Melodies by Frank Denyer

A unique double album, featuring the first recording of Frank Denyer's extraordinary 'Melodies' series from the mid-1970's. The project arose from Frank's ethnomusicological studies of the time, which had forced him to question the most fundamental elements of music. He had to ask himself 'what is a melody?' and 'what is a note?' His typically eccentric response was to write a series of 25 pieces, starting with single-note melodies, then melodies with two, three or four notes, gradually becoming more complex until the last piece, which contains 14- and 15-note melodies.
The album contains a 24-page booklet with an essay about the 'Melodies' project by Frank Denyer himself. A pdf of the booklet is one of the bonus items when you buy a download.

Artwork by Hyun Yoon, with thanks

CD copies have now sold out, but downloads still available

Tracklist

1.	one-note melody (bamboo flute)	1:30

2.	one-note melody (French horn & stones)	2:23
3.	one-note melody (flute & membrane)	1:09
4.	two-note melody (voice, sneh & bamboo switch)	1:20

5.	two-note melody (voice)	1:55
6.	two-note melody (double bass, drum & guiro)	2:58

7.	three-note melody (sneh, baroque traverso, santur)	2:01
8.	three-note melody (voice)	1:48
9.	1st interlude (2 percussionists & 2 voices)	2:35
10.	four-note melody (voice)	2:36
11.	four-note melody (viola)	2:32

12.	five-note melody (voice & steel plates)	3:52
13.	five-note melody (double basses & tuba)	4:03

14.	six-note melody (voice, sneh, flute, horn, percussion)	4:17
15.	2nd interlude (boxes & bell)	5:56
16.	seven-note melody (string quartet, box & bell)	4:14

17.	eight-note melody (double bass & drum)	4:20
18.	nine-note melody (viola & voice)	3:41
19.	3rd interlude (voices)	4:31
20.	ten-note melody (violin & voice)	4:42
21.	eleven-note melody (voice, viola, flute, cimbalom, drum)	5:52
22.	twelve-note melody (cello & percussion)	6:26

23.	4th interlude (double bass, bass flute, tuba, percussion)	5:12
24.	thirteen-note melody (viola, voice & percussion)	7:31

25.	fourteen-note melody & fifteen-note epilogue (string quartet & percussion)	9:47

Credits

released February 2, 2023

Scordatura Ensemble, Luna String Quartet, Mad Dog, Frank Denyer

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