THE ELECTRONIC WORKS OF GYÖRGY LIGETI AND THEIR ...

proceeded from lowest to highest, highest to lowest, or towards a center point.
Unfortunately for this unfinished piece, very little information on the distribution of
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intensities exists, yet we know from the other electronic pieces that Ligeti was acutely
aware of the importance of dynamics in the presentation of his music, and, as the
continuation of this study will show, this concern is carried over fully into the orchestral
pieces.
Gestures in Pitch and other Parameters: Cross-Fading Gestures
Ligeti’s recognition of the importance of intensity, and in particular its importance
on our perception of pitch and other parameters, is quite clear from one family of gestures
which arises in Apparitions. As mentioned above, Ligeti does not serially order his
parameters such as dynamic levels and synchronization of individual strands within the
clusters of Apparitions, but rather, arranges them to support the global conception of
form, and to gradually develop types of internal motion.
Section B is pivotal in this development, as introduces a number of different
dynamic changes, resulting in the final tremolo cluster in measure 49–shown in Figure
19 4.5, along with a spectrograph–which contains a truly unique effect. A chromatic cluster
from E3 to B4 in violins and violas diminuendo while an adjacent cluster from Eb3 to D1
in the cellos and basses crescendos. This coordination of duration, pitch, and dynamics
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Ligeti’s score has only rough dynamic markings for entire structures, and none for individual tones,
other than decrescendo markings where these tones fade out separately. Because of this, Tazelaar and
Van Kreij realized their version of the piece at a constant dynamic level.
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György Ligeti, Apparitions (Vienna: Universal Edition, UE 18326, 1964), 4-5. Reproduced with
permission.
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