06/05/2016 ICSFeaturedArticle:12HOMMAGESPAULSACHER

12HOMMAGESPAULSACHER
byJeremyCook

Anexaminationofthe12HommagesPaulSacher,lookingathowtheyuse
materialderivedfromthenamePaulSacher,theirforms,andtheirdegree
ofsuccessfromaplayersperspective.

TheSwissconductorandeducatorPaulSacherhasbeenperhapsone
ofthemostinfluentialfiguresintwentiethcenturymusic.Bornin1906
PaulSacherhasbeenfriendswithmanyofthiscentury'sgreatest
composers,resultinginhiscommissioningofmanypieces,includingworks
byBartok,Strauss,BrittenandStravinsky.Inthelatterpartofthis
century,Sacherhaschampionedtheworksofmanycomposers,includingthose
ofPierreBoulez,LucianoBerio,HansWernerHenze,HeinzHolligerand
WitoldLutoslawski.

TheoccasionofSacher'sseventiethbirthdayin1976promptedmany
celebrationsinhisnativeSwitzerland,notleastaconcertonMay2nd.
TheentiresecondhalfofthisconcertwasdevotedtoMstislav
Rostropovich'spresentationofpartofthe12HOMMAGESPAULSACHER(at
thattimethesetwasnotcompleted).RostropovichandSacherhad
performedtogetherbeforeandhadgiventhefirstperformanceofHenri
Dutilleux'scelloconcertoTOUTUNMONDELOINTAIN.ForSacher'sseventieth
birthdayRostropovichhadtheideaofcommissioning12leadingcomposers,
allofwhomwereconnectedtoSacher,tocomposeasetofthemeand
variationsforsolo'cellobasedonacryptogramofthenameSacher.This
producedasixnotemotifofEflat(esinGerman,fromS),A,C,B(Hisb
naturalinGerman),E,andD(reinItalian)(Ex1).Theoriginalplanwas
forBenjaminBrittentocomposethethemeandforeachcomposertosubmit
onevariation.However,allofthecomposersinvolvedseemtohavebeenso
inspiredbythecommissionthatallofthemproducedworksthataremore
substantialthanasimplevariation.Someofthepiecesarecastinone
movement,suchasKlausHuber'sTRANPOSITIOADINFINITUMandHeinz
Holliger'sCHACONNE,butmanyofthepiecesaremultimovement,suchas
AlbertoGinastera'sPUNEANO.2andHenriDutilleux'sTROISSTROPHESSUR
LENOMDESACHER.PierreBoulezbroketheboundsofthecommissioneven
morebycomposinghisMESSAGESQUISSEfor'cellosoloandsix'cellos
accompaniment.Theoverallresultofthisisthatinsteadofathemeand
variationsthatwouldhavebeenlittlemorethanamusicalnovelty,wehave
asetofworksthatconstituteasummaryofwritingforthe'celloatthe
endofthetwentiethcentury,aswellasdemonstratingmanyofthe
compositionaltrendsofourtimes.

InthispaperIwillbeexaminingthe12HOMMAGESPAULSACHER
fromthreedifferentangles.(seefootnote#1)Thefirstsectionwilldiscusstheuseof
materialderivedfromPaulSacher'snameinthesepiecesandhowitis
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developed.Thissectionwillpresentthewaysthematerialisusedand
variedbeforediscussingtheuseofmaterialinindividualworks.Aswill
beseen,thiswilllinkwiththesecondsectionwhichwillbeadiscussion
oftheuseofthenamePaulSacherintheformsoftheseworks.Thethird
sectionwilldealwiththepiecesfroma'cellisticpointofview,looking
atthetypesoftechniquesdemandedoftheperformerandhowsuccessful
thesepiecesarefromaplayersviewpoint.

USEOFMATERIALDERIVEDFROMPAULSACHER'SNAME

Intheinitialcommissionforthe12HOMMAGESPAULSACHER
Rostropovichsuggestedthateachofthecomposersusethemotifderived
fromPaulSacher'sname.Thismotifhasastrangelycompleteand
satisfyingquality.Thisisprovidedbytheimpliedresolutionofthe

augmentedfourthonthefinalnoteofthesequence(Dnatural),aswellas
thefallingstepwisemotionofthelastfournotes.TheSachermotifalso
hasthefeatureofbeingahexachord,presentinghalfofapossibletwelve
tonerow,andthisledtothetreatmentanddevelopmentofthemotivein
manyofthesamewaysthatatwelvetonerowistreated,namely

transposition,inversion,retrograde,andretrogradeinversion.Aswillbe
demonstratedlater,allofthesedevicesareusedbythecomposersofthis
setintheirtreatmentoftheSachermotif.Anotherwaythatthematerial
ofthismotifisdevelopedisbyusingtheintervalstructureofthemotif.
ExampletwoshowstheSachermotifwiththeintervalsbetweenthenotes
labeledandwiththeseintervals'inversionsinbrackets.Bytakingthese
intervalsandinvertingthem,alteringtheirorderortransposingthemonto
differentstartingnotesitispossibletocreatenewsoundingmaterial
linkedtotheSachermotif.ThesecharacteristicsoftheSachermotif
perhapshelpexplaintheenthusiasmshownforthisprojectbythecomposers
involvedandtheexpansionoftheprojectfromasimplebirthdaythemeand
variations.

AspecialcaseinthetreatmentoftheSachermotifisPierre

Boulez'sMESSAGESQUISSE.Boulez'suseofasolo'cellistandan
accompanyingensembleofsix'cellosopensuppossibilitiesavailableto
noneoftheothercomposers.InMESSAGESQUISSEBoulezcanexplorethe
harmonicpossibilitiesoftheSachermotifbypresentingdifferentnotesin
eachvoice.Boulezcreatesmaterialbytakingtheintervalseriesofthe
Sachermotifandbyalteringtheorderoftheintervalscreatessixcells
ofsixnotes(Ex.3).ThesealwaysstartonEflat,butwitheachcellthe
intervalseriesisdisplacedbyonestep.Throughtheuseofanensemble
Boulezisabletousemorethanonecellatthesametime,creatingamore
thoroughharmonicexplorationoftheSachermotifthaninanyotherpiece.
Inpassageswhereallseven'cellosareplayinginunisonthecellsare
strungtogethertocreateamelodicline.Thisisperhapsthemost

systematicanddevelopeduseoftheSachermotifanywhereinthisseriesof
works.(footnote#2)

MESSAGESQUISSEhasoneotheruniqueuseofthenameSacherinthe
music.BoulezusesMorsecodetocreatearhythmfromthelettersofthe
nameSacher(Ex.4).Thisrhythmisatfirstpresentedonlyonthepitch
ofEflatandasarhythmicalcanon.Atthispointthesolo'cello

presentsthecellsderivedfromSacheronebyone,andtheentriesofthe

morsecoderhythmcorrespondtothebeginningsofeachnewcell.Eachnew
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morsecoderhythmcorrespondtothebeginningsofeachnewcell.Eachnew
entryoftherhythmisdisplacedbyoneletterinthenameSacher,until
finallyafterpresentingallofthecellsthesolo'cellotakesupthe
rhythmtotheaccompanimentoffive'cellos,withonefurtherpart
sustaininganEflat(Ex.5).(3)

ThededicationoftheseworkstoPaulSacherledmanycomposersto
basemorethanjustthethematicmaterialonhisname.Animportantuseof
thenamePaulSacherinsomeoftheseworksisasabasisfortheformal
structureofthepieces.Thiswillbedealtwithinmoredetailinthe
sectiondealingwithform.

Anotherwayoflookingatthesepiecesisbyexaminingjusthowfar
theyarebasedontheSachermotif.AlthoughRostropovichspecifiedthis
ideaasthebasisforthecompositions,thedegreetowhicheachpieceis
basedontheSachermotifvaries.Atoneendofthescalethereareworks
suchasGinastera'sPUNEANO.2andHenze'sCAPRICCIO.Ginastera'swork
takestheSachermotifasastartingpoint,butisbasedonpurelySouth
Americaninfluences.Thispiececanalmostbeseenasprogrammusic,so
detailedisthedescriptiongivenbyGinasterainhisprefacetothescore.
Henze'sCAPRICCIOissimilarinitsfreeuseoftheSachermotifandalso
inthatthecomposergivespictorialideasastotheinterpretationofthe
piece.AttheotherextremetherearepiecessuchasBoulez's

MESSAGESQUISSE,Holliger'sCHACONNEandFortner'sZUMSPIELENFRDEN70.
GEBURTSTAGwhereallofthematerialisderivedfromtheSachermotif.In
betweentheseextremesfallthemajorityofthepiecesinthisset.This
varietyintheuseofmaterialderivedfromSacherhelpsmakesthisgroup
ofpiecesinterestingtoplayerandlisteneralike.

DespitethefactthattheSachermotifseemstolenditselftoa

twelvetonetreatment,onlytwoofthepiecesinthesetevenapproacha
serialstyle.TheseworksareWitoldLutoslawski'sSACHERVARIATIONand
AlbertoGinastera'sPUNEANO.2.Neitherofthesepiecesarewrittenina
stricttwelvetonestylebutthesixchromatictonesnotincludedinthe
Sachermotif(F,Gflat,Gnatural,Aflat,BflatandDflat)areusedas
thebasisofcontrastingmaterial.Lutoslawski'sSACHERVARIATIONworks
throughajuxtapositionoftheSachermotifandmaterialdrawnfromthe
othersixnotes.Thepieceisconstructedwiththetwodifferenttypesof
materialinterruptingeachother,theSachermotifalwaysresumingfrom
whereitleftoffbeforethepreviousinterruption.Throughoutthecourse
oftheworkentriesontheSachermotifbecomelongerandmoreinsistent,
untilthismotifpushestheothermaterialaside.Thepiecefinisheswith
twostatementsoftheSachermotif,onelinearasamelodyandtheotheras
twochordswiththecharacterofadeceptivecadence.Throughoutthepiece
thesharpdifferentiationinthecharactersofthetwogroupsofmaterial,
aswellastheuseofquartertonesinthematerialnotderivedfromthe
Sachermotif,helpstoshowthelistenerthecontrastingnatureofthe
material.

Ginastera'sPUNEANO.2alsousesthesixtonesthatarenotpart

oftheSachermotifasacontrastingsubjectgroup,butherethesimilarity
totheLutoslawskiends.PUNEANO.2isinspiredbythepuna,aregionof
theAndes.Ginasterawrites,"TheKecuanword"Puna"referstothe
highlandsoraplateauof4,000metresintheAndes.Italsomeansbare

andaridgroundaswellasthefeelingofanguishonecanhaveathigh
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andaridgroundaswellasthefeelingofanguishonecanhaveathigh
altitudes."(4)Thehexachordformedfromnotesthatarenotpartofthe
SachermotifappearsonlyinthefirstmovementofPUNEANO.2,entitled
HARAWI,asacontrastingthematicgroupandhereformsathemethat
Ginasteracallsa"MetamorphosisofapreColumbianthemeoftheCuzco."(5)
Thismaterialisthentreatedinalterationwithmaterialderivedfromthe
Sachermotif.Thesecondmovement,WAYNOKARNAVALITO(carnivaldance),is
basedonlyontheSachermotifusedfreelywithothermaterial.

TheshortestworkinthesetisBenjaminBritten'sTEMA"SACHER",
atlittleoveraminutelong.Itisalsouniqueinthesetinthatitis
theonlypiecetousetheSachermotifinatonalcontext,Cminorinthis
case.Thisisdonebypresentingthefirstfournotesofthemotifaspart
ofdoubleortriplestoppedchords(Ex.6).Thesechords,andthe
treatmentoftheSachermotif,establishthekeyofCminorforthe
listener.Theextremebrevityofthepiececanperhapsbeexplainedwith
tworeasons.First,atitstimeofcompositionBrittenwasalready
extremelyill.TEMASACHERwastobeoneofhislastcompletedworks.The
secondreasonconcernsthenatureofRostropovich'soriginalidea.Ashas
alreadybeenmentionedtheplanwasforBrittentocomposeathemewith
everyothercomposersubmittingavariation.Nevertheless,TEMASACHERis
acompletemusicalcompositioninitsownright,despiteitslength.
Brittenachievesthisbycreatingtwocontrastingtypesofmaterialfrom
theSachermotifone(thefirstfournotes)predominatelychordal,
sustainedandstridentincharacter,theother(thelasttwonotes)ismade
upofrepeatedquintupletsandisprimarilymonophonicandquiet.TEMA
SACHERisextremelysimpleinitsconstruction,presentingthechord
versionofthefirstfournotesoftheSachermotifthreetimes,at
differentregistersandintensities,interspersedwithtwousesofthe
quintupletmaterial.WhatmakesitasuccessfulpieceisBritten's
masterlyuseofregister,rhythmandharmonicrhythmtobringthepiece
towardsitsconclusion.

Severalofthepiecesinthesetuseonlymaterialderivedfromthe
Sachermotifinthewaysdescribedabove.TheseincludetheworksbyHeinz
Holliger,ConradBeck,WolfgangFortnerandCristbalHalffter.Heinz
Holliger'sCHACCONEisoneofthemosthighlyworkedoutpiecesintheset.
AlmosteverythinginthepieceisderivedentirelyfromthenameSacher,
includingtheformandthenumberofmeasuresineachsection.These
aspectswillbedealtwithlater.Thetitleofthepiece,CHACCONE,
presentscertainexpectations,andthesearefulfilled.Briefly,a

chacconeisacompositioninwhichamelodicideaispresentedrepeatedly,
becominggraduallymoreandmoreembellished.Thisisexactlywhat
HolligerdoeswiththeSachermotif.Eachpresentationofthemotif
occupiesonemeasure,withsixmeasurestoasectionandsixsections
followedbyaPostScriptum.Themotifisprogressivelyembellishedwith
eachrepetition,witheachsectiondisplayingmoreembellishmentthanthe
previousone.Whereasthemotifiseasytoidentifyatthebeginningit
becomessocoveredupanddispersedamongothernotesthatitisimpossible
toidentifyitaurally.HolligeralsomakesuseofvariantsoftheSacher
motifsuchasretrograde,inversionandtheothermethodsdescribedabove.
Theprogressiveuseofembellishmentalsoaddshugetechnicaldifficulties
fortheperformer,andthiswillalsobediscussedingreaterdetaillater.

WhilenotentirelybasedonmaterialfromtheSachermotif,Luciano
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WhilenotentirelybasedonmaterialfromtheSachermotif,Luciano
Berio'sLESMOTSSONTALLS...("RECITATIVO"POURCELLOSEUL)issimilar
toHolliger'sCHACONNEthroughitsuseofornamentationtoembellishthe
Sachermotif.Thetitleofthispiecemeans"wordshavegone,"andalso
reflectsBerio'sfascinationwithwordsinmanyofhisworks.Thisis
furtheremphasisedwiththedirectionstotheperformerofparlandoand
"intimate,asifspeaking."(6)Theseindicationsalsohelpgivethepiecean
undefinedandmysteriouscharacter,makingthispiecethemostambiguousin
theset.FollowingfourcompletestatementsoftheSachermotif,themotif
becomesfragmentedandhiddeninbetweenothernotes.Tensionanddirection
arecreatedtowardsthecentreofthepiecebytheuseoffasterrhythms
andrepeatednotes.Itisalsosignificantthatunembellishedrepetitions
oftheSachermotifalsooccurhere.Thisoutburstdiesdownandthe
originalcharacterisresumed,finishingonrepeatedchordsofAandE
flat.Thesenotesformtheintervalofanaugmentedfourth,themost

unstableandunresolvedintervalintonalmusic,aswellasbeingthefirst
twonotesoftheSachermotif.

WolfgangFortner'sZUMSPIELENFRDEN70.GEBURTSTAGisatheme
andthreevariationswithmostofthematerialbeingderivedfromthe
Sachermotifanditsvariants.Oneexceptionisinthefirstvariation
wheretheperformerisinstructedtoimprovisebrieflywiththesix

chromatictonesnotincludedintheSachermotif.Thefinalvariationalso
usesthehexachordnotcontainedintheSachermotif,butinadifferent
way.Thisvariationisarhythmiccanonintwoparts,theupperpart
materialderivedfromtheSachermotifandthelowerpartusingmaterial
fromtheotherhexachord.

ConradBeck'sFRPAULSACHER:DREIEPIGRAMMEFRVIOLONCELLOSOLO
isalsobasedentirelyontheSachermotifandtheothersixchromatic
tones.Asthetitlesuggests,itfallsintothreeshortmovementsthat

correspondroughly,byvirtueoftheirtempos,toathreemovementsonata.
ItispossibletofinddevelopmentoftheSachermotifbyallthedevices
usedindevelopingtwelvetonerows.Duetoitsalmostacademicuseofthe
Sachermotif,thispiecehasperhapsalessimmediateappealthanthe
othersintheset.

CristbalHalffter,likeWitoldLutoslawski,seemstohavehadthe
originalideaofathemeandvariationsinmindwhenhecomposedhis
VARIATIONENBERDASTHEMAESACHERE.Thispieceisalsoentirelybasedon
materialderivedfromtheSachermotif,framedbytwostatementsofthe
motif,oneinprimeformandtheotherinretrograde.Aninteresting
featureofthispieceistheuseofarecurringEflatinterspersedamong
theSachermotifattheend.Thisstartsafterthemainclimaxofthe
pieceandthroughitsrepetitionitgainsthecharacterofatonicnote
(Ex.7).Thisgivesasenseofclosuretothepiecewhenitfinishesona
sustainedEflat,thelastnoteoftheretrogradeformoftheSachermotif.

TheuseofarepeatedEflatalsooccursinBoulez's

MESSAGESQUISSE,andthishasthesametonicisingeffectasinHalffter's
VARIATIONENBERDASTHEMAESACHERE.SinceallofBoulez'ssixnotecells
startonEflatthispitchoccursoften.ThisgivesMESSAGESQUISSEasense
ofstability,andinthesecondofitsthreesections,whichisnotbased
onthematerialderivedfromtheSachermotif,theabsenceofEflat,

exceptinpassing,givesasenseofmodulation.(7)
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exceptinpassing,givesasenseofmodulation.(7)

HansWernerHenze'sCAPRICCIOistheonepiecewhich,initsfinal
version,seemstofitintheleastwiththerestoftheset.Thepresent
version,whichHenzecallsa"concertversion,"(8)waspreparedin1981at
theinstigationofHeinrichSchiff.Theoriginalversionrantoonlya
pageandwhatisleftofthisaftertherevisionnowformsthecentreof
thecomposition.Thisisprefacedbyafast,angrysectionthatHenze
describesas"aviolentspeech...alljumbledup,shakenaboutin

kaleidoscopicfashion."(9)Boththesectionthatcorrespondstotheoriginal
CAPRICCIOandtheprecedingsectionarebasedontheSachermotif,butthe
twooutersectionswhichframeitarenot.Thesearelikenedtoaserenade
byHenzeinhisprefacetothescore,withtheformofthewhole
correspondingtoaFrenchoverture,andarelinkedthematically.

KlausHuber'sTRANSPOSITIOADINFINITUMisthelongestpieceinthe
setaswellasbeingoneofthemostinnovative,yetitstreatmentofthe
Sachermotifislimited.Thepieceworksbyhavingeightreturning
sectionsinterspersedwithfourothermorecontrastingsections.The

returningsectionsarevariedateachappearance,buttheSachermotifonly
appearsinsomeofthecontrastingsections.Whenused,theSachermotif
onlyappearsinitsprimeform.Huber'ssalutetoPaulSacherappearsmuch
moreintheformalconstructionofthepiece,whichwillbeexaminedlater.

Theonlypieceinthissettomakeuseofascordatura,a

deliberatemistuningofstrings,isHenriDutilleux'sTROISSTROPHESSUR
LENOMDESACHER.Inthispiecethe'cello'sGstringistuneddownahalf
steptoFsharp,andtheCstringistuneddownawholesteptoBflat.

TheeffectofthisistogiveDutilleuxtwoopenstringswhicharenotpart
oftheSachermotif.Theseareperhapsusedmosteffectivelyinthefirst
strophewherethedetunedstringsareusedtoaccompanyrenditionsofthe
Sachermotifontheupperstrings(Ex.8).MaterialnotfromtheSacher
motifisused,butthemajorityofthematerialintheTROISSTROPHESSUR
LENOMDESACHERisderivedfromtheSachermotif.Dutilleuxalsoincludes
abriefreferencetoSacher'scommissioningofimportantworksbyincluding
abriefquotefromthecloseofthefirstmovementofBartok'sMUSICFOR
STRINGS,PERCUSSION,ANDCELESTE.Thisoccurstowardstheendofthefirst
strophe.

USEOFTHENAMEPAULSACHERINFORM

Theideaofbasingcompositionsinthe12HOMMAGESPAULSACHER
onthenamePaulSacherdidn'tendwithjusttheSachermotif.Threeof

themoreextendedcompositionsinthesetalsohaveformalstructuresbased
onthenamePaulSacher.ThesepiecesareHeinzHolliger'sCHACONNE,
PierreBoulez'sMESSAGESQUISSEandKlausHuber'sTRANSPOSITIOADINFINITUM.
Formtendstobealessimportantaspectofmanyoftheotherpiecessince
mostofthemarerelativelyshort,or,asinthecaseofFortner'sZUM
SPIELENFRDEN70.GEBURTSTAG,useapredeterminedform,inthiscase
themeandvariations.TheoneexceptiontothisisHenze'sCAPRICCIO.
Henzewritesthat"thelistenermighthererecalltheancient(French)

overturewithitsslowintroductionandfastmiddlesection...andeven

thecalmopeningappearsagainattheend,asiftoserveasareminiscence
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thecalmopeningappearsagainattheend,asiftoserveasareminiscence
oftheoldform."(10)Thisform,alongwiththedescriptiveideasforthe
piecequotedearlier,maketherevisedversionofCAPRICCIOtheleast
connectedpiecetothesetintermsofpayinghomagetoPaulSacher.

AlmosteveryaspectofHolliger'sCHACONNEisderivedfromthe
namePaulSacher.Thepieceiscastinsevensectionsoverall,comprising
sixmainsectionsanda"P(ost)S(criptum)."(11)Thesixsectionsofthe
piecearederivedfromthesixlettersinthenameSacher,aswellasthe
sixnotesinthemotifderivedfromthatname.Thetitleoftheseventh
sectionisderivedfromthefirstlettersofthenamePaulSacher,and
seemstohavebeenwrittenalmostasanafterthought.(12)Eachsection
consistsofsixbars,althoughHolligergetsaroundtheproblemofmaking
thepiecetooshortbygivingatimesignatureof13/8andatempoof
eighthnote=70.Ashasalreadybeensaideachsectionbecomes

progressivelymoredifficult,andthisisinpartcausedbyanincreasein
thedensityoftheembellishment.Thisuseofembellishmentparallelsthe
traditionalBaroquechaconne,butthereisonebigdifference.Ina

traditionalchacconetheideathatisembellishedisalwaysaudible,butin
Holliger'sCHACONNEthefragmentationandcoveringupoftheSachermotif
byembellishmentrobstheearofthisaid.Thisdoesnotnegatetheformal
structureoftheworkbutdoesmakeitverydifficulttoperceive,except
byadetailedexaminationofthescore.

Thereisasurprisinglackofresearchonalmostallofthe12
HOMMAGESPAULSACHER,andthisisparticularlyapparentwith
MESSAGESQUISSE.TheonesourceofinformationonthispiecethatIhave
discovered,SusanBradshaw's"TheInstrumentalandvocalmusic"fromPIERRE
BOULEZ:ASYMPOSIUM,containsonlyonepageonMessagesquisse,andthis
refersonlytotheuseofthecellsandthecodaofthepiece.Theformof
Boulez'sMESSAGESQUISSEcanbeseenontwolevels.Ononelevelthepiece
isconstructedinaquasisymmetricalternaryform,butwithinthisitis
possibletoseesixsmallersections.MESSAGESQUISSEisternarynot
throughthereturnofmelodicmaterialinthethirdsection,butbythe
returnofthecellsgeneratedfromtheSachermotif.Thismaterialis
absentinthesecondsectionofthepiece,whichconsistsentirelyof
sixteenthnotefiguresplayedbyboththesoloistandtheensemble.The
thirdsectionopenswiththeaccompanyingensembleplayingeachofthe
cellsderivedfromtheSachermotifinturn.Thesearesustainedwith
trillswhilethesolo'cellistplaysshortfragmentsderivedfromthe
secondsection.AlsoatthistimetheMorsecoderhythmderivedfrom
Sacherreappears,butthistimewithoneletterrhythmineachpartandon
differentpitches.Theaccompanyingensemblethenfallssilentwhilethe
soloistthenplaysallsixcellsasacadenza.However,thesecellsare
presentedinreverseorderfromhowtheyoriginallyappeared(alsowiththe
solo'cellist)andeachcellisinretrograde.Thefinalcelltoappearis
theoriginalversionoftheSachermotif,butthisistheonlycellnotto
betreatedinstrictretrograde.Thiscellisplayedmoreorlessinits
primeform,althoughtheAprecedestheEflat,butinterruptedcontinually
bythepitchofEflat(Ex.9).ThisalsoreinforcesthetonicaspectofE
flatdiscussedearlier,especiallyconsideringthatitwasabsentduring
thesecondsection.Thepresentationofthismaterialdiffersfromthe
firstsectioninthatthesixcellsareinitiallypresentedoverthe

ensemblesustainingtheSachermotifandgraduallytakinguptheMorsecode

rhythm.Theseparationofthetwotypesofmaterial,aswellastheuseof
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rhythm.Theseparationofthetwotypesofmaterial,aswellastheuseof
retrogradeformsofthecells,helpsgivethepieceasymmetricalfeel.
Thecadenzaisthenfollowedbyacoda,derivedentirelyfrommaterial
generatedfromthesixcells.Themelodicmaterialatthebeginningofthe
codaislabelledaf.Eachcellentryoccupiesonebar,andthenumberof
cellsusedincreasesbyonewitheachentryfromaf.(13)Henceaconsists
onlyofthefirstcell(theSachermotif),bconsistsoftwocells,andso
onuntilentryfusesallsixcells.Therestofthecodadevelopsthese
entries.Ascanbeseen,MESSAGESQUISSEdisplaysaquasisymmetrical
structure,althoughaswithHolliger'sCHACONNEthisisnotimmediately
apparenttothelistener.

WithintheternarystructureMESSAGESQUISSEcanbeseenas
comprisingofsixsmallersections.Thefirstsectioncomprisesofthe
initialentryofthefirstcell,theSachermotif,withthesecondsection
beingtheentriesoftheremainingcellsandtheSacherMorsecoderhythm.
Thethirdsectioncorrespondstothesecondpartoftheternaryformwhile
thefourthisthebeginningofthethirdsection,withthereturnofthe
cells.The'cellocadenzaformsthefifthsectionandthecodaroundsoff
thepieceasthesixthsection.Thesesectionsareperceivedaurallyby
virtueofchangesinmaterial,textureoruseofmaterial.Seeninthis
wayMESSAGESQUISSEiscastinaternaryform,butwithsixsmaller
sections.However,sincethenumberthreeishalfofsix,perhapseventhe
threepartternarystructureisderivedfromthesixlettersofSacher!

KlausHuber'sTRANSPOSITIOADINFINITUMisoneofonlytwopieces
inthissettoemployaleatorictechniques,theotherbeingWolfgang

Fortner'sZUMSPIELENFRDEN70.GEBURTSTAG.However,thepiecesarevery
different.Fortner'sworkaskstheperformertoimproviseforashort
amountoftimeongivenmaterialwhereasHuber'sworkallowstheperformer
todecide,toalimitedextent,inwhatorderthesectionsaretobeplayed.TRANSPOSITIOAD
INFINITUMiscastin(14)shortsectionsoverall.Eight

ofthesearebasedonthesamematerial,buttransposedwitheach
appearance(hencethetitle).ThesesectionsarenumberedItoVIII.

Interspersedamongthesearesectionsderivedfromthelettersofthename
Paul.ForPthereisasectionentitledPianodolceconespressione,Ais
Aliquote,UisUntertne(subharmonics),andLisLentomoltoespressivo.
Thesefoursectionsareexpandedtosixbyhaving2sectionseachbasedon
theAandUsections.TheseareentitledA,A1andU,U1.TheSacher
motifisonlyusedinthePandLsections,withtherestofthe

compositionbeingbasedonothermaterial.Thealeatoricaspectofthe
piececoncernstheorderinwhichsectionsA,A1,UandU1areplayed.Each
sectioncanonlybeplayedonce,butbetweensectionsIIandIIIeitherA
orA1orcanbeplayedfirst,withtheotherbeingplayedaftersection
III.ThesameappliesbetweensectionsIVandVwithUandU1.Huberalso
writesthatthePAULsectionsare"sixmorestronglysubjectivepersonal
fragments,"14andthequalityofthematerialinthesesectionsseemstobe
morepersonalandinwardthaninthesectionsItoVIII.Thispiecealso
demandssomeextendedplayingtechniques,andthesewillbediscussedin
thenextsection.

'CELLISTICASPECTSOFTHE12HOMMAGESPAULSACHERANDTHEIRDEGREEOF
SUCCESSFROMAPLAYER'SPERSPECTIVE

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Manyperformersaredissuadedfromplayingtwentiethcenturymusic
becauseofthedifficultiesinvolved,andthe12HOMMAGESPAULSACHERare
noexception.Allofthe12HOMMAGESPAULSACHERaredifficultpieces,
demandingahighdegreeofbothmusicalandtechnicalaccomplishmentfrom
theperformer.Alongwiththis,manyofthemdemandextendedtechniquesin
pursuitofparticulartypesofsounds.Thesetechniquesincludeharmonics,
pizzicato,useofafingerschlag(fingerblow)inthelefthand,quarter
tones,andthebowingtechniquesofcollegnoandponticello.Someofthe
compositionaltechniquesinthepiecesalsodemandspecialconsiderationby
theperformeriftheyaretobefullyrealised.Theseincludealeatoric
procedures,useofindeterminatepitchandothernotationaldevices,many
ofwhicharepeculiartoaparticularpiece.Twoofthepiecesinvolved,
HeinzHolliger'sCHACCONEandKlausHuber'sTRANSPOSITIOADINFINITUM,
demandcompletelynewplayingtechniquesthatonlyoccurinthese
particularpieces.Thesewillbeexaminedinduecourse.Theuseofthese
extendedtechniqueshasalsocontributedtotherelativeobscurityofmany
ofthesepieces.Performersseemtobeunwillingtodevotethetimeneeded
tomastertheseextensionsofstandardtechniques,resultingintheunfair
neglectofmanyoftheseworks.

Theuseoftechniquessuchasharmonicsandpizzicatoarenotnew
in'celloplayingandstringplayingingeneral,buttheirusesinthe12
HOMMAGESPAULSACHERarenew.PiecessuchasHeinzHolliger'sCHACCONE
andKlausHuber'sTRANSPOSITIOADINFINITUMmakeextensiveuseofboth
naturalandartificialharmonics,(15)butthesetechniquesarealsousedin
newways.Holligeroftenusesharmonicsindoubleortriplestopping,
eitherwithstoppednotesorotherharmonics,andthiscreatestechnical
problemsfortheperformerthatareuniquetothispiece.Similarly,
Huber'suseofharmonicsinanewwaycreatesproblemsuniquetohis
composition.PizzicatotechniquesareextendedbytheuseofBartok
pizzicatos(wherethestringisallowedtoslapagainstthefingerboard),
threeorfourpartchordsandglissandiofpluckednotes.Again,itishow
thesetechniquesareusedinthesepiecesthatcreatedifficultiesforthe
performer.Thebowingtechniquesofponticello(playingveryclosetothe
bridgetoproduceaglassysound)andcollegno(playingwiththewoodof
thebow)arealsoextendedbythenumberoftimesthattheyareusedwithin
acompositionandbythespeedwithwhichtheperformerhastoswitch
betweentraditionalplayingandthesetechniques.Theuseofa

fingerschlaginthelefthandtoproduceapercussiveeffectisalsonota
newtechnique.'Cellistsoftenusethistohelpsetthestringsin

vibrationintraditionalplaying,butitsusewithinacompositionto
createaneffectinitsownright,whilenotunheardof,isunusual.

Finally,quartertonescreatetechnicalproblemsfortheperformerfora
numberofreasons.Performersaretrainedfromtheearliestageto

recognisewholestepsandhalfsteps,sothattheverysoundofaquarter
toneisalienanddifficulttohear.Itisalsoveryawkwardtophysically
playquartertonesasthegapsbetweenthenotesbecomethatmuchsmaller.
Noneofthesetechniqueswereinventedbythecomposersofthe12HOMMAGES
PAULSACHERbuttheirparticularusesinthisgroupofpiecescreate
problemsfortheperformer.Sincetheusesofthesedevicesareoften
peculiartoaparticularpiece,manyhoursofpracticeareneededtolearn
theproductionoftheseeffects,timewhichmany'cellistsareunwillingto
give.

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Manyofthescoresofthe12HOMMAGESPAULSACHERincludean
exploratorysectionfortheinterpretationofsymbolsused,muchintheway
thatamapusesakey.Theseinclude,amongothers,symbolsforquarter
tonesandsymbolsforindeterminatesounds(Ex.10).Thesesymbolsalso
createproblemsfortheperformer.Beforethepieceinvolvedcanbefully
realisedtheperformermustgivedueconsiderationtotheinterpretationof
thesespecialsymbols.Thefactthattheeyeisnotusedtoseeingthese
symbolsalsocomplicatesthelearningofthesepieces,againaddingtothe
relativeneglectofmanyoftheseworks.

HeinzHolliger'sCHACCONEandKlausHuber'sTRANSPOSITIOAD
INFINITUMpresentevenmorespecialisedproblemstotheperformer.
Holliger'sCHACCONEisprobablythemostdifficultworkintheentireset,
andthelastsection,thePostScriptum,demandsonentirelynewwayof
playing.Theperformerisinstructedtoputthebowdownandtoplay
pizzicatoandfingerschlagnoteswithbothhandsatthesametime.
Holligercompoundsthedifficultyofthispassagebytheuseofcross
rhythmsbetweentheleftandrighthands,somethingmost'cellistsnever
havetocopewithexceptwhenplayingwithanotherinstrument.The

problemspresentedherearesogreatthatmost'cellistsaredissuadedfrom
learningthiswork.Huber'sTRANSPOSITIOADINFINITUMpresentsproblems
throughitsextendeduseofharmonicsandbowingbehindthebridgeto
createsubharmonics.Thisagaindissuadesmany'cellistsfromlearning
thispiece.

Howsuccessfularethe12HOMMAGESPAULSACHER?Aspiecesof
musicallofthem,withoutexception,aresignificantandworthperforming.
Someofthem,suchasDutilleux'sTROISSTROPHESSURLENOMDESACHERand
Lutoslawski'sSACHERVARIATION,havebecomefairlywellknownamong
'cellistsandareperformedrelativelyfrequently.However,manyofthe
otherpiecesareseldomperformed,ifatall.Therearetworeasonsfor
this.Ashasalreadybeenpointedout,theextremevirtuositydemandedby
workssuchasHolliger'sCHACONNE,Huber'sTRANSPOSITIOADINFINITUMand
Ginastera'sPUNEANO.2dissuadesmany'cellistsfromlearningthem.The
otherreasoncentresonthebrevityofmanyofthepiecesinthisset.

WorkssuchasBritten'sTEMASACHERaresimplytooshorttofiteasilyinto
recitalprograms,oftenmeaningthattheyarenotplayedatall.The

relativeneglectofthe12HOMMAGESPAULSACHERissymptomaticofthe
neglectofmuchtwentiethcenturymusic.Untilperformerscanbepersuaded
totakethetimetolearnthetechniquesrequiredtoperformtheseworks,
thereisnowayawiderappreciationofthemcanbefostered.Untilthat
time,piecessuchasthesewillremainunknown.

WORKSCONSULTED

Scores:

Beck,Conrad,etal.DOUZEHOMMAGESPAULSACHER.Wien:Universal
Edition,1976.

Beck,Conrad.FRPAULSACHER:DREIEPIGRAMMEFRVIOLONCELLOSOLO.
Mainz:B.SchottsShne,
1976.
Berio,Luciano.LESMOTSSONTALLS...("RECITATIVO"POURCELLOSEUL).

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06/05/2016 ICSFeaturedArticle:12HOMMAGESPAULSACHER

Milan:UniversalEdition,
1979.
Boulez,Pierre.MESSAGESQUISSEPOUR7VIOLONCELLES.London:Universal
Edition,1977.

Britten,Benjamin.TEMA'SACHER'.London:FaberMusic,1990.

Dutilleux,Henri.TROISSTROPHESSURLENOMDESACHER.Paris:Heugel&
Cie,1982.

Fortner,Wolfgang.ZUMSPIELENFRDEN70.GEBURTSTAG.THEMAUND
VARIATIONENFRVIOLONCELLO
SOLO.Mainz:B.SchottsShne,1976.

Ginastera,Alberto.PUNEANO.2.HOMMAGEPAULSACHER.London:Boosey
&Hawkes,1977.

Halffter,Cristbal.VARIATIONENBERDASTHEMAESACHERE.London:
UniversalEdition,1977.

Henze,HansWerner.CAPRICCIOPERVIOLONCELLOSOLO.Mainz:B.Schotts
Shne,1987.
Holliger,Heinz.CHACONNEFRVIOLONCELLOSOLO.Mainz:B.SchottsShne,
1976.
Huber,Klaus.TRANSPOSITIOADINFINITUM.FREINVIRTUOSESSOLOCELLO.
Mainz:B.SchottsShne,
1977.
Lutoslawski,Witold.SACHERVARIATIONFORSOLOCELLO.London:J.&W.
Chester/Edition

WilhelmHansen,1980.
Books:

Bradshaw,Susan."TheInstrumentalandVocalMusic".PIERREBOULEZ:A
SYMPOSIUMEd.

WilliamGlock.London:Eulenburgbooks,1986.

Casares,Emilio.CRISTOBALHALFFTER/EMILIOCASARESRODICIOPROLOGOPEDRO
LAINENTRALGO.

Oviedo:UniversaddeOviedo,1980.

DANKANPAULSACHER.Zrich/Freiburg:AtlantisMusikbuchVerlag,1976.
Hirsbrunner,Theo.PIERREBOULEZUNDSEINWERK.Laaber:LaaberVerlag,1985.
Humbert,Daniel.HENRIDUTILLEUX:L'OEUVREETLESTYLEMUSICAL.Geneva:
Editions

Slatkine,1985.

Mari,Pierrette.HENRIDUTILLEUX.Paris:EditionsAug.ZurfluhS.A,1988.
OtherSources:

Demenga,PatrickandThomas.12HOMMAGESPAULSACHER.ECM,1995.

MUSICALEXAMPLES

Ex.1.TheSachermotif.

Ex.2.TheSachermotifwithintervalsandtheirinversionslabelled.
Ex.3.ThesixcellsfromPierreBoulez'sMessagesquisse.
Ex.4.TheMorsecoderhythmfromMessagesquisse.
Ex.5.PierreBoulez,Messagesquisse,number3.
Ex.6.BenjaminBritten,Tema"Sacher",opening.

Ex.7.CristbalHalffter,VariationenberdasThemaeSACHERe,lastfour
lines.

Ex.8.HenriDutilleux,TroisStrophessurlenomdeSacher,first
strophe,topofpagethree.

Ex.9.PierreBoulez,Messagesquisse,onebarbeforenumber10.

Ex.10.AlbertoGinastera,PuneaNo.2,symbols.
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Ex.10.AlbertoGinastera,PuneaNo.2,symbols.

1.Severaloftheworksinthissethavebeensubsequentlyrevisedand/or
expanded.ForthepurposesofthispaperIwillbeexaminingthefinal
printedversionsofeachwork.Duetothenatureofthispaperitis

impossibletoincludecomprehensiveanalysesofallofthepiecesinvolved.
Thispaperwilldrawthereader'sattentiontoaspectsofthepiecesthatI
believetobesignificant.

2.SusanBradshaw"TheInstrumentalandVocalMusic,"PierreBoulez:a
Symposium,ed.WilliamGlock(London:Eulenburgbooks,1986)222.

3.Bradshaw222.

4.AlbertoGinastera,Preface,PuneaNo.2(London:Boosey&Hawkes,1977).

5.Ginastera,Preface.

6.LucianoBerio,LesMotsSontalls...("Recitativo"pourcelloSeul)
(Milan:UniversalEdition,1979)1.

7.Bradshaw222.

8.HansWernerHenze,Preface,Capriccio(Mainz:B.Schott'sShne,1987).

9.Henze,Preface.

10.Henze,Preface.

11.HeinzHolliger,Chacconne(Mainz:B.Schott'sShne,1976)6.

12.Holliger56.Theendofthesixthsectionisdated10/11.7.75,while
thePostScriptumisdated29.7.75.Thesedatesarewritteninthe
Europeanstyle,i.e.day,month,year.

13.Bradshaw222.

14.KlausHuber,Notes,TranspositioadInfinitum(Mainz:B.Schott'sShne,
1977).

15.Naturalharmonicsarecreatedbytouchingthestringlightlyatcertain
pointsofthestringcorrespondingtotheharmonicseries.Artificial
harmonicsarecreatedbyholdingdownapitch(thefundamental)and
touchingthestringlightlyafourthorafifthabovethefundamental.

Duetothenatureofthispaperitisimpossibletoincludecomprehensiveanalysesofallofthepieces
involved.Thispaperwilldrawthereader'sattentiontoaspectsofthepiecesthatIbelievetobe
significant.

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