Cetupsalmus

This piece was inspired by the humpback whale's song.

According to Cetacea Lab, humpback songs have the following structure:

subphrase = 4-6 notes
phrase = two subphrases
theme = one or more phrases
song = one or more themes

High Voices

The top two clefs are a dialogue between two different whale songs.

Song 1

subphrase1 = {a, f#, b, f}
subphrase2 = {c, e, bb, c#, eb}
phrase1 = subphrase1 + subphrase2
theme1 = 2 x phrase1

subphrase3 = {g, d, c, eb, g#}
subphrase4 = {b, e, d, a}
phrase2 = subphrase3 + subphrase4
theme2 = 2 x phrase2

song = theme1 + theme2

Song 2

subphrase1 = {a, eb, g, d, bb, g#}
phrase1 = 3 x subphrase1

subphrase2 = {c, b, f, f#, bb, a}
phrase2 = 3 x subphrase2

theme = phrase1 + phrase2

song = theme

In bars 1-15, each individual subphrase is introduced. In bars 16-36, Song 1 is played on top of Song 2. The chords in this section were created by finding the intersecting partials of the notes in each different whale song.

song1 = {a, f#, b, …}
song2 = {a, eb, g, …}

intersect(a, a) = {a, e, c#, g, b, d, f, g#}
intersect(f#, eb) = {c#, bb, g#, b, d, f}
intersect(b, g) = {b, f#, ees, a, g}
…

This python script automates the process.

Low Voices

The bottom two clefs are unrelated to the whale song structure. Instead, they are a musical representation of the world’s five major ocean gyres. The bass clef represents the southern hemisphere, and the treble the northern.

This python script translates geographical features into music. The script models changes in the x direction as beats and the y as pitch. The user inputs the latitude and longitude boundaries of his target geographical feature, and the program outputs a musical interpretation.

Finally, the lyrics were taken from the Latin and Greek versions of Psalm 19, a hymn in praise of nature. I wanted to express the same sentiment but use the language of nature instead of man.

The score, as well as all the python and lilypond code I used, can be found here.

posted by mxcollins (2 comments total)

Absolutely gorgeous! And a wonderful combination of the various whale and natured-themed ideas.

I am curious about the use of Latin, why not Hebrew? Greek makes sense given the importance of the Septuagint, but Latin?

It's also really really nice to hear a piece of music about whale songs that doesn't attempt to recreate what whale songs sound like but instead gets to a deeper way of looking at and contextualizing them and their music.

Well done!
posted by bfootdav at 12:40 PM on June 5, 2015

Wow, very head-y (and fascinating) in concept, but listening to it goes straight into the gut and the lizard brain. I hear it as somehow yearning and reaching and searching, but disappointed and despairing, barely holding on to the little hope that's left, ending in impotent resignation. Like the last survivor of a world-ending catastrophe. Which may be apropos to whales, sadly. Really great impact.
posted by BlackPebble at 7:23 AM on June 10, 2015