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Ruth Crawford Seeger’s Diaphonic Suite no. 2 is one of four compositional

etudes for solo instrument or duet. This suite, written for bassoon and cello with an

option for two celli, consists of three movements. The third movement is a highly

charged scherzo-like piece comprised mostly of a playfully intense bassoon melody

accompanied by sparsely placed cello chords. This general texture is contrasted

briefly by periods of counterpoint where the cello takes up its own melody against that

of the bassoon. The overall shape of the piece is an effective series of crests and

troughs culminating in an intense climax marked by an increased frequency of cello

chords, as well as a heightened register in both instruments (see attached score).

Upon the first hearing of the third movement of Seeger’s Diaphonic Suite no. 2,

the listener is aware of several unique progressions of musical events. These

progressions are identified by the compositional similarity of their respective elements

(e.g. though separated by time and interposing musical occurrences, repeated instances

of <-7> or a septuplet rhythm in a given piece of music will deservedly be aurally

interpreted as belonging to a single collection, or progression, of musical events.

Particularly interesting in Seeger’s composition is the tendency to highlight certain

pitch-class sets within these background progressions, thereby linking seemingly

disparate gestures on the deepest musical level. However, it is Seeger’s method for

emphasizing the sets in the foreground that seems the most logical starting point, as it

clearly forecasts and supports similar occurrences in the background.

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Example 1a shows the first three measures of the movement. When compared

with the rest of the piece, mm. 1-3 are particularly notable for their isolation. The two

quadruple-stops in the cello effectively parenthesize the section, and the following

eighth-rest is the only moment of silence in the entire piece (with the exception of the

final measure). These measures serve as an amazingly efficient introduction as they

draw attention to perhaps the most important compositional characteristics of the

piece.

It is immediately apparent that Seeger avoids repetition of pitch-classes, and, by

extension, strives for chromatic completion. The music of these opening measures

illustrates this point quite well. A lack of repetition is immediately recognizable in the

bassoon melody. Of the ten pitches presented, excepting the direct restatement of the

<-11> figure at the end of the phrase, only one pitch-class (Eb/D#) is repeated. By

taking the cello chord into account, it can be seen that eleven of twelve pitch-classes

are stated, with only three (B,C,Eb/D#) repetitions. Example 1b illustrates this

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unfolding and also details the arrival of the twelfth pitch-class (F#) at the beginning of

the following measure.

Another important procedure illustrated here is Seeger’s structural use of small

pitch-class sets, particularly the trichord. Example 1c shows an underlying series of

trichords composing mm. 1-3. Particularly striking is the fact that all but three of the

twelve trichord types are used, and each only once. The avoided trichords are (024),

(026), and (048), all of which are subsets of the whole-tone scale, and not significant

throughout the piece. Also notable about the presentation of these trichords is the

smooth motion between adjacent non-overlapping sets. Example 1d shows that, with

little exception, each trichord is related to its neighbor by transformation of only one

semitone (e.g. (025)-(036)-(037)). This non-repetitious embedding of trichords

illustrates a certain equivalence between the treatment of pitch-classes and pitch-class

sets, and also shows the transformation of pitch-class sets from the foreground toward

the background. This transformation is taken a step further in these introductory

measures. Example 1e recalls both the issue of chromatic completion and of non-

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repetition of pitch-classes. As mentioned previously, only three pitches are repeated

in mm. 1-3, and so, are emphasized. These pitches (B, C, and Eb/D#) form (014), a

trichord that is embedded within the first phrase. This set is also related by semitone

motion to the first and last melodic trichords ((025)-(014)-(015)). As it turns out,

(014) continues to act on levels of increasing structural significance for the entire

movement.

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The bassoon melody is extremely varied both in terms of rhythm and of pitch.

Though it is true that the extremity of rhythmic variation is of a far lesser degree than

the variation that takes place in the handling of pitch, Seeger’s rhythmic phrasing

ensures that the listener does not experience any notion of predictability. With the

exception of m. 28’s recollection of the opening measures, no two phrases are

rhythmically parallel. In terms of pitch treatment, the lack of repetition is nearly

comparable to 12-tone serial composition. In the 43 measures of the melody, 12

complete chromatic aggregates are formed. This becomes more impressive when it is

considered that Seeger will often stretch the completion to encompass an area of five

to six measures by withholding one or two pitch-classes needed for the completion of

all twelve. The result is an exciting, unpredictable melody that is rich in its pitch

content and intervallic variance. Knowing that Seeger is striving to avoid repetition, it

can be understood that intervals or distinct gestures that enjoy a high degree of

recurrence should be viewed as important. One such figure, the descending M7,

appears first in m. 3. A certain weight is already placed on this <-11> because it is

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uncharacteristically directly repeated (see example 2a). In addition to its local

repetition, this gesture receives additional stress through its separate appearances,

which occur roughly every 2-4 measures throughout the entire movement. By the

tenth measure, having heard <-11> six times, the listener is aware of the gesture’s

importance and will continue to be so. Furthermore, each new occurrence of <-11>

will, on some level, be related to the previous, creating a chain, or progression, of

events. Example 2b traces the background progression of the <-11> gesture, and is

extended to include slight transformations of the figure, such as <+11> and <-13>.

Example 2c reduces the progression to one voice in order to illustrate, for lack of a

better term, the “root” motion of the progression. Much like the opening three

measures, the progression fills out a large chromatic area. Where mm. 1-3 completed

the span of i11, the <-11> progression completes the span of i10, with the missing

pitches (C and B) themselves forming an additional i11. Perhaps the more important

similarity with mm. 1-3 is the repetition of key pitch-classes to form a single pitch-

class set. As shown by example 2d, the (014) trichord that was formed in the opening

measures is again present here, created by the repeated pc E, pc G, and pc G#.

However, a fourth repeated pc, C#, extends the trichord to the tetrachord (0147).

Though it is clear that there is a strong relationship between (014) and (0147), both in

terms of the collections themselves and the method with which they are applied to

their respective musical areas, the extended (0147) throws new light on the opening

measures. Looking back at mm. 1-3, the presence of (014) is apparent as the repeated

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pitches B, C, and D#/Eb form the trichord with clarity. In a relatively perfect

comparison between these measures and the <-11> progression, both would be

governed by the same pitch-class set. For this to be true, the opening would have to be

structured around (0147), or the <-11> progression would embed (014). The later

possibility is improbable due to the fact that there are clearly four pitch-classes

emphasized. To somehow downsize the tetrachord would involve an unfounded “de-

emphasis” of C#, a pc that is clearly highlighted within the progression. Conversely,

searching for an additional pc of emphasis in mm. 1-3 seems much more promising.

The only pc capable of extending the (B-C-Eb) set from (014) to (0147) is F#/Gb. Not

only is F# the next pitch to appear in the music, but it is the only pc missing from the

complete chromatic aggregate in mm. 1-3. So, while B,C, and Eb receive emphasis

through repetition, F# is emphasized through non-existence. Not only does F# not

appear, which would hardly be enough to call the pc “emphasized”, but it is the

completing pitch, the only pitch that is not sounded in these measures (see example

2e). Though not featured in the same way for both areas, (0147) is quite prominent as

a building block for the <-11> progression and for the introduction as well.

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Aside from the <-11> gesture, one other figure is consistent throughout the

movement. The quadruple-stops in the cello stand apart for several reasons. First,

they are separated by timbre as they always occur in the cello. In the case of an

optional performance for two cellos, the second fact that they are the only instances of

non-melodic material will retain their aural distinctiveness. Also, their rhythmic

placement is usually made to coincide with rests in the bassoon line, making them

stand out further (28 of 35 quadruple-stops occur as the solitary event at that given

time). Finally, though there is a general sense of upward expansion, the motion is

gradual and the chords form a chain in registral space, that is, all of the stopped chords

share occupancy in a registral area. Possibly even more convincingly than the <-11>

events, the quadruple-stops form a very clear background progression. Aside from the

expectancy for an accompanimental voice to carry important harmonic material, any

progression of similar chords in a supporting register will be interpreted as

fundamental and significant.

Example 3a shows the progression of cello chords in a clear choral-like setting

with their prime forms and Forte names listed below. Though many of the chords

embed (014), it is interesting to see that (0147) is not realized vertically. At the same

time, just as (0147) is an extension of (014), many of the chords here have the same

property (e.g. (0125) and (0236) are extensions of (014) by an added i1 and i2

respectively). More revealing, however, is the behavior of each independent voice,

that is, S,A,T, and B as they are shown in example 3a. The soprano voice is most like

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the bassoon melody in that it possesses the widest registral span (i16), and most

closely follows the principle of non-repetition, moving frequently and generally to a

new pitch. Like the <-11> progression and the opening three measures, the pursuance

of non-repetition leads to a near completion of the chromatic octave (see example 3b).

In this case, the soprano voice presents ten pitch-classes, with C and G absent

(Incidentally, these two pitches are featured heavily in the tenor and bass voices).

Also like the opening and <-11> progression, certain pitch-classes are emphasized

through repetition (see example 3c). Pc A is sounded twice, pc Bb is sounded four

times (once as A#), pc C# is sounded twice, and pc E appears twice. These being the

only repeated pitch-classes, (0147) seems again to be significant. In addition to this

apparent background realization of (0147), example 3c shows an important adjacent

realization of the tetrachord near the center of the progression. The tenor voice,

shown in example 3d, only presents five pitch-classes, being mostly tethered to the

open G of the cello, for the obvious reason of idiomatic writing. Despite the lack of

motion, still only three pitches are repeated (C# and Ab occur once each). The

repeated G, Bb, and B come together to form yet another (014) trichord. The bass

voice states only three pitches, as it again seems that Seeger was quite focused on

writing quadruple-stops that would lie well on the instrument. Being so conscious, the

bass progression consists greatly of the cello’s open C. The first move, <+3>, adds the

pc Eb, which is then repeated as the soprano and tenor voices change. In this essential

background voice, it might, at this point, be expected to find a significant occurrence

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of pc E to complete a very basic and fundamental (014). Instead, pc C# is introduced

before the voice resumes its resting point on C. This final pitch forms the trichord

(013), a set that has not been significant on such a structural level anywhere in the

movement (see example 3e). This peculiarity might be explained by another event

occurring at the same time.

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In the quadruple-stop background progression, there is only one instance of

voice exchange. The exchange occurs precisely where the chord of m. 22 changes to a

new chord in m. 24, introducing the C# in the bass voice. As illustrated by example

3f, the soprano’s C# and the bass’s Eb are simply swapped, perhaps in part to continue

the non-repetitious nature of the soprano progression. Had the voices not swapped,

the bass’s Eb would have been prolonged and followed, in the m. 27 chord, by the

expected E; thus completing trichord (014). Though this is not the case, and the bass

line clearly outlines (013), the presence of (0147) and (014) are quite important to the

framework of this background progression.

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In the opening measures of the movement, and on a rather small scale, a method

of emphasis has been designed in accordance with some of Seeger’s most fundamental

compositional tendencies. The principle of non-repetition allows weight to be placed

on a given pc in the most subtle way. In mm. 1-3 (014) was clearly highlighted and

extended to (0147) by an interesting non-inclusive emphasis. In the opening three

measures, the principle of non-repetition was also applied to a surprisingly high

percentage of the twelve trichords, the presentation of which seemed to lay out the

structural tools for the piece’s construction. The possibility of small pitch-class sets

operating as structural elements was confirmed by the skeleton of (0147) within the

<-11> background progression, and by the occurrences of (014) and (0147) within the

quadruple-stop progression, most notably the framing of the soprano voice. It is

interesting to note that although (013) unexpectedly broke the chain of (014) building

blocks, its relationship to (014) by half-step alteration directly reflects the process by

which the adjacent trichords of mm. 1-3 were presented.