Numbers and a new tuning

Great to read of that all integers are sacred when they are small eough.
(There are 10 in a minyan, however, which is the necessary minimum amount
of Jewish participants for group prayer.)

I've been working on a new piece in a new tuning. It is for soprano,
violin, viola, and cello and scheduled for performance at De Ysbreker on
October 13th in Amsterdam. It is largely tuned to Harmonic-17.

As some of you may recall, there have been some surprisingly good success
in composing in Harmonic-13 tuning (wherein each interval of a 14-note
scale is made up of ratios that contain either a 13 or a multiple of 13).

Well, now its Harmonic-17, wherein each interval in a 16-note scale is
made up of ratios that contain either a 17 or a multiple of 17.
Basically, the sound resonates in a unique fracture of the octave, sifting
easily into 3 and 4 note chords that resemble harmonic chordal progresson.
There are certainly exotics, too.

I would suppose one would eventually discern a "17-ness" to the music.
There was earlier discussion of a feeling for certain limits of the
overtone series (e.g. 7-limit quality of sound, 11-limit quality of
sound). I recall disagreement with this notion. However, when every
single note is a 17-perspective, might the "-ness" resulting merely be a
manifestaion of the music's "17-ness"?


Johnny Reinhard
Director
American Festival of Microtonal Music
318 East 70th Street, Suite 5FW
New York, New York 10021 USA
(212)517-3550/fax (212) 517-5495
reinhard@idt.net
http://www.echonyc.com/~jhhl/AFMM