THE ELECTRONIC WORKS OF GYÖRGY LIGETI AND THEIR ...

parameters of timbre in this study, truly stands outside the strict definition of timbre, and
can be a very powerful way of making formal divisions easily perceptible. From the outset
of Artikulation, spatial location has a primary role in determining what I will label the
“regions” of the piece, although changes in location are usually reinforced by changes in
the sonic properties of the material. As the piece progresses, however, we see Ligeti
move towards more active use of spatial location and with it, more gestures that depend
on tracing a single sound or type of material across space.
Another important issue to consider is that the available recordings of Artikulation
are of a stereo mix-down of the four-channel original, which consisted of front, right,
back, and left channels. While the mix-down was done with Ligeti’s approval, and is as
accurate a reflection of the quad version as can be hoped for, there are still certain
differences especially between a front/back and left/right arrangements. Given our usual
concert-going habits of facing the sound source, the unfamiliar situation of sounds coming
from the back of the hall could potentially assume a different significance, which can only
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be imagined in the stereo version.
Because of its layered method of composition, Ligeti’s Artikulation poses
problems to a more detailed analysis which were not as readily apparent in the previous
works. These problems often revolve around defining minimum units of structure, and,
when assigning moderate or mixed values in certain oppositions. While in a work using
only sine tones (such as Pièce électronique no. 3 or one of Stockhausen’s studies, which
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See Roger Reynolds, “Thoughts on Sound Movement and Meaning,” Perspectives of New Music 16, no.
2 (Spring-Summer, 1978), 181-90 for general discussion of spatialization.
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