Desintegrations

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Chapter 2

TIMBRE AND STRUCTURE IN TRISTAN MURAIL’S DÉSINTÉGRATIONS

In this chapter I will present a detailed examination of the 1982-1983 spectral work, Désintégrations by Tristan Murail.1 The 22-minute piece is scored for tape and 17 instruments. Désintégrations was commissioned by IRCAM and was first performed by the Ensemble InterContemporain on February 15, 1983.2 The piece isdivided into eleven distinct sections, each characterized by a different type of spectrum, rhythmic profile, and texture. Each section of the work will be examined in terms of its spectra, and the influence of the timbre-chords on the work’s structure, phrasing, and cadences, on both the section level and the level of the whole piece. The main focus of the analysis will be on how the timbre-chordsaffect the musical discourse. While it is possible to reconstruct some of the methods used to create the timbre-chords, this will not be the main focus of the analysis. A number of articles already comment on the building blocks of spectral music,3 and while it is fascinating to understand the mechanics of spectral harmony, it is much more gratifying to examine the musical effects. Just as a Romannumeral analysis of a tonal piece reveals only certain details, a spectral classification would only expose

1 2 3

Tristan Murail, Désintégrations (Paris: Éditions Salabert, 1989). Ibid., 6. Such as Rose “Introduction to the pitch organization of French spectral music.”

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the skeleton of a spectral piece. What is more important is how the composer develops the materials as the workunfolds. Throughout the course of the piece, the spectra are usually transformed using slow and gradual processes similar to those found in Ligeti (see Chapter 1). The transformations have a direct impact on the perceived stability of the timbrechord, which in turn influences the musical discourse. The processes of spectral transformation make use of techniques that gradually change one chord into asecond chord. One of these techniques is known as mutation, where one chord is slowly changed into a second chord, using only the notes found in both chords.4 A more complex operation is known as interpolation. Interpolation occurs when a starting chord is slowly changed into a second chord, achieved by a glissando between the voices of the chords.5 There is also the process known as spectraldistortion, where a spectrum is altered by changing the distance between partials, which either compresses or expands the spectrum.6 All of these processes have a number of variants, so it is not always possible to identify clearly which type of transformation is taking place. Luckily, there are several instances where Murail has referred to the spectral transformations.7 Wherever it is possible totrace, even in a general way, the transformation, the analysis will incorporate the information.

4

Gérard Assayag and Claudy Malherbe, PatchWork: RepMus Library (Manual)(Paris: IRCAM, 1996), 20. Mikhail Malt and Curtis Roads, PatchWork: Reference Manual (Paris: IRCAM, 1996), 40. Tristan Murail, “Questions de Cible” [Questions of object], Entretemps, 8 (September 1989), 165-66; also Murail, 29May, 1998, conversation with the author, New York, NY. Such as Murail’s conversation with the author (1998), as well as the booklet that accompanies the 1996 recording: (Tristan Murial, 1996. Compositeurs d’aujourd’hui. Sound Recording, CD 205 212, 1996, Adès, with notes by Julian Anderson). There is also a detailed example, used as one of the tutorials for the Esquisse program, which demonstratesthe precise steps that Murail used to generate the harmonies for Section X.

5 6

7

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However, the main focus of the analysis will be on the repercussions of the transformation. The first section of this chapter will deal mainly with the foreground material. The harmonic structure for each section will be discussed, as well as its influence on phrasing, cadences, and orchestration....