The Wire
The Harmonic Series: A Compilation Of Musical Works In Just Intonation
Various
Important CD
Just Intonation ('Just' in this case meaning proper, not mere) is a tuning system in which all the intervals can be represented by whole-number ratios - the fundamental frequency is 1:1, while other notes might be 9:5, 4:3, and so on. In practice, it gives a slightly otherworldly feeling to the music, as tones hum and shimmer around each other, particularly when played on instruments with a long or indefinite sustain, like harp, cello or accordion.
The man behind this compilation, Duane Pitre, performs a comprovisation (his word) on the ukelin, a 32-string fretless zither; the track has the feel of Japanese koto music as played by Oren Ambarchi or Bill Frisell. "Blue Tunnel Fields" is a duet for Theresa Wong's cello and Ellen Fullman's Long String Instrument, an installation of wires, some more than 50 feet long, played with rosincoated fingers - it recalls the thick drones of Tony Conrad.
The high-water mark of the disc, though, is definitely pianist Michael Harrison's "Tone Cloud II", an excerpt from Revelation, which Cantaloupe Music released in 2007. His use of tuning and overtones, coupled with his particular approach to the keyboard, creates a sound somewhere between La Monte Young's The WeI/-Tuned Piano (Harrison was Young's apprentice in the 1980s) and Cecil Taylor's Air Above Mountains - it's awe-inspiring, like floating in a sea of reverb that's been somehow transformed into a physical element. Almost everything here – Pauline Oliveros's accordion track is the exception - blurs the line between music and sound based installation art; the disc absolutely demands solitude and speakers, as headphone listening would remove the spatial element that's so key to appreciating what these composers are exploring.
– Phil Freeman
Baltimore City Paper
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