The text (in Latin) is from the Roman CatholicRequiem Mass: Lux aeterna luceat eis, Domine, cum sanctis tuis in aeternum, quia pius es. Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine; et lux perpetua luceat eis, which means "May everlasting light shine upon them, O Lord, with thy saints in eternity, for thou art merciful. Grant them eternal rest, O Lord, and may everlasting light shine upon them."
The piece features many of Ligeti's characteristic styles, including:
Micropolyphony, which Ligeti describes as "The complex polyphony of the individual parts[,] embodied in a harmonic-musical flow in which the harmonies do not change suddenly, but merge into one another; one clearly discernible interval combination is gradually blurred, and from this cloudiness it is possible to discern a new interval combination taking shape."
Cluster chords, where every note within a given interval is sung simultaneously
The piece can be seen as divided into three distinct parts, as designated by text:
Lux aeterna luceat eis [m.1–36]: The sopranos and altos sing very similar parts in Ligeti's characteristic style of micropolyphony. Each part has the same sequence of notes, separated by small time intervals. The tenors enter about halfway through this section, singing in the same range as the women.
Domine cum sanctis tuis in aeternum... [m.37–86]: The basses enter, singing in very high falsetto, showing Ligeti's focus on timbre and texture. This is followed by a section where only the men's voices sing, and then the women enter on the text "Quia pius es." The sopranos sing "Requiem aeternam dona eis" in a high register and gradually fade away.
Domine et lux perpetua luceat eis [m.87–126]: The basses again sing the text "Domine," this time in a very low register, briefly forming the only detectable traditional chord in the whole piece (D♯ minor), together with the altos in a low register. Sopranos and tenors enter in a high register. All parts gradually fade, and the piece ends with seven bars of silence.
It is characteristic of nearly all Ligeti's mature works that the subdivisions of the basic beat keep changing, which contributes to their beatless, floating feeling. In this piece, each of the sixteen voices is given a characteristic subdivision of the quarter-note beat:
Sopranos
Altos
Tenors
Basses
Voice 1
sextuplets (6)
quintuplets (5)
sixteenth notes (4)
sextuplets (6)
Voice 2
quintuplets (5)
sixteenth notes (4)
sextuplets (6)
quintuplets (5)
Voice 3
sixteenth notes (4)
sextuplets (6)
quintuplets (5)
sixteenth notes (4)
Voice 4
sextuplets (6)
quintuplets (5)
sixteenth notes (4)
sextuplets (6)
External linksedit
Michael D. Searby: Ligeti's Stylistic Crisis: Transformation in His Musical Style, 1974–1985
Valerio Benz: György Ligetis "Lux Aeterna" – Chormusik auf Weltraumodyssee SWR 2014
aeterna, ligeti, this, article, includes, list, references, related, reading, external, links, sources, remain, unclear, because, lacks, inline, citations, please, help, improve, this, article, introducing, more, precise, citations, june, 2017, learn, when, re. This article includes a list of references related reading or external links but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations June 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message Lux Aeterna is a piece for a 16 part mixed choir written by Gyorgy Ligeti in 1966 It is most famous for its use in Stanley Kubrick s 1968 film 2001 A Space Odyssey Lux AeternaChoral music by Gyorgy Ligeti2002 sheet music coverEnglishEternal LightTextLux aeternaLanguageLatinComposed1966 1966 Scoring16 part mixed choirThe text in Latin is from the Roman Catholic Requiem Mass Lux aeterna luceat eis Domine cum sanctis tuis in aeternum quia pius es Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine et lux perpetua luceat eis which means May everlasting light shine upon them O Lord with thy saints in eternity for thou art merciful Grant them eternal rest O Lord and may everlasting light shine upon them The piece features many of Ligeti s characteristic styles including Micropolyphony which Ligeti describes as The complex polyphony of the individual parts embodied in a harmonic musical flow in which the harmonies do not change suddenly but merge into one another one clearly discernible interval combination is gradually blurred and from this cloudiness it is possible to discern a new interval combination taking shape Cluster chords where every note within a given interval is sung simultaneously A focus on timbre rather than melody harmony or rhythmAnalysis editThe piece can be seen as divided into three distinct parts as designated by text Lux aeterna luceat eis m 1 36 The sopranos and altos sing very similar parts in Ligeti s characteristic style of micropolyphony Each part has the same sequence of notes separated by small time intervals The tenors enter about halfway through this section singing in the same range as the women Domine cum sanctis tuis in aeternum m 37 86 The basses enter singing in very high falsetto showing Ligeti s focus on timbre and texture This is followed by a section where only the men s voices sing and then the women enter on the text Quia pius es The sopranos sing Requiem aeternam dona eis in a high register and gradually fade away Domine et lux perpetua luceat eis m 87 126 The basses again sing the text Domine this time in a very low register briefly forming the only detectable traditional chord in the whole piece D minor together with the altos in a low register Sopranos and tenors enter in a high register All parts gradually fade and the piece ends with seven bars of silence It is characteristic of nearly all Ligeti s mature works that the subdivisions of the basic beat keep changing which contributes to their beatless floating feeling In this piece each of the sixteen voices is given a characteristic subdivision of the quarter note beat Sopranos Altos Tenors BassesVoice 1 sextuplets 6 quintuplets 5 sixteenth notes 4 sextuplets 6 Voice 2 quintuplets 5 sixteenth notes 4 sextuplets 6 quintuplets 5 Voice 3 sixteenth notes 4 sextuplets 6 quintuplets 5 sixteenth notes 4 Voice 4 sextuplets 6 quintuplets 5 sixteenth notes 4 sextuplets 6 External links editMichael D Searby Ligeti s Stylistic Crisis Transformation in His Musical Style 1974 1985 Valerio Benz Gyorgy Ligetis Lux Aeterna Chormusik auf Weltraumodyssee SWR 2014 Lux aeterna Hyperion Records 1999 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Lux Aeterna Ligeti amp oldid 1144493234, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
