new simplicity school - antonio celso ribeiro

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New Simplicity School

Technical Procedures of Antonio Celso Ribeiros Musical

Language

One brief word...

Some Composers are not Islands is the name of Kyle Ganns

article. The author refers to the role that composers now are devoted:

to analyze the other composers' music and to understand/to identify

the contained/received influences.

According to Gann, a life exclusively focused on my own music

seems unimaginable. My musicological work feeds my composition,

and vice versa. When I've been doing too much critical work and not

composing, I get cranky; and when I've been composing continuously,

I dry up a little, and I start to need the interaction with the music of

others.

It's not that I steal so many ideas from other composers,

though of course I never scruple to do that. Nothing about the other

people's music I'm working on went into the piece I just finished. I just

need that rejuvenation from other artist's ideas, the mere presence of

simpatico music I didn't write.

Schumann certainly spent a lot of his career inside other

composers' heads, and seems to have enjoyed having a trunkload of

Schubert's manuscripts in his apartment, from which to draw for the

occasional world premiere whenever he fancied. Liszt played the

piano music of every significant contemporary except Brahms (who

offended him by falling asleep at the premiere of Liszt's B minor

Sonata).

Part of it is what I think Henry Cowell sensed: that there's no

such thing as a famous composer in a musical genre no one's heard

of, and so one's personal survival depends on a rising tide raising all

boats. But Morton Feldman also tells a story of an artist in the '50s

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who, after seeing Jackson Pollock's first astounding exhibition of drip

paintings, remarked, "I'm so glad he did it. Now I don't have to.

Painting by Jackson Pollock

Gann says:

I hear an exquisite piece like John Luther Adams's The Light

Within, and I do think, somehow, "I'm so glad he did it, now I don't

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have to" - partly because I want to hear that kind of ecstatic wall-of-

sound genre, and he can so it much better than I could. Mikel Rouse's

music is so much more sophisticated than my intentionally naive fare,

but listening to him gets me back on track.

Philosophical Bearings

Leonard Meyer [(1956). Emotion and Meaning in Music. Chicago:

Chicago University Press.] begins by defining and contrasting classic

positions in philosophical aesthetics. He outlines two contrasting

dichotomies: the absolutist versus referentialist views, and the

formalist versus expressionist views:

ABSOLUTIST: "musical meaning lies exclusively within the

context of the work itself."

REFERENTIALIST: "musical meanings refer to the extramusical

world of concepts, actions, emotional states, and character."

FORMALIST: "the meaning of music lies in the perception and

understanding of the musical relationships set forth in the work

of art and that meaning in music is primarily intellectual"

EXPRESSIONIST: "the expressionist would argue that these

same relationships are in some sense capable of exciting

feelings and emotions in the listener"

The New Simplicity SchoolFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

New Simplicity (in German, die neue Einfachheit) was a

stylistic tendency amongst some of the younger generation of

German composers in the late 1970s and early 1980s, reacting

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against not only the European avant garde of the 1950s and 1960s,

but also against the broader tendency toward objectivity found from

the beginning of the twentieth century. Alternative terms sometimes

used for this movement are "inclusive composition", new

subjectivity (neue Subjektivitt), new inwardness (Neue Innigkeit),

New Romanticism, New Sensuality, New Expressivity, New

Classicism, and New Tonality.

Goals

In general, these composers strove for an immediacy between

the creative impulse and the musical result (in contrast to the

elaborate precompositional planning characteristic of the avant

garde), with the intention also of communicating more readily with

audiences. In some cases this meant a return to the tonal language of

the 19th century as well as to the traditional forms (symphony,

sonata) and instrumental combinations (string quartet, piano trio)

which had been avoided for the most part by the avant garde. For

others it meant working with simpler textures or the employment of

triadic harmonies in non-tonal contexts.

Characteristics:

Neo tonal

Modal

Diatonicism

Sporadic chromaticism

Glacial harmonies

Homophony

Tonic pedal (Drones)

Weak or very simple harmonic progressions

Few use or absence of tone modulations

Melodic emphasis

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Use of ancient forms (suite, danses, gavotte, minuet, nocturne,

gigue, rondeau, sonate, toccata, fugue, canon, hocquetus,

hemiolas, etc) with strong reference to the past

Predominance of an unique compositional element, forexample: minor chords, fixed duration pattern (taleas) etc

Clear compositional structure

Rarefaction and condensation

Sheerness and objectivity

Music technically made easy but not intended for beginners

Thematic similarities between different works; reorchestrations

Quotations and/or rearrangements of works from other

composers

Time signatures in agreement with the musical phrases;

metrical asymmetries, music without time signatures

Contradictory notation rhythmical paradoxisms

Melody made with scales fragments, etc

Recovery of ancient duration values as longa and brevis;

sometimes it makes use of square or white mensural notation

Strong presence of expressivity and emotionality

Search for beauty and pleasantness

Strong presence of religiosity and mysticism

Indispensable gestuality

High level of referenciality through the use of extra musical

sources: pictorial images; literature; architecture; poetry;

languages; cultures; movies; kinetics arts (circus, theatre,

dance)

Paradoxically it can makes use of expanded techniques (paper

or objects inserted between the piano strings; non-orthodox

tuning; overtones etc)

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Motto: behind its apparent

simplicity lays a great

complexity

A verse without music is a mill without

water.

Folquet de Marselh (Marseilles), the troubadour immortalized byDante Alighieri(1265-

1321) in his Paradiso

Antonio Celso Ribeiro

Analysis of some of his Compositions

Elements:

Resonances

Medieval compositional procedures

Baroque-like ornamentation

Tonic pedal (drones)

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Weak or very simple harmonic progressions

Thematic similarities between different works; reorchestrations

Predominance of an unique compositional element

Homophony

Time signatures in agreement with the musical phrases;

metrical asymmetries, music without time signatures

Contradictory notation rhythmical paradoxisms

Melody made with scales fragments, etc

***

Resonances...

There are two kinds of resonance in Antonio Celso Ribeiroscompositions. The first one deals with sound residues left bydissonant cluster-like chords changing afterward into consonancesplayed by the piano (examples shown here: El Diablo y laMelancola and Break Away Secrets); the second one deals with

resulted consonance/dissonant by holding down the respective piano

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key after the note is played (examples shown here: DresdenImpressions Cloister and The Bethsaida Miracle ato secondo).

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Break Away Secrets

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The Bethsaida Miracle ato secondo

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Medieval Compositional Procedures...

Some compositional techniques from the Middle Ages arerecovered in order to add some excitement and beauty to the work.

Here we include the use of polyphonic notation (example shown here:Verzweiflung), imitation and counterpoint (see: Danse des Fous),polychrony several tempos occurring at the same time (see: PipingDown the Valleys Wild); dance-like melody (see: La Doncella y laMelancola Dulce Dame Donaira en Dulcidana), use of retrogrademotion (see: Le Lacrime della Vergine Triste Ploratio), hocquetus-style accompaniment (see: Le Lacrime della Vergine Singultus),Gregorian chant style melody (see: Si la Beaut).

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Ten or Maybe Nine Short Useless Songs of Joy or Strangeness

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Danse des Fous

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La Doncella y la Melancola

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Le Lacrime della Vergine Triste Ploratio

Le Lacrime della Vergine Singultus

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Si la Beaut

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Baroque-like ornamentation and style...

Revival of baroque ornaments as trills, gruppettos, mordents,doppelt-cadences, appoggiaturas, acciaccaturas, glissandis, andportamentos (see: Ten or Maybe Nine Short Useless Songs of Joy orStrangeness Stille Leuchtet die Kerze). Also is brought in evidencethe spirit of baroque suite, in the overall structure of a composition,

making some allusions to Bach and Haendel textures employment(see: My Menuet is Broken, Two Baroque Sadness y una Valsdesvairada para l). From Brazilian baroque, Antonio Celso Ribeirosteals the dark atmosphere and deep religiosity of Minas GeraisChurches, mainly those built by Francisco Antonio Lisboa(Aleijadinho). Examples: Bitter Baroque Ballads Tears; Ave;Breve Litania para Nossa Senhora das Mercs; Le Jeu du Roi quiJamais ne Ment.

Ten or Maybe Nine Short Useless Songs of Joy or Strangeness StilleLeuchtet die Kerze

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Ten or Maybe Nine Short Useless Songs of Joy or Strangeness

Two Baroque Sadness y una Vals Desvairada para l - Entre

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Bitter Baroque Ballads Tears

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Ave

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Breve Litania para Nossa Senhora das Mercs

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Le Jeu du Roi Qui Jamais ne Ment

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Tonic pedals...

The use of a constant and steady note in the composition is anallusion to pre-polyphonic organum vocal music of late medievalEurope and other classical traditions as Japanese gagaku or theByzantine chant (ison). In the musical examples, the drone notecauses the melody to flow (see: Amoris Divini et Humana Antipathia Sanatio Amoris), or recalls the bagpipe music (see: O O O Par laPluie Oh! Amargo Fim!). It can also evoke the power and religiosityof Byzantine chant (see: Preghiera alla Vergine Canto e), orcreating an ecstatic/tense movement (see: Cheiro de Terra Molhadade Chuva Ciranda).

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Amoris Divini et Humana Antipathia Sanatio Amoris

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Preghiera alla Vergine Canto i

Cheiro de Terra Molhada de Chuva Ciranda

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Weak or Very Simple HarmonicProgressions...

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Opposing to the traditional concept of tonal harmony, wherestrong harmonic progressions are generally the norm, the work ofAntonio Celso Ribeiro prioritizes the use of weak harmonicprogressions. This option causes the music to sound more neutral(see: Amoris Divini et Humana Antipathia Babylon Amoris), oreven ecstatic and intimate (see: Dolores and Cor Som PalavrasSoltas K).

Amoris Divini et Humana Antipathia Babylon Amoris

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Cor Som Palavras Soltas - K

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Thematic Similarities Between DifferentWorks; Reorchestrations

Sometimes two different compositional ideas share the samefeeling, image, or fate. So, the possible solution for this impasse isboth scores to share thematic similarities. Examples: DresdenImpressions Reflexes of the Light Through the Colored Glass-Window of the Old Church & La Doncella y la Melancola La VidaDebe Seguir; Two Baroque Sadness y una Vals Desvairada para l Entre & Brevissima Missa Pauperis Veni Sancte Spiritus; TheBethsaida Miracle Ato Secondo & Bitter Baroque Ballads 3Disillusion; Las Visiones de Margarida la Loca 4 & Mia SantaMargarida 1; A Velha Sarah est Serena e to Saudosa & MiaSanta Margarida 3. In other occasions, theres a need to expand,

contract or to give new colors to a certain kind of composition. Thus awork scored for two instruments can be reorchestrated into 11instruments, the same way a work scored for five instruments can berearranged for two instruments (see: Break Away Regrets andSongs of Sadness 4)

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Break Away - Regrets

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Break Away - Regrets

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Songs of Sadness - 4

Songs of Sadness 4

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Dresden Impressions

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La Doncella y la Melancola la vida debe seguir

Two Baroque Sadness y una Vals Desvairada para l Entre

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Brevssima Missa Pauperis Veni Sancte Spiritus

The Bethsaida Miracle Ato Secondo

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Bitter Baroque Ballads

Las Visiones de Margarida la Loca - 4

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Mia Santa Margarida 1

A Velha Sarah est Serena e to Saudosa...

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Mia Santa Margarida 3

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Predominance of an unique compositionalelement...

Some of the works share a preference for one specificcompositional element. In the following examples (O O O Par la Pluie

Dulcidana and Song of Sadness II) the chosen element is theminor chord.

O O O Par la Pluie - Dulcidana

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Songs of Sadness - II

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Homophony...

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Theres a need sometimes, to have all things sounding together,

under a unique voice, a unique body of sound. Homophony is onlyused in vocal or choir works, making the understanding of thetext/words clear and precise.

Preghiera alla Vergine Canto e

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Lege mich wie ein Siegel

An Autumn Greeting

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Time signatures in agreement with the

musical phrases; metrical asymmetries,scalar melodies, fragments...

Rather than mark a regular pulse, time signatures are usedaccording to the musical phrase, functioning the same way theregular language does, obeying to it own sintax (see: Le Printemps).The time signature also defines the length of the musical phrase(metrical asymmetry), as seen in Cnticos de Veneracin a la Virgende las Rosas Adoracin II and Amoris Divini et Humana Antipathia LAmour Humain. Scalar melodies can be seen in Bitter BaroqueBallads Disillusion and in Le Lacrima della Vergine Lamentationes. Melodies built from scalar fragments can be seen inTwo Mechanical Birds and a Melancholic Cage The MelancholicCage and in Dies Irae des Fous Cantus IV.

Le Printemps

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Cnticos de Veneracin a la Virgen de las Rosas

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Amoris Divini et Humana Antipathia LAmour Humain

Bitter Baroque Ballads Disillusion

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Le Lacrime della Vergine

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Le Lacrime della Vergine Lamentationes (continued)

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Two Mechanical Birds and a Melancholic Cage Melancholic Cage

Dies Irae des Fous Cantus IV

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Contradictory notation rhythmical

paradoxisms...

Sometimes the composer uses a contradictory time signature toexpress a special feeling, swing or mood. In Solido, a clear 2/4meter is used instead of right 3/4 meter, even though the musicitself claims for this ternary feeling. In Bitter Baroque Ballads, thecontratempo (countertime) in the piano part creates in the cello partthe false feeling of syncopation, as the part is written in thetic

mode. In Brevissima Missa Pauperis Pater, theres an inappropiateuse of the 9/8 meter, both for piano and voice, since the basic swingfor 9/8 (tuplets) is not considered on it. In La Doncella y la Melancola Dulce Dama Donnez Moi lAdieu, the piece is written in 3/4 meter,but is sounding effectively in 6/8 meter. In Visiones de una ViejaVentana Mamma, the rhythm pattern in the electric bass part, withits regular syncopation and tuplet gives the (false) feeling of movingfaster than the other instruments (polychrony).

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La Doncella y la Melancola Dulce Dama Donnez Moi lAdieu

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Visiones de una Vieja Ventana - Mamma

new simplicity school - antonio celso ribeiro

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