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about

Mallets in the Air is a just-intonation piece featuring the Harry Partch-designed diamond marimba with string quartet. It is Tenney’s arrangement of the second movement of his earlier work Song ‘n’ Dance for Harry Partch (1999), a piece for adapted viola, diamond marimba, strings, and percussion.

The diamond marimba is a manifestation of Partch’s tonality diamond, with the droning G acting as, in turn, the root, third, fifth, seventh, ninth, or eleventh harmonic of each just intonation “hexad.”

“Mallets in the air” is a phrase drawn from Partch’s admonition to any future player of the diamond marimba: “Do not wave the mallets in the air, daintily or otherwise.”

Tenney wrote about Song ‘n’ Dance for Harry Partch, “Perhaps in this work I can finally repay my considerable debt to Harry Partch, without incurring his wrath. As his student/assistant, for several months in 1959, our relationship was somewhat problematic—mainly, I believe, because I was unwilling to become the devoted disciple that he needed—and surely deserved (if anyone deserves such a thing). But now, many years later, I have to admit that I learned everything I know about just/microtonal tuning theory from Partch and/or his book, Genesis of a Music.”

credits

from Cold Blue Two (an original anthology), released November 13, 2012
Erin Barnes, Partch diamond marimba (in just intonation)
Formalist Quartet: Andrew McIntosh and Andrew Tholl, violins; Mark Menzies, viola; Ashley Walters, cello

Recorded, edited, and mixed by Scott Fraser, Architecture, Los Angeles, August and December 2010.
Composition © 2002 James Tenney (SOCAN)

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Cold Blue Music Los Angeles, California

Cold Blue has been an intrepid new music source for years. “There is a very small group of labels that offers up a transcendent experience every time …. Cold Blue Music is one of them.” (Fanfare) “A label devoted to the post-Minimalist, immersive LA sound (whether the composers happen to be Angelenos or not).” (Los Angeles Times) “Home to many a musical treasure.” (Late Junction, BBC3) ... more

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