Analysis of an Excerpt from Michael Torkes Telephone Book

Michael Crawford

MUS222
Dr. Laura Emmery
2 May 2015

Crawford 1
A telephone book. Few volumes could elicit a stronger response of repulsion from an
enjoyment-seeking reader. With page after page of listingsmerely names and basic details
bereft of stories and stripped of their individuality, there could hardly be a collection of words
less intriguing. Yet this now obsolescent book served as Michael Torkes musical inspiration and
helped bring to life a highly imaginative work for chamber ensemble. In a style sometimes
described as post-minimalism, Torke combines repeating rhythmic figures in a constantly
changing harmonic setting to depict the listings in a telephone book. Taking a step away from his
characteristic synesthesia and dense orchestral writing, Torke succeeds in creating an exciting
work while exploring a systematic yet flexible method of organization.
My composition instructor introduced me to Torkes Color Music after examining one of
my orchestral works which took a similar stylistic approach. With intricately interlocking
rhythms that produced a compound line and a reliance on repeating figures as the primary
organizing force, the resemblance was clear. Ecstatic Orange, the first of Torkes pieces that I
heard, inspired me with its brilliant orchestration and relentless rhythmic activity. I took
immediate interest in examining Torkes work further for the satisfaction of understanding its
theoretical underpinnings and expanding my own compositional ideas. While Ecstatic Orange
would have been thrilling to analyze in depth, its massive proportions proved to be beyond the
scope of this project. I thus began perusing musical scores and recordings for a more manageable
work. It was not long into this process that I discovered Telephone Book, scored for quintet and
neatly divided into three movements. I have chosen an excerpt (mm. 1-38) from the first
movement, titled, The Yellow Pages, as the focus of my analysis. Torkes work has not been a
focus of extensive study. From the Telephone Book, I have only been able to locate an analysis of
The Blue Pages, and I hope to contribute to an understanding of this work and Torkes

Crawford 2
compositions as a whole. After providing background information on Michael Torke and
Telephone Book, I will proceed with an analysis of the movements harmonic and rhythmic
elements.
Michael Torke was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1961.1 Before entering college, he
studied bassoon and piano and won prizes at Interlochen Academy, bringing an early start to his
compositional achievements.2 His first orchestral work, written in 1979, was premiered by the
Milwaukee Music for Youth ensemble.3 The following year, he entered the Eastman School of
Music, where he studied composition with a number of illustrious faculty, including Joseph
Schwantner and Samuel Adler and continued his piano studies under David Burge.4 While his
earlier influences included Stravinsky and Bartok, his exposure to popular music throughout his
college years led to an evolution in style.5
This shift is evident in Vanada, a 1984 work that features pop, jazz, and minimalist
elements. Torke adds electronic instruments, such as synthesizer, to a chamber ensemble
comprised of brass and percussion.6 While it borrows elements from minimalism, using a
continuous pulse with repeated rhythmic figures, it contrasts from the more rigidly structured
1 Chute, James. "Torke, Michael." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford
University Press. Web. 21 April 2015.

2 Ibid.

3 Ibid.

4 Ibid.

5 Ibid.

Crawford 3
approaches of its stylistic roots.7 Vanada takes a freer approach as the first of Torkes pieces in
post-minimalist style.8 It also serves as an example of Torkes perception of equivalencies
between music and color. Sections in this work bear such titles as brilliant orange! and olive
mixed with spring green.9
Post-minimalism can be described as a further development of minimalism.10 Though the
style is somewhat vaguely defined, it borrows from minimalist elements such as repetitive
rhythmic patterns, a continuous musical progression, and a lack of extended melodic lines.11
Expanding on these ideas, post-minimalism has introduced novel ways of organizing this basic
material, often involving greater complexity, fuller chords, rhythmic layering, and a wider range
of orchestral timbres.12
6 Ibid.

7 Oteri, Frank J. Liner notes. Torke, Michael. Five of the Ecstatic Collection. Ecstatic Records,
2004. CD.

8 Ibid.

9 Chute, James. "Torke, Michael." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford
University Press. Web. 21 April 2015.

10 Smith, Kathleen Biddick, "Musical Process In Selected Works By Michael Torke" (2009). Electronic Theses,
Treatises and Dissertations. Paper 1656.

11 Ibid.

12 Ibid.

Crawford 4
Torke continued his education at Yale University, receiving multiple commissions while
there.13 One of these was Ecstatic Orange.14 This work exhibits popular elements and is a
continuation of the style that Torke had established earliernow in a full orchestral setting.15 The
piece is made up of two sets of opposing elements: stasis and activity.16 Six notes comprise the
melody, and, although it appears in various contexts, it is never transposed or varied.17 The
harmonies are similarly static, remaining in E mixolydian throughout the works entirety.18 The
ecstatic nature of this colorful piece derives from its rhythmic and contrapuntal elements.19 An
incessant sixteenth-note pulse pervades the music, and the melody occasionally breaks into short,
canonical statements.20 Its form is continuous, involving a constant evolution rather than clearly

13 Chute, James. "Torke, Michael." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford
University Press. Web. 21 April 2015.

14 Ibid.

15 Ibid.

16 Torke, Michael. Ecstatic Orange Program Note. Michael Torke. n.p., n.d. Web. 1 May
2015.

17 Ibid.

18 Ibid.

19 Ibid.

20 Ibid.

Crawford 5
defined sections.21 Ecstatic Orange was premiered by the Brooklyn Philharmonic in 1985, and
would later become a part of a larger collection known as Color Pieces, where Torke further
explored the coloristic implications of musical ideas.22
Torke began Telephone Book shortly after he had finished composing Ecstatic Orange.23
Scored for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, and piano, this piece provided contrast with the dense
textures and harmonies of the previous work. Inspired by the gradual change accompanied by
constant elements that he found in the alphabetical listings of the phonebook, he created a
musical composition that represented it.24 Torke does not stray from his synesthetic responses.
Yellow Pages, the first movement, is written in G major, which the composer had always seen as
yellow.25 During his time at Yale, Torke only composed this movement.26 The addition of The
Blue Pages and The White Pages, the second and third movements respectively, occurred a

21 Ibid.

22 Chute, James. "Torke, Michael." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford
University Press. Web. 21 April 2015.

23 Torke, Michael. Telephone Book. New York: Hendon Music, 1997.

24 Ibid.

25 Ibid.

26 Ibid.

Crawford 6
decade later with a commission from Present Music.27 After graduating from Yale, Torke moved
to New York, pursuing composition without academic affiliations.28
Telephone Book begins with a three-measure introduction diatonic to G major. This
establishes a tonal reference point and makes the first presentation of a rhythmic motif that
appears repeatedly in the cello line shortly after. The first sustained chord is A minora
refreshingly sonority whose simple character is reflected throughout the harmonic language of
the piece. In the introductions short span, the texture builds quickly above the sustained first and
fifth scale degrees. It increases in intensity, culminating in an aggressive chord that contains all
pitches of the G major scale except G. This chord is a preparation for the violins solo entrance
on a G that commences a larger section of the piece. It is a mechanism that produces tension at
the height of the phrase and resolves through converging six pitches into one that was not there
before. The same chord occurs in the next measure, preparing the cello and piano entrances.
From mm. 4-7, the texture builds through staggered entrances until all instruments are
playing. The structure of this section consists entirely of ostinati that are one or two measures
long. The element of change across these repeated figures is the harmony. After firmly
establishing G major, the music shifts to D major through the addition of one sharp (m. 11).
From this point, the harmonic shifts follow an ascending fifths sequence, modulating every two
measures and cycling through all twelve major keys until it returns to G major. Throughout this
process, all pitches are diatonic, merely being affected by the newly introduced accidentals.
27 Ibid.

28 Chute, James. "Torke, Michael." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford
University Press. Web. 21 April 2015.

Crawford 7
Through the end of the section, the letter names of the pitches in the ostinati theoretically
remain the same. A look at the cello line will clarify this claim. Beginning in m. 5, the cello plays
an ostinato that repeats on the downbeat of every measure. The sequence of pitches is G, A, F#,
C, D, G. After repeating this figure for six measures, the harmony shifts to D major. The
sequence of pitches is now G, A, F#, C#, D, G. The basic letter name of the note merely took on
an accidental in response to the overall harmonic shift. When the music modulates to A major, all
of the Gs become sharp. This addition of sharps continues until the arrival of F# major in m. 19
when enharmonic respellings occur to aid in reading. F# major may not have been more difficult
to read than Gb major; however, if the sequence were to continue adding sharps in writing, it
would eventually arrive at keys like E# major, providing unnecessary difficulties to the
performers. The score thus continues adding sharps to the original set of pitches only in theory
while subtracting flats from enharmonic respellings in practice. The piano part uses the same
construction, but repeats after every two bars.
Throughout the section, which spans through m. 38, the rhythmic figures in the violin and
woodwind parts undergo gradual changes in activity. The piccolo and clarinet lines double each
other in octaves and consist of a distinctive figure two measures in length with two beats of rest
between periods of activity. As the section moves onward, these rests are slowly filled. In the
first variant of this rhythmic figure beginning in m. 11, a new rhythm appears in place of the
rests. This is inserted while retaining the rhythmic figure from its original form. In the second
variant, what was previously an eighth note transforms into two sixteenths (m. 16). At first, each
addition occurs after two statements of the same figure. The rate of change doubles with the third
variant beginning in m. 17. This procedure is maintained until m. 28 when the figure consists of
nearly perpetual sixteenth note motion that continues through the end of the section. This musical

Crawford 8
line explores the concept that, from any rhythmic figure of sufficient length, a number of new
figures can be derived without changing the metrical placement of the pitches. All of the variants
that emerged throughout the section are contained in the completed form. It is worth noting the
similarity of this method to the additive processes seen in earlier minimalist compositions like
Music in Fifths by Philip Glass. Rather than expanding the length of the figure, Torkes variant
simply fills in the spaces.
The violin line undergoes a similar process but decreases in rhythmic activity through the
removal of notes. This process also involves a harmonic consideration that was absent in the
piccolo and clarinet lines. The figure introduced at the beginning of the section is its most
complete form, which contains all pitches of the G major scale. This continues unaltered until m.
11, when the C disappears from the top of a double stop. This coincides with the shift from G
major to D major, which adds one sharp to the key signature. The violin line now plays all of the
common tones between G and D major with each repetition of the figure. The next alteration
occurs in m. 14, where G is removed. This is the first time that the G would have appeared after a
shift to A major in the previous measure. Now only the common tones between G major and A
major are retained. The process continues at regular intervals through the arrival of Db major,
where the rhythmic activity has diminished considerably, leaving only F# from original version.
Though C is a common tone between Db major and G major, Torke decides to omit this. This
may be because the note would be a B# in the enharmonic key of C# major, which is more in line
with the process of adding sharps. The decision also makes musical sense, since it contributes to
the gradual disappearance of the violin line until it vanishes completely at m. 23.
The violins next entrance slightly before the shift to Eb major in m. 25 is a pedal tone on
Eb and continues to link changing keys by common tone. The Eb is retained through the

Crawford 9
progression from Ab major to Bb major and moves up to E natural when F major arrives. While
the rhythmic figures in the other parts undergo a slight upward motion with the naturalized E, the
violin line emphasizes this motion with its prominent, sustained note.
The violins use of common tones contributes greatly to the representation of a
phonebook. If an alphabetical listing began with Michael, going down the listing would result
in a gradual change characterized by the disappearance of certain letters and the retention of
others. It would not be long before the appearance of Michail, which retains all but one of the
original letters, and further traversal would lead to Mitch, which only has four letters in
common with the starting point. Eventually, the listing would emerge at words beginning with
N, leaving no common letters at times. Telephone Book thus makes a highly clever analogy.
One of the most interesting points about this composition is that, although each line could
function as a melody on its own, the listener perceives the larger picture rather than individual
parts. This is achieved through an intricate interlocking of lines that constantly shifts attention
from one instrument to another. Measure 7 is one of the easier places to observe this. When the
violin sustains a quarter note, attention tends to shift to the moving lines in either cello or piano.
When the violin takes over again, its link to the cello line makes the transition smooth. Rather
than being perceived as an entry on the second sixteenth note of the beat, the listener tends to
hear a compound line that begins on the beat. In this interwoven texture, the effect produced by
the simultaneous addition of activity to the winds and the subtraction of activity from the violin
is a seamless passing off of dominance over a course of twenty measures. It is so well executed
that the individual steps that make up this process are barely perceivable. It is only after a
number of steps when the focal point clearly shifts that the listener becomes cognizant of what is
happening.

Crawford 10
The individual parts as well as the interaction between the parts produce chords which
can largely be described in terms of tertian harmony. The progression found in m. 5 of the piano
part is G major, F#7, and G major over a C in the bass moving to C major. The pitches found in
the cello and violin parts reinforce the chords in the piano part and add a GM7 chord at the end of
the measure. This harmonic structure where the parts line up to produce identifiable chords
generally holds true throughout the section. As described by Torke in the preface, these more
open, diatonic harmonies provide a relief from the dense chords that he had used in Ecstatic
Orange.29
Given this harmonic structure, the addition of sharps creates slowing change sonorities
that move upward over time. Tracing the evolution of the F#7 chord found in the piano part
reveals stepwise changes that result in several different qualities of seventh chords. The shift to
D major produces F#m7, B major produces F#M7, Ab produces G7, Eb produces Gm7, C major
produces G7, and G major produces GM7. These changes are representative of those that occur in
other chords throughout the section. The evolving chords are reminiscent of chromatic inflection
in common practice style, at least in terms of an altered chord member suggesting a new key area
and propelling the music forward.
When the harmony returns to G major at m. 33, all figures have been transposed up a step
from their original versions. Measure 34 is an arrival point, where the pedal tone in violin
reaches the height of its crescendo and the figure from the beginning of the section reappears
transposed up a step. In the following measure all figures are transposed down a step to their
original positions. The piano, cello, and violin parts are identical to their opening versions, and

29 Torke, Michael. Telephone Book. New York: Hendon Music, 1997.

Crawford 11
the winds continue to play the active rhythms that they arrived at earlier. After one repetition of
these figures, a new section begins (m. 39).
Telephone Book represents Torkes post-minimalist style, borrowing elements from
minimalist roots and adapting them to form new ways of organizing music. The harmonic and
rhythmic structures interact to form tension and release while producing a coherent musical
structure that reflects the works programmatic title. This analysis covered only one section of
the Yellow Pages, and there are many more that await. The processes discussed in this analysis
should provide a starting point in approaching the other sections. Further research may involve a
comparative study of the other two movements against the first movement, which may yield
discoveries about the evolution of Torkes compositional style. While the composer states that
each movement is based on the idea of moving through the circle of fifths, the latter two
movements were composed ten years later than the first.30 Telephone Book would thus be highly
useful tool for this kind of analysis.

30 Ibid.

Crawford 12

Works Cited
Chute, James. "Torke, Michael." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University
Press. Web. 2 May 2015.
<http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/42548>
Oteri, Frank J. Liner notes. Torke, Michael. Five of the Ecstatic Collection. Ecstatic Records,
2004. CD.
Smith, Kathleen Biddick, "Musical Process In Selected Works By Michael Torke" (2009).
Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations. Paper 1656.
Torke, Michael. Ecstatic Orange Program Note. Michael Torke. n.p., n.d. Web. 1 May 2015.
<http://michaeltorke.com/compositions.php?yearcheck=1985>
Torke, Michael. Telephone Book. New York: Hendon Music, 1997.