In the early and mid-19th century in Europe, there were numerous wars caused by social anxiety following the industrial revolution. Eventually, in 1830, the French Revolution occurred, stirring various emotions in people, such as resistance, sadness, societal crises, and personal shock. This event marked the emergence of Romanticism.
Various musical trends emerged during the Romantic period, beginning with Chromaticism by Richard Wagner in the late 19th century, followed by Impressionism by Claude Debussy, Primitivism by Igor Stravinsky, and Mysticism by Alexandr Skryabin, leading to the development of Atonality Music – music that departs from traditional tonality due to reduced use of Traditional Composition Technique
Traditional Composition Technique was the primary method for composing in the classical era in Europe. It involved assigning specific roles to each note based on its distance from the Tonic, the main note of the key. Composers who experimented with new composition techniques abandoned the strict adherence to this principle, eventually leading to Atonality Music.
The technique that marked the beginning of Atonality Music was Serialism, starting with Arnold Schoenberg’s twelve-tone music. Serialism involves composing music based on a specific arrangement of notes or a sequence of notes. It separated all twelve notes, treating each with equal importance to express new musical ideas. This technique evolved further as other composers adopted it, introducing a variety of expansions and new series.
One of the composers influenced by Serialism was Anton Webern, who developed a pointillist technique from it. In pointillism, a single note or a very short motif is followed by a motif of a similar shape and length in a different register. This technique laid the foundation for Total Serialism, expanding its scope to various components of music, such as pitch, duration, and accent.
Total Serialism, a composition technique that forms an organized system of music by applying serial principles to all musical components, gained prominence after World War II, especially in Germany. The movement received significant attention during the Contemporary Music Festival in Darmstadt, Germany. Olivier Messiaen, who participated in the festival, adopted Total Serialism, introducing his concept of “Mode” and composing “Mode of values and intensities” which, while not universally acclaimed for its musical value, played a crucial role in shaping the Total Serialism Method and influencing other composers of the same era, notably Pierre Boulez and Karlheinz Stockhausen.
Total Serialism holds significance as it introduced a new compositional method, breaking free from traditional musical conventions. As an experimental electronic composer, I believe Total Serialism played a vital role in laying the foundation for Aleatoric Music. This may seem paradoxical, as Total Serialism is a technique that establishes rules for all musical components, while Aleatoric Music does not. However, Total Serialism music can be viewed as music governed by the rules set by the composer, and this perspective changes our understanding.
To distinguish between non-aleatoric and aleatoric music, we must consider the focus on the result versus the process. In non-aleatoric music, composers envision the completed work and strive to create it, whether it’s traditional European composers like Mozart and Beethoven or modern composers like Deadmau5. Aleatoric music, on the other hand, isn’t composed with a specific result in mind. Composers concentrate on the process, as seen in pieces like Terry Riley’s “In C” or John Cage’s “4’33” where the final outcome depends on various players’ intentions or circumstances.
So, where does Total Serialism music fit in? Total Serialism assigns rules to every musical component. However, composers do not give rules with a predetermined result in mind. The outcome of applying rules and letting them interact is unpredictable, even to the composer. Therefore, Total Serialism music, in this sense, leans more towards being aleatoric, prioritizing the process over the result.
One of the major challenges with Total Serialism music was that every components of music was preset, which can be listened to too messy. Audiences sometimes found this uniform music unappealing, describing it as lacking distinct character or melody. In response, music that incorporated random elements within specific constraints began to emerge, influencing the experimental music scene both in the past and continuing to the present.
In conclusion, Serialism laid the foundation for Total Serialism, which in turn contributed to the development of Aleatoric music and left a significant mark on modern experimental music. This is why I consider Serialism an important movement from the perspective of a contemporary experimental electronic composer.