Fredrik Rasten

tetra
I - XI (2020)

1. Notes / instructions:
These eleven ‘tetras’ can be seen as one long piece with different parts following the succession I-XI,
or as eleven small pieces to be played in their own respect, or combined freely.
Cent deviations from 12-tone equal temperament are written under each note.
The accidentals belong to the Extended Helmholtz-Ellis JI pitch notation by Marc Sabat
and Wolfgang von Schweinitz.
More information about the accidentals: http://www.marcsabat.com/pdfs/notation.pdf
You will encounter three different notational styles for rhythm / duration in this score, depending on the rhythmic
nature of the different ‘tetras’.

I - IV:In I - IV there are no note values, but for any of the voices, a note or pause lasts until it is succeeded by a new note orpause in the given voice.
Vertical lines between notes emphasize where different voices have a simultaneous melodic change.
Note durations are free / flexible, and the graphic spacing between notes is generally not a guide to pace, but merely
showing the succession of the music.
The music should unfold with a focus on stability of tuning, combined with a sense of melodic movement.
Each sonority should last long enough to be tuned and then perceived for a while in their “tuned state”, but without
the music ending up being too static - it should have a sense of forward movement. When a sonority is difficult to tune,
take time to adjust. The searching and fine tuning is an intrinsic musical and human part of this music.
When the tuning is stabilized, take some seconds to dwell in the tuned sonority. As a general rule - more time should bespent in the intended, tuned sonority than in the searching / tuning process.
When a change occurs within one part, the movement can generally be a little bit faster, like a melodic phrase.
The end of a note should primarily be followed by a little pause (a few seconds long) before entering the new note.
However, glissandi between the notes, with or without a little pause between them, is a viable variation.

V - VII:V - VII are notated with black and white noteheads without stems and they are sectioned into bars.
The black noteheads are the basic rhythmic measurement and tempo is (approximately) 25 bpm.
The white noteheads have a flexible role rhythmically - when they are followed by a horizontal line they last until theline ends, otherwise they last until their succeeding note or pause.

The rhythms are somewhere between rubato and metric. Because of the slow and rubato nature of the unfolding, thismight most easily be approached with one ensemble member cuing or initiating the entrances of the notes.
In V the music is notated as whole note chords with groups of six ¼ notes in brackets over each chord. This means thateach chord is played six times, each in a ¼ pulse. The pauses are free of length, a few seconds each.

VIII - X:
Here the black noteheads are still denoting a slow 25 bpm pulse, and the white noteheads are approximately 4 times
longer than the black. However, the rhythms can also be approached as the black and white noteheads simply denoting
an ad lib “shorter” or “longer” feel, with each entrance cued / initiated by one of the ensemble members.

X - XI:
These are notated rhythmically with standard staff notation.

Pitch ranges
highest to lowest note in each voice (shown by excerpts from the score)first voice from top:second voice from top:

third voice from top:

fourth voice from top: