Intriguing to me was the idea that people of the Middle Ages participated in two lives—official and carnival—and were aware that the two aspects of the world—serious and humorous—co-existed. Naturally, I felt a striking parallel regarding my own education at a music conservatory.
Some of the musical manifestations appearing in
Drolleries include:
● the linear facial abstraction of the smile and eyes used as
articulation: ◡ and . .
● the impish opening motive and ornamenting trills utilizing simultaneous and
succesive seconds;
● the unresolved use of jazz “comping” chords
● the irreverent approach to use of organum as “tainted” quintal harmony.