Canon and Dodecaphony in the Music of Alfred Schnittke

The purpose of this article is to investigate canon and dodecaphony in the music of Alfred Schnittke. As an introduction to this topic we will first introduce his polystylism, and then we will study the characteristics of his canons, and his approach in using dodecaphony. The study of his chamber music reveals that unlike the conventional canon, the interest in Schnittke's canons is rarely the result of a polyphonic texture in which independent layers are comprehensible. Instead, the short durations between the entrances and closely-spaced imitations create a dense texture which is not easily divisible to its components by ear. In writing his canons, Schnittke is concerned with the conventional variables of canon such as time and pitch intervals of entrances, and the number and order in which the voices commence. Schnittke's canons can be categorized in three groups: canons with same-rhythm layers starting at different points, canons with different-rhythm layers starting simultaneously, and finally, canons with different-rhythmic layers starting at different points. Each of these types will be studied with the aid of excerpts from his chamber works. Schnittke's interest in dense canonic textures can be linked to the style of two pre-eminent composers of different eras: Bach and Ligeti. We will see how Schnittke was inspired by Ligeti's micropolyphony, and how he described Ligeti's music. As an index to canon topic we will study the mirror technique in which Schnittke uses the inverted theme to accompany the main melodic line. Following the discussion of canon, we will study Schnittke's approach in using dodecaphonic passages in his compositions which started early in his oeuvre. Schnittke adopted dodecaphony at the beginning of his compositional career but came to the conclusion that serialism was too restrictive to freely express himself. In his early twelve-tone pieces, Schnittke tried to find ways to break from the strict rules that were practiced by the followers of dodecaphony, and applied the technique in his personalized way. The study of the dodecaphonic and "quasi-dodecaphonic" passages shows that Schnittke sometimes presents the twelve pitches in a strict form where all twelve pitches are used without any repetitions. Elsewhere the series are non-strict in which there are repetitions of the pitches or missing pitches within a row. A common arrangement of the pitches in the first type is groups of various chords, especially three diminished 7th chords. In such cases, he organizes the pitches melodically based on the minor thirds while the intervals between the diminished 7ths chords vary from one piece to another. As the article progresses, his approach in using these compositional tools will be compared with those of "classic" traditions to understand the differences and the uniqueness of Schnittke's methods. Also, we will study examples in which Schnittke used a combination of the above techniques to convey his musical thoughts. Moreover, we will look at the use of quarter-tones in Schnittke's canonic imitations and the way they contribute to his musical goals, as well as the use of pedal elements to improve the cohesion of his compositions. This study will show how Schnittke combines elements from different styles, and how he manipulates them to shape his own musical language.