’s
Musical Reflections, 26.
317
for forty years
4
and was to be “given anonymously or not at all,”
5
Martin spoke about
how his faith effected his view of both In Terra Pax and Requiem as public expressions
of faith.
6
In his mature period, his music reflected further contemplations on the futility of
man and man’s need for healing and redemption. This is exemplified in the Requiem, by
which Martin felt the need to “build a temple dedicated to adoration in my own way” as
part of his personal and musical legacy.
7
The unique historical circumstances regarding
his personal life and World War II hugely help to reshape his view towards his role as a
composer.
While this dissertation segments Martin’s personal and compositional evolution
into three periods, they are by no means solid lines that preclude each period from having
shared chracteristics. Rather, the general characteristics of each period progress or
fluctuate from the previous period. For Martin, the impetus for compositional
development was both intellectual and spiritual. Martin’s compositional evolution
marked a journey of seeking authentic technical possibilities to depict the subject matter,
in order to fulfill a sense of responsibility in expressing something larger than himself.
This compositional journey reflects an increasing distillation of not only subject
matter but musical language. There were compositional principles that Martin never
digressed from. Thematic unity and motivic metamorphosis were largely responsible for
the cohesion and impact of Martin’s compositions throughout the three periods. Whether
4
Martin, Messe, V-VI.
5
M. Martin, "O Tod.”
6
Martin, Gavoty, and M. Martin, Un compositeur médite, 138-140. Translation in Bruhn, Frank Martin’s
Musical Reflections, 26.
7
Martin, Requiem, XI.
318
it was the early modal themes in the Messe, or the later tone rows, pitch classes or B-A-
C-H motifs in In Terra Pax, and similar recurring themes in the Requiem, Martin wrote
large works with movements that stem from the same core thematic ideas. In the same
way, Bach remained a true influence from beginning to end of Martin’s career, whether
in terms of thematic motif, numerological symbolism or proportional structures. Martin’s
desire to return to the purest forms of ancient worship was also consistent in Messe, In
Terra Pax, and Requiem. Additionally, twelve-tone rows used in “consonant” contexts, a
balance between tonality and chromaticism, thoughtful considerations for text and
sonority, a sensitive concern for archaic structures and proportion and rhythmic
counterpoint, all form an integral part of his three periods.
Martin’s early-period idioms of Lauber’s smooth voice-leading with small
intervals evolved into a mature personalized twelve-tone style. In the middle period, the
twelve tones were set in single contrapuntal voices,
8
and frequently embedded triads and
were harmonized by consonances, usually with the twelfth tone omitted or used as a
pedal. Martin’s mature period adopted “modulating rows,”
9
and tone rows were set in
voices in juxtaposition or counterpoint with each other, forming vertical aggregates.
Martin’s early interest in structures of the past, including polyphonic and
polychoral writing and fugal counterpoint carried into his middle period but was replaced
by the forms of canons and passacaglias. In his mature period, Martin remained true to
his favor towards symmetrical and proportional structures.
8
Cooke, "Frank Martin's Early Development," 476.
9
Cooke, “Late Starter. Mervyn Cooke Concludes,” 199.
319
Harmonically, Martin’s early French impressionist modalism and German
expressionist late-Romantic harmony, with emphasis on tertian, quartal, quintal
harmonies, seventh and ninth chords and plagal harmonic motions, gave rise to “gliding
tonality” with independent bass lines, bi-tonality and the parallel chord streams of
Debussy and Ravel. Martin also disposed of the use of key signatures beginning from the
middle into the mature period to facilitate the abundant chromaticism. In the mature
period, the clouding of final cadences led to more obscure key centers, with pantonality
and pandiatonicism replacing bi-tonality.
Rhythmically, Dalcrozian and folk rhythmic treatments remained true throughout
his career, creating improvisatory, speech-like, melismatic rhythms that defy barlines.
While complementary and mixed meters apply throughout Martin’s career, the
asymmetric meters of the early period became much less frequent in the mature period,
its importance replaced by additive folk rhythms, multi-metricism and meticulous meter
changes.
Even in his time, Martin’s music was simultaneously received as authentic and
relevant. Conductors and impresarios such as Herbert von Karajan (1908-1989) and the
Wiener Staatsoper “appreciated him as a living composer whose aesthetics, while
refraining from any compromise with the tastes of a wider audience, never alienated
listeners with abstractions that did not speak to their senses.”
10
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
(1925-2012) claimed that “His work stands like a rock and upholds credence in the future
of music,” while Yehudi Menuhin exalted performing Martin’s Polyptyque as having
“the same responsibility, the same exaltation as when I play Bach’s Chaconne.”
11
Forty
10
Bruhn, Frank Martin’s Musical Reflections, 13.
320
years after his death, Martin’s music is no less relevant, as the world continues to struggle
with the timeless themes of war and peace, sin and salvation, judgement and mercy. A
bearer of the legacy left in his hands by composers as far apart as those who inspired him,
Martin’s artistry and responsibility as a composer and believer continue to inspire us
today, musically and spiritually.
11
Ibid., 14.
321
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Appendix A
Complete List of Martin’s Compositions
Early period (1910-1933)
• Trois poèmes païens (1910)
• Ode de sonnet, (1912)
• Suite pour orchestra (1913)
• Sonate I pour violon et piano (1913)
• Symphonie pour orchestre burlesque (1915)
• Les Dithyrambes (1918)
• Quintette avec piano (1919)
• Esquisse pour orchestra (1920)
• Pavane couleur du temps (1920, for string quintet)
• Quatre Sonnets à Cassandre (1921)
• Messe pour double choeur a cappella (1922 and 1926)
• Ouverture et foxtrot (1924)
• Trio sur des mélodies populaires irlandaises (1925)
• Rythmes (1924-1926)
• Cantate pour le Temps de Noël (1929-1930)
• La Nique à Satan (1930 – 1931)
• Chansons (1931) (Sonnet, Le coucou, Ode, Le petit village, Ode à la Musique)
• Sonate II pour violon et piano (1931-32)
• Quatre pièces brèves pour guitare (1933)
• Guitare (1933, arrangement of Quatre pièces brèves for piano)
Middle Period (1933-1944)
• Concerto I pour piano et orchestre (1933-34)
• Guitare (1934) (arrangement of Quatre pièces brèves for orchestra)
• Rhapsodie (1935)
• Danse de la Peur (1935)
• Trio à cordes (1936)
• Symphonie pour grand orchestra (1936–1937)
• 2 Pièces faciles (1937)
• Ballade pour saxophone (1938)
• Sonata da chiesa (1938, version for viola d’amore or oboe and organ)
• Le Vin Herbé (1938 and 1940-1941)
• Du Rhône au Rhin (1939)
• Ballade pour flûte (1939)
• Ballade pour piano et orchestra (1939)
• Ballade pour flûte et piano (1939)
• Seconde ballade pour flûte et piano (1939)
• Ballade pour trombone et piano (1940)
331
• Sonata da chiesa, version for flute and organ (1941)
• Ballade pour trombone et petit orchestre (1941)
• Ballade pour flûte et orchestre à cordes et piano (1941)
• Cantate pour le 1er Aout (1941)
• Petite complainte pour hautbois et piano (1941)
• Das Märchen vom Aschenbrödel (1941)
• Danse grave (1941)
• Der Cornet (1942-1945)
• Sechs Monologe aus Jedermann (1943-1944)
• Ein Totentanz zu Basel, im Jahre 1943 (1943)
• Chansons (1944) (Janeton, Petite église, Si Charlotte avait voulu)
• In terra pax (1944)
• Passacaille (1944, for organ)
Mature period (1944/45 -1974)
• Petite symphonie concertante (1944–1945)
• Dédicace (1945)
• Golgotha (1945–1948)
• Symphonie concertante (1946)
• Ouverture pour Athalie (1946)
• Trois chants de Noël (1947)
• Hùit Préludes pour le Piano (1947–1948)
• Ballade pour violoncelle et piano (1949)
• Ballade pour violoncelle et petit orchestre (1949)
• Concerto pour sept instruments à vents (1949)
• Ariel (1950)
• Concerto pour violon et orchestra (1950-1951)
• Concert pour clavecin et petit orchestre (1951-1952)
• Claire de Lune (1952)
• Sonata da Chiesa (1952, version for viola d’amore and string orchestra)
• Passacaille (1952, for string orchestra)
• Der Sturm (1952–1955)
• Notre Père (1953)
• Pavane couleur du temps (1954, version for strings or small orchestra)
• Au clair de lune (1955)
• Etudes pour orchestre á cordes (1955-1956)
• Etudes pour deux pianos (1956)
• Ouverture en hommage à Mozart (1956)
• Pièce Brêve (1957)
• Le Mystère de la Nativité (1957 and 1959)
• Ouverture en rondeau (1958)
• Psaumes de Genève (1958)
• Sonata da Chiesa (1958, version for flute and string orchestra)
• Drey Minnelieder (1960)
• Trois fragments de l’opéra “Der Sturm” (1960)
332
• Monsieur de Pourceaugnac (1960–1962)
• Ode à la musique (1961)
• Passacaille (1962, version for full orchestra)
• Les Quatres Eléments (1963-1964)
• Pilate (1964)
• Esquisse (1965, version for piano)
• Étude rythmique (1965)
• Concerto pour violoncelle et orchestra (1965)
• Agnus Dei (1966, from Messe pour double chœur a cappella, version for organ)
• Quatuor à cordes (1966-67)
• Maria-Triptychon (1968)
• Erasmi monumentum (1969)
• Concerto II pour piano and orchestra (1968-1969)
• Poèmes de la Mort (1969 and 1971)
• Trois danses (1970)
• Requiem (1971–1972)
• Ballade pour alto et orchestre à vents (1972)
• Fantasie sur des Rhythmes Flamenco (1973)
• Polyptyque (1973)
• Et la vie l’emporta (1974)
Abstract (if available)
Abstract
Swiss composer Frank Martin (1890-1974) is one of the uniquely significant compositional voices whose work spanned across the twentieth century, yet only a handful of his works are universally known, including Messe pour double choeur a cappella, validated by performances from the world’s leading choral ensembles. Research on the Messe pour double choeur a cappella is often isolated from the rest of Martin's career, of which little is known of his other choral works. The present dissertation investigates three important sacred choral works by Martin, Messe pour double choeur a cappella (1922-26), In Terra Pax (1944), and Requiem (1971-72), in a discussion of his early, middle, and mature compositional years. In doing so, this dissertation aims at a more comprehensive overview in terms of the progression of Martin's choral writing, while making musical connections between Martin's music and his influences. It is hoped that an added perspective may bring forth more interest in a more comprehensive investigation into Martin's works and encourage programming connections to other composers.
Linked assets
University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
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Asset Metadata
Creator
Wong, Ching Yee Jenny
(author)
Core Title
Three periods in Frank Martin's compositional evolution as exemplified in Messe pour double choeur, In Terra Pax and Requiem
School
Thornton School of Music
Degree
Doctor of Musical Arts
Degree Program
Choral Music
Publication Date
11/06/2017
Defense Date
11/06/2017
Publisher
University of Southern California
(original),
University of Southern California. Libraries
(digital)
Tag
double choeur,double choir,Frank Martin,In Terra Pax,Jenny Wong,Mass,Messe pour double choeur,OAI-PMH Harvest,requiem,Swiss
Language
English
Contributor
Electronically uploaded by the author
(provenance)
Advisor
Grases, Cristian (
committee chair
), Scheibe, Jo-Michael (
committee member
), Sparks, Tram (
committee member
)
Creator Email
chingyew@usc.edu,jenny.wongcy@gmail.com
Permanent Link (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c40-452071
Unique identifier
UC11265674
Identifier
etd-WongChingY-5876.pdf (filename),usctheses-c40-452071 (legacy record id)
Legacy Identifier
etd-WongChingY-5876.pdf
Dmrecord
452071
Document Type
Dissertation
Rights
Wong, Ching Yee Jenny
Type
texts
Source
University of Southern California
(contributing entity),
University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
(collection)
Access Conditions
The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...
Repository Name
University of Southern California Digital Library
Repository Location
USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA
Tags
double choeur
double choir
Frank Martin
In Terra Pax
Jenny Wong
Messe pour double choeur
requiem
Swiss