Analysis of Music For Strings, Percussion and Celesta
The form of the first movement of Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta provides an illustration of axis-based substitution, where the opening is based upon the pole of the principal branch of the tonic axis (A, A-C-E♭-F♯), the middle contrasts the opening and the end of the first movement by being based on E♭. In the second movement the beginning and ending based on C are contrasted with the middle based on its pole F♯. The two movements themselves are contrasted through the first being based on the principal branch (A-E♭) and the second on the secondary (C-F♯).
| Movement | Section | ||
| Beginning | Middle | End | |
| I | A | E♭ | A |
| II | C | F♯ | C |
| III | F♯ | C | F♯ |
| IV | A | E♭ | A |
It is interesting to note that the pattern Tonic-Super Tonic-Subdominant relationship repeats itself counter clockwise around the circle of fifths. This pattern creates the root movement of a ii/V7/I chord progression. The tonic dominant relationship is repeated around the circle in clockwise fashion.
Read more about this topic: Axis System
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