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Abstract
This study examines the essential role of texture in French spectral music and its contribution to musical evolution and form in specific works by Gérard Grisey, Tristan Murail, Philippe Hurel, and Kaija Saariaho. The use of texture in French spectral music is placed in a historical context by exploring the new ways that texture is employed in twentieth-century music, most importantly, the emphasis placed on the global characteristics of texture as opposed to the individual voice or line, and the importance of timbre as opposed to pitch-centric notions of organization. A precise definition of texture is given, and specific texture types are defined and explored in depth using examples from the works of earlier composers and movements, and from the French spectral movement. The connection between the basic germinating materials of spectral music—either a natural sound spectrum or generated spectrum—and the resulting texture in the final composition show how spectral music is truly dependent on texture for its characteristic spectral sound. Finally, texture is examined as a formally determinant element in spectral works using a method tailored specifically for textural analysis. Extended excerpts from Gérard Grisey's Modulations and Philippe Hurel's Six miniatures en trompe-l'œil analyzed from the standpoint of texture, show how transformations from texture type to texture type contribute to formal evolution in spectral music.
