Beginning with Music, Continuing Otherwise. RTRSRCH Vol.1 No

RTRSRCH

Beginning with music, continuing otherwise. RTRSRCH Vol.1 No. 3 March 2010 Beginning with music, continuing otherwise.

contains

2 Editorial Paul Craenen

8 Where music starts Cathy Van Eck

15 Amplifying the physical gesture Marianthi Papalexandri-Alexandri

20 “… as if you would …” Falk Hübner

26 'Le Piano Démécanisé' Frederik Croene

30 The Postman Always Rings ABC: Matthew Shlomowitz’s Letter Pieces

48 VISITE GUIDÉE MÂLIQUE Stephen Prengels

54 Behind next to Besides (2005–2009) Abstract/concrete? Simon Steen-Andersen

58 Oorwonde, at the junction of sound art and performance Laura Maes

1–64 Keine Musik David Helbich

62 Biographies Editorial, Paul Craenen classical educa- forms of sonorous tributions (it could ment anno 2010 tion, the work that 'in-between art' risk have been many from the openings contributors pres- slipping through more) of classically forced by the artis- In this fourth intersensory the perform- RTRSRCH jour- ertheless, in ent here could be the cracks in a prag- educated musicians tic buccaneers of edition of and conceptual ing arts since nal opts for practice such understood as 'fait matical sense: they who are developing the previous cen- RTRSRCH you characteristics the nineties. an alternative collaborations divers', as an excur- may be too extra- a hybrid or different tury? Is something will find nine that demand Accordingly, approach. In mostly result sion that is excit- musical to be taken practice as an indi- typically twenty- contributions attention. This art music has the works dis- in a repartition ing though without seriously in the mu- vidual, who are all first century emerg- from as many is even more not been able cussed here of tasks, with long term repercus- sical domain, or still active in Western ing in the musical music makers. remarkable giv- to escape this the collective, interaction oc- sions, or as a sub- too recognisable Europe and belong frontier art of today, They present en that all con- renewed at- interdisciplin- curing rather versive experiment for a contemporary more or less to the or should we rather one or several tributors share tention to the ary creation indirectly. A that intends to musical practice same generation, speak of a continu- of their works, a similar back- 'inter' and process is – 'fruitful collab- tackle the conven- to be incorporated proves that we can ation of a twentieth and share their ground in clas- the 'multi', al- while impor- oration' usually tions of an artistic into existing dance no longer speak of century practice? m o t i v a t i o n s sical music. though in gen- tant- not our implies that a discipline. Such a or theatre program- outsiders, but of We leave it to the and sources of Most are eral it deals less primary con- considerable description imme- ming. The works an essential part reader to discover i n s p i r a t i o n . trained com- c o n f i d e n t l y cern. Instead level of auton- diately conjures presented here are of contemporary cross connections T h e a t r i c a l posers, some and easily with we have col- omy is safe- up the resistance thus predominant- musical practice. and differences sound improvi- are classical medial cross- lected new mu- guarded for the similar experiments ly encountered at This does not im- themselves. We sations on dis- music perform- overs than do sic examples in participating often still have to open, alternative ply that the work will limit ourselves mantled piano ers. Therefore contemporary which individu- disciplines. face. As long as the and mainly small- presented here can here to suggesting wrecks, an in- the title of this theatre, dance al creators bear inter - or transmedi- scale festivals, or in be considered as several paths that teractive oper- journal is more or media art. full responsibil- When multime- al creation needs to programmes where mainstream, and have occured to us ating table for than a meta- This is in part ity for the artis- dial implica- profile itself as an 'frontier art' of all even less that it when preparing this the listener to phor for the ar- due to a lack tic concept, in- tions are ap- 'in-between art' in kinds is the norm can claim a signifi- issue. lie on and phys- tistic thinking of openness in cluding where proached from contrast to a prac- rather than the ex- cant share in the ically experi- that becomes the field, but ' e x t r a s o n o - the individual- tice with clearly ception. Some of programming of In contrast to the ence the apparent in the also to an in- rous' aspects istic perspec- recognisable con- these experiments contemporary art modernist or twen- sounds of an p r e s e n t e d trinsic resis- are involved. tive however, tours, it can only seem to counter music. It is however tieth century exper- imaginary op- works. It refers tance offered Thus we hope the definition be appreciated on this problem by a clear sign that a iment, the artistic eration, or the most of all to a by the musical to stress a of 'musical the basis of its 'oth- no longer profiling new generation of motive expressed organisation of biographical medium and problem in material' - and erness', of its ca- themselves as 'mu- educated musicians in this journal rare- a 'new music reality of the to a culture m u l t i m e d i a l thus also the pacity to surprise sic', but rather as is attempting to rely seems aimed at demonstration' participating where 'the mu- thinking that in notions of within a familiar 'sound art', 'perfor- define their prac- radical change or in the streets artists. sical material' our opinion has 'craftmanship' programme. How- mance', and so on. tice, or that some negation of an ex- of Oslo: the is approached been underex- and 'discipline' ever, the shock ef- The recent zeal to of them simply no isting practice. The works present- Since extra- as something posed: in an ar- - are put to the fects which John define and distin- longer feel bound works of art pre- ed in this sonorous el- of an abstract tistic product, test. Problems Cage or Mauricio guish itself in the to one particular sented in this jour- RTRSRCH issue ements play nature. the confluence of foreground Kagel were still able process as a new, medium. Moreover, nal are generally are diverse. a role in all of different me- and back- to generate in art fully fledged art by gathering vari- not revolutionary Nevertheless, contributions, To meet this dia and disci- ground, and of music half a cen- form responding to ous concrete ex- in the literal sense. they are united it would be musical indi- plines must at medial inter- tury ago are no lon- specific character- amples, we want to In the contributors' through their tempting to viduality on the a certain point ferences arise. ger to be expected istics only seems try not to present words, a dialectic resistance to dedicate this one hand and be concretised. There is also today. In art music, to shift problems of their work as an ex- attitude with re- categorisation. journal to a to avoid the In the context the resistance the 'other', the ex- identity and ambi- ceptional situation. gard to music his- Musical refer- m u l t i m e d i a l commonplaces of a multidis- of expectation- perimental or the guity. Instead, by juxta- tory rarely figures ences remain or interdisci- of multimedial ciplinary col- al patterns and subversive has long posing them, we either. An exception present in most plinary theme. or interdisci- laboration, this reflexes in con- been neutralised to With this collection intend to search for to this is Frederik contributions, Reflection on plinary reflec- responsibility ventional con- a recognisable ges- we thus want to underlying patterns Croene's contri- however it is multimediality tion in the per- is ideally taken texts of perfor- ture. make a statement. and shared moti- bution. In his 'le their visual, or interdiscipli- forming arts up by all par- mance. From Armed with only the vations. What is it piano démécanisé', theatrical and narity has been on the other, ticipating dis- the perspec- As a consequence, fact that we easily that distinguishes pianos are literally above all their prominent in this fourth ciplines. Nev- tive of their c o n t e m p o r a r y collected nine con- the musical experi- dismantled until

2 3 nothing more than a strung conditioning the sound Name, although in her case digital or biotechnological designs, and chanics or of a digital interface, but based carcass remains. The piano ideal completely. In a cer- the attention for everyday virtual identities acquire real shapes. The upon an alphabetic letter structure and an and the complete musical tain sense, it becomes it- movement unveils a rath- control or regulation of these activities interactive creation process: the perform- culture embodied by it ap- self the musical objective. er Cageian input. Even so, could be described as a '(re)mapping', or ers generate actions and sounds from the pear in Croene's project as At the point where sound both examples point to a as the design of a model of input and output. letters. The performers have total free- a final point that only offers ideal and sound execution current theme in the per- dom in choosing which actions or sounds hope for new life when the coincide, words such as forming arts. The treatment In a couple of contributions, similar pro- correspond to each letter of the score; deconstruction process is 'abstract' or 'concrete' lose of the physical gesture of cedures seem to come forward as the pre- nevertheless, the result is a tight coupling completed. A life in which their meaning. Precisely at a musical performance as eminent strategy with which intersensory between what one sees and hears. the theatricality of gesture that point, writes Steen- an autonomous given has or transmedial explorations can be under- and the immediate contact Andersen, a new potential nearly become a genre in taken. The artistic 'mapping' of different ”when an action and a sound are between bodily action and arises that re-enables com- itself in recent years (and worlds with each other distinguishes itself performed together, we percep- sound can get much broad- position and performance. in popular music; think of from traditional associative or symbolic tually couple them even if they er attention. Croene is Composition then becomes the air guitar world cham- thought by its systematic and procedural share no material relationship. above all a performer, and the elaboration of an ac- pionships). Moreover, it character on the one hand, and by the ut- A central idea of all the pieces his dismantling concept tion score, an idea which is a theme that has not ter arbitrariness with which different data is shifting these relationships,” is inspired by the physi- he tests in his cycle next to only caught the attention sets or information fields can be joined on writes Shlomowitz. cal and mental discipline besides, a recycle. of composers, but also the other (where spontaneous associa- required to play piano. Es- of young choreographers tive thought generally relies on ingrained, However, it is only because of repeated cape from the instrumen- The choreographical as- (Xavier Leroy) and video physically or culturally embodied rela- simultaneity of the same actions and tal or musical bodice does pect of corporal gesture in artists (Sam Taylor-Wood). tions). sounds that transmedial bindings can oc- not, however, seem the musical performance plays cur and be contradicted in a later stage, prime source of inspiration a significant part in Steen- In this current fascination An obvious example of mapping activity in often to comical effect. in most cases. On the con- Andersen's oeuvre. Nota- for the disconnection of contemporary music can be found in the trary, for some composers bly, corporal gesture is a musical action and its im- practice of 'live electronics'. In a purely The use of repetition as a tool for medial the existing musical prac- theme that often returns mediate auditory result, we acoustic performance situation, there is a differentation is also something Marianthi tice and its performance in various contributions. may perhaps distinguish direct relationship between bodily action Papalexandri-Alexandri mentions in her in particular seems to be Although it is almost never a trace of the awareness and sound result. However, as Cathy van article: a starting point that of- mentioned as such, this is a of a living environment Eck states in her article: fers (re)new(ed) potential theme not without musical where the relations be- “I allow the first repetition of to embark on intersensory prehistory. The mime-like tween cause and effect, or “From the moment sound is the gesture to emerge as a non- explorations, even if this Thespian Play and almost between presence, effort transduced into electricity, spontaneous emotional expres- leads to a hybrid practice equal / meistens gleich by and result have become these relationships become to- sion. By repeating the same ges- which is difficult to place Falk Hübner recalls twen- volatile. Human expression tally arbitrary and are open for ture I offer a different meaning within the outlines of clas- tieth century performance no longer has a self-evident any form of connection... I see and function, while extensive sical music. concepts by Mauricio Ka- form. Today arts' interest the loss of the direct relation- repetition proposes a further gel and Dieter Schnebel. By is not only centred on the ship between the moving body transformation of the function According to Simon Steen- depriving the musician of unveiling of human inten- and the vibrating material, or and meaning of the gesture. In Andersen, the tendency his instrument and by let- tionality, nor on the devel- between what is heard and this way ... I incorporate theat- towards an ever more idi- ting him perform in a kind opment of new forms of ex- what is seen, as an opportunity rical, choreographical, musical, omatic approach to instru- of 'playback situation', the pression.The area in which to be able to compose these re- and everyday life aspects asso- mental music - which can physical effort and the re- a great number of artists lationships now.“ ciated with gestures.” also be recognised in the sounding of the music are seem to be active today, is 'authentic performance disconnected. In its turn, the area between intention We do not necessarily have to search for Strategies of differentiation through rep- practice' of old music - po- such a disconnection leads and articulation. It is an the artistic mapping in a technological or etition, although of a very different kind, tentially leads to a 'hyper- inevitably to an emphasis- ephemeral zone where, not instrumental design. Intersensory or in- can also be found in Steven Prengels' concrete definition' of mu- ing of the visual, theatrical coincidentally, a lot is mov- termedial experiences not only rely on the enigmatic Visite Guidée Mâlique, an obsti- sic by its instrumentarium. or choreographical aspects ing in the technological materiality of outer facts, they are primar- nate musical lecture of Joyce's Finnegans In the most radical case, of music performance. and social sense. Between ily the result of a perceptual and mental Wake through Marcel Duchamp's The the concrete instrumental intention and articulation, activity. In the 'Letter Pieces' of Matthew Large Glass. However different in inten- action is no longer a means Remarkably similar is the hidden automation occurs, Shlomowitz, the actions of a dancer are tion or style all these examples may be, of realising an abstract concept of Marianthi Pa- input and output are con- linked in a 'literal' way to the sonorous ac- none of them seems to involve an early- sound idea, but it starts palexandri-Alexandri's No nected in a specific way via tions of a musician. Not by means of me- twentieth century endeavour to obtain im-

4 5 mersive synesthaesia, let alone that some kind of 'truth' would be pursued through the combination of different media. Rather, motivation seems to spring from the pleasure and involvement produced by the creation of temporary literalness, or in Prengels' case, the creative manifestation enabled by the translation of a literary work through the somewhat random filter of a work of visual art.

While the design of the intersensory or intermedial mapping leaves room for imagination and creativity, there is one element that the musical experiment must continually take into account. In the buffer zone between intention and expression we not only find the freedom of 'mapping', but also the much less free embodiment the artistic design needs to cope with. In Laura Maes' Oorwonde, the connection between the artistic design and the bodily action and observation acquires an inescapably corporal reality. The listener lies on an operating table for an almost clinical experience during which localised feeling and listening are so interdependent that physical distance is no longer possible. The listener becomes performer and observer at once, with his or her body as an interface.

Strikingly, this body is often referred to in a literal and abstract way. Not only the body as an entity that gesticulates or articulates itself musically, but also as an entity which experiences music and is affected by it. In the conception of the body as the area where musical action, vibration and resonance take place, a genuine relevance of new art music might develop. Where before music earned its high status on the basis of its ability to express and arouse emotions, today a major role seems to be reserved for piece musical thought in which 'bodily state and localisation' can be explored and made tangible.

This does not signify that we can reduce the subject of new art music to a physical discourse. Let alone that 'the body' could turn into the subject of some type of musical mysticism. Maybe it is typical for the authors' backgrounds in classical music that the body is approached with a certain matter-of-factness. This attitude is probably also connected to the instrumental context in which the performing and perceiving body keeps operating and which demands sonorous efficiency and a certain sense of realism.

The corporal reflexivity that appears in these contributions does not imply that the corporal can be considered as the end of an artistic quest. In analogy with Simon Steen- Andersen's idea of the 'hyperidiomatic', a possibility for new abstractions begins at the point where physical and musical experience entirely coincide. Or in Falk Hübner's words, certain physical aspects of the existing musical practice can be 'abstracted away', so that the presence of musicians and/or listeners becomes potential compositional material. One could state that through this abstraction, music is again isolated from its execution so that it can be represented in an (action) score or, as is the case with Oorwonde, in a technical design. What counts then is no longer the representation of a sonorous sound ideal, but of a gesticulatory, theatrical or virtual music (the 'harmony of the spheres' is coming close, on a human scale).

We can find an illustration of this all in David Helbich's 'Keine-Musik', a composition especially written for this issue, to be performed by the reader. Not music, but the formal presence of score-like instructions stresses the musical background of the author, and in the same movement also the title of this journal. This piece, which has the subtitle 'Ohrstücke/earpieces', again presents a situation in which performance, observation and experience are localised in the here and now of one and the same body. Most of all, however, this is a composition that we could label 'conceptual'. The non-conventional character of all the work presented in this edition of RTRSRCH implies that every con- tribution involves conceptual creativity; an artistic thinking that challenges the very concept of music. 6 7 Where music starts, Cathy Van Eck

Music was an activity during which intentional movements by a performer transformed into perceivable vibrations of an object. The perception of both these actions, as well as the perception of both the body of the performer and the material of the object un- dergoing these actions, resulted in an interpretation and a critical judgement by the audience and/or performer. The movements of the performer were potentially influenced by this interpretation and critical judgement.

The direct relationships described above were valid for the production of music until the invention of technologies for sound recording and sound reproduction. These direct relationships between movements, body, vibrations, materiality and perception were distorted as soon as sound was able to be transmitted through space (telephone and radio) or time (sound recording). I would like to emphasise that it is sound only which was transmitted, because all other elements of musical performance discussed above stayed where they had always been. It is precisely this isolation of one component of music which destroyed the relationships mentioned earlier.

There was much intense debate during the twentieth century concerning the possibilities of new technologies in music. I would like to divide the most radical positions into the isolated approach on one side and the instrumental approach on the other.

The isolated approach regards sound as the only component of music. Sound, and therefore music, should be without any reference to any other connotations formerly associated with music making (whether this might be the vibrating material or moving body). Consequently, for this approach new technologies were the ideal way to achieve this kind of music perception. This approach can be found in musique concrète, but also in the elektronische Musik of the Cologne School and many other forms of electroacoustic music. In its most radical form, this music is supposed to be heard without any reference to the world outside of sound. The medium producing the music, whether a musical instrument, recorded sounds, or the electronic equipment itself, should be imperceptible.

The instrumental approach, on the contrary, regards the separation of these elements of musical performance as a loss. The main aim is to achieve a performance practice with electroacoustical sound production technologies, which is as similar as possible to the former non-electroacoustical music practice. New technologies should not influence the musical practice at all. On the contrary, they should be developed in such a way that they behave as though not utilising new technologies. The separation between the various activities of a musical performance, as a result of using electroacoustic technologies, should be imperceptible. The development of the synthesiser is a good example of this approach. Whereas the sound producing methods of a synthesiser are not bound to any specific playing method, the synthesiser only became a really popular Cathy Van Eck, instrument after Robert Moog added a traditional keyboard for playing the sounds, and Hearing Sirens, therefore bringing it back within conventional performance practice. since 2005, for mp3-players with portable horn-loudspeakers

9 I think of the contrasts between these two approaches as a potential for my compositional practice. I see the loss of the direct relationship between the moving body and the vibrating material, or between what is heard and what is seen, as an opportunity to be able to compose these relationships now. Due to their disconnection, it is possible to compose new perceivable relations between movement and vibration. The relationship between the movements of the body of the performer and the vibrations of the material of the instrument played are compulsory, as long as no electroacoustic sound reproduction is involved. From the moment sound is transduced into electricity, these relationships become totally arbitrary and are open for any form of connection.

At the heart of my musical practice is the perception of interplay between movement and sound. There are stories in the bodies which make movements. There are stories in the movements they make, and there are stories in the objects which are played, and in the techniques used to play them. I try to work with those stories as compositional elements. Music starts not with sound, but with a movement which might produce sound as a result.

Groene Ruis – a project for a sounding tree (p. 24)

During this performance, I look for the musical instrument in a small tree. I play the tree with movements which are known from a traditional musical instrument: I pluck its branches as if they were the strings of a small harp. Every pluck on the tree causes an piece electronic ploing sound (in fact an enveloped sine wave) and for this reason the movements of the performer seem to have transformed the tree into a musical instrument. After a while though, the ploings break away, and the amplified sound of the tree itself becomes audible. The illusion of the tree being a musical instrument collapses. The tree does sound now, but in accordance with what it looks like. Whilst in the beginning my instrument-playing movements seemed to cause the sound, it is now the materiality of the tree itself which seems to cause the sound.

The perspective on musical performance changes: the first part concentrates on the activity of performing movements; the second part concentrates on the object which receives these movements. This change of perspective would not make any difference in the case of non-electroacoustical music, since as mentioned earlier, their relationships would have been compulsory. In this example, plucking a tree in a certain manner without electronics would have had only one possible sonic result. Due to the use of electroacoustical and electronic aids, the sounding result is no longer dependent on either the movements of the performer or the material itself, and for this reason plucking the tree in a certain manner can have an endless amount of sonic results.

Both the electronic ploings and the amplified sound of the tree itself depend on two contact microphones attached to the tree. The tree functions as the membrane for these contact microphones. My movements cause the tree to vibrate. These vibrations are barely audible, but clearly perceptible for the contact microphones. The microphones transduce the vibrations into electricity, and from that moment onwards the relationship between the movements of the performer and the sound can be composed. During the first part, the vibrations of the tree picked up by the contact microphones are used by the computer to trigger the ploing sounds. During the second part, these vibrations are sent directly through the loudspeakers and therefore the amplified vibrations of the tree itself are heard.

10 11 Later in the performance a hairdryer is added. There are again several situations: first the tree is blow-dried in a way known from everyday life. The sound of the hair dryer is processed though, and develops a sound identity which no longer reminds us of the everyday object. The hairdryer is moved in different ways: sometimes in a realistic way, as though drying hair, or in this case, the tree. During other parts of the performance, the movements made with the hairdryer are highly stylized, abstract and controlled, as though an instrument is being played. groene ruis, 2007, for a small box tree, The performance, which takes as its departure point the story of the greek nymph hairdryer and Daphne, who changed into a tree to escape the love of Apollo, switches between live electronics actions which are perceived as musical actions, and actions which are more closely related to everyday life.

In Blik – a performative sound installation (p. 24, 25)

In in blik there are no musicians on stage. Five tin can towers placed on tactile transducers produce the sound. Tactile transducers function as loudspeakers without membranes. They vibrate depending on the electric current they receive, but contrary to loudspeakers with membranes, they barely produce any sound. They transmit their vibrations directly to the tin cans placed upon them. The tin cans amplify these vibrations and make them audible. Depending on the way the tin cans are placed upon each other and the height of each tower, every tin can tower will amplify the vibrations through its own characteristics.

Also during this performance, an identity change takes place. The tin can towers not only get vibrations which make them sound, but also much stronger vibrations which make them move. The tactile transducer is in this case comparable to a percussionist hitting the tin cans. By moving the tin can towers I want to give them characteristics which are typical of a performer and not of an instrument. From the moment they start to move, shake and “walk” forward, their identity changes into an intentional performer instead of a passive sounding object. They move between object (the instrument played on) and subject (the musician who is playing, making movements to make sound). The border between listening to a sounding object on one side, and sounds made by a moving performer is crossed. The vibrations of the material change into the movements of the performer and the instrument transforms into a performer.

Hearing Sirens – a project for mp3-players with portable horn-loudspeakers (p. 20)

Listening is often done with private loudspeakers in the ears of the listener. With hearing sirens I wanted to reverse this situation. The ears of the performer are extended by big yellow horns in which two loudspeakers are mounted. The sound, a composition based on the sound of sirens, is played from an mp3 player. The performer is the listener of this composition, whose listening is made audible for other listeners. The performer diffuses the sound into the environment by her movements.

The specific construction of the horns and the fact that they are portable gives them special acoustic possibilities. Due to the big horns, the sound is diffused very direc- tionally, and is reflected by the environment in which the performance is done. There- in blik, 2008 fore the audience will often hear the early reflections before the direct sound. Through for tin can towers a small movement of the performer, the pattern of the reflections, which are perceived and electronics

12 13 by the audience, can change enormously (see the scheme below). In this way, the horn loudspeakers reveal the acoustical characteristics of the environment. Depending on the material characteristics of the environment, different frequencies will be reflected. The sound of each performance is different whether done in the hills, in a landscape with snow, in a city or in a theatre hall, although it is the same mp3 sound file being played. The activity, which would normally be recognised as listening, is now developing into a musical performance. The movements of listening become perceivable and these movements become movements of performing, playing the environment as an instrument. Gestures have their own associations and histories. My intention is to examine the conditions under which a gesture adopts a different function according to context, and to explore gesture as a reflection of habitual behavior. In my work, I use sound as a result of movement. I explore Documentation of these performances can be found on the author’s website: how gestures can replace sound and silence (sonic absence–visual presence) and how they can groene ruis www.cathyvaneck.net/groeneRuis.html be developed into audio-visual concepts. in blik www.cathyvaneck.net/inblik.html hearing sirens www.cathyvaneck.net/HearingSiren.html No Name (2004) for 2 musicians without instruments

Everyday movement becomes music. Where is the line that tells you tapping your fingers on a table is not music? It’s just a gesture of daily life, but if there were a keyboard

there, it would be associated with music. My w o r k No Name examines the line that separates theater, m u s i c , dance and everyday life. No Name is a work for magnetic tape and two m u s i c i a n s without instruments. It is for a trombonist and a pianist sitting on opposite sides of a table, exploring the musical, theatrical, dance-like character of different bodily movements (physical actions). The pianist uses his fingers and hands, tapping or brushing the table to create sound. These are gestures taken from daily life, expressing moments of boredom or waiting. There is nothing to hide here. The moment a pianist raises his hand and lands his index finger on the table, it is impossible for the body and mind to forget or to ignore the habits formed through practicing. In short, does a reflection of behavior of performers, like dancers or athletes, develop throughout years of practice? The trombone part has a more reserved and internal character. Most of the bodily movements happen inside the body. The trombonist takes a breath as slowly as possible, filling small parts of the lungs, isolating the air. After a few minutes it finally reaches the mouth and he breathes out.

Repetition The form of the piece is based on a loop of a series of actions. Performers repeat the series of actions again and again, while the audience may walk in and out at anytime. Repetition here offers the possibility of looking again and again, listening again and again, and experiencing every moment again and again. It’s repeatable, but not a mimesis or a copy. Repetition allows both performer and audience to explore the same gestures again and again under different conditions.

14 15 Preparations My intention is to make performers aware of their actions and habits, to reveal the effort they make while performing, and to make them examine their own behaviour. Performers develop a very specific relationship between instrument and body. Through years of practice they acquire an inherent sense of how to adjust mind and body while interpreting musical scores. Consequently, performers establish physical behavior which leads to a certain automated process and aesthetic approach. A large part of my work is formed through the manipulation of conventional instruments by prep-

On stage, gestures reveal an aesthetic function; within a context and vocabulary they gain style and shape. The first time a gesture appears onstage, it can be (mis)taken as involuntary expression. When a gesture is repeated numerous times however, it is eventually perceived as an aesthetic event. I allow the first repetition of the gesture to emerge as a non-spontaneous emotional expression. ara- tions. I ex- By repeating the same gesture I offer a different meaning and function, while extensive repeti- amine this type of sound production and the c o r r e - tion proposes a further transformation of the function and meaning of the gesture. In this way sponding behavior of the performer. In manipulating the instrument, I constrain habitual actions gestures can be perceived in many ways by losing and regaining function through repetition. In to force more immediate reactions in the performer. Their reactions in turn allow new forms of repetition I incorporate theatrical, choreographic, musical, and everyday life aspects associated behavior and communication in the ensemble. with gestures. Finally, it offers the chance to experience all the possible associations related to gesture. Yarn Rhythm Composing Yarn (2008), I focus on analyzing the instrumentalist's bodily movement and behavior The action of tapping is taken from everyday life. But we do not tap in a mechanical way. Precise and the idea that the instrument is the extension of her/his body. In this way, I show how a ges- repetition makes it artificial. Rhythm excludes any possibilities of perceiving this moment as being ture becomes a reflection of habitual behavior. Revisiting the role derived from daily life or as being a theatrical gesture. It is purely musical. of the physical body in creating musical function, I aim to expand on the definition of musical instrument, musical Visual repetition I used to avoid repetition - any kind of repetition. I used to think of repetition as evidence of lack of inspiration or laziness. I am happy to find that I have changed my mind. Repetition has beauty.

You enter an exhibition. Nobody tells you how many times to look at a picture, painting, sculp- ture, or space. Nobody indicates how and for how long you should observe a piece of art. You gesture and sound. can revisit a gallery as many times as you wish (if you can afford it, and within the lifespan of the exhibition). Imagine a gallery full of the same image. Would you perceive this as a repetition? Yarn (for seven instrumentalists) explores Repetition in the visual arts exists with the recurrence of the same color or shape or figure. This the alternative possibilities of playing a is visual repetition. conventional musical instrument. For that purpose, two string instruments are connected With music things are different. Most of the time, you attend a concert sitting silently and you by a fishing line tied to one of their strings. This fish- can experience the same sound again only if this particular sonic moment is repeated within the ing line is bowed and transmits the sound to the two piece. The piece has a specific length and it can only be experienced at that particular moment. connected instruments. The fishing line then becomes the main percussive instrument. In this way Sonic repetition offers multiple revisits. the percussionist and the two string players have to coordinate their bodily gestures in order to achieve the ideal sound. The slightest bodily movement will change the tension of the fishing line, What about visual repetition in music? In my work I take a sound that has been repeated for a affecting the sound. In other words the performers stay silent, but they are still active. The aim is while and then I keep the physical gesture and remove the sound from it. In this way you can still to replace sound with vision and to maintain the energy of the piece by keeping the performers see the gesture but it does not produce sound anymore. However the continuation of the same in a state of constant physical movement. In this way Yarn explores the conditions under which gestures -even when no longer audible- through repetition offers a type of visible sound. You can a physical gesture gains a different function according to context. It also suggests ‘energetic see it and therefore you can still hear it. silence’ within such preparation, indicating that physical gestures themselves can replace both sound and silence. To these ends Yarn uses an iconographic notation that depicts physical gestures in line with musical functions.

16 17 Iconographic Notation The use of iconographic notation is aimed at highlighting the visual aspect of the performance, and at encouraging performers to focus equally on sonic and visual elements. Iconographic notation displays a detailed description of movement rather than a sound result. It indicates how to play and on what part of the instrument to play. Thereafter it provides illustrations of the physical actions – movements which create sound.

In addition, it explores the idea of what I call ‘hidden rhythm’. In this way it replaces conventional rhythmic indications with a detailed visual or iconographic representation of the physical movement. In other words, it does not ask for the performer to count notes but rather to focus on the idea of sound as a result of a series of physical movements. It suggests a length for each gesture. It seeks different possibilities for creating and notating rhythm. (For example a performer is asked to assemble and disassemble a recorder). A specific time frame is given for each ac-

tion. The final sonic result depends on the performers’ movement, interpretation, and perception. Therefore the iconographic notation invites the performer to explore the anatomy of the instrument. However, it does not ask the performer to impro- vise. This type of notation explores the elaboration of different types of behavior. It can be analytical, but flexible. This notation aims to create an unrepeatable sonic-visual experience for both performer and listener. It aims to activate a dynamic process through interconnections and interrelationships. Each part works in relation to the others. In this way each player has to follow (emulate or imitate) the others’ speed dynamic, pitch and energy. This type of music can be explored fully only in real time performance. It is a method which asks that the performers listen, watch, communicate and work on things together. It aims to draw attention to the kinesthetic aspect of the performance while avoiding adopting any theatrical function. Instead, it focuses on alerting the performer to their habitual perceptions.

New Instruments Besides adapting existing instruments, I create new instruments including mechanized sound devices; in this way I explore new bodily movements and sounds by building mechanisms which mandate and manifest different approaches to musical interpretation. I have been working, in collaboration with the sound artist Pe Lang, on projects using self-constructed, motor-driven instruments which function both as sound sources and as kinetic musical scores (kinetic objects on stage determine speed, dynamic and other musical parameters). The works are presented as a combination of live performance and audio-visual installation, and aim to question the difference between performing and operating. The idea is to expand and question the role of the performer in contemporary music. What are the differences between the actions of playing, operating and acting?

www.marianthi.net http://www.marianthi.net/yarn.html , 2008 Yarn http://www.dustedmagazine.com/features/342

18 1919 “… as if you would …” have to include music, performance needs to Falk Hübner but breathes a musical be performed by a musi- energy originating from cian - specifically a saxo- What I would like to the movements and the phone player, because discuss in this essay are profession of the per- it demands in-depth some thoughts about formers. physical knowledge of conceptual and practi- saxophone playing. Per- cal problems and strug- The past forming without an in- gles concerning a new, strument has enormous upcoming performance, Musicians 'perform' in consequences, as the to be premiered in Am- many contemporary performer has to learn sterdam in April/May music theatre produc- the piece in a very dif- 2010. I do not by any tions: In most of these ferent way, and practic- means present some- performances, musi- ing requires a very high thing conceptually fin- cians perform music as amount of concentra- ished here; it is my wish musicians, and do some- tion. In order to enable to discuss the problems thing 'on top' of their the performer to play and struggles of a new profession - singing (in the piece, I use only mu- performance, the prob- the case of instrumen- sical material as a basis, lems I encounter while talists), speaking, writ- recorded together with conceptualising and ing (as in amplified form him and his instrument. creating a piece, or even in Schwarz auf Weiss by This way he knows the before starting with the Heiner Goebbels), walk- acoustic surroundings actual creation in the ing or moving in careful- intimately, and also the rehearsal process. As a ly organised choreogra- physical origin of the composer, director and phies, etc. The audience sounds, enabling him researcher, I am inter- experiences an exten- to produce the move- ested in creating music sion of the musician's ments in his body to theatrical performanc- profession, built on top mime these sounds – es, more specifically in of the profession which although without his creating 'musical cho- is always present. What instrument. A striking reographies'; these do interests me in contrast effect is that, by taking not necessarily have to this is the idea of ab- away the instrument, to include any music. stracting away specific one really gets to see I develop pieces with qualities or abilities of the player and every musicians as theatrical the musician's profes- detail of the body while performers, and am in- sion, yet at the same performing. By taking terested in the impact of time using certain abili- away the instrument, experimental set-ups on ties very explicitly in- the musician becomes the professional identity deed. In my 2008/2009 transformed into a the- of musicians in theatre. performance Thespian atrical performer. Working from the main Play, a saxophone play- medium of music and er performs a musical The future composition, I seek to choreography without push its boundaries into his instrument, quasi- In my next performance, the media of theatre and miming what happens almost equal / meistens performance. What I'm on the soundtrack.1 He gleich for conductor looking for is a theatre does not make a single and percussion player, I that is inhabited by mu- sound during the whole am seeking to push this sicians that 'provide' an- piece, and has no in- concept further, and other theatricality than strument. Although the work on an independ- that of actors or danc- instrument and the con- ent yet musical move- ers. I am fascinated by trol of sound and tim- ment language - the a theatre that does not ing are taken away, the performative use of the

20 21 musical movements as moment when the per- the here and now of autonomous movement former fills the move- the performance. The material, and create a ment with musical conductor needs the or- music theatrical chore- meaning. If a director/ chestra in order to pro- ography for conductor, choreographer just lets duce many of his move- percussion player and the musicians produce ments. The problem in loudspeaker installa- abstract movements, this case is thus not in tion. There are no in- there is a risk that they the direction from the struments on stage. The appear meaningless or conductor to the (miss- two players will perform amateurish, as they do ing) orchestra, but from a choreography of mu- not belong to the expe- the orchestra to the sical movements that rience of the musician. I conductor. If there is no are rooted in their pro- try to create an intense orchestra, thus no feed- fessions. How far can and tight relationship back to react to, why musical movements be to musical movement, should he conduct? developed towards cho- because at the moment One possible, reographic material, and when the musician can elegant solution to this how far can the bounda- link the movement he problem could be that ries of musical perform- performs to a musical the conductor in the ance be pushed towards action or musical in- end simply won't be a choreography or dance? strument, he can fill the conductor anymore; he The largest part movement with mean- becomes a performer, the performance will ing and intensity. For in- rendering the orches- piece be in silence. At specific strumentalists the prob- tral feedback unneces- moments the perform- lem is a solvable one, sary. As a task-based ers will hold still, and because they are highly performance, the con- electronic interludes skilled in knowing what ductor could try to con- come out of the eight their instruments pro- vince the audience of a loudspeakers arranged duce under various certain sound he has in in the stage space. The physical circumstances his mind: a forte-accent loudspeaker installa- (such as finger settings by the strings does not tion is the only sound or the speed of a drum only sound different source in the whole per- hit). than the same accent formance. This setting In the case of played by the brass, it implies a shifting (and the conductor this be- certainly also looks dif- alienation?) from tradi- comes more complex. ferent when watching tional musical functions For a conductor the in- the conductor. It would and their social implica- strument - an ensemble be possible to collect tions. The conductor is or orchestra - is always material by breaking forced to leave his posi- different, depending the orchestral direction tion as musical director, on the ensemble, on practice down into ele- and both musicians are the piece being played, ments, different dynam- put aside in equal roles and on the mood of ics, different orchestral as performers. the performance etc. groups, articulations, With his movements, phrasings, tempos, etc., In-between and moving: the conductor not only and search for all the The present precedes any played small and large differ- note, but also reacts ences between the dif- Problem 1: very strongly to sounds ferent movement quali- The problem of neces- he hears from the or- ties, and thus generate sity chestra. In part this can the performance mate- A 'musical choreogra- be rehearsed. To a larger rial. With such a strategy phy' becomes strong extent it cannot, since the close reference to and convincing at the the sound happens in orchestral conducting

22 23 remains present, but percussionist? The last silence their profession- Being a performance for the conductor is freed thing I would want as a al identity as musicians saxophone player without music theatre maker is becomes manifested saxophone, soundtrack and of the necessity of feed- video, Thespian Play was devel- back from the orchestra. to let the musicians do in the choreography, oped as work-in-progress in Ultimately, I am looking any acting; this would although these move- close collaboration with the for the musical energy end up in an amateurish ments are displaced and performer Heiner Gulich. A trailer of the performance can and presence of the performance with musi- dislocated, and trans- be seen on www.falk-huebner. movements more than cians doing something formed from musical de/work/ThespianPlay. the music itself (in fact they are not very good into performative or it is arguable if I am creat. choreographic move- ating music). Imagine a ments. This resonates percussion player mov- I will try to solve with German theatre ing as if striking a large this conceptual and theorist Erika Fischer- tam tam with full energy, practical problem by Lichte when she pro- only without the beater starting with the profes- poses with reference to and the tam tam. You sion of the musicians. Judith Butler that iden- almost hear the sound, All movements have tity as bodily and social and you certainly feel their origin in the musi- reality is not predefined the energy. cal movements either of in any ontological or conducting or of playing biological sense, but Problem 2: percussion instruments. the result of performa- The as if – problem From this starting point tive acts. However, the I plan to work with the I will try to expand the movement, especially performers on move- quality of the move- for the performer, refers ments which bear a ment, for example by to another action, and strong reference to their slowing it down, stop- to another meaning, musical practice. As a ping in the middle of a namely the musical ac- first step, I would ask movement, letting one tion. This musical action the percussion player movement fade into an- usually serves the need for example to imagine other, or combining it to produce sound, thus hitting a bass drum for- with other movements is merely a means to tissimo, but without the from everyday life. The reach the actual goal of beater and the drum. originally musical move- producing sound. What In contrast to Thespian ments become trans- I do is accentuate this Play, the percussion formed into performa- action, and transform player has to imagine tive, choreographic it into the central ele- the sound completely, movements; for the ment of performance. without any physical or audience these move- The movement is no audible feedback. Thus, ments do not necessar- longer a means (natu- in a way I am asking the ily have to have a recog- rally in traditional mu- performer to move as nisable relation to their sical performance the if he would hit a drum; origin; most important is movement to produce I am asking him to pre- that the performers can sound also has perfor- tend to do something link every movement mative potential), but that he in fact does not they do to its origin, and the sole focus, as there do, or to reproduce thus to their profession- is no sound. something that is not real practice as musicians. ally present on stage. Is At the point where that this approach just a way succeeds, the musicians of dealing with musi- are able to perform the cians as if they were ac- choreography convinc- tors? Do the musicians ingly and will be able have to act as if they to fill it with energy and were a conductor and a meaning. Thus even in

24 25 A guide for the nostalgic pianist. The dramatic dismantling ing all the text on the above mentioned 'Le Piano turns the piano performance inner cover. Consequently, intuitive music The pianist, in the process of dismantling into a theatrical experience. is protected by a cover consisting of this Démé- his instrument, is prised out of his role as You see the pianist as a per- very text. Following the tradition of classical an interpreter. He's left behind in a situa- cussionist squeezing sound out recordings, it is the pianist who provides the canisé' tion where only improvisation and composi- of an obsolete, retired object. necessary description of the music pieces: tion can save him. Disarmed as he is, the No use in being a refined, culti- Frederik nostalgic pianist seeks support in a number vated pianist as a dandy now, you of rules which remind him of his pianistic need muscled arms and a strong identity: back to conquer the uselessness of Croene the instrument. Any concert, when a. employing this new-found instrument, The secret automaton. He turns an old upright piano onto its back becomes unpredictable due to the fact after the keyboard and all the mechanical that the keys and the frame, not built The piano mechanics between the pieces have been removed. for this, wear out. The metal pins of the keys and strings acts as a buffer keys have a layer of felt that may come between the pianist and sound. In this b. off at any moment, immediately sharpen- case, the way the sounds are to be He only uses his hands and parts of the ing the sound. The pin might also pierce produced has beforehand been deter- instrument itself for playing; no external the key, making it unusable. Bass strings mined. It is sound technique protocol objects are utilised to manipulate the strings especially tend to break. The keys easily that the pianist, from the beginning of ('extended piano techniques'). Neither does get caught in between strings; releasing his study, learns to conform; any form of he make use of electronic devices to alter them is noisy and requires time and the use sound adventure is crippled. This turns the sound ('piano and electronics') of both hands. the pianist into a nostalgic character,

doomed to think in terms of and play ac- c. The musical fantasy of the performer has cording to ancient rules. The black and He records everything himself and there is to work hand in hand with his mind, which white geography of the keys encorsets him no cutting, pasting or layering in the record- must be orientated towards finding practi- in a hierarchical system of notes. The pia- ing cal solutions. The speed of reaction with nist is, in this case, a rigid vision, a willing which the musician responds to accidents servant to the secret automaton. d. caused by components wearing out deter-

He plays the compositions a few times with- mines to what degree he can push the musi- The intimate authenticity out pausing, consequently choosing the best cal build-up. That is why there's no need to of sabotage. versions for the album prevent these accidents from happening by, for example, gluing the tissues. Along with the disappearance of inner “I decided to sabotage the piano and there- parts of the piano, the former education of fore my education at the conservatory. All The pianist-writer. the pianist becomes insignificant. Not only scores become unplayable, I become inert that the entire piano repertoire becomes from a piano player's point of view. The The first action that 'le pianiste démé- impossible to play but his training, sty- sense of direction disappears, there's no canisé' undertakes is exquisitely nostal- listic knowledge and idiomatic intuition more of that black and white geography, gic. He comes up with an album on vinyl also become useless. Nevertheless, this only bass copper strings to the right and and rejects all the modern editing and re- sabotage is not a provocation but the ul- shorter and shorter strings to the left. Clas- cording techniques, thus projecting his timate expression of a creative process. sical note systems become unusable. The music in a future from which it returns The pianist reaches, through the many love for the instrument is so strong how- as a boomerang, and equally securing hours of practice necessary to master ever that I choose to recover the wreckage his place in piano history. an instrument, a fiery physical bond of the piano (keys, pieces of fabric, metal with his instrument. Again and again tenons...). I use the keys as multipurpose Vinyl, in comparison to CD, offers hands and fingers devote themselves mallets, I sometimes introduce piano parts more graphical possibilities to ma- to the keys in a repeated attempt to in between the strings and re-build the terialise music and ideas. It tradi- hear the instrument as an exten- instrument which can't be relied to produce tionally has two covers. The hard sion of the body. That desire for exact notes anymore. Furthermore, nothing outer one protects and enables a perfect symbiosis between the keeps me from listening to the sound of the the visualisation of music, also physical body of the player and varnish being scraped off. Freed from clas- making room for explanatory the instrumental sound is freed sical tuning I stretch the broken strings right text. The thin cover provides when, thanks to the disap- across the frame.” extra protection against pearance of the mechanical dust and scratching. This armour, fingers can finally principle is reversed when introducing the touch the strings. external cover in the inner one and display- 26 27 Side A Side B

1. 1. 'Réanimation forcée' is the The grotesque 'poil palliatif' forced reanimation of the ritual marks the beginning piano wreck, a somewhat over- of the battle with death with loaded opening meant to display scratching noises, odd drum- a wide spectrum of playing tech- rolls, hard knocks and beastly niques and leading dynamics in a cries. The action takes place on pulsating rythmicity. the wrinkled skin of the wooden frame where the keys scrape off 2. the varnish and in the cruel strikes The fulfilled, intimate feel of 'amour on pieces of key that are squeezed éternelle' voices the unity between in between bass strings. This is no instrument and musician, necessary soft treatment but a barbaric plan for the concept. The low, dark basses to bring scrap material back to the create a resounding universe in which purpose of making sound. the pianist can daringly prove his love for the strings and resonance with al- 2. most painful glissandi. There is a third 'Gonflammation' is the very ritual of layer of harp-like sounds which are, in burning; in the melting sound deformi- between glissandi and basses, reminis- ties, old piano techniques rise to the cent of classical piano playing and which surface and immediately disappear in act as an intermediary between the two the swelling clouds of sound. Recogni- antagonists. sable piano notes still spark out here and there from the glowing sound embers. 3. The frame is prepared for burial: mea- The pianist explores, in the 'toccata car- surements are taken using a black key diaque', the physical borders of his redis- instead of a ruler, a key that is grindingly covered instrument, consequently alluding pushed onto the strings and that creates to virtuouso toccata tradition from piano a dry 'tock' whenever it hits the side. literature. He touches the resonating heart of the piano with three crescendos 3. played on different spots of the frame The remaining piano carcass is yet again until the strings or the keys with which forced to play an entertaining role in the he drums on the frame may start to give hysterical dance of 'animation geri- out and therefore sound overmodulated atrique'. The latter is mercilessly re- (by touching neighboring strings). That strained with pizzicatos that have more disturbance is a victory since that is structure than body in their sound. normally not possible on modern pianos that have a hammer mechanism. 4. At this point the instrument and the 'Pour le piano' was recorded against player meet in a transcendental space all rules using an external sound where the trilling of the strings over- source that plays a piece of nostal- powers the preprogrammed self-pro- gic piano music in the vicinity of the tectiveness of the instrument. strings and the microphones. The pianist accompanies the classical sounding music gently touching the strings with his fingers, evoking the sea or the wind that in their turn allude to ro- mantic sanctuaries to which the classical piano music takes us. 'le piano démécanisé' Der Burght Chris Van photographer:

http://www.myspace.com/audiomer http://merpaperkunsthalle.org/ 28 29 The Postman Always Rings ABC: Matthew Shlomowitz’s kind of way. Letter Pieces In the Letter Pieces I’ve pursued these ideas in a context where the visual and musical dimensions are both performed live, as can be seen in the Letter Pieces is an ongoing series of short performance photo of Shila Anaraki and Tomma Wessel below: pieces that I began composing in 2007. To date there are eight Letter Piec- es, seven of which are duos. Each Letter Piece has a score, positioning a I also wanted to strip my ideas down, in terms of both the nature and quan- small number of physical actions and sound objects - which the players in- tity of material. That is, to use just a small number of very short (e.g. one vent - in a fixed order. I have called them Letter Pieces because the scores second) physical-actions and sound-objects in any given piece. I wanted use letters to represent these sounds and actions. To put it simply, I’ve the pieces to have an elemental and reduced quality so that the shifting created the structure and the players create the content; two enactments relationships would be clear. of the same piece may look and sound entirely different. In what follows I Each of the first will say something about myself and how I came to work in this area, out- four Letter Piec- line the ideas behind the pieces, show how the scores work, and discuss es is for a visual performance issues. performer and I was born in 1975 and grew up in Adelaide, Australia. I a musician. The did a first degree in Sydney and then studied composition privately with performer part Michael Finnissy in England, followed by a doctorate at Stanford Universi- may be enacted ty working with Brian Ferneyhough. Although my Letter Pieces share little using any visual in common with either of my teacher’s work, their critical attitude to com- language, and by position, and in particular Finnissy’s iconoclastic stance, frames the way someone from I think. I moved to London in 2002 and since then have become interested any background: in interdisciplinary work. The main catalyst for this was my experience in dance, puppetry, co-directing Rational Rec, an organisation that put on monthly inter-arts mime, etc. Musi- events in East London for three years.1 cians have also In 2004 I began working with video artist Rees Archibald. Over the next enacted the vis- four years we made three pieces together. The first two of these pieces,Six ual part, some- Aspects of the Body in Image and Sound and Train Travel, combine video with times using notated instrumental music that is performed live. The third, A Documen- physical-actions tary Saga of the OuLiPo (with a text by Andrew Infanti), is a video work with associated with no live component. In Six Aspects and Train Travel Rees and I explored two playing their in- main formal ideas. Firstly, we set up different degrees of synchronisation struments. The between the video and the music; some visuals were co-ordinated with the only factor es- music, some weren’t, and others were somewhere in between. Secondly, sential to the we played with the idea of taking a short visual sequence that is repeated performer part several times in combination with different musical sequences, and vice is that it is focussed on the visual medium, as exploring audio-visual re- versa (i.e. coupling and decoupling audio/visual pairs). lationships is key. The music part is equally open, and any instrumentalist I learnt a lot from thinking through these kinds of issues with Rees, and may perform it using conventional or non-conventional instrument(s). got turned on to exploring interdisciplinary issues, however, I came to the The first four Letter Pieces have similar titles, each made up of five words conclusion that video+music was not the right medium for me. My prob- beginning with the letters A, B, C, D and E. In these pieces each player lem was that pre-recorded video was combined with live music, creating a creates a set of five events: the performer creates five physical-actions strange, asymmetrical situation where the two media cannot react to one and the musician creates five sound-objects. Each event is always one another in performance. Furthermore, the musicians performed in near beat long; as each piece has a different tempo a beat may range from half darkness so as not to distract attention away from the video, which gave a second to two seconds in length. The five respective events are labelled the works a disembodied quality that I didn’t like. I like seeing people per- A, B, C, D and E in the score. For both players an event may be a single form and I like to see the way people perform together and react to one visual action/sound, or a complex of actions/sounds that form a gestalt. another. I get a thrill from performance virtuosity and I like the heat and For instance, a sound-object could be a single note or it could be a gesture dangers of the live performance scenario. I came to the conclusion that that is made up of a bunch of notes perceived as a single event. Each event with this medium audiences prioritise the visual dimension, regarding the should be distinct, discrete and performed exactly the same way each time audio as a kind of soundtrack - aside from some musicians who prioritise without variation (unless instructed otherwise). The symbol “+” denotes a Shila Anarki, the music! Few think of the two media as equal let alone consider the kind one beat rest, indicating to the performer to hold still in a neutral position Tomma Wessel, of relationships Rees and I thought these pieces were about. For me, this or to the musician to be silent. A passage of score looks like this: Letter Piece XXX gap between intention and result left things open in a rather uninteresting 2008

30 31 Dear New Music,

we are here, because the weather is amazingly friendly and because we all have something to do with new music.

We are an example of the randomness and the subjectivity of the concept New Music and: we are full of lust to turn this into an optimistic message.

New music is the practice of new music.

New music is a social concept as well as an individual experience. New music is, what each of us calls new music. New music is what we make of it. We are new music!

— D. Helbich, New Music Demonstration organizer 13 September 2009, Oslo I have provided one more example of a five-step narrative at the end of this text with photos of dancer Shila Anaraki illustrating the actions she created in her performance of this piece with Tomma Wessel, the two performers who have worked most extensively on these pieces. In the York performance, Mark performed on a synthesizer with a kitschy electric piano sound. He created five distinct sound-objects that were unrelated to one another (other than “sounding good” together), and which did not obviously relate to the physical-actions. In other Letter Piece performances, musicians have formed mimetic relationships be- PERFORMER A + B + + A + B C tween the actions and sounds. For instance, the visual action of knock- MUSICIAN A + B + A + B + C ing on a door matched with a knocking sound, or a raising-of-eyebrows matched with an ascending musical figure. From my perspective both PERFORMER A B + B A + A B C approaches are valid. One of the interesting things is that when an ac- MUSICIAN A B + A B + B A C tion and a sound are performed together, we perceptually couple them even if they share no material relationship. A central idea of all the pieces is shifting these relationships. For instance, in the following example visual A is initially coupled with sonic A, and then coupled with sonic C. Letter Piece 1: Arsenal, Bahrain, Chihuahua, Darjeeling and Eisenhower, was written for David Helbich and Mark Knoop. In this piece the visual performer is asked to construct a narrative sequence in five actions;A, B, C, D and E. Here are three possible narratives: PERFORMER A B A B A B A B A MUSICIAN A B A B A B C B C

Similarly, players may enact the same letter pattern one after the other EXAMPLE 1 EXAMPLE 2 EXAMPLE 3 as can be seen in the first line below, followed by getting it “wrong” as A Getting on a bicycle Opening fridge Walking can be seen in the second. B Riding along Taking drink out Ducking C Looking terrified Pouring drink Looking above D Evading something Drinking Aggressive gesture PERFORMER A B C D + + + + + E Falling off Wiping mouth Running away MUSICIAN + + + + A B C D +

PERFORMER A B C D + + + + + MUSICIAN + + + + A B D C + The narrative David created for the first performance, shown below, was more elaborate in two ways. Firstly, his narrative implied an alter- nation between two people. Secondly, he constructed his narrative in In the final part of this text I will discuss a variety of distinct issues. reverse order. I like it when performers take such creative licence as it There are passages in various Letter Pieces where the players stop extends the possibilities and potential meanings of the pieces in ways performing actions/sounds and instead speak the letter names them- that I could not have imagined. selves (maintaining the strict pulse). My intention in these instances is to nakedly reveal the structure. One friend told me that these passages destroyed the “magic” of the pieces. That is exactly my intention! I think E (person 1) asking for a cigarette lighter such moments are akin to Brecht’s “distancing effect” (although with- D (person 2) rejecting the request out Brecht’s political agenda). Brecht utilised techniques, such as hav- C (person 1) what’s the problem? ing an actor directly address the audience, to prevent the audience from B (person 2) punch losing itself passively in the character portrayed by the actor. Similarly, A (person 1) being hit my hope is that these speaking passages suggest a different and critical way of thinking about the work. Although all of the Letter Pieces each share similar ideas, each piece also has a specific concept. Here are two examples. In Letter Piece 2:

34 35 Assam, Buchanan, Chelsea, Dalmatian and Egypt, there is an additional This can also work, but from the other direction: the humour of a funny symbol in the score that indicates micro-variation. That is, the perform- gesture is quickly alienated when repeated several times. ers are instructed to modify aspects of a given event in such a way that In working on these pieces with players I have encountered various the identity of the original event remains recognisable. Throughout the practical performance issues. For instance, in performing actions the piece there are sections that focus on this feature by presenting a se- movement from the end position of one action to the start position of ries of variations on a single event. The distinct quality of Letter Piece 5: the next action can itself be perceived as an action, which leads to con- Northern Cities is that both players produce actions, sounds and speak fusion. The best solution to combat this is for the performer to return to words. For the first half of the piece the two players each create a set a neutral position between each action, but as this requires extra time of three related actions and a set of three related sound-objects that the performer needs to create their actions with this concern in mind. are not related to the other performer’s sets. In the table below these Another issue is that performers often instinctively begin actions and relationships can be seen vertically: sounds before the start of the beat, especially when that action/sound has a movement leading to a strong attack. With a punch, for instance, Actions Sounds it is natural to place the end point on the beat. Once a performer has battled against this instinct and learnt to begin the punch on the beat PLAYER 1 PLAYER 2 PLAYER 1 PLAYER 2 the result it is much more interesting as it creates a kind of syncopa- A Sign for “wind” Smile Strike box Shake coins tion. Displacing the natural accent also gives a strange, artificial and B Sign for “rain” Yawn Strike tin Shake sand mechanical quality, underlining that these actions/sounds are not free C Sign for “sun” Wink Strike pot Shake water or spontaneous, but regulated by the beat and by the structure. I will end by considering the role of the performer in these pieces. It is a collaborative role requiring a high level of creative engagement. In dis- For the second half the players create new sets of actions and sounds cussing various issues above, I’ve acknowledged that I happily accept where the relationships are between the A, B and C of each player. In differing approaches. I think it would be silly to invite players to make the table below these relationships can be seen horizontally: choices and then be unwilling to accept those choices. I’d also like to think different interpretations of a given piece extend the potentiality Actions Sounds of that piece, and in ways I couldn’t have imagined. Most importantly, I hope that the task I set up for performers in a given piece offers an PLAYER 1 PLAYER 2 PLAYER 1 PLAYER 2 interesting and distinctive space for creative decision making. A Yelling motion Covering ears Tear paper Scrunch paper B Punch Being hit Sing “do” Sing “re” Videos of Letter Piece performances can bee seen at: C Reading Turning page Single clap Double clap http://letter-pieces.blogspot.com

To my delight, performances of these pieces often receive laughter I would like to thank Shila Anaraki and Newton Armstrong for their and I like to think the pieces can be both conceptually rich as well as comments. light and funny. Some players perform the pieces in a deadpan manner and don’t choose obviously funny sounds/actions. When humour results , 2008 in these instances it is unexpected and feels less deliberate as it comes through the treatment of the Bahrain, LetterArsenal, 1: Piece events rather than the inherent qualities of the events. Other performers make overtly comedic choices such as a slapstick gesture.

dancer Shila Anaraki Shila dancer Eisenhower and Darjeeling Chihuahua,

36 37 Letter Piece No. 5: Northern Cities Duo for two performers, composed July 2008, duration 5’30” Written for the Parkinson/Saunders- Duo

PERFORMANCE DIRECTIONS

Each performer does 3 types of things: (1) Making sounds with objects (2) Performing visual actions (3) Speaking words piece Making sounds with objects - Each player has two groups of objects with three objects in each group. - Each object should produce a distinctive sound, which could be produced by any manner other than with the mouth, for example: striking it (with stick or hand), shaken, dropped etc. It could be a single sound (I.e. a single attack) or a complex sound that is perceived as a single sound action.

The first set of sounds is labeled in the score as Obj1, Obj2 and Obj3. The three sounds of each player should be related, but not related to the other player’s sounds. For instance:

Player 1 Player 2 ObjA Drop a ruler onto a table Strike a pot ObjB Drop a pen onto a table Strike a can ObjC Drop a book onto a table Strike a tin

The second set of sounds is labeled in the score as ObjA, ObjB and ObjC. The three objects in each player’s group should not be related, but there should be a relationship between ObjA of each player, and likewise for ObjB and ObjC.

Player 1 Player 2 ObjA Shake a bottle with water Shake a bottle with sand ObjB Tear paper Scrunch paper ObjC Strike a flower pot Strike a can with a chop-stick with a chop-stick

39 Performing actions CROTCHET = 60 - Each player has two groups of actions with three actions in each group. Pl1 Obj1 + + Obj1 + + Obj1 + + Obj1 Obj3 The first set of actions is labeled in the score as Act1, Act2 and Act3. Pl2 + + + + Obj2 + + The three actions for each player should be related, but not related to Obj2 + + Obj3 the other player’s actions. For instance:

Player 1 Player 2 Pl1 + Obj3 + + Obj1 + ActA Wink Sign language Obj3 Obj3 Obj3 Obj3 for “sun” Pl2 + Obj3 Obj2 Obj2 + Obj2 ActB Smile Sign language Obj3 Obj3 Obj3 Obj3 for “rain” ActC Yawn Sign language for “wind” Pl1 + + + + Obj2 + + Obj2 + + Obj3 Pl2 Obj1 + + Obj1 + + The second set of actions is labeled in the score as ObjA, ObjB Obj1 + + Obj1 Obj3 and ObjC. The three actions in each player’s group should not be related, but there should be a relationship between ActA of each player, Pl1 + Obj3 Obj2 Obj2 + Obj2 and likewise for ActB and ActC (this relationship could be one Obj3 Obj3 Obj3 Obj3 of opposites, cause/effect, or similarity). For instance: Pl2 + Obj3 + + Obj1 + Obj3 Obj3 Obj3 Obj3 Player 1 Player 2 ActA Throw a punch Hit by a punch ActB Laughing Frowning Pl1 Obj1 + + Obj1 Obj2 + ActC Standing on toes Arms stretching Obj1 Obj2 + Obj1 Obj3 above head Pl2 Obj1 + + Obj1 Obj2 + Obj1 Obj2 + Obj1 Obj3

Speaking words Spoken words are indicated in the score with quotation marks, Pl1 + Obj3 Obj2 Obj2 Obj1 Obj2 e.g. “New” Obj3 Obj3 Obj3 Obj3 Pl2 + Obj3 Obj2 Obj2 Obj1 Obj2 NOTE: The choice of sounds and actions are left entirely to the Obj3 Obj3 Obj3 Obj3 player’s discretion. All examples given above are just that, examples. The spoken words on the other hand are fixed - these words may not be substituted with other words. Pl1 Act1 + + Act1 Obj2 + Act1 Obj2 + Act1 Obj3 SYMBOLS Pl2 Obj1 + + Obj1 Obj2 + + Indicates a beat of rest Obj1 Obj2 + Obj1 Obj3  Pause

Pl1 + Obj3 Obj2 Obj2 Act1 Obj2 Obj3 Obj3 Obj3 Obj3 Pl2 + Obj3 Obj2 + Obj1 Obj2 Obj3 Obj3 Obj3 Obj3

Pl1 Act1 + + Act1 Act2 + Act1 Act 2 + Act1 Obj3 Pl2 Act1 + + Act1 Obj2 + 40 Act1 Obj2 + Act1 Obj3 Pl1 + “tle” “cas” “cas” “New” “cas” “tle” “tle” “tle” “tle” Pl1 + Obj3 Act2 Act 2 Act1 Act 2 Pl2 + “field” “ers” “ers” “Hudd” “ers” Obj3 Obj3 Obj3 Obj3 “field” “field” “field” “field” Pl2 + Obj3 Obj2 Obj2 Act1 Obj2 Obj3 Obj3 Obj3 Obj3 Pl1 “New” + + “New” “cas” + “New” “cas” + “New” “tle” Pl1 Act1 + + Act1 Act2 + Pl2 “Liv” + + “Liv” “er” + Act1 Act 2 + Act1 Act3 “Liv” “er” + “Liv” “pool” Pl2 Act1 + + Act1 Obj2 + Act1 Obj2 + Act1 Obj3 Pl1 + “tle” “cas” “cas” “New” “cas” “tle” “tle” “tle” “tle” Pl1 + Act3 Act2 Act 2 Act1 Act 2 Pl2 + “field” “er” “er” “Liv” “er” Act3 Act3 Act3 Act3 “pool” “pool” “pool” “pool” Pl2 + Obj3 Obj2 Obj2 Act1 Obj2 Obj3 Obj3 Obj3 Obj3 Pl1 “Hart” + + “Hart” “le” + “Hart” “le” + “Hart” “pool” Pl1 “Man” + + “Man” Act2 + Pl2 “Liv” + + “Liv” “er” + “Man” Act 2 + “Man” Act3 “Liv” “er” + “Liv” “pool” Pl2 Act1 + + Act1 Act2 + Act1 Act 2 + Act1 Act3 Pl1 + “pool” “le” “le” “Hart” “le” “pool” “pool” “pool” “pool” Pl1 + Act3 Act2 Act 2 “Man” Act 2 Pl2 + “field” “er” “er” “Liv” “er” Act3 Act3 Act3 Act3 “pool” “pool” “pool” “pool” Pl2 + Act3 Act2 Act2 Act1 Act2 Act3 Act3 Act3 Act3 Pl1 “Hart” + + “Hart” “le” + “Hart” “le” + “Hart” “pool” Pl2 “Sun” + + “Sun” “der” + CROTCHET = 120 “Sun” “der” + “Sun” “land” Pl1 “Man” + + “Man” “ches” + “Man” “ches” + “Man” “ter” Pl2 “Hudd” + + “Hudd” “ers” + Pl1 + “pool” “le” “le” “Hart” “le” “Hudd” “ers” + “Hudd” “field” “pool” “pool” “pool” “pool” Pl2 + “land” “der” “der” “Sun” “der” “land” “land” “land” “land” Pl1 + “ter” “ches” “ches” “Man” “ches” “ter” “ter” “ter” “ter” Pl2 + “field” “ers” “ers” “Hudd” “ers” Pl1 “Leeds” + + “Leeds” “Leeds” + “field” “field” “field” “field” “Leeds” “Leeds” + “Leeds” “Leeds” Pl1 “New” + + “New” “cas” + Obj1 Obj1 Obj1 “New” “cas” + “New” “tle” Obj1 Pl2 “Hudd” + + “Hudd” “ers” + Pl2 “Sun” + + “Sun” “der” + “Hudd” “ers” + “Hudd” “field” “Sun” “der” + “Sun” “land” Pl1 + “Leeds” “Leeds” “Leeds” “Leeds” “Leeds” Pl1 Obj1 + + Obj1 Obj2 + “Leeds” “Leeds” “Leeds” “Leeds” Obj1 Obj2 + Obj1 Obj3 Obj1 Pl2 + + + + ObjB + Pl2 + “land” “der” “der” “Sun” “der” + ObjB + + ObjC “land” “land” “land” “land”

Pl1 “Leeds” + + “Leeds” “Leeds” + Pl1 + Obj3 Obj2 Obj2 Obj1 Obj2 “Leeds” “Leeds” + “Leeds” “Leeds” Obj3 Obj3 Obj3 Obj3 Obj1 Obj1 Pl2 + ObjC ObjB ObjB + ObjB Obj1 Obj1 ObjC ObjC ObjC ObjC Pl2 “York” + + “York” “York” + “York” “York” + “York” “York” Obj2 Pl1 + + + + ObjB + Obj2 + ObjB + + ObjC Pl2 ObjA + + ObjA ObjB + ObjA ObjB + ObjA ObjC Pl1 + “Leeds” “Leeds” “Leeds” “Leeds” “Leeds” “Leeds” “Leeds” “Leeds” “Leeds” Obj1 Pl2 + “York” “York” “York” “York” “York” Pl1 + ObjC ObjB ObjB + ObjB “York” “York” “York” “York” ObjC ObjC ObjC ObjC Obj2 Obj2 Obj2 Pl2 + ObjC ObjB ObjB ObjA ObjB ObjC ObjC ObjC ObjC

CROTCHET = 60 Pl1 Obj1 + + Obj1 + + Pl1 ObjA + + ObjA ObjB + Obj1 + + Obj1 + ObjA ObjB + ObjA ObjC Pl2 + + + + Obj2 + Pl2 ObjA + + ObjA ObjB + + Obj2 + + Obj3 ObjA ObjB + ObjA ObjC

Pl1 + Obj3 + Obj2 + Obj2 Pl1 + ObjC ObjB ObjB ObjA ObjB + Obj3 + Obj3 ObjC ObjC ObjC ObjC Pl2 + + Obj2 + Obj1 + Pl2 + ObjC ObjB ObjB ObjA ObjB Obj3 + Obj3 + ObjC ObjC ObjC ObjC

Pl1 + + + + Obj2 + Pl1 ObjA + + ObjA ObjB + + Obj2 + + Obj3 ObjA ObjB + ObjA ObjC Pl2 Obj1 + + Obj1 + + Pl2 + + + ActA ActB + Obj1 + + Obj1 + ActA ActB + ActA ActC

Pl1 + + Obj2 + Obj1 + Pl1 + ObjC ObjB ObjB ObjA ObjB Obj3 + Obj3 + ObjC ObjC ObjC ObjC Pl2 + Obj3 + Obj2 + Obj2 Pl2 + ActC ActB ActB ActA ActB + Obj3 + Obj3 ActC ActC ActC ActC Pl1 + + + ActA ActB + ActA ActB + ActA ActC Pl2 ObjA + + ObjA ObjB + Pl1 “Ed” + + “Ed” “in” + ObjA ObjB + ObjA ObjC “Ed” “in” + “Ed” “burgh” Pl2 “Mid” + + “Mid” “dles” + “Mid” “dles” + “Mid” “brough”

Pl1 + ActC ActB ActB ActA ActB Pl1 + “burgh” “in” “in” “Ed” “in” ActC ActC ActC ActC “burgh” “burgh” “burgh” “burgh” Pl2 + ObjC ObjB ObjB ObjA ObjB Pl2 + “brough” “dles” “Mid” “dles” “dles” ObjC ObjC ObjC ObjC “brough” “brough” “brough” “brough”

Pl1 ActA + + ActA ActB + Pl1 “In” + + “In” “ver” + ActA ActB + ActA ActC “In” “ver” + “In” “ness” Pl2 + + + ActA ActB + Pl2 “Ab” + + “Ab” “er” + ActA ActB + ActA ActC “Ab” “er” + “Ab” “deen”  Pl1 + ActC ActB ActB ActA ActB ActC ActC ActC ActC + Pl1 + “ness” “ver” “ver” “In” “ver” Pl2 + ActC ActB ActB ActA ActB “ness” “ness” “ness” “ness” ActC ActC ActC ActC + Pl2 + “deen” “er” “er” “Ab” “er” “deen” “deen” “deen” “deen”

   Pl1 ActA + + ActB + + Pl1 “Hel” + + “Hel” “sin” + ActC + + “Hel” “sin” + “Hel” “ki” + Pl2 + ActA + + ActB + Pl2 “Rey” + + “Rey” “kja” + + ActC + “Rey” “Kja” + “Rey” “vik” +

 Pl1 + “Dar” + + “ling” + Pl1 + “ki” “sin” “sin” “Hel” “sin” + “ton” + “+ ki” Pl2 ActA + + ActB + + Pl2 + “vik” “kja” “kja” “Rey” “kja” ActC + + “+ vik”

CROTCHET = 120

Pl1 “Dar” + + “Dar” “ling” + “Dar” “ling” + “Dar” “ton” Pl2 “Mid” + + “Mid” “dles” + “Mid” “dles” + “Mid” “brough”

Pl1 + “ton” “ling” “ling” “dar” “ling” “ton” “ton” “ton” “ton” Pl2 + “brough” “dles” “Mid” “dles” “dles” “brough” “brough” “brough” “brough” Stephen Prengels VISITE GUIDÉE MÂLIQUE For Voice. Ad lib. with instrumental accompaniment.

Visite guidée Mâlique is my rendition into French of pages 8 to 10 of James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake, as seen from the perspective of Marcel Duchamp’s Large Glass (The Bride Stripped Bare by her Bachelors, Even, 1915–23). The connections that I have created between Joyce and Duchamp do not hold a claim to any general validity, nor do they seek to embody one. As a matter of fact, between these two artists there exists no connection whatsoever relevant to this undertak- ing. Yet, my choice to create them anyhow is to be considered as a creative act. As such its only necessary justification lies in this artistic choice. Instructions for Performance:

1. In case of a personal performance (i.e. without a public): Ad Lib. Read the text (in silence or aloud) at the piano (or any other instrument). Replace eachby an E (short or longer (ad lib.), in different octaves (ad lib.), in multiple octaves (ad lib.)

2. In case of a public performance : Read the text (aloud). The accompanist (preferably a pianist) replaces eachby an E (short or longer (ad lib.), in different octaves (ad lib.), in multiple octaves (ad lib.)

Marcel Duchamp, The 1915 Manuscript in ink on paper 22.2 × 14.3 cm Philidelphia Museum of Art 49 Finnegans Wake VISITE GUIDÉE MÂLIQUE - 9 - les thorax des Maroles. Ben oui, ben oui, ben oui! l’Iber Râtise. Angloisse Triomphale! (James Joyce) A Guided Tour (by nine Ma- is me Belchum sneaking his phillippy out of Filette ça vachi. Faire s’embrasser. Mar. Ç’était his most Awful Grimmest Sunshat Cromwelly. les tictaques des gazeuses pour enverser lic Moulds) through Marcel Looted. This is the jinnies’ hastings dispatch le cimetière. Ell, el, lelle! Les gazeuses sont Duchamp’s Large Glass for to irrigate the Willingdone. Dispatch in jaleuses comme battrant toutes les marioles. thin red lines cross the shortfront of me Et les maroles devenaient mâlfous du seul ci- ‘The Bride Stripped Bare by Belchum. Yaw, yaw, yaw! Leaper Orthor. Fear metière. Et le cimetière s’attise. Voici le corsier her Bachelors, Even’ siecken! Fieldgaze thy tiny frow. Hugacting. marolique, pompé pour pomponner, épésant Nap. That was the tictacs of the jinnies for en camelote l’entame du cimetière. Voici les based on James Joyce’s to fontannoy the Willingdone. Shee, shee, buses vidanges du cimetière. Vantardise aux shee! The jinnies is jillous agincourting all the régions derrières du cimetière. Chastation! - 8 - Finnegans Wake lipoleums. And the lipoleums is gonn boycot- Ai, ai, ai! Maroles purceaux. Fichtoi! Ça me toncrezy onto the one Willingdone. And the Foutrien. Cimetière. Ç’était la première farce For her passkey supply to the janitrix, the Pour son clavail, lance le regard suppliant à la Willingdone git the band up. This is bode Bel- du cimetière, tac-tiqueurs. Lui, luis, luit! Voici mistress Kathe. Tip. clavelière, la maistresse Mariole.  chum, bonnet to busby, breaking his secred les Maroles distants, hommes ni scient, cri- This the way to the museyroom. Mind your Par ici pour le muser-chambril. En entrant, word with a ball up his ear to the Willingdone. ent et l’emporte devant tout, faissant de son hats goan in! Now yiz are in the Willingdone attention à la tête, s’il vous plaît! Mainten- This is the Willingdone’s hurold dispitchback. mieux lutte pour les gazeuses. Trempe tes Museyroom. This is a Prooshious gunn. This is ant vos êtes au cimetière Muser-Chambril. Dispitch desployed on the regions rare of me lèvres, tramp t’élèves, car elle vint du gros a ffrinch. Tip. This is the flag of the Prooshi- Là-bas un Fusil-Gabierit.Ça, c’est une franc- Belchum. Salamangra! Ayi, ayi, ayi! Cherry rouge plutôt qu’elle âgisse de mêlé. Voici le ous, the Cap and Soracer. This is the bullet sein. Voici le pasvois des Gabierits, capil-  jinnies. Figtreeyou! Damn fairy ann, Voutre. tir gabarelle. Voici une franchée. Voici des tirs that byng the flag of the Prooshious. This is laire et sorcé. Voici le coup tringlant le pasvois Willingdone. That was the first joke of mâliques. Voici Cañon à Chair avec le nez gi- the ffrinch that fire on the Bull that bang the des Gabierits. Voici la franc-sein qui tirait Willingdone, tic for tac. Hee, hee, hee! This clé. Après l’indulgence centaire. Voici le bénit. flag of the Prooshious. Saloos the Crossgunn! aux Crétiens qui tringlaient la mariée-salope is me Belchum in his twelvemile cowchooks, Fille à Delphi! Voici les gazeuses aux patins Up with your pike and fork! Tip. (Bullsfoot! des Gabierits. Chand du Salier! En garde! À weet, tweet and stampforth foremost, footing paillard-disants. Voici Mariole au ménage Fine!) This is the triplewon hat of Lipoleum. coups de tringles! (Doble penitance!) Voici  the camp for the jinnies. Drink a sip, dranka- tapageux. Voici le cimetière, pour la moure Tip. Lipoleumhat. This is the Willingdone on le triple couvre-chef de Mariole. Couvre-  sup, for he’s as sooner buy a guinness than mâline, ouvre le feu. Bamsterdam! (Doble his same white harse, the Cokenhape. This chef mariolé. Voici le cimetière des soubre- he’d stale store stout. This is Rooshious balls. penitance! Fiche-toi!) Voici la chavalerie, voici is the big Sraughter Willingdone, grand and sauts, les Mâlinois. Voici le grand cimetière This is a ttrinch. This is mistletropes. This is en tripied, voici la crasse en action, voici leur magentic in his goldtin spurs and his ironed mâlée, élevé et âguichant dans ses épilones Canon Futter with the popynose. After his remue-ménage, voici flammique. Broyeuse- dux and his quarterbrass woodyshoes and his et cuirasses d’orure et ses châssis volatils et hundred days’ indulgence. This is the blessed. ment! Choque au-delà! Voici le cimetière cri- magnate’s gharters and his bangkok’s best ses parties adorées et ses meilleurs costars Tarra’s widdars! This is jinnies in the bonny ant. Bou! Bou! Boboue! Voici les gazeuses cri- and goliar’s goloshes and his pullupon-easyan et prophylaxie décevante et ses rencon- bawn blooches. This is lipoleums in the rowdy antes. Éclage! Lire de dieu! Voici les gazeuses wartrews. This is his big wide harse. Tip. This tres médéiques. Voici ses Soubresauts howses. This is the Willingdone, by the splin- évitant la bataille dans l’abri. Bon bonnie Buon is the three lipoleum boyne grouching down rrougis. Voici le triple hallocution-mariole  ters of Cork, order fire. Tonnerre! (Bullsear! et To Torrie Tour en l’air. Car leurs coeurs se in the living detch. This is an inimyskilling descendant sur le Play!) This is camelry, this is floodens, this is inglis, this is a scotcher grey, this is a davy, cimetière collant. Voici les muser-chambril- trouvent jusque là.Pour le paix! Voici la the solphereens in action, this is their mobbi- stooping. This is the bog lipoleum mordering iens, c’est un groupe d’entraide, des mâli- marche du Gabar joyeuse des gazeuses qu’ils ly, this is panickburns. Almeidagad! Arthiz too the lipoleum beg. A Gallawghurs argaumunt. nois dociles. Voici la grant Mariole, serrant abandonnaient. Voici le cimetière assouvant loose! This is Willingdone cry. Brum! Brum! This is the petty lipoleum boy that was nay- la Bride aux mâlinois vides. Une ratiocina- ses mêmes bails immenses pour son divi- Cumbrum! This is jinnies cry. Underwetter! ther bag nor bug. Assaye, assaye! Touchole tion lacticienne. Voici le cimetière mâriolique sion royale au gazeuses courantes. Clairmond Goat strip Finnlambs! This is jinnies rinning Fitz Tuomush. Dirty MacDyke. And Hairy exigu, ni rassisié, ni répidié. À l’Enverre! À Rougelle! Quedalle de la Reine! Voici la plus away to their ousterlists dowan a bunker- O’Hurry. All of them arminus-varminus. This l’Enverre! Doblet Tom-Fiz. Fieu Bassein le minore des marioles, voleurs de mou, cette sheels. With a nip nippy nip and a trip trippy is Delian alps. This is Mont Tivel, this is Mont Salo. Et Henri-Hâte Fiston. Tous des cavaliers espionne au cimetière des soubresauts, les trip so airy. For their heart’s right there. Tip. Tipsey, this is the Grand Mons Injun. This is armés. Voici l’horizon d’Antéros. Voici Mont- Mâlispoirs. Contre-cimetière est un matrimon This is me Belchum’s tinkyou tankyou silvoor the crimealine of the alps hooping to shelter- Wilson, voici Mont-Lincoln, voici la grande élevé ancien. Les Marioles est jolie repriseur plate for citchin the crapes in the cool of his shock the three lipoleums. This is the jinnies Mont-Venu. Voici l’horizon caréné embras- pendu. Voici objet-fammelette moquant tout canister. Poor the pay! This is the bissmark with their legahorns feinting to read in their sant les trois marioles. Voici les gazeuses haut du cimetière. Voici terrain labile guerrant of the marathon merry of the jinnies they left handmade’s book of stralegy while mak- avec ses louvains, qui semblent à être mâlées, la brille de la fammelette. Voici la fleur de lit behind them. This is the Willingdone branlish ing their war undisides the Willingdone. The tandis qu’elles déclarent le combatour au entre le gars labile et la fammelette.Voici his same marmorial tallowscoop SophyKey-Po jinnies is a cooin her hand and the jinnies is cimetière. Les gazeuses se fourrent la guêpe le vieux cimetière déniche la moitié au triple for his royal divorsion on the rinnaway jinnies. a ravin her hair and the Willingdone git the et les gazeuses jouent du rapt et le cimetière couvre-chef de Mariole à partir des crasses Gambariste della porca! Dalaveras fimmieras! band up. This is big Willingdone mormorial s’attise. Voici l’emmense bail du cimetière abusives. Voici la fleure encroîtant la quais This is the pettiest tallowscoop Wounderworker obscides on the à côté des flancs des gazeuses. Force mâli- pour un éclat-bombe. Voici le cimetière éch- flanks of the jinnies. Sexcaliber hrosspower. nique s’exclame.Voici mes Maroles qui eveau la moitié du couvre-chef de Mariole à Tip. This entrent furtivement ses mâlinie, à partir de la queu l’envers du Soubresauts.Ç’était la ses affreuse machinerie vaporeuse. Sincliné. dernière farce du cimetière. Touche, touche, Voici la missive des gazeuses pour irriguer le touche! Voici le Soubresaut du cimetière, cimetière. Missive aux filets rrouges transpire Mâlinoix, même, glissant sa bail avec la moitié 50 51 - 10 - d’un couvre-chef de Mariole vexant au fleur- gabier. Ahan, ahan, ahan! (Doble penitance! of the lipoleums, Toffeethief, that spy on the Triche!) Voici le gâbier, piès de taché, bondu Willingdone from his big white harse, the et gailli, criant au cimetière: En gars! A tant! Capeinhope. Stonewall Willingdone is an old Voici le cimetière, noblier gantique, enflamme maxy montrumeny. Lipoleums is nice hung son boîte à gand au Roussi Rougit. bushellors. This is hiena hinnessy laughing Voici le gâbier rempli faisant à la queue des alout at the Willingdone. This is lipsyg dooley Soubresauts.(Doble penitance! Partouse!) krieging the funk from the hinnessy. This is Comment les Mâlinois terminèrent. Par ici le the hinndoo Shimar Shin between the dooley muser-chambril. En sortant, fais attention à boy and the hinnessy. Tip. This is the wixy old vos patins. Willingdone picket up the half of the three- foiled hat of lipoleums fromoud of the bluddle filth. This is the hinndoo waxing ranjymad for a bombshoob. This is the Willingdone hank- ing the half of the hat of lipoleums up the tail on the buckside of his big white harse. Tip. That was the last joke of Willingdone. Hit, hit, hit! This is the same white harse of the Willingdone, Culpenhelp, waggling his tailo- scrupp with the half of a hat of lipoleums to piece insoult on the hinndoo seeboy. Hney, hney, hney! (Bullsrag! Foul!) This is the seeboy, ma- drashattaras, upjump and pumpim, cry to the Willingdone: Ap Pukkaru! Pukka Yurap! This is the Willingdone, bornstable ghentleman, tinders his maxbotch to the cursigan Shimar Shin. Basucker youstead! This is the doofo- rhim seeboy blow the whole of the half of the hat of lipoleums off of the top of the tail on the back of his big wide harse. Tip (Bullseye! Game!) How Copenhagen ended. This way the museyroom. Mind your boots goan out.

52 General notation: The two systems refer to the same keyboards and registers as normally. The upper line in each system indicates the very highest rows of keys, the lower line indicates the very lowest rows of keys. (In the upper system a note or a cross always represents several of rows of keys). When using the areas between the keyboards there will be an indication of the horizontal position (left, middle, right).

Behind Next To Beside Besides (2005–2009) Abstract/concrete? Simon Steen-Andersen

The word ‘abstract’ is sometimes used to refer to music that already has a certain musical value on the paper (before realized as sound). Or it can refer to music notated without indication of instrumentation, where the musical ideas can supposedly be realized equally well on different kinds of instruments. An example of this is J.S. Bach’s Kunst der Fuge, a piece very much appreciated for its readable architectural qualities, and one that has been realized on innumerable combinations of instruments. Another example showing a clear hierarchy between sound and its physical realization could be the an- ecdote about Beethoven yelling at a musician who complained about the difficulty of his music, saying something like: “what do I care about your fiddle when the spirit is moving me?” The term ‘abstract music’ thus implies that the musical material can be separated from the ways the sounds are produced or realized. It implies a possible separation of composition and instrumentation and a clear hierarchy between sound and production, between score and its realization. A lot of composers - especially today - have a much more ‘concrete’ approach to instruments and sound production, and generally apply idiomatic approaches and techniques unique to the individual instruments. Some composers have continued further in this direction and have crossed the point where composition and instrumentation melt together to form music where it no longer makes sense to look at the sound separated from the way it is produced (for example musique concrète instrumentale as defined by Helmut Lachenmann). Up until this point, it seems to make sense to use the word ‘concrete’ to distinguish this position from the ‘abstract music’ as defined above. Working closely with the individual instruments and their physical implications suggests the natural next step of using action-notation instead of result-notation: notation showing what to do rather than what should sound. This can be seen as turning the hierarchy between sound and its production upside down: an approach where composition is a kind of choreography for instrument and musician - with sound as its consequence. Through this, the ‘hyper-concrete’ approach to instrumental composition reaches a new kind of abstraction - or rather; the abstraction now refers to the new top of the hierarchy: the movements or the actions. Where the same pitches in Kunst der Fuge can be distrib- uted to many different types of instruments and still realize the main musical idea, the choreographic approach could imply being able to realize the main musical idea by distributing the same movements to different types of instruments: (air button) When a composition is mainly concerned with, and operating within, the movements and actions of the performer, it ought to be translat- Next To Beside Besides #12 able to other instruments where similar or parallel movements can for accordion, 2008 be used. It will then essentially be the same piece of music, despite sounding completely different! 54 55 A re-cycle bellow (in order to produce sounds when playing the keys and the air I have attempted to explore this concept in the open series called button) the player has to move the head up and down with the left Next To Beside Besides (2005-2009). The series consists of 13 transla- hand shoulder strap around the neck. tions of the small cello piece Beside Besides (3.5 minutes long and in The most extreme of the series is Next To Beside Besides #10 for itself a spin-off from the ensemble piece Besides). “camera solo”. Here the movements are performed with a miniature The first half of the cello piece Beside Besides is composed with camera and a flashlight, around a setup of two mirrors, a text sheet sound foremost in mind, but gradually the movements of the player and a rippled piece of paper ( a “light guiro”). The composition is become more and more important and somewhere in the second half exactly the same, but instead of a sounding result, the result is pure- of the piece the music is composed with the movements or the cho- ly visible and shown on a television next to the player. Is this still a reographic qualities foremost in mind. piece of music? These choreographic elements are all quite minimalistic and within For concerts, the camera version has often been used as the last the normal movement patterns used to operate the instrument. Gen- surprise in a series of three versions/combinations. First is a version erally they can be reduced to movements and positions on two (in- or combination performed live. Then another version or combination dependent) axes; the bow movements from side to side and the left (preferably with one of the same players performing another ver- hand movements up and down the fingerboard. sion) is played live with the video and sound recording of the first When studying instrumentation, one is taught not just to distribute performance, forming a virtual ensemble. Finally, the camera ver- the same pitches to other instruments, but rather to translate the sion is performed with a video recording of the second performance core elements in the compositional idea from one specific instrumen- (containing the video recording of the first) but now without any tal situation to another. This sometimes calls for a certain amount sound! Interestingly, a lot of people perceive this last silent version of recomposing, just as literary translation from one language to as a kind of musical climax. another sometimes calls for creative rewriting; in order to say the To experience the translations as such, one has to hear several ver- same thing in two different languages one often has to go quite differ- sions next to each other - or even better; simultaneously, in unison! ent ways. The ‘re-cycle’ Next To Beside Besides will, in other words, not just be To stay as faithful as possible to the main compositional ideas in Be- an open series of variations, versions or solutions to different prob- side Besides when translating the piece to other instruments, I first lems and approaches to the concept of movement translation and dif- had to decide in which passages the sound was more important and ferent ways of questioning the identity of a piece of music. It will also in which passages the movements were more important. To translate provide an opportunity to put together innumerable combinations of the passages which were originally conceived as sound, I looked for ‘unison’ ensemble compositions, where difference and equality are similar sounds relative to the new instrument. To translate the pas- thematized and the translation situation itself becomes a musical sages originally conceived as movement, I looked for ways to ap- parameter. proach the new instrument as a system of two independent axes of (The concept of ‘unison’ changes during the piece: first it is a normal movement, each affecting the resulting sound differently. (sound) unison, and then later, a visible (movement) unison.) To date there are 13 translations - and there are many more to come. Every piece can be played alone or in any combination of versions, For some instruments there are several different translations in or- simultaneously or one after the other as movements or between other der to allow different approaches. pieces as fragments, with or without video ... and in some cases with For example: or without sound. Next To Beside Besides #3 for accordion: The instrument is prepared To be continued ...! (with a bit of paper underneath the dampers) so that a distorted, detuned chord comes when pulling and pushing the bellow - even though no keys are played. The movement of the cello bow from side to side is translated to the movement of the accordion bellow (moved by the performer’s left hand), activating the sound. The movement of the cello player’s left hand up and down the fingerboard is translated to changing between the different registers placed on the vertical axis on the front of the accordion, resulting in a mechanical clicking sound as well as a change in color and register of the detuned chord. Next To Beside Besides #12 for accordion: The instrument is rotated 90 degrees so that the right hand keyboard is pointing up. The cello’s movements are here translated into horizontal and vertical coordi- nates, determining where on the instrument to play, scratch, hit, and so on (see illustration). For sideward movements on the keyboards, a paint roll is used to make fast cluster glissandi. For activating the a paint roll is used to make fast cluster glissandi. For activating the 56 57 Composers con- nature of visual arts to extremely loud. surprise via the sen- electro-magnets are Through touching Oor- stantly seek new reveals itself in the Sometimes there sation of sounds built into the table. I the sensors the 'pa- challenges. Some fact that the sound is no sound at all, and movements, opted for three elec- tient' activates one impose certain rules has neither begin- for example when and the insight that tro-magnets (neck, or more speakers wonde, on themselves, ning nor end. The structures serve these sound and right hand, left knee) and/or electro-mag- deliberately limiting time dimension is to reflect sound. movements can be that I recycled from nets. The sound their possibilities. partly exchanged for Sound can be gen- influenced by the old signal-horns, and the movements at the Working within a the space dimen- erated by electronic, amount of pressure four speakers (left change according certain framework sion. Sound art is electro-acoustic or applied to specific hand, right knee, to the pressure ap- junc- such as twelve- like a performance acoustic means points. both feet) and one plied; either a cer- tone music can be lasting 24 hours a resulting in a broad moveable ribbon tain parameter of enriching and may day, seven days a spectrum of pos- Oorwonde (buttocks). Each of the sound changes, tion of lead to new forms. week and it is the sible sounds. The the eight contact or a new sound is Others search for visitor who – by at- visual aspect of a Oorwonde is an points has at least triggered. This pres- new ways to create tending - decides sound work can interactive operating two force sensing sure is not neces- sound or convey sound. how long the work also differ greatly. table whereby the resistors –placed in sarily mapped to As early as the 17th lasts. Audible mate- Sometimes the visitor turns himself parallel– to detect the speaker or elec- century, long be- rial is only part of material produc- over to aural sur- body contact and to tro-magnet nearby. art and fore the invention the work. In contrast ing the sound is gery and hears and measure the pres- Pressure measured of the loudspeaker, to music, sound art deliberately hidden feels the soundtrack sure applied. via the FSRs on the perfor- composers such always has mate- and the only vi- of a fictitious op- left hand could for as Monteverdi ex- rial elements as part sual element is the eration. Based on example determine perimented with the of the work, rang- environment where Bernhard Leitner’s the frequency of mance use of space and ing from a tangible the work is located. philosophy that “en- the electro-magnet the spatialisation of object to a specific Instead of conceal- tirely new concepts located at the neck. music. Some com- location. Further- ing the sound pro- of space open up The speakers are posers follow Erik more, in sound art ducing material, through extended prepared with a Satie and toy with performers have some artists opt to hearing,” Oorwonde moulded rubber Laura the concept of time. become redundant. use this material explores the con- shape to trans- In Satie’s Vexations A new category not only as a heard cept of bodily hear- mit vibrations. The (1893), the same pops up: attendants element, but also as ing. Starting from sound will consist of Maes theme is repeated who do not have a a visual one. Others movements and the digitally generated 840 times resulting performing task, but add external visual emotions associat- sound waves as in a performance often fulfil the role elements that are ed with them, Oor- well as field record- lasting many hours. of guard as well as not necessary for wonde turns Marc ings of cutting meat The concept of time guide. the production of Leman’s concept and other sounds. and evolution in sound. of embodied music time is replaced by Sound art not only cognition upside a seeming immo- explores and re- Sound art moves down. bility. The mecha- interprets the di- between various nisation of music, mension of time, disciplines such as Oorwonde aims to namely the repro- it also embraces music, visual art, evoke a cool and duction of sound, new technologies. architecture and icy feeling, therefore made it easier to The invention of physics. It is often the main part of the explore new territo- the reproduction of multidisciplinary and work is a stainless ries and to extend sound has gone explores different steel table of the the dimension of hand in hand with methods of sound type used in indus- time. The perform- the ‘boom’ in sound production and trial kitchens and for er was no longer art, and new tech- direction in various post-mortem exam- pushed to the end nologies such as circumstances, with inations. The choice of their tether, as infrared, laser and a variety of materi- of stainless steel technology made it sensor technologies als and relation- also has a techni- possible to repeat have quickly been ships of measure. cal benefit: although something infinitely integrated. it is very thin (< 1 or to create a never- Many sound works mm), it is possible ending composition. The wide variety of appeal to man’s to weld extensions forms which sound amazement. Of- onto it. This new develop- art can take has ten fundamental At specific places ment went hand in nourished my fasci- natural phenomena –namely those hand with the rise of nation for it. The vol- are used in a very places with the sound art, a hybrid ume of the sound elementary form. highest probability of music and vi- produced can range Oorwonde aims to of bodily contact– schematic overview sual arts. The static from near inaudible take the visitor by loudspeakers and of Oorwonde 58 59 The head rest is its surroundings are Acknowledge- equipped with 2 completely silent. ments FSRs and a rubber Noise from works shape that trans- nearby would com- Oorwonde is being mits the move- pletely destroy the built under the guid- ments of the elec- experience of the ance of dr. Godfried- tro-magnet subtle noises and Willem Raes at the feelings. Logos Foundation workshop in Ghent, Oorwonde sits Belgium. at the junction of I wish to thank dr. sound installation Godfried-Willem and a one-on-one Raes (HoGent) performance. As for his guidance with sound art, the and -among other ARMmite microcon- perception of the things- his welding troller and visitor is central. skills. power supply Sound is spread My deepest grati- in space, although tude goes to the this spatiality is Logos Foundation, Contact points for restricted to the without whom the the knees are at- human body. The practical realisation An 8-channel tached to a sliding dimension of time of Oorwonde would system to make the Sliding system on soundcard, laptop, which the contact is not completely not have been pos- a controller for the table suitable for dif- abandoned, since sible. ferent human bod- points for the knees electro-magnets are mounted Oorwonde has a and the speakers, ies. Contact points well-defined begin- Bibliographical and an ARMmite for the hands can ning and end, as references turn 180 degrees. When measuring microcontroller are bodily dimensions, determined by the mounted under- The speakers and visitor. In contrast Raes, G.-W. (2009). electro-magnets at- I noticed a high neath the table. deviation in the dis- to most sound Expression control tached to the knees works there will be in automated mu- and hands are built tance between the middle of the neck a certain develop- sical instruments inside stainless ment of the musical [WWW page]. URL steel soupspoons. and the tailbone. Consequently, the and tactile material http://www.logos- contact point at which the visitor will foundation.org/g_ the buttocks is not be able to influence. texts/expression- equipped with a Oorwonde cannot control.html speaker or electro- strictly be assigned Leman, M. (2008). magnet but with a to sound art or Embodied music moveable ribbon music as elements cognition and me- that can cover a of both forms are diation technology. larger surface. present. This spatial Cambridge, MA, MIT interactive musical press. Oorwonde is a very and tactile compo- Schulz, B. (2002). intimate experience sition is above all The whole corpo- Controller for the where everything is something you have reality of hearing electro-magnets focused on hear- to experience! – an interview with ing and feeling. To Bernhard Leitner. stimulate this, a very In Schulz, B. (Ed.), bright lamp com- Resonanzen / Res- prising 5 x 57 white onances - Aspekte LEDs is mounted der Klangkunst at the head of the (pp. 81-88). Hei- table so as to shine delberg, Germany: directly in the face Kehrer Verlag. of the visitor. There Electro-magnet built is no other possibili- in a soupspoon ty than to close your eyes. Oorwonde can only be fully experienced when Controller for the speakers 60 61 Paul Craenen performer, event maker, text maker, inter- awards include the Impuls award, the Dan d’Action, ELISION, Ives Ensemble, Ric- obtained his Master's degrees piano (1995) ventionist, installationer and conceptual David Prize, the Stipendienpries der Darm- ciotti Ensemble, Quatour Diotima and and chamber music (1997) at the 'Lemmens artist. Blogs his projects at http://david- stadter Ferienkurse, the Kurt Weil Fellow- often works with dancer Shila Anaraki and Institute' (Leuven). He teaches piano and helbich.blogspot.com and facebook. ship and the Robert Erickson Scholarship. recorder player Tomma Wessel. experimental music at the music academy Her music has been performed by Klangfo- of Oud-heverlee. From 2007 tot 2009 he Falk Hübner rum Wien, SurPlus, Orkest de Volharding, Cathy van Eck teached intermedia as a guest professor at is a composer, theatre maker and researcher. QNG, London Improvisers Orchestra among is a composer and sound artist. Her work the Conservatory of Amsterdam. Furthermore, Besides composing and performing music others, in festivals such as Wien Modern, includes compositions for instruments and he is active as a composer and researcher and sound design for diverse theatre per- Ultraschall, Darmstädter Ferienkurse ,“As- live-electronics, as well as performances of intermedial art forms. His works are performances across Europe, he creates experi- pekte”, ISCM and other. Recent commis- with sound objects, which she often designs formed in several countries during festivals of mental music theatrical performances be- sions include works for ensemble Mosaik herself. She studied composition and elec- contemporary music. Due to the experimental tween concert, installation and performance and a sound installation in collaboration with tronic music at the Royal Conservatory in The character of his work, he prefers intensive co- as conceptualist, composer and director. His Pe Lang. Papalexandri is currently living in Hague and at the University of the Arts in operation with small ensembles or individual practice-based PhD research focusses on the Berlin, Germany. Berlin. She performs her works regularly on performers. His lasting interest in the status musician as (theatrical) performer and the festivals like SPARK in Minneapolis, NYCEMF of bodies in contemporary music performance impact of experimental theatrical setups on Steven Prengels in New York, Klangwerkstatt in Berlin, Hap- led to a post-graduate research at the Orpheus the professional identity of the musician. Studied at the Lemmens Institute, the Uni- zura Digital Art in Israel, Avantgarde Schwaz Institute from 2001 to 2004. At present, this versity of Leuven, the Royal Antwerp Con- in Austria and Spaziomusica in Italy. She research is carried on as a doctoral research Laura Maes servatoire and the Amsterdam Conserva- is currently doing a doctoral degree at the (docARTES) at the University of Leiden. He is a Born in in Ghent, Belgium. She com- toire. His work has been performed by e.g. Orpheusinstitute in Ghent and University member of different research groups (ORCIM- pleted her studies as ‘Master in Music’ the Belgian Chamber Orchestra, Spectra of Leiden in the DocARTES Program, her Ghent, ARTI-Amsterdam). at the ‘Royal Conservatory’ in Ghent in Ensemble, Oxalys Ensemble, Brussels Phil- dissertation subject is Loudspeakers and 2001 with high distinction. In 2002 she harmonic, deFilharmonie and the Nieuw Microphones as Musical Instruments. Her Frederik Croene received a degree for ‘Master in Mar- Ensemble. Besides composing, he paints supervising professors are Richard Barrett is a pianist who immerses himself in the art keting Management’, with distinction and creates objects and installations, and Frans de Ruiter. Since March 2007 she of piano playing and who constantly en- at the ‘Vlerick Leuven Ghent Manage- what he considers to be a vital source has a teaching position at the department for deavours to explore its boundaries. Besides ment School’. She is currently working for his creative imagination. As a result of music and media arts of the University of the focusing on the creation of new piano pieces as a researcher at the University Col- this deliberate flirtation with several art Arts in Bern, Switzerland. based on the work of young composers, he lege Ghent, Faculty of Music. She performs, a considerable amount of his recent redefines the traditional relationships be- formed together with, amongst others, work finds itself at the bounderies of clear tween instrument, player and performance Nico Parlevliet, Roel Meelkop, Claus musical composition. Among other things, Simon Steen-Andersen situation starting from his concept of ‘Le Van Bebber, Noise-Maker’s Fifes, Pierre Steven Prengels is currently working on a XXXXXXXXXXX Piano Démécanisé’. The result is music for Berthet, Logos Foundation, Q-O2 & theatre production with Alain Platel and dance performances, live accompaniment Black Jackets Company. She released Frank Van Laecke (les Ballets C de la B), of silent/avantgarde films, music installa- records on C.U.E. records, Cling Film, a string sextet for the Oxalys Ensemble tions and solo performances for which he MSBR-records, Denshi Zatsuon & Fle- and a commission by the Belgian Cham- works together with artists specializing in nix. ber Orchestra. (More information on www. different disciplines: Hallveig Agustsdottir Her installations were presented during stevenprengels.com) (visual arts), Lawrence Malstaf (installa- Bruges 2002, Happy New Ears Kortrijk, tions), Liv Hanne Haugen (dance), Edurne Re:New Kopenhagen and at arts centre Matthew Shlomowitz Rubio (video arts), Timo Van Luijk (music), Vooruit. is a composer of concert music and per- Erik Bassier (performance), Joris Verdoodt formance pieces. Raised in Adelaide, (graphic design) as well as other musicians Marianthi Papalexandri-Alexandri Australia, he now lives in London where he with a background in all possible genres. He Born in Ptolemaida, Greece. Completed her lectures at the Royal College of Music. He has recently been invited to play the piano Ph.D in Composition, as a Fellowship recipi- studied at Stanford University where Brian at Transitfestival (Leuven), Hollandfestival ent at the University of California, San Diego Ferneyhough supervised his doctorate. He (Amsterdam), Ars Musica (Brussel) and (with Rand Steiger) and a Post-graduate co-directs the new music ensemble Plus Gentjazz (Gent) amongst others. Diploma in Composition at the University Minus, is a member of InterInterInter (a of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna (with group creating events mixing performance David Helbich Chaya Czernowin) in 2008. She received her and audience activity), and co-directed Born in Berlin, school in Bremen, studies B.M and M.M degree in Composition (with the inter-art performance series Rational in Amsterdam and Freiburg, home in Brus- Roger Redgate) from Goldsmiths College, Rec from 2005–2008. He has composed sels. Works as composer, choreographer, University of London, in 2000. Selected works for groups such as Calefax, Champ

62 63 Colophon

RTRSRCH is a publication of the ARTI Production (Artistic Research, Theory and Innovation) Sanne Kersten research group at the Amsterdam School of the Arts. The journal aims to provide a foto's of Frederik Croene were taken by complementary/parasitic dissemination Chris Van Der Burght forum for themes linked to international external event structures (festivals, confer- Thanks to ences, exhibitions, projects, etc.), contrib- Shila Anaraki uting alternative, interdisciplinary perspec- Logos Foundation, Ghent tives. Printing RTRSRCH reflects the interests and prob- Drukkerij Wilco, Amersfoort lematising strategies of the ARTI research group concerning current discourse in Uitgever / Publisher practice-based research in the arts, explor- ARTI, Artistic Research, Theory and Innova- ing and facilitating processes for creat- tion ing, sharing and distributing emerging P.O. Box 15079 knowledge(s). The presentation of content 1001 MB Amsterdam will vary from issue to issue, dependent on www.lectoraten.ahk.nl the topic and stylistic concerns of the guest editor. RTRSRCH is published three times a year. © 2009 ARTI, Artistic Research, Theory and Innova- ARTI participants, artists and researchers tion, authors, artists and photographers from the creative and performing arts, are actively engaged in practice-based research processes. ARTI is chaired by Mari- jke Hoogenboom, professor of Art Practice & Development and Henk Borgdorff, professor of Art Theory & Research.

Concept and general editor Paul Craenen

Advice Sher Doruff

Contributors Cathy van Eck, Frederik Croene, David Hel- bich, Falk Hübner, Laura Maes, Marianthi Papalexandri-Alexandri, Steven Prengels, Matthew Shlomowitz, Simon Steen-An- dersen

Graphic design Astrid Seme Werkplaats Typografie

English corrections David Bull