Post on 29-Jan-2016
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Contemporary Composition SeminarFall 2012
Instructor: Prof. SIGMANThursday 14:00-16:00
Lecture IX
0.0 Important Dates
• 11/29: NO CLASS • 12/13: FINAL PRESENTATIONS• 12/20: FINAL EXAM ( 시험 )
0.1 Written Assignment (due NOW)
• Write 1 paragraph (4-5 sentences) about the Carter piece that you listened to
질문 : • What did you find interesting? • Was there anything similar to the pieces
discussed in class? • Anything similar to other pieces that you know?
0.2 Final Project Proposal
• Due 11/22: in class or via email
I. Tristan Murail
A. Bio
• (b. 1947)• Studied with Messiaen • Also studied Arabic ( 아랍이 ) and Political
Science • Worked at IRCAM• Taught in at the Paris Conservatoire, IRCAM,
Columbia University (New York), and the Salzburg Mozarteum (Salzburg)
B. Treize Couleurs du Soleil Couchant (1978)
• Title = “13 colours of the setting sun” • For flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano and live
electronics
1. Electroacoustic Technique: Ring Modulation
• Generating interval: 1 Carrier + 1 Modulator• Ring modulation = Carrier (C) X Modulator
(M)• sidebands: +/- tones produced by adding and
subtracting Carrier and Modulator• If Carrier and/or Modulator contain partials:
pairs of partials added and subtracted, as well as fundamental frequencies
[RM demo]
• 2 sine waves• 2 square waves• Voice (carrier) and sine wave (modulator)
2. Structure and Process
• 13 sections• 1 “colour”/section• 1 colour =1 interval (Carrier + Modulator);
pitches resulting from Ring Modulation• Harmonicity-> Inharmonicity-> Noise (as in
Partiels)
“Tristan” Chord
3. Electronics
• Reverb: (thickens ensemble sound) • Echo: (short delays on piano)• Ring modulation: (flute and clarinet) • Controlled live
4. Instrumental Techniques
• Clarinet and flute multiphonics• Vln and Cello: bow pressure and finger
pressure changes
4. 13 Couleurs: Score/Recording
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEW6rfj7DLk
• Durational notation (in seconds)
And now….
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRU6tQdyYqQ
II. Brian Ferneyhough
A. Why is this Lecture Going to be Different?
• Because I studied with Ferneyhough, and have known him since 2002!
• Stanford, Darmstadt, Centre Acanthes, Royaumont…
B. Bio
• (b. 1943, Coventry, UK)• Working class background• Studied in Birmingham (UK), London,
Amsterdam, and (most importantly) in Basel and Freiburg with Klaus Huber
• Has taught in Freiburg (1973—86), University of California San Diego (1986-1999), and Stanford (1999-present)
• Has lectured at Darmstadt since 1978
Bio, cont’d
• Worked at IRCAM in the 1980s: developed Patchwork, a computer-aided composition software (now called Open Music)
• Also a conductor, flautist, and trumpet player• Known as founder of “New Complexity” (he
does not like this term!)
C. Influences
• Varèse • Stockhausen• Webern• Schönberg • Henry Purcell• Thomas Tallis• Various polyphonic Medieval/Renaissance
composers
D. Collected Writings
• Collection of essays, analyses, interviews, and original poetry ( 시 )
• On the music of Ferneyhough, Michael Finnissy, Webern, and other composers
• Difficult to read
E. Similarities to Composers of his Generation ( 세대 )
Like Lachenmann (b. 1935), Grisey (1946-1998), and Murail (b.1947), Ferneyhough has been interested in: •the physicality of sound and instruments (sound as ORGANISM, not just INFORMATION) •performance process and energy as an expressive parameter•a post-1950s Darmstadt approach to composition•new sonic possibilities and resources •Temporality ( 시간의 )•Microtonality
F. Differences from Lachenmann
Ferneyhough’s music is:•Not directly political•Does not use (obvious) historical quotations•Uses—and transforms—conventional playing techniques and figuration
G. Differences from Grisey + Murail
Ferneyhough’s music: •is not concerned with natural/organic processes•avoids linear narrative•uses serial procedures•operates on many different time-scales: some extremely fast, others quite slow
H. “New Complexity” Features
• “nested” tuplets and irrational rhythmic divisions
• Extreme dynamic changes• Extreme gradation of playing techniques• Frequent meter and tempo changes• Dense polyphony• Many parallel actions for a single instrument
While Spectral composers view the world through a telescope (
망원경 )
…Ferneyhough views the world through a microscope ( 현미경 )…
…and creates musical universes in which every element is in flux all
the time!
J. Unity Capsule (1976)
1. Flute Repertoire since 1945
• (Too) many pieces for solo flute! • Why? Large expressive range and agility• Decorative, trivial, and virtuosic nonsense• Ferneyhough wanted to approach the
instrument differently
2. Ferneyhough Flute Repertoire
• Cassandra’s Dream Song (1970)• Unity Capsule (1976)• Carceri d’invenzione cycle (1982-86): piccolo,
C flute, alto flute, bass flute solo and concerto pieces
• Sisyphus Redux (2011) (alto flute)
3. How is Unity Capsule Different?
• Polyphony: breath, key action, and voice controlled independently and in parallel—fused together into an instrumental unity
• Instability of sounding result: • the polyphonic layers control physical actions,
which are inherently unstable• the integration of these layers varies with each
performance• Engages physicality of instrument and performer
4. Pitch/Noise/Action
• Instrument de-tuned and re-tuned• Ending: performer continues fingering actions
once out of breath • Theatrical dimension of performance: begins
after 15” of silence, ends with abruptly expelled breath and release of instrument
5. Unity Capsule Score and Recording
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y71cx8Vj15Q