Colloque – Boulez : l’invention au pouvoir ? Les années 1975-1995 – « …quasi vidua … ». On Anthèmes 2

Pierre-Michel MengerCollège de FranceAnnée 2023-2024Sociologie du travail créateurColloque - Boulez : l'invention au pouvoir ? Les années 1975-1995 - « …quasi vidua … ». On Anthèmes 2Session 4 : La musique en questionIntervenant :Gerald BennettFondateur et Ancien Directeur de l'Institute of Computer Music and Sound Technology, Université des Arts de ZurichColloque organisé pour le centenaire de la naissance de Pierre Boulez par le Pr Pierre-Michel Menger, chaire Sociologie du travail créateur, et Nicolas Donin, professeur de musicologie à l'université de Genève.Avec le soutien de la Fondation du Collège de France et de son grand mécène LVMH.RésuméPierre Boulez reminds us that one of the sources of the form of Anthèmes 1 is the plainchant Lamentations of Jeremiah, which he sang in his youth during the First Nocturne service on Holy Thursday. The most striking feature of this piece is the setting of the Hebrew letters that separate the various verses of the text. Boulez translates this idea by using the harmonics of the solo violin to separate the sections of Anthèmes, referring to the harmonics as "letters." He insists that he uses only the structure of the Lamentations in his music, not their content. In reality, however, the music itself often suggests the opposite, as examples will show. It is unlikely that a reader as sensitive as Boulez would refer to a work with such expressive content solely for formal reasons.During a discussion of Anthèmes 2 with Peter Szendy on the occasion of its first French performance in October 1997, Boulez explains why he abandoned his belief that music had to be athematic. Jonathan Goldman has admirably described and illustrated what constitutes a "theme" in the Anthèmes pieces. It is important to note how the use of themes influences the task of composition by adding an expressive dimension. At the same time, the choice of digital techniques to create the electronic accompaniment in Anthèmes 2 strongly defines and limits its expressive potential. The thematic material in the piece fulfills many functions: the articulation of large-scale form, the furnishing of coherent musical patterns on which to elaborate, dramatic contrast, historical reference, the creation of a musical-metaphorical context for the composition. All of these will be discussed with examples.