Expressive Circles—Original Concept Regarding the Structural and Dramaturgical Aspects of the Musical Composition in the Piece EXPRESSIVE CIRCLES—Three Pieces for Piano Trio: Composer’s Self-Reflection

Abstract

The objective of this article is to present an original approach for modern composers to construct their musical work regarding its structural and dramaturgical aspects. The concept of Expressive circles originated primarily in inspirations taken from the movement in art called Surrealism and from music composed by Hanna Kulenty (which she describes as musique surrealistique). There are also parallels to other concepts (unism in music, surconventional deconstruction of the musical material) or to other composers (Witold Lutosławski). In the article, I present three types of Expressive circles (i.e., three form models)—closed structure, open structure and inverted structure. Each model is characterised by different approach to the musical theme and to its development in the musical piece. Considering the dramaturgical aspects of the work, the trance-like character of the music is important and there are two types of musical trances that I distinguish in Expressive circles, logarithm and drive; both are achieved differently in the musical work. The theoretical assumptions of the concept presented in the article are illustrated by chosen fragments from the score of my composition (EXPRESSIVE CIRCLES—Three pieces for piano trio) and by colourful schemes showing how the concept translates from theory to music.