Tanz, Almeida, tanze!

Tanz, Almeida, tanze! was premiered by "ensemble avance" in 1989. It was written for this ensemble in the mixed instrumentation:

Flute (with B-foot)

Bb Clarinet, tuned 31 cents lower (= 7/4 seventh comma)

Trombone (possibly also alto pos. in "Steve's yómbé")

Violin

Violoncello, tuned 31 cents lower, like the clarinet

Synthesizer, tuned in a narrow octave, 12th root of 1.956, middle-C normal. This results in quasi-natural 5/4 thirds and 7/4 sevenths in the entire range. Octaves and fifths are never pure. A "harp"-like sound with decay is desired. The keyboard must be "touch sensitive".

Fl., Trb., Vl. are tuned in accordance with the normal tone middle-C of the synthesizer.

Cl. is tuned to b' of the synthesizer (-31 cents). Cl. then gives the a for Vc (-31 cents).

Praeludium: Fl., Cl., Syn.

Hybritrio: Trb., Vc., Syn.

Monument: Sarabande de György: Fl., Cl., Trb., Vl., Vc.

Just-wrong: Alban's Waltz: Trb., Vl., Vc., Syn.

Fractal: Steve's yómbè: Fl., Cl., Trb., Vl., Vc.

Postlude: Fl., Cl., Trb., Vl., Vc., Syn.

The piece is a picture of the lively discussions in the Hamburg Ligeti composition class about the possibilities of a post-post-modern language in music.