Manipulating Musical Surface: Perception As Compositional Material in Live Looping and Organ with Electronics
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University of Huddersfield Repository Hulme, Pamela Manipulating Musical Surface: Perception as compositional material in live looping and organ with electronics Original Citation Hulme, Pamela (2020) Manipulating Musical Surface: Perception as compositional material in live looping and organ with electronics. Masters thesis, University of Huddersfield. This version is available at http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/id/eprint/35280/ The University Repository is a digital collection of the research output of the University, available on Open Access. Copyright and Moral Rights for the items on this site are retained by the individual author and/or other copyright owners. 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For more information, including our policy and submission procedure, please contact the Repository Team at: [email protected]. http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/ Manipulating Musical Surface Perception as compositional material in live looping and organ with electronics Pamela Hulme Submitted to the University of Huddersfield in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters by Research in Composition January 2020 1 Table of contents Statement of Copyright ............................................................................................................ 3 Abstract .................................................................................................................................... 4 Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................. 5 List of works submitted ............................................................................................................ 6 Works for live looping .......................................................................................................... 6 Acoustic works .................................................................................................................. 6 Improvisations .................................................................................................................. 6 Performance history of submitted works ................................................................................. 7 Performance history of submitted works (continued) ............................................................. 8 Contents of audio and video documentation ........................................................................... 9 Supporting Essays and other documentation ........................................................................ 11 Extending the pipe organ with electronics: towards a symbiotic relationship between the analogue and the digital (c. 5000) ...................................................................................... 12 Notes on a transferable approach to organ and live electronics (c. 3000) ......................... 30 Live looping – a compositional approach ........................................................................... 40 Bibliography ........................................................................................................................ 63 2 Statement of Copyright i. The author of this thesis (including any appendices and/or schedules to this thesis) owns any copyright in it (the “Copyright”) and s/he has given The University of Huddersfield the right to use such Copyright for any administrative, promotional, educational and/or teaching purposes. ii. Copies of this thesis, either in full or in extracts, may be made only in accordance with the regulations of the University Library. Details of these regulations may be obtained from the Librarian. This page must form part of any such copies made. iii. The ownership of any patents, designs, trademarks and any and all other intellectual property rights except for the Copyright (the “Intellectual Property Rights”) and any reproductions of copyright works, for example graphs and tables (“Reproductions”), which may be described in this thesis, may not be owned by the author and may be owned by third parties. Such Intellectual Property Rights and Reproductions cannot and must not be made available for use without the prior written permission of the owner(s) of the relevant Intellectual Property Rights and/or Reproductions. 3 Abstract This research project into manipulating musical surface explores perception as compositional material, specifically in relation to my creative practice with live looping and organ with electronics. The portfolio comprises a collection of eight compositions and two improvisations, as well as supporting essays and further texts which outline more practical outcomes of my research, including documentation of the system which I developed to notate live looping. The first essay, Extending the Pipe Organ with Electronics - towards a symbiotic relationship between the analogue and the digital, situates this project within the landscape of current practice and research on organ and electronics, with a particular focus on transferability between different instruments and contexts which is important to my work. The second essay, Live looping – a compositional approach, explores the possibility of perception as musical material in this practice through examples from a spectrum of contemporary loop artists as well as detailed examples taken from the looping compositions which form part of this portfolio. Eight printed scores with introductory notes and performance directions are complemented by a complete set of audio recordings of the works, audio recordings of additional improvisations, as well as a selection of videos and video excerpts as supporting evidence. The majority of the recordings submitted were performed by myself as an integral part of the methodology running through the project. As a mixed media collection this portfolio documents a period of multidisciplinary research into my practice as a composer, improviser, and performer. 4 Acknowledgements Firstly I would like to thank my supervisor Prof. Aaron Cassidy for his guidance and support throughout this research project. I would like to thank guest artists Richard Haynes and Sarah Saviet for performing my music with such engagement and beauty in Huddersfield, and to Brieann Pasko in Berlin for your voice, passion, and endless patience with working in freezing churches. I am grateful to the many organists and organist-composers who have given up their time to discuss this research with me. There are too many names to mention here, but I would specifically like to thank Michael Bonaventure, Dominik Susteck, Jakob Lekkerkerker and Hans Fidom for letting me interview them. Particular thanks go to Maximilian Schnaus and Catherine Ennis for their ongoing support, coaching, and for workshopping some of the organ music in this portfolio, and to Michael Burt for inspiring me to sit still for long enough. I would like to thank the parishes who have welcomed me for their patience and gentle feedback. Thanks especially to Pf. Dr. Volker Jastrembski, Pf. Michael Reinke, Pf. Dr. Christina-Maria Bammel, Pf. Lioba Diez, Pf. Dr. Christine Schlund and Klaus-Dieter Ehmke for opportunities to collaborate and perform in Berlin. Thanks also to the parishes in England who have been part of this research, particularly Union Chapel, London and St. Thomas’, Heptonstall. I really appreciate the thousands of hours you have collectively given me to experiment, rehearse and perform in your buildings. I would like to thank a few colleagues who are either students at the University of Huddersfield or associates of the Yorkshire Sound Women Network for their practical involvement with this research through collaborating and exploring with me, specifically Andie Brown, Alison Cooper, Jo Kennedy, and Laurens van der Wee. Finally, a special thank you to my family and the deepest thank you of all to Isabel Phillips. A lot happened alongside this research project and I am grateful that I was able to channel some of those experiences into this music. Acts of remembrance for each of my parents are woven into this composition portfolio but I would like to dedicate it to my Mum, whose approach to her illness was nothing but inspiring and whose final days were the most profound experience of my life. 5 List of works submitted Works for live looping Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten: Chorale suite for organ and live looping (2017, revised 2019) c. 12’ I. die schweren Sorgen II. ein wenig Stille III. der rechte Wundermann Wenn?, wenn?; Warum? for soprano and loop artist (2017, revised 2019) c. 5’ Es ist gewisslich an der Zeit: Chorale suite for organ and live looping (2018) c. 15’ I. “Ich bin!” II. “Bist du?” III. “Wer bin ich?” The Tyger for soprano and loop artist (2018) c. 5’ Bach Remix - BWV 542 for organ and live looping (2017, revised 2019) c. 5’ Acoustic works neural (dis)torsion for clarinet and imaginary loop machine (2018) c. 5’ I lift my eyes and see shadows on the hills for organ & acoustic space (2018) c. 7-9’ S_ a _ _ / _ y / _ _ (I) for violin (2019) c. 3’ Improvisations S_ a _ _ / _ y / _ _ (II) for organ and live electronics (2019) c. 6-7’