Principles of Pitch Organization in Scriabin’s Early Post-tonal Period

What is it about?

Scriabin’s post-tonal period, which begins around 1909 with Feuillet d’album, Op. 58, is defined by the subtle and sophisticated exploitation of some special non-diatonic sets and their pitch universes: (i) the acoustic scale: 0, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, t (member of set-class 7-34), the parent scale of the Mystic Chord; (ii) the octatonic scale, Model Α: 0, 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, t (member of set-class 8-28); and (iii) 9-10: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, t (the nine-note superset that arises from the union of the acoustic and the octatonic scales). Close examination of the post-Op. 58 works allows us to partition the late style into two periods: early, from Op. 58 to Op. 69 inclusive; and late, from Op. 70 to the final creation, Op. 74. During his early post-tonal period, Scriabin developed a pitch organization method based on the interaction between the acoustic and octatonic scales within the constraints of their nonachordal common superset 9-10. This essay examines the specifics and the application of the acoustic-octatonic interaction in the composer’s miniature pieces written in his early post-tonal period.

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