Jean-Philippe Rameau (2012)

Satie: Gnossienne No. 1 (in just intonation)

Rubber Wing

Rosebud

One Thousand Sirens

the being/the world (2024)
for Juliet Fraser and Ensemble Musikfabrik

extract recording: scene 5: duo (love)

Juliet Fraser, voice
Sara Cubarsi, viola d'amore
Benjamin Kobler, synth organ
+ MusikFabrik

premiere recording extract from WDR, Köln on 3 March 2024

total piece duration: 1 hour

in loving memory of Amelia Cuni

commissioned by Ensemble Musikfabrik and Kunststiftung NRW
photograph: Janet Sinica

the being/the world (2024) scene 5 (extract)

Dorian Minus (excerpt)

"reaching" for string quartet and electronics
M.A. Thesis, University of Chicago

Premiered 4/5/2018 by Spektral Quartet (Clara Lyon, Maeve Feinberg, Doyle Armbrust, Russell Rolen)
Cover art: Matt Omahan (www.mattomahan.com)

This piece is about striving for something - a goal, an aim, a success, etc. - and subsequently failing. However, it is not about the failure; rather, it is about the repetition of trying, attempting, reaching.

reaching, for string quartet and electronics

Colored Shadows [Hyperresonance IV] (2012) for viola and electroacoustics.  John Graham, viola.
For more information, visit:
http://mikelkuehn.com/index.php/works/83-work-sample/142-colored-shadows

Colored Shadows [Hyperresonance IV] (2012, viola and electroacoustics)

excerpt from recording session at Guebwiller cathedral, France
May 2023

with Ensemble Proton

Ingo Schmidt-Lucas, sound engineer

Curva Triangulus (2018/21) excerpt

Michael Harrison's complete recording of Revelation: Music in Pure Intonation (Cantaloupe Music, 2007)

Follow Michael Harrison on Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/09b9oXw3X…euR8eA51y8uCq6Ag
Follow Michael Harrison on YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCwsdXje6PBl4tME4IZeg-cA

Michael Harrison on Revelation:

Revelation has twelve interconnected sections in various key centers. Originally, the main thematic material for most sections of the work was composed but the resonant tone clouds incorporated structured improvisation using a set of pre-determined pitch relationships, rhythmic patterns and ostinati to develop a complex sustained harmonic resonance with unusual acoustical effects. In order to optimize these effects I wanted to be flexible enough to vary what I was playing in response to what I was hearing. The exact nature of these effects would vary according to resonances of the instrument, the precision of the tuning, the acoustics of the performance space, and even variations in temperature and humidity. However, while working on a score that would enable pianists other than myself to play the work, I eventually decided to notate the tone clouds, with their complex, shifting rhythmic patterns. As I scored the work, I found that I could more fully develop the themes and material by writing everything out rather than leaving the development to the discretion of the performer.

I performed the world premiere of the original version of Revelation in July of 2001 at Germany's Klavier Festival Ruhr, followed by the U.S. premiere in October 2001 at Composers Collaborative's Solo Flights festival at Lincoln Center. The Grammy-nominated pianist Joshua Pierce gave the world premiere of the new complete version at New York City's Merkin Concert Hall in February of 2005. The final score, now almost 300 pages in length, is the culmination of my life's work to date.

The inspiration of the revelation tuning presented sonic opportunities that opened new vistas for me as a composer and performer. My hope is that I have created a work that is both rewarding to play and enjoyable to hear. In composing Revelation, I wanted to express my passion for harmonic resonance, and also create a work that would serve multiple purposes. Revelation retrains the ear for the world of just intonation, and the pulsating, shimmering sounds of the commas. The work presents an expanded harmonic, textural, and acoustical palette that may help lead to the next evolutionary step in tonality. The range and scope of pianistic techniques is also enlarged, thus creating a wider timbral spectrum. I believe that Revelation can be a springboard for other composers and performers to continue exploring the vast possibilities that are available when working with contemporary just intonation tunings and simultaneously sounding commas. I hope these elements will help return music to its ancient roots as a sacred art based on the science of pure tones and perfect mathematical relationships.

Tone Cloud II

Recorded by Austin Wulliman
Version for 4 violins

"dx/dt" recontextualizes music notation as a position versus time graph. Utilizing a unique Pythagorean tuning system where 4 instruments cover a full 12 note series of perfect 5ths, this piece can be performed on 4 violins, 4 violas, 4 cellos, or 4 double basses. Only open strings and natural harmonics are used throughout the piece, through which delicate and pure sounds immerse the listener.

Satie: Gnossienne No. 1 (in just intonation)

Johnny MacMillan

Related tracks