The Devil in Music - The Tritone (ABC Radio, Australia)

The Devil in Music

An interval is the distance between two musical notes. But why has a certain interval acquired the reputation of embodying or even conjuring up the Devil? The humble tritone (six semitones) is also known in music theory as an augmented fourth or diminished fifth. First officially notated by the scholar Guido d'Arezzo in the 11th century and said to have been banned from sacred music for centuries, this Devil's Interval was labelled Diabolus in Musica, the Devil in Music, because of the unsettling feelings it created in both the singer and the listener.

Whether the diminished fifth really does contain diabolical properties or is simply a scary-sounding interval is probably a theological issue rather than a musical one. But we invite you to come to your own conclusion in this program with a devilish twist!

In 'The Devil in Music' producers Jane Ulman and Russell Stapleton take us on a rich musical journey to unravel the mysterious effect of this humble interval. They talk to composers, musicians and listeners and even summon the Devil himself to explain just exactly what he's been up to!

In the program you'll hear a musical melange sampling Wagner, Bernstein, Metallica, Stravinsky, Radiohead, Bernard Hermann, Danny Elfman, Hendrix, Mussorgsky, Beethoven, Mozart, Black Sabbath and more!

Featured in the program are composer Peter Sculthorpe, conductor and music educator Richard Gill, musician composers Mike Nock, Hollis Taylor, Linda Neil, Jay Miller, singer Georgina Bitcon, members of the US metal band Devil Driver, members of the St Francis of Assisi and HUM choirs, with Andrew Hansen as the Devil and Ruben Fernandez as Mephistopheles.

This program, first broadcast on Into the Music in 2009, won the 2010 Prix Italia for 'Works on Music'.

Produced by Jane Ulman and Russell Stapleton

Sound engineer Russell Stapleton

Source: ABC Radio National (Australia) - streaming audio (.asf) converted to mp3 @ 320.

Duration: 55 mins.


Enjoy and Seed!!