Répons

Répons is a composition by French composer Pierre Boulez for a large chamber orchestra with 6 soloists and live electronics. It was premiered on the 18th of October in 1981 at the Donaueschingen Festival and subsequently expanded until its completion in 1984.

Répons was the first significant work to come out of Boulez's endeavors at IRCAM, an institute in Paris devoted to making technological advances in electronic music, and it has been celebrated for its integration of the electronic and the acoustic. The piece's title, Répons, is derived from the fact that the composition is built from a number of responses. The contrast between acoustic sounds and electronic responses to them, and also the medieval idea of responsorial mirroring between players and speakers in different parts of the concert hall, both play important roles in Répons. [Paul Driver, "Review: Boulez's Répons" Tempo, New Ser., No. 140. (Mar., 1982), pp.27-28]

Structure

Répons is subdivided into an Introduction, Sections 1–8 and a Coda. Boulez said this about the use of metre and harmony in Répons,

"Oh yes, there is a metre, slightly irregular on one level but very regular on another. There are so many irregular things in this piece that at one point you need to have a regular metre as you say - a bass and a regular pulse anyway - but also a series of harmonies which are all symmetrical. The harmony always gives this impression of something followed by its inverse; there is always a centre - an axis of symmetry. This symmetry of harmony corresponds in harmonic terms to a regular metre. This is very important. There are three types of time. That which is chaotic and irregular such as you have in the beginning (in the speed I mean). Then you have, in the speed, the very regular rapid repeated notes - always in semiquavers. Finally at the end there is a regularity, a kind of metre - but with much ornamentation. The ornamentation is in fact very irregular, but the metre itself is very regular." [Peter McCallum; Pierre Boulez, "An Interview with Pierre Boulez" The Musical Times, Vol. 130, No. 1751. (Jan., 1989), pp.9-10.]

Reception

Répons was generally received well. French Canadian Jean-Jacques Nattiez has suggested that he believes that Répons may become viewed as 'one of the most significant works of the 20th century.' [Peter McCallum; Pierre Boulez, "An Interview with Pierre Boulez" The Musical Times, Vol. 130, No. 1751. (Jan., 1989), pp.8.] Consistent with Boulez's compositions in general, one of the common praises of Répons is its internally consistent style. [ [http://www.therestisnoise.com/2004/05/pierre_boulez.html Alex Ross: The Rest Is Noise: The Godfather: Pierre Boulez ] ] The piece is also praised for its use of a wide variety of modern compositional resources, "including electronic manipulation, spatial acoustics, innovative coloring, and even a quasi-minimalist use of repetition." [ [http://www.themodernword.com/joyce/music/boulez_repons.html Joyce - Music: Pierre Boulez's "Répons" ] ]

Recordings

The Deutsche Grammophon recording of Boulez conducting the Ensemble InterContemporain won a Grammy in 2000 for best contemporary classical album. [http://www2.deutschegrammophon.com/cat/result?COMP_ID=BOUPI&sort=newest_rec&ALBUM_TYPE=&SearchString=Repons&IN_SERIES=&ART_ID=&IN_XXAWARDS=&PRODUCT_NR=4576052&start=0&view_mode=buy_options&IN_XXSERIES=&IN_XXPQ=&MOZART_22=0&GENRE=&per_page=10]

External links

* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0DE4D81F31F935A35750C0A960948260 Review of the New York premiere] in The New York Times
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I02deTlK0N8 An Excerpt from an interview with Boulez about Répons on YouTube]

References