miCROfest@biennale2023

Hybrid states

 

The composition is enharmonic study for harp in two different tuning at the same time. Strings of the harp are tuned in Just intonation with tone C flat as central tone, but the use of the pedals produces equal tempered minor seconds. The end result is a mixture of Just intonation and equal temperament where all enharmonic substitutions have different pitches. For example, D sharp is 18 cents higher than E flat, B sharp is 12 cents lower than C and so on. This kind of hybrid tuning divides an octave in 21 different pitches - seven pitches in C flat major, seven pitches in C major and seven pitches in C sharp major. The harmony of the composition “Hybrid states” changes every two bars, but the enharmonic changes are in each bar. For example, in the third bar of the composition, the chord is A flat major, but in the fourth bar the chord is 18 cents higher G sharp major. To increase the effect of pitch shifting, the tempo of the composition becomes faster when enharmonic change increases the intonation and vice versa.   

 

9 fragments for alto saxophone

 

Nine fragments for alto saxophone is a piece inspired by Madonna’s Weeping (Croatian: Gospin plač), a traditional chant from the island Hvar, that forms a part of the traditional ceremony of the Holy Week, the procession Following the Cross, that takes part in the night from Holy Thursday to Holy Friday. The tradition dates back to the year 1510 and the first writings about the procession date from 1658. The focal point of the procession is the Madonna’s Weeping, octosyllabic passion text from the 15th century, sung by previously chosen singers, kantaduri. The chant recorded by the Faroski kantaduri, used as the basis for this piece, originates from Vrbanj (sung by: Andro Matković, Mili Matković and Jakov Stipetić). An extensive work done by the composer and the performer of the piece included field work, studying the chants, analysis and transcription of the recording, designing a music writing method that would successfully connect the material with the nature of the instrument and ultimately fitting it all into the composer’s poetics. Through the use of many possibilities provided by the non-tempered microtonal traditional music, the composer expands his spectrum of possibilities for composing, using the elements of the chant as a starting point, but also as one of the tools in his own compositional technique. The transcription showed that the chant has 13 different tones in the interval of a fifth, so the odd numbered fragments are based on a non-tempered 13-tone division of a fifth, while the even numbered fragments, written in the tempered system, are centred around three short melodies that are based on two chants from the Lamentations of the Virgin Mary/Gospin Plač.

 

 

 Ad Formam Spectralem

 

This microtonal composition is written for specially selected 36 Tibetan singing bowls, two keyboards and strings. Tibetan singing bowls produce many different harmonics – all of them are irrational and many of them are random. In order to achieve consonant intervals based on harmonic structure between the singing bowls themselves, spectral analyses followed by extrapolation of singing bowls groups was necessary. For this composition I’ve extrapolated 15 singing bowls groups and constructed 15 different microtonal 12-tone scales tuning (this process is described in detail in my study “The art of spectral groups – irrational random intervals harmony doctrine – nine steps before composing”). Each keyboard player must have an assistant to change the tuning along the performance using the key-switch function placed on the lowest 15 keys. The main idea of this composition is to present the possibilities of the method described in the study “The art of the spectral groups”, to popularize the richness of the sound of Tibetan singing bowls, to show how wonderful they can blend with classical western instruments tuned according to microtonal analyses, to presents beautiful and completely new harmony based on the structure of Tibetan singing bowls tones and to invite other composers and musicians to explore the endless microtonal possibilities of the irrational random intervals harmony by writing new pieces for selected 36 Tibetan singing bowls.