047 - Michael Harrison

Now and Xen

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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