THE ELECTRONIC WORKS OF GYÖRGY LIGETI AND THEIR ...

will be discussed in the last chapter) each formant strand can be defined by its pitch (in
Herz) and duration (in centimeters of tape, or fractions of seconds), the variety of
materials in Artikulation are blended to a much higher degree through techniques of
synchronization, ring-modulation, and so forth, distancing the final output from clearly its
perceptible parts. This is particularly true when Ligeti uses small durations in combination
with each other. The smallest unit of tape which Ligeti used was 1 cm., equivalent to
0.013 sec., a duration which would not allow the clear perception of values in pitch, let
alone other basic parameters. To select a meaningful segment, one must often take a
composite of tape pieces which could differ widely in any number of dimensions. Thus it
will be necessary, at times, to acknowledge that the minimum perceptible unit is already
contains contradictory values in certain oppositions. An example of such a state is given
by the right channel at 2'34", towards the end of Region K, shown below by the amplitude
graph in Figure 3.1a. This example, magnified greatly, shows six individual wave forms
representing six different kinds of impulses, varying in register, attack-strength and so
forth. But this moment is quite brief and it occurs in the midst of other sounds in the left
channel. When heard in the context of the piece, as shown in Figure 3.1b it is perceived as
a single object because of its differing spatial location, but upon further investigation is
found to contain a variety of individual units.
Unfortunately, the specific categories which Ligeti used are impossible to
reconstruct–his sketches are incomplete, and sometimes inconsistently labeled. So rather
than using these categories (which included rather vague, descriptions like “barking” or
“coughing”), I will follow Robert Cogan’s system of sonic oppositions, described in depth
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