The Umber Verse

The Umber Verse is a form of music used during marches and military engagements originating in The Wayward Confederacy. The rules of the form are applied by composers to produce individual pieces of music which can be performed. Two speakers recite any composition of The Claw of Persuaders while the music is played on a alpeth, a nani and a emmun. The musical voices join in melody and counterpoint, harmony and rhythm. The melody and counterpoint both have long phrases throughout the form. It is performed in the kaslal rhythm. Throughout, when possible, composers and performers are to make trills and play rapid runs.

• Each speaker always should be melancholic.
• The alpeth always should be melancholic.
• The nani always should perform sweetly and plays staccato.
• The emmun always should feel mysterious.
• The Umber Verse has a well-defined multi-passage structure: one to two passages and an additional passage possibly all repeated, a bridge-passage and a finale.
• Each of the first simple passages is voiced by the melody of the alpeth, the melody of the emmun, the harmony of the nani and the speakers. Each passage is moderately paced, and it is to be moderately loud. The alpeth covers its entire range from the muddy low register to the rippling high register, the emmun stays in the even high register and the nani ranges from the watery middle register to the muddy high register. This passage typically has some sparse chords. Each passage is performed using the stalcon scale.
• The second simple passage is voiced by the melody of the nani, the harmony of the alpeth and the speakers. The passage is fast, and it is to be in whispered undertones. The nani covers its entire range from the rippling low register to the muddy high register and the alpeth covers its entire range from the muddy low register to the rippling high register. This passage features only melodic tones and intervals. The passage is performed using the icmon scale.
• The bridge-passage is voiced by the melody of the nani, the melody of the emmun, the rhythm of the alpeth and the speakers. The passage is at a free tempo, and it is to be moderately soft. The nani ranges from the watery middle register to the muddy high register, the emmun stays in the slicing low register and the alpeth stays in the muddy low register. Only one pitch is ever played at a time in this passage. The passage is performed using the ozi scale.
• The finale is voiced by the melody of the alpeth, the counterpoint of the nani, the rhythm of the emmun and the speakers. The passage is at a free tempo, and it is to be very loud. The alpeth stays in the rippling high register, the nani covers its entire range from the rippling low register to the muddy high register and the emmun stays in the even high register. This passage typically has some sparse chords. The passage is performed without preference for a scale.
• Scales are conceived of as two chords built using a division of the perfect fourth interval into eight notes. The tonic note is fixed only at the time of performance. After a scale is constructed, the root note of chords are named. The names are lastta (spoken la) and cish (ci).
• As always, the stalcon hexatonic scale is thought of as two disjoint chords drawn from the fundamental division of the perfect fourth. These chords are named ilpi and idla.
• The ilpi trichord is the 1st, the 2nd and the 8th degrees of the fundamental perfect fourth division.
• The idla tetrachord is the 1st, the 2nd, the 5th and the 8th degrees of the fundamental perfect fourth division.
• As always, the icmon heptatonic scale is thought of as two disjoint chords drawn from the fundamental division of the perfect fourth. These chords are named agtha and idla.
• The agtha tetrachord is the 1st, the 2nd, the 6th and the 8th degrees of the fundamental perfect fourth division.
• As always, the ozi heptatonic scale is thought of as two disjoint chords drawn from the fundamental division of the perfect fourth. These chords are named use and woge.
• The use tetrachord is the 1st, the 4th, the 7th and the 8th degrees of the fundamental perfect fourth division.
• The woge tetrachord is the 1st, the 3rd, the 6th and the 8th degrees of the fundamental perfect fourth division.
• The kaslal rhythm is made from two patterns: the ohe (considered the primary) and the zomuth.
• The ohe rhythm is a single line with two beats. The beats are named nazweng (spoken na) and tod (to). The beat is stressed as follows:
• | - x |
• where x is a beat, - is silent and | indicates a bar.
• The zomuth rhythm is a single line with two beats. The beat is stressed as follows:
• | x - |
• where x is a beat, - is silent and | indicates a bar.

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