Thomas Ciszak

abstract: Written on the centenary of Satie's death, this essay analyses Vexations (1893), often regarded as the composer's most enigmatic work. Best known for its mysterious performance note suggesting 840 repetitions, Vexations also presents numerous harmonic, metric, and notational conundrums. Through a close examination of these features, I show how the work's apparent anomalies result from its allusions to two existing pieces. One is Tristan und Isolde, which Satie references extensively, embedding quotations and other elements via the golden section. The other is Bonjour Biqui, Bonjour!, a musical greeting written to his only known lover. Much indebted to Satie's troubled tenure with the Rosicrucian Order, Vexations merges irony, esoteric ritual, and Wagnerian metaphor.

abstract: An in-depth examination of harmonics on the electric guitar. Special performance techniques are discussed, with numerous repertoire examples. Particular emphasis is given to multiphonics, reflecting Ciszak and Josel's research since 2019.

The Techniques of E-Guitar Playing, 'Harmonics' Chapter (with Seth Josel)

abstract: This essay, with accompanying musical composition, addresses the example of comma drift in Giambattista Benedetti's letter to Cipriano de Rore. The work provides an 'answer' to Benedetti's intonation puzzle, using an enharmonic modulation through the prime number 7. Includes extensive notation and diagrams, musical score, and fixed-media realization.

abstract: This essay investigates the expressive potential of tuning, as it applies to musical interpretation. Four case studies are presented, each involving a preexisting work subsequently rendered with explicit tuning instructions.

abstract: Considerable research has been made into the harmonic properties and playability of woodwind multiphonics, while the utility of string multiphonics has received far less attention. In recent years, however, there has been an increasing amount of interest in the topic, and several publications have been devoted to acoustic guitar multiphonics. Primarily written for non-guitarist composers, these studies range from the scientific to the practical. Variously, they describe the sonic qualities of the multiphonics, discuss methods of performing them, or examine their spectral content and morphology. Until now, published research into guitar multiphonics has been limited to the acoustic guitar and has examined only its three lower strings. In this study, we analyse multiphonics on all six strings of the electric guitar and present a catalogue of harmonic aggregates on strings 3–1. We test these multiphonics on five different guitars and examine their response to three commonly used analogue effect pedals (compression, overdrive and distortion). In order to precisely indicate the spectral components and harmonic nodes, we have used the Extended Helmholtz-Ellis JI Pitch Notation (HEJI).

tempo 74, no. 291 (with Seth Josel)

Microtonal fingerings for baroque recorder (soprano, alto, tenor) in 31- and 72-EDO. Covers a range of well over two octaves on each instrument, with multiple fingerings for many of the same pitches. Completed between Paris, Berlin, Basel and Amsterdam.