culture / music

Open Mic Adventures XCV: “Akhenaten”

The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

Yours portly released a new album earlier this summer, Heptadic Structure.  It’s an exploration of pieces in 7/4, 7/8, and 7/16 time.  Each piece is twenty-one written measures, for a total of 147 measures across the seven pieces.  Also, 14+7=21.  Math is fun!

You can listen to and/or purchase the album at the following links:

This week I’m featuring the final track from that album, and my second favorite after “Balladic Processional“:  the experimental tone poem “Akhenaten“:

“Akhenaten” is a mixed ensemble piece about the controversial pharaoh Akhenaten, who attempted to introduce a form of monotheism to ancient Egypt.  He is perhaps better known as the father of King Tutankhamen, who undid many of his father’s unpopular and controversial reforms.

The figure of Akhenaten has always fascinated me, and I thought the enigmatic—and possibly insane—pharaoh deserved his own piece:

Happy Listening—and, perhaps, you can walk like an Egyptian while listening to this piece!

—TPP

Other Editions of Open Mic Adventures:

  1. “Open Mic Adventures I: Oingo Boingo’s ‘Just Another Day’“
  2. “Open Mic Adventures II: Billy Joel’s ‘Piano Man’“
  3. “Open Mic Adventures III: Joanie Sommers’s ‘Johnny Get Angry’“
  4. “Open Mic Adventures IV: KISS’s ‘I Still Love You’“
  5. “Open Mic Adventures V: ‘There’s a Light (Over at the Frankenstein Place)’“
  6. “Open Mic Adventures VI: Journey’s ‘Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’“
  7. “Open Mic Adventures VII: ‘Suite: Judy Blue Eyes’“
  8. “Open Mic Adventures VIII: Simon & Garfunkel’s ‘The Sound of Silence’“
  9. “Open Mic Adventures IX: Journey’s ‘Faithfully’“
  10. “Open Mic Adventures X: ‘Time Warp’“
  11. “Open Mic Adventures XI: Spooktacular Supergroup Covers ‘Monster Mash’“
  12. “Open Mic Adventures XII: ‘Ghostly’“
  13. “Open Mic Adventures XIII: The Penguins’ ‘Earth Angel’“
  14. “Open Mic Adventures XIV: ‘Hark! The Herald Angels Sing’“
  15. “Open Mic Adventures XV: ‘O Holy Night’“
  16. “Open Mic Adventures XVI: ‘Please Come Home for Christmas’“
  17. “Open Mic Adventures XVII: ‘L’il Divertimento in C major’“
  18. “Open Mic Adventures XVIII: ‘Satiean Motion’“
  19. “Open Mic Adventures XIX: ‘Two-Day Minuet for Left Hand’“
  20. “Open Mic Adventures XX: ‘Sleepy Student’s Serenade’“
  21. “Open Mic Adventures XXI: Styx’s ‘Come Sail Away’“
  22. “Open Mic Adventures XXII: ‘Blessed Assurance’“
  23. “Open Mic Adventures XXIII: ‘Gabbi’s Gavotte’“
  24. “Open Mic Adventures XXIV: ‘Softly and Tenderly’“
  25. “Open Mic Adventures XXV: ‘Venite, exultemus Domino’“
  26. “Open Mic Adventures XXVI: ‘Sonatina’“
  27. “Open Mic Adventures XXVII: ‘Heavenly Sunlight’“
  28. “Open Mic Adventures XXVIII: ‘Song of the Bigfoot’”
  29. “Open Mic Adventures XXIX: ‘Lavender’s Blue’“
  30. “Open Mic Adventures XXX: ‘Chorale for a Sleepy Wednesday’“
  31. “Open Mic Adventures XXXI: ‘Carousel’“
  32. “Open Mic Adventures XXXII: Hymn Medley“
  33. “Open Mic Adventures XXXIII: ‘Spore Song (Mushroom Dance)’“
  34. “Open Mic Adventures XXXIV: ‘Chase’s Dilemma’“
  35. “Open Mic Adventures XXXV: ‘The Rings of Saturn’“
  36. “Open Mic Adventures XXXVI: ‘The Rings of Saturn’ LIVE!“
  37. “Open Mic Adventures XXXVII: ‘Private Lessons (Goth Chick)’“
  38. “Open Mic Adventures XXXVIII: ‘Quasi-Date’“
  39. “Open Mic Adventures XXXIX: ‘(I’m in the) Business of Love)’“
  40. “Open Mic Adventures XL: ‘Parada’“
  41. “Open Mic Adventures XLI: ‘Serenade for a Sleepy Student No. 2’“
  42. “Open Mic Adventures XLII: ‘1001 Arabian Nights’“
  43. “Open Mic Adventures XLIII: ‘Greek Fair’“
  44. “Open Mic Adventures XLIV: ‘Skeleton Dance No. 1’“
  45. “Open Mic Adventures XLV: ‘Skeleton Dance No. 1’ – BASS“
  46. “Open Mic Adventures XLVI: ‘Canon Event’“
  47. “Open Mic Adventures XLVII: ‘Skeleton Dance No. 2’“
  48. “Open Mic Adventures XLVIII: Sloppy ‘Hipster Girl Next Door’ Medley“
  49. “Open Mic Adventures XLIX: ‘Lament of the Lizardman’“
  50. “Open Mic Adventures L: ‘Bigfoot Boogie’“
  51. “Open Mic Adventures LI: ‘Minuet for a New Moon’“
  52. “Open Mic Adventures LII: ‘Andante in D major’“
  53. “Open Mic Adventures LIII: ‘I Need Thee Every Hour’“
  54. “Open Mic Adventures LIV: ‘”Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus’“
  55. “Open Mic Adventures LV: ‘Orange Roll’“
  56. “Open Mic Adventures LVI: ‘Firefly Dance’“
  57. “Open Mic Adventures LVII: ‘Kartofelsalat’“
  58. “Open Mic Adventures LVIII: ‘Listless Chorale’“
  59. “Open Mic Adventures LIX: ‘Silent Night’“
  60. “Open Mic Adventures LX: ‘Hark! The Herald Angels Sing’“
  61. “Open Mic Adventures LXI: ‘O Little Town of Bethlehem’“
  62. “Open Mic Adventures LXII: ‘FRANTIC!!’“
  63. “Open Mic Adventures LXIII: ‘Snowfall’“
  64. “Open Mic Adventures LXIV: ‘Uninspired Étude in E major’“
  65. “Open Mic Adventures LXV: ‘Scribblings I: Post-Christmas Concert Scribbling’“
  66. “Open Mic Adventures LXVI: ‘Ode Napoléon’“
  67. “Open Mic Adventures LXVII: ‘Cook’s Brief Bourrée in E minor’“
  68. “Open Mic Adventures LXVIII: ‘Triumphant Processional’“
  69. “Open Mic Adventures LXIX: ‘Moody Noodling’“
  70. “Open Mic Adventures LXX: ‘Epistemology’“
  71. “Open Mic Adventures LXXI: ‘Three Chorales in Diminishing Length’“
  72. “Open Mic Adventures LXXII: ‘Blue Mage’“
  73. “Open Mic Adventures LXXIII: ‘Red Mage’“
  74. “Open Mic Adventures LXXIV: ‘White Mage’“
  75. “Open Mic Adventures LXXV: ‘Black Mage’“
  76. “Open Mic Adventures LXXVI: ‘The Blind Prophet’“
  77. “Open Mic Adventures LXXVII: ‘Robobop’“
  78. “Open Mic Adventures LXXVIII: ‘Pink Princess’“
  79. “Open Mic Adventures LXXIX: ‘Purple Prince’“
  80. “Open Mic Adventures LXXX: ‘Yellow Knight’“
  81. “Open Mic Adventures LXXXI: ‘Green Knight’“
  82. “Open Mic Adventures LXXXII: ‘Brown Friar’“
  83. “Open Mic Adventures LXXXIII: ‘Advanced Funkification’“
  84. “Open Mic Adventures LXXXIV: ‘Funk Chorale (Hymn to Funk)’“
  85. “Open Mic Adventures LXXXV: Steelheart’s ‘I’ll Never Let You Go’“
  86. “Open Mic Adventures LXXXVI: ‘1001 Arabian Nights’ Redux“
  87. “Open Mic Adventures LXXXVII: ‘Heptadic Structure’“
  88. “Open Mic Adventures LXXXVIII: ‘Angularity’“
  89. “Open Mic Adventures LXXXIX: ‘White Boy Summer’“
  90. “Open Mic Adventures XC: ‘Balladic Processional’“
  91. “Open Mic Adventures XCI: ‘Tu Me Manques’“
  92. “Open Mic Adventures XCII: ‘Jaunt’“
  93. “Open Mic Adventures XCIII: ‘C20r4735 (Chorales)’“
  94. “Open Mic Adventures XCIV: ‘Nobles Gases’“

Leave a comment