“There are not more than five musical notes, yet the combinations of these five give rise to more melodies than can ever be heard. There are not more than five primary colors (blue, red, yellow, white, and black), yet in combination they produce more hues than can ever been seen. There are not more than five cardinal tastes (sour, acrid, salt, sweet, bitter), yet combinations of them yield more flavors than can ever be tasted.”
Sun Tzu, The Art of War
The Number of Man is a new composition by acclaimed composer Mohammed Fairouz, written for pianist Louis Schwizgebel. Together, they have curated a recital program that reflects the composer's unique concept of “Five Notes,” five being the titular “Number of Man."
Fairouz writes:
“There are five fundamental musical notes. These notes are: “C,” “D,” “E,” “G” and “A”. There are no notes available to human beings beyond these particular five notes. All the other “notes” are sound frequencies (or pitches) that are simply variants that are arrived upon by either raising or lowering one of the five notes.”
Louis Schwizgebel...
“To know the colors of the spectrum wrongly or the harmonies of the universe in corruption or the senses of a human being incorrectly… to miscount one’s fingers, toes and to apprehend the harmonic sections of one’s own body as anything other than five is to confound oneself into a loss of equilibrium.”
