ResearchProject

DiscussionofaComposerandTwoCompositions

GyrgyLigeti
Atmosphres
NonsenseMadrigals(TheAlphabet)

PabloMartinezMartinez
SeminarinTwentiethCenturyMusic

MUSI5338.01
Index

Proposal

HistoricalContextofLigetiandhisWorks

Atmosphres

NonsenseMadrigals

MusicalStyleof AtmosphresandNonsenseMadrigals

11

MusicalDiscussion

16

AnalysisofMelodicandHarmonicAspects

16

Rhythm

17

AccompanimentandMusicalMaterial

17

Form

18

Texture

19

Sound:Orchestration,Timbre,Dynamics

19

Text(TheAlphabetonly)

21

Conclusion

22

Biography

23

GyrgyLigetilivedinahistoricalmomentofthedualisminWestern
Music:TonalityandAtonality.Hisconstantpushingandstretchingof
theboundariesoftonalityledhimtoreachnewhorizons.However,
Ligetisintentionwasnevertocreateinnovativepiecesmerelytoattract
attentionfromthepublic.Ashesaidinoneofhisinterviews,whatI
havedonehasnothingtodowithsensationalism. 1 Throughthisproject,
IexpecttofindwhataspectsinLigetismusicalstyleareconsidered
innovativeinhisworks AtmosphresandNonsenseMadrigals.
Theorchestralwork Atmosphreswaswrittenin1961,andLigeti
dedicatedittoM tysSeiber(190560),afriendandHungarian
composerwholivedintheWestandwhohaddiedinacaraccidentin
1960.Ligetihadwantedtowritearequiemsince1956.AsHarald
Kaufmannpointsoutin1969,with Atmosphres,Ligetiwantsustohear
thisworkasarequiemwhichisemergingfromsomesubterraneancave,
veryfaraway,beyondtherangeofconsciousperception. 2 Togenerate
musicwithlackoftonality,butalsowithsuchaslowmotionwhich
givestheimpressionthattimehasstopped,Ligetiworksusingclustersin
canon.Throughthisproject,Iwillshowhowclustersin Atmosphresand
NonsenseMadrigals areoneofthemaintoolsemployedbyLigetiin
ordertocreateamassthatcombinesalltheinstrumentallinesintoone
holisticsound.ThisconceptionofstyleinLigetismusiciscalled
TexturalMusic.Themusicisnottreatedmerelyasmelodyor
contrapuntalpolyphonicstructures(whichweresomeofthemain
concernsofhiscontemporaries),butasafluctuating,allencompassing
spiderwebcontainingmelodies,chords,rhythmicmotives,timbre
1BlintAndrsVarga,FromBoulangertoStockhausen:InterviewsandaMemoir(Rochester:
UniversityofRochesterPress,2013),30.
2LouiseDuchesneauandWolfgangMarx,GyrgyLigeti:OfForeignLandsandStrangeSounds
(Woodbridge:TheBoydellPress,2011),72.

changes,etc.inablockofsound.Theresultobtainedisatexturelike
currents,turbulences,chaos,labyrinthsandspirals.Thismassofsound
ismovedtroughthepieceswithcanonwriting.In Atmosphresand
NonsenseMadrigals ispossibletoidentifyhowonesimpleinstrumentor
groupofinstrumentsstartasinglemelody,butthismelodyisplayedin
canonbymoreinstruments.Thecombinationofthelinescreates
secundalchords,andthosesecundalchordsaretheoriginofclusters.As
theentriesofthenewlinesareemerging,themassofsoundmoves
throughthepiece.Bothclustersanduseincanonaswillbediscussedin
themusicalanalysisof AtmosphresandNonsenseMadrigals.
Iwillexplainwheretheseworksarelocatedstylistically. Nonsense
MadrigalscombinestheRenaissancepolyphony,texturalmusic,and
nonsensetext.Atmosphreswasoriginallyaprojectofelectronicmusic.
Finally,itbecameaworkthatexploitedthepossibilitiesofthe
traditionalorchestra.Thisresearchwilltrytoexplainhowinfluenced
wasLigetibyelectronicmusic.

HistoricalcontextofLigetiandhisworks
LigetisleftofHungarymarkedaturningpointinhislifeandledhimto
knowbettertheelectronicmusicthatwasbeingcreatedinWestern
Europe,especiallyinGermany.InHungary,Ligetihadbeenincontact
withKarlheinzStockhausen,thoughsparsely.Towardsthemiddleofthe
1950s,theblockadeofmailtoandfromWesternEuropewasgradually
liftedallowingLigetitoreceivescoresandrecordsfromabroad. 3 Itwas
alsoduringthistimethatLigeticontactedStockhausenwhowas,atthe
time,theleadingmodernistcomposerinpostwarGermany.Despite
jammedradiobroadcastsfromthewest,Ligetiwasabletooccasionally
pickupGermanbroadcasts.Throughthis,hewasgraduallyintroducedto
thepostwarEuropeanavantgarde.OnNovember7,Ligetireceiveda
letterfromStockhausensayingthattwoofhiselectronictapepieces,
KontraPunkte andGesangderJnglinge,wouldbebroadcastlateat
night.Whileotherssoughtsafetyinthecellartoavoidstraybulletsfrom
thebattleoutside,Ligetiobstinatelyremainedupstairstoreceivethe
radiobroadcast:
...thefirsttimeIheardaStockhausenpiecewasduringthe
revolution,because[radio]jammingwasstopped...TheSovietshad
comeinandeverybodywasdowninthecellars,butIwentupso
thatIcouldhearthemusicclearly.Thereweredetonationsgoing
on,andshrapnel,soitwasquitedangeroustobelistening. 4
LigetidecidedthathemustleaveBudapest.Stockhausenhadarranged
forascholarshiptobegrantedtoLigetitostudyattheelectronicmusic
3PaulGriffiths,GyorgyLigeti,(London:RobsonBooks,1983),14.
4Ibid.,22.
5

studioinCologne.LigetidescribedhisdramaticescapefromHungaryto
thewest:
Therailwaypeopleorganizedtrainsforpeoplewhowantedtogo
inthedirectionoftheAustrianfrontier...Thetrainstoppedat
everystation,andtheytelephonedaheadtothenextstationtofind
outiftherewereRussiansoldiersthere...Iandmywifetookthe
trainoneday,andwegottoatowninwestHungaryaboutsixty
kilometersfromtheborder.Therehadbeensomemistakeandthe
warninghadfailed:thetrainwassurroundedbytheRussian
military.Buttheydidnthaveenoughpeopletocoverthewhole
train.Withinsecondstheytookawayeverybodyfromthefronthalf
ofthetrain,butweinourendveryquicklygotoutandintotown.
Somebodytoldustogotothepostoffice,wherewecouldbe
hiddenovernight...Andthenextdaythepostmantookusonby
train,justanengineandamailwagon,withtenortwelvepeople
hiddenunderthemailbags.Itwasquitedangerous,becausethere
wasathreeyearoldchildwithus,andhehadtobegiventablets
tomakehimsleep.
Thenweweredroppedquiteclosetothefrontier,notinastation
butoutside,andweweretoldtogetoutanddowhatwecould.It
wasperhapstenkilometersfromtheborder,andalreadywithinthe
prohibitedzone,withRussianspatrolling.Thenthenextnight
somebodyshowedusthefrontier,whileallthetimetheRussians
werelightingtheskywithrockets.Weknewwehadreachedthe
borderwhenwefellintothemudwherethemineshadbeen. 5
Aftermakingittothewest,LigetistayedforabrieftimeinVienna.In
February1957,hemadehiswaytoColognewherehestayedwith
Stockhausen.Oncethere,Ligetiimmersedhimselfinthemodernmusic

5 Griffiths,24.
6

scene.HewenttotheElectronicMusicStudioofColognewherehe
beganexperimentingwithelectronicmusic.

Atmosphres
InCologne,LigetibegantowriteelectronicmusicalongsideKarlheinz
StockhausenandGottfriedMichaelKoenigattheelectronicstudioof
WestGermanRadio(WDR).However,hecompletedonlytwoworksin
WDRthepiecesGlissandi(1957)andArtikulation (1958)before
returningtoinstrumentalmusic.Athirdwork,originallyentitled
Atmosphresbutlaterknownas Picelectronique Nr.3,wasplanned,
butthetechnicallimitationsofthetimepreventedLigetifromrealizing
itcompletely.AsLigetistated,Stockhauseninfluencewasquite
decisiveforme:Iwouldneverhavebeenabletocomposeworkslike
AparitionsandAtmosphreswithoutwhatIreceivedfromhim. 6
Hisfirstorchestralwork Apparitionswrittenbetween1958and1959was
premieredattheInternationalSocietyforContemporaryMusicFestival
in1960.TheperformanceofthisworkputLigetiontheinternational
stageasanimportantnewfigureinavantgardemusic.Inparticular,
listenersweredrawntotheworksnewandoriginalsoundworldwhich
wasquitedifferentfromtheintegralserialworksprevalentatthetime. 7

6MarinaLobanova,GyrgyLigeti:Style,Ideas,Poetics,TranslatedbyMarkSuttleworth(Berlin:
VerlagErnstKuhn,2002),382.
7 GyrgyLigeti,GyrgyLigetiinConversationwithPterVarnai,JosefHusler,ClaudeSamueland
Himself.TranslatedintoEnglishbyGaborJ.Schabert,SarahE.Soulsby,TerenceKilmartin,and
GeoffreySkelton(London:EulenbergBooks,1983),8.

Ligetisnextmajorworkforlargeorchestrawas Atmosphresin1961.
Hedescribedthepieceasfloating,fluctuatingsound. 8 Atmosphres
wascommissionedbytheSouthwestGermanRadioandhaditsworld
premiereon22OctoberbyHansRosbaudconductingtheSWFSymphony
OrchestraattheDonaueschingenFestival.Theworkwasahugesuccess.
Atitspremiere,theaudiencedemandedanencoreoftheentirework.The
SWFrecordedthisperformanceforbroadcast,andthisrecordinghas
beenreleasedcommerciallyonCDseveraltimes.Ligetibecamefamous
inWesternEuropeafterthispiece.
Ligetiexplainshowhewastryingtoachieveatexturalwork,apparently
withnomelodicsections,adecadebefore Atmosphres:
Ifirstbegantothinkaboutakindofstaticmusicyoufindin
AtmospheresandApparitionsin1950;musicwhollyenclosed
withinitself,freeoftunes,inwhichthereareseparatepartsbut
theyarenotdiscernable,musicthatwouldchangethroughgradual
transformationalmostasifitchangeditscolorfromtheinside. 9
NonsenseMadrigals
Ratherthanignoretheinadvertenthumorassociatedwithmanyofthe
bizarresoundsinelectronicmusic,Ligetiwelcomedandevenexploited
thehumoroussounds.Healsointentionallycreatedsoundsthatwere
speechlike.InthatsenseitmaybeseenthatLigetibroughtamore
sensualhumanelementtoamediumthatwasgenerallyseenaspure.
GriffithsstatesthatSoundsandsoundprocessesspeakintheirown
languageanddonotneedahigherlanguageoftonalorserialorderingto
makethemmean. 1 0

8Ibid.,14.
9Ibid.,33.
10Griffiths,27.
8

Betweentheyears196265,Ligetiwroteapairofworkstitled Aventures
andNouvellesAventures .Thesetwoworksarescoredforsoprano,alto,
andbaritonesoloistswithflute(doublingpiccolo),horn,harpsichord,
piano(doublingcelesta),percussion,cello,anddoublebass.Inthese
works,Ligetireturnstotheideaswithwhichheexperimentedin
Artikulation bythecreationofspeechlikesounds.Ligetihasdescribed
theworkasakindofoperawiththeunfoldingadventuresofimaginary
charactersonanimaginarystage. 1 1 Healsousesanimaginarylanguage:
Iwrotemyowntext,whichissemanticallymeaninglessandhasonly
emotionalcontent. 1 2
Ligetiusesthismaterialin Aventures andNouvellesAventures todepict
anenormousrangeofemotions;Ligetihashumanvoicesmakingsounds,
notwordsinawaythatexpressesvariousemotionalstatesvividlyand
dramatically:
Eachstreamconsistsofanumberofseparatedepisodes(sevento
elevenperstream),andeachepisodehasitsownverydistinctive
expressivecharacter(e.g.mystical,idyllic,nostalgic,funereal,
redeemed,excited,ironic,erotic,becalmed,humorous,
hypocritical,cold,indifferent,triumphant,pathetic,stupid,
hysterical,emotional,startled,fiery,exalted,anxious,
unrestrained,manneredornamental,malicious,etc.,etc.) 1 3
Aventures andNouvellesAventures anditsconceptwereinfluentialin
thethirdmovementofthe NonsenseMadrigals writtenovertwentyyears
later.
TheNonsenseMadrigals beganwithacommissionbytheEnglishmale
vocalsextetTheKingsSingers.Thefirstperformance,infour
movements,tookplaceonSeptember25,1988attheBerlinFestival
11Ibid.,41.
12Ligeti,45.
13Griffiths,4344.
9

Week.Afterthisperformance,Ligetidecidedthattheworkwasnot
completeandthatitrequiredadditionalmovements.
AfifthmovementwasaddedandreceiveditsperformancebyTheKings
SingersonOctober28,1989atLondonsQueenElizabethHallaspartof
theLigetibyLigetiFestival.Fouryearslater,Ligetiaddedasixth
movementdedicatedtotwoofitsmembers,SimonCarringtonand
AlastairHume,bothofwhomwereleavingtheensembleafterhaving
beenpartoftheensemblefortwentyfiveyears.Thisfinalmovementwas
performedonNovember27,1993aspartoftheHuddersfieldFestival.
WithNonsenseMadrigals ,Ligetitriedtofindhisownmothertongue,a
truelanguagetoemployinhisworks:
Iamceaselesslylookingformyidiomwithouteverfindingit:Iam
alwaysdoingsomethingnew.[]Ibelievethe Nonsense
Madrigalsareasuccess.Actually,Ionlyacceptthepiano tudes
andtheNonsenseMadrigals,theotherworksareadifferentstory.
However,Iamstilllookingformeansofexpression.
[]NowIwouldliketofindalanguagewhichisreallyworth
something.Thisisnofalsemodesty,Iambeinghonest. 1 4

14AndrsVarga,56.
10

MusicalStyleofA tmosphresa ndN onsenseMadrigals.

ThetermTexturalMusiccamefromanarticlethatVar sewrotecalled
WebernsMelodikin1966.Hesaidthat,withPointillism
(fragmentationofline),Weberncreatedanewglobaltextureinwhich
independentcolorsandintervalsareunitedandcombinedinorderto
generatealargestaticmass.LigetiwashighlyinfluencedbyVar se,and
musiccreatedwithamassofsoundbecamehismostdistinctivefeature.
Inoneofhisinterviews,heexplainshowhedecidetoembraceTextural
Musicinhisstyle:
Iwascaptivatedbythismusic:immobile,withnorhythmandno
melody.Ihadtotakeonestepfurtherandrenounceharmonyas
well.ThatishowIarrivedatconstructingclusters. 1 5
Thesoundmassesof Atmospheresarenotsimplytoneclustersasone
mightseeinthemusicofPenderecki,butrathertheresultofatechnique
thatLigetihadbeencultivatingforseveralyears,whathehascalled
micropolyphony

15Ibid.,31.
11

TechnicallyspeakingIhavealwaysapproachedmusicaltexture
throughpartwriting...butyoucannotactuallyhearthepolyphony,
thecanon.Youhearakindofimpenetrabletexture,somethinglike
averydenselywovencobweb.Iretainedmelodiclinesinthe
processofcomposition,theyaregovernedbyrulesasstrictas
PalestrinasorthoseoftheFlemishschool,buttherulesofthis
polyphonyareworkedoutbyme.Thepolyphonicstructuredoes
notactuallycomethrough,youcannothearit;itremainshiddenin
amicroscopic,underwaterworld,tousinaudible.Icallit
micropolyphony. 1 6
Thesoundmassesfrommicropolyphonyaretheresultofwoven
chromaticlines.Inthecaseof Atmospheres,thischromaticcanon,asit
were,isattimesasmanyasfortyeightparts. 1 7 Withmicropolyphony,
onehearstheoveralltexture,ratherthantheindividuallinesasin
traditionalcontrapuntalcontexts.Ligetioftenmakestheanalogyof
micropolyphonytoRenaissancepolyphony,especiallythedensecanonic
writingofOckeghem:
Tothisday,IammoreinterestedinOckeghemthanPalestrina,
becausehismusicdoesnottendtowardsculminatingpoints.Just
asonevoiceapproachesaclimaxanothervoicecomesto
counteractit,likewavesinthesea.Theunceasingcontinuityof
Ockeghemsmusic,aprogresswithoutdevelopment,wasonepoint
ofdepartureformetothinkintermsofimpenetrabletexturesof
sound. 1 8
InoneofhisinterviewswithMarinaLobanovain1991,hementions
againhowimportantwasforhimOckeghemsmusicandhowhe

16Ligeti,1415.
17Griffiths,35.
18Ligeti,26.
12

influencedhim,inordertocreatemusicwithaconstantstream,a
continualflow:
TheideawastoworkwithPalestrinas,JosquinsorOckeghems
notions(IwasverymuchinfluencedbyOckeghematthetime),but
usingclustersinordertoobtainthisspecialiridescentcolour.
Ockeghemwasthemostimportantimmediatesourcefor
technique.UnlikeJosquinandLasso,andlaterPalestrina,
OckeghemandalsoObrecht,onlyIwasnotacquaintedwithhim
atthetimewritesmusicwhichislikeaconstantstream,a
continualflow:therearenoclimaxes,onlyanunchangingtension.
Anditsstasis!Itisalwaysflowing,yetremainslikeanexpanseof
waterwhichpreservesitsshapeThatwastheidea,anditcame
fromOckeghem. 1 9
ThefactthatLigetiwrote NonsenseMadrigals showsagainhow
influencedhewasbyRenaissancepolyphony.Thiscanbeconsidereda
polystylisticapproach,becauseitisamixtureofaRenaissancegenre,
theMadrigal,withanewwayofcomposition,Texturalmusic(Especially
inthethirdmovement,analyzedlater, TheAlphabet,wherethestatismis
achievedwithclusters).Ligetisaidthatheconsideredhisworksas
polystylisticoften:
YouhavealsosaidthattheressomethingofWagnerandDebussy
inAtmosphres,Lontano,andsomeofyourotherearlierworks.
[]morethanallusion,itwaspolystylistic.Notallthatfarfrom
Ivesinfact:Iveswastheembodimentofpolystylisticsandthe
simpleassemblyofpreconstructedparts. 2 0

19Lobanova,365.
20Lobanova,363.
13

Inaddition,thethemesareanutternonsense,asexemplifiedbythe
movementswithtextfromCarrolls AlicesAdventuresinWonderland .
Themostuniquemovementisthethirdmovementinwhichthetextis
nothingbuttheindividuallettersoftheEnglishalphabet.Ligetis
interestinLewisCarrollgoesbackatleastasfaras1968,theyearofhis
SecondStringQuartet. 2 1 Ligetisaidinoneofhisinterviewswhat
aspectsofCarrollsworkinterestedhim:
ThesortofmathematicalgamesandnonsensesubjectsthatIlike
canalsobefoundinLewisCarroll.Ivealwaysbeeninterestedin
mathematics,particularlyinmoreparadoxicalandbeautifulsides
andtheaestheticsofthemathematicalwayofthinking.[]The
beautyofsuchabsurdproblemscanalsobefoundinliterature.
So,LewisCarroll,Ionesco,Borges,topologyaswellasmany
otherareasofmathematicsareallinterconnected 2 2
ItisinterestinghowitseemsthatLigetiisawareofthethevariety
showninhismusic:
Complexstructuresorder,chaos,labyrinthsandspiralshavea
greatsymbolicimportanceinmymusic.Branchingstructuresof
thetypeseenintrees,streetintersections,streetmapsoflarge
cities,complex,labyrinthinegardens,spiderswebs,fishingnets,
tissuesandtexturesarealsoimportant.Consistencyisimportant
formymusictoohard,soft,sticky,wetandthencurrents,
turbulences,coloursandlight,bothbrightanddarkButI
wouldntassociateanyofthesewithspecificages.Besides,Idont
thinkinaestheticcategorieswhenIcomposeIthinkintermsof
form,consistency,colourandlight,andofsoundthanisboth
colourandlight 2 3
21Griffiths,74.
22Lobanova,380.
23Ibid.,374.
14

Therefore,inNonsenseMadrigals, onecanfindhowRenaissancemusic
iscombinedwithmusiccreatedwithamassofsound,andcoatedwithan
auraofnonsense.
In1957,LigetiwasassistingGottfriedMichaelKoenigintheelectronic
musicstudiooftheWestdeutscherRundfunkinCologneforthe
realizationofapiececalled Essay.In1961,Ligetiwrote Atmosphres,
buttheworkontheorchestralpiecewaspreviouslyinterruptedforthe
profitofanotherelectronicpiececalled Artikulation whichthereafter
becamePicelectroniqueN.2. Inaddition,itisinterestingtonotethat
PicelectroniqueN.3.(1957),wasformerlycalled Atmosphres
butin1961,whenLigetistartedthepieceforlargeorchestra,heused
thattitlefortheorchestrapieceandrenamedtheelectronicpiece Pice
lectroniqueN.3. InhisessayMusiqueetTechnique ,Ligetirelatesthat
whentwoofhisorchestralcompositions AtmosphresandApparitions
werefirstperformed,in1961and1960,severallistenersthoughtthere
wereloudspeakersdisseminatedinbetweentheperformers. 2 4 Theillusion
wascausedbythecomposerusingtechniqueshealreadyworkedonin
theElectronicMusicStudioofCologne,techniqueshesuccessfully
adaptedtoinstrumentalmusic.However, Atmosphreshasbeen
consideredbyLigetiasapieceinfluencedbyorchestralmusicwrote
before,suchasthePreludeto Rheingold,inDebussyandalsoin
Bartk. 2 5 Abouttheseworks,Ligetisaid:
IthinkthatthePreludeto Rheingoldwithitsstaticsurfaceswas
themodelforAtmosphres.Igraspedthisideaveryearlyon.So
then:Feuerzauberasanunbelievablymagicalfluctuation
Thisbringsmebacktomyanalogieswithfractalgeometryand
chaosresearch.Thepossibilityofimaginingmusicnotasmelody,
24MehmetOkonar,Micropolyphony:MotivationsandJustificationsBehindaConceptIntroducedby
GyrgyLigeti,12
25DuchesneauandMarx,131.

15

polyphonyorcontrapuntalstructures,butasfluctuation,asthick
andthin,darkandlightareas,andasthreadsandknots
whichcanoscillatelikeaspiderswebthisactuallyderivesfrom
theorchestralvisionofBerliozandWagnerandresemblesthepath
takenbycoloristicpaintingonitsjourneytowardsImpressionism
(TurnerversusMonet,forexample).Youseeitinadifferentway
withDebussytoo,andIcontinuedquiteconsciouslyinthesame
veinasWagnerandDebussyRemarkablyenough,pieceslike
Atmosphres,whichIcomposedin1961,appearedatalmost
exactlythesametimeastheatmosphericresearchthatEdward
Lorenzpublishedin1962.Thetwothingsarenotdirectly
connected,butinbothofthemyoucanseethesamepattern:
fluctuationandcurrent.SoitisherethatIcanseetheparallels
betweenwhatIdid(andnotonlyI,butotherpeopleaswell:Iam
thinkingofNancarrowspolyrhythm,etc.) 2 6
MusicalDiscussion
AnalysisofMelodicandHarmonicAspects
AtmosphresandTheAlphabetshareasimiliarmelodicapproach.In
texturalmusic,themassofsoundismoreimportantthatasinglemelody.
Althoughitispossibletofindmelodiclinesinsidethisblockofsound,
theirpurposeisnotisnottosoundabovetherest. InTheAlphabet,the
composerseeksstaticsonorities,inordertocreateclusters.However,it
ispossibletofindsomemelodicinflections,asinmm.34,AltoI,ormm.
4042,AltoI/II.In Atmosphres,melodiclinescannotbeheard
individually,becausetheprevailingideaisamassofsound.Linesare
interlacedinordertocreatemicropolyphony.Therefore,itispossibleto
identifymelodicpatternsin Atmosphres,forexampleinm.44(Violin
I,1),butasonecomponentofthe48voicemicropolyphony,withthe
26Lobanova,369.
16

sameimportanceastheothers.In TheAlphabet,itispossibletoobserve
thatasinglepitch,orsetofpitches,isassignedtoeachletterofthe
alphabet,beingmoreevidentduringthefirstfiveletters.TheletterEf
isnotemployed.Thereasonforthisisthattheaudibledifferencein
pronunciationcomparedtotheothernearbyletterswouldaffectthe
soundcreatedwiththe[i]vowelbasedletters(ei,bi,si,di,i).Although
therearesimilarities,suchasanelaboratedchromaticismandanontonal
purpose,itispossibletoidentifysomedifferencesconcerningharmony
betweenthevocalandinstrumentalpiece.In TheAlphabet ,thereisnota
tonalitybutitisbuiltundertonalcenters.Inm.36,forexample,thereis
anEbminortriadinsecondinversionwiththedynamicmarkingfppp.In
m.49,theuppervoicescreateaCminortriadinsecondinversionwith
thedynamicmarkingfffff.Also,thepieceendsonaCMajor7,9chord.
InAtmosphres,themusicisdevoidofanyharmonicormelodic
progression,andtherearenottonalcenters.Becauseofthedeveloped
chromaticism,itiseasytoidentifychromaticlinesinsidethe
micropolyphonicenvironment.Sometimes,thechromaticlinesform
canonswithnotnecessarilythesamepitches,becomingchromatic
canon,asseeninmm.3233,forexample.Asseen,thevocalwork
tendstohaveareminiscenceoftonality,unliketheorchestralpiece.
Rhythm
Inbothpieces,thesonoritiesproducedwithclustersmoveinaslow
harmonicrhythm.In TheAlphabet,thefirstsoundblockcreatedwithC#
B,lasts10measuresuntilthenextclusterappearswithaD#,
overlappingwiththepreviousone.Butinthiswork,theharmonic
rhythmisspeededupduringmm.3649.Thenotedurationsbecome
shortergradually. Atmosphrescanbeconsideredtimelessmusic,
becausethereisnoconceptofbeginningorend.Theinstrumentsenter
almostimperceptibly,asshowedinmm.4344.Ifthevoicesareanalyzed
individually,itiseasytofindagreatvarietyofrhythm,forexamplein

17

mm.2329,butbeingapartoftheoveralldesign,whichgivesthe
impressionthatthereisnotempo.In TheAlphabet ,thetempoandtime
signaturewritteninthescoreremainthesameduringtheentirework.
However,inAtmosphres,therearesometimesignaturechanges(mm.
44,77,82,83)andtempochanges(mm.40,44,70).
AccompanimentandMusicalMaterial
InTheAlphabet,thereisnoformalaccompaniment.Allthevoiceshave
thesameimportance.Thisideaofevennesscanalsobeobservedinthe
micropolyphonyof Atmosphres.Eachinstrumentistreatedindividually
(m.44,cellosection).Multiplemelodiesformclusters,withoutthe
leadershipofoneparticularelement.Theclusternotationshowsthatall
voicemotionsareneutralizingeachother,projectingastaticsound
cloud.However,itispossibletofindsomeplacesinbothpieceswere
thereisanaccompanimentalpurpose.In TheAlphabet,thereismore
melodicindependenceinmm.4647,andwecaninterpretcertainvoices
asapedalpoint,sustainingtheothervoiceswithmoresignificance.In
Atmosphres,thereisarepeateduseofabriefmotif,formedbythenotes
CDC#D#,inmm.4446(violins).Asseen,thestructureandouter
frameofthemusicremainsunchanged,whiletheinnersounds(pitches,
rhythms,timbrechanges)arechanging.
Form
InTheAlphabet,thedynamicsduringthepiececanestablishadynamic
structurefollowingthepattern: ppppffffffpp.Therefore,thepiececan
bedividedintothreeparts,shownthenextstructure:

18

InAtmosphres,itisalsopossibletorecognizeadynamicstructure,as
showedinthisgraphictimeintensityofthewholepiece:

27

AtmosphresandTheAlphabet givetheimpressionthattimehasstopped.
Thisrequiresthatthestructureisbasedonthedynamicsthroughthe
piecesratherthaninthedevelopmentofthematicelements.

Texture
Incontrasttomoretraditionalmusicaltextures,theconceptofasound
massintheseworksminimizestheimportanceofindividualpitchesin
preferencefortexture,timbre,anddynamicsasprimaryshapersof
gestureandimpact.Thetexturein TheAlphabet canbeconsidered
homophonic,especiallyatthebeginningandendofthepiece.
Counterpointisemployedduringthesectionwherechromaticismismore
evident,asinmm.4449. Atmosphresisoneoftheclearestexamples
fortexturalmusic.Separatedmusicallinescreateahomogeneous
surface,minutelydetailedandvitalizedbytheactivitybeneath.Thisis
27Okonar,30.
19

achievedwithclusters.Withmicropolyphony,anoveralltextureisheard
ratherthanindividuallineslikeintraditionalcounterpoint.Bothpieces
usecanontechnique.In TheAlphabet,thevoicesstartingroupsof2,but
theyarebecomingmoreindividualduringthedevelopmentofthework.
Theideaofclustersiscombinedwithcanontechniquein Atmosphres.It
ispossibletoseeclustersincanon,forexampleinmm.3233.Dynamics
inAtmosphresareoftenwrittenintoseparatedsections,creatingthe
illusionofdynamiccounterpoint(mm.4449).
Sound:Orchestration,Timbre,Dynamics
Atmosphreswasoriginallyconceivedasanelectronicpiece,butLigeti
consideredthathedidnothaveenoughtoolstocreatetheworkthathe
wanted.Therefore,hereinventedtheorchestraasasiteofendless
potentialforsonicexploration.ItseemslikeLigetienjoyedleading
classicalensemblestotheextreme.Themostextremechangeofregister
inTheAlphabet isfoundedinm.49(thelowerthreevoices).This
contrastcanbeconsideredsimilartomm.3644in Atmosphres,where,
asGriffithsdescribes,screechinghighpiccolosarecutoffand
answeredbydoublebassesfromsixoctavesbelow. 2 8
Thetessituraisverydifficultin TheAlphabet .Intheopeningmeasures
especially,thevoicesmustsustaintoneswhichareoccasionallyin
extremesoftherangeforlongmomentsoftimeatverysoftdynamics,
andwithclearandunwaveringintonation.In TheAlphabet,theproblems
oftessituraareaugmentedbyLigetisdynamicschemeinwhichthe
openingismarked ppppandlater,inm.49,theBaritoneIIandBasssing
anF#2markedffffff.Thetessituraishigherwhenthetensionincreases.
Asseen,theideaofapiecethatrangesfrom pppptoffffffisinitself
rathernonsensical,andthesemadrigalsarebasedonnonsense.Such
indicationsrequireacertaindegreeofthoughtfulimaginationonthepart
oftheperformer.
28Griffiths,37.
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Itisimportanttoconsidertheidiomaticqualityofthevocalwriting.In
TheAlphabet,letterswithsimilarpronunciationareemployedtogetherin
ordertocreateaspecificsonority(m.23).Returningtoorchestral
characteristicsin Atmosphres,thewholesectionsarewritten
exclusivelywithneighbortones(halfandwhole,mm.4448),beingthe
fewjumps(m.49violinI14)forshiftingthelinebacktotherangeof
theinstrument.Sometimes,achordisheldduringalongperiod.The
pitchesremainthesame,butvariousinstrumentalgroupsriseandfallin
volumeduringthisemploymentofclusters.Thisaspectcanbeseenin
mm.18.Thestringsectionisalwaysnotated pppp,imperceptibleattack,
exceptforsomerelevantplaces,asinm.40,inthedoublebassescluster.
Micropolyphonyin Atmosphresisusedasanexpressiveelement.
Individualnotes,althoughnotdiscernableontheirown,createthe
characteristicsofthecolor,shape,andinneractivityofthe
soundscape.
Text(TheAlphabetOnly)
Althoughthepiecehasatexttobesung,thistextin TheAlphabetis
meaninglesssemantically.Thereisnotapoetictext.Becauseofthelack
ofanysemanticmeaning,thismadrigalcanbeviewedasthemost
nonsensicaloftheset.Withalackofmeaning,theeffectofthepieceis
bothhumorousandserious.AsGriffithssays,Indeed,oneofthemost
distinctivefeaturesofhisoutputisthe Aventures principle:thatmusic
haswords(expressivegestures)butnolanguage. 2 9 ThisAventures
principleistheheartof TheAlphabet.Thelettersofthealphabetare
writtenphonetically(Ei,Bi,Si,Di,I,Ef).However,somelettersseem
tohaveaspecificmeaning,becausetheyarewritteninstrategicclusters
(noticehowLigetiusestheletterwaiinm.52,asifitwereaquestion
(waiwhy).Inaddition,thecomposerusesquestionmarksor
29Griffiths,45.
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exclamationstoreinforcetheintentionofeachcluster.Theconceptof
settingthealphabettomusicforpurelyaestheticpurposesmightbe
consideredhumorous(andhumoriscertainlyanimportantpartofthe
NonsenseMadrigals ).InTheAlphabetLigetiseemstojuxtapose
emotionaldepthwithhumor.

CONCLUSION
WithAtmosphres,Ligeticreatedanextremelyinterestingorchestral
scoring.MicropolyphonyiswhatmakesLigetistexturalmusicapart.
Manylinesofdensecanonsmoveatthesametime,thusresultingin
clustersvertically,insteadofindividualmelodiclines.Micropolyphony
isatechniqueexperimentedintheelectronicmusicstudioandthen
adaptedtoorchestralwriting.Ligetiusedhiselectronicmusicstudio
experimentsinsuchacreativeway.Hisorchestralworksaretheresultof

22

whathelearnedinelectronicmusic.TheworkdoneintheWDR,RAI
andORTFmusicresearchstudioshavebeenimmenselyimportantinthe
evolutionofthepresentdaysmusiclanguage.Whilesomecomposers
likeBoulez,Messiaen,abandonedelectronicmusic,otherslikeBerio,
Nono,Stockhausenhadapredilectionforthislanguage.
Ligetiscompositionalstylein NonsenseMadrigals is
aparodyofcompositionaltechniquesfromthe14thcenturyaswellas
therhythmicprovocativenessofjazz.Theuseofparodyintheseworksis
compatiblewithLigetischoiceoftextswhichincludesliteraryparodies
byLewisCarroll.
InTheAlphabet,Ligetiseemstobeinfluencedbyhisownearliermusic.
Thispieceisverymuchinthestyleof LuxAeterna andAtmosphresin
itsslowlyevolvingsoundmass.Theopening,infactisverymuchlike
theopeningofLuxAeterna inthatbothpiecesstart ppfromasinglecore
fromwhichthetextureslowlyincreases.Asseen, TheAlphabethassome
extremechangesofregisterthatseemtobereminiscencesof
Atmosphres.Also,bothworksshareaslowsenseofmoving.Thereis
notareferenceofbeginningorend. TheAlphabetcouldbeconsideredas
apasticheofLigeti sstylefromthe1960s,with AtmosphresandLux
Aeterna.Thealmoststaticsustainedqualitymarkedbytheslowbuildup
ofsonoritiesinacanoniclikemethodisareturntosoundmasses,found
inworkslikeAtmospheresandLuxAeterna .Thesetwoworksfromthe
1960s,hasinthe1980s,returnedinacontextofnonsense.
Bibliography
AndrsVarga,Blint.Interviews,Gy rgyLigetiInFromBoulangerto
Stockhausen:interviewsandamemoir. UniversityofRochesterPress,
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Duchesneau,Louise,andWolfgangMarx. GyrgyLigeti:OfForeign
LandsandStrangeSounds. Woodbridge:TheBoydellPress,2011.
Griffiths,Paul. Gyo rgyLigeti.London:RobsonBooks,1983.
Ligeti,Gyrgy.GyrgyLigetiinConversationwithP terVarnai,Josef
Husler,ClaudeSamuelandHimself .TranslatedintoEnglishbyGabor
J.Schabert,SarahE.Soulsby,TerenceKilmartin,andGeoffreySkelton.
London:EulenbergBooks,1983.
Lobanova,MarinaN. GyrgyLigeti:style,ideas,poetics, trans.Mark
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