#4386: Just Music
It's just music - with works for piano, string quartet, guitar, and Indonesian gamelan, vocal octet, and extended accordion in the tuning system known as just intonation.
Hear an excerpt from LaMonte Young’s five hour masterwork - the Well Tuned Piano - for a piano tuned in just intonation. The resulting sound is the building up and ringing out of the overtones, in such a way that all of the overtones reinforce each other – the “Cloud Effect”. The actual tuning of the well-tuned piano was a secret, but one of the people who knows about that tuning is Michael Harrison, a composer who studied with La Monte Young. Many of his pieces are in just intonation, like a work called Just Constellation from a forthcoming record of the same name, featuring the vocal octet Roomful of Teeth. Hear their voices in just intonation, in the opening constellation called “Summer.”
Then, listen to Christopher Cerrone’s work, “Can’t And Won’t” which flips between Western tuning and just intonation in a work for four fretless instruments – a string quartet – as played by the Argus Quartet. There’s also a work for retuned guitar and gamelan by the American composer, Bill Alves. His work is inspired by the late Lou Harrison, one of the first American composers to write Western-style music for Indonesian gamelan instruments. Alves leads the Harvey Mudd College (HMC) American Gamelan in his Concerto for Guitar and Gamelan, featuring the California guitarist John Schneider who plays a just intonation guitar. Also, listen to a sonic meditation in music by the late Pauline Oliveros – her “Crone Music” for retuned and extended accordion (with electronic enhancements.) Plus, music by Terry Riley, and more.
Program #4386, Just Music (First aired 7/10/2020)
ARTIST: La Monte Young
WORK: The Well-Tuned Piano, Part IV [6:27]
RECORDING: The Well-Tuned Piano
SOURCE: Gramavision 5 CD-set, #18-8701
INFO: Out of print. Info at melafoundation.org
ARTIST: Roomful of Teeth
WORK: Michael Harrison: Just Constellations - I. The Opening Constellation- Summer [8:04]
RECORDING: Just Constellations
SOURCE: New Amsterdam Records | Due out Aug. 21, 2020
INFO: roomfulofteeth.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Terry Riley
WORK: Terry Riley: The Magic Knot Waltz [9:27]
RECORDING: The Harp of New Albion
SOURCE: Celestial Harmonies 14018
INFO: harmonies.com
ARTIST: Argus Quartet
WORK: Christopher Cerrone: Can't and Won't [9:57]
RECORDING: July 3, 2020: A Benefit Compilation
SOURCE: New Amsterdam Records
INFO: newamsterdamrecords.bandcamp.com | christophercerrone.com
ARTIST: Bill Alves with John Schneider, just intonation guitar | HMC American Gamelan |Bill Alves, director
WORK: Concerto for Guitar and Gamelan 2 [6:27]
RECORDING: Guitars & Gamelan
SOURCE: Microfest Records MF 8
INFO: microfestrecords.com or available via Amazon.com, Spotify or Apple Music
ARTIST: Pauline Oliveros
WORK: Crone Music for extended accordion [5:35]
RECORDING: Crone Music
SOURCE: Lovely Music 1903
INFO: lovely.com
