JAVS Spring 2026

Figure 2 presents mm. 25–31 of the original viola Berceuse no. 2. 14 The musical character and required bowing technique in this excerpt reinforce the breathless

atmosphere established in the opera, evoking the sense of urgency and impending death faced by Eduardo and Beatriz.

Figure 2. Three Berceuses from The Exterminating Angel for viola and piano, Berceuse no. 2 by Thomas Adès, mm. 25-31.

passage, 1/6 occurs most frequently, followed by 1/4, with 5/8 and 3/4 appearing less often. This distribution suggests that meter is not assigned arbitrarily; rather, it is used as an expressive device, reinforcing moments of heightened textual and emotional intensity. A broader survey of Berceuse no. 2 reveals a consistent pattern: the 1/6 meter repeatedly coincides with passages of increased dramatic tension drawn from the opera’s text.

Statistical Visualization of Meter Usage To understand Adès’s use of the unconventional 1/6 meter, it is instructive to examine both the surrounding meters and their relationship to the text. As demonstrated earlier, the 1/6 measures function as moments of propulsion, leading into longer time signatures rather than serving as points of metrical stability. To illustrate their prominence, Figure 3 presents a histogram showing the frequency of meter types in mm. 25–31. Within this

24

Journal of the American Viola Society / Vol. 42, No. 1, Spring 2026