"New Albion" is the term explorer Sir Francis Drake gave to the area in and around San Francisco Bay. A myth that developed in that part of California after Drake's visit tells of a harp left behind by one of Drake's crew. One of the natives found the instrument, which was completely strange to him, and he and his people believed it to be sacred. They then mounted the harp on a headland next to the sea, where the wind set the strings in motion, creating wonderful, unpredictable sounds.

Riley's The Harp of New Albion, dedicated to La Monte Young, is for solo piano and, as for Young's The Well-Tuned Piano, the instrument is tuned using "just intonation." Just intonation is derived from acoustically pure intervals within the octave. Tuners create pure fifths and thirds when they wish to produce diatonic or chromatic scales. This results in a scale in which the half steps are of several sizes, making the modulations that are a salient feature of tonal music impossible. (Equal temperament solves this by making each half step the same.) The sound of a keyboard instrument tuned in just intonation can be unsettling to ears accustomed to equal temperament (which includes just about every Westerner). After a time, however, it is possible to adjust to its characteristics. Riley counts on this when performing The Harp of New Albion, which takes C sharp as its primary pitch.

In eleven movements, The Harp of New Albion begins with basic, notated motives, upon which the performer improvises. These motives may be combined and altered in a developmental fashion. Also, the performer is free to approach each of the movements in variable ways, creating numerous chances for spontaneous expression. Riley's ideas on development and improvisation in the context of The Harp of New Albion becomes clear in a recording of January 20, 1986, made in Padova. In the opening movement, "The New Albion Chorale—The Discovery," we hear an initial statement of a "dissonant" chord followed by a single bass note and many two-note melodic gestures played hesitantly between pregnant pauses. At the reprise of the "Chorale," many of the specific melodic gestures are unidentifiable, but the two-note concept returns, as does the hesitant rhythm. The "final reprise" of the "Chorale" is much more like the first movement, including the single bass note preceding the two-note falling gestures. Aside from this, there are no exact repetitions of material from the first movement, only great similarities. This should come as no surprise from a composer who prefers to compose during the act of playing.

© John Palmer, All Music Guide