Funeral Procession from Arcana by Outspan

The Death of Socrates is a composition in three movements: It uses an archaic hexatonic scale attributed to Terpander of Lesbos, circa 700 BCE. The ratios used in this scale are: 11/10, 11/9, 11/8, 11/7, 11/6, 1/1. This scale has a serviceable 5th in the 11/8, but no third, putting it outside the realm of western triadic harmony. The scale is quite singable, however, and generally minor sounding in quality.

Funeral Procession: A slow ostinato is established on drums and gongs, modeled on a typical gong cycle from Balinese gamelan. The just-intoned electric piano represents the central melodic part, echoing the spirit of Socrates' stoic acceptance of his fate. The woodwinds and brass weave a tapestry of melodies around this central voice in two separate sub-ensembles. The human voices form a call and response pattern, embodying the expression of the mourners in the imagined procession.

David Brown received his MFA in Music from the Center for Contemporary Music at Mills College in Oakland, California where he studied composition with Anthony Braxton & Kenneth Gaburo and music & information theory with David Rosenboom. His compositions & sound designs combine found sounds with acoustic and electronic instruments to create sound collages of orchestral density.