Arcana XVI

For three retuned synthesizers

Kyle Gann
1998
Arcana XVI (1998)

When Joan Tower asked if I would write a piece for her 60th birthday concert, the
"Tower" card of the Tarot deck - major arcana number XVI - flashed into my
mind. In most decks the card shows a stone tower being struck by lightning, as
bricks fly off and two people, a man and a woman, fall out of windows near the top.
Drawing the Tower card indicates that Everything You Know Is Wrong, that you're
about to have a shake-up in your life that will expand your field of consciousness
and show you that you've been operating on too narrow an understanding of things.
Joan Tower often has that effect on people, students and colleagues both. In Arcana
XVI I tried to slowly capture that effect; the piece at first seems so simple, couched
in perfectly familiar chords, but soon more complex tunings enter and vastly expand
the potential pitch field. I perversely used 24 pitches to the octave partly because
Joan once told me she didn't like quarter-tone music, although this uneven scale is
far from quarter-tone:

Pitch:
C Db7 Db- D Eb7 Eb Eb^- E F7+ F F+ Gb7
Ratio:
1/1 21/20 16/15 9/8 7/6 6/5 11/9 5/4 21/16 4/3 27/20 7/5
Cents:
0 84 112 204 267 316 347 386 471 498 520 583

Pitch:
Gb^- G G^- Ab Ab^- A Bbb7 Bb7 Bb Bb^- B Cb^-
Ratio:
22/15 3/2 55/36 8/5 44/27 5/3 42/25 7/4 9/5 11/6 15/8 88/45
Cents:
663 702 734 814 845 884 898 969 1018 1049 1088 1161

Although the scale isn't quarter-tone, there are triads in-between other triads that
sneak ominously between, say, E-flat major and E minor. Scored for three
synthesizers, Arcana XVI is my first just-intonation work for live ensemble and
without a prerecorded track. The work is dedicated, of course, to Joan.

Kyle Gann
Arcana XVI - Tuning

Key Actual Ratio Cents above

Pitch Tonic

C1 G 3/2 702
C#1 G^- 55/36 734
D1 Ab 8/5 814
D#1 Ab^- 44/27 845
E1 A 5/3 884
F1 Bbb7 42/25 898
F#1 Bb7 7/4 969
G1 Bb 9/5 1018
G#1 Bb^- 11/6 1049
A1 B 15/8 1088
A#1 Cb^- 88/45 1161
B1 C 1/1 0
C2 Db7 21/20 84
C#2 Db- 16/15 112
D2 D 9/8 204
D#2 Eb7 7/6 267
E2 Eb 6/5 316
F2 Eb^- 11/9 347
F#2 E 5/4 386
G2 F7+ 21/16 471
G#2 F 4/3 498
A2 F+ 27/20 520
A#2 Gb7 7/5 583
B2 Gb^- 22/15 663
C3 G 3/2 702
C#3 G^- 55/36 734
D3 Ab 8/5 814
D#3 Ab^- 44/27 845
E3 A 5/3 884
F3 Bbb7 42/25 898
F#3 Bb7 7/4 969
G3 Bb 9/5 1018
G#3 Bb^- 11/6 1049
A3 B 15/8 1088
A#3 Cb^- 88/45 1161
B3 C 1/1 0
C4 Db7 21/20 84
C#4 Db- 16/15 112
D4 D 9/8 204
D#4 Eb7 7/6 267
E4 Eb 6/5 316
F4 Eb^- 11/9 347
F#4 E 5/4 386
G4 F7+ 21/16 471
G#4 F 4/3 498
A4 F+ 27/20 520
A#4 Gb7 7/5 583
B4 Gb^- 22/15 663
C5 G 3/2 702
C#5 G^- 55/36 734
D5 Ab 8/5 814
D#5 Ab^- 44/27 845
E5 A 5/3 884
F5 Bbb7 42/25 898
F#5 Bb7 7/4 969
G5 Bb 9/5 1018
G#5 Bb^- 11/6 1049
A5 B 15/8 1088
A#5 Cb^- 88/45 1161
B5 C 1/1 0
C6 Db7 21/20 84
C#6 Db- 16/15 112
D6 D 9/8 204
D#6 Eb7 7/6 267
E6 Eb 6/5 316
F6 Eb^- 11/9 347
F#6 E 5/4 386
G6 F7+ 21/16 471
G#6 F 4/3 498
A6 F+ 27/20 520
A#6 Gb7 7/5 583
B6 Gb^- 22/15 663
 Arcana XVI: Pitch Key

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 To Joan Tower

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Arcana XVI