Theatre of Music

Author(s): Thorpe, Suzanne | Advisor(s): Borgo, David | Abstract: As we mature into the 21st century the world is experiencing increasing instability in environmental, geopolitical, economic and social realms. To support a more equitable and sustainable politics, feminist new materialist theorists have proposed constructs that reframe our engagement of nature, agency, political and social realms. They work to challenge nature/cultural and subject/object binaries to emphasize a distributed, pluralistic, impactful and interconnected world. However, they have an epistemic blind spot in that their theorizing lacks a diversity of the embedded and creative animation they advocate for. The following dissertation Resonance a Resemblance: Sound Perspectives of a Pluralistic World attends to this need. Through an interdisciplinary methodology this dissertation discusses my proposition that the phenomenon of resonance can be, and has been, engaged to theorize a diverse field of material agency...

No story is more ubiquitous in electro-acoustic music than the tale of the Pythagorean veil. It is recounted again and again when electro-acoustic musicians find themselves in the situation of justifying why they use this strange term, “acousmatic, ” to describe their music. Schaeffer, in the canonical version of the story from the Traité des objets musicaux, claims that acousmatic refers to the “name given to the disciples of Pythagoras who, for five years listened to his teachings while he was hidden behind a curtain, without seeing him, while observing a strict silence. ” (Schaeffer, in AC, 76). Variations on this theme abound, with different degrees of completeness and for a variety of highly differentiated but

Dans cet article, nous aborderons certains aspects du fonctionnement de la perception auditive de l'espace en tant qu'éléments opératoires utilisables dans la création sonore et musicale. Nous analyserons les techniques de mise en espace du son en environnement CSound utilisées dans Sideral 1. Dans ce cadre, nous étudierons la programmation modulaire dans cet environnement en s'intéressant à des techniques de connexion d'unités fonctionnelles autonomes et d'acheminements multiples dans un même instrument. Nous observerons la mise en espace du son par paramétrage d'angle en utilisant l'opcode locsig et par paramétrage linéaire utilisant l'opcode space.

The article is devoted to the creative personality of the modern Ukrainian pianist Oleksandr Kozarenko. It discloses the environment and conditions of shaping the musician, the priorities of his concert as well as contest activity, repertoire peculiarities, methodic and artistic principles of performing style. The article applies the scientific approaches, developed by the Kyiv School's musicologists (Yuri Chekan, Olena Zin'kevych, Valentyna Redia and others), and connected with working out the issues of creative individual's psychology, intonational nature of music art, genre-style analysis, music speech and interpretation. The suggested opinions are the results of continual observation of Oleksandr Kozarenko's activity, a face-to-face communication with the pianist; they are based on the artistic-performing as well as interpretational analysis of his numerous solo and ensemble performances. Some statements are confirmed by the pianist's utterances recorded during a face-to-face communication. Positioning O. Kozarenko as a representative of the Ukrainian piano school (he is a Kyiv Conservatoire graduate, Vsevolod Vorobyov's class), his deep interest in the Ukrainian repertoire, particularly the works by Mykola Lysenko, the founder of the Ukrainian composer school, professing the principles of melodious pianism as the key idea of the national performing style form the background of the made conclusions.

Noise has become integral to electroacoustic music aesthetics. In this paper, we define noise as sound that is high in auditory roughness, and examine its effect on cross-modal mapping between sound and visual shape in participants. In order to preserve the ecological validity of contemporary music aesthetics, we developed, a novel interface, for presenting experimentally controlled blocks of electronically generated sounds that varied systematically in roughness, and actively collected data from audience interaction. These sounds were then embedded as musical drones within the overall sound design of a multimedia performance with live musicians, Audience members listened to these sounds, and collectively voted to create the shape of a visual graphic, presented as part of the audio-visual performance. The results of the concert setting were replicated in a controlled laboratory environment to corroborate the findings. Results show a consistent effect of auditory roughness on shape d...

In 1905 Varèse discovered the French edition of Die Lehre von den Tonempfindungen als physiologische Grundlage für die Theorie der Musik [On the Sensations of Tone as a Physiological Basis for the Theory of Music] of Hermann von Helmholtz (1863), the explicit intention of which was to bring together the common frontiers of science and music. This discovery was a revelation for the 22-year-old composer that went on to condition his whole philosophy of sound. The experiences of the German scientist, achieved with the aid of sirens, resonators or tuning forks, caught the imagination of the young composer. This article investigates the importance of the theories of Helmholtz for the Varèsian aesthetic and tries to put into context the methods of composition inspired by these experiments concerning the spectral constitution of timbres, resultant sounds and beating. We also examine the ways in which a change in the understanding of consonance, initiated by Helmholtz, drove Varèse towards ...

In 1905 Varèse discovered the French edition of Die Lehre von den Tonempfindungen als physiologische Grundlage für die Theorie der Musik [On the Sensations of Tone as a Physiological Basis for the Theory of Music] of Hermann von Helmholtz (1863), the explicit intention of which was to bring together the common frontiers of science and music. This discovery was a revelation for the 22-year-old composer that went on to condition his whole philosophy of sound. The experiences of the German scientist, achieved with the aid of sirens, resonators or tuning forks, caught the imagination of the young composer. This article investigates the importance of the theories of Helmholtz for the Varèsian aesthetic and tries to put into context the methods of composition inspired by these experiments concerning the spectral constitution of timbres, resultant sounds and beating. We also examine the ways in which a change in the understanding of consonance, initiated by Helmholtz, drove Varèse towards an original conception of atonality.

Dans cet article, nous aborderons certains aspects du fonctionnement de la perception auditive de l’espace en tant qu’elements operatoires utilisables dans la creation sonore et musicale. Nous analyserons les techniques de mise en espace du son en environnement CSound utilisees dans Sideral. Dans ce cadre, nous etudierons la programmation modulaire dans cet environnement en s’interessant a des techniques de connexion d’unites fonctionnelles autonomes et d’acheminements multiples dans un meme instrument. Nous observerons la mise en espace du son par parametrage d’angle en utilisant l’opcode locsig et par parametrage lineaire utilisant l’opcode space.

Architecture is not only a visual and physical phenomenon but also an instrument that tempers and constructs our sound perceptions of the world. My recently completed PhD contains a number of projects drawing attention to the significance of what I have termed ‘aural representation’ as being a contribution in forming an understanding of a work of architecture and how architectural space conditions not only how we see the world but also how we hear it. My PhD asked the question ‘Can sound be used to tell audience things about space that, perhaps, images cannot?’ The findings from this question interact with, and extend, an internationally recognised body of scholarly work. The PhD projects led to a final project involving a substantive body of creative work to help to make the knowledge gained in the PhD more explicit. This paper will present composed music, ‘aural representations’ for selected spaces based on my perceptions of their spatial sound characteristics. Each individual pie...

Dans cet article, nous aborderons certains aspects du fonctionnement de la perception auditive de l'espace en tant qu'éléments opératoires utilisables dans la création sonore et musicale. Nous analyserons les techniques de mise en espace du son en environnement CSound utilisées dans Sideral 1. Dans ce cadre, nous étudierons la programmation modulaire dans cet environnement en s'intéressant à des techniques de connexion d'unités fonctionnelles autonomes et d'acheminements multiples dans un même instrument. Nous observerons la mise en espace du son par paramétrage d'angle en utilisant l'opcode locsig et par paramétrage linéaire utilisant l'opcode space.

Dans cet article, nous aborderons certains aspects du fonctionnement de la perception auditive de l'espace en tant qu'éléments opératoires utilisables dans la création sonore et musicale. Nous analyserons les techniques de mise en espace du son en environnement CSound utilisées dans Sideral 1. Dans ce cadre, nous étudierons la programmation modulaire dans cet environnement en s'intéressant à des techniques de connexion d'unités fonctionnelles autonomes et d'acheminements multiples dans un même instrument. Nous observerons la mise en espace du son par paramétrage d'angle en utilisant l'opcode locsig et par paramétrage linéaire utilisant l'opcode space.

Noise has become integral to electroacoustic music aesthetics. In this paper, we define noise as sound that is high in auditory roughness, and examine its effect on cross-modal mapping between sound and visual shape in participants. In order to preserve the ecological validity of contemporary music aesthetics, we developed, a novel interface, for presenting experimentally controlled blocks of electronically generated sounds that varied systematically in roughness, and actively collected data from audience interaction. These sounds were then embedded as musical drones within the overall sound design of a multimedia performance with live musicians, Audience members listened to these sounds, and collectively voted to create the shape of a visual graphic, presented as part of the audio-visual performance. The results of the concert setting were replicated in a controlled laboratory environment to corroborate the findings. Results show a consistent effect of auditory roughness on shape d...

Sonic Meditations are intended for group work over a long period of time with regular meetings. No special skills are necessary. Any perso ns who are willing to commit themselves can participate. The !f. Ensemb le to whom these meditations are dedicated has found that non-verbal m. eetings intensify the results of these meditations and help provide an atmosphere which is conducive to such activity. With continuous work some of the following becomes possible with Sonic Meditations: Heightened states of awarene.ss or expanded consciousness, changes in physiology and ·psychology from known and unknown tensions to relaxations which gradually become permanent. These changes may represent a tuning of mind ahd body. The group may develop positive energy which can influence others who are less experienced. Members of the Group may achieve greater awareness and sensitivity to each other.

Introduction to computer music, the novelty of Csound6 language, real-time, envelopes, tremolo, vibrato, spatialisation, generative processes, MIDI control, OSC, additive synthesis, subtractive synthesis, FM synthesis, granular synthesis, physical modeling, scanned synthesis, signal processors, graphical user interfaces creation, integration in Max / MSP and Ableton Live, VST plugins development and much more.

Video art is often considered a visual genre. But the electromagnetic basis of the video format enabled sound and image to be recorded and projected simultaneously in an easy, portable way. As a result, the medium could produce a live form of audiovisual synergy rarely possible before. As earlier chapters in this volume point out, attempts to capture temporal elements in the static arts proliferated as the twentieth century progressed, with movement and transient fluidity becoming prominent themes for many Impressionists, Cubists, and those involved with Orphism, Vorticism, and Synchronism. And yet Karin v. Maur has argued that in many cases, the governing force was not simply time but, rather, musicalized time: "Never before in the numerous programs and manifestos of the avant-garde did there appear so many temporal concepts, such as rhythm, dynamics, speed, and simultaneity, or musical terms such as cadence, dissonance, polyphony, etc., proving the existence of a close link between the temporalization tendencies in art and the reception of musical phenomena." 1 Film technology provided a significant boost to the possibility of "musicalized time" as it enabled the static image to burst into life, a leap into temporalization that manifested itself most clearly in the early visual-music films of Oskar Fischinger and Hans Richter and the mid-century experimentation of Californian visual-music artists

This research considers compositional approaches to creating an immersive interactive sound-based installation. It explores the way sustained sine-tones set at subtle levels combine and propagate throughout a physical space, and how the notion of comfort can be used as a pretext for audience interaction. Research conducted as part of this study suggests that the notion of comfort in relation to sound is highly individualistic, and can lead to a variety of decision-making processes, such as where to stand, how to move through the space, how to negotiate the presence of others, how to engage and interact with the sonic environment, and in doing so, create a uniquely personal sonic experience.

The Collaborative Space;
Directing Awareness via Creative Role-Play:
The Actor at the Piano

Professor Paul Barker,
The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama Unv. Of London
Alban Coombs
Royal College of Music, London

Background
Frederic Rzewski’s De Profundis asks for more than a virtuoso pianist. A setting of Oscar Wilde’s infamous letter written on prison note-paper, it is a cris de coeur by one of the greatest artists of any age. The sense of imprisonment is reflected by the restriction of the lonely pianist having to be both actor and speaker of this text, whilst simultaneously accomplishing virtuosity. And yet the pianist of De Profundis is far from alone. He speaks for Wilde, the prima virtuoso of words, as he speaks for the composer Rzewski while he speaks himself through the piano and his own body. And the audience, Wilde’s other element, bear new witness to Wilde’s unbearable lament.

Aims
• To explore how the act of playing the piano relates to acting, and specifically how he may work with a director.
• To explore how a pianist breathes like an actor.
• To explore how explicit and implicit acting affects the presence and physicality of the pianist.
• How the presence of other bodies and words are manifest in a performance.

Method
A series of three workshop sessions cross referenced and in tandem with Listener enactments in song without a singer. One will be before April 2013, with two additional workshops before the summer. The report back will utilise doctoral students from both RCSSD and RCM with time for further discussion between all participants.  Later sessions will have invited guests or be open to the public, further enriching our resources and results. This cumulative process will establish areas of commonality in terms of technique, approach and findings. Excerpts from these workshops and quotations from the linked discussion will be included in the presentation. The work develops prior related research which led to chamber-music-theatre commissions and performances by Joan lluna (Clarinet), the Brodsky Quartet and Tambuco percussion ensemble.


Results
From the results of the workshops and accompanying discussion we will demonstrate the ways in which acting is implicit for all pianists, as well as identify explicit techniques that could be offered as a tool for all training in stage presence for conservatoire musicians.

Conclusions
The pianist, the most proverbially immovable of all instrumentalists, is in fact never still, constantly shifting or moving between many persona or characters, seen and unseen, all together. From the results we hope to demonstrate that the pianist, as an actor at the piano, assumes different roles, both implicitly  and explicitly, regardless of the score.

Dans cet article, nous aborderons certains aspects du fonctionnement de la perception auditive de l'espace en tant qu'éléments opératoires utilisables dans la création sonore et musicale. Nous analyserons les techniques de mise en espace du son en environnement CSound utilisées dans Sideral 1 . Dans ce cadre, nous étudierons la programmation modulaire dans cet environnement en s'intéressant à des techniques de connexion d'unités fonctionnelles autonomes et d'acheminements multiples dans un même instrument. Nous observerons la mise en espace du son par paramétrage d'angle en utilisant l'opcode locsig et par paramétrage linéaire utilisant l'opcode space.