THE ELECTRONIC WORKS OF GYÖRGY LIGETI AND THEIR ...

of this upper register arrived back at the lower as a matter of course. Unlike the register
change in Apparitions, several oppositions support an interpretation of continuity, in spite
of the fact that this is the largest registral shift in the piece. First of all, there is a
continuity in dynamics; the piccolos crescendo into this change, arriving very swiftly at the
same ffff marking with which the basses continue. There is also a continuity in that both
clusters use extreme (as opposed to centered) material; if the piccolo cluster suddenly
moved back to the middle-register which began their ascent, we would most likely hear
this repetition as a new beginning, and thus a more distinct division than a continuing
development.
The duration scheme for Atmosphères is also calculated to avoid repetitions of
segment lengths, and thus support the continuity of the piece. Ligeti gives the following
series of durations (in seconds) for the rehearsal letters of this piece–as before, the letter
given is the rehearsal letter which ends each section.
Table 4.5a. Section Durations for Atmosphères
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U
48 29 55 37 6 23 33 14 21 18 5 8 10 26 43 16 9 12 4 7 73
The final duration is altered in the score to 71 seconds and is followed by a prescribed 19
seconds of rest (again a unique value). When arranged in order, one can see that the
proportions between sections are calculated in a manner similar to the scales used in
determining durations for Artikulation; here the proportion between sections ranges from
1.06 to 1.33, when calculated to two decimal places, furthermore, as shown in the right-
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