Quadrivium

Listen to the work here!

Quadrivium is a work for soprano and marimba, part of an ongoing series entitled M+1. This is a series of mixed duets featuring the marimba, alongside a variety of woodwind, brass, string, percussion, and other instruments. Thirty-six duets have been planned out, of which Quadrivium is the ninth, and these duets, following from the letter-and-number-infused title of the series, begin with letters or numbers covering the alphabet and Arabic numerals (A-Z, 0-9) once each.

The word “quadrivium” refers to the upper of the two divisions of liberal arts education in Antique and Medieval Europe, studied after the trivium. The quadrivium consists of four areas of study, each related to ancient notions of number and quantity: arithmetic (number), geometry (number in space, i. e. shapes), music (number in time, i. e. intervals and harmonic progressions), and astronomy (number in space in time, i. e. the distances between stars and constellations throughout the year). In four sections of varying character, this work explores the quadrivium through settings of excerpts ancient Greek mathematical texts – Diophantus’s Arithmetica with quick and impassioned ostinati, Euclid’s Elements through chromatically shifting isorhythmic figures, Ptolemy’s Harmonics as a pop-like ballad which highlights the musical intervals mentioned, and the same author’s Almagest, explored as a transformation of another astronomy inspired work of mine, Star Map for percussion quintet.