Teleological Strategies of Non-Tonal Music: The Case of Milan Mihajlovic Whereas tonal music is strongly goal-oriented with goals given a priori, goals in non-tonal music are either determined contextually, or the whole idea of motion towards a goal is abandoned. The present paper will examine various teleological strategies applied in the composition Eine kleine Trauermusik by contemporary Serbian composer Milan Mihajlović. It is based almost exclusively on the octatonic scale, which is highly entropic, lacks means for establishing a hierarchy of pitches and its potential for projecting goals seems rather feeble. A certain degree of centricity is achieved nonetheless, and these contextually created tonal centers may constitute goals. Next, as in many non-tonal works, aggregate completion plays a certain
goal-defining role. Of particular interest, however, is the extension of the
completion model, as it instantiates a broader non-tonal teleological
strategy. Namely, the goal is defined
as the exhaustion of all entities within a given ‘family of entities’, i.e.
all pitch classes belonging to the given scale; all possible transpositions of
a given collection; all interval classes etc. In my earlier research, I have
demonstrated such completion processes in several works by Lutosławski, Messiaen,
Ligeti etc. Though frequently a subject of debate in non-tonal contexts,
prolongational analysis (relying on several approaches, most substantially on
the one proposed by Olli Väisälä) does reveal meaningful connections over
longer spans within this composition, and sheds light on its goal-reaching
motion. Finally, the Mozart quotation appearing towards the end suggests
certain narrative, and possible aesthetic and ideological interpretations.
Their contribution to the teleology of this composition will be briefly addressed. |
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