Flipidodes: Voicing Study
for piano 4 hands
[1-6 min.]

Searching for 12-tone all-interval chords with central tritone, that would still fit this description were either or both of their component hexachords inverted in place, I found six unique.  These in turn proved reducible to three pairs of mutual Mult-x-5 transforms, differing in their degree of hexachord expansion/contraction under that ordeal.  The scenario inspired this score, based on the constituent hexachords but maximizing their autonomy, as follows.

There are two score "panels" (unordered pages).  Panel 1, printed as the title page, contains the smaller of the dodecaphonic chords' member hexachords; Panel 2 at corresponding indices contains their larger.  (These same-indexed smaller/larger halves are intervalwise octave complements.)   With additional variants through inversion and octave-registral exchange, each index offers a total of eight candidate 12-tone all-interval combinations.

For each such full chord two dynamic levels are defined: in foreground (forte) a tetrachord combining a selected interval from one component hexachord and this interval's 8va-complement from the other; in background (piano) the eight remaining pitches.  The selection of tetrachord intervals uniquely fulfills two criteria -- that all octave-complement pairs, and all hexachord interval stack positions, be represented once each.  Foreground members are highlighted in the score via a dedicated notehead glyph.


Playing time depends on performer-choices from a wide range of options.  The score itself consists in three free-standing panels.  As these must in performance survive multiple position shifts, I would urge that they be printed on card stock.

Access: a 3-panel score.