Contemporary Music Review

Vol. 29, No. 5, October 2010, pp. 463483

The Backbone of Night: Mechanisms

of Evolution in Henri Dutilleuxs
Ainsi la nuit
Kenneth Hesketh

Developmental tendencies in the work of Henri Dutilleux have been described variously
as reverse variation, constant renewal or gradual motivic development. The term
progressive growth is often cited to describe the composers process, particularly in his
string quartet Ainsi la nuit (19731976); but gradual motivic or harmonic development
cannot explain the subtleties and larger inter-connective networks inherent in progressive
growth, a concept that encompasses the use of involuntary memory and recursive/
discursive narrative.
A number of interdependent procedures support evolution of material within specific
formal, harmonic or timbral environments through forward development and referential
circularity, and through memory encoding index components, direct juxtaposition of
quotation or inference of previously heard gestures can occur. Progressive growth may be
justifiably compared with an evolutionary process of variation, selection and heredity
within selective environments, and by viewing it in evolutionary developmental terms our
awareness of its dynamic potential is greatly enhanced.

Keywords: Progressive Growth; Memory; Evolution; Encoding; Associative

In the mythology of the !Kung bushmen of southern Africa, the Milky Way is termed
the Backbone of Night, an appellation suggestive of structure beneath a poetic
surface. The nights poetic aspect, with its mystical and existential associations, has
been a lure to many a creative mind wishing to give form to both underlying
structure and poetic atmosphere.
As one of many such artists to use cosmological imagery as stimuli for conceptual
thinking, Henri Dutilleuxs work is eloquent in its evocation of nocturnal mood.1
However, the exact form of this night preoccupation is not exhibited uniformly
throughout his oeuvre. Therefore, in focusing attention on one particular night
work, the string quartet, Ainsi la nuit (19731976), I wish to explore the substance of

ISSN 0749-4467 (print)/ISSN 1477-2256 (online) 2010 Taylor & Francis

DOI: 10.1080/07494467.2010.589125
464 K. Hesketh
a specific feature of Dutilleuxs work; a concept termed progressive growth
(croissance progressive in French, a term coined by the musicologist and composer
Francis Bayer [19382004], a former pupil of Dutilleux). Central to much of the
composers oeuvre, it encompasses concepts of involuntary memory2 and recursive/
discursive narrative.3
In exploring these various facets of progressive growth, specifically in terms of
functioning mechanisms within Ainsi la nuit, neurological, literary and biological
concepts will be drawn upon to provide a broader analytical understanding alongside
more conventional pitch analysis.

Dutilleux on Progressive Growth

The composer defines the term in the following manner:

Theres a tendencyits almost entirely intuitivenot to present the theme in its

definitive state at the beginning. [T]here are small cells which develop bit by bit. . . .
This may perhaps show the influence of literature, of Proust and his notions about
memory. (Nichols, 1994, p. 89)

Putting the mention of memory and Proust to one side for the moment, we see
progressive growth defined as the gradual revealing of material through time as it
moves towards a definitive state. The process could be compared to a form of
meiosis, where a cells nucleus divides, passing on a portion of the original without
simply resulting in exact duplication. Dutilleux clarifies and supports this position:

This element undergoes a succession of changes, of metamorphoses, until, after a

certain number of them, as with insects, you find that theres an essential change in
its nature: the original idea is almost unrecognizable. (Nichols, 1994, p. 89)

Two metamorphic processes regularly used by Dutilleux can be noted in Ainsi la nuit:
first, the palindrome,4 a discursive and recursive form where the same units are
present both forward and backward; second, the embedding of similar but not exact
replicates of material in larger, expanding phrases.The embedded smaller units,
Trojan horse-like, retain a great deal of their identity alongside the larger phrases
gradual unfolding, or in Dutilleuxs words they are elements in a hidden structure
[that] gives the form its solidity. Such elements often fulfil multiple roles, by being
notable in themselves or through adding memorability to the larger phrase. By
detaching itself, the embedded element may acquire a more individual role. It may
also be subtly altered on subsequent appearances as it nests within more stable
contexts. Such metamorphosis in Dutilleuxs work plays on the interaction of
memory, both conscious and unconscious, in the perception of the varied return of
material. As such, exact or altered replicates, and the means by which they
manipulate recollection, lie at the centre of progressive growth as much as the
expansion or recombination of simple units of material.
 Contemporary Music Review 465
The small-scale alteration of a basic unit (anything from a single pitch to a 3-note
group) alongside the repetition of others, often dependent on local context and
musical environment, may justifiably be compared with an evolutionary process of
variation, selection and heredity within selective environments. The ability of smaller
units to become dominant within a suitable environment (a specific mood, timbre,
linear or vertical texture, for example) allows further propagation either through
exact copies or mutations.
In Dutilleuxs work, the play of repetition and alteration (and subsequent
manipulation of memory) becomes a procedure that, according to the composer,
may be applied to small or large passages. He comments:

[I]f you apply a process of wide-ranging variation to a given formulawhether its

melodic, harmonic or rhythmicto the point that this formula becomes
unrecognizable, can you say there is no recapitulation? The phenomenon of
memory attaches itself to this scrap of the formula or to what is left of it after its
subtle metamorphoses. [T]o be able to see that one element refers to a particular
other one . . . is what gives the language its strength. (Dutilleux, 2003, p. 52)

The phenomenon of memory, as per Dutilleuxs definition of progressive growth,

can be usefully considered within a wider context: the neurological formation, storage
and retrieval of memory in the brain, and associated process of encoding. This
specific process, I believe, supports mechanisms related to progressive growth
particular to Ainsi la nuit.
According to Michael OShea, when an object is perceived, groups of neurons in
different parts of the brain process information about shape, colour, smell, sound and
other attributes indicating that our memory system is contextual (OShea, 2005, pp.
7476).5 In the act of remembering the object, these relationships must be
reassembled from elements scattered throughout areas of the brain. Consequently,
in order successfully to retrieve a memory, an individual may have to resort to
recollecting the place and time it was formed, alongside an associated image,
position, quality, etc. The more encoded a memory is (through organization and
structure), the easier retrieval will be. Associations made at the moment of memory
formation are named encoding indexes and support the consolidation of memory
imprinting. Retrieval (i.e. recall) of memories, whether voluntary or not, involves the
use of encoding indexes.
Similar processes occur in aural memory formation. Daniel J. Levitin outlines how
memory is involved in the structural perception of music, stating that the barrier to
recall is not the unsuccessful storage of memory. Rather, the problem is finding the
right cue to access the memory (Levitin, 2006, pp. 164165).
If successful, the right cue (or trigger) may in fact access both abstract and specific
information stored in memory. Because the multiple-trace memory model, as
Levitin outlines it, states that both abstract and specific information is stored in
memory, it also assumes that context is encoded along with memory traces. This
memory model has much in common with Dutilleuxs progressive growth
466 K. Hesketh
mechanism. The gradual metamorphosis of pitch cells alongside a specific
colouration (for example, pitch level, playing mode or rhythmic presentation) is
dependent on a set of encoding indexes to function. Progressive growth, like
memory, is fundamentally associative.
The phenomenon of association (where secondary factors lead to involuntary
memory recall) greatly influences the narrative technique of Prousts A la recherche du
temps perdu (19131922),6 a work that exerts considerable influence on Dutilleuxs
approach to the varied appearances of materials. Prousts interplay of memory and
the passage of time acts as a focus for the composers preoccupations with ideas of
musical recall, enabling an underlying creative impetus.
Aside from the novels famous petite phrase in Vinteuils sonata (somewhat
suggestive in terms of Dutilleuxs own use of recurrent small-scale material), our
attention focuses upon the more famous instances of involuntary memory (for
example the madeleine cake). Be they cakes, paving-stones or belfries, the resulting
physical sensations immediately, and independently of conscious thought, stir
memories of other times that could not be brought forth by voluntary memory alone.
Another Proustian narrative technique is the superimposition of time zones leading
to momentary discontinuity, highly suggestive of the means by which form is
established in Ainsi la nuit, but the most important feature with regard to Dutilleux
and progressive growth is Prousts labyrinthine sentence. Based predominantly on
recursive clauses and metaphors grouped around a single idea, recurrent ideas are
embedded into progressively lengthening sentences. Such a technique is also found in
Ainsi la nuit, where large-scale form and local detail are subjected to both recursive
and discursive organisation, embedding one type of material within another, or using
a momentary digression from the main formal thrust to propagate new material.
Given these techniques, and references made to the novel by Dutilleux, one can
readily notice Proustian interconnective networks at play within Ainsi la nuit.7

Beyond the Confines of the Starry Spheres8Genotypes, Phenotypes and

Selective Environments
In order to appreciate more broadly the means by which raw material initiates
interconnective networks in the quartet, four specific terms taken from non-musical
sources will be used:9 first, Genotype; a cells (or organisms) full hereditary
information, even if not expressed; second, Phenotype; an organisms actual observed
properties (resulting from its genotype) expressed as morphology, development, or
behaviour; third, Encoding index; assigned associations that support information to
be memorized and retrieved; finally, Selective environment; an environment that
favours certain traits over others, based on an ability to replicate.
In Ainsi la nuit, an objects ability to proliferate is contingent on a particular trait
(determined by its encoding index), its context and placement. A musical object, for
example the harmonic colour of a chord (inferred by pitch content and tessitura
placement) will be more readily recalled when a specific playing mode, rhythm and
 Contemporary Music Review 467
dynamic contour are attached to it. By forming a larger group of interconnected
associations, its general character is reinforced for subsequent appearances. It may
then form the basis of a larger set of interrelated materials whose subsequent forms
are influenced by the local musical environment.
The following four materials (see Table 1) form the basis of the main
interconnective networks in the quartet and will be discussed in order.

The Ainsi Chord

The compositional genesis of the quartet, according to the composer, began with a
collection of strict studies,10 each dealing with the various kinds of string sound: one
study in pizzicatos, others in harmonics, dynamics, contrasts, opposition of register
and so on (Dutilleux, 2003, p. 76). In considering these etudes as the selective
environments initial forms, we see certain trait-preferences initially defined. The
trait-preferences are defined as harmonic structures, linear material constructed from
small pitch collections, various playing modes, palindromes and other types of mirror
writing. These preferences subsequently influence the binding together of parentheses
sections and titled movements in the completed version of the work.11 As thorough
discussion of the works form lies outside the scope of this paper, Table 2 provides
information on the individual sections and is included for reference.
A principal object and formal binding agent in Ainsi la nuit is the first chord of the
quartet, hereafter designated the Ainsi chord. This six-note chord consists of three
perfect fifths, one placed a tenths distance from the other two, those being
interlocked (see Figure 1a). Aurally, the chord is a rich, jazz-inflected construction,
implying a C sharp [D flat] M7 (with sharp 4 and m9) sonority. The chord is
generally presented in this formation. An important feature of this chords pitch
content is the position of pitch classes and their corresponding alignment on a cycle
of ascending perfect fifths, beginning on F sharp 1 in the bass, and rising to B6.
Ascending a fifth higher than B brings us again to an F sharp, thus renewing the cycle
(the backbone of night if you will). Any pitch above F natural (above C4) is a white
note, and any pitch beneath it (from A sharp/B flat downward) is a black note. This
separation of black and white pitches (and pitch complexes) is a predominant feature
of Dutilleuxs harmonic thinking.12 This C7 interval cycle will be considered the main

Table 1 Materials forming the basis of main interconnective networks in Ainsi la nuit
Material type Abbreviation

1 Ainsi chord (with morphology) and allied [828] progression

2 Axially symmetrical Upper/lower neighbour tone cluster U/LN
3 Progressive growth material PG/CF
(primarily associated with a cantus firmus-like contour)
4 Encoding index and components
468 K. Hesketh
Table 2 Individual section information in Ainsi la nuit
Section/movement title Tempo/metronome mark Affect/material type

(Unnamed) Introduction Libre et souple q 66 Ainsi chord and

[828] progression
I. Nocturne Assez lent q 60 PG/CF& U/LN
Parenthese 1 Tres libre (e e), soit 120 environ a la e
II. Miroir despace Violent q 54 Palindromic
Parenthese 2 Libre et flexible e 138
III. Litanies Anime (e e) [e 138] Dynamic/fast
Ainsi chord expansion
Parenthese 3 Lent (e 132 environ) U/LN
IV. Litanies 2 (e e) [e 132] Slow/chant-like
Parenthese 4 Anime q 88/92
V. Constellations a la e (environ 184) Dynamic/fast
(disjunct/fragmented)
VI. Nocturne 2 e 120 Mercurial
VII. Temps suspendu (e 96 environ) PG/CF

harmonic genotype, out of which the various phenotypes (i.e. expressions) of the
Ainsi chord follow (see Figure 1a).
This chord contains a tetrachord used throughout the quartet, the [0, 1, 6, 7] pc set
(Perle Z or Forte 49 tetrachord). It is presented in two main forms; a perfect fourth
nested within a perfect fifth at a semitones distance, and two perfect fourths
superimposed at a tritones distance. In its first guise it can be split into two
semitonal dyads, a white note with an upper chromatic neighbour tone and a white
note with a lower chromatic neighbour tone. The tetrachords semitonal and tritonal
points of symmetry are naturally attractive to Dutilleuxs interest in mirrors and
other axial reflections. This tetrachord is also a subset of the octatonic mode (Fortes
[828] mode, itself symmetrical on a double axis and a collection greatly utilised in
the quartet). This neighbour tone form of the [0,1,6,7] tetrachord gives rise to the
second, more propagated phenotype in the work, the upper/lower neighbour trichord
[0,1,2].13 Both trichord and tetrachord are axially symmetrical. The upper/lower
neighbour tone trichord (hereafter U/LN) will be discussed later.
Connected with the Ainsi chord is a progression of four verticals (hereafter
termed [828] progression); both are often found together but are not, in my
opinion, two parts of a larger whole.14 The [828] progression is frequently found
without the Ainsi chord, whilst the progression itself is often used in an attenuated
or altered form. The four chords of the progression can be further reduced to two
basic chords (in prime order); chords 1 and 2 are a [0, 5, 11] trichord (the sustained
D throughout the texture not included) at T3 distance, while chords 3 and 4 are a
[0, 4, 6, 7] tetrachord also at a T3 distance. The octatonic binding between these
chords is underlined via pitch content, T3 transposition, and their common
development out of the [0, 1, 6, 7] tetrachord (plus fifth) form of the Ainsi chord
(see Figure 1b).
 Contemporary Music Review 469

Figure 1 (a) C7 Genotype and principal phenotype, the Ainsi chord. (b) The Ainsi
chord and subsequent [828] progression (octatonic trichordal and tetrachordal subsets);
unified derivation amongst objects.

The [828] progression is a notable part of each parenthesis section (hereafter termed
Par). It is my contention that a section can only be considered parenthetical in Ainsi la
nuit if it contains material derived in some way from this progression (as shown in
Figure 2). The exception to this rule is Par 3, which focuses entirely on the U/LN
trichord and its expansion in preparation for the following titled movement Litanies 2.
As the unnamed introductory section contains the Ainsi chord, the [828]
chordal progression, important linear and timbral features found at a great many
other points in the work, I have termed it Par 0, and as such can be seen as a basic
template for many of the Par environments that subsequently appear.
The reduction of Par 0 (see Figure 3) indicates five basic objects (A, B, C, D, E)
and the first structural example of palindrome usage in the organisation of material
470 K. Hesketh

Figure 2 Primary [828] derived Par 0 (Introduction) progression. All parenthese

sections feature this progression EXCEPT Par 3.

blocks. After the opening presentation of the Ainsi chord and first presentation of
the [828] progression, three colourations of the single pitch Darco ord.,
harmonic and sul pont trem.occur. This pitch is an important pivot tone in the
work, and the various timbral colourations and rhythmic reiterations allotted it form
part of the pitchs encoding index at this point. The repetition of a single pitch at
subsequent points in the work (for example, Constellations, three bars before 12) is
predicated on this gesture being successfully encoded in memory early on, thus being
able to function as an involuntary memory trigger given the appropriate aural cue.
Following the three D repetitions, the second presentation of the [828] progression
occurs, altered from vertical to horizontal. The progression begins with chord 2. The
cello, which could start the section with the first chord on the low A, is occupied
with a harmonic D, and therefore the lowest string on the viola (C) is the first note
of the second chord in the progression. Thus the ordering must be adapted to 2, 3, 4,
1, giving strong preference to pitch A, a fifth higher than the single pitch D, and a
suitable context for the termination chord of Par 0. This chord is closely related to
the Ainsi chord in its construction (perfect fifths and whole-tone dyads), and
considering the C7 genotype, the chord is Ainsi at the fifth above (hence, the A(5)
designation). The symmetrical corollary to A(5) is A(75), and this chord occurs in
its tonic position at the start of Constellations (fig. 1). It has, however, been
prefigured at the end of the previous titled movement (Litanies 2) in its first
inversion.
 Contemporary Music Review
Figure 3 Palindromic ordering of material blocks (designations A, B, C, D, E refer to involuntary memory objects and gesture triggers).

471
472 K. Hesketh
The complete morphology of the Ainsi chord phenotypes throughout the quartet
is laid out in Figure 4a; A-type chords (at the or - 5th), related A chords with
additional pitches and mutational chords (distantly related through octatonic pitch
content) are all charted. The most active phase of the Ainsi chords morphology lies
in Litanies (the end of which marks the central point of the work). The increase
from 5 to 7, and then 6 to 8 notes within the chord also follows a weighting of black
to white pitch partitioning, suggesting an organic expansion, contraction and then
further expansion of the chord pitch content. However, the original form of the
Ainsi chord is brought back before the end of the movement not only to thwart
developmental expectation but to heighten the delayed entry of the eight-note chord
(A5) to complete the chords morphology. This brief Ainsi chord reference before
A5 also triggers a moment of involuntary memory (6 before fig. 14); the silence
preceding the chord facilitates a return to the beginning of the work (Par 0) in both
pitch content duplication and general atmosphere, before thrusting us back into the
remaining part of the Litanies movement, leading to A5, and termination of the
movement by reiterations of the unison D pitch.
The alpha, beta and delta chords (Figure 4b) which occur in Nocturne are inflected
forms of the Ainsi chord, filtered through the octatonic environment in which the
progressive growth cantus firmus (PG/CF) begins to unfold. Aurally they suggest a
dominant minor ninth, and with C as bass note, form an octatonic counterpole to the
F sharp established at fig 7. The E flat bass note chord at fig 4, and the final A of the
movement complete the four nodal points of the mode, a more subtle means of
establishing the octatonic environment and associated traits. Other chords more
distantly related to the Ainsi chord (Figure 4b: f (phi) in Litanies 2 and chi in
Parenthese 4) still have clear structural similarities (interval of a fifth or sixth in the
bass and/or other quintal references) but are even more chromatic.
If we consider the Ainsi chord, and associated [828] progression, the primary
chordal geneplex, a secondary phenotypic expression of the C7 genotype can be found
at no fewer than six times in the work (Figure 5). This quintal/quartal related progression
arises in the first titled movement Nocturne, with its final appearance in Temps
suspendu. It is a further example of subtle harmonic development alongside static or
highly related objects. Each time the progression occurs it is enlarged, truncated, altered
in order or by insertion of related chords, functioning as an involuntary memory trigger,
while simultaneously mutating as it proceeds towards its next presentation. After the
initial presentation in Nocturne, the progression is sublimated to the environment in
which it is placed, peeking through other material at one point (for example,
Constellations), hidden behind timbral colouration (amid harmonics in Par 1) or used
to support another principal material (the U/LN in Par 2). By subtle inference of various
types of intervallic structure related to the chordal phenotype groups, an ever-present
harmonic aura of pure fifth in tension with chromatic octatonic colour is maintained,
resulting in an ambiguous and rich harmonic landscape.
The particular quality associated with the Ainsi chord has much to do with its
related encoding index. There are two important components; silence and rhythmic
 Contemporary Music Review
Figure 4(a) and (b) The Ainsi chord: its morphology through progressive phenotypes: (Figure 4b lies beneath 4a).

473
474 K. Hesketh

Figure 5 A secondary phenotypic expression of the C7 genotype; diatonic cluster (IC5/

C7)-related chordal phenotypes (black/white partitions).

stress. Silence always precedes any presentation of the Ainsi chord (a semiquaver
minimum, but usually double or triple this length) effectively underlining its priority
in the works chordal hierarchy. The use of silence preceding the chord also reinforces
the specific atmosphere associated with it to register with the listener (one
reminiscent of inhalation and exhalation, one might even say mystical or
ritualistic). Any previous atmosphere or harmonic environment clears or dissipates
into nothingness before the chord itself sounds.
The musical tension established by silence could be said to be a negative rhythmic
articulation, with specific durations of silence varying by the contexts in which the
Ainsi chord is placed. The corollary to this, the positive rhythmic component of the
chords encoding index, is predominantly trochee in stress (longshort) (see Figure 6a).
It should be noted that the final rhythmic version is reversed shortlong (see
Figure 6b), and therefore not only presents an alternate (mutated) stress pattern but
forms a large framing symmetry for the work:
It should be further noted that the (longshort) of the note values are often
accompanied by weakstrong dynamics, therefore presenting simultaneously trochee
 Contemporary Music Review 475
and iamb stresses. As to the Ainsi chords timbral association, it is, with the single
exception of Par 1, arco.
The Ainsi chord has an important subset and replicating component at its core,
namely the upper/lower neighbour trichord or U/LN [0, 1, 2] (Figure 7). The outer
two pitches of the axial cluster in its [0, 1, 2] presentation form a whole tone and are
used as a separate unit often forming the symmetrical tetrachord [0, 1, 2, 3] or [0, 2,
3, 5]. The play of repetition, recapitulation and alteration of such a basic unit as the
U/LN allows it to become dominant within suitable environments, equally viable
propagation occurring through exact copying or mutation. This trichord is
predominantly present (once established in Parenthese 2) at its primary pitch level
with A at its centre.
The U/LN embeds itself within local melodic material and both the trichord and
the whole tone dyad are often present in subsidiary material. From Nocturne,
through every single section up to and including the final movement Temps
suspendu the success of the unit in propagating itself, as well as acting as an
involuntary memory trigger (most often at its primary pitch level) is clear. The
trichords successful self-propagation, in all environments and at many pitch levels,
makes it a formidable replicator.
The presence of strong linear contour types, such as those initiated in Nocturne,
Parenthese 3 and particularly Litanies 2 are the most obvious examples of
progressive growth in linear terms. Reminiscent of Gregorian chant (with its
principal reciting tones and revolving melismas) the melodic cantus firmus-like
contour (PG/CF) merits particular attention in this context (Figure 8). The initial
form of this material emerges from the interweaving of a single, axially symmetrical
trichord [0,2,4] at a semitones distance. As it continues to progress through pitch
reordering and new pitch insertion, palindromic organisation and a strong octatonic

Figure 6 (a) Trochee stress of Ainsi chord. (b) Final Ainsi chord reversed shortlong
stress.
 476
K. Hesketh
Figure 7 Upper/lower neighbour note cell (U/LN): an axial cluster, its expansions and deformations.
 Contemporary Music Review
477
Figure 8 Involuntary memory within progressive growth (PG/CF): unfolding melodic transformations by exact or altered (mutated)
repetition of U/LN cells.
478 K. Hesketh
trait are expressed. Further reordering and mirror treatment of the ongoing contour
bring the embedded U/LN trichord to the foreground. The initial presentation of the
material in Nocturne reappears in the final movement, Temps suspendu, now
accompanied by other [0,2,4] trichords at different pitch levels. From fig. 25 to after
30 (the penultimate system of the score), this particular selective environment
contains the expanded form of the U/LN to the exclusion of all others, successfully
replicating to become the texture itself. It is superseded only by a mutated version of
the Ainsi chord, the terminating gesture of the work.
An example of how the [0, 1, 2] U/LN trichord may be placed alongside other
recurrent pitch cells to produce a seemingly more complex and varied surface can be
seen in five phrases found in Constellations (Figure 9). However different the pitch
content or order of presentation seems, these phrases are clearly related by pc sets
common to each. The conscious reordering, not only of pitches within a set but also
of sets within extended material, challenges the view that these phrases are
improvised and non-systematic (see Thurlow, 2006, p. 190). It not only reveals
Dutilleuxs use of embedded cells throughout varied material but also, on a secondary
level, the way such cells amass to act as involuntary memory triggers via pitch content
and phrase contour.

Involuntary memory objects and gesture triggers

The final component of progressive growth examined here is the dense web of related
objects and gestures in Ainsi la nuit. Figure 10 outlines the basic five objects of Par
0A, B, C, D, E (as seen in Figure 2 previously)and emergent related objects and
gestures. It is a partial list, but it shows in pitch terms the phenotypic relationship

Figure 9 Hidden unity beneath complex surface diversity.

 Contemporary Music Review 479
between objects. Objects are initially associated with a specific encoding index (for
example, the Ainsi chords trochee stress, arco playing mode, tessitura position and
dynamic contour), and involuntary memory triggers work more successfully through
strong or reinforced association. Any component of the encoding index may
subsequently attach itself to a different object or gesture as the work unfolds, yet the
component may still function as a potential cue to any previously attached object.
The mode of playing components (arco, pizzicato, sul ponticello, etc.) support
imprinting of a specific gesture or object. A partial list of these components can be
seen in Figure 11. References to that object, or to its mode of playing, act as a

Figure 10 Involuntary memory objects and gesture triggers.

Figure 11 Involuntary memorymode of playing encoding index.

480 K. Hesketh
potential memory trigger for any aspect of the object. For example, at a given point,
the compositional environment may favour Ainsi-related chordal types, but such
objects may be encoded with the less frequent pizzicato colouration rather than the
more usual arco playing mode associated with the chord. A second example is the use
and style of presentation attached to harmonics, a strong aural encoding index
component. The encoding feature (pizz, glissando, etc.) may then trigger a
recollection of another object recently related to it but now featured elsewhere.
To cite pizzicato as an encoding index component in this context, it should be noted
that this mode of playing is not simply present as colouration but is attached to a
specific contour, predominantly arcing from low to high or fanning outwards from a
central point. The shape of the progenitor form of the basic object D [Par 0: C (71):
primary [828] derived] can be seen within five further developments and evolutions:

Par 1, A to B: primary [828] derived;

Par 2, C (4);
Litanies 2, 9 to 10:
U/L N; Par 4, C: primary [828] fragments;
Temps suspendu, 27 to 28.

Each form of this object progressively differs from its predecessor, but has enough
in common aurally to act as a memory trigger to other members with this encoding
component in whatever local context it emerges.
Previously mentioned in relation to the Ainsi chord, silence in itself is an
important component of possible encoding indexes.15 Often emblematic of an
implicitly grand or mysterious aspect, it may function as a type of other, heightening
the musics elusive quality, as well as featuring more conventionally by causing a
hiatus in the narrative flow; highlighting that which precedes or follows it; or as an
interruptive gesture. Therefore, encoding indexes include any association striking
enough to aid memory imprinting, and which subsequently may be brought to mind
through the subtlest of cues. As cues and associations evolve over the course of the
work, the presence of objects and gestures shifts according to locale. Such flux is at
the core of progressive growth.

Conclusion
Progressive growth is far more than simple variation or ongoing motivic
development. It relies on a number of different interdependent procedures to evolve
material within specific formal, harmonic or timbral environments through forward
development and referential circularity. Polymorphous encoding index components
(registral, spacial, dynamic, timbral, linear and chordal features) permit direct
juxtaposition of quotation or inference of any previously heard gesture. The
embedding of gradually unfolded material as potential memory triggers, the progress
 Contemporary Music Review 481
of interconnected material through varying environments, and the gradual change of
obsessive features concurrent with static material (stated or suggested) contribute to
intricacies inherent in the concept of progressive growth.
As Dutilleuxs compositional approach is intrinsically teleological, compositionally
directed progress towards events is at work in Ainsi la nuit. However, in viewing the
quartet in terms referable to evolutionary development, the form of a specific
materials morphology and the manner by which it changes are revealed, as are the
emergence and potential dominance of preferred traits through associated encoding
index components.
For the listener, such processes may be only dimly perceived or activated in
subsequent encounters of the work, more immediate interest lying in the unfolding
evolution of material; what succeeds and remains, and what fades after its period of
flourishing. Such formal flux may ultimately lead, ironically, to a type of timelessness
or stasis,16 an inescapable auditory deja vu; a game of smoke and miroirs. Yet through
this recursivediscursive narrative, with it symmetries, intimations and subtle
morphologies, we experience a rich, haunting and elusive musical evolution that
unfolds as we listen. On both an intellectual and sensual level, it is this that satisfies
us; it is this that remains.

Notes
[1] For an overview of the large-scale sweep of the composers life and works, see Potter, 1997.
For an exploration of larger and more intricate connections between musical materials, its
multiple uses and perception, see Joos, 1999. For those seeking an analytical view of the work
of Henri Dutilleux (up to and including The Shadows of Time [19951997]) see Thurlow,
2006.
[2] The German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus first defined the difference between
involuntary and voluntary memory in his monograph Uber das Gedachtnis, 1885.
[3] Such a formal design is apparent in Dutilleuxs First Symphony (19501951) and subsequent
works up to, but not including, Mystere de linstant (19851989).
[4] The palindromes musical use is well established, at least from the fourteenth century (see
Guillaume de Machauts Rondeau for three voices Ma fin est mon commencement). Other
composers palindromic usage, for example Bergian and Bartokian, are well documented, and
have been described as parenthetical in themselves due to the self-negating nature of returning
again, via the mirror point, to the starting place. As Douglas Jarman (1989, pp. 6566)
comments on Berg: palindromes, returning to the point at which they began, [close] the
circle and thus symbolically [negate] their own existence.
[5] Michael OShea is Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Sussex.
[6] Marcel Proust was treated for neurasthenia under the care of a Dr. Paul Sollier who had
studied memory in depth, using this knowledge to provoke emotional surges of involuntary
memories in his patients. Prousts novel contains over 1,200 allusions to memory, with a
specific emphasis on involuntary memory, which was largely inspired by Solliers theories. See
Bogousslavsky & Hennerici, 2007, pp. 89104.
[7] See Potter, 1997, pp. 5572 and Nichols, 1991, pp. 701702 for further discussion of this
subject.
[8] Par dela les confins des spheres etoilees. Elevation from Fleurs du mal (Baudelaire, 1861, p.
40).
482 K. Hesketh
[9] Evolutionary concepts are increasingly applied to non-biological arenas. Originally proposed
by Richard Dawkins, the idea of memes was set out in his book, The Selfish Gene (1976),
Susan Blackmores more recent book, The Meme Machine (1999), outlines her more
considered treatment of memetics, insisting that memes are true evolutionary replicators, a
second replicator that like genetics undergoes evolutionary change. Other writers on the
subject include Daniel D. Dennett, Darwins Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Meanings of
Life (1995). In The Memetics of Music: A Neo-Darwinian View of Musical Structure and Culture
(2007, Aldershot: Ashgate), the University of Huddersfield musicologist Steven Jan outlines a
belief in a neo-Darwinian approach to musical structure and culture mainly as it pertains to
earlier tonal music.
[10] Nuits (19731974). The initial version of this work, titled Cinq etudes, has only etudes 2, 3
and 4 extant, the other sections probably having been subsumed within Ainsi la nuit.
[11] Described by the composer as beacons, thats to say reference points which gradually sink
in to the listeners unconscious and later on become crucial in their appreciation of the work
(see Dutilleux, 2003, p. 77).
[12] Alban Bergs quartet, Lyrische Suite (19251926) is also constructed on such a partitioning of
black and white pitches, generating C7 interval cycles. See Ashby, 1995.
[13] A further example of this specific trichord may be found in the violin concerto Larbre des
songes (19791985). This cluster (G sharp/A/B flat) is shared by both Larbre des songes and
Ainsi la nuit. Both works use intervallic expansion of this cluster in similar ways.
[14] Jeremy Thurlow views the initial palindrome with the Ainsi chord and four-chord progression
as a whole (see Thurlow, 2006, p. 176). Maxime Joos gives special credence to the Ainsi chord
and chord 1 of the progression being related by interlocked fifths (see Joos, 1999, p. 33).
[15] Silence in Dutilleux often implies a specific type of void, a space of negation, not simply space
(i.e. absence) from sound.
[16] An earlier example of this in Dutilleuxs work can be found in the first movement
Incantatoire, of Metaboles (195964).

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