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

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5
RHYTHM AND METRE
IN LILBURN
One of the most conventional features of Lilburn's music from his
first compositional period is his use of rhythm. Compared with his use
of harmony and the nature of his melodies, his rhythms and metrical
organisation of rhythm present few distinguishing characteristics. The
one notable exception to this is his use of scotch-snap figure - perhaps
the most characteristic feature of all Lilburn's stylistic mannerisms -
which will be- discussed in detail below.
Where a passage does contain moments of rhythmic interest, it is
usually centred on the rhythms of the melody. Lilburn's accompanimental
rhythms are generally unobtrusive. Sometimes, though, he will make
continual use of a particular short rhythmic figure throughout a work or
a movement. In such cases, this figure acts as a unifying agent for the
material presented.
Most of his rhythm is patterned in conventional groupings of twos,
threes and fours. Occasionally he will break the regularity of these
patterns with use of shifting accents. Syncopation is kept to a minimum
and rarely disturbs the pulse for longer than a few beats. At cadence
points, he seems to enjoy disturbing the expected rhythmic flow of the
progression: often the closing chord is fully stated on either the weak
beat following,or the weak beat preceding,the expected strong focal beat
of the cadence.
Paradoxically, it would seem, many of Lilburn's 'lighter' pieces
are constructed with rhythm as the dominant, primary element. How
Lilburn manages to sustain interest in these pieces when rhythm is one
of his most conventional elements is a subject for further discussion
below.
Time signatures and tempi
Lilburn's use of time signatures and tempi in th,e works of his
first composition period is, in the main, inflexible. That is to say,
t~ey
are used according to the distribution principle of one time
signature and one tempo per work (or movement within a work). Once a