Dutilleux's Memory Concept and 'Progressive Growth' in 'Ainsi la nuit,' and an original composition, 'String Quartet No. 2 'Tikkun Chatzot'' for string quartet.

摘要

Dutilleux's string quartet Ainsi la nuit presents a series of evocative, nocturnal miniatures connected by an intricate weave of repeating musical elements. This gradual motivic transformation was described by Dutilleux as croissance progressive (progressive growth). Yet, the musical references form a unique sense of musical time where prefiguration, figuration and repetition haunt the listener's musical memory, often not in a progressive manner. Among the most audible and haunting of these, are a recurring chord and a series of harmonies which are presented in the introduction. Ainsi la nuit is considered as the quintessential manifestation of Dutilleux's memory concept, a musical manifestation of Proust's `involuntary memory', a manifestation of time, memory and dream befitting the avant-garde zeitgeist. The goal of this dissertation is to uncover the ways in which the memory process is encoded in the musical language of Ainsi la nuit by examining the conflict between the linear time frame of the piece and the musical unfolding of a lost memory.;This analysis examines in detail how the different kinds of thematic, timbral and temporal references interact with each other, as well as with the linear, non-referential music. In the first stage, the repeating musical elements that go under croissance progressive processes are carefully analyzed according to their structural hierarchy. The second stage focuses on the relationship between each movement as closed forms and the overall thread of repeated musical elements. The last movement of the piece receives a broader analysis as the processes of memory and repetition reaches to a climax.;My paper suggests that recurrences do not articulate a preconceived formal idea, but rather appear organically as part of a narrative of dream and memory. The recurrences of musical elements retain their traits of pitch and register such as to maintain the sense of recollection. Yet, the more elusive temporal and timbral elements are subjected to a wider degree of manipulations. This leads to contrasting temporal narratives: while motivic progression leads to the middle parts of the piece, a process of reverting to musical memory further in the past culminates in the last movement.