Formula composition is a serially-derived technique encountered in the music of Karlheinz Stockhausen, involving the rotation and expansion of a single melody-formula (usually stated at the outset). Though foreshadowed in the withdrawn Formel of 1951, the technique made its first appearance proper in Mantra in 1970, and has been the central focus of Stockhausen's music ever since. Stockhausen's mammoth opera cycle Licht is based on a three-stranded 'super-formula'. In the European classical music theory, serialism is a set of methods for composing and analyzing works of music based on structuring those works around the parameterization of parts of music: that is, ordering pitch, dynamics, instrumentation, rhythm, and on occasion other elements into a row or series in which... Karlheinz Stockhausen (born August 22, 1928) is a contemporary composer. ... Look up melody in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... Mantra is a composition by the German avant garde composer Karlheinz Stockhausen, composed in 1970. ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... This enormous opera in seven parts was composed by Karlheinz Stockhausen and inspired by The Urantia Book. ...
Since writing was not yet common and since the oral epics developed before the advent of writing, these bards had to perform without the aid of a written text.
These formulas extended from short phrases in the Homeric epics, such as “swift-footed Achilles,” to long scenes that depict repeated or stereotypical actions, such as the arming of a warrior, a duel, or the eating of a meal.
The poet was free to alter or recombine elements of the longer formulas to suit the context.
An essential feature of oral composition, especially of lengthy epics, is that the verses are constructed largely from ready-made verbal formulas that allow the poet time to improvise parts of his narration to suit the needs of the audience.
Thus a formula like “Him then in answer addressed the godlike, patient Odysseus” can be used whenever the poet wants to introduce a reply by Odysseus.
Sometimes the formulaic passages extend over several lines, as when Homer describes the launching of a ship or the preparation of a meal.
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