The beginnings and development of a New Zealand music: The life ...

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motivated by a phrasal statement or variation of a theme is where an
introductory 'vamp-like' ostinato is used, or where a codetta contains
some linking material, or where a coda serves. to complete a movement ..
through repetition of a particular figure.
Thus, apart from the varied use of irregularly-Iengthed phrases,
there is little that is unusual about Lilburn's small structures and his
application of ternary-based forms.
Medium Structures: Episodic, Rondo, Modified Sonata Form
One main factor distinguishes Lilburn's medium-proportioned
structures from his small-proportioned structures, and that is length.
The same conventional principles of design as found in the Diversions
are evident i~, for example, the first movement of Landfall in Unknown
~, or the second movement of Symphony No.2. The phrase is still the
basic building block, and melodic phrases are still paired to form
opening and closing thematic statements. The melodic phrase still
dominates the music which proceeds in phrasal blocks of thematic statement
or variation. Little evidence of development of material can be
found beyond phrasal variations of the melodies. Successive phrases of
material are shaped into self-contained sections which are I-inked with
other self-contained sections. These, in turn, are shaped to form
movements.
The extra length that distinguishes the medium-proportioned
structures from the small-proportioned structures results from either a
greater number of phrases comprising a section or a greater number of
sections comprising a movement. As was seen, some of the sections of
material in the Diversions comprise no more than a matched pair of
opening and closing themes, and some of the movements comprise no more
than three short sections of material. Lilburn's medium-proportioned
structures are extended well beyond this bare minimum.
In Landfall in Unknown Seas, -the similarities of structure are
immediately apparent. A symmetrically phrased theme (Ex.2) is announced
from bar 1 in the violin 1. However, this theme is longer than any
employed in the Diversions. Whereas the themes in Diversions were
usually one phrase in length, or at most two very short phrases, this
theme comprises two four-bar phrases.. It is answered from bars 9-16 by
a matching statement of the theme that serves to close the melodic
line (if not the harmony) on the tonic: