Sophie Cherrier

8/18/2019 Sophie Cherrier

1/17

Transmission, Interpretation, Collaboration-A Performer's Perspective on the Language ofContemporary Music: An Interview with Sophie CherrierAuthor(s): Nina Perlove and Sophie CherrierReviewed work(s):Source: Perspectives of New Music, Vol. 36, No. 1 (Winter, 1998), pp. 43-58Published by: Perspectives of New MusicStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/833575 .

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2/17

TRANSMISSION,

NTERPRETATION,

COLLABORATION

A

PERFORMER'S

ERSPECTIVE

ON THE

LANGUAGE

OF

CONTEMPORARY

MUSIC:

AN

INTERVIEW

WITH SOPHIE

CHERRIER

NINA

PERLOVE

ONTEMPORARY

MUSIC

is

an

expression

which

communicates

in

a lan-

guage

different from

traditional

classical

music. It is

more

explosive,

more

theatrical,

more

gestural.

The

phrases

are no

longer

singing

melo-

dies,"'

explains

Sophie

Cherrier.

As

Principal

Flutist of

the

Ensemble

Intercontemporain

since

1980,

she

speaks

the

contemporary

language

with fluency. The Ensemble Intercontemporain is an orchestra of

thirty-

one

full-time

musicians

dedicated to

the

performance,

transmission,

dis-

semination,

and

pedagogy

of

twentieth-century

music.2

Founded

in

1976

by

Pierre

Boulez,

the

Ensemble

performs

approximately

thirty

times a

year

in

Paris

and has

toured

extensively,

including

concerts in

South

America,

the former

USSR,

Canada,

the

United

States,

Japan,

New

Zealand,

Australia,

and

most

major

cities

of

Europe.

The

Ensemble

Intercontemporain

enjoys

a

unique

partnership

with

IRCAM

(the


3/17

Perspectives

of

New Music

Institute of Acoustic Music Research and Coordination), which sponsors

research

and concerts

showcasing

the

newest

technological

advances

in

composition.3

Since

1992,

American David Robertson has held

the

position

of Musical Director of

the Ensemble.

In

addition to

Cherrier's

position

in

the Ensemble

Intercontemporain,

she was

recently appointed

Flute Professor

at the Paris

Conservatory,

one

of the most

internationally

prestigious

teaching

positions.

Cherrier

mastered the

contemporary language

the

way many

students

learn

a

foreign tongue,

through

total

immersion-in

her

case,

on the

job.

"At the Paris

Conservatory

I

played primarily

the traditional flute

reper-

toire.

I had been introduced

to

pieces

like the Pierre Boulez

Sonatine

and

Luciano

Berio's

Sequenza

I,

but

at that time

I

did

not have

any

particular

desire to

become

a

contemporary specialist.

When

I

won the

job

in the

Ensemble

Intercontemporain,

I did

not

even know what

extended

tech-

niques

such

as

multiphonics

and

slaps

were. But

I

learned

quickly

because

I was scheduled

to

premiere

Chu

Ky Vby

Ton-That

Tiet and

I

only

had

one

month to

learn

it.4 I found the

new flute

techniques

to

be

easy."

For Cherrier, the modern effects were a vocabulary she quickly inter-

nalized.

More

challenging

was

fully comprehending

the context

of

this

new

language.

"In most

contemporary

music,

the

melodies

are difficult

to

recognize.

They

are

heard,

but

in new

ways:

they

are not

tonal,

there

are

new

sounds

and

large, surprising

intervals,

there

are

nontraditional

sound

colors.

With

this

type

of

music,

you

cannot

easily

hum

back the

melody.

After

the first

hearing

of

Boulez's

Sonatine,

most

people

could

not

sing

it

one

hour

later."

One

way

Cherrier

came to

understand

the

contemporary

musical con-

text was

by

reevaluatingher rapportwith her instrument. "In a sense, we

are

required

to

forget

our

classical

training.

In

Pneuma

(1970) by

Heinz

Holliger,

you

have the

impression

of

using

the

flute

like a

completely

dif-

ferent

instrument

from

its

treatment

in the traditional

repertoire."

Like

many

contemporary

scores,

Pneuma

stretches the

flute's

sound

possibilities

far

beyond

those

available

in the

eighteenth

and

nineteenth

centuries.

Holliger's

score directs

the

four flutists to "hum

and

play

simultaneously.

Play

with

lips

firmly pressed

together

(as

on

trumpet

mouthpiece). Whisper

into the

instrument, [and]

exhale and

inhale

observing

indicated

fingering

and

with some sound

in the

blowing

noise."5

Clearly,

the

flute

is no

longer

limited

to

producing

pure

tone colors.

Extended

techniques

like

quarter-tones

have

literally,

as

well

as

figura-

tively,

transformed

the

flute

into

a "different"

instrument.

For

example,

flutemaker

Eva

Kingma,

who is based

in

Grolloo,

the

Netherlands,

pro-

duces

quarter-tone

alto

and

bass flutes

to

accommodate

the

changing

needs

of

composers

and

performers.

Most

recently,

Brannen Brothers

44


4/17

An

Interview with

Sophie

Cherrier

Flutemakers of Woburn, Massachusetts, adapted Kingma's patented

key-on-key

mechanism

to

produce

a

quarter-tone

flute in C.

Designed

by

Bick

Brannen,

this instrument

has "six additional

keys

which allow

the

flute

to

play quarter-tone

scales

from

D4

to the

top

range

of the

instru-

ment.

It can

still

play

the traditional

repertoire

with no

exceptions,

but

expands

the

performer's capabilities

in

dynamics,

tone

color,

and

intona-

tion. Because of

the

ease

in

playing

quarter-tones, contemporary

flutists

can

now

adjust easily

to

play

eighth-tones.

Also,

the

design

dramatically

increases

possibilities

for

multiphonics,

which

can be

played

on each

semitone of the scale. Glissandos are also

improved."6

In

performing

works with extensive modern

techniques,

Cherrier

believes that the most difficult

aspect

is

switching quickly

from

a

contem-

porary

context back to

a

traditional one. "This

is

challenging

because

while

doing

extended

techniques

such

as

tongue slaps

and wind

tones

you

are

not

necessarily well-placed

on

the

embouchure,

or

there

may

be

some saliva built

up,

which

makes it difficult to

quickly change

to a tradi-

tional

position.

However,

in

performing contemporary

music,

the musi-

cian cannot be worrying all the time, thinking 'oh la la, I've lost my

classical

sound.'

You must

simply

search for what the

composer

wants."

But what does the

composer

want?

According

to

Cherrier,

this is

not

always

clear. Like

complex hieroglyphics,

the

symbols

used

by composers

are often

hard to understand:

"It

is

very

difficult that

composers

never

have the same

notation

system.

This is

very

unpleasant. Though

it

isn't

the

end

of the

world,

it is

still

very

annoying

when

you

are

in

front of

a

score

and

you

don't know

what the

composer

wants.

Oh

la

la,

that

annoys

me.7

For

example,

Froissements d'Ailes

(Rustling Wings) by

Michael Levinas is a good contemporary solo flute piece, but the score is

hard to

decipher

(Example

1).8

We are

not sure

if

he wants wind

tones or

sound with a

bit of air for

the

beginning.

Although ambiguities

in

notation

are

confusing

for

performers

who

seek

to

interpret

works

exactly

as

the

composer

intended,

such uncertain-

ties at times

may

be

central to

the

expressive

intent

of the work.

Levinas

wrote that

"sound

becomes musical

when its

[pure] quality

and

objective

reality

become also

indeterminate,

ambiguous,

because

it

suggests

a

sound

beyond,

and

yet

within

the

sound.... This

ambiguity

will

become

the

essence of

the musical

and the

poetic, opening

up

the

true

realm of

the

imagination

to

the act of

composing."9

Because Levinas's

music

explores

the

ambiguity

of

sound

elements,

his

nonspecific

notation in

Froissements

d'Ailes

may

be

his

way

of

freeing

the

creative realm for

the

performer.

In

other

cases,

however,

composers

want to

communicate

specific

ideas. For

Cherrier,

the

written

tradition of

contemporary

music must

evolve

with a

sophistication

equal

to

its oral

counterpart.

She

pleadingly

45


5/17

46

Perspectives

of

New Music

states: "It would be nice to have a single notation. From one composer

to the

next,

even

techniques

like

quarter-tones

are not written the same

way.

One

might put

a backwards flat

sign

while another uses

a

downward-pointing

arrow.

Some

composers

use a

V

to indicate a

slap

while

others

simply

write

'slap.'

This

is

extremely

unpleasant.They ought

to have a notation that is clear and

precise."'1

=

160 environ

ad

libitum

J

=

72 environ

J

:

>

lllllllll*i

.

>

,o

,

'

imp

et tres sec

J=

160

..........60

_________

....

la av

(L'effet

st

plusimportant

ue

les

notes)

Flat.

angue

mp

cresc.

-=

f

=

mp

With the

kind

authorization of

Heugel,

Paris

EXAMPLE

1:

MICHAEL

LEVINAS,

FROISSEMENTS

D'AILES

To translate

notation

systems,

Cherrier

spends

much

of

her

practice

time

a la

table,

until

she

can read scores

with

fluency.

In

pieces

with

many

extended

techniques,

"it

is

necessary

to move

forward

step

by

step,

care-

fully,

almost

note

by

note,

and then

begin

to

memorize

[the

indications]

sufficiently

to advance.

This can

be a

long,

fastidious,

difficult,

sometimes

laborious

process.ll

Sometimes

I

look at

a

piece

and

I

only

have a

week

to learn it

and

I

think,

'Oh no. It

isn't

possible '

but the

more

I

do

it,

the

easier

it

gets.

In

studying contemporary

pieces,

I

must

also

work

without

my

instrument

in

hand

to understand

the

rhythmic

notation,

to

see

if

there

is

space

in which to

evolve,

as

in the

Berio

Sequenza."

In

studying

the

Sequenza,12

Cherrier's

initial

challenge

was

to under-

stand

the

composer's

proportional

notation

of events

in

time

which

replaces

the traditional

use of

measures

(Example

2).

She

adds that

"this

notation,

which

has since

been

adopted

by

many composers,

was

a bit

disorienting

at

first

... as

if one

were

learning

a new

way

of

speaking."13


6/17

An Interview

with

Sophie

Cherrier

Yet, Cherrier believes Berio's system of interior time units "allows for a

certain

elasticity

and

a

type

of freedom for the

performer."14

In

a 1981

interview,

Berio described

Sequenza

I as

very

difficult,

explaining:

[I]

adopted

a notation

that was

very precise,

but allowed

a

margin

of

flexibility

in

order that the

player might

have

the

freedom-

psychological

rather than

physical-to

adapt

the

piece

here and

there

to his

technical

stature.

But

instead,

this

notation has

allowed

many players-none

of them

by

any

means

shining

examples

of

pro-

fessional

integrity-to

perpetuate

adaptations

that

were little short

of

piratical.

In

fact,

I

hope

to

rewrite

Sequenza

I

in

rhythmic

nota-

tion:

maybe

it will

be less

"open"

and more

authoritarian,

but at

least

it will

be

reliable.15

or

rVJtt

^L

W.

Mi

i

I

L[ t i lW-M

I

L _

r

h f

By

kind

permission

of

Edizioni

Suvini

Zerboni,

Milan

EXAMPLE 2: BERIO, SEQUENZA I (BEGINNING), IN THE ORIGINAL

NOTATION

In

1992,

Suvini

Zerboni

and

Universal

Edition

A.G.,

Vienna

published

the

Sequenza

in

a

more

standard

format

(Example 3).16

Cherrier offers

her

reactions to

this

adaptation:

Berio,

in

[1992]

...

rewrote his

Sequenza

in

traditional

notation-

but without bar lines-doubtless after having heard too many

performances

which

were far

from

what he

wanted.

Personally,

I

find

this

to

be a

pity.

I

studied the

new

version,

but

only

for the

small,

detailed

elements;

because

my previous

study

sufficiently

prepared

me,

I

work

only

with

the

original

notation.17

Because

of

differences

and

innovations in

notation,

contemporary

music often

relies as

much on

an

oral

tradition

as on a

written

text. In

the

47


7/17

Perspectives

of

New

Music

Ensemble Intercontemporain, Cherrier consults directlywith composers,

who

help

her

translate

their

scores. Other

musicians,

lacking

such

a

lux-

ury, may

study recordings

(when

possible),

or discuss the

piece

with

teachers and

colleagues

who

may

have had

past

contact

with

the

com-

poser.

When

these

options

are not

possible, performers

make

their

own

interpretive

decisions.

"If I

am

unable to contact a

composer,"

Cherrier

explains,

"I

simply

choose the

interpretation

which

in

my

opinion

best

reflects the

spirit

of the work."

703--I

. ---

--

r-5.-

---r

r

,ffsemsr~

Luciano

Berio,

SEQUENZA

I

?

Proprieta per

tutto il mondo:

Edizioni Suvini Zerboni.

All

Rights

Reserved. Used

by

kind

permission

of

European

American Music Distributors

Corporation,

sole U.S. and

Canadian

agent

for

Universal Edition

A.G., Vienna,

and with kind

per-

mission of Edizioni Suvini Zerboni

EXAMPLE

3:

BERIO,

SEQUENZA

I,

REVISED NOTATION

Although

most

performers genuinely

want to

give

new works

solid

performances,

and

appreciate

the details

within

a

piece,

there is a

general

belief

among

musicians that

note-perfection

is less of

an issue

in

contem-

porary

music than

in

traditional

repertoire.

This is because

they

believe

some mistakes in contemporary works may go unnoticed by the audi-

ence.

Cherrier concurs:

"A

wrong

note

in Mozart

is

noticed

immediately,

it is

true.

But

honestly,

if I

play

a

wrong

note

in the Boulez

Sonatine,

who

will

notice

except

me,

or

perhaps

someone who

knows the

piece

extremely

well?"18

However,

as a

performer,

Cherrier

disagrees

with

this

attitude and

believes

that

"although

some mistakes

may

not be

heard,

I

hope

most

audiences would

notice

if

there

were

major

problems

in a

performance.

But a

wrong

note

is not the issue.

What is

important

is

giv-

ing

the

piece

a solid

presentation

and

engaging

the

public

with

what

you

have done.

The

performer

must defend the

piece

well,

so to

speak."

Contemporary

composers

understandably hope

each note

of their

pieces

will

be

heard within

its

context,

just

as audiences

have

learned

to

recognize

a

Baroque

harmonic

progression

or a Classical

melodic

line.

Yet,

because

function and structure

in

contemporary

music

are

constantly

being

reinvented,

even

sophisticated

audiences

and

performers

are not

always

aware of the role of

a

specific

pitch.

A

wrong

note

may

go

48


8/17

An Interview with

Sophie

Cherrier

unnoticed because the audience has little expectation for what the correct

pitch

should be.

Cherrier

herself

separates

the

job

of

analysis

from

performance.

"I

am

not an avid theoretical

analyst,

but this does not

impede

my

understand-

ing

of a

work's construction. For

example,

in

the

Sonatine,

it is

easy

to

see

the

twelve-tone row

presented

in

the

Rapide

section.

(Example

4).19

But

I

believe a

good performer

is not

necessarily

a

good

analyst,

and

a

good

analyst

is not

necessarily

a

good performer."20

T5I -- 5

tIrs

man

6 10

?

1954 Editions

Amphion.

Used

by

permission.

Sole

Agent

U.S.A.,

Theodore Presser

Company

EXAMPLE

4:

BOULEZ,

SONATINE

FOR

FLUTE AND

PIANO,

RAPIDE,

MM.

32-47

One reason

for

concerns

over

note-perfection

may

be the

increasing

technical

difficulty

of

contemporary

music.

"Sometimes

composers

write

pieces

with

extremely

difficult,

even

unplayable

passages,"

Cherrier

admits.

"This

happens

more

frequently

in

orchestral

pieces

than in

solo

works.

In

the

orchestra,

these

passages

are

more

discreet

[less

obvious to

the

listener].

Usually,

if

a

passage

is difficult for

the

flute it is also

chal-

lenging

for

all

the

instruments.

Most

composers

know what

they

have

49


9/17

Perspectives

of

New

Music

written is very difficult or impossible-like Brian Ferneyhough, who is

what we call a

composer

of

extremes.

He

knows

his music is at the outer

limit

of

possibility,

but

he wants to

push players

to the maximum."

For

flutists,

Ferneyhough's

music is

especially challenging.

As the

high-

est voice

in

the

orchestra,

the flute

symbolically represents

outer

registral

limits.

Ferneyhough

writes,

"The

sound of

any extremely

high

or

low

instrument

tends,

at least

for

me,

to evoke associations

with

borders,

boundaries,

and with whatever lies

beyond."21

In

addition

to an interest

in

registral

boundaries,

Ferneyhough pushes players

to

their

outer techni-

cal limits

by surpassing

expectations

of

rhythm

and

interpretation.

In

Mnemosyne

or bass flute and

tape,

Ferneyhough

scores

the flute

part

on

three

separate

staves

(Example

5).22

In

this

piece,

the

composer

writes

"unplayable" passages

to

challenge

flutists

beyond

their

training

as

monophonic

instrumentalists:

It is

clear

that

no

monophonic

instrument

is

going

to be able

to

per-

form all materials

on

all

three

lines. With

a

piano

this doesn't

matter:

there's the possibility of distributing three voices among two hands.

It is

interesting

that

what comes

naturally

to

a

keyboard player

encounters

tremendous

resistance

in

the

minds

of

(say)

woodwind

soloists,

who

are

not

accustomed

to

freeing

up

the "natural"

rela-

tionship

between

hands,

or hand and

embouchure.23

Ferneyhough's

flute

works also

push

boundaries

by requiring

perform-

ers to

breathe

as little

as

possible.

In his

piccolo

work

Superscriptio,

he

marks

optional

breathing points,

and

adds,

"Take

as few

as

absolutely

necessary."24

n the beginning of Mnemosyne,he requests that the flutist

"Breathe

either

as

little

and

as

unobtrusively

as

possible

or

employ

circu-

lar

breathing."25

Leaving

aside

those

who

knowingly push

technical

and

interpretative

limits,

Cherrier

remarksthat

occasionally young composers

do

not realize

they

have

written

an

extremely

difficult

section.

Furthermore,

scores

may

contain

passages

specifically

unplayable

on the

flute,

such

as notes

out

of

the

range

of the instrument.

Cherrier advises

composers

to "avoid

slaps

above middle F#, they come out

in the

lower

register.Also,

be careful

of

multiphonics

in

very

fast succession."

When

Cherrier

encounters

pieces

with

unplayable

passages,

she

tries to

speak

to

the

composer

and

point

out

the

problem.

"Usually

they

are

grateful

for the

feedback and

respond

by asking

what can

be

done

to

make

the

passage

playable,

or

else

they

ask

me to

play

as

much as

possible

to

capture

the essence

of the

phrase.

In

general,

I

advise

young

compos-

ers to make

use

of

existing

methods,

but

to

keep

in mind

that

everything

evolves.

Ideally, composers

should

meet

and work

with

performers."

50


10/17

An

Interview with

Sophie

Cherrier

0

z

tL

0

Li

w

>


11/17

Perspectives

of

New Music

Cherrier treasures the performer-composer friendship, which she

believes

helps

to better transmit the music to

the audience. She discusses

her

experience working

on

Chinese

composer

Shuya

Xu's

Dense/

Clairseme,

a

piece

for

solo

bass

flute and

orchestra which she

performed

at IRCAM

in

1996.

"I

was

playing

it

too

European,

too

French,

with

a

centered, clean,

'perfect'

sound.

I felt

it wasn't

right,

so I worked

with

the

composer.

Xu wanted

much more air

in

the

sound,

and

well-marked

accents. He

sang

the

expression

and

I

reproduced

the

sounds."

The

performer-composer

relationship

is

obviously

crucial for the dis-

covery

and transmission of new

works,

but Cherrier also believes that

performer-performer

contact

is critical.

"When David Robertson

took

over as musical director

of the Ensemble

Intercontemporain,

we

started

programming

much more

American music.

Before,

we

always

did

Reich,

Ives,

Cage,

but

now we

are

branching

out

even further."

For

the

1997-

1998

season,

the

Ensemble

Intercontemporain programmed

three con-

certs titled

Made

in

the

USA and featured

works

by

George

Crumb,

Charles

Amirkhanian,

Morton

Feldman,

David

Soley,

Josh

Levine,

John

Adams, Terry Riley, Elliott Carter,and Roger Reynolds.

Although

the

expressive

qualities

of the

contemporary

language

may

be a

mystery

to

many

concert-goers,

Cherrier believes

that audiences

are

constantly

involved

in a

process

of

musical selection.

"The decisions

as

to

what

pieces

will

last

over time is

not made

by specialists

alone,

but

by

the

public

as

well.

Why

did Mozart

last? Not

only

because

he

was

a

prodigy,

but because

his

language

touches

us. We have

found

genius

in

this

Monsieur.

Other

composers

of

his era have

long

been

forgotten.

I have

sometimes

played

quite

bad

contemporary

music,

boring

works,

and

screaming pieces which give everyone a headache. But I believe works of

many composers

will

withstand

the

test

of time.

For

example,

we

spoke

about Berio-for

me,

his

music has

a

unique

expression

which

is

theatri-

cal,

gestural.

It

has

halting

moments,

sweet

interludes.

It

speaks

to

me

and

I

think

to the

spectators

as well."26

Yet,

Cherrier

believes

that

composers

should

not

write

solely

to

please

the

public

taste.

"Each

composer

has,

at least

I

hope,

a

personal

evolu-

tion.

Composers

should

not

write

just

to

please

others,

they

should

write

with their feelings."

Because

the

contemporary

musical

message

is often

difficult

for audi-

ences to

comprehend,

Cherrier

stresses

the

importance

of

live

perfor-

mance:

"Contemporary

music

is enhanced

by

the visual. Of

course,

all

music

is

more

enjoyable

in

live

performance,

but

I

think

it is even

more

necessary

in

contemporary

music

because

there

is a

gesture

which

ema-

nates from

the

performer.

For

example,

in

the double

piano

works

of

Gyorgy Ligeti,

the

effect

of

watching

the

pianists

communicate

with

52


12/17

An

Interview

with

Sophie

Cherrier

signs and body language enhances the audience's understanding of the

music."

Contemporary

music

is

not

only

transmitted

through

the

performer-

heard and

seen-but

also

through technological

means,

a

trend

which

is

more and more

prevalent.

One

technology-enhanced

medium

is

chamber

music

between live

performer

and

prerecorded

sounds.

"I

never

appreci-

ated this

type

of

composition,

which is

becoming

obsolete."

Cherrier

explains

that

sharing

the

stage

with

a

tape

machine limited her

flexibility.

"I

felt

dependent upon

the

prerecorded

element. Once it started

run-

ning,

I did not feel free. If

you

have a

tape

which is

transmitted

very

well

in

a

game

of

spatialization

in

the

hall,

it

is

okay.

But

if

it is

simply

me

play-

ing

with

a

tape

and two

speakers,

it

is not

very interesting.

But

this

form

of

composition

is

virtually

extinct

now." This

may

be

true for members

of

the

Ensemble

Intercontemporain,

who have

access to

the

most

advanced

technology

at IRCAM.

However,

many

musicians who do

not

have

access to

this

technology

still

regularly perform

pieces

for

instrument and

tape.27

For the Ensemble Intercontemporain, composers have replaced works

for

instrument

and

tape

by compositions

for

instruments

enhanced

by

MIDI.

This

technology

was used

by

Pierre Boulez in

explosante-fixe,

which

Cherrier

recorded

with the

Ensemble

Intercontemporain

in

1995.28

This

compact

disc won a

"Best

Small

Ensemble

Performance"

Grammy

Award in

1997. In

explosante-fixe,

a

flute

is

prepared

with

mag-

netic

captors

on

each

key.

An

interface

connected to

the

computer

acti-

vates

preprogrammed

sounds or

effects,

transforming

the

sound of

the

flute in

real

time.29 In

this

way,

the MIDI

responds

to

the

musician,

unlike the former method which made the

performer

subservient to the

tape.

"This

system

works

well

because

the

machine can

read

very

fast

pas-

sages

and

respond

to each

fingering

as if it

were

hearing

the

score. I

have

much

more

freedom with

this

system

than

with flute

and

tape."

But from

Cherrier's

perspective,

this

system

is

still

imperfect.

"I

am

required

to

play

with

a

special

flute,

which I

find

unpleasant.

Also,

the

captors

can fall

off,

in

which

case

the

system

doesn't work

at

all "

Recent advances,however, solve these problems. "The newest technol-

ogy

is a

MIDI

which

recognizes,

or

'hears'

the

pitches

I

play.

A

micro-

phone

is

placed

into the

flute

headjoint

which

attaches

to the

computer.

The

composer

enters a

program

and the

computer

follows

the

score

based on

the

pitches

I

play.

For

example,

if I

arrive at

a

B

b

and

the com-

poser

desires to

have a

succession

of

tongue

slaps, my

Bb

will

trigger

the

series."

Furthermore,

with

this

technology, performers

have

the freedom

to

change

tempo.

"You

can

do

what

you

want.

If

you

want

to

go

three

times

slower,

the

MIDI

will

go

three

times

slower,

too.

Before,

with

53


13/17

Perspectivesof

New

Music

pieces for flute and tape, the expression seemed inhuman because it was

rigid,

our hands were tied. The new

technology

is much more human."

One

problem

with

the new

MIDI

system

is

that

it can become confused

in

reading

a fast run. For works with such

passages

(including explosante-

fixe),

it

is

necessary

to

keep

the

former

key-captor system.

As

the voice of

computers

becomes

more and more dominant

in

the

contemporary language,

one

might question

the

role of the

live

per-

former.

Cherrier,

however,

is not worried. She sees

the

technological

advances as

additions,

not threats to the

profession.

"The

MIDI does

not

replace

a

performer,"

Cherrier states,

explaining

that the sounds

pro-

duced

by computers

are

usually

electronically

generated

noises or

sound

effects which could

not be

reproduced

by

an

on-stage

performer.

"The

MIDI

is

an

extra.

We are

thirty-one

musicians

and with the

MIDI

we are

thirty-two."

Furthermore,

the

computer

does not

run

itself,

but

is trans-

mitted

by

a music-technician

who must

be

present

for

every perfor-

mance.

If,

for

instance,

the musician

misses a note and does

not

trigger

a

command,

the

technician,

who is

following

the

score,

will set the

com-

puter ahead to meet the performer.

Even

so,

the

MIDI

performance

medium

requires

new

technical

stan-

dards of the

performer.

Cherrier describes

how "the

process

of

activating

the

sequences

allows

little

room for mistakes:

the

margin

of

error

is

very

small....

The

added

difficulty

for the

performer,

in this

case,

is

to aim

for

a

faultless

presentation."30

Perhaps

now

more than

ever,

musical creation

involves

a continuous

dialogue

between

composers

and

performers

sharing

ideas,

experiences,

and

reactions.

The voice

of

technology,

the

newest and

fastest-growing

member in the family of contemporary musicians, is part of this collabo-

ration.

As Cherrier

states,

"the

technological

evolution

is the

expression

of the

modern

age

and

music

continues

in

a

similar direction."

Compos-

ers,

performers,

and technicians

struggle

to

assert their individual

identi-

ties,

and often

clash

in the

process.

Yet,

as

Sophie

Cherrier

has

demonstrated

throughout

her

career,

it

is

through

such

communication

that

learning

and

growth

occur:

composers

stretch

the

expressive

and

technical

possibilities

of

performers,

musicians

challenge

composers

to

communicate their

ideas

clearly, composers

and

performers challenge

technology

to

meet

their

changing

needs,

and

technology

in turn

chal-

lenges composers

and musicians

to create

and master

new methods

of

performance.

In this

way,

each

area

develops

as

a

creative

whole

where

every

member

is

dependent

upon,

and

grateful

for,

the other.

54


14/17

An

Interview

with

Sophie

Cherrier

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to

thank Frank

Samarotto,

Darrell

Handle,

Marianne

Kielian-Gilbert,

and the

anonymous

reviewers of

Perspectives

of

New

Music for

their valuable

suggestions

on this

manuscript.

I

would also

like

to thank Steven Cahn for

looking

over

my analysis

of the

Boulez

Sonatine.

NOTES

1.

Unless otherwise

indicated,

Cherrier's

quoted

material

(in

both

text

and

footnotes)

is taken

from two

interviews

held

in

Paris,

France

(June

1997).

The

sessions were

conducted

in

French

and

were tran-

scribed and

translated

into

English

by

the

interviewer.

2.

The

Ensemble

Intercontemporain

welcomes

submissions

of new

compositions

for

performance.

Priority

is

given

to

young

composers

who

have

never before had

their work

presented

in a

concert at

IRCAM or

by

the

Ensemble

Intercontemporain.

The

committee also

evaluates

candidates for

pedagogical

activities. For

information

write

to:

Direction

Artistique

de

l'Ircam,

1

place

Igor-Stravinsky,

75004

Paris,

tel:

011-33-1-44-78-48-34,

fax:

011-33-1-44-78-48-06.

Ensemble

Intercontemporain

website:

.

3. IRCAM

(the

Institute of Acoustic Music Research and Coordina-

tion)

website:

.

4.

Ton-That

Tiet,

Chu

Ky

Vfor flute and

tape

(Paris:

Jobert,

1983).

5.

Heinz

Holliger,

Pneuma

for

wind,

percussion,

organ,

and radios

(Mainz:

Ars

Viva

Verlag,

1972),

6.

6.

Bickford

Brannen,

telephone

interview,

July

1998. Bick

added that

with

the

multiphonic

instrument,

"flutists can

literally

play

the

clari-

net introduction from Gershwin's

Rhapsody

n Blue." Flutists Anne

La

Berge

and

John

Fonville

collaborated in

the

development

of

the

instrument.

Since

1995,

Brannen

Brothers

Flutemakers,

Inc. has

sold

over

forty

quarter-tone

flutes,

and

John

Fonville,

Robert

Dick,

Jennifer

Higdon,

and

Anne La

Berge

are

among

the

performer/

composers

who have

written

for

the

instrument.

Brannen

Brothers

has

also

designed

a

quarter-tone

piccolo.

55


15/17

Perspectives

of

New Music

7. "C'est tres difficile car les compositeurs, n'ont jamaisla meme facon

d'ecrire.

Ca

c'est tres

desagreable.

Ce n'est

pas

enorme,

si

tu

veux,

mais

c'est tres enervant

quand

tu

es devant une

partition

et tu ne

sais

pas

ce

que

veulent

les

compositeurs,

oh

la

la, ga

m'enerve."

8.

Michael

Levinas,

Froissements

d'Ailes

(Paris: Heugel/Alphonse

Leduc,

1975).

9.

"Le son devient

musical

lorsque

cette

qualite [pure]

et realite

objec-

tive devient aussi

indetermination,

ambiguite, parce

que suggestion,

comme s'il

y

avaitun 'au-dela' du son dans le son.... Cette

ambigu-

ite deviendrait

l'essence

du musical

et

du

poetique,

ouverture

d'un

vrai

espace

de

l'imaginaire pour

le

travail de

composition."

Michael

Levinas,

"Le son et

la

musique,"

Entretemps

6

(1988):

28. Unless

otherwise

indicated,

all

French

translations

are

by

the

interviewer.

10. "Ca

serait bien d'avoir

une notation

unique.

D'un

compositeur

a

l'autre,

meme

le

quart

de

ton ce

n'est

pas

la meme

ecriture.

II

y

en

a

un

qui

met

un bemol

a

l'envers,

un

autre met

une fleche

vers le

bas.... Ca c'est extremement

penible.

Ils devraient avoir une nota-

tion

claire,

precise."

11.

"II

faut

avancer

pas

a

pas,

doucement,

c'est

vraiment

presque

note

a

note,

lentement,

et

puis

commencer

a

memoriser

suffisamment

pour

pouvoir

avancer.

C'est

parfois

tres

long,

tres fastidieux.

C'est

difficile,

c'est

parfois

tres

penible."

12.

Luciano

Berio,

Sequenza

per

flauto

solo

(Milan:

Edizioni

Suvini

Zerboni, 1958).

13.

"Depuis,

beaucoup

de

compositeurs

ont

adopte

cette

ecriture,

qui

desoriente

un

peu

au

debut ...

comme

si

on

apprenait

une

nouvelle

facon

de

parler."

Sophie

Cherrier,

as

quoted

by

Veronique

Brindeau,

"Flute

Solo:

Sophie

Cherrier,"

Accents:

Le

Journal

de

l'Ensemble

Intercontemporain

5

(May-August

1998):

11.

14.

Ibid.

"Cela

donne

une

certaine elasticite

et

une forme

de

liberte

a

l'interprete."

15.

Rossana

Dalamonte

in Luciano Berio:

Two

Interviews

(New

York:

Marion

Boyars,

1985),

99.

Translated

and edited

by

David

Osmond-

Smith.

Interview

originally

published

in

Intervista

sulla

musica

(Rome:

Laterza,

1981).

16.

Luciano

Berio,

Sequenza

I

per flauto

solo

(Milan:

Edizioni

Suvini

Zerboni;

Vienna:

Universal Edition

A.G.,

1992).

56


16/17

An Interview with

Sophie

Cherrier

57

17. "Berio, en 1997 [sic] ... a reecrit sa Sequenzaen ecriture tradition-

nelle-mais sans barre de mesure-sans doute

apres

avoir

entendu

trop d'interpretations

eloignees

de

ce

qu'il

avait

voulu.

Personnelle-

ment,

je

trouve

cela

dommage.

J'ai

retravaille

sur

la

nouvelle

version,

mais

pour

de

petits

elements

de

details,

car

le

travail

prealable

m'avait

suffisamment

preparee,

et

je

ne

joue qu'avec

la

notation

d'origine."

Cherrier,

"Flute

Solo,"

Accents,

11.

In

this

article,

the date of

Berio's

revision is

incorrectly

given

as 1997.

The revised version was

pub-

lished

by

Universal

Edition

A.G.,

Vienna in

1992,

UE 19

957.

18.

"Une fausse note dans

un Mozart s'entend

tout

de

suite,

et

elle

ne

s'entend

pas

dans un

Boulez,

c'est

evident. Si

je

fais une

fausse

note

dans

la

Sonatine

de

Boulez,

qui

va

s'en rendre

compte,

franchement?

A

part

moi ou

quelqu'un qui

le

connait tres

tres bien?"

19.

Pierre

Boulez,

Sonatine

(Paris:

Amphion,

1954).

All

analysis by

the

author unless

otherwise

indicated.

Given the

prime

form of

the row

<

C B

G

C#

A

l

E;

A

D

Bl

F

F#

>

or

C

=

0

(0,

11,

7, 1, 8,4, 3,

9,

2, 10, 5, 6); the flute presents row forms T5I and T7I in measures

33-40

and

41-47,

respectively.

Introducing

this

passage,

the

piano

in

measure 32

juxtaposes

H1 of T2Iin

the

right

hand and H1 of

RT2I

simultaneously

in

the

left

hand,

converging

on the

B-B6.

Although

Carol

K. Baron

states that

throughout

the

piece

"the

juxtaposition

of

the

first and last

notes of a

given

row,

always

a

tritone,

is

carefully

avoided,"

this

is

one

instance where

such

simultaneity

does

occur.

Baron

identifies a

repeated rhythmic

pattern

of

two

quarter

notes,

dotted

quarter,

sixteenth,

eighth

starting

in

measures 33

and

41. See

Carol K. Baron, "An

Analysis

of the Pitch

Organization

in Boulez's

'Sonatine' for

Flute and

Piano,"

Current

Musicology

20

(1975):

89-

91.

20.

"Je

pense

qu'un

bon

interprete

n'est

pas

forcement

un

bon

analyste,

[et]

un

bon

analyste

n'est

pas

forcement

un bon

interprete."

21.

Brian

Ferneyhough,

Superscriptio

or

solo

piccolo

(London:

Edition

Peters,

1982),

preface.

22. BrianFerneyhough, Mnemosyne London: Edition Peters,

1986).

23.

Brian

Ferneyhough,

"The

Tactility

of

Time

(Darmstadt

Lecture

1988),"

Perspectives

f

New

Music

31,

no.

1

(Winter

1993):

26-27.

24.

Ibid.

25.

Brian

Ferneyhough,

Mnemosyne London:

Edition

Peters,

1986),

1.


17/17

Perspectives

of

New Music

26. Cherrier recorded Berio's Sequenza I for Deutsche Grammophon,

release

pending.

27. American flutist

Jill

Felber,

who

recently

recorded

a

compact

disc

including

works

for

flute and

tape

(Neuma

450-94),

explains

that

in

tour

situations,

it can be difficult to

perform

works

requiring

advanced

MIDI

technology.

Works

for flute and

tape

(or

flute

and

DAT)

are more

easily transportable

and

adaptable

to various concert

settings.

Jill

Felber,

telephone

interview,

July

1998.

(Cherrier

agrees

that MIDI has limited concert possibilities and therefore works with

tape

are still

important).

28. Ensemble

Intercontemporain,

Boulez

Conducts Boulez:

Explosante-

fixe,

Deutsche

Grammophon

CD 445 833-2.

29.

For more information

on the

MIDI flute and

explosante-fixe,

see

Cecile

Daroux,

"Flute

Contemporaine,"

Traversieres

Magazine,

no.

23/57

(April-June,

1997):

51-59.

30. "Le fait de declencher des sequences laisse peu de droit a l'erreur: la

marge

d'erreur

est

faible....

La

difficulte

supplementaire

pour

l'interprete,

dans

ce

cas,

c'est

d'essayer

de

realiser un sans-faute."

Cherrier,

as

quoted by

Brindeau,

11.

58

Sophie Cherrier

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