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Abstract
As a performer of recent music, I have found it necessary to uncover the underlying formal/structural features as a basis for forming an interpretation of a given piece. As such, I was eager to do an analysis/performer’s guide to Elliott Carter’s 1993 work Gra (which means “game” in Polish) which, hopefully, would serve to make others’ and my performances of this great work more engaging and exciting. Carter states in the opening of the score: “This Clarinet piece, frequently changing and playful in character (yet based on the same material throughout), recalls to me my many visits with the composer (Witold Lutoslawski) in America and Poland.” In this article, I will discuss Gra’s “same” material – the all-triad [0,1,2,4,7,8] hexachord – which serves as the constant feature in this piece of ever-changing moods and characters. I will show how rhythmic gesture and modern clarinet techniques serve structurally and motivically in the piece. Gra’s form consists of three sections which are defined by Carter’s use of Character-Structures – or in his terms “musical characters”. These Character-Structures are motivic gestures typified by certain, rhythmic, articulation, dynamic, or playing style content. In this piece, they are either espressivo or scherzando in nature. It is the growth of – and interplay between – these Character- Structures which define the three sections and give the piece drama. In this article, I will discuss how these opposing musical personae are created and explored in Carter’s all-triad hexachord “game.” As a new music performer, I account for known compositional devices as well as formal/structural features in the formation of my interpretation of a given piece. As such, I was eager to do an analysis/performer’s guide to Elliott Carter’s 1993 work Gra (a piece I had the honor of performing for and discussing with Mr. Carter) which, hopefully, would serve to make others’ and my performances of this great work more engaging and exciting. Gra, which means game in Polish, is written for solo, unaccompanied clarinet. This piece, premiered by Roland Diry at the Pontino Festival in Sermoneta, Italy in 1993, was composed as a tribute to Carter’s long-time friend Witold Lutoslawski to commemorate his eightieth birthday.