48 BookReviews
If the predominantly
gesturalnatureof this This tremendouslypowerful, captivatingwork
piece edges towardsacademicism,the situationis creates a truly audible sense of multi-layering,
much more pronouncedin Tritticoper G.S. (1989). resulting in sensational textures. The poetic
This piece, apartfrom representingwhat is surely dimension of the piece is ever-present: colours
the limit in double basstechnique, is consistentin transform into each other, or are glimpsed
its absolutely extreme discontinuity and brevity through gaps and fissures within other fields of
of gesture, to such a degree that distinctions colouration, with a seemingly infinite depth.
become blurred and one is left with a numbing When one compares this work with La terreest
sense of sonic overkill or ultra-intellectualism un homme,Fereyhough's previous musical essay
verging on solipsism (though some find similar concerning 'the earth', as a man rather than as
qualitiesandpalpablegapsbetween intention and geology, it seems he feels more musicallyattuned
resultin the work of GertrudeStein, to whom the towards natural rather than human metaphors!
title refers). It is hardto see what a non-musician The highly judicious and subtle instrumental
in particularwould 'get out of this piece other writing is complimented by the sensitive playing
thana general sense of samenessand tedium. The of the ASKO Ensemble; it is clear that they have
problem is not unlike that with La terre,and the marvellousrapport,understandingof and respect
piece seems to occupy a similar role of turning- for each others' individualities- such a contrast
point within Ferneyhough'soutput. The works to the sound of a collection of soloistic, arrogant,
that immediately followed, such as the Fourth prima donna-like musicians lumped together
Quartet, Mortsubite(1990) for four players and when the occasion demands it (unfortunatelya
BoneAlphabet(1991) for solo percussion, are by feature of many performancesover here).
contrast notably measured and disciplined. The performers of Ensemble Contrechamps
I would contend that Ferneyhough's most show similar levels of co-operation and mutual
successful scores are those which cearly amount sympathy on their disc, which includes two
to more than the sum of their parts, and seem pieces, Superscriptio(1981) for piccolo andLachute
somehow to point beyond 'the notes themselves'. d'Icare(1988) for clarinetandensemble, which are
There is of course a world of difference between also found on the early Ferneyhoughdisc by the
this and the notion that music is best suited to a Nieuw Ensemble (EtceteraKTC 1070). The early
representative function, aiming for maximum Prometheus(1967) for wind sextet, in which
transparency,and consequently redundancy, by Femeyhough utilizes differing degrees of pre-
denial of its own materiality.2 But the other determination in the compositional process, is
extreme, where music becomes an entirely self- also featured. While the work uses the hyper-
referential system, incomprehensible except in expressionistic language I mentioned earlier,
terms of other music or abstractideas that exist other structuraland instrumentalfactors, such as
only within discourse about music, is equally the use and natureof extended instrumentalsolos
dubious. and the employment of the ensemble as a block,
None of this blights Terrain(1991-92), how- enable it to diverge from conventional musical
ever, the crowningachievementof Fereyhough's parlancein this respect; consequentlyPrometheus
fourth period. This work has to do with 'natural is more striking than, say, Stockhausen's
forces as a metaphorfor the creative process', in Zeitmasse.
particularthose drawnfrom geology. The crazed, The presence of the soundof Lachuted'lcareis a
manaical but free-flying violin writing is at a little better on the new disc, but otherwise the
marked contrast to the solidity and imperme- performancesare complementary.Froma begin-
ability of the instrumentation,(the same as that ning which seems 'business as usual' within
for Varese'sOctandre),which Ferneyhough uses Femeyhough's third period, one perceives
to create differentsub-combinations.The work is glimpses of something quite different through
in two sections, each containinga violin cadenza, crevices in the texture. A moment where the
then a passagewhere the ensemble enters. In the clarinet and piano break off from the other
first section the violin plays almost continuously, players, and the clarinet heads towards a high,
without rests, whereas the second contains long close-chromatic wailing, most resembles a con-
silences; indeed the violin is silent for the first ventional climax; after this the ensemble writing
partof the ensemble entry. Also prominentin the is more still, preparingthe ground for a clarinet
second section is the coalescing of the ensemble cadenza. The fine performance manages to
onto sustained pitches. articulatevery clearly such features as the use of
rhythmic periodicity.
2 Fora discussionof the
problemsof this approachsee Ian After avowing at the time of the Etudes
Pace,'Kagel:Musicof theAbsurd?'in Tempo 200 (April1997). Transcendantales (1982-85) that he wished to get
