Eclat-Multiples
Nigel Curtis
Has this work been amended since the old EIC recording (circa 1980)..?
Is Boulez likely to re-record it..? as I see from UE website he has
performed it on many tours over the years.
Nigel
Christopher Culver
> Has this work been amended since the old EIC recording (circa 1980)..?
I don't believe so. Various biographies through the 1980s and 1990s
refer to it as a piece still considered uncompleted upon its
appearance in the late '60s, but never mention recent work on it.
> Is Boulez likely to re-record it..? as I see from UE website he has
> performed it on many tours over the years.
One can only hope that Boulez's 85th birthday will bring some more
recordings of his works, but as Deutsche Grammophon is killing off the
"20/21" series, who knows how they will be released.
--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com
Jean-Marc Cluzeau
I read a few weeks ago a very interesting article on Eclat-Multiple by
Allen F. Edwards in the recently published "Pierre Boulez, techniques
d'écrtiture et enjeux esthétiques" (Editions Contrechamps-
Genève). This book is published in French; I am not aware of any
separate publication of this article in the English language.
This article is based upon documents available at the Paul Sacher
Foundation in Basel, where all Pierre Boulez's manuscripts are kept.
According to Allen F. Edwards, the sketch of the original plan for
Eclat-Multiples was that of a work for a full orchestra, including the
following sections:
Book 1 = Eclat (15 instruments of which 9 with resonant sounds, 6 with
sustained sounds)
Book 2 = 1st development (+ 9 violas & 1 basset horn)
2nd development (+ 4 trombones & 1 bass clarinet)
3rd development (+ 4 oboes & 1 solo violin)
4th development (+ 4 flutes & 1 clarinet)
5th development (+ 9 cellos & 1 double bass)
6th development (+ 4 trumpets & 1 clarinet)
Book 3 = Orchestra "tacet": 9 "resonant" instrument from
"Eclat" playing
Book 4 = Return to the full orchestra + 6 horns
Book 5 = Coda
This shows that Multiples has been so far composed only up to the 1st
development of Book 2!
In order to fit in the orgininal scheme, the 1st development of Book 2
should normally have lasted a few minutes minutes only, but during its
composition, for some reasons it took much bigger proportions.
Furthermore, the version of Eclat-Multiple recorded by the EIC (about
25 minutes) does not reflect the so far completed stage of the work.
According to Allen F. Edwards, the score available at the Paul Sacher
foundation includes 221 pages, while so far only pages 1 to 116 have
been performed and recorded. This shows that the performance of the
current version of the work would last about 50 minutes!
I do not know why Pierre Boulez never performed the complete version of
"Book 2 -1st development". Maybe he is dissatisfied with the
overall balance of work with the longer Multiples version.
Most probably, the very fact that "Book 2 -1st development" took
such a proportion invalidated the initial plan of the work (which
should then have lasted at least a couple of hours): Boulez, finding
himself in a dead end, stopped working on it.
What we can hope now is that, if Boulez abandoned the idea of completed
the work, at least he decides to perform and record what he has
composed so far, which is about twice as much as we know today of
Eclat-Multiples.
Jean-Marc
Joseph Henry
> Nigel Curtis wrote:
>> Has this work been amended since the old EIC recording (circa
>> 1980)..?
>>
>> Is Boulez likely to re-record it..? as I see from UE website he has
>> performed it on many tours over the years.
>>
>> Nigel
>
> I read a few weeks ago a very interesting article on Eclat-Multiple by
> Allen F. Edwards in the recently published "Pierre Boulez, techniques
> d'écrtiture et enjeux esthétiques" (Editions Contrechamps-
> Genève). This book is published in French; I am not aware of any
> separate publication of this article in the English language.
Sounds like this one:
http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0040-2982(198906)2%3A169%3C4%3AUBATPS%3E2.0.CO%3B2-T
[snip]
> I do not know why Pierre Boulez never performed the complete version
> of "Book 2 -1st development". Maybe he is dissatisfied with the
> overall balance of work with the longer Multiples version.
My understanding (based on hearsay) is that the remaining portions of the
score don't include a satisfactory endpoint.
> Most probably, the very fact that "Book 2 -1st development" took
> such a proportion invalidated the initial plan of the work (which
> should then have lasted at least a couple of hours): Boulez, finding
> himself in a dead end, stopped working on it.
Sadly, I've never encountered an interview in which Boulez mentioned a
desire -- however low a priority -- to return to "Éclat/Multiples." And
this from a guy who still talks about revising and/or extending works like
"cummings is der Dichter" and "Domaines!"
> What we can hope now is that, if Boulez abandoned the idea of
> completed the work, at least he decides to perform and record what he
> has composed so far, which is about twice as much as we know today of
> Eclat-Multiples.
[fingers crossed]
I like the descriptions Edwards provides for some of the
written-but-never-performed sections, particularly the running crescendos
and de-crescendos. Sounds like he was anticipating "Répons" with that.
Joseph Henry
mark_str...@yahoo.co.uk
> the score available at the Paul Sacher
> foundation includes 221 pages, while so far only pages 1 to 116 have
> been performed and recorded.
Thanks for all this info Jean-Marc. Last night I looked at the
performing score in the British LIbrary. It goes to page 130 and ends
abruptly as if the pages were torn out. In fact you can see the clef
change warnings that at the start of #131 the violas would be going
from the alto to treble clef.
I could not see any markings or commentary about where the recording
ends but I got the feeling that it was about 10 pages previously.
Talking about violas, has anybody heard the re-working Boulez did of
Messagesquisses for viola ensemble..? It's in the UE catalogue.
Mark Stratford
Jean-Marc Cluzeau
mark_str...@yahoo.co.uk wrote:
> >
> Talking about violas, has anybody heard the re-working Boulez did of
> Messagesquisses for viola ensemble..? It's in the UE catalogue.
>
This work was premiered in July 2000 by violist Christophe Desjardins
as a soloist at the Festival International d'Art Lyrique in
Aix-en-Provence. I am not aware of any recording of this version of the
work.
Other Boulez's reworkings fall into this category of unrecorded works:
Dialogue de l'ombre double versions for flute (2002) and for saxophone
(2000) and Anthème 1 for solo viola (2006)
Jean-Marc
Nigel Curtis
In about 1992 or 93 Boulez toured his 'Livre pour Cordes' with the
Vienna Philharmonic. I'll never forget the juicy, fat sound when they
did it here at the Proms.
I believe a laser disk was made from their Salzburg perf but I don't
think it was recorded on CD which is a great loss to all - especially
since I think it included revisions to the version he recorded in the
1970s .
Christopher Culver
> I believe a laser disk was made from their Salzburg perf but I don't
> think it was recorded on CD which is a great loss to all - especially
> since I think it included revisions to the version he recorded in the
> 1970s .
The video is widely available on file-sharing networks, and the sound
is quite acceptable.
Joseph Henry
Can't help you with that particular recording, but a1999 CSO performance of
"Livre pour cordes" is available on a 2-CD Boulez tribute:
http://www.cso.org/main.taf?erube_fh=csocom&csocom.submit.viewProdLrg=1&csocom.productid=15422
The tribute also includes a Boulez-penned fanfare that develops material
from "Initiale."
Joseph Henry
david...@aol.com
Jean-Marc Cluzeau wrote:
> I read a few weeks ago a very interesting article on Eclat-Multiple by
> Allen F. Edwards in the recently published "Pierre Boulez, techniques
> d'écrtiture et enjeux esthétiques" (Editions Contrechamps-
> Genève). This book is published in French; I am not aware of any
> separate publication of this article in the English language.
The book is here:
http://www.contrechamps.ch/boulez2.html
-david gable