Credit: Math & The Art of M.C. Escher
The German novelist Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) once said that architecture is "frozen music." In architecture, the term frieze refers to a horizontal band of decorative images found along the top of a wall that are usually a set of variations on a single theme. Frieze (2011) explores musical analogues of mathematical frieze groups, symmetric line patterns on a two-dimensional surface that infinitely repeat in a single direction. These patterns are mapped into the pitch and time domains to create gestures that serve as the basis of the work.
| I. | Molecular Presentation | 0:40 |
| II. | Mosaic | 1:45 |
| III. | Constructed Resonance | 1:40 |
| IV. | Identity | 2:25 |
| V. | Lattice | 1:36 |
| VI. | Jump | 1:13 |
| VII. | Translation | 1:00 |
| D U R A T I O N |
10:19 | |
This work was commissioned by cellist Bob Jesselson and pianist Charles Fugo on the thirtieth anniversary of the Jesselson/Fugo Duo.
Links
Bart and Clair, Math and the Art of M. C. Escher. {euler.slu.edu}
Campbell, MacGregor. "Frieze and Wallpaper Groups," in MATHematics Illuminated. {Annenberg/Learner}
Updated: January 4, 2026