The Life and Works of Gerard Grisey

Overtone series is a theoretical concept which describes a set of vibrations whose frequencies are all integer multiples of one fundamental frequency (f1). Any frequency can be used as a fundamental while other elements of the overtone series are called respectively; the second partial (f2) which is equal to 2 x f1, the third partial (f3) which is equal to 3 x f1, and so on.

In rejecting Western ideas of motif and replacing that with timbre, "The material derives from the natural growth of sonority, from the macrostructure and not the other way around. In other words there is no basic material (no melodic cell, no complex of notes or note-values)."

This piece is interesting in that it takes a theoretical electronic music concept - additive synthesis - realized by real acoustic instruments - not pure sine tones - each with their own "colour". The result of this adaptation therefore is obviously different.

This is yet another creative way Grisey took the overtone spectrum and used it as compositional material

Modulations - For Orchestra

Partiels - For 18 instruments

• There are eleven repetitions of this sonority at the beginning of the piece
• Grisey starts these repetitions as "harmonic" as opposed to "inharmonic" - that is, the frequencies of the overtones are integer multiplications of the fundamental pitch
• Gradually, he introduces "inharmonic" elements into the mixture to upset the sonority
• This is done by lowering partials by octaves. For example, in the third statement, the 57th partial is lowered by an octave (D7 = 2348.6 Hz down to D6 = 1174.3 Hz)
• This lowered note is not part of the overtone series, and thus affects the effect of added synthesis (the added instruments acting as partials of the trombone low E1)
• By the end of the eleven repetitions, only two harmonic components remain - E3 (the fourth partial) and B3 (the sixth partial)

Overtone analysis of a cello (for an example). The strength of various partials is a key element in determining timbre.

• Movement IV of Les espaces acoustiques was written shortly after Partiels in the years 1976-77
• As we have observed, the natural overtone spectrum is characterized by large intervals in the lower register and much smaller intervals as the partial gets higher
• In Modulations, Grisey uses a technique called subharmonicity which reverses this natural order - orchestrating large intervals in the high register with very tight chromatic intervals in the lower register
• There are ten repetitions of harmonicity followed by subharmonicity - over the course of them all, Grisey separates the "fundamental" of the harmonic and subharmonic pitches so as to bring their partials closer together
• He compresses the space between the partials he chooses to stand out, such that on the last repetition virtually all harmonic partials have a counterpart in the subharmonic spectrum

• Between 1974 and 1985, Grisey wrote VI movements under the name Les espaces acoustiques (Acoustic Spaces). Movement III (which was written second, in 1975) is titled Partiels
• The first section of the piece is inspired by Grisey's view of a sonogram of the attack of a trombone's low E1
• Grisey respected the frequencies of the partials of the E1. He also respected their entrances relative to the fundamental, as well as their relative dynamic within the composition (for example, he noticed the fourth partial was weak, and assigned a natural harmonic's bass to play the part)
• This technique is derived from an electronic music technique called additive synthesis - a base sine wave is taken, and more component frequencies are added on in order to build complex composites resembling the sound of a real instrument (think MIDI)

Other Techniques Used in Les espaces acoustiques

• Filtering technique (amplifying or reducing certain partials, thereby affecting the timbre - originally an electronic idea, manifested acoustically in mutes)
• Combination tones (playing two tones simultaneously causes one to perceive "shadow tones" - through addition of pitches (330 Hz + 220 Hz = 550 Hz) or subtraction (330 Hz - 220 Hz = 110 Hz). This can be done not only with the pitches' fundamentals, but with their partials as well. Acoustic form of "ring modulation")

The black notes indicate inharmonic notes

Teaching Career and Later Years

L'Itinéraire and the Beginnings of Spectral Music

• Grisey studied electroacoustic music since the early 1970s, acoustics in Paris VI University from 1974-75, and became a trainee at the IRCAM (Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique) in 1980
• In the late 70s/early 80s, Grisey was a guest lecturer during summer sessions at Darmstadt. In 1982 he moved to America to become a professor at University of California. In 1987 he moved back to Europe to teach composition at the Conservatoire de Paris
• Unfortunately, Grisey suffered an untimely death due to a brain aneurism at the age of 52 in 1998
• Throughout his teaching career Grisey continued to write major works in spectral music, including several pieces incorporating electronics and electronic techniques on acoustic instruments

• Between 1972 and 1974, Grisey was granted a scholarship by the French Academy in Rome (Villa Medici), and in this time he formed a group called L'Itinéraire, together with composers Tristan Murail, Roger Tessier, Michael Levinas, and Hugues Dufort
• While Grisey originally began more or less as a twelve-tone composer like many of his contemporaries, he found he needed a complete break away from serialism and embrace what he viewed as a more instinctive approach to composition, looking at the fundamentals of pitch, harmony, and time - this became known as spectral music
• Certain composers before Grisey have placed a strong emphasis on timbre, but spectral music makes it the main element, with the overtone series as their point of reference
• This is strongly influenced by techniques made possible through computer analysis - this enabled the analysis of sound, resolution of partials, and their relative amplitudes

f1: E1 = 41.2 Hz, f2: E2 = 82.4 Hz, f3: B2 = 123.6 Hz, f4: E3 = 164.8 Hz, f5: G#3 = 206.0 Hz

ad infinitum!

Remember??

The focus of this presentation is to provide biographical information on the French spectral composer Gérard Grisey, especially as it involves his work and pioneering in the field of spectral music. I will go into detail on compositional techniques of Partiels, Vortex Temporum, and ANOTHER ONE. In doing so, I aim to portray some of the fundamentals of spectral music and its lasting effects on composition to this day.

Vortex Temporum

Early Years and Training

• Gérard Grisey was born in Belfort, France on June 17th, 1946
• Grisey first tried his hand at composition when he was 9 years old
• He studied at Trossingen Conservatory in Germany from 1963-1965, after which he studied in Paris' Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique
• Here he proved his mastery over conventional western theory as he won several competitions in piano accompaniment, harmony, counterpoint, and fugue composition
• Other institutions he studied at included the Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris, Accademia Chigiana in Siena, and ultimately the Darmstadt School in 1972, under the tutelage of such composers as Gyorgy Ligeti, Karlheinz Stockhausen, and Iannis Xenakis

• This was one of Grisey's last pieces, written in 1996
• The piece takes a theme directly from Daphnis et Chloe. It also focuses on the four tones of the diminished seven chord, which can all be treated as leading tones - when that is done, the possibility of multiple modulations is achieved
• Part of the piano must be tuned a quarter tone lower, allowing for essential microintervals
• Grisey discusses a few archetypes that guide the piece;
• "Three basic forms... the original event - a sinusoidal wave - and two continuous events, an attack with or without resonance as well as a sound held with or without crescendo"
• "Three various spectra: harmonics, 'stretched disharmonics' and 'compressed disharmonics'"
• "Three different tempos: basic, more or less expanded, and more or less contracted"
• Short interludes occur between the pieces' three movements, long enough for breaths and awkward noises to be part of the piece
• Ultimately, the goal of the piece is to portray the "history of arpeggio in time and space", using the vortex idea as an analogy to swirling notes

Thank you for your time!

References

• Anderson, Julian. "Obituaries: Gerard Grisey". The Independent. www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituaries-gerard-grisey-1186972.html. Accessed February 21, 2013.

• Grisey, Gerard. "Program Note - Gerard Grisey: Vortex Temporum". Monday Evening Concerts. mondayeveningconcerts.org/notes/grisey-vortex.html. Accessed February 21, 2013.

• Grisey, Gerard. Record notes. Erato STU71157, 1981.

• Johnston, Blair. "Gerard Grisey - biography". allmusic. www.allmusic.com/artist/gerard-grisey-mn0001379909. Accessed February 23, 2013.

• Moscovitch, Viviana. "French Spectral Music: An Introduction". Tempo, New Series, No. 200, April 1997. Cambridge University Press. http://www.jstor.org/stable/945265. Accessed February 20, 2013.

• Rose, Francois. "Introduction to the Pitch Organization of French Spectral Music". Perspectives of New Music, Vol. 34, No. 2 (Summer, 1996). http://www.jstor.org/stable/833469. Accessed February 20, 2013.

• "Gerard Grisey". Casa Ricordi. www.ricordi.com/catalogue/composers/gerard-grisey. Accessed February 20, 2013.

The Life and Works of

Gérard Grisey

Daniel Bergman - February 25, 2013