Walter H. Rubsamen Music Library

The first three pieces and concept of Seven Diatonic Preludes, using only the white notes of the piano, from a single note through to all seven pitches, date from 2007, with the set completed in 2011. One note, C – Solitary is a piece only using the note C. It is followed by Two notes, C and D – Not alone anymore…. , and Three notes – Call, inspired by the composer’s research into Albanian folk music and the calls sent across mountains between remote communities. Four Notes – Gigue , pays homage to Baroque gigues, and Five Notes – Waltz is a set of variations on an original melody. Six Notes – Improvisation , juxtaposes clusters of six white notes against a soloistic right hand, with material developed in free form. Seven Notes – Poem is not quite a haiku, which is traditionally set in 5-7-5 syllables: this piece has two bars of 5/4 followed by one of 7/4. Quartal harmonies open the work, before the melody enters in the lower register. The second melody enters in full tertial harmonies, using just the white notes of the keyboard, accompanied by sweeping five note groupings. After some development, both melodies are combined, with octave figuration becoming more complex.

Recorded on Expressions: Piano Music by Kirsten Johnson (CRC 4095).

This music score was submitted for Resonate 2024: An Open Access Call for Scores by the UCLA Music Library.