Alberto Ginastera: Le(s) style(s) d'un compositeur argentin (review)

Several scholars have addressed the periodization and style definition of the music of Alberto Ginastera, but to date no one has produced a definitive, all-encompassing model. As a result, Antonieta Sottile's book immediately engages the reader when she initially declares that her objective is to "characterize Alberto Ginastera's [compositional] style." She adds, "the matter of his works' periodization appears closely linked to this characterization." ¹ Sottile makes short work of this initial objective when, after a survey of the different approaches used to date, she devises a rather Solomonic amalgamation reconciling Ginastera's own 1967 partition with ensuing scholarly categorizations. She begins with three broad categories: objective nationalism (1934-47), subjective nationalism (1948-57), and neo-expressionism, which she further divides into two phases: 1958-73 and 1973-83, the second of which she concludes could even be its own period, "une sorte de néo-expressionnisme traditionaliste" (242).

After defining the periodization to be used, Sottile's objective for the book becomes more specific: "define the dominant and distinctive characteristics of each of the different periods and phases traversed by the Ginasterian language." ² The objective is pursued through the analyses of a group of pieces representative of each of the aforementioned categories. The chapter organization of the book closely reflects Sottile's categorization. The first two chapters address the objective and subjective nationalism periods. The third and fourth chapters address the first phase of the neo-expressionism: serialism, and a comparison of the second quartet with the Concerto per corde (which is an arrangement of that quartet). Chapter 5 addresses the final phase of neo-expressionism, characterized by the return of folkloric references. Finally, Chapter 6 discusses intertextual practices, specifically the use of quotations and self-quotations throughout the three periods.

Sottile lays a strong foundation for the discussion of Ginastera's earliest periods with two important tenets. First, Ginastera's early compositional approach was a continuation of the nationalistic tendencies inherited from the first quarter of the twentieth century. His aesthetic was based on the "idealization and exaltation of the rural life, the landscape, its people and their traditions." ³ Second, Ginastera's concept of "folklore imaginaire" allowed the composer to "take ownership, in a certain way, of the folk music materials." ⁴ While the practice was not foreign to previous composers, intentionally formalizing this compositional approach allowed him to further develop and exploit it, which eventually led to the expansion of his compositional vocabulary.

In the discussion of Danzas argentinas Op. 2 (1937)—chosen as a model for the objective nationalism period—Sottile demonstrates an intimate knowledge of traditional Argentinean music and a noteworthy capacity to correlate its features with foreground events found in Ginastera's oeuvre. For example, within Danzas argentinas, she reveals the melodic gestures of the gato in "Danza del viejo boyero" (58), the rhythmic and pitch configurations of the traditional zamba with the accompaniment in "Danza de la moza donosa" (61-62), and the presence of malambo in the "Danza del gaucho matrero" (69). Sottile provides an elegant summary of the relationship between the personalities and the dances: "Therefore, the 'viejo boyero' (old ox-driver) could recall the joking spirit of the gato, just as the 'moza donosa' (graceful young peasant girl) clearly inspires the loving sentiment of the zamba; for his part, the 'gaucho matrero' (outlaw gaucho) suggests the energy and the force of the malambo, as well as the vivaciousness of the gato." ⁵ Her analysis is also aware of the symbolic nature of the malambo in Ginastera's music, noting that, more than just a reincarnation of the traditional malambo, it is instead its own entity resulting from the manipulation of several Argentinean dance rhythms: a vital distinction that opens the door for more abstract representations of the malambo in Ginastera's later works.

In the second chapter...