''Musica ricercata'' is a set of eleven pieces for
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a musica ...
by
György Ligeti
György Sándor Ligeti (; ; 28 May 1923 – 12 June 2006) was a Hungarian-Austrian composer of contemporary classical music. He has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde composers in the latter half of the twentieth century" ...
. The work was composed from 1951 to 1953, shortly after the composer began lecturing at the
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
Academy of Music. The work premiered on 18 November 1969 in
Sundsvall,
Sweden. Although the ricercata (or
ricercar
A ricercar ( , ) or ricercare ( , ) is a type of late Renaissance and mostly early Baroque instrumental composition. The term ''ricercar'' derives from the Italian verb which means 'to search out; to seek'; many ricercars serve a preludial funct ...
) is an established contrapuntal style (and the final movement of the work is in that form), Ligeti's title should probably be interpreted literally as "researched music" or "sought music". This work captures the essence of Ligeti's search to construct his own compositional style ''
ex nihilo
(Latin for "creation out of nothing") is the doctrine that matter is not eternal but had to be created by some divine creative act. It is a theistic answer to the question of how the universe comes to exist. It is in contrast to ''Ex nihilo n ...
'', and as such presages many of the more radical directions Ligeti would take in the future.
In response to a request by the Jeney Quintet, six of the movements were arranged for
wind quintet
A wind quintet, also known as a woodwind quintet, is a group of five wind players (most commonly flute, oboe, clarinet, French horn and bassoon).
Unlike the string quartet (of 4 string instruments) with its homogeneous blend of sound color, the ...
as Six Bagatelles for Wind Quintet (1953). They are, in order: III, V, VII, VIII, IX, X.
Eight movements (I, III, IV, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI) were transcribed for
bayan
Bayan may refer to:
Eduational Institutions
* Bayan Islamic Graduate School, Chicago, IL
Places
*Bayan-Aul, Pavlodar, Kazakhstan
*Bayan Mountain, an ancient mountain name for part of Tarbagatai Mountains at Kazakhstan in Qing Dynasty period
*B ...
by Parisian accordionist Max Bonnay.
Pitch structure
An important global structural feature of ''Musica ricercata'' is that Ligeti confines himself to only certain
pitch class
In music, a pitch class (p.c. or pc) is a set of all pitches that are a whole number of octaves apart; for example, the pitch class C consists of the Cs in all octaves. "The pitch class C stands for all possible Cs, in whatever octave positi ...
es in each movement, with each subsequent movement having exactly one more pitch class than the last. The pitch classes found in each movement are as follows:
Movements
Following are brief descriptions (with some analysis) of each movement of ''Musica ricercata''.
I. Sostenuto – Misurato – Prestissimo
This movement uses the pitch class A almost exclusively (D is introduced as the final note, thereby providing an impetus to the rest of the movements). It could also be thought of using 1-tone equal temperament. Ligeti develops this single pitch class by exploiting the dimensions of rhythm and timbre (an example of timbral
counterpoint). A thunderous beginning leads into a gradual crescendo and
accelerando
''Accelerando'' is a 2005 science fiction novel consisting of a series of interconnected short stories written by British author Charles Stross. As well as normal hardback and paperback editions, it was released as a free e-book under the CC ...
consisting of layered
polyrhythm
Polyrhythm is the simultaneous use of two or more rhythms that are not readily perceived as deriving from one another, or as simple manifestations of the same meter. The rhythmic layers may be the basis of an entire piece of music ( cross-rhyt ...
s in various registers. The coda, a metered accelerando, pounds out several more octaves of A before we finally hear D. The relationship between D and A is reinforced by the holding of both subharmonics and overtones of D, which contain A (a result of the
harmonic series).
II. Mesto, rigido e cerimoniale
Both the material and mood of this movement differ markedly from the first. The principal theme is a plaintive alternation between E and F (a mere semi-tone). This theme is heard both solo (i.e., in a single octave), and in quiet (''una corda'') octaves on both ends of the piano. The entrance of G near the middle of the piece is particularly stark, being vigorously attacked in an accelerando similar to that in the first movement. The G continues to sound in an unmetered
tremolo
In music, ''tremolo'' (), or ''tremolando'' (), is a trembling effect. There are two types of tremolo.
The first is a rapid reiteration:
* Of a single note, particularly used on bowed string instruments, by rapidly moving the bow back and fo ...
as the main theme returns in a more "menacing" context. The movement gradually dissolves, with both the main theme and repeated G's fading into silence.
Portions of this movement were featured on the soundtrack to
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...
's ''
Eyes Wide Shut
''Eyes Wide Shut'' is a 1999 erotic mystery psychological drama film directed, produced, and co-written by Stanley Kubrick. It is based on the 1926 novella '' Traumnovelle'' (''Dream Story'') by Arthur Schnitzler, transferring the story's set ...
''.
III. Allegro con spirito
The jaunty, almost bluesy, quality of this movement represents yet another contrast to what's come before. The playful juxtaposition of a C-major tonality (C-E-G) and C-minor (C-E-G) forms the basis for the development of the main theme. The dynamics and register also freely and abruptly jump about, contributing further to the skittish nature of this movement. The piece ends on a low C after a number of simultaneous soundings of E and E, thereby making the dichotomy all the more apparent without actually resolving it.
This movement is actually a reworking of ideas from the first movement of the composer's
Sonatina
A sonatina is a small sonata. As a musical term, sonatina has no single strict definition; it is rather a title applied by the composer to a piece that is in basic sonata form, but is shorter and lighter in character, or technically more elementar ...
for Piano, Four Hands.
IV. Tempo di valse (poco vivace – « à l'orgue de Barbarie »)
Another light movement, this time set in an off-kilter
waltz
The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position.
History
There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the w ...
in which the triple pulse is occasionally interrupted by a measure of 2/4. Further complicating matters rhythmically is Ligeti's indication in the score that "The metronome value refers to the maximum tempo. The piece may be interpreted freely—as well as being slower—with rubati, ritenuti, accelerandi, just as the organ grinder would play his barrel organ
l'orgue de Barbarie"" In keeping with this style, there are occasional abrupt pauses or changes in dynamics and indications for ritardandi and accelerandi.
The piece is formally structured like a standard waltz tune, roughly akin to AABA. The A theme consists of a running scale with a short turn at the end of the phrase. The B section is generally louder, with a greater dynamic and pitch range, with chords in the melody (not heard in the A-section). The triple-feel waltz background continues in the left hand almost throughout. As in previous movements, Ligeti chooses to introduce a new pitch class—G--near the middle of the piece at a fortissimo in three octaves, being especially conspicuous, though the G/A disappears after only a few bars as it becomes subsumed by the main waltz theme.
V. Rubato. Lamentoso
To complement the previous two lighter movements, the fifth returns to the seriousness of the second movement. Again, like the second movement, the main theme relies heavily on the semi-tone interval. However, the additional pitch resources of this movement permit the construction of two
trichord
In music theory, a trichord () is a group of three different pitch classes found within a larger group. A trichord is a contiguous three-note set from a musical scale or a twelve-tone row.
In musical set theory there are twelve trichords g ...
s related by a
tritone
In music theory, the tritone is defined as a musical interval composed of three adjacent whole tones (six semitones). For instance, the interval from F up to the B above it (in short, F–B) is a tritone as it can be decomposed into the three ad ...
. The tritone becomes an extremely important interval in this movement, as it is introduced as part of the secondary theme in the left hand and forms the basis for the parallel harmonies heard as both accompaniment to the secondary theme and in the return of the main theme at MM 22. After this, Ligeti introduces a bell-like tolling on the pitch classes of G and A which continues to interrupt the fragments of the primary and secondary themes as they fade toward the end of the movement. The movement concludes as the "bell" continues to toll in low octave G's, growing to a triple forte.
VI. Allegro molto capriccioso
Yet another abrupt change in mood brings us to the sixth movement, itself characterized by rapid and unexpected changes of dynamics, register, articulation, and musical material. A descent from E to A (thus tentatively establishing an A-major tonality) defines the initial melodic material while a scalewise ascent from A to E is heard in the left hand accompaniment. Eventually the upward and downward motives mix and recombine, jostled together in a melodic toy-box. The piece ends on an appropriately awkward and unexpected E (from an F-minor/B-minor
polychord
In music and music theory, a polychord consists of two or more chords, one on top of the other. In shorthand they are written with the top chord above a line and the bottom chord below,Policastro, Michael A. (1999). ''Understanding How to Build ...
), leaving the listener with a lack of resolution.
VII. Cantabile, molto legato
The movement begins with a seven-note
ostinato
In music, an ostinato (; derived from Italian word for ''stubborn'', compare English ''obstinate'') is a motif or phrase that persistently repeats in the same musical voice, frequently in the same pitch. Well-known ostinato-based pieces include ...
in the left hand that Ligeti indicates should be rhythmically and dynamically independent from the right hand. The right hand carries a folk-like melody that is first heard alone in single notes before it gets juxtaposed in a loose canon with various transformed versions of itself, producing a lively counterpoint with rich harmonies and a sense of rhythmic freedom. Eventually, both hands move up an octave, significantly lightening the texture. The piece concludes with the right hand taking over the ostinato at a yet higher octave; the ostinato progressively loses notes until it is only a trill on F and G which proceeds to fade away to silence.
This movement is clearly based on the second movement, "Andante", from the composer's Sonatina for Piano, Four Hands. It is used again in the second movement of his
Violin Concerto
A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble (customarily orchestra). Such works have been written since the Baroque music, Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first dev ...
(1992).
VIII. Vivace. Energico
The silence of the previous movement is broken by a loud dissonance on octave D's and E's. Thus introduced, the main theme is heard in octaves, a lively and vigorous dance in 7/8. This main theme is characterized by a scalar lower melody in which each note is accompanied by an upper E. After a number of transformations of this melody in the left hand, that hand plays the theme as an accompaniment figure while the right hand plays a light, playful, rhythmically mutated version of the scalar melody from the main theme. This complete, the main theme returns in both hands in all its glory, fading briefly to a restatement of the secondary melody idea before the main theme decisively concludes the movement.
Although the rhythmic accent pattern drives the movement, Ligeti deletes beats from certain measures in order to "restart" the pattern in sections in which the left hand restatement of the theme is offset from the right. Ligeti further reinforces the folk-dance origins of the movement by using a great deal of open fifths in the accompaniment that correspond to the open strings on a fiddle or cello. In fact, the many metric "skips" and rhythmic offsets may be referring to folk musicians who accidentally enter at the wrong times.
IX. (''Béla Bartók in Memoriam'') Adagio. Mesto – Allegro maestoso
Another "serious" movement, this begins with low octave C's, which the composer marked as "like low-sounding bells". From these depths arises a melody consisting of a series of minor 3rd pairs in a consistent sixteenth/dotted-eighth rhythm (bearing some similarity to the "
Verbunkos
Verbunkos (), other spellings being ''Verbounko'', ''Verbunko'', ''Verbunkas'', ''Werbunkos'', ''Werbunkosch'', ''Verbunkoche''; sometimes known simply as the hongroise or ungarischer Tanz is an 18th-century Hungarian dance and music genre.
The ...
" from Bartók's dance suite ''
Contrasts''). Both these melodic and rhythmic motives get used throughout the movement. After the initial, mournful presentation of the theme comes a suddenly loud repetition of minor 3rds in the right hand, along with a left hand restatement of the main theme marked "as if panicking". After these more agitated explorations of the theme, a much lighter texture prevails with tremolos accompanying another minor 3rd-centric melody. The piece concludes as the low C "bells" continue their inescapable tolling.
X. Vivace. Capriccioso
The most overtly
virtuosic
A virtuoso (from Italian ''virtuoso'' or , "virtuous", Late Latin ''virtuosus'', Latin ''virtus'', "virtue", "excellence" or "skill") is an individual who possesses outstanding talent and technical ability in a particular art or field such as ...
movement of ''Musica ricercata''. The seemingly free use of dissonance can be traced to the
bitonality Polytonality (also polyharmony) is the musical use of more than one key simultaneously. Bitonality is the use of only two different keys at the same time. Polyvalence or polyvalency is the use of more than one harmonic function, from the same key, ...
between D and C, from which many of the conflicting motives are derived. Beginning with a rhythmically driving low
chromatic
Diatonic and chromatic are terms in music theory that are most often used to characterize scales, and are also applied to musical instruments, intervals, chords, notes, musical styles, and kinds of harmony. They are very often used as a ...
melody (alternating between bars of 2/4 and 3/8), a higher
arpeggiated
A broken chord is a chord broken into a sequence of notes. A broken chord may repeat some of the notes from the chord and span one or more octaves.
An arpeggio () is a type of broken chord, in which the notes that compose a chord are played o ...
melody is quickly introduced as a secondary
theme
Theme or themes may refer to:
* Theme (arts), the unifying subject or idea of the type of visual work
* Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos
* Theme (computing), a custom graphical ...
. After a strong restatement of the opening theme, Ligeti transitions into a set of material labeled "
capriccioso e burlesco", which uses an arpeggiated melody with chromatic
accompaniment
Accompaniment is the musical part which provides the rhythmic and/or harmonic support for the melody or main themes of a song or instrumental piece. There are many different styles and types of accompaniment in different genres and styles ...
, effectively a combination of the two principal ideas thus far. As Ligeti makes more and more use of the
minor second
A semitone, also called a half step or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant when sounded harmonically.
It is defined as the interval between two adjacent no ...
dissonance between the two pitch centers of D and C through further restatements of the first, second, and third themes,
tone clusters begin to develop. These clusters aggregate pitches through a section marked "insistent, spiteful" before culminating in a single, large cluster using all chromatic pitch classes except C and D. This is marked to be repeated "often" and played "as if mad". After building to maximum, a rest provides some breathing room before a restatement of the arpeggio theme culminating on the first pitch class of the movement, D.
In the first performance of Six Bagatelles for Wind Quintet, the last movement (an arrangement of ''Musica ricercata'' X) was left out for being too 'dangerous' because of its dissonance and chromaticism.
XI. (''Omaggio a Girolamo Frescobaldi'') Andante misurato e tranquillo
The
Baroque composer
Girolamo Frescobaldi
Girolamo Alessandro Frescobaldi (; also Gerolamo, Girolimo, and Geronimo Alissandro; September 15831 March 1643) was an Italian composer and virtuoso keyboard player. Born in the Duchy of Ferrara, he was one of the most important composers of ...
is regarded as an important innovator in the field of the
ricercare
A ricercar ( , ) or ricercare ( , ) is a type of late Renaissance and mostly early Baroque instrumental composition. The term ''ricercar'' derives from the Italian verb which means 'to search out; to seek'; many ricercars serve a preludial funct ...
, a forerunner of the later
fugue
In music, a fugue () is a contrapuntal compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject (a musical theme) that is introduced at the beginning in imitation (repetition at different pitches) and which recurs frequently in the co ...
form of imitative
counterpoint. Indeed, this final movement of ''Musica ricercata'' is structured as a loose ricercare or fugue, and was later published in an organ version titled ''Ricercare per organo – Omaggio a Girolamo Frescobaldi'' in 1953.
The subject is a tone row employing all twelve chromatic pitches. Successive entrances of the theme occur at the fifth, as in a proper fugue, but always immediately follow the previous complete subject statement. The
countersubject
In music, a subject is the material, usually a recognizable melody, upon which part or all of a composition is based. In forms other than the fugue, this may be known as the theme.
Characteristics
A subject may be perceivable as a complete mu ...
, a simple descending chromatic scale, is always heard in a voice immediately following its statement of the subject. Ligeti does not adhere to a great many constraints of fugue, however, as successive entrances often result in a great deal of parallel motion between the voices. Rhythmic values gradually diminish with successive entrances of the subject, setting up a dichotomy between longer and shorter rhythmic values in the middle of the piece. After a series of
stretti
In music, the Italian term ''stretto'' (plural: ''stretti'') has two distinct meanings:
# In a fugue, ''stretto'' (german: Engführung) is the Imitation (music), imitation of the Subject (music), subject in close succession, so that the answer en ...
that extend the outer voices to the very edges of the piano's range, the subject becomes rhythmically fragmented and irregular, eventually alighting on the final pitch class A, with which the entire work began.
Recordings
The complete work has been recorded by
Pierre-Laurent Aimard
Pierre-Laurent Aimard (born 9 September 1957) is a French pianist.
Biography
Aimard was born in Lyon, where he entered the conservatory. Later he studied with Yvonne Loriod and with Maria Curcio.
In 1973, he was awarded the chamber music priz ...
(1996),
Fredrik Ullén
Fredrik Ullén (born 1968) is a Swedish pianist. He has made recordings for the BIS, BMG Classics, Caprice, Danacord, dbProductions, and Phono Suecia labels.
Born in 1968 in Västerås, Ullén studied at the Royal College of Music, Stockholm, wh ...
(1998), Noelia Rodiles (2014) and
Bruno Vlahek (2020). Selection of movements (IV, III, X, IX, V, VII) recorded by
Kit Armstrong
Kit Armstrong ( zh, c=周善祥, p=Zhōu Shànxiáng, born March 5, 1992) is an American classical pianist, composer, and former child prodigy of British-Taiwanese parentage.
Education
Armstrong was born in Los Angeles into a non-musical famil ...
(2014).
References
External links
An interactive score of Ligeti's ''Musica ricercata no. 1'' with Pierre-Laurent Aimard.*
ttps://www.explorethescore.org/pgs/ligeti/inside_the_score/musica_ricercata_no_7.html An interactive score of Ligeti's ''Musica ricercata no. 7'' with Pierre-Laurent Aimard.
{{Authority control
Compositions by György Ligeti
Compositions for solo piano
1953 compositions