| At the end of19th Century and beginning of20th Century, with the revolution in which western philosophers began to think mathematical logic as the basis of philosophy and use logic analysis to study philosophy, the trend of Structuralism came. It started from "systematicness" concept in modern structural linguistics of Ferdinand de Saussure, linguist in Switzerland of the early20th century, and spread into literature, anthropology, psychology, semiotics, paintings, music, etc. To some extent, the development of Serial music was affected by the trend of Structuralism. This dissertation selects serial compositions covering different periods of Milton Babbitt and Luigi Dallapiccola who are serial composers from different countries and with distinct musical styles, performed specific study and analysis from the perspective of Structuralism, and seek to interpret Structural thinking in writing serial music, decipher the totality, closeness, logic and order, transformation, process and other related characteristics presented by music itself and its inherent components, and further discuss the influence social trend and ideology imposed on composers, through in-depth analysis for nine serial compositions.This dissertation totally includes six chapters. The first and second chapters are the basic research for Structuralism and the two composers based on historical literature. Chapter1discusses similarities and possible interactions between Structural thinking and serial music, and points the possibility applying Structuralism to serial music and analysis as a methodology. Chapter2traces back to the background under which Babbitt's structure thinking formed and the origin letting Dallapiccola merge serial factors into his composition, summarizes their road maps of composition techniques, and points out their common logic thinking basis under different styles shown externally. Chapter3,4and5develop the analysis of Babbitt and Dallapiccola's serial compositions in different periods through music analysis method, and discuss the structural thinking features presented during conceiving process. Chapter3describes formal constructions of pitch, rhythm, dynamics, timbre and other music parameters, such as hexachord combinatoriality and rows partition presented in pitch area, simultaneous meter and time point rows, and concludes on'autonomy'and'closeness'characteristics of structure of music parameters. Chapter4describes logical relationships among different music parameters of serial music by analyzing penetrating principles, simultaneity between symmetric and asymmetric elements, and contrapuntal structure techniques; considers studying these'relationships' as a new approach in serial music analysis matched with Structural thinking. Chapter5introduces transformations and reguiation of music parameters and whole structure's closeness and internal logical order first, and then identifies the 'progressive thinking' presented by transformation, reasoning, and constructing during the process of serial music writing. Chapter6relates Structuralism in literature, paintings and semiotics to structural thinking in serial music, from the perspective of structuralism in a macroscopic view describes the approaches and logical associative laws in serial music writing and analysis, i.e. totality and closeness, logic and order, regulation and transformation. At the end of this dissertation, the author retrospects music compositions from the perspective of Structuralism, and points that composition and analysis in structural thinking model can accommodate music works to a more stable system, lead to a more clear music conceiving process, clarify the patterns and combinatorial relationships resided in and between music parameters, identify the network in terms of which music works get developed, find the inborn driving force under the enclosed system, and thus endow music works some certainty, uniformity and logic order. Besides, the author associates "construction" with "deconstruction", and argues that "deconstruction" is the embodying of "construction" in the other side, and both "construction" and "deconstruction" are different presentations of form in different levels and situations. |
