Composition - - American Recorder Society
Haiku in Morse No. 9
By Anthony St. Pierre February 2005
 
S or A
 
 
This brief (45") unaccompanied solo is a transliteration from English to Morse Code of haiku by Hokushi:
Experimenting
I hung the moon on various
Branches of the pine.

Words are articulated by one beat of rest, while two beats separate the three lines of the poem. The Hirajoshi scale (do-mi-fa-la-ti) furnishes a melodic palate limited to five "white" notes (no flats or sharps), making this little essay feasible for players at any stage of development. Absent any meter, the main challenge lies in maintaining a steady tempo. Using C-fingerings, one may play on the alto quite satisfactorily.

The composer plays on the recording. He has contributed other unaccompanied solos to the ARS collection, as well as other Morse-based compositions, including Mayday, Haiku in Morse No. 11, and S-O-S (Members' Library).
-- Anthony St. Pierre
 
 
A haiku, translated to English, then spelled out in Morse Code with a Japanese scale for melody - this short solo piece is incredibly cerebral and can be tricky to play at first, if you are expecting a regular meter from measure to measure. Start by reducing the melody to a single pitch throughout, for a sense of the Morse-ness, then add the melodic overlay to fully appreciate the layers within. Once the metrical irregularities are no longer surprising, the solo explodes with wit and the fun really begins!
-- Glen Shannon
 
 
No. of Recorder Parts:
1
Difficulty:
Easy
Occasion:
Any
Libraries:
New Music for Recorder
Date Added:
01/30/2019
Style:
Concert, Fast/Up-tempo, Non-tonal/Modern