Inventive Measures in Creativity

Sometimes we are involved in one task but our thoughts are elsewhere. This phenomenon is not uncommon and often we are preoccupied with our extraneous contemplations more fully than with the task at hand. If we were to write a novel we would use words to describe this duality. Music does not offer us the luxury of verbal latitude; this medium is too immediate and requires an auditory solution that will get a feeling or an idea across to the listener. How then does the composer accomplish this seemingly insurmountable task? He may, of course, change the meter (beats per measure) or he may retain the meter but alter the effect of the music within the meter itself. The following discussion related to Puccini’s opera Tosca is a case in point. Cavaradossi is a suspected subversive of the Roman government whose chief of police is the cruel and villainous Scarpia. The latter has sown seeds of doubt in the mind of the jealous Tosca regarding Cavaradossi’s fidelity towards her. Scarpia himself is enamored of Tosca and hopes to possess her. In the closing moments of Act I Scarpia joins a procession of church goers who sing a Te Deum (song of praise and glory to God). During the course of the procession, Scarpia plots Cavaradossi’s execution and his own possession of Tosca. The music for the Te Deum is written in a time signature of four beats to the measure. This is, after all, a procession – slow and ponderous. But Scarpia is pensive and on the verge of obsessive passion; he pays no attention to the ongoing religious ceremony. How does Puccini convey the mood of the scene to capture Scarpia’s state of mind? He introduces triplets (a rhythm playing three evenly spaced notes in the space of two notes of the same rhythmic value; the first note is emphasized. The triplet sounds: yam-ta-ta, yam-ta-ta yet has a value of one beat). This clever alteration is repeated several times during the scene. The cumulative auditory sensation is astounding. While maintaining the plodding tempo of a procession, Puccini’s use of the triplets adds the illusion of a waltz. Since a waltz is generally associated with a romantic atmosphere, Scarpia’s amorous yearnings are given expression within the context of a religious ceremony. https://youtu.be/rkMx0CLWeRQ [38:12 - 42:33]