THE ELECTRONIC WORKS OF GYÖRGY LIGETI AND THEIR ...

Table 4.3b.
A B C V
585 390 195 585
A:(B+C):V = 585:585:586 = 1:1:1
(A+B+C):V = 1170:585 = 2:1
B:C = 390:195 = 2:1
A:B = 585:390 = 3:2
A or V:(A+B+C+V) = 1:3
A+B+C:(A+B+C+V) = 2:3
nd
This final duration of 877 32 notes does not actually occur in the piece, and there is
some ambiguity as to exactly how long this final section lasts. In the completed score, the
duration from Letter C (which begins with the violin cluster at the end of bar 73) to the
nd
final bar line is 637 32 notes. The last two measures, however, are filled with rest, and if
they are not counted, one finds a duration of 573. Within this range of 573 to 637, one
finds two significant values. If one considers the original scheme of durations, subtracting
the parenthetical duration of 256 from the original total of 877 yields the result of 621,
close to the upper limit of this range. The value of 585, which is the length of Section A,
lies closer to the beginning of this range. If the value 585 is taken as the ideal length of
the last section, then Ligeti is dividing the piece into thirds, opting to have the 2:3
relationship between the entire movement and the initial sections (A-C) which occur in the
low register, before the final section shifts abruptly higher. This proportion is also
reflected in the relationship between the first two sections, leading to a situation closely
resembling the one described by Ligeti in the previous quotation. This ambiguous span of
silence may be a compromise between the previously determined durations and these
idealized proportions.
210