d  i  s  s  i  d  e  n  t

a r t i s t : Morton Feldman Arthur Schnabel
d a t e : 1995
l a b e l : cp2
g e n r e : Avantgarde
r l s.  d a t e : may 21 2002
t r a c k s : 5
b i t r a t e : 192k
s i z e : 59MB

Form and Process In Morton Feldman's Spring of Chosroes
Terrance Paynter
SUNY Buffalo
The music of Morton Feldman has been noted for the sense of
stasis and linear discontinuity it projects. However, recent
analytic studies have shown that linear processes direct the
horizontal dimension. This paper investigates process and
form in Feldman's Spring of Chosroes (1977) by segmenting
the piece into discrete units called modules that are
affiliated by coincident structural features and by
developmental relationships. The interconnected modules,
particularly those that share aspects of pitch, rhythm, and
register, articulate form.
Two processes -- extension and development -- produce local
and large-scale structures. When pitch classes and rhthyms
are extended, they generate coherent patterns that determine
the identities of modules. Connections between adjacent
modules create local continuities, and large formal
relationships arise when structural features of modules are
extended to other, noncontiguous modules. Three-part form
(ABA') arises when aspects of modules in section A are
extended to their counterparts in section A'. In section B,
parallelisms articulate palindromic relationships.
Developmental processes create organic unity, as welll as
linearity within some modules, and connect two sets of
noncontiguous modules that form large-scale frameworks. Once
of these sets comprises a three-part structure that reaches
from the beginning of the piece to the end. The other,
palindromically related set, lies within these temporal
extremes. The nested relationship between the palindromic
set and its lengthier counterpart echoes the ABA' formal
plan. The music is structurally weighted toward the central
module in each set -- each module bisects a set of
palindromically related modules, and together they bisect
the piece as a whole.

paul zukofsky, violin
ursula oppens, piano

01 Spring of chosroes
02 Sonata 1
03 Sonata 2
04 Sonata 3
05 Sonata 4

e m a i l: diss@subdimension.com
inventas vitam iuvat excoluisse per artes