Nummer 2
Encyclopedia
Nummer 2 for thirteen instruments (also called Opus 2 for thirteen instruments) is a composition written in 1951 by the Belgian composer Karel Goeyvaerts
.
Nummer 2 has been claimed as the first "total serial
" composition (Delaere 1999), (although Milton Babbitt
's Three Compositions for Piano (1947) is also so credited, and predates Goeyvaerts's work by four years).
, and two of its serial successors, the electronic Nr 4 met dode tonen (1952) and Nr 5 met zuivere tonen
(1953), Nr 2 uses a recurring twelve-tone row
(B F F E G A E D A B D C). In the outer sections this row is played monodically by the piano, five times in succession in part one, and five more times in the third section, but in retrograde. Around this linear presentation in a second layer, the other twelve instruments present the chromatic total several times in a dispersed order with constant permutation. The middle section works in a contrasting manner, presenting pitches in successive groups of either two or three simultaneously sounding instruments, completing the twelve-tone aggregate every eight bars. Pitch repetitions are initially dispersed, but toward the centre become increasingly more concentrated (Sabbe 1977, 55–58).
Karel Goeyvaerts
Karel Goeyvaerts was a Belgian composer.-Life:After studies at the Royal Flemish Music Conservatory in Antwerp, Goeyvaerts studied composition in Paris with Darius Milhaud and analysis with Olivier Messiaen...
.
Nummer 2 has been claimed as the first "total serial
Serialism
In music, serialism is a method or technique of composition that uses a series of values to manipulate different musical elements. Serialism began primarily with Arnold Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique, though his contemporaries were also working to establish serialism as one example of...
" composition (Delaere 1999), (although Milton Babbitt
Milton Babbitt
Milton Byron Babbitt was an American composer, music theorist, and teacher. He is particularly noted for his serial and electronic music.-Biography:...
's Three Compositions for Piano (1947) is also so credited, and predates Goeyvaerts's work by four years).
Form
Nr 2 is in a single movement, but falls into three large sections. Unlike its immediate predecessor in Goeyvaerts's catalog, Nr 1 (1950–51) Sonata for Two PianosSonata for Two Pianos (Goeyvaerts)
Sonata for Two Pianos , also called simply Opus 1 or Nummer 1, is a chamber-music work by Belgian composer Karel Goeyvaerts, and a seminal work in the early history of European serialism.-History:...
, and two of its serial successors, the electronic Nr 4 met dode tonen (1952) and Nr 5 met zuivere tonen
Nummer 5
Nummer 5 met zuivere tonen is a musical work by the Belgian composer Karel Goeyvaerts, realized in 1953 and one of the earliest pieces of electronic music.-History:...
(1953), Nr 2 uses a recurring twelve-tone row
Twelve-tone technique
Twelve-tone technique is a method of musical composition devised by Arnold Schoenberg...
(B F F E G A E D A B D C). In the outer sections this row is played monodically by the piano, five times in succession in part one, and five more times in the third section, but in retrograde. Around this linear presentation in a second layer, the other twelve instruments present the chromatic total several times in a dispersed order with constant permutation. The middle section works in a contrasting manner, presenting pitches in successive groups of either two or three simultaneously sounding instruments, completing the twelve-tone aggregate every eight bars. Pitch repetitions are initially dispersed, but toward the centre become increasingly more concentrated (Sabbe 1977, 55–58).
Instrumentation
Nr 2 is scored for flute, two oboes, two bass clarinets, piano, two violins, two violas, two cellos, and double bass.Discography
- Goeyvaerts, Karel. The Serial Works [#1–7]. Champ d'Action; Celso AntunesCelso AntunesCelso Antunes is a Brazilian conductor located in Germany.-Biography:Antunes studied singing and conducting at the University of São Paulo, achieved recognition as assistant conductor of the São Paulo Youth Symphony Orchestra and obtained a DAAD scholarship to complete his studies on at the...
, cond. (in Nr. 2, 3, and 6). Megadisc MDC 7845. Gent: Megadisc Classics, 1998.
Sources
- Delaere, Marc. 1996. "A Pioneer of Serial, Electronic and Minimal Music: The Belgian Composer K. Goeyvaerts." Tempo 195:2-5.
- Delaere, Marc. 1999. "Auf der Suche nach serieller Stimmigkeit. Goeyvaerts' Weg zur Komposition Nr. 2", in, Die Anfänge der seriellen Musik, edited by Orm Finnendahl, 13–36. Kontexte: Beiträge zur zeitgenössischen Musik 1. Hofheim: Wolke Verlag. ISBN 3923997760
- Sabbe, Herman. 1972. “Das Musikdenken von Karel Goeyvaerts in Bezug auf das Schaffen von Karlheinz Stockhausen: Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der frühseriellen und elektronischen Musik 1950–1956”. Interface 2:101–13
- Sabbe, Herman. 1977. Het muzikale serialisme als techniek en als denkmethode: Een onderzoek naar de logische en historische samenhang van de onderscheiden toepassingen van het seriërend beginsel in de muziek van de periode 1950–1975. Ghent: Rijksuniversiteit te Gent.
- Sabbe, Herman. 1981. "Die Einheit der Stockhausen-Zeit ...: Neue Erkenntnismöglichkeiten der seriellen Entwicklung anhand des frühen Wirkens von Stockhausen und Goeyvaerts. Dargestellt aufgrund der Briefe Stockhausens an Goevaerts". In Musik-Konzepte 19: Karlheinz Stockhausen: ... wie die Zeit verging ..., edited by Heinz-Klaus Metzger and Rainer Riehn, 5–96. Munich: Edition Text + Kritik.