The Periwinkle of Winter-Melons

The Periwinkle of Winter-melons is a form of music used for entertainment originating in The Confederacy of Dowels. The rules of the form are applied by composers to produce individual pieces of music which can be performed. The music is played on three to four uthme, a owbatho and three milu. The musical voices cover melody, harmony and rhythm. The entire performance should evoke tears. The melody has mid-length phrases throughout the form. It is performed using the xathrato scale and in the imesathi rhythm. The voice ranges from the vibrating low register to the dull middle register.

• The owbatho always provides the rhythm and syncopates.
• Each milu always does the main melody.
• The Periwinkle of Winter-melons has the following structure: an introduction and three to five unrelated passages.
• The introduction is voiced by the melody of the milu and the rhythm of the owbatho. The passage is fast, and it is to be moderately loud. Each of the milu stays in the raspy middle register. Only one pitch is ever played at a time in this passage.
• Each of the simple passages is voiced by the melody of the milu, the harmony of the uthme and the rhythm of the owbatho. Each passage gradually slows as it comes to an end, and it is to be soft. Each of the milu stays in the heavy low register and each of the uthme ranges from the vibrating low register to the dull middle register. This passage typically has some sparse chords.
• Scales are constructed from twenty-four notes spaced evenly throughout the octave. The tonic note is fixed only at the time of performance.
• The xathrato hexatonic scale is thought of as joined chords spanning a perfect fifth and a perfect fourth. These chords are named mushast and uwakri.
• The mushast tetrachord is the 1st, the 5th, the 8th and the 15th degrees of the quartertone octave scale.
• The uwakri tetrachord is the 15th, the 19th, the 23rd and the 25th (completing the octave) degrees of the quartertone octave scale.
• The imesathi rhythm is made from two patterns: the uthrogumat (considered the primary) and the pethrebinpu.
• The uthrogumat rhythm is a single line with two beats. The beats are named sorot (spoken so) and pumdom (pu). The beat is stressed as follows:
• | x - |
• where x is a beat, - is silent and | indicates a bar.
• The pethrebinpu rhythm is a single line with two beats. The beat is stressed as follows:
• | x x |
• where x is a beat and | indicates a bar.

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