5/17/2008

Nocturne for Two Pianos in Seventeen Tone Equal Temperament


I wrote this piece for a concert in Texas last year. It was phase three of the seventeen tone piano project. Two pianos were retuned so they shared the notes of seventeen tone equal temperament (seventeen equally spaced notes to the octave instead of the usual twelve). This is often regarded as a rather challenging tuning. It's major and minor thirds are more dissonant than what we are accustomed to. This can result in a somewhat harsh sound. Despite these difficulties, I enjoy this tuning. I challenged myself to try to compose a piece that highlights its softer side. I came up with this nocturne. (Click on the link to hear it.)


The entire concert was archived here. Phase two of the project was videotaped and can be seen here. You might also enjoy this page about the project at Xenharmonic Wikispaces.

2 comments:

Mimi Lenox said...

You've been tagged by Mimi Queen of Memes.
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Robin Phillips said...

I have found 17EDO a bit jarring, but lately have been hearing more and more that I find interesting in this tuning - Your 'Nocturne for 2 pianos...' is lovely and sounds both melodically and harmoically really sweet