A Mere Chimera: From Schopenhauer to the Tristan Chord (in progress)
abstract:
This essay proposes a comprehensive definition of the Tristan chord, encompassing its various forms throughout Wagner's Tristan und Isolde. The philosophy behind the chord's musical logic is traced to a passage from Schopenhauer's Metaphysik der Geschlechtsliebe, which is known to have profoundly influenced Wagner during the opera's composition. Numerous score excerpts are examined, relating Schopenhauer's metaphysics to the chord's symbolic and musical functions. In a later part of the essay, I show how Richard Strauss acknowledges Wagner's conceit through a reworking of the chord in Till Eulenspiegel.
Adieu, Biqui: The Hidden Logic of Satie's 'Vexations' (2025)
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.
'Harmonics' Chapter in The Techniques of E-Guitar Playing (2025)
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)
The Microtonal Recorder (2024–25)
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 pitches. Completed between Paris, Berlin, Basel and Amsterdam.
Answer to Benedetti (2023-24)
abstract:
This project addresses the famous example of comma drift in Giambattista Benedetti's letter to Cipriano de Rore. By way of an enharmonic modulation through the prime number 7, I offer a solution to Benedetti's vexing intonation puzzle. The work includes an essay with extensive diagrams, as well as a musical composition with score and fixed-media realization.
Spelling Sound & Symbol (2023)
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 interpreted with explicit tuning instructions.
The four original works are the Prelude to Tristan und Isolde, Erik Satie’s Vexations, John Cage’s Cheap Imitation, and an unpublished fragment by Morton Feldman. Despite their vastly different idioms, these four pieces share a reliance on enharmonic spelling. Building on the innovative use of pitch spelling in Tristan, each of the three successive composers employs this technical feature in a distinct way, as a means of parody (Satie), hommage (Cage), and earnest musical invention (Feldman).
The tunings are examined not only for their immediate musical expression, but also for their metaphorical significance within each piece. Through a close comparison, I show how their shared enharmonic resources assume individual meaning in each new setting, conveying a distinct interpretive ideal for the performer. This investigation raises a broader question: what kinds of tuning information are encoded in conventional pitch notation, and how might such information be transmitted across style and epoch?
Of Neon Light: Multiphonic Aggregates on the Electric Guitar (2019)
abstract:
A study of multiphonics on the electric guitar. We perform spectral analysis on multiphonics from all six strings and present a catalogue of aggregates on strings 3-1. The viability of these multiphonics is compared across five guitar models and examined under the influence of three commonly used analogue effects: compression, overdrive, and distortion. The article also provides practical instruction for performers as well as a theoretical discussion of the Farey sequence and its relation to string resonance. Harmonic partials are indicated using Extended Helmholtz-Ellis JI Pitch Notation (HEJI).
tempo 74, no. 291 (with Seth Josel)