It’s All in Proportion: Tracing the Evolution of the Time-Aggregate in Roberto Gerhard’s Music

This is a chapter in the book (final proof before publication) which can be found in 'Essays on Roberto Gerhard' edited by Monty Adkins and Mike Russ.This chapter investigates a very specific innovation in Roberto Gerhard’s compositional practice and traces its possible origins. The technique in question is the “time-aggregate” or use of proportions, directly derived from the tone row, as a structural device. This inquiry begins Roberto Gerhard’s article “Functions of the Series in Twelve-Note Composition” and then works in reverse chronological order through his writings and compositions and through the musings of other scholars finally dwelling on three works which are believed to be Gerhard’s earliest experiments in the use of the method: the Three Impromptus (1950), Capriccio for Solo Flute (1949), and the Sonata for Viola (Cello) and Piano (1948/1956)