Arior: Harpsichord

From the composer: Arior is a harpsichord set of eight pieces, each written in a different mode: Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, Locrian, and a return to Ionian. The set was conceived of as a counter to a John Cage piece by the name of HPSCHD, or “harpsichord” without the vowels and Rs. Cage’s piece was very modernist in its structure, complete with omnipresent electroinic noises constituting the majority of the sound. Arior was written as a reaction to this with a return to the harpsichord’s more natural sound.