EVERETT, Yayoi Uno_Signification of Parody and the Grotesque in György Ligeti's Le Grand Macabre

7/23/2019 EVERETT, Yayoi Uno_Signification of Parody and the Grotesque in Gyrgy Ligeti's Le Grand Macabre

1/32

Society for usic Theory

Signification of Parody and the Grotesque in Gyrgy Ligeti's Le Grand MacabreAuthor(s): Yayoi Uno EverettSource: Music Theory Spectrum, Vol. 31, No. 1 (Spring 2009), pp. 26-56Published by: {oupl} on behalf of the Society for Music TheoryStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/mts.2009.31.1.26Accessed: 16-08-2015 17:34 UTC

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of contentin a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship.

For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].
http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=smthttp://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/mts.2009.31.1.26http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/mts.2009.31.1.26http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=smt


2/32

Signification of Parody and the Grotesque in GyrgyLigetis Le Grand Macabre

yayoi uno everett

Fashioned as an anti-opera, Ligeti conceived the music for Le Grand Macabreas a kind of popart, filled with quotations and references to opera and other preexisting musical genres.Examining the operas thematic connections with the original play by Michel de Ghelderode andMikhail Bakhtins concept of grotesque realism, I suggest that Ligetis parodic approach in thisopera is governed by two narrative trajectories: the grotesque and existential irony. Drawing on

writings by Robert Hatten, Linda Hutcheon, and Esti Sheinberg, this paper develops semioticconstructs of mapping, troping, and/or reversal in determining the parodic procedures invoked. Iargue that, through such procedures, Ligeti engages with musical parody at two levels: the surfacelevel at which quotation of existing music and musical styles are transformed and the global levelat which an expressive opposition between ludicrousness and horror is established in articulatingthe grotesque trope. Furthermore, through deployment of collage and textural disintegration,Ligeti creates an aural counterpart to the allegorical depiction of chaos, destruction, and renewalfound in Breughels Triumph of Death.

Keywords: Gyrgy Ligeti, Michel de Ghelderode, Mikhail Bakhtin, Robert Hatten, LindaHutcheon, James Liszka, Esti Sheinberg, parody, grotesque, opera, type, topic, trope, microp-olyphony, allusion, existential irony, transvaluation

On composing his first and only opera entitledLe Grand Macabre (1977; revised 1996, hereafterabbreviated LGM), Gyrgy Ligeti remarked: I

cannot, will not compose a traditional opera; for me the op-eratic genre is irrelevant todayit belongs to a historicalperiod utterly different from the present compositional sit-uation (quoted in Lie 2004, vii). While LGMs immense

popularity derives from the seemingly comical aspects ofparody that extend the tradition of opera buffa, it neither

resorts to a gimmicky satire nor treats operatic conventionswith nostalgia. Intrigued by the composers polemicalstance against traditional opera, critics and scholars havebrought different aesthetic considerations to bear in debatingits significance. Paul Griffiths notes that LGM, like Clocksand Clouds(1973) and San Francisco Polyphony(1974), cameout of the myriad influences in the early 70s that marked

Ligetis first move away from serial orthodoxy (The NewGrove Dictionary of Music and Musicians 2nd ed, s.v.,Ligeti). Richard Toop calls LGM an anti-opera and akind of pop art, filled with quotations and references to op-eratic genres from the past, but their quality is mainly ironicrather than nostalgic (1999, 163). Furthermore, Thomas

26

I extend my gratitude to Daphne Leong, Kevin Karnes, and RobertHatten for their suggestions and comments in shaping this article.

This content downloaded from 200.130.19.202 on Sun, 16 Aug 2015 17:34:27 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp


3/32

signification of parody and the grotesque in gyrgy ligetis le grand macabre 27

May describes the works sonic palette as Rabelaisian, be-coming quite visceral in its extremities of contrast, range,

volume, and sound color, as well as the call for over-the-topvirtuosity (2004, iv).

Ligetis deployment of parody and collage in LGM resistseasy categorization because of the vast array of procedures by

which he transforms historical models, often appropriatingstyles associated with operatic conventions only to subvertthem. To label LGM a work of postmodern pastiche, cele-brating plurality for its own sake, however, trivializes therichness and complexity of references that underlie it.Reflecting on the Zeitgeistof late 1960s, many avant-gardecomposers adopted parodic strategies as a form of social cri-tique or commentary. In this respect, Ligeti shares an ideo-

logical vantage point with composers such as Peter MaxwellDavies, Harrison Birtwistle, and Mauricio Kagel, whoadopted quotation and collage techniques with the intentto subvert musical conventions, including the avant-gardetrends associated with the Darmstadt school.1 CatherineLosada discusses how such works that incorporate quota-tions and collage constitute both a response to and an out-growth of the serial practices and provides a useful taxon-omy of postwar compositions based on the diverse principles

and motivations that underlie the adoption of collage tech-nique (2004, 19). Given the nine categories of musical bor-rowing Losada offers with regard to postwar art music, the

work loosely fits into one in which collage is used as ametaphor for an aesthetic and whereby the conceptual in-corporation of different styles of music overrides the signif-icance of the individual quotations (21). Yet what is themeta-musical concept that governs Ligetis approach to

musical parody in this opera? What gives the production ofthis opera its visceral, Rabelaisian edge? In what sense does itconstitute an anti-opera?

In light of such questions, the present analysis of LGMseeks to unveil the works narrative and meta-musical impli-cations in relation to Ligetis parodic strategies for recastingborrowed musical styles and quotations. Examining theoperas thematic connections with the original play by Michelde Ghelderode and Mikhail Bahktins concept ofgrotesquere-alism, I will suggest that Ligetis parodic approach in thisopera is governed by two narrative trajectories: the grotesqueand existentialirony. While many other contemporaneous op-eras utilize similar parodic techniques to satirize musical con-

ventions, LGM is unique in synthesizing text, images, and

sound toward articulating an overarching trope of thegrotesque, combined with surrealist and absurdist aesthetics.Furthermore, in theorizing about the narrative trajectoriesand musical parody as a markedform of intertextual reference,I draw on writings by Linda Hutcheon, Robert Hatten, andEsti Sheinberg.

i. on the narrative implication of the grotesque

From a dramaturgical point of view, LGM presents amixture of medieval morality play and absurdist theater, re-sulting in a curious hybrid of parody and profundity, ofcomedy and horror (Lie 2004, vii). The libretto is based onthe Belgian playwright Michel de Ghelderodes La Balade du

grand macabre(1934), which depicts the coming of the apoc-alypse in the fictional Breughelland. As a baroque parable onthe intertwined fortunes of politics and sex, the story re-

volves around farcical characters that include the evil tyrant

Nekrozotar, young lovers Jadis and Flandre, astrologerVidebolle, his wife Salivaine, drunkard Proprenaz, andprince Goulave. Nekrozotar elicits both fear and laughter asthe citizens of Breughelland respond to his announcement ofthe apocalypse with sheer indifference, indulgence, or panic.In the end, life triumphs over death as the impending crisis

1 In dramatic works like Bernd A. Zimmermanns Die Soldaten (1965),Harrison Birtwistles Punch and Judy (1967), Maxwell DaviessResurrection (1963), or Eight Songs for a Mad King (1969), composersused parodic strategies in part to supplant the purity of a modernistaesthetics, while channeling the avant-gardes power of provocation informulating a social commentary or critique.



4/32

is avoided and the evil characters (Salivaine and Nekrozotar)are duly punished; the play concludes with a pantheistic cele-bration of the regenerative cycle of life (Decock 1969, 116).

As early as in 1965, Ligeti brainstormed ideas for compos-ing an opera, having received a commission from then direc-

tor of the Stockholm opera, Gran Gentele. After a failedattempt to compose an opera that parodies StravinskysOedipus Rex, he found inspiration for an operatic libretto inGhelderodes play in 1972 (Sewell 2006, 7). For the opera,the names of the inhabitants were modified to Nekrotzar(Nekro + tzar), a peasant named Piet the Pot, young lovers

Amando and Amanda, court astrologer Astradamors, hismenacing wife Mescalina, Prince Go Go, the goddess Venus,and secret police Gepopo.2 Piet the Pot, a buffoon servant

character in commedia dellarte, is adapted from anotherGhelderode character named Piet Bouteille. The addition ofVenus is an homage to Baroque operatic convention, whilethe half-bird, half-woman concoction of Gepopo came aboutthrough Ligetis interest in surrealism and the absurdist the-ater. Unlike the villainess Salivaine who lives to be punished,Mescalina falls in love with Nekrotzar and expires in hisarms. While substantially cutting back the text from the orig-inal play, Ligeti inserted dialogues based on slapstick humor,

Gepopos comical arias, St. Johns Passion, among other texts,to keep the burlesque and the tragic in balance.3 AmandaSewell argues that the most important deviation from theoriginal play is found in the conclusion; instead of revealingNekrotzar as nothing more than a charlatan, Ligeti intro-duces ambiguity by allowing the audience to decide whetherNekrotzar is Death or fraud and whether the apocalypse ulti-mately takes place or not in the final scene (2006, 12).

The operative narrative articulates principles central toMikhail Bakhtins notion ofgrotesque realism in several impor-tant respects. According to Bakhtin, the essential principle ofthe grotesque originates in the idea of degradation central tothe culture of folk humor in the Middle Ages: the lowering

of all that is high, spiritual, ideal, [and] abstract; it is a trans-fer to the material level, to the sphere of earth and body intheir indissoluble unity (1984, 1920). Bakhtin further ar-gues that the Renaissance writers interest in the materialbodily principle or the rehabilitation of the flesh emergedas a reaction against the asceticism of the Middle Ages; thematerial bodily principle is contained not in the biologicalindividual, not in the bourgeois ego, but in the people, a peo-ple who are continually growing and renewed. This is why all

that is bodily becomes grandiose, exaggerated, immeasur-able (19). In this respect, Bakhtin credits the FrenchRenaissance writer Franois Rabelais for foregrounding theimportance of the material body as a triumphant, festiveprinciple and uniting the cosmic, social, and bodily ele-ments as an indivisible whole; for example, in Rabelaiss pop-ular novel Gargantua and Pantagruel (1532), grotesque fig-ures of giants derived from popular-festive carnival imagesare interwoven with cosmic phenomena in celebrating the

theme of death, renewal, and fertility (328).From another perspective, the painting entitled The

Truimph of Death (1562) by the Dutch Renaissance artist,Breughel the Elder, captures the ideas fundamental togrotesque realism. At first glance, the graphic scenes of terrormay haunt the modern viewer as a horrifying vision of theapocalypse. In the painting, which depicts a battle scene,skeletal legions swarm across the landscape, while ordinarymortals commit desperate acts in confrontation with death:

people flee into a tunnel decorated with crosses while askeleton on horseback slaughters them with a scythe; a starv-ing dog nibbles at the face of a child; the pious pray for salva-tion; and royal figures, including a court jester and Arcadianlovers, marvel at this phenomenon in sheer disbelief. Yet fromthe Renaissance perspective on grotesque realism, the painting

28 music theory spectrum 31 (2009)

2 In the first version of LGM, the lovers names were Clitoria andSpermando (Kostakeva 1996, 161).

3 Von Seherr-Thoss (1998) provides a detailed comparison of the con-tents of the original play by Ghelderode and the libretto for the firstedition of LGM (14445).



5/32

grotesque through establishing an expressive opposition be-tween ludicrousness and horror.5 Furthermore, Ligeti buildsdramatic tension by developing textural strategies of collageand disintegration in lieu of a traditional ensemble ending.In such contexts, parody and other forms of imitation serve

as the central means by which the composer creates an auralcounterpart to the allegorical depiction of chaos, destruction,and renewal found in Breughels Triumph of Death.

ii. semiotics, parody, and thecontext of enunciation

Before proceeding to the analysis of LGM, I will beginwith a brief summary of semiotic concepts relevant for

analysis. Building on Charles Peirces semiotic theory,Hatten defines typeas a conceptual category defined by fea-tures or a range of qualities that are essential to its identity,

while token presents the perceptible entity that embodiesthe features or qualities of the type (1994, 4445). Topicsarepatches of music that trigger clear associations with styles,genres, and expressive meanings (2005, 2); tokens that de-fine each topic are constrained by a narrow range of gestures,such as a descending chromatic bass line in a minor key that

signifies the lament topic. So, for instance, E major is atoken of the general key type, yet as a token of a symbol forMasonic unity in MozartsMagic Flute, it gains a more spe-cific topical meaning. Although defined by convention, top-ics are not restricted to historically established ones; Ligetissignature style of sound mass texture, used repeatedly inthe context of LGM as an iconic or onomatopoeic represen-tation of the approaching comet, can be interpreted as aniconic topic that emerges through contextual reinforcement.

And all instances of musical borrowing based on direct orstylistic quotation constitute indexicaltypes or topics because


5 Ludicrousdiffers from comical in referring to a situation that is amus-ing or laughable through obvious absurdity, incongruity, exaggerationor eccentricity (Babcock 1993, 1344).

4 In 1961, Ligeti saw Breughels Triumph of Death and BoschsGarden of Earthly Delights in the Prado and they influenced hisRequiem (Lie, vii).

assumes a positive characteristic in celebrating the regenera-tion of life through death: all values, thoughts, phenomena,and objects are brought together to break down the barriersthat separate the living from the dead.

Given Ligetis lifelong interest in the visual arts, it is

hardly surprising that the apocalyptic scene depicted inBreughels painting provided the creative impetus for LGM.Ligeti comments: I have always been fascinated by the ideaof hell and scenes of the Last Judgment. I am thinking ofBreughel and especially of Bosch, whose paintings present amixture of fear and grotesque humor (Vrnai 1983, 46).4

Since its 1978 premiere in Stockholm by Opra Royal, thestage productions of LGMthirty-one in allincorporatedaspects of grotesque humor, absurdist theater, and surrealism

in depicting the imaginary Breughelland to different ends.Especially controversial was Peter Sellers 1997 productionof LGM in Salzburg, which Ligeti found disturbing due tothe explicit depiction of the apocalypse set in Chernobyl thatdetracted from his desire for ambiguity (Sewell 2006, 45). Inthe early 80s, Ligeti remarked that only one production hadcome close to what he had imagined, namely, the 1979 pro-duction in Bologna, which captured the true spirit of the

work as a demonical romp, a great extravaganza (Vrnai

1983,113).The ensuing analysis of LGM focuses on the revised

score from 1996, in which Ligeti further reinforces his ideasfor ambivalence, absurdism, and the sublime through simpli-fied text setting, minimized spoken dialogue, and revised in-strumentation for greater transparency of sound (VonSeherr-Thoss 1998, 36264). In applying semiotic con-structs for analysis, I argue that Ligeti engages with musicalparody at two levels: the surface level at which he transforms

and subverts quotation of existing music and musical stylesand the global level at which he articulates the trope of the



6/32

they reference existing ones in the musical literature(Monelle 2006, 28). Lastly, Hatten explains how a tropeemerges from a clear juxtaposition of contradictory, or pre-

viously unrelated, types and that there must be evidencefrom a higher level to support a tropological interpretation

(2004, 217). In the libretto, even the naming of characters inBrueghelland derives from the troping of familiar words:Nekrotzar merges the idea of a tyrant (tzar) with the under-

world suggested by nekro (dead); Gepopo combines theevil connotation of Gestapo (secret police) with Popoan oblique reference to the half bird, half man characterPapageno from the Magic Flute, and so forth. A musicaltrope, likewise, opens up room for a creative synthesis of top-ics by strategically combining stylistically incongruous ele-

ments.6 Hatten describes how the Turkish march used toembellish the Ode to Joy theme in the finale to BeethovensNinth Symphony creates an all embracing trope, in whichtopics that represent high and low styles are fused to con-note the brotherhood of all men (1994, 84). Applied to thethematic, formal, and genre levels, Hatten describes tropingas a technique that constitutes one of the more spectacular

ways that composers can create new meanings (2006, 68).Now, when a composer parodies a style from the past,

the quoted material or its referent7 is marked or highlightedin a way that differs from other forms of musical imitation.

And here I invoke Michael Shapiros concept of markednessthat establishes a valuativerelation between two terms basedon asymmetry, in which the marked term is distinguished

from the unmarked one on the basis of degree of specifica-tion or determinacy (1983, 79). Rather than restricting the

valuative relation, as in a privative opposition (A vs. non-A),it can be based on equipollentopposition (A vs. B), in whichone term is often evaluatively dominant than the other

(Battistella 1990, 33). So, for instance, the English usage ofwoman and man shares this valuative relation, with theformer constituting the marked term (due to the degree ofspecificity attributed to the term woman) and the latter un-marked (since man can be used as a generic term for both).By extension, musical parody and intertextual reference8

share this valuative relation; parody is construed as a markedreference that involves the composers deliberate reworkingof a borrowed material or style and elicits a concrete identifi-

cation by educated listeners (e.g., that s a twisted quota-tion of Wagners desire leitmotif!), while an intertextualreference is unmarked and elicits a less determinate rangeof semantic reference from the listener (e.g., it sounds like apassage from Die Walkre).

Furthermore, my usage of parody here overlaps withChristopher Reynoldss term allusion, which he defines as anintentionalreference to another work made by means of a re-semblance that affects the meaning conveyed to those who

recognize it (2003, 6). The difference is that Reynolds usesallusion to refer primarily to motivic, rhythmic, and textualappropriations in nineteenth-century music, be it the assim-ilative process by which Schumann alludes to Beethovenssong cycleAn die ferne Geliebtein his piano work or the con-trastive process by which a song by Mendelssohn serves as amodel for Schumanns Vogel als Prophet (80). The originalmodel serves as an intertextual reference to the new context,


6 The technique of troping here overlaps with what Martha Hyde callsan eclectic or exploitative type of imitation, where past styles are com-

bined with contemporary techniques to yield a brilliant manipulationof the new and old (2003, 102). Hyde offers four categories of imita-tive strategies (reverential, eclectic, heuristic, and dialectical) in refer-ence to Stravinskys neoclassical works.

7 In Charles Peirces semiotic theory, the referent or object is what thesign stands for. Referents can include ideas, events, and material ob-

jects and in the present context refers to the parodied musical element.

8 While Julie Kristeva and Roland Barthes treat intertextuality as amodality of perception where the reader is free to associate texts atrandom (Kristeva 1980, 15), Michael Klein draws a distinction be-tweenpoietic(authorly intention) and esthesic(readerly response) formsof intertextuality (2005, 12). The present context refers to the esthesicform.



7/32

is accompanied by a playful, satirical, or ironic intent (55). Inintroducing the concept of ethos, Hutcheon emphasizes the

viewers active role in decodingthe artists underlying inten-tion. In extending her theory to the enunciation of musical

parody, Example 1 presents a diagram that illustrates howthe object of a musical sign becomes trans-contextualized

when transplanted into a new context.9As shown by the ar-rows, the change in context transforms the sign-interpretantof the object.10 As a syntactical and rhetorical sign, parodyacquires either a marked ethos, satirical or ironic, when thesign-interpretant of its referent (I) undergoes topical reversalor negation (I). For example, in speech, Jack is a REAL


9 The diagram builds on the model introduced by Sheinberg to illustratethe structure of parody (152).

10 For Peirce, the concept of meaning is simply defined as the actual effectof a sign (its interpretant), that is, the direct feeling (emotional), physi-cal reaction (energetic), or language-based concept (sign-interpretant)inspired in the perceiver by a musical sign (Turino, 224).

but typically in an unmarked, neutral sense. FollowingHutcheon, I argue that parody in postwar twentieth-centurymusic presents a more pronounced form of doubled-voicedutterance, in which the semantic reference of the original

quotation is set in sharp relief from its surrounding musicalcontext. Often through exaggeration and distortion, itsmeaning is twisted or turned inside out. Ligeti comments

with regard to composing LGM: I take bits of music or sig-nals, put them in an unfamiliar context, distort them, notnecessarily making them sound humorous but interpretingthem through distortion just as a surrealist painting presentsthe world (Vrnai 1983, 59).

In this respect, Hutcheon offers important criteria for

formalizing the semantic structure of parody, which she de-fines as a form of artistic recycling accompanied by complexforms of trans-contextualization and inversion in referenceto twentieth-century art forms (1985, 15). She also definesethosan inferred intended reaction motivated by thetextas an integral factor that determines whether parody

Original context New context

Sign system:

transcontextualization(R = referent)

negation or reversal(I = interpretant)

R

II

R

example 1. Parodic context of enunciation



8/32

tiger, enunciated with a deliberate roll of the eye and satiricaltone of voice, conveys the reversal of the literal messagethat Jack is notat all aggressive like a tiger, that he is a cow-ard (sign-interpretant). In this case, it is the mode of deliverythat transforms the aggressive connotation (the ground)associated with the referent tiger from affirmation tonegation.

In musical contexts, the negation or reversal can likewise

be achieved through rhetorical and/or syntactical manipula-tion (Everett 2004).11 For example, when Debussy quotesthe desire leitmotif from Tristan und Isolde in GolliwogsCakewalk, I argue that he distorts the borrowed referentthrough incongruous juxtaposition. As shown in Example 2,first, he extracts the ascending minor sixth motive and exag-gerates the sentiment (avec une grande motion), and thenhe juxtaposes this quotation with the grace-note figurationthat mocks the serious affect of Wagners music. By embed-

ding the operatic leitmotif within the genre of ragtime,

Debussy blurs the presumed boundary between highbrowand lowbrow music.Thus while the affect of desire is asso-ciated with the borrowed motif, the changes in musical con-text brought on by its juxtaposition with the mockingmotif, exaggerated expressive indication, and formal contextof ragtime negate the sign-interpretant of desire by trivial-izing it. According to Sheinberg, Debussy creates an aes-thetic distance, a double outlook which is, simultaneously,

satirizing and self-satirizing (2000, 144). And it is the im-plicit recognition of the original context of enunciatione.g., the tragic connotation of the desire motif in WagnersTristan und Isoldethat enables the listener to recognizethat the sign-interpretant of the original leitmotif has beensubverted.

Expanding on Hattens framework, Example 3 presentsmy classification of three types of parodic procedures: map-

ping, troping, and reversal. They are often used in combina-

tion with one another and involve a type or topic as referent.Mappingrefers to the basic procedure of correlating a partic-ular character or situation with a distinctive stylistic type ortopic, troping to juxtaposing or superimposing incongruoustopics and types for creative synthesis, and reversalto negatingthe topical referent of a given quotation through distorting


11 In a previous article in Music Theory Online (2004), I introduce threeconstructs (paradigmatic substitution, incongruous juxtaposition, andprogressive decontextualization) that induce satiric ethos locally orironic ethosat broader metaphoric levels of interpretation.

avec une grand motionCdez

Cdez a Tempoa Tempo

yx x' y'

x = desireleitmotif a from Wagners Tristan und Isoldey = ridiculinggesture

example 2. Quotation of Wagner in Debussys Golliwogs Cakewalk



9/32

opera called The Nose(192728); in this operatic adaptationof Gogols novel, in which a government official loses hisnose, Shostakovich depicts a number of scenes where indi-vidual voices gradually accumulate in textural density into a

cacophonic whole. Sheinberg comments: when a chaoticmultitude of accumulated voices mingles into an indecipher-able noise of a horrifying and dangerous mob, the crowd-texture conveys a grotesque picture (2000, 278). Similarly,Ligeti offers extensive passages in which the citizens plea forhelp from the impending disaster builds in density where theinitially homophonic choral utterance disintegrates into a ca-cophonic outcry (Scene III, rehearsal 377). In the course ofsuch a transformation, the initially harmless crowd turns into

a dangerous mob. While the first strategy articulates thegrotesque trope via blurring the boundaries between the lu-dicrous and horrifying expressive states through textural ac-cumulation, the second articulates a definitive shift in ex-pressive state from the ludicrous to the horrifying viadistortion and fragmentation.


its syntactical attributes. In the context of LGM, these syn-tactical procedures map onto two semantic components: aparodic ethos that ranges from playful to satirical along acontinuum and an expressive state that signifies ludicrous-

ness or horror.On a broader level, the tropological reading of the

grotesque emerges through two interrelated textural strate-gies in LGM. First, Ligeti builds the ensemble texture ineach scene by combining procedures of mapping, troping,and/or reversal into a multi-layered collage. By incorporatingincongruous musical types and topics into a collage thatgradually increases in textural density, Ligeti effectively blursthe boundary between the ludicrous and horrifying expres-

sive states. Second, he disintegrates a given musical texturethrough fragmentation and distortion. In LGM, Ligetigradually transforms the vocal utterances or instrumentalcollage to a point of total disintegration in order to accentu-ate the expressive state of horror. Sheinberg finds precedencefor both procedures in Dmitri Shostakovich in his early

Syntactic: Reversalof topic

Tropingof topic/type

substitutionexaggeration

distortion

Ethos: Playful SatiricalSemantic:

ExpressiveStates:

Ludicrousness : Horror

Trope of the Grotesque

(Absurdist Aesthetics)

Mappingof topic/type

juxtapositionsuperimposition

example 3. Parodic Procedures in Le Grand Macabre. Ligeti, Le Grand Macabre.



10/32

iii. parodic strategies in lgm:mapping, troping, and reversal

I will now illustrate the diverse contexts in which Ligetideploys different parodic procedures within LGM. Underthe category of parody via mapping, Ligeti pays homage tooperatic conventions by assigning distinctive stylistic or tim-

bral idioms to typecast the main characters. Example 4 pre-sents the passage from Scene II where the menacing butlovelorn Mescalina summons Venus for help in finding her avirile mate. Here the comedic features of the two charactersare set into sharp relief through the basic procedure of map-ping contrastive timbres and stylistic idioms. First, thearpeggiation of the open fifth interval, GD, on the harp

and clavichord signifies the benevolent spirit of the goddessof love, whom Mescalina cries out to. Mescalina begins herdrunken aria on G, although her erratic vocal line is punc-tuated by a succession of dissonant string and organ clusterson Venus; the abrupt shift in timbre and the deformationof the perfect fifth to tritones in the cluster chords [F, G,G, B, D] and [B, C, D, F, G] convey Mescalinas greedydisposition. In the subsequent musical passage whereMescalina calls out for Venus, a melody played by oboedamore mimics the housekeepers yearning for a virile man(rehearsal 192). When Venus finally appears, her other-worldly presence is underscored by the high soprano rangeand vocal contour based on oscillating thirds (rehearsal 217).In alluding to the fairy scene from Verdis Falstaff, Venus is


34 Pro - sit, sis - ter Ve - nus!

34

34

34

34

Mesc.

Clav.

Harp

ff

ff

( )

espr.with verve, but slovenlyMescalina drinks and soon becomes tipsy.dopia movimento = 100

Org.

Vlc.Vla.Vln. sul tasto

tutta la forza

ffprs de la table, laissez vibrer

[D , G ] [B, C, D , F, G ][F , G, G , B, D]

example 4. Mescalinas call for Venus (Scene II, r.187). Ligeti, Le Grand Macabre. 1996 by Schott Music. All Rights Reserved.

Used by permission of European American Music Distributors LLC, sole U.S. and Canadian agent for Schott Music.



11/32

accompanied by a female chorus, placed off stage, providinga direct echo of every phrase she sings (rehearsal 214225).

Example 5 illustrates a parodic strategy via troping of styl-istic types from the lovers duet in Scene I. Amanda andAmando sing about the enduring quality of love, projectedagainst Nekrotzars omen of the impending catastrophe.

Strings initially accompany the enchanting duet with sus-tained harmonics; as shown at rehearsal 9, the vocal partsmove within an expanding chromatic wedge in rhythmic uni-son. Later in this duet (rehearsal 18), their vocal texture ap-propriates a Baroque form of ornamentation on the wordperish, harmonized in parallel thirds and accompanied by a


34

O my dar - ling! As marb - le white neath hea -vens

34 O my dar - ling!

Amanda

Amando

er pe e e e e e

cr pc c c c c c

Ada.

Ado.

Cel.

tenuto poco cresc. poco cresc.

tenuto poco cresc. poco cresc.

etc.

sempre legato

[C, C , D, F, F , A]

text: So let us in our bliss together perish. . . . (ornamentation applies to underlined text).

9

18

example 5. Amanda/Amando duet (Scene I, r. 9/18). Ligeti, Le Grand Macabre. 1996 by Schott Music. All Rights Reserved.Used by permission of European American Music Distributors LLC, sole U.S. and Canadian agent for Schott Music.



12/32

figuration in the celesta that outlines an atonal hexachordbuilt on thirds. Here, the stylized neighbor-note figures recallthe trillo technique of ornamentation that traces back toBaroque vocal ornamentation, specifically, the love duet sungby Nero and Poppea from Monteverdi s Lincoronazione diPoppea.12 In transforming this stylistic referent, it is mergedwith other musical textures to create new meaning. One hasto do with the lovers stylized stammering on the syllable pe

of perish beginning at rehearsal 18; this exaggerated form ofrepetition underscores the absurdity of the situation. It is alsothrough troping of Baroque vocal ornamentation and cyclical


repetition of the celesta motive that this passage underscoresthe seemingly sublime, but ludicrous expressive state.

Piet the Pots drunken aria exemplifies Ligetis tech-nique of troping incongruous stylistic topics through abruptshift in musical discourse. As shown in Example 6, his ariabegins with a literal quotation of the head motive of Dies

Irae(last pitch is chromatically altered to C), which disinte-grates into a descending chromatic line. At rehearsal 3, the

vocal line abruptly shifts to a drinking song; Ligetis sketchesindicate that he modeled the vocal line based on the choralhunting song from Bergs Wozzeck (Act III, rehearsal 560)and a song called Valentin Alpenrosen (Von Seherr-Thoss 1998, 22425). Here, Ligeti further distorts Bergsmisquotation of the German folk song Ein Jger aus

34 24 34 24 44

Di - es i rae, di es il la solv - vet sae - clum in

Pietthe Pot

34 44 34

o, gol den Breu ghel - land that nev (hic) that nev - er knows a

ff ff

34 44 34 44

care, fill all your child- ren with de light! O, long lost par a dise,

ff

a tempo

= 1322

3poco pimosso

= 1324

meno mosso

= 1045poco pimosso

= 116subito poco pimosso

= 132

lunga

diminuendo

sub he drinks

sub dim.

subsub sudden outburst

cantabile

example 6. Piet the Pot (Scene I, r. 23). Ligeti, Le Grand Macabre. 1996 by Schott Music. All Rights Reserved.Used by permission of European American Music Distributors LLC, sole U.S. and Canadian agent for Schott Music.

12 Seville, 2324. The aria Ne pi, ne pi sinterporr noia dimorademonstrates two voices in the treble clef that move in parallel thirds.



13/32

an instrumental toccata played by three car horns. The carhorns participate in a fugal imitation in which the interval ofthe successive entries diminish proportionally in rhythmic valueby half; the composite rhythm shortens until a steady sixteenth-note motion results at measure 6. After two more measures, the

rhythmic pattern reverses itself to form a complete palindrome.Retrograde-symmetrical structure appears in combinationwith imitative and canonic writing throughout this opera.13


13 The palindromic form is also used by Ghelderode in his ordering of the sixtableaux in the original play, from which the libretto for LGM was taken.

Kurpfalz through irregular phrasing and a succession of up-ward leaps by a ninth or seventh (originally an octave in thefolk song). At rehearsal 5, the wedge-like vocal entry on thetext O, long lost paradise anticipates the vocal lines sung byAmanda and Amando at rehearsal 9+5. Because the chro-

matic motive for Dies Irae later manifests as a signifier ofthe comet, Piet displays a prophetic vision of the fate ofBreughelland while presenting himself as a drunken fool.

Troping at the formal level occurs in the instrumental pre-lude and interludes that separate each scene in this opera. Asshown in Example 7, the beginning of each scene begins with

44

44 44

ff

ffff ff

Tempo giusto = 804 car horns

4 car horns

4 car horns

sempre

sempre

sempre

sempre

axis of symmetry

example 7. Opening Prelude (Scene I). Ligeti, Le Grand Macabre. 1996 by Schott Music. All Rights Reserved.Used by permission of European American Music Distributors LLC, sole U.S. and Canadian agent for Schott Music.



14/32

Although the form of the prelude and subsequent interludesbetween scenes is modeled on an instrumental toccata tracingback to Baroque operas, Ligeti replaces the timbre of brass in-struments with car horns and electric doorbells. Such sounds,along with the use of metronomes, alarm clocks, and sirens canbe understood as aural markers of surrealism and more specifi-cally futurism, infusing the opera with an unequivocally mod-ernist sound. As a parodic strategy, the construction of preludesand interludes exemplifies mapping via substitution: that is,while borrowing the structure and rhetoric (fanfare) of a pre-existing form, Ligeti replaces the content with surrealisticsounds of car horns to create aesthetic distance.

Mapping via substitution applies to a musical contextwhere the borrowed stylistic referent is less transparent, yet

it is parodic because it invokes and subverts a familiar oper-atic convention. In an extended aria sung by Gepopo inScene III, the head of the secret police of Breughellandsings a schizophrenic aria in which she warns Prince Go Goof a comet that will destroy their land, as displayed inExample 8. In an aria that begins with a high trill that over-laps with trills sustained by woodwinds (rehearsal 389),Ligeti blends coloratura techniques with tremolos, angularrhythms, and intervals that fluctuate between extreme endsof the vocal register. Even in the absence of explicit quota-tions, Gepopos aria recalls the style of vocal executions fea-tured in the convention of mad arias, for example, fromDonizetti s Lucia di Lammermoor; the cascading descentfrom a high register and shifting points of reference are


34 24 32 1 18

34 24 32 1 18

34 24 32 1 18

Co met in - s ight! Red glow! Burns bright!

34 24 32 1 18

34 24 32 1 18

Picc.

Bass Cl.

Gepopo

Pno.

ff

ff

Cel.Glsp.Mand.

Str.

screaming in panic

diminuendo

ff ffff

Cl.

Picc.

Mand.

Cel.

Glsp.

Tblk.

Ancora pimosso

= 144Vivacissimo molto ritmico = 480)

sempre lo stesso tempo

(

example 8. Gepopos aria (Scene III, r. 394). Ligeti, Le Grand Macabre. 1996 by Schott Music. All Rights Reserved.Used by permission of European American Music Distributors LLC, sole U.S. and Canadian agent for Schott Music.



15/32

the quality of madness to an absurd height.14 As shown inExample 9, Gepopos plea to Call a guard! dissolves into arepeated utterance of A-da across a minor ninth. The ac-companying instruments support her musical stutter withsustained trills and the synchronized rhythmic patterns,


14 Ligeti was particularly interested in Alfred Jarrys absurdist theater,which denied the traditional flow of action and traditional concept ofcharacters on stage by making them appear incoherent and discon-nected, like parodies of the real world (Grossman 1967, 475). Gepoposincoherence and musical stutter exemplify this theatrical orientation.

points of commonality found in both, although Gepoposaria is far more discontinuous and angular. In addition, incommenting on her half-bird, half-man nature, her vocalutterances are accompanied by an array of percussion instru-ments that offer futuristic sounds and outbursts, alternatingwith a rhythmic ostinato (based on an aksak rhythm 4+4+3)by temple blocks and congos that brings lightheartedness tothe musical passage.

Later in the same aria, Gepopos mimicking of animalsounds assumes a surreal and Dadaesque quality as hersinging degenerates into an unintelligible stutter that extends

34 24 68 24

34 24 68 24 34 24 68 24

34 24 68 24

34 24 68 24 Da! Da! Da! A - da! A - da! A - da! A - da! A - da! A - da! A - da! A - da! A - da! A - da! A - da! A - da! A - da!

34 24 68 24

34 24 68 24

Cl.

Trp.

Timp.

PoliceWhistle

Gepopo

Hrpsd.

ff

429sub agitato

= 176non pesante

secco

goes into a paroxysm of excitement,confusion and panic

El. Org.Hrpsd./Bsn./Vln.

example 9. Gepopos aria (Scene III, r. 429). Ligeti, Le Grand Macabre. 1996 by Schott Music. All Rights Reserved.Used by permission of European American Music Distributors LLC, sole U.S. and Canadian agent for Schott Music.



16/32

which become progressively shorter and faster as she goesinto a paroxysm of excitement, confusion, and panic (Ligetis

description in the score). This passage obviously presents acase where the parodic effect is enunciated without troping,but rather through exaggerated forms of repetition and frag-mentation associated with the aesthetics of absurdist theater.

In contrast to such examples that underscore the ludi-crous expressive state, Ligeti reserves the third category ofparody via reversal or negation for dramatic moments thatsatirize a character or articulate a large-scale enunciation ofthe grotesque in the context of a collage. For instance, Prince

Go Gos role is satirized through troping of stylistic typesand distortion. Example 10 is taken from the beginning ofthe third scene, in which two corrupt politicians try to forcePrince Go Go to sign a decree to raise taxes. This scene be-gins with a boisterous, hocketing duet by the politicians inthe comic buffa tradition of Rossini. Against their mockery,

Prince Go Go is portrayed as a nave and helpless creature,whose noble status is indexed by the use of secco recitative

that segues to string accompaniment on the text Forgiveme! Although the vocal rhythm retains the secco recitativestyle of enunciation, it is harmonized by dissonances built onthirds and fifths that loosely parallel the vocal contour. Theprinces clueless and idiotic character is satirized throughsubverting a tonal cadence; note the manner by which thevocal line cadences on B, against which the bass moves fromB to F and the retardation and suspension in the upper partresolve to a major ninth from E to F.

Another satirical example is provided in Example 11.Mecalinas schizophrenic aria is characterized by a dramaticshift in musical discourse to reveal two different sides of herpersonality. First, the lament topic appears in combinationwith a distorted quotation of of Wagners desire motif a AF E D to portray the lovelorn nature of Mescalina. Notice


34 44

34 44 E-nough! E - nough! E-nough! For - give me! I beg your par - don!

34 44

3

4 4

4

Trb.

Go Go

Hrpsd.

ff

Tb.

cresc.softly

the lowest note possiblewithfluttertongue

guisto = 100subito moderato

ritenuto al meno mosso = 80

dim to a breath

Vla.

Vlc.Cb.

distorted cadence

example 10. Prince Go-Go (Scene III, r. 306). Ligeti, Le Grand Macabre. 1996 by Schott Music. All Rights Reserved.Used by permission of European American Music Distributors LLC, sole U.S. and Canadian agent for Schott Music.



17/32

contrasting musical passages to convey Mescalinas lovelornand menacing dispositions.

The desire motif surfaces in an ironic moment later inScene II, when Nekrotzar approaches Mescalina as an answerto her wish to find a virile lover. Example 12 illustrates the sud-den change in texture at rehearsal 229, as the string trio pre-sents a bourrewith an expressive indication of grazioso thataccompanies the love/death scene of Mescalina. Appropriating


how the cello outlines a chromatically descending bass uponwhich Mescalina sings her song of lament based on the dis-

torted and incomplete rendition of the desire motif B GF F. In the next system, the music quickly shifts to revealher menacing character, intensified by chromatic clusters inthe organ and strings that support the melodic inversion ofthe desire motif b GA A B. Arguably, the whole of thedesire leitmotif has been divided and distorted across two

44 24 54

Oh, pain! Oh, pain! Oh, pain! Oh, pain! Oh, pain!

Mesc.

Vlc.

54 44 34

Wholl r inse dish-es? Do the wash- ing? Whothe cook- ing? Whothe mend- ing? Whowill do the c lean- ing? Whothe scrub-bing, wax- ing?

Mesc.

Org.

Vlc.

molto sostenuto, dolente = 40

sotto voce, dolentedesiremotif a

lament topic with descending bass line

doppio movimento = 80 inversion of the desiremotif b

sub ten.

example 11. Mescalinas lament (Scene II, r.153, reduced score). Ligeti, Le Grand Macabre. 1996 by Schott Music. All RightsReserved. Used by permission of European American Music Distributors LLC, sole U.S. and Canadian agent for Schott Music.



18/32

a courtship dance, the desire motif appears in the chromati-cally descending Alberti bass figures in the lower strings,echoed by the appearance of the motif sung in staggered thirds

by Mescalina and Nekrotzar three bars later.Venus, Mescalina,Nekotzar, Piet the Pot, and Astradamors engage in a closingvocal ensemble that accumulates in textural density as thescene results in the death of Mescalina. The perpetual descentin the bass provides the perfect musical analogue forMescalinas figurative descent into hell. And the positive affect

of the pastoral is turned inside out by this macabre dance, inwhich the misaligned vocal entries create a multi-layered col-lage; while Nekrotzar seduces Mescalina and Venus prods

them on, Piet the Pot and Astradamors are plotting to killMescalina. Her last utterance on the word Murder! is accom-panied by a light-hearted dance music in 2/4 meter in theharpsichord and electric piano (rehearsal 235). Furthermore,the rhetorical effect is ironic rather than simply satirical; thecombination of euphoric and dysphoric expressions gives rise


44

It shall be done. It shall be

44 man! Still my de - sire!

44

man! A - rise Bac chan - te! Ill still thy de - sire!

44

44

44

Venus

Mesc.

Nekro.

Vln. 1/2

Vla.

Vlc.

Andantino con moto, grazioso (boure perpetuelle)

= 104 sempre sotto voce desiremotif a'

sempre sotto voce

sempre sotto voce

elaboration of the desiremotif a

'

example 12. Use of pastoral topic (Scene II, r. 229). Ligeti, Le Grand Macabre. 1996 by Schott Music. All Rights Reserved.Used by permission of European American Music Distributors LLC, sole U.S. and Canadian agent for Schott Music.



19/32

topical reversal by de-contextualizing the theme from the fi-nale of Beethovens Symphony No. 3. As shown in Example14, the rhythmic is preserved while the pitches are distorted;the theme is transformed into a twelve-tone passacaglia, inwhich the ordered pitch interval (opi) of the row alternates

between ics 6 and e. Furthermore, the permutation of twelvetones and the rhythmic talea of Beethovens theme are mis-aligned so that the next entry of the row begins on last quar-ter note of the talea. This passacaglia forms the foundationfor a multi-layered collage in different tempi and meters: asolo violin enters with a ragtime that recalls the devil s musicfrom Stravinskys lHistoire du Soldat, the bassoon enters witha Greek orthodox tune, the piccolo trumpet plays a Braziliansamba, the parade drum plays marching music in irregular

meter, and the bass trombone blares out a distorted variationof the twelve-tone Eroica theme. By combining music drawnfrom high and low styles into a massive collage, this passageturns into an ultimate macabre dance, gradually building intextural density and dynamic intensity, and in which the ludi-crous and horrifying states co-mingle. As a musical corollaryto Bakhtins grotesque body, the individual layers maintaintheir autonomy through independence in timbre, meter, andtempo, while being subsumed into the ever-growing collec-

tive. As this procession of incongruous tunes unfolds, chaosreigns on stage as people fight, eat, drink, copulate, and soforth, in coping with the final moments of life.

Following the macabre dance, the citizens of Breughellandmake their plea for help in the form of a disintegratedchorale, as Nekrotzar makes his final pronouncement of theapocalypse. In this climactic passage, the heavenly trom-bone motif appears over and over again to signify a form ofdivine intervention that thwarts Nekrotzars omen. Ligetis

instruction indicates that two trumpeters and two trombon-ists are to be positioned high up in a box overlooking thestage and that they are to sound as if coming from far away.Historically, the trombone symbolizes the supernatural or theunderworld and conjures up images of terror and unknownrealms of darkness. The presence of trombones plays upon


15 Furthermore, Ligetis transformation of traditional form (e.g., bourrein Scene III) intersects with Martha Hyde s criteria for a heuristic formof musical imitation in which a composer seeks a deeper engagement

with a given model in order to achieve dramatic conflict (2003, 119).

to a trope of irony inaugurated by the contradiction betweenwhat is claimed (murder of Mescalina) and an ambivalent con-text where two motivations coalesce into one (was this sceneabout love or murder?).15Although the death of Meculina inthe operatic narrative is an aberration from the original play,

the scene curiously resonates with Ghelderodes conviction thateroticism is a source both of tragedy and of burlesquerie andhis view of lust as deaths other companion (Herz 1962, 96).

The most dramatic effects are achieved when Ligeti de-ploys parody via reversal or negation in the context of amulti-layered collage texture to articulate the expressive stateof horror. In the first scene, when Nekrotzar announces thecoming of the apocalypse, the idea of horror is signified bythe polymetric superimposition of descending cluster chords

over the ticking of a gigantic metronome on stage. Againstthe cluster chords in the piano that maintain the notatedmeter, the harpsichord, metronome, and choral entry proceedin different rhythms and tempi. Example 13 provides therelevant passage. Nektrozars static vocal enunciation on C4draws on the operatic convention of the oracle aria. VonSeherr-Thoss traces this topical convention to GlucksAlceste(1776), where the voice of Oracle announces the death of theking in a declamatory recitation based on a single note (1998,

251). In response to Nekrotzars proclamation, the chorus de-livers a chromatically distorted Lutheran chorale that turnsthe parodic ethos of its referent inside out: more specifically,the text that speaks of a God as guardian in the choraleErkenne mich mein Hter from Bachs St. MatthewsPassion is replaced by one that invokes destruction and peril.Additionally, the chorale melody is harmonized mainly bytritones to convey the musical expression of horror.

In Scene III, Ligeti introduces a massive textural collage

entitled Homage to Ives,where he builds on the formula of


( )


20/32

this conventional symbolism, although Ligeti reverses theglorious and triumphant topic that usually accompanies its

use in the Tuba Miram sections of the Requiems by Mozartand Berlioz. As shown in Example 15, this theme soundspastoral, cast in a lyrical 6/8 meter and accompanied by anexpressive indication of dolce. In addition, the tenor trom-bones continuously play notes at the uppermost threshold oftheir range. And here is an instance where the effect of this

reversed symbol is subsumed by the expressive horror of themusic that follows. The trombone motif repeats several

times, each time followed by Nekrotzars final pronounce-ment and the choruss desperate plea for help.Ultimately the stage darkens as the scene concludes with

an instrumental postlude, entitled Intermezzo: the terrible,imaginary Last Judgment (rehearsal 603). And there is some-thing rather ironic in Ligetis designation of this horrifying


For there will be blood, and fi-re will fol - low! And no - thing re - main,

Nekro

Pno.

Vla.

Cb.

ff ff

ff ff

44 54 44 54

Des - truc-tion soon draw high, thou art in pe - ril great.

Ten.Bass.

Hrpsd.

62with a visionary gesture sub. sub. ffsub. ff sempre

cresc. poco a poco molto pesante

arco

( )

shrieking, forced, nasal

= 80

example 13. Nekrotzars announcement of the apocalypse (Scene I, r. 62, reduced score). Ligeti, Le Grand Macabre. 1996 by SchottMusic. All Rights Reserved. Used by permission of European American Music Distributors LLC,

sole U.S. and Canadian agent for Schott Music.



21/32


44

44

Timp.

Cb.

24

Vln.

68

Bsn.

34 Cl.

44

451= 100

pizz.

secco

Andante misurato, sempre ostinato (collage)

A: Aopi: opi = ordered pitch-class intervals

Vlc.

Ragtime two step - ben ritmato = 60Violin: ragtime (r. 452)

Tempo giusto, ben ritmato (alla danza) = 80 Bassoon: Greek orthodox tune (r. 453)

non legato

Picc.

= 138

Piccolo clarinet: Brazilian samba (r. 454)

Fl.Picc.

= 192Flute piccolo (r. 457)vivace leggiero

possible

example 14. Eroica variation theme; collage (Scene III, r. 451, reduced score). Ligeti, Le Grand Macabre. 1996 by Schott Music.All Rights Reserved. Used by permission of European American Music Distributors LLC,



6 s c t o s ct ( )


22/32

postlude as an Intermezzo, referring to a genre of comic op-eratic interlude presented between scenes of an eighteenth-century opera seria. This music that serves as the sonic iconfor the falling comet, a micropolyphonic texture that in-creases in dynamic intensity to the written indication ofeight fortes, appears to reverse the conventional meaning ofan Intermezzo. Or does the heavenly trombone motif sig-nify some form of divine intervention? As the stage turns

completely dark, the audience is left in suspense over the sig-nificance of the music that closes the third scene.Before proceeding to the Epilogue, I will discuss the sig-

nificance of the structuring of the operatic numbers withineach scene in relation to parodic strategies deployed. Asmentioned earlier, each of the three scenes develops in a sim-ilar manner by a crescendo to a catastrophic climax withinthe Wagnerian bar form (Toop 1999, 163). Furthermore, asshown in Examples 16, 17 and 18, musical numbers map

onto distinctive expressive states of ludicrousness or horrorwithin each scene. The arrows show the path through whichthe musical numbers oscillate back and forth between thetwo expressive states, while the bracket indicates where tex-tural strategies of collage and disintegration cut across thetwo expressive states.

In the first scene, the ludicrous and horrifying states arebrought into stark contrast: Amanda and Amandos innocentlove duet oscillates between Piet the Pot and Nekrotzar somen about the impending crisis; the momentous build-upto the first collage (rehearsal 59) shifts the expressive statefrom ludicrous to horrifying, yet the scene concludes with abrief recapitulation of the love duet. The structure of the sec-ond scene, given in Example 17, further amplifies the oppos-

ing expressive states through abrupt shifts in musical dis-course; while Mescalina and Astradamorss number duet andquotations from Liszt and Schumann belong to the comicbuffagenre, Mescalinas lament and the ensemble scene (re-hearsal 228) blend the ludicrous and the horrifying expres-sive states.The closing comic buffaensemble (rehearsal 250)immediately follows the ironic boure perpetuelleand leads tothe ominous micropolyphonic postlude that signifies the ap-proaching comet. The third scene, given in Example 18, pro-

vides a change in setting as it opens with a series of buffanumbers featuring Prince Go-Gos politicians at the castle ofBreughelland. The playful aksak rhythm is abruptly followedby the sinister choral recitation, which embodies the fear andhelplessness of the inhabitants of Breughelland. Gepoposmad aria provides another comic relief before it segues into


44

44

= 192Parade drum (r. 456)

Tempo agitato 34 brutale

= 168176Bass trombone (r. 457)

Multo vivace, energico

Par.Drum

BassTrb.

brutale

blaring

example 14. [continued]




23/32

In summary, the structure of the three scenes shares aparallel construction with regard to the sequence of numbersthat culminates in a polymetric or polytemporal collage. Themassive collage comprised of the superimposition of seven

signification of parody and the grotesque in gyrgy ligeti s le grand macabre 47

the distorted choral recitation that captures the inhabitantsdesperate plea for help. The sense of catastrophe reaches itsclimax with the instrumental postlude that depicts the fall ofthe comet.

68 44 34

68 44 34

68 44 34 He who has ears to hear, let him hear, for the hour of doom is up

68 44 34

68 44 34

68

68

Fl. 1/2

Ob. 1/2

Nekro

Vln./Vla.

Vlc./Cb.

Trp.

Ten.

ff ff

Da lontano = 66

489 Tempo primo = 188

break off

suddenly,without accent

sub. sub.The Heavenly Trombones(as though from a long way away, but clearly audible)

dolce

dolce

3: 12th overtone4: 8th overtone

example 15. The Heavenly Trombones(Scene III, r. 489, reduced score). Ligeti, Le Grand Macabre. 1996 by Schott Music.All Rights Reserved. Used by permission of European American Music Distributors LLC,





24/32

incongruous musical types in the third scene (see Ivesian col-lage) expands the initial strategies introduced in the first andsecond scenes. In both contexts, a trope of chaos and destruc-tion is established through inclusion of an explicitly markedreferent (e.g., distorted chorale) within a multi-layered

collage. This effect is nonetheless offset by the buffaensem-ble or pastoral topic that follows. Continual shifts in topicaldiscourse relativize the effects of the ludicrous and horrify-ing in the first two scenes, as indicated in the example bythe criss-crossing arrows. In the third scene, however, the


Scene I

Prelude [car horns]

r.1 Piet the Pot Dies Irae quote]

r.9 Amanda/Amando[love duet]

r.51

Collage1r.59 Nekrotzars announcement of

the apocalypse (polymetricticking of metronomes)

Deformation of Lutheranchorale (choirs response)

r. 63

r. 94

r.110

Ludicrousness Horror

Piet/Nekrotzar [duet;allusion to Wozzeck]

horse riding music

[allusion to WagnersWalkre]

Amanda/Amando[love duet]

[Berg: hunting songfrom Wozzeck]

example 16. Mapping of Expressive States in Le Grand Macabre




25/32

signification of parody and the grotesque in gyrgy ligeti s le grand macabre 49

Scene II


r. 119

r. 120 Mescalina/Astradamors duet

[comic buffa;pseudo 12-tone]r. 153 Mescalinas lament motif

[distorted desiremotif]r. 165 Astradamorssongofmercy

[parallel fourths/organum]

r. 172 Grand Galop chromatique[Liszt]eMerryPeasant [Schumann]

r. 184 Comet music

r. 194 Venus[harparpeggiation] Mescalina

r. 209 Piet the Pot/Astradamors duet[comic buffa]

r. 213 Venus/chorus[call &response]

r. 228 Boure perpetuelleCollage 2 [pastoral

desiremotif] disintegration

r. 244 Comet music

r. 250 Final ensemble [comic buffa]

r. 273 C

omet music

Interlude [car horns]

Mescalina

example 17. Mapping of Expressive States in Le Grand Macabre (continued)




26/32

5 3 ( 9)


r. 277 Interlude [door bells]

r. 278 Wh

ite/black

p

oliticians

[comic buffa;pseudo 12-tone]

r. 300 Prince Go-Go[seccorecitative]

r. 364 aksakrhythm (4+4+3)

r. 377 Choral recitation disintegration

Go!G

o!

EVERETT, Yayoi Uno_Signification of Parody and the Grotesque in György Ligeti's Le Grand Macabre

Documents

Transcript of EVERETT, Yayoi Uno_Signification of Parody and the Grotesque in György Ligeti's Le Grand Macabre