Crumb's Black Angels Analysis Paper

Gabriele (Crumb) 1
Kimberly Gabriele
Prof. Weymouth
MUS 422
Due: 11/23/10
Crumb’s Black Angels Analysis Paper
George Crumb’s piece, Black Angels is, without a doubt, one of the most unique and
recognizable pieces ever written. Dated “Friday the thirteenth” of March 1970, it further adds a
kind of mystery and depth that most pieces of music are missing. Crumb composed it to be After
analyzing three of the thirteen images, “Threnody I: Night of the Electric Insects”, “Pavana
Lachrymae”, and Threnody III: Night of the Electric Insects”, the detail that Crumb put into this
string quartet become very apparent.
The first movement of Crumb’s first section, “Departure”, we get the most famous of the
movements within this piece. It was even featured on the soundtrack of the famed film, “The
Exorcist.” As we look at the first movement in the piece, we first notice the pitches. Even in the
first groupings of notes, we get a pattern. As seen in the example below, we get all of the pitches
Gabriele (Crumb) 2
except G. However, if you look at the next grouping of notes, you see that we get all of the
pitches that we were missing from the previous grouping. The first grouping then repeats itself
seven times, but the G isn’t included. However, once we get to the second grouping of notes, the
G is found in the viola line. We notice that the note “B” is played in all of the groups of the first
five notes, seeming to emphasize it. One reason he might have done this, is because, Black
Angels is very heavily reliant on religious numerology, and, the key signature is in the key of C.
“B” is the seventh note in the C scale, maintaining the steady numerology that occurs throughout
the piece. The pitch emphasis then changes in the next flurry of movement as we get another
part. The most frequently played notes are C and C#, so the emphasis moves up a half step.
Despite the fact that the piece shows different characteristics typical of a 12-tone piece, it isn’t
one. Each of the measures is grouped in a specific number. From the very beginning, we get one
group of seven, a group of three, a group of four (which adds up to be seven), and a group of
seven. All throughout the piece, we find sevens, threes, thirteen’s, all because they have religious
and dark imagery that all tie into what the piece is about. ((Enter more detail here)). Another
very recognizable part of this movement is the wide contrast between dynamics. The movement
starts out very loud and high-pitched, to build tension and show the instability of not only the
music, but also the time in which the piece was written. However, the volume of the piece
suddenly drops down to a point where it’s almost inaudible, as the first violin and cello drop out.
The first violin then comes in with a group of seven notes that adds a striking new timbre to the
piece. The cello then echoes that same seven note phrase, except a half step down. In the next
grouping of notes, we get a repeat, except a half step down. These descending lines are not only
symbolic of a slow descent into hell, or the “Dark land”, but also the falling of an angel from
heaven. Many of the techniques used in this movement can’t be heard, but are written into the
Gabriele (Crumb) 3
score. In George Crumb’s program notes, he writes: “The numerological symbolism of Black
Angels, while perhaps not immediately perceptible to the ear, is nonetheless quite faithfully
reflected in the musical structure. These "magical" relationships are variously expressed; e.g., in
terms of length, groupings of single tones, durations, patterns of repetition, etc. An important
pitch element in the work -- descending E, A, and D-sharp -- also symbolizes the fateful numbers
7-13” (Crumb). Everything in this movement moves so quickly, but the repetition of certain
passages and the changes in different striking elements are audible.
We then move on to the next section of the piece, Absence, which symbolizes the fallen
angels and the horrors that the “Dark Land” holds. The first movement of the second part is the
Pavana lachrymae, which means “Flow My Tears”. It is a possible reference to John Dowland’s
piece of the same title, as Dowland’s piece is meant to be played on a lute, and Crumb makes a
note in the score that the players should sound like a “consort of viols (A fragile echo of an
ancient music” (Crumb). The most striking aspect of this piece is the obvious, almost verbatim
dictation of Schubert’s “Death and the Maiden” string quartet, the andante movement. The cello
is given the melody, because the bass line of the original quartet is cut out. It is during measure
five that the first violin comes in with the insect sounds from the first section. These insect
sounds appear throughout the movement. We have five appearances, all adding up to some
increment of thirteen. The first “grouping” of these notes, the passage has twenty-six notes,
which is thirteen doubled. All throughout the movement, the melody seems to surround G,
making it the most stable note in the movement. With the exception of the insect sounds, the
section only has eight different notes. If we include the “insect sounds” played by the first violin,
we get every pitch in the chromatic scale played at least once, of course, some are more
emphasized than others. “B” is one of the emphasized notes, tying in to the “Night of the Electric
Gabriele (Crumb) 4
Insects” movement and the numerology of the piece. ((Insert more information here)). Another
striking part of the piece is the fact that the last note in the piece doesn’t resolve, but rather just
goes into the next movement. As the first eight measures finish, comparing it to the original
“Death and the Maiden” quartet, it skips eight measures and goes directly to the 17th measure of
the original piece.
Patterns found within the movement
Tonality
Numerology
Gabriele (Crumb) 5
Threnody III: night of the Electric Insects
Range of the piece
Patterns found within the movement
Flurries of movement
Tying in the two previous movements
Numerology

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Gabriele (Crumb) 1

Crumb’s Black Angels Analysis Paper

string quartet become very apparent.

passages and the changes in different striking elements are audible.

the original piece.

Patterns found within the movement

Threnody III: night of the Electric Insects

Range of the piece

Patterns found within the movement

Tying in the two previous movements

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