The Soul of Sappho for Nonet

I've been writing something Neomedieval.

I wanted to introduce metrical changes into my music so I went to Greek poetry forms and settled on the two famous Aeolic stanzas.

I used the most elementary form of their rhythms as scaffolding for this composition.

The resulting structure is:

u = half note, – = whole note

Sapphic stanza, with harmonies from F Lydian, C Octatonic and G Phrygian.

– u / – – / – u / u – / u – –
– u / – u / – u u /  – u / – –
– u – / – – u / u –  / u – u / – u / u – –

Alcaic stanza, with harmonies from C Lydian, G Messiaen Mode 3 and D Messiaen Mode 6.

u – u / – u – /u u – / u –

– – u / – – – / u u / – u –

u – u / – u – / u – –

– u / u – / u u – / u – –

After those I pick alternating verses from each and repeat them with some changes and additions.

It ends in a dominant sonority, a cliffhanger. Perhaps I should write a follow-up poem to go after it. 

Hei @Uhor,

I think you are playing with the mensural notations and the polyrhythm is quite attractive for me. You capture the trochaic rhythm well in the Sapphic Stanza as it's used (or interpreted) often in Frankish School. I hope there are more barline crossing as in the Medeival and Renaissance Motets! This will make the rhythm even funnier!

Henry

What an interesting idea. The result has that sort of "Familiar, but Unfamiliar" feel - the scaffolding imposes a lovely unifying feel to the proceedings.