…explosante-fixe…
Encyclopedia
…explosante-fixe… is a piece of music composed by Pierre Boulez
. Initially conceived in 1971 as a memorial for Igor Stravinsky
, who died in April of that year, Boulez composed several different versions of the work between 1972 and 1993, culminating in a piece for solo MIDI-flute
and chamber orchestra.
's L'amour fou (1937): "La beauté convulsive sera érotique-voilée, explosante-fixe, magique-circonstancielle, ou ne sera pas" (Convulsive beauty will be erotic-veiled, exploding-fixed, magical-circumstantial, or it will not be at all).
In the two subsequent years, Boulez developed ...explosante-fixe... into a work for solo flute, accompanied by clarinet
, trumpet
, harp
, vibraphone
, violin
, viola
, cello
and electronics. Performances of this version made use of a recently created device known as the Halaphone. Boulez, however, was ultimately unsatisfied with the electronics. There were actually two main variants, a "preliminary" version based on the bare bones of the outline score and scored for a trio of violin, clarinet, and trumpet, first performed by the London Sinfonietta in St John's, Smith Square in June 1972, and a longer, more sophisticated, and seemingly definitive form for septet, premiered in New York on 5 January 1973 and subsequently revised several times, for performances in Rome on 13 May 1973, at the Promenade Concerts in London in August 1973, at the Donaueschinger Musiktage on 21 October 1973, and at the Théâtre d'Orsay in Paris as part of the Festival d'Automne 1974 (where it created a sensation), by which time it had become an octet. These revisions involved changes in the order of sections and rewriting six of the eight instrumental parts. In all, there are four different versions for the flute, three versions each for the viola and cello, two versions each for the trumpet, violin, and clarinet, but only one version each for the vibraphone and harp, which differ from one version to the next only in the ordering of their constituent parts. Boulez withdrew the materials for both versions, primarily because of his dissatisfaction with the all-too-audible failure of the electronics, and in particular the computer tape that was intended to direct the conductorless 1973 Proms version, but also as an acknowledgement that the scoring really required a symphony orchestra.
The next version of ...explosante-fixe..., for vibraphone and electronics, was not composed until 1986. In the intervening years, parts of the original material appeared in other works by Boulez, specifically Rituel (1975) and Mémoriale (1985).
Between 1991 and 1993, while at IRCAM
, Boulez composed a new version of …explosante-fixe…, for solo MIDI-flute with live electronics, two 'shadow' flutes and a chamber orchestra. This version premiered in Torino, Italy
on 13 September 1993, in a performance by the Ensemble InterContemporain
.
Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez is a French composer of contemporary classical music, a pianist, and a conductor.-Early years:Boulez was born in Montbrison, Loire, France. As a child he began piano lessons and demonstrated aptitude in both music and mathematics...
. Initially conceived in 1971 as a memorial for Igor Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
, who died in April of that year, Boulez composed several different versions of the work between 1972 and 1993, culminating in a piece for solo MIDI-flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
and chamber orchestra.
Title
The title of the work is taken from the concluding line of the first chapter of André BretonAndré Breton
André Breton was a French writer and poet. He is known best as the founder of Surrealism. His writings include the first Surrealist Manifesto of 1924, in which he defined surrealism as "pure psychic automatism"....
's L'amour fou (1937): "La beauté convulsive sera érotique-voilée, explosante-fixe, magique-circonstancielle, ou ne sera pas" (Convulsive beauty will be erotic-veiled, exploding-fixed, magical-circumstantial, or it will not be at all).
History
The first version of ...explosante-fixe... (1971–1972) was a one-page aleatoric work in seven parts entitled, according to one report, Originel and Transitoires II-VII, though the manuscript score (published as two pages of music and twelve pages of instructions) bears the title in the composer's hand [… Explosante-fixe …], and the indications "Originel" and "Transitoires II–VII" are the names of the groups into which the work is divided. The seven parts each represent one member of a seven-note row found in the "Originel" section: E, G, D, A, B, A, E, an emblem for the Stravinsky memorial for which it was composed (the note E sustained at the beginning is pronounced Es in German, cognate with the letter S for "Stravinsky"). In this original form, the instruments were not indicated, though a possible scoring for two violins, two flutes, two clarinets, and harp is suggested. Like most of the other pieces in the Stravinsky memorial, this reflects the instrumentation of two brief commemorative works Stravinsky wrote in 1959: the Epitaphium for flute, clarinet, and harp, and the Double Canon (in memory of Dufy) for string quartet.In the two subsequent years, Boulez developed ...explosante-fixe... into a work for solo flute, accompanied by clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
, trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
, vibraphone
Vibraphone
The vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family....
, violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
, viola
Viola
The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
, cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
and electronics. Performances of this version made use of a recently created device known as the Halaphone. Boulez, however, was ultimately unsatisfied with the electronics. There were actually two main variants, a "preliminary" version based on the bare bones of the outline score and scored for a trio of violin, clarinet, and trumpet, first performed by the London Sinfonietta in St John's, Smith Square in June 1972, and a longer, more sophisticated, and seemingly definitive form for septet, premiered in New York on 5 January 1973 and subsequently revised several times, for performances in Rome on 13 May 1973, at the Promenade Concerts in London in August 1973, at the Donaueschinger Musiktage on 21 October 1973, and at the Théâtre d'Orsay in Paris as part of the Festival d'Automne 1974 (where it created a sensation), by which time it had become an octet. These revisions involved changes in the order of sections and rewriting six of the eight instrumental parts. In all, there are four different versions for the flute, three versions each for the viola and cello, two versions each for the trumpet, violin, and clarinet, but only one version each for the vibraphone and harp, which differ from one version to the next only in the ordering of their constituent parts. Boulez withdrew the materials for both versions, primarily because of his dissatisfaction with the all-too-audible failure of the electronics, and in particular the computer tape that was intended to direct the conductorless 1973 Proms version, but also as an acknowledgement that the scoring really required a symphony orchestra.
The next version of ...explosante-fixe..., for vibraphone and electronics, was not composed until 1986. In the intervening years, parts of the original material appeared in other works by Boulez, specifically Rituel (1975) and Mémoriale (1985).
Between 1991 and 1993, while at IRCAM
IRCAM
IRCAM is a European institute for science about music and sound and avant garde electro-acoustical art music. It is situated next to, and is organizationally linked with, the Centre Pompidou in Paris...
, Boulez composed a new version of …explosante-fixe…, for solo MIDI-flute with live electronics, two 'shadow' flutes and a chamber orchestra. This version premiered in Torino, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
on 13 September 1993, in a performance by the Ensemble InterContemporain
Ensemble InterContemporain
The Ensemble InterContemporain is a French chamber orchestra, based in Paris at the Cité de la musique and IRCAM, which specialises in contemporary classical music....
.
Further reading
- Boulez, Pierre, Michel Fano, and Thomas Repensek. 1980. "A Conversation". October 14 (Autumn): 101–20.
- Bradshaw, Susan. 1973. "First Performances: '…explosante-fixe…'". Tempo, new series, no. 106 (September): 58–59.
- Dal Molin, Paolo. 2009. "Mémoriale de Pierre Boulez: Ce que les sources (ne) nous disent (pas)". Revue de musicologie 95, no. 2:475–523.
- Goldman, Jonathan. 2006. "Exploding/Fixed: Form as Opposition in the Writings and Later Works of Pierre Boulez". PhD diss. Montreal: Université de Montréal. ISBN 978-0-494-24456-2.
- Goldman, Jonathan. 2008. "Charting Mémoriale: Paradigmatic Analysis and Harmonic Schemata in Boulez’s …explosante-fixe… ". Music Analysis 27, nos. 2–3:217–52.
- Kimmig, Rudolf. 1991. "Unterricht beim Meister: Pierre Boulez' Fragment explosante-fixe". Motiv: Musik in Gesellschaft anderer Künste, nos. 2–3:73–74.
- Mawhinney, Simon, and Pierre Boulez. 2001. "Composer in Interview: Pierre Boulez". Tempo, new series, no. 216 (April): 2–5.
External links
- May, Thomas. [1996]. About the Piece: '…explosante-fixe…': Pierre Boulez". La Phil website. (Accessed 25 August 2011).