North Coast Synthesis Ltd.

41-EDO fugue

This fugue is written in 41-EDO, a tuning system that provides decent approximations for many higher-harmonic intervals not well-approximated by standard 12-EDO. I used combinatorial optimization to choose different scales (subsets of the 41 notes per octave) for different parts of the piece, transpose the subject, and write free counterpoint, in such a way as to emphasize different intervals in different places. At the start the harmony uses the familiar intervals of 12-EDO music, and then as it progresses it shifts to more complicated, less familiar harmonic structures before returning to the starting point, while still maintaining the same melodic contour throughout.

I did something I rarely do when recording this - I recorded a full set of tracks, mixed them down, and then decided I didn't like it and started over again from scratch.