IAPL2012-CB-0531-052.. - The International Association for ...

PLENARIES
However, Tüür does not base these musical narratives on the unfolding of motifs or
tight-knit themes, as typically happens in classical works, but grounds them rather
in the dialectical development of sound—the main carrier, as Tüür sees it, of musical
energy in his work.
Tüür’s attitude towards sound or timbre can be described as “structural.” This is to
say that, by manifesting itself in distinctive and characteristic timbral objects, sound
takes possession of the thematic material and actually replaces the traditional motif. In
addition, through becoming the main “carrier” of the “energy” of music, timbre similarly
takes over the function classically assigned to harmony. As such, timbre becomes for
Tüür an entity capable of generating extended musical forms. This is quite different
from how timbre (sound) is usually used in popular music, where it often functions as
an aid to understanding the music. It is also quite different from the view, in traditional
music theory, of timbre as a primarily emotional (i.e. non-structural) aspect of music.
Indeed, traditionally, timbre is held to play a relatively trivial role in imparting musical
structure, at least compared to the roles played by harmony, counterpoint, and form.
This different understanding of sound allows Tüür to use modern timbral language
and, at the same time, detach himself from the structural fragmentation inherent in
many works of new music. In becoming the monumental phenomenon in Tüür’s music,
sound develops through different stages: inception, crystallization, “liquefying”, fading,
etc. The development of timbre thus gives the impression of an energy, embodied in
material sound, manifesting itself through different forms, like a growing organism.
The impression of gradual growth is emphasized by the avoidance of well articulated
caesuras between the smaller formal sections and by the continuous development
of the music: in addition to presenting a new idea, each successive section further
elaborates on the material presented in the previous sections. This links Tüür’s music
with the concept of organic form propagated by the artists of the Romantic movement.
One recalls the declaration of the Finnish composer, Jean Sibelius: “I intend to let the
musical thoughts and their development determine their own form in my soul.” Tüür
seems to regard the organic development of his own compositions in a similar light.
Evidently dissatisfied by the eclecticism that persisted in his meta-style of the 1990s,
Tüür developed a new approach to composition around 2003, an original approach
described as “vectorial.” The pieces so composed are based on a relatively short numeric
combination or code. During the composition process, the code is subsequently
“translated.” Where serial composing technique would translate the code into some
so-called static element of music (note, rhythmic duration, dynamic level, etc.), Tüür’s
work translates the code into the potential moving direction of voice or musical line:
hence the term “vectorial” to characterize his technique. By joining the generated oneway
voices or lines, a multidimensional musical space is created, with sound as the
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