Pointillism

Pointillism takes its name from a painting technique exploited by the French artist Georges Seurat. Small dots of color were juxtaposed on the canvas so that when viewed from a distance the colors were mixed optically. An attempt to transfer the technique to music would suggest a contrapuntal texture, the voices assuming independent importance to allow individual timbres to penetrate. A fragmentary character is maintained until the end when instrumental "colors" are fused.