(I) Materialisms: Grisey, Dufourt, and the liminality between object, form, and subject in process music

Abstract

This article proposes an investigation into the music of composers Gérard Grisey and Hugues Dufourt that departs from the preconceived notion of “spectralism” as the construction of projections and configurations of pitches derived from the harmonic spectrum. Instead, it focuses on contextualizing the compositional approach of these composers through the material-form topology, addressing this relationship historically and philosophically, examining the conditions that facilitated the flourishing of their practices in the context of the 20th century. The central essence of this study lies in the assertion that the contribution of these composers is significantly apprehended through the consideration of the notions of “dynamism”, “dimensionality”, “processuality,” and, above all, the “liminality” present between spatial (quantifiable) and temporal (qualitative), as well as between acoustic (objective) and auditory (subjective) poles.