Pierre Boulez ...explosante-fixe...

IRCAM/Centre Pompidou-Grande salle-Paris

France

BIT20 Ensemble
IRCAM Computer Music Design Andrew Gerzso (1991-1993)
IRCAM Computer Music Production Carlo Laurenzi
IRCAM Sound Engineer Jérémie Henrot

Program Notes (excerpt)

A part of a supplement published in 1972 by the British journal Tempo in memoriam to Stravinsky, …explosante-fixe… is a “prolific” exploitation typical of Pierre Boulez’ art. From the initial publication, the composer created several successive versions that have since been forgotten. The current version of the work uses three sections— Originel, Transitoire VII, and Transitoire V—connected by two brief electronic music passages. Entirely automated with a score following program, the electro-acoustic part created at IRCAM by Andrew Gerzso, is used here not only for the transformation of certain solo flute performances, but also to spatialized the sound via a network of loud speakers. In keeping with the ancient tradition of tributes, …explosante-fixe… adopts the idea of the cannon, here it is not used in its traditional form but as a basic principle, as explained by the composer: “The idea was to confine several instruments to a single nucleus; instruments presented in different registers, each one circling it differently. The nucleus exploded in these different paths, but each musical range was perfectly fixed. I therefore baptized the work, literally: …explosante-fixe… (Pierre Boulez, text and its pre-text, interview with Peter Szendy, Genesis n° 4, 1993).

Alain Galliari

Pierre Boulez : ...explosante-fixe...