Additionally, the notation demonstrates Schweinitz’s extensive engagement with the work’s technical challenges, providing the performer with the affirmation that these challenges are not insurmountable. Although Schweinitz refers to this piece as a mere catalog of intervals, my experience with his enthusiasm for the musicality of the piece demonstrates to me that his appreciation of its beauty goes far beyond such a simple objective. Plainsound-Litany is a work that embraces science and beauty, tradition and innovation. Schweinitz’s detailed notation for portraying pitch information provides the performer a complete and practical method for achieving precise and accurately tuned intervals. He includes both rational notation and Helmholtz-Ellis accidentals. The two describe the same sound but do so in different ways. The rational notation appeals to the scientific and factual approach for learning and performing these intervals, while the Helmholtz-Ellis accidentals appeal to the tradition of conventional notation, potentially providing the performer who is new to this type of tuning a means to find comfort in learning these new sounds. For me, the presence of both the fingered and sounding pitches on the staff ensured that I was achieving the correct partials during the learning process. Schweinitz also indicates the resultant tones produced by a given interval, procona flower transport containers which appear in the score as notes within parentheses. Seeing the resultant tones is important for the performer during the learning process because the presence or absence of that tone is one indication of successful intonation.
These resultant tones are an example of the complexity of sound found in Plainsound-Litany and once obtained, the performer seeks to maintain them throughout performance. For me, the learning process and the development of my interpretation of this piece was aided by four things: my collaboration with Schweinitz, discovering a personal approach to identifying the intervals, acknowledging the path and progression of the intervals, and embracing the expressive elements of the piece. Meeting with Schweinitz assuaged my doubts about the feasibility of a successful live performance of such a demanding piece. Our first meeting lasted approximately 4 ½ hours. We talked at length about the intervals in the piece and by the time I left, we had reviewed every one in Plainsound-Litany. The most astounding part of this meeting was learning that Schweinitz had obtained a cello solely for the purpose of writing this piece and had tested every interval for playability. My fear of the difficulty of this piece subsided with every interval that Wolfgang found on the cello and held for me to study. In addition, that Schweinitz, who is not a cellist, could play the piece in its entirety showed me the seriousness and professionalism of Schweinitz’s approach to music making. There is a practical application to hearing the intervals that Schweinitz writes as sounds that embody characters or characteristics. For me, studying and developing these characteristics during the learning process bestowed another litmus test for determining their accuracy. In measures one and two, for example, the 3/2 hums a strong low G and sounds like an organ. All of these intervals are a 3/2, however, the character of each is unique and complex.
These characteristics are very personal and another performer might identify with very different aspects of the sound. As one who has invested a lot of time in learning and performing this piece, I think this method of studying and learning the intervals is extremely beneficial. Once a clear image is created for each interval, it is hard to forget that image. And therefore, it is hard to not be confident with the intonation of a given interval if that vignette is in fact created when the interval is played. The journey through the succession of intervals is possible for the performer to navigate with confidence because the use of natural harmonics provides a physical and aural guide for the performer. When playing a natural harmonic, there is an inherent correctness in the placement of the pitch; if the finger is correctly placed on the harmonic node, the harmonic will speak properly. The harmonics that function as a guide in Plainsound-Litany are lower partial harmonics, making them reliable. Once found, the harmonics prevent the ears and fingers from becoming confused and lost through the progression of intervals. For example, the eighth note of the piece, in bar ten, is already preparing the ear and the fingers for the 2/1 in measure sixteen.The ear is prepared for the next six bars as this note reappears in different configurations. And in bar sixteen, the ear is confident with the placement of this harmonic and the finger playing the stopped note immediately finds its place, using the natural harmonic as the reference. Correctly placing the first pitch in measure sixteen, which we first heard in measure ten, allows the succession of the following eight intervals to be easy and seamless. Similar progressions continue throughout the duration of the piece; the use of natural harmonics functions as a trail of bread crumbs – showing the way for both the hand and the ear. Embracing the expressive elements of Plainsound-Litany was also monumental in the unfolding of my interpretation. Although it is notated in a scientific manner, Schweinitz envisions the intervals of the piece being played with musicality and beauty of phrasing.
The use of standard notation for rhythm and dynamics, along with musical indications such as sonore and dulce provided me with familiar musical parameters that allowed me to feel comfortable taking on the work’s challenging tuning. As a performer, I appreciate new and innovative notation, but in this case the familiarity of the notation Schweinitz uses to express elements of musicality, facilitated the learning process by removing the necessity to learn both a new tuning method and an entirely new notation. For me, the method of familiarizing myself with the microtonal intervals included: working with Schweintz, discovering the characters of each interval in the piece, relying on the natural harmonics as a physical and aural guide, and adopting an expressive interpretation. For the cellist, the performance rituals for the piece begin before the cellist takes the stage. The necessity for this reflects the essence of Plainsound-Litany, which is the invitation to the audience to embrace the unique qualities of each interval in the piece. For seventeen minutes, the performer engages with the score on stage. However, the detailed and intimate listening required to perform this piece begins long before the first measure, with tuning the strings off stage. Because of inharmonicity, the tendency of string harmonics to vibrate at frequencies that are not whole multiples of the fundamental, compromises must be made in order to find the best tuning for the largest number of intervals. Achieving this tuning can be arduous but it effectively prepares the performer for the piece; to be successfully prepared to perform Plainsound-Litany, it is not the hands that must be warm, but the ears. The essence of Plainsound-Litany is to hear the complexity, novelty, and beauty within the sounds of the intervals and the acoustical phenomena of their tone colors and resultant tones. The performer’s goal is to engage the audience in a state of concentrated listening by “demonstrating” the listening process. In this piece, the art of performance is introverted and responsive, thereby giving the audience the opportunity to share in the process as an active listener. A successful performance of this piece is achieved when the audience engages with the performer, who is engaging with the score,procona valencia with the idea that the audience is afforded the opportunity to listen intently, if they are witnessing careful listening on the part of the performer. As Schweinitz says, the piece is “like looking through the telescope with the ear.” Wolfgang von Schweinitz’s Plainsound-Litany provides both the performer and the listener with a unique opportunity. The performer is faced with difficult tuning challenges while still being expected to provide a musically satisfying interpretation. What Schweinitz considers a catalog of intervals certainly does not look that way on paper, sound like that in performance or feel like that to the performer. Schweinitz has developed a notation that both provides detailed information for the performer to be able to study and learn the intervals, and allows her to identify with Schweinitz’s musical sensibilities. It is particularly Schweinitz’s use of elements of traditional staff notation that preserves his composerly voice in what could be seen as an academic study of intervals. His notational methods for expressing the musical aspects of the piece, including detailed dynamics, phrasing, and tempo markings, allow the performer to internalize his musical aspirations for the piece. His notation, then, requires the performer to be concentrated on listening and achieving successful intonation while still focusing on the piece as a musical endeavor. When the performer assumes this role, the audience is given the opportunity to also hear the complexity and beauty of each sound. At the end of the piece the ears of the performer are full of colors, sounds, and characters.
The goal is for the audience to connect with the performer and the sounds of the piece, and for the “transmission of thoughts and feelings” to reach each member of the audience. According to Schweinitz, this transmission is the “miracle about what music making is about.” Shriveled berries on ripening clusters are not uncommon in California vineyards. They usually occur in only a small proportion of a vineyard’s fruit , but in particular vineyards and years, shriveling can affect more than half of the crop . Most shrivel disorders make the fruit less desirable for wine making, with subsequent yield and production losses. Before taking steps to reduce the incidence of fruit shriveling in vineyards, it is necessary to differentiate between shrivel disorders. We describe four common causes of fruit shriveling and detail compositional differences between normally developing fruit and that affected by sugar accumulation disorder .Fruit exposed to direct sunlight for all or part of the day, especially in the heat of the afternoon, can be damaged by sunburn, which may be caused by high temperature, ultraviolet radiation or a combination of the two . The physical appearance of sunburned fruit depends on the grape variety and stage of development — white grapes and red grapes exposed before pigment accumulation begins develop brown discoloration, which varies depending on severity.Veraison and early postveraison red varieties with sunburn often exhibit poor color development, and may remain pink for the remainder of the season. Post-veraison sunburn leads to fruit with less color and a shiny appearance. Sunburned berries often crack, presumably due to damaged epidermal tissues. Extreme sunburn leads to complete berry desiccation and the formation of raisins in both red and white varieties. The non-exposed side of a sunburned cluster often develops normally. If a cluster is fully exposed to the sun on both sides, or if the rachis itself is damaged, then the cluster may be completely affected. Obvious signs of sunburn may only occur on the exposed portions of individual berries. Sunburn can be avoided by reducing the fruit’s exposure to direct sunlight, especially in the afternoon. While leaves are removed in the fruit zone in many growing regions to increase cluster exposure to indirect light, in north-south row orientations leaves are removed on the east side of the canopy to reduce direct exposure in the afternoon and the probability of sunburn. This practice does not completely eliminate the risk of sunburn, however, because morning sun can also cause damage.Natural dehydration is another type of shrivel that may affect berries late in ripening but prior to commercial harvest. These berries appear similar to fruit with bunchstem necrosis, but the rachis look green and healthy. For this type of shrivel, which is especially pronounced in Syrah , berries lose weight due to water loss, and sugars are concentrated . Both increased transpiration and decreased phloem influx have been suggested as causes for late-season dehydration, but recent studies provide evidence that several varieties of grape berries remain hydraulically connected to the parent vine and therefore may lose water back to the parent plant late in ripening as well as to dry, ambient air .Clusters affected by bunchstem necrosis are identified by necrotic rachis tissue, with shriveled berries distal to the necrotic tissue.