Partiels
Encyclopedia
Partiels is a defining piece
of Spectral music
by Gérard Grisey
whose opening is derived from an electronic sonogram analysis of the attack of a low E2 on a trombone. This spectrum is orchestrally synthesized through the assignation of different instruments to each partial in such a way as to harmonically and gesturally model the dynamic temporal evolution of the attack. Many second and third generation spectral composers cite Partiels as causing their initial interest in the spectral outlook.
Thus the opening features the successive entrance of lower partials with the fifth and ninth partials being louder than lower ones, including the fundamental, and all higher partials gradually trailing off in amplitude. Each partial is approximated to the nearest quarter tone. A low bass reinforces the fundamental an octave lower on the open E1 string which is central to Les Espaces Acoustiques cycle of which Partiels is a part.
The piece also makes use of sum and difference tones to create harmonies.
Musical composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
of Spectral music
Spectral music
Spectral music is a musical composition practice where compositional decisions are often informed by the analysis of sound spectra. Computer-based sound spectrum analysis using tools like DFT, FFT, and spectrograms...
by Gérard Grisey
Gérard Grisey
Gérard Grisey was a French composer of contemporary music.-Biography:Gérard Grisey was born in Belfort, France on 17 June 1946. He studied at the Trossingen Conservatory in Germany from 1963 to 1965 before entering the Conservatoire de Paris...
whose opening is derived from an electronic sonogram analysis of the attack of a low E2 on a trombone. This spectrum is orchestrally synthesized through the assignation of different instruments to each partial in such a way as to harmonically and gesturally model the dynamic temporal evolution of the attack. Many second and third generation spectral composers cite Partiels as causing their initial interest in the spectral outlook.
Thus the opening features the successive entrance of lower partials with the fifth and ninth partials being louder than lower ones, including the fundamental, and all higher partials gradually trailing off in amplitude. Each partial is approximated to the nearest quarter tone. A low bass reinforces the fundamental an octave lower on the open E1 string which is central to Les Espaces Acoustiques cycle of which Partiels is a part.
The piece also makes use of sum and difference tones to create harmonies.