Atli Ingólfsson

translated, summarized and retold by Atla Ingólfsson

[György Ligeti fled Hungary in 1956, settled in Austria, but soon made his way to Cologne and met Karlheinz Stockhausen there At this time the form-revolutionary work of serialism was at its height, and at the summer school in Darmstadt, in the vicinity of Cologne, progressive composers compared their books. Ligeti enjoyed Stockhausen's goodwill, as he had proven his musical talent and excellent ability to analyze the compositions of his colleagues He therefore gained a very good insight early on into the aesthetics and methods of serialism. Good traditional musical education, analytical skills and not least guest-eyed cause Ligeti to be in a better position than many of his colleagues to examine serialism from the outside.

In 1958, Ligeti drafted his article Transformation of the form spotting some twisted considerations regarding serialism This article was a very important step towards an informed and critical discussion of the serialist revolution It was born from the inner circle, without coming from the pioneers themselves (Stockhausen, König, Boulez, Pousseur, Nono, Goyvaerts, etc.) and was therefore neither like a religious phrase nor a conservative criticism It gives the article special weight that at the end shapes Ligetis' artistic manifesto There he talks about process, but that was exactly it process music[1] which characterized the period that was beginning in his art and made him one of the most famous composers of his generation.

Here follows, my translation of a few slices from this comprehensive articleI chose to highlight the big ones and try to highlight points that I thought were particularly important but only give an abstract of the material in between The article is called in the original language Wandlungen musicalishen Form and is well worth it to be read in its entirety The prototype is accompanied by the veiling of footnotes with references or explanations To simplify the reading here, they are mostly omitted.

In reading, it might be useful to note that the article is composed during a period when many believe that serialism is the only way of music going forward The methods of the pioneers were varied but all proceeded from several tenets of serialism They could perhaps be summarized in the following list: 1) The composition of a work is derived from a specific arrangement and/or multiplication of twelve tones. 2) Other dimensions of the work, such as crashes, strength, timbres or form are also organized to a large extent in advance, so that the material of the work is largely composed before the work is put together. 3) The surface of the work is not used, but the surface of the work is determined only by its morphology. 4) Repeats, shapes, hand structures or chords reminiscent of the tonal music of the past are avoided]

It seems that many composers now resort to new methods, although the sequential technique of each retains its distinctive character It does not really matter if this innovation results from the experience gained from serial techniques or if it is the sequential technique that is the result of new ideas of form Crafts and creativity always affect each other Every new method in the author's work fertilizes his entire mind world, and every change in the mind world calls for new methods.

Interactions of this kind have often resulted in changes in the working methods of composers The increases and decreases in tones in the church modes had rather little importance from the front, mainly involving the guiding tone They, however, gradually led to the establishment of a major-minor chord-class system From there, the architecture of regular and strong forms developed with the special tonal language that accompanies them.

The emergence of these strong forms led to a variety of work through processing and key exchange Eventually, that work itself weakened the foundation - perception of keys - and led to the very dissolution of the regular forms Thus it happened that the guiding tone, which had spawned the major-minor system, ultimately caused its destruction by becoming hyperactive in the acoustic and melodic realms alike.

The resulting newly formed chromatic republic surely needed legislation When that goal was achieved by „compositions of twelve tones connected only to each other“ (Schönberg), the sequential technique, which was initially intended only for the tones, began to spread over all other features of the form This led to a scale being placed on all the dimensions of identity The music was created by the addition of preconceived building blocks The tonal structure resulted from the recitation of disconnected points.

Soon after the sequencing of length values, intensity signals, and tone tone, sequential techniques were also left to control larger units such as pitch range and thickness, and even directed the change in speed and the type of tone tissue Finally, she also directed certain proportions within the form Then the discipline had to be reduced here and there: If more complex elements of the form obeyed sequential organization, weaker and more unadvised rules were needed for the simpler elements Accurate control of these latter elements began to be less important for the whole of the work This led to new solutions in form structure: the idea of point forms became an idea of „probability surfaces“ [as the exact order of the intervals ceased to matter].

The composition was the beginning of this whole process, but during the period of transformation in question it was the first to give way It was actually at a disadvantage even before the statistics entered serial composition: the decline actually began when works began to be composed based on not only arranging tones but also certain other qualities.

The decline manifests itself in various ways The serial material is due and several different ways of doing so can be mentioned.

[Here, Ligeti mentions five examples that can be summarized and retold briefly: 1) When several horizontal series of tones sound simultaneously, moreover, each has its own length sequence and sounds, for example, in one and the same octave, the peculiarities of the sequences are destroyed, they become neutral and unpredictable. Then the composer must be tempted to pay the most attention to the overall form at the expense of details. 2) When trying to have sequences very uniform, with few different intervals, their specific expression weakens and they begin to sound only as repeated representations of chromatic twelve-tone sets. 3) When working with a tone scale that is narrower than an octave, either some of its tones begin to repeat or its expression disappears in the calculated small-tone intervals. 4) There are examples of the arrangement of the complex sequences being overstated at the thickness of the chromatic interval.

As a whole, the tendency identified in these five clauses leads to the resolution of the entire interval-like expression (the potential in 5 is an exception).The horizontal sequences of notes and sets are largely independent of the intervals from which they are formed. Terms such as anomalous and a war no longer applicable Tensions and solution have given way to the probabilistic properties of the form, and the probability theory is transferred, for example, to the relationship between tonal fields, the thickness and tissue from which it is built.

As an example of how the actual expression of the intervals gradually began to linger before humans, it can be mentioned that for Pousseur, large sevens and small nines were no longer defined as special tonal compounds, but as „incomplete octaves“ Let's note that here the octave is used as a unit of measurement: In the midst of all the resolution, this interval seems to retain its weight.

The attitude towards the octave is still somewhat negative, however; attempts are made to avoid this interval - as was actually already done in the early years of twelve-tone technique There are many reasons for this aversion: first, people dislike the difference between the melodic weight of the pitch and its sonic mixing - its lack of sonic tension Secondly, it implies a distinct relationship between the tonal base and the second iton of the phonemic spectrum, and it causes a tonal-centric and sonorous feel It forms an exotic phenomenon in a sound world where there is no fundamental tone; a phenomenon which would therefore be disturbing.

The sensitivity to this problem often leads to the fact that every note is grounded in a given octave and that humans singly take over octaves Despite their close affinity with the octave, the unison has completely different properties: the aforementioned paradox between the melodic and the acoustic dimension is not present here, and this interval is free of tension both melodically and sonorously; moreover, the unison expresses no overtones - apart from those present in the instruments themselves - and therefore it cannot be expected to be inclined towards a tonal system.

When the tonal tissue is thick, the sensitivity to octaves decreases This relaxation increases as the ear becomes more difficult to „shadow“ the tissue In thick tonal masses, it is particularly difficult to distinguish individual intervals The octaves are then not recognized as such and no longer disturb us This explains the use of the octave in the thickest parts Gruppen by Stockhausen, to take a well-known example.

When we lose sensitivity to the intervals, a condition is created that could be called absorbance[2], at least until a better concept is found. This means that units from different tissues can sound simultaneously, enter each other and at the same time blend perfectly And although there are changes in vertical and horizontal thickness, it doesn't matter which intervals are created within this harmony Absorption has not been evident in music until now Nevertheless, some signs of it are found in older music.

Perhaps Palestrina's music was most devoid of absorbance; the voices heard simultaneously had to adapt to each other in a way governed by unambiguous laws The high level of organization of the composition of the intervals would not have endured the slightest entropy in the structure, and so so much precision is observed in the composition.

The major minor music that followed was somewhat impermeable, but not as decisive as acoustical books imply It is well known that the hierarchy of chordal mechanics allowed a somewhat free treatment of the keynotes and the waiting tones This is because the chord harmonies and endings focused attention more on the key tones of the chords than on the arrival notes The music can easily tolerate a little bit of acoustic impurity, waiting tones or chordal cues This is not least true when the voices have very different sonorities - as in the case of voice and instruments, or strings and brass or solo instruments and accompaniment In these cases, the intervals lose in part to the real weight of the single chordal structures, which are said to be the chordal compounds, hold the pitch, and many single intervals are less intimately distinguished within the overall progression of the chords in complex web music. This is only one of a single music or a single musical score.

It is natural that serialistic compositions have varying degrees of absorbance; it is now the case that the historical state of the material has changed The probabilistic sequential structure is still somewhat reminiscent of some traditional systems such as numbered bass, for example.

The great absorbance of many serialistic works has decisive consequences for the form:

1) It gives the possibility of displacement of discrete form segments - gives them mobility proportional to the size of the region in question - and this results in weakening of the progression This weakening then allows the assembling of divergent tempo, as in Zeitmasse for five blowers by Stockhausen.

2) Conversation of different building blocks is best enjoyed in forms that are divided into different keyboards [or frequency ranges] In electronic music, this subversion is inspired by the work process itself, which is by the methods used in creating the sound fragments and then in juxtaposing them, the instrumental works of almost all serial composers actually show a tendency to compose in boards of this kind The groups that resonate together in the aforementioned work by Stockhausen for three orchestras and many of Pousseur's methods are just two of many possible examples.

[Here we drop two other examples and their descriptions]

The high level of absorbance and immunity to the specifics of the intervals are also important features of the music of Cage and his followers, although that music has radically different assumptions Cage has written works that can be played on its own or as soon as other works On its own, the work becomes one layer of a whole that, although thicker than its parts, is not totally different from those The author does not care about the exact outcome in intervals, but it is typical of such constructions where randomization dictates the course In fact, it can be said that a similar indifference lies behind the first serialistic compositions, where the result is so largely automatic.[3]

This neutrality tends to spread to other dimensions of the music Once the hierarchy of the tones, the regular beats of the beat and the values of length have been erased, and once the intensity and timbre are in the soft hands of the sequential structure, it becomes increasingly difficult to produce contrasts The whole form of the music has then been flattened The preconceived all-sequence results in chaos (the preconceived all-succession results in chaose. entropy) of the forms that come out. It may well be that in these works the networks and chains of all kinds of interrelationships have been messed with, but they fall prey to automation, the more they are planned in advance.

I'm going to use analogy to highlight this fact: Let's observe a game with riveting clay First there is a clump of many different colors The more it is kneaded, the colored scars gradually disappear First, a clump is created where a little bit of chromaticity can still be discerned, but the whole is characterized by a lack of contrast If we continue to knead so even the small patches of color and everything turns gray This process towards colorless is irrevocable Immediately in the simplest sequential compositions, this is noticed In these cases, it is a prerequisite for the style that all tones are heard as often as the whole content has the same weight It cannot be avoided that it leads to increased entropy The more accurate working with the preconceived material, the more the result will flatten the absolute and continuous use of sequential technology ultimately leads to the denial of sequential technology itself.

There is really no fundamental difference between the outcome from automatic sequencing technology and randomization: The absolute organization turns out to be equivalent to a perfect coincidence Here it is advisable to check what was mentioned before, that all-arranged music is similar to random-select based music (John Cage). Both types of music involve an organization in which the silencing-event-silence-event is exchanged, of course, different structures and the silences vary in length, but the more attempts are made to make each event unique, the more we flatten the outcome This is because when we constantly sharpen the specifics of each event, it only affects the overall look[4].

However, it must be mentioned that at the same time actions are at work that can counteract the flatness They consist in dissolving the basic structure of the sequence Due to the automation of the sequence, the work actually stagnates at a very primitive stage of processing Only those musicians who believe in some kind of totalitarianism of the sequence endure such a thing In this way, they reduce the form to the level of being a simple arithmetic game It creates the ground for academic simulation which is the least clear but the resultant one we know from traditional music Adorno's case judgment would be appropriate to such musicians (although it would not apply to a certain group of those who continue their own research [on the qualities and consequences of sequencing]).

Appropriate actions against flattening can be initiated only by setting boundaries for the element [pre-organization of the material] and the randomization; here is what the composer can seek to best organize Only in this way can it organize events that have a clear and self-contained expression and compose music that does not accept being some of the most unevenly fascinating sound wallpapers.

Such an organization can be achieved and events of the kind described here can be created when the main focus of the composition work is transferred to the larger dimensions already mentioned The overall form is structured serially, but the occasional moments are, within certain limits, under the composer's direction „The Office Work“ thus in turn derives its original function, to organize the main elements It guarantees the author's control over the overall image of the form in its birth, but no longer pretends to be the beginning and end of the creative process The purpose of this sequential „pre-work“ is roughly similar to those of key changes, cadences and other formalizing elements of major-minor music.

In my case, the pre-organization is neither hierarchical nor medial (unlike major-minor music) The control of the form equally takes into account the priority and distribution of the events The relationship between the sequential connections and the form are the same as between the genome of the chromosomes and the growing organism If we approach this, the compositional work is divided into two stages:

1) Sequential pre-work with rules that determine the main direction of the form.

2) The growth of the form that takes shape when carefully choosing from the possibilities that appeared in the previous work stage The qualities one wishes can be achieved by choosing certain combinations or rejecting them Forms thus made can be shaped in a very flexible way, as it is free from the single-stranding and stiffness that characterizes automatic processes, as well as the fact that bridges can now be drawn up.

[Here takes Ligeti Gruppen after Stockhausen as an example of a work in which an interesting whole has been successfully formulated although the sequential technique involves many factors such as the thickness and length of the groups He also mentions the second series of piano works by Stockhausen In those works, Stockhausen sometimes slices the frequency of new events according to serialistic rules, and that method tends to keep the form fresh and interesting.]

When discussing this „free-spirited“ aspect of sequential composition, a question arises that is difficult to avoid: If the sequential structure has been moved up to the level of the large-form and the control of the small-form has decreased, is it necessarily necessary to still maintain a sequential approach? Couldn't let the imagination deal with the form completely unfettered, both in large and small? To show what such freedom is a great illusion, it is sufficient to look at what works so composed are anciently poor. Currently, the only way to ensure economy in the use of the material and sufficient precision in the treatment of certain elements such as repetition and regular beat is to establish a system of decisions and limitations. It sounds like a paradox, but in this way one is freer in the composition than when the imagination is unrestrained.

It is difficult to predict how compositional methods will transform in the future, and here, of course, there are great differences between composersWe are not only prisoners in their own historical situations, but each person's assessment of these situations is quite different from others Nevertheless, one could try to draw here various directions that the music could go in in the coming decades:

[Here we delete a fairly technical description of the pre-organization of the composition and of the possibilities available in the treatment of length values]

All of these methods inevitably lead to the dissolution of the original length value sequence, and since this leads indirectly to control systems in the upper stages of the form one might wonder if it would not be better to simply take the basic rhythms of the rhythm into one's own hands And whether the power over the time behavior of the form could not be transferred back to the composer instead of using correction methods [when lower-level organization conflicts with superstructure]. This step would definitively depend on the pedestal sequential notion that all length values are equally common Instead of a predetermined sequence, we would have, for example, the unequal distribution of units on a probabilistic basis, for example, I used in the first part of my orchestral work Apparitions, winged[5] of length values (calculated as starting points) which consisted of giving each unit a value that would be such that the multiple of it and its number in the large form was a constant Thus, I formed a balance in entry intervals: The shorter the interval, the more often it appeared in the overall picture, and the sum of the short intervals was equal to the sum of longer intervals Then I could use this pattern also on the range of tone and on the horizontal thickness, with the help of a sequential technical dosage that was specifically designed This was possible without undertaking upper-form operations or assembling different organizational layers, with its automatic results.

Nevertheless, I must admit, that while I managed in this way to exclude primitive relics from an old hierarchical system, the very nature of the serial system here is questioned But this system, as I have already said, was already at a disadvantage, even beyond this example I have now mentioned Serial music will submit to the same fate as all the music of the past: Immediately at birth, it contained pollen of its own end.

[Here is another example where Ligeti discusses the modulation of the form and the absorbance of the form parts Again he mentions Gruppen for example, about how different songs can sound together without being too dependent on each other.]

In my electronic composition Artikulation I was looking primarily at the mutual effects of these mixing conditions [different ideas in distinct frequency bands] First, I chose a sound phenomenon with a certain internal organization: Corny, brittle, fibrous, elastic, sticky or compressed sounds I did a study of the co-compensability of these elements and saw who could mix with whom and who would be difficult to combine The sequential organization of these properties allowed me to build the form I worked with the details and tried to form contrasts between different materials and different mixing paths, while the overall plan allowed for a slow and firm process that would lead to a complete mixing of these contrasting properties.

If a method of composition is based primarily on the state of the material, it inevitably leads to a mental connection with our sense of sight and touch An obvious example of this is the effect of visual art that Adorno speaks of in writings about Debussy and Stravinsky Electronic music then involves the connection between composer and work that further connect it to the visual art of sound works that can be listened to time and time again without any difference resembling in this respect the composer is also the performer of the work The author thus directly influences the quality of the performance: The musician suddenly becomes like a painter.

We can actually also see the fusion of painting and music in the visual arts She can be seen in the abstract works of Paul Klee and she is very prominent in abstract works, particularly in those abstract painters of our day who are not geometric Various qualities that were previously considered special to music are now evident in art It is noteworthy that the fusion of painting and music increases the more these arts consider themselves independent or claim to be based on „pure forms“.[6]

In addition to these connections, we can mention the degree of concordance that occurs when the time ratios seem to be converted into spatial ratios. A form structure is no longer described as a progression formed by the interaction of tension and solution but as a combination of colors and surfaces, as in a painting The time series is then only to display it one after the other which by nature should be present simultaneously The time series is then just like that when the eyes vanish here and there around the painting.

Contrary to this, single moments of hierarchically charged major minor music are not only to establish their own existence, but also include what was passing and what is about to happen This was possible due to the progression generated by the chords, over time it had conditioned the listening - creating an expectation Since the music possessed this quality of being in contact with the near future, it could focus attention on single events or divide into different parallel narrative threads, but the form structure was always limited to a single direction in time.

The progression of the music was also ensured by rhythmic beats that usually remain equal If unexpected events occur - such as when a chord is cut or a key is suddenly changed - the listener's awareness accelerates comparing them to what she expected; such incidents were not considered to cause bumps in the progression but were rather as variations or derivatives, which did not interfere with the natural general one-way of time This kind of one-wayness gave the forms a major-minor musical appearance of logic; therefore, they can be compared to language.

Despite the radical innovation inherent in his music, Schönberg sought to maintain the empty shell of the classical forms. He thus considerably delayed the process that could be called „volatization“[7] time. But that process could not be delayed any more after the last vestiges of hierarchical forms disappeared Webern's music projected the flow of time into an imaginary space by making the direction of time equivalent whether forward or back This is done by publishing schema fragments ever simultaneously with their reversed images (thus ceasing to matter what is the original theme) This multivalent projection was highlighted by positioning around a horizontal center axis, which implies that the continuity of time has a correspondence in space and that what happens one after the other and simultaneously becomes equivalent in a system that melts it all together Although the manifestation of this „space“ in time is no longer identical to the progression in the old forms[8] isn't it completely timeless yet though.

Although Webern's form does not seem to move in one direction, it can at least be said that they seem to move in circles in their imaginary space, driven by the energy that resides in the tension of the intervals and by ever-changing accents Even these remnants of rhythmic vigor disappear in the single-stranding mode of the ethyl Modes de valeurs et d'intensités after Messiaen The all-arrangement of serialism carries with it a perfect static There are few works in which this method is as broad as in Sonata for two pianos by Goeyvaerts - which is the first example of an all-arranged composition - or in Structures Ia by Boulez It is as if this music spreads from veils with a magnificent oriental calm over it, for the force that drives the progress of time has been disconnected.

[Here we drop off a paragraph It is actually great fun and takes some examples of the disruption of the progress of time in older compositions, for example when Beethoven combines the foreword and basic sound in chapter 1 of Sonata no. 26]

The effect of chordal relationships and the anomalies of those - relationships that were once a crucial part of the tonal language - have now almost completely disappeared due to immunity to intervals The ear can still follow different events that seem to stretch time in opposite directions In the works mentioned here, it is possible to hear the thought-out and complex action of time. However, it is not enough to avoid an internal problem: due to their innate absorbance, different scenarios tend to converge so that their original variety becomes deep inside uniform The different tempos change to different thicknesses when they come together and the imaginary space where this happens absorbs all the different time scales (Zeit-Masse) These works are nevertheless fascinating and admirable to their balance skills on the border between two worlds: On the other side, speed can be seen changing in thickness and on the other side, time can be seen which, despite everything, is still set.

The ruminations and decoupling are not the only revolutions that time sits in today's music There are forms and trends that act in the opposite way Today, composers are even more preoccupied with the connections of the small than before, and they no doubt appear to electronic composers very clearly Thus, the composers become increasingly aware that a reversal in music [playing something backwards] is in contrast to the nature of the soundscape There is quite a few things that can be reversed without harm: only forms based solely on completely static sounds All other acoustic phenomena - all the sounds of the voice and instruments, without exception - are marked with their mowing and cowering[9]. A sequence of tones can be played backwards but never the tones themselves It is sufficient to listen to a tape backwards to realize how the contours of the sound change so much in that they become unrecognizable. (It is worth emphasizing that this does not mean a reversal induced by movements in space It is only an illusion because the actual unidirection of the sound in time is an indisputable fact.)

In any case, the experience of working with the smallest units of sound affects our ideas about the form at all This may be one of the reasons why in recent works the authors usually avoid backward projection unless something more is meant by it We have realized that discrete sound is the essence of the form, because of the contours it carries, the mowing and the decline (and this is actually a closed and perfect form, although it is at the smallest level).It can possibly be used as a model for part of the form and even for larger form structures[10]. Such sound crystals as Webern did are no longer compatible with such an idea of form This means that, despite all the ideas of a spacious illusion, time has again begun to flow in only one direction. And this must end with the bedding itself succumbing.

The tendency to use repetitions and symmetries of various kinds will only accelerate the fact that we return into the dimension of time alone, not least since the tonal matter that is subjected to bed-semination seems so fragile. Growing intolerance of ideas that have been heard before causes any kind obsession are totally excluded, and also causes all tonal images or expressions involving regular hitting to be excluded It results in a situation where every detail must be different from the other, and to write every fragment of the music, everything has to be thought of from scratch, as if the sounds themselves did not exist yet but have to be created to be able to work with them, „like a writer who would have to figure out a separate dictionary and specialized syntax for every sentence he writes“[11].

Whether the forms that might arise from the above considerations will be considered reactionary because they are similar to the abandoned major-minor forms shall be left unsaidWe are just beginning by stopping the cubicization, but we are already beginning to notice it at a different level In accordance with the idea of continuous development and growth, the prohibition of repetition, which applies to building blocks inside a work, has been transferred to the form as a whole, and we therefore no longer wish to repeat whole parts of form, namely repeating the works unchanged Thus these „free“ forms were created which the performer himself is to assemble (I have discussed these forms before)[12]. Such works, in which the composer issues instructions for composition, in addition to the tonal material, solve this problem of form but at the expense of precision Here I mean, that in order to give the form the property of being exploited at each listen, the arrangement of the formal parts is allowed to be free, meaning that the natural flow of time is lost and the entropy increases The different versions of such a work are like photographs of a „mobile“ work by Calder[13]: the changes are only visible indirectly, as every performance is simply a momentary freeze on the many possibilities of form I would find it all the more interesting to try to create and develop a compositional method of manifesting changethe process.

[1] With the term process music refers to what is called in English process music.

[2] In the original text in German, the author uses the word Permeabilität and in the brackets Durchlässigkeit.

[3] This refers to the first experiments with serial organization, before they began to work more closely with the classification of sets, a sonic or web-based appearance.

[4] Here the translator would like to mention that this fact is something that many composers of the past centuries were very aware of, and one of the main characteristics of Beethoven's so-called „third style“ is that the material becomes less expressive and simpler locally in favor of a stronger overall expression.

[5] In serial technology, it is called winged when the order of values is read alternately in both directions from the center, or in the opposite direction, first, last, second, second-last, etc.

[6] HKMetzger, Just who is growing old?, „Die Reihe“ 4th tbl (1954), pp. 73.

[7] This could perhaps also mean „spatialization“ and applies to when time is thought of as space or image surface. [Translator's Note]

[8] Here the author uses a word that means processing form.

[9] Here are the „beat and pinch“ translation of what is called in English attack and decay.

[10] There is no doubt that the spektral composers (Grisey, Murail, etc.) took this idea of Ligetis very seriously.

[11] Karlheinz Stockhausen...How time passes („Die Reihe“ (English version), 3.tbl. pp. 10).

[12] Here we refer to so-called aleatorian or optional compositions.

[13] It refers to Alexander Calder who created the so-called mobiles, or turmoil, which were sculptures hanging from the ceiling and in motion.