«The Viola in My Life» by M. Feldman: the search for meaning on the verge of the timbre feeling
Authors: Pashkovska Marharyta 
Published: September 2023

Statement of the problem. The creative output of American composer Morton Feldman (1926–1987) is a unique phenomenon that stands out from the overall musical context. With each passing year, there is a growing interest in the composer’s personality and work, leading to an increase in performances and the emergence of more monographs. A significant work in Morton Feldman’s repertoire is the cycle of miniatures for viola titled «The Viola in my Life». However, this cycle remains the only instance where the viola timbre is used as the leading voice. Therefore, «The Viola in my Life» can be seen as both a unique example in the composer’s body of work in terms of the choice of the solo instrument and as a transitional piece from indeterminacy to clear fixation. Thus, the question of the uniqueness of timbral representation and the role of the viola in Morton Feldman’s later works arises, explaining the choice of this subject matter. Analysis of recent research and publications. The article’s theme encompasses sources that investigate the timbral semantics and development of timbral characteristics in viola sound within works of various musical styles and genres (H. Kosenko, 2018; E. Kuprianenko, 2010; A. Gorodetsky, 2019; M. Udovichenko, 2022). The question of viola timbral representation is also explored in articles by the author of the proposed article. The theoretical advancements of contemporary musical hermeneutics and interpretology are methodologically combined with research that illuminates various aspects of Morton Feldman’s creativity: annotations by the composer himself in the score (Feldman, 1972), works by D. Cline (Cline, 2016), M. Majmon (Majmon, 2005), V. Terrazas (Terrazas, 2014), B. Varga, K. Villars (Varga, Villars, 2019). Considering that the research is closely related to the study of the concept of «late period of creativity», it is worth mentioning N. Savitska’s fundamental work, «Chronos of Compositional Life-Creation» (Savitska, 2008). The main objective of the study is to highlight the specifics of realizing the polytimbral potential of the viola in the selected work of M. Feldman as a vivid example of exploring new meanings of the instrument’s timbre. The scientific novelty. A compositional-dramaturgical analysis of the cycle of miniatures «The Viola in My Life» has been conducted, exploring the techniques of instrumental exposition and thematic material development. Based on this analysis, the fundamental characteristics of viola timbral semantics in the late works of the composer have been identified, allowing for the expansion of the inherent features of the dominant viola timbral representation. This defines the novelty of this research and its relevance to the theory and practice of viola art. Methodology. To achieve the stated goal, the methodological framework developed by the Department of Interpretology and Music Analysis at Kharkiv I. P. Kotlyarevsky National University of Arts (in terms of the phenomenology of personality) has been utilized, along with compositional-dramaturgical and semantic methods in the analysis of the works. It should be emphasized that our approach is broader than purely semantic. The performance analysis aims to describe the paths of exploring the timbral representation of the viola (which varies in each movement of the selected work by M. Feldman) as a search for new meanings in music (in accordance with the composer’s creative concept). Results. The analytical observations regarding Morton Feldman’s work «The Viola in My Life» within the scope of the proposed research were focused on documenting the parameters of the composition that led to the exploration of new qualities of the viola timbral representation as a search for new meanings in music. These explorations, in turn, manifested themselves in semantic and compositional parameters. Indeed, the development of the cycle illustrates how the role of the viola as a soloist strengthens from the first movement to the finale, progressing from filigreed monophonic passages and micro-motifs to an expansive monologue in the fourth movement. In our view, this is somehow related to the concept: despite the composer positioning the work as a sequence of “individual compositions” (Feldman, UE), the overall dramaturgy of the piece demonstrates a connection to the sonata-symphonic cycle, where the first movement serves as an extended introduction, the second exhibits traits of a scherzo with a quasi-waltz theme as the refrain in rondo form. The third movement, chamber-like in character, fulfills the role of a lyrical section, while the fourth movement assumes a “massive” character through the accumulation of significant performing resources. Simultaneously, the inheritance from symphonic dramaturgy is evident through numerous thematic connections at a distance, including the utilization of the theme from the first movement in the second movement (the “cuckoo” theme) and the viola’s thematic passage from the second movement in the third; the quasi-dance theme from the second movement reappears in the finale as the foundation of the rondo theme. The composer’s rejection of a specific compositional technique does not allow for a definitive understanding of their working method with materials. However, it does not hinder the tracing of influences from existing compositional techniques, which the selected composition illustrates. In the case of «The Viola in my Life» there are contrasting influences of serialism on one hand and repetitive minimalism on the other. Signs of serialism can be observed in the composer’s inclination to assign specific modes of articulation and thematic elements to each instrument. For example, in the first movement, the viola predominantly features sustained pedal tones with tone filigree (dynamic intensification and attenuation), the percussion utilizes tremolo rolls, the strings employ individual harmonics or chords, or pizzicato sounds, and the piano mainly employs cluster-like chords with a soft attack. As a result, the development is constructed through the constant combination of these elements in various sequences, with minimal exchange of material between different instruments. Similarly, one can trace characteristics of the repetitive principle in «The Viola in my Life» since each of its thematic elements, in their simplicity and repetitiveness, approaches a pattern within the composition. The entire presentation of material, such as in the first movement, from the initial filigreed tone of the viola to the tremolo of the large drum (bass drum), can be characterized as a set of patterns that are subsequently repeated, recombined, and varied. The composition «The Viola in my Life» illustrates a distinct but not new type of thinking. It is associated with delving into specific musical material, which, over time, leads to a breakthrough and the birth of something new. Сonclusions. In addition to the inherent characteristics of the dominant viola timbral representation, such as timbre as the primary feature in shaping the timbral representation, declamatory-narrative quality of the viola timbre, performing influence on viola timbral representation, inclination of timbre towards melancholy and romantic yearning, and the use of two elements of viola timbreregister to depict contrasting internal images, there is another equally important characteristic of viola timbral semantics – polytimbricity. The composer reveals the polytimbral potential of the viola by bringing it closer to other ensemble members.