Thomas Young mass setting open letter

Subject: Thomas Young mass setting by Mark D. Blackwell

TYC Administrator
Thomas Young Centre
The London Centre For Theory And Simulation Of Materials

Dear madam:

Since your website:

http://www.thomasyoungcentre.org/about-tyc/contacts/

indicates you as the first point of contact, I write to announce with pleasure that I have composed a mass setting in honor of your own Thomas Young, the famous polymath.

This entire mass setting was inspired by Thomas Young's list of major thirds in his own Young Temperament (a well-temperament for keyboards). He arranged these thirds in order of increasing size (thus increasing distance from purity). In his design, this order matches the key signatures with increasing numbers of sharps and flats. His temperament (I assume you know) is described here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Young_temperament&oldid=505261244

To be more explicit, the chord roots in this mass setting exactly follow Thomas Young's ordered sequence (or otherwise relate to it): C, G, F, D, Bb, A, Eb, E, Ab, B, Db, Gb.

You might find it amusing to inform your membership of this connection to your namesake, perhaps in a note in a publication. At least, I hope so!

The "Thomas Young" mass setting can be heard here (click the icons which depict two notes on a staff):

http://www.bakerartistawards.org/nominations/view/MarkDBlackwell/#project_10581_detail

Copyright (c) 2013 Mark D. Blackwell.

Compositions self-nominated to Baker Artist Awards

I nominated my musical compositions for consideration for the various local Baker artist awards and grants (of Baltimore) by adding a page on their site just now.

Please consider looking! As you know, comments are love (there, as ever).   :-)

Copyright (c) 2013 Mark D. Blackwell.

Bach-Lehman (and Young #1) using electronic tuner, howto

Here's how to use an electronic tuner to tune a harpsichord in Bradley Lehman's Bach temperament, as well as Thomas Young's. They sound so much better than equal temperament (even better than Vallotti)--everyone should try them!

I found Lehman-Bach instructions (taking Vallotti as a starting point) in the section, `Easy way to tune it accurately and mostly electronically' (search for it) of his homepage.

Yet, there is another way. His section, `Electronic device instructions for the Bach' at the bottom
of `Practical temperament instructions by ear' also recommends we, `See the interesting method by David Hitchin', who says his method is useful if one has the `Korg-OT12 or a similar tuner which provides for ET and the Pythagorean, Werkmeister III and Vallotti temperaments.'

Dr. Lehman says the Thomas Young temperament he recommends (Young #1) `is not the more familiar "Young #2"; it is his first and better one...entirely symmetrical, and very simple...Young's #2 [the worse one] is technically [just] a transposition of the entire VALLOTTI temperament upward by a 5th.'

I found these instructions in the `YOUNG #1 1799/1800' section of his `Practical temperament instructions by ear':

1. Tune all of VALLOTTI first.
2. Nick F downward slightly so it's equally tempered between C and Bb.
3. Nick B upward slightly so it's equally tempered between E and F#.

Copyright (c) 2011 Mark D. Blackwell.

Mass, songs I composed

I composed some music!

Also, I engraved its sheet music. (Good-looking, if I say so myself. I would be happy to engrave anyone's music! Please email me [click my profile] for reasonable rates.)

The following are free of charge (with the Creative Commons license):

A mass setting in Latin. Its title is, `Missa Brevis, Thomas Young'; its subtitle, `In a Sequence of Chords Inspired by His Harpsichord Temperament No. 1 of 1799, For Choir of Four Parts, Unaccompanied' (with optional organ). (Opus 1: May 2010, improved December 2011.)

I attempted, with music, to express the emotions naturally present in the mass text (for a wide audience, not necessarily Christian).

PDF sheet music and MIDI are available. The movements are Antiphon (Asperges Me & Vidi Aquam--Latin & English), Kyrie (Sixfold & Ninefold), Gloria, Sanctus & Benedictus and Agnus Dei.

Two songs, both on Roman Catholic/Anglican/Episcopal Church Lectionary texts (in English) for the Feast of the Sacred Heart (among other occasions, or for general use). (Opus 2: June 2010, improved December 2011.)

My aim was to approximate the pitches of natural speech, as well as to express the emotion of the texts.

They are for alto solo with tenor solo accompaniment (and optional keyboard):

1. `Jesus Addressed' (from Lk. 15:3-5) with PDF sheet music and MIDI, with piano accompaniment and without.

2. `It Is Rare' (from Rom. 5:7-8) with PDF sheet music and MIDI, with piano accompaniment and without.

I improved the print layout of the songs December, 2011.

The mass setting was inspired by (and is an homage to) Young's 1799 system of well-temperament (Young #1, called `ideal' by Owen H. Jorgensen in his classic book Tuning of 1991). It follows his temperament order of major thirds (which have roots C G=F D=Bb A=Eb E=Ab B=Db Gb), with CE purest-sounding and GbBb (in a sense, farthest away) the least pure-sounding (albeit the mass was written for equal-temperament).

Thus the (mass's) overall sequence of chords is actually two simultaneous circles of fifths. You can see an annotation of the chords in the sheet music (their roots, as well as major or minor), revolving (usually) in both directions. The movements are thus unified, and I added harmonic coloration (and inversion) to make them enjoyable.

Here is how I devised the mass's chord roots, in order of composition:

The Kyrie sections (of the two Kyrie settings) revolve from C to Gb; the Christe sections are the reverse. (The Sixfold one was composed after Agnus Dei.)

The Sanctus & Benedictus setting (considered as a unit) offers Young's equalized third roots the other way: C F G Bb D Eb A Ab E Db B Gb.

In the Gloria setting, the entire circle of fourths first revolves upward (on major chords) feeling like classical resolution, then downward (with some text-appropriate, minor chords) feeling like Plagal hymn resolution.

In the Agnus Dei setting, two arcs of fifths intertwine, though one breaks order slightly (and is reversed): C G D A E B Gb and Ab Eb Bb F (Db). Thus there (emotionally) is a regular falling pattern: C Ab G Eb D Bb A F E Db B Gb. Interestingly, the last four match the (chord) roots of the Benedictus, which inspired me.

Young's equalized third roots are presented simultaneously in the Antiphon setting, which revolves from C to Gb then reverses.

To the Gloria, Sanctus, Benedictus and Agnus Dei settings (previously Anglican chant: full-measure chords) I added rhythm (as well as improving the overall print layout) December, 2011.

Copyright (c) 2011 Mark D. Blackwell.