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Harmonics Ex. 3 |
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George
Crumb, Voice of the Whale, Paleozoic (Var. III) |
At the beginning of the cello harmonics
in the middle of the second line of Paleozoic variation of George Crumb’s
Voice of the Whale, a cluster of harmonics produces a bell-like sonority
in the piano part. These three notes and the corresponding harmonics are
all a half-step apart. The pianist plays this cluster on the keyboard with
the right hand while the fifth-partial harmonics are stopped on the three
neighboring strings with the left hand fingers. As is the case with the
other examples of harmonics, Crumb makes his intentions very clear for the
performer by notating the actual pitches that are heard. This way, the pianist
can locate the exact point on each string that produces the harmonic in
the correct octave. During the preparations of the piano, the performer
can play each fifth partial (in this case they are C#, D, and E-flat) on
the keyboard and find the very point on each string that is most in tune
with each partial. In order produce the maximum sorority, the left-hand
fingers have to come off of the strings at the same time and with the same
quickness that the right hand comes up and off of the keys. |
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