Reich New York Counterpoint

Question 1

Reich — New York Counterpoint (2nd movement)

structure

how would you describe the structure of this movement?

Answer 1

two sections

first section is an ‘emerging’ three-part canon

second section twice as long as the first section) overlays the 3-part canon with resultant melodies and pulsed chords

there is a very short coda where the canons continue for a few bars before stopping abruptly

Question 2

Reich — New York Counterpoint (2nd movement)

there’s not a lot to say about the tonality in this movement…

explain…

Answer 2

E-lydian

‘modal’ key signature (5 sharps rather than 4)

tonality not defined by cadences

no modulation

Question 3

Reich — New York Counterpoint (2nd movement)

without referring to any specific section we can make a few observations about the harmony

explain…

Answer 3

modal (lydian)

diatonic

arguably ‘pandiatonic’ in second section

non-functional

ovelapping makes some non-functional dissonances§

Question 4

Reich — New York Counterpoint (2nd movement)

first section (emerging canons)

there are no chords as such, but we can say something about the harmony

Answer 4

the layered canons give ‘resultant’ F# major and E major chords, which alternate.

the overlapping canons also add some blurring dissonance to these chords

d# avoided - makes for a slight ambiguity of harmony/tonality

‘static’ harmony

Question 5

Reich — New York Counterpoint (2nd movement)

second section (resultant melodies and chords)

what changes harmonically in this section?

Answer 5

There are three pulsed chords which fade in and out

1) B/C# (c#m11)
2) Emaj7#11
3) F#/G# (g#m11)

the pattern of chords is played twice

chords change very slowly here

Question 6

Reich - New York Counterpoint, 2nd movement

what can you say about the melody which goes to make up the ‘emerging’ canon?

Answer 6

2-bars long (cell)

looped

harmonized (mostly) a tenth below (homorhythm)

diatonic

hexatonic (no d#)

mostly disjunct

tends to outline F# major and E major triads

stays with an octave range

Question 7

Reich - New York Counterpoint, 2nd movement

the solo clarinet plays ‘resultant melodies’ in the second section - what is a resultant melody

Answer 7

a melody that occurs as a result of interaction between (at least) two other melodies.

Each note of a resultant melody can be found somewhere else at the same time in one of those other melodies.

Question 8

Reich - New York Counterpoint, 2nd movement

how do the ‘resultant’ melodies in the second section differ from the melodies in the ‘canons’?

Answer 8

different rhythms

wider range (2 octaves)

Question 9

Reich - New York Counterpoint, 2nd movement

part A (emerging canons)

what can you say about the rhythm here?

Answer 9

short two-bar rhythmic cell

highly syncopated

second and third ‘voices’ displaced later by one quaver

overlapping parts create a continuous ‘mesh’ of semiquavers

Question 10

Reich - New York Counterpoint, 2nd movement

second section (resultant melodies and pulsed chords)

how does the thythm change in this section

Answer 10

chords are pulsed (repeated) semiquavers which fade in an out

4 resultant melodies have different rhythms

Question 11

Reich - New York Counterpoint, 2nd movement

what can you say about the meter (time signature etc) in this movement?

Answer 11

3/4 throughout

simple triple

hard to hear downbeat

effect of syncopation weakened because syncopation requires a strong pule to be effective

Question 12

Reich - New York Counterpoint, 2nd movement

first section

what’s going on texturally?

Answer 12

an ‘emerging’ three part ‘looped’ canon

counterpoint

canons at unison

canons one quaver apart

Question 13

Reich - New York Counterpoint, 2nd movement

the canonic voices are one quaver apart, then two quavers apart

in minimalist-vocabulary what is the name of the technique by which new resultant patterns are made by gradually displacing canons-at-the-unison by an increasingly large rhythmic unit?

Answer 13

phasing

Question 14

Reich - New York Counterpoint, 2nd movement

we talk about an ‘emerging’ canon

in minimalist-vocabulary what is the name of the technique where a looped-melody is ‘emerged’ - firstly with just a few of its notes, then a few more, then a few more, until the melody is complete?

Answer 14

note-addition

Question 15

Reich - New York Counterpoint, 2nd movement

Texturally, the second section is bets described as ‘layered’ - what are the three layers?

Answer 15

resultant melody

looped canons (polyphony)

pulsed homorhythmic chords

Question 16

Reich - New York Counterpoint, 2nd movement

what forces are required to play thie movement?

Answer 16

solo clarinet

accompaniment of:

8 clarinets

2 bass clarinets

accompaniment can be played live or can be pre-recorded (a backing track - amplified)

Question 17

Reich - New York Counterpoint, 2nd movement

what are the advantages of pre-recording the non-solo clarinet parts for performance?

Answer 17

phrasing will be uniform

error-free (edited)

cross fading is easy to doe

cheaper

less rehearsal time

Question 18

Reich - New York Counterpoint, 2nd movement

what are some disadvantages of prerforming this movement with the non-solo clarinets pre-recorded as a backing track?

Answer 18

if soloist loses place it’s very hard to get back in

live clarinet does not blend so well against amplified clarinets

less intesting to watch for the audience