Zappa’s Stravinsky Borrowings (part 1)

Andre

I recently finished up a draft of a dissertation chapter looking at Zappa use music by Stravinsky. “Status Back Baby,” from Absolutely Free (1967), is the centerpiece of my analysis.: the melodic fragments from Petrushka that constitute the guitar solo in the bridge and the way in which they interact with their new context form a wonderful venue for exploring Zappa’s motivations and intentions. But there are a heck of a lot of other Stravinsky borrowings as well! Zappa borrowed from a number of Stravinsky compositions and did so with remarkable consistency throughout his career. Tracking these moments in his music has been a big part of my research for this chapter.

In a follow-up post, I’ll put up a table of Stravinsky borrowings that appear in Zappa’s music. Román García Albertos’ website, “Information Is Not Knowledge”–the work of a number of contributors including myself–includes an extensive, cross-referenced discography of Zappa’s work. It has been a wonderful resource for tracking musical borrowing. Much of my table is derived from Román’s site, but some of my own observations appear as well.

More importantly, I’ve made an attempt to construct a taxonomy of compositional strategies for how Zappa goes about using this material. Earlier discussions of musical borrowing have tended to use “quotation” as an umbrella term. J. Peter Burkholder has pointed out, however, that “quotation” is but one type of borrowing practice.[1] Burkholder argues that, in order to decipher the intended purpose and implicit meaning of a borrowing, we must understand exactly how it works on a technical level. Categorizing instances of musical borrowing illuminates these technical details. By doing this with Zappa, I’m able to highlight large-scale trends in his compositional history and draw conclusions about what the act of musical borrowing means (to Zappa and to us).

For the most part, Zappa’s various approaches can be accounted for by using terms developed by Burkholder in his work on Charles Ives. [2] The following list paraphrases Burkholder’s terminology, adapting it to better fit Zappa’s music.

  1. Modeling: A work which bears resemblance to its source on a large-scale or structural level. This may be with regards to the textual content, melodic material, or a number of other parameters.
  2. Paraphrasing: An instance in which melodic material is shortened, abbreviated, or otherwise truncated. In most cases, the source material is still highly identifiable.
  3. Arrangement: A rescoring of the musical forces. (Since the borrowings listed in the tables below inevitably require different instrumentation than Stravinsky’s originals, I reserve this term for instances in which no other term applies or where the change in instrumentation is essential to the nature of the borrowing.)
  4. Setting: Providing a new accompaniment for borrowed melodic material.
  5. Medley: An instance of two or more borrowings appearing in close succession.
  6. Quodlibet: A combination of two or more sources simultaneously, often for the sake of humor or ironic juxtaposition.
  7. Stylistic allusion: A reference to a specific work or style, but not necessarily appropriating any traceable melodic, harmonic, or rhythmic material from the source.
  8. Programmatic quotation: Instances in which a quotation (usually melodic) illustrates a part of the text.
  9. Extended paraphrase: An entire work derives its melodic content from a paraphrase of an existing melody.

Of course, not all of Ives’ techniques can be found in Zappa’s work. They are different composers, after all! I’ve omitted the strategies listed by Burkholder that don’t apply.

There are also a couple of techniques that Zappa uses which none of Burkholder’s terms can adequately accommodate. For this reason, I need to supplement the list with some terms of my own:

  1. Riffing: a type of paraphrasing characterized by repetition and the gritty, cathartic feel of a rock guitar solo.
  2. Spontaneous paraphrase: borrowings in improvised music that do not appear to have been premeditated.

In most cases, borrowing in Zappa’s music is never as cut and dried as any one of these strategies would imply. Borrowings are usually characterized by aspects of several compositional techniques simultaneously.

In my next post, I’ll put these terms to use. I’ll provide a table (three, actually!) that will account for most (if not all) instances of Stravinsky borrowing in Zappa’s music. Stay tuned…

References:
[1] J. Peter Burkholder, “The Uses of Existing Music: Musical Borrowing as a Field,” Notes 50.3 (March 1994): 851-870. (Article here.)
[2] Ibid., 854.
Zappa’s Stravinsky Borrowings (part 1)

13,193 thoughts on “Zappa’s Stravinsky Borrowings (part 1)”

  1. servicioswom

    parajumpers jacket trends women why is burberry scarf so expensive hermes ladies bracelet prada short flap wallet dimensions christian louboutin shoes daffodile flower mackage leather jacket rumer island

  4. omegaspark

    burberry giant check cashmere scarf navy store new balance 993 coast guard polo ralph lauren ribbed scarf crochet nobis jacket korea military moncler down coat sale nike magista football boots

  6. lauraundleon

    elite nike black mens wil lutz home jersey nfl 3 new orleans saints vapor untouchable air max 90 hot pink full red le coq sportif grey trainers nike hypervenom verde and verde air jordan retro 12 sky blue yellow nike flyknit roshe run midnight fog buy…

  8. bitcashgrams

    mackage crossbody tory green ugg womens bailey button boot salvatore ferragamo belt strap nike free run 2 black grey hermes evelyne pm vs gm adidas gazelle 11

  9. ampflightads

    nike free 3.0 v4 lila and rosa ombre adidas tubular runner lilla ré…¶d air jordan 1 retro 93 wolf grigio nike free run 5.0 2014 alle schwarz team nike air max 2017 kpu grigio air jordan retro 8 himmelblau rot

  14. madamevelvet

    nobis spring jacket nike lebron 13 graffiti burberry like scarf texas rangers home hat zionsville adidas ultra triple white nike air max 1 ultra moire release dates

  15. 锌褍褉锌褍褉薪褘泄 褋械褉械斜褉褟薪褘泄 basketball shoes

    褉芯蟹芯胁褘泄 褋懈薪懈泄 nike air vibenna se蟹械谢械薪褘泄 nike lunarepic flyknit褋械褉械斜褉褟薪褘泄 褋械褉褘泄 nike air max more uptempo褏邪泻懈 褔械褉薪褘泄 converse wedge leopard

  19. cat keyring personalised

    genuine ulysse nardin blue crocodile keyringzebra jumbo squishy scented slow rising squeeze squishy toys 12cm donkey gift toys for kidsdownload our free app herebuy unique handmade green red bird beads keychain india meets india

  20. dinerwaresb

    air jordan future black white plain kobe basketbtodas zapatos verde a buon mercato nike air max 90 hyperfuse femminile oro nike shox turbo xii sl womens shoe red hat california new colorways for lebron 12

  22. nrastogi

    new balance 993 herre guld new era nfl knit hats uk chords kobe 11 black space for sale dam盲nner nike roshe run gr眉n rot curry one negro and amarillo light nike air max 95 green spain

  24. feyzplastik

    how to wash a north face hyvent jacket burberry scarf how much price adidas stan smith all grey hermes scarf cost savings nobis coat sewing for kids red moncler jacket womens

  25. senegalreview

    purple orange womens nike lunarglide 7 shoes minnesota timberwolves 21 kevin garnett black jerseys shorts nba suits blue green womens nike shox turbo 21 shoes kvinders nike air max 1 orange blæ°“ nike air max 90 carved rojo oro ray ban sunglasses offer p…

  28. cheljm

    air max lunar 90 gr眉n lila ralph lauren black shoulder bag adidas protator q21663 user manual asics gel lyte v noir rose nfl nike new york jets 32 juston burris ash backer pullover hoodie amari cooper dog jersey

  29. duranerdogan

    louboutin flat ballet music mackage wool coat with hood installation tory burch quilted slouchy diaper bag nike zoom train action red kd 7 mackage odilia jacket michael kors fulton trifold wallet

  31. ge9262ag

    adidas tubular runner cielo azul rojo zx flux originals hvid adidas yeezy boost oro gituttio nike kyrie 1 wolf gris hot lava bleu midnight nike air huarache ultra kvinders sko fashion air jordan retro 9 dam盲nner silber

  32. em864ynh

    nike blazer team r酶d hvit nike wmns internationalist cachi wmns nike free tr flyknit 5.0 or violet hommes nike huarache ultra jaune gris air max classic bw wei脽 knight jordan 1 schwarz and gold toddler

  33. amymowafi

    nike free fonctionnement violet nike free 5.0 w light azul adidas zx flux monochrome prism for verkauf nike hyperdunk low lux svart nike free 6.0 lyseré…¶d lilla nike kd lifestyle rosso wings

  35. etosell plus size sexy satin nightgown sleepwear women floral lace short mini nightwear silk sleep dress night clothes etosell plus size sexy satin

    shoshanna cherese dresssupreme kermit tee frog tee print t shirt high qualitymcq alexander mcqueen loose ruffle tee dress dresses women ivory dendfdstereo floral long sleeve off the shoulder dress whiteblack m

  36. oneusabank

    jordan hydro 2 blue and white bear ear hat knitting pattern block nike air max 1 tan am1 prada tortoise shell cat eye sunglasses adidas tubular runner weave green screen bright yellow michael kors bag

  37. delmaroffice

    youth nike atlanta falcons 11 julio jones limited green salute to service super bowl li 51 nfl jersey detroit lions jason hanson jersey air jordan 4 green glow damen air jordan 11 bred 2017 car new york yankees baseball cap nz nike air max 97 premium t…

  38. paliana

    air max 2017 hermes kelly long wallet hermes belt retail price coach black white handbags asics gel sendai womens running shoes sneakers how to open hermes clic clac bracelet

  40. winnercells

    nike kyrie 3 royal blue perfume nike air trainer adidas copa mundial new noir panthers mlb jerseys st louis cardinals 21 allen craig 1982 turn back the clock white jerseys air jordan 6 infrared 2014 retro 6 black women 2012 new nfl jerseys san francisc…

  43. mesmertronic

    nike kobe xi elite rouge horse nationals 7 trea turner white flexbase authentic collection stitched mlb jersey all white adidas ultra boost womens nike cortez mens red grey converse chuck taylor all star high top off white kvinners nike blazer all rosa

  44. homeystudio

    kvinners asics gel kinsei 5 blæ°“ himmelen blæ°“ nike kd7 july 4th for salg nfl tre boston womens limited black jersey 33 arizona cardinals nike 2016 salute to service mets 48 jacob degrom whiteblue strip flexbase authentic collection fathers day stitched…

  45. squidsforkids

    mackage dale jacket nike kyrie 2 effect australia nike tampa bay buccaneers 6 dan orlovsky limited orange glaze alternate jersey burberry women belt sale discount oakley crankshaft mens polarized sunglasses washington redskins snapback mitchell and nes…

  47. usuariobacano

    elite nike white mens dan marino road jersey nfl 13 miami dolphins usa flag fashion nike free run 4.0 kvinders gul orange nfl jacob mcquaide ash 44 los angeles rams nike backer pullover hoodie air jordan 9 tour gul wallepaper kobe 12 triple sort jordan…

  49. industrialamps

    nike air force 1 mid svart canada dam盲nner nike free flyknit 3.0 wei脽 grau adidas damian lillard lilla himmelen bl氓 kobe 9 low wei脽 jordan mennns nike roshe run speckle lilla gr酶nn asics gel kayano 21 a buon mercato quality

  50. olneyagroup

    michael kors handbags online shopping moncler mens charente jacket highlights ray ban polarized gold aviator mulberry tote bags sale ltd nike mercurial vapor ix 98 m parajumpers gobi heren sale online

Comments are closed.