Karen Griebling » moduli mundi

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Karen Griebling

moduli mundi

moduli mundi

Alto Saxophone and Wind Ensemble

moduli mundi was commissioned by the Little Rock Wind Symphony and its director Karen Fannin for Saxophonist, Andy Wen in 2011 and premiered by Wen with the Little Rock Wind Symphony. The title translates to 'music of the spheres.' Each of its three movements is titled for a mathematician, philosopher, or astronomer associated with the 'music of the spheres' concept. 
I. Pythagoras was a mathematician and music theorist who was credited with having discovered the circle of fifths via the 'Greater Perfect System' of tetrachord organization and of inventing the music of the spheres idea. Since there are 28 days in the lunar calendar, 28 is an important element in the music of the spheres theory. A classic concerto form, the first movement's principal theme is built from perfect fifths and its secondary theme is a twelve-bar-blues in 7|8 meter that yields a 28-beat cycle. Its cadenza, while composed, resembles a jazz improvisation.
II. Living in Rome when tensions between the Roman Empire in the West and the Byzantine Church in Constantinople were running high, Boethius was the first philosopher to transmit ideas from Eastern antiquity to the West and to further develop the music of the spheres concept. A melody reminiscent of Byzantine chant is punctuated by fanfares to represent the dissonance between East and West within this movement's arch form.
III. Kepler was a 17th century astronomer whose model of the heliocentric universe was a series of nesting polygons. The third movement is a ritornello structure in which the ritornello has a descending array of meters: 6|8, 5|8, 4|8, 3|8, 2|8, while the episodes include a 'tinkling' theme and Baroque-style imitative polyphony. 
The piano reduction of moduli mundi was recorded by saxophonist Andy Wen and pianist John Krebs in 2013 and is available on the Apparitions II compact disc released as Emeritus CD 20132.

Movements: I. Pythagoras II. Boethius III. Kepler

Authored (or revised): 2011

Published: 2026

Book format: Full Score

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ACA-GRIK-030s
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