Teleological Strategies of Non-Tonal Music: The Case of György Ligeti’s Lux Aeterna

Abstract

In Ligeti’s Lux aeterna micropolyphony and the lack of an apparent system of pitch organization comparable to functional tonality seem to preclude goal-directed processes of musical motion. Yet, this article will demonstrate the existence of goals and paths leading toward them on various levels (short-, medium-, and long-term). These teleological procedures include contextually establishing intonational centers as goals; directed linear motion; the completion of twelve-tone aggregates as well as the extension of the completion idea to other parameters. As a final observation, while goal-directed processes span the entire composition, some of them, in conjunction with the text, transcend the work itself, and project goals into infinity.