Alt-Tonality

I am passionate about exploring the possibilities of tuning systems beyond 12-tone equal temperament, the standard in most Western music. The music on my two albums Sanctuary (Overtones and Deviations) and Until I Set Him Free makes use of “spectral” tunings – the natural sounds of the harmonic series, and through my work with other musicians (such as Saki Kato, Lore Amenabar Larrañaga, the Hill Quartet and Quatuor Bergamasque), I have explored different kinds of equal temperament which divide octaves into small parts (19, 24, 31, 48). I describe this field as “alt-tonality” because for me this is a portal into alternative tonal sound-worlds, and some of these have deep historical roots (“alt” also means “old” in German).

Extended Meantone Tuning for 2-Manual Harpsichord

I am currently working on new music that uses quarter-comma meantone tuning. This was the tuning that was standard in Europe for much of the 17th century and earlier. Compared with 12-tone equal temperament, it offers a richer range of keys (almost 3 times as many), as well as good approximations of many of the sounds of the harmonic series.

I am working with a standard 2-manual harpsichord, taking a new approach of tuning the strings differently on the upper and lower manuals. Split-key harpsichords that allow this range of tonalities (such as the cimbalo cromatico and other instruments being reconstructed by Studio31) are brilliant but still rare, whereas the system I’m using allows any normal 2-manual instrument to be “upcycled” to make use of these notes.