NicolaMoro

Independencefromalldogmas:thefoundationofLuigi
Dallapiccolasuniqueidiom.

LuigiDallapiccolaandhismusic,thecreatorandthework,areessentiallyinseparable.They
shareobviousstrengthsandapparentcontradictionsandneitheriseasilydescribed,letalone
understood....Acomposerwhosetsnewanddifferentconditionswitheachworkwhile
neversoundinglikeanyonebuthimself,Dallapiccolabecomesthelessobviousandthemore
contradictoryandelusive,themoredirectlyhisideasappeartopresentthemselves.
(Programnote,NewEnglandConservatorySymphonyOrchestra19October1967)

In1976MassimoMilawroteofLuigiDallapiccolathatwemustbringourattentionto
themusicalside.Wemustseehowhisextraordinaryculturalformationwastranslatedinto
newmusicalscores.[]Wemusttalkabouthimintermsofnotes,harmonies,intervals,
instruments,tonalityoratonality,aboutthemesorseries.(Mila1976).Assurprisingasit
maysoundonlyayearafterthecomposersdeath,thisstatementshowshowpervasivethe
conventionalwisdomsthatplaguedDallapiccolasmusicsincetheearlythirtiesremained.
Infactacomprehensive,iflimitedinitsaestheticandcriticalassertions,analysisofa
considerableamountofpurelymusicaldatawouldbeattemptedinaorganisedmanner
onlyeightyearslaterinGefangenschaftundFreshet.LebenundWerkdesKomponistenLuigi
Dallapiccola.(Kamper1984).ThenatureofthefewstudieswrittenatthetimeofMilas
encouragements(withsomeexceptions,e.g.Nathan1958),wasevenmorestartling,
focusingonhisdeviationfromconventionalserialtechniques,andultimatelyfailingto
addressmanyoftheproblemsthatDallapiccolasmusicposedandstilldoes.Moreover,
outsideanalyticalcircles,manytiredclichsaboutasortofundefinedMediterraneankind
ofserialism(orworse,asupposedinclinationformelodyandbelcanto),andevenparallels
betweenthecomposerspoeticsandthoseofJoyceandThomasMann,stillplagueprogram
notesoftherareperformancesofhismusictothisdate,addingfurthermisconceptions
aboutthedefiningcharacterofhiswork.
Thepresentstudywillattempttomoveawayfromtheaforementionedconsiderationsas
muchaspossibleinordertopresentasomewhatdifferentaccountofthewayinwhich
Dallapiccolamighthaverelatedhimselftoposttonalmusic,andhowthetechnicaldevices
hechosecouldjusthavebeenaninescapableoutgrowthofhisfiercelyindependentspirit.

helasafanatic.
ItisnotbycoincidencethatDallapiccolahasbeenregardedforsolongbysubsequent
critics,assomeonewhohadtofitinwiththe,then,supposednewtrajectoryofposttonal
music.ThefirstreasonbeinghismuchvauntedadmirationforWebern:
AntonWebernisanisolatedflower,unlikeallothers.HeisverydifferentfromArnoldSchoenberghis
teacher;heisverydifferentfromAlbanBerg,whowaslikeabrothertohim.Oneonlyneedreflecton
thesedissimilaritiestorealizethatthetwelvenotesystemisnotafteralltheblindalleythatsomany
claimittobe;itisnot(ashasbeentoohastilystatedandthenrepeatedwithoutverification)an
insidiousforcethatwouldreducemusicinallcountriestoalowestcommondenominator;itis,
rather,alanguagewhichcontainswithinitselfexceedinglyvariedpossibilities,whosetotalrealization
weshallnotperhapslivetosee.
(Dallapiccola1972)

Thecomposermusthaveseemedtoprescientlyapprehendatleastsomeoftheidealsput
forwardbyBoulez,MadernaandStockhausen.Moreover,hehadbeenateacherandmentor
toNono,BerioandRands;thetemptationtomakehimintoabridgebetweentheprovincial
fascistItalyoftheneoclassicalpast,andthemagnifichesortieprogressive(the
magnificentandprogressivefuture,asdefinedbyLeopardiintheZibaldonealmostexactly
acenturybefore),ofanewmusicalhorizon,appearedtoostrongtoresist.
Unfortunately,themoreseriouscommentatorstriedtomakesenseofhisfrequentlyhighly
complexcompositionalprocedures,themoreheresembledUmbertoEcosPlatypus:an
animalthatnotonlystubbornlyrefusestobecatalogued,butalsoshouldnotexist
accordingtotherulesofnaturalevolution.Someattributedhisodditiestohisgradual
processofacquaintancewithdodecaphony.Thisprolepticargument(evenconcedingfor
onemomentthatitmightbepossibletolearnsystematicallywhathasnotbeenyetcodified
bycommonpractice),seemsquestionableontwofronts.
Firstly,ifwedoknowthatDallapiccolareadonlyKreneksUberNeueMusik,thatuntil
1945hewasabletolookonlyatahandfulofscoresbySchoenbergandhispupils,andthat
thefirstpracticalmanual(inItalian,andbyanItalian),concernedwithserialtechniquewas
publishedin1948(Jachino1948),wealsomustrecognizethevalidityofUlrichMoschs
assertionthatDallapiccolaswayoflearningtheintricatemechanicsofthetwelvetone
methodwasnotuncommonatallinthosetimes,andthatisabsolutelycomparableto
whatLeibowitzexperiencedinthethirtiesandforties.(Mosch1997,p.122).
Secondly,evenifhismasteryofthetechniqueintheLiricheGreche,hisfirstcomplete
serialwork,wasnowherenearwhatwecanfindinhislateworks,itseemsthathisattitude
andphilosophicalapproachtothemethodwasalwaysclearandwasonlyoneaspectofthe
compositionalproblemsthatconcernedhim:
Mypersonaleffortis,nowmorethanever,directed,althoughlimitedbymyowncapacity,towardsthe
understandingofallthepossibilitiesofthesystem,towardsapatientclarification,towardssensibility,
nottowardstheory.


Definitiverules[]ofthislanguage,whichislikealllanguagesalive,willbecodifiedaposteriori.
(Dallapiccola1950,p.459)
Iamacomposernotatheorist.(Dallapiccola1974,p.475)

AndagainaboutReneeLeibowitz,theaforementionedauthorofShoenbergetsonEcole
(avolumethatDallapiccolaaffirmstohavereadin1942),andintheyearstocome,a
ferventevangelistofstrictobservanceoftheserialprinciples:
IhadthedistinctimpressionthatLeibowitzmightbeaveryintelligentman,buthelasafanatic[].
(Dallapiccola1947)

Weseemtobedrawn,insubstance,towardsMilaDeSantiswhenshewritesthathis
conquestsintheunderstandingofthesystemdonotnegatetheearssupremacy,orin
otherwordsofitssensoryresult,onthenecessaryrigorofthemusicalconstruct.(De
Santis1995).Thissupremacywashisguidingprinciplethroughouthisentireoutputand
resistedallthesirensofradicalization.
InaccordancetoMilasinvitationtolookatnotes,harmonies,intervals,instruments,I
wouldliketodirectmyattentiontowardstwoparticularworksthatnotonlyseemto
containalltheproblemssofarevoked,butalsorepresentrespectivelyapointofdeparture
andoneofarrivalinhispersonaljourneyofdiscovery:thefirstoftheCinqueFrammentidi
SaffoandthenthePiccolaMusicaNotturna.Bothworksarescoredforsmallensemblesand
havelimitedstructuralscopes,twocharacteristicsyieldinghismostsuccessfulresultsin
hispenchanttowardsacertaineuphoniousness(Whittall2004).
Thebeginningsofanewlanguage.
Asstatedbymanycommentators,amongstwhomBenEarleoffersthemost
comprehensivestudyofthepiece,CinqueframmentidiSaffo(1942),isDallapiccolasfirst
entirelyserialwork.Earlierexamplesofthetwelvetonetechniquecanbefoundinpassages
ofVolodinotte(1937)orCantidiprigionia(1938)butneveranentiremovementorscene
(Earle2006).Earlealsopresentsaconvincingargumentdefiningtheserialaspectasthe
leastinterestingofthepiece.Inbringingtolight(afteridentifyingthetwohexachords6
Z38and6Z6combinedinasymmetricalPR;RI,asthemainbuildingblocks),octatonic
vocalreminiscences,rootedtonalaccompanimentandthewarmlyempatheticresponseto
thetext,theauthorpreferstospeakofamultifacetednaturalapproachtocompositional
languageratherthanastillimperfectexampleoftheserialidiom.Thisideaisvery
seductiveaswecaneasilyimagineaDallapiccolaconcernedtofollow,ratherthanimitate,
theorganicgrowthofthetextbyanymeans,employinginthisprocessthesamerigorthat
hewouldlater,asweshallsee,applytothepolishingofhisserialwriting.Toquotethe
composerhimself:

Serialtechniqueisonlyameanstohelpacomposerachieveunityofmusicalargument.Ifanyonesays
thattheseriesguaranteessuchunity,heismakingagreatmistake.(Dallapiccola1950,p.460)

ThisapproachseemsmuchmoresatisfyingthanRaymondFearns,whoemphasisesthe
interminglingofthecanonicanddodecaphonicaspectsastheoriginoftheintimateunity

inthepolyphonicwebthatparallelsthepoetictext.Fearnultimatelymissesthepoint
completely,speakingofthepredominanceofhorizontalandcontrapuntalexpressionin
thefirstGreekLyric(Fearn2003,p.89).Hestatestheobvious,notingthatthecanonic
imitationbetweenthevocalline(startingatmm.3alwaysatadistanceofaminimasinEx.
1,andvariousinstrumentalcombinations,mightbethemostimmediatelyapparent
elementofthepieceeventotheuntrainedear;butfailstotracethereasonsbehindsuch
simpledeploymentofacanonicdevice(alwaysattheoctaveorunison),fromacomposer
extremelyversedinsuchatechnique,asweshallsee.Myopinioninthematterofthe
canonicfigurationofthefirstfragment,hasdowithDallapiccolasinterestinrepetitionas
anessentialaidofauditorymemory.Forthefirsttimeinsuchperilouswaters,Ibelievethat
hestartedverycautiouslyontheroadofmelodicrecognitionanddevelopment,thususing
canonicimitationessentiallyasanechothatwouldhelptheeartoretainamelodic
fragment.Verytellinginthisregardarethemarkingsimitando,inthescoreatthe
occurrenceofeachexactrepetition.TodrawaparallelwithProust,anauthorDallapiccola
admiredimmensely,UmbertoEcocalledasimilarrhetoricalfigureuninvitoallamemoria,
aninvitationtomemory.InTheCaptiveforexample,Proustsinvocationofthename
Albertinefunctionsbeyondthelogicofnarrativetoparalleltheactionofmemoryitself,
insinuatingthelayersoftheNarratorsrecollectionsofherincrementallyintheconscience
ofthereader,asthus:
ThisforgottengesturetransformedthebodywhichitanimatedintothatoftheAlbertinewhoasyet
scarcelyknewme.ItrestoredtoAlbertine[]herinitialnovelty,hermystery,evenhersetting.(italics
mine)

ThenameAlbertineisusedfivetimesmoreinthesubsequentfivesentencesofthe
paragraph.Repetition,orbetter,iterationworksasanexpressivemean,asopposedtoa
structuralbuildingblock.
Furtherconfirmationofthisreadingseemsalsotocomeinthetreatmentofthepoemfrom
m.13tom.16.SalvatoreQuasimodotranslatedtheGreekthus:riportiilfiglioallamadre.
Dallapiccolaexpandedthisversebyprogressiveiterationandaugmentation:riporti
riportiilfiglioriportiilfiglioallamadre(Ex.2).AquasiVerdiandeviceadaptedtohis
newfoundlanguage,inthatthemelodiclineispresented,increased(alsotransposeddown
amajorthird),andfinallycompleted.
Toconcludethisbrieflookatthepieceandshiftingfromthehorizontaltothevertical,a
verystrikingpassage,fullofpoeticbeautyhasbeenoverlooked,oratleastexaminedforthe
wrongreasons,bybothFearnandEarle.Attheverybeginningofthepiece(Ex.1,m.2),we
findwhatisunequivocallyaC#minortriad(withadded9thand6th).TheHorncompletes
thetriadicstructurewithabriefEthatifimmediatelytransformedintoanE#.Fearn
definesthis,forreasonsthatescapemyunderstandinginthiscontext,atiercedepicardie
andtranslatesthewordVesprothatimmediatelyfollowsitastheEveningstar.InItalian
vesproisthatelusivemomentbetweenlightanddarknessattheendoftheday;thewhole
poemisameditationonthesoothingandthaumaturgiceffectsofalostbucoliclifethatthis
particularinstantbrings.Thetransformationfromaminortoamajorclimatetocallit
harmonywouldbeinappropriateinthiscontextattheopeningandclosingofthepiece
(wherewefindyetanotherkindofiterationwiththerepetitionofthischordalstructure
separatedbyanexpressivecomma,Ex.3),evokeswithprecisionthesamefeeling,asiftheE
wasirresistiblyattractedtobecomeanE#.

Example1


Example2

Example3

Maturityofserialwriting.
Dallapiccolascorpusisremarkableforthepaucityofhisstrictlyinstrumentalwork.This
fact,combinedwiththeinsertioninthescoreofAntonioMachadospoemNocheOscura,
explainsvariousreadingsofPiccolaMusicaNotturnawhicharestronglyversedtowards
thepoeticandlyrical(Richardson2001,Fearn2003).InhisconversationswithFiamma
Nicolodi,Dallapiccolaconfirmedthatthisisnotthebestapproach,insistingstronglythat
thepoemisjustanepigraph(Nicolodi1975),andthatthemusicmaterialisntinanywaya
representationofthetext,orevenanexpressionoffeelingratherthatdescription
(Kamper1984,p.113).Evenseriousanddetailedmusicalanalysisofthepieceincursthe
samemisreading,inoneinstanceevenattemptingtoprovethatPiccolaMusicaNotturna
equatesthepoeticvisionofasolitarysummernightwalkthroughanoldvillage,withthe
composerschoiceofpitchmaterialasaghostlywalkthroughtheruinsofpast
compositionalmethods(Richardson2001).
Asanoddityinthecomposersopusthen,thislittleminiatureforchamberensemble
seemanidealplacetolookforsignsoftechnicalmaturity,ifwesubscribetothethesisofa
gradualdiscoveryassimilation.Perhaps,asisouraimhere,wemightstillglimpsethose
traitsmentionedearlierwhichmakethecomposerhimselfanoddityinthemusical
panoramaofthetime.
Todispensefirstwiththetonerowconcerns:thepitchseries(Ex.4),isderivedfroman
allintervalseries(Allintervallheire),thatDallapiccolaapproachedinamannersimilarto
thesolutionofariddleorwordpuzzle.Theproblemhewantedtosolvewasthegeneration
ofanallintervalserieswithoutusingEimertsmethod(Eimert1950).Afterafew
unsuccessfulattemptshesucceededandwroteinalettertoVogel,datedDecember1953,
thathewasgoingtomakeuseofthisseriesinaworkforsoloviolin(ofwhichwehaveno
trace).Fourmonthslater,whencommissionedwhatturnedouttobePiccolaMusica
Notturna(completedinlessthanaweek),bytheconductorScherchen,heusedthatsame
material.TheinterestingaspectofthisrowishowDallapiccoladerivesfromitathreenotes
segmentthatconstitutesthemainbuildingblockofthisshortpiece,combiningandre
combiningtwosinglerows(selfcompletinginnature,asnotedbyFearn),inarecognizable
patternofminorandmajorthirdintervals(Ex.5,5.1,5.2).
AsinthefirstoftheCinqueFrammentidiSaffo(Ex.3),wefindarecurringchordal
structure(Ex6,m.12),thatseemstoescapeastructuraljustification.Ifwedefineasa
structuraldeviceanyelementthatseemstogiveshapetoapieceofmusic(motif,phrase,
sequence,repetition,variation,cadence),itcanbearguedthatinbothcasesDallapiccolas
repetitionsdonotconformtothisdefinition.Iliketothinkmoreofasignificantconstruct
thatinbothinstancesverbatimrepetitionbymeansofitsmarkedimpressiononour
auditorymemory,delimitstheboundariesofasectionorapassage.Asortofmusical
signpostforthebenefitofthelistenerthat,initselfisextraneoustothemusicaldiscourse.
InthecaseofPiccolaMusicaNotturna,thebreakisachievedthroughdynamics(ffandsff
appearonlyhereduringtheentirepiece),andtimbre(theonlytwooccasionswherethe
ensembleplaystutti);forCinqueFrammenti,aswehaveobservedearlier,theothernessof
thepassageisevenmoreapparentasitisduetoadramatic,andisolated,shiftinharmonic
climate(aclearsupportingfifthtoatriadicconstruct).
Asalastelementtotakeintoconsideration,anotherveryapparentfeatureofthepieceis
itscanonicwriting.Inthefinalsectionofthework,fromm.45(Ex.7),wefindanumberof

mirrorcanons[]leadingatm.58toadoublecanonthatmakesuseofallfourserialforms
(Fearn2003).Kampersuggestedasymbolicdepiction,inthecomposersintentions,of
chiaroscurointheinterweavedcanonicalwriting.Asweseemhavenoconfirmationofthat
supposedaimfromthecomposer,Ishouldlikeinsteadtocallattentiontothesemeasures
foranotherreason:herewecansee,withoutadoubt,justhowversedDallapiccolareally
wasinthistechnicaldevice,andhow,whenheintendedtouseit,hedidsowithgreat
finesseandmastery.Onecaveatremains.Hiscanonsarenotthefabricofthemusic;theydo
notgeneratecolorsandformsinaudibly,asinthefirstmovementofWebernsSymphony
Op21,wherethecanonicwritingcannotbeheard.Dallapiccolascanons,thoughinthis
piece,aswehavediscussed,theyserveadifferentpurposetothoseinCinqueFrammenti
neverthelessdemandequallytobeheard.

Example4

Example5mm.13

Example5.1mm.2223

Example5.2mm.4447

Example6mm.1014

Example7,mm.4245

Conclusions.
ThemusicofLuigiDallapiccolahassufferedfrommanyattemptsofartificial
categorization.Ithasbeendescribedasreactionaryortooconservativeorevendevoidof
thenecessaryrigour:tobeaccusedofsuchdifferentsinssimultaneouslyisinitselfnomean
task.
Toreconcilethesedifferentfacetsofhisfascinatingmusic,Ihavetriedtoshowhowthe
salientcharacteristicsofhiswriting(attentiontoauditorymemory,serialtechniqueasan
explorationofthetotalecromatico(Mosch1997,p.125),varioustypesofcanonicwriting,
formandstructure),arepresentintwocompositionfromverydifferentperiodsofhis
production,andverydifferentinnature.
Thisapproachmightallowustofinallylaytorestalltalkofbelcantolyricismor
MediterraneanDodecaphonythathasfilledinnumerablecommentaries.Readingthe
composerswritings,andnotonlyonthesubjectofmusic,arecurring,strongthemeseems
toemerge:hissternindependencefromallformsdogmatismbeitpolitical,scholarlyor
musical.
Afruitfulcontinuationofthisthinkingmightbetoconsidertheconclusionspresented
hereinrelationtoDallapiccolasopenandvociferousdislikeofDarmstadt.Itwouldalsobe
ofgreatinteresttocontinuethisinvestigation,byfollowingthesameparabolictrajectory,
andlookingtheaforementionedcommontraitsinhismusic,inoneofhislateperiodpieces.

Citedworks
Dallapiccola,Luigi(1947).CorrespondencewithMassimoMila,8thJanuary1947,Fondo
LuigiDallapiccola,Polistampa,Firenze.
Dallapiccola,Luigi(1950).Sullastradadelladodecafonia,inAutAut,volI,January,p.459.
Dallapiccola,Luigi(1972).MeetingwithAntonWebern(PagesfromaDiary).Tempo,New
Series,No.99,pp.27,CambridgeUniversityPress.
Dallapiccola,Luigi(1974).InParoleemusica.EditedbyFiammaNicolodi.IlSaggiatore,
Milano.
DeSantis,Mila(1995).Sullastradadelladodecafonia,inDallapiccola.Lettureeprospettive.
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MilaDeSantis.LeSfere,CasaRicordi,Milan,p.145.
Earle,Ben(2006).Dallapiccola'sEarlySynthesis:No.1,'Vespro,tuttoriporti',from'Cinque
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Eimert,Herbert(1950).LehrbuchzurZwlftonmusik.Breitkopf&Hrtel,p.2122.

Fearn,Raymond(2003).TheMusicofLuigiDallapiccola.UniversityofRochesterPress.
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Nathan,Hans(1958).TheTwelveToneCompositionsofLuigiDallapiccola.Musical
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