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Music of Henri Dutilleux A Critical Survey of The Major Works. P58-63 Si
Music of Henri Dutilleux A Critical Survey of The Major Works. P58-63 Si
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Jeremy Thurlow.
2
Abstract.
scores from the last twenty years: two nocturnal works from
the 1970s - Ainsi la nuit (1976) and Timbres, espace,
3
The Music of Henri Dutilleux
Contents.
List of Tables. 5
Introduction. 6
Chapter 1 17
An extended apprenticeship:
the chamber music of the 1940s.
Chapter 2 101
The two symphonies.
Chapter 3 192
New explorations:
the orchestral music of the 1960s.
Chapter 4 258
Night music:
two works from the 1970s.
Chapter 5 331
Late works:
the orchestral music of the 1980s.
Conclusion. 391
Bibliography. 394
4
The Music of Henri Dutilleux
List of Tables.
5
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Introduction
Introduction
6
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Introduction
7
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Introduction
written programme notes and essays about his own and other
8
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Introduction
9
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Introduction
what their function iS: that is, they catalogue rather more
10
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Introduction
11
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Introduction
12
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Introduction
far apart as the oboe sonata (1947) and L'arbre des songes
13
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Introduction
1981: 113-23)
14
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Introduction
15
Introduction
The Music of Henri Dutilleux
* * *
vital role.
16
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
Chapter 1
An extended apprenticeship:
Dutilleux's instrumental chamber music, 1942-50.
Introduction
17
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2.
18
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
gre des ondes (1946), the oboe sonata (1947), the piano
Scherzo from the oboe sonata, and the first two movements
19
Chapter 1
The music of Henri Dutilleux
Biographical background
20
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
1
age of twenty-two.
21
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
his writing the piano sonata and also provided the means
for him to explore the full resources of unrestricted
virtuosity, both in this and later works for piano (Man
1973: 50-2)
Academic forms
22
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
genres.
and piano (1942), the finale of the oboe sonata (1947) and
the Lied from the piano sonata (1948). The two main outer
23
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
8-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
etc.
(8)-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
24
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
Ex. 1.1
ii.b. 13-17
(ii' VIF
25
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
26
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
Scherzo from the oboe sonata and the Allegro con moto from
27
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
28
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
29
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
30
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
31
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
6 cont'd.
In the contrasting movements of both works the
similarities are even clearer. Like Ravel's march-
tempo movement, Dutilleux's cortege strikes an
eccentric balance between a relentless marching
tread, a rather doleful melody and surprisingly jolly
figure in 12/8 rhythm (b. 29). Even the themes
appear to be modelled on Ravel's, but their order is
reversed, so that what in the Ravel is introduced as
a contrasting idea appears at the beginning of
Dutilleux' s cortege.
These two themes bear a particularly close
resemblance: both harp on a flat 'blues'-style note,
while the supporting harmonies shift by
transpositions of a minor third so that the 'blue'
note takes on different functions: sometimes as flat
seventh, sometimes as flat third. In the Ravel this
theme is introduced by a solo bassoon.
32
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
Ex. 1.2 (1) Parallel chords, and
progression by ascending fourths Sarabande et Corr'ge b. 12-21
etc..... -
(uui
Ravel: Sonauna. i. o-
33
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
mere l'oye.)
34
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
Mn I'oye 1, b. 1-4
35
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
(ii) Assez vif Ravel: Le rombeau de Couper:n iv, b.1-8
36
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
•1I_ - fi111
37
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
38
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
Octatonicism
39
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
iiJ J :
Octatomc collection 1 used in ex. 1.6(u)
------' Ip
P110 p
- - -
8.. . -, 8..j ----1
40
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
4 1.
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
of b. 2.
Octatonic collection ii
Cortege, b.13-17
(ii) Bsn
- -
42
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
43
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
'acoustic s scale on B
octatonic scale (collection i from ex. 1.6 above)
44
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
canonic voice and the chords of the inner part) six bars
45
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
Ex. 1.10(i)
octatoruc
-
This passage also shows Dutilleux beginning to
develop a kind of melodic writing in which the contours of
the line are continually reworked, so that instead of
stating (and later restating) closed, finite themes, as in
the Cortge, for example, melodies undergo a gradual,
quasi-organic change. Here the oboe's repeated db"-bb'-
ab' turns to c#"-bb'-a'' in b. 18-19 as the piano enters
in b. 19 (fig. 1) with a new melody which unwinds from the
same figure, altered again into d'''-th"-a". This kind
of motivic transformation becomes highly characteristic of
Dutilleux's music, and has been described by the composer
as 'croissance progressive' ('progressive growth', see
46
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
9
Nichols 1994: 14)
47
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
48
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
1 I11,
. .•\
Stravinsky: Piano Sonata, in,
n ic si_i c
50
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
51
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
and symphonies (see Dutilleux 193: 71-2) Counterpoint is
an important element in Dutilleux's harmonies and textures
in all the works of this decade, contributing to what the
composer has described as the 'tightness of the writing',
and he considers that Roussel's example acted as an
10
antidote to Ravel's influence. Many of the most striking
harmonic and textural effects in these works occur in
passages which are essentially contrapuntal in their
conception, such as the austere two-voice counterpoint at
the opening of the flute sonatina (which has been
described as Roussellian (Nichols 1991-2)). Two long and
impressive developmental sections - the central section of
the finale of the oboe sonata, and the coda of the Allegro
from the piano sonata - represent Dutilleux's response to
the symphonic challenge of these two composers, and may be
considered amongst the finest passages of his early work.
52
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
53
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
54
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
55
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
56
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
Case studies
57
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58
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
59
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
Ex. 1.12
ks deux P
60
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61
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
62
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
63
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
but in the second (b. 18-28) four bars of one pattern are
time, and for several years to come, and the most direct
64
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
65
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
66
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
octaLonic collection
theme and tempo of the first movement (c.f. fig. 1). This
67
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
model.
68
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
b. 60-88)
69
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
70
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
71
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
72
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
20
competition.
73
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74
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
75
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
thereafter.
Ex. 1.15
Allegro con moto Piano sonata, i. b. 1-13
76
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77
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
Small 1-3 46.* 13-15; 1516.* 22-23; 24-25. 33-35; etc. 44-47; 48..51
7-9; 1O_12.* 17-19; 20-21. 26-27; 2832. (c.f. 1-12). 52-56;
scale
etc.
1-6; 7-12. 13-16; 17-21. 22-25; 26-32 33-38; 39-43. 44-51; 52-64.
13-21; 22-32.
Explanatory note: '1-32; 33-64.' indicates a first statement in bars 1-32 followed
by an altered repetition in bars 33-64. Altered repetition
predominates throughout the first subject group, but occasionally a
small-scale statement is balanced by a contrasting idea rather than
an altered repetition: in these cases the contrasting idea is marked
with an asterisk (e.g. 1-3; 46.*).
78
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
8...L i !
79
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
80
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 3.
81
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
82
Chapter 1
The music of Henri Dutilleux
83
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
84
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
85
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
86
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
87
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
88
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
to mlodie.
rr
89
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
EvllOo ..............................................................
sonata, ii, b.1O-13
90
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
91
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
92
Chapter 1
The music of Henri Dutilleux
22
not in their 'normal' form, but inverted. The inversion
only concerns the melodic line; the rest of the texture is
freely recomposed within the chromatically elaborated
tonal region of Db (b. 21-23) and then G (24-25),
modulating back to Db through bars 26 and 27. Dutilleux
would have encountered the technique of melodic inversion
in the course of his training in fugue, but this instance
is rather more suggestive of Bartók's use of inversion, as
in the first movement of his fifth quartet where
exposition material returns inverted in the
recapitulation. It is one of the first instances of
Dutilleux experimenting with typically Bartôkian
techniques.
93
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
94
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
95
Chapter 1
The music of Henri Dutilleux
new stage in the music (bb. 58 and 61), recalling the E's
of bb. 42 and 48, but their tritone transposition
symmetrically confounds any particular tonal emphasis,
while the symmetries of the octatonic set itself are
exploited in the inversion relationship between right and
23
left-hand parts.
96
Chapter 1
The music of Henri Dutilleux
97
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
98
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
Conclusion
99
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 1
100
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
Chapter 2
The two symphonies.
Introduction
101
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
102
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
103
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
104
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
105
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
106
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
107
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
8
desire for monothematicism'.
Monothematicism
108
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
10
both Max Pinchard and Daniel Humbert agree.
109
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
110
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
11
theme'.
Critical reception
111
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
112
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
Influences
113
Chapter 2
The music of Henri Dutilleux
114
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
115
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
116
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
117
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
118
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
119
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
120
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
121
Chapter 2
The music of Henri Dutilleux
122
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
r - J-!JJ
123
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
is not left unresolved like the F', but leads back to its
124
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
Section I.i
125
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
Section 1.11
126
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
127
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
qq jjj V
ii
128
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
129
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
Section I.iii
130
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
13
the f4$nh/g/abfl line with which it began.
Ex. 2.4 Harmonic skeleton, figs 6-10
First symphony, 1.
Section I.iv
13].
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
Ex.2.SThemeB
_____ First symphony. i.
:.i_.__ D
Section II
132
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
Section III
Sections IV and V
133
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
ostinato
134
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
135
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
136
Chapter 2
The music of Henri Dutilleux
U.n 18 C developed
over rising accompanimental progression
137
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
138
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
- loco_ - Ifig.31
'
=A
b
ThemeT
EL 2.8 motive M
139
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
Ifig.4+2 poco allarg. Allegro
w- ,j-
Section I.i
140
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
Ex. 2.9 shows both themes and the way that they are
141
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
•)
L[ ff E_r Lt L
if marcato
(rpt)
+ 7 5 9 I 9 (rpt)
- 6 6 69
3. fIg. 12
fmarrelé
LA
1. -(rpt)
- 6 77 8
4. fig. 24
! '.:. -- '..
- P —
-+------------------------13 - -(i1n)
- 6 7 6 11
5 .
+ 11 U Ii U J I,rpL) 0 U')
----------------------------------------------------
6. fig. 28
+ 1 7 710 4 5
- 6 65 37
142
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
9. fig. 33
+ 7 711 5] 7 711 5 7 7
- 6 76 iii 76 11 6
fig37-1
(interva1s Jbove)
+ 3343 33 33434 33
5 455 r s 2 CCC
12. fig. 39 - V
A7 £
+ 5 7 11 5 i_S 711 5
- 6 77 8 6 77
rhemeB Theme A V
£ j £ -.________- A £ - _______
+ 5 4 34343 5 7 10
- 86 455 6 77
+ 5 6 6 11 5 5 43434 3
- 8 4 77 8 6 555
143
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
2.F
+
I I £
+ 4 i - 1A33
i -5 I 5 5 51
V V
+ £ j
£3434 £ £ £
£3343
+
-5 355
- 5
.32j V V
+
-55 etc.
4. 34 fig. 35 see Ex. 2.15
Ex. 2.10
&Jij J
L1J;;J
(0 1 2 5 6 7)
144
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
Ex. 2.11
(0 1 6 7)
145
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
fifth (see ex. 2.12), so that even when the two themes
146
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
Ex.2.12
' 11
from from4
Theme A Theme B (0 2 5 7)
L J
Ex. 2.13
- from Theme A from Theme B
147
Chapter 2
The music of Henri Dutilleux
Ex.2.14 Theme B
Theme A 1!
[fig. 4
2I4 L rr ir I'FTr I
148
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
149
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
only one note per bar; the repetitions prevent the dux
note-values.
150
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
p leggiero
______ I -
I-
p molto legato
Ice. id
IT
151
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
Section II
152
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
154
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
Section III
155
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
0: ----------------------------------------------------------------.".,..
Section IV
156
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
Section V
157
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
158
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
space , Mouvement.
159
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
18
groups: although the orchestra of soloists might at
times confront or enter into dialogue with the full
orchestra, what he particularly wished to explore were
other more ambiguous possibilities: gradually blending the
two together, or superimposing different ideas
simultaneously (Roy 1962: 418). The different quality of
sound and texture between the two groups, with their
different spatial positioning, was another field of
potential ambiguities which appealed to him, and it was
notions such as these which prompted the work's subtitle
Le double (Dutilleux 1993: 98-9).
Critical reception
160
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
Musical language
161
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
162
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
21 cont'd.
1985: 88). To an extent, this change reflects the
changes in Dutilleux's thinking between 1959 and 1970,
of course, but the fact that he was unsatisfied with
the effect of the triad in relation to the rest of the
second symphony, while remaining satisfied with the
effect of a similar triad at the end of the first,
suggests that the change is intended to reflect a
general tendency in the language of the later work.
163
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
with them.
164
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
165
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
1950. What these affinities are, and how the motivic and
analyst.
Leaving aside the first question for the moment, the ten
166
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
167
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
well to the use of the other two main motives, which are
168
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
Motivic material
169
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
played twice, whose top line takes up the note B from the
clarinet, and finally a melodic figure, which starts from
B and quickly develops from two notes to five, as shown in
ex. 2.21 below. After this figure has been elaborated
contrapuntally for only a few bars, another melodic idea
is introduced on the harpsichord at fig. 3.
Second symphony,
Lx. 2.21 Principal motives
chords • f: i,b.1-5
A Animato, ma misterioso
clarinet (ci) '
V
F
turn. FPtJ
Pp
(ii) ThemeX
pp
(III)fig 3 Theme Y: first appearance
distcaticai of motive y
(with desciding ma 7th)
motive y
(with desceaduig octave)
170
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
Ex. 2.22
x Theme Y
0 1 4 inverted
041 inverted
171
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
172
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
173
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
above)
174
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
V 16 Z, )C',Y'
VIII 27 B X",Y' V
IX 30+4 B chords VI
figure (ci) the chords (ch) and themes X and Y, which are
175
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
B.
Ex. 2.23 Other first movement themes Second symphony, i, fig. 13^4
Ifc, Mi
(i)
marcwo
176
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
177
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
V 16 (nopivot)
VI 22 III
VU 24 D (oct.) (Retransition) IV
VIII 27 B Recapitulation V
IX 30+4 B VI pivot-nt B
_____
X 32 B
____ZL
VII 2ndRecap-
itulation
____ ___ _____ ____ .3) _____
XI34 B VIII ________ _______
IX Coda
_______ ______ __________ ______________ (fig, 39) ___________ __________
XII40 B Coda X _______ _______
178
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
179
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
180
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
23
the aural image of a diminished-seventh chord'. This
collection, and particularly the harmonies drawn from it
which emphasise B and D (like the chords ch) or the
diminished triad B-ID-F outlined by the timpani, establish
the tonal/harmonic field in which B is predominant in the
opening section. Though theme X weakens the octatonic
focus with its two semitone steps b-c-c#, theme Y and the
canonic imitations which follow reassert it again at fig.
3. The contrasting tonal area of section II, (b. 40)
based on a C# major/minor chord, derives from the same
octatonic collection, but ernphasises harmonies
complementary to B and D; the new version of Y given by
the oboe at fig. 6 follows these same harmonic principles.
181
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
182
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
Recapitulation
few bars before the beginning of some new idea or the move
183
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
184
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
185
Chapter 2
The music of Henri Dutilleux
186
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
187
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
'-.
Fl, ___________ * Thne X from fbt movemmlt see EL 2.21ü
8 - - ------------, 8.. -j
- L_3__i
188
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
N.j 9 Climax:
material as in section Iii (trans-
(transposed up by a minor third) ition)
theme A in semiquavers
V 14 BassostinatoonEb(for3baxs)
melodic centre on a'
trpi melody combines with
approach (as at & 2) into:
189
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
liii 4 pivotgb'(witheb')
[Vii 11 pivota'(withfW)
VI 16 f#'harmonies ____
Conclusion
190
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 2
191
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 3
Chapter 3
New explorations:
The orchestral music of the 1960s.
Introduction
192
Chapter 3
The music of Henri Dutilleux
193
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 3
194
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 3
195
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 3
4
following (movement]'. Dutilleux had already shown an
interest in overall continuity by joining together some of
the separate movements in both symphonies; now he took
this to its logical conclusion, joining together all five
movements. A circular scheme can be inferred from the
return of the opening movement's theme in the final
movement, and there is also a degree of symmetry in the
positioning of the two slow movements either side of the
centre. The same kind of symmetry is found in the five
movements of Dutilleux's other major work of these years,
Tout un monde lointain...; like Métaboles, it may have
been influenced by the five-movement design of the fourth
and fifth quartets of Bart6k (which also appear in
Dutilleux's 'top tent selection)
196
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 3
197
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 3
198
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 3
( 13
199
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 3
200
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 3
Serialism
201
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 3
202
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 3
203
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 3
Textures
204
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 3
205
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 3
206
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 3
81), which Dutilleux had known since the 1940s (and had
9
included on his 'top ten' list). Whether or not
Dutilleux's textures in these passages were suggested by
Berg and Bartk, it is noteworthy that both take the idea
of symmetry and central pitch focus which he had freely
elaborated in the second symphony and use it with greater
rigour.
207
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 3
208
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 3
10
change its nature.' Thus the title proclaims, as the
central concept of the work, the continual variation which
has been a growing preoccupation throughout the
symphonies.
209
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 3
Critical reception
210
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 3
21].
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 3
15
the following piece, and so forth..."'. Humbert bases
his interpretation on the same idea, and also cites the
composer to suggest that the same process of metabole
underlies the form of the whole work as well as of each
16
movement (see Humbert 1985: 91). This goes well beyond
the Bergian model discussed earlier in terms of the
continuity and interrelatedness of the whole, and in the
discussion below I will suggest that the music of
Mtabo1es does not conform quite so closely to this
overtly organic model as these accounts imply.
i) Incantatoire
212
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Métaboles, i, b.1-5
Ex. 33 Largamente
213
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214
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ff * = Db pentatonic ** = Db pntatonic
hns, hp, pizz. 'hns, hp, pizz. plus g'and a'
PPt
215
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 3
216
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Fl. I -
C. Angi.
L - B.C1.
I 6
12-note tatement
Mrror invasions
Prime fclrm
LI
8 ---------------------
,. I. ,. 1
L........_
Minor
Inversions 6 6
6 12-note statement:
217
Chapter 3
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218
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 3
ii) Linaire
PPr.Ir 8..
219
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 3
220
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 3
221
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 3
iii) Obsessionel
222
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223
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 3
Méraboles, iii.
Ex. 3.8
224
J ji j I j j I j 12 1
' ci. .-.._•.j__-.._- I__3..._..i L.....3.....J
harp
=:- -PP
________________ celeste
225
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 3
226
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 3
1 1
lU1vEMtOth*Lof
L J ordernos 7 g
- I L..___ 3.............J
-, 12
L.. 3 _..._ l_
3 L_ 3 ...J
ex.3.11 Méraboles, iii. fig. 32+3
2 4 9 11 5
4
3 5 8 12 2
227
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 3
228
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 3
iv) Torpide
229
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 3
230
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 3
Second idea Métaboks, iv
Ex. 3.12 First idea Cymbale
b.2 Toms chinoise
at fig. 40. This ternary scheme does not affect the brass
e' ''s of the xylophone from fig. 37 +1. Together with the
v) Flamboyant
231
232
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 3
which has been extended upwards from the bass C' (see ex.
3.13). At the same time, the clarinet whole-tone cluster
carried over from fig. 41 rises in a succession of minor
thirds and seconds (this idea from Linéaire, fig. 11)
breaking at fig. 43 into woodwind arabesques recalling
those from the first movement (c.f. fig. 1)
233
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 3
234
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 3
draws all the material onto the central and final note E.
235
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 3
236
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 3
237
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 3
238
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 3
be discussed below.
i) Enigme
239
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C__
sim.
mf._—.===?::::-•-•- ' _______ 7
240
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 3
e.g.fig.43 1)
7,- ___
cf.A
(b.4)I I
J -
J 1tii
A
jJ J
p
to the low C.
Theme D
r3, Touzunmondelointain..., i,fig.4+2
: i—._
I..• .a. g _-.._ , -
___
/1 - p
"If f
241
Chapter 3
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242
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 3
243
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 3
244
Chapter 3
The music of Henri Dutilleux
245
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 3
246
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 3
ii) Regard
247
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248
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harmonic writing.
249
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250
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251
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252
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 3
v) Hymne
253
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254
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 3
Conclusion
255
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256
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 3
29
interests after the experimentation of Mtaboles. Since
Dutilleux likes to conceive of his elaboration of motivic
relationships as exploring the workings of memory (see
Dutilleux 1993: 102-4), writing for a solo instrument
may have provided a natural metaphor for the individual
consciousness whose memory he could explore.
257
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 4
Chapter 4
Night music:
two works from the 1970s.
Introduction
258
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Biographical background
259
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 4
Night music
260
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 4
261
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 4
- - pp -====ff I
LU'
fffpp p
262
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263
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264
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>,. i • •
-
-f---,q .
nf cresc. / marc.
265
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266
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sirn.
267
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Ainsi la nuit
268
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269
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 4
270
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 4
Form
27].
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272
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273
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274
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 4
275
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 4
276
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277
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Pp (f) pp Pp .=zf
278
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279
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280
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 4
12
complex sequence of movements and textures. Nonetheless,
because of the network of motivic interrelations described
above, these three pitch focuses form only one element in
a formal dialectic which covers and confuses this
progression as much as it articulates them, as if it was
itself governed by the interactions of memory and
perception in an imaginary experience of listening. In
the following discussion of the individual movements,
while trying to discern the formal structure of each, I
will also consider the motivic material and try to trace
some of the connections, similarities and continuities
which are woven through the piece.
28].
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 4
S L__. 3 ......J 3
A3 A4 AS (A2) A3 (Al')
282
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 4
Ainsi Ia nuit, 1,
Ex. 4.6 Harmonic expansion in the Nocturne beginning to fig. 4 (reduction)
perfect fifth
= major second
283
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284
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Ainsilanuit, i.
Ex.4.7 MotivesCandD
f—.zffpp
motive C
ft
- ==ff ;;q
x x x x' x'ff
x x
pp—.ff p
285
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I,
(8-------------------------
..
'-3 -
286
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287
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 4
c1ases:1O 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
288
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289
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290
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291
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Ex. 4.10 Extension of theme A Ainsi la 'wit, in, figs 2-3
exxension
Chords: Al A2 A3 A4 AS A6 A3' A6 A3' A6
292
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The Music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 4
After the pause, the second part of the work begins with
ethereal harmonics and high pizzicati in which motive D is
extended downwards, bringing it closer to motive G and
producing chromatic clusters as each of its pitches is
sustained and overlapped. The same melody continues in
Litanies 2, and in both movements the pitch focus hovers
ambiguously between the A which each phrase begins by
circling around, and the F# onto which each phrase falls
at the end.
294
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 4
its use does not emphasise any one pitch, each voice
stepping down the modal scale to produce descending chords
in the manner developed by Messiaen and discussed on p.
14
199 above (see ex. 3.2iv). After this moment of
unexpected harmonic clarity (though without focus on any
single pitch), the end of the movement returns to the
earlier ambiguity between A and F#. Pitch a' with its
semitonal neighbours once again dominates the melodic
writing from fig. 8, but at fig. 10 the four instruments'
overlapping phrases end respectively on f, a, bb" and
'' (fig. 10), and pitch-class A is not included in the
final chord.
-
Th._ - __ pp
'-3 -I
295
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 4
296
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297
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 4
-
___ 7
r 3 -
- LJ
slip L_ 3 .i i.._ L.._ 3 _._.
3 ._.J .- 3 J
(cello omitted)
°)
V -' 4
ALA AL A
r3 —t r-_L_
--, ______
A A A A A I
£
PP
V V V V I , g1
298
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 4
Ex. 4.13 Arabesques focussed on a narrow pitch range Ainilanuit, v,fig. 1
PP
P' 4t
l 9 IE I P
3
r-3 -,
___J L...
i-
3 __j L_...
3 -t w
L....
3 ._J
r- 5—,
F
PP .. '-..-
----
-----.-.----•- I-
pizz.
mf L..... 3 .........J —3
(ii v,fig.4-1
Vfllf
299
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 4
(iii)
3 ------ V. fig. 4 +1
.-$ I- 3 .__J
inf 2
(iv)
8------------------------
V fig.5+2
w
-E
rn, , L_
.3 3 _J !fP
300
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 4
301
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 4
¶fl -• I
rr i f
I
302
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 4
both the major second at the top of the chord and the bass
note have been transposed 1 and the intervals between the
other pitches are different too. Although chord Al has
frequently reappeared with minor additions or alterations,
so subtle as to be easily missed, it has always been at
the same pitch level, clearly recognisable because of the
open-string d' at the top, and has always retained other
strongly characteristic intervals such as the perfect
fifth in the bass. Perhaps it was in loosening and even
abandoning his habitual liking for harmonic focus as a
means of closure that Dutilleux found in Ainsi la nuit the
way 'to go a step further'.
303
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 4
O4
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 4
17
vertiginous impression of space, of void, event. The
title also emphasises 'timbres, by analogy with the
colours of Van Gogh and movement, because it's a canvas
18
which gives the impression of movement' (the analogy
between timbre and colour is taken further - to the point
of linking particular colours and kinds of sound - by
Miriam Soumagnac (see Humbert 1985: 168-9) and is also
discussed by Caroline Potter (1997: 124-5)
305
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 4
306
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 4
20
expressed his admiration for Messiaen, his desire to
write 'symphonic' music and the continuity of development
which that entailed (as described in his essay 'Qui reste
fidèle a la musique symphonique?', see p. 105-6 above)
meant that Messiaen's typically sectional, discontinuous
approach to constructing a large form remains wholly
foreign to him. This has not stopped Dutilleux from
appropriating certain harmonic and textural ideas,
however. It has already been noted that, from Mtaboles
on, Dutilleux begins to use chords which move stepwise
through the pitches of a mode. Since the use of such
restricted pitch collections was already a part of
Dutilleux's thinking in the 1940s, before he had had much
exposure to Messiaen's music, what was important for
Dutilleux was not the general technical principle of
'modes of limited transposition' as set out in Messiaen's
theoretical writing, so much as the specific textures he
created using it. And it is true that the other rare
moments when Dutilleux seems to have appropriated some
aspect of the older composer's work suggest the
inspiration of a particular sonority, which Dutilleux
307
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 4
308
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;ff .fty I
JJ ff pp
if
309
Chapter 4
The Music of Henri Dutilleux
310
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 4
Ii 10 G# 'singing':
ornamental, monodic
lli.i 17 - 'spatial'
ffl.ii 22 g#'/D
IV 30 - 'singing':
fig. 32:G# (Ab) 'chorale'. homophowc
fig, 34: - (fig, 34: 'spatial')
________ ______ fig. 35 +4: D ________________
31].
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 4
UI 17 - 'singing':
monody (solo cadenzas)
N 25 - 'spatial'
__________ _______ fig. 30: A# _______________________
312
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 4
313
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 4
314
Chapter 4
The Music of Henri Dutilleux
315
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 4
316
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 4
thud
pp
of openmg figure
317
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 4
(ii) Theme B
oboe d'amore r 7
,.jflkiQI
318
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 4
319
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 4
320
Chapter 4
The Music of Henri Dutilleux
Section I
321
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22
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 4
(ex. 4.18).
rr
323
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pp- -
324
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 4
325
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 4
crrc.
326
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 4
327
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 4
28
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 4
Conclusion
329
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 4
330
Chapter 5
The music of Henri Dutilleux
Chapter 5
Late works:
the orchestral music of the 1980s.
Introduction
331
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 5
332
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 5
Biographical background
333
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 5
334
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 5
336
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 5
337
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 5
338
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 5
339
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 5
340
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 5
First movement
341
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 5
A" 16 g, a / C#'
improvisatory solo yIn, then bass ci.
focus shifts from g to a (at fig 17-i) and
then bass ci. closes with quasi-cadennal
_________ ______ _____________ gesture onto C#
342
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 5
343
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 5
344
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 5
345
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 5
• etc.
P -= -
x x'
346
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 5
347
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 5
Ex. 5.3 Piano figuration at fjg 7 L'arbre des songes, i, figs 7-8
. i
-i I._-., - _____"- 7
pitches added
____ .r
(invetsion)
348
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 5
349
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 5
350
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 5
movement (fig. 15, section C'), again over a C#' bass, but
scored quietly, with each note of the theme sustained so
as to build up dense but shifting harmonies as at the
beginning of Timbres. Espace , Mouvement. There is no
equivalent of the piano theme from fig. 9 (perhaps to
avoid pre-einpting the carillon so soon before its first
full appearance at fig. 17 +1), and the violin returns to
the low g almost immediately (arriving at fig. 16). As
before, the accompanying harmony moves through an F# major
chord (fig. 16 +2), which now includes an upper c1',
bringing it closer still to the F#-based harmonies of the
third and fourth movements. The movement ends with the
bass settling onto C#' and the melodic line on a, the
latter pitch, continued in the bass clarinet cadenza which
opens the ensuing Interlude, being part of a return to
motive y which has been largely neglected in the second
part of the movement.
351
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 5
352
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 5
353
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 5
354
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 5
18 iransitional' music
21+2 carillon
22 Large. 3/4 A
soloist; octatonic
29 beginning of large-scale
bass progression (to fig. 37)
34 textureasatfig.22 A'
42 +2 prolongation of transition ii
(though initially seems to
____ introduce new material, but thenj) __________ ________
45 texture and motive dissolved
47 carillon
355
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 5
356
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 5
5 .4.
Bass-line
descending in thirds
357
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358
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 5
359
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 5
360
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 5
361
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 5
362
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 5
363
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 5
364
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365
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366
Chapter 5
The music of Henri Dutilleux
P 1;-.:_# (Ge, B, A) I
'- 1 •- Theme 2
-- - A
367
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 5
.56 .58
:diaU,thc
diatonic
oHcctE
;tchnsi 1.Irrm
etc. (as in cxx. :(changiiig onj
each chord fchanging 0
5.5) "chcho
-I-
-
ch chord)
-r
L"
368
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 5
369
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 5
6
(fig. 66 +2). The use of space-time notation provides a
rare instance of indeterminacy in Dutilleux's music. The
degree of indeterminacy is very limited, however, with the
position of the 'unmeasured' notes indicated against a
background grid measured in seconds, and the rhythmically
free writing kept relatively sparse, so that despite the
experimental look of the notation there is arguably less
latitude for the performers than at certain moments in
Ainsi la nuit (e.g. the ending of Nocturne).
370
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371
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372
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 5
373
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 5
Mystère de L'instant
The original idea and the working title for this work was
Instantan6s - 'Snapshots'. In one of the most interesting
responses to this work since its premire in 1989, Roger
Nichols suggests that the unusual structure, with its ten
brief, snapshot-like movements, represents a bold new
departure for the composer (Nichols 1991-2). After forty
years of deliberately interweaving and reworking motivic
and harmonic cells to create a 'Proustian density of
interrelated thought' (Nichols 1991-2), Dutilleux seems to
have put all this behind him and concentrated exclusively
on trying to capture or recreate individual moments of
perception regardless of what comes before or after. This
view of the work is born out by a remark of the
composer's:
Recently I tried something different - a different
form - for Mystère de l'instant, in that I found
myself reacting somewhat against my natural
tendencies. The title itself demonstrates this,
presenting such a contrast with everything to do with
the notion of memory, which is a constant in most of
my works. (8)
Nichols goes on to say that the resulting ten movements
are not in fact totally unrelated, however, thanks to the
374
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375
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376
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 5
377
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 5
Lx. 5.10 Pitch focus and harmonic changes: overview Myêe de I'instazu
complement
whole-tone,
fourth-chords, thads
378
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379
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380
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 5
appearance of both soloists in this work is highly
dramatic, as if conceived in terms of a theatrical
context. The title Métaniorphoses (no. IX) describes a
musical process rather than evoking any specifically
extra-musical images, but it does exemplify how the work
as a whole is a kind of compendium of Dutilleux's most
characteristic ideas, the title being synonymous with
Mtaboles and the material (the musical version of the
letters of Paul Sacher's surname) taking Dutilleux back to
the Trois strophes sur le noin de Sacher of 1976-82.
Finally, Embraseinent ('Blazing' or 'bursting into flames')
offers a new and more direct approach to the subject of
Flamboyant from Métaboles.
381
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I: Appels
382
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 5
383
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 5
spositOU by
tone caII' pentat(1c steps
chords
unharmonised (no seniitones)
384
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 5
385
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 5
386
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 5
Conclusion
387
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 5
388
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 5
389
The music of Henri Dutilleux Chapter 5
390
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Conclusion
Conclusion.
391
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Conclusion
392
The Music of Henri Dutilleux Conclusion
393
Henri Dutilleux Bibliography
Bibliography
394
Henri Dutilleux Bibliography
399
Henri Dutilleux Bibliography
400
Bibliography
Henri Dutilleux
401
Henri Dutilleux List of Scores
402
1.0