1.2 Listening gallery: how music makes sense

The following short works or excerpts are each based on a single pattern that is repeated throughout the work.

These terms will help you answer the questions about how the basic patterns are varied.

FURTHER LISTENING: Bernard Rand's "Le Tambourin" is a suite of orchestral pieces drawn from his opera about Vincent Van Gogh. In the movement "Sorrow," Rands creates repetition without redundancy by modeling his compositional method on a technique used by Van Gogh. In sketching his model, Van Gogh placed three sheets of paper on top of one another. His first, rather spare sketch left imprints on the pages beneath. He then removed the top sheet and repeated the process, adding more detail. He then performed the same operation with the third sheet, making it the most elaborate. Rands treats his music in an analogous manner: He presents an initial passage of music. He then repeats this music identically, but adds new details. A third layer of music is then added to the first two. Thus, the music gradually accumulates in the same way as Van Gogh's imprints.