L'Harpenteur Etrange [CF:574-00846]

The title alludes to the fractal theory concerpt of "strong attractors", and to the title of a 1992 cello piece by Tristan Murail. No such mathematical background here, just the choice of a chord consisting of superimposed sixths and acting as a harmonic beacon in the medium register of the harp, five strings of which are tuned down a 1/4 of a tone: D.B.G.E.C. With pedal-work doing the rest, the short piece "paces up and down" 15 strange non-tempered pitches, "strange" because they sound foreign to our 12 familiar half- tones, going from flats to sharps, contrasting with the other strings or creating strange 1/4-tone or 3/4-tone modes... [NB: The word Harpenteur playfully combines two French words: harpe (harp) et arpenteur (to pace up and down, to measure)]