A Guideto Dérive Page 1 of 2

The opening of Dérive is very characteristic of the musical language

of Pierre Boulez through its stunning exploration of texture through
statement and decoration.

At the opening of the piece a spread chord in the piano outlines the
harmonic trajectory for the accompanying instruments who enter one by
one with phrases of rapid figuration before resting on long trills or
flutters, embedded inside the resonances of the piano and its
Dérive: bars 1 - 9
surrounding harmonies.

As the music proceeds through the first few bars, certain pitches
seem to become more important and more attractive as resting
points to the instrumental ensemble. At bar 7 the note D is arrived
upon at some stage in the bar by every instrument except the cello.
Whilst at bar 12, the note B cuts through marked ff after a flourish in
the strings.

Dérive: bar
7
Dérive: bar
12

These decorative grace note figures that dart around in a flickering

and unpredictable fashion also give the impression of notes
gradually appearing and forming through the texture as well as
disappearing back into the ever changing surface landscape of the
music.

From here the music is confined to the middle register for five bars
before expanding upwards towards high sustained trills prefaced by
increasingly rapid and expressive flourishes.

At bar 30 the clarinet leads the piano on a subdued but ornate journey
through trills in the cello and vibraphone towards a brief unison D at bar
36.
Dérive: bars 30 -
36 From here the music rises and then falls so that for the first time we hear
fragile angular phrases in the low register of the piano.

Over these last few bars the music gradually becomes more dense when
at bar 41 the music reaches its most active state as longer melodic lines
unfold in canon creating a most luminous glistening web of sound. In this
Dérive: bars 41 - way bars 41 to 46 can be said to be the climax of the work even though

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A Guideto Dérive Page 2 of 2

46 the general dynamic never rises above mf.

With a repeat of the opening chord at bar 46 the music returns to the
initial tempo marking of crotchet = 40. Over a distant, icy version of the
opening chord, the piano thoughtfully interjects a series of melodic
Dérive: bars 46 - fragments characterised by a group of grace notes leading to a long note
54 followed by a short chord. The end of the piece is marked by a short,
delicate rapidly vibrating chord which reduces sound to silence in a
second and brings to a close an exquisite timeless floating invention.

All audio examples are provided with kind permission by Nimbus Records: CD
NI5167 London Sinfonietta/George Benjamin

introduction : intro.to Dérive : a guide to Dérive : harmony : texture :

tempo : influences : words : definitions

boulez : composing : workshops : support : contact

http://www.soundintermedia.co.uk/boulez-online/compose/guide.html 10/17/2004