The Origins of “Dissonant Counterpoint”: Henry Cowell's Unpublished Notebook

JOHN D. SPILKER

doi:10.1017/S1752196311000290

The Origins of “Dissonant Counterpoint”: Henry Cowell's Unpublished Notebook

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 October 2011

JOHN D. SPILKER

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JOHN D. SPILKER*: Affiliation:
johndspilker@gmail.com

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Abstract

Housed in the Henry Cowell Papers at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts is Cowell's unpublished notebook that comprises written instructions for using “dissonant counterpoint” along with forty-three exercises. Beyond providing information about the technique during its early development (1914–17), the archival source documents Cowell's active involvement in devising a compositional practice that has heretofore been exclusively attributed to Charles Seeger. The notebook also provides evidence of Cowell's work habits and values that challenge current scholarly depictions of the composer as an undisciplined bohemian. He was a systematic and tenacious innovator who revered tradition as well as experimental techniques. He also placed a strong emphasis on the practical application of new ideas in addition to their theoretical development. These traits account for Cowell's continued advocacy on behalf of dissonant counterpoint that extended well beyond the time he compiled his notebook. From the 1910s to the 1960s he disseminated the technique through his writing, composing, and teaching, and thus provided a life for dissonant counterpoint in American musical culture through the end of the twentieth century. Appendix B contains a full transcription of the notebook.

Type: Research Article
Information: Journal of the Society for American Music , Volume 5 , Issue 4 , November 2011 , pp. 481 - 533

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1752196311000290 [Opens in a new window]
Copyright: Copyright © The Society for American Music 2011

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