Bartók's Fourth String Quartet - 6 (Theories of the Fourth String Quartet)

Hoday,

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From Arab scales, arch forms, canonic techniques, and external sensations, Belá Bartók's Fourth String Quartet was an architectural masterpiece that demonstrated a mature and relaxed style of composition and was a pivot point to the future of his writings. Unlike the previous three quartets, the fourth exhibited new pitch material, shape, form, and set new trends for string composition. As discussed in the past blogs, Quartet No. 4 contains five movements of which the first and fifth are related by the allegro and allegro molto. The second prestissimo con sordino and the fourth movement, allegro pizzicato are also related, and the third non troppo lento stands alone in the middle and serves as the apogee of the arch.

The entire piece is 999 measures in length so if one multiplies the Golden Section (GS) ratio by .618 the Golden Mean occurs at measure 617 located in the tenth measure of the fifth movement according to Erno Lendvai.(8) Lendavai goes on to say, "the influence of folk music is inspired by the 1:5 ratio, and the perfect examples of 1:2 and 1:3 models also found in the compositions of Liszt and Rimsky-Korsakov."(9)

Another element of the fourth quartet is the four note symmetries used in conjunction with pitch cells. Bartók does not adhere by the rules of serialism in this piece however he does use pitch cells as motivic content to solidify musical continuity. Antokoletz summarizes a four-note symmetrical cell in the following example:






The first two cells in (a & b) are found in measure five and six and the third cell is found in measure 22. Bartók also uses the cells in various linear strettos and cannons throughout the piece. Both Antokoletz and Lendvai agree on the mathematical permutations used in these cells in relation to linear melody and vertical harmony. Their research is at best difficult to understand on the first reading and may be the reason Halsey Stevens elects not to address the technicalities in his book. Stevens writes, "From the Fourth String Quartet Bartók's tonalities are more sharply defined, his harmonies tending toward greater lucidity or even toward extreme simplicity, his rhythms vital and varied."(10)

Stevens is on track with his analysis as the piece begins with a strong statement of the first theme but then drifts to a calming controlled second theme in measure 14. Bartók is a master of theme development and quickly finds new life through the use of compositional tools and pre-compositional planning. Example 3 demonstrates a completely different structure using the same four notes from measure 1 to 13, never giving up on a simple idea but expanding them until they're ready for new development. In the exposition, measure 10 & 11, the four notes used are C, C#, D, D#. He uses non-linear ametric note values within the four string instruments to develop the four-note theme. In measures 1 and 3, the rotation of a major third interval exists between the violin-cello and violin two with a minor second in violin one then moves to a major second and holds while violin two closes the gap to another minor second between the two - and so on. Bartók continues to raise the pitch chromatically while the rotation takes place until the development reaches a climax. One may also notice that as the pitch ascends, the note values decrease creating a faster rhythmic pace to achieve the aural climactic effect.

Bartók had a keen sense to know what the listener needed to complete the thought of a phrase. By the tenth measure, the four-note scheme includes the notes Bb, C, D, and E. The ascended pitch material is now involved in a furious and playful fortissimo that slightly descends to a vertical ending with a compound tri-tone between a Bb violin in the violin-cello and an E-Natural in violin one with a cluster of notes in between at the exposition nicely setting up the second theme at measure 14. The entire introduction establishes how Bartók will be manipulating his four-note theory in terms of articulation, dynamics, cannons, strettos, note values, and eventually inversions, retrogrades, and interval vectoring - in other words he pretty much uses the entire theory book in this piece.


More theory to come...