This piece is the second in a series based on quadratic residues of a number. If a perfect square of some integer is congruent to some number n mod p, then we say n is a quadratic residue of p. I first read about these in Richard Courant’s “What is Mathematics?”, the most engrossing mathematical text I’ve yet found.
In this piece, the frequencies of the pitches, as well as their envelopes, and significant structural boundaries, are all based on the quadratic residues of 31, and permutations thereof. The title is somewhat of a misnomer; the piece began as exclusively synthetic, but evolved to include various field recordings and granular synthesis techniques.