The Lute of Tone

The Lute of Tone is a form of music used to commemorate important events originating in The Amusing Nations. The rules of the form are applied by composers to produce individual pieces of music which can be performed. Two singers recite any composition of The Oracle of Ensorceling while the music is played on a sunre. The musical voices join in melody and counterpoint, harmony and rhythm. The entire performance is to become louder and louder. The melody has long phrases, while the counterpoint has phrases of varied length throughout the form. It is performed using the ozi scale and in free rhythm. Throughout, when possible, composers and performers are to use grace notes.

• Each singer always should bring a sense of motion.
• The Lute of Tone has a well-defined multi-passage structure: an introduction, a first theme, a lengthy exposition of the first theme, a second theme, an exposition of the second theme and a synthesis of previous passages.
• The introduction is voiced by the melody of the sunre and the rhythm of the singers. The passage is at a hurried pace. Each of the singers' voices ranges from the middle register to the high register. This passage typically has some sparse chords.
• The first theme is voiced by the melody of the singers and the counterpoint of the sunre. The passage is extremely fast. Each of the singers' voices ranges from the middle register to the high register. This passage features only melodic tones and intervals. The passage should be composed and performed using syllabic phrasing.
• The first exposition is voiced by the melody of the singers and the harmony of the sunre. The passage is at a walking pace. Each of the singers' voices covers its entire range. Only one pitch is ever played at a time in this passage.
• The second theme is voiced by the melody of the singers and the melody of the sunre. The passage is extremely fast. Each of the singers' voices covers its entire range. This passage features only melodic tones and intervals.
• The second exposition is voiced by the melody of the sunre and the rhythm of the singers. The passage is fast. Each of the singers' voices ranges from the low register to the middle register. Only one pitch is ever played at a time in this passage.
• The synthesis is voiced by the melody of the singers. The passage is half the tempo of the last passage. Each of the singers' voices covers its entire range. Only one pitch is ever played at a time in this passage. The passage should be composed and performed using trills.
• Scales are constructed from twenty-four notes spaced evenly throughout the octave. The tonic note is fixed only at the time of performance. Every note is named. The names are nek (spoken ne), lastta (la), cish (ci), ani (an), shato (sha), almef (al), onod (on), osp (osp), arin (ar), umo (um), rostfen (ro), hiner (hi), ohe (oh), nazweng (na), tod (to), zomuth (zo), bepa (be), noloc (no), kes (ke), suku (su), musda (mu), uzu (uz), onaf (on) and agthreb (ag).
• The ozi heptatonic scale is thought of as two disjoint chords spanning two perfect fourths. These chords are named thad and tunem.
• The thad tetrachord is the 1st, the 3rd, the 8th and the 11th degrees of the quartertone octave scale.
• The tunem tetrachord is the 15th, the 21st, the 22nd and the 25th (completing the octave) degrees of the quartertone octave scale.

Events