Warren Burt: An Eminently Performable Piece (1982)

Abstract

"An Eminently Performable Piece began with a curiosity about the ancient Greek modes. A number of Greek writers associated particular modes with particular emotions, in a manner comparable to those of the rasas (moods) of Indian music theory. Attention was focused upon the pitches of each mode, rhythm and timbre remaining constant. An automated rhythm generation scheme was devised which produced a long series of varying durations. A single, quasi-instrumental timbre was chosen, to exploit the Serge synthesiser's unique ability to make envelopes with varying degrees of exponentiality, the gates being set so as to avoid complete silence at the end of each note. This provided a background haze or wash within which the individual notes could live. The choice of specific notes was determined by a composing routine which cycled the ever changing rhythms against a changing cycle of pitches. Although the option existed to set up the synthesiser so that each mode would be played precisely in tune, I chose a patch where slight errors in the sampling of the pitche would be made. I did this to see if the ear could hear these 'out of tune' notes. Given an unfamiliar tuning, can we hear what is 'wrong' in it? Having set this up, I found the mistakes charming. The large scale structure of the piece is extremely simple. A mode is played for 1 minute 45 seconds. A different mode, with a different fundamental, is then selected, and played for another 1 minute 45 seconds. After four modes are played, the first is reprised for 30 seconds. The process is then repeated with four other modes, and it is at the transitions between the modes that we can hear the modulation effects." -- Warren Burt