Saariaho Rhythm/Metre/Tempo Flashcards
Give a general description as to the content of rhythm/tempo/metre.
The composer explores some very basic and stark contrasts.
What is the tempo of the sections where Saariaho has written a tempo marking?
The sections with a notated tempo are all slow, with a range from around 54 beats per minute to 66.
How are the notated tempi varied during the piece?
These tempi are varied during the course of phrases by accelerandi (accelerating) and by ritenuti (slowing down).
Explain what a pulseless section is.
A section where there is no sense of pulse/beat.
When do ‘pulseless’ sections occur?
In the sections marked ‘lento’ (Italian for ‘slow’).
How long are the ‘pulseless’ sections meant to last for?
At least 20 seconds - this is marked on the score, so the player knows.
How does the effect of ‘reverberation’ enhance the sense of ‘free time’/lack of pulse?
By blurring and overlapping the beginnings of notes.
What effect does the technique of having sections that do have a sense of pulse alongside sections in ‘free time’ create?
Tension!!!!!!!
What rhythmic gestures occur in the sections that have a sense of metre/pulse?
+Dectuplets (10 in the time of 8) - see stave 4-7
+The rather agitated rhythms of staves 10–13, often involving syncopations
within septuplets/quintuplets (with the steady flow also often interrupted by
rits or by pauses.
+Passages where the notes are as fast as possible – (‘grace note’ notation
staves 21–22).
What happens to the definition of the rhythms as the piece progresses?
In general the rhythms become less defined during the course of the piece, with less and less exactly measured material being found from stave 22 onwards.
