Combination-Tone Class Sets and Redefining the Role ofles Couleursin Claude Vivier’sBouchara

Abstract

Claude Vivier’s homophonic treatment of combination tones—what he calledles couleurs—demands an extension of traditional methods of harmonic and spectral analysis. Incomplete explanations of this technique throughout the secondary literature further demand a revised and cohesive definition. To analyze all variations ofles couleurs, I developed the analytical concept of combination-tone classes (CTCs) and built upon Angela Lohri’s (2010) combination tone matrix to create a dynamic CTC matrix, from which CTC sets may be extracted. Intensive CTC set analysis reveals a definitive correlation between CTC set and formal sections in Vivier’s compositionBouchara. Although formally adjacent CTC sets are often markedly varied, all sets share a subset of lower-order CTCs, aiding in perception of spectral cohesion across formal boundaries. This analysis illuminates the interrelationships of CTC sets to their parent dyads, their orchestration, their playing technique, and form inBouchara. CTC set analysis is compared with Vivier’s sketches forBouchara, which suggest thatles couleurswere intended as integral components of the work’s musical structure.