This presentation reveals Henri Dutilleux’s systematic thinking in the harmonic dimension, incorporating the neo-Riemannian device of the ‘Tonnetz’ into an analysis of Sur le même accord, composed by him in 2002 for violin and orchestra. It is true that Dutilleux was independent of any modern music
movements, notably of the serialism in the 1950s and 1960s. However, this
independence was not synonymous with a detachment from contemporary interests.
In hindsight, it is evident that Dutilleux was among the composers who have
sought in the post-tonal era a new system of writing music both rigorously and
freely. In its harmonic dimension, Sur
le même accord can be considered as one of the tidemarks of the systematic
thinking peculiar to Dutilleux. As suggested by its title, the harmonic design of Sur le même accord depends entirely on the transformation of the
pivot chord of the six notes. First, the presenter will examine the pivot
chord on the ‘Tonnetz’ to identify it as a hexatonic collection composed of
three fifths: E-flat/B-flat, G/D, and B/F-sharp. Second, the presenter will
model, again on the ‘Tonnetz’, the three types of its transformational
possibilities: ‘transposition’, by which the pivot chord can take only four
positions; ‘inversion’, by which the pivot chord can change its collection
from hexatonic to octatonic; and ‘multiplication’, by which the pivot-chord
can enlarge its collection from hexatonic to enneatonic as well as from
octatonic to dodecatonic. Finally, the presenter will demonstrate that the harmonic
dimension of Sur le même accord can
be understood as various realizations of different transformational
possibilities of the pivot chord. It is worth noting that, in this respect, the solo violin may be a
symbol of this freedom. It flies freely on the harmonic background constructed
in this systematic way. |
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