A Pythagorean Composer

The recent excellent postings by Margo Schulter and others have reminded =
me
that the work of the young Frankfurt composer Daniel Franke (in his score=
s
and in programs the spelling of his names are variable) is too little
known.

Although the strongest impulse for Franke's musik came from his encounter=

with the music of Morton Feldman, Franke has long studied the music of th=
e
'scholarly' traditions: in his own Jewish tradition, in the Confucian
tradition (he is a serious Sinologist), and in the Classical Islamic worl=
d.
He is a serious student of the ch'in and of the oud. In connection with h=
is
oud studies, he has assisted the Frankfurt Institute for Islamic Science =
in
the commissioned reconstruction of historical instruments from across the=

Islamicate world. For Franke, instrumentation is foremost, and done with
extreme care for subtle details; his attention to details of instrument
construction (e.g. the right silk strings for his ch'in, the proper gut f=
or
his oud) is in this spirit.

In the portfolio of scores that Franke recently shared with me, I am stru=
ck
by the convergence of a musical texture related to the music of Cage base=
d
upon restricted gamuts and the sparse but detailed rhythmic motion of lat=
e
Feldman with a pitch vocabulary based upon the extended _melodic_ resourc=
es
of Pythagorean intonation. I emphasize this melodic aspect in that the
prevailing evaluation of intonation is harmonic, and in this music,
harmonic relationships and qualities are clearly secondary to a highly
detailed melodic surface with numerous ornaments and well defined
articulation. =


The Pythagorean works I have examined include _3 Pieces_ for Oud (in the
classical tuning G A d g c' C), _Hawk Flie Soar Sky Fish Skip In Deep_ fo=
r
alto flute and oud, a _TRIO_, for Eb Clarinet, Cello and Harp, and in
meantone temperament, _Sir Andrew May His Thynge_ for solo tenor viol, th=
e
fretting set as conventionally (Limma-Apotome'-L-A-L) to the fifth fret,
with the sixth fret continuing the sequence to an Apotome' instead of the=
-
as Franke puts it - ''irregular 2nd Limma''.

If any subscribers to the list are interested in contacting Franke direct=
ly
about his music, please contact me off list.

Daniel Wolf
DJWOLF_MATERIAL@COMPUSERVE.COM =

------------------------------

End of TUNING Digest 1517
*************************