The 'Highest Dynamic Level Attainable Unvoiced’: György Ligeti, Language, and the Theatre of the Absurd

Authors

  • Dónal Mac Erlaine Independant Scholar

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.35561/JSMI15205

Keywords:

Ligeti, Beckett, Ionesco, Theatre, Aventures, Nouvelle, Artikulation, Existentialism

Abstract

This paper identifies a particular sub-genre of György Ligeti's life work.  The 'lingual' works are those that explore the field of language, linguistics and related philosophies through the composer's typical playfulness and invention.  Three strata are demarcated by the author, and the most complex, the 'speech pieces', is investigated more thoroughly.  The works of focus in this paper are Artikulation, Aventures, and Nouvelles Aventures. This is done with specific reference to the work of Samuel Beckett and Eugène Ionesco, exploring the details of the parallels between them, and the philosophy that underpins them all. It is Ligeti's investigation of vernacular form which brings these pieces in line with what is now known as the Theatre of the Absurd.

Author Biography

Dónal Mac Erlaine, Independant Scholar

Donal Mac Erlaine is a musicologist and a self-taught guitarist and composer.  As well as working as a soloist, he has also been involved with film, theatre and dance.  Mac Erlaine holds a diploma in classical guitar from the Royal Irish Academcy of Music and a Masters degree in Historical Musicology from University College Dublin.  His music has been performed by Concorde, National Chamber Choir of Ireland, New Dublin Voices, Atlas Ensemble, Quiet Music Ensemble, Dublin Laptop Orchestra, Rhombus, John Feeley, Nick Roth and others.  His educational works have won special and honourable mentions in international competitions and he was the winner of the Seán O’Riada Award in 2014.   

Downloads

Published

28-04-2020

How to Cite

Mac Erlaine, D. (2020). The ’Highest Dynamic Level Attainable Unvoiced’: György Ligeti, Language, and the Theatre of the Absurd: . Journal of the Society for Musicology in Ireland, 15, 45–66. https://doi.org/10.35561/JSMI15205

Issue

Vol 15 (2020)

Section

Articles

License

Copyright for articles and reviews published in this journal is retained by the authors, with first publication rights granted to the journal. By virtue of their appearance in this open access journal, articles are free to be used, with proper attribution, in educational and other non-commercial settings.

It is the responsibility of the author to secure (and, if necessary, pay for) written copyright permissions for the reproduction, in this online journal, of any illustrations, images, music notation, audio and video files, or any other copyright materials, that are included in the author's article.