NEW YORK TIMES: For Roomful of Teeth, It’s All About the Polyphony
NEW YORK TIMES: For Roomful of Teeth, It’s All About the Polyphony
BY VIViEN SCHWEITZER
“Michael Harrison’s striking ‘Just Constellations,’ which the group performed in the Board of Officers Room at the Park Avenue Armory on Thursday, incorporates “nom-tom” syllables — meaningless words used by Indian classical vocalists to create a particular vocal timbre. Instead of equal temperament (the standard Western tuning system that divides the scale into 12 equal intervals) the work uses just intonation. This system (codified by the Greek mathematician Ptolemy) is based on pure pitch ratios and has been deployed by contemporary composers like La Monte Young and Georg Friedrich Haas.
“The Opening Constellation” section proved particularly arresting, a celestial soundscape of gorgeous harmonies that became even more alluringly ambiguous in the ensuing “Romantic Constellation.” In the concluding “Acoustic Constellation,” the notes rang out like a jubilantly microtonal choir of bells.”