Ru
EnA. Chupova
The (re)construction of time in “L’orologio di Bergson” by S. Sciarrino
The article provides a detailed analysis of the piece for solo flute “L’orologio di Bergson” by Salvatore Sciarrino. The study focuses on the sound material, compositional techniques and semiotic strategies that represent the concept of time in this work.
The name of the French philosopher Henri Bergson, referenced in the title, refers to his definition of time. Bergson distinguished between mathematical time – associated with spatial representations and infinitely divisible – and duration (la durée), which he described as concrete, inherent to consciousness, continuous, integral, and characterized by the interpenetration of past and present. Drawing on Bergson’s lecture experiment, which demonstrated the perceived objectivity of time as shaped by individual consciousness, Sciarrino offers an artistic interpretation of this concept, transposing it into the unfolding of a musical composition.
Employing his own system of compositional “figures” (or “perceptual structures”), particularly the “window form”, the article’s author examines two main strategies for constructing time in L’orologio di Bergson. The first strategy highlights the subjectivity of perceiving “mathematical” time, which is divided into discrete segments of “before” and “after”. This is achieved through minimal (yet perceptible) deviations from strict periodicity in the pulsation of a multiphonic cluster – the main sound object of the piece. The second strategy represents the simultaneous flow of time in two opposing directions: one linear vector is defined by the ongoing pulsation of the multiphonic cluster, while the other emerges from sonic events occurring between its appearances. As a result, Sciarrino succeeds in creating a musical reconstruction of Bergson’s concept of duration, resembling the simultaneous unwinding and winding of a thread into a ball.
Key words
Salvatore Sciarrino, “L’orologio di Bergson”, Henri-Louis Bergson, la durée, musical figures, la forma a finestre, flute.
For citation
Chupova A. The (re)construction of time in “L’orologio di Bergson” by S. Sciarrino. In: South-Russian Musical Anthology. 2025. No. 1. Pp. 94–106.
