Blog
01/12/2013

What is Tetractys?

Hello, and welcome to the first entry in Tetractys' new blog. We hope this area of the website will introduce you to our composers and their works, as well as to give you tips on performance and low flutes related information.

Many people have asked me about Tetractys's name, so it seemed like a good opportunity to explain it! The tetractys (as seen in our logo) is a Pythagorean symbol, which is said to have been the basis of Pythagorean music. (read the Wikipedia article here) My interest in this symbol came about when I was an undergraduate composition student at the Royal College of Music, and was the title of my first major orchestral piece, based on the Pythagorean idea of the Music of the Spheres. I started publishing on a small scale around that time, using the Tetractys name, mostly to self-publish my own compositions. The majority of my compositions, including Tetractys were destroyed in a fire in 2011.

Many people have called Tetractys my 'Phoenix project'. For many years, I have been working with composers on new repertoire, and have had several hundred pieces written for me and rarescale. The scores of these, along with notes made during rehearsals with composers, and all other documentation relating to the pieces were also destroyed in the fire, and I have been working since then to recreate the collection. It seemed important to keep a name that linked with the past, and the company was relaunched on 8 August 2012, keeping the Tetractys name. I wanted to do something to make sure these pieces don't get lost again, and to give something back to the flute community and to the composers who have been so supportive. The company donates 10% of its income to rarescale, which is a registered charity, towards the promotion, performance and creation of music for low flutes. The composers retain copyright of their works and are given a much higher proportion of the sale price than with conventional publishers. It is a great honour to be able to present these works to the flute playing public, and I hope we'll be able to add more and more pieces to the catalogue as time goes on.


Carla Rees


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