PERFORMANCE NOTES

PREMIERE

Composed between 1955 and May 1957, Incidental Music for Corneille’s ‘Cinna’ (Suite for Tack Piano) was first performed by Donald Pippen at The Old Spaghetti Factory in San Francisco on August 4, 1968.

 

General notes.

Tacks are to be inserted into each hammer at the striking point so as to create a pseudo-harpsichord sound. Either an upright piano or a grand piano may be used. "Graces [i.e., double grace notes], throughout, are before the beat" (Source B, see Critical Notes). Tempi are derived from Harrison's working score (Source B), but are approximations; Harrison's own performance is free and the tempo fluctuates (see recordings list below). Accidentals apply only to the note immediately following. Cautionary accidentals are enclosed in parentheses. Phrase marks, at times, intentionally stretch to or from rests indicating a sustaining of the notes for their fullest possible value. These incomplete slurs are used to create the impression of "LV" (let vibrate or laissez vibrer). Unless metric modulations are indicated, all eighth notes are of equal value; beaming indicates note groupings only. Horizontal lines over individual pitches do not indicate lengthening, but rather a stress, equivalent to a string louré stroke. = pedal.

 

Movement I.

For the metric modulation, the tempo change is shown as the note value of preceding section = the note value of following section.

 

Movement III.

Harrison intends the stress patterns and groupings created by the legato marks in the first two statements of the right hand motive to apply to each statement of this gesture.

 

Tuning.

The composer requires that the piano be tuned according to the following procedure. First, lower the pitch of the "A" by approximately one half step and then proceed in the following manner.

 

This process will result in the following:

 

ratios between adjacent pitches

relationship of each tone to pitch I

 

Recordings.

Lou Harrison, tack piano, remastering of recording from 1957 on compact disc included in Leta E. Miller and Fredric Lieberman, Lou Harrison: Composing a World (New York and London: Oxford University Press, 1998).