ABSTRACT
The energetic and dance-like qualities of additive rhythms can be found frequently in Wood's scherzi, a form that 'he is convinced can most rewardingly be injected again and again with new life and meaning'. In many of these, the refusal of the foreground rhythms to conform to the expected metrical background can be taken as an assertion of the injection of 'new life'. One of the most compelling features of Wood's music is his masterly control of form. Commentators often refer to the shapeliness and clearly felt direction of his music. Such teleological impulses relate to Black's comments about the organization of musical time – one of Wood's characteristics is the sense of certainty about these designs; the listener is led through the musical argument. Many of Wood's formal schemes draw on traditional models. In such cases, the 'landmarks' of these models, the introduction of contrasting themes and thematic return, are defined clearly.
