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

Ex.48: Symphony No.2 movement I, clarinets (as sounding) bars 174-81.,
251
When one reduces Lilburn's development sections to their bare
elements, it can be seen that he chooses to work with a minimum of
material. This material, usually motivically derived from certain
characteristic·s of the :f;irst.... subject-group, is stated and developed in a
succession of irregularly-lengthed phrases that fre~uently dovetail into
each other. This looseness of form is harmonically underscored by a
succession of wandering modulations that briefly explore distantly
related keys. As a generalisation, they contain some of the least
satisfying moments in Lilburn's music. They do, however, fulfill the
function of providing a gently meandering zone of contrast for the.strong
directions and the firm tonalities established 1n his exposition and
recapitulation sections.
Recapitulation Sections
Most of Lilburn's recapitulation sections seem to emerge gradually
from the material featured towards the end of the development section.
This gives rise to two observations: that the demarcation line in each
work between the two sections is not clear-cut, and that the material
recalled at the beginning of recapit~lation sections is usually taken
from the first subject-group •
. Itis'illo.rtll·.stressinghere ·thatLilburn'~·-recapitulations· of· his·
main themes are rarely exact, nor indeed, are hrs first subjects
necessarily recalled 1n the tonic. Nor even, when his first subject group
contains two themes, or when his main theme has been fused with other
material to form a hybrid theme, does he necessarily recall his theme la
or main theme beyond a brief allusion later in the recapitulation section.
Both Symphony·No.2·andAllegroprovide,good examples or··this. - In ·Symphony
No.2 movement I, one needs to wait until bars 215-9, at the start of the
coda, to hear an abbreviated statement of theme la - a semitone higher