THE ELECTRONIC WORKS OF GYÖRGY LIGETI AND THEIR ...

the individual identities by incorporating these into denser textures which are also more
internally diverse. Region G’s move from the right to the left channel is particularly
important in this regard as it diminishes the importance of channel separation in defining
regions. While Region G asserts a single sonic character transferring across the channels
and polyphonically paired with Region H, the segue to Region J further undercuts the
distinct sides of this polyphony. The more dramatic exchanges between level and oblique,
compact and diffuse, and dynamic gestures characteristic of Region J begin to resemble
points in Region H, and thus, at points, another type of amalgamation seems to takes
place–one which begins to unite distinct strands of polyphony into something which blends
their two identities. By the end of the second phase, having both weakened the power of
channel separation to define regions and blurred the line between changes internal and
external to a region, the piece is set for the culmination of Ligeti's process of mixture,
where the elements that were so clear at the beginning will almost completely lose their
identities in an impenetrable mass of sound.
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; through the course of Stage III there is an increase
in overlapping, which results in a clear accumulation of density. 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 divide
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