Le marteau sans Maître by Pierre Boulez as a System of Cycles

Natalia P. Khilko

Abstract


The article presents the results of the cyclical organization of Pierre Boulez’s Le Marteau sans maître in the aspect of combining the principles of linear and non-linear organization. The composer created a work of a probabilistic type, in which dispersed and localized sub-cycles coexist with each other. Their core is formed by the vocal movements in which René Char’s poems are interpreted. The number of compositional units in these structural-thematic groups coincides with the quantitative factor of the segments of the composition’s main series. The embedding of sub-cycles homogenous in their content into a linear set is analogous to the procedure of interpolation. In the dispersed sub-cycles Char’s title poem stipulates the system of expressive means which is replicated in all the movements at various levels of fullness, but always in recognizable ways. In the localized structural-thematic groups the wholeness is formed in the process of ascertainment of the substantial images and the common elements of musical expressivity in the movements pertaining to various sub-cycles. Here the vocal movement becomes the “point of convergence” which brings to light the coincidences and activates the additional semantic overtones present in the poem. In his Le Marteau sans maîtreBoulez demonstrated the possibilities of compositional variability in the conditions of the system of cycles created by them presuming the simultaneous activity of the linear and non-linear organization with various types of connection.

Keywords: René Char, Pierre Boulez, Le Marteau sans maître, cycle, subcycle, system of cycles, timbre organization, texture organization, cohesion, adhesion


Full Text:

PDF (Russian)

References


Khilko N. P. Interpretation of René Char’s Poetry in Pierre Boulez’s “Le Marteau sans maître”. Problemy muzykal'noj nauki / Music Scholarship. 2020. No. 1, pp. 29–42. (In Russ.) DOI: 10.33779/2587-6341.2020.1.029-042

Salem J. Boulez’s Künstlerroman: Using Blocs Sonores to Overcome Anxieties and Influence in Le Marteau sans maître. Journal of the American Musicological Society. Spring 2018. Vol. 71, No. 1, pp. 109–154. DOI: 10.1525/Jams.2018.71.1.109

Edwards A. Éclat/Multiples et le problème de la forme musicale dans les œuvres sérielles de Pierre Boulez. Pierre Boulez. Techniques d’écriture et enjeux esthétiques. J.-L. Leleu et P. Decroupet (dir.): Essais sur les œuvres ons Contrechamps Collection: Essais sur les œuvres Lieu d’édition: Genève Année d’édition: 2006, pp. 159–175. DOI: 10.4000/books.contrechamps.979

Tissier B. “A garland on Pierre Boulez”. Quelques considérations sur Pour le Dr. Kalmus (1969/2005). Intersections. Canadian Journal of Music. Revue canadienne de musique. 2014. Vol. 34, No. 1–2, pp. 153–179. DOI: 10.7202/1030874ar

Kiseyeva E. V. Certain Dramaturgical and Compositional Peculiarities of the Early Operas of Philip Glass. Problemy muzykal'noj nauki / Music Scholarship. 2018. No. 3, pp. 58–64. (In Russ.) DOI: 10.17674/1997-0854.2018.3.058-064

Kiseyeva E. V., Kiseyev V. Yu. The Specificity of Work with Texts in Tan Dun’s Early Operas by Concerning the Issue of Reviving the Opera Genre in Works of American Composers at the Turn of the 20th and 21st Century. Problemy muzykal'noj nauki / Music Scholarship. 2019. No. 4, pp. 111–119. (In Russ.) DOI: 10.17674/1997-0854.2019.4.111–119




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.56620/2782-3598.2022.3.155-170

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.