THE ELECTRONIC WORKS OF GYÖRGY LIGETI AND THEIR ...

gestures filled with glissandi. These range over a very wide range from 60 - 15,000 Hz,
though in various densities, and occasionally retreating to a more centered range.
Furthermore, these remain consistent for nearly 43 seconds, making Region G one of the
longest regions in the piece. In its employment of consistent materials for a long period of
time while Stage I moved towards more evenly interspersed dialogues, Region G certainly
breaks the trends which Stage I established, and leaves the continuation of the piece open
to further development along those lines. These relatively consistent features are
summarized in Figure 3.14 and Table 3.11, above.
The initial spectra (events 1-4) are the most diverse, existing in a sparser texture
than the events which follow; I will address these events first, as they create an interesting
set. I will also group together events 5 and 6, which are much denser and begin to expand
from their spatial positions, and finally I will address events 7 and 8, which begin to
prepare Phase 2 of the Transition. After this I will go back to the beginning of Region H,
a region that is internally consistent, yet contrasting from Region G, and which can, on
account of this contrast, overlaps with the final events (7 and 8) of Region G.
While consistent in their basic sonic material, the events of Region G are far from
static, in fact they begin to highlight the differences between discrete and continuous types
of internal transformation. As mentioned, one of the consistent features of Region G is its
use of compact formant strands which are–at least initially–often held for long durations.
These narrow formants define their registers more precisely than noises, which are
somewhat more nebulous, and these pitch-based events, being easier to identify with
precision, facilitate a number of significant gestures, including glissandi in both directions
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