Studies in the Music of Ravel and Stravinsky: Music 251A: Spring 2003.

Stravinsky and Counterpoint and The Art of Transcription: Bach's Vom Himmel Hoch

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1. Chorale: straight rendering with 3 tpts., 2 trbs., bass.

2. Var. I: Canon at the octave (purely instrumental).

a. Mixture of scalar materials in winds with tune in violas and contrabasses

b. Note the mixtures of uses of articulation, particularly in the winds, for structure.

3. Var II: Canon at the fifth.

a. oboe/viola and english horn/viola pairs in canon.

b. Note brass obbligato, particularly tpts.

c. Chorus in octaves with trbs., contrabass.

4. Var. III: Canon at the seventh.

a. Flute obbligato (later duet with ob and fl 2) with punctuations by eh. and bn.

b. Imitative pizz. accompaniment , walking figure in harp and lower strings.

c. Notice the ending with fls in octaves, obbligato ob.,eh., bn.

d. Tpt accents as punctuation (imposed stuctural device).

5. Var. IV: Canon at the octave with augmentation.

a. Imitative tpt. duet with bass trb. in aug.

b. Extreme diminution in fl. pairs with bn. Further diminution later on.

c. Heavy treatment of tune with chorus doubled by vc/db in octaves.

6. Var. V: multiple canons by inversion at sixth, third, second and ninth.

a.Wind paired in syncopation.

b. Use of muted brass from P. 43 on.

c. Two-part chorus ending.

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Big question: how are Stravinsky's techniques of transcription from the medium of organ different from those of Ravel from his own piano works?