Compare and Contrast Texture, Rhythm and Structure in

Stravinsky, Cage and Sweelinck

Ethan Hoad

The texture of the Sweelinck is predominantly homophonic and largely in four

parts for example bar 7. Five part writing is used at the beginning and end of
sections to add weight, for example bar 1 and bar 16, the beginning and end of
the A section.

There is counterpoint throughout such as in the third bar between the melody
and second voice. There is also imitation between parts, such as in bars four and
five where the melody in bar 5 imitates the alto in bar four. The tenor line also
has this phrase after the melody (bar 5 beat 3).

For more decorated sections there are often fewer parts, like bar 17, where after
the first quaver only the melody and bass play.

The Stravinsky Gavotta begins with a four part texture, and variation 1 begins
with a two part texture.

In the Vivo the solo double bass often doubles the Trombone an octave lower, for
example the first three bars. Additionally, there is heterophony in bar 38 with the
flutes playing a more decorated version of the trumpet part.

There is monophony in sonata II bar 1, although Sonata I is largely homophonic,

like from bar 20 to 26. Sonata II has a lot of two part writing, for example Bars
24-29.

In the Sweelinck, the A section features the melody with a rhythm closer to the
original Dowland version and thus is largely comprised of simple rhythms and
rarely semiquavers. In A1, there is rhythmic interest added with semiquavers
such as bar 17, which is an ornamented version of bar 1.

The Gavotta (Stravinsky) theme is in cut common time. Variation I is in

compound duple time (6/8). Variation II is in 4/4

Variation II contains written out ornamentation in 5 11 and 12 tuplets, seen in

Bar 1.

The Vivo has demisemiquavers in the bass part, for example bar 2.

There is a pause for dramatic effect in bar 65 of the Vivo.

Cage uses many time signatures. Sonata I begins in 2/2 but uses 7/4 6/4 9/8 and
2/4 also.

Cage uses ostinato such as in Sonata II from bar 17-19 in the left hand.
In bars 2-3 Cage uses rhythmic displacement in the left hand phrase. Cage also
uses silence periodically, such as bars 6 and 9 of sonata II. There is also much
syncopation throughout and use of a ritardando in bar 10 sonata I.

The Sweelinck is in 3 sections each of which is repeated with variation, making

the structure A, A1, B, B1, C, C1.

The structure of the Gavotta is theme and variations with two variations.

The theme and variations are in simple binary form. In the theme and first
variation the first half is repeated but not the second. In variation two both parts
are repeated.

The Vivo is in rounded binary form. The first half modulates to the dominant in
bar 21, but then immediately returns to the tonic in bar 22. It returns to the
dominant in bar 25 when the section begins in proper.

Each Cage sonata is in binary form with each section repeated.

The structure of each sonata has a numerical basis. Sonata 1 is based on the
number 7, using units of double dotted semibreves (seven crotchets) broken into
phrases of 4 1 3, 4 1 3 , 4 2 , 4 2. Section A is made up of passages of length 4 1
and 3 double dotted semibreves. Section B uses the 4 2 idea. In sonata II the
length of each element relates to the number 31. Sonata III uses the number 34
as its basis for structure.