an analysis of selected piano works art and nature in
TRANSCRIPT
Florida State University LibrariesElectronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School
Art and Nature in Kenneth Frazelle's Music:An Analysis of Selected Piano WorksChance Elan Israel
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FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY
`
COLLEGE OF MUSIC
ART AND NATURE IN KENNETH FRAZELLE’S MUSIC:
AN ANALYSIS OF SELECTED PIANO WORKS
By
CHANCE ELAN ISRAEL
A Treatise submitted to the
College of Music
in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Music
2021
ii
Chance Elan Israel defended this treatise on March 30, 2021.
The members of the supervisory committee were:
Stijn De Cock
Professor Directing Treatise
Joseph Kraus
University Representative
John Read Gainsford
Committee Member
Heidi Louise Williams
Committee Member
The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and
certifies that the treatise has been approved in accordance with university requirements.
iii
For Pa.
iv
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I also would like to thank my family for their never-ending love and support. I am
blessed to have loved ones who are always on my side. I also would like to thank my professor,
Dr. Stijn De Cock, for sharing his genius and knowledge with me. I am also very grateful to my
committee members, Dr. Gainsford, Dr. Williams, and Dr. Kraus for giving me guidance. Lastly,
I would like to express my gratitude to Kenneth Frazelle, who generously shared his insights and
erudition with me. Thank you for making such beautiful music.
v
TABLE OF CONTENTS
List of Examples ........................................................................................................................... vii
Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... ix
1. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................1
1.1 Biography ..............................................................................................................................1
1.2 Background and significance of the project ..........................................................................2
1.3 Purpose ..................................................................................................................................4
1.4 Survey of literature ................................................................................................................4
1.4.1 Sources on Kenneth Frazelle ...........................................................................................5
1.4.2 Sources on Elixir .............................................................................................................5
1.4.3 Sources on Appearances .................................................................................................6
1.4.4 Sources on Inventions to Marden ....................................................................................7
1.4.5 Sources on the inventions genre .....................................................................................7
1.4.6 Sources on Brice Marden ................................................................................................8
1.4.7 Sources on Wildflowers ...................................................................................................9
2. ELIXIR ......................................................................................................................................11
2.1 Background .........................................................................................................................11
2.2 Similarities between Chopin’s Nocturnes and Elixir ..........................................................11
2.3 Synthesis of Frazelle’s techniques and the nocturne genre .................................................12
2.4 Influence of Roger Sessions ................................................................................................13
2.5 Conclusion ..........................................................................................................................18
3. APPEARANCES .......................................................................................................................20
3.1 Background .........................................................................................................................20
3.2 Analysis of Americana pieces .............................................................................................20
3.3 Analysis of modernist pieces ..............................................................................................22
3.4 Modernist criticism of Americana music ............................................................................23
3.5 Musical and historic parallels to Copland ...........................................................................24
3.6 Conclusion ..........................................................................................................................25
4. INVENTIONS TO MARDEN ...................................................................................................27
4.1 Background .........................................................................................................................27
4.2 Frazelle and Marden ............................................................................................................27
4.3 Bach’s influence on Frazelle ...............................................................................................28
4.4 Marden’s “Greek” art in Frazelle’s Inventions ...................................................................33
4.5 Unifying aspects ..................................................................................................................35
4.5.1 Rhythmic fragment as the basic musical idea................................................................35
4.5.2 Interval as the basic musical idea ..................................................................................38
4.6 Conclusion ..........................................................................................................................41
vi
5. WILDFLOWERS ......................................................................................................................43
5.1 Background .........................................................................................................................43
5.2 Analysis of individual works ..............................................................................................44
5.2.1 Slender Ladies’ Tresses .................................................................................................44
5.2.2 Fringed Polygala ...........................................................................................................45
5.2.3 Birdfoot Violet ...............................................................................................................47
5.2.4 Flame Azalea .................................................................................................................48
5.2.5 Indian Pipes ...................................................................................................................49
5.2.6 Fire Pink ........................................................................................................................50
5.2.7 Blue Lobelia ...................................................................................................................51
5.2.8 Viper’s Bugloss ..............................................................................................................52
5.2.9 Columbine ......................................................................................................................55
5.2.10 Deptford Pink ...............................................................................................................56
5.3 Conclusion ..........................................................................................................................57
6. CONCLUSION .........................................................................................................................58
APPENDICES ...............................................................................................................................59
A. INTERVIEWS ....................................................................................................................59
B. SCORE EXCERPT USE AND PUBLISHER ACKNOWLEDGMENT ...........................81
BIBLIOGRAPHY ..........................................................................................................................82
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .........................................................................................................85
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LIST OF EXAMPLES
Example 2.1. Elixir, mm. 1-10 .......................................................................................................14
Example 2.2. Elixir, mm. 16-30 .....................................................................................................15
Example 2.3. Elixir, mm. 40-46 .....................................................................................................16
Example 2.4. Elixir, mm. 60-66 .....................................................................................................16
Example 2.5. Elixir, mm. 87-91 .....................................................................................................17
Example 2.6. Elixir, mm. 89-102 ...................................................................................................17
Example 2.7. Elixir, mm. 103-111 .................................................................................................18
Example 3.1. Appearances No. 1, mm. 1-5 ...................................................................................21
Example 3.2. Appearances No. 2, mm. 4-6 ...................................................................................21
Example 3.3. Appearances No. 3, mm. 1-5 ...................................................................................22
Example 3.4. Appearances No. 3, mm. 14-19 ...............................................................................22
Example 3.5. Appearances No. 5, mm. 1-4 ...................................................................................23
Example 3.6. Appearances No. 6, mm. 12-15 ...............................................................................23
Example 3.7. Appearances No. 7, mm. 1-4 ...................................................................................23
Example 4.1. Invention No. 1, mm. 1-11 .......................................................................................31
Example 4.2. Invention No. 3, mm. 1-3 .........................................................................................32
Example 4.3. Invention No. 2, mm. 1-9 .........................................................................................32
Example 4.4. Invention No. 3, mm. 1-10 .......................................................................................35
Example 4.5. Invention No. 1, mm. 15-18 .....................................................................................36
Example 4.6. Invention No. 1, mm. 19-22 .....................................................................................37
Example 4.7. Invention No. 1, mm. 23-29 .....................................................................................37
Example 4.8. Invention No. 2, mm. 6-13 .......................................................................................38
Example 4.9. Invention No. 5, mm. 170-174 .................................................................................39
Example 4.10. Invention No. 3, mm. 10-15 ...................................................................................40
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Example 4.11. Invention No. 3, mm. 16-19 ...................................................................................40
Example 4.12. Invention No. 4, mm. 1-5 .......................................................................................41
Example 5.1. Wildflowers: Slender Ladies’ Tresses, mm. 1-6 ......................................................44
Example 5.2. Wildflowers: Fringed Polygala, mm. 1-9 ................................................................45
Example 5.3. Wildflowers: Fringed Polygala, mm. 10-14 ............................................................47
Example 5.4. Wildflowers: Birdfoot Violet, mm. 1-8 ....................................................................48
Example 5.5. Wildflowers: Flame Azalea, mm. 1-8 ......................................................................50
Example 5.6. Wildflowers; Flame Azalea, mm. 13-20 ..................................................................50
Example 5.7. Wildflowers: Fire Pink, mm. 1-5 .............................................................................51
Example 5.8. Wildflowers: Fire Pink, mm. 31-35 .........................................................................51
Example 5.9. Wildflowers; Blue Lobelia, mm. 1-5 ........................................................................52
Example 5.10. Wildflowers: Blue Lobelia, mm. 10-19 ..................................................................52
Example 5.11. Wildflowers: Viper’s Bugloss, mm. 1-5 .................................................................54
Example 5.12. Wildflowers: Viper’s Bugloss, mm. 1-5, mm. 39-42, mm. 65-66 ..........................54
Example 5.13. Wildflowers: Viper’s Bugloss, mm. 50-56 .............................................................55
Example 5.14. Wildflowers: Columbine, mm. 1-2 .........................................................................56
Example 5.15. Wildflowers: Columbine, mm. 5-7 .........................................................................56
Example 5.16. Wildflowers: Deptford Pink, mm. 1-5 ...................................................................57
ix
ABSTRACT
In this treatise, I study four of Kenneth Frazelle’s piano works, Elixir, Appearances,
Inventions to Marden and Wildflowers. In composing these works, Frazelle took inspiration
from extramusical sources including Paul Cezanne’s artistic technique, the artworks of Brice
Marden, and the wildflowers of North Carolina. Musical influences include the music of Johann
Sebastian Bach, Frédéric Chopin, Robert Schumann, Aaron Copland, and Roger Sessions. More
specifically, Elixir takes inspiration from the nocturnes of Chopin, infusing the nocturne genre in
its compositional technique and style. Appearances is a set containing seven miniatures that
feature Americana and modernist idioms. The work reflects Frazelle’s analysis of Paul
Cézanne’s technical abilities as a painter. Inventions to Marden is cyclical work that expresses
the composer’s impression of Brice Marden’s paintings and drawings. I reexamine the qualities
of J. S. Bach’s Inventions and how they relate to Frazelle’s own Inventions. I also explore the
many allusions to art, literature, and history in the piece. Wildflowers is a set that is inspired by
the visual properties of North Carolina wildflowers. In addition to examining how these flowers
are symbolized in the music, I analyze how individual movements of Wildflowers achieve unity
through the development of a basic musical idea. Prior to my analyses, I provide a brief
biography of the composer and a historical background for each piece.
1
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Biography
Kenneth Frazelle (b. 1955) is an American composer born in North Carolina. His oeuvre
encompasses compositions for piano, chamber, orchestra, voice, and choir. His music utilizes
American folk elements and Jazz idioms, infused with modernist elements from the techniques
of Roger Sessions and Aaron Copland to name a few. In addition to this, he reuses genres and
forms mastered by composers of the past, including J. S. Bach, Frédéric Chopin, Robert
Schumann, and many others.
Frazelle has been recognized on both national and international stages, receiving
accolades and awards. This includes the Goddard Lieberson Fellowship from the American
Academy of Arts and Letters and the Barlow Prize from Brigham Young University. He has
been commissioned by renowned artists and orchestras including Yo-Yo-Ma, Jeffrey Kahane,
Emmanuel Ax, John Adams, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, among many others.
His music is widely performed around the world in venues such as Carnegie Hall in New York
City, Westminster Abbey in London, Lincoln Center in Washington D. C., Winston-Salem North
Carolina, Lyon France.
Frazelle was born in Jacksonville, North Carolina. In high school, he attended the North
Carolina School for the Arts, studying piano and composition. After finishing high school, he
attended the Juilliard School, studying composition under Roger Sessions. He considers his
studies with Sessions to be formative of his compositional output. In addition to his musical
studies, New York City’s vibrant art culture had a profound influence in his aesthetic. After
receiving his bachelor’s degree, he returned to Winston-Salem to teach piano and composition.
2
The folk music, culture, and scenic rural views of North Carolina contrasted with the
mechanical, urban environment of New York City. This reflected Frazelle’s stylistic shift from
the “dense, rhythmic and thematic materials in a decidedly non-tonal harmonic language
espoused by Julliard faculty members, Sessions, Babbit, and Carter,” to music that is more
tonally direct and accessible.1 Upon returning to Winston-Salem, Frazelle embarked on an
extensive study of the musical qualities of Appalachian folk songs.2 Apart from folk songs,
Frazelle also takes inspiration from the scenic landscape of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the
artworks of Brice Marden, the poetry of A.R. Ammons, and many other extramusical sources. To
date, he is a composition faculty member in his alma mater, University of North Carolina School
for the Arts. Apart from composing and teaching, Frazelle is an avid painter. His artworks depict
North Carolina landscapes and nature.
1.2 Background and significance of the project
Frazelle follows a line of 20th-century American composers who incorporated Western
Classic techniques and extramusical inspirations. His compositions depict contemporary art,
literature, and the American landscape. A salient feature of Frazelle’s works is the fusion of
traditional classic genres with modern compositional techniques. Moreover, he employs
Americana idioms such as folk and jazz music. Among the diversity of subjects that inspire
Frazelle in his music making, my research studies the pieces that reflect his visual inclination.
Elixir is a small piece inspired by the cantabile tradition of romantic nocturnes. Among
the pieces discussed in this research, Elixir is the only one that does not take inspiration from
1 “Kenneth Frazelle,” Subito Music Corporation, accessed December 2020,
https://www.subitomusic.com/composers/highlights/kenneth-frazelle/. 2 Zoom Interview with Kenneth Frazelle, January 09, 2021.
3
extramusical sources. Nevertheless, the piece introduces musical techniques that are salient to
understanding Frazelle’s musical language: 1) It demonstrates how the composer reuses an old
genre, 2) It shows the composer’s harmonic language and use of pianistic texture, 3) It
demonstrates how the composer achieves unity in a piece through the development of a basic
musical idea.
Appearances comprises seven contrasting miniatures. The pieces are divided into
Americana and modernist categories. I analyze how Jazz and modernist idioms are incorporated
into the music. I explicate the varying styles employed in Appearances and analyze how these
reflect Frazelle and his contemporaries’ musical viewpoints regarding Americana music and
modernism. This stylistic dichotomy is also discussed in relation to Aaron Copland, with whom
Frazelle shares many musical characteristics and viewpoints.
Inventions to Brice Marden is a cyclical set comprising five pieces that investigate Brice
Marden’s artistic style. It also emulates certain features of J.S. Bach’s Inventions. I study aspects
that Frazelle takes from Bach and how he reinvigorates the invention genre. I discuss the
composer’s relationship with Marden’s artworks and style, and how they are conveyed in the
music. Its allusions to art and literature include Ancient Greek mythology and music, and
Chinese calligraphy, each which I will investigate. Lastly, I tackle the unifying aspects of the set
and how they help convey programmatic elements.
Wildflowers is a set depicting the wildflowers of North Carolina. The set contains ten
miniatures; each titled after a certain wildflower that it portrays. The visual characteristics of
flowers such as the Slender Ladies’ Tresses, Blue Lobelia, and Viper’s Bugloss, are symbolized
in the music. Most of the miniatures are dedicated to the composer’s close friends. Some of the
pieces are portrayal of certain dedicatees’ personalities and character. Two of the miniatures
4
directly quote from Schumann and Chopin. This chapter details how these extramusical
influences are symbolized in the music.
Having garnered multiple accolades and awards, Frazelle’s music resounds across
America and Europe. Although performances of his works abound, there is not much literature
that provides substantial information about his music. I write this treatise to help future
performers and researchers understand and interpret the composer’s music.
1.3 Purpose
In my conversation with Frazelle, he relayed to me how performers and listeners
misconceive his music. According to him, they tend view his piano works as merely
improvisatory, including the ones featured in this treatise. While it is true that his music employs
fantasy and improvisatory aspects, the structural foundations are often overlooked. In light of
these misconceptions, two things come to mind as I study his music. One is to guide performers
and listeners as they plunge headlong into the web of complexities and intertextual connections
in his works. In addition, this research provides substantial information to those who are
interested in researching Frazelle’s other works. My second purpose is to contribute to the pool
of literature in the contemporary piano world. In providing substantial knowledge and
information on Frazelle’s piano works, I encourage performers and researchers alike to explore
the beauty and concepts of his compositions.
1.4 Survey of literature
Literature on the life and works of Frazelle has yet to be expanded. Most of the
information on this treatise is taken from interviews and correspondence with the composer, and
5
websites that provide a biography and summary of his music. For the piano works featured in
this treatise, I also use resources that provide information on their influences and extramusical
content.
1.4.1 Sources on Kenneth Frazelle
For information about Frazelle’s life and works, I consulted his professional website that
features his biography, list of works and their descriptions, recordings, and other materials that
are pertinent to the composer’s career.3 Another source that has a more detailed and personal
biography of Frazelle is the website of his publisher, Subito Music Corporation.4 Information
about the piano works come from two interviews with composer. In the first interview, he
discusses the historical background and compositional aspects of Elixir and Wildflowers.5 In the
second, he briefly talks about his background in the arts, and provided insights on Appearances
and Inventions to Marden.6
1.4.2 Sources on Elixir
This chapter concerns two musical aspects that the composer uses in this composition:
the employment and development of a basic musical idea as defined by his former mentor, Roger
Sessions, and the utilization of the 19th-century nocturne genre closely associated with Frédéric
Chopin. Robert Morgan’s book, Twentieth Century Music: A History of Musical Style in Modern
Europe and America contains a chapter on Roger Sessions’ biography and musical style.7 Erik
Prausnitz’s Roger Sessions: How a “Difficult” Composer Got That Way is a concise biography
of the composer. The chapter, “Musical Idea 1” details Sessions’ 1949 lecture in the Juilliard
3 Kenneth Frazelle, published 2017, https://www.kennethfrazelle.com/. 4 “Kenneth Frazelle,” Subito Music Corporation. 5 Zoom Interview with Kenneth Frazelle, January 09, 2021. 6 Zoom Interview with Kenneth Frazelle, February 10, 2021. 7 Robert Morgan, “Sessions,” Twentieth Century Music: A History of Musical Style in Modern Europe and
America, (New York: W.W. Norton & Norton Company, 1991), 292-295.
6
School, where he expounded on the “basic musical idea” as an important compositional process.8
I refer to Jim Samson’s Cambridge History of Nineteenth-Century Music on the history and
definition of the archetypal romantic nocturne.9 For an overview of Chopin’s innovation to the
nocturne genre, I consult Maurice Brown and Kenneth Hamilton’s article “Nocturne” in Grove
Music Online.10
1.4.3 Sources on Appearances
This work reflects Frazelle’s use of Americana and modernist idioms. I draw parallels
between Frazelle and Copland, who likewise integrated diverse styles, musical views, and sought
a reconciliation among such concepts. Gayle Murchinson’s The American Stravinsky is an
encyclopedic coverage of Copland’s life, works, and politics. I focus on the chapter “Popular
Music and Jazz,” which details on Copland’s Trois Esquisses, a work that synthesizes both Jazz
idioms and modernist techniques.11 David Burge’s Twentieth Century Piano Music: Studies in
Musical Genres and Repertoire features a concise overview of Copland’s modernist piano
works, particularly the Piano Variations.12 Both Trois Esquisses and Piano Variations have
features that are similar to Frazelle’s Appearances. Christopher Chowrimootoo’s article
“Copland’s Styles: Musical Modernism, Middlebrow Culture, and the Appreciation of New
Music” in the Journal of Musicology studies criticism surrounding Copland’s musical style and
pedagogy at a time when high modernist ideals clash with the advent of populism in the United
8 Erik Prausnitz, “The Musical Idea”, Roger Sessions: How a “Difficult” Composer Got That Way,
(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002), 92-101. 9 Jim Samson, “Nocturne,” Cambridge History of Nineteenth-Century Music, (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2002), 168. 10 Maurice Brown and Kenneth Hamilton, “Nocturne,” Grove Music Online, (2001), https://www-
oxfordmusiconline-com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-
9781561592630-e-0000020012. 11 Gayle Murchinson, “Popular Music and Jazz: Authentic or Ersatz?,” The American Stravinsky,
(Michigan: University of Michigan Press, 2012), 55. 12 David Burge, “Copland, Sessions, and the midcentury Piano Sonata,” Twentieth Century Piano Music:
Studies in Musical Genres and Repertoires, (New York: Schirmer Books, 1991), 117.
7
States.13 Copland’s struggle with high modernist attitudes reverberates through Frazelle’s
encounters with multiple contemporary “modernist” viewpoints. Lastly, I reference Copland
himself in his What to Listen for in Music, where he espoused the importance of expression and
meaning in music to which Frazelle subscribes wholeheartedly.14
1.4.4 Sources on Inventions to Marden
This chapter covers a wide range of topics, including Brice Marden’s life and works, and
the incorporation of the invention genre. I consult sources that study not only Marden’s artworks,
but also the subjects depicted in his art which are pertinent to analyzing the Inventions.
Moreover, sources on the Baroque inventions genre and fugue as a rhetorical device are studied.
I analyze characteristics of the genre that informed Frazelle in writing the Inventions and study
his own innovations.
1.4.5 Sources on the inventions genre
John Caldwell’s article, “Inventions” provides an historical overview and etymology of
the musical genre.15 I relate its origin and formal qualities to Frazelle’s own Inventions. David
Schulenberg’s The Keyboard Music of J.S. Bach has a chapter that details the musical aspects of
the composer’s Inventions and Sinfonias.16 He explicates Bach’s Inventions’ form, texture, and
historical background. I analyze the salient characteristics of Bach’s Inventions in relation to
Frazelle’s work. Courtney Adams’ article, “Organization in the Two-Part Inventions of Johann
13 Christopher Chowrimootoo, “Copland’s Styles: Musical Modernism, Middlebrow Culture, and the
Appreciation of New Music,” Journal of Musicology 37, no. 4 (October 2020): 518-559,
https://doi.org/10.1525/jm.2020.37.4.518. 14 Aaron Copland, What to Listen for in Music, (New York: Mcgraw-Hill, 1957), 10. 15 John Caldwell, “Invention,” Grove Music Online, (2001), accessed January 4, 2021, https://www-
oxfordmusiconline-com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-
9781561592630-e-0000013877. 16 David Schulenberg, “The Clavier-buchlein vor Wilhelm Friedmann Bach and Related Works,” The
Keyboard Music of J.S. Bach, (New York: Routledge, 2006), 176.
8
Sebastian Bach” in the Bach journal analyzes the systematic planning of Bach’s Inventions.17
The article encompasses a wide range of research regarding the Invention’s organization,
including motivic and formal elements. I focus on Bach’s tonal organization and compare it with
how Frazelle organizes his Inventions.
1.4.6 Sources on Brice Marden
The Gagosian Gallery prides Brice Marden as one of its artists, featuring his works in
over five exhibitions. Its website provides a brief introduction to the artist and his style.18 The
Guggenheim Museum likewise features Marden in its exhibitions. Their website provides
information about the artist’s journey in Thailand, which informed his oriental calligraphic
works.19 Frazelle associates the artist’s calligraphic works with contrapuntal texture. He uses the
term “rhetoric” in describing the polyphony of his Inventions, linking it to the rhetoricians of the
Renaissance and the Greeks. To substantiate this, I consulted Gregory Butler’s article “Fugue
and Rhetoric” in the Journal of Music Theory.20 The article details the encroachment of poetics
into musical form during the onset of enlightenment. Ted Loos’s article “A Subtle Sense of
Place” features the author’s interview with Marden.21 In this interview, the artist talks about his
sojourn in Greece and how its architecture and art influenced his style, essentially giving birth to
his drawing, The Muses, an artwork which greatly inspired Frazelle.
17 Courtney S. Adams. "Organization in the Two-Part Inventions of Johann Sebastian Bach, Part I," Bach
13, no. 2 (1982): 6-16. 18 Larry Gagosian. “Brice Marden,” Gagosian Gallery, (April 12, 2018), https://gagosian.com/artists/brice-
marden/. 19 “The Guggenheim Museums and Foundation,” Guggenheim Museum, Accessed February 15, 2021,
https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/artist/brice-marden. 20 Gregory G. Butler, “Fugue and Rhetoric”, Journal of Music Theory 31, no.1 (1977): 49-109, https://doi-
org.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/10.2307/843479. 21 Ted Loos, “A Subtle Sense of Place,” The New York Times, (New York: The New York Times, 2006).
9
Richard Dorment’s article “Journey from ‘Nebraska’” in the New York Review features a
review of Marden’s drawing, The Muses.22 Dorment provides an artistic interpretation of the
work and historical background of its conception. Although Frazelle’s Inventions is not a direct
depiction of Marden’s art, the subject matter of drawing is evoked in the last Invention. I
reference Robin Hard’s Routledge Handbook to Greek Mythology in discussing the muses
portrayed in the Inventions.23 Moreover, Marden intended the final Inventions to imitate the
rhythmic qualities of Ancient Greek music. For this, I use M. L. West’s textbook on Ancient
Greek Music.24 A pertinent trait prevalent in Marden’s art is the play on perspective. Frazelle’s
Inventions captures this aspect in the aural plane. Kelly Montana’s book Think of Them as
Spaces features Marden’s drawings that span over the artist’s lifetime.25 The book contains
Montana’s analysis of the artist’s works and his play on perspective.
1.4.7 Sources on Wildflowers
For this piece, I base the information on my interview with Frazelle and my individual
analysis. The only text about music that I reference is F. E. Kirby’s Music for Piano: A Short
History for the Chopin quotation found in Viper’s Bugloss.26 Other sources are books and
websites that contain information on the visual characteristics of the wildflowers portrayed in the
set. I reference Stanley Bentley’s Native Orchids of the Southern Appalachian Mountains for the
visual characteristics of Slender Ladies’ Tresses, an orchid that is portrayed by the opening piece
22 Richard Dorment, “Journey from ‘Nebraska’,” The New York Review, (New York: The New York
Review, 2006). 23 Robin Hard, “Lesser Deities and Nature Spirits,” Routledge Handbook to Greek Mythology, (Sussex:
Psychology Press, 2004), 204. 24 M.L. West, “Rhythm and Tempo,” Ancient Greek Music, (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992), 129. 25 Kelly Montana, Think of Them as Spaces: Brice Marden’s Drawings, (Houston: Yale University Press,
2020). 26 F. E Kirb, “The Early Nineteenth Century: Chopin,” Music for Piano: A Short History, (Portland, Or:
Amadeus Press, 1995), 185.
10
of the same title.27 The next piece, Fringed Polygala symbolizes the titular flower’s petals
through motivic variation. For this, I reference Brande Wendel’s article “Fringed Polygala” in
the Forest Service Shield, U.S. Department of Agriculture’s website.28 From the same website, I
consult Larry Stritch’s article “Viola Pedata” for the flower’s properties depicted in Birdfoot
Violet.29 The piece Indian Pipes portrays not only the flower’s appearance, but also the dark and
damp environment it thrives in. Rebecca Finneran’s article “Indian Pipes: Oddities of the Plant
World” in the Michigan State University website explicates background information about the
plant.30 For the pieces Fire Pink and Blue Lobelia, I consult the book Charlotte Adelman and
Bernard Schwartz’s The Midwestern Native Garden: Native Alternatives to Nonnative Flowers
and Plants: An Illustrated Guide, a guidebook for local gardeners on noninvasive regional native
wildflowers.31 For Viper’s Bugloss, I reference Richard and Tim Dickinson, and Deborah
Metzger’s The Rom Field Guide to Wildflowers of Ontario.32 Although the book details on the
wildflowers of Ontario, it contains pertinent information of the exact flower depicted in the
piece. For Columbine, I consult the article “Wild Columbine (Aquilegia Candadensis)” from the
Adirondack Park’s website.33
27 Stanley Bentley, Native Orchids of the Southern Appalachian Mountains, (Chapel Hill, NC: University
of North Carolina Press. 2000), 201–203. 28 Brande Wendel, “Fringed Polygala”, Forest Service Shield, (U.S. Department of Agriculture), Accessed
December 5, 2020, www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/polygala_paucifolia.shtml. 29 Larry Stritch. “Viola Pedata: Forest Service Shield, (U.S. Department of Agriculture), Accessed
December 5, 2020, www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/viola_pedata.shtml. 30 Rebecca Finneran, “Indian Pipes: Oddities of the Plant World”, (Michigan State University Extension,
November 14, 2014), Accessed December 15, 2020,
ww.canr.msu.edu/news/indian_pipes_oddities_of_the_plant_world. 31 Charlotte Adelman & Bernard Schwartz, The Midwestern Native Garden: Native Alternatives to
Nonnative Flowers and Plants: An Illustrated Guide, (Ohio: Ohio University Press, 2011.) 32 Richard Dickinson, Tom Dickinson, & Deborah Metzger, The Rom Field Guide to Wildflowers of
Ontario, (Toronto: Mclelland & Steward, June 8, 2004.) 33 “Wild Columbine: Aquilegia Canadensis, (Adirondacks Park), Accessed December 13, 2020,
https://wildadirondacks.org/adirondack-wildflowers-wild-columbine-aquilegia-canadensis.html.
11
CHAPTER 2
ELIXIR
2.1 Background
Elixir, composed in 2006, is inspired by the Nocturnes of Frédéric Chopin. It was written
to commemorate the 50th birthday of his friend Jeffrey Kahane, a conductor and pianist who
championed the composer’s works.34 According to Frazelle, Kahane premiered 17 of the
composer’s pieces, both as a pianist and conductor. The title “Elixir” is a play on words. In
alchemy, an elixir is a substance that was believed to be capable of changing base metals into
gold. This plays on the fact that the dedicatee at the time was celebrating his 50th birthday; the
so-called “golden” year. As the only single-movement work in this study, Elixir serves as a
fitting introduction to Frazelle’s piano music. In this chapter, I study the musical similarities
between Elixir and Chopin’s Nocturnes, Frazelle’s contribution to the genre, and his former
mentor Roger Session’s influence on his writing.
2.2 Similarities between Chopin’s Nocturnes and Elixir
The piece adheres to the archetypal 19th-century nocturne, which consists of a languid
ornamented melody over a widely spaced arpeggiated left hand.35 Elixir expresses a quiet
meditative character, introducing a sparce lyrical theme in the right hand accompanied by
harmonic sonorities in the left hand (Example 2.1). In addition to an archetypal nocturne’s
songlike quality, Frazelle also borrows from Chopin’s innovation to the genre: the employment
34 Kenneth Frazelle, Subito Music Corporation. 35 Samson, Jim, 168.
12
of contrapuntal complexity and harmonic sophistication.36 As seen in the score, the left-hand
accompaniment provides a fragmented countermelody to the right-hand theme (Example 2.1).
Apart from texture, Elixir adheres to a ternary form, the common formal structure of Chopin’s
Nocturnes, where the central section usually presents an expressive contrast. I will discuss in
detail the contents of this section later in the chapter. Now that I have tackled the “Chopinesque”
quality of Elixir, I discuss how Frazelle infuses his musical style into the traditional genre.
2.3 Synthesis of Frazelle’s techniques and the nocturne genre
Elixir is rich in harmonic content, combining diatonic sonorities with lydian and whole-
tone scales. It revolves around A-flat major, but any traditional harmonic progression is either
hinted at, or downright obscured. Rarely do pure triads occur, as most chords either have a
sustained fourth or seventh. Although the composer uses many different modes and ambiguous
chords, the harmonic flow of the piece is organized and does not fluctuate into different
directions erratically. However, analyzing its harmony from a common practice period
perspective is barely applicable in this music. As seen in mm. 17-27, sustained notes elude any
traditional roman numeral label (Example 2.1). Moreover, the change from Phrygian to diatonic
C minor between mm. 17-20 and 21-27 (as seen in the shift from D-flat to D) exacerbates this
difficulty. Instead of a traditional harmonic progression, Frazelle employs a different method in
organizing harmony. He does this through long bass pedals that sustain throughout measures
(Example 2.2). As seen in Example 2.2, pedaled Cs in three different octaves are sustained.
Moreover, if one were to reduce the excerpt into its essential counterpoint, the last five notes of a
36 Brown, Maurice J.E., and Kenneth L. Hamilton, "Nocturne (i)", Grove Music Online 2001, https://www-
oxfordmusiconline-.
13
descending C minor scale are revealed. In this way, a C minor harmony is faintly hinted rather
than imposed. Therefore, the listener still hears the C minor even without the blessing of purely
triadic chords and a I-V-I progression. This is the type of harmonic language that Frazelle
employs in the other pieces in this study as well.
2.4 Influence of Roger Sessions
According to Frazelle, one of the most important concepts that his former mentor taught
him was the process of developing a single musical idea. In my conversation with the composer,
he states:
There are two main things that I would say about him. One is his interest in the idea of
the musical gesture, and what can gestures do over time, in other words, how to create
long lines. He did not mean melodies, he meant rhetoric; lines and ideas that develop
over time.37
Indeed, musical ideas and their development has been a crucial element in Sessions’ musical
style. During his lifetime, he was initially associated with the neoclassicism of Stravinsky and
Copland.38 As time went by, Sessions began to move away from Stravinsky and Copland’s orbit.
In lieu of stratified textural and formal qualities, Sessions’ music develops a continuously
evolving structure, shaped by long goal-directed linear spans.39 Frazelle talks about this quality
in his former mentor’s music:
His music is so contrapuntal that you see these different layers that happen over time, but
there is always a clear shape and all the lines go toward a unified goal, much like Bach’s
fugues. As I have mentioned, [Sessions] meant that long lines did not refer to melodies,
but to logic and a sense of music moving with a kind of urgency and expressivity.
Frazelle employs these qualities into his music.40
37 Frazelle, Interview by Chance Israel, Zoom, January 09, 2021. 38 Robert Morgan, A History of Musical Style in Modern Europe and America, 293. 39 Ibid. 40 Frazelle, Interview.
14
The concept of the musical idea was best explained by Roger Sessions in one of his afternoon
lectures in Juilliard:
I would say that a musical idea is simply that fragment of music which forms the
composer’s point of departure, either for a whole composition or for an episode or even a
single aspect of composition. I say “fragment” knowing full well that it can get me into
difficulties. For in my experience, in which I include observation and analysis as well as
musical composition, a “musical idea” – the starting point of a vital musical “train of
thought” – can be virtually anything which strikes a composer’s imagination.41
In Elixir, this musical idea takes the form of a two-note motif that opens the meditative
theme (Example 2.1). This motif has a descending major second interval and is marked with
tenutos. Upon initial hearing, the significance of this motif may not be readily apparent, but it
becomes an expressive driving force as the piece progresses. The flowing eighth notes in mm.
17-27 transform its role from being a mere accompaniment figuration to an inner-voice melody.
In mm. 21-27, the inner voice becomes a diminution of motif a. The basic idea’s diminution and
its placement in the inner voice moves the music forward from its initial languid state (Example
2.2).
Example 2.1. Elixir, mm. 1-10.42
41 Erik Prausnitz. Roger Sessions, How a “Difficult” Composer Got That Way, 92. 42 Kenneth Frazelle, Elixir, (New Jersey: Subito Music Corporation, 2005,) 1.
15
Example 2.2. Elixir, mm. 16-30.43
Elixir’s central section follows a through-composed structure. This makes way for the
gradual buildup of rhythmic and textural intensification to the piece’s dramatic climax. Marked
poco più mosso a leggiero, the beginning of the central section accelerates the flow of the music.
It comprises two-note motifs in ascending minor second interval in both the melody and inner
voices, symbolizing motif a’s inversion and diminution (Example 2.3). This evokes a feeling of
uneasiness and urgency in the music. In the middle of the B section, motif a becomes
increasingly varied. For instance, mm. 62-64 present motif a in three different forms: m. 62 in
the form of broken chords, m. 63 in the form of broken 7ths (an inversion of the 2nd) and finally,
m. 64, in parallel 7ths (Example 2.4). The expressive buildup of the three measures leads to a
dramatic rendering of motif a in mm. 65 to 67.
43 Ibid.
16
Example 2.3. Elixir, mm. 40-46.44
Example 2.4. Elixir, mm. 60-66.45
As the section approaches its peak, the tempo increases. The sempre accelerando
marking accompanies the gradual diminution of motif a and the thickening of textures in the
section. As seen in mm. 89-91, brilliant arpeggios and scales sweep up into the high register of
the keyboard. Although virtuosic in nature, its function is not to show off the performer’s
44 Frazelle, Elixir, 2. 45 Frazelle, Elixir, 3.
17
technical skill, but to present motif a in a highly elated manner (Example 2.5). Mm. 99-104
present motif a’s most intense variations, first as a tremolo, and then as a trill (Example 2.6). As
the trill sustains, the intensity subsides, bleeding into the return to the A section. What we see
here is a juxtaposition of the basic idea’s most expressive form (the trill, the fastest possible
iteration of the interval of the second) over the basic idea’s original form (Example 2.7).
Example 2.5. Elixir, mm. 87-91.46
Example 2.6. Elixir, mm. 89-102.47
46 Frazelle, Elixir, 4. 47 Frazelle, Elixir, 6.
18
Example 2.7. Elixir, mm. 103-111.48
2.5 Conclusion
It seems that for Frazelle, writing Elixir was a repose from the intricacies of his other
compositions. Prior to writing the piece, he did not envision any complexity in its musical
content and structure. Frazelle states: “I wanted to write a cantabile-like piano piece. A lot of my
music works itself up to difficult places. I wanted to write a piece that is a line, a cantabile
piece.”49 Despite the intended simplicity of the piece, it serves as a microcosm to the essential
qualities of Frazelle’s piano writing. For one, the music evokes a variety of expressions.
Throughout the piece, we experience numerous affects, such as meditation, pathos, and elation.
Every detail, harmonic change, and/or motivic variation represents a certain mood or sensation.
Later in this paper, I discuss how these elements also symbolize visual properties of artworks and
nature. Another essential element in Frazelle’s piano writing is his ascription to old forms and
genres. The undeniable link between Chopin’s Nocturnes and Elixir attests to this. Later in the
48 Ibid. 49 Frazelle, Interview by Chance Israel, Zoom, January 09, 2021.
19
study, I will analyze pieces that pay homage to Schumann’s piano cycles and Bach’s Inventions.
Lastly, Elixir presents Frazelle’s use and development of the basic musical idea.
20
CHAPTER 3
APPEARANCES
3.1 Background
Appearances (1999) is a set comprising seven short pieces. According to Frazelle, the
pieces were written during a time of deep contemplation of Paul Cezanne’s artworks. The pieces
do not portray the artist’s works but instead emulate his artistic technique. Each miniature
focuses on a single musical aspect such as a motif, interval, or rhythmic figure hence, the
duration and texture of each piece is economical. The pieces in Appearances can be divided into
two categories: one falls under “Americana” and the other, “modernist.” The term “Americana”
denotes the incorporation of American folk and jazz idioms, as defined by the composer.
“Modernist” refers to the 20th-century musical techniques, styles, and attitudes as espoused by
the second Viennese school and Stravinsky’s musical objectivity. In this chapter, I analyze the
piece’s varying compositional techniques and characteristics, and how they represent the
composer’s conception of “modernist” and “Americana” styles, and his emphasis on the
expressive role of music. Moreover, I draw parallels to the works and criticism of Aaron
Copland, whose views and musical style are similar to Frazelle’s.
3.2 Analysis of Americana pieces
The first four pieces in the set belong to the “Americana” category. Appearances No.1 is
a short waltz in three voices that focuses on a single motif. Throughout the piece, the opening
motif is transposed, and iterated in different voices (Example 3.1). Appearances Nos. 2 and 4
employ Jazz elements. No. 2 assumes a semi-strophic form, iterating highly syncopated rhythms
21
and lyrical melodies (Example 3.2). Frazelle describes No. 4 to be akin to Broadway music. 50
The right hand plays a syncopated melody accompanied by the left hand that repeatedly iterates a
perfect fifth. No. 3 is structured in ABA form; the music comprises a somber lyrical melody
accompanied by sustained chords (Example 3.3). As the music progresses, the texture becomes
harsher and more polyphonic. The “disintegration” of the melodic texture starts in m. 11 and
climaxes in mm. 15-18, showing fragmented notes displaced in widely spaced registers. The
martellato markings add to the harshness of the passage (Example 3.4). The agitation subsides
and returns to the somber mood of the piece.
Example 3.1. Appearances No. 1, mm. 1-5.51
Example 3.2. Appearances No. 2, mm. 4-6.52
50 Frazelle, Interview by Chance Israel, Zoom, February 10, 2021. 51 Kenneth Frazelle. Appearances, (New Jersey: Subito Music Corporation, 2000,) 1. 52 Frazelle, Appearances, 2.
22
Example 3.3. Appearances No. 3, mm. 1-5.53
Example 3.4. Appearances No. 3, mm. 14-19.54
3.3 Analysis of modernist pieces
The last three pieces represent the modernist group. No. 5 comprises harsh martellato
single notes played by both left and right hands. The piece uses the opening melodic contour and
its rhythmic fragment throughout the music (Example 3.5). The music starkly contrasts the
playfulness of No. 4 with its undaunting severity. Marked Molto vivace e leggiero, No. 5 features
a highly syncopated rhythm and constant shift of complex meters. The use of Lydian and
Phrygian modes are prevalent, but the rhythmic mirroring of both hands – which parallel and
contrast each other – produces harsh intervals (Example 3.6). The middle section briefly quotes
from the second movement of Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 in E Minor. Its zesty rhythmic play and
dynamic shifts imbues the music with playful expression. The set ends with No. 7, a highly
53 Frazelle, Appearances, 5. 54 Ibid.
23
dissonant cantabile piece. Marked spazioso e lento, the music evokes a haunting atmosphere
(Example 3.7).
Example 3.5. Appearances No. 5, mm. 1-4.55
Example 3.6. Appearances No. 6, mm. 12-15.56
Example 3.7. Appearances No. 7, mm. 1-4.57
3.4 Modernist criticism of Americana music
Throughout his life, Frazelle grappled with opposing viewpoints espoused in the
contemporary music world. Appearances, in some sense, serves as a microcosm to the
55 Frazelle, Appearances, 8. 56 Frazelle, Appearances, 9. 57 Frazelle, Appearances, 12.
60 David Burge, Twentieth Century Piano Music: Studies in Musical Genres and Repertoires, 117.
24
variegating musical ideas surrounding the composer. Examples of these include the
commentaries of some of the dedicatees in the set. The final piece is dedicated to Charles
Millard, a friend and former curator at the Smithsonian museum whom the composer regarded as
“strictly modernist.” According to Frazelle, Millard was not fond of the composer’s works that
incorporate American folk music, echoing 20th-century modernist sentiments that took a hardline
stance in opposing music that was accessible.58
3.5 Musical and historic parallels to Copland
Despite the musical dichotomy in Appearances, an element that is essential to
understanding the piece, as well as Frazelle’s musical style, is the reconciliation between the two
seemingly opposing styles. The division and synthesis between “modernist” and “Americana”
elements parallel the works and musical views of Aaron Copland. Like Frazelle, Copland
incorporated a diverse array of musical styles, drawing from modernism, jazz, and folk music.
For example, Copland’s exposure to musical styles of the Second Viennese School paved the
way to his Piano Variations.59 This music’s brashness, economic use of texture, and utilization
of row techniques resembles Appearances No. 5.60 On the other hand, Copland’s forays into jazz,
reflecting the 1920’s emerging search for the American identity in the music world, produced
works like Four Blues for Piano. This incorporation of jazz rhythm parallels the mood and style
of Appearances No. 4. Moreover, Appearances Nos. 2 and 3 offer a combination between the
two styles. No. 3 is a somber cantabile piece that encloses an angular fragmented passage. No. 2,
which mainly uses jazz and Americana elements, features a highly dissonant and strident passage
58 Chowrimootoo, “Copland’s Styles,” 518-559, https://doi.org/10.1525/jm.2020.37.4.518. 59 Gayle Murchinson, The American Stravinsky, 55.
25
before its conclusion. The mixture of jazz rhythm and dissonant harmonies mirror “Jazzy” from
Copland’s Trois Esquisses.61
3.6 Conclusion
Aside from the combination of different musical styles, the pieces in Appearances
contain common aspects. For example, each piece focuses on a basic musical idea. In composing
the set, Frazelle was interested in “investigating small areas since [his] previous music had been
on a larger scale.”62 Each piece therefore has a sparse and unembellished texture. In doing so,
Frazelle imitated Cezanne’s technical precision and clarity in rendering such paintings. In the
composer’s words: “I wanted each note to matter, that is why [Appearances] is sparing… much
like Cézanne’s art, that each brushstroke has a meaning.”63 Another common characteristic that
the pieces in Appearances share is the preoccupation with widely spaced intervals. All pieces
conclude with dyads that are placed in the opposite extremes of the register. This technique is
prevalent in much of Frazelle’s piano works. Lastly, each piece in the set is expressive. This
means that each miniature evokes a certain mood and affect, instead of merely a technical
exercise. Frazelle emphasizes the importance of expression in his composition and laments the
modernist ambivalence to its value.64 Regarding this mindset, he draws parallels to the modernist
criticism of Copland, whose use of different styles – ranging from folk and jazz idioms to taking
elements from Schoenberg and Stravinsky – were viewed with hostility.65 Despite the opposing
viewpoints stemming from the 20th century that still echo to date, Frazelle remains steadfast in
61 Murchinson, 65. 62 Frazelle, Interview by Chance Israel, Zoom, February 10, 2021. 63 Ibid. 64 Ibid. 65 Chowrimootoo, “Copland’s Styles,” 574.
26
his philosophy of musical expression, adhering to the Copland’s belief that “music has an
expressive power…that the meaning behind the notes constitutes, after all, what the piece is
saying, what the piece is about.”66
66 Aaron Copland, What to Listen for in Music, 10.
27
CHAPTER 4
INVENTIONS TO MARDEN
4.1 Background
Inventions to Marden (2006) comprises five tightly interlinked pieces that explore Brice
Marden’s (b. 1938) artistic style. Rather than a direct depiction of Marden’s artworks, the
inventions evoke aspects of the artist’s style that recur over several decades.67 In addition to the
titular artist, Inventions also takes influences from J.S. Bach’s Inventions and Sinfonias. In this
chapter, I examine how Marden’s artistic style is reflected in the music, Frazelle’s utilization of
the inventions genre, and how the set is unified. Two factors in Frazelle’s life brought about the
writing of Inventions. In 1978, he was hired to teach composition in his alma mater, UNCSA.
Teaching basic counterpoint to his students sparked his desire to write a contrapuntal work.
Another factor was the composer’s 50th birthday celebration held by the UNCSA in 2006.68 The
school organized an all-Frazelle concert and prompted the celebrant to perform. It was for this
event that the Inventions were composed and premiered. Before proceeding with my analysis, I
will provide an overview of the composer’s relationship with the Marden’s artworks.
4.2 Frazelle and Marden
Frazelle has a lifelong relationship with the artworks of Marden. During the composer’s
study in Juilliard, he often visited the Museum of Modern Arts in his free time. It is there where
he first encountered the artist’s works.69 Like Frazelle, Marden takes inspiration from a wide
67 Kenneth Frazelle. “List of Works,” https://www.kennethfrazelle.com/list-of-works#SOLO. 68 Frazelle, Interview by Chance Israel, Zoom, February 10, 2021. 69 Ibid.
28
variety of sources. His art brings together elements from Minimalism, Abstract Expressionism,
Greek and Roman architecture, and Chinese calligraphy to name a few.70 As time passed,
Frazelle became increasingly drawn to the artist’s works. In my conversation with the composer,
he relayed to me his impressions of Marden’s art. One of the stylistic aspects that made a
profound impression on the composer were Marden’s artworks inspired by Chinese calligraphy.
Frazelle showed me his own print of one of Marden’s Etching to Rexroth: Illustrations to Thirty-
Six Poems by Tu Fu, translated by Kenneth Rexroth (1986). The entire work is a set of 25
etchings of aquatint, depicting abstractions of Chinese calligraphy. The title refers to the
American poet and translator, Kenneth Rexroth (1905-1982) who translated the poems of Tu Fu
(712-770 A.D.), a Chinese poet from the Tang Dynasty. The work is a product of Marden’s
fascination with East Asian art and aesthetics, induced by his sojourn in Thailand in the mid-
1980’s.71 Frazelle likens the play of lines and loops in the artwork to the contrapuntal texture of
Bach’s music.72 Moreover, he describes the artwork as lyrical. These two descriptions would
ultimately reflect the overall mood and form of Inventions to Marden.
4.3 Bach’s influence on Frazelle
Prior to writing the piece, Frazelle had already established the aesthetic link between
polyphony and Marden’s calligraphic art. His rationale for choosing the inventions genre was
based on several factors. For one, Frazelle was interested in the pedagogic function of Bach’s
Inventions, focusing on their ability to instruct students about composition. Bach’s Inventions
70 Larry Gagosian, “Brice Marden.” 71 “The Guggenheim Museums and Foundation,” Guggenheim Museum,
https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/artist/brice-marden. 72 Frazelle, Interview by Chance Israel, Zoom, February 10, 2021.
29
were meant to teach inventio, a term referring to the invention of motivic material. As David
Schulenberg states, “the inventiones will not only be interesting in their own right but will also
be developed.”73 Frazelle was fascinated by the Inventions’ ability to develop and play with
simple musical ideas despite their small size. Moreover, the term Inventions is not committal to
form. Stemming from the rhetoricians of the Renaissance, inventio at the time refers to the
discovery of music or the processes of its composition.74 Hence, it is important to point out that
while Frazelle utilizes certain aspects of Bach’s inventions, he does not strictly adhere to the
latter’s imitative texture. I will first discuss Bach’s influences on Frazelle and explore how the
latter reinvents inventions.
The Inventions and Sinfonias of Bach were initially titled Praeludium and Fantasia
belonging to the collection Klavierbüchlein für Wilhelm Friedemann Bach.75 The Praeludium
title indicates the improvisatory nature of some of Bach’s Inventions. The Fantasias – which
later become Sinfonias – are not necessarily indicative of the Fantasia form. Bach may have
chosen the title Fantasia arbitrarily to set the 3-voice pieces apart from the 2-voice ones, or to
indicate their tendency towards more rigorous, fuguelike counterpoint. Regardless, Frazelle
states that he was interested in fusing both the improvisatory and contrapuntal aspect of the
genre.76
The Inventions’ precursor, the Preaeludium. were ordered systematically according to
key, difficulty, and contrapuntal complexity. This reflects their pedagogic function, as the
student is compelled to learn and familiarize first with simple key signatures, before progressing
73 David Schulenberg, The Keyboard Music of J.S. Bach, 175. 74 John Caldwell, Invention, Grove Music Online. 75 Schulenberg, Keyboard Music of J.S. Bach, 175. 76 Frazelle, Interview by Chance Israel, Zoom, February 10, 2021.
30
to ones that contain more accidentals.77 Frazelle’s Inventions are likewise ordered tonally. The
first two pieces begin and end in A minor. The third piece initially establishes A as the home key
but ends ambiguously on B-flat. The B-flat key pivots to the B-flat minor key of the fourth piece,
which concludes in Phrygian C minor. The finale starts ambiguously but establishes and
concludes in the modal A. Lining up A, B-flat, and C produces the first three notes of the
phrygian scale, which is employed in most of Frazelle’s Inventions. Compared to Bach’s
inventions, Frazelle’s key scheme does not have a pedagogical function, rather, it is used to unify
the piece.
As Bach wrote in his preface, part of his pedagogic goal in the Inventions is for the
student to learn how to play cantabile.78 Frazelle’s Inventions emulates this. Apart from
Invention No. 5, all pieces contain unmistakable lyricism that the composer ascribes to Marden’s
artworks. As seen in the opening bars of the Invention No. 1, the vocal qualities of the music are
readily apparent in the melodic contour and expressive markings (Example 4.1). In III. Fluent e
Luminoso, rapid sixteenth-note scales permeate the music. Despite this, the singing melody still
serves as the music’s backbone (Example 4.2). Bach’s cantabile not only refers to the creation of
beautiful melodies, but also to simple polyphony where each voice or part is capable of being
sung.79 In II. Molto Lento, this aspect is emphasized in its chorale texture. As seen in the score,
individual pitches in the theme are passed through different voices and register. To emphasize
this, Frazelle places tenuto markings on the voices that need to be brought out (Example 4.3).
Bach’s Inventions has a diverse array of formal qualities. For example, the Inventions in
C, G, and A Minor have a relatively improvisatory design, meaning that their subjects are short,
77 Courtney S. Adams, "Organization in the Two-Part Inventions of Johann Sebastian Bach, Part I." 78 Schulenberg, 176. 79 Ibid.
31
and their motifs are freely developed. The Inventions in A and B-flat are more elaborate in their
development and intimate a double fugue.80 Similarly, Frazelle’s Inventions displays a wide
variety of styles, techniques, and formal design. The first invention is a through-composed
prelude, the second in ABA form, and the third in fantasia format. Like the first invention, the
fourth is a through-composed intermezzo. Among the inventions, it is the last that resembles a
fugue the most.
Example 4.1. Inventions No. 1, mm. 1-11.81
80 Ibid. 81 Kenneth Frazelle, Inventions to Marden, (New Jersey: Subito Music Corporation, 2005), 1.
82 Frazelle, Inventions, 8. 83 Frazelle, Inventions, 4.
32
Example 4.2. Inventions No. 3, mm. 1-3.82
Example 4.3. Inventions No. 2, mm. 1-9.83
88 West, M.L., Ancient Greek Music, (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992), 129.
33
4.4 Marden’s “Greek” Art in Frazelle’s Inventions
Two artworks come to the composer’s mind regarding the inspiration for his music; one
is Etchings to Rexroth (1986) and the other is Study for The Muses (1991-1999).84 The Inventions
do not depict these artworks directly; instead they are evocations of their subject and essence.
Study for the Muses that has a similar calligraphic style to Etchings. Completed using oil on
linen, the work depicts an abstraction of the muses from Ancient Greek mythology. Richard
Dorment describes this work as conjuring the aura of the muses, rather than their portrayal.85
Having resided in Hydra in the 1970’s, the painting represents the artist’s fascination with Greek
architecture and mythology.86 According to art historian Garry Garrels, the work is a fusion of
American Abstract Expressionism, Chinese, and Greek art; the three cultures in which Marden
heavily immersed himself. Frazelle states that the mythological muses depicted in the painting
inspired the last Invention. The music is marked Molto vivace e ritmico, featuring a highly
syncopated subject and frequent meter changes. Despite the intricate rhythm and harmony, the
piece is very playful, evoking the flirtatious dance of the muses (Example 4.4). First appearing in
the works of Homer and Hesiod, the muses are goddesses to whom the poets rely for inspiration.
In Hesiod’s stories, he received the calls from muses in their southern haunts. He recounted how
they would sing and dance after bathing in the spring on Mount Helicon.87 To portray the dance
of the Muses, Frazelle intimated the rhythmic quality of Ancient Greek music. According to
historian Martin Litchfield West (1937-2015), the Ancient Greeks’ conception of meter is based
on verse.88 Since Ancient Greek verse has a clear and natural delineation between long and short
84 Frazelle, Interview by Chance Israel, Zoom, February 10, 2021. 85 Richard Dorment, “Journey from ‘Nebraska’”, The New York Review. 86 Ted Loos, “A Subtle Sense of Place.” The New York Times. 87 Robin Hard & H.J. Jose, The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology: Based on H.J. Rose's
"Handbook of Greek Mythology",204.
91 Butler, Gregory G, "Fugue and Rhetoric", 49-109.
34
syllables, the rhythm of Ancient Greek music can be hypothesized into this binary long/short
division. West stated:
The meters are quantitative, based on patterns of long and short syllables which must
correspond to patterns of long and short notes. The repetitive nature of these patterns usually
makes their rhythmical character obvious; and when we find them built up into extended
sequences which are repeated entirely from one strophe to another, this can only be
understood as a discipline imposed by the rhythm of music that itself repeated… In the
surviving fragments of poetic texts furnished with musical notation, the note values are
commonly left unspecified, and this is because they were felt to be sufficiently indicated by
the meter of words.89
The final Invention’s subject approximates this binary rhythmic format, with the note values
alternating between only quarter and eight notes (Example 4.4). This forms most of the rhythmic
content in the piece.
Apart from mythology, another aspect from the Greeks that influenced Frazelle’s writing
is rhetoric. Like in Elixir, Frazelle places importance on rhetoric as the unifying material in his
Inventions. Frazelle associates the Bachian development of musical ideas to how oratory and
debates work in Classical Greece. In his words, “The Greeks, to win in their oratories and
debates, present their ideas, restate them, and present all possible imaginary diversions that come
with it… Bach succeeds in presenting such an idea and what one can do with it.”90 The
relationship between rhetoric and musical form traces back to the Renaissance, when the
growing influence of humanism in Europe emphasized the affinity between poetry and music.
According to the musica poetica theorists at the time, the fuga best represented the application of
rhetorical precepts to music among musical structures.91 Rhetorical figures such as mimeses,
which refers to imitation, and collatio, a procedure which involves the comparison of two
89 West, 130. 90 Frazelle, Interview by Chance Israel, Zoom, February 10, 2021.
92 Frazelle, Inventions, 28.
35
analogous statements, were likened to the texture and imitative techniques in the fuga. In
employing rhetoric to his music, Frazelle makes clear that his compositions are created with
logic and unity. Compared to Elixir where motivic development is the main unifying component
in the music, Inventions uses rhythmic figures and intervals to unify the set.
Example 4.4. Inventions No. 3, mm. 1-10.92
4.5 Unifying aspects
4.5.1 Rhythmic fragment as the basic musical idea
Inventions 1 and 2 demonstrate the development of a rhythmic fragment to link the
pieces. The rhythmic fragment is first presented in m. 2 of the Invention No. 1 in the form of two
sixteenths and a quarter note. The fragment precedes five eighth notes played by the right hand
that opens the piece. Like the opening motif in Elixir, this rhythmic fragment is varied and
developed throughout the music. Its first reiteration can be seen in m. 5 where it is played twice
(Example 4.1). Initially, this rhythmic fragment is placed at the forefront, but in the middle of the
93 Frazelle, Inventions, 2. 94 Frazelle, Interview by Chance Israel, Zoom, February 10, 2021.
36
piece it is pushed to the background. In mm. 15 and 17, the dramatic quality of the rhythm is
diminished because of its accompanimental role, low registral position, and displacement to the
weak beats (Example 4.5). Towards the end of the piece, it regains its dramatic role. M. 19 sees
the rhythmic fragment back in the strong beats, m. 20 in the soprano voice, and finally, in m. 21
in its climactic iteration. (Example 4.6). In mm. 26 and 29, the rhythmic figure is dramatically
uttered as the piece concludes. (Example 4.7). The rhythmic figure reappears in the Invention No.
2. Compared to the first Invention where the rhythmic fragment overlays a melodic shape, the
second Invention comprises repeated notes.
Example 4.5. Invention No. 1, mm. 15-18.93
Frazelle describes this effect as ricocheting.94 My argument for connecting the rhythmic
fragments of both first and second Inventions is evidenced by their dramatic role in the music.
Marked Molto lento, the composer envisioned the second Invention to sound ‘Brahmsian.’
Structured in ABA form, the piece’s outer sections permeate with thick chordal textures. The
95 Ibid. 96 Ibid.
37
middle section is more melodic than vertical. It gradually accelerates through rhythmic
diminution, and builds up sound through chords and octaves before transitioning back to A.
Example 4.6. Invention No. 1, mm. 19-22.95
All these factors, on top of slow tempo and the Invention’s pensive affect, make the ‘ricocheting’
rhythmic fragment striking (Example 4.8). Its dramatic utterance is punctuated by its accents and
sforzando markings, same as the first Invention.
Example 4.7. Invention No. 1, mm. 23-29.96
97 Frazelle, Inventions, 4.
38
Example 4.8. Invention No. 2, mm. 6-13.97
4.5.2 Interval as the basic musical idea
Another musical element that unifies the Inventions is the perfect fourth interval. In
addition to its development, the interval also plays a role in emphasizing an artistic aspect of
Marden that inspired Frazelle. Its first significant appearance is in the Invention No. 2. As seen in
the score, the piece opens with a theme made of quartal chords. However, its presence in the
second Invention is mostly embedded in the harmonic content. In the third Invention, the interval
gains more prominence since it is executed as a thematic material. We first see this in m. 2 where
a widely spaced D and A are emphasized with a sforzandissimo marking (Example 4.2). The
dyad’s utterance is made more dramatic by its rapid sixteenth-note preparation in the measure
preceding it. Apart from its expressive emphasis, the dyad also assumes structural prominence in
98 Frazelle, Interview by Chance Israel, Zoom, February 10, 2021. 99 Frazelle, Inventions, 34.
39
the Inventions’ entirety as it concludes the set. The final bar of the last Invention ends with the
same notes and markings (Example 4.9). Another example of this is found in mm. 10-18 where
the interval is used in both melody and accompaniment (Example 4.10). Mm. 16-18 utilizes the
interval in an increasingly expressive manner. The melodic ascent, propelled by the crescendo,
leads to m. 18 when consecutive perfect fourths glide to the high register in a cadenza-like
manner. Frazelle connects this perfect fourth ascent in the penultimate Invention, where the
intervallic gesture reappears (Example 4.11). As seen in the score, the fourth Invention’s
sparseness and slow tempo contrasts the lavish brilliance of the third Invention. Frazelle intended
the fourth invention to represent a focus on a single detail in Marden’s artworks. In the
composer’s words, “[The fourth Invention’s] clean and sparing quality is like how you’d zero in
on one hexagram, or a Chinese character or even the ink.”98 To make this comparison clear,
Invention No. 3’s brilliance and complexity portray the entirety of a calligraphic artwork while
the No. 4 depicts a single detail; like a line or a shape. As such, the fourth Invention “zooms in”
on the perfect fourth interval (Example 4.12).
Example 4.9. Invention No. 5, mm. 170-174.99
40
Example 4.10. Invention No. 3, mm. 10-15.100
Example 4.11. Invention No. 3, mm. 16-19.101
100 Frazelle, Inventions, 10. 101 Ibid.
41
Example 4.12. Invention No. 4, mm. 1-5.102
4.6 Conclusion
Frazelle’s viewing of Marden’s art from varying perspectives is not exclusive to the
composer’s interpretation. Perspective, per se, is a quality that is indispensable to Marden’s
artistic process. His Shell Drawings (1985-87) demonstrate this. The drawings depict not the
shells themselves, but the marks naturally inscribed on them. During the process, Marden rotated
a shell in one hand, and drew with the other. Hence, the series portrays the shell marks in varying
angles. Art curator Kelly Montana associates this process to Antoine Watteau’s drawings, who
would likewise draw his models from different angles instead of having them pose differently.103
Montana describes this as “cinematic, the subject moving across the paper not so much in space,
which remains abstract, but in time.”104 In the same spirit, Frazelle plays with perspective. Like
102 Frazelle, Inventions, 27. 103 Kelly Montana, Think of Them as Spaces: Brice Marden’s Drawings, 12. 104 Montana, 13.
42
the varying angles and focal points in Marden’s drawings, the composer plays with musical
elements, imbuing the Inventions with an organic essence.
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CHAPTER 5
WILDFLOWERS
5.1 Background
Wildflowers is a set comprising ten pieces that characterize native plants from the Blue
Ridge mountains. Compared to the other sets in examined this treatise, Wildflowers is arguably
the most unique. Aspects such as performance flexibility and programmatic content factor into
the set’s uncanniness. Frazelle leaves the performer with several options on programming. For
one, the performer may choose to play the set independently or as the second of the three-
movement Sonata-Fantasy. Moreover, the performer may play the set entirely, or choose
individual pieces from it. Wildflowers also owes its flexibility to its subject: wildflowers. The
individuality of each piece is emphasized as each aims to depict the unique visual properties of
the flowers. Frazelle himself states that the set was composed without any conscious scheme or
key plan. In his words, they are “arranged with maximum contrast in mind.”105 This makes
Wildflowers unique compared to the other piano sets in this research. All other sets –
Appearances and Inventions to Brice Marden are cyclical.
The nature element in Wildflowers extends further than the visual characteristics of the
plants it seeks to portray. Aside from properties such as the plants’ colors and textures, Frazelle
also evokes their settings. This means that the imagery in Wildflowers is not limited to the
flowers, but also to their natural environments and the composer’s impressions of the plants. The
programmatic domain does not stop there. The set also alludes to certain personalities and
composers. Some pieces in the set are dedicated to Frazelle’s friends, and the composer himself
105 Frazelle, Interview by Chance Israel, Zoom, January 09, 2021.
44
likens his friend’s personalities to the music’s character. Although Wildflowers is not a cycle,
Frazelle relates the pieces’ extreme character changes and mood contrasts to Romantic-era piano
sets like Schumann’s Carnaval and Kreisleriana and Chopin’s Op. 28 Preludes. The homage to
these composers in Viper’s Bugloss and Columbine is seen in the form of quotations.
5.2 Analysis of individual works
5.2.1 Slender Ladies’ Tresses
Spanning a mere 12 measures, Slender Ladies’ Tresses begins the set. The piece is
marked “spacious and delicate” and is to be played by one hand alone. The plant belongs to the
orchid family, producing an inflorescence of about forty white flowers that spiral around the
stem.106 The music emulates the spiral shape of the plant. Example 5.1 shows an excerpt from
the piece. The melody consists of semi-arpeggiated motifs that take different directions. This
produces an effect that makes the music sound like a series of curvatures.
Example 5.1. Wildflowers: Slender Ladies’ Tresses, mm. 1-6.107
106 Stanley Bentley. Native Orchids of the Southern Appalachian Mountains, 201–203. 107 Kenneth Frazelle, Wildflowers, (New Jersey: Subito Music Corporation, 2005,) 1.
45
Apart from what can be seen in the score, the piece exhorts the performer to use a lot of wrist
rotation, given the widely spaced intervals and the piece’s one-hand indication. The rotation
helps the player not only see but also feel the spiral shape of the Slender Ladies’ Tresses.
5.2.2 Fringed Polygala
Fringed Polygala assumes a scherzando character. The piece opens with a motif that
consists of G, A, F-sharp, in the right hand and D, G, and E in the left hand (Example 5.2) The
outer notes are embellished as G and D are introduced by a sixteenth-note anacrusis, and F-sharp
preceded by a grace note. Apart from the embellishments, expressive markings such as the
sforzando and accent on G and D, as well as the tenuto on F-sharp places an emphasis on the
outer notes of this motif. The middle notes – A on the right hand and G on the left – are left with
a piano dynamic and a staccato marking. The lack of embellishment and expressive markings
make the middle notes seem insignificant.
Example 5.2. Wildflowers: Fringed Polygala, mm. 1-9.108
108 Frazelle, Wildflowers: Fringed Polygala, mm. 1-9.
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The metaphor that I derive from this is how the motif can be attributed to the three petals
of the Fringed Polygala. The plant produces light pink to deep magenta flowers. Two prominent
petals emerge out of the corolla, forming a tubular structure.109 The two petals enclose a third
keeled petal, cresting in a pink fringe or keel. There are several ways on linking the petals to the
motif. I conjecture that the two “prominent” petals are represented by the “outer notes” of the
motif while the “middle notes” represent the enclosed fringed petal.
The motif’s structural significance in the piece also affirms its symbolic meaning. Fringe
Polygala is constructed with a series of variations on the opening motif, using processes like
rhythmic diminution, fragmentation, and embellishment. The continual development and
evolution of the motif transform the music into varying modes of expression. The opening bars
feature straightforward variation techniques. For example, the opening motif is immediately
followed by a slight variation of itself, which I designate as A1. Before it could proceed to its
third variation, fragmentation occurs as seen it mm. 5-7. The relative simplicity of variation
techniques used in the opening bars render them in a consistently expressive mood, which is that
of a shy playfulness. As the music progresses, the variations become more layered and
complicated. For example, mm. 10-14 feature two heavily embellished variations of the main
motif (Example 5.3). The texture also becomes “wet,” as the sixteenth note arpeggiations prompt
the performer to pedal through harmonic flourishes. The sweeping gestures, the foray into a very
high register, and the dynamic swells sublimate the laconic expression of the motif into that of
elation and excitement.
109 Brandee Wenzel, “Fringed Polygala”, Forest Service Shield, www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/plant-of-the-
week/polygala_paucifolia.shtml.
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Example 5.3. Wildflowers: Fringed Polygala, mm. 10-14.110
5.2.3 Birdfoot Violet
Birdfoot Violet is a polyphonic piece in 3 voices. Marked Andante e grazioso, the music
is calm and lyrical, contrasting the frivolous Fringed Polygala. Fugal techniques such as stretto
are used in the piece (Example 5.4). The music initially establishes an A-flat major harmony,
switching between diatonic and lydian modes. In my interview with the composer, he likens the
A-flat major harmony and the black keys of the keyboard with the dark color of the Birdfoot
Violet flowers.111 The harmony takes an interesting route towards the conclusion. Instead of the
initially established A-flat major, the piece concludes in E major with a sustained fourth and
sixth. What I infer from this change of harmony is a subtle change of color. In this logic, this
harmonic turn symbolizes two different gradients of the Birdfoot Violet. Its flower contains five
petals, and at times, the upper two are dark violet in color and the lower three in pale blue
110 Ibid. 111 Frazelle, Interview by Chance Israel, Zoom, January 09, 2021.
48
violet.112 The two harmonies, A-flat major and E major, represent these two different hues of
violet, with E major being the lighter one, and A-flat the darker one.
Example 5.4. Wildflowers: Birdfoot Violet, mm. 1-8.113
5.2.4 Flame Azalea
Flame Azalea is a show tango that bursts forth clustered chords and sudden dynamic
shifts. The harmonic content is highly dissonant. Throughout the music, A-flat major clashes
against A minor (Example 5.5). Towards the end, A-flat is teased as the victor in the polytonal
clash. However, the final three bars move to its subdominant D-flat major, which is used to pivot
to A minor. Apart from polytonality, the piece briefly segues into diatonicism. For example,
mm. 13-17 touch on G minor and B-flat major before the clashing chords continue (Example
5.6). Flame Azalea stands out from the three preceding Wildflowers in numerous ways. Its
outwardness contrasts the meditative mood of Slender Ladies’ Tresses, the emotional
fluctuations of Fringed Polygala and the pensiveness of Birdfoot Violet. Frazelle links the
showiness of the music with the charisma of the Flame Azalea flowers. The piece is dedicated to
112 Larry Stritch, “Birdfoot Violet.” Forest Service Shield, U.S. Department of Agriculture,
www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/viola_pedata.shtml. 113 Frazelle, Wildflowers, 18.
49
his friend, Amos Fischer whom he describes as having a fiery personality.114 Aside from its
charismatic character, the employment of the tango dance imposes textural and structural
“straightforwardness” in the music. Despite its heavy use of dissonance, the piece has a clear
form and texture. For example, the clear distinction between the sparse, fragmented melody and
its rhythmic accompaniment contrasts the contrapuntal texture of Birdfoot Violet. Moreover, the
piece is divided into clear-cut sections, assuming a rounded binary form. This contrasts the
interweaving lines and the constant motivic development in Fringed Polygala.
5.2.5 Indian Pipes
Indian Pipes is a short 12-tone piece. According to the composer, the tone row is literal.
He states that he does not adhere to any strict procedures such as pure 12-tones and canons.115
The music is set mostly in the low register with a melody played by the right hand accompanied
by subdued dissonant chords on the left. The marking lento e misterioso prompts the performer
to exude a mysterious feeling. Frazelle describes the Indian Pipes flower as “creepy” and
“ghostly,” hence the eeriness of the piece. Indeed, the appearance and qualities of Indian Pipes
are very special. Its scientific name monotropa (Greek) uniflora (Latin) roughly translates to
“one turn” and “one flowered”. The entire plant is translucent white, from stem to flower. It does
not produce any leaves and is oftentimes mistaken for a fungus. This striking appearance is due
to its lack of chlorophyll and photosynthesis, rendering it with a white pigmentation and the
ability to grow in darkest regions of the forest.116 I associate the haunting melody with the
ghostly pallor of the plant. The hushed chords portray the dark places where Indian Pipes thrive.
114 Frazelle, Interview by Chance Israel, Zoom, January 09, 2021. 115 Ibid. 116 Rebecca Finneran, “Indian Pipes: Oddities of the Plant World,” Michigan State University Extension,
www.canr.msu.edu/news/indian_pipes_oddities_of_the_plant_world.
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Example 5.5. Wildflowers: Flame Azalea, mm. 1-8.117
Example 5.6. Wildflowers: Flame Azalea, mm. 13-20.118
5.2.6 Fire Pink
Fire Pink is a fast moto perpetuo in 5/8 meter. Marked molto presto e ritmico, five eight
notes permeate the music. Frazelle states that these five notes symbolize the five petals of the
Fire Pink flower (Example 5.7).119 These flowers contain bright-red petals that are notched into
two lobes, making the texture look very sharp.120 This sharpness is evoked by the staccato
117 Frazelle, Wildflowers, 19. 118 Ibid. 119 Frazelle, Interview by Chance Israel, Zoom, January 09, 2021... 120 Charlotte Adelman and Bernard L. Schwartz, “The Midwestern Native Garden: Native Alternatives to
Nonnative Flowers and Plants: An Illustrated Guide.” (Ohio: Ohio University Press. 2011.)
51
articulation and erratic accents in high and low registers. Like the Flame Azalea, the piece is
sectional with its form being ABAB. With its moto perpetuo character, the B section presents an
intensification of the music’s brilliance (Example 5.8). The sections consist of sextuplets, rapidly
accelerating the music’s pace. Marked “raucous,” the score shows a buildup of texture, with
loud hammering octaves and chords. The intensity dies down and returns to the regular
quintuplets in the A section.
Example 5.7. Wildflowers: Fire Pink, mm. 1-5.121
Example 5.8. Wildflowers: Fire Pink, mm. 31-35.122
5.2.7 Blue Lobelia
Blue Lobelia is a tranquil piece marked lento. Its folk-like melody is doubled by the
soprano and tenor voices. The chorale of sustained harmonies that accompany the melody evokes
a pastorale quality to the music (Example 5.9).
121 Frazelle, Wildflowers, 21. 122 Ibid.
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Example 5.9. Wildflowers: Blue Lobelia, mm. 1-5.123
Example 5.10. Wildflowers: Blue Lobelia, mm. 10-19.124
These hushed chords depict the multitude of Blue Lobelias crowding the stem. As the
music’s expression intensifies, the chorale texture disintegrates into a polyphony (Example 5.10).
To music then returns to its original chorale texture proceeding its expressive peak. Overall, the
piece intimates a strophic form. Compared to the other pieces in the set, Blue Lobelia is highly
diatonic. The melody occasionally alternates between lydian and diatonic scales, but the
harmonies remain functional. Interestingly, the piece initially establishes a D-flat major harmony
123 Frazelle, Wildflowers, 23. 124 Ibid.
53
but concludes in A-flat major. Moreover, the D-flat is also sustained in the conclusion. Like the
Birdfoot Violet, the key signature is likened to the velvety blue color of the plant.125
5.2.8 Viper’s Bugloss
Viper’s Bugloss is a menacing piece replete with intense syncopated rhythmic patterns
coupled with Locrian and Lydian modes. Among the Wildflowers, Viper’s Bugloss is the most
technically demanding. The music starts very quietly and then builds up dynamics and texture.
The first part of the music consists of running sixteenth notes. As the music becomes more
intense, loud repeating octaves and chords blast through the climax. According to Frazelle the
stark, violent expression of the piece is inspired by the striking features of the Viper’s Bugloss
flower.126 The visual properties of the plant are very rough, producing long white hairs on the
stem and spikes from which the violet flowers emerge.127
Surprisingly, Frazelle derives the syncopated rhythmic pattern from sounds blasting from
passing cars’ speakers. He describes the experience of hearing such noises as terrifying. To
emulate this experience, the first few bars in Viper’s Bugloss present the motif in a subdued
manner (Example 5.11). The sound slowly unravels as dynamics slowly increase and the music
ascends to a higher register. Like the Fire Pink, Viper’s Bugloss has clear-cut sections, assuming
a semi-rondo form. However, compared to a traditional rondo, the principal theme in Viper’s
Bugloss does not return literally. Each refrain contains different pitches and texture. The only
element that is retained is the rhythm and the two-note motif that ends the beat (Example 5.12).
125 Ibid. 126 Frazelle, Interview by Chance Israel, Zoom, January 09, 2021. 127 Richard Dickinson, Tom Dickinson, & Deborah Metzger, The Rom Field Guide to Wildflowers of
Ontario, 203.
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Example 5.11. Wildflowers: Viper’s Bugloss, mm. 1-5.128
Example 5.12. Wildflowers: Viper’s Bugloss, mm. 1-5, mm. 39-42, mm. 65-66.129
Near the end of the piece, the rush of loud clashing chords and arpeggios suspends, and
the noise is sustained by the pedal. From the haze of dissonance faintly appears the theme of
Chopin’s Berceuse, Op. 57. This interjection does not last long as it is suddenly cut off by the
128 Frazelle, Wildflowers, 24. 129 Ibid.
130 F. E Kirby, “The Early Nineteenth Century: Chopin,” Music for Piano: A Short History, 185. 131 Ibid.
55
onset of thunderous repeating chords (Example 5.13). According to Frazelle, this dreamy
quotation reverses the dramatic pattern in Chopin’s nocturnes, which begin with a lyrical
calmness usually followed by a contrasting and sometimes tempestuous B section before
returning to its quiet affect.130 On the other hand, Viper’s Bugloss does the opposite: a constant
stream of intense violence is suddenly interrupted by a dreamy quotation, right before
proceeding.
Example 5.13. Wildflowers: Viper’s Bugloss, mm. 50-56.131
5.2.9 Columbine
Columbine is a short piece in two voices. Set in the higher register, the bell-like melody is
initially played by the left hand and is imitated by the right hand. My conjecture is that the bell-
like sound is a nod to the bell-shape of the Wild Columbine flower. My other theory is that the
Sicilienne motif that opens the piece imitates a birdsong, since the flower has a special affinity to
birds (Example 5.14). Its genus name - Aquilegia – is derived from the latin word Aquila, which
56
means eagle. The reason for this is the petals’ semblance to an eagle’s talons.132 Near the piece’s
conclusion, another quotation is inserted. This time, a passage from Pantalon and Columbine
makes a brief appearance (Example 5.15).
Example 5.14. Wildflowers: Columbine, mm. 1-2.133
Example 5.15. Wildflowers: Columbine, mm. 5-7.134
5.2.10 Deptford Pink
The set closes with Deptford Pink. The piece evokes simplicity in its elements. Compared
to the rhythmic complexity of the other Wildflowers, Deptford Pink runs on a simple triple meter.
Like the Blue Lobelia, its harmonic content is mostly diatonic, beginning in B minor and ending
calmly in D major. The scales alternate between diatonic and lydian modes. The melody is
played by two voices which follow and alternate each other, accompanied by austere sustained
132 “Wild Columbine: Aquilegia Canadensis,” https://wildadirondacks.org/adirondack-wildflowers-wild-
columbine-aquilegia-canadensis.html. 133 Frazelle, Wildflowers, 28. 134 Ibid.
57
chords (Example 5.16). The simplicity of the music depicts the smallness of the Deptford Pink
plant, which produces a tiny pink flower with white dots. Inscribed in the score is a dedication to
Frazelle’s friends Cary, Jonathan, and Owen. According to the composer, Owen at the time was
still a baby, hence the lullaby.
Example 5.16, Wildflowers: Deptford Pink, mm. 1-5.135
5.3 Conclusion
In Wildflowers, Frazelle achieves maximum contrast in many aspects. Each piece has an
individual texture, harmonic, and rhythmic content. Moreover, diverse styles and idioms are
employed in the piece, including singing, tango, virtuosic, and scherzando styles. Apart from the
musical content of each piece, Wildflowers presents the performer with a wide range of
programming options. While the previous pieces discussed in this treatise pay close attention to
unity, the beauty of Wildflowers lies in its focus on uniqueness and diversity.
135 Frazelle, Wildflowers, 29.
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CHAPTER 6
CONCLUSION
The pieces studied in this treatise represent only a small sample of the cornucopia of
musical gems that the composer has produced. It is therefore a difficult task to label the
composer as belonging to a certain musical movement or thought. Nevertheless, the pieces
introduce the listener to his aesthetic, style, views, and experiences. As Umberto Eco once wrote
in his novel The Name of The Rose, “books always speak of other books, and every story tells a
story that has already been told.” In the same spirit, Frazelle’s piano works speak, not only of
other musical works, but of art, wildflowers, and ultimately, of Frazelle. This treatise paves the
way for future performers and researchers into understanding the beauty of the composer’s
music. This is written in hopes that others will further study the music of Frazelle.
APPENDIX A
INTERVIEWS
Interview with Kenneth Frazelle held on Zoom, January 9, 2021.
Chance: It is remarkable how most of your works have a program. You take a lot of inspiration
from art, nature, and many other things. What aspects of your personal and professional life led
you to incorporating such themes in your compositions?
Frazelle: That’s a great question. It is something that I came to gradually. Like many composers,
I started writing music because I first played the piano. I wanted to imitate the great composers,
Chopin, Debussy, and Bartok. I would not call my pieces program music since that means that
implies a narrative. I’d say that my pieces definitely have programmatic elements to them,
meaning that they deal with words and images. At different times in my life, I did write abstract
music or “pure music.” I studied in Juilliard in the 1970’s, and at the time, it was a temple of
“high modernism.” By that, I meant music that does not express anything, music that was highly
cerebral. I like that kind of music, at the same time, I was still very turned on by poetry, plays,
watercolor. All these things gradually reentered my choices after I got out of college. When you
are young and you are studying with strong people who have committed themselves to certain
kinds of aesthetic choices – people like Elliot Carter and Milton Babbit – I admire their music a
lot and they were both influential to me in different ways. When I got out of college and moved
back South, the biggest change for me was that I became very interested in Appalachian Folk
Music. Me and my partner have a place near the blue ridge mountains. The landscape of the area
and its natural elements – weather and atmosphere – I was not consciously influenced by them,
but they are there. In the 1980’s, I composed perhaps my most difficult piece ever. The
59
60
legendary duo, Gilbert Kalish and Jan Degaetani premiered it, and they told me it “was the most
difficult piece we have ever done, and that there might be only three or four people in the world
that can play this so, better watch out.” They said, “don’t change a note of it, but just be aware of
what you are doing.” So there was a practical element in writing music that is more focused,
more concise, definitely more tonal, and a lot of that was influenced by Appalachian folk music,
the modal quality, dance rhythms, and the instrumental sounds of the banjo, fiddler, and
dulcimer. It’s like a lot of different things came together.
Chance: In one of the articles that featured your interviews, you stated that drawing and
sketching are part of your compositional process. Was any of that involved in the process of
composing Wildflowers?
Frazelle: I do not quite remember so much, but these pieces started out quite small. The first one,
the one that is played with one hand, is about the tiny white cuplike flowers that spirals around.
You could kind of see how the music does that. I thought of the music winding around the stem,
just like the flower does. I did some drawings of that flower. Sometimes I’d draw a picture that’s
more literal, but I don’t think much visual stuff about those. I tried to capture the shape, color,
and general feeling about those flowers. Like for the Viper’s Bugloss, that’s a scary flower. My
partner and I were driving across a meadow, I saw the flower and was like, “what is that? It’s
very weird, it’s pink or blue, but it’s scary. So it’s kind of fearful for both listener and player.
Chance: Regarding Viper’s Bugloss, what inspired the syncopated rhythm that’s iterated
throughout the music?
Frazelle: I don’t know if it’s conscious or not, but that rhythm reminds me of speakers blasting
from the cars that drive around. It’s as if your house almost shakes when they pass by. It
61
definitely came from that kind of thing, like when it’s 2am and you hear that sort of muffled
beat. It’s terrifying. About the Berceuse quotation from Chopin that I inserted in this piece, a lot
of slow pieces start out lyrical and then they become tumultuous. Chopin does that a lot, even in
the nocturnes, a sort of ABA kind of thing. The typical plan is slow, intense, and the slow. What
I thought about Bugloss is that of a nightmare that actually got interrupted by a lullaby. So you
get the reverse.
Chance: In Columbine, you had a similar quotation in Schumann. Was it a pun that you inserted
“Pantalone and Columbine” in Columbine?
Frazelle: Definitely. I think of these Wildflowers as Schumannesque, in terms of their mood
swings. Schumann is really good with pieces that form a larger shape, which is something I
really admire about him.
Chance: One of my favorites Wildflowers is Gaywings. I am fascinated with how the motifs
develop and there seems to be constant variation of it.
Frazelle: That’s exactly right. There’s an image there you might be interested in. Those flowers
come out in April, and not much else is growing. You see them in the bank, in the side of the
road. They are vivid pink. They look almost like toy airplanes, so I think there is something
childlike and innocent about that piece.
Chance: At first, I was little puzzled by it. It sounded very spontaneous and random at first. But
as I analyzed it more deeply, I came to know how tightly constructed it actually is.
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Frazelle: Thank you, I am glad you said that. A lot of times, people think something is
improvisatory when in fact it’s well thought out. It does feel very light. It’s hard to figure out a
tempo for that piece, so rubato is definitely permitted.
Chance: In Flame Azalea, what is the reasoning behind the tango dance?
Frazelle: I’m glad you asked that since I wanted to mention something important. Most of these
pieces were written for friends as gift for their birthdays or anniversaries. Flame Azalea is a gift
for a friend of mine who is kind of fiery. He also tends to wear a lot of orange. The Flame Azalea
flowers are native to mountains and come out pretty early in April or May. They are full of these
beautiful orange and yellow blossom. I associate Tangos to hot colors, like orange or red. So,
that’s what that’s one’s about how showy the flower is. It’s a crazy tango – well my friend’s not
crazy, but he is wild.
Chance: So these Wildflowers, I guess they’re not just depictions of flowers, but also portraits of
your friends. Some of the flowers, I have difficulty associating them to the mood of the music,
but with Indian Pipes, I definitely understand how it relates to the eeriness of the piece.
Frazelle: They’re definitely weird. I think when I first saw them, they were growing under hay. I
picked them up, and they were definitely moldy, damp, and soaked. It just has a freaky white
color. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but that piece is strictly twelve-tone. Some of my more
conservative colleagues think it’s good because of that. It’s very low in the piano, and kind of
strange.
Chance: One of my favorites is Fire Pink. Correct me if I am wrong, or if I am being too literal,
but I thought that the five eighth notes that comprise majority of the rhythmic content symbolizes
the five petals of the Fire Pink flower. Is that right?
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Frazelle: Yes, that’s absolutely right. I think you are the only person that got that. I think that one
is fun to play, almost like a toccata. I think that some of the phrases are also five measures long, I
don’t remember.
Chance: I have a practical question. Are the sextuplets crammed within the 5/8 bar to be played
faster?
Frazelle: Yes. It isn’t eighths equal to eighths, but it means you have to crowd it within the
measure.
Chance: Also, am I permitted to play the last few bars in the piece as fast as I could, like a
glissando?
Frazelle: I think that could work. This is a generalization I’ll tell you about my music. I think
performers often have the best ideas about interpretative things that are not in the score. When
you realize that it’s living and breathing music, it frees you up from taking the score too literally.
I think because of the 20th century recordings, everything in performance has become so note-
perfect. I mean, where is the improvisatory spirit? Obviously, we work very hard in putting these
notes now, but what they’re about is freer than what looks in the page. So if it’s a gut feeling to
play it like a glissando, then go for it!
Chance: The Blue Lobelia seems to be one of the more folk-like and melodic pieces in the set. Is
the folkish tune, along with its modal quality, something that came to you subconsciously? Or is
there a particular folk melody that directly inspired it?
Frazelle: I never thought about it! I never thought about it being modal or non-modal either.
Rather, I was thinking about the intense deep blue of those flowers and I knew that it had to be
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on the black keys of the piano. Kind of like Chopin, he loves D-flat and G-flat. It didn’t come
from an actual folk tune, but it came from that world.
Chance: Going back to Columbine, that is the durationally shortest Wildflowers. Is it because of
the flower’s size or lifespan?
Frazelle: They are very fragile, fernlike flowers. The ones that I know grow out of wet rocky
places. They are delicate. I like playing with things that have very different lengths, like a piece
with a five-minute section which is followed by a two-minute section. I think it’s much more
interesting for listener and performer alike, to try to inhabit these different lengths of time. This
is definitely something that I got from Chopin preludes and Beethoven’s late bagatelles.
Chance: I love how Deptford Pink ends the entire set. I also like how the melody consists of two
voices, with the right hand reacting to the left hand.
Frazelle: That is right. Someone made a recording of the piece and I said “your right hand is not
connecting to the left hand.” It’s like connecting the dots, with the right hand not making any
sense without the left hand.
Chance: I was wondering who the dedicatees of this piece are. It says here for “Carrie, Jonathan,
and Owen.”
Frazelle: They are very good friends of ours. It’s hard to believe that Owen is driving right now.
The piece itself is at least sixteen years old. Owen is the child of Jonathan and Carrie. He was a
baby at the time the piece was composed.
Chance: So that explains the lullaby feel of the piece.
Frazelle: That is correct.
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Chance: Now moving on to Elixir, I wanted to ask, why the title?
Frazelle: It’s a about the pianist Jeffrey Kahane. He’s the one, both as pianist and conductor, who
performed the most of my music. It’s incredible to have that kind of collaboration. I was guest
composer in residence at the L.A. Chamber Orchestra and he was guest conductor there for
years. For his 50th anniversary, there was a big surprise. they asked all the composers in
residence, to write a piece and play for him. Gold is the traditional metal for 50th anniversaries. I
like to think of the alchemical elixir, the substance that turns things to gold. It wasn’t
programmatic or anything, I just wanted to write a cantabile piece. A lot of my music gets
worked out into difficult places, so I wanted to write something that is like a line, a Chopin-
esque kind of cantabile. That’s what title is about.
Chance: My last question is about Roger Sessions. Your biographies seem to place emphasis on
your studies with him. What aspects of his teaching impacted you the most?
Frazelle: It was incredible, I was with him for four years. He was one of the great composers of
our time and I was awed and appreciative of his presence. When I was with him, he just turned
80. Although, he was in good physical health. He has a quiet, introverted personality. During our
lessons, he sometimes wouldn’t even come to the piano. He’d sit in silence as he looks at your
scores. He’d hear it inwardly. It’s amazing how anything that you’re insecure about – whether it
is harmony, transition, or part – he’d always point to that. He was like a magician. I asked “how
did you know that that was what I was insecure about?” and he’d reply “Well, because it doesn’t
work!” He had an impeccable sense of form and timing. There are two main things I’d say about
him. One is his interest in the idea of musical gesture and what can musical gestures do over
time? In other words, how do you create long lines? He did not mean melodies, he meant
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rhetoric. Meaning, how to develop an idea? His music is so contrapuntal that you see all these
different layers that happen over time, but there is always a clear shape, and all the lines are
going toward a unified goal, like a Bach fugue. Lines meant logic and music moving with a
certain sense of urgency. The other thing is, he was such an incredible human being. He lived
through two world wars. He saw horrible things. He had a deep understanding of the joy and
tragedy of human beings. He was as far away from the idea of a music career that seems to
permeate the music world nowadays. When I was in Juilliard, I didn’t love everything about it as
you could understand. It was also very difficult for me financially, so I had to work –
transcribing music and playing for dance classes. But my lessons with Sessions is very spiritually
uplifting. He’s a major part of how I think and breathe music. I mean, that doesn’t mean my
music is like his. But it’s like what you talked about in Gaywings, where you see this fragments
that keeps unfolding, and it took you a while to see the form. That’s what I am referring to when
I talk about gesture and the unfolding of the line.
Interview with Kenneth Frazelle held on Zoom, February 10, 2021.
Chance: Before tackling Appearances and Inventions to Marden, I’d like to know more of you
background in the arts. Could you describe your earliest encounters in art?
Frazelle: Well, in my childhood it was part of the school curriculum. There were not so much
visual arts in the family. I did have a grandmother who worked at a fabric store. She was very
crafts-y and did a lot of tiaras. She was quite visually oriented. She is also very a good painter of
the local landscapes. I remember when I was about twelve, there was this wonderful summer arts
program at the local highschool where you could sign up for six to eight weeks. At first, I took
enrolled in the band program but ended up hating that. So, the next summer, I decided to enroll
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in painting. It was very hot during the summer, and my sister and I rode our bikes to school. It
was a great way to stay inside. So that’s where I got to really enjoy painting although I didn’t do
a lot of it then. I ended up taking piano, but I did some paintings here and then. I also have a lot
of artist friends. When I was in Juilliard, I also did some drawings of landscape, and the music-
notation drawings we talked about last time. Usually when I travel, I’d rather go to the museums
than to concerts. Music is so much a part of my life and it feels like work. Although I love music,
I’d much rather go to the museum and not have to socialize with people. I am also a big fan of
the Museum of Modern Art when I was a student. I went all the time! Back them it was
inexpensive to go. Back then, to enter the Metropolitan Museum, you could pay anything you
wanted. But nowadays, you have pay around $30.00. Back then, Museums are not as crowded as
they are now. Museums have become a tourist-y thing now. A lot of people think that that is
great, but I don’t think that it is since visitors aren’t really looking at the art. I love Rembrandt
and a lot of old painters, but I am most interested in modern art, both European and American. I
also have a lot of contemporary artists that I admire. I do own a piece of Brice Marden. This is
from a series called Etchings to Rexroth. It went with a book that contained the poems of Tu Fu,
an ancient Chinese poet. You may have run across that Marden did a lot of art that is based on
Asian calligraphy. This [Etchings to Rexroth] is based on that calligraphic drawing and painting.
It was a real splurge, but I loved it.
Chance: My second question also has something to do with what you just said. Can you describe
your first encounters with Brice Marden’s art?
Frazelle: That’s a good question. I have heard about him for decades. In the 60’s or 70’s, he did a
lot of very minimal paintings. I knew about those but I honestly did not know exactly how I got
to him. It would have been in the 1990’s. I was really into him when I was writing these pieces.
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He had a big retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art and his paintings got really big now,
they worth millions of dollars. I even met him once. I sent him a recording of the Inventions and
he told me that he listened to it as he was driving the country.
Chance: I did a lot of research on Marden. One of the artworks that struck me was the Cold
Mountain series. I am not a very visual person, especially with modern abstract art and honestly I
have a hard time appreciating it at first. Thinking about that, and I know you really got into
Marden’s paintings, what factors in his art made you compose the Inventions?
Frazelle: I think just the more I look at them, especially the ones with the calligraphic Asian
influence. To me they’re very lyrical with rhythm-like shapes with the way they kind of dance
within the picture frame. They seem very alive to me and very much like counter point and if
you look at some of them that are more ribbon like that have some of these loops in them, it’s
really interesting to try and figure out. It’s almost like there’s this game that he’s playing; like if
you try to follow the red you’ll see that he doesn’t have a yellow that crosses the red or he never
lets the blue intersect with other colors. There’s a strategy there that’s really interesting to me
which reminds me of Bach like canons and fugal things and just the interaction of different lines.
Obviously, Jackson Pollock was very much an influence on him with the all over dripping. And
do you know Franz Kline? He was with Jackson Pollock and others, there are all these great
painters. They call them The New York School or abstract expressionist painters in the 40s and
50s, and that was their big heyday. Of course, Brice Marden was a generation younger than them
but he was very much influenced by those abstract expressionists and the idea of writing and
calligraphy was a big influence on some of those mid-century, modern people. Some of them
were studying Zen and went up to Columbia University where there’s this man Suzuki who
introduced a lot of Zen ideas into the western world. That’s very much a part of Marden’s
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sensibility too. He collects these ancient Chinese scholar’s rocks that you put on a table to study
and it’s quite interesting. When he got into calligraphy, the Asian influence is really great, I think
they’re some of the greatest paintings being made today. I don’t remember having an exact
moment why I wanted to do these inventions but two things come to mind that have to do with
the timing of it. One is that I started teaching a counterpoint class. Looking into those paintings
and thinking of counterpoint really made me want to write some inventions that are kind of
polyphonic. They’re not like Bach inventions of course but a lot of it is contrapuntal. The other
thing is the school did a big 50th birthday party for me that was 15 years ago and they did a
concert of my music and asked me if I wanted to play something and I said “Well, let me write
something new for it.” So that’s where I did these for the first time. So it was a really nice
evening and at the end they came out and said there was going to be a scholarship for
compositions students named after me. They have raised $30,000 which I could not believe and a
friend of mine said “too bad they won’t give me the money.” It was very moving so, the reason I
decided to write the piece was for this occasion and I don’t think anybody’s played them, except
you and me. If I write a piece that isn’t played very often I kind of forget it. It would come back
pretty fast if I had to play them again. I would listen to them and they’re kind of familiar but also
I heard them really fresh, not in ten years. For me they’re kind of a whole different thing and I
think they’re very abstract but also very emotional in a way.
Chance: One thing I wrote about your compositions as I’m working on my document right now,
my observation so far is that I feel like most of your compositions have a very human and
personal feeling to them. There’s rarely any composition that sounded like a technical exercise.
Frazelle: I appreciate that because obviously there’s a tremendous amount of technique involved
in composing—even badly. Composing is hard work but if it sounds effortless or human, that’s
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great. Some people think it’s very improvisatory - which I think is a good thing – but it certainly
isn’t. There’s a tremendous amount of the mind involved. I has got to communicate or to me
there’s no point. I think there are a lot of modernist things about my music but I never bought
into this whole thing that it should not express, I mean to me it should express a lot and that’s
what I’m after. What those things are, I don’t have the word for it, but I thought there was a lot
of lyricism and kind of poignancy in this pieces that are kind of wistful in a way.
Chance: In one of the descriptions in your website saying that you are interested in the
contrapuntal element, as well as the fantasy element in inventions and I was wondering, because
I have not studied the genre of invention so much, is there really a fantasy element to it?
Frazelle: Some people call the Three-Part Sinfonias, Inventions also. Do you know the Three-
Part ones?
Chance: I’ve studied a couple of them when I was little.
Frazelle: I think the Three-Part are on a whole different level of musicality and they’re all
incredible but the Three-Part is able to make these transcendental pieces of music. To me, what I
take from inventions aside from contrapuntal things is this whole idea of rhetoric; like in a
debate. It goes back to the ancient Greeks actually. We had a renaissance in Germany in terms of
presenting an idea and then restating or redeveloping an idea and going through all these
imaginative diversions or episodes. I think in the inventions Bach is trying to put over an idea
and showing you what you can do with it. I think it’s in the publication of the Two-Part
Inventions where he says something like, of course it’s in German, “These pieces are not just for
the fingers—the training of the fingers. But also to show you how I compose.” Which is really
interesting. It’s almost like he’s consciously letting us in to how imaginative, like all he could
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wring out. It’s fantastic what he does with it. They’re all amazing pieces. And of course you’re
convinced at the end depending on how you want to debate by your commitment to an idea. So
there were these, some say three or five stages of rhetoric when people study Greek oratory
debate. Have you ever been on a debate team?
Chance: I tried observing once but I figured it wasn’t for me.
Frazzlle: I haven’t done it either but I know it relates to this musical idea of statement. It also
relates to sonata allegro form in a sense when you think about exposition development and recap.
I mean of course the sonata allegro is a more dramatic form and a more extended form. But in
that way the idea of stating something simply and then getting what you can out of it, I definitely
was doing that in these Marden inventions.
Chance: As I was putting in some markings in my analysis of some pieces, sometimes I have a
tendency to just get stuck in one idea and to overfocus on its motivic aspect. At times I do get
lost as to what to analyze and what to look for. Do you have any advice on how to approach
things differently? Because sometimes I get stuck on thinking “Oh, this might be a pattern and
this is just like an augmentation of motif, diminution or whatsoever.” But as I was writing I think
it’s absurd to just label all the parts.
Frazelle: That’s tough because I don’t analyze them. I deal on some level but not the way that
you’re talking about because for me, to analyze something it would have to be something from
somebody else that I would be looking at objectively. To me analysis is looking back at
something that already exists. I could give you a very sophisticated analysis of this but it
wouldn’t be something that I thought of at the time because my process is very intuitive. Did we
talk about Brahms and that whole idea of developing variation?
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Chance: Not yet.
Frazelle: There’s a great book about that called “Brahms and the Art of Continuing
Development” or something like that by a guy named Walter Frisch. I read that book 15, 20
years ago and I thought that was the best book about composing that I have ever read because it
shows you how Brahms presents an idea and then commits to that idea and there are all these
incredible connections to the first idea that occur whether it’s in the B-flat concerto or the F-
minor quintet. It really kind of knocked my socks of because it wasn’t like dry analysis. It’s
really showing you what the music is doing from moment to moment and how it relates to what
came before and that’s something that I strive for, not intellectually, but my intuition works that
way anyway. I’m not saying I’m Brahms but I’m saying that there’s a continuity and a
commitment to ideas that I developed even in the shortest pieces and I think that as young
composers, we and they, it’s really easy to string a bunch of ideas that don’t really relate. That’s
the easiest way to compose—just put a bunch of things together. But to make something that has
an organic unity, probably the best way to put it, is what I strive to do. It doesn’t mean that there
can’t be contrast of course but it’s almost like a narrative that has to have it’s own sort of logic.
Like if you look at the Schubert song cycles, there could be a traveler that goes through all kinds
of weather and love sickness and craziness and all that but it still remains a journey that makes
sense.
Chance: A lot of things that I’ve gotten from the inventions, and this is still partial, I like how in
the very end of the last piece you’ve kind of quoted the very beginning.
Frazelle: I like you that zeroed in on that because I thought that was one of the best things in the
whole thing and I listened to it last night. I’ve got to tell you something funny, the last note of the
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last one, at first when I wrote it as a really harsh staccato note and a friend of mine said “That is
ridiculous, it just doesn’t work”. And he said hold it, and I think it does work it’s just sort of a
piercing forth. I don’t know if I wrote this or not but I do remember the last one, there’s a Brice
Marden painting. It’s called “The Muses” like the inspiration, the Greek gods. They were these
women, I think seven or nine, and they go with each of the arts, philosophy and all that. They’re
tricksters, they live up on Mount Olympus and there’s something about the poets, the composers,
the mathematicians or whatever, they wait to get their inspiration from these women and
sometimes it’s not available and it’s sort of a funny thing. I can’t quite articulate it but it’s almost
like they played tricks in artists where they’re there for them and other times they’re not. Like
inspiration. And I like the idea of them kind of doing a flirtatious dance with the people on earth
and that’s what this is about. I don’t know much about ancient music history but people think
Greek music had a lot of fives, sevens in it that went with their language and poetry so it had a
lot to do with the time signature, kind of dance-like.
Chance: I like how over time, there’s just much more and more layers that keeps adding up to the
texture and that’s one of the things that I’ve observed in your piano writing. There’s a lot of held
pedal and it’s probably one of the most difficult things to pull off. Could you say that it’s also a
way for you to give off the harmonic content of the pieces? It’s not just the common practice I-
IV-V-I whatsoever but having that pedal makes everything so much easier to know where we
are.
Frazelle: You’re right about reinforcing the harmony. It’s also a way of kind of using the piano
in a more orchestral way. I use a lot of wide open intervals that are kind of all over the place like
Webern or something. Not that the harmony is like Webern but there’s a lot of like pointillistic
stuff that goes on at times and the pedal can connect those things in a way to achieve a harmonic
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glow. In this cello sonata that I wrote for Jeffrey Kahane and Yo-Yo Ma, one of them was a
presto like in five very much like this last Marden piece and Jeffrey started playing it and the
piano started doing this all over the piano pointillistic 5/8 forte stuff and Yo-Yo said, “Don’t
pedal it so much, make it really percussive and rhythm it more like Bartok or something,” and
Jeff said, “I’m sure he doesn’t want that.” And Yo-Yo said, “It’s much easier for me to count if
you play it that way.” So I felt that it was really funny that they were fighting about that. I was
very flattered. But I do love things that are flooded with pedal, in my own music but oddly
enough I’ve been going through some Beethoven sonatas the past few weeks and the older I get,
the less pedal I like to use in other people’s music. I’m just focusing more on how clean the lines
are and some of those Beethoven piano Sonatas, they would work as string quartets. So well
thought out that all the voices are there most of the time and there’s not a reason to blur anything.
I mean when you get in the Op. 111, it’s a different story.
Chance: As I was practicing the Inventions, I find the simplicity and brevity No. 4 striking,
compared to the other pieces in the set. What aspects of Brice Marden’s art do you associate this
part with?
Frazelle: Interestingly, I think one and four are related in terms of there’s kind of a very clean
very sparing quality to both of them. I thought of them really like if you were to zero in on one
hexagram or one Chinese character. Not a bunch of them in the last movement but if you could
just focus on one black and white ink character. And also, this is an extra personal music thing
but No. 4 was written for a Chinese friend of mine and she has a really wicked sense of humor
where she can insult somebody or say something kind of really mean just like in two words. I
don’t the piece is sarcastic but I felt that because there was a sparing quality it really seemed like
it had a more Asian sensibility of having space around it.
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Chance: My personal favorite was Invention No. 3. When I was first analyzing this maybe I got
too much into the technical detail. I actually did ask one of my painter friends to listen to your
music and look at Brice Marden’s pieces and what’s funny is she actually got more out of it than
I did with all the musical stuff. My friend, she wasn’t so familiar with Brice Marden’s art, but
she quickly understood it quickly because she’s a painter. She listened to your music, she’s not a
professional musician by any means. She listened to it and said, “I know what this is about but I
could hear the swirls, the pointillistic stuff, the calligraphic stuff.” I found it kind of really
amazing that it actually made sense when I asked her about it. It’s kind of just funny hearing
other people’s perspective about music and sometimes they get more out of it than my learned
mind could ever get.
Frazelle: I know what you mean. Because we study so much theory and as a pianist you spend
hours and hours a day trying to figure out these dots on a page and sometimes we miss the
essence of what something is because theory has become so solidified that you’re supposed to be
looking for this. But I don’t think the way theory is usually taught really gets to what happens in
pieces of music. I-IV-V-I doesn’t really tell you about Mozart. The second theme of this piece on
page eleven, I don’t know why I kind of really like that. It seems like something out of
Prokofiev’s sad clown kind of world.
Chance: I thought it would’ve been a diminution of the augmentation of the first four notes of the
piece and then I just realized that it’s a D on the first four notes so probably not.
Frazelle: You know what’s interesting that the second measure of this piece has the same A & D
that the last movement ended with. I just noticed that. See I don’t think that way when I’m
writing but there it is.
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Chance: One of the things that really interest me is that in this movement, like in the middle,
there’s this swing beat that it just kind of drives through and right after that you put “evaporate”
and suddenly it’s like a really learned Bachian style and I just find it intriguing how things were
interweaved in such a smooth way and yet they’re so different. In some ways it’s like a dream
where there’s an episode that fades to another. Is there an aspect in Brice Marden’s art that you
think is related to it?
Frazelle: I’m not sure because if you think about the paintings just one by one, I think they
contain pretty much just one idea but I think you’re onto something because sometimes he puts
those paintings together and one of them might have like three or four different colors. The ones
with the ribbons and then he might put another one beside it that has the same three or four
colors. The proportions are different or sometimes he’ll put five together. So I think you use
words like dreamlike or episodic, I think that makes sense for something like this. I don’t think I
was thinking that at the time because I don’t even know if I knew about those panel paintings
might’ve come after this actually. Definitely on seventeen after the swing stuff and the
evaporation, I definitely felt like it needed something very stable and contrapuntal kind of like
those quarter notes are very metric even though the sixteenth notes and the fives are related to
the fantasy-like stuff.
Chance: The way that this piece ends with the trill, for me there’s something ambiguous about it.
Is it like because your plan is to continue onto the next piece?
Frazelle: I’m looking at my performance copy and I wrote on the last page “Wait, hold, wait.”
Like I wanted a really long fermata but if you look at some of the key relationships and I think
because what the trill does for the b-flat that it relates to the fourth piece which is sort of b-flat
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minor. I think the trill is not the ending of something, it’s waiting for something to happen. I
don’t remember if I lifted the pedal or not. I think there are a lot of different ways you could go
with it. But the main thing is to take a lot of time in that final held c-flat.
Chance: I like all of them but I always have a different impression of the second movement as I
play it. It seems invention-like to me at first but after I keep playing it, my theory is that since the
note values can be more diminished over time. Let’s say like in the cantabile e semplice it’s kind
of like a horizontalization of the vertical chords in the beginning and as time goes the the pieces
goies, not faster, but moving with the eighth notes.
Frazelle: On page five I wrote “move.”
Chance: I also have a performance question with regards to the sixteenth notes and the eighth
notes. Sometimes I end up naturally playing it an eighth note instead of a sixteenth note.
Frazelle: I think they can do different things. I don’t think they ought to be the same. I think the
sixteenth note was the closest thing that I felt since I think page five moves a little bit. I could see
them becoming more dramatic. To me it’s an odd little gesture that I like. I don’t know what it is
or what it means but if I were orchestrating it it could be like a muted trumpet. And it also
reminds me of like a pingpong ball. The pingpong ball always has a little bit kind of bounce.
Chance: Like a ricochet.
Frazelle: That’s it. That’s exactly right. The other thing you might be interested in the second one
is I know that I was consciously trying to get away from some of my piano writing can be very
thin-sounding and I definitely wanted a thicker kind of more Brahmsian or Rachmaninoff. You
know kind of pretty thick writing at the beginning and that was very conscious.
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Chance: I have the score for Appearances. For me the writing, there’s a lot of differences in your
2005 and 2006 works. This was much earlier isn’t it? Like 1999.
Frazelle: I probably wrote it in 1999 for a premiere in 2000. There was something at the
University of North Carolina in Greensborough which is about thirty minutes from here. There
were six pianists in the faculty and each person shows a composer to write a piece so they
premiered them over a series of concerts for each of our music every night for a week.
Chance: One of the most obvious difference between these and the Marden pieces is that the
pieces tend to be more like- I know they have a basic shape but at the same time they kind of
remind me of wildflowers how everything is kind of not attached compared to the Brice Marden
pieces. Like there’s always a double bar at the end and the pieces conclude by themselves.
Frazelle: I think the Marden pieces are tighter in a way, it makes more of an arch. These really
are like preludes that could be played in any order. I think these are looser in a way.
Chance: Is there a programmatic element behind the dedications?
Frazelle: I don’t know that these have so much of a programmatic thing. I mean I think that No.
4 is kind of like pop sounding, kind of jazzy. Just kind of fun, for me it’s pretty light. It’s kind of
Broadway— very fun Americana.
Chance: As you were composing this were you thinking about the style of painting by Paul
Cezanne or is it more of the subject of his art works?
Frazelle: I think it has more to do with- there’s kind of a precision with his vision that it’s so
specific and there’s a clarity that I’m after. It’s like looking at his watercolor, every single brush
stroke matters and he’s very lean in that kind of way. And even in the first one is kind of
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contrapuntal. The first one is actually in three voices which is I think unusual for me but I
remember working hard on that one. I wanted every note to matter, there’s not a lot of filler. It
doesn’t connect to the painting in the way it looks it’s more like the focus and precision of his
technique and his eye. Absolutely one of my favorite painters of all time. I think the second one
is very nature-oriented, there’s kind of a wildness to it. It probably related to that Gaywings
wildflower thing.
Chance: I really like this movement the figurations around measure 19 and it’s really fun to play.
Frazelle: I thought it was hard— the repeated notes. But you’re a real pianist. The third one is
kind of a wedding present even though it’s a somber piece.
Chance: I just have a hard time approaching the accelerando. There’s sort of like a texture to it.
Five, six, seven kind of reminds me of some of Bartok’s Mikrokosmos, not the way they sound
but the way they look like.
Frazelle: Especially Number Six could be like a Romanian folk dance. No. 6 also relates to the
last of the Marden pieces in terms of the seven and the fives, the dance-like quality. Of course
this one is really just in two voices. I think five and seven are very related. They have a similar
feeling and it’s interesting that they both have the c-sharp in the first measure. It’s not a big deal
but I think in some ways I thought of seven responding to five in a way. Five was written for a
friend of mine who’s a real modernist, he writes electronic music and there might even be serial
elements in these but I don’t remember. There’s some Copland music that’s very severe like the
variations and parts of the sonata. This to me fits into the more angular kind of sound world. And
the last one was written for a friend of mine who was a very well-known curator, he worked for
the Smithsonian museum in Washington. He was a real modernist; he really didn’t like my stuff
80
that dealt with Blue Ridge. A lot of modernists have a real attitude about certain kinds of music,
like people that just dismiss Copland or something which is ridiculous because Copland was kind
of a modernist when he wanted to be. You know the Copland Fantasy? That is one of the greatest
piano pieces of the 20th century and it’s like 35-40 minutes long, it’s very rarely played but it’s a
knockout piece. It’s one of my favorite pieces of all time and there’s not one note of Americana
in it. It’s based on a 10-note row believe it or not.
Chance: Now that I think about it there’s a lot of differences in style for each piece. As you said
some of it is like Americana and some of it is like Modernism and as I read in your website you
trying to detail more on the evolution of Paul Cezanne’s style rather than trying to depict exact
pictures.
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APPENDIX B
SCORE EXCERPT USE AND PUBLISHER ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Kenneth Frazelle: Elixir
Copyright © 2007 by Notevole Music Publishing, a division of Subito Music Corp.
Used by permission.
Kenneth Frazelle: Inventions to Marden
Copyright © 2006 by Notevole Music Publishing, a division of Subito Music Corp.
Used by permission.
Kenneth Frazelle: Appearances
Copyright © 2001 by Notevole Music Publishing, a division of Subito Music Corp.
Used by permission.
Kenneth Frazelle: Wildflowers (from Sonata-Fantasy)
Copyright © 2004 by Notevole Music Publishing, a division of Subito Music Corp.
Used by permission.
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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Chance Elan Israel has performed internationally, having appeared in Japan, Italy,
Taiwan, the Philippines, and the U.S. His notable successes include winning at the Osaka
International Music Competition, Rockwood Piano Competition, Tampa Bay Concerto
Competition, Lyric Chamber Society Competition, Lynn Concerto Competition, and the South
Florida Young Artist Competition among others. He has played solo with various orchestras,
such as the Tampa Bay Symphony, Lynn Philharmonia, Suzuki String Orchestra, and the Manila
Community Orchestra. Chance hails from Manila, Philippines and is currently pursuing his
Doctor of Music in Piano Performance at Florida State University under the tutelage of Dr. Stijn
De Cock. He has earned his Master’s and Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance at
Lynn University under Dr. Roberta Rust.