Fwd: Re: [tuning] Reply to Alison from Julie Werntz

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Subject: Re: [tuning] Reply to Alison from Julie Werntz
To: Paul Erlich <paul@stretch-music.com>
From: Julia Werntz <JuliaWerntz@mediaone.net>
Date: Tue, 05 Jun 2001 09:35:21 -0400

If you wanted to send this to Alison, Paul:

> Thanks, Julie. I'm glad to hear of
> your success. I'd be grateful for
> any references to recordings
> and/or the ear training/voice
> production method. Have you
> had success with large choruses?
>
> Best Wishes.
>
The only ear-training method I know for 72 is Joe Maneri's and Scott Van
Duyne's book, Preliminary Studies in the Virtual Pitch Continuum, which
Maneri uses in his class.

I have a recording of Maneri's choral piece with two soprano saxophones,
Cain and Abel. But the performers were a group of music students, only one
of whom was a voice major. So while the pitches are good, the music doesn't
sound its best. If only a professional choir would agree to do it, but, with
some notable exceptions, most professional musicians here in conservative
Boston avoid microtones like the plague. No choruses, at all. I think there
is also a cassette recording of a performance/demonstration of some 4-part
microtonal contrapuntal etudes from the book I mentioned.

I have some solo songs in 72-note ET, Maneri has a new one for voice and
tenor sax, and Ezra Sims has several vocal pieces. He may even have a choral
piece. I could look into that.

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>
> The only ear-training method I know for 72 is Joe Maneri's and Scott Van
> Duyne's book, Preliminary Studies in the Virtual Pitch Continuum, which
> Maneri uses in his class.
>
> I have a recording of Maneri's choral piece with two soprano saxophones,
> Cain and Abel. But the performers were a group of music students, only one
> of whom was a voice major. So while the pitches are good, the music doesn't
> sound its best. If only a professional choir would agree to do it, but, with
> some notable exceptions, most professional musicians here in conservative
> Boston avoid microtones like the plague. No choruses, at all. I think there
> is also a cassette recording of a performance/demonstration of some 4-part
> microtonal contrapuntal etudes from the book I mentioned.
>
> I have some solo songs in 72-note ET, Maneri has a new one for voice and
> tenor sax, and Ezra Sims has several vocal pieces. He may even have a choral
> piece. I could look into that.

Thanks for the references. I suppose if these recordings were more widely available then there
would be a brighter future for 72 in the big wide conservative world. I'm tempted to look at the
choral possibilities myself but have a backlog of compositional commitments to meet.

Best Wishes