Influential Pieces: Kaija Saariaho - Cendres - Part 3

One of the aspects of Saariaho's Cendres that really drew me in is the harmonic language.  After my initial listening it seemed to me that the harmonic language was relatively static.  I had thought that there was little to no progression in the direction of the piece.  After repeated listening and a brief study of the score I found that is not the case.

The sonic world of Cendres is one of gentle unfolding.  Saariaho starts with a solitary note, an E-flat pizzicato in the piano.  A harmonic trill in the cello on E-flat in measure two introduces a G.  This gives the listener a hint at a possible major sonority.  Then at the beginning of measure eight the F-sharp is introduced dispelling the major notion.  Finally at the end of measure eight the B-flat is brought in.  An analysis of these eight measures indicate that the opening sonority shifts between E-flat major and minor.  The minor third in this case is enharmonically spelled as F-sharp rather than G-flat.

Why do I focus on the first eight measures of the piece?  This piece starts at a slow tempo of a quarter note equals forty-four.  Therefore these measures constitute almost forty-five seconds.  Which in a ten minute piece is substantial.  Also in looking at the rest of the piece it becomes apparent that these eight measures are indicative of the sound world Saariaho intends to create.

Another identifier of Cendres is the use of timbre and effects to color the piece.  Most of the uncommon effects I have described in part two of this series.  The way in which she combines these effects really adds a different sense of motion to the piece.  In the first eight measures Saariaho combines pizzicato inside the piano with the harmonic trill in the cello.  Both of these techniques produce a thin sound and yet the base of each sound is identifiable to its respective instrument.

In measure sixty-three Saariaho provides another example of using color as forward motion.  In this measure both the alto flute and the cello play a rhythm on a single repeated note.  In this case the alto flute plays C and the cello E-flat.  While the notes are stagnant the rhythm and motion is not.  Both instruments play a similar rhythm, but a sixteenth note apart.  The interesting part is the way in which each instrument produces the tone.  The alto flute gradually changes from a normal tone to a breath tone. The cello changes from a normal tone to a harmonic.  Saariaho thins out the sound creating a shift in tone color.

Quarter-tone and half-tone glissandi are utilized for two reasons.  This first is to slightly modify the character of the piece.  Much of the playing is straightforward and either highly rhythmic or static.  The glissandi add a slippery, almost bouncy feel to the sections in which they appear.  The second reason is that they also further illustrate the gentle unfolding that I described at the onset of this part.  Rather than just mechanically changing the fingering to create the new tone, the instruments slide into the new pitches.