Oct 12, 2020
Composer Michael Harrison and I talk about his deep interests in Indian classical music (solfege, tuning, raga, and practice) as well as Just Intonation (septimal intervals). His latest piece, “Just Constellations,” is an a cappella piece sung/commissioned by the iconic Roomful of Teeth ensemble. Topics include improvisation, commatic intervals in chords, minimalist composers (La Monte Young, Terry Riley), and the benefits of learning from a variety of styles. The harmonic piano, which we also discuss, is an extremely exciting DIY technique for getting a standard piano to play up to 24 notes per octave!
Music
Intro: Just Constellations (1: The Opening Constellation: Summer) - Michael Harrison
The Four Dreams of China - LaMonte Young
The Well-Tuned Piano - LaMonte Young
Indian raga Suhakanara (performed by Sri Manilal Nag)
Revelation (1: Revealing the Tones) - Michael Harrison
Revelation (3: Revealing the Commas) - Michael Harrison
Revelation (4: Tone Cloud I) - Michael Harrison
Revelation (12: Tone Cloud IV) - Michael Harrison
Just Constellations (1: The Opening Constellation: Summer) - Michael Harrison
Raga Yaman (instrumental) - Sharanu Siddhi Vinayaka
Tarana (raga with piano) - Michael Harrison
Just Constellations (3: The Magic Constellation: Winter) - Michael Harrison
Just Constellations (4: The Acoustic Constellation: Spring) - Michael Harrison
Partita for 8 Voices - Caroline Shaw
Royal Wedding - Terry Riley
Revelation (8: Vision in the Desert) - Michael Harrison
From Ancient Worlds (using harmonic piano) - Michael Harrison
Outro: Just Constellations (2: The Romantic Constellation: Autumn) - Michael Harrison
Michael Harrison’s music:
https://michaelharrison.bandcamp.com/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwsdXje6PBl4tME4IZeg-cA
https://open.spotify.com/artist/09b9oXw3X9LhhKA8GJsMDT?autoplay=true
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