Structural Procedures in the piece A Twilight's Song by Matthias Pintscher

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DOI:

https://doi.org/10.35699/2317-6377.2020.15108

Keywords:

Structural analysis, Timbre exploration, Motivic development

Abstract

This paper proposes to analyze structural aspects of the piece A Twlilight’s Song by German composer Matthias Pintscher. The analysis will address three main aspects: motivic development, articulation of the global form and timbre exploration. Using as reference the film A Lesson by Pierre Boulez and texts by Steve McAdams, Kaija Saariaho and Panayiotis Kokoras, we aim to discover which techniques were used to achieve the overall form of the work.

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Author Biographies

Levy Oliveira, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brasil

Levy Oliveira (1993), born in Congonhas, Minas Gerais (Brazil), holds a Master's degree in Composition from UFMG, with João Pedro Oliveira as his mentor. His music has been presented around the world in several festivals such as Monaco Electroacoustique 2015 (Monaco, Monaco), International Days of Electronic Music - JIMEC 2015 (Amiens, France), MUSLAB 2015 and 2017 (Mexico City, Mexico), International Student Electronic Music Concert 2016 (Indiana, USA), Open Circuit 2016 (Liverpool, England), Tinta Fresca Festival 2016 (Belo Horizonte, Brazil), Cicle Somelgrup 2016 (Valencia, Spain), EMUFest 2016 and 2017 (Rome, Italy), New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival 2017 (New York, USA), Ecos Urbanos Festival (Mexico City, Mexico), MA/IN Festival (Matera, Italy). His piece Hyperestesia received the first prize at the Eduardo Bértola Composition Contest (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) and finalist at the Open Circuit Composition Prize (Liverpool, England). His piece Reminiscences received an Honorable Mention at the International Competition Métamorphoses, organized by Musiques & Recherches, and was one of the pieces selected for the XXII Biennial of Contemporary Brazilian Music, promoted by the National Foundation of Arts (Funarte). His orchestral piece An act of faith received an Honorable Mention at the Tinta Fresca 2016 Festival (Belo Horizonte, Brazil), promoted by the Minas Gerais Philharmonic Orchestra.

João Pedro Oliveira, Universidade da California em Santa Barbara (UCSB)

Portuguese-born composer Professor João Pedro Oliveira holds multiple degrees in various areas, in architecture (BS, Lisbon School of Fine Arts, 1981), organ performance (Superior Degree, Gregorian Institute, Lisbon, 1985), music theory (MA, SUNY/Stony Brook, 1988), and composition (MA, 1987 and PhD, 1990, SUNY/Stony Brook). From 1985 to 1990, he was a Fulbright Scholar in the US, and simultaneously held a fellowship from the Gulbenkian Foundation, a Portuguese foundation that supports the arts, sciences, and education. He has held various teaching posts: Assistant Professor at Aveiro University, Portugal (1990-1998); Associate Professor, Aveiro University (1998-2002); Full Professor, Aveiro University (2002-2019); and Full Professor, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil (2011-2019). Since 2020 is Corwin Chair of Composition in the  University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB, USA). Additionally, he has held several visiting appointments (Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, New Zealand, and the US).   Oliveira’s music explores multiple facets of the interaction between acoustic instruments and electronic sounds and, further, relationships between sound and images. His works include over 100 compositions published in various countries (opera, orchestral and choral, chamber music, solo instrumental pieces, tape/electroacoustic works, video, music for public spaces, orchestrations and arrangements). His discography includes 11 solo/monographic CDs, as well as other pieces recorded on over 50 CDs. Fifty-six pieces were composed on commission. Oliveira’s music is frequently performed nationally and internationally. In 2019 alone, there were over 100 performances in more than 20 countries. In competitions, Oliveira has been highly successful, garnering 54 prizes or Honorable Mentions. 25 were first prizes, among others, the Bourges Magisterium Prize, Giga-Hertz Award, Musica Nova Prize, and Metamorphosis Competition. Oliveira’s stature in the field is reflected in over 10 articles/book chapters about him and his music. In addition to the artistic work and accomplishments as a composer, Oliveira has also been active for many years as an author and co-author, having published a large-scale analysis book (1999) and 21 articles and chapters on a variety of topics.

References

Cohen, Dalia e Dubnov, Shlomo. 1997. “Gestalt phenomena in musical texture”. In: Leman, Marc (Org.). Music, Gestalt and Computing: Studies in Cognitive and Systematic Musicology. Berlin: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Kokoras, Panayiotis. 2007. “Towards a Holophonic Musical Texture”. Journal of Music and Meaning (JMM), (Dinamarca: University of Southern Denmark), v. 4, n. 5: 1-3.

Lerdahl, Fred. 1987. “Timbral Hierarchies”. Contemporary Music Review (Reino Unido: Harwood Academic Publishers GmbH), v.2: 135-160.

Marecos, Carlos. 2011. “Interacção entre estruturas intervalares e estruturas espectrais, na música instrumental/vocal”. Tese de doutorado, Aveiro: Universidade de Aveiro.

McAdams, Stephen; Saariaho, Kaija. 1985. “Qualities and functions of musical timbre”. In International Computer Music Conference (Canadá: Simon Frasier University): 367-374.

McAdams, Stephen. 1999. “Perspectives on the Contribution of Timbre to Musical Structure”. Computer Music Journal, n.3, v.23: 85-102.

Oliveira, Levy; Oliveira, João Pedro. 2018. “Procedimentos estruturais na obra Titanium de João Pedro Oliveira”. Música Hodie, n.1, v.17: 71-98.

Oliveira, João Pedro. 2010. Sistema, Intuição e Tempo: Por uma identidade composicional. Texto não publicado.

Oliveira, João Pedro. 2014. Titanium. França: Babel Scores. Partitura.

Pintscher, Matthias. 1997. A twilight’s song. Kassel: Bärenreiter. Partitura.

Rossetti, Danilo; Ferraz, Silvio. 2016. “Forma musical como um processo: do isomorfismo ao heteromorfismo”. Opus, [s.l.], v. 22, n. 1: 59-96.

Saariaho, Kaija. 1980. Im Traume. Hämeenlinna, Finland: Jasemusiikki. Partitura.

Saariaho, Kaija. 1987. “Timbre and Harmony: Interpolations of timbral structures”. Contemporary Music Review (Reino Unido: Harwood Academic Publishers GmbH), v. 2: 93-133.

Sommer, Andy. 2000. A lesson by Pierre Boulez. [Filme-vídeo]. Direção de Andy Sommer. DVD, 49min. França: EuroArts.

Strizich, Robert. 1991. “Texture in Post-World War II Music”. Ex Tempore. n.2, v.5, p. 1-21. www.ex-tempore.org/strizich91/strizich.htm

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Published

2020-10-30

How to Cite

Oliveira, Levy, and João Pedro Oliveira. 2020. “Structural Procedures in the Piece A Twilight’s Song by Matthias Pintscher”. Per Musi, no. 40 (October):1-19. https://doi.org/10.35699/2317-6377.2020.15108.

Issue

No. 40 (2020): General Topics

Section

Articles in Portuguese/Spanish

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