Chapter 4: An Intermezzo, polyphony for 2 voices

I checked with Google which told me that “Polyphony for 2 voices means that 2 distinct, independent melodies are played at the same time creating a rich texture where each line has its own rhythm and shape, yet they interweave harmonically, forming a musical conversation or counterpoint.”  When you get AI involved you learn in addition that “Each line maintains its own distinct rhythm and melodic contour, and both are considered equal in importance, rather than one being a dominant melody with the other providing simple harmonic accompaniment.”

Well, I wonder.  I think it must be impossible to compose 2 distinct melodies that are “equal” to each other.  Who coins such statements, certainly not a composer.  “Equal” in how they touch you when you hear them being played together?

Most of the time such second melodies probably act in a “supporting role” to the first melody, I suspect.  However what you really want is that type of synergy that turns 1 plus 1 into 11! -:)

Probably influenced by countless hours of listening to baroque music and in particular Bach (I had CDs of all his works and listened to them many times over the years) when I started composing I was immediately tempted after I had come up with a melody line to find another melodic idea that could be played at the same time.  The next step often was flipping them around so that the second time the one which had been the lower voice became the upper voice.  Of course that would not make sense if you were composing a song, for example.

Over the years I started to wonder in the case you had 2 voices if each of them really was equal in its contribution to how you reacted to it.  My own ear found it easier to identify and listen to the upper voice.  I also am convinced that when we hear 2 independent voices at the same time being played together our mind does not absorb each of the 2 melodies equally well simultaneously.

So if I come up with 2 melodies that perfectly fit together and I feel they both deserve “top billing” musically I start looking for a way to introduce each melody on its own before bringing them together.  I may also try to show each melody being played as the top voice at different times for that reason.

To discover how best to “present” such multiple ideas in a way that they create the best “impact” on the listener interests me a lot.

During the time that I worked on bringing out my mobile App “Connect with your inner self through music and meditation” I reviewed and reworked many of my prior compositions in order to use them in the App where I thought I needed at least 75 different compositions as I wanted to only show my own compositions.  Looking back at them I can see that most of the time I am applying 2 voices polyphony somewhere and somehow.

Sometimes a melody started its way as a solo idea and it was only later that I thought it would be interesting to find a “partner” for that melody.

The following melody is a case in point.  It started life quite a few years ago as a solo voice melody, which I first used as an introduction and ending idea for a longer piece.

During the two and a half year of completing work on the mobile App I took  some time off to get back to composing.  I had some ideas about 3 and 4 voice polyphony which I wanted to explore more.  But the idea popped into my head to take a look at that melody shown below and see if I could find a way to make it more expressive by finding a “partner” for it.

I tried this and that idea but nothing was compelling in any way and I started wondering if maybe this had been a bad idea.

Then probably 2 weeks later I had the idea to use triplets and it worked!  Here it is:

I really like what this turned into.  However if I try to apply the 2 voice polyphony definition of polyphony to it I can’t say that this piece fits that definition.  The 2 ideas are not equal in any way as is obvious; they are certainly independent.  I feel that the triplets sort of set a “mood” for the slow melody to come out.  My first name for the piece was “floating” for that reason.

I also used that melody in a Trio for flute, viola and cello.  Let me play it for you:

It is quite different.  I liked it after I composed it and still like it today listening to it again.  It starts with the melody being played as solos in section by each of the 3 instruments but after some “intermezzo” ideas the melody comes back as part of a 2 voice compositions but not with a complete “overlap” of the ideas.  It finishes with a sort of choral idea on the theme.  It strikes me as a very melancholic, reflective and peaceful composition.

When it comes to the 2 voice polyphony approach in this piece the 2 voices are indeed independent but they do not overlap.  I did not have to make that a conscious decision, it seemed natural for me to bring these together in this way.

The voices are indeed harmonious but the “harmony” is not staring me into the face, I.e. that was not a consideration for me at all.

I would like to look at 2 other examples to reflect a bit more on 2 voice polyphony.

First of all a composition that uses an idea I had many years ago and then reworked when I was creating material for my mobile App:

One of my favourites still!  I use 2 flutes because on the hardware and software I use flutes sound a lot better than violins.  Here the 2 voices are much more intertwined and related and work very well together.  Everything finishes again in a choral way.  A great piece for meditating! -:)

Each voice gets “top” and “bottom” billing so there is no competition between them and they do not seem to create any conflict in the listener’s attention I think.

If it had not been for that mobile App that composition might never have happened, but I am glad it did.

A few years earlier I had composed another trio where a different 2 voice idea makes its appearance and I want to play it for you:

In this piece it takes over 2 and a half minutes before this 2 voice idea comes up:

I hope I will learn how to manage the inserts of pdf files into Pages.  It does not want to put them where my cursor is when I do the insert.  Frustrating indeed.

I would like to finish this chapter with a duo for flute and cello where there is sort of constant overlap between the 2 voices. One idea in it was inspired by a 4 note theme from a french Baroque composer who’s name escapes me at the moment.  I used that theme quite differently so I don’t feel I stole someone else’s idea.  I did once use “Do you know the muffin man” in a composition, but only to please my granddaughter who was 7 years old then.  That little melody comes at the end but I can’t remember where I did so.  My granddaughter is now 14 years!   In general I try not to listen to other composers when I am working on things because their music sticks in my head for quite some time.