Kaija Saariaho: Petals

• Petals was composed between September 1986 - January 1987
• Spectralism is music were the use of computer analysis of sound is the basis for composition.
• The acoustic instrument used was a cello, played with electronic amplification
• Amplification: when a microphone is held close to the cello which brings out some of the timbral detail and aspects of the instrument that cannot be heard and can only be heard if you are very close to the instrument.
• Reverb: Like the sustained pedal on the piano, it makes slow passages on the cello longer  
• Harmoniser- Detuning the pitch of the cello, adds two copies of the cellos sound on top of the normal sound of the cello. It makes the cello sound thicker and bigger
• Dynamic ‘hairpins’ - indicate increases or decreases in the amount of effect fed back through the system, expressed as a percentage of the maximum.
• Types of structure

  Type A-fragile coloristic passages’. Lento – free

  Type B- more energetic events with clear rhythmic and melodic character. ♩=60
• The tonality of the music is atonal
• The harmony is for the majority largely absent
• Rhythmic features: dectuplets, septuplets/quintuplets, syncopation, grace notes
• Performing Forces: Pizzicato, sul ponticello or sul tasto, tremolando, flautando, Glissandi, double stopping
• There are mirco-intervals used in this piece
• Use of heavy bow pressure to produce a scratching sound, replacing an audible pitch with noise
• The use of natural (open string) and artificial harmonics
• From stave 1-3 the structure monophonic
• Where Nympea ends, Petal picks up. Cello passage from the opening of Petals can be heard at the end of Nymphea 
• Some ornamentation features used were: trills, mordents