When antenati is practiced in the spiral mode, a monophonic passage results which may be duplicated, offset and recombined to produce a three-voice canon. These five études were taken from spirals created in 2023, some of the first ever produced.

 

Spirals are defined by their systems which are like scores for the practice. The system for Non Encompassing Pairs was the first employed to create controlled harmonic motion. It involves paired pentatonic scales, which when combined, elide one diatonic tone. Moving through these paired scales systematically results in color changes based upon which scale step is not present.

 

Glaucus and Arbaces are characters from a novel by Edward Bulwer-Lytton called The Last Days of Pompeii. Their respective systems are said to be bi-tonal because each voice has access to only two pitch-classes per pitch-cycle. Arbaces is characterized by octatonic relationships whereas Glaucus employs close intervals which gradually move through the circle of fifths.

 

The Wildcat is a spiral named for a lynx I encountered while on residency at The Cedar Grove in West Glover, Vermont. The system is diatonic, based partially on superimposed arpeggios.

 

Derived from these four spiral systems, the Five Antenati Études are scored for piano from the original three voice canon.

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The recordings were made over the course of 2023, performed by Devin Greenwood at the Honey Jar in Brooklyn, NY and the artwork is Physical Math 338269 (Vectrex, LZX and A-100), 2021