Microtonal music and Shakespeare's "The Tempest"

Greetings

I've just finished a week of rehearsals and performances of Shakespeare's
"The Tempest" with a youth theatre group in which I provided the music. I've
been so lucky with directors in this and in my previous venture. Both were
fascinated by new sounds and new instruments and I was given a free hand.
The "Tempest" director Neil Packham directs at the Citizen's theatre in
Glasgow which is one of the UKs best known pro theatres. He is very keen to
put more work my way in the future and is also well connected to the world
of Dance. Very promising for the profile of microtonal music in this country
though not at all what I expected when I started out on "the path".

I gave the play the leitmotif treatment. Having written Ariel's songs as
wistful modal melodies, I warped the melodies with one of Lou Harrison's
gamelan JI scales (Kyai Udan Arum) played on the bowed psaltery. This became
Ariel's theme. I used this theme in retrograde inversion for Caliban, played
on the large thumb piano.

For Miranda and Ferdinand I went for simplicity and economy and composed
melodies from the 1/1, 7/6, 4/3, 3/2, 7/4 pentatonic, the marimba for
Miranda and the zither for Ferdinand. The lover's theme was a simple canon
played on the two instruments together.

All complemented by deep gongs, glass bowls, random metal percussion, slit
drums, bamboo percussion, djembe, thunder and wobble boards, choral/vocal
effects and slide guitar (open G).

No sound samples I'm afraid but there's an outdoor performance scheduled for
July 12 in which the instruments will be run through a PA so I'll take
something from the desk if I can, then performances at the "Festival
Shakespeare" in Tournon, France in August. Have orchestra will travel.

As a side dish, here's a picture I promised earlier, of Michael Freeman
(musician/instrument builder and junk percussionist/educator/etc.) playing
my Eikosany marimba, two 31 tone octaves plus some bass tones with
1.3.5.7.9.11 and 1.5.7.9.11.15 - the 'inverted d'Alessandro' but in a linear
layout : -

http://homepages.which.net/~alison.monteith3/mike

Kind Regards
a.m.

Alison,

--- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, Alison Monteith <alison.monteith3@w...> wrote:
> I've just finished a week of rehearsals and performances of
> Shakespeare's "The Tempest" ...

...and all the rest of the news. It has been *so* good to see the journey you've been on for the last couple of years, the enormous work and patience you've exhibited, and now the efforts are starting to pay off. I'll definitely look forward to hearing some of the music, but please know that myself and a lot of others share your enthusiasm and wish you all the best. You've done a lot already, and it looks like the sky's the limit!

Cheers,
Jon

--- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, Alison Monteith

/tuning/topicId_43351.html#43351

<alison.monteith3@w...> wrote:
> Greetings
>
> I've just finished a week of rehearsals and performances of
Shakespeare's "The Tempest" with a youth theatre group in which I
provided the music.

***Congrats, Alison from one "microtonal Tempest" composer to
another. Mine was a bit different, though, since quite a bit was
just a medley of the times in 1/4 comma meantone... But some
original stuff, too, and the almost obligatory gongs and bells.
Webzine review not so bad either:

___________________________
Hi! Drama, August 25, 2001

THE TEMPEST,

In a lovely intimate courtyard space--with an effective set by Roger
Hanna, lighting by Zhanna Gurvich, costumes by Terry Leong, and
intoxicating original music by Joseph Pehrson, incorporating bells,
wind-chimes and gongs, we are transported from the heart of Hell's
Kitchen to a magical island.

…Alexa Kelly has assembled and directed a wonderful ensemble with
a delicate hand. The entire production is a joy and wonder with
spirit, purpose and humor.

-- BILL BRADFORD

http://www.pulseensembletheatre.org/reviews.html

__________
Good luck with it!

Joseph Pehrson

on 16/4/03 4:57 am, Joseph Pehrson at jpehrson@rcn.com wrote:

> --- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, Alison Monteith
>
> /tuning/topicId_43351.html#43351
>
> <alison.monteith3@w...> wrote:
>> Greetings
>>
>> I've just finished a week of rehearsals and performances of
> Shakespeare's "The Tempest" with a youth theatre group in which I
> provided the music.
>
>
> ***Congrats, Alison from one "microtonal Tempest" composer to
> another. Mine was a bit different, though, since quite a bit was
> just a medley of the times in 1/4 comma meantone... But some
> original stuff, too, and the almost obligatory gongs and bells.
> Webzine review not so bad either:
>
> ___________________________
> Hi! Drama, August 25, 2001
>
> THE TEMPEST,
>
> In a lovely intimate courtyard space--with an effective set by Roger
> Hanna, lighting by Zhanna Gurvich, costumes by Terry Leong, and
> intoxicating original music by Joseph Pehrson, incorporating bells,
> wind-chimes and gongs, we are transported from the heart of Hell's
> Kitchen to a magical island.
>
> …Alexa Kelly has assembled and directed a wonderful ensemble with
> a delicate hand. The entire production is a joy and wonder with
> spirit, purpose and humor.
>
> -- BILL BRADFORD
>
> http://www.pulseensembletheatre.org/reviews.html
>
> __________
> Good luck with it!
>
> Joseph Pehrson
>

Thanks Joseph. Where would we all be without the gongs and bells....?

Best
a.m.

on 16/4/03 3:45 am, Jon Szanto at JSZANTO@ADNC.COM wrote:

> Alison,
>
> --- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, Alison Monteith <alison.monteith3@w...> wrote:
>> I've just finished a week of rehearsals and performances of
>> Shakespeare's "The Tempest" ...
>
> ...and all the rest of the news. It has been *so* good to see the journey
> you've been on for the last couple of years, the enormous work and patience
> you've exhibited, and now the efforts are starting to pay off. I'll definitely
> look forward to hearing some of the music, but please know that myself and a
> lot of others share your enthusiasm and wish you all the best. You've done a
> lot already, and it looks like the sky's the limit!
>
> Cheers,
> Jon

Thanks Jon

my next commission is microtonal music for "Hamlet" in the summer. Might
catch this on film and if so I'll post.

Regards
a.m.

hello Alison!
and congradulations and it is good to hear you are getting your work
among other artist who must have good use of it. Hope the dance stuff
pans out too as somehow i have always seen original instrumnts in the
presance of dancers. you link came out as code though
-- -Kraig Grady
North American Embassy of Anaphoria Island
http://www.anaphoria.com
The Wandering Medicine Show
KXLU 88.9 FM WED 8-9PM PST

on 17/4/03 12:21 am, Kraig Grady at kraiggrady@anaphoria.com wrote:

> hello Alison!
> and congradulations and it is good to hear you are getting your work
> among other artist who must have good use of it. Hope the dance stuff
> pans out too as somehow i have always seen original instrumnts in the
> presance of dancers. you link came out as code though
> -- -Kraig Grady

Thanks Kraig

try this for the link : -

http://homepages.which.net/~alison.monteith3/mike.jpg

Regards
a.m.

--- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, Alison Monteith

/tuning/topicId_43351.html#43361

>
> Thanks Joseph. Where would we all be without the gongs and
bells....?
>

***Nowhere much in that play... The musical instructions, as you
know, are written right into Calaban's main speech; one of the best
parts of the play, in my opinion...

J. Pehrson