The Recorded Voice and the Mediated Body in Contemporary Canadian Electroacoustic Music by Alexa Lauren Woloshyn A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Faculty of Music University of Toronto © Copyright by Alexa Lauren Woloshyn 2012 The Recorded Voice and the Mediated Body in Contemporary Canadian Electroacoustic Music Alexa Lauren Woloshyn Doctor of Philosophy Faculty of Music University of Toronto 2012 Abstract Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once declared: “the human voice is the organ of the soul.” As a powerful signifier, with deep links to human presence, the voice can indicate psychological, emotional and physical states. In the works of contemporary Canadian electroacoustic composers Christian Calon, Robert Normandeau, Tanya Tagaq, Barry Truax, and Hildegard Westerkamp, the mutability of the recorded voice initiates an aesthetic process that constructs this human presence and expresses the composer’s own preoccupation with the body, namely the ageing, social, and erotic (homosexual and heterosexual) body. Through an application of research on electroacoustics, studio technology, gender, sexuality, linguistics, epistemology, and human physiology, I examine how specific works incorporate and modify the voice, and thus construct or conceal its physical origin (i.e., the body); I consider how composers variously highlight, re- construct, or even disentangle the expressive and communicative associations between the voice and the body. ii Rather than summarize numerous electroacoustic works, this dissertation focuses on the aesthetic, technological, and expressive elements of a small number of contemporary Canadian electroacoustic works. I first examine Normandeau’s Onomatopoeias cycle as an artistic exploration of the ageing process that considers both emotional and physical aspects specific to certain developmental stages, including childhood, adolescence, and old age, all with a lens of ironic nostalgia. Next I explore social and sensuous relationships, the unseen interactions between bodies as heard through the recorded voices in Barry Truax’s homoerotic Song of Songs (1992) and Tanya Tagaq’s two studio albums, Sinaa (2005) and Auk/Blood (2008). Finally, I consider how the voice is employed as a vehicle for storytelling and constructing identity in Christian Calon’s Minuit (1989) and Hildegard Westerkamp’s Für Dich – For You (2005) and MotherVoiceTalk (2008). The works are varied, but from the young girl in Éclats de voix (the first work in Normandeau’s Onomatopoeias cycle [1991-2009]) to the grown child and her elderly mother in MotherVoiceTalk, they find a link in human experience. iii Acknowledgements As I have (finally!) arrived at the end of my doctoral studies, I find myself overwhelmed with gratitude to all of people who contributed to this process. First, I extend the most heartfelt thanks to Dr. Robin Elliott for being the kind of advisor graduate students pray for. It was our regular meetings and his constant enthusiasm that pushed me through some of the harder days when I felt like I could make no progress. He always had thoughtful insight to help the depth and effectiveness of my analysis. I could not ask for a better mentor or friend. I am also grateful to the members of my committee, Drs. Sherry Lee and Ryan McClelland, for the hours of reading, editing, and discussions they poured into my project. Their probing questions challenged my critical engagement with the material, and their attention to detail helped me greatly to enhance the coherence of my writing. I am deeply appreciative of their constant support and enthusiasm for my research. Many thanks to Dr. Ken McLeod for being the ideal internal reader for my doctoral defense. His thoughtful questions challenge me to further explore the many complex issues raised in my research. Special thanks to Dr. Charity Marsh for not only providing a written report filled with perceptive questions and gracious support, but also for flying to Toronto for my defense. I look forward to reflecting further on her many insights as they relate to my current and future research endeavours. One of my favourite parts of this research was meeting the composers whose music I was analyzing. Many thanks to Barry Truax for inviting me to Vancouver. Throughout the process, he has been generous with his time and resources. He was a gracious host, not only at Simon Fraser University, but also at his Burnaby home. Thanks also to his partner, Guenther Krueger, for iv welcoming me into their home. I must also thank Dr. Robert Normandeau for answering my many emails, and most importantly, for taking an afternoon to meet with me at the Université de Montréal. I am also grateful to both Hildegard Westerkamp and Tanya Tagaq for taking the time to answer my questions. The support and openness of these composers was essential to my project. I thank my roommates, who were witness to the many highs and lows of this process. In particular, I must thank Patricia. She has always been an understanding friend and supportive cheerleader. To the Team: I can’t thank these friends enough for the past four years. Their intellectual brilliance and undying support inspire me to improve myself, as a scholar and as a person. To my Prairie friends: I am so grateful for all the long-distance love and support. I must thank Cameron in particular for all of the times he motivated me to continue working—to take each day at a time. I give a special shout out to Drs. Keith Johnston and Colleen Renihan. I aim to be just a little more like them each day, because they are the kinds of scholars and friends I hope to become. I thank Anna Boyden for motivating me to put the finishing touches on the dissertation with our regular work dates. I cannot express in words my gratitude for Dr. Michelle Boyd. Our work dates, countless trips to Office Bucks for oatmeal and lattes, gym sessions, knitting parties, movies, and piano duets made the final year of writing insane, but fun. Finally, I thank my family for being supportive of all my crazy dreams. I am especially grateful for our time together in Texas when I needed a break during the final stretch. Special thanks to my mom for all of the packages, cards, and cookies that reminded me that distance is no barrier to love. v Contents Abstract ii Acknowledgements iv Contents vi List of Tables ix List of Figures x Chapter 1 – Canadian Electroacoustic Music and the Voice: Musical, Theoretical, and Methodological Frameworks 1 1.0 Introduction 1 1.1 Conceptual Background 7 1.1.1 Electroacoustic Music 7 1.1.2 Fixed Medium Work 9 1.2 A Musical Lineage: Acousmatique and Soundscape Musics in Canada 16 1.2.1 Schaeffer’s Musique Concrète and Quebec’s Acousmatique 18 1.2.2 World Soundscape Project and Soundscape Composition 20 1.3 Literature Review 21 1. 3.1 Electroacoustic Music: General 21 1. 3.2 Analysis of Electroacoustic Music 22 1. 3.3 Canadian Electroacoustic Music 24 1. 3.4 The Voice and Gender in Electroacoustic Music 26 1.4 Methodology 32 1.4.1 Listener’s Perspective: Hearing Performance and Production 32 1.4.2 Denis Smalley’s Spectromorphology and Indicative Fields 35 1.4.3 Jay Hodgson’s Mix Compass 38 1.4.4 Controlling Gender and Language 41 1.4.5 Intimacy on the Recorded Medium 43 1.4.6 Composers’ Perspectives 45 1.4.7 Ethnography 52 1.5 Chapter Overviews 54 1.6 Conclusion 57 Chapter 2 – The Ageing Voice and Body in Normandeau’s Onomatopoeias Cycle 58 2.0 Introduction 58 2.1 Biography and Background: Robert Normandeau 60 2.2 The Onomatopoeias Cycle 61 2.3 Identity: Something’s Lost and Something’s Gained 70 2.4 Expressive Bodies 83 2.5 Bodies in Crisis 100 2.6 Gaining Perspective: Irony, Nostalgia, and the Cynical Composer 107 2.7 Conclusion 119 vi Chapter 3 – The Voice and the Body as the Studio’s Social and Sensuous Game 122 3.0 Introduction 122 3.0.1 Social and Sensuous Interactions 122 3.0.2 Constructed Social Spaces 124 3.0.3 Intimacy 125 3.1 Sensuality and Homoeroticism in Song of Songs 128 3.1.1 Introduction 128 3.1.2 Compositional Output and Aesthetic Views 129 3.1.3 Background to Song of Songs 133 3.1.4 Source Text: Sensuality in Metaphor 141 3.1.5 Beyond Heterosexuality: Enacting Homoeroticism in Voice and Text 143 3.1.6 The Grain of the Voice 153 3.1.7 The Lovers’ Scene: Absence, Presence, and Place 158 3.1.8 Reflection 163 3.2 “All By Myself”: Re-imagining a Social and Erotic Game in Tagaq’s Music 166 3.2.1 Introduction 166 3.2.2 Career and Artistic Output 167 3.2.3 Background to Sinaa and Auk/Blood 169 3.2.4 Inuit Throat Singing 175 3.2.5 Tagaq’s New Game 182 3.2.6 Tagaq’s Twin Bodies 186 3.2.7 Reflection 194 3.3 Conclusion 196 Chapter 4 – Playing with Words: Electroacoustic Storytelling 201 4.0 Introduction 201 4.0.1 Chapter Overview 201 4.0.2 Private vs. Public Space in Electroacoustic Music 203 4.0.3 The Voice and Storytelling in Electroacoustic Music: Authority, Agency, and Gender 206 4.1 The Mortality of the Word and the Body in Christian Calon’s Minuit (1989) 210 4.1.1 Introduction 210 4.1.2 Background and Aesthetics: Creative Motivations 211 4.1.3 Overview: Minuit 214 4.1.4 Storytelling and Narrative in Minuit 217 4.1.5 Bataille and Eroticism 225 4.1.6 Calon’s Discontinuous Beings 228 4.1.7 Reflection 230 4.2 Feels like Home: Love and Belonging in Hildegard Westerkamp’s Für Dich – For You (2005) and MotherVoiceTalk (2008) 232 4.2.1 Introduction 232 4.2.2 Biography, Aesthetics, and Output 234 vii 4.2.3 Für Dich – For You 242 4.2.3.1 Background to Für Dich – For You 242 4.2.3.2 The Source Text: Rainer