György Ligeti: Lux Aeterna
György Ligeti’s Lux Aeterna performed by A Cappella Amsterdam, Daniel Reuss & Susanne Van Els
It is by far in my opinion the best interpretation of this work available.
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Lux Aeterna is a piece for 16-part mixed choir, written by György Ligeti in 1966. It is most famous for its use in Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey.
The text (in Latin) is from the Roman Catholic Requiem Mass: Lux aeterna luceat eis, Domine, cum sanctis tuis in aeternum, quia pius es. Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine; et lux perpetua luceat eis, which means « May everlasting light shine upon them, O Lord, with thy saints in eternity, for thou art merciful. Grant them eternal rest, O Lord, and may everlasting light shine upon them. »
The piece features many of Ligeti’s characteristic styles, including:
Micropolyphony, which Ligeti describes as « The complex polyphony of the individual parts[,] embodied in a harmonic-musical flow in which the harmonies do not change suddenly, but merge into one another; one clearly discernible interval combination is gradually blurred, and from this cloudiness it is possible to discern a new interval combination taking shape. »
Cluster chords, where every note within a given interval is sung simultaneously
A focus on timbre instead of melody, harmony, or rhythm
THE BEST CLASSICAL MUSIC 