The Nectarous Wines
The Nectarous Wines is a form of music used for entertainment originating in The Civilian Nettles. The form guides musicians during improvised performances. A speaker recites nonsensical words and sounds while the music is played on one to four ibeca and three ewera. The musical voices bring melody and counterpoint. The entire performance should be made sweetly. The counterpoint melody has mid-length phrases throughout the form. It is performed in free rhythm. Throughout, when possible, performers are to glide from note to note, make trills, play rapid runs and alternate tension and repose.
- Each ibeca always does the main melody.
- Each ewera always does the counterpoint melody.
- The Nectarous Wines has a well-defined multi-passage structure: an introduction and a passage and another one to two passages.
- The introduction is slow, and it is to be very soft. Each of the ibeca stays in the ringing low register and each of the ewera covers its entire range from the resonant low register to the dull high register. The passage has short phrases in the melody. This passage features only melodic tones and intervals. The passage is performed without preference for a scale.
- The first simple passage slows and broadens, and it is to be very loud. Each of the ibeca stays in the ringing low register and each of the ewera stays in the dull high register. The passage has long phrases in the melody. This passage features only melodic tones and intervals. The passage is performed using the seyawi scale.
- Each of the second simple passages slows and broadens, and it is to be moderately loud. Each of the ibeca covers its entire range from the ringing low register to the slicing high register and each of the ewera stays in the dull high register. Each passage has long phrases in the melody. Chords are packed close together in dense clusters in this passage. Each passage is performed using the moro scale.
- Scales are constructed from twenty-four notes spaced evenly throughout the octave. The tonic note is a fixed tone passed from teacher to student.
- The seyawi heptatonic scale is thought of as two disjoint chords spanning two perfect fourths. These chords are named ucame and ifiyo.
- The ucame tetrachord is the 1st, the 4th, the 6th and the 11th degrees of the quartertone octave scale.
- The ifiyo tetrachord is the 15th, the 23rd, the 24th and the 25th (completing the octave) degrees of the quartertone octave scale.
- The moro hexatonic scale is thought of as two disjoint chords spanning two perfect fourths. These chords are named ipila and emayethi.
- The ipila trichord is the 1st, the 7th and the 11th degrees of the quartertone octave scale.
- The emayethi tetrachord is the 15th, the 18th, the 19th and the 25th (completing the octave) degrees of the quartertone octave scale.
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