The seventh improvisation of Béla Bartók’s Eight Improvisations on Hungarian Peasant Songs, op. 20 (1920) features, as the title suggests, thematic and melodic material derived from songs of the Hungarian countryside. In the seventh improvisation it is possible to notice the derived material as it unfolds throughout the composition, creating a tripartite general structure which can be subdivided into further internal segments. The first section (A1) presents four distinct melodic statements (1a [mm. 1-3], 1b [mm. 4-6], 1c [mm. 7-12] and 1d [mm. 13-16.1/8]), each defined by either the octave doubling (for instance as presented in the segments 1a, 1b, 1c and also in the following segments, such as 2a, 2b, 2c, 2.1d, 3c and 3d) or by a prominent placement in the outer parts of the higher and lower registers. Both compositional techniques have been strategically employed by Bartók throughout the composition to preserve and emphasize the derived material. Furthermore, it is also possible to name and differentiate two subgroups of pitch collections, both of which hold two set and distinct functions, namely the pitches of the inner circle and the pitches of the outer circle (accompaniment).
The pitches of the inner circle are pitches which are essential for the development and stability of the structural-melodic contour of the composition; they are adopted from the derived material and regularly display either tonal, quasi-tonal or modal characteristics. An example of pitches belonging to the inner circle is the pitch collection (0, 2, 3, 2, 0) of the opening segment beginning on F, which is doubled at the octave and suggests an F minor modal tonality.
The pitches of the outer circle are pitches which act as accompanying material of improvisatory nature and are, in fact, juxtaposed to the sequential collections of the inner circle. An example of collection of pitches belonging to the outer circle can be found in measures 2 and 3 (3, 6, 7, 10). Furthermore the pitches of the outer circle may operate in both the horizontal (melodic) and the vertical (harmonic) musical planes, while the pitches of the inner circle are strictly limited to the horizontal (melodic) musical plane. This limitation, along with the defined placement within a set register and octave doubling, is ultimately the factor which allows a clear presentation of the derived thematic material; the latter presentation would have been much more obscure if a compositional technique such as octave displacement would have also been used with the pitches of the inner circle. It is worth noting that the interval class 3, in both vertical and horizontal planes, seems to be extremely prominent throughout the composition. This can be observed since the beginning of the composition, in both the inner and outer circles.
The segment 1b (mm. 4-6) follows a similar presentation of the first segment (1a), namely it opens with a statement featuring the pitches of the inner circle’s sequential collection (7, 4, 2, 0, 11, 0), always doubled one octave apart, and it is then followed by the introduction of the pitches of the outer circle towards its conclusion. Furthermore, both segments seem to be related despite the eighth-note rest separating them, perhaps due to the connection between both sequential collections of the inner circle (as they both seem to be melodically interconnected, given the shared melodic outline which seems to suggest a prolongation of the F minor modal tonality, but without raising the seventh degree to a leading tone, in order to preserve the modal quality of the melodic material [a prominent feature found in French music of the late 19th century and early 20th century, linked to the revival of the modes and of church music, promoted at first by the composer Louis Niedermeyer and then adopted by other composers including Debussy, to whom this piece is dedicated]).
The segment 1c (mm. 7-12) features some of the pitches of the inner circle’s sequential collections found in the previous two segments (0, 2, 3, 7) with further additions (5, 8, 10), but within the same confinement in both the alto and baritone registers. This segment is much longer if compared to the previous two segments, but despite its length the structure is still the same, and it also includes a closure signaled by pitches of the outer circle, which seem to function as a musical-syntactic period for each one of these three opening segments.
The segment 1d (mm. 13-16.1/8) features a new distribution of pitches of the inner circle’s sequential collection (0, 2, 5, 7, 8, 10), this time presented as thirds (interval class 3) in the higher soprano register and juxtaposed to an inverted countermelody, featuring a further collection of pitches of the outer circle, also in thirds, in the alto register. It is worth noting that small fragments (8, 7) from the 1c segment can be found echoing in the lower register in measures 14 and 15.
The segment 1d marks the conclusion of the A1 section, with the segment 2a (16.3/8-16.8/8) opening the A2 section. The segment 2a’s sequential collection of the inner circle (0, 2, 3, 2, 0) is a transposed version of the same sequential collection found in the segment 1a, this time beginning on C instead of F; interestingly enough, this relationship seems to allude to a tonic-dominant relationship. The inner circle’s sequential collection of the segment 2a is presented in octaves in the soprano and alto registers, along with the collection of the outer circle, thus creating a much compressed texture (prominently featuring the repetition of the interval class 3, internally with each octave).
The inner circle’s sequential collection (7, 4, 2, 0, 11, 0) of the segment 2b (mm. 17-18.5/6) is also directly related to the corresponding collection found in the segment 1b; this time the rhythm has been altered to fit the 2/4 and 3/4 time signatures. The outer circle collection has been widely expanded and distributed to the higher register, in a similar manner as it is presented in the segment 2a.
The segment 2c (19-21) features its inner circle’s sequential collection (0, 3, 2, 0, 10, 0, 7, 5, 10, 8, 5, 7) in the outer voices of the higher register, and it is also a closely related to the segment 1c. The outer circle collection in this segment is distributed in both chordal (from the second quarter of measure 19 until the third quarter of measure 21) and arpeggiated (on the third and fourth quarter of measure 21) forms. The following segment 2.1d (mm. 22-24.5/6) is perhaps the most texturally complex, featuring its inner circle’s sequential collection (0, 10, 0, 1, 0, 6, 0, 6, 0, 6, 0, 6, 4, 6) in the higher register and an expanded outer-circle collection (under the form of pentachords in mm. 22-23) in both the higher and lower registers; the first measure of the segment 2.1d is a semitone downward-transposition of the first measure of the segment 1d (with a few exceptions, including the Bb which remains unaltered).
The texture is once again altered in the segment 2.2d (25-28.5/6), the inner circle’s sequential collection of which (5, 8, 9, 8, 0, 2, 0, 11, 0, 2,0, 11, 0) is presented in the tenor register and contains fragments of the segment 1d’s material (with the prominent 0, 2, 0 pattern repeated twice), closing with a chromatic ascent (11, 0) which then leads to a B natural (7) which also acts as the leading tone (11) to the C at the beginning of the following segment. The segment 2.2d’s outer circle collection (0, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9) is distributed as a series of dyads (often of interval class 4) in the alto and soprano registers as well as a countermelody which closely accompanies the derived material, with the occasional imitation and mirroring, in the tenor and bass registers.
The second to last segment (3c, mm. 29-30) contains an inner circle’s sequential collection (0, 10, 3, 1, 10, 0, 10, 3), which is closely related to the segment 2c and adopts the same formula found in the segments 1a, 1b and 1c, namely the doubling of the derived material at the octave, which is then accompanied by the occasional emerging of the outer circle collection (1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 9) as chordal entities always detached from the derived material. The final segment (3d, mm. 31-33) opens in a similar textural manner to the segment 3c, with its inner circle’s sequential collection (0, 11, 0) leading to a descending showcase of the entire chromatic collection of the outer circle, which resolves to a single tetrachord (2, 5, 6, 9) outlining two distinct dyads, each of interval class 3.
The composition ends on a lonely C, which belongs to the inner circle’s sequential collection and therefore is also part of the derived material. On this note it is possible to observe the compositional structure coming to a full circle (symbolism which has certainly inspired Bartók during this time to compose some of his works including his opera, Bluebeard’s Castle [1911-1918]) and reminisce about the opening statement of the composition and its relationship with the closing statement; whether the final C may one day be held accountable, after the revival of modalism led by the French School, as the dominant of a now distant F, or whether the promise of atonality from the Second Viennese School will truly set it free.
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