The Musical Timespace
36
The gliding bundles of quarter-tones opening Livre pour Orchestre are heard
at 0'00-0'32 in the recording. In this microtonal polyphony, the instruments
merge in a flow of sound, but the flow is not without direction. The sound-
stream takes the shape of lines, curves and gestures evoking fleeting
harmonious colors in continuous transition.
The shapes of musical movement and the accumulations of gestures
leading to climactic eruptions are akin to the expressions of emotion
through melody and harmony in the European symphonic tradition; the
gliding, falling streams gain a lamento character comparable to the ex-
pression of sorrow in the last movement of Tjajkovskijs Sixth Symphony,
Adagio lamentoso.
Lutoslawski's invention of quarter-tone polyphony does not constitute a
break with European tradition, but a continuation of tradition by new
means. Conversely, the early works of Xenakis and Ligeti described in this
chapter constitute a break with tradition. Furthermore, both composers
dissociate themselves from a predominant line of thought in the musical
avantgarde of the 1950's.