In Greek mythology, Biton and Cleobis were Argives, the sons of Cydippe. Cydippe, a priestess of Hera. Cydippe was on her way to a festival in honor of Argive Hera. The oxen which were to pull her cart were overdue and her sons, Cleobis and Biton, pulled the cart the entire way (45 stades, or 7 km/4.4 miles). Cydippe was impressed with their devotion to her and her goddess and asked Hera to give her children the best gift a god could give a person. Hera ordained that the brothers would die in their sleep.
In Book 1 of Herodotus' Histories, Solon tells the story of Cleobis and Biton to King Croesus as an example of a happy life lived, reckoning them second in happiness only to Tellus the Athenian, much to Croesus' annoyance. Herodotus records that "the Argives had statues of them made and set them up at Delphi, because they had been such excellent men". The modern Delphi Museum displays two identical Archaic kouroi under the names of Cleobis and Biton, although there is no evidence directly connecting these statues with the ones mentioned by Herodotus.
Examples of this rather more dissonant kind of bitonality can be found in the work of Charles Ives, whose use of the technique in later additions (1909-1910) to his Variations on "America" (1891) is one of the first in classical music.
Bitonality was used quite often by members of the French group, Les Six, and especially by Darius Milhaud, who perhaps used it more than any other composer.
Although the word bitonality is most often used when talking about relatively modern classical music (written in the last one hundred years or so), it is quite a common technique in folk music, especially in eastern Europe.
Bitonality is the use in music of two different keys at the same time.
Examples of this rather more dissonant kind of bitonality can be found in the work of Charles Ives, whose use of the technique in his Variations on "America" (1891) is one of the first in classical music.
Bitonality was used quite often by members of the French group, Les Six, and expecially by Darius Milhaud, who perhaps used it more than any other composer.
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