We’re proud to announce the completion of the world premiere recording of Michael Staley’s evocative new ballet Pompeii (2011).

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Excerpts

We can now tune the instruments of our digital orchestra dynamically, in real time, just like orchestral musicians do. The computer can tell what intervals are playing and then tune them to fit the harmony more precisely than any fixed tuning.

This is a huge advance over equal temperament … an advance that beautifully exploits the power of the computer to analyze and modify sounds on the fly. This approach is far more powerful than “Auto-tune” which merely shoe-horns notes into predetermined frequencies without any awareness of what harmonies are being played at the moment.  For example, dynamic tuning can sense that a major third is being played, and make it more consonant.  Later, one of those same notes might be part of a minor third, and so must be tuned differently to make the minor third as consonant as possible.

Pianos (and computers that blindly adopt their fixed tuning approach) cannot change the pitch of their notes on the fly, but orchestras, choirs, string quartets, etc. can, and do.  That’s part of what helps blend sounds into a pleasing whole.

In Bach’s day a compromise tuning system was all the rage. Keyboard instruments were tuned so that every note was equally out of tune. But the computer can determine what intervals are sounding at any given moment and tune them very close to their perfect form.  Indeed, that’s what great musicians do when they play together. And now digital orchestras can do it, too, using Hermode tuning in Apple’s Logic Pro software, along with the latest version of Vienna Instruments Pro by the Vienna Symphonic Library.

Earlier versions of the Vienna Instruments ignore Logic’s tuning commands.  And not all audio workstation software implements Hermode tuning.

We’ve completed our performance and recording of Mike Barnett’s tour-de-force concerto for piano and orchestra, “Lucifer Rising.”

  Lucifer Rising, for piano and orchestra, by Mike Barnett (20 minutes)

Contact Mike if you’d like to play or commission a new work:  Mike Barnett

Composer David Moulton has been commissioned to create music and sound design for Kansas City’s new Kauffmann Center for the Performing Arts opening in September. Moulton uses customized musical building blocks created by the Fauxharmonic Orchestra to create music that appears to move through space, either “bouncing” or “sweeping” from one loudspeaker to another.

In the central atrium sound will appear to rise from the bottom when triggered by pedestrians walking in from their cars, and will appear to fall when they return from the center itself.  According to Moulton, the music will be “understated, leaving the pedestrians open to anticipation of what might be next, and how it will appear to change with their changes in position, rather than a pervasive sonic perfume that is so typical of most public music playback scenarios.”

About David Moulton

David Moulton is a composer and producer with expertise in acoustics and electronic music.  With degrees from Bard College and The Juilliard School of Music, he studied with Jacob Druckman, Vincent Persichetti, Luciano Berio and Roger Sessions.  He has composed numerous large, multi-channel electronic music works, and has pioneered composition an music production in a six-channel periphonic format.  He was nominated for a Grammy in 2000 for Best Engineered Classical Recording (George Crumb’s Ancient Voices of Children).

Moulton is one of the inventors of acoustic lens technology, now owned and used by Danish audio manufacturer Bang & Olufsen, and used in their groundbreaking speakers, as well as in cars made by Audi, Aston Martin and Mercedes Benz.  Moulton also taught at the State University of New York, Berklee College of Music, the University of Massachusetts and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.  He serves as a trustee for the New England Institute of Art.

Videos

We’d love to feature your video of the Kauffman Center atrium and parking garage music.  (It’s the only way we can show what it’s like).  If you have one, send us the link at info@fauxharmonic.com.

The Fauxharmonic Orchestra’s original film score won the gold award for “best use of music” at the 2011 International Visual Communications Association (IVCA) Awards ceremony in London, England.

Composed by Paul Henry Smith, the orchestral score brings a magical, cinematic grandeur to “The Spirit Within,” an effects-heavy corporate film produced for Laing O’Rourke by London-based communications firm Cheerful Scout.

“It’s quite a thrill to be able to use orchestral music—previously a luxury completely beyond my wildest imaginings,” said Cheerful Scout CEO Peter Litten, who also praised Smith’s music as “one of the best scores I have ever had composed for anything. Inspirational, clever, witty and altogether fabulous.”

“The Spirit Within” Creating an inspiring and unique film to generate a sense of pride among internal staff and showcase Laing O’Rourke’s exceptional portfolio of key projects to external audiences via the sales teams.

IVCA awards are recognized internationally as marks of excellence for effective business communication in corporate video, live events, multimedia projects, business television and websites. The awards set a standard of excellence and introduce clients to programs and projects which have made a significant impact on business.

Winners are presented before an audience of commissioners, government representatives, industry colleagues and the media at a Gala Awards Ceremony at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London, held every spring.

Moon River, for strings arranged by Donald McDonnell

Danny Boy (arr. for strings)

We just finished recording a lush string orchestra accompaniment for Danny Boy, arranged by Romeo Cascarino. We’re reminded again just how important smart arranger-chops are to getting a great performance.

The Little Magic Flute, Mozart (clips)

Stefan Moseman of Kölner Opernkiste, a small opera troupe presenting musical theater for kids in and around Köln, Germany, asked us to create a short version of Mozart’s Magic Flute for their singers to perform with.

Barry J. Cohen’s “Ballet Waltz” is reminiscent of Ravel. Check out our just-completed recording!

Composer Barry Cohen says:

The Fauxharmonic produced amazing results. Far better than the one ‘analogue’ performance of the piece a couple of years ago. The musical sophistication of Paul Henry Smith and his staff allowed them to bring enormous intelligence and subtlety to their performance of Ballet Waltz.

Decade, by Tony Cheseaux performed by the Fauxharmonic Orchestra.

Decade, for concert band, was written in 1996 for the “Angelo Bearpark Brass Ensemble” on the occasion of its 10th anniversary.

The music is based on the theme of the number “10,” which you can hear, for example, in the two quintuplets in the low brass at the end.

Score and parts are available from the publisher.

About Tony Cheseaux, composer.