Daphne Leong
Eastman School of Music
Innovations of rhythmic style are a hallmark of Béla Bartók's music. Characterized by the repetition and transformation of rhythmic patterns, by the articulation of regular and irregular metric structures, and by the successive and simultaneous juxtaposition of such patterns and meters, Bartók's music displays a rich variety and ingenuity of rhythmic practice. Previous work on rhythm in Bartók has focused on questions of proportion and ethnomusicology. This paper proposes a theoretical framework and analytical method relevant to the analysis of twentieth-century music, and illustrates the application of the theory in an analysis of the first movement of Bartók's Fifth String Quartet.
Drawing on the work of David Lewin, Robert Morris, and Elizabeth West Marvin, and incorporating Bartók's writings on rhythm, the study defines seven inter-related temporal spaces (termed u-time, modu-time, mtime, mod-time, vdur-space, dur-space, and d-space) and transformations on segments within each of these spaces. The spaces provide a formal way of viewing various rhythmic aspects of a set of articulations, while the transformations provide a way of observing the changes made between related sets of articulations.
Application of the theory to the first movement of Bartók's Fifth String Quartet reveals characteristic rhythmic segments and transformations, and their roles in delineating form. One such segment, consisting of three progressively shorter durations, teams with unison texture to mark cadential points. Another reifies certain ratios significant to the movement's rhythmic structure, and embodies the alliance of certain operators in expressing these ratios. The analysis also demonstrates a close connection between pitch/pitch-class and rhythmic structure in the movement.
The closing section of the paper explores implications of the theory and suggests applications to other repertoires, such as the music of Igor Stravinsky, Elliot Carter, and Conlon Nancarrow.