Playable BooksGeorge Frederick McKay · section 47 of 111
Onomatopoeic texture
Read and hear this section in the playable edition →The word onomatopoeic implies "imitation of natural sounds." If the composer brings in an actual cuckoo call, as Beethoven did in the "Pastoral" Symphony, or as Delius did in On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring, the effect may be said to be "onomatopoeic."
When orchestration employs such literal portrayal or is strongly programmatic, the resulting unity creates an "onomatopoeic" texture.
from PROKOFIEV: Lieutenant Kijé Suite (Copyright by Edition A. Gutheil, copyright assigned 1947 to Boosey & Hawkes, Inc. — reprinted by permission) — PLATE VII. HETEROPHONIC TEXTURE (differing versions of the same musical idea sounding simultaneously) [Plate withheld from the public edition: the excerpt is still in copyright.]
from PROKOFIEV: Lieutenant Kijé Suite (Copyright by Edition A. Gutheil, copyright assigned 1947 to Boosey & Hawkes, Inc. — reprinted by permission) — PLATE VIII. HETEROPHONIC TEXTURE (independent tunes sounding simultaneously) [Plate withheld from the public edition: the excerpt is still in copyright.]
When Respighi causes a "fountain of sound" to rise and fall in the score of The Fountains of Rome, or when, by use of a phonograph, he brings the actual song of the nightingale into the score of The Pines of Rome, or when he has the trombones imitating the roar of the lions in Roman Festivals, the music has a texture that may be said to be "onomatopoeic."
Such a texture is not easily definable in terms of architecture, except to say that the resulting shapes and patterns reflect the contours and motions of nature.
It is the dramatic verity of these contours and motions that convinces the listener and gives meaning to what might otherwise be a chaotic, monotonous or random musical experience.
A composer might write a piece called "Chaos No. 1," or "Turbulence No. 2," or a single smashing sound to be entitled "A Punch in the Nose"; if the audience were dramatically convinced, mere chaotic motion, random turbulent action, or sudden savage impact would be seemingly clear and meaningful.
Sometimes a score will combine onomatopoeic patterns with more structurally clear textural prototype, as in The Ride of the Valkyries by Wagner (essentially homophonic).