Four Voice Canon #16 (“Canon in One Octave for Arthur Farwell”)

Date: 2002.

Place: New Hampshire.

Comments: “ProTools” piece, using the generalized notion of a single click track. No permutations. Two versions, a (sparse to dense), b (dense to sparse). Each of the 13 voices is one note, as a 4/4 click track, using a simple marimba preset on a MIDI keyboard. The first note of each four note grouping is accented. Each voice starts quietly, rises to full loudness over its life (in b, the reverse).

The pitches/tempi are derived from 13 ratios within an octave, all simple combinations of 2, 3, 5, 7, and 11. The pitches tuned to these ratios. The tempo/pitch ratios are (tempo, ratio, approximate “letter name” pitch):

60 1/1 A 70 7/6 C 72 6/5 C 75 5/4 C# 80 4/3 D 84 7/5 Eb 90 3/2 E

96 8/5 F 100 5/3 F# 105 7/4 G 108 9/5 G 110 11/6 G# 120 2/1 A