Duality and Synthesis[The following is from: Lendvai, Ernõ. "Duality and Synthesis in the Music of Béla Bartók." In Module, Proportion, Symmetry, Rhythm. Vision and Value series. Gyorgy Kepes, ed. New York: George Braziller, 1966.]
" . . . . I would like to attempt here an interpretation of Bartók's dual world, his "yang-yin" technique, in terms of an equation, contrasting some special elements encountered at every step in Bartók's compositions. This interpretation is particularly applicable to the construction and content of the Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion.
First, "Inferno" movement - Third, "Paradiso" movement
chromaticism - diatony
golden-section system - acoustic system
closed world - open world
circular pattern of melody - straight pattern of melody
presence of central tone - presence of fundamental tone
rhythm with strong ending - rhythm with weak ending
uneven meter - even meter
asymmetries - periodicity
F sharp minor beginning - C major end
demoniac world - serene world, festive and playful
instinctive existence - intellectual existence
organic - logic
love-hatred - perfect understanding-irony
tension - freedom from tension
emotional nature - sensuous nature
inspiration - thought
experience - knowledge, solution
feminine symbols - masculine symbols
dependency on fate - law, order, form
permanent change - validity at all times
augmentation-diminution - stabilized forms
occurrence - existence
process in time - extension over space
origin-development-conclusion - division
finite: circular motion - infinite
geometric nature - mathematical nature
(key figure to golden - (key figures to overtone
section: irrational figure) - system: integrals)
It is interesting to note that Bartók presumably intended--as supported by the date of its composition, 1937--the Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion as the crowning of the Microcosmos (1926-37): the "Macrocosmos."
[Lendvai, Ernõ. "Duality and Synthesis in the Music of Béla Bartók." In Module, Proportion, Symmetry, Rhythm. Vision and Value series. Gyorgy Kepes, ed. New York: George Braziller, 1966.]
R E F E R E N C E S
Dual n [1794] 1: a theory that considers reality to consist of two irreducible elements or modes 2: the quality or state of being dual or of having a dual nature 3a: a doctrine that the universe is under the dominion of two opposing principles one of which is good and the other evil b: a view of human beings as constituted of two irreducible elements [as matter and spirit]
Duality n [15c]: Dualism2 also: Dichotomy
[Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th Edition. Springfield, MA, USA: Merriam-Webster, Inc. 1995.]
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