TEÓRIA TÓNOVÝCH MNOŽÍN ALLENA FORTEHO A JEJ APLIKÁCIA PRI ANALÝZE PIESŇOVÉHO CYKLU AD ASTRA EUGENA SUCHOŇA

The pitch-class set theory is hitherto the most complex analytical approach to atonal music. Its author is the American musicologist Allen Forte (1926–2014), who built on the work of previous authors and systematised this theory in his book The Structure of Atonal Music (1973). The basic material of the theory is the harmonic component of music, which he explores via prime forms: numerical abstractions of the tonal and intervallic material of the specific harmony. The diverse relationships of pitch-class sets are derived from mathematical convention and there is, for example, a complementarity of sets, a relationship of subsets and supersets, and a formation of set complexes. This paper aims to analyse the song cycle Ad astra (1961) by Eugen Suchoň (1908–1993). This is an atonal work in which the composer applies his own theory to the apprehension of the twelve-tone space. Analysis by the method of pitch-class sets finds a number of relationships and structurally important elements of the work.