Hello. My name is George Marshall and I am the founder of Any Old Music. I am a composer with over 10-years of experience, having completed work on 50+ projects for video-games, films and the concert hall. In 2020, I completed my doctorate in Music Composition. My PhD was on constraint and how it emerges in creative projects. For example, team discussions in video-game projects. If a video-game team presented a mood-board and certain briefs, these constrain and challenge the composer to compose in a particular way or style. Less quantifiable than, say, the application of serialism, but probably just as (if not more) constraining and creatively directing. It was during my PhD that I realised that there would only be two outcomes for me as a composer: I became a professional composer who needed to compose lots of music in not enough time. I became an amateur/hobbyist or semi-professional composer who needed to compose less music but still with not enough time. With this in mind I eventually opted for something more along the lines of semi-professional, but with an ambition of setting up Any Old Music as a means of helping similarly time strapped music makers. Particularly those in the second group, the hobbyists and semi-professionals, whose composing competes much more for time against other aspects of life. Composition is incredibly rewarding. You never stop learning and developing as a composer. Furthermore, many of us boast renegade autodidactic personalities to a certain extent. My hope is that Any Old Music’s self-paced composition courses can help composers to continue growing, by learning through creating and doing so in their own time.
Three motifs. One movement.
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One thing worth noticing in Åse’s Death is that, although the two melodies contrast strongly in character, they are not truly independent of one another. Instead, Grieg builds both from a very small pool of material. If you are joining this series partway through, over the past few weeks we have explored:
Melody 2: Phrases and IdeasToday I would like to turn to Melody 2: the melody that defines the B section of the piece. Like Melody 1, Melody 2 spans 8 bars and divides into two 4-bar phrases. In the previous analysis, I separated phrases and ideas more clearly because the harmonic phrase structure and thematic grouping did not align perfectly. Here, however, the larger thematic ideas align closely with the phrase structure itself. Rather than presenting a clear a b a b’ structure, the melody behaves more as two large parallel phrase units: 1 & 2. The second phrase is essentially a transposed version of the first, shifted down by a perfect 5th. We could, therefore, hear the structure more generally as a pair of similar ideas/phrases: a a’ The second phrase is not entirely identical, but behaves primarily as a transposed parallel of the first. The important point is that Grieg achieves continuity not through large amounts of new material, but through repetition, sequencing, and subtle variation. If you open this week’s annotated score, you will see the motivic labels added directly onto the melody. A quick note on the labelsBefore continuing, a quick note on the labels: I have changed them slighlty. Upward transpositions now use.a '+' symbol in them (if there were a downward motif I would use a '-'.) D indicates a diatonic sequential transposition of the motif within the key, while M indicates a major interval. The accompanying number identifies the interval size: 2 = 2nd; 5 = 5th; 6 = 6th. V indicates a variant form of the motif in which the intervallic structure has been altered. For example:
Variants of motif yThe melody itself is built solely from variants of motif y: the descending cadential figure first heard in Melody 1. In the opening phrase, Grieg repeatedly transforms the motif into chromatic variants: yV+M6 The contour and expressive function remain recognisably connected to the original motif, even though the intervallic structure has changed. The phrase eventually closes with a clearer return of the original idea through: y+D5 In the second phrase, the same approach returns a 5th lower: yV+M2 before finally resolving back to the original form of y itself. Economy of materialWhat begins to emerge is a remarkable level of economy. Although the melodies initially sound contrasting, they are constructed from closely related motivic material. In fact, much of the entire movement grows from just three core motifs:
From these few ideas, Grieg constructs two melodies, two contrasting sections, and ultimately the whole movement. This, perhaps, is one of the most important compositional lessons in Åse’s Death: Expression does not necessarily come from constant invention. Often it comes from restraint, transformation, and careful reuse of material. The listener, therefore, can comprehend, appreciate and lose themselves to the music. Rather than trying to make sense of constant change. Closing thoughtsIf you do take a look at the score, I would be interested to hear what stands out to you. Does the movement still feel highly contrasting once the shared motivic material becomes visible? Or does it begin to feel more unified beneath the surface? As always, if you have any questions or thoughts, I would be delighted to hear them. All the best, George P.S. If you would like to explore more of Grieg’s compositional and orchestration techniques, you can find my Learning from Grieg course here. P.P.S. If you have had enough of hearing from me, please unsubscribe using the link below, cheers and cheerio: |
Any Old Music
Hello. My name is George Marshall and I am the founder of Any Old Music. I am a composer with over 10-years of experience, having completed work on 50+ projects for video-games, films and the concert hall. In 2020, I completed my doctorate in Music Composition. My PhD was on constraint and how it emerges in creative projects. For example, team discussions in video-game projects. If a video-game team presented a mood-board and certain briefs, these constrain and challenge the composer to compose in a particular way or style. Less quantifiable than, say, the application of serialism, but probably just as (if not more) constraining and creatively directing. It was during my PhD that I realised that there would only be two outcomes for me as a composer: I became a professional composer who needed to compose lots of music in not enough time. I became an amateur/hobbyist or semi-professional composer who needed to compose less music but still with not enough time. With this in mind I eventually opted for something more along the lines of semi-professional, but with an ambition of setting up Any Old Music as a means of helping similarly time strapped music makers. Particularly those in the second group, the hobbyists and semi-professionals, whose composing competes much more for time against other aspects of life. Composition is incredibly rewarding. You never stop learning and developing as a composer. Furthermore, many of us boast renegade autodidactic personalities to a certain extent. My hope is that Any Old Music’s self-paced composition courses can help composers to continue growing, by learning through creating and doing so in their own time.
We discovered a couple of weeks back that Edvard Grieg’s Ase’s Death is a binary form composition built around two melodies, with each section having its own material. In section A there is melody 1 (T1), and in section B there is melody 2 (T2). Today I want to look at how Grieg constructs melody 1, breaking down its phrase structure, the sub-phrase structure that I will call ideas, and the motifs that comprise and distinguish those ideas. Here is a PDF that includes annotations and analysis...
One thing I have never really liked about some theory, analytical, and pedagogical composition books that deal with form is how they present it. They will often tell you that a piece uses ternary form. Or sonata form. Or, as we discovered with Grieg last week: binary form in Åse’s Death. This week's annotated score/analysis: Arrangement - Åse's Death.pdf The Problem with How Form Is Often Taught However, for the student, this can create false understandings, misconceptions, and...
The longing son, weeping for a dying mother: Åse’s Death is one of the most moving moments in Grieg’s music. Yet the music avoids the melodrama we often associate with the Romantic era. Instead, it is restrained and respectful: music that mourns quietly while still expressing deep emotion and yearning. Background: Peer Gynt Åse’s Death is the second movement of Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite, drawn from the incidental music he wrote for fellow Norwegian Henrik Ibsen’s play of the same name (first...