JOHN GRESCHAK
PLATONIC DICE: DODECAHEDRON
for 12 woodwinds
(2002)
34:43
Program Notes
The musical material for this piece was derived from the
mathematical properties of a
dodecahedral die.
Melodic Phrases
Counterpoint
Instrumentation
Textures
Musical Characteristics
Melodic Phrases
In this piece,
streams
are used to generate melodic phrases. Each edge
of a stream generates one or two notes of a phrase.
Counterpoint
At each point at which a given (parent)
stream
turns, it is possible to begin
another (child) stream that follows the edge that was avoided by the parent.
For example, if a parent stream makes a right turn, a child stream may begin
along the left turn that was not taken by the parent. Each stream generates
a melodic phrase. In this way, contrapuntal textures are formed.
Instrumentation
Instruments are assigned to the 12 faces of the die in the following way:
|
Face
|
Instrument
|
|
1
|
1st bass clarinet
|
|
2
|
2nd oboe
|
|
3
|
1st horn
|
|
4
|
2nd flute
|
|
5
|
1st clarinet
|
|
6
|
2nd bassoon
|
|
7
|
1st bassoon
|
|
8
|
2nd clarinet
|
|
9
|
1st flute
|
|
10
|
2nd horn
|
|
11
|
1st oboe
|
|
12
|
2nd bass clarinet
|
Textures
Various textures are used for phrases.
Some phrases are performed by a single instrument
while others are divided across several instruments (klangfarbenmelodie).
The instruments upon which a given phrase is played is determined by
the faces that are touched by the
stream
from which the phrase has been derived.
Musical Characteristics
There are 7800 different
types of streams
on a dodecahedron. In this piece, a musical characteristic
is associated with each type of stream. The characteristics include the
following: crescendo, decrescendo, staccato, tenuto, accelerando, decelerando
and senza vibrato.