Similarities

            Despite their numerous differences in structure, articulation, rhythm, and overall mood, Clarinet à la King and The Great Doxology hold significant similarities. They both use scales that are specialized to their genre. Interestingly, the Bb blues scale and the Pythagorean diatonic scale on which Tone 1 is based are both minor in their tone and their intervals. The use of these scales accomplishes many tasks within each of the works. They both portray moods that distinguish themselves from conventional music styles. Clarinet à la King expresses swing and jazz which, while popular in America, certainly does not seem like a “normal, everyday” genre. The Great Doxology is a Byzantine chant which is only sung liturgically and is in a different musical spectrum than secular music. However, the main purpose for the scales in both pieces is to set up a basis for harmonic voices to adhere to so that the melodic voice may be liberated to perform on its own terms. The anonymous monk and Benny Goodman are free to take the music where their desires wish it to go as long as they do not stray too far from their fellow musicians. The big band and the ison are simpler than their respective melodies and must retain strict guidelines so the musicality of the songs does not fly away with the melody. The conservative harmonies keep the liberal melodies in check, and the melodies add emotion to the harmonies. As an Orthodox monk from Mt. Athos once said: “The ison is the floor upon which the melody dances.” This holds true for jazz as well. Their own ornamentations are another aspect that outlines the expression the musician implants into the music.

In the end, what is the point of all the improvisation in these pieces (and more importantly, their genres)? It is more than personal expression, although that is one driving force behind it. It represents a freedom from the musical text that holds immense power. When a chanter sings a verse, he is telling a Biblical story and praising God. To him, God cannot be composed, He must be sung to from the very depths of the chanter’s soul and with his purest emotion to properly offer Him exaltation. A jazz player tells his own story that cannot be expressed in words, neither can he sit and write it down lest it run away from him before he has a chance to play it. His emotion is internalized and transmitted through his instrument through his own improvisation.

Putting this investigation together has been a valuable learning experience on the power of emotion in music. Technical similarities in the works represent deeper, fundamental aspects of musical expression. No matter how different the music, it will always start with human emotion.