Michael Alexander Analytical Studies Final Paper Draft: Matthias Pintscher, A Twilight's Song
Matthais Pintscher is a Geran conductor and spectral coposer! he is perhaps the ost iportant li"ing Geran coposer# coposer# $e is %nown as a spectral aster for his extreely extreely intricate, and delicate sound atospheres that that deand high rhythic and dynaic precision# $e has written nuerous cha&er wor%s, wor%s for for "oice, operas, concertos, and other orchestral scores# $e has had the honor of leading top ense&les li%e the ( Scottish Syphony )rchestra, (olorado, *ondon, erlin Philharonic (hicago, St# Paul, +ew or%, and Atlanta Atlanta Syphony )rchestras# $is usic is also perfored &y these ense&les, along with &ig nae conductors li%e and -sa.Pe%%a Salonen and Pierre oule/# $e regularly conducts throughout -urope, Australia, and the 0#S#! he also often conducts an all.eetho"en concert in (hicago, and recently has &een naed the new usic director for the -nse&le 1nterconteporain's 1nterconteporain's 2345.2346 season# $e has a fairly strong strong following of spectral spectral fans fro all o"er the world 7 especially in Gerany and Slo"a%ia# 8 Spectral usic, a sphere and copositional ediu that originated and was de"eloped in France in the 493s, has ser"ed as acadeic and explorati"e idio for well %nown coposers li%e Gerardo Grisey, Grisey, Sophia Gu&aidulina and Matthais Pintcher# Pintcher# This style of usic focuses on different different aspects of usic than that of ost other genre's or copositional idios# 0nli%e serial, or tonal usic, the ain o&;ecti"e or goal of this type of usic is the successful creation of sonic identities that de"elop and create interest through their transforations and connections with other li%e ideas# $aronious or not, this usic stri"es to achie"e progression through co&inations of sounds
ta%en into hea"y considerations in constructing sounds# Twilight's Song, written in 499, is one of Pintcher's ost well %nown wor%s! it is an operatic wor% that effecti"ely narrates a story with a ixture of atospheric texturing and text.painting, enhancing the iagery, descriptions, and eotional effect of (uings' poe# 8Arrell= Twilight>s Song is a wor% set to the poe, The Hours Rise Up Putting Off Stars And It Is &y -#-# (uings# Pintcher utili/es a rather unorthodox ense&le &eing: soprano "oice, harp, piano. forte, axillary percussion, &ass flute, &ass clarinet, "iola, and cello# 1n the perforance notes, Pintcher gi"es specific directions for other effects li%e &arto% pi//, sul tasto, ipro"isational techni?ues, @slap, and sul ponticello that gi"e it a uni?uely configured sound that disguises the actual instruentation# Throughout the wor%, the ense&le creates an audio uni"erse to which the soprano narrates poetry# Be e"entually recogni/e a few ideas that return and transfor &oth usically and lyrically# Be consider it a spectral wor%, as the focus is placed ore o n the interactions of the different sounds "ersus, their pitch aterial, harony, or function# Since it is not &ased on these things, Pintcher uses other ideas and techni?ues to achie"e certain aural expectations, or recollections# 8(ornicello= At any gi"en tie, Pintcher's haronic co&inations contain inter"als fro the 4st, and Cth inter"al classes# Seconds, Se"enths and tri.tones are found in all note, or ti&ral configurations# $ori/ontally, the wor%s elodic ideas use all twel"e pitches and do not reference any tonal areas# )n a local le"el, soe of the phrases in the soprano line stay within a diatonic, or %nown collection# 1n context, we do not recogni/e %ey or tonal center# 1n doing this, Pintcher redefines our exception and idea of consonance# The lac% of consonance or resonance as a result of these dissonant inter"als instantly cause us to pay attention to other characteristics of the sound, it's dissonance, and le"el of relati"e dissonance# Be attend to the dynaic, or unified color of the instruents and the co&ination of their ti&res! and e"en the register and how it fits within the o"erall sound# )ther than the interactions, we could still consider his haronic ipetus to &e clusters# Fro easures 22.2 we could understand the pitch collection 8soprano "oice= as &eing on e that is referential to D phyrigian
howe"er, no neopolitan<&11 chord or otion places us in the inor phyrgian ode# Throughout the wor%, Pintcher wor%s with collections that ha"e tonal history, &ut don't necessarily achie"e their tonal purpose in Pintcher's atosphere# Be should recogni/e that the wor%'s organi/ation is not &ased o n the usic's oti"ic ideas or an organic usical idea, &ut it is organi/ed according to the poe# The ost iportant or nota&le sonic ideas occur at %ey oents
Be could e"en consider it an arc for and disregard the easure nu&ers, as the for of the poe is often ore readily recogni/ed &y the listener# The iddle section's usic is drastically different in &oth texture and dynaic! the sections surrounding it are "ery siilar to each other# The A section creates a
ore atospheric sound.world in which there are sall sonic ideas that appear and transfor# The section includes a "ery stri%ing, continuous, and low."oiced contour focused ideas# Be hear swells that &ecoe the ost drastic &esides those drastic tutti easures# Since this is so consistent and contrasts with the &eginning section 8&ecause of it's continuity= 7 this section sees to &e different, and to achie"e a different interaction with the singer# The structure is a little disproportionate, &ut if we o&ser"e the poe 7 we can see the sae une?ual lengths aongst lines, stan/as, and phrases# There is not uch direct repetition &ut we are a&le to recogni/e & oth usical otifs assigned to the poetic otifs (uings wrote# Since pitch is constantly configured with dissonant inter"als, we ha"e no haronic tra;ectory# The listener is left to ta%e in the dissonances and textures that coe fro the# At other oents, we see single pitches &ecoe the focus, as they co ntain certain dynaic, ti&ral, and characteristic shifts that ser"e to o"e us forward# 1f we loo% at one of the cliaxes of the piece, we see one of the loudest and ost &latant transferring of textures in the entire piece# 1n easures E9.C4, the ense&le creates a ore aggressi"e sound with ultiple fortissio ar%ings and extended, loud, and aggressi"e techni?ues in the lower strings and &ass clarinet# At that oent, the "oice also has a dynaic that is ;ust as loud, and &attles with the ense&le for textural doinance for a few oents# The sae pitch 8 natural= occurs shortly after the "oice on the crotales 8axillary percussion=# The ti&re of the crotales and the soprano are &oth as e?ually clear and penetrating, &ut the crotales ha"e a
different attac%, and natural sustain
)ther techni?ues Pintcher uses to hold this wor% together is his use of co nsistent ideas that change ;ust as they would in a ore tonal setting# $e transposes soe ideas, %eeping their rhyth ore or less identical 7 and e"en has a few ideas that stay the sae in pitch and rhyth, &ut text.paint different text# 1f we loo% at the stateents of the word @poes, in the &eginning of the wor% 8# 2= and at the end 8# 42C= we would notice the sae sall usical idea attached to the word# $ere, the sae words and the rhyth are transposed down a sixth in coparison# )ppositely, if we loo% at easure 5 and 435 we see the sae rhyth and pitch collection, with different words# As the narrator reads these different words, we see the tutti attac% each tie signifying soething different in relation to the eaning of the word# Bhen she says 'extinguished' we focus on the silence! when she sings 'lighted', we focus on the entrance of the ense&le# This conceptual effect is a result of the context, lac% of haronic or elodic tra;ectory, in co&ination with the eanings of the poetry# Another exaple of structural ideas Pintcher utili/es would &e, @########s%y light wal%s scattering poes#####Scattering ,### The last stateent of the word, 'scattering,' is whispered! and it's notated with an ' note.head# Since it only occurs two ties, in the sae exact 8poetic= context it codifies its role as the ephasi/ed "er& of the line# 1t is recogni/ed as a significant and uni?ue idea# The drastic change in "ocal ti&re is extreely noticea&le and is not forgotten# 1t is a word that coes fro the only single line that is repeated "er&ati in the poe# The word gains a usical iportance and identity in the wor% since it's so uni?ue &ut occurs two separate ties# Most of the rhyths throughout the wor% are pretty su&;ecti"e, and are ostly focused on a ore textural or effectual idea# There are a few rhythic ideas in the "oice, that we can consider oti"es, as they return and aintain consistency# 1f we gi"e our attention again to @###Scattering### we
will notice the triplet executed &oth ties it is whispered# 1n the grand schee, this rhyth is slightly ore tangi&le than the a;ority of the wor%'s rhythic profile &ecause it is consistent with a word, pronunciation, and ti&re# hyth is consistent, containing ostly une"en groupings of 4Cth or 52nd notes that disguise any type of regular pulse or &eat# *oo% at easure 43H for a good exaple of the lac% of pulse 7 especially in the percussion's dou&le & rac%ets# These polyrhyths disguise any regular groupings of &eats or pulse# 1t creates freeflow sound that is oderated &y the coposers own pacing, instead of tie or e"en &ar phrases# The sounds used are appropriate and necessary on a ore psychological and poetic le"el to descri&e the iagery, or words used in the text# Pintcher, utili/es pitch &oth as axillary and layering tools as the one of the stri%ing differences &etween the sections# The dense textures are distri&uted with pitches that are ad;acent IclustersJ and in dissonant inter"als# The instruents are often disguised with an extended feature of any gi"en, in order to aintain a certain character and uni?ueness# The context in which usical e"ents happen change the character and connotation of the text fro the soprano# Be should notice that &efore each a;or section, there is a setting of an atosphere 7 a ostly silent &ut an appropriately and characteristic sounding atosphere# The consistent use of the extended ti&res and registers of the ense&le ena&le Pintcher to esta&lish a sonic uni"erse that has it is own character and ti&ral associations# -"en at the introduction, we are confronted with a ono phonic texture in the lower "iols that is &arely audi&le, and tone.less# The sound is a scratchy, whispered tone that is notated &y a series of teelo 52.nd notes grouped in nine# The nu&er of pitches "aries &etween stateents of the gestures,
and they are noted in a sei.cascading anner 7 once the "iola finishes, the cello starts shortly after# 8a&o"e=# Along with these gestures in the strings, we see the &ass flute execute &ends 8li%e easure E=, and &reathy sustained long low.notes that see appropriately associated when copared with the aorphous scratches produced in the strings, or the &ends a nd siilar textures created throughout the wor% in the "iols# The rhythic profile is not "ery strong or &eat oriented# 1t's ore of an aorphous soundass that contain li%e eleents that reoccur in different co&inations# At easure 62, we can o&ser"e the cluster and how it creates a soundass ore.so than we could consider it a chord or sonority# The chordal inter"als of the wor% typically stay within the first class 82, M= and the con"entional haronic series is not o&ser"ed# The extended techni?ues contained within the wor% tend to &e &ased off of ideas ore concerned with the sound itself, instead of rhyth or pitch# There are no cadences, or oents of haronic rest! here the ost concrete cadential characteristics of the wor% tends to &e it is lac% of acti"ity# Pintcher has a few "ery long pauses, along with static otions within the wor%# Alost static, dynaics, ti&ral transforation and narration o"e this wor% forward# Mostly, rhyth is used to expand different ideas or pitch areas# 1f we loo% at easure 9H in the "iola
what we typically expect to &e consonant# 1t &ecoes it's own idea, world, sound, idea, and uni?ue self.gauging world that is ;udge relati"ely &y oents or ideas preceding it# Those ideas focus on sound, character, and en"ironental interaction instead of the haronic series, intonation, or rhyth as we ight would in other usics # Dynaic shape, contour, and attac% all see to &e ore iportant than the notes contained within any of the gestures fro the introduction and the rest of the wor%# 1f we o&ser"e section , notice that the difference is in it is texture# The general ipetus went fro &eing &ased on hyper.instruental ideas, to those that are concerned with contour, indi"idual ti&res and sound.shape# Pintcher adds a &it of paradoxical depth to the wor%# 1f we loo% at easure EH.E9, we experience a cliax that is created &y the words, dynaic shift, and the connection &etween the the physical eleents: "oice and text# 1n the lyric, the last word is @happy, howe"er, it is the highest point of the easure, as it is the loudest, and longest note held &y the "oice# The paradox is further influenced &y the pre"ious line, @1 see the &rutal faces###, in which doesn't iply anything happy 7 &ut it does add depth and perhaps ore eaning to the words "ersus (uing's intent# The ense&le executes a series of percussi"e techni?ues at the attac% of each word, line 4E# At these oents, pitches are indicated &ut they are not all necessarily percei"ed# This uni?ue and unorthodox orchestration enhances the eotional intent of the author# eing the loudest section of the wor%, it lea"es a rather iportant ipression on the listener in relation to the other things that go on &efore and after those easures# After this cliactic oent, we are presented with a long period of alost coplete silence# +ot only does this draw our attention, concludes the ideas &efore it . it &latantly ea"es roo for another idea, or section to start# The long pauses contained in the wor% a%e the silence itself a conceptual idea# Since we tal% a&out dawn, day, and night 7 we are referring to the significance of light and it is effect on the people# The sonic choices Pintcher choose to a%e ostly &uild an idea a&out the tie of day# 8Arrell=
Pintcher adds a &it of character and contrast to the latter end of the wor% including soe spo%en words# At those oents, easures 43 7 43H, we are iediately drawn to the clarity of the soprano# Pitch is indicated in the score, as the lines are spo%en static# $ere, Pintcher reinds the audience that it is a poe, and that there is a story going on# The length and context of the words ay &e a &it harder to follower than this section, &ut a clear "er&al idea is stated and the atosphere is gi"en a certain significance# The o&scure atosphere isn't exactly haronious, &ut it is less dense, and harsh than soe other "oicing in the wor%# 1n o&ser"ing this, we can see the contrast &etween the types of cliactic or draatic ideas, "ersus, the shear dynaic energy generated at, say, easure 62 or EH# 1n contrast, Dynaic control is "ery iportant to this wor%, as well# A lot of the textural and atospheric ideas ha"e a dynaic le"el no louder than e//o.forte# At certain oents, a drastic change is ade in reaction to the text# This text.painting idea sheds light on a copositional decision that Pintcher chose to a&ide &y# The &ac%ground textures see to &e constructed to esh together, and &e indistinguisha&le as the instruents they actually are# The dynaic le"el and &lending, in ;unction with the class inter"als used as%s the ti&re of each indi"idual instruent# Be recogni/e inter"als contained within the textures as well as in the soprano, which is ore pre"alent in soe areas than others# The contrast &etween when we can recogni/e inter"als, "ersus noise is one of the ways Pintcher adds character and ore eaning to the words &eing spo%en# The difference in these two types of textures cite different eotions or characters# Bhen there is dynaic shift in the "oice, it priarily is towards a cliactic oent, or a swell# Bhereas in the ense&le, dynaic shift tends to &e textural 7 the texture of the sound acts as a whole, not as, for exaple, the end of the crescendo at a target note# The ense&le typically has the sae dynaic ideas at any gi"en oent 7 though they are ne"er really "er&ati or placed together# This indicates the perception and goal of the general scape of ideas# 1f we loo% at The "oice is consistently louder than the ense&le, and is ne"er considered apart of the &ac%ground or ense&le# The "oice is it
is own entity and foundational facet to this wor%# Be could consider that the "oice is written with elody and accopanient, or ore appropriately 7 narration and accopanient# 1nterestingly enough, the "oice contains ost inter"als except for types of C ths in it is linear profile# *astly, if we o&ser"e the physical layout that Pintcher pro"ides the ense&le, we'd see the attention to spacial detail that Pintcher applies# )f the H parts, we see the two least acoustically aggressi"e instruents in the front! oppositely, the percussionist is in the &ac% as they ha" e the ost sharp and clear attac%# This physical configuration effects the o"erall sound and &lending on the ense&le# The flute can &e loud, &ut pro&a&ly would ha"e issues &eing heard as a &ass flute in the ass of the different instruents# Generally, the pitches played in these instruents are hidden and as%ed &y the clusters and other instruents# ringing our attention &ac% to the cliax at easure EH, we can hear the stri%ing ti&re of the &ass clarinet, &ut at FFF# That dynaic idea is shifted all around, including in the low strings, &ut ne"er actually sounds the sae# it is all appropriately associated, &ut at oents li%e these, we pay attention to the whole sound with characteristics of those indi"idual instruents# 1f we were to loo% at older scores, li%e De&u ssy, Bagner, or Mo/art, we'd see attention to the failies of instruents treated a different way# $ere, each instruent is treated as it is own thing, ore.or.less e?ual to the instruents around it# The usical idea reains the sae in each instruent, and the ti&ral transforation typically are results of the %ind of instruent it is gi"en to# )ccasionally, there are oents of clear ti&ral identity, &ut ostly we are confronted with the sound of the ense&le as a whole, along with the soprano# 8Fine&erg= Be could copare easures E9 8"oice "ersus percussion= with easures H.94 8low winds "ersus low strings=# $ere, the woodwinds are copletely capa&le of doing glissandos, as the strings do# ut the idioatic characteristics of the instruent pro&a&ly influenced his decision to a%e two siilar gestures# ass (larinets can &end, and gliss 7 howe"er, the &end would n ot &e as sooth as that of a string# Pintcher chose to notate the pitches instead of gi"ing the clarinetist a siilar gesture# 1f we
thin% a&out ipro"isation and the physical configuration of the instruent, we could argue that it would not ha"e &een the &est idea to gi"e that type of notation to the &ass clarinet# 1t is a pitched instruent with a certain configuration of %eys and accidentals! the natural inclination for a unspecified contour is to freely play the easiest notes contained within the gesture# Be could pro&a&ly guess that the result would either reference 8concert= &, -&, or a %ey that is naturally contained on the length of the &ass clarinet# For a string, since it is a string, this happens naturally# The result is pro&a&ly ore accurate to &eing un&ound &y diatonicis than it ay appear &e in the &#clarinet# And there is textural and ti&ral transforation
4#Arrell, (hristopher Andrew# Pushing the -n"elope: Art and Science in the Music of Gerard Grisey L+ew or%: (ornell 0ni"ersity, 2332# 2# 5#(ornicello, Anthony# @Spectral Music: (hapter 4 Dissertation# 6# E# Fine&erg, Noshua# Spectral Music: $istory and Techni?ues LSwit/erland: $arwood Acadeic Pu&lishers, 2333# C#
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