Translations from the Original (1985/6)

This piece for piano & violin finds a logical way of translating a simple chord progression into a wide range of different harmonies. It’s similar to the idea of changing ‘minor’ to ‘major’ & vice-versa. It’s also a bit like saying the same sentence in different languages, hence the title.

The mood of each translation is determined by the prevailing harmony & because I allowed all the possible 4 note combinations within equal temperament, the piece traverses the whole gamut of these from mysterious through uplifting to occasional shrill metallic sounds, & many more besides.

As far as I can tell it is an original technique although there are precedents. It would only be fair to mention some that I am aware of - the French tradition of Debussy, Satie, Ravel & Messiaen. The Belgian composer Pousseur; the approach of Rzewski in ‘El pueblo unido’ & to a lesser extent Stockhausen in ‘Mantra’; Liszt’s idea of transforming leitmotiv’s (for example in his piano sonata). Finally of course the jazz tradition of spicing up the harmony of a tune. In my piece however it is a structural alteration of harmony (comparable to filtering) which links the translations.

This extract is taken from a live performance by Emma Smith and myself, and features the conclusion of the work. A score is available and I have written an essay giving more detail about the technique.

It may seem that the notion of harmonic translation is only capable of yielding traditional classical music - don't be fooled! The mathematical logic behind it could equally be applied to contemporary rhythms and sounds and may well have applications beyond harmony and music.