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Exploration 3 - Stravinsky’s Mass
Boulanger’s formal charts for Stravinsky’s Mass, [Source: “Stravinsky Documents” I1-I5, ca. 1950,
[CINLB]. Reproduced with permission.
Gloria Movement :
Similar in format to her notes for the Symphony in C, Boulanger’s pedagogical notes on the Mass fall into
two categories. One set divides the Mass by phrase lengths, noting the duration of sections either by
measures or by eighth notes as seen here in her chart for the Gloria movement. The unit of measure
depended on how the music in question was constructed. That which unfolded polyphonically, or “horizontally,”
was divided by measure, that which unfolded homophonically, or “vertically,” was divided by eighth note.
[Scroll for an example of vertical vs. horizontal music.]
Horizontal
(measures)
4+6+8
4
+
8
Vertical
(eighth notes)
5 e + 23 e + 28 e
6+
5+
23 +
Boulanger’s division of the “Gloria” movement, example of horizontal vs. vertical music, R 10-14, MASS
by Igor Stravinsky © Copyright 1948 by Hawkes & Son (London) Ltd. Reprinted by permission
Boulanger’s formal charts for Stravinsky’s Messe, [Source: “Stravinsky Documents” I1-I5, ca. 1950,
[CINLB]. Reproduced with permission.
All vertical:
4+ 7 + 3
4+ 7 + 3
4+ 6 + 3 + 4
Kyrie
Gloria
Credo
Sanctus
Agnus Dei
Boulanger’s formal charts capture several of the symmetries found in Stravinsky’s composition. First of all,
there is an overarching balance created by the organization of the movements. One could view the entire
piece as in arch form. The center of the Mass is the Credo, itself entirely homophonic, excluding the final, sixbar “Amen.” Both movements on either side of the Credo—the Gloria and the Sanctus—are more complex,
alternating between polyphony, homophony, and a mixture of the two. Finally, the outermost movements, the
Kyrie and the Agnus Dei, are both relatively brief (fifty-eight and forty-five measures respectively). These two
movements use a single texture throughout and share similar melodic and thematic elements. Thus, one can
hear the Mass as a balanced piece via the content of its parts.
Boulanger’s formal charts for Stravinsky’s Messe, [Source: “Stravinsky Documents” I1-I5, ca. 1950,
[CINLB]. Reproduced with permission.
All vertical:
4+ 7 + 3
4+ 7 + 3
4+ 6 + 3 + 4
Kyrie
Gloria
Credo
Sanctus
Agnus Dei
The Gloria, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei movements also contain internal proportional properties. For example,
the first two “horizontal” phrases of the Gloria are both eighteen measures long. Another example occurs
toward the end of the piece, just preceding the “Amen.” Showing how this maps onto the score reinforces one
of Boulanger’s major emphases concerning Stravinsky’s music: focus on smaller rhythmic values and ignore
the bar line. [Scroll for musical example.]
3
+
12 e +
3
14 e
In this example of “mixed” writing, the phrase lengths are 3 + 3 and 5 + 5, but the number of eighth notes used
is exactly doubled in the second phrase (12 + 14 becomes 24 + 28). Stravinsky accomplishes this symmetry
by changing time signatures and stretching out the musical material introduced during the three-measure
phrases. Thus, the key to understanding the balance in those figures is not to rely on the measure length, but
to perceive of the individual notes. [Scroll to see the remaining music.]
5
24 e
5
+
+
28 e
In this example of “mixed” writing, the phrases number as 3 + 3 and 5 + 5, but the number of eighth notes
used is exactly doubled in the second phrase (12 + 14 becomes 24 + 28). Stravinsky accomplishes this
symmetry by changing time signatures and stretching out the musical material introduced during the threemeasure phrases. Thus, the key to understanding the balance in these figures is not to rely on the measure
length, but to perceive of the individual notes.
Boulanger considered the music of the miserere nobis and the suscipe deprecationem nostram of
Stravinsky’s Gloria movement distinctly touched by the composer’s personality and singled them out in her
lectures. Indeed, these measures contain what I identify as a fundamental kernel of Boulangerian-Stravinskian
neoclassical analysis. It is this same kernel that Boulanger accentuates in her notes on The Rake’s Progress
and that one can hear markedly in the Dumbarton Oaks Concerto and elsewhere.
a) Miserere nobis (R19-R20-2)
c) Second miserere nobis R21-R22-1
b) suscipe deprecationem nostram (R20-R21-2)
MASS by Igor Stravinsky © Copyright 1948 by Hawkes & Son (London) Ltd. Reprinted by permission
Here is the music in question. All three phrases contain similar thematic content and all suggest a pitch center
of A-major, employing the accidentals of F-sharp, C-sharp, and G-sharp. Also, the bass motion in each moves
in a typical ii, V, I progression. I argue it is the relationship this music maintains with circle-of-fifth and
overtone-series relationships that marks it as especially Stravinskian as defined by Boulanger, particularly its
presence in the final chord of these segments.
I consider this sonority quartal rather
than tertial, with all pitches generated
by pursuing a circle-of-fifths
progression beginning on A: A, E, B,
F-sharp (C-sharp, not present),Gsharp. Stravinsky then arranges these
pitches vertically, most often with the
placement of the generating pitch—in
this case, the A-natural—in the bass,
joined by the pitch a second above it.
The distribution of the remaining notes
is controlled by their place in the
overtone series. If one views the
fundamental as the A-natural in the
bass, the subsequent E4 and E5 all
appear as they would in that pitch’s
overtone series. The same distribution
occurs over the B-natural bass pitch,
affecting the F-sharp4 and the B4
above it. This overtone-series
explanation accounts for every pitch
used in this chord with the exception
of the G-sharp.
Overtone series on B
R19-R20-2
R20-R21-2
Reduction, Final chord 1
R21-R22-1
Overtone series on A
1
Example 3.5a is missing the lower B-natural, but otherwise all three
cadences finish on this sonority.
a) Miserere nobis (R19-R20-2)
c) Second miserere nobis R21-R22-1
b) suscipe deprecationem nostram (R20-R21-2)
Other materials limited in range by the interval of a fifth in this piece are the pitches of the bassoon and
second oboe. The remaining instruments, as well as the bass and soprano voices, all perform pedal points either
on B-natural or F-sharp—the interval of a fifth. The interior alto and tenor voices are the only pitches that move by
step, but both have as their extremes B-natural and F-sharp.
a) Miserere nobis (R19-R20-2)
c) Second miserere nobis R21-R22-1
b) suscipe deprecationem nostram (R20-R21-2)
Both the vertical and the horizontal elements of this music, its harmonies and its melodies, are controlled by
one interval. Viewed in this light, these moments from the Mass are remarkable for their inventiveness in light
of the restrictions Stravinsky’s imposed upon himself. In the details of this score, Boulanger found Stravinsky’s
voice, or what she referred to in her earlier lectures as the “manifestation of his personality through respect of
strict limitations.” For the remainder of Boulanger’s life, the Mass served as a musical exemplar of who she
believed Stravinsky was as a composer and a human being.