Arvo Part “Spiegel Im Spiegel”

Addam Farmer Materials of neo Music 12/7/2011 Research Paper Final Arvo take up spiegel im Spiegel Spiegel im Spiegel, origin each(prenominal)y written for violin and flaccid, is champion of Arvo differentiates most influential objet darts. At first listen, the com space sounds like a standard minimalist piece it is in F major(ip), written in 6/4 judgment of conviction, and over 8 transactions long. The most important aspect of the piece lies not in the musical theater theater content itself, but in the delegacy that disperse uses that content. Arvo Part was an highly spiritual human being, devoting even his music-making to his spirituality.His tintinnabuli stylus was created with the intent to reverberate the scriptural portrayal of Jesus Christ. On the surface it is calm, as was Christs external acceptance of his inevitable role in the salvation of all humanity. Yet it bears an undercurrent of turmoil and desperation (Langager, pg. 61) Described in a practical manner, Parts method of composing in the tintinnabuli mood involves hovering around the tonic triad in order to create a bell-like quality. In fact, the term tintinnabuli is the literal reference to the ringing of bells in Latin.Futhermore, the tintinnabular style of Part creates an effect in which a chord lingers in time until all of the elements of the triad hire sounded. (Langager, pg. 29) Part goes on to explain another(prenominal) important aspect of his tintinnabuli style in an interview with the BBC Tintinnabuli is the numerically small connection from one key to anothertintinnabuli is the rule where the melody and the financial support or accompanying voiceis one. One plus one, it is one it is not two. This is the secret of this technique. It is sort out that Parts ultimate goal was to do as untold as he idler with as little as he had. His one plus one equals one philosophy earth-closet be blatantly heard in Spiegel im Spiegel. The literal German deracination for Spieg el im Spiegel is mirror in the mirror. When listening to the piece with this knowledge, we can hear why Part gave the composition its title. The piece feels like an distance amount of reflections like that created by a mirror in a mirror the seemingly endless repetition of the tonic triad in the piano is responsible for this aural illusion.This falls exactly in line with Parts description of tintinnabuli that is, the emphasis of the triad over an extended period of time. The piano arpeggiates around this tonic triad for what seems like forever, which puts the he atomic number 18r into what Part would describe as a spiritual trance. At intimately 15 turns into the piece, a violin carefully makes its entrance. The violins unreserved wear out helps it to merge with the piano sequence, making true up Parts equation of one plus one equals one. The violin line consists of aught but whole notes, and is completely devoid of syncopation.It is true that one can examine the piano an d violin as being two mirrors they are two diametric instruments, but when faced towards each other, they reflect the other and it becomes difficult to tell one from the other. Throughout Spiegel im Spiegel, the two different mirrors (the violin and the piano) reflect each other, portraying a sense of unity. maculation the violin line is extremely simple in its melodic content, the way Part expands upon the melody is unique and somewhat sneaky. The violin line begins by ascending from G to middle A. Then, it descends from B flat to middle A.Following that, it ascends from F to G to middle A. Basically, each time it ascends, at the last part of the sequence, the note ascends one step higher than it had the previous ascension. The same goes for the fall lines. Once the violin reaches the outermost note, it returns right back to A (the threesome of the key signature), without even touching another note before it. Part very obviously planned for this to happen as it is pitch consan guinity in the violin is extremely ordered and mathematical. This trait can fudge the listener easily I didnt even notice it was adventure until I took the violin line apart.Upon further analysis we hear that the piano begins by playing a second inversion F major chord arpeggiation, repeated in an endless manner. This arpeggiation is modified throughout the piece, sack between root position and the inherent second inversion that happens when the left field hand note fades out. Simply by inverting the chord, Part changes the feel of the key. Had he written the extended arpeggiation of the F major in root position the entire time, the composition would feel much more campy it could have felt like a childrens song.Instead, inverting the arpeggiated chord in second inversion gives the music a deeper, more passionate quality. In addition, the chords in the piano necessarily mirror what the violin does in terms of its mathematical pitch sequences. The musical content and context of Spiegel im Spiegel is true to its title. The violin line gives off the illusory effect that it is static when it is genuinely extending its range, while the pianos endlessly-repeated second inversion F Major chord creates a wave of emotion.The violin and pianos juxtaposing-yet-unifying musical content give it the sense that we are hearing what a mirrors reflection of another mirror would sound like. Spiegel im Spiegel encompasses all things tintinnabular that is, all things Arvo. Bibliography Langager, Graeme. The Tintinnabuli Compositional Style of Arvo Part. British Colombia, Canada Long Beach, California. 1997. Arvo Part & Anthony Pitt. BBC 3 Radio Interview. Royal Academy of Music, London. 2000.