DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-2249.2009.00274.

jonathan goldman

Charting MÉMORIALE: Paradigmatic Analysis and Harmonic

Schemata in Boulez’s ... EXPLOSANTE-FIXE ... musa_274 25..61

Analytical Rationale
In this article, Pierre Boulez’s Mémoriale (... explosante-fixe ... originel) (1985)
will be analysed using various kinds of charts and tables.1 This work is an
outgrowth of a project called ‘Score Charting, Segmented Listening’ (‘Mise en
tableau, écoute segmentée’) undertaken by the Analysis of Musical Practices
(APM) team at the Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique
(IRCAM) in which I have participated since September 2005. The approach I
adopt therefore emphasises the path leading from the score (as well as the
recording) to the various charts in which different aspects of the score are
represented.The APM team, directed by Nicolas Donin, is developing a software
tool capable of producing multimedia charts, and in particular ‘audible’ para-
digmatic analyses of musical pieces. In a way, of course, this project is an attempt
to adhere to Nicolas Ruwet’s injunction to furnish explicit criteria for segmen-
tation, grouping and any other analytical decisions which give rise to the process
of interpretation.2 What will become apparent from the analysis provided here
is the use, in this piece as well as in others by Boulez from the 1980s onwards,
of polar notes – that is, structural nuclei around which other pitches cluster like
moons around a planet – as the axial points of musical form. In Mémoriale, the
opposition between groups of appoggiaturas and long polar notes is decisive for
the articulation of form. This in turn is related to one of the possible meanings
of the title ‘... explosante-fixe ...’.
It might seem unpromising to study works from Boulez’s later period by
compiling charts and tables.The chart is thought to be the precompositional tool
of choice for works from the purely serial phase of the composer’s stylistic
development, especially those from the brief period of the so-called generalised
series, the emblematic work of which is Structures pour deux pianos (1952). Later
works by Boulez, as commentators such as Jean-Jacques Nattiez (1993) and
Célestin Deliège (2004) have argued, reveal a new realm of stylistic freedom, and
of corresponding unanalysability. It is generally thought that even if, in his later
works, Boulez remains faithful to serial principles, the rigour and seeming
automatism of, for example, Structures 1a gives way to compositional freedom,
on the one hand, and to accommodations made in favour of particular listening
strategies – to what could be called an aesthetic prediction incorporated into
the poietic process – on the other. This amounts to a kind of compositional

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and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA
26 jonathan goldman

dramaturgy which repudiates the integral serialist premise of the communica-

bility of pure structure.
Of course, works from Boulez’s later years are as highly structured as ever.The
‘system’, as the composer explained in a lecture presentation during the course
of the 1980s,3 represents the link between the initial idea and its realisation in the
form of the work. The role of the system is one not of immutable law, but rather
of a ‘crutch ... for the imagination’, a system of fairly rigid rules within which the
limits of freedom are clearly laid out:

This amounts to considering the system as an aid ... without which it would not
be possible to truly conceive of an imaginary world: I choose, therefore I am; I
only invented the system in order to supply myself with a certain type of material;
I must then eliminate or modify it as a function of what I judge to be good,
beautiful, necessary.4

Finding matrices which might provide the framework for the famously free
ornamentation that abounds in the later works is a step towards understanding
the two distinct steps of Boulez’s compositional technique: first, invention of the
system; and second, its realisation, giving concrete expression to the composer’s
penchant for ‘permutations’ – that is, variations which are nonetheless ‘strictly
controlled: numerically controlled’.5
Another reason for applying semiotically inspired paradigmatic analysis to
Boulez’s later works is that the composer has in recent times become a champion
of thematic writing: a great many pages of the Collège de France lectures,
collected in Leçons de musique (Boulez 2005) are devoted to the notion of theme.
Above all, Boulez believes that thematic writing should furnish the components
of music with an identifiable contour, nuance, timbre and phrasing, thus pro-
viding each formal entity with a characteristic physiognomy. Musical form arises
from the dialectical play of surprise and recognition as these themes reappear in
varied guises. Boulez’s own segmentation of the material is what invites the
paradigmatic approach, which reassembles like elements with like and enables
the study of a theme’s evolution.
After a short general overview of Mémoriale, a paradigmatic analysis of its solo
flute part will be presented. It will be followed by a close examination of the
different harmonic fields which serve to articulate the work’s form. Then, as a
function of the segmentation derived from this analysis, these articulations will
be charted in order to show how a piece which possesses an apparently free and
improvisatory character in fact hides a highly rigorous underlying structure, not
unlike the models previously explored in the context of total serialism.

Overview of Mémoriale
Mémoriale (... explosante-fixe ... originel) began as a piece for solo flute, this
component having been completed in its entirety before Boulez chose to add a
number of other instrumental parts (for two horns, three violins, two violas and

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 Charting MÉMORIALE 27

cello). As a fully composed solo piece subsequently expanded into a work for
ensemble, it consciously follows the example of Luciano Berio, who developed a
number of his Sequenze into the Chemins for soloist and ensemble while leaving
the original solo parts more or less intact.6 Mémoriale’s texture, then, is that of a
single instrument provided with a supporting ensemble whose role is to prolong,
extend, harmonise, sustain and reiterate ideas introduced in the solo part. The
horns and strings nonetheless conform more closely to a kind of ‘unplugged’ live
electronic resource than a traditional mode of accompaniment.7 To this end the
pitches of the accompaniment all derive from the flute part in obvious, audibly
clear ways: indeed it is as if the flute is understood to be distributing its pitch
materials among the other instruments who in turn respond by punctuating its
more complete thematic statements. It is therefore a reasonable assumption to
make that the complete form of the piece is essentially laid out in the flute part.
The subtitle ‘... explosante-fixe ... originel’ refers to the work’s origins in a
two-page tribute to Stravinsky published in Tempo magazine in 1972 (Ex. 1)
which took the shape of a work for unspecified instruments entitled ... explosante-
fixe. ...8 As may be seen in Ex. 2, a musical idea marked originel appears in the
centre of the page surrounded by the suggestive mode of graphic presentation.
Boulez has explained on many occasions that the cartouche-encased E – ‘Es’ in
German pitch nomenclature – was meant as a tribute to Stravinsky (that is, ‘S’
for Stravinsky). As will be shown below, this seven-note series, or more precisely
the single pitch class E followed by a six-note series, lies at the heart of
Mémoriale.

Paradigmatic Analysis of Thematic Content in Mémoriale

What is also audibly transparent concerning Mémoriale is that it is constructed in
a kind of puzzle form. This term was itself coined by Boulez to describe works
that consist of contrasting passages placed end to end without transitions, in a
musical equivalent of the cinematic jump-cut. The term ‘puzzle’ could be appro-
priately applied, for example, to describe Stravinsky’s Symphonies forWind Instru-
ments.9 Stravinsky’s piece was indeed a conscious model for ... explosante-fixe ... ,
the forerunner of Mémoriale, as Boulez acknowledged in an interview with
Rossana Dalmonte:

Because I was working at the same time on ... explosante-fixe ... and Rituel, the two
works have parallels. The first idea was taken from Stravinsky’s Symphonies for
Wind Instruments, in which there is a clarinet call in the high register, and then
those chords – a long one followed by a short one – always the same.When I heard
that piece by Stravinsky, I said to myself: ‘he’s always doing that, he keeps
repeating exactly the same thing, couldn’t one vary that?’ For example, harmoni-
cally, or by adding a decay.10

The thematic character of Mémoriale had previously been addressed by the

composer in the course of a public lecture delivered in 1991. In particular, he
drew attention to the salient features of each of the four principal components.11

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28 jonathan goldman

Ex. 1 ... explosante-fixe ...

Ex. 2 Originel idea from ... explosante-fixe ...

ORIGINEL (début ou fin)

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 Charting MÉMORIALE 29

Despite their varied modes of presentation, all four remain readily identifiable,
both aurally and visually. Labelled alphabetically in order of appearance in the
score, element A, marked ‘rapide, stable’, is a legato phrase with soft dynamics
(Ex. 3). The faster second theme, B, is marked ‘modéré, modulé’. In addition to
a more moderate dynamic level, the marcato semiquavers which characterise this
element are grouped in decreasing order (4–3–2–1, as indicated in Ex. 4).
Element C, marked ‘lent, souple’ and characterised by a homophonic accompa-
niment, embraces a number of longer rhythmic values in groups of between two
and seven notes. Played trilled with a flutter-tongued tremolo, these groupings
always arrive on a unison E, the central pitch class of the piece. This pattern in
turn confers a kind of cadential role on this theme, and indeed its function is
different from that of the other three elements, as will be further explored below.
The final instance of this figure, shown in Ex. 5, is significant in that it utilises all
seven notes of the originel series (see again Ex. 2). Finally element D (Ex. 6)
comprises a combination of quavers and semiquavers followed by a longer note.
It is marked ‘rapide, irrégulier, vacillant’ and has the fastest overall tempo.

Paradigmatic Analysis of the Solo Flute Part of Mémoriale

The chart reproduced in Ex. 7, taken from screen shots of the multimedia tool
described at the beginning of this article, presents a paradigmatic analysis of the
solo flute part using a segmentation derived from the division of the music into
the four designated thematic units.12

Ex. 3 Element A (‘rapide, stable’)

Rapide, stable = 120
3

Ex. 4 Element B (‘modéré, modulé’)

. . Modéré, Modulé = 90 rall. . . . . . . = 60 ( = 120)

Ex. 5 Element C (‘lent, souple’)

en ralentissant beaucoup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
29 Lent, souple = 60

morendo

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Ex. 6 Element D (‘rapide, irrégulier, vacillant’)

Rapide, irrégulier, vacillant = 120/132
4 5 5 5 5 ralentir . . .jusqu’a
5

Ex. 7 Paradigmatic analysis of Mémoriale using score charting tool

Rapide, stable = 120 Modéré. Modulé = 90
3 1 rall. = 60 ( = 120)
ralentir jusqu’à

= 90 ( = 120) rall. = 60

Rapide, stable = 120

céder

Rall. = 60
5 Modéré, Modulé = 90

Rapide, stable = 120

8

Rapide, stable = 120 céder

11 5

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Ex. 7 Continued

Lent, souple = 60 Rapide, irrégulier, vacillant = 120/132

suspendu 5 5 rallentir
3 4

long
5
5 5

Lent ( = 60) Rapide, irrégulier, vacillant = 120/132

suspendu 3
6 7

long

3 3 3 céder
ten .

9 Rapide, irrégulier, vacillant = 120/132

ten .

3
3

Lent, souple = 60 en rallentissant

10 suspendu

long

Rapide = 120/132 irrégulier, vacillant

12 3
3

3 3
3

The Element C Passages: Progression from Clean to Blurry

Before interpreting the results of the paradigmatic analysis, some further obser-
vations regarding element C are worthy of consideration due to its unique formal
status. Altogether this quasi-cadential formula occurs six times, once at the very
end of the piece, while each of the other three elements (A, B and D) appears
twelve times. The process within which element C is embedded is in fact
connected to the acoustic sense of the word ‘analysis’, that is, the decomposition

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Ex. 7 Continued

Modéré, Modulé = 90
13 accel.

rall. = 60

. = 120 rall. . = 90 accel. = 90 ralentir jusqu’á

ten .

Modéré tempo
Modulé accel.120 = 90 120
16 = 90 accel. tempo = 60

sub.

Rapide, stable = 120

17

Modéré
Modulé accel. rit. tempo . = 120
. = 90 . = 120 . = 90
19

of a complex sound into its component parts. Boulez’s increasing interest in the
science of acoustics and its application to music may of course be traced to his
earliest proposals for the founding of IRCAM dating from the early 1970s.
Indeed it was around this time that the electroacoustic transformation of sound
began to leave a mark on his instrumental writing, albeit sometimes in a rather
metaphorical form, in the presence of adapted electroacoustic techniques such as
frequency shifting, phaser effects, filters, delays, harmonisers, resonators, and so
on.

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Ex. 7 Continued

3 3
3 3 rallentir jusqu’á

3 3
3 3

Lent = 60 Rapide, irrégulier, vacillant = 120/132

14 suspendu 15 3

long

3 3
3 3

18 Lent = 56 en ralentissant
suspendu

long
souple

During his 1991 lecture, the composer explained that the accompanying
instruments in Mémoriale had been chosen so as to create a continuum between
what might be termed a ‘straight’ sonority (by which was meant a clean, focused,
non-vibrato sound) and a more ‘fuzzy’ one (involving blurring or muffling effects
such as vibrato, tremolo, muting or flutter-tonguing). As Mémoriale progresses,
the overall sound envelope consequently follows a trajectory from clean to blurry
or blurry to clean, depending on which motivic cells are being considered. The
horns, according to this schema, remain at one extreme of the clean sound, while
the flute, which for much of the piece plays using trills or flutter-tonguing

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Ex. 7 Continued
rall. tempo = 90 rall.
( = 90) = 90 . = 90

Rapide, stable = 120

20

céder

3
3

céder
Rapide, stable = 120
26

Modéré
Modulé . = 120 accel.
rall. . = 90 . = 120 rall. = 60
28

. = 90 accel. . = 120 rall.

= 60
ten .

technique, occupies the other. Due to the variety of playing styles available to it,
the string group fluctuates between these two outer limits, approaching the
timbre of the horns when adopting a naturale and non-vibrato playing style, and
the timbre of the flutter-tongued flute when playing either tremolo sul tasto or
trilled sul ponticello. Given this acoustic framework, music analysis and sonic
analysis may thus be felt to intersect in this work. With specific reference to
element C, the strings begin in a more ‘normal’ register prior to accommodating
an expanding range of tremolos, trills, sul ponticello and sul tasto techniques. The
progressive effect may be gauged with reference to Exs. 8–10 as shown below.
Thus in the third occurrence reproduced in Ex. 8 (C3), only one instrument,
the first viola, is blurred. Ex. 9 by comparison summarises the string

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Ex. 7 Continued

Rapide, irrégulier, vacillant = 120/132

3 3 3 céder
21
.
3 3

Rapide, irrégulier, vacillant = 120/132

25

Rapide, irrégulier, vacillant = 120/132 céder

3 3 3 3
27 3
3 3

3 3 3 3 3
3

Lent, souple = 60
en ralentissant beaucoup
29

morendo

accompaniment of each of the six occurrences, while the table shown in Ex. 10
makes clear the near-linear progression.
Global Observations Arising from the Paradigmatic Analysis
A cursory examination of the three thematic elements A, B and D reveals that each
theme comprises a certain number of small note values or appoggiaturas followed
by a longer note. This leads to the formulation of two potential hypotheses:

Hypothesis 1: These longer notes function as polar notes – in other words, the
trajectory of the piece is based on the sequential progression from long note to
long note.

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Ex. 8 Third occurrence of element C

Lent, souple = 60 en ralentissant . . . . . . . . . .

10 Suspendu

Fl. solo
long

Hns long

non vibrato long

pos. nat.

non vibrato long

pos. nat.
3 Vns

non vibrato long

pos. nat.

(sul tasto) long

2 Vlas
non vibrato long
pos. nat.

non vibrato

Vlc.
long

Hypothesis 2: There is a particular significance attaching to the playing style of

these longer notes according to whether they are articulated naturale, tremolo, or as
a trill.

Ex. 11 illustrates these hypotheses with instances drawn from elements A, B and
D in each of the three possible playing styles. The first hypothesis implies that

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Ex. 9 Continuum from clean to blurry sound in Mémoriale

Lent ( = 56), calme Lent ( = 56), calme en ralentissan t

Lent ( = 56), calme
3 long 6 long 10 long

All strings non vibrato All strings non vibrato * Viola 1 sul tasto trem.
pos. nat. pos. nat.

Lent ( = 56), calme en ralentissan t Lent ( = 56), calme en ralentissan t

suspendu suspendu
14 long 18 long

* Violin 2 sul tasto trem. * Violin 2 sul pont. trill

* Viola 2 sul pont. trill * Violin 3 sul tasto trem.
* Viola 1 sul pont. trill
* Viola 2 sul tasto trem.

Lent ( = 56), calme en ralentissant beaucoup

29

morendo
* Violin 1 sul tasto trem.
* Violin 2 sul pont. trill
* Violin 3 sul pont. trill
* Viola 1 sul tasto trem.
* Viola 2 sul pont. trill
* Cello sul tasto trem.

Ex. 10 Passage from clean to blurry sound in element C

number of
‘veiled’ 6
instruments 5

4
3
2
1
occurrence: C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6

each of the thematic units A, B and D has a binary structure: an initial group of
shorter notes followed by one long note value (played either naturale, tremolo or
trilled). It is important to observe, however, that this assumption is not exclu-
sively an empirical judgement arising from observation of the neutral level of the
score, but rather a stylistic criterion based on acquaintance with Boulez’s other
compositions, especially those from the same period as Mémoriale. Typically, in
the case of works dating from the 1970s, phrases begin with a short note or
appoggiatura, have a long sustained or trilled component in the centre and are
brought to a conclusion via a few shorter note values. More importantly,

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Ex. 11 Appogiatura + polar notes (explosante + fixe)

Rapide, stable = 120
3

Rapide, irrégulier, vacillant = 120/132

1 rall. accel.

Rapide, irrégulier, vacillant = 120/132

4 5 5 5 5 ralentir
5

however, the long note at the end of each unit clearly carries a greater structural
weight than what precedes it, and so may be considered a polar note into whose
‘aura’ (to borrow Boulez’s term) the remaining elements are drawn.13 While it
conforms in part to this model, element C is actually more clearly articulated by
the chordal sequence which precedes its recurrent unison E.
Commenting on the role of extended trills in relation to this characteristic
phrase pattern, Célestin Deliège has remarked that ‘among other procedures for
abandoning a polar tone, one notes that Boulez often embellishes the tone with
a few brief decay-like tones; the opposite situation, that a trilled or otherwise
sustained tone is simply followed by a rest, is actually quite rare’.14 One might
extend Deliège’s observation by asserting that the same statement is equally true
of the means by which such trills are approached. This type of melodic profile
mirrors, on a macroscopic level, the tripartite impulse-resonance-decay structure
of any sound and thus constitutes another example of acoustic metaphor in
Boulez’s music. The three paradigms relating to elements A, B and D could thus
be subsumed under a higher-level bipartite paradigm akin to the first two of these
three structural components. In this sense, shorter notes followed by long polar
notes could be likened to the impulse and resonance stages of a sound.
Francesco Buscemi has taken this reasoning one step further by interpreting
Mémoriale as having a bipartite form consisting of ‘impulse’ (impulso) followed by
‘resonance’ (risonanza).This reading has the merit of elevating the appoggiatura–
long note contour to a higher level of structure – in fact to a kind of paradigm of
paradigms for the entire work. In Buscemi’s view, it is necessary to take as valid
the hypothesis that the slow sections, that is, those demarcated by element C,
delimit the form, ‘since the first five occurrences are practically equidistant,
whereas the last one (which coincides with the end of the piece) appears much
later. A preliminary division would therefore be: 0–18 (impulse): 19–29 (reso-

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 Charting MÉMORIALE 39

nance)’.15 Of course this produces a rather summary segmentation, but also

carries the distinct advantage of highlighting the ‘explosante-fixe’ contour on
several structural levels.

Analysis of the Pitch Content of the Polar Notes

With respect to the process of paradigmatic analysis, it is appropriate at this point
to make a more precise examination of pitch organisation using the same
segmentation but replacing the complete musical units with the name of their
corresponding pitch centres. Ex. 12, which applies the two hypotheses advanced
above, presents a series of syntagmatic symbols (A1, A2, B1, B2, and so on) in
order to distinguish each individual long note along with its specific playing style.

Ex. 12 Paradigmatic analysis with syntagmatic symbols showing pitches of polar

notes and associated playing style

Element A Element B Element C Element D

A1=C nat. B1=E trem.
B2=E trem.
A2=D nat.
A3=B nat. C1=E trem./trill D1=A trill
B3=A trill C2=E trem./trill D2=D nat.
D3=D nat.
A4=E trem.
A5=F trem. D4=B nat.
C3=E trem./trill
A6=G trill D5=E trem.
D6=D trem.
B4=A nat.
B5=C nat.
B6=C nat.
C4=E trem./trill D7=A nat.
D8=F nat.
D9=A nat.
B7=E trill
A7=B trem.
A8=B trem. C5=E trem./trill
B8=C trem.
B9=D trem.
A9=F nat.
A10=C nat.
A11=A nat. D10=B trill
D11=A trem.
A12=C trill D12=A trem.
B10=F nat.
B11=G nat.
B12=E nat. C6=E trem./trill

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(Discussion of the element C paradigm will be deferred for the time being.) As
shown in Ex. 13, a total of 36 long notes may be assembled; considering these as
six hexachords and labelling them S1, S2, ... , S6 then produces the result shown
in Ex. 14. Although these six series have little in common with each other in
terms of transpositional, inversional or retrograde equivalences, their mutual
derivation can be confirmed by returning to the originel epigram whose pitches
are G, D, A, B and E, preceded by the encased E (see again Ex. 2).Transposing
this series onto each of its elements yields the outcome shown in Ex. 15.
Each series is identified by a label (S(E), S(G), and so on) in which the pitch
classes in parentheses indicate their respective first notes. For each line, the six
notes which follow the parenthetical note correspond to the pitch content of one
of the Sn series defined by the polar notes of Mémoriale as shown in Ex. 14; the
precise correspondence is specified in the column on the far right.16 As can be
seen, each line of this transpositional matrix represents one of the six hexachords
which make up the polar notes of Mémoriale (modulo their order within each
series). Since the registers are fixed, they can be represented as six harmonies,

Ex. 13 Pitches of the 36 polar notes of Mémoriale

C E E D B A A D E E F B
G E D A C C A F A E B B
C D F C A B A C A F G E

Ex. 14 Six hexachords derived from the polar notes of Mémoriale

S1: C E E D B A
S2: A D E E F B
S3: G E D A C C
S4: A F A E B B
S5: C D F C A B
S6: A C A F G E

Ex. 15 Correlation between the originel matrix and the six hexachords derived from
Mémoriale’s polar notes

S(E ) [E ] [G] [D] [A ] [B ] [A] [E] S

S(G) [G] B F C D C A S5
S(D) [D] F C G A A E S6
S(A ) [A ] C G C E D A S3
S(B ) [B ] D A E F E B S2
S(A) [A] C A D E E B S1
S(E) [E] G E A B B F S4

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 Charting MÉMORIALE 41

each associated with the note that generated it in the manner of an operator
(Ex. 16). Shading these harmonic fields on the paradigmatic analysis yields the
chart shown in Ex. 17, which shows the distribution of these notes across the six
hexachords. Once shaded in this way, the paradigmatic analysis reveals a very
simple structure: each harmonic zone contains six polar notes, of which one note
is trilled, two are played as tremolos and three are naturale, resulting in a pattern
of 1 + 2 + 3.

Ex. 16 The six harmonic fields of Mémoriale

S 1 = S(A) S 2 = S(B ) S 3 = S(A ) S 4 = S(E) S 5 = S(G) S 6 = S(D)

Ex. 17 Paradigmatic analysis with shaded harmonic fields

Element A Element B Element C Element D

A1=C nat. B1=E trem.
B2=E trem.
A2=D nat.
A3=B nat. C1=E trem./trill D1=A trill
B3=A trill C2=E trem./trill D2=D nat.
D3=D nat.
A4=E trem.
A5=F trem. D4=B nat.
C3=E trem./trill
A6=G trill D5=E trem.
D6=D trem.
B4=A nat.
B5=C nat.
B6=C nat.
C4=E trem./trill D7=A nat.
D8=F nat.
D9=A nat.
B7=E trill
A7=B trem.
A8=B trem. C5=E trem./trill
B8=C trem.
B9=D trem.
A9=F nat.
A10=C nat.
A11=A nat. D10=B trill
D11=A trem.
A12=C trill D12=A trem.
B10=F nat.
B11=G nat.
B12=E nat. C6=E trem./trill

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Ex. 18 Pitches of element C in relation to shaded harmonic fields

S(A)=S1 A E C1
S(B )=S2 B E C2
S(A )=S3 A B A E C3
S(E)=S4 E A A B E C4
S(G)=S5 G B A E A E C5
S(D)=S6 D G E A B A E C6

This schema makes use of six transpositions of S(E); but what of S(E) itself,
that is, the originel series? In fact it is reserved for the ‘cadential’ C sections, with
the relevant six notes presented here in order as Ex. 18. Each of these rows is a
subset of S (E), the originel series, and each successive row presents one more
note in the series; the final one contains all seven of the notes that constitute
element C in its complete form. Moreover, the first six polar notes encountered
in Mémoriale belong to S1, which was defined as the series transposed onto A, in
other words S(A). C1 contains the notes A and E, that is, the first note of C1 is
the pitch class which generates the six notes used throughout that section.
Extending this principle, it can be assumed that for all series S1 to S6, if the first
note of the C section is any note x, then the six polar notes in the same section
will equate to pitches drawn from S(x). A kind of ‘centre-absence’ game seems to
be at work here:17 for instance, the six notes of the series engendered by A are
introduced, but only then does A appear as the first note of the cadential element
C.18
The series S1 to S6, then, map out the trajectory of the piece from one polar
note to the next, creating six harmonic fields through which the flute travels from
beginning to end. The shaded regions of Ex. 17 show the extent to which the
paradigmatic segmentation agrees with the serial segmentation. As previously
noted, each harmonic field contains three statements of one thematic element,
two of another, and one of a third, as well as a single occurrence of element C.
As is shown in Ex. 19, the question of which thematic element is represented
three times, which twice and which only once in any given harmonic field is a
function of the mode of articulation accorded to each polar note. Representing
these modes in shades of grey on the initial transpositional matrix of the six
harmonic fields (from naturale as the lightest shade through to the trill as the
darkest) yields the result shown here. Besides one exchange of values in S5, for
each seven-note series Boulez always uses positions 1, 3 and 6 for naturale notes,
4 and 5 for tremolo notes and 2 for trills. This can be mapped another way in
order to bring out which of the three themes, A, B or D, is assigned to either the
three naturales, the two tremolos or the single trill for each of the six harmonic
fields (Ex. 20). Overall this pattern corresponds to two cyclic permutations to
the left (anticlockwise), followed by three cyclic permutations to the right (clock-
wise) as illustrated in Ex. 21.

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Ex. 19 Playing style as a function of position in the series

1 2 3 4 5 6
nat. trill nat. trem. trem. nat.
[E ] G D A B A E
G B F C D C A S5
D F C G A A E S6
A C G C E D A S3
B D A E F E B S2
A C A D E E B S1
E A E A B B F S4

Ex. 20 Correlation between playing style, harmonic field and thematic unit

3nat. 2trem. 1trill trem.\trill

A B D +C S1
D A B +C S2
B D A +C S3
D A B +C S4
A B D +C S5
B D A +C S6

Ex. 21 Cyclic permutation of thematic elements

Anticlockwise rotation: ABD DAB BDA

Clockwise rotation: (BDA) DAB ABD BDA

Analysis of Durations
Until this point, no attempt has been made to interpret the durational values
of the polar notes. Represented in semiquavers and arranged on the paradig-
matic chart shown in Ex. 22, adjacent polar notes with the same playing style
in fact appear to be of largely similar duration – indeed to within the length of
a single semiquaver. Adjustment of these values produces the schema shown in
Ex. 23 (the number of exceptions is indicated with the abbreviation ‘exc.’).
Expressing these durations in quaver values while at the same time represent-
ing the symmetry between the two parts of the piece through shading yields
the outcome illustrated in Ex. 24, a pattern whose contours in turn reveal a
nearly arithmetic progression as indicated in Ex. 25 (only the value of four is
repeated).

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Ex. 22 Durations of polar notes expressed in semiquavers

Element A Element B Element C Element D

S1=S(A) A1=C nat. 12 B1=E trem. 6
B2=E trem. 6
A2=D nat. 9
A3=B nat. 11 C1=E trem./trill D1=A trill 16
S2 =S(B ) B3=A trill 8 C2=E trem./trill D2=D nat. 10
D3=D nat. 8
A4=E trem. 13
A5=F trem. 14 D4=B nat. 8
S3=S(A ) C3=E trem/trill
A6=G trill 18 D5=E trem. 12
D6=D trem. 12
B4=A nat. 4
B5=C nat. 4
B6=C nat. 4
S4=S(E) C4=E trem./trill D7=A nat. 8
D8=F nat. 8
D9=A nat. 8
B7=E trill 8
A7=B trem. 13
A8=B trem. 14 C5=E trem./trill
S5=S(G) B8=C trem. 6
B9=D trem. 6
A9=F nat. 10
A10=C nat. 10
A11=A nat. 10 D10=B trill 17
S6=S(D) D11=A trem. 12
A12=C trill 17 D12=A trem. 12
B10=F nat. 5
B11=G nat. 4
B12=E nat. 4 C6=E trem./trill

Ex. 23 Durations of polar notes expressed in semiquavers and grouped by playing

style

A B D
10 nat. (3 exx.) 6 (trem.) 16 (trill)
14 (trem.) (1 ex.) 8 (trill) 8 (nat.) (1 ex.)
18 (trill) 4 (nat.) 12 (trem.)
14 (trem.) (1 ex.) 8 (trill) 8 (nat.)
10 (nat.) 6 (trem.) 16 (trill) (1 ex.)
18 (trill) (1 ex.) 4 (nat.) (1 ex.) 12 (trem.)

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Ex. 24 Durations of polar notes expressed in quavers

A B D
5 nat. 3 (trem.) 8 (trill)
7 (trem.) (1 ex.) 4 (trill) 4 (nat.) (1 ex.)
9 (trill) 2 (nat.) 6 (trem.)
7 (trem.) (1 ex.) 4 (trill) 4 (nat.)
5 (nat.) 3 (trem.) 8 (trill) (1 ex.)
9 (trill) (1 ex.) 2 (nat.) (1 ex.) 6 (trem.)

Ex. 25 Schema for polar-note durations

B D A
Nat. 2 4 5
Trem. 3 6 7
Trill 4 8 9

Notes on the Accompaniment: Unplugged Electronics and

Geometrical Serialism
Since the form of Mémoriale is essentially dictated by the solo flute part, the role
of the accompaniment was not deemed significant for the initial phase of para-
digmatic analysis. In a broader respect, however, the accompanimental dimen-
sion offers an object lesson in Boulez’s notion of deduction: the solo flute line,
composed in advance, gives rise quite methodically to the eight subordinate
lines. As such, Mémoriale qualifies as a ‘didactic work’,19 a term likewise coined
by Boulez in the 1970s to describe certain very specific pieces by ‘the Webern of
the series’.20 Although the derivation of the ensemble parts from one solo line
reflects a conscious indebtedness to Berio’s Chemins projects, it also represents
an expression of Boulez’s declared belief that ‘each note [in a work] has a
responsibility towards every other one’.21 Not surprisingly, the accompanimental
stratum of Mémoriale fulfils this dictum by drawing on the reservoir of pitches
initially announced by the flute; moreover the rigidly fixed registration of the
piece adds to its being perceived as fairly limited in terms of harmonic material.22
In addition, the accompaniment serves, as previously noted, to prolong, harmo-
nise and enhance the flute line in the metaphorical sense of an unplugged
electronic resource, aspects of which will be examined below.
Unplugged Electronics I: Resonator
At rehearsal number 4, the first of each pair of semiquavers in the flute part is
notated using light resonance marks. The upper strings then act as four separate

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resonators: each time the flute plays one of the marked notes, a member of the
string group sustains the sound with the shimmering timbre of a sul tasto tremolo
(in Ex. 26 the resonating notes are encircled and annotated with connecting lines
joining them to the flute part). This effect is directly reminiscent of the piano
cadenza that opens Boulez’s Éclat (1965), where the resonance is supplied by the
sostenuto pedal and six silently depressed keys, the strings of which resonate each
time the pianist strikes a chord containing one of the attendant pitches. Another,
more subtle version of this resonator effect involves clarification of the harmony
through accentuation of the polar notes. For instance, at rehearsal number 20,
the flute plays three polar notes, F, C and A (encircled in Ex. 27). Of the
supporting instrumental strands, it is the third violin line which most closely
resembles the flute part. Although the correspondence is incomplete, occasion-
ally being reduced to a mirror image, the three polar notes, each marked piano,
are nonetheless plainly evident. The role of the other instruments thus seems to
be either to accentuate these structural pitches through doublings by the horns
on the second and third staves or with laissez vibrer cello pizzicati, or to obscure
the non-polar notes through trilled doublings (the various connections are

Ex. 26 ‘Resonator’ accompaniment, rehearsal number 4

Rapide, irrégulier, vacillant = 120–132

4 5 5 5 5

Fl.

Hns

sul tasto
Vn 1

sul tasto
Vn 2

sul tasto
Vn 3

sul tasto

Vla 1

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 Charting MÉMORIALE 47

Ex. 27 ‘Resonator’ accompaniment, rehearsal number 20

Rapide, stable = 120
Céder
20 5 3
3
3
Fl.

Hns

arco
Vn 1

arco
Vn 2

arco
Vn 3

Vla 1

Vla 2

1. V. 1. V.
pizz. 1. V.
Vlc.

depicted using either light or dark lines in Ex. 27). The composer may therefore
be understood to be employing timbral distinctions as a means of dividing the
overall registral space through the separate treatment of polar and non-polar
notes.
Unplugged Electronics II: Delay and Retrograde Echo
As well as exploiting the possibilities of timbral resonance, Boulez also employs
delay and echo effects in his ensemble writing. The particular acoustic impres-
sion illustrated in Ex. 28 could be likened to a retrograde echo in the sense that
if an echo’s repetitions may be perceived to become progressively more partial,
then the repetitions of a retrograde echo are made successively more complete.

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Ex. 28 Reverse echo, rehearsal number 9

Rapide, irrégulier, vacillant = 120/132
9 3
3 ten .
Fl.

Hns

sul tasto tremol o

Vn 1

sul tasto 3 3
Vn 2

sul tasto
Vn 3

sul tasto

Vla 1

sul tasto
Vla 2

Vlc.

The first viola reconstitutes only four notes of the nine-note flute phrase; it is
followed by the second violin, which echoes six of the notes, and then the first
violin, which repeats all nine notes: the outcome is a kind of reverse echo
impression reminiscent of certain tape-loop effects.
Geometric Orchestration
Just as the rigid structure of the six harmonic fields and the corresponding
durational schema together hark back to the experiments of integral serialism, so
the accompaniment also uses techniques explored most intensively in this same
creative context. For Boulez in the 1960s, orchestration could be approached as
a kind of Cartesian geometry. Three specific types of distribution could be
envisaged: ‘symmetrical, asymmetrical, combined symmetrical-asymmetrical’,23
involving the translation into musical notation of forms plotted on a grid. Ex. 29
shows one example of a geometric form drawn from Mémoriale. The string
accompaniment here represents an inverted triangle whose apex is in the second
viola. Comparing the flute part with the first violin part, it becomes apparent that

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Ex. 29 Geometric approach to orchestration, rehearsal number 21

Rapide, irrégulier, vacillant = 120/132
21 3 3 3 3
3

the latter takes two notes from every triplet figure of the former (with the
exception of the added E in the second bar) and reconfigures them to produce
the five groups of four semiquavers seen in Ex. 30. Labelling these five four-note
groups a1, a2, a3, a4 and a5 yields the result shown in Ex. 31. Each successive row
is formed through a process of retrogradation from which the middle element is
omitted. A further axis of symmetry may also be discerned in this formation
whereby the rows of the pyramid are superimposed in such a way that the
one-element row contains the same element as the one-element column, the
two-element row contains the same elements as the two-element column, and so
on. In this respect, as in so many others, Mémoriale wears its deductions on its
sleeve.

The Rhythmic Canon

According to the composer, the passage from rehearsal number 22 to rehearsal
number 24 remains independent of the rest of the piece. Divorced thematically
from the music which precedes it, this short section lasting no more than a few

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Ex. 30 Rehearsal number 21, excerpt

Vn 1

Vn 2

Vn 3

Vla 1

Vla 2

Vlc.

Ex. 31 Schema for accompaniment, rehearsal number 21

a1 a2 a3 a4 a5
a5 a4 a2 a1 (retrograde with middle element omitted)
a1 a2 a5 (retrograde with middle element omitted)
a5 a1 (retrograde with middle element omitted)
a1 (retrograde with middle element omitted)

seconds outlines a closed ABA′ ternary form. It also depends in part on a

rhythmic canon that involves five of the nine instruments; this grouping thus
provides a kind of barely audible polyphonic accompaniment to the flute part
that is not only played at a constant pianissimo, but also with a pitch-obscuring sul
tasto tremolo. Seeking to explore a seemingly secondary detail of this kind
without necessarily attempting to integrate it into the surrounding framework is
in fact a highly Boulezian strategy. Indeed for the composer himself,

analysis is not necessarily that global approach, that total and absolute capturing
of the whole at which it often aims. Analysis can be short, searing and intuitive. It
need not deal with the work as a whole in order to be conclusive. It can imme-
diately latch on to an apparently secondary detail; it can sometimes be the result
of a surprising, inspired encounter.24

Boulez first encountered the technique of rhythmic canon in his studies with
Messiaen at the Paris Conservatory in the 1940s as well as from his examination
of late works by Webern, such as the Second Cantata, Op. 31.25 Its deployment
in this context is perhaps best interpreted as a kind of second nature whereby the
composer sought to draw on techniques so ingrained in his mind that they

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Ex. 32 First rhythmic canon, rehearsal number 22

Lent = 108/120. Libre, continu. 5
5
22
.
3
. .
3 . .
Fl.

. . . . .

Hns poc o cres cen do

. . . .

sul tasto sim. .

poco . .
. .
Vn 1
sempre
sim.
. sul tasto . . . .
Vn 2

poco sempre

poco .
. sul tasto . . .
Vn 3

sempre
. poco sim. . . .
sul tasto .
Vla 1

sempre
. .
sim.
. .
. poco sul tasto
Vla 2
sempre
Près de la touche . . . aller vers pos. nat.
pizz. . . . . .
Vlc.

Ex. 33 Durations in first rhythmic canon, rehearsal number 22

I. violin 1 4 8 10 5 7 14 3 6 7
II. violin 2 3 7 8 4 6 10 14 5 6
III. violin 3 14 6 7 8 8 10 4 5
IV. viola 1 10 5 6 14 4 7 8 3 4
V. viola 2 8 4 5 10 3 6 7 14 3

emerged almost spontaneously. Ex. 32 reproduces the A section of this closing

passage with the rhythmic canon highlighted. The flute, played with constant
flutter-tonguing, emphasises the central pitch class of the piece, E, which is in
turn reinforced by the cello’s E pedal. Describing the duration of each attack in
terms of the semiquaver as smallest common denominator yields the result
shown in Ex. 33. By dividing one value (8) in row III into two smaller durations
– 3 and 5 – and realigning these values, the result shown in Ex. 34 may be
obtained. The durational series of the last line, that is the second viola part,
contains nine instances of eight durations: 3–4–5–6–7–8–10–14. Since there are

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Ex. 34 Adjusted durations in first rhythmic canon, rehearsal number 22

I: 4 8 10 5 7 14 3 6 7
II: 3 7 8 4 6 10 14 5 6
III: 14 6 7 3 5 8 10 4 5
IV: 10 5 6 14 4 7 8 3 4
V: 8 4 5 10 3 6 7 14 3

Ex. 35 Durations in first rhythmic canon

total
I: 4 8 10 5 7 14 3 6 7 64
II: 3 7 8 4 6 10 14 5 6 63
III: 14 6 7 3 5 8 10 4 5 62
IV: 10 5 6 14 4 7 8 3 4 61
V: 8 4 5 10 3 6 7 14 3 60

Ex. 36 Durations in first rhythmic canon reconfigured

I: a2 a6 a7 a3 a5 a8 a1 a4 a5
II: a1 a5 a6 a2 a4 a7 a8 a3 a4
III: a8 a4 a5 a1 a3 a6 a7 a2 a3
IV: a7 a3 a4 a8 a2 a5 a6 a1 a2
V: a6 a2 a3 a7 a1 a4 a5 a8 a1

more occurrences than there are different durations, one of them is of necessity
repeated (in this case 3).These eight durations may then be labelled as a1, a2, ... ,
a8 (in other words, a1 = 3, a2 = 4, ... , a8 = 14). Row IV, immediately above the
last line, is produced by replacing each duration with the next successive dura-
tion (that is, an becomes an+1), where it is understood that the last duration
(a8 = 14) wraps around to become the first duration (a1 = 3). Continuing in the
same way, row III (the third violin part) is produced by replacing each duration
an by its successor an+1, again modulo 8, and so on for each row in turn.
In Ex. 35, the value in the column on the far right of the table corresponds to
the total duration of that line as expressed in semiquavers; in terms of the
formula ans, this produces the outcome shown in Ex. 36. Ex. 37 in turn indicates
what the resultant rhythmic fugue looks like with just pitches and durations taken
into account. Employing this mode of transcription (note that the rests at the
beginning are virtual), it may be observed that the last notes of each line have
durations of 7, 6, 5, 4 and 3 semiquavers (see again Ex. 35). Also, while entrances

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Ex. 37 First rhythmic canon showing pitches and durations

7

Vn 1 64

3 6
Vn 2 63

5
Vn 3 62

4
Vla 1 61

Vla 2 60

of the canon are staggered by the rhythmic interval of a semiquaver, its termi-
nation is reached simultaneously. The first violin line which inaugurates this
process occupies a full eight bars of 2/4, or 64 semiquavers. Each of the suc-
ceeding lines consequently occupies a semiquaver less – 63, 62, 61 and 60
respectively.
It is plausible to suppose that the canonic procedure was introduced at this
point simply to satisfy a localised formal requirement in respect of structural
closure. Indeed, polyphonic details aside, had there been only eight occurrences
of eight durations, then each line would have the same duration, since it would
simply be a cyclic permutation of the original model. As it stands, however, the
second rhythmic canon which forms the A′ section at rehearsal number 24
involves voices both beginning and ending together, an effect achieved by con-
structing an imitative framework which uses the same eight durations as its
predecessor (a1, a2, a2, a3, ... , a8), yet with only eight elements per durational
series on this occasion rather than nine. As a consequence the total durations of
each new series derived from the operation (an becomes an+1) are identical.
Ex. 38 shows the second rhythmic canon in its entirety while the values for the
five durational series are presented in Ex. 39. Since there are eight elements and
eight different durations, the transformations retain the total duration of 57
semiquavers per row.
In sum these two polyphonic processes make use of a single compositional
matrix such that the concept of a rhythmic canon is realised through the inclu-
sion of an added value which disrupts the symmetry of the whole (more specifi-
cally a ninth value taken from a reservoir of eighth durations that causes the four
transformations to have non-identical total durations). The basic model thus
calls to mind Messiaen’s principle of added rhythmic value – in effect,
presenting variations of Messiaen’s rhythms with additional values inserted into
them.

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Ex. 38 Second rhythmic canon, rehearsal number 24

Libre, continu.
= 108/120
24 5 6
.

Fl.

Hns .
2
di - mi - nu - en - do

sul pont .
. arco
1
sim.
poco sempre
sul pont .
. arco
Vns 2
sim.
poco sempre
sul pont .
. arco
3

poco sempre sim.

sul pont .
. arco
1
poco sempre
Vlas sul pont .
arco
.
2

poco sempre sim.

. progressivement vers le chevalet . . . . .

Vlc.
sempre

Charting Mémoriale
The various illustrations presented here represent an attempt to give concrete
expression to the composer’s own concept of analysis. For Boulez, the musical
work is the result of deductions effected on an initial gesture transcribed via
notation or écriture, which could be defined as a kind of graphic-symbolic
reasoning. Music analysis, in turn, is ‘the pursuit, no doubt ultimately vain, of
the labyrinth which joins the idea to its realisation’.26 Elsewhere, Boulez has
described this analytical stance as essential to the composer’s work: ‘Since the
work at once exceeds and sometimes even negates the initial Idea, the path from
this initial Idea to the realised work is difficult, if not impossible to decipher.

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 Charting MÉMORIALE 55

Ex. 38 Continued
6
. 5
. .

. .

. . .

cres. . . . cen. . . . do. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. .
.

. . .

.
. .

. .
.

.
.
.

très près du chevalet

. . .

Ex. 39 Durations in second rhythmic canon

total
I: 3=a2 8=a6 6=a4 7=a5 10=a7 4=a2 14=a8 5=a3 57
II: 14=a8 7=a5 5=a3 6=a4 8=a6 3=a1 10=a7 4=a2 57
III: 10=a7 6=a4 4=a2 5=a3 7=a5 14=a8 8=a6 3=a1 57
IV: 8=a6 5=a3 3=a1 4=a2 6=a4 10=a7 7=a5 14=a8 57
V: 7=a5 4=a2 14=a8 3=a1 5=a3 8=a6 6=a4 10=a7 57

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But to work back [through analysis] from the realised work to the concept which
we have of the [initial] Idea, this is what guides us along our own path’.27
For Boulez, the initial gesture needs to be housed within some kind of system,
essentially a precompositional matrix of some kind, in order to allow it to emerge
as a realised work. But the system is never to be adhered to uncritically; things
always intervene which lead to minor points of deviation. These Boulez calls
‘accidents’,28 and they constitute the unanalysable quotient of the realised work,
or what André Breton more evocatively called an ‘unbreakable kernel of night’
that lies at its heart.29
The principle of paradigmatic analysis as applied here serves to differentiate
particular aspects of the compositional material. More directly, it defines which
elements can be grouped together thematically, but also, at a more detailed level,
makes clear the fundamental distinction between the long polar notes, whose
pitches form the harmonic underpinnings of the piece, and the short appoggia-
turas, which do not. Rendering explicit the system – that is, the six hexachordal
harmonic fields and the arithmetic relationships between durations – highlights
the actual écriture at work here in all its proliferational splendour: the flexibility
of the phraseology, the ornamental flourishes and the differentiation of the
figures. It allows us effectively to glimpse the creative networks which led Boulez
down the path from system to realisation; and this path, when travelled in the
opposite direction, in turn actualises the composer’s own analytical ideal. In the
end, chart making, by revealing compositional systems, can aid us in distinguish-
ing figure from fond, to use terms from painting – separating the foreground
figures, the écriture, from the background system. And as a declared strategy, this
approach is itself grounded thoroughly and unapologetically in the spirit of
serialist logic.30

NOTES
All musical extracts of Mémoriale (... explosante-fixe ... originel) for flute and
eight instruments used here are reproduced with the kind permission of Uni-
versal Edition. © Copyright 1985 by Universal Edition A.G., Wien/UE 18657.
1. Parts of this paper were presented in collaboration with Nicolas Donin at the
Society for Music Analysis’s Autumn Study Day which took place at Royal
Holloway, University of London on 5 November 2005. Other parts were presented
at the Dublin International Conference on Music Analysis held at University
College Dublin in June 2005.
2. See Ruwet (1972), p. 106.
3. ‘The System and the Idea’ (‘Le système et l’idée’ [1986]); published in Boulez
(2005), pp. 339–420.
4. ‘Cela revient à considérer le système comme une aide ... sans lui, ne serait pas
arrivée à concevoir réellement un monde rêvé: je choisis, donc je suis; je n’ai inventé
le système que pour me fournir un certain type de matériau, à moi d’éliminer ou de

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 Charting MÉMORIALE 57

gauchir ensuite, en fonction de ce que je juge bon, beau, nécessaire’ (Boulez 2005,
p. 407). All quotations from Boulez appear in the author’s own translation.
5. The original remark reads: ‘Ce qui m’intéresse ici, ce sont les permutations, les
variations, mais strictement contrôlées, numériquement contrôlées’ (Boulez 2004,
p. 407).
6. Boulez acknowledged the influence of Berio’s Chemins in the course of a lecture
delivered at McGill University, Montreal on 23 May 1991. My article relies on a
cassette recording of this presentation held by the Pierre Boulez Archive at the
Université de Montréal.
7. Although applied here in an informal sense, the term might be considered analo-
gous to that favoured by Helmut Lachenmann, ‘musique concrète instrumentale’.
See, for example, Lachenmann (1996), pp. 211–12.
8. This image is reproduced from the CD booklet of Boulez Conducts Boulez (DGG
445 833-2).
9. For more on the concept of ‘puzzle’ form, see Boulez (2005), p. 502.
10. ‘Comme j’ai travaillé en même temps à ... explosante-fixe ... et à Rituel, les deux
œuvres sont parallèles. L’idée première, je l’ai prise des Symphonies d’instruments à
vent de Stravinsky, où il y a au début l’appel de la clarinette dans l’aigu, puis ces
accords qui sont un long et un bref, mais toujours le même. Quand j’ai entendu
cette pièce de Stravinsky, je me suis dit: ‘il fait toujours ça, il repète exactement la
même chose, est-ce-qu’on ne pourrait pas varier ça? Par exemple en amenant
l’accord, en lui donnant une désinence’ (Boulez 2004, p. 399). This quotation is
taken from the unedited French transcript of this interview, obtained from Jean-
Jacques Nattiez, rather than the published Italian version.
11. See again n. 6. In his 1991 lecture, Boulez explained that the section between
rehearsal numbers 22 and 24 inclusive was constructed using a different system
from the rest of the piece. Consequently, it is not included in the paradigmatic
analysis, although its rhythmic structure will be examined in the later stages of this
article.
12. The tool was designed collaboratively by Nicolas Donin, Thomas Bottini, Samuel
Goldszmidt and the present author (see also Donin 2004). An intended future
revision will allow superimposed cells to be more precisely aligned. Cf.
apm.ircam.fr/tableau.
13. For more on the concept of ‘aura’, see Boulez (2005), p. 401.
14. ‘Parmi d’autres procédés d’abandon d’un son porteur de polarité, on remarque
fréquemment que Boulez l’orne de quelques valeurs brèves désinentielles; il est
plutôt rare qu’un son soutenu et trillé soit purement et simplement suivi d’un
silence’ (Deliège 1988, p. 65).
15. ‘[S]i nota come tra queste le prime cinque siano praticamente equidistanti, mentre
l’ultima (la quale coincide pure con l’ultima sezione del pezzo) appare assai dopo.
Una prima divisione può quindi essere: 0–18 (impulso) 19–29 (risonzanza)’
(Buscemi 2003, p. 4). My translation.
16. Boulez is partial to seven-note series. Over and above the existence of other pieces
based on the number 7 (for example, Anthèmes (1992) for solo violin), another

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58 jonathan goldman

interesting piece of evidence demonstrates Boulez’s fondness for this number: in

1972, on the occasion of Pierre Souvtchinsky’s 80th birthday, Boulez sent
Souvtchinsky a little composition called ‘Sept interjections pour pierre souvtchinsky
de pierre boulez’ and dated ‘Paris, le 19 octobre, 1972’. The piece, clearly derived
from material from Rituel and/or ... explosante-fixe ... , bears the following inscrip-
tion: ‘Cher Pierre / De Londres à New York, et de New York à Londres / ma pensée
n’oublie pas l’ami de toujours. La circonstance exceptionnelle me la fait souligner
/ ces interjections sont sept, chiffre, en principe, magique! Cette magie, je la désire
propice pour vous / Cher Pierre’ (from the Dossier Souvtchinsky consulted at the
Bibliothèque nationale de France; I wish to thank Peter O’Hagan for pointing me
towards this document).
17. The term refers to a lecture Boulez gave at Donaueschingen in 1979 entitled
‘Poésie-centre et absence-musique’; published in Boulez (1995), pp. 467–84.
18. The compositional rationale expressed by S(x) is reminiscent of ideas expressed in
Boulez (1964) in which the composer cites the logician Louis Rougier as stating
that the structure of the world is knowable in terms of relations and functions, not
substances and accidents. Boulez subsequently entreats his fellow composers to
adopt this approach in their work: ‘Let us not start from the “substances and
accidents” of music, but rather let us consider it in terms of “relations and func-
tions” ’ (‘[Ne] partons point des “substances et des accidents” de la musique, mais
pensons-la “en termes de relations, de fonctions” ’ (Boulez 1964, p. 31).
19. ‘Œuvre didactique’; see Boulez (2005), p. 72–3.
20. ‘Le Webern de la série’; see Boulez (2005), p. 73.
21. ‘La responsabilité de tout élément par rapport à un autre dans un système cohérent’
(Boulez 2005, p. 89).
22. For graphs of the fixed registers in Mémoriale, see Labussière and Chouvel (1997),
p. 56.
23. The original observation reads: ‘Trois types de répartitions son possibles:
symétrique, assymétrique, combiné symétrique-asymétrique’ (Boulez 1964, p. 59).
24. ‘[L]’analyse n’est pas forcément cette approche globale, cette saisie totale et absolue
qu’elle se donne souvent comme but. L’analyse peut être courte, fulgurante, intui-
tive. Elle n’a pas besoin de porter sur l’ensemble d’une œuvre pour être détermi-
nante. Elle peut s’accrocher immédiatement à un détail apparemment secondaire;
elle est parfois le fait d’une rencontre inspirée, surprenante’ (Boulez 2005, p. 75).
25. See Bailey (1991), pp. 119–46, for a description of canonic writing in Webern’s
Second Cantata, and Galaise (1991) for a reconstruction of Boulez’s analysis of it
for his students at the Basel Academy of Music, where the composer lectured from
1960 to 1962. Additional remarks on Webern’s Op. 31 may be found in one of the
composer’s earliest essays dating from 1948 entitled ‘Propositions’; see Boulez
(1995), pp. 253–62; Eng. transl., ‘Proposals’, in Boulez (1991), pp. 47–54.
26. ‘C’est pourquoi l’analyse est la poursuite – vaine, sans doute, dans l’absolu – du
labyrinthe qui joint l’idée à la réalisation’ (Boulez 2005, p. 74).
27. ‘L’œuvre étant à la fois dépassement de l’Idée première et même sa négation, le
cheminement vers cette réalisation depuis l’idée première est difficile, sinon impos-

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 Charting MÉMORIALE 59

sible à déchiffrer. Mais remonter de la réalisation à l’idée que l’on se fait de l’Idée,
voilà ce qui va nous indiquer les moyens de notre propre chemin. Nous apprendrons
ainsi la déduction et nous apprendrons à assumer les responsabilités qu’impose la
déduction’ (Boulez 2005, p. 105).

28. For more on the concept of ‘accidents’, see Boulez (2005), p. 74.

29. ‘Un infracassable noyau de nuit’; quoted in Boulez (1995), p. 552.

30. The painterly distinction between figure and fond plays an important role in Boulez’s
aesthetic judgements. In a letter sent to Karlheinz Stockhausen dated 15 July 1966
and now archived at the Université de Montréal, Boulez criticises the former’s
Punkte, which he was considering conducting at a concert in Helsinki: ‘It seems to
me that what you have [in your piece] are “backgrounds” [fonds] worked out in a
highly refined manner, but at times we would like to have some “figures” encrusted
on top of those backgrounds, in order to give them meaning’.

REFERENCES
Bailey, Kathryn, 1991: The Twelve-Note Music of AntonWebern: Old Forms in a New
Language (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).
Boulez, Pierre, 1964: Penser la musique aujourd’hui (Mainz and Paris: Schott and
Éditions Gonthier/Denoël). English version published as Boulez on Music
Today, trans. Susan Bradshaw and Richard Rodney Bennett (London: Faber,
1971).
______, 1948: ‘Propositions’, Polyphonie, No. 2, pp. 65–72; revised in Boulez,
Relevés d’apprenti (Paris: Éditions du Seuil, 1966), pp. 65–74; reprinted in
Boulez (1995, pp. 253–62). English version published as ‘Proposals,’ in
Stocktakings from an Apprenticeship, ed. Paule Thévenin, trans. Stephen Walsh
(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991), pp. 47–54.
______, 1995: Points de repère. I. Imaginer, ed. Jean-Jacques Nattiez and Sophie
Galaise (Paris: Christian Bourgois éditeur).
______, 2004: ‘Rituel in memoriam Bruno Maderna. Intervista di Rossana
Dalmonte’, in Rossana Dalmonte and Marco Russo (eds.), Bruno Maderna.
Studi e testimonianze. Atti del Convegno ‘Bruno Maderna e le origini della Neue
Musik’ (Lucca: LIM), pp. 391–405.
______, 2005: Leçons de musique, ed. Jean-Jacques Nattiez (Paris: Christian
Bourgois éditeur).
Buscemi, Francesco, 2003: ‘Mémoriale (... explosante-fixe ... originel)’, http://
www.qubit.it/~buscemi/analisi/Boulez_Memoriale.pdf.
Deliège, Célestin, 1988: ‘Moment de Pierre Boulez, sur l’introduction orches-
trale de Répons’, in Répons Boulez (Paris: Actes-Sud Papiers), pp. 45–69.
______, 2004: Cinquante ans de modernité musicale: de Darmstadt à l’IRCAM.
Contribution historiographique à une musicologie critique (Liège: Mardaga).
Donin, Nicolas, 2004: ‘Towards Organised Listening: Some Aspects of the
“Signed Listening” Project, Ircam’, Organised Sound, 9/i, pp. 99–108.

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60 jonathan goldman

Galaise, Sophie, 1991: ‘Les Analyses d’œuvres d’Anton Webern par Pierre
Boulez. Essai de reconstitution’ (master’s thesis, Université de Montreal).
Goldman, Jonathan, 2006: ‘Exploding/Fixed: Form as Opposition in the Writ- 11
ings and Later Works of Pierre Boulez’ (PhD diss., Université de Montréal).
Labussière, Annie and Chouvel, Jean-Marc, 1997: ‘Pierre Boulez: Mémoriale
(... explosante-fixe ... originel)’, Musurgia, 4/i, pp. 42–66.
Lachenmann, Helmut, 1996: Musik als existentielle Erfahrung: Schriften 1966–
1995, ed. Josef Häusler (Wiesbaden-Frankfurt: Breitkopf & Härtel-Insel).
Nattiez, Jean-Jacques, 1993: ‘Boulez à l’âge postmoderne: Le temps de Répons’,
in Le combat de Chronos et d’Orphée (Paris: Christian Bourgois éditeur),
pp. 159–216. English version published as ‘Boulez in the Post-modern Era:
the Time of Répons,’ in The Battle of Chronos and Orpheus: Essays in Applied
Musical Semiology, trans. Jonathan Dunsby (New York and Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2004), pp. 233–87.
Ruwet, Nicolas, 1972: ‘Méthodes d’analyse en musicologie’, in Musique, pouvoir,
poésie (Paris: Seuil), pp. 100–34.

ABSTRACT
Pierre Boulez’s 1985 composition Mémoriale (... explosante-fixe ... originel), for
flute and eight other instruments, is in many ways typical of the composer’s later
style, for instance encompassing highly thematic writing, an accompanimental
texture which might be likened to ‘unplugged’ electronics, segmentation into
clear harmonic fields and transparent formal articulation. Following a paradig-
matic analysis of the flute part (which derives from the application of a software
tool developed in part by the author at IRCAM), this article addresses the salient
features of the work through a series of explanatory charts. A fundamental
distinction drawn between polar notes and appoggiatura embellishment subse-
quently exposes a relatively uncomplicated harmonic structure based on six
transpositions of a basic six-note cell. Additional examination of durational
structure in turn reveals an underlying compositional system firmly rooted in the
serial tradition.

© 2009 The Author. Music Analysis, 27/ii-iii (2008)

Journal compilation © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
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