Gondwana (1980) is a defining musical composition of spectral music [1] for large orchestra composed by Tristan Murail using simulated synthesis to create a harmonic interpolation between an orchestrally synthesized chord derived from a simulated bell sound ( inharmonic) and a chord derived from a trombone sound ( harmonic). [2] This process is meant to evoke the shifting of continents and thus the piece is named after the former supercontinent Gondwana. [3]
The piece uses interpolation to make a smooth transformation on all musical parameters including spectral profile, envelope, and instrumental attacks. [4] The bell sounds were created through a Frequency Modulation (FM) synthesis with a single modulator affecting five carriers to create five different harmonies, these being connected by interpolated chords. [5] The components of the trombone's frequency spectrum was derived through a Fourier transform. [2]
The piece's long quiet or silent moments are shaped in "long, seamlessly evolving paragraphs" evoking the geological processes which created the continent. The first opening slowly transforms a chord before turning to trills. [6] The opening chord has been compared to the work of Messiaen. [1] [7] The piece, "incorporates a substantial passage directly modelled upon," Sibelius's Lemminkäinen in Tuonela from the Four Lemminkäinen Legends op.22 (1896). [8]
Sources
- ^ a b Staines, Joes (2010). The Rough Guide to Classical Music, p.372. ISBN 978-1-4053-8321-9. "The locus classicus of early spectral music".
- ^ a b Fineberg, Joshua (2000). Spectral Music: History and Techniques, p.69. (Overseas Publishers Association, published by license under the Harwood Academic Publishers imprint, ©2000) OCLC: 48862556. ISBN 978-90-5755-131-4.
- ^ Sanderson, Blaire. "Tristan Murail: Gondwana; Désintégrations; Time and Again". Retrieved 3 March 2022.
- ^ Fineberg (2000), p.108
- ^ Fineberg (2000), p.128-129.
- ^ " Murail Gondwana & Désintégrations", CompositionToday.com.
- ^ Griffiths, Paul (2011). Modern Music and After, p.344. ISBN 978-0-19-974050-5.
- ^ Grimley, Daniel M., ed. (2004). The Cambridge Companion to Sibelius, p.200. ISBN 978-0-521-89460-9.
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