Joep Franssens Harmony Of The — Spheres Score New New!

Shortcomings and critiques

The score of Harmony of the Spheres (published by in the Netherlands, with recent revisions) is deceptively simple. It is scored for mixed choir a cappella (SSAATTBB), though some performances have added a discreet, low organ pedal to support the basses—a point of contention in new performing editions. joep franssens harmony of the spheres score new

A "new" look at the score reveals that it is not merely "simple" music; rather, it employs a sophisticated dialectic between harmonic stasis and rhythmic vitality. The score creates a paradox: it depicts the eternal, immutable "spheres" through a medium (music) that is inherently temporal and transient. Shortcomings and critiques The score of Harmony of

Composed between 1990 and 1994, Harmony of the Spheres (subtitled A Triptych for Choir and String Orchestra ) is the third part of Franssens’ larger cycle, Sanctus . It is a 40-minute meditation on the Pythagorean concept of musica universalis —the idea that celestial bodies create an inaudible, perfect music through their orbital motion. The score creates a paradox: it depicts the