Mutant Sonorities

For many years I have been thinking of a way to use quarter tones in my music. We don´t usually play them because they do not belong to the chromatic scale.

I have used these notes in other pieces, as in the concerto Blue Phrases for Trumpet, Brass Band and live electronics (from 2006).

In this concerto, the soloist has to play quarter tones as a melodic element and some of the brass band parts also contains them.

The tension in the chords I then get, gives my musical language a new dimension, it becomes more expressive.

With this knowledge in mind and still wanting to find out more, I wrote Mutant Sonorities. Some instruments even have to tune down to play certain passages. The piece is kept in the same underlying puls all the way through.

Quite early in the piece we experience harmonic mutations because of quarter tones beeing used.

June 2013 Torstein Aagaard-Nilsen

Percussion requirements: Percussion 1: Tambourine, Snare Drum, Bass Drum (Gran cassa), 4 Cymbals (different pitches), Wind Gong (ca. 28""), Crystal glass (*), Triangle, Bongo

Percussion 2: Glockenspiel, Tubular bells, Tom-tom (high), Crystal glass (pitch differs from perc. 1) (*), Wind Gong (small, less than 20"", (opt: large susp. cymb.))

Percussion 3: Glockenspiel, Marimba, Wind Gong (ca. 20""), Wood block (high)

Percussion 4: Vibraphone, Temple block (high)