Vuza Rhythmic Canons in Romanian Contemporary Creation

Abstract

One of the characteristics of twentieth-century music is the renewal of the tradition of connecting mathematics, both in the creative and analytical processes. In Romania, a notable example is the path from musical thinking (Anatol Vieru's The Book of Modes) to mathematical thinking (Dan Tudor Vuza) and back to musical creation in the form of compositional technique. Vuza starts with the idea that operations from set theory can be applied to periodic rhythms and define classes of rhythms, leading to a mathematical description of polyrhythmia. From here to the musical composition of periodic or infinite canons, there is only one step. We will be analysing two works by Violeta Dinescu—Cronicari (2023) and Vuza Canons (2020)—and one by Mihaela Vosganian—Balinese Interferences on Vuza Canons (2024). Rhythmic canons, defined by the mathematician Dan Tudor Vuza, have great creative potential and can be integrated into a wide variety of musical works.