THE ELECTRONIC WORKS OF GYÖRGY LIGETI AND THEIR ...

Stage III
After this point the cohesive unity of materials that characterized regions of Stage I
has dissolved into regions which are either of a more mixed sonic character or which freely
morph from one sonic pole to another; the events have become almost completely
overlapping, and this represents the most dramatic accumulation of density, and eventual
climax of the piece. The segmentation of Stage III into phases, regions, and events is a
more difficult process, and the presence of diverse materials within smaller subdivisions
leaves room for some ambiguity. I will divide Stage III into three regions of one large
phase, since they are different steps in the same process. Region K lasts from 2'20" to
2'36" and is characterized by shorter events; Region L runs from 2'36" until the violent
attack in both channels at 2'57" which begins Region M. It is difficult to separate the
regions by channel in Stage III, and particularly by the onset of Region L, which has
interesting relationships between events in different channels, so to bring those out more
clearly, the regions will now include events in both channels.
Coda
The Coda is a series of 31 short events which alternate between the channels, and
begin to fade out and incorporate longer rests between events. This process clearly stands
outside the dense accumulation that characterized most of the piece–a feature which helps
set it aside as a coda. The short, disconnected events allow reflection on individual
elements rather than the connections made from one event to the next, and thus constitute
a final reworking of the material used in the body of the piece.
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