Lux Aeterna (György Ligeti)
Encyclopedia
Lux Aeterna is a piece for 16 solo singers, written by György Ligeti
in 1966. It is most famous for its use in Stanley Kubrick
's 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey
.
The text (in Latin) is from the Roman Catholic Requiem Mass: Lux aeterna luceat eis, Domine, cum sanctis tuis in aeternum, quia pius es. Requiem aeternum 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:
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 sanctus 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 men again sing the text "Domine," this time in a more usual register, followed by the women's entrance, the altos in a low register and the sopranos 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:
It's possible this method was chosen to make things easier for the singers, whose job is already very difficult.
György Ligeti
György Sándor Ligeti was a composer of contemporary classical music. Born in a Hungarian Jewish family in Transylvania, Romania, he briefly lived in Hungary before becoming an Austrian citizen.-Early life:...
in 1966. It is most famous for its use in Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...
's 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey
2001: A Space Odyssey (film)
2001: A Space Odyssey is a 1968 epic science fiction film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, and co-written by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke, partially inspired by Clarke's short story The Sentinel...
.
The text (in Latin) is from the Roman Catholic Requiem Mass: Lux aeterna luceat eis, Domine, cum sanctis tuis in aeternum, quia pius es. Requiem aeternum 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:
- MicropolyphonyMicropolyphonyMicropolyphony is a type of 20th century musical texture involving the use of sustained dissonant chords that shift slowly over time. According to David Cope, "a simultaneity of different lines, rhythms, and timbres"...
, which Ligeti describes as "The complex polyphonyPolyphonyIn music, polyphony is a texture consisting of two or more independent melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice or music with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords ....
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 timbreTimbreIn music, timbre is the quality of a musical note or sound or tone that distinguishes different types of sound production, such as voices and musical instruments, such as string instruments, wind instruments, and percussion instruments. The physical characteristics of sound that determine the...
instead of melodyMelodyA melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
, harmonyHarmonyIn music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...
, or rhythmRhythmRhythm may be generally defined as a "movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions." This general meaning of regular recurrence or pattern in time may be applied to a wide variety of cyclical natural phenomena having a periodicity or...
Analysis
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
Micropolyphony
Micropolyphony is a type of 20th century musical texture involving the use of sustained dissonant chords that shift slowly over time. According to David Cope, "a simultaneity of different lines, rhythms, and timbres"...
. 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 sanctus tuis in aeternum... [m.37-86]: The basses enter, singing in very high falsetto
Falsetto
Falsetto is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous edges of the vocal folds, in whole or in part...
, showing Ligeti's focus on timbre and texture
Texture (music)
In music, texture is the way the melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic materials are combined in a composition , thus determining the overall quality of sound of a piece...
. 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
Register (music)
In music, a register is the relative "height" or range of a note, set of pitches or pitch classes, melody, part, instrument or group of instruments...
and gradually fade away.
Domine et lux perpetua luceat eis [m.87-126]: The men again sing the text "Domine," this time in a more usual register, followed by the women's entrance, the altos in a low register and the sopranos 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 (2) |
| Voice 4 | sextuplets (6) | quintuplets (5) | sixteenth notes (4) | triplets (3) |
It's possible this method was chosen to make things easier for the singers, whose job is already very difficult.