Rhythmic Study #1

1998

Title: Rhythmic Study #1

Instrumentation: Ensemble

Year: 1998

Duration: 2 min.

Premiere: Long Beach, USA 1998

Performers: Nieuw Ensemble

Rhythmic Study No1_1998-1

Rhythmic Study #1 (Ming Tsao, Edition Peters, m. 6)

Galois

Évariste Galois, Manuscript (ca. 1830) which contains the foundations of modern algebra.

Rhythmic Study No1_1998_2

Rhythmic Study #1 (Ming Tsao, Edition Peters, m. 11)

Theorem

“Theorem 7.3.6.” from the book Abstract Musical Intervals that can create a mapping from one set of intervals, defined as polyrhythms, to another set of intervals defined through metrical groupings.

Rhythmic Study #1 uses ideas from Galois Theory to create transformations between rhythm, as represented through polyrhythmic groupings, and meter. This short composition is a concentrated study of the energetic interplay between polyrhythmic groupings as local shifts in tempo and larger metrical groupings that bracket a space for relationships of symmetry to unfold.