| This work was composed specifically for thirty-two strings in order to utilize the harmonic series (tuned to the nearest quarter-tone) from the fundamental up to the thirty-second partial. While not always immediately apparent, the work also uses a repeated bass line (hence the name Passacaglia). All pitches are part of each bass note's individual harmonic series, and these series are always presented in the same order as the baseline. Similar to the part-writing practices of J.S. Bach, the thirty-two voices do not move in parallel motion from one series to the next, but rather to the nearest partial in the next series. For example, the third partial of Al, E2 (a perfect twelfth above), could move down a minor second to E-flat2 which is the second partial of E-flat1 one octave below. The repeated bass line dictates the harmony throughout. In the upper-most register, which is a harmonic manifestation of the repeated bass line, more common tones exist between series resulting in a sustained haze. |
