''Magány'', sometimes translated into English as ''Solitude'' or ''Loneliness'', is an early vocal composition by Hungarian composer

György Ligeti György Sándor Ligeti (; ; 28 May 1923 – 12 June 2006) was a Hungarian-Austrian composer of contemporary classical music. He has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde music, avant-garde composers in the latter half of the ...

to a text by

Sándor Weöres Sándor Weöres (; 22 June 1913 – 22 January 1989) was a Hungarian poet and author. Born in Szombathely, Weöres was brought up in the nearby village of Csönge. His first poems were published when he was fourteen, in the influential jour ...

. It was finished in 1946 and, as most of Ligeti's early compositions, has followed the musical style of

Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as Hunga ...

Composition

Ligeti wrote this composition when he was still a student in the

Franz Liszt Academy The Franz Liszt Academy of Music (, often abbreviated as ''Zeneakadémia'', "Liszt Academy") is a music university and a concert hall in Budapest, Hungary, founded on November 14, 1875. It is home to the Liszt Collection, which features several ...

, in November 1946. Due to its shortness, it has never received a formal premiere, but it was rather broadcast in the

Hungarian Radio Hungarian may refer to: * Hungary, a country in Central Europe * Kingdom of Hungary, state of Hungary, existing between 1000 and 1946 * Hungarians/Magyars, ethnic groups in Hungary * Hungarian algorithm, a polynomial time algorithm for solving the ...

and was performed together with other vocal pieces. However, it has been published by both and

Schott Music Schott Music () is one of the oldest German music publishers. It is also one of the largest music publishing houses in Europe, and is the second-oldest music publisher after Breitkopf & Härtel. The company headquarters of Schott Music were foun ...

and has been recorded by some relevant choirs, such as the

London Sinfonietta The London Sinfonietta is an English contemporary chamber music, chamber orchestra founded in 1968 and based in London. The ensemble has headquarters at Kings Place and is Resident Orchestra at the Southbank Centre. Since its inaugural concert ...

Voices.

Analysis

''Magany'' takes approximately two and a half minutes to perform. It consists of only one movement, even though double bars and different

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

s are used. The text, as many of Ligeti's early vocal compositions, is extracted from a work by Hungarian poet

, but has also been officially translated into English by Desmond Clayton. This was the first time Ligeti took a text from Weöres. This three-

part Part, parts or PART may refer to: People *Part (surname) *Parts (surname) Arts, entertainment, and media *Part (music), a single strand or melody or harmony of music within a larger ensemble or a polyphonic musical composition *Part (bibliograph ...

composition is scored for

mixed choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

, which should consist of

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

alto The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: '' altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In four-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in ch ...

s and

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

s. The score is marked ''Molto moderato, poco rubato'' at the beginning, and starts with a gloomy tune, which is followed by a joyful and fast second segment, which is marked ''Più mosso, non rubato'' and ''Subito: ancora più mosso, con slancio'' later on. The final segment, marked ''Subito: Quasi Tempo I'' comes back to the general mood of the first segment. All segment are separated by double bars.

References

External links

A preview of the score
* ,

Voices Compositions by György Ligeti 1946 compositions Contemporary classical compositions Choral compositions {{1940s-song-stub