Society for Music Theory • Milwaukee, WI • November 7th, 2014

Sharp as a Tack, Bright as a Button: Timbral Metamorphoses in

Saariaho’s Sept Papillons

Nate Mitchell
Indiana University Jacobs School of Music
nadmitch@indiana.edu

Abstract
In this paper, I argue that the acoustical information captured by the audio descriptor known as
“sharpness” provides a musically insightful window into the timbral structures of Kaija Saariaho’s Sept
Papillons for solo cello. In Papillon I, I utilize Saariaho’s concept of a “sound/noise axis” as a means of
interpreting both the succession of timbral states at the surface as well as the distribution of sharpness
energy over time. I also investigate timbre’s narrative role in binding together distinct and seemingly
opposing thematic gestures into a symbiotic relationship in Papillons IV and VII. The analyses as a whole
demonstrate that audio descriptors provide a useful representation of timbral structures. By interpreting
these representations through appropriate analytical lenses, analysts can begin to engage in more detailed
inquiries into timbre’s crucial role in many contemporary musical languages.

Sharpness
Acum: “The reference sound producing 1 acum is a narrow-band noise one critical-band wide at a center
frequency of 1 kHz having a level of 60 dB” (Zwicker and Fastl, 239).
24
Total Loudness: 𝑁 = ∫𝑧=0 𝑁 ′ 𝑑𝑧
Where z is the critical band rate and 𝑁′𝑑𝑧 is the specific loudness of each band.
24
∫𝑧=0 𝑁 ′ 𝑔 ′ (𝑧)∙𝑧∙𝑑𝑧
Sharpness: 𝑆 = 0.11
𝑁
′(
𝑧 < 14, → 𝑔 𝑧) = 1
Where {
𝑧 ≥ 14, → 𝑔′ (𝑧) = 0.00012𝑧 4 − 0.0056𝑧 3 + 0.1𝑧 2 − 0.81𝑧 + 3.51

Figures

Figure 1a. Papillon I: Pitch analysis.

Figure 1b. Papillon I: Sharpness (Alexis Descharmes, Cello).

Figure 1c. Papillon I: Sharpness (annotated).

2.5 2.23
2 2.05 1.99
2 1.83
1.56 1.66 1.61 1.641.55 1.63
1.47 1.43 1.5
1.5 1.29 1.25 1.22 1.19
1.13 1.03
1

0.5

Figure 1d. Papillon I: Sharpness quartile analysis.

Figure 2a. Papillon IV: Associative set definition.

Figure 2b. Papillon IV: Sharpness graph with aligned bar graph schematic.

Figure 2c. Papillon IV: Annotated sharpness detail of A1 and B1/A5.

Figure 2d. Papillon IV: Pitch analysis.

Figure 3a. Papillon VII: Associative set definition.

Figure 3b. Papillon VII: Annotated sharpness graph with aligned bar graph schematic.
Figure 4, Three sharpness examples: A.) Cello range from C2 to E6 (Daron Kirsch, Cello); B.) Messiaen, Quatuor pour la fin du temps, iii., "Abîme des oiseaux," m. 13
(Guy Deplus, Clarinet); C.) Saariaho, Papillon I, mm. 1-2.
Bibliography
Cabrera, Densil, Sam Ferguson and Emery Schubert, “PsySound3: Software for Acoustical and Psychoacoustical
Analysis of Sound Recordings,” Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Auditory Display,
Montreal, Canada, June 26-29 2007, pp. 356-363.

Descharmes, Alexis. Saariaho: L’oeuvre pour violoncelle. Aeon, 2006.

Fales, Cornelia. “The Paradox of Timbre.” Ethnomusicology 46, no. 1 (Winter, 2002): 56-95.

Hanninen, Dora. A Theory of Musical Analysis: On Segmentation and Associative Organization. New York:
University of Rochester Press, 2012.

Ilkowska, Małgorzata and Andrzej Miśkiewicz. “Sharpness Versus Brightness: A Comparison of Magnitude
Estimates.” Acta Acustica united with Acustica 92, No. 5 (September/October, 2006): 812-819.

Malloch, Stephen. “Timbre and Technology: An Analytical Partnership.” Contemporary Music Review 19, no. 2
(2000): 155-172.

McAdams, Stephen, and Bruno L. Giordano. “The Perception of Musical Timbre.” In The Oxford Handbook of
Music Psychology, edited by Ian Cross, 72-80. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009.

Moisala, Pirkko. Kaija Saariaho. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2009.

Music Technology Group. “Sound and Music Description.” Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona. Accessed
November 28, 2013. http://mtg.upf.edu/research/areas/musicdescription

Nuorvala, Juhani. “Kaija Saariaho in Profile.” Music Finland. 1991. Accessed March 27, 2014.
http://composers.musicfinland.fi/musicfinland/fimic.nsf/0/CAAF5DCDD5A64495C2257537003DF317?op
endocument

Pasler, Jann. “Resituating the Spectral Revolution: French Antecedents.” In Writing through Music: Essays on
Music, Culture, and Politics. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008.

Saariaho, Kaija. “Kaija Saariaho: Colour, Timbre and Harmony.” In The Voice of Music: Conversations with
Composers of Our Time, edited by Jean Christensen and Anders Beyer, 301-16. Burlington, VT: Ashgate,
2000.

______. Sept Papillons for solo cello. England: Chester Music, 2002.

______. “Timbre and Harmony: Interpolations of Timbral Structures.” Contemporary Music Review 2, no. 1 (1987):
93-133.

Schubert, Emery, Joe Wolfe and Alex Tarnopolsky. "Spectral Centroid and Timbre in Complex, Multiple
Instrumental Textures." In Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Music Perception and
Cognition, 654-657. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University School of Music, 2004.

von Bismark, G. “Sharpness as an Attribute of the Timbre of Steady Sounds.” Acta Acustica united with Acustica
30, no. 3 (March, 1974): 159-172.

Zwicker, Eberhard and Hugo Fastl. Psychoacoustics: Facts and Models. New York: Springer, 2007.