Arbor Vitæ

James Tenney

Arbor Vitæ has been performed in ’s-Hertogenbosch, Amsterdam, Berlin, Brno, Groningen, Hamburg, Huddersfield, Montréal, Oldenburg, Oslo, Schwaz, Valencia, Vancouver and Victoria…

Arbor Vitae (2006) 13 ’Arbor Vitae, James Tenney’s last work, is both a culmination of many ideas from prior pieces as well as an unprecedented show of innovation. The title reflects Tenney’s attitude towards life and music as well as the compositional process, which uses the image of a tree’s roots and branches as a metaphor for its harmonic scheme. Features that exemplify Tenney’s aesthetic include the use of harmonic series to determine the pitch set, and, on the macro-level, a single gestalt illuminated through many dimensions of the work (expanding then contracting pitch range, crescendo-plateau-decrescendo dynamic swell, and increasing and decreasing temporal density applied over the entire duration of the piece). On the other hand, the extension of certain compositional facilities is truly exciting. The extended pitch vocabulary includes pitches derived from harmonics up to 1331st partial and the probabilistic scheme determining the evolving harmonies of the piece are incredibly dynamic. As the piece develops, sets of changing harmonic fields grow more expansive and complex. At first, the harmonies may be perceived in one tonality/harmonic field but later as branches of branches are used to determine the sounding tones, a more polytonal impression may be perceived. This work was commissioned by the Bozzini Quartet with the assistance of the Canada Council for the Arts. (program note by Mike Winter)

Premiere

  • December 10, 2006, James Tenney Festival: Concert, CalArts, Valencia (California, USA)

Arbor Vitæ

  • Composer(s): James Tenney
  • Year of composition: 2006
  • Duration: 13:10
  • Instrumentation: string quartet
  • Commission: Quatuor Bozzini, with support from the CCA
On disc
Concerts
10 Dece 2006
2:30 pm
Tenney
In person
Valencia (California, USA)
21 Apri 2007
8:00 pm
Série QB
Tenney
In person
Montréal (Québec)
19 Augu 2007
7:30 pm
Tenney
In person
Montréal (Québec)
12 Octo 2007
10:00 pm
NewmanOesterleTenney
In person
Oslo (Norway)
25 Nove 2008
4:00 pm
LennonMcCartneyTenney
In person
Huddersfield (England, UK)
26 Marc 2009
8:00 pm
ArnoldTenney
In person
Brno (Czech Republic)
28 Marc 2009
4:00 pm
CageTenneyWolffZimmermann
In person
Berlin (Germany)
12 May 2010
8:00 pm
GoldsteinJamiesonMartinTenneyTremblay
In person
Oldenburg (Niedersachsen, Germany)
7 Octo 2010
8:00 pm
Série QB
CageTenneyWolffZimmermann
In person
Montréal (Québec)
10 Marc 2011
8:00 pm
CageTenneyWolffZimmermann
In person
Victoria (British Columbia, Canada)
15 Marc 2011
8:00 pm
CageTenneyWolffZimmermann
In person
Vancouver (British Columbia, Canada)
12 Nove 2011
3:00 pm
AdriaanszGarlandKondoTenneyVan EyckenXenakis
In person
’s-Hertogenbosch (Netherlands)
17 Nove 2011
8:15 pm
AdriaanszGarlandKondoTenneyVan EyckenXenakis
In person
Amsterdam (Netherlands)
18 Sept 2015
7:00 pm
JohnstonMoosbruggerSzlavnicsTenneyZimmermann
In person
Schwaz (Austria)
30 Octo 2016
2:00 pm
FreyLucierScelsiTenney
In person
Groningen (Netherlands)
18 Janu 2023
8:00 pm
TenneyWolff
In person
Hamburg (Hamburg, Germany)