You must have the latest version of Macromedia's free Flash plugin to play the musical examples. Now that we have established how musical identity is created, it is time to study the language of transformation. Literature is filled with stories of transformation: In the legend of King Arthur, a commoner becomes the ruler of England; in George Bernard Shaw’s “Pygmalion,” a humble flower girl becomes a “fair lady”; in Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” a miserable miser is transformed into a generous benefactor; in the legend of Siddharta, an Indian Prince gives us his belongings to achieve enlightenment. Scrooge meets his ghosts; Eliza Doolittle studies diction. How is a musical idea transformed? In music, transformation is achieved through dynamic repetition. Whereas literal repetition repeats the music with all its aspects intact, in dynamic repetition, some new element or quality is added: That is, one or more aspects of the musical material are kept constant while others change. We will first examine how dynamic repetition can refashion an entire theme. We will then study how dynamic repetition itself is accelerated and intensified through fragmentation.

Preserving the Melody Transposition is one of the most basic ways of creating dynamic repetition. In its simplest form, an entire musical passage is shifted up or down, as if it were riding in an elevator. Preserving the melody but changing its speed modifies the repetition. To evoke a Witches’ Sabbath in the final movement of his Symphonie Fantastique, Hector Berlioz quotes the “Dies Irae,” the Latin hymn for the dead from the Requiem Mass. Each phrase of the “Dies Irae” is played at three different speeds: First, slow by the low brass; faster and in harmony by the middle range brass; and faster still by the woodwinds. The melody of Thelonius Monk’s Brilliant Corners is first played at a leisurely pace, then quickens. Varying the register, instrumentation or accompaniment—either individually or collectively—offers ways to presents a theme in a new light. In this excerpt from Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6, the repetition of the lyrical theme is refreshed by a change of register, instrumentation and accompaniment. The theme passes from the cellos to the woodwinds. The repetition in this excerpt from Leonard Bernstein’s Candide Overture is revitalized in a similar way: This time, the theme passes upwards from the cellos to the violins, as the accompaniment becomes more lush. Olivier Messaien’s Turangalila Symphonie offers an example where only the accompaniment changes. At first, the spiky, rhythmically exacting theme is presented over a spare, murmuring background, accentuated by the percussion. As the theme is prolonged, its support becomes more ornate, with elaborate piano figuration. Embellishing a melody enlivens its repetition. The strings initially present the theme of the slow movement of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5, “Emperor.” Later in the movement, the piano presents an embellished version of the theme. Thelonius Monk’s Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are is based on the following theme: In this excerpt, Monk’s fanciful improvisation leaves just enough details intact to make the original melody still recognizable. Preserving the contour—the shape of a melody, but not its exact details—is another way of creating dynamic repetition. Franz Schubert’s String Quartet in G opens with the following declamation: Later in the work, the opening statement is restored, but with its details radically changed: The originally jagged rhythms are “smoothed out;” the texture includes plucked strings; the harmony is different. The theme is recognizable primarily from its contour. The opening theme of the first movement of Bela Bartok’s Music for Strings, Percussion and Celeste is presented by the violas, alone. In the Finale movement, Bartok restores this theme. However, the initially cramped tune is “opened up:” While its contour is maintained, the arcs of its motion are now wider. The addition of lush harmony further invigorates the theme’s recurrence. Changing clothing can make our physical appearance look different. Similarly, varying the harmony can “dress up” a theme in different ways. Here are three different harmonizations of the Promenade theme from Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. In these excerpts, the nearly “unclothed” theme of Claude Debussy’s La fille aux cheveux de lin, is followed by two different harmonizations. In tonal music, playing a melody in the opposite mode creates a very significant change. This melody from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Symphony no. 38, “Prague,” is first played in Major, then switches to minor before reclaiming Major. Conversely, the primary theme from the first movement of Franz Schubert’s String Quartet in a-minor is first played in minor, then switches to Major, before returning abruptly back to minor. Thus, we have seen how a melody may be preserved, but its repetition varied through changes in speed, instrumentation, accompaniment and harmony. The most rigorous and self-sufficient way of building on melodic identity is a canon. Like a round, a canon is based on imitation. In a round, the voices are cyclical: Like a merry-go-round, the voices keep replaying the same tune and underlying harmonic progression over and over again. A canon, on the other hand, is through-composed: Rather than turning around in circles, the melody and underlying progression keep moving forward. Thus, our distinction: rounds maintain the identity of a theme, whereas canons elaborate on it. The third movement of Franz Joseph Haydn’s String Quartet in d-minor, Opus 76 No. 2 includes a two-voice canon: The violins play the lead line in unison, which the viola and cello then imitate in full. The canon is divided into two halves, each of which is repeated. Twentieth century composers emphasized the plasticity of canons. In most traditional canons, each voice moves in a distinct register, like drivers staying in their lanes. In the following canon by Anton Webern, the voices constantly flip over each other. Like a game of “Three Card Monte,” it is easy to lose track of who is where. The repeated notes that recur throughout this brief movement are actually caused by the two canonic lines “bumping” up against each other. American composer Conlon Nancarrow created an innovative series of canons for player piano. Using a mechanical means of performance enabled him to conceive of rhythm relationships too complex for a human performer. In Study No. 24, the three voices are moving in a speed ratio of 14/15/16. The effect is similar to heterophony; but here the voices are split into different registers. These twentieth century examples dramatize how canons build on identity. Though Webern and Nancarrow’s canons are each based on a single melodic line, the complexity of the canons disguise this internal consistency. The resulting textures take on a life of their own.

Preserving the Harmony In many different genres and styles of music, dynamic repetition of the harmonic progression is a primary way of transforming the material. In a classical “theme and variations,” the variations are based on the harmonic progression of the theme. The following excerpts are from a set of variations for string quartet by Franz Schubert based on his song “Death and the Maiden.” The variations offer a sampling of the diversity that can be created from a single progression. As in a theme and variations, the underlying harmonic progression is maintained in a traditional jazz improvisation: As the progression is repeated, each member of the ensemble takes turn creating a spontaneous melody on top of it. Here is the progression underlying Miles Davis’ So What, followed by the piano solo. In a classical theme and variations and traditional jazz, the piece will have one underlying progression that cycles repeatedly. In other works, there may be a greater assortment of harmonies and progressions. In the following excerpt from Sheherezade: The Sea and Sinbad’s Ship, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov creates a rhapsodic, extended melody. The “bead” of this elaborate melodic strand is a short motive that is transposed over and over. Later in the work, an intense passage builds on the identity of the harmony: The motive is at first absent, but the progression that supports it is played repeatedly. At the end of the excerpt, the motive returns forcefully in the low brass—fitting in perfectly on top of the already present harmonic progression. The following excerpt is from the second movement of Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms. Beneath the women’s voices, the lower strings are playing the movement’s main theme. In the third movement, Stravinsky alludes to this passage by replaying its harmonic progression in slow motion. The men’s vocal line is a variation of the second movement theme. Thus, harmonic progression may be preserved, while the surface details are varied.

Preserving the Rhythm Finally, a rhythmic pattern may be maintained, while the melodies and harmonies used to express it are changed. In Alban Berg’s opera Wozzeck, the title character staggers into a tavern after murdering his unfaithful wife. The music in the scene is based on a single rhythm, called by Berg a “mono-rhythm,” first introduced by the percussion. The saloon pianist picks up the mono-rhythm and incorporates it into a raucous polka: Wozzeck joins in, his vocal line also echoing the mono-rhythm: When a neighbor Margret spots blood on Wozzeck’s hand, her words are carefully timed to the mono-rhythm. In the gradually escalating confrontation, the two singers are accompanied by the mono-rhythm. Berg creates this entire scene from the mono-rhythm without ever playing it the same way twice. Much of Bernard Herrmann’s music for Alfred Hitchcock’s thriller North by Northwest is focused on the following compact, agitated theme: In the climactic scene, as Cary Grant and Eva Marie-Saint are escaping down the slopes of Mount Rushmore, Hermann creates a panoramic display of the theme. In the excerpt that follows, the winds, brass and percussion mimic the rhythm of the theme—but not the notes. Thus, a theme may also be reduced to its rhythmic pattern, freeing it to assume many melodic and harmonic forms.

Conclusion We have studied how dynamic repetition can revitalize a musical idea. We are now in a better position to assess what the variations by Paganini, Brahms, Lutoslawski and Rochberg had in common with Paganini’s original theme. First of all, Paganini’s theme is built out of a single pattern. Likewise, all of the variations feature an insistent pattern of their own. Notice that this is not true of the Schumann example: Its opening pattern is not maintained so literally. Second, Paganini’s theme is divided into two halves: In the first, the harmonic progression oscillates back and forth between two chords. In the second half, the harmonic progression “opens up” into a broader progression: The variations all follow this harmonic plan. They also mimic the pacing of Paganini’s harmonies. The Schumann follows neither the same harmonic plan nor the same pacing. It also lasts longer! Each of the variations has other features in common with Paganini’s theme: Just enough of the theme’s identity is maintained to preserve its integrity. Meanwhile, the variations leave aspects of its identity behind. For instance, not all follow the theme’s contour: Brahms’ motive heads downwards, Rochberg’s remains rooted in the same place. Building on identity requires that at least one aspect of the musical idea remain constant: We have observed how melody, harmony and rhythm may all be preserved, while the other features are altered. In some musical styles and traditions, the means of transformation defines the genre : In jazz, the harmonic progression—such a “twelve-bar blues”—cycles as the ensemble members take turns improvising. In an Indian raga, the soloist improvises over the underlying rhythmic cycle, called a tala. Thus far, we have considered the make-over of an entire musical idea. But composers can also take a hammer to their material and smash it in order to create new forms.