From Gods to weekdays

As an example of the application of this global repertoire to an actual mythological interpretative model, I shall present Nørgård's ideas concerning the 'becoming' of the process of composition (or for that matter, of any other process).

Through a phenomenological analysis of his own work as a composer, Nørgård concluded that such a process of becoming may be said to pass through seven stages: (1) Inspiration (2) Observation (3) Collection of material (4) Analysis (5) Synthesis (6) Refinement (7) Conclusion. (Vækst p 88).

Each of the seven stages represents a particular state, which Nørgård calls 'representations of states of mind'. The characteristics of each of these seven stages is outlined using a descriptive interpretation.
Briefly stated, these interpretations are as follows:

1. Fecundation: the birth of the Will;
2. Orientation: receptivity;
3. Outward-seeking activity: myriads of small interventions in the world around us;
4. Analytic treatment: the intellectual synthesis;
5. The goal of the Will: the leitmotif emerges; 
6. Adjustment: refinement and balance; and,
7. Rounding off: the fate is sealed.

It is conceivable that this general experience has been incarnated in fixed 'representations of states of mind' at all times and in all cultures. Let us suppose that we find such representations in myths, fairy-tales, artistic creations, symbols from alchemy and astrology, in I-Ching's three-line Yin and Yang figure -  and in the ancient worldwide custom of grouping days in units of seven chracteristic stages, each with its own name: 'the Week'.
(Vækst, pp 88-89).

He continues:

With the names of the days of the week we have already entered the world of myth - after all, Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn are all linked to narratives, sequences of events that can expand our understanding of the problems, solutions and conflicts related to creation and being.
(Myter og musik, pp 115-)

The stages one to seven are linked to the days of the week from Sunday to Saturday. These days can be expressed in the planetary order from Sun to Saturn, which again, in virtue of the link between mythology and the names or characteristics of the planets, each have "narratives linked to them".

This process exists both in virtue of the narratives and in an actual sequence of time, the week. Nørgård points out that the time sequence in this process of creation differs according to whether we see it from the inside, as a participant, or from the outside, as an observer. In the Greek myth of creation, for example, Saturn comes before Venus, which in turn precedes Jupiter, and so on.
This is why Nørgård can write:

While we perhaps find in myths the traces of the observations made by succeeding generations of the gradual processes of change in the universe, in the weekdays we find that element described in which we unceasingly participate, namely, time.
(Vækst.. p 89)

An interpretative model?

"In art we always find the emphasis placed on a small selection of the seven stages", writes Nørgård, giving as an example the way in which Western and crime films "exclude everything except the ruthless unfolding of the action and goal-oriented behaviour of the 'Mars' and 'Jupiter' stages".

In other words, one can interpret a piece of music by fixing it in a sequence of images. One can then seek to determine the characteristics of which stage this sequence can be associated with, and then perhaps expand one's experience through those legends or myths that can be derived from the stage or stages in question.

In various articles Nørgård offers examples of the use of this model on more or less all levels. In one place he gives examples of classical works which, as a whole, express precisely the one or the other stage (Myter og musik (Myths and Music), Per Nørgård artikler 1962-82). For example, the Moon phase is expressed by Schumann's Dichterliebe, the Mars phase by Kachaturian's Sabeldans (Sword Dance) and the Mercury phase by J.S.Bach's Corrante in E minor!).

In another place he explains how the formal structure of a piece of music can mirror the structure of the stages, or how a work can over-emphasise a particular stage, perhaps even get stuck in it. In his article, Vækst..., for example, he writes:

It could perhaps be the transition from 'Moon' to 'Mars' that fails to materialise: the piece remains at the level of dreams without any proper attempt to apply these to reality [..] - or it could perhaps be a 'Mars' stage which, being exaggerated, increases the number of sorties made into the surrounding world, for example by a constant, verbal hacking away at the same things that one has heard over and over again. In this way, the transition to the objective analyses of the 'Mercury' stage is delayed..[..].

Within particular sections of a piece of music it is possible to identify several different stages existing concurrently, as he explains in his article, Myter og Musik (Myths and Music), where he writes:

.. the foaming, overflowing Jupiter strains contain within themselves a level-headed, strictly regulated bass, which hammers home the message of Saturn: so far and no further.
(Myter og musik (Myths and Music), Per Nørgård artikler 1962-82. The example referred to is Bach's Italian Concerto).

The diatonic scale

However, not only whole compositions or parts of compositions express the seven stages. In an article about the diatonic scale Nørgård suggests that the diatonic scale can be represented in such a way that the individual notes and their relationship to each other are endowed with characteristics "analagous to mythological symbolism". This article is entitled Er diatonik et universelt fænomen (Is Diatonics a Universal Phenomenon?) (Per Nørgård artikler 1962-82), and in it he draws parallels between the diatonic scale and the heavenly bodies, since "the relative frequency tempos of the notes correspond to the seven heavenly bodies". In this article Nørgård argues that the seven notes could be strung out in fifths (from a deep F to a high B), rather than in the usual pattern of the scale.

By suggesting this arrangement in fifths, Nørgård is also suggesting that the individual notes be given characteristics based on astrology, so that the notes would have more descriptive names "instead of 'step 1, 2, etc.', which means nothing".

each and every facet of our existence [..] may [..] be seen as an act of creation: something is in fact beginning at every moment. This is the difference between reappearance and repetition: reappearance is always fresh as the morning, and creation begins anew.
(Myter og musik (Myths and Music), Per Nørgård artikler 1962-82).

The process of becoming
- 'The Seven Stages'

Below I have collected the information offered by Nørgård about each of the seven stages, beginning with a general description of each stage by reference to a day of the week and an astrological symbol.

Then follows, in parenthesis, the piece of music adduced by Nørgård as a typical example of the stage. Finally, the corresponding note from the table of fifths arrangement of the diatonic scale is identified and described:

Sunday

Fecundation

'The birth of the Will': expressed in Sunday's Sun, which symbolises will, ego, the entry of individuality into the cyclic processes of eternity [..].

Händel: Passacaglia in G major (beginning). D, apparently indifferent, posing as simply part of its neighbouring triads, and yet pregnant with much more light and dark than the other six concepts.

Monday

Orientation

'Where am I?' - knowing this is a necessary precondition for meaningful intervention in the surrounding world. It is expressed in Mondays' Moon, the symbol of feeling, receptivity, capriciousness, fragmentary, fluctuating impressions [..].

Schubert: Impromptu in G flat major. Schuman: Dichterliebe, e.g. Am leuchtenden Sommermorgen. B, passive upper boundary, absolute light despite a certain content of darkness, contrary to the F, which is quite foreign: F-triad's F-C = a separates off from b's b-e-G, but makes the impression of the centre note d very acute.

Tuesday

Outward-seeking activity

Myriads of small interventions in that world which is to be the scene of a creation come of age, short-term, but rich in experience: the warrior symbol, Mars, is expressed in Tuesday's Tíw [..], and is directly rendered in the French Mar-di [..].

J.S.Bach: Italian Concerto, 1st movement. Kachaturian: Sword Dance. G, actively opening for upward-seeking action, complementary in this sense to F, which closes off action below it. Ambiguous in relation to a, (space as a ninth).

Wednesday

Analytic treatment

'How does it connect, all my experience?': the intellectual synthesis is expressed in Wednesday's symbol of the intellect, Woden, Mercury (French: Mercredi) [..].

J.S.Bach: Corrante in E minor (from Partita in E minor). E, the resonant centre for C and G, together with C; competing, since both triads claim the right to form a relative centre.

Thursday

The goal of the Will

Only now does the goal of the Will become manifest; a guiding image emerges within the mass of material forged from the experience of reality: expressed in Thursday's Thunor, Jupiter (French: Jeu-di), the symbol of growth and the choice of direction [..].

Ph.E.Bach: Solo per il cembalo (in E flat major). Mozart: Jupiter Symphony (sic!). C, actively guiding 'the golden mean' towards the centre, the will to dominate.

Friday

Adjustment

Execution of activity always takes place in a real world which is always changing. No matter how well-prepared a project may be, there will always be a need for constant adjustment to counter the incessant influence of the world around us: this balancing act is expressed in Friday's Frigg, the Venus symbol (French: Vendre-di), linked to refinement, harmonisation and sensuality [..].

Chopin: A section of Nocturne in C minor. A, the relative limit of the subharmonic tone chain, absolutely dark below [..]. Ambiguous in relation to G, resonant as a ninth. Together, G-b-d and a-F-D form an 'erotic' pair, as their harmonic relationship is only irked, gently excited, by the difference between their f's and b's

Saturday

Rounding off

This is also the conclusion, fate being sealed; form has conquered the fluid, uncertain mass. At the same time, consciousness relinquishes the project (which may now be guided onwards to become part of a wider project, which itself again may form part of an even wider project, and so on): expressed in Saturday's Sætern (OE = Saturn), the Saturn symbol, which shows the enfolding of matter around consciousness; feeling trapped in brute matter, the prison of materialism [..].

Händel: Passacaglia in G minor. Brahms: 4 ernste Gesänge. Chopin: B section of Nocturne in C minor. F, actively cutting off downwards, 'so far and no further', absolutely dark despite the latent generation of light, contrary to the completely foreign B.