Scale of the Day: E Square-root-of-2-axis, Construct No. 1 - Lydian Mode - in Triative Space

The E Square-root-of-2-axis, Construct #1, Lydian Mode - in Triative-space - Scale. Stripped to just the bare essentials, this scale features only the root, the square-root-of-2 (also known as the 600-cent "tritone") and the triative - which functionally serves as harmonically equivalent to the tonic.

HurdAudio Rotation: Three Uses for a Violin

Olivier Messiaen: Turangalila Symphony. Seiji Ozawa conducting the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. 1967 (re-released in 2004). BMG Classics/RCA: 82876-59418-2.

Seiji Ozawa: conductor
Toronto Symphony Orchestra
with
Yvonne Loriod: piano
Jeanne Loriod: ondes Martenot

A grand aural greeting to the ambitious optimism of a new year. The sprawling, large-scale orchestral plunge through 20th century "modernism's" waters is all the more impressive in this outstanding performance featuring the Loriod sisters (Yvonne being Messiaen's second wife) on piano and ondes Martenot. Not to mention the exquisitely crafted textures of cascading piano, searing ondes Martenot and enormous orchestra. This was a commission where Messiaen decided to stretch as many boundaries imaginable. The result is intoxicatingly expansive and well worth waking up the neighbors with its explosive glory.

Jenny Scheinman: 12 Songs. 2005. Cryptogramophone: CG125.

Jenny Scheinman: violin
Ron Miles: cornet
Doug Wieselman: clarinets
Bill Frisell: guitar
Rachelle Garniez: accordion, piano, claviola
Tim Luntzel: bass
Dan Rieser: drums

The textures are familiar for anyone who has spent time listening to the individual performers in this band. The Bill Frisell tones hang in the air like a welcome acquaintance in the service of these Scheinman compositions. The melding of Ron Miles with the Frisell sound is itself a familiar component. 12 songs of pleasant - and deceptively simple - beauty with a strange bend toward miss-spellings or puns in most of the titles: "The Frog Threw His Head Back and Laughed," "The Buoy Song" or "Satelite." The effortless and playful quality of these charts draw the ears in as a curiosity touching upon an Americana sound.

Johann Sebastian Bach: Bach Edition [disc 1-1]. 2006. Brilliant Classics: 93102/1.

Brandenberg Concerto 1
Brandenberg Concerto 2
Brandenberg Concerto 3

Performed by:
Musica Amphion
Remy Baudet: leader
featuring:
Frank de Bruine: oboe
Remy Baudet: piccolo violin, violin
Teunis van der Zwart: horn
Erwin Wieringa: horn
William Wroth: trumpet
Pieter-Jan Belder: recorder
Sayuri Yamagata: violin
Irmgard Schaller: violin
Staas Swierstra: viola
Marten Boeken: viola
Mariette Holtrop: viola
Rainer Zipperling: cello
Richte van der Meer: cello
Albert Bruggen: cello

A first immersion into a box set so overwhelming it takes a forklift to pick it up. Which is nearly an understatement of the overwhelming body of work - and the ocean of Western music history that flows from this singular head water. The first three Brandenberg Concertos are as good a point of entry as any with the music of J.S. Bach. A steady, pulsating reminder of a Baroque music at an apex. The performance on this disc is well recorded - offering a sonic clarity to a dense ensemble sound. And offering these ears a sense of gravity lurking within the rippling contours of this music.

Scale of the Day: E Cube-root-of-2-axis, Construct #1 - Lydian Inversion - in Square-root-of-2-space

The E Cube-root-of-2-axis, Construct #1 - Lydian Inversion - in Square-root-of-2-space Scale as one would find it on any conventionally tuned, equal tempered instrument. Continuing with a set of 2-note scales.

Scale of the Day: E Square-root-of-2-axis, Construct No. 2, Lydian Mode

The E Square-root-of-2-axis, Construct No. 2, Lydian Mode Scale as one would find it on any conventionally tuned, equal tempered instrument. A harmonic space that draws upon the square-root-of-2-axis within an octave-space is essentially binary. Construct number 2 produces the same scale as construct number 1, and each is self-inverting. This scale introduces the concept of the second construct into the "Scale of the Day" cycle - which will appear with more frequency in the days ahead.

Scale of the Day: E Flat Mixolydian mapped to the Square-root-of-2 1% narrow

The E Flat Mixolydian mapped to the Square-root-of-2 1% narrow Scale.

HurdAudio Rotation: Music of Summer, Flying Phoenix and Donuts

Guy Klucevsek: Stolen Memories. 1996. Tzadik: TZ 7018.

Guy Klucevsek and The Bantam Orchestra:
Guy Klucevsek: accordion, piano, melodica
Sara Parkins: violin
Margaret Parkins: cello, voice
Achim Tang: bass

Sprawling in the center of this set of compositions like a vine in full bloom is the melancholy and haunting "Tesknota." Using a notation that specifies only the sequence of notes, leaving the details of rhythm and group coordination to be improvised the languid phrases move between the four players like a solemn prayer uttered into a desolate landscape. An exquisitely beautiful piece framed nicely by the rhythmic, and sometimes whimsical compositions for this ensemble. "Donut Ask, Donut Tell" being a particular delight featuring the vocal work of Margaret Parkins breathing life into Klucevsek's poetry.

Fennesz: Endless Summer. 2001. Mego: 035.

Christian Fennesz: electronics

Textural studies built upon layers of discreet parts working cyclically like waves along the shore. There is consistently a layer of heavily processed electronics building up like sediment accompanying less obviously process instrument parts. Simple chord changes appear and fade away, washing along with the undertow of glitch electronics. Much of it walking a fine line between polish and grit. The tight, cyclical patterns calling to mind the flow of days that make up the season in the title.

Richard Stoltzman: Phoenix In Flight. 2008. Navona Records: NV5801.

Richard Stoltzman: clarinet
with:
The Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra
Kirk Trevor: conductor

Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra in C Minor/E Flat Major J. 109 (op.26) by Carl Maria Von Weber

Duetto by Giovanni Bottesini
featuring Richard Fredrickson: double bass

Premiere Rhapsodie by Claude Debussy

Clarinet Concerto No. 2 in E Flat Major (op. 74) by Carl Maria Von Weber

Herbstlied by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (arranged by Toru Takemitsu)

A rare balance of soloist virtuosity that allows the orchestral composition to come to the foreground. Richard Stoltzman applies his talents toward realizations of early to late Romantic works. The Duetto in particularly filled with subtle nuance within the dialogue between bass, clarinet and ensemble. Debussy's Premiere Rhapsodie is the centerpiece of this program. The softness of the materials is allowed to unfold under its own gentle momentum.

Scale of the Day: E Flat Mixolydian mapped to the Square-root-of-2 2% wide

The E Flat Mixolydian mapped to the Square-root-of-2 2% wide Scale. The tweaked quarter-tone scale rings in the new year.