In the following notes, I have taken the opportunity to present some of my solutions to the many problems of setting a text such as that found in the three chapters of the Book of the Law. These notes are intended only for those who are interested in learning more about the setting. In the first instance, and always in any music, the evidence of one’s own ears should come first. If, after hearing the work, the listener feels compelled to find out more about the inner workings of the piece, only then should they have recourse to investigate further.

Length
The first problem to resolve is: how long? I decided to prepare two versions – a full-length version in which each chapter setting lasts the full hour of the original receiving of the Book, only to be performed on the 8th, 9th and 10th April between noon and 1pm, making a total performance time of three hours over three days; and a shorter concert version that can be performed any time of the year, lasting an hour in total. It is the concert version which will be premiered in 2006.

Numbers
There are several key numbers mentioned in each chapter of the Book – for example, 11 in both chapters one and two, 718 in chapter three, 50+6, 5/60 and 50x6 for Nuit in chapter one, as well as the much discussed 4 6 3 8 A B K 2 4 A L G M O R 3 Y X 24 89 R P S T O V A L that appears in the second chapter. I have used these numbers to generate the notes and the rhythms used in this setting.

Take for example, 50x6=300 (‘I am Nuit, and my word is six and fifty’ – AL I:24. ‘Divide, add, multiply, and understand’ – AL I:25). This number, when represented in Hertz (vibrations per second) is approximately equal to D above Middle C in Equal Temperament (293.66Hz) on the piano. The circle (300Hz) has been squared (approximated to 293.66Hz) due to the restrictions of Equal Temperament (‘…this circle squared in its failure is a key also.’ AL III:47).

Scales
I have applied similar processes to the other numbers of the Book, leading ultimately to a scale for each of the three chapters...

As you will see above, the D above Middle C (500x6=300) has been taken down one octave, as have all the other tones (F# for 93, G# for 418, A for 56), making a scale unique to each (‘…this line drawn is a key’ AL III:47). The performer is able to move backward and forward along this scale, but only one step at a time, giving the scale a circular nature (in fact it could be written in a circle).

Also, the scale for the second chapter, the Hadit scale, is a mirror of that for the first chapter, the Nuit scale (‘I, Hadit, am the compliment of Nu, my bride.’ – AL II:2).

The Ra-Hoor-Kuit scale for the third chapter is based on the word Abrahadabra (‘Abrahadabra; the reward of Ra-Hoor-Kuit.’- AL III:1) , with each note of the scale corresponding to a letter in that word (note: I have chosen to make the final four-note group, that is the final ‘abra’ a mirror of the first four-note group). This makes an 11-note scale. Indeed, all three scales are comprised of 11 notes (‘My number is 11, as all their numbers who are of us.’ – AL I:60; ‘Thus eleven, as my bride is eleven.’ – AL II:16).

Performance
In a performance of this work, and indeed any of my major works to date, the performers are free to move around within the structure of the piece as they see fit. The narrator has of course to read each line of the text in its original order, however, variations in the speed of delivery, inflection, dynamic, and so on are not only possible but essential to the life of the performance. Similarly, the pianist and percussionist follow their own path through the geography of my composition (‘Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law’ – AL:I 40), but always with close regard to the specifications of the score. There are no other directions (‘There is no law beyond Do what thou wilt.’ - AL III:60).

This process breathes life into the structure of the composition, and turns the score into Music through the act of Performance, where performer acts alongside performer (‘…thou hast no right but to do thy will. Do that, and no other shall say nay. For pure will, unassuaged of purpose, delivered from the lust of result, is every way perfect.’ – AL I:42-44). Even though joined in the act of celebrating the words of the Book through its performance, each performer is released from the bondage of conventional performance practice, ie. not tied to the ‘master’ score (‘Every man and every woman is a star.’ - AL I:3). This produces a fluid rather than static structure, developing a different character in each unique performance (‘…for in the chance shape of the letters and their position to one another: in these are mysteries that no Beast shall divine.' - AL III:47).

Dedication
This work is dedicated to The Priest of the Princes, Ankh-af-na-khonsu.
Many thanks to the OTO for permission to use the text in its entirety.