Re: Kevin Volans' Mbira

Just ran across a piece by Kevin Volans called Mbira where he has two
cembali (!? sounds like a harpsichord?) tuned to as he says to harmonize
with the Mbira. Finally something interesting! It's on a CD WDR 52.990
Traditional Mbira musicians & Kevin Volans Ensemble. It leaves all that
regressive reactionary microtonal stuff in the dust.
-- Kraig Grady
North American Embassy of Anaphoria Island
www.anaphoria.com

>From: Kraig Grady <kraiggrady@anaphoria.com>
.
> It leaves all that
>regressive reactionary microtonal stuff in the dust.

?

dante

K.G.:

The score for Volans' "White Man Sleeps" for two harpsichords (_Cembalo_ is
German for Harpsichord), viola da gamba (or 10-string guitar) and
percussion is in _Soundings_ Volume 14-15. The piece requires what Volans
calls 'African Tuning' with the following cent deviations from 12tet:

G standard pitch
F# -40
E -40
D -15
C +14
B -40
A -29

In one of the dances F-natural and C# are used in the ordinary 12tet
relationship to G, in another the 12tet Bb is used.

Volans gives no additional information about the source of the tuning, but
the pitches of the first dance (D,E,G,A) are 'derived from Tswana panpipe
music', the second dance is from San bow music and Basotho lesiba music,
the third dance from Nyanga panpipe music. No sources are indicated for the
fourth or fifth dances.

These are terrific pieces, much more interesting than his string quartets.

>rom: Kraig Grady <kraiggrady@anaphoria.com>

Just ran across a piece by Kevin Volans called Mbira where he has two
cembali (!? sounds like a harpsichord?) tuned to as he says to harmonize
with the Mbira. Finally something interesting! It's on a CD WDR 52.990
Traditional Mbira musicians & Kevin Volans Ensemble. It leaves all that
regressive reactionary microtonal stuff in the dust.
-- Kraig Grady
North American Embassy of Anaphoria Island
www.anaphoria.com<

Daniel Wolf wrote:

> From: Daniel Wolf <DJWOLF_MATERIAL@compuserve.com>
>
> K.G.:
>
> The score for Volans' "White Man Sleeps" for two harpsichords (_Cembalo_ is
> German for Harpsichord), viola da gamba (or 10-string guitar) and
> percussion is in _Soundings_ Volume 14-15. The piece requires what Volans
> calls 'African Tuning' with the following cent deviations from 12tet:
>
> G standard pitch
> F# -40
> E -40
> D -15
> C +14
> B -40
> A -29
>
> In one of the dances F-natural and C# are used in the ordinary 12tet
> relationship to G, in another the 12tet Bb is used.
>
> Volans gives no additional information about the source of the tuning, but
> the pitches of the first dance (D,E,G,A) are 'derived from Tswana panpipe
> music', the second dance is from San bow music and Basotho lesiba music,
> the third dance from Nyanga panpipe music. No sources are indicated for the
> fourth or fifth dances.
>
> These are terrific pieces, much more interesting than his string quartets.
>

Thanks on the info on Volans. This piece Mbira is a transcription of a well
known Zimbabwe Piece called "Nyamaropa"with his own variations and coda which
"departs" from the theme but to my ear sounds more convincing as Mbira music.
Checking the liner notes it say Harpsichord. It would be interesting to
contact him.
-- Kraig Grady
North American Embassy of Anaphoria Island
www.anaphoria.com