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Timbre, Process and accords fixes : Dutilleux and his Younger French Contemporaries

2010; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 29; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/07494467.2010.589124

1477-2256

Julian Anderson,

Literature, Musicology, and Cultural Analysis

Abstract Henri Dutilleux is often classed an ‘independent’ composer, standing apart from composers in the Boulez, Xenakis and spectral orbits. Indeed, unlike almost all his French contemporaries, he enjoyed commissions from prestigious US orchestras and leading soloists. But his links with the spectral school—particularly Gérard Grisey, who studied with Dutilleux briefly in the late 1960s—are both little explored and strikingly specific. Drawing on a short article by Grisey, ‘Henri Dutilleux novateur!’ and Dutilleux's lectures given at the Centre Acanthes in 1980, this paper focuses on the orchestral work Métaboles, particularly its explorations of timbre and transformation processes. It draws direct comparisons with Grisey's cycle Les espaces acoustiques. Finally, the paper interrogates the concept of ‘espace’ in contemporary French music, again revealing Dutilleux as a central figure. Keywords: Henri DutilleuxGérard GriseySpectral MusicTimbreProcessSpace/Espace Notes [1] Following the very mixed reviews elicited by the Turangalîla-symphonie in 1948, Messiaen was largely dropped by US orchestras for two decades; Boulez eventually emerged as a star conductor in the US, but this was not based upon performances of his orchestral music for the good reason that he had only written a single orchestral piece, and that in non-standard seating, Figures-Doubles-Prismes (1963–1968). [2] Very briefly according to Grisey himself—about three months or so (see Grisey, 2008, p. 273). [3] First published in French in the Revue musicale de Suisse Romande, no. 3, September 1994, p. 53. [4] See Grisey, Citation2008, pp. 216–217. The quotations that follow are all taken from this article and the translations are my own. [5] ‘La génie de Dutilleux, c'est sans doute d'avoir su innover dans les sentiers si étroits que chacun les pensait désormais impracticables.’ [6] ‘Une première lecture dévoile ce qui sous-tend la musique symphonique traditionelle: contrepoint, harmonie, mélodie, orchestration y sont superbement maîtrisés.’ [7] ‘[…] tout bascule, car cette musique transcende instantanément les catégories qui la fondent.’ [8] ‘Son classicisme factice ne rassure que les bien-pensants et sa prodigieuse invention formelle est bien celle d'un homme du XXe siècle (celui de la psychoanalyse et non du structuralisme).’ [9] ‘Il y a un “son” Dutilleux comme il y a un “son” Xenakis, même si l'innovation ne se trouve pas là o[ugrave] le XXe siècle a coutume de la déceler.’ [10] ‘[…] les cris de Mozart—on le sait—sont bien plus bouleversant que ceux de Tchaikovsky.’ [11] ‘Peut-être serons-nous un jour capables de reconnaître à Henri Dutilleux une place de novateur dans l'histoire d'une musique qui ne serait pas seulement celle du langage musical.’ [12] See Caroline Potter's article in this volume for further commentary. [13] Grisey wrote just one piece for a big US orchestra towards the end of his life, L'icône paradoxale (1996, for two sopranos and orchestra), for the LA Philharmonic and Esa-Pekka Salonen; his other orchestral works are, alas, still largely unplayed there. Murail was first played by a major US orchestra only in 2009 (Gondwana by the New York Philharmonic under Ludovic Morlot), and is only now (2011) a recipient of his first US orchestral commission. [14] See Jeremy Thurlow's article in this volume for further exploration of this work as a turning point in Dutilleux's output. [15] By Boulez, Méfano, Eloy, Grisey and Fineberg, respectively. It is interesting that of prominent French composers, only Messiaen avoided this type of title—his Catholicism determining the majority of his titles. [16] ‘Comme dans la nature—le monde des insectes, par exemple—un élément donné subit une succession de transformations. A un certain stade d'évolution, la métamorphose est si accusée qu'elle conduit à un véritable changement de nature. Voilà, grosso modo, quel était mon propos en ce qui concerne la forme.’ [17] ‘Il y a trois types de temps: un temps extrêmement étalé; un temps extrêmement comprimé et un temps “normal”’. See Grisey, Citation2008, p. 247, Entretiens avec Ivanka Stoïanova, my translation. [18] ‘Schématiquement, Le temps et l'écume navige entre la musique des baleines, celles des hommes et celle des insectes.’ See Grisey, Citation2008, p. 154, Écrits sur ses oeuvres ‘Le temps et l'écume’, my translation. [19] The title of this first movement, ‘Incantatoire’, and the sinuous melodic style it betokens, rhythmically free-flowing and always returning around pivotal notes, places Métaboles in the long and rich tradition of the style incantatoire which runs from Debussy's Faune through the opening of Stravinsky's Sacre and Noces to the melodic writing in the works of Varèse, his pupil André Jolivet, many pieces by Jehan Alain and Messiaen, through to the work of Ohana, Dutilleux, Mâche, Jean-Louis Florentz, etc. See my article: Jolivet and the Style incantatoire, in Caroline Rae (Ed.), André Jolivet: Music, Art and Literature, Aldershot: Ashgate, forthcoming. [20] This resemblance, unnoticed until now, was vividly confirmed at the ‘Dutilleux at 95’ Institute of Musical Research Study Day (28 January 2011) which provided the basis for the present volume. Both Jeremy Thurlow and I, without prior consultation with each other, mentioned it in our presentations. See, also, Jeremy Thurlow's article in this volume. [21] Les espaces acoustiques is a cycle of six pieces which can be played separately or continuously in a single concert (lasting about 90 minutes in all). They comprise ‘Prologue’ (1976, for solo viola); ‘Périodes’ (1974, for seven instruments); ‘Partiels’ (1975, for 18 instruments); ‘Modulations’ (1976–1977, for 33 instruments); ‘Transitoires’ (1980, for large orchestra); ‘Epilogue’ for large orchestra (1985). In them, Grisey introduced almost all the main techniques of spectral music. [22] Caroline Potter has previously pointed out that the opening of Grisey's Dérives, in which all the instruments tuning up is smoothly integrated as a gesture into the musical discourse, offers an interesting parallel with Dutilleux introducing the same device in the third ‘Interlude' of his later violin concerto L'arbre des songes (1979–1985). See Potter, Citation1997, p. 195.