claudius ptolemy (2008)
for violin and cello
for Johnny Chang and Jessica Catron
NOTES ABOUT THE INTERPRETATION
Tempo is free: as swiftly as accurate intonation permits, but
taking time whenever necessary. Each pitch may be considered to
have a ‘virtual fermata’, which may be held whenever more time is
needed to clearly focus the indicated just interval ratio. For the
most part, overlapping tones produce ‘tuneable intervals’ which
may be precisely realized by ear.
There are only seven pitch classes used in this piece, forming a
D Major scale tuned according to Claudius Ptolemy’s tense diatonic
(5-limit just intonation). The four pitches G - D - A - E are tuned
as a chain of pure (3/2) fifths, matching the open strings of the
violin. The pitches B - F# - C# are tuned as pure (5/4) major thirds
above G - D - E, and are accordingly notated with downward arrows
to indicate alteration by a syntonic comma (81/80). The resulting
thirds should sound beatless and resonant, and care should be
taken not to exaggerate the extent of the comma!
The two individual voices may also be played as solo pieces for
violin and cello.
Berlin, 15 January 2008

Claudius Ptolemy (2008)

[Fun / Quirky / Upbeat] - "Shouting Out"

New double-disc album by The Westerlies

To be released by Songlines Recordings on October 21, 2016

Private stream, please do not share

A Nearer Sun (disc 1)

From the album "Dream of the Wind" on Zozo Records.
Nominated best Contemporary Classical Album by the 10th Independent Music Awards.
To purchase the album - itunes.apple.com/us/album/dream-o…wind/id349658123

Night Piece

A new track mixing real and virtual instruments.

Sun Prints

French composer Sylvain Chauveau’s new album Life Without Machines, a set ofshort compositions using Barnett Newman’s series of abstract painting The Stations of the Cross as visual scores, is set for release on 17th April 2020 through FLAU.

Known for very minimal compositions for acoustic instruments, electronics andsometimes vocals, with a focus on quietness and slowness; Sylvain has released records on labels such as FatCat, Sub Rosa, Type, Les Disques du Soleil et del’Acier, Brocoli and performed live across Europe, Canada and USA, Russia and Asia.

The title of his new album, Life Without Machines, expresses the fact that ourlives are entirely assisted by machines (for everything we eat, wear, transport,build, watch, listen…) which require a permanent, colossal use of energy – mostlyfossil fuels, whose combustion constantly sends CO to the atmosphere. The title₂suggests that this can’t last forever: living with less (and finally without)machines may have to become a collective decision in the future or (moreprobably) a consequence of a combination of crisis (both energetic, economicaland ecological).

Composed by Sylvain and performed by french pianist Melaine Dalibert, thereare a total of 15 pieces, yet only 14 will appear on the tracklist (one hidden track ishearable after a period of silence at the end of track 14). This mirrors the stonegarden of Ryoanji in Kyoto, where there are 15 stones but from any point of viewone can only see a maximum of 14 at the same time.

Sylvain Chauveau -        e

Magma

Thru The Border

Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Pierre Boulez, conductor

Bach/Schoenberg: Prelude and Fugue in E-flat Major, BWV 552 (December 1991)

Woods

Yana Batovskaya - Elegy

Canadian composer Marc Sabat (*1965) is based in Berlin since 1999. He has made pieces for concert and installation settings, drawing inspiration from investigations of the sounding and perception of Just Intonation and of various music traditions — folk, experimental and classical. His pieces are presented and broadcast internationally at festivals of new music including the Donaueschinger Musiktage, Klangspuren Schwaz, MaerzMusik, Huddersfield, Darmstadt, Musica Viva and Carnegie Hall. Scores and artist editions are available from Plainsound Music Edition. Recent recordings include the LP “Les Duresses”, released by care of editions (Berlin) as well as discs on the labels Populist Records (Los Angeles) and World Edition (Köln).

Sabat studied composition, violin and mathematics at the University of Toronto, at the Juilliard School in New York, and at McGill University, as well as working privately with Malcolm Goldstein, James Tenney and Walter Zimmermann. Together with Wolfgang von Schweinitz he has developed the Extended Helmholtz-Ellis JI Pitch Notation and is a pioneer of music written and performed in extended Just Intonation. He teaches at the Universität der Künste Berlin, and as a guest at the California Institute of the Arts, the Escola Superior in Barcelona, the Janacek Academy in Brno and the Paris Conservatoire. In 2010, he was an artist-in-residence of the Villa Aurora in Los Angeles, followed in 2011 by a one year residency at the German Academy in Rome, Villa Massimo.

Claudius Ptolemy (2008)

Marc Sabat

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