Five Improvisations on Exotic Scales [CF:494-03111]

Composed for the Sagul Trio, which premiered music by several mid-20th century composers. It was played by them on 14 February at Town Hall, New York City, as part of radio station WNYC’s 1947 American Music Festival. The use of non-diatonic scales was probably rooted in Bennett’s study of the Greek modes with Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979) twenty years earlier. Each movement is preceded by an intonation or statement of its “exotic” scale.