Varèse's composition Density 21.5 is in the truest sense musical parody, as it uses another work as its structural basis: Debussy's Syrinx. Structural similarities exist between the two pieces, such as the use of the two whole-tone scales as basic pitch collections. Though Varèse himself never explicitly confirmed this connection, Density may be read as a commentary upon Debussy's piece.

Works: Varèse: Density 21.5.

Sources: Debussy: Syrinx.

Index Classifications: 1900s

Contributed by: Susan Richardson

Handel's borrowings result from rhythmic and motivic similarities between the borrowed piece and the new composition. Handel was able to draw upon a large number of musical materials chosen on a musical rather than a textual basis. The transformation of these materials was a conscious application of musical craft. This method of recall is termed the "theory of resonances." In addition to borrowing similar melodic and rhythmic motives, Handel also takes portions of Telemann's work and restructures them in a craftsmanlike manner, joining blocks of musical material to produce a more integrated whole. Handel's use of Telemann's work is, therefore, not the result of "licentious whimsy," but the direct result of musical materials that Handel found attractive and amenible to further development.

Works: Handel: Solomon (117-44), Siroe (118), La Resurrezione (120-24), Belshazzar (133-36), Lotario (139-40, 144), Ezio (141-42), Ariodante (144), 12 Concerti Grossi, Op. 6 (144), Messiah (144-45), Semele (145), Joseph and His Brethren (145-46), Hercules (146), Joshua (146), Theodora (146), Jeptha (146).

Sources: Telemann: Harmonischer Gottes-Dienst (118-44); Steffani: Qui diligit Mariam (120-24); Handel: Belshazzar (124), Parnasso in Festa (125-27).

Index Classifications: 1700s

Contributed by: Susan Richardson, Will Sadler

In Mahler's later works, and in particular his Ninth Symphony, he often employed brief quotations from his songs. He used musical rather than verbal quotations, implying the emotional content of the original rather than directly stating an image. As this "thematic allusion" recurs, it gains greater significance, and its meaning differs at each occurence, a technique that Mahler initiated. An example of this technique is found in the web of "subtle but pregnant interconnections" within the Ninth Symphony, especially highlighting Mahler's reuse of a theme from the final line of Das Lied von der Erde.

Works: Mahler: Symphony No. 9, Symphony No. 5 (70).

Sources: Mahler: Kindertotenlieder (70), Urlicht (70), Das Lied von der Erde (72-77, 101), Symphony No. 3 (92), Symphony No. 8 (93, 101, 104-05); Bruckner: Symphony No. 9 (98).

Index Classifications: 1900s

Contributed by: Susan Richardson

The reception during Mahler's lifetime of his songs based on the Wunderhorn texts was unusually varied. As explanation for this, Mahler's use of the texts may be linked with a debate, which began with the publication of the texts of Des Knaben Wunderhorn in 1805-8 and spanned the nineteenth century, between those who wished to preserve the German folk heritage in its purest form and those who saw it as a malleable commodity for a politico-cultural end. Art, too, exhibited this tension between "folk" and "folk-like" material, and Mahler's Wunderhorn songs, which manipulate pre-existing folk material in a "high-art" setting, fall on the latter side of the debate. It was sensitivity to his place within that tension that informed the reception of the songs by contemporary critics.

Works: Mahler: Lieder aus des Knaben Wunderhorn.

Index Classifications: 1800s

Contributed by: Susan Richardson

Stylistic analysis of Satie's music remains underdeveloped, due at least in part to the ineffectiveness of traditional analytical approaches. Any analysis of Satie's music, like that of Debussy or Ives, must take into account the "juxtaposition of multiple layers of aesthetic meaning," including the literary and the pictorial. The piano suites composed in 1913-14 provide a focus for studying Satie's creative ideal and the connection (as in the case of Ives) of that ideal with a particular sonic environment. Satie's use of sounds and tunes from his own world brings meaning to the new piece. Satie's use of existing material not only serves expressive purposes, but also provides a creative stimulus. Appended is a list of "Quoted Tunes in Satie's 'Humoristic' Piano Suites."

Works: Satie: Heures séculaires et instantanées (3), Descriptions automatiques (4), Vieux sequins et vieilles cuirasses (6), Embryons desséchés (17), Croquis et agaceries d'un gros bonhomme en bois (23), Chapitres tournés en tous sens (25), Sports et divertissements (30).

Index Classifications: 1900s

Contributed by: Susan Richardson

In the wake of the Brahms/Wagner debate of the mid-nineteenth century, Mahler alludes in his music to Brahms both thematically and structurally. Due to his quotation of other composers, Mahler has often been criticized for lack of originality. Mahler took inspiration from Brahms and transformed it in his own music. Examples of this are seen in Mahler's First and Second Symphonies and their allusions to Brahms's First and Second Symphonies.

Works: Mahler: Symphony No. 2 (216, 219-21), Symphony No. 1 (218-19), Symphony No. 4 (222), Symphony No. 6 (222-23), Symphony No. 7 (222-23).

Sources: Brahms: Ein deutsches Requiem, Op. 45 (216, 220-21), Symphony No. 2 (217-19), Nänie, Op. 82 (220), Symphony No. 1 (221-22), Symphony No. 3 (222-23).

Index Classifications: 1800s, 1900s

Contributed by: Susan Richardson

[Need annotation for discussions of borrowings within African-American tradition.] Within the context of her comprehensive volume on the musical tradition of black Americans, Southern briefly discusses the use by white Europeans and Americans of specific music and of musical styles of black Americans. She focuses on ragtime (pp. 331-32), jazz (pp. 395-97), and rhythm-and-blues (pp. 498-500).

Works: Debussy: Children's Corner (331-32); Stravinsky: Piano-Rag Music (331-32), Ragtime (331-32), L'Histoire du Soldat (331-32); Satie: Parade (331-32); Hindemith: Piano Suite (1922) (331-32); Carpenter: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (1916) (331-32), Krazy Kat (395-97), Skyscrapers (395-97); Krenek: Johnny spielt auf (395-97); Milhaud: La Création du Monde (395-97); Ravel: Piano Concerto in D (1931) (395-97); Walton: Façade (395-97); Stravinsky: Ebony Concerto for Dance Orchestra (395-97); Copland: Music for the Theater (395-97), Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (1927) (395-97); Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue (395-97), Concerto in F (1925) (395-97), An American in Paris (395-97).

Index Classifications: 1800s, 1900s, Jazz

Contributed by: Susan Richardson