Gyrgy Ligeti b. 1923

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György Ligeti (b. 1923)

• Lux aeterna (1966)

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Lux aeterna (1966)Text

• Lux aeterna luceat eis, Domine, cum sanctis tuis
  in aeternum, quia pius es. Requiem aeternum
  dona eis, Domine, et Lux perpetua luceat eis,
  cum Sanctus tuis in aeternum, quia pius es.

• Let eternal light shine on them, Lord, as with
  Your saints in eternity, because You are
  merciful. Grant them eternal rest, Lord, and
  let perpetual light shine on them, as with Your
  saints in eternity, because You are merciful.

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Clendinning, Jane Piper. Structural Factors in
the Microcanonic Compositions of György Ligeti.
In Concert Music, Rock, and Jazz Since 1945
Essays and Analytical Studies. Elizabeth West
Marvin and Richard Herman, eds. Rochester, NY
University of Rochester Press, 1995.

• Micropolyphony- counterpoint where multiple
  musical lines are combined to form a dense
  polyphonic texture.
  
• Microcanon- a polyphonic texture formed from a
  pitch succession set canonically in many voices
  at short time intervals.

• Ligeti notes Both Atmosphères and Lontano have
  a dense canonic structure. But you cannot
  actually hear the polyphony, the cannon. You hear
  a kind of impenetrable texture, something like a
  very densely woven cobwebThe polyphonic
  structure does not actually come through, you
  cannot hear it it remains hidden in a
  microscopic, underwater world, to us inaudible. I
  call it micropolyphony (such a beautiful word!).
  All in all, you cannot hear my music as it
  appears on paper.

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Analytical Levels

• Microstructure- the smallest-scale elements of
  the musical structure, the note-to-note
  construction of linear strands and the
  interaction of simultaneously sounding lines in
  forming individual harmonies.
• Audible Surface- the shaping of lines and
  harmonies in the formation of phrases and
  sections. Here, the small-scale harmonic, linear,
  and rhythmic aspects of the composition unite to
  create the registral/temporal shaping typical of
  these compositions.
• Macrostructure- discrete sections combine to
  create a large-scale form.

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The Macrostructure
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Canon Melody, Section 1

• Returning Step Formations (Ovals)
• Unidirectional Step Formations (Rectangles)

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Range Graph, Section 1




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Entrance Graph, Section 1
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Ligeti Signals

• Ligeti signals are those harmonies most commonly
  employed in exposed sections of a work. Common
  Ligeti signals are a stack of a minor third and a
  major second (025) or a stack of two major
  seconds (024).
• These harmonies act has a transition from one
  section of the work to the next.
  

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Canon Melody A, Section 2
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Range Graph, Section 2
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The Macrostructure
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Luciano Berio (1925-2003)

• Sinfonia, Mvt. 2, O King

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O King

• Composed in 1967 as a tribute to Martin Luther
  King, Jr., and incorporated into Sinfonia a year
  later.
  
• The individual phonemes making up King's name are
  vocalized in a rotating sequence and eventually
  merge to form his name.
  
• Makes use of a 21 note pitch series and a 20 note
  rhythmic series.
  
• What similarities exist when comparing O King
  and Ligetis Lux aeterna?

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Playing on Words
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The Pitch Series

• The pitch series focuses on the alternation of
  whole tone collections and the repetition of the
  F-A dyad.

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The Rhythmic Series