The Eleven Major Pairsfor Solo Piano, Op. 142c

The Eleven Major Pairs for Solo Piano, Op. 142c — Richard O. Burdick Two major triads. That is all. Eleven rooms of sound, each built from a single pair of bright major chords set against one another like two lamps of different color in the same chamber. The method is the same one that governs my I Ching scales: contrasting tonal harmonic rows, limited tones, and an almost ritual attention to how one harmony leans toward another. C is the constant companion. Against it come G, E-flat, E, A-flat, F-sharp, B-flat, A, B, F, D, and C-sharp — eleven marriages of major, each with its own gait and weather. Some movements were written in the waiting room at Auto Gallery in Regina, Saskatchewan, while a car was being repaired: music of fluorescent light, vinyl chairs, and the slow unfolding of time. Others remember La Monte Young, Poulenc, and George Crumb, not as pastiche but as distant cousins at the same table. Movements I and IX later found a second life in Horn Quartet No. 8, Op. 305 (CD53). The original remains a work for two hands and eleven pairs of light. Sheet music: MusicaNeo Recording: CD57, Waves, Relentless and other piano works More: i-ching-music.com/opus142c.html Optional movement lines (drop one under the series text) C and G Major — Moderato, After L. Young The nearest pair, fifth-related, held in a long, patient glow — as if the pedal itself were thinking. C and E-flat Major — Freely A darker lamp beside the first. The music wanders without hurry, two major worlds sharing the same air. C and E Major — The best tempo Bright against brighter. A clean, almost courtly conversation between two keys that refuse to quarrel. C and A-flat Major — Allegro after Poulenc Wit in a tight room. The pairs flash past like streetlamps seen from a moving car. C and F-sharp Major — Allegro Moderato with Vigor, after G. Crumb The most distant marriage: a tritone of major triads, struck with sudden force and crystalline edge. C and B-flat Major — Fast A rolling current. The two triads trade places before either can settle. C and A Major — Slow Time opens. The pairs breathe; the piano becomes a held chord that slowly changes its mind. C and B Major — Allegro moderato Adjacent brightness, almost too close. Energy without waste. C and F Major — Allegro moderato: Maestoso – Dolce Majesty that softens. Later arranged for horn quartet in Op. 305 — the same two lamps, now in brass. C and D Major — Cantabile Song without words. The pairs lean toward one another like two voices that already know the ending. C and C-sharp Major — Happy Birds The closest and strangest pairing: a half-step of major light. Brief, bright, and slightly wild. Movements I and IX have been arranged for horn quartet as part of Horn Quartet No. 8, Op. 305 (on CD53).