And on the Seventh Day Petals Fell in Petaluma

The instrumental scoring may be seen in the list of Verses below; no common current instrument, such as cello or clarinet, is involved. Although the work constitutes studies in preparation for Delusion of the Fury, it must be treated separately for reasons that will become apparent.

Regarding the title: for many years I have looked upon California as my home, and , more specifically, the San Francisco Bay area for the forty years from the mid-1920's to the mid-1960's. On two occasions during those years, I was away for six-year periods (1941-1947 and 1956-1962).

Finding a studio large enough for all my instruments that I could afford was always a problem, but in 1962, I did find part of a vacated chick hatchery in Petaluma, about thirty-five miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge, that was suitable in both respects. On the day I looked the place over, I walked down the lane that led to the hatchery, and the way was strewn with petals--roses, camellias, and many others. Since I had had these studies in mind for some time, and considering my strange absence, twice, for exactly six years, the title came to me almost immediately.

Aside from the preparatory idea, I had two important reasons for choosing the format below. First, during my entire professional life through 1958, I had learned every instrumental part that I had written (excepting winds, which I do not play) and sung all the voice parts (excepting those with ranges beyond me). In Revelation, partly because of the short time between the completed composition and the rehearsals, I could not do this, and I cannot feel that I am truly on top of a work unless I do know all the parts; therefore, I was determined to return to that pattern. Second, for several years some musicians had complained about the difficulties of the instrumental parts.

This time, I would not abide such nonsense. I would exploit the instrumental resources to the full, exploring new techniques and also exploring, with a minimum of players, untried rhythms and polyrhythms. Although I began the work in 1963, it took three years, using exactly six players, before I was satisfied with both performances and recordings.

Each of the first twenty-three verses is exactly one minute long, not counting the final beat. These are duets and trios. Then, by electronic synthesizing, pairs of verses are combined in numbers twenty-four through thirty-three; and finally a trio of verses is combined, bringing the studies to an end with the thirty-fourth verse. The electronic syntheses result in quartets and quintets starting with number twenty-four, and with a septet at the end; all are indicated.

Quartets & Quintets Duets & Trios

Verse 24 Verse 1 - Zymo-Xyl, Crychord Verse 2 - Surrogate Kithara, Bass Marimba

Verse 25 Verse 3 - Harmonic Canon I, Harmonic Canon III Verse 4 - Chromelodeon II, Koto

Verse 26 Verse 5 - Mazda Marimba, Boo Verse 6 - Cloud Chamber Bowls, Diamond Marimba

Verse 27 Verse 7 - Chromelodeon II, Bloboy, Kithara II Verse 8 - Zymo-Xyl, Spoils of War

Verse 28 Verse 9 - Harmonic Canon I, Kithara I Verse 10 - Diamond Marimba, Boo Verse 29 Verse 11 - Kithara II, Marimba Eroica Verse 12 - Koto, Spoils of War

Verse 30 Verse 13 - Harmonic Canon I, Cloud-Chamber Bowls Verse 14 - Surrogate Kithara, Diamond Marimba Verse 31 Verse 15 - Chromelodeon I, Kithara I Verse 16 - Koto, Harmonic Canon II

Verse 32 Verse 17 - Adapted Guitar II, Mazda Marimba Verse 18 - Harmonic Canon I, Marimba Eroica

Verse 33 Verse 19 - Drone Devils, Gubagubi, Harmonic Canon II Verse 20 - Koto, Crychord

Verse 34 Verse 21 - Spoils of War, Bass Marimba Verse 22 - Chromelodeon I, Boo Verse 23 - Zymo-Xyl, Harmonic Canon III Gourd Tree and Cone Gongs pp.348-349