The Trumpeter Re-Conceived’

Home , Be Myself, John Cage, Marco Blaauw, Mauricio Kagel, Microtonal music, Music theatre

‘The Trumpeter Re-Conceived’:

An investigation of the creative and performative skills required in New Music Theatre works

by Sef Hermans

Student number: 650342

Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of

Doctor of Philosophy in Music Performance

June , 2018

Faculty of Fine Arts and Music

University of Melbourne

Victoria

Australia

DECLARATION

This is to certify that:

I. The work submitted comprises only my original work, completed while I was a postgraduate student enrolled at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music at The University of Melbourne. It contains no material that has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma at any other university or institution. II. To the best of my knowledge, the thesis contains no material previously written or published by another person except where due reference is made in the text. III. The thesis is less than 40,000 words in length, exclusive of tables, figures, references appendices and bibliography.

Signed:

This thesis is part of a portfolio, and comprises one third of the total submission for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Music Performance. The practical components of this submission comprise two thirds of the total and include a co-devised work, Silencio, and the following recordings:

i. Karlheinz Stockhausen: Oberlippentanz, solo für Piccolo-Trompete. Video: Recoded on the 7th of April 2017 Melba Hall, Melbourne Conservatory of Music Duration: 14 min.

ii. Co-devised work by Dr. Falk Hübner and Sef Hermans: Silencio, Monodrama for trumpet-actor. Video: Recorded on the 26th & 27th of September 2017 De Avenue Theatre, Breda, the Netherlands Duration: 45 min.

iii. James Mobberley: Icarus Wept for trumpet and electronic tape Audio: Recorded on the 24th and 25th of August, 2017 Studio Rocket Productions, Breda, the Netherlands Duration 18 min.

iv. Mauricio Kagel: Morceau de Concours, Musicales theatre fur zwei trumpete Audio: Recorded on the 28th of June 2014 The HKU University of the Arts Utrecht, the Netherlands Duration: 12 min.

v. Mauricio Kagel: 12 Fanfares Video: Recorded on the 19th of August 2017

Metaal Kathedraal , Utrecht, the Netherlands Duration: 21 min.

vi. Thomas Myrmel: Saviour Sounds Video: Recorded on the 24th of June 2014 Methaal Kathedraal, Utrecht, the Netherlands Duration: 16 min.

vii. Daniel D’Adamo … À Reims Audio: Recorded live on the 5th of September 2015 Bendigo International Festival of Exploratory Music, Sacred Heart Cathedral, Bendigo Victoria, Australia Duration 9 min.

As appendix recording I:

viii. Karlheinz Stockhausen: Oberlippentanz (protest) aus Luzifers Tannz vom Samstag aus Licht (staged concert version with ensemble) Video: Recoded on the 21st of July 2014 Melba Hall, Melbourne Conservatory of Music Duration 14. min

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, I would like to thank my supervisor, Professor Jane Davidson, without whom I would have never come this far. Her patience and support, especially in tough times, has been greatly appreciated. She provided me with insights, feedback and the academic tools required to complete this project.

I also gratefully acknowledge the following people:

Dr. Ken Murray, my co-supervisor, for his reflection and listening ear.

Professor Gary McPherson and Dr. Joel Brennan for their input in the first year of my work. They provided the opportunity for me to undertake this PhD at the University of Melbourne, and for this, I thank them most sincerely.

Dr. Falk Hübner, for joining me across the past 4 years of this journey in Silencio. I thank him for his artistic work and for many hours of academic discussion that helped me shape this project, especially in developing my creative capacities. I also thank him for his friendship, and I add thanks to his family, Marieke and the children, for lending him to me for so many hours.

My dearest wife, Beatriz Pomes, for her loving support, ideas, humour and insightfulness, I offer my thanks and love. For supporting me through endless nights of work, she made this PhD possible.

My parents, Frans and Marion Hermans, whose love, moral and practical support could always be depended on. They have been there, unconditionally, in every way imaginable.

My mentor and friend, Willem van der Vliet, whom I thank for helping me be who I am today. His wisdom, profound musicianship, inspiration, and unconditional support has been invaluable.

My theatre coaches, Sapidah Kian, Klemens and Klavertje Patijn, for their insight and energy, support and confidence in me.

Martijn Rondel of Rocket Film, for his artistic insight and help in finalise the recordings.

My uncle and aunt, Ton and Annemieke Patijn, for their moral and logistic support and for their limitless hospitality.

David Chisholm, for taking me under his wing and making me feel part of the BIFEM family.

My PhD colleague and friend, Patrick McDevitt, whose English proofreading skills and special friendship have helped more than he can know.

All my musician friends and colleagues, who were there unconditionally, to help me record the pieces for this thesis:

Fast Opera Production, and the musician who recorded Saviour Sounds with me:

• composer Thomas Myrmle • flute/piccolo Janneke Groesz • hobo Dorine Schoon • bassoon Renee Knigge • trombone Joost Geevers • percussion Johannes Terpstra • violin Merel Junge • mezzosoprano Janneke Schaareman • soprano Christina Voltl • technician Brian Esselbrugge

Recording of Morceau de Concours by Kagel

• trumpet II Arthur Kerklaan • technician Brian Esselbrugge

Recording of Fanfares by Kagel

• trumpet II Arthur Kerklaan • trumpet III Bianca Egberts • trumpet IV Pascal van der Velde • camera/sound engineer Martijn Rondel

Recording of Icarus Wept by Mobberley

• sound engineer Martijn Rondel

Recording of Silencio

• director/composer Falk Hübner • camera/sound engineer Martijn Rondel

Oberlippentanz by Stockhausen, solo recording

• recording David Collins

Oberlippentanz by Stockhausen, ensemble recording

• trombone Ming Yeung Li • percussion Peter Neville • percussion Thea Rossen • french horn Roman Ponomariov • french horn Isaac Shieh • french horn Anthony Cardamone • french horn Luca Vanags Smith • recording David Collins

Recording of … À Reims by D’Adamo

• trumpet Callum G’Foerer • trumpet Louisa Threwartha • trumpet Tristram Williams • orchestra The Argonaut Trumpet Orchestra, Bendigo.

Finally, I gratefully acknowledge funding from The University of Melbourne through the:

• Melbourne International Research Scholarship, 2013 – 2017; • Melbourne International Fee Remission, 2013 – 2017; • Faculty of VCA&MCM Small Grants Scheme Award for Postgraduate Study, 2015 – 2016

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT 13

FOREWORD 15

CHAPTER 1: CONTEXT 16

1.1 Development of New Music Theatre in the 20th and 21st century 17

1.2 Musicians as theatrical performers 19

1.3 From not-acting to acting 20

1.4 Acting methodologies 23

1.5 Acting tasks 26

1.6 Memorisation 27

1.7 Moving forwards 29

CHAPER 2: METHODOLOGY 30

2.1 Research strategy 31

2.2 Methodological framework 31

2.3 Researching Oberlippentanz 32

2.3.1 Exploring existing literature 33

2.3.2 Research through practice 33

2.3.3 Research through performance 34

2.3.4 Results/conclusions 34

2.4 Researching and creating Silencio 35

2.4.1 Research through literature and the Ingredient Model 36

2.4.2 Research through narrative reflection and practice 36

2.4.3 Research through reflection of performance 36

2.5 Summary and relevance 36

CHAPTER 3: PLAYING THE THEATRICAL, OBERLIPPENTANZ, KARLHEINZ STOCKHAUSEN 38

3.1 Existing research on the work 39

3.2 Michael’s journey through Licht 43

3.3 Michael’s character 50

3.4 Reflection 51

3.5 Defining the acting in Oberlippentanz 52

3.6 Personal dramaturgical interpretation 53

3.7 Summary 55

CHAPTER 4: REFLECTIVE CASE STUDY OF OBERLIPPENTANZ 57

4.1 Overview 58

4.2 The practice sessions 62

Session 1 62

Session 2 65

Session 3 66

Session 4 72

Session 5 74

Session 6 75

Session 7 77

Session 8 79 9

Session 9 80

4.3 Analysis of practise themes 82

4.4 Dramaturgical preparation of Oberlippentanz for BIFEM 86

4.5 Summary reflection on performance September 2016 92

4.6 Oberlippentanz concluded 94

CHAPTER 5: THE CREATION OF A NEW MUSIC THEATRE PIECE: SILENCIO 98

5.1 Introduction to Silencio 99

5.2 Theorising our collaboration 100

5.3 Theorising our creative process 102

5.4 Developing Silencio 116

5.4.1 Initial stage 117

5.4.2 Creative process: 2015 118

5.4.3 Creative process: 2016 124

5.4.4 Recording the trailer 127

5.4.5 Creative process: 2017 130

5.4.6 Putting Silencio together: July 2017 133

5.4.7 Rehearsals with actress and director Klavertje Patijn 139

5.4.8 Rehearsals dance studio Rotterdam 142

5.4.9 Narrative account of the recording sessions 145

5.4.10 Diary 145

5.5 Reflecting on the creation of Silencio 148

5.6 Critical reflection with Falk Hübner 150

5.7 Reflection on the outcome 151 10

CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION 152

REFERENCES 157 SUPPORTING REFERENCES 166

APPENDIX I EXTRA REFLECTIONS ON OBERLIPPENTANZ 167

APPENDIX II TEXT AND ANALYSIS REMAINDERS 176

APPENDIX III FUEGO MUDO, MARIO BENEDETTI 182

THESIS ABSTRACT

This thesis investigates the demands of New Music Theatre on the trumpeter engaging with this art form. It asks what are skills necessary to engage with the challenging works written for trumpet in this genre over the past decades? How are these skills acquired? Also, since one of the ‘new’ aspects of this type of work is the increasing demand of creatively and collaboratively devised works, how can the trumpeter learn to work in this environment? The need for the research is driven by the fact that the New Music Theatre repertoire that has emerged is still not integrated into mainstream expert learning, despite much being some 60 years old and offering an exciting and challenging scope for the instrumentalist. Indeed, the ‘new requirements’ demand multi-tasking and gives the performer a theatrical focus, moving away from the static recital platform to being able to embrace the dynamic of movement and dramatic action. Thus, although exciting, this ‘new’ approach remains an area of relatively little study from the performance perspective.

New Music Theatre is, by virtue of the repertoire being created, interdisciplinary. The current thesis focuses on how trumpeters can achieve both the theatrical and extra-musical tasks demanded in this repertoire while also expanding their trumpet-playing capacity, as this ‘new’ repertoire often pushes them to the edge of their playing limits. The approach to this enquiry is practice-based, offering reflective insight to understanding and facing the challenges expected of the trumpeter as he/she prepare for this repertoire. It is based on two investigations:

I) A detailed record of the current author’s own learning and performance of one of these very challenging works, Stockhausen’s Oberlippentanz, now 34 years old, yet very much on the margins of the trumpet repertoire. An analysis of the work is undertaken in an attempt to understand the persistent technical challenges of the piece and find strategies to both memorise and develop a compelling theatrical interpretation. The results produce a detailed and systematic methodology for practice that integrates technical and expressive approaches to address the demands of this Stockhausen piece;

II) A record of the experimental approach adopted when the current author collaborates with a composer of New Music Theatre. This collaboration is traced and investigated to understand the degree to which the performer’s own skills can be both expanded but also contribute in original ways to the development of a new work. The work researched is entitled Silencio and is co-created with Dutch New Music Theatre composer and director, Falk Hübner.

Note that the thesis of 40.000 words, is also accompanied by a set of digital recordings of music performances which present the substantive practical component of this doctoral submission. These are presentations of New Music Theatre works featuring the current author as actor/trumpeter and co-devisor of some of the work considered. These examples are specified on page 3 of this thesis.

FOREWORD

Little is written on Music Theatre performance skills (specifically acting and/or creating) for instrumentalists. In general, there has been little research undertaken on or by the musician as theatrical performer/deviser, even though musicians have been at the forefront of these innovative processes, breaking down the frontiers between the traditional art forms of music, drama, dance, and fines arts that were strongly delineated by the mid-nineteenth century. For example, in the 20th and 21st centuries, performance practice has heavily diversified and the appearance of theatrical musical works like Luciano Berio’s Sequenza pieces for a range of solo instruments, each undertake a theatrical interpretation of music for the instrument. Also, Claude Vivier’s Rêves d’un Marco Polo, where the musicians are an integral part of the onstage action. As Falk Hübner states in his work aptly entitled Shifting Identities, “musicians not only are required to play their instruments but also to carry out a variety of performative tasks along with dancers, actor and mimes” (2013, p. 5). In fact, over the past decade, music theatre has been the only sector of contemporary experimental art to increase in its quantity of outputs. Unlike twenty or thirty years ago, when production was slight, today, the number of pieces written or produced in New Music Theatre has reached an average of over fifty a year in the Netherlands alone (Vlaams Theatre Instituut, 2009). Many opera houses and music theatre companies commission new operas or music theatre productions, engaging instrumentalists who are required to act as well as play their instruments.

With the context above, the current investigation explores the tasks of the instrumentalists in multi-disciplinary music theatre productions, specifically the trumpeter. The significance of this study is that it aims to enable a better understanding of the skills that instrumentalists need to develop to be a theatrical performer in music contexts, and it will provide a guideline to face the demands of New Music Theatre. As this is a reflective piece, it focuses on the author’s own processes as a trumpeter, and relates to work he is required to undertake in his professional life as a musician. This project involves working with repertoire from 40 years ago, as well as generating a brand-new work, with the composer. The project aims to research the adaptability required, even though the data offers only a single self-reflective case study by the current author.

CHAPTER 1: CONTEXT

1.1 The development of New Music Theatre in the 20th and 21st Century

Music Theatre is a broad and hard to define genre, which sits between the musical and opera and leans towards instrumental music. When the term ‘New Music Theatre’ is used, it is almost always meant to exclude traditional opera, operetta and musicals. In the context of the current project, the definition of New Music Theatre also excludes singers. The focus is on works composed for highly skilled instrumentalists who usually are not trained in theatrical practices, yet who are increasingly expected to develop such skills. The definition of Salzman and Desi (2008) functions as the central reference. In their book The New Music Theatre, the first publication on the history and development of the New Music Theatre, they describe the development that had been missing in the literature as follows:

Music theatre is theatre that is music driven (id est, decisively linked to musical timing and organisation) where, at the very least, music language, vocalization and physical movement exist, interact, or stand side by side in some kind of equality but performed by different performers and in a different social ambiance than works normally categorised as opera (performed by opera singers in opera houses) or musicals (performed by theatre singers in “legitimate” theatres). (Slazman and Desi, 2008, p. 5)

Some of the key features of New Music Theatre include the absorption of the musical and artistic revolutions of the early 20th century by incorporating technological innovations of stagecraft and stage design (such as machinery and light) and assimilated the innovations that have come through the development in the fields of audio and video/film. Some of the works could still be considered operatic but as they have the features stated above they tend to be shaped and taken to a different context than a standard operatic model would permit. In addition, techniques such as stagecraft, styling or non-operatic subjects are used to redefine the production into New Music Theatre. In fact, the majority of New Music Theatre composers have rejected the grandeur of the opera in search of smaller-scaled theatre settings. The reason for this, next to the obvious economic saving, seems to be to emphasise their philosophical aesthetics, and their desire for audience immediacy, much as we see in contemporary dance, dance theatre, new theatre, and new performance art.

Influenced by the ideas of performance art and flux, composers such as John Cage and George Crumb amongst others developed the idea of Instrumentales Theatre. Mauricio Kagel was responsible for the theatricalisation of music itself, developing the idea of ‘Music as Theatre’ during the late 1950s. He underlined “the physical activity as intrinsic to the performance of the musicians” and argued that “movement on stage is the constitutive characteristic to differentiate between instrumental theatre and classical concert performance […] The theatrical movement is performed by musicians instead of actors, dancers or mimes. Depending on the nature of the specific piece, the musician is interpreter and/or co-creator of her part” (Kagel 1966, p. 252).

Because Avant-Garde composers such as Mauricio Kagel (1931-2008), Karlheinz Stockhausen (1928-2007) and György Ligeti (1923-2006) advocated the subtle extensions of traditional classical music concerts, they started to reposition the usual ensemble settings and added costumes to their ‘productions’. The instrumentalists were also expected to do undertake acting activities far beyond playing their instruments. Out of the ‘ordinary’ demands such as dancing or lying down as they played became integrated into their list of performance tasks. Staged structures were created such as Stockhausen in Michaels Reise um die Erde from Donnerstag aus Licht, where the trumpet player literally hovers above the stage by means of a mechanical crane.

During the last two decades, not only has the profession of the instrumentalist expanded vastly, but the skill requirements have changed owing to in the field of New Music Theatre. One could say that the instrumentalist is now expected to do much more than interpret the score and play the instrument skilfully. Instrumentalists are now expected to perform together with actors, dancers, mime artists and execute some of their tasks as if they were equally skilled in all disciplines. A good example of this can be found in the recent works of the Belgian group Needcompany, where every member in the ensemble –musicians actors and dancers- switch fluently between dancing, music making, singing, and acting (www.needcompany.org).

The works of German composer, Heiner Goebbels, make many demands on the musicians who have multiple tasks to perform in addition to playing their instrument. In Swarz auf Weis, which is a collaboration between the composer and Ensemble Modern, the musicians combine the instruments in installations. The staging even goes so far as to have the musicians throw tennis balls against drums and large sheets of metal, and in the middle of the piece the trumpet player, William Foreman, starts reciting a poem by Edgar Allan Poe using a microphone attached to his trumpet (Goebbels, 2010).

The question that arises is how the development of the New Music Theatre has reflected on instrumentalists: how has this historical movement changed their roles?

1.2 Musicians as theatrical performers

In the works by composers previously mentioned in passing like Kagel, Stockhausen, Ligeti and Goebbels, it is clear that the musicians are expected to move into a theatrical realm, thus for the sake of the current investigation to define the boundaries of the theatricality demanded of them. The basic elements of a theatrical performance constitute a staged performer in front of an audience. The actions of this staged performer consist of performative utterances, defined as events:

…taking place in the here and now, in [their] need to be carried out and presented and, in consequence, in [their] need to be perceived in this very moment. A performative utterance is an intentional act […], which is not just performed in the (literal) sense of being executed, but something that is staged. (Kattenbelt in Bay-Cheng et. al, 2010, p. 30)

Theatre scholar Marvin Carlson complements this definition of theatricality as ‘deliberate behaviour’ by adding that it seems “not natural or spontaneous but composed according to this grammar of rhetorical and authenticating conventions in order to achieve particular effects on its viewers” (Carlson 2002, p. 240). When Carlson says ‘composed behaviour’, in a

way, he implies what Kattenbelt calls ‘staged’ (Kattenbelt, 2006). Because of this understanding of theatricality, it is essential to take a closer look at the performance conventions associated with musicians to understand how far their typical practice is from being theatrical. The convention for most musicians, for instance, is to occupy a strictly placed position on stage where each musician has his or her fixed spot within an ensemble. In every genre from orchestras to jazz, indi-pop to rock, the conventions of position vary, but there are ‘rules’ around them. Phillip Auslander notes that with every specific kind of musician comes specific kinds of professional activities and ‘musical persona’. He adds that these practices include playing style, outer appearance such as clothes and the entire socio-cultural context of the performance practice (Auslander, 2006). The appearance of most musicians on the stage already has a theatrical element, give these socially bounded conventions of set-up, dress etc. But in the New Music Theatre space, the goal is to push beyond these conventions, as Hübner writes:

As soon as this reference or code is changed, disturbed or broken, the audience’s perception of the musician is challenged. The question is what this person is actually doing on stage; the door towards a theatrical perception is opened. This perception can be extremely diverse, as it may be connected to meaning-making processes, but also simply refer to an understanding of what the nature of the profession of this person on stage is: musician, actor, dancer, mime, technician, dervish or biker […] What is crucial to the theatricality of the musician is that her performance is staged in such a way as to transform her usually musical utterance into performative ones. (Hübner, 2013 p. 22).

In the development of the literature already discussed, the boundaries of these stage actions keep evolving into even more extreme and demanding situations for the instrumentalist.

1.3 From not-acting to acting

As discussed in the previous section, staged actions do not necessarily imply acting per se. In Stockhausen’s Oberlippentanz, for instance, the act of lying on one’s back while playing the trumpet could hardly be called ‘acting’, or even throwing tennis balls against drums and metal

sheets such as in Schwartz auf Weis from Goebbels; even though ‘theatrical’, could it be defined as acting? Michael Kirby states that:

In most cases acting and not-acting are relatively easy to recognise and identify. In a performance, we usually know when a person is acting and when not. But there is a scale on continuum of behaviour involved, and the difference between acting and not-acting may be small. In such cases categorization may not be easy. Perhaps some would say it is un-important, but, in fact, it is precisely these borderline cases that can provide insights into acting theory and the nature of the art. (Kirby 1987, p. 3)

To articulate this continuum from not-acting and acting, Kirby developed a scale to grade this, divided into five categories or stages, see Figure 1.

NOT-ACTING ACTING

Nonmatrixed Symbolised Received Simple Complex Performing Matrix Acting Acting Acting

Figure 1: Kirby’s Acting-non-acting scale, (taken from Kirby 1987, p. 10)

In ‘nonmatrixed performing’, Kirby includes people who are onstage - such as stage attendants or technicians - who are not embedded “in matrices of pretended or represented character, situation, place and time” (Kirby 1987, p. 4).

In the ‘symbolised matrix’, performers may not act, yet their costumes or their positions represent something or someone active in the staging. In ‘received acting’ the matrices are “stronger, persistent and reinforce each other, we see an actor, no matter how ordinary the behaviour” (Kirby 1987, p. 4). The audience may perceive the received actor as acting, due to the amount of impersonation, simulation and representation; but we cannot say that the performer is yet acting.

In ‘simple acting’, the performer does something actively to impersonate, simulate and represent. The direct importance of the performer’s acting in the piece on its own is not 21

relevant to come to these conclusions, as “acting can be said to exist in the smallest and simplest action that involves pretence” (Kirby 1987, p. 7). The performer is deemed to having an emotional or psychological involvement in the role, as this is the key point to distinguish ‘acting’ from ‘non-acting’. Finally, the category of ‘complex acting’ is arrived at when there are more and more elements included into the pretence, such as stronger emotions, physical characteristics, more complex actions or a personal development. It is of great importance to note that by dividing acting according to simple-complex acting phases does not distinguishes one acting style from another. Even though Kirby’s model differentiates the degree of acting through the measurement of acting complexity, it does not imply which acting style can be applied to a particular scenario; even though this system lends itself well to compare styles of acting. But, using Kirby’s model, it is possible to assess the complexity of the roles that the musicians are asked to perform in theatrical performances. Further, by assessing these against the different acting styles, it is possible to analyse the best combination between style and complexity for each New Music Theatre context. Of course, performers, whether actors or musicians or something in between, use the artwork and its delivery to elicit an emotional reaction from the public. The goal of the actor is to transmit the character’s development through the course of a performance and it is this feature of performance that musicians deal with less overtly, if at all. In the New Music Theatre context, this becomes an additional interest for the musician, where a theatrical or musical character may be quite strongly depicted.

In theatre practice, as well as the field of theatre science, one source of heated debate focuses on where emotions come from and go to and what extent the character’s emotions are intertwined with the actors’ emotions. The main question concerns the extent to which these emotions should be joined with those of the character, or should be separated. Whether the audience is “touched” by a performance is one of the most important criteria the audience uses in assessing a performance (Schoenmakers, 1986). If the actor him/herself should be emotional or touched by his/her own performance has been, a source of debate (Konijn, 1994). This is an aspect of performativity that would typically not enter the musician’s through process, though the musician is often required to make the separation between emotion generated in others as opposed to emotion felt by them, principally because if they become overwhelmed by emotion, they lose the capacity to play their instruments. Yet, in the current author’s experience in solo, chamber and orchestral contexts, not many musicians would question the ways their musical expressions make structural symbolic representations of 22

emotions, nor ask the degree to which their performance is an enactment of staged emotions. Beginning to think in these theatrical ways, certainly influences the musician and his/her approach to performance. In this regard, attempting to comprehend the full spectrum of Kirby’s Acting-non-acting scale, knowledge of acting styles and methods is useful.

1.4 Acting methodologies

There are many acting methods that differentiate from each other on a number of dimensions, with some of the differences being very subtle. Yet, the analysis of these methods divides those to have emerged in the twentieth century into three main streams, based on how they relate to the topic of the performativity of staged emotions and the actor’s self. Specifically, these three streams of acting methods differ in their approach and view how the actor should relate to emotions and how to portray them. These are: involvement-acting (e.g. Stanislavski), detachment-acting (e.g. Brecht) and self-expression acting (e.g. Grotowski). In order to determine how helpful these acting methodologies could be to the instrumentalist performing New Music Theatre pieces, it is necessary to define the main elements of each, especially given the ambiguous nature of the extra music tasks or “acting” imposed on the instrumentalist in New Music Theatre.

Involvement acting: an acting method in which the actor creates a character-emotion based on a true/truthful representation of that emotion, to create the sense of reality. The actor’s own personality is not ‘present’ in the representation of his character. It is said that the actor ‘is’ the character (Stanislavski 1985; Strasberg 1988). The actor surpasses personal will, without paying any attention to how that makes her/him feel, or without being self-conscious on how s/he does it, everything that happens comes from the subconsciousness and intuition (Stanislavski 1985, 2008). Strasberg evolved this system into the currently well-known ‘Method Acting’. According to Strasberg, “the actor’s task is to create the level of belief on stage, so that the actor is capable of experiencing the imaginary events and objects of the play with full complements of those automatic physiological responses which accompanies a real experience” (Strasberg, 1988, p. 132). ‘The Method’ is known to create a deep empathy of the actor with the emotions of the character. By synergizing the character’s emotions with the 23

actor’s personal emotions, the goal is to heighten the credibility or to make its expression even more convincing to the audience, resulting in the enhancement of their emotional response to the actors’ actions. This process is also known as ‘identification’. The actor’s personal emotions are the base on which the emotions of the character are moulded for the performance, this means that the personal emotions of the actor should be repeated and “lived through” during every performance. In this method, the action level of the actor’s skills is of little importance, since s/he must remain “invisible” for the audience, s/he is the character. In conclusion, in the involvement acting method there is a complete parallel between the emotions of the actor, his character and the audience (Konijn, 1994).

Detachment acting: This method denounces the unification of actor and character during the performance. This method is most associated with Brecht (Brecht, 1967-1968). Because of Brecht’s emphatic denouncement of the actor’s personal emotions towards the character, he dissociates himself from Stanislavski’s method. The emotions of the character are portrayed in a repetitive form, referring to emotions such as those that can be found in real life, but they are not the same (Hoffmeier 1992; Savona 1991). Brecht’s main goal is to portray situations in society as processes in which you can intervene. It is up to the actor to make the audience aware of the features of society, by pointing out certain aspects of the situation, the social positions of the characters and the moral concerns which are at risk. For this, Brecht states that the actor’s personal emotions are not of any value; he even lets his actors step out of their character context and lets them take a position towards the characters they are playing, sometimes in a reflective, moral or social standpoint. In this acting-style, the credibility not only lies in the technique to portray human emotions but also in the duality of the actor’s personality. This makes detachment acting a technically demanding method, in which there is much demanded from the acting skills of the actor. Brecht thinks that credibility is also situated in creating an insight in a situation, which could lead to emotional reaction by showing the interests at stake and/or the advantages the situation offers(Brecht, 1977).

In this Brechtian approach, the actor wants the audience to have a critical reflection but does not denounce emotion itself. This means that Brecht’s theatre plays are socially and politically critical. Often part of the goal of his theatre is to provide information or to have an educational goal. The position that detachment acting adopts is that the private emotions of the actor 24

during a theatre play is not of relevance. Any sincerity in the emotions of the actor do not necessarily influence the response of the audience (Constantinidis, 1988). In short, in detachment acting there are no parallels between the emotions of the actor, character nor audience.

Self-expressive acting: In the method of self-expressive acting, everything is focused on the personal-growth process of the actor. This is done by a figurative exposure of the actor’s intimacy, without a trace of selfishness or self-satisfaction. In other words, the expression of authentic personal emotions of the actor are central to the performativity. The actor should completely open her/himself up and give to the audience. In a technique that is called “trance”, the actor is asked to integrate all psychological and physical strengths, from the most intimate regions of her/his personality and instinct, and morph these into a transillumination of her/his being (Grotowski, 1968, 1995). The main representatives of this style are Jerzy Grotowski, Peter Brook and Eugenio Barba. Grotowski believes that theatre work is not about portraying one’s personal character or to associate oneself to ‘role’, but to discard the everyday mask each one of us carries, and by doing this, coming closer to the deepest core of our being. In a way, the idea is to drop a social facade and becoming more true to ourselves (Grotowski, 1968).

It may sound like a paradox, but the representatives of self-expressive acting seem to be the most emotionally expressive and are also strong advocates for a strict discipline and movement techniques for capturing character and expression. Grotowski does not see a contradiction between technical capabilities and striving for sincere and deep emotions: “a personal process which is not supported and expressed by a formal articulation and disciplined structuring of the role is not a release and will collapse, in shapelessness” (Grotowski, 1968, p. 17). This acting method is not independent of its intended emotional effect on the audience. By exposing themselves, sometimes even literally, to trying to break through taboos and provocation, actors hope to ‘touch‘ the audience deeply. This form of acting also has an educational goal to teach the audience how to analyse itself, reveal or unmask itself by getting rid of social pretences and roles. To achieve or emphasise this, the audience is absorbed in the structure of the stage acts, which leads to an integration of the spectator’s area and the acting

stage. As a result, the intended effect on the audience of this theatre form is different than that in detachment acting or involvement acting (Konijn, 2002).

1.5 Acting tasks

Acting tasks are the main elements that form the foundation for any actor, no matter what acting method is being used or what goal the theatrical work has. Four acting tasks are common denominators among acting methods, although each one has a different perspective on how to fulfil or meet these tasks. The tasks are: the ideal model of representation, credibility, repeatability and spontaneity.

1. The ideal model of the representation: An actor should form an ideal model in her/his imagination of the character that s/he will be portraying on stage. This means that an actor should imagine internally the characteristic appearance of her/his intended character, focusing on the most general and distinctive characteristics, making it into a recognisable personality. According to Hoogendoorn, this shows itself in the various methods by referring to such concepts as fantasy, imagination and emotional memory (Hoogendoorn, 1985).

2. Credibility: The actor should present the ideal-model as credible and as convincing to the audience as possible. As in the statements made before about the various acting methods, credibility has a different perspective in each of the three of the methods previously discussed, all valuing different ways of depicting emotions credible (Konijn, 1994).

3. Repetitiveness or second nature: Repetitiveness refers to the ability of the actor to repeat the ideal model. Each performance of a same piece should be a close repetition of the preceding performance, thus creating a consistent and repeatable artistic product (Konijn, 1994).

4. Spontaneity – ‘Presence’: In a credible theatrical depiction of emotions, a certain illusion of spontaneity is demanded, while repetitiveness of the ideal model demands that everything is pre-planned. Interestingly, Grotowski (1968, 1995) states that both these features are complementary features of the creative process.

In the current thesis, I – as performer and theoretician - argue that these acting tasks can be equally applicable to the instrumentalist engaged in New Music Theatre. They have the potentials to be employed in order to transcend the point of playing at being an instrumentalist by “acting out extra musical tasks” to the point where the musician’s theatrical stage presence and extra musical tasks are an integral part of the performance. For instance, one of the main difficulties in Stockhausen’s Oberlippentanz is the transition from playing standing, to playing while kneeling or playing while lying down. When this is done in a dramatically oriented way, the perception of the audience is very different then when the performer simply sits on her/his knees and continues playing. In other words, just like the actor, the musician can access a different sort of connection with performativity if f the four acting tasks are followed to give theatrical meaning to the extra musical tasks.

One of the greatest difficulties many musicians encounter during the performance of New Music Theatre pieces is to feel as comfortable on stage while moving around and performing these extra musical tasks as when seated behind a music stand when performing a conventional music piece in an ensemble setting. Even though many musicians use movement to support their music phrasing, creating the suggestion of musical tension and release, the nature and intention change whenever this is done outside the conventional music performance setting. In New Music performances, instrumentalists have often reported feeling “naked” and uncomfortable (Hübner, 2014). Consequently, I argue it is of great importance that the instrumentalist learns and understands that each movement and action done on stage while playing or “not” playing her/his instrument needs training just as any musical articulation and phrasing written in the score. It seems that by using the acting tasks outlined above as guidelines and points of reference, it might be possible to start to build a theatrical awareness from which to tackle the execution of the extra musical tasks.

1.6 Memorisation

Because of the complexity of some of the New Music pieces and the nature of the theatrical setting, more often than not, the instrumental performer is (t)asked to play the score by memory. For instance, in the production of Claude Vivier’s Reves de un Marco Polo by the Dutch music group ASKO/Schonberg ensemble, the musicians were asked to play the entire opera without music scores in order to serve the dramaturgical aesthetics (Zomergasten, 2014). Also, in Stockhausen’s Oberlippentanz the trumpet player has to perform the piece from memory. For a number of instrumentalists such as pianists and violinists, it is quite common to perform from memory, but for many others like trumpet or oboe players it is less common. The memorisation of a music score for a conventional classic performance on its own provides the instrumentalist with various challenges. There is great difficulty in playing long complicated programs flawlessly, adding the extra fear of memory lapses and the subsequent public humiliation. Even amongst pianists whose successful performance careers often heavily rely on extremely well developed memorisation skills, the requirements of playing from memory are often a source of great anxiety (Chaffin, Imreh and Crawford 2002). This challenging process is even further exaggerated once the memorisation of a music piece is combined with a theatrical setting and extra musical tasks. The memorisation of motor and oral skills normally associated with the performance by memory of a music piece is complicated by adding external actions and theatrical awareness. It is important, therefore, that the memorisation skills of the music can be linked to the execution of the extra musical tasks by means of incorporating them into the acting tasks.

After having played in multiple music theatre productions, the current author has found it challenging to achieve a good balance between theatrical stage presence and the musically and technically demanding pieces of New Music Theatre. The combination of playing a piece like Oberlippentanz by heart while performing it in a staged setting raises a number of problems - theatrical and instrumental - that occur both during the preparation and rehearsal process, let alone in performance.

In the modern performance environment, the instrumentalist is expected to arrive at rehearsals as a versatile and autonomous performer; however, little time in the rehearsal process is given to theatrical exploration or dramatic integration. Therefore, it is important that the instrumentalist takes responsibility not only to be a skilled performer on her/his instrument but also have a sense of stage presence and acting skills, as well as being familiar

with playing from memory. As shall be unravelled, key skills such as the capacity to audiate and situate musical memories in actions all assist in embedding the act of memorizing the music with the activity of delivering a theatrically staged performance.

In addition, often there is a team of people involved in New Music Theatre work including music director, stage director and composer. Such systems can lead to a situation where the disciplines and roles become ambiguously juxtaposed, and are often given to ego-fuelled clashes (Krasner, 2012) And, many times, in the search for artistic quality, the performing musicians are left in the middle of conflicts between the conductor, stage director and composer. So, in addition to musical and theatrical stagecraft, some skills in interpersonal relations are necessary.

1.7 Moving forward

As outlined above, this thesis will build on theatre literature to produce a novel study that can coalesce in the author as the subject of a self-reflective investigation. Having situated the study in a theoretical background relating to the artistic aims of New Music Theatre and having set a framework for acting that is relevant to the types of engagement the instrumentalist has to face in the New Music environment, the project will now begin with a fundamental challenge for the current author: learning, memorizing and performing by memory a New Music Theatre solo.

The first step in building a framework for myself as a performer of New Music Theatre works is to produce a detailed record of my attempt at memorizing and then performing one of these challenging music theatre works - Stockhausen’s Oberlippentanz - and undertaking an analysis of practice aimed at overcoming the persistent technical challenges of the piece as well as finding strategies to memorise and develop a compelling theatrical interpretation. The second step aims to produce an effective and systematic methodology for rehearsal that integrates technical and theatrical demands in the Stockhausen piece, but which might be applied when attempting New Music Theatre repertoire more broadly. Once achieved, a third step is introduced that involves an experimental approach to collaborating with a New Music Theatre Composer to develop a process that integrates the musical and theatrical challenges for the current author, a trumpeter.

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY

2.1 Research strategy

The approach employed has been referred to as ‘informed, reflective musical practice’ (see Crispin, 2015, p58). Through diaries, notes and video and audio recordings of practice I have systematically reflected on the musical practices I have undertaken, aiming to deepen my insight and understanding. This is achieved with critical reference to theoretical literature as well as practical examples.

The first piece that I have recorded for this exploration addresses a number of musical and theatrical tasks. In Stockhausen’s Oberlippentanz, I conduct an in-depth analysis of my recorded practice/preparation for the performance of Oberlippentanz. This detailed analysis generated a model for approaching the additional pieces I then learned and recorded for my PhD performance portfolio. It is hoped that this reflective practice context can provide the necessary ground from which to develop a more generalisable model of practice and rehearsal for this type of repertoire.

After Oberlippentanz, I worked with the composer Falk Hübner co-creating a work entitled Silencio.

2.2 Methodological framework

The methodological framework for the analyses of Stockhausen’s Oberlippentanz Silencio is based on an approaches developed by Suzanna Hlinka in her analysis of the piano piece, Rash, by the Australian composer Carl Vine (2012) the reflective case studies on memory and piano performance by Roger Chaffin, Gabriela Imreh and Mary Crawford (2002) and Stefan Östersjö’s reflective case studies concerning co-devised works (2008). A similar reflective analysis is also used to examine my approaches while devising and consolidating Hübner and Hermans’ Silencio. For Oberlippentanz, data is generated through multi-dimensional enquiries shown in Figure 2 that can be divided into 6 stages.

2.3 Researching Oberlippentanz

Research through literature → Research of the historical context of Oberlippentanz

and musical/theatrical analysis of the score

↓

Analysing the musical and non- musical → Linking musical strategies elements for learning and memorizing, plus the extra musical elements to the acting methodology most appropriate to the theatrical nature of the New Music ↓ Theatre tasks

Research through reflective practice → Analysis of the video recordings of practice

sessions and writing a narrative account of my practice sessions ↓

Research through performance and → Writing a retrospective reflection analysis of the recording made of Oberlippentanz on th September 6 2015 at the Bendigo Festival of ↓ Exploratory Music

Analytical Results (www.BIFEM.au)

↓

Conclusions

Figure 2: Methodological framework for Oberlippentanz.

2.3.1 Exploring existing literature The first step in constructing this study was a preliminary analysis gained through written and recorded materials. These materials were:

• The Score • Literature found on the opera Samstag auf Licht by Karlheinz Stockhausen • Any additional scholarly/critical writings on the opera • The trumpet part • Recordings of Oberlippentanz by Markus Stockhausen (audio and video).

These sources provided information on the historical context in which the piece had been written and performed. By analysing the score, technical, rhythmical and musical problems and challenges could be identified and a plan made to tackle these difficulties.

By listening to audio recordings and watching existing videos of the performance, I gained a deeper insight into the mechanics of the piece, and identified extra musical tasks. Because the piece has been recorded, the performer has a significant advantage since Stockhausen was very specific in his notes and score. This arguably leaves the instrumentalist in the position of executor of the composer's wishes rather than artistic interpreter. Yet, the execution of these extra musical tasks and instructions are dependent on the theatrical skills of the performer. By listening to recordings and seeing Oberlippentanz being performed by performers who have worked and rehearsed under the direct guidance of Karlheinz Stockhausen, can be of great value and an oral and visual aid in performing the piece as intended.

2.3.2 Research through practice

This part of my research consisted of a narrative account of my preparation and practice sessions. The analysis also involved my detailed critical reflections while observing the video

recordings of my personal Oberlippentanz practice sessions. I aimed to focus on memorizing and also the execution of extra musical tasks, but also had to consider difficulties encountered during the practicing process. This analysis was complemented by a narrative diary kept during the preparation and practice sessions. Similar narrative enquiry studies were adopted by Hlinka (2012) and Chaffin, Imreh and Crawford (2002).

2.3.3 Research through performance

After having already recorded Oberlippentanz on the 23rd July, a retrospective analysis of this recording was made. In this analysis, a number of specific passages containing extra musical tasks as well as technically and rhythmically challenging passages was analysed (see table xxx, page 49). This deepened my insight and understanding of the artistic process that took place during the recording.

The passages include:

• Bar 57 to 83

• Bar 117 to 147

• 153 including the cadenza to 161

• 190 to 207

A second analysis of the piece being performed in the solo version, on 6th of September 2015 during the Bendigo International Festival of Exploratory Music, provided a follow up second retrospective analysis to offer insights into how the reflective case study influenced the development and performance of this piece in its second version.

2.3.4 Results/Conclusions

This presentation of my data includes a quantitative and qualitative summary of my personal accounts and the difficulties I encountered. The section concludes with an assessment of the extent to which the knowledge and application of both memory and acting methodologies helped the practice sessions and performance.

2.4 Researching and creating Silencio

The second part of the thesis focuses on the development of a co-devised New Music Theatre piece: Silencio. Devised in co-operation with composer, director and scholar Dr. Falk Hübner. Figure 3 shows the overview of our theoretical model for the work’s creation.

Research through the mapping of the → Research of the creative processes that creative process compromise the foundation for the conceptualisation and development of Silencio ↓

Creating an Ingredient model → By conceptualising our own working framework, we can graph the ingredients necessary and different phases that compromise the development of a co- devised work ↓

Narrative reflection / research → Analysis of the documentation of through practice practice/rehearsal sessions and writing a narrative account on the development, phases and problems that occur ↓

Reflection on literature and → Reflecting on our progress and recordings development through analysis of existing performances and literature

↓ Reflections on the process and → Writing a retrospective analysis of the recording recording made of Silencio on the

26th and 27th September 2017 at the Avenue Theatre in Breda, the Netherlands ↓

Analytical Results

↓

Conclusions

Figure 3. the theoretical framework for the development of Silencio.

2.4.1 Research through literature and the Ingredient Model

By looking at existing literature on creative processes and recorded processes of other co- devised work, I mapped the creative process that was at the base of the creation of Silencio. By incorporating this research into the adapted version of the Moosmann (2007) Ingredient Model, Falk Hübner and I created a theoretical blueprint for the creative processes that led to the conception of Silencio.

2.4.2 Research trough narrative reflection and practice

By writing a reflective case study based on the documentation of our rehearsal and development process, consisting of notes, sketches, scrapbooks, objects of material culture, photographs as well as video and audio recordings, I was able to generate data by way of “evidencing the research inquiry” (see Nelson, 2013, p.86-92) to enable me to examine the creative process. This research inquiry is based on researches done by Östersjö (2008) and Hübner (2014).

2.4.3 Research through reflection of performance

By writing a retrospective analysis of the recording made of Silencio on the 26th and 27th September 2017 at the Boulevard Theatre in Breda, the Netherlands and a retrospective analysis of the rehearsal and development practice, I analysed the performative development made during the creation of this multi-disciplinary New Music Theatre piece, and the direct impact of this development to the multi-disciplinary skillset developed by me in the co- creation of Silencio.

2.5 Summary and relevance

The research methods undertaken in this thesis contribute to the field of practice and knowledge of New Music Theatre practices by adding the perspective of the instrumentalist to the existing literature. The lack of coverage on the topic from the perspective of the instrumentalist, the obvious change in the cultural landscape, and the need for the musician to be able to adapt her/himself to these demands, lead to the need of describing and researching that extra dimension of the theatrical development of the instrumentalist.

By employing these specific methodological approaches, my work will offer a guide to prepare the artist and get a better understanding of the demands made of the instrumentalist as an onstage actor, and as such preparing to be a more all-round artist equipped to present as a fully developed multi-functional musician in the demands made by the current cultural landscape.

CHAPTER 3: PLAYING THE THEATRICAL

Oberlippentanz, Karlheinz Stockhausen

3.1 Existing research on the work

Oberlippentanz (Upper-lip-dance) is a sub-section of the third scene of Karlheinz Stockhausen Samstag auf Licht (Saturday on Light). Written in 1983, Samstag auf Licht is one of seven operas from Stockhausen's monumental work, Licht; Die Sieben Tage der Woche (Light; The Seven Days of the Week) cycles. Each opera is named after every day of the week: Montags am licht, Dienstag am licht etc. The opera Samstag auf licht consists of an opening and four scenes:

Samstags-Gruss (Luzifers-Gruss) [Saturday’s Greeting (Lucifer’s Greeting)]

1. Scene 1: Luzifers Traum oder Klavierstück XIII [Lucifer’s Dream or Piano Piece XIII]

2. Scene 2: Kathinkas Gesang als Luzifers requiem [Kathinka’s Song as Lucifers Requiem]

3. Scene 3: Luzifers Tanz [Lucifer’s Dance]

4. Scene 4: Luzifers Abschied [Lucifer’s Farewell]

This opera is written for 13 solo performers (1 voice, 10 instrumentalists and 2 dancers) plus a symphonic band (or symphony orchestra), ballet or mimes, and male choir with organ.

According to the composer’s instructions, each of the scenes can be performed separately, either staged or in concert. There are also a number of sub-scenes which can also be played as stand-alone performances. The scenes of Samstag auf Licht were premiered on different dates. The whole opera was performed as a full single work on 25th May, 1984, in Milan at the Palazzo Dello Sport.

When Karlheinz Stockhausen wrote Oberlippentanz, he dedicated it to his son, Markus Stockhausen, one of the 20th century's leading trumpet players. The piece was commissioned by the University of Michigan and premiered at the Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor, Michigan on 9th March, 1984, played by the Symphony Band of the University of Michigan conducted by Robert Reynolds. But, it was first performed by Markus on piccolo trumpet at the staged premier of the full Opera on 25th May 1984. The first performance as Solo for Piccolo was given by Markus a little earlier, on 16th May at the 'Amici del Loggione del Teatro alla Scala’ in Milan. The version for Piccolo Trumpet, Euphonium, 4 Horns and 2 Percussionists was premiered at

the Donaueschinger Musiktage in South West Germany on October 18th 1985 (see Stockhausen, 1984, 1989a).

The current piece of writing focuses on the third scene, Lucifer’s Dance, with the staging being highly convoluted and full of symbolic representations. A vertically staged orchestra sitting on a scaffold appears in the shape of a giant face (see Figure 4), with a broad open mouth which the composer describes as a ‘humorous smile’.

Figure 4: The giant Lucifer Head by Boticelli, and the orchestra, Palazzo dello Sport, Milan, 1984 (Photo: Lelli & Masotti, Artchivio Fotografico, Teatro alla Scala).

The face is made up of the orchestra which is divided in smaller groups, each of which is assigned a part of the face. There is a group assigned as the left and right eyebrow, left and right eye, left and right cheek, the wing of the nose, the upper lip for the Oberlippentanz, and the left and the right chin, thus forming ten orchestral groups each containing about eight players. The orchestral groups engage in what the composer calls ‘contrary dances’, which travel down the face from top to the bottom. This means that the eight ensembles play their parts as if being that respective part of the face moving against each other as grimaces. The ten dances are:

• Left-Eyebrow Dance • Right-Eyebrow Dance

• Left-Eye Dance • Right-Eye Dance • Left-Cheek Dance • Right-Cheek dance • Wing-of-the-Nose Dance • Upper-lip Dance / Tear Dance • Tip-of-the-Tongue Dance • Chin Dance (both left and right parts of the chin)

During these tutti dances, the groups increasingly dance against each other, bearing out the following monition: “If you, man have not learned from Lucifer how the spirit of contradiction and independence distorts the expression of the face how brow can dance versus brow – eye versus eye, cheek versus cheek, nose versus cheek…. you cannot – in harmony- turn your countenance towards the Light” (Stockhausen, 1983). The trumpet player, who plays the character of Michael, then appears and objects to ‘Lucifer’ with a solo (Oberlippentanz). At the end of the solo, he is beaten back by tam-tam beats coming from the face, which responds with a dance of streaming tears (Tear dance). The piccolo player, impersonating a black cat, appears on the tip of the face’s tongue. The dance resumes, but is broken off by an orchestral strike and ends in chaos (Stockhausen 1984, 30 -31).

Next to the smaller orchestral groups performing musical dances there are also physical dancers on stage, a stilt dancer and a ribbon-dancer. A ballet or in some other versions mimes appear as part of the Tear Dance, dropping like tears out of the left eye of the giant face. The musicians also make physical dance movements, moving their eyebrows up and down and rolling their eyes on the rhythm of each of the ten dances (Kohl, 1990).

The score of Oberlippentanz opens with six pages containing an introduction and explanation of the piece in German and in English. Stockhausen is very precise in his instructions and leaves little room for interpretation of the extra musical tasks (see Annexe 1). The piece should be played without a conductor, and the trumpet part should be performed from memory. The positioning of the ensemble, the amplification of instruments and the construction of percussion instruments are described in great detail. A light plan for the staged performance is also included in the score. The instructions go as far as directing the trumpet player not to 41

drink water for up to 4 hours before the performance “in order to prevent the disturbing noises of water in the mouth pipe, which may occur when playing in a lying position” (Stockhausen 1986, p. 2). In the trumpet part, a number of extra-musical actions and movements are described:

• Bar 34: Zunehmend näher kommen [gradually come nearer] • Bar 103: Unregelm. Farbwechsel “nervös” [Irregular, ”nervous” colour change] • Cadenza bar 16: Knien, auf Hacken setzen [Kneel, sit on heels] • Cadenza bar 24: Wasser herauslassen! Im Knien oder Schneidseritz auf Rücken legen, weiterspielen [Let the water out! While kneeling, or cross-legged, lie down on back and continue to play.] • Cadenza bar 24: Wieder auf Hacken Knien [Sit on heels again] • Bar 154: 1 Bein hochstellen [Put one leg up] • Bar 156: Aufstehen [Stand up] • Bar 175: unregelm. Farbwechselen “nervös” [Irregular, “nervous” colour change] • Bar 250: nach hinten zurückweichen, Vorderfront zum Publikum [Yield, moving backwards, facing the audience]

Oberlippentanz has a number of technically demanding features: The inclusion of many large intervals (up to a tenth), the use of tonlos rauschen or coloured noises (rustling) sometimes notated using phonetic signs, and the use of multiple mutes. The extensive complex rhythmic patterns also add to the piece's difficulty. There are many changes in meter and although the works is composed in simple meter, most notes are written as triplets, creating a 2 against 3 feeling throughout the piece. In addition, the tempo frequently changes throughout the piece. The extra musical tasks as described in the previous paragraph demand a certain degree of knowledge of stagecraft. The way you “perform” these extra musical tasks can add greatly to the theatrical and overall quality of the performance. There is however a difference whether Oberlippentanz is played as a solo piece in a concert, staged or as part of Lucifer’s Dance in operatic form. The degree of acting as Michael increases when playing the piece staged and is of its greatest importance when playing Oberlippentanz in its operatic form. This combined with the requirement of memorisation is challenging for even the most technically accomplished trumpet player.

3.2 Michael’s journey through Licht

According to Stanislavski, the actor needs a profound understanding of a character’s background in order to understand where the character came from, who s/he is and where s/he is going. The actor needs a clear insight of the emotional motives to create an understanding and an emotional connection between the actor and the character, thus being able to tranced what the character would do, and how. Because there are no dramatic analyses in the score of any of the characters in Stockhausen’s Licht cycle, it is important for me as interpreter, to take a look at Michael’s complete dramatic journey throughout the Licht cycle in order to get a deeper knowledge of his character and as such, the character the trumpeter is to embody when playing Oberlippentanz. The one existing PhD on the topic of Stockhausen summarises the opera cycle thus: Stockhausen characterised all of the adapted concert pieces from Licht as “scenic music” because he rarely excised all of the theatrical devices of the opera. For Stockhausen, the musical and theatrical material of his scenic music is usually inseparable. He spent a great deal of time adapting light cues costumes and movements from the performers of the concert excerpts. Thus, a trumpeter who tackles any of the derivative trumpet works from Licht is performing in character of Michael. (Drew, 2014 p.65).

Stockhausen’s Licht cycle revolves mainly around three protagonists: Michael, Eve and Lucifer, three biblical figures. Compositionally, they each have a serialist compositional formula allocated to them, and these formulae are the essence of their characters, each having his/her own pitches (see Figure 5): Michael gets 13, Eve has 12 and Lucifer has 11. This means that the character notes can be added 13 + 12 + 11 = 36 and divided equally (36 : 3 = 12) to balance them. This suggests that Stockhausen considered his characters to be balanced only if their musical voices were simultaneously intertwined.

Figure 5: Pitches taken from Licht (Toop, Lectures, p. 104)

Eve, with her 12 notes, is the most balanced of the protagonists, pure and whole with all notes of the chromatic scale allocated. Michael’s 13th note is the reoccurrence of D, the note on which he started. Making his serial formula a perfect circle, Stockhausen seems to be symbolising his eternal and holy spirit. Lucifer, with 11 notes, will always be the black sheep, missing something, not up to the same divine standards of Michael nor Eve. It is possible to explain these numerical allocations as 13 being the divine number; 12 the human/mortal number; and 11 the sub-human or underworld number.

After having first conceived the serial formula to these characters, as a second level, Stockhausen added rhythm and dynamics. Stockhausen would call this the Kernformel or Nuclear Formel that would then be complemented by ornaments and further development of the musical material including the extra musical tasks. These developments include:

• Echo & Pre-echo: repetition with diminishing dynamic values, or an anticipatory note; 44

• Modulation: regular/irregular changes in timbre, rhythm, dynamic. Scale - even • Wind: usually "breathing" pitches with a very transparent timbre, but sometimes played as harmonics or in the case of Oberlippentanz as “Rausch” notes; or rising/falling notes connecting one nuclear tone with another; • Variation: ornamental improvisation ("satellite tones") on 1 or more connected nuclear tones.

For the final layer, Stockhausen devised the Super Formula (see Figure 6). This super Formula is now on Stockhausen’s grave as his tombstone, in the shape of a giant Disc. This is how important the Super Formula was to him (Drew, 2014).

Figure 6: Super formula of Licht (www.karlheinzstockhausen.org)

In the First three operas in the Licht cycle, each of the main characters have an opera from the light cycle dedicated to them: for Michael it is Donnerstag; for Lucifer, Samstag; and Eve has Montag. The three characters are portrayed by multiple instrumentalists, singers, dancers andmimes, as shown in Figure 7.

Michael Lucifer Eve

Tenor Bass Soprano

Trumpet Baritone Sax Clarinet

Dancer Dances / Mime Female dancer

Figure 7: Multiple portrayals of the three main characters in Licht.

Even though characters are the leading personalities of the cycle, Stockhausen was not very strict in featuring them in each Opera. Michael is completely absent from Montag due to the fact that Markus Stockhausen, who was portraying the trumpet player Michael, had other obligations when the work was being produced for performance, as he was finalizing his father’s Serius project. It is in this sense that Stockhausen breaks with conventional opera formulations. Because each character has her/his own musical material, the character can be referred to or even be present by association, without being physically present. Looking throughout Licht, the characters themselves are not present very much on stage. Yet, the reflection and actions of their personalities are ever present.

In order to gain insight into Michael’s character and personal development, a brief synopsis of the Licht cycle and the characters’ dramatic developments are now given.

Donnerstag

Donnerstag is the first opera in which each of the three protagonists Michael, Eve and Lucifer go on a journey to find their representative identities. The childhood of Michael is tragic and troubled, reflecting the distressed childhood years of the composer. In the second act, Michael sets out on a trip around the world, and on this journey he meets Eve. Michael feels a strong (sexual) attraction towards Eve. This sexual revelation helps Michael to reach new heights in his god-like grandeur. At the end of the opera, when he returns from is journey, we see him in his full glory and potential.

It is in Donnerstag that the main elements of Michael’s character are introduced. He is the son of his father, the one true god. An angel-like persona that has many characteristics from the Messiah of Christianity, Jesus Christ. He shares with Jesus his omnipresence and sense of righteousness. Showing Humanity the road to immortality in the afterlife, he is bound by the limitations and emotions mortality brings with it.

Samstag

The opera Samstag is dedicated to Michael’s brother, Lucifer. Lucifer is the fallen brother, living in disgrace of his father. Lucifer loathes Michael’s moral attachment to their father. Bitter and full of hate and disgust, Lucifer wants to destroy time, so to deny all time-based personas their right of existence. Michael makes only one appearance in Samstag - to protest his brother by playing Oberlippentanz. This reminds Lucifer that his control over death is fading and that the path he is on will lead to certain defeat at the hands of his brother, who will do anything to bring justice and order in the name of their father. Stockhausen’s own obsession with time is reflected in the character of Lucifer. So too is Lucifer’s never-ending pickiness a reflection of the composer’s own obsession with the micro-management of the smallest and most (seemingly) insignificant details.

Montag

Montag, the day of birth, is the last of the three operas build around the character development of a specific protagonist, in this case Eve. During the course of the first two acts, Eve gives birth to two kinds of children. The first set of children get mocked by Lucifer and send back to the womb. Lucifer forces her to give birth for a second time, but this time a more highly evolved kind of children appear. At the end of the opera these children are lured away by a piper and transform into birds. From this, it is clear that Eve is the personification of evolution, she evolves human beings into higher beings. Michael is not featured in Montag, yet the events that occur underline God’s plans for the fictional universe in which Licht takes place.

Dienstag

Dienstag, the day of war is a duo between Michael and Lucifer. Their sibling rivalry leads to a confrontation. What starts as an innocent game, in which Lucifer stops time, and Michael restarts it, leading to a full blown musical war where they battle with each other in the air in a futuristic battleground. Michael gets defeated and pays for the confrontation with his life. Michael seems doomed but his resurrection is imminent, having lost the battle but because of his divinity he is bound to win the war.

Freitag

Freitag is a duo between Lucifer (or his pseudonym Ludon) and Eve. The opera starts with a ballet where twelve couples comprising a variety of animals and objects such as dogs, cats, pencils, pencil sharpeners, a typewriter and photocopy machine “copulate”, swapping partners throughout the opera which leads to bastard children, like women with dog’s heads and men with cat’s bodies. Ludon seduces Eve to copulate with his son Caino, and for the sake of the evolution of humankind, she agrees to mate with him. But Eve’s white children clash with Caino’s black children leading to the war of the children. Eve is sorry for being with Caino and repents. When the bastard children are asked to repent, they go up into a giant ball of fire and descend to the afterlife.

Mittwoch

Mittwoch is a combination of the formulae of Michael, Lucifer and Eve, even though none of them appears in their character as they have done in the previous operas. It seems that their

personal narratives have been transformed into their respective formulae, and the opera reaches a new level of abstraction. In the first scene, a world parliament is meeting about love, but when the president realises that his car is being towed, he leaves and his replacement is elected. During the opera, the protagonists are present in their respective instrumental embodiment. So, in the fourth scene, a trombonist as a servant on a camel, excreting seven planets, disturbing the session of parliament. It represents a perfect reflection of Lucifer’s chaos. At the end of the opera, a trio play the three formulae in perfect balance, they rotate breaking down the embodiment segment.

Sonntag

Sonntag is the final opera of the light cycle and has completely transformed the protagonists into one being, balanced like the Holy Trinity. The theme of the opera is the mystical union of Michael and Eve, and they are represented as a boy soprano and contralto. The opera itself is made up six independent works, each representing the divine union of Michael and Eve. An orchestra is seated amongst the audience, praises the union while the contralto and soprano sing about the planets and the moon. Through the audience there are seven groups of angels singing about the seven days in seven different languages. Seven different incenses representing them are burned by seven singers. It is then that Eve makes an appearance and summons a little boy by the name of Michael from the audience. The opera ends with a wedding or Hoch – Zeite: a chorus and an orchestra each playing in a separate hall. After the end of the performance, the audience or the orchestra and chorus have to change position and repeat the piece. Stockhausen himself called Sonntag’s mystical union the essence of the licht cycle. For him it represented the fusion of body and spirit with God’s will.

3.3 Michael’s character

As summarised above, throughout Licht, Michael manifests himself as a mythical and divine Christ-like character. He comes from a tragic and broken and childhood, has a sexual revelation with Eve. A personification of God on earth, he functions as an example for humankind. Protesting and fighting his brother, Lucifer, when he stands in between Michael and God’s will. He wages war with his brother, leading to his own death but is resurrected into his divine self. 50

And, through this force of divinity and light, he becomes one with Eve. Restoring the unity of the holy trinity.

Then there is also a reading of Michael as a reflection of Stockhausen’s own personality. When you read through the literature on the Licht cycle, Stockhausen’s personal notes and the way it is written in the scores, it seems that both Michael and Lucifer are personifications and reflections of Stockhausen’s personality, and his personal quest to understand spirituality and religious views. It is certainly a reflection of his own mortality and immortality through the music he wrote, and an exercise to validate his own existence. No little wonder that Stockhausen considers Licht the most important work of his oeuvre. The manifestation of all that came before falling together in this epic 29-hour work (Ball, 1997).

Stockhausen formulated his own view on the theatricality of his protagonists in a documentary about Freitag auf Licht, he said about this:

I feel that the sounds and intervals of the super formula are actually the characters, and that the people who realise the sounds represent them. So, the true actors in the entire work of LICHT are actually the pitches and durations, the intensities and the colours, and the tone-forms of the super-formula. It is difficult to explain to people that I, as a musician, see sounds like people and experience them as such while composing. (Stockhausen, "FREITAG, World Theatre")

3.4 Reflection

But how does this knowledge help with the performance of Oberlippentanz or any parts of the Licht cycle? I personally find it hard imagine a divine person when I am rehearsing or performing this piece. How does one relate to a Christ-like figure just through a musical instrument? Also, the deeper layers of Michael’s character, and the symbolism incorporated into his being, as he is portrayed as a fighter and a lover, he judges and he saves, he is both divine (an angel) and human. Drew says about this:

So too is this study of Michael’s character incomplete. The true definition of Michael will be made by his interpreters. Licht’s polysemous nature of invites manifold interpretations, and this study can only guide performers to their own conclusions how to portray Michael. (Drew 2014, p.430)

There is no doubt that the character study of Michael has helped to create a better and more balanced idea and interpretation of Michael’s character, yet it has also made me aware of its complexity and deeply symbolic and religious meaning.

3.5 Defining the acting in Oberlippentanz

After having analysed the theatrical Journey of Michael, I turn now assess the theatricality of his character according to Kirby’s Acting-non-acting scale. His character as performed by a trumpet player can be qualified as Simple Acting to Complex Acting, depending on some of the scenes. It is clear that the performer has at least an emotional and psychological involvement as Michael, even to the extent that in Dienstag and Donnerstag complex pretences, strong emotions and physical characteristics are needed to be conveyed in order to portray him (Kirby, 1987). Yet by knowing this, there is still some ambiguity to which acting style would be best suited to portray him. In practice, it will come down to the personal interpretation of the instrumentalist, perhaps at both conscious or unconscious levels. The Grotowski method could be a way to transform into the character of Michael, because of Stockhausen’s own words on his characters: the ‘Super Formula’ is the essence of the character. The musician is not pretending to be Michael, but by playing his formula, thus is Michael (Stockhausen, "FREITAG, World Theatre"). Yet during the practice sessions, this gives me no direction about giving my extra music tasks any theatrical meaning. Do I simply look like a trumpeter performing a piece and sitting on his knees? Do I simply do offer a theatrical awareness, presence and be myself as Michael? Stanislavski’s method gives the “actor” a clear set of rules s/he can use as handles. By asking yourself the fundamental seven Stanislavski questions (Stanislavski, 1985), some progress in understanding Michael can be achieved:

- Who am I? - What are my given circumstances? - What are my relationships? - What is my objective? Why? - What must I overcome? - What is my action? - What is my super objective?

- What is my through line of action?

In order to answer all Stanislavski’s questions, I wrote a personal interpretation of Oberlippentanz. Even though knowing the answers to most of the questions after analysing Michael’s journey, in order to give meaning and direction to the extra music tasks and theatrical charge of Oberlippentanz, I needed a micro- analysis of the meaning of the musical phrases and actions. Consequently, I proceeded to assign emotion and dramatically staged ideas and associations to Oberlippentanz in order to make the dramatic staging easier. Because there are no dramaturgical notes in the score, I had to write these for myself. Through these ideas and associations, the extra musical tasks were given theatrical weight and direction that offered me a guideline to the emotions played, and the movement made. These dramaturgical interpretations also were constructed as aids to playing the piece from memory.

3.6 A personal dramaturgical interpretation

• Musical location: Zunehmend näher kommen The boy Michael, is situated in a in a dark place (such as a cave – which could be his imagination) is calling out to his brother. Determined to find his brother and reason with him, confronting him with his self-centred egocentric obsession to end time. • Musical location: Quarter note = 71 Michael is angry about the situation and the loss of their sibling connection, he feels he doesn’t know his own brother anymore and he is blaming him for this. • Musical location: Klinkt wie gegriffen The Rausch notes are perceived to be memories coming back to the boy. They haunt him, they are making him doubtful, victimised when he plays the trills with plunger mute. • Musical location: Normal Michael complains in a monotone, like a child not getting what he wants. He is protesting his own responsibility in the action of the past.

• Musical location: tonlos rauschen Another set of memories come to haunt him, this time he fights them of with erratic playing but he regains his calm in an almost melancholic sad way. • Musical location: Kwartenote = 90 Michael is beside himself as anger and despair get the better of him, and he explodes in a rage. Another set of memories re-emerge, as if his brother Lucifer is sending them to him. His brother is definitely inside his mind, trying to break him. • Musical location: Normal Michael wails in (mental) pain. He screams it out in a series of erratic lip-trills. • Musical location: tonlos rauschen The fearful memories are winning the battle, and so Michael is broken. Slowly the memories crescendo dealing a series of physical blows to Michael. • Musical location: Poco a poco accel. E legato Michael is taken by the memories, he is emotionally spent, but the memories keep coming. Taking him into a spiral, a vortex of painful memories. Slowly they reconnect to reality. But what is reality? • Musical location: Quarter note = 90 Melancholy has taken over the anger. Michael is emotional and beaten. • Musical location: Wasser herauslassen Michael falls down on his knees, literally brought to his knees in defeat. • Musical location: Quarter note = 45 Michael has lost the fight with his memories. He’s crying, feeling sorry for himself and wailing. • Musical location: Quarter note = 40, aber frei. He is crying, then suddenly cries out in pain/ despair. • Musical location: Quarter note = 30 Michael cries out in pain; ready to die. He’s screaming at his brother (Lucifer) to come and end his life. • Musical location: Wasser Herauslassen: Im Knien oder Schneidersitz auf Rücken leggen Michael falls down on his back. Emotionally destroyed be the fact that his brother is not even taking the effort to come and claim his life. He cries in despair. Quietly he regains his strength. 54

• Musical location: Wieder auf Hacken, Knien. Slowly through the arpeggios he regains fighting spirit. Defeatism transitions into fighting spirit. • Muiscal location: 1 Bein hochstellen. He is regained fighting spirit peaks, resulting in a high morale, convincing himself that he can still win this fight. • Musical location: Quarter note = 90 Michael is planning how to strike back. His fighting spirit is back, and he is ready for round 2. His fighting spirit transforms quickly in a sort of hysteric and erratic high. • Musical location: Tonlos rauschen. The memories return but this time he has a slightly better, but still nervous melodical reply. • Musical location: Schneller Grifwechselen. Michael’s complaints are very similar as during the first confrontation but even more incoherent. Is he even protesting his brother or just losing his mind? • Musical location: Tonlos rauschen. The memories he is battling are within himself. He has just been struggling with himself. The complaints keep repeating themselves, but they get more blurred. • Musical location: Rit. He has now lost himself/ not knowing what is real almost schizophrenic he calls his own retreat.

3.7 Summary

In line with Stanislavski’s theory of acting, this framework offered me a detailed structure on which to base my progression in not only understanding the music, but also a structuring for a way of working on stage. I was able to work with two directors on finding an approach to this. The first, Jane Davidson, has a long experience as a music theatre director working with singers and dancers. Her own training included various models of dance choreography, stage work for opera singers, and particularly, historical approaches to rhetoric. She directs opera productions at MCM and has an amassed professional portfolio of work. She was able to help 55

me develop my vision for the expressive and dramatic profile of the piece as well as observe the degree to which I was communicating this message to her as a member of the audience.

The second director was Sapidah Kian is an actress, director and theatre maker and works as a Lecturer of Theatre at the VCA and MCM. She is highly experienced in the performing and teaching off the Stanislavski method acting methodology. Her primary focus is on interculturality and its reflection and relationship to interdisciplinary performance practices, so helped me to address both musician and actor requirements.

With this contextual information on how I studied and prepared for my Oberlippentanz performance, the next chapter explores the work I undertook on character and the difficult task of memorisation.

CHAPTER 4: REFLECTIVE CASE STUDY OF OBERLIPPENTANZ

4.1 Overview

This chapter takes the form of a reflective case study, investigating my trumpet practice strategies for Stockhausen’s virtuoso work Oberlippentanz. As a reflective practitioner, I recorded 9 practice sessions as video journals. The chapter is based on both quantitative (calculations of types and duration of practice) and qualitative reflections. Together, the content offers the reader an in-depth investigation of professional practice, specifically, how I develop and refine strategies to cope with the challenges of this demanding repertoire, as well as documenting the extent to which the requirement of having to act (a demand of the work) contributes to the interpretative decisions. Within the current text, as part of my analysis, several tables are used to report the bars I was working on and the problems I encountered, along with the solutions I adopted to address each challenge.

These practice sessions were undertaken after having already made a recording Oberlippentanz on 23rd July 2014. When recording the piece, I played it in concertino form with the chamber ensemble. While this has been the most common form of performance since the work’s composition, it left me frustrated since the score explicitly aims for a memorised performance, and so my main goals of these new practice sessions were to learn the piece by heart and investigate whether playing the piece memorised adds to the potential for the theatrical expression demanded in the piece. However, rekindling the opportunity to work on the concertino version was almost impossible, owing to financial constraints. Thus, as an ecological and ‘real world’ enquiry (see Robson, 1993), I had to work on the memorisation process for the solo version of the work. Inevitably, this is a compromise, since the challenges of memorizing for the ensemble context is different to that for the solo one. However, given that the work has hardly even been performed by memory in any performance version, I felt that the current approach was justified.

The presentation of this chapter combines a narrative account of my video practice journal with an unfurling analysis based on my critical reflections. This practice is modelled after the analysis of recordings in Practicing Perfection (Chaffin, Imreh and Crawford 2002) and The twenty-first century concert pianist, a study of performance demands in Australian and European context-free and context-specific environments (Hlinka, 2012).

Chaffin, Imreh and Crawford (2002) divide practice into 4 main stages, these categories being attained by comparing work by Imreh (as a pianist) with those of a much earlier account by Wicinski in the 1950s. These results are summarised below in figure 8 below.

Stage Imreh Wicinski

1 Scouting it out Preliminary ideas

2a Section by section Work on technical problems

2b The grey stage

3a Putting it together Trial rehearsals

4 Maintenance

Figure 8: Stages of learning a New Piece for Piano, after Imreh et al (2002) and Wicinski (1950)

(See Chaffin, Imreh and Crawford 2002, p. 101)

Intuitively, it would seem that playing through to gain an insight into the whole (Stage 1), then working on the sections of the work to identify technical problems (Stage 2a) is quite an obvious way to work, also trialling and pulling the whole together (3). These seem like ‘folk logic’, the way any person might approach memorizing a multitude of different tasks. Certainly, the psychology literature would reflect this sort of intuitive account (see Chaffin, Imreh and Crawford 2002). The elusive stage is 2b ‘the grey area’, where the work seems to be broad- ranging and not particularly focused. I need to analyse my own practice in some detail, to see what processes I apply through this area of work. Of course, having already recorded Oberlippentanz, the final maintenance Stage 4 would seem appropriate, but this piece is technically extremely demanding and takes the player’s technical skills to its limits, thus maintenance is hardly a word to describe the type of work required. Indeed, my explicit aim in these practice sessions is to memorise the work to take some technical aspects to a higher level, and to be able to fully surrender to playing the work with dramatic freedom, only achievable it seems when the material is extremely technically secure. Indeed, one specific

section of this work tonlos rauschen is extremely challenging and is to be achieved kneeling and lying down making it even more demanding.

A detailed critique of my actual performance of 24th July identifies ways in which my earlier performance could be ameliorated in a number of areas, see Figure 9 below.

Min Observation/reflection

01.20 First 2 entrances could be played with more resonance in the head/ higher soft palate. (Bar 34 - 43)

02.33 First tonlos rauschen have a good colour and connection to the played notes. (Bar74–79)

02.54 First two rausch notes in bar 112 are too low in the head, soft pallet is to low resulting in a lack of high resonance, and gradually the notes are recovered and resonance increases.

04.02 In the intervals in bar 117 the low A is played too much in the throat. Soft pallet and diaphragm are too low. Recovery after a couple of intervals.

04.40 Lip trills over the octave in Bar 139 are well executed.

04.47 Diaphragm goes down during the extended rausch notes, caused by the large amount of air being used to make them sound in bar 153 and first 3 bars in the cadenza.

05.00 Diaphragm control is recovered to a higher position in the breathing pause in the first bar of the cadenza.

05.20 Connection between the played and the rausch notes could be smaller and less physical. Execution of the rausch notes with the high intervals is very good.

06.00 Rausch notes are taking a lot of physical effort. By controlling the air and resonance better these movements can be made smaller. These could also be played with more theatrical awareness.

06.36 Colour of the notes is good but I could begin softer, more mysterious adding to the theatrical element.

06.56 Knien auf hacken setzen looks clumsy and could be done more organically, and better ‘staged’.

07.00 The playing form is not optimal when sitting on my knees. Too little involvement of the diaphragm and soft palete result in tuning problems.

07.45 I can tell I am searching to find a connection with my soft palete/ nasal cavity. Resonance is too low in my head.

07.51 Difficulties keeping the resonance high in my head, resulting in tuning problem and not being able to play the glissandi up to high F#3 well and in the core of the note.

08.17 Going down to the low A, my soft palate and diaphragm go down resulting in tuning problems and not being able to play the glissandi in the core of the note.

08.27 Soft pallet is too low, resulting in large changes of the colour and tuning.

08.40 Laying down looks clumsy and I’m more concentrated on not dropping the mutes than a theatrical gesture.

08.51 Problems connecting to my play from lying down. Soft pallet and high diaphragm do not support high notes resulting in me playing the high notes on my lips.

09.43 Lower notes could be less screamy and more covered at the end.

10.21 Getting up very rushed, no clear stage awareness.

10.36 Colour of sound improves greatly when sitting on knees again.

10.45 Better connection with play form, higher soft palate and diaphragm apparent in large intervals.

11.00 Good colour on the low notes of the intervals.

11.06 Too little resonance in nasal cavity, too low soft palate on the low notes of the intervals, resulting in soft pallet not being up high enough to play the high notes in their core.

11.17 Too little resonance in nasal cavity, too low soft palate on the low notes of the intervals, resulting in soft palate not being up high enough to play the high notes in their core.

11.23 Soft pallet and diaphragm recovered in high position in bar 163 with upbeat.

12.07 Connection with diaphragm and soft palate remains good during further rausch notes.

13.50 Connection remains good and strong throughout the last part of the piece.

13.55 Ending and leaving the stage should be done with theatrical awareness.

Overarching ‘lack’ as the work is not memorised.

Figure 9: Timed reflection on the recording of Oberlippentanz on 24th July 2014.

4.2 The practice sessions

This first set of practice sessions dealt with trying to memorise Oberlippentanz, while the second part explored my attempts to develop a theatrical model for my performance. This whole exploration was motivated by the fact that in the first performance I gave, could not manage to learn the work by heart, and so hard to remain ‘tied’ to the score, which inhibited my theatrical exploration.

The section which follows records and analyses nine solo practice sessions.

Session 1: 16-09-2014

This was the first time I revisited Oberlippentanz since I made a recording of it on the 23rd July, 2014. During this session, I concentrated on playing the cadenza of the piece. I did this in line with my typical practice routine: I began with an hour of regular warm up, using exercises to 62

optimize the position of my tongue, soft palate, diaphragm and soft tissue in my mouth through improving the direction and contact with my breath. These tasks include:

1. Breathing exercises to warm up and activate the body.

2. Buzzing on the mouthpiece next to the piano, making sure the ‘play form’ is optimal before picking up the trumpet.

3. ‘Play form’ exercises on the C-trumpet, making sure my soft palate and the diaphragm are working and that my throat is open and relaxed.

4. Articulation exercises include double and triple tonguing, legato and staccato playing.

5. Flexibility exercises focusing on lip trills and interval accuracy.

6. Piccolo exercises. By repeating a number of these exercises on the piccolo trumpet I adapt my technique to the resistance of the piccolo.

For me, an optimal ‘play form’ consists of a relaxed tongue, the tip resting in front of the mouth, a high soft palate which moves in parallel to the diaphragm (Van der Vliet, private lectures, 2012 public lecture “spelen zonder angst”). The well-known jazz trumpet player, Maynard Ferguson, reportedly told his former side-man Don Johnson that the secret to his high notes was in the interior structure of his mouth, which he said had an abnormally high roof (Van der Vliet, 2012). Because the diaphragm is an involuntary muscle, when we use the suggestion of an upwards direction of breath by inhaling through the nasal cavities and using other muscles extending down to the rib muscles and engaging abdominal muscles, through chain effect, the diaphragm can be optimized (Van der Vliet, 2012 public lecture “Spelen zonder angst”). This is a technique also frequently used by singers (Chapman, 2006). Markus Stockhausen also comments on a similar technique uses when playing the trumpet:

Don’t worry about your embouchure. It will regulate itself. Be rather very attentive with your complete exhalation (no air remains!) and full breathing in, starting with the lower diaphragm breathing, also breathing into the back, then filling the lungs especially laterally and finally also the upper chest without raising the shoulders. This threefold breathing I learned from Hatha Yoga. (2003, p. 9)

While doing these exercises, I took a number of short breaks. After completing the practice exercises, I began to work on the piece. A copy of the score for study is included (see Appendix 1).

When I practice, I typically dive into a small section of a piece I am studying, which is strategy 2a, according to Figure 10 below. The way this piece is written lends itself to this approach, with the tonlos rauschen parts and a number of fermatas easily dividing the composition into small sub-sections. Imreh describes this 2a approach:

The next step is to get the music into the fingers [she is a pianist]. This is done by playing small sections. The harder the music, the smaller the sections. Then the small sections are joined together linking them, backwards and forwards, into larger units. This provides multiple starting points in case of memory failure or mistakes in performance…. Memorizing can start at this stage. (Chaffin, Imreh and Crawford 2002, p.102)

Figure 10 reports the bars I tackled and the problems I encountered, along with the solutions I adopted to address each challenge.

Bar number Problem/ Description Solution/ Reflection Bar 153 While playing tonlos rauschen, Breathing more consciously Cadenza bar 1 to 10 my diaphragm and soft palate towards the nose cavity and go down as a result of the forced breathing towards the rib flanks. blowing through the trumpet. Staying higher in the nose cavity Tongue placement different while breathing out. when blowing than when playing. Bar 153 Difficulty: Rausching all ten Doing breathing exercise to Cadenza bar 1 to 10 notes on one breath. focus on capacity and exhalation efficiency. Breathing in for 4 seconds breathing out for 4. Then proceed to lengthen period of exhaling to 8, 12, 16 etc., until 60 seconds is reached in one breath. Adapting this while exhaling forcefully, 10 notes on one breath.

Bar 153 Difficulties playing the correct Slowing down to half tempo. Cadenza bar 1 to 10 interval after rausching the First just playing the intervals written pitch. then proceeding to rausching the proper pitch. Then slowly speeding up this exercise. Bar 153 Difficulties rausching the Slowing the tempo down and Cadenza bar 4 to 10 written pitch when accelerating subdividing each tonlos rausche and changing between blowing group. Slowly accelerating. and breathing in while rausching. Bar 153 Experiencing great fatigue in By restarting practice sessions Cadenza bar 1 to 24 diaphragm region, rib muscles, over Oberlippentanz, building and abdominal muscles. up physical condition. Regular pauses between exercises.

Figure 10: Practice session 1

Recording this session and reflecting upon it, heightened self-awareness. The sensation was different from a usual practice session and felt more concentrated. Imreh reported a similar sensation when recording her practice sessions:

I’ve been wondering how much the camera is inhibiting me, because really, this is not something that many people would be happy about. It’s quite a personal affair, to work on a piece. It’s not that I feel uncomfortable in front of the camera. [But] it’s just like having your dirty laundry in plain view of people… (Chaffin, Imreh and Crawford 2002, p. 115)

As a result of not wanting to document making mistakes or missing notes, or even flaws in my practicing methodology, I felt an increase of tension in my body, which frustratingly led to premature fatigue. Whereas I would normally take a break or do some exercises when faced with specific difficulties, I now focused on the mistakes I made, trying to correct it in that instant. As with Imreh’s taping of her learning process, the recording of these sessions has influenced my practicing process. I do not regard this as a negative feature, rather it has given me the opportunity to work in a space somewhere between my usual more relaxed practice 65

approach and the focus and pressure of a performance. As a broader issue, of course, such a way of filming and reflecting is hinting at a new methodology for all practice. It is perhaps time- consuming, but on the other hand, there may be advantages that in the longer-term analysis may save time playing multi-repetition and expending energy on ‘bad’ habits that can only be detected through a reflective process. I shall pick up this point for further discussion at the end of this analysis. Note that I was so involved in technique and the matter of ‘perfecting’ my practice, I did not work on theatrical issues at all.

Session 2: 18-09-2014

The goal for this session was to work refine some of the technical difficulties encountered in my practice session on 16th September, aiming eventually to focus on the theatrical matters.

I started doing a warm up with some modifications to the work done on 16th September:

1. I began with breathing exercises as discussed in the table of session 1 - breathing in for 4 seconds out for 4, in 4 out 8, in 4 out 12 etc., up to in 4 out 60 seconds. This was all done while lying on my back, to minimise tension and allow me to concentrate fully on the upwards direction of every inhale and the volume and airspeed of every exhale. Also, to prepare for some of the demands of the Stockhausen, where I need to play lying on my back.

2. Breathing exercise: squatting while breathing in through the nose, then exhaling while standing up. Repeating this in four sets of eight. This activates the rib flanks and diaphragm.

3. Spent more time on the interval exercise.

Bar number Problem/ Description Solution/ Reflection

Bar 153 Difficulties playing the correct After the exercises, there was intervals while tonlos rauschen an improvement in ease of Cadenza bar 1 to 10 (also a problem in previous playing the intervals. More session) conditioning would still be useful.

‘Recollection’ playing through Bar 153 from score of the entire cadenza. Cadenza to bar 154 I had not played the entire cadenza since recording and I Playing the cadenza through. needed to refresh my memory to some of the notes and rhythms.

Bar 153 Problems with the glissandi to Humming in Falsetto to make the high register. sure soft pallet is up high Cadenza bar 23 enough. Make sure soft pallet does not go down when playing the lowest notes in the intervals. Double tonguing the glissandi upwards to make sure tongue position is in the front of the mouth.

Bar 153 Tuning of some notes played Retuning 3rd and 4th slide on with the 3rd and 4th valve. piccolo trumpet. Cadenza bar 23

Bar 153 Keeping the diaphragm and Making sure rib flanks are open soft pallet up in a sitting and solar plexus facing up. Cadenza to bar 154 position. Playing the cadenza through. First time playing the cadenza while sitting on my knees.

Bar 117 to 135 Playing the right intervals and Singing and subdividing the rhythm. rhythms. It is important to get Playing bars leading up to the the intervals very precisely into cadenza. my aural memory again. Figure 11: Practice session 2.

Figure 11 shows how the practice session on the piece unfurled. This was intense work, but illustrated that I was still working in 2a mode (See Figure 8)

Session 3: 19-09-2014

The initial warm-up breathing exercises were not recorded, but they were similar to the ones done on 18th September.

My goal for this practice session was to polish the cadenza and to run through with the score, as my first step towards memorizing the work. I have little experience of playing from memory, as it is (almost) never a requirement in ensemble or orchestral work. See Figure 12. 67

Bar number Problem/ Description Solution/ Reflection

Bar 117 to 135 Sloppiness in rhythmic figures. Slower practice with metronome. Gradually Playing bars leading up to the speeding up the tempo to the cadenza. written tempo. Subdividing the rhythmic figures. Singing the rhythms. Tension in my shoulder and Doing recommended Bar 117 to 135 forearm/hand. physiotherapy exercise. Singing and tapping the rhythms and Playing bars leading up to the melody where possible instead cadenza. With written mute of playing. changes and one hand.

Run-through of cadenza Weak spots are at the end of In future, do the more the cadenza. Physical and physically demanding sections mental fatigue at the end of the at the beginning of the practice recording session are the main session. reason due to lack of concentration. Figure 12: Practice session 3

During this practice session, again I failed to address theatricality, rather I did a number of physical exercises to focus on practicing without physical tension. I would have hoped to move past stage 2a within the first two to three practice session, in order to move on focussing on the memorisation and practice the extra musical tasks. Too much time was spent on managing the physical tension that occurs when playing a piece as technically challenging as Oberlippentanz.

However, an original goal for this session was to play parts of the score from memory. A score with the page that I am playing was opened on a stand one at half a meter distance from me. I only looked at the score if I played a wrong note.

In Practicing Perfection (Chaffin, Imreh and Crawford 2002), 46 master pianists were interviewed on their approach to memorizing music, analysis of their practices led to them being dividing into five separated types of memory namely: Motor-, Auditory-, Visual-, Conceptual-, and Automatic memory. A table was made up to see the importance of each of these individual memories according to importance to the specific individual. The table shows how different and personal the memorisation of each individual pianist was. There was no significant indication that the one type of memorisation was better or more valid than the 68

other one. This indicates that I need to develop a strategy, but it may be idiosyncratic. Of course, as with other abilities, memorisation requires practice. I feel quite overwhelmed by taking on the task of memorizing a piece with such a difficult structure. Until now, I have relied primarily on the atomization of my motor skills, by repeating difficult passages over and over again, as well as reading through the score, and memorizing the rhythmical and melodic patterns:

For one thing, [piano] performance involves motor (procedural) memory in a way that memorizing digits or chess boards does not. Motor memory develops automatically and, with practice, its functioning becomes largely unconscious. (Chaffin, Imreh and Crawford 2002, p. 70)

Arthur Rubinstein said:

My memory is mostly photographic, inherited from my father. When I play I turn the pages in my mind; I even see the coffee stains. My knowledge of the architecture of a work, how it is built, helps too. (Elder, 1986, p. 4)

Prior to the recording of my performance of this work on the 24th July, I tried to memorise parts of the score. Every time I would put the score away and start playing by memory, just thinking about what the next note would be, I would completely lose my ‘play form’. I have noticed that I cannot think consciously about the music while I play the trumpet. Vladimir Ashkenazy has a very different opinion on the matter stating:

I think it is a combination of things. It’s memorizing the musical progression of music. There is something mechanical about it too, the fingers memorise things too, but it should be a combination. If you rely on your fingers, it is very dangerous. It is everything, mind, visual aural, everything. (Noyle 1987, p. 8)

Imreh also uses conceptual memory related to the repetition and learning of finger positions in small blocks or segments of music (Chaffin, Imreh and Crawford 2002). Unfortunately, this process works somewhat differently for the trumpet. Because the same fingering repetitions on the trumpet could still cause many variations of notes being produced due to the fact that we have only three valves to play all the combinations of notes, aural memory is very

important for the trumpet player. Luckily, I can learn pieces very rapidly by ear drawing on my own capacity to audiate. Edwin E. Gordon explains audiation as following:

Audiation is not the same as aural perception, which occurs simultaneously with the reception of sound through the ears. It is a cognitive process by which the brain gives meaning to musical sounds. Audiation is the musical equivalent of thinking in language. When we listen to someone speak we must retain in memory their vocal sounds long enough to recognise and give meaning to the words the sounds represent. Likewise, when listening to music we are at any given moment organising in audiation sounds that were recently heard. We also predict, based on our familiarity with the tonal and rhythmic conventions of the music being heard, what will come next. Audiation, then, is a multistage process. (The Gordon Institute, http://giml.org/mlt/audiation/).

By ‘audiating’ Oberlippentanz I can remember the tonal material, intervals and complex rhythmical patterns. According to Gordon, audiation occurs in 6 stages:

Stage 1 Momentary retention

Initiating and audiating tonal patterns and rhythm patterns and Stage 2 recognizing and identifying a tonal centre and macrobeats

Stage 3 Establishing objective or subjective tonality and meter

Consciously retaining in audiation tonal patterns and rhythm Stage 4 patterns that we have organised

Consciously recalling patterns organised and audiated in other pieces of Stage 5 music

Stage 6 Conscious prediction of patterns

Figure 13 (Gordon, http://giml.org/mlt/audiation/)

By working to audiate Oberlippentanz, it seems that I began to develop a solid map of the piece aurally. By connecting these to auto-motor movements of small sections of the score, I hope to connect the aural and motor memory in a similar way as Imreh. This exploration feels like a giant step forward in my work. Again, not tackling theatricality, but finding a framework from which I can develop as a memoriser who can potentially develop sufficient automation of memory of the music to then be sufficiently free to work on staging.

The relevance between audiation and playing from memory is further substantiated by a study conducted by McPherson (1995, 1996). In his research, he helped to clarify the types of skills that explain various aspects of performance ability, see Figure 14 (McPherson 1995a, 1995b, 1996).

Length of Study Quality of Study Enriching Early Exposure Activities

Sight-Read Play by Ear

Play From Memory

Perform Rehearsed Music Improvise

Figure 14:Re McPherson’s-Creative (1993) Performance theoretical model of relationshipsCreative between Performance musical skills and conditions of study.

In this figure, McPherson demonstrates clearly the relation between the skill of playing by ear -or audiate- and the ability to play from memory, with path diagram representing the strength of relations: the broken lines indicating weak relations and thick lines indicating strong relations (McPherson, Davidson & Faulkner, p. 21-22).

I am trying to slowly detach myself from the score, putting it further away and only allowing myself to look at it if I really do not know what note is coming, then, I repeat the segment over and over again every time including the note leading up to the segment and expanding going backwards, note by note. I use my audiation mechanism to ‘hear’ the sounds in my head. Drawing on Gordon’s model, I have started to find a way to map this very difficult work.

Session 4: 23-09-2014

After my regular warm-up routine - starting on my mouthpiece, then exercises on C-trumpet and finally the exercises on the piccolo-trumpet - I continued to do an extra exercise session while kneeling. Today I am determined to focus on the theatrical elements of this section, and so want to practice the parts where the score instructs you to kneel, as I want to optimize the playing form while in this position, and see whether or not I can achieve this in a comfortable and satisfying manner. I have noticed in earlier practice sessions and during the recordings that I can improve my ‘playing form’ in this position.

I have noticed that the boundaries of these stage actions like playing on your knees and back, or even the tonlos rauschen, have added difficulties to the already extreme and demanding trumpet part. My research has shown that when the instrumentalist is a ‘theatrical performer’, the actions include those perceived as ‘doing more’ than making music, the so called: extra- musical tasks. When analysing the extra musical tasks, I use Kirby’s model of acting through non-acting to determine the level of acting of the extra musical tasks in Oberlippentanz. For this dilemma, Kirby developed a scale to grade this continuum of the spectrum that lies between not-acting and acting (as mentioned in figure 1, p. 12).

In a solo performance of Oberlippentanz, the performer wears an overall, and does more than just making music. Even though the extra musical tasks are far from what we would perceive

as received acting, as opposed to the staged opera, he is not a character. Therefore, the extra musical tasks could be scaled as “Symbolised Matrix”.

The nature of the extra musical task would therefore be most associated with Grotowski’s style of self-expression acting. In the solo performance version of Oberlippentanz the trumpet player does not pretend to be anybody else than a staged, theatricalised version of himself, which exactly parallels Grotowski’s idea (Grotowski, 1968). In self-expressive acting it is the ‘composition’ or shape of the piece in which the actor’s (in this case, the actor musician) technical capabilities are the foundation from which spontaneity and creativeness can emerge. Within the boundaries of the composition and through great technical skill of the musician, the spontaneity, creativeness and artistic quality of the performance grows, allowing for an increase of the theatrical value (Konijn, 2002).

At this moment, the extra musical tasks – the theatricality of my own performance - are still difficult, and the execution is undoubtedly clumsy. They feel strange, the movement not yet being a part of the performance. It is obviously important to spend time practicing the movements such as sitting one’s knees and lying one’s back to ensure these movements start to look organic and like an integral part of the performance. Because it has proven to be hard to guide myself in the movements of sitting and lying down, working with an external source, such as a director of choreograph seems to be a validate way to move forward. In order to be able to work on these movements, the technical and playing aspects of the piece need to be fully integrated into the motor memory, as not to be distracted/worried by the movements that need to be made.

I noticed that while playing on my knees, then raising one knee, and ultimately standing up, a difference occurs in my technique. I am uncertain if this has to do with the extreme intervals of the end of the cadenza or with the loss of my connection with the diaphragm and soft palate. Therefore, further development and fine-tuning of my technical skills is needed before I will be able to fully devote myself to the theatrical execution of the extra musical tasks. Figure

15 shows these difficulties, along with my focus on memorisation.

Bar number Problem/ Description Solution/ Reflection

Cadenza: From Loss of connection with play Warming up and practicing Knien auf hacken setzen form while sitting on my knees. while sitting on my knees. Till aufstehen.

Cadenza: From Playing the cadenza by heart Having studied the score, I put Knien auf hacken setzen the score on a stand one and a Till aufstehen. half meters away to the left, only to be looked at when a mistake has been made. Cadenza: From Difficulties keeping the soft Singing and humming in Knien auf hacken setzen pallet and diaphragm up far falsetto. Going back to the Till aufstehen. enough to play the extreme exercises to restore the intervals at the end of the connection. Arrange a skype cadenza. lesson with Willem Van Der Vliet. Cadenza: From Difficulty kneeling for long Little by little building up the Knien auf hacken setzen periods of time while strength necessary to kneel Till aufstehen. practicing. while practicing.

Figure 15: Practice session 4.

This practice session felt a little bit more comfortable than the previous one. Even though the session was still not the same as practicing normally, the stress level has diminished. My endurance and concentration are still not up to the same level they would have been without recording the session. During the session, I also stopped the camera to do some exercises in between the ‘takes’ of practicing Oberlippentanz. But, now I am beginning to synthesize the demands of both memorizing and acting.

Session 5: 24-09-2014

I started doing my regular warm up routing with the addition of a number of extra exercises to optimize the extreme high register. These exercises include humming in falsetto and playing triads up to a high A on the Piccolo trumpet. Markus Stockhausen notes on his approach to increasing range and stamina:

Our endurance depends 80% on our breathing. When you get tired you breathe poorly and the endurance decreases fast. Therefore don’t practise too long when you are tired. Rather stop

and pick up your practise after some time of rest. Then you develop faster. Also psychologically a good feeling remains and makes you want to play more soon. “Seconds”: you play as high as possible today, until no sound comes out or you just feel you have to because it’s too much. Even when you cannot complete one interval keep on playing just hot air, so the body gets used to the effort. (2003, P. 9)

My goal was to play through the bars leading up to the cadenza and the first part of the cadenza until the Wasser herauslassen, Im Knien oder Schneidersitz auf Rücken legen, weiterspielen part. Figure 16 records my practice.

Bar number Problem/ Description Solution/ Reflection

Bar 117 until bar 153 Playing through in a slower Accuracy in intervals, pace (tempo = 70-80) intonation and rhythm is already much better than in practice session 2.

Bar 117 until bar 153 Playing through in tempo = 90 Accuracy in intervals and this time with the mute rhythm is improving. change. And tonlos rauschen

Figure 16: Practice session 5.

Session 6: 25-09-2014

Today I began with an extended and a more elaborate warm up to relax my body while playing. In order to minimise stress levels, only a 20-minute section was done recording myself. The warm up included:

1. Long tone exercise. To improve relaxation, I did breathing exercises before every entrance of a new note, making sure that my body was relaxed yet vital.

2. Chromatic exercises. Paying extra attention to my nose breathing and making sure my tongue is in front of my mouth and without tension.

3. Taking more frequent breaks between each set of exercises, thus keeping the moments of tensing up to a bare minimum.

Today’s goal was to learn the beginning of Oberlippentanz from memory. Again, by training my motor memory in relation to my auditive memory. As Anderson comments:

It seems perfectly plausible that [performers] rely on the automaticity of motor memory to sidestep the need for a highly practiced retrieval scheme. The deliberate creation of a retrieval scheme is something that is necessary for conceptual (or declarative) memory, but may not be necessary for motor (or procedural) memory. (Anderson, 1983, in Chaffin, Imreh and Crawford 2002, p. 71)

Adopting the same strategy as practice session 3, I stood at a greater distance than normal and slightly more to the right, I tried only to look at the score if I played the wrong notes. When this occurred, I repeated the section a number of times before repeating it without looking at the score. If the result was satisfactory, I would look away again and repeat the segment, gradually expanding it with the notes before and after the section in question.

Bar number Problem/ Description Solution/ Reflection

Bar 54 until 74 64 until 74 difficulties playing By repeating them while melodic figures by heart. looking, then repeating them while not looking at the score.

Bar 54 until 74 Accuracy of intervals and Play through them slowly, rhythmic patterns. paying attention to accuracy. Singing/ whistling the intervals.

Bar 117 until 153 123 until 135 difficulties playing By repeating them while melodic figures by heart. looking, then repeating them while not looking at the score.

Bar 117 until 153 Accuracy of the intervals Playing intervals slowly, singing/whistling intervals.

Bar 139 til 148 Correct wha-wha mute hand Slowly playing trills while movement while playing lip making sure correct hand trills. position is used.

154 beginning of the cadenza Accuracy and playing form Repeating and maintaining while “ tonlos rauschen” has progress by repeating the play improved greatly. form on a daily base.

Figure 17: Practice session 6

Figure 17 reports that the connection of my motor skills to the audiation of the piece is proving to be a slower and more complex process than I had first anticipated, especially when it gets combined with extra musical tasks such as the changing of mutes. A break of concentration and focus means that my cognitive memory wants to intervene leading to doubts and therefore mistakes. A higher level of automatism needs to be created in relation to the extra musical tasks.

Session 7: 30-09-2014

I had a Skype meeting with my former teacher Willem Van Der Vliet, who was the principal trumpet player of the Dutch Radio Filharmonic Orchestra (retired), teacher at the Conservatorium of Amsterdam (retired) and the Conservatorium of Utrecht (retired) as well as the trumpet player of the Asko-Schönberg Ensemble (one of Europe’s leading modern music ensembles which has worked directly with Karlheinz Stockhausen).

Our Skype meeting was about the tonlos rauschen. Willem plays the tonlos rauschen by blowing like you would if playing low notes, and using the resonance in the tonlos rauschen to pre-position the soft palate and diaphragm, as high as possible, the transition to the played notes then becomes smaller. After having done some exercises with him over Skype, I applied this technique in the practice session with positive results.

To optimize my physical condition, I started this session with an extra-long warm up session. I wanted to be in a relaxed but energetic state before recording the session. The last exercises of the warm up were comprised of the previously discussed exercises for the tonlos rauschen on c-trumpet before doing the same exercises on Piccolo.

My goal for this session was to work on the tonlos rauschen in the technical setting as discussed with Willem van der Vliet. The practice is reported in Figure 18.

Bar number Problem/ Description Solution/ Reflection Bar 153 Using the new exercises to By using the resonance and First 10 bars of the cadenza improve connection between bringing the soft palate and the play form of “ tonlos diaphragm up higher, the rauschen” and normal playing. transition is much easier and smoother. It also improves the accuracy and tuning of the played notes. Bar 153 Playing the arpeggios to high F# The technical differences Cadenza bar 11 until 24 achieved by playing lower notes with a higher Diaphragm/ soft palate makes these figures much easier.

Ending of the cadenza until bar Difficulties keeping the play I need to work on keeping the 61 form consistent when playing Diaphragm/ soft palate higher two and a half octave jumps when descending to lower c.

Bar 61 until Bar 252 Not many problems Because most of my attention encountered. Still not able to was focussed on the cadenza play this part by heart. and bars leading up to the cadenza, more time needs to be spent to learn this part by heart.

Figure 18: Practice session 7

Because of the Skype discussion, the main focus of this session lay in the technical difficulties of the Rausch note. As a secondary objective, time was spent memorizing the Rausch notes. Even though they do have written pitch, it is very hard to ‘audiate’ them because they lack a definable pitch when played. To connect the Rausch pitches, my sense is that automatic motor skills and focused cognitive effort for memorisation will be needed, since it is proving hard to imagine the sounds in my head. This makes me reflect on the statement made by Vladimir Ashkenazy, that memorisation of a piece is a combination of cognitive memorisation, aural and motor memory.

Session 8: 01-10-2014

After the regular warm up which took me an hour, I started by doing a run of the cadenza. Again, focusing on the connection between the soft palate, my diaphragm and a higher tongue position, I also feel I need to work on my endurance when using this refined technique and I notice that it’s taking me a lot of effort to keep all in high position. My breath support gets tired quicker and it is taking a lot of energy and concentration to maintain this heightened shape on the low notes in the octave jumps at the end of the cadenza. In my experience, these smaller changes usually take two to three weeks to be fully integrated into my fine motor skills.

New implementations and improvements in a highly trained technique need many hours of repetitions to root out the (faulty) old technique. At moments of tension and stress, the body and the mind have a tendency to fall back to old habits. We need to practice and implement these new techniques to the point they have replaced the old ones as our bodies default setting. (Van der Vliet, private lectures)

My goal for this session was to expand and fine-tune the newly implemented nuances in my technique and further embedding the cadenza into my memory.

Bar number Problem/ Description Solution/ Reflection Bar 117 until 153 first 10 bars of Keeping the diaphragm, soft Greater ease in playing the the cadenza. palate and tongue position interval as the playing distance higher on the low notes of the between the notes is smaller. octave jumps. Double tonguing is much easier in this play form. Bar 117 until 153 first 10 bars of Keeping the diaphragm from It would be better to take more the cadenza. fatiguing. Problems maintaining breaks in during each practice the concentration needed for sessions. the optimisation of this playing form.

Bar 153 Practicing the tonlos rauschen Intervals get easier, though still First 10 bars of the cadenza in the new play form with having difficulties maintaining higher tongue position, almost this new “rauschen” technique humming the Rausch notes. for an extended period of time without almost playing the notes. Ending of the cadenza until bar Still having difficulties keeping In the third and fourth repeat, I 61 the play form consistent when keep ending up landing on the playing the two and a half low c in a position that is too octave jumps low to comfortably play the high G. Fatigue and concentration are the biggest problems. Cadenza Playing the cadenza from Music is still on the stand but I memory. am only looking if necessary. There are still some weak spots in the centre, before the section that requires the performer to lay on their back. Figure 19: Practice Session 8.

Session 9: 02-10-2014

The goal for this session was doing my first run-through of Oberlippentanz playing parts of it from memory. I started doing a warm up of an hour and twenty minutes. Along with the regular exercises I have explained in previous practice sessions, extra time was spent optimising the tonlos rauschen form. The exercises consisted of:

1. Rausch notes on the C trumpet. Doing a chromatic scale, first rausching the note then playing the actual pitch, making the transition between the two playing forms as small as possible. 2. By using the resonance of humming the rausch notes , I then play them with the same shape, keeping the tongue position high and in relation to the diaphragm and soft palate.

3. After the chromatic scale was completed over two and a half octaves, I repeated the exercise on the piccolo trumpet. This time only doing two octaves, to high G.

After this was practised to my satisfaction, I proceeded to the first run-through of Oberlippentanz from beginning to end. The score was in front of me, but I tried to play the parts I have been practicing from memory without looking at the score. 80

Bar number Problem/ Description Solution/ Reflection Bar 34until 74 Beginning until 72 went well. At Repeat studying this fragment Beginning 57 from score 72 I experienced a moment of again to gain confidence. 57 until 74 by heart doubt and stopped for a moment. 74 until 93 while looking at The tonlos rauschen segment The exercises I have been score. feels much more secure and effective in gaining more now shares the same playing efficiency in the tonlos form as the played notes. rauschen parts in relation to the conventionally played parts. 117 until 153 by heart Beginning feels secure, after After spending a lot of time on bar 124, I did look at the score a memorisation of this segment, couple of times. insecurity still takes over. More systematic studying without the instrument could help.

153 first 15 bars of the cadenza. Beginning of the tonlos Spend time doing the exercises rauschen was better, but I still for the beginning and apply By heart feel I lose my playing form them to the repeated bars. when playing the repeated inhale/exhale note patterns.

Knien auf hacken setzen until At the part where the arpeggio Studying this fragment again to Wasser herauslassen. Im knien until high f#, my concern over gain confidence. More oder Schneidersitz auf rücken accuracy leads to the missing of systematic studying without legen. Weiterspielen. notes. the instrument could be helpful. By heart

Wasser herauslassen. Im knien After having played this by Re-practicing section while oder Schneidersitz auf rücken heart already, little time had lying on my back. legen. Weiterspielen until been spent practicing it. As a wieder auf Hacken knien. result this was not being the best part of the run-through. By heart Although I was still able to play it by heart, a couple of wrong notes were played.

wieder auf Hacken knien until My playing form is much better, Integrating the changes to my Aufstehen. although fatigue was now technical form need time to be setting in. I had to take my time integrated into my fine motor between fragments to reset my skills. playing from.

161 until 190 No problems were encountered while playing this segment. Although I felt fatigue in my diaphragm.

190 until 253 No problems were encountered while playing this segment. Although I felt fatigue in my diaphragm.

Practicing wieder auf Hacken Because I had to look at parts of Memorising the intervals and knien until Aufstehen. it in the score, I went back to playing form associated with study it. these extreme intervals.

Practicing Knien auf hacken Because I doubted the note in Repeat studying this fragment setzen until Wasser the flaziolette I went back to again to gain confidence. More herauslassen. Im knien oder study it. systematic studying without the Schneidersitz auf rücken legen. instrument could be helpful. Weiterspielen. Figure 20: Practice Session 9.

After these nine sessions, I was able to reflect on what was achieved, noting that I had a second performance of this work to prepare, and it most certainly was to be memorised and dramatically free.

4.3 Analysis of practice themes

Figure 21 summarises the work completed in the nine sessions.

Physical Intervals Rhythm Memorisation Fatigue Play Form Extra Tuning tension musical tasks 1: 16-09- XX X XX 2014 2: 18-09- X X X XX X 2014 3: 19-09- X X X 2014 4: 23-09- X X XX XX 2014 5: 24-09- XX X X X X X 2014 6: 25-09- XX X XX X X 2014 7: 30-09- X X XX 2014 8: 01-10- X X XX X 2014 9: 02-10- XXX XX XX X 2014

Figure 21: Analysis Summary.

A summary of the analysis of the data retrieved the practice sessions of Oberlippentanz revealed:

1. In total, there were 14 individual attention points where the emphasis was on improving the technical difficulties within the piece. Maintaining and improving the ‘play form’ and technical skills needed to play Oberlippentanz, especially in relation to the technical difficulties imposed by the extra musical tasks (tonlos rauschen). Also, 1.5 hours were spent on a skype lesson gaining guidance and information from one of Holland’s leading trumpet pedagogues about the technical difficulties that I encountered during the practicing sessions of the piece. 2. In total, 9 individual attention points focused on memorizing the score. Since this was one of the pre-set goals, and the development of my motor skills take up a large amount of repetitive practice. 3. In 8 attention points, fatigue of the diaphragm or other body parts such as knees was reported. This was in part due to the physical and expressive nature of the piece and the unorthodox practice of playing a considerable part of the composition on owns knees/ back, endurance must be well trained in order to play this piece. Also because of the great physical energy demanded by the practice and performance of the piece, a loss of concentration and focus due to physical tiredness happened. 4. Practicing the precision of large Intervals was discussed in 6 individual attention points. Because there are a number of extreme intervals, as well as a number of intervals in combination with tonlos rauschen these needed special attention to enhance the accuracy with which they have to be played. After the sixth session, they were no longer a problem. 5. The extra musical tasks other than tonlos rauschen where addressed in 5 individual attention points during the practicing process. This every time in combination with adjusting the play form to sitting on owns knees, lying on my back while playing. If the ‘play form’ is optimized for these positions no technical problems were experienced. It was also logical that these attention points were corrected from the fourth practice session onwards, after the basic refreshment/ maintenance of the piece had been done. 84

6. The difficult and demanding rhythmical figures of the piece only needed to be addressed on 4 individual occasions. Even though the rhythmical patterns are one of the greatest challenges of this piece, due to the fact that I had practised and recorded the piece earlier, only a limited amount of maintenance and refreshment of individual patterns had to be achieved. 7. Even though it was lingering in the background and effecting my warm up sessions on more than 3 occasions, physical tension was only present in 3 individual attention points. 8. Problems with tuning where encountered on two individual occasions. Both where associated with the play form during the tonlos rauschen in combination with playing written pitches. After the resonance and the colour of the tonlos rauschen was altered in accordance to the technique already discussed, the problems in intonation where immediately fixed.

After having done 9 recording session over a time span of 17 days, a number of things became apparent. Even after already having performed and recorded the work back in July, there were still a number of technical difficulties to address and to polish.

The difficulties of playing this physically demanding piece, and the pressure of the learning the cadenza by memory and taking the extra musical tasks and technical difficult passages to the next level seemed to impede theatrical work. Across time, thought, I found a technical solution to the difficulties the tonlos rauschen, and I made good progress in the memorisation of the cadenza and beginning of the piece. As discussed in the literature, memorizing of complicated music takes a lot of time, and a lot of repetitive practice to fully make it a part of the motor memory. I felt I made a good start to expand and gain confidence in playing this piece from memory. Even though more practice was still needed to take the work to a level with which I could comfortably perform this piece in front of an audience.

After having analysed the extra musical tasks and attributing the execution of the them to the Stanislavski and Grotowski acting styles, I realised that the key feature to the theatricality of Oberlippentanz in the solo trumpet form, not only lies in an absolute control of the technical difficulties and extra musical tasks, but more in the theatrical direction these are given during

the performance. Only when these can be played wile transferring an emotional charge or gesture can the theatrical message be delivered.

I do feel that this will be a process that will require more time than the span of this reflective case study. I wish to continue this path of memorisation and practice leading to a fully theatrical and memorised performance of Oberlippentanz as a continuation and expansion of this reflective case study, therefore. a second set of reflective case studies is undertaken. The narrative of this study is included in this thesis as an appendix in order to condense this chapter. (See appendix I).

The aim of these sessions was to take the execution of the extra musical tasks to a higher level, and connect the theatrical expression to the kinaesthetic and audiated memory, as discussed in the first set of diarised practice sessions.

4.4. Dramaturgical Preparation of Oberlippentanz for the performance at the Bendigo International Festival of Exploratory Music.

In order to prepare for the performance of Oberlippentanz which was scheduled to take place on the 6th of September 2015 during the Bendigo International Festival of Exploratory Music, further dramaturgical reflection was needed. Having written the personal dramaturgical interpretation and having learned the piece by heart it was now time to have the two incorporated and fine-tuned by working with a director. These sessions were done being directed by Prof Dr. Jane Davidson and Sapidah Kian (for bibliographical information see 3.2.1).

Rehearsal with Prof. Dr. Jane Davidson

We started the rehearsal by going through the dramaturgy by association I had written to illustrate the musical phrases of Oberlippentanz, followed up by a run through.

Her first comments are that I move too much while playing the opening notes. While trying to actuate the pieces, I am losing the connection with my playing form. Too many notes are missed and the articulation is suffering.

From the start, it is obvious that I need to focus more on the direction of the movements. The concern of playing the right notes and rhythms is too present. At first the movements seem to be rhythmically based, as in: the movements are on the pulse of the piece. The entire piece has a 3 against 2 rhythm imbedded into it, this makes the movement seem even more square. The audience could perceive this as restless and nervous. Even though looking at the Stanislavski’s methodology, through the seven questions and the written personal dramaturgy, Grotowski asserts similar bodily awareness problems in his acting by the following exercise:

“Begin by walking around the room. At first, be aware of the decisions needed to change directions. Keep going. This will awaken the organism’s urge to make itself known. Movement is assertion. Be aware of how you are placing your feet on the ground. There should be no noise of footsteps”(Grotowski in Slowiak & Cuesta, 2007 p.126)

My sense of awareness grows and Jane directs the movements, giving them a higher dramatic quality but at the expense of playing by memory. It is clear that the movements are not integrated and/or connected to the play-form, and my motor skills.

The difficulty lies in the visualization of the score and rhythmical patterns while I am moving around. During the rehearsal my brain is not able to do both simultaneously . As supported by Arthur Rubenstein and a number of other expert pianist as discussed in the previous chapter, Chaffin, Imreh, and Crawford (2002) have demonstrated that an important part for the performance by heart is visualised by performers and integrated in trained motor memory. Although the divided attention between the theatrical direction and the music score still divides my attention leading to performative discrepancies in the rehearsal.

Little by little the movements are getting more controlled. One of the questions that arises is how can the dramatic movement help the trumpet player to connect the play-form to the technical difficulty while incorporating them into the dramatic associations? What could be the movement to motor-skill connector?

In the “Skara Speech” which was published in Grotowski’s Towards a Poor Theatre (1968) was a seminar delivered to young group of actors in the Skara Drama School in Sweden, in January of 1966. In this seminar Grotowski outlines a number of important acting concepts that goes past any specific methodology:

Association: Associations cannot be planned: They are precise memories, which are not thoughts but are linked to the body and the physical reaction of memory. ”It is to perform a concrete act not a movement such as caressing in general but, for example, stroking a cat. Not an abstract cat but a cat which I have seen, with which I have contact. A cat with a specific name—Napoleon, if you like. And it’s this particular cat you now caress. These are associations.” (Grotowski 1968/2002, p.226)

Score: For Grotowski, a score –“clearly defined text(or in this case music) and action“— is absolutely necessary for anything else to happen on stage. In performance one should never look for spontaneity without a score. It is impossible. The score is your foundation as an actor.[…] A score involves much more than just movement, it consists primarily of fixing the moments of contact between you and your partners. (Grotowski in Slowiak and Cuesta 2007, p.65).

Jane suggest too make a choreography or floor-plan of the movements. By putting the movements in the “score” they can help to give the musical phrasing direction by connecting the musical phrases to the movements. We also reach back the personal dramaturgical interpretation on Michael’s struggle I had written (see 3.2.1) and associating Lucifer with someone personal in my life to whom this bipolar relation I could project on.

Trying to create the internal turmoil/anger whilst associating through this dramaturgical interpretation the rehearsal gets more direction and vitality. Playing the part leading up to the cadenza is now at full in energy. It is interesting to see how this extra vitality helps directing the energy and focus in this technically demanding part of the piece, making the technical passages easier, and theatrically charged.

Jane and I discuss making associations between dancing and performing the piece, and discuss the possibility of almost dancing out the parts. Then, I could settle into a structure to automate the movements to such a degree that I would be more free to be in the moment of the performance expression, rather than worrying about moving from one point to another. Multiple reference in Stanislavski’s An Actor Prepares(1937) and An Actor Works(2008) confirm that students took [where encouraged to take] fencing classes and ballet as an extension to the physical, technical and more psychologically-oriented acting exercises (Merlin, 2008).

During the practice session the full extent of the physical nature of Oberlippentanz becomes evident. It is proving to be a hard piece, to play consistently during a large practice session, while keeping the focus and attention associated with a large rehearsal.

We finish the rehearsal discussing the emotional depth of the association (3.2.1). We talk about the schizophrenic nature of the piece and its character Michael, about the mental and physical fight that a Michael has with the world only to find out he is battling himself, going back to the personifications of Stockhausen own personality, mortality and immortality unified in his protagonists (Ball, 1997). Combining Stanislavski’s character association for theatrical association combined with Grotowski’s physical direction approach to give the connection between character and musical direction.

Rehearsal session with Sapidah Kian

For this rehearsal, I play Oberlippentanz for Sapidah Kian by memory. She does not know the score of Oberlippentanz but she read the background of Michael’s journey through Licht ( see 3.1 & 3.2.1).

Sapidah reminds me that in Stanislavski you would have a super objective over the whole piece. We talk about the necessity to look into and focus on what the objective is throughout the piece (Stanislavski, 1985). Not only to think of the super objective of Oberlippentanz, but also to view it in the greater scheme of things. The most important question to ask ourselves is: “What does Michael want in Licht?” She recommends me to break the practice down into individual segments (which Stanislavski refers to as bits): first to feel the theatrical gestures of these segments, then to act out the greater lines, as visualised by personal dramaturgy.

The technique of dividing into Bits is quite simple. Just ask yourself, ‘What is the one essential thing in the play?’ and then start to recall the main stages, without going into detail. [...] [L]arge Bits, which have been well thought out, are easy for actors to master. Bits like that, that are laid out during the length of the play, serve us as a fairway which shows us the right course to follow, and leads us through the dangerous shoals, reefs and the complex threads of the play, where we can easily get lost. (Stanislavski, 2008, p. 141)

Another key question in the Stanislavski method of acting is: “what is obstructing you from gaining your objective?” Michael has to find a very particular way of getting to his objective. He wants to stop Lucifer from ending all time. Lucifer’s issue is Michael being the chosen son, and he envies the relationship between Michael and his father. In a sense, Michael’s protest is the obstacle to Lucifer (Stockhausen & Kohl, 1985).

These two ideas mean that you have an objective or task to accomplish –in this case, Lucifer not ending all existence- and an obstacle that you are fighting against Lucifer. And then, your actions, your strategies to achieve your objective. If there is no conflict, there is no theatrical tension. Once you have fulfilled your objective, the theatrical tension is over:

Theatre consists in staging major human Tasks and the genuine, productive and purposeful actions necessary to fulfil them. As to the results, they take care of themselves if everything that has been done beforehand is right. The mistake most actors make is that they think not about the action but the result. They bypass the action and go straight for the result. What you get then is ham, playing the result, forcing, stock-in-trade. Learn not to play the result onstage but to fulfil the Task genuinely, productively, and aptly through action all the time you are performing. You must love the Tasks you have, find dynamic actions for them. (Stanislavski, 2008: p.143–144)

We discuss the different strategies to try to get to him, breaking it up into your different dramatic actions. Being angry, hysterical, reasoning with him, etc. and perceive how these emotions can find their voice in the extra music tasks such as the Rausch notes or the begging him/falling on my knees. It was important for me to realise that the action always needs to be played on somebody else. In the approach, it is not about you as a character, it is always going to be about the other person, the audience, their emotions with what happens. Never you. Stanislavski considers psychological actions, but it is also possible to connect these emotions to physical actions. But for some actors this is hard to emulate, when they have it in their mind, it is hard to know what is in their body. In order to transfer the action credible an expressive instrument is necessary, in this case the body of the performer in co-operation with the musical phrasing of his actual instrument.

Sapidah clarifies to me that if you have the objective in mind, it will provide you the necessary dramatic energy: The intention is the theatricality. In Oberlippentanz there is a lot of physical action going on: the Rausch notes, the changing of mutes. This is all created by the trumpet player, based on the intention of how you act it. It will already seem theatrical, when coming from the whole body:

The power of these motive forces is enhanced by their interaction. They support and incite one another with the result that they always act at the same time and in close relationship. When we call our mind into action by the same token we stir our will and feelings. It is only when these forces are cooperating harmoniously that we can create freely. (Stanislavski, 1937, p. 248)

She explains: “Before you begin, know what it is that you want, and imagine Lucifer somewhere, physically”. He is always personified in this opera. Stanislavski traditionally has a fourth wall; however, it is possible to make the whole audience Lucifer, or even to pick a person from the audience. This will provide you, as a performer, with an aiming point for your theatrical energy. Whether this is a point in the room, or a person, or maybe the whole audience, you can protest the Lucifer inside them. As a performer, you can fill the whole space as part of your theatricality, it would shift your physicality: how you move and where your attention is.

[T]he actor needs an object on which to focus his attention, only not in the auditorium, but on the stage, and the more compelling that object is, the more it can command attention. (Stanislavski, 2008, p. 91)

While performing, I have to think about how the motives, the musical sections, are ways to reach or persuade Lucifer. How some musical phrases and actual musical tasks are like punches, or strokes, or caresses. It is important to be creative and believable. The theatrical decisions are embedded in the music.

After a short break, I perform Oberlippentanz for a second time. Sapidah reminds me that Stanislavski is about feeling the emotions that happen inside you. As long as the physical intention is there, the audience will believe it. This would help to shape what you do physically in relation to the space and the audience. She assures me that and I do not have to worry too

much about transferring the emotions literally and genuinely to the audience. It is hard for the audience not to feel the emotions when this music is played.

In Gorchakov ’s transcriptions of Stanislavski directing he states:

We often have been and still are accused of falling into a naturalistic expression of detail in our pursuit of the realism of life and truth in our stage actions. Wherever we have done this we were wrong. It is definitely bad and inartistic […] that is why naturalism is poisonous to the theatre. Naturalism cheats the audience of its main pleasure and its most important satisfaction, that of creating with the actor and completing in its own imagination what the actor, the director and the designer suggest with their theatre techniques. (1954, p. 33)

I am advised to approach the playing from a theatrical perspective: it is not about saying the lines, it is about finding the nuance in every different action, including the mute changes, the transition between the standing and the sitting, and even the pauses I take between phrases.

4.5 Summary reflection on Oberlippentanz: Performance September 6th, 2016

The performance is in a small theatre hall. The walls are completely covered with drapes resulting in a dry and non-responsive acoustics.

• I start playing from behind the curtain, the opening is strong, confident and has good dramatic direction. I feel like Michael calling out his brother. • More time could be taken when entering the room and establishing myself. • In bars 37 to 40, the nasal resonance could be higher in my head to result in clearer intervals. • The first tonlos rausch notes are good of colour and have a high resonance. The soft palate and diaphragm are engaged in a similar fashion as when playing normal notes. • I could use more time in the ritenuto in at 85, and have a better connection with the entrance at bar 87. I am not sufficiently focused on the first note, which leads to some unresponsive notes and failed intervals. During the playing of the intervals I end up with the position too low in my head and with too low a tongue position. 92

• In bar 87 to bar 120, I lose the theatrical tension span, because of the technical difficulties I am encountering. At the end I manage to recover the play form, but the theatrical tension span is not regained until bar 127. • A number of audience members come in late, and walk over the podium to their seats. This notable distracts me and it takes me to recover my focus again around bar 127. This lack of focus also leads me to play a wrong rausch note line. • I can tell by my body language and undirected movements that I have lost theatrical direction and am struggling to get back into the piece. • I regain my play form and theatrical direction again from bar 127. The Rausch notes have a good colour and high resonance. • The transition from the beginning of the cadenza to the seated part on my heels looks convincing and has direction. • The overall theatrical line is well maintained and the only thing lacking is the vitality in resetting the high form of the soft pallet and diaphragm when coming from the large interval jumps (beginning of the cadenza, bar 146). • When emptying the trumpet for the preparation to play on my back, I suddenly take out the water pump entirely instead of using the water valves. I never do it this way, and it seems that I wanted the security of not having water in my trumpet. However, I do not place them back in the exact previous setting meaning that the tuning will be different when using the 3rd and 4th valves. I will have to compensate this later with resonance and tuning by embouchure. (The piccolo trumpet has natural tuning problems when playing in the lower register, because of the irregularities in the length of the trumpet. The smaller the valve lengths, the more deviation will occur). • The lying down could be more organic. I am trying to go from my kneeled position directly to the lying down position. This however does not go as intended, and has an awkward feel to it. Again, in the moment, I make a last-minute decision to deviate from how I have practiced it, and not benefitting the performance. • The opening entrance of the playing while lying down is well executed. • We transitioning from the seated position on my heels to on my knees, my diaphragm does not come up, together with my soft pallet. Therefore, I miss the opening high C3 at bar 149. • I try to recover from this, but miss some notes. 93

• On the high G3 I recover well my play form, although the last note is played more on embouchure then on resonance. • I make a mistake reaching for the wrong mute on bar 206. • Overall, the dramatic direction gets lost a little during the technically difficult passages. This is the first performance in front of a live audience and I can still see myself thinking at times, which disrupts musical and theatrical direction. With every thought Michael transforms back to Sef performing.

4.6 . Oberlippentanz concluded

In the past chapters I have given insights into the complexity of preparing and executing Oberlippentanz to a high theatricalised performance standard. Karlheinz Stockhausen’s output is notoriously complex containing a multitude of added layers in the theatrical performance, and requires a multi-disciplinary skillsets to perform the piece in a dramatically staged performance setting. After having learned and recorded the piece to a conventional performance standard, the transformation to a theatricalised performative setting were substantial, even though for Karlheinz Stockhausen this setting is the norm.

In Oberlippentanz, the performer is elevated outside the standards of the conventional performance practice for classical musicians by a number of elements and extra-music tasks. In a typical concert setting the instrumentalist is not inclined to move around the stage. In Oberlippentanz the performer enters the stage already playing, wearing her/his mutes around the waist like a belt of weapons. Michael is prepared to call out his brother “Lucifer” and protest his action. The complex nature of the memorisation of serial music, the mute changes and the “tonlos rausch” notes combined with kneeling and lying down further complicates the performance of an already technically highly demanding piece. The importance of the piece as an integrated part of Karlheinz Stockhausen’s epic work, Licht; Die Sieben Tage der Woche, makes it an important historical piece of the 20th century New Music Theatre trumpet repertoire. The conventional practice routine does not fully prepare the performer for the execution of such a multilayered performance piece and exercises pertaining to character and theatrical direction are necessary.

By conducting literary research into the context and development of Oberlippentanz and on a macro-scale the entire Licht; Die Sieben Tage der Woche cycle, I was able to provide Michael with an in-depth character evolution and dramaturgical meaning. I used Stanislavski’s seven fundamental questions to personify the character of Michael and to relate to his story, development, desires and overarching goal; however, in order to combine this with the performative execution of the music, a number of other skills had to be developed, researched and practiced.

The main concern of the performance is the execution of all tasks, musical and extra-musical, by memory. Through analysis of rhythmic patterns, the super formula and the audiation of the piece, a sound foundation was laid for the incorporation of all aspects into the performance. It was especially difficult to integrate both theatrical direction and work the music into motor memory. The exercise showed me that this type of music must be functional without conscious interference—becoming a denisen of the subconscious. One must be careful and integrate thought and theatrical idea into performance,. Other elements, such as change of focus, setting and tension can also disrupt the flow and so breach the context of performance.

In one of my private lessons with Willem van der Vliet, he told me: playing the trumpet (and this can be applicable to all instruments) is like walking a rope. If you attach the rope between chairs, you can get the hang of it after some practice. Now imagine this rope between the first floors of two buildings, if you fall you might really hurt yourself. Now imagine it between two skyscrapers; the action is still exactly the same as walking that rope between two chairs, although now more factors play a part, there is wind, fear, tension etc. I viewed this advice as an accurate metaphor, although at times I feel performing Oberlippentanz is more akin to crossing the tight-rope while also juggling three balls. When technical difficulties were mastered to the point where I thought I could easily perform them, a change in theatrical setting or direction would force me to relearn technical accomplishments within the new context. This process was repeated until the influences of theatrical direction became part of the play-form and the theatrical action linked to technically-challenging passages. Stanislavski’s methodology connected musical and theatrical form, and played a key part in bringing together musical phrases with dramatic intentions.

Through the rehearsals I had with Shapidah Kian and Jane Davidson, invaluable experience was gained through their remarks and reflective comments. They provided me with a reflective 95

third person view of my work and made me aware of a number of negative habits. Once alone in the practice room, it is very easy to over-focus on little things or a technically challenging passage and ignore other, less difficult, elements or passages. Watching video footage of my own practice sessions has broadened my understanding of my own rehearsal process and flaws. Even though highly confronting and uncomfortable to watch, it helped me to reflect on my own practice process with more distance and less judgement.

I summarised my development in the following graph, Figure 22:

Figure 22: Summary of the reflective case study of Oberlippentanz

After the initial staged recording and live performance of Oberlippentanz, I have had the opportunity to perform and record the piece a number of times, the most recent being a recording of the piece included in my portfolio. During these performances, my interpretation and execution have developed considerably. The theatrical direction and especially the ease of memorisation are becoming more interconnected. With every performance, I feel Michael and his nucleus formula have become more deeply embedded into my subconscious motor

memory. Having said this, the preparation still needs to be thorough before each performance; this is not a piece that can be underestimated and, due to the high technical and rhythmic difficulty, demands an alert and focused performer.

It is interesting to see how Stanislavski’s methodology can be used and incorporated into other demanding New Music Theatre pieces, especially if the theatrical character becomes even more alive through text and movement outside of the musical spectrum. In order to see the functionality and the applicability of this methodology, I have co-devised a New Music Theatre piece called . In this highly demanding multi-media piece we explore the outer edges of the theatricality and the complexity of Kirby’s “Acting – non Acting” spectrum.

Chapter 5: THE CREATION OF A NEW MUSIC THEATRE PIECE: Silencio Monodrama for trumpet-actor

5.1 Introduction to Silencio

The current chapter undertakes a detailed study of the conception, development and execution of a New Music Theatre piece entitled Silencio. It is an artistic research project focused on the collaboration between the composer and instrumentalist – myself. Wishing to build on the theoretical literature explored in the opening chapters of this thesis, I used Brechtian and Grotowskian approaches to acting to assist in both devising and realising this new work. The focus of this project is to understand the challenges brought to bear on me as performer when working on a “devised work”, in contrast to a “mise en scene” production where elements are defined the by composer and/or director. The aim of the current work is to investigate the depth of skills and qualities that the creative devising process demands of the instrumentalist.

In the earlier focus on Oberlippentanz, the preparation and execution of the extra music tasks were explored mainly through the use of Stanislavski's acting methodology to explore and define the character of Michael. The way this character develops in the Licht cycle made it logical to apply Stanislavski's seven questions that search for dramatic intention and direction. In contrast, Silencio is a monodrama for which the theatrical nature of the character of the musician-actor is less clearly defined. The character portrayed by the musician-actor misses the clear character development that Michael undergoes in the Licht cycle and is therefore ambiguous in comparison. It was this essential difference in character conception that s seemed to relate more to Grotowski's self-expressive acting methodology. In Oberlippentantz the Grotowski methodology was used to a lesser extend to help the extra music tasks that were confined to the musician’s skill-set, e.g., the connection of the extra music tasks to the motor memory. The rausch notes, playing while sitting down/lying on your back was, although outside the musician’s normal comfort zone, still related principally to high level musicianship. In Silencio, the extra-music tasks were deliberately selected to push my skill-set, employing text, a more complex choreography, and appealing to the acting and physical skills set of the musician-actor. Also, the use of electronics and a live soundscape were included to add to the extra-music tasks I had to fulfill. The personal growth of the musician-actor as a character stands central to the development of Silencio, and from our on-stage writing and rehearsal process to the premiering of the piece, it was the experiences of my collaborator and myself 99

that drove the theatrical aesthetics that were the starting point for the work’s theatrical motives and my personal theatrical development. The use of text, physical movement and music also made the role of the musician-actor change throughout the piece. Because of these fundamental differences with Oberlippentanz, the theoretical focus was to investigate the applicability of the acting methodologies of Brecht and Grotowski in order to give theatrical shape and direction to the development of the onstage character, execution of the extra music tasks and to complement the musician skill-sets. All these challenges were discussed and agreed with the composer collaborator across a number of planning sessions. This specific work was developed from 2014-2017, and was finalised for recording in 2017.

After having read works by Falk Hübner -a scholar, composer and director of New Music Theatre productions (see Hübner 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014) - and having seen a number of his productions (Wasteland 2011, News-Real 2012, Sounds of Absence 2013), I knew that developing a New Music Theatre piece with him would be the next logical sequence in my process of reflective discoveries. Hübner's role as one of the forerunners in the research on New Music Theatre and express interest in the instrumentalist's role in New Music Theatre made him the obvious choice with whom to develop this piece.

5.2 Theorising our collaboration

As discussed in the first chapter of this thesis, since the second half of the 20th century, the role of the composer has evolved greatly. Their tasks have developed beyond the stereotypical image of being bound to writing a score. During the 20th century, composers such as John Cage, Mauricio Kagel or Karlheinz Stockhausen amongst others, were broadening the spectrum of the field of composition, evolving it more and more into a multidisciplinary profession:

Nowadays one finds a multitude of practices, from the organisation of pitched sounds played by traditional instruments organised on paper, up to the design of interactive interfaces [as a] speculative composing in which not only one single concretization is provided, but where a multitude of embodiments are taken into account. (Creanen, 2011, p. 228)

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This citation is especially true working in New Music Theatre, especially since the start of the 21st century (Versloot, 2011). The merging of multiple art forms and artists results in a lack of hierarchical ownership were the validity of individual opinion cannot be claimed as more or less valid (Krasner, 2012; Hübner, 2014).

Creating and developing New Music Theatre pieces, David Roesner says, has:

…expanded the range of ‘instruments’ to include live video, lighting design, live sound electronics, costumes and spatial arrangements, and has paid closer attention to the theatricality of the musical performer. Thus, the interests in the musicality of theatrical performance and the theatricality of musical performance… (Roesner, 2012, p. 9)

It is not uncommon in these productions, for the actor/musician or dancer to work closely together with the composer during the rehearsal process, in an intensive working method of creating and reflecting material in a collaborative exchange. Two strategies that may be used in the production, one being to start with an improvisation by the actor/musician resulting in the creation of material that then can be used as a base for the final composition. Another approach is for the composer to compose small fragments of music, text or rhythmic material that then will be further developed depending on the outcome of the rehearsal. Both these strategies result in the active participation of the musician/actor leading to music and textual material molded to his specific skillset. Hübner clarifies:

At the point where the musician does not only perform the function of playing music onstage, but also enters into theatrical performance the degree of her importance changes. As soon as the individual presence of a musician, her body language and other performative factors become more essential, the composer and or director cannot avoid working with that specific person. By working closely together with the actual performing musician, both the music and the performance as a whole become much more bound to the performers, in a manner affording much less room for exchange than with a classical orchestra for example. It is quite possible that a composer does not compose all the music for a theatre piece and that the performing musician might be assigned (or chose herself) to compose sections of music, alongside the music of the 101

‘main composer’. (Hübner, 2014, p. 115)

The composer and musician/actor both bring their first sketches, inspiration and ideas to the rehearsal that will then be developed and molded together in composition, arrangement and staging. Dutch New Music Theatre composer, Thomas Myrmel, argues that this involvement of the performer in the creation of the piece and musical material also enhances the connection of the performer to the music and thus the authenticity of the performance (Myrmel in Versloot, 2011, p. 120). It is therefore important to note that the composition of a music theatre piece is a multidisciplinary co-operation between the composer, write, stage designer, dramaturg and performer.

Another notable difference is that the time line of a New Music Theatre piece is quite different from conventional staged pieces. While with conventional concert pieces, the rehearsal processes usually starts when the composer’s work is finished, in New Music Theatre the final piece is the result of the process and its outcome of the rehearsals.

Hübner himself says about this:

I rely on my own experience as a composer collaborating with directors, actors, dancers, and choreographers as well the reports of colleagues or students who were trained ‘monodisciplinary’ as musicians or composers, subsequently experiencing different working methods (sometimes seemingly incompatible with their familiar manner of creating music) in theatre. (Hübner, 2014, p. 113)

It is in this context that Faulk Hübner and I were able to develop Silencio collaborating at every level. From the start, it was explicit that I would be an equal in the creative development of the work. The literature on social and collaborative aspects will be dealt with at the end of the next section, after looking first for models on creativity.

5.3 Theorising our creative process

From the start, as I had a reflective model in mind, I was keen to focus our collaboration 102

around as clear a theoretical model as possible. But, of course, finding a theoretical approach was not straight forward. Somewhat surprisingly, an extensive literature review revealed that most of the music research in the area had focused on the creative processes of individual creators, and their isolated perspective. There was little focus on the complicated processes that support collaborative creative thought and practice in music devising and there has been a tendency to describe the creative product or the creator, not the different aspects that comprise the processes leading to a work’s creation (for example, Barrett 2014). Thus, I begin by exploring these studies creativity. From a cognitive point of view, Lopez Gonzales notes that creativity is in a rather ordinary mental process comprising:

The deliberate cognitive This is the creativity that comes from sustained experience in a particular field. It is the brain’s ability to connect to previously stored information from different parts of the brain, accumulated by many years of experience. When faced with a new problem, the brain automatically makes connections and associations in order to come to new insights and discoveries.

The deliberate emotional Is the brain’s ability to refer to previous emotions of accomplishment. Whenever a positive emotional response is achieved, the brain remembers that feeling. The memory of these positive emotions motivates the participant to continue seeking these positive emotional responses.

The spontaneous cognitive That all-familiar Eureka moment, occurring whenever the person has left the problem solving context and is focused on non-related tasks. Suddenly, as the unrelated activity is being undertaken, the pre-frontal cortex of the brain connects information in novel ways via unconscious mental processing. It is only when the problem is temporarily removed from conscious awareness that new perspectives can be gained.

The spontaneous emotional Is the creative process that is often perceived as an “epiphany”. This occurs when 103

neutral activity in amygdala, a memory, decision-making and emotional reaction centre, is spontaneously represented in our working memory. These emotional events are often perceived as very intense.

(Lopez-Gonzales, 2012, (02-10-2012) retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3574774/)

These are useful labels, but there are in fact a number of lenses through which it is possible to analyse and chart the creative endeavour. Another dimension is personality. The Six-trait Snowflake model of Creative Types developed by Perkins (1981) suggests that different people respond differently, according to Figure 23.

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Creators have a high tolerance for complexity, disorganisation, and asymmetry. 1. A strong commitment to a personal They enjoy the challenge of struggling aesthetic through chaos and struggling toward resolution and synthesis.

Scientists value good questions because they 2. The ability to excel in finding problems lead to discoveries and creative solutions, to good answers.

Allows creative people to find new perspectives on and approaches to problems. Creative people have a strong tendency to 3. Mental mobility think in opposites or contraries. They often think in metaphors and analogies and challenge assumptions as a matter of course.

As part of the creative quest. These people also exhibit the ability to learn from their 4. A willingness to take risks and the ability to failures. By working at the edge of their accept failure competence, where the possibility of failure lurks, mental risk-takers are more likely to produce creative results.

Objectivity involves more than luck or talent; 5. The ability not only to scrutinise and judge it means putting aside your ego, seeking their own ideas or projects, but also to seek advice from trusted colleagues, and testing criticism your ideas.

Creators are involved in an enterprise for its own sake, not for school grades or paychecks. 6. A great inner motivation Their catalysts are the enjoyment, satisfaction, and challenge of the work itself.

Figure 23: After (Perkins, 1981) Six-trait Snowflake model of creativity (no date)1

1Available at: http://www.integratingengineering.org/workbook/documents/snowflake_creativity_davePer kins_010509.pdf 105

Whether or not we reveal the characteristic traits Perkins outlines remained to be investigated. It is true that at the first meeting between Falk Hübner and myself in the summer of 2014, and it was quickly apparent that our personal aesthetics, enthusiasm and personal motivations were to make for a positive synergy. It was evident that our ideas about New Music Theatre were compatible and even complimented each other, and after our meeting, the decision was made to co-develop the current project.

In order to get a better understanding of the processes at play, there are a number of theoretical models that can be used to tease out the different ingredients used during the division of the creative tasks in creation process. One of the seminal pieces of research in the field, Art of Thought by Graham Wallace (1926/2014), divides creative processes into four phases:

Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Phase 4 Preparation Incubation Illumination Verification (Wallace, 1926/2014)

In the Preparation phase, the artist’s focus on a certain theme or subject, idea or problem by associative thinking, discussing or working on the problem. The thoughts and ideas that emerge from this process create a sense of doubt, the problem and/or ideas get identified and possible solutions are investigated with the uses of all the skills available to the artists. The second phase or Incubation phase, is when the artists do not actively think about the problem or idea, but on a subconscious level mental processing is activated. Wallace describes this as the ‘ripening of an idea’. In this stage, more is accomplished through passive thinking than active thinking. The third phase, or Illumination phase, is the phase in which the solution or answer is realised through a flash, an epiphany or moment of insight presenting a solution to the consciousness. This is a phenomenon that cannot be controlled or pressured. The mind will reach this state of being through the maturing of thought or letting the ideas “sink in”- i.e. creating the sensation of the idea popping up in the mind. The fourth phase, Verification, is the phase in which the answers to the problem or ideas get written down and worked out, and tested against all the knowledge and expertise present at the time, from as many different points of view with the goal of testing the validity of the solution or idea. 106

This model by Wallace was used as a template for a number of further studies. For example, Betty Edwards adds two extra phases to Wallace’s model in Drawing on the artistic (1985):

Phase 0 Phase 1 Phase 1B Phase 2 Phase 3 Phase 4 Realisation Preparation Saturation Incubation Illumination Verification (Zeder & Hancock, 2005, p.8)

In this instance, Realisation is the insight- and formulation of the problem that triggers the creative process, and Saturation represents the phase in which various research is done on the theme or problem and investigative or inspirational material is gathered.

Emma Policastro (1995) adapts the phase model to include an intermediate phase: Intuition, which integrates the intuitive senses of the creators to include heaving a preset intuitive concept of the final product:

Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 2b Phase 3 Phase 4 Preparation Incubation Intuition Illumination Verification (1995, p. 99-113)

In Creativity (1996), Mihaly Czikszentmihalyi adds Evaluation of the previously discussed phases into Wallace’s phase model before the verification phase starts:

Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Phase 3b Phase 4 Preparation Incubation Illumination Evaluation Verification

I thought it would be useful to combine the various stages and nuances of the research into Wallace’s model:

Pre-phase Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Phase 4

Phase 0 Phase 1 Phase 1a Phase 2 Phase 2a Phase 3 Phase 3a Phase4

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Realisation Preparation Saturation Incubation Intuition Illumination Evaluation Verification

Edwards Wallis, Edwards, Walles, Policastro, Walles, Czikszentmihalyi, Walles, 1926 1986 1926 1986 1926 1995 1926 1996

Indeed, through the investigation with Falk, Wallace’s model was adapted and nuanced according to the other related research. However, in order to describe the creative process of Silencio, and validate the different phases, we first had to identify the phases in the process of the co-development.

During the first meeting of Falk Hübner and myself, we spoke about the “Silencio scene” from David Lynch's film Mulholland Drive (2001). Through associative thinking and brainstorming, we came up with a number of music pieces, poems, books and recordings that reminded us of what we had discussed. This way of developing our ideas can be seen in Wallace’s terms as phase one: Preparation. We then each studied the material and read/investigated each other’s associations. This inevitably led to new ideas and associations, and giving us an insight on each other’s creative thinking processes.

Phase two and three happened simultaneous, whenever we were engaged in our day-to-day routines, we were always getting small ideas, inspiration and illuminations from things we would encounter. These ideas were then posted on Trello, a digital ideas clipboard. We would then meet again for the fourth phase. We would verify what we had done and repeat the entire process by brainstorming and associating on what we had come up. Even though we were following the four phases in step, it was apparent that these phases overlapped each other and sometimes jumped, although the sub-phases, were more nuanced and at times ambiguous and harder to determine.

Graham Walles (1926/2014) himself was already critical about the linear nature of his own four phases in artistic processes and commented that artists, even though going through all these phases, they were overlapping constantly, sometimes two phases would occur

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simultaneously and that the entire process is often repeated in the creative process. Creative writing researchers, Lester Faigley, Sondra Perl, Linda Flower and Daniel Hayes, noted in the 1980's that the writing process is rarely linear, but recursive (Flower and Hayes, 1980, 1985; Faigley, 1986; Flower, Hayes, Carey, Schriver & Stratman,1986). Planning, writing, re-writing and verifying normally interchange each other on a regular base. It is therefore important to note that the linearity of Wallace’s phase model is not an actual representation of the creative process but an “ideal” representation of it (see Moosmann, 2007, for a further critique).

In order to develop our ideas and inspiration, I would argue that the processes of Incubation and Reflection were repeated after each meeting. Each time resulting in a more detailed and complete idea of the setting in which we wanted to direct the piece. Over the timespan of a year, Falk and I were able to meet in person a number of times. In order to keep momentum in the creative development when I was in Australia and Falk was in Holland, we made extensive use of a number of modern communication means. Ranging from a number of scheduled Skype meetings to keeping track of our progress through digital applications such as Evernote and Trello in which articles, music, poetry, literature, video clips and anything that inspired us were posted, shared and reflected on. These were also used to send each other tasks and assignments, and to keep track on what still needed to be done.

According to Elliot Gyger (2014), there has been little research dedicated to the mapping of the creative process in the co-operation between composers and musicians/performers, especially in the New Music scene. Some of them - Fitch and Heyde (2006), Frisk and Östersjö (2006), Hayden and Windsor (2007) and Roe (2007) - are written from the perspective of the participants. For his own reflective case study First Stones, Gyger uses a conservative but widespread phases of collaboration model of John Steiner, see Figure 24.

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Figure 24: Phases of collaboration (Gyger, 2014, p. 35)

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This model gives insight into the nature of interactions during collaboration between the composer and the performer. It shows the various stages and the balance at which collaboration occurs. In the earlier the stage of the composition, the higher the level of creative work was undertaken alone by the composer. In this model, the role division between performer and composer is clear and the two are almost segregated. Gyger notes:

At pre-draft stage, the impact of the performer may still be more influential, but less collaborative. A composer may present sketches, of particular passages without a larger context, or of general ideas not yet fleshed out – but because these materials are provisional or nebulous a performer has little to respond to. Earlier still, as the concept is being developed, influence is mostly from the performers (or organisers) to the composer, who must address various constraints (e.g. venue, context, instrumentation) in synthesizing a creative vision. The performer may also demonstrate techniques or reference existing repertoire for guidance. (Gyger, 2014, p. 65)

This was only partially true for my collaboration with Falk, due to the constant reflection and alteration of the music scores. The musical studies in our collaboration were an integral part of the conception of the entire piece, and were linked to the other performative aspects such as visual art, poetry and sound effects. Therefore, because of the multidisciplinary nature of the project and the fact that the music writing is only a marginal part of this multidisciplinary project, we needed a wider theoretical frame in order to chart the creative development of Silencio as the multidisciplinary project that it is. Consequently, we looked at a wider theoretical frame for our on-the-floor approach. Our writing model thus became an adaptation of the “ingredient model” for writing processes from the psychologists Linda Flower and John Hayes (1986).

In order to understand the dynamic and repetitive nature of the writing process, Flower and Hayes developed an “Ingredient Framework”, see Figure 25. In this approach, the researchers signal the ingredients of creative writing, also, where and how these are used during the creative process.

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Figure 25: Flower and Hayes first iteration of the 1980 model of creative writing.

The task environment shown in the figure includes assignments and tasks. Within the tasks are the aesthetics of the writers as well their moral views and the assignments or tasks imposed by external parties. The text, produced so far, and texts that influence the future writing process. The long-term memory contains different skills, experience and knowledge of the theme, or writing techniques. The last segment contains the three writing phases. The non- linear nature of the writing process marked on the figure with the arrows in between the segments.

After analysing creative writing processes, Flower and Hayes realised that the creative process itself occurs in between the segments. The more experienced the writer is, the quicker they can jump between the segments and ingredients (see Moosmann, 2007, for more discussion).

Flower and Hayes (1995) developed a second version of this Ingredient Model, altering the order of the writing ingredient model into a clearer and more condensed model. One of the most notable differences is that the knowledge of the writer is now a central column of the figure clarifying the integrated part of the whole process, and being more clearly linked to the writing processes, see Figure 26 below.

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Figure 26: Flower and Hayes second iteration of the 1980 model of creative writing.

By 1995 Flower and Hayes also produced a third version of this Ingredient model, see Figure 27.

Figure 27: Flower and Hayes third ingredient model, 1995

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In this final model, there are two clear components: the individual and the task environment. This model has more of a sociological aspect in its writing process, something that is lacking in the earlier two versions of the models. It was also re-named to become the “ingredients of the task-environment”. The attention divider became the individual, and the writing processes became linked together with long-term memory and work memory part of the motivation/affect segment.

It is interesting to note that the majority of the academic research on theoretical literature uses the second 1980 model and not the 1995 model. In her book, De toneelschrijver als theatremaker (2007) (The stagewriter as theatre maker), Daniela Moosmann adapted the second ingredient model of Flower and Hayes to be applicable to the writing process of a number of leading Dutch and Flemish theatre directors such as, Gerardjan Rijnders, Adelheid Roosen and Rob de Graaf. By studying the creative writing processes of these in the Netherlands well-known theatre makers, Moosmann developed the model further, which theatre makers can customise the model to their respective working process. It is this model that Falk and I customised to structure our creative writing process, adapting it to reflect the creative writing, musical and theatrical development processes of our new music theatre production. It is show in Figure 28 below.

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Figure 28: The Ingredient Model as adapted by Falk Hübner and Sef Hermans in developing Silencio

In this ingredient model, we decided to incorporate the aspects most important for the development of our process in creating Silencio. We added a number of music and composition related task dividers and attention points not yet present in the model, which has been for on stage directing (Moosmann, 2007). These additions included our experience as musician and composer, such as instrument control, knowledge of musical form and styles,

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micro tonality, acting styles and compositional experience. It also reflects the various sources from which we retrieved our inspiration and working material. In this version of the model, the reoccurring and reflective nature of our creative process becomes clear. The non-linear development path is reflected in the different arrows showing how we explore our knowledge and material to the four phases of our creative process. These in their turn, reflect on the physical environment in the on stage rehearsals and meetings, meaning the adaptation, mutation or the deletion of previously developed ideas, only to repeat the entire cycle again for the next rehearsal session. The developed material then becomes incorporated in the task environment and part of the script, or in the section produced so far. This model forms the basis of the next section in which I examine how Silencio came into being.

5. 4 Developing Silencio

5.4.1 Initial stage The initial stage of our collaboration was a series of meetings and conversations that took place in Utrecht and Rotterdam in the Netherlands during the summer of 2014. These first conversations were free in nature and we discussed our previous works, fascinations and aesthetic ideas relating to New Music Theatre. During the second meeting, we had collected a number of ideas and recordings (see previous chapter). David Lynch’s Silencio scene in the movie Mullholland Drive (2001) would be the starting point of the development of what would become Silencio. The other main themes that we discussed would work as a red line through the development of the piece would be “the ghost light”2, silence as either an amplifier or definer of sound, solitude and the physicality of playing trumpet - see Figure 29. With these themes in mind, I returned to Melbourne.

2 A ghost light is a light bulb on an empty theatre stage that is left on after a theatre is cleared by all actors, performers, technicians and the audience. It is always kept on to comfort the ghosts living in a theatre, who would otherwise realise that everybody is gone and cause mischief in the theatre.

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Figure 29: Timeline development Silencio; June – Dec. 2014: Early development

In Figure 29, we can clearly see the sequence of the different phases in the creative writing process. In this early stage, the dominant approach is pre-phase. This included the researching and reading of related material on medias such as, Trello and Evernote, as discussed in the previous chapter. It was during the end of November that Falk first sent me musical sketches that he had created over the previous couple of months.

5.4.2 Creative process: 2015

Figure 30: Timeline development Silencio; Jan. – Dec. 2015

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As show in Figure 30, during the first phase of the research (June to December 2014), a large body of material was gathered. Most of these articles, clips, ideas and music sketches were then brought to the first rehearsal session in January 2015. It was also during this time that I had been working on a number of performance pieces for my PhD Portfolio. Our first onstage rehearsal/meeting began with me performing a number of pieces for Falk, as well as performing two small musical sketches he had written for me.

During these onstage rehearsals, I also recited a number of texts from the material collected and we ended the rehearsals by doing an onstage improvisation which included playing and speaking/reciting. The first rehearsals were vital for the assessment and feel of the material, but also for me as a performer. In Shifting Identities (2014) Falk remarks:

When focusing on the experience of the performers, something else comes to the fore, (...) but which also gives a clue as to how the outcome of the actual performance (and the experience of the performer’s presence) is shaped and comes into being through the performer’s own experience. (Hübner 2014, p. 208)

This could be read as the intuition phase as included in the Wallace Model (1926/2014) by Policastro (1995) in Phase 2a. After this session, I flew back to Melbourne and, as can been seen in Figure 29, the previous process repeats itself. Skype meetings were held during our time apart and the cycle of gathering material through association and the sharing and commenting through various medias continued.

During my trip to the Netherlands in June and July 2015 new rehearsals were planned and the newly gathered material was tried-out including the first study or Study#1. Falk had written Study#1 in a microtonal idiom. The inspiration coming from Arab and microtonal Jazz music and deviations of the main tonality. Falk commented about this during one of our first onstage rehearsals:

Microtonality of the musical material is a natural progression of my music idiom. Even during the last program I created, I experimented with microtonality in instruments 118

that do not allow for microtonal music such as in my piece for Harp, “Living room”, and my piece for solo percussion, “I will carry you over hard times”. The combination of the a-tonal and microtonal music, for me, is a direct evolution of the melodic material in Arab and Chinese music. In Jazz and Blues, microtonality has already found its way into the generally excepted tonal material. Such as the music of Australian saxophonist, Haydn Chisholm, and Israeli jazz trumpeter, Avishai Cohen, who use microtonality to give their music an Arabic idiomatic sense. (Rehearsal recording, July 2015)

Good examples of microtonality that has found its way into contemporary trumpet compositions are I can’t breathe (2014) by Georch Friedrich Haas as written for Marco Blaauw, and Meanwhile, behind, between, etcetera (2016) by Wilbert Bulsink as commissioned by the Asko-Schönberg ensemble in the Netherlands. These were performances I listened to with interest to see how I might approach working with Falk.

Microtonality on the trumpet is played by virtue of alternate fingerings and the use of the first and third valve pumps to lower the pitch a quarter tone, or less commonly, due to the rarity of its use and additional weight, by addition of a quarter-tone valve. Not only does this demand the performer to relearn the fingering and settings of each microtonal note, it also heavily affects the intonation and security of tonal production. In fact, any valve can lead to a number of pitches being played in overtone series such as: for first valve going up, Low Bb, F, Bb, D, F, Ab, Bb2 etc., means that oral intonation and accuracy in pre-hearing the interval before playing is vital. The practice of these first studies were more challenging than expected, and the proper use and incorporation of this new melodic material took a substantial amount of practice, relearning all the fingering, and audiating. After practicing and recording the music studies by way of alternate fingering, I had a quarter-tone valve constructed on my C-trumpet by Adams, in the Netherlands, leading me to having to relearn all the music again. Although the precision and ease of use, especially on intonation, validated this extra work (for a detailed explanation by Marco Blaauw on this and other conversions and benefits for the trumpeter see: https://youtu.be/1Bj8Al9vk4o).

During these rehearsal sessions, we experimented with a number of stage setups. The

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rehearsals where at the “Hoge School voor de Kunsten” (Graduate School of the Arts) in Utrecht, the Netherlands, where we could use their small hall. This space lends itself well for theatrical ‘try-outs’, therefore a number of set-ups were tried and developed. This was also the first rehearsal in which we discussed visual performance art in the rehearsal. Falk introduced the concept of using the performative attributes such as mutes, mouth pieces and bottles of valve oils etc., and change our perspective of them, by projecting large detail, close- up live video feeds, and through the use of filters to alter their function and the audience’s perception of these rarely thought off utensils. In a sense, we were creating a landscape of mutes and mouthpieces, see Figure 31-343.

Figure: 31 Figure: 32

Figure: 33 Figure: 34

3 From top left to right: 31) Projecting the landscape of mutes on the wall. 32) Close up of one of the air-holes in a wooden mute. 33) + 34) The landscape of mutes, before and after a filter has been applied. 120

The use of image projection is not new in New Music Theatre, and the use of projections, electronics and new media is widespread and ever expanding. Works such as Steve Reich’s The Cave (1990-93) is described as a “music and video theatre work” in which videos and commentaries are being projected (Salzman and Desi, 2006, p. 224). Heiner Goebbels’ Eraritjaritjaka (2004) is of special interest: here the actor, Andre Wilms, starts with a virtuosic monologue onstage to subsequently leave the stage, followed by a cameraman, who then follows him out of the theatre, into his car and back to his apartment. Meanwhile, the audience can follow this live through a large projection on the stage. When home, the actor reverts to everyday chores, and prepares scrambled eggs, while cutting an onion in the exact rhythm of the string quartet still sitting onstage playing Maurice Ravel’s quartet in F major (2015). In David Chisholm’s musical monodrama, The Experiment (2015), guitarist and musician-actor Mauricio Carrasco, performs a monologue, after which he engages in a sort of dialogue with a number of prerecorded performers, whom are projected on the back stage, and seem to be speaking to him4.

These examples illustrate that the use of video can be a key determinant in the performance space and a useful concept for some New Music Theatre pieces. Hans-Thies Lehmann when discussing tendencies in post-dramatic theatre remarks:

And finally, theatre and media art can meet in the form of video installations. Many directors use media on a case-by-case basis – as for example Peter Sellars in his London staging of Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice – without this defining their style. Particularly for a director who counts as ‘postmodern’, it is par for the course. Other theatre forms are primarily characterised not by the employment of media technology but by an inspiration through media aesthetic that is recognizable in the aesthetic of the staging. Among these are the rapid succession of images. (Lehmann, 2006, p. 168)

Another significant development in the shaping of the piece is the introduction of the poem Remainders by Lynley Edmeades5. This poem, in six verses, eventually becomes the textual

4 https://vimeo.com/125866083 5 For the full text plus a detailed analysis see appendix II 121

foundation of the piece, and an essential building block of the performance. The performative concept of Silencio shifts gradually from a New Music piece for trumpet player to a quest to supersede musical virtuosity and discover all shapes and forms of theatricality. The aesthetic aim of the project becomes what Heiner Goebbels eloquently describes as:

(Music) Theatre as a ‘thing itself’, not as a representation or medium to make statements about reality, is exactly what I try to offer. In such Theatre, the spectator is involved in a drama of experience rather than looking at a drama event in which psychologically motivated relationships are represented by characters on stage. This is a drama of perception, a drama of one’s senses, as in those quite powerful confrontations of all elements - stage, light music, words – in which the actor has to survive, rather than act. So the drama of the ‘media’ is actually a twofold drama here: a drama for the actor as well as for the perception of the audience. (Goebbels, 2015, p. 2)

In the timespan between the rehearsal session in June/ July 2015 and the rehearsal sessions in December of 2015, the first concept is written for the purpose of raising funding through the Dutch Podium Voor de Kunsten, or the Government Subsidised Institution for Funding of the Arts. This was the first time an outline was created as a direct outcome of the previous months of pre-phasing, creating, editing/performing and reflecting:

A trumpeter in crisis. On an empty stage, a trumpeter finds himself alone, together only with the empty chairs of the audience and a ghost light6, signifying that everybody else is long gone: the orchestra; its colours, sounds, spaces, chatters - and the audience. The stage is not much more than an abandoned wasteland, except the ghost light, only the remaining music stands and empty audience chairs share the stage of this dark music theatre piece.

Taking the "Club Silencio" scene from David Lynch's movie Mulholland Drive as inspiration and point of departure, Falk Hübner and Sef Hermans go on a journey about darkness, absence

6 A ghost light is a light bulb on an empty theatre stage that is left on after a theatre is cleared by all actors, performers, technicians and the audience. It is always kept on to comfort the ghosts living in a theatre, who would otherwise realise that everybody is gone and cause mischief in the theatre.

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and the loneliness of an artist and his forgotten art. The theatre as itself, as a black frontal space, as a "secret society" becomes both subject and surrounding in which the piece unfolds.

During the performance, the trumpeter encounters several "ghosts" of his profession and life: colleagues, idols, teachers, lovers. Parts of his seemingly earlier life pass by, or the dreams he wanted to achieve, images of who he wanted to become.

Exactly at this moment, when the trumpeter and his art are forgotten, when all seems to become meaningless and without relevance, he gets the chance to discover who he really is, what art means to him, and how it brings him to the centre of his self. Out of the dark and abandoned place, a beautiful and intriguing portrait of an artist evolves and emerge in a sound world of ambient jazz, contemporary music, electronic soundscapes and field recordings.

(Excerpt from the first concept, 2015)

During December 2015 a new rehearsal period is begun. This time, the material has evolved enough to stage a full first scene. For this the opening scene, the text from David Lynch’s scene is performed and worked on. Falk has further developed Study #1 after the outcome and the improvisations of the June/July sessions. Next to that, a complete new Study #2 is presented, tried out and reflected upon.

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5.4.3 Creative process: 2016

Figure 35: Timeline development Silencio; Jan. – Dec. 2016

What is clear to note in Figure 35 is the augmentation of the intensity and the reoccurrence of the four creative phases of the writing process. The shift of the focus on the pre-phases in relation to the reviewing phases, and the balance in the creating and editing phases become apparent.

During the January/May period, a new tendency occurs. The production of music material increases and Falk writes a whole series of studies and alterations after reflecting on the written studies. The quantity of work generated meant that our creating/reviewing phases intensifies. During this period, I record all the new studies in Melbourne, and write reflections and associations on the recorded material that were then sent to Falk, for him to reflect on. This leads to a highly productive phase in the creation and reviewing of the musical studies, and the corpus of music material grows exponentially.

In the meantime, the concept is further developed in accordance to the outcome of the December 2015 rehearsals and new associations were written in reflection of the latest 124

developments. In April, new material was researched and shared as a reaction to these new developments.

By the start of May 2016, the first script of Silencio was ready for rehearsal and try-out. After having spent the greater part of the previous year on the development of the 4 main musical studies through recording and reflecting on the music sketches by Falk and myself, and having selected and adapted the main body of poetic text to be used and modified to theatrical monologues, our first objective was trying-out the general lines of Silencio. The material had, up until that point, never been rehearsed in its theatrical setting.

The balance and connection of the different theatrical and musical elements of the score had to be set in a context in order to understand them in relation. What might work on paper in a script, might not work on the theatre floor. Also, the use of space timing and electronics, greatly affect the setting and theatrical charge. In order to validate and further develop our ideas, the material until then, was prepared to near performance level, meaning that a part of the music score was learned by heart, as well as the main body of text.

The use of text delivery by trumpeters has already given the example of Heiner Goebbels’ Schwarz auf Weis, where a trumpeter recites a poem by Edgar Allen Poe. In the piece Icarus Wept by James Mobberley (1998), which I have recorded as part of my PhD portfolio, virtuosic trumpet lines are complemented by screams and spoken sentences, and just when the 5th movement reaches its peak, the performer ‘loses it’ on stage- a clear reference to Icarus’ death fall after having flown too close to the sun. In these pieces, the spoken words are just an extension of the performative context for the performer. Using text, the performer does not pretend to be a different character. In Flow my tears, however, a production directed by Paul Koek (2012), a harpsichordist gives a spoken introduction about fictitious research he has undertaken on the composer John Dowland, and here the performative context is extended. The harpsichordist pretends, outside of the performative spectrum of an instrumentalist, to be a researcher. In Silencio our goal is to take this performative spectrum a step further, where it becomes difficult to see for the audience, if they are looking at an actor, a musician, a performance artist, or all of the above. This is a significant step for me, given how challenging I had found the few acting demands in Oberlippentanz. 125

Even though the addition of spoken text in music pieces is one of the most obvious ways to extend the theatricality of a musician as theatrical performer (Creanen, 2011), the literal transfer of information through text is an understandable way of communicating supplementary meaning to the audience. Whenever I utter the words “About the lights themselves, he can say very little, almost nothing” - which is the opening phrase of Remainders by Lynley Edmeades – a clear image is bestowed upon the audience. In Remainders, the six verses have a fixed textual shape in which the sentence structure stays the same throughout all six verses, however with each verse a number of words, and later on sentences, change and develop, so completely changing the meaning of each verse. The meaning and relations between these phrases become increasingly abstruse and often absurd, creating an extra dimension in the meaning and comprehensibility7.

The goal of the poem is not so much to tell a story, but to generate association and impressions. As Katharina Rost explains:

In the order of presence meaning is generated through processes of association, which are unpredictable and not completely controllable by either the staging artist or the perceiving subjects. They are grounded on past meanings that each individual spectator has compiled in his life thus far, which trigger associated ideas and emotions to the spectator’s consciousness. (Rost, 2011, p. 51)

Or what Heiner Goebbels remarks as one of the key concepts of the theatre of absence:

As absence of a story, or – paraphrasing Gertrude Stein – ‘Anything that is not a story can be a play.’ What is the use of telling a story since there are so many and everybody knows so many and tells so many… So why tell another one? (2015, p. 5)

To develop my text delivery, I do a number of rehearsal sessions with Dutch theatre/movie actor, theatre director and lecturer at the Amsterdam School of Theatre (AHK), Klemens Patijn.

7 For the full text and analysis of Remainders see appendix II 126

The feedback he gives me is that the general use of voice and text delivery is good, but can be enhanced by undertaking less physical action, especially concerning my body language, and rely more on the concept that the delivery and power of the text to transfer meaning: too grotesque a movement, distracts from the text. This was reminiscent to the coaching I had done with Jane Davidson and Sapidah Kian during the preparation of Oberlippentanz (see chaper 4.4). The theatrical charge is in the nuance and inner direction of the body language (similar to music phrasing). We work on making the gestures and movements smaller but with more directions and nuance, according to Grotowski’s vision:

The actor’s performance became a vehicle for self-study and self-exploration […] This is how the role penetrates the actor: through continuous work on the technical elements until all physical and psychological obstacles dissolve. (Sloviak & Cuesta, 2007 p. 21)

5.4.4 Recording the trailer

In order to give programmers of Music Festivals an idea of the aesthetic setting and musical material of Silencio, we made recorded a filmed trailer, figure 36 is a still from the recording session. This was planned for the first week of July. It was also the first time that we recorded in a theatre.

Figure 36: Experimenting with the use of a camera on the bell of my trumpet in an effort to change the perspective on the connection between spoken text and musical phrases (Rehearsal recording, 2015)

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Important elements of the trailer included the soundscapes and the visual art aspects of the performance. It was the first time that we could experiment with the projections on the back of the stage that we were planning to use to create an alternative reality during the performance. By zooming in at objects such as mutes and mouthpieces, but also everyday items such as plastic bags and bicycle lights, and taking their proportions out of context, it seemed possible to create visual changes so that they were no longer recognizable as a trumpet mute or a rubber band, but suddenly larger than life abstractions. It was with this technique of live video processing that we planned to build a landscape, made of the performative material necessary for the performance, into a city-like landscape, see Figure 37. Lehmann elaborates on the use of media images in the post-dramatic theatre:

‘There’ in the ‘between-the-bodies’ of live performance. In this insecurity and forlornness, they store memory: they actualise (and appeal to) corporeal experience. And they store future, for what they remind us of is desire as something unfulfilled and unfulfillable. This is where the alternative to the electronic images resides: art as a theatrical process that actually preserves the virtual dimension, the dimension of desire and not knowing. Theatre is first of all anthropological, the name for a behavior (playing, showing oneself, playing roles, gathering, spectating as a virtual or real form of participation), secondly it is a situation, and only then, last of all, is it representation. Media images are – in the first and in the last place – nothing but representation. The image as representation gives us a lot, to be sure: especially the feeling of being always on the track of something else. We are hunters in search of the lost treasure. Always ‘in the picture’, we are on the scent of a secret – but in doing so at any moment already ‘content at the end’ because we are satisfied by the image. The reason for this is that the electronic image lures through emptiness. Emptiness offers no resistance. Nothing can block us. Nothing stagnates. The electronic image is an idol (not simply an icon). (Lehmann, 2006, p. 171)

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Figure 37: Musical conversation with the recording

We also experimented by mounting a camera on the bell of my trumpet in search for an alternate perspective on the performer and to provide a connection between text and music. We then preceded in projecting these imagines on a white screen in the back of the theatre, in order to create a duet/conversation between the live performer and the recorded imagines (See figure 37, and trailer Silencio). This idea was reminiscent of the Brechtian theatre philosophy of the actor stepping out of character to critically reflect on his actions and/or decisions (Brecht, 1997). In the absence of any clear political or sociological criticism towards society or the audience, in this case the action of engaging in an duet and interacting with previous recorded material was to musically reflect on loneliness, silence and the distortion of memories (See excerpt from the first concept, 2015).

It was evident that the location of our rehearsals greatly influenced the rehearsal processes. During our first round of rehearsals in May and June in the dance school setting, the focus was primarily to nuance and re-develop existing material. However, when we the changed from that sober setting to the setting of a real theatre, it led to a tidal wave of creative work. Silencio started to grow when we could experiment and improvise with the electronics and audiovisual material, in theatrical setting, combining the creative process with the already existing and refined material that had been rehearsed the previous weeks.

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Falk and I both felt that the progress even though important and extensive had been painstakingly slow. It is an interesting example of how the incubation time and ripening of certain ideas can have deep impact on the creative thinking process. What occurred during the recording of the trailer was a classic example of the spontaneous cognitive and emotional process as described by Lopez-Gonzalo (2012) and discussed in the previous chapter.

During September until December our long-distance collaboration routine continued. Due to the artistic outcome of the trailer and the development in the material, Falk composed Studies #4 and #5. These studies are more developed and larger than the previous studies for the piece - a sign perhaps that our creative process generated more inspiration and that the aesthetic ideas became more developed and matured. The piece came alive for both of us after the recording of the trailer. As the now familiar modus operandi, after practicing these studies, I recorded them and send them back to Falk with together with my associations and my comments.

5.4.5 Creative process: 2017

Figure 38: Timeline development Silencio; Jan. – Sept. 2017

During my trip to the Netherlands in January 2017 we worked on the revised Studies #4 and #5. A number of possible settings for these studies is tried-out. A large component of our 130

setting still remains Falk’s interest in the physicality of playing a trumpet. Ever since having played Oberlippentanz for him, he has talked about the mental and physical breakdown that the progression of the piece needs in order to find the boundaries of the performance. Our goal was to emphasise the dramatic process that occurs when the body is under stress and physical exhaustion. The inner struggle of the character in Silencio, although real, is one of inner conflict. In order to transfer this concept to the audience we had to search for the point of physical exhaustion in the written music, in order to make it believable. This action is what Lehmann describes as: “While the dramatic[theatre] body was the carrier of the agony, the post-dramatic body offers the image of its agony. This prevents all representation, illustration and interpretation with the help of the body as a mere medium. The actor has to offer himself.”(2006, 163). This concept was r used by Falk in his earlier work I will carry you over hard times, performance for percussion player, objects and four-channel soundtrack (2015/2016). Maarten Zaagman performed this piece composed by Falk Hübner. The remarkable fact is that there is no percussion onstage. The piece is pre-recorded, but Maarten plays the piece as if every percussion instrument of the used set-up is right there with him on stage. In the end, the speed and size of the percussion set-up drives him to sheer exhaustion8. Heiner Goebbels remarks: “If I want an actor to be desperate, I give him lots to do. If I want him to show his exhaustion, I give him – as in the music theatre work Max Black – a chair after a breath-taking marathon” (2015, p.83).

Therefore, Study #5 is written with the idea of bringing me to exhaustion. The study is a series of repeating notes, with only sixteenth rests in between. This is done to allow me only the absolute necessary time to breathe, but not to recover. The implementation of long sustained notes between the repetitive sixteenth notes is in order to use as much air as I need, without giving me the chance to rest, and catch a breath. For this study, Falk also composed an accompanying soundscape, which, in the middle of the piece, runs in synchrony with the trumpet part. A number of times we came up with various ideas about how to best portray the exhaustion and mental break down in the scene. It was during these practice sessions, that I also wrote a number of musical sketches. These sketches are a combination of technically virtuosic sequences as well as melodic ideas. We discussed and worked on my ideas and Falk

8 https://hubnerfalk.com/artistic/music-theatre-performances/hardtimes/ 131

took them as musical suggestions, some of the ideas found their way into the material of the finally created piece.

It was at the end of these rehearsal sessions that Falk introduced the music to Fuego Mudo. Fuego Mudo is a poem by the Uruguayan poet and writer Mario Benedetti9. It was one of the poems I translated and sent to Falk due to its seamless connection to the thematic content of Silencio. Falk wrote a musical study to the poem to be performed as a song. During the previous rehearsal session, he had studied my vocal range after making me sing scales. The music of Fuego Mudo is written in such a way that it covers my vocal range.

Due to the fact that I am fluent in four languages (Dutch, German, English and Spanish), from the outset, the idea was to look for poetry and literature in all four languages and expanded the creative input and output pool. This occurred organically given our nationalities (Dutch and German) and the fact that neither of us live nor work in our native country. Making our collaboration and the general development of Silencio polyglot.

Theatre asserts a polyglossia on several levels, playfully showing gaps, abruptions and unsolved conflicts, even clumsiness and loss of control.[…] But this polyglossia also has immanent artistic reasons. (Lehmann, 2006, p. 168)

In New Music Theatre performances and in post-dramatic theatre, the incorporation of polyglossia has proven omnipresent. In Heiner Goebbels production of Roman Dogs (1991) there was a collection of texts by Heiner Müller in German, William Faulkner in English, and Piere Cornelle’s Horace in French. In Horace, the verses were sung rather than recited, combining the beautiful aesthetics of perfect use of language to stuttering and noise. The use of multiple languages in Silencio was done to expand the literary and artistic field and to transcend it into a broader poetic spectrum.

From February until June, our work continued while I was in Melbourne. We had a number of meetings reflecting on the material gathered and on the recordings I had sent for comments. This was the preparatory work for the final recording phase. I left for Australia for Europe at the end of June for the final rehearsal stage in preparation for the staged recordings on the 26th and 27th September.

9 For the poem and its translation see Appendix III 132

Having started Silencio in the summer of 2014, a vast body of material and aesthetic ideas had been created, disregarded, altered, refined and re-conceptualised –- as discussed earlier. On the other hand, the contextual setting, the precise theatrical placing of this material and even more importantly, the connection between these scenes of music and text, still had to be established theatrically. The dates for the recording of Silencio for inclusion into my PhD portfolio were set on 26th and the 27th September. From there on, the creation of Silencio as a performative piece for the first time in its development had a set deadline.

5.4.6 Putting Silencio together, July 2017

This segment is a presentation of the artistic and creative process in the final stages of the development of Silencio. In order to understand some of the artistic choices made, I wrote a narrated account of the last rehearsal sessions trying to give an analytic presentation by Thinking-through-practice of this process. This is done in accordance to similar reflective case studies done by Kent and Östersjö, in SHUT UP ‘N PLAY (2008).

Thinking-Through-Practice Thinking-through-practice is what Östersjö describes as:

The kind of interpretation based on action and perception, is what I call ‘Thinking- through-practice’. It involves the physical interaction between a performer and a his or her instrument and the inner listening of the composer; both of which are modes of thinking that does not require verbal ‘translation’. Instead they function through the ecological system of auditory perception. (Östersjö 2008, p.80)

This concept is a way to change the perspective on critical performative interpretation. In other words, it is a way of reflecting on musical validity that is not dependent on verbal or literary validation (Östrsjö, 2006 p. 80-83). Susanna Cusick, musicologist, elaborates:

As a performer, I act on and with what we ordinarily call music with my body; as a musicologist I have been formed to act on (and with) what we ordinarily call music with

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the mind, and only with my mind. Thus, my musicological habitus inclines me to think about music’s fixed text like qualities, an inclination that is perpetually at odds with my way my performing self-inclines to think about and respond to music. And when I turn to music theory as a tool to help me understand a piece I need to know about, I find that its habitus, too, inclines to focus music’s fixed text like qualities. (Cusick, 1994, p. 9-10)

In the creation of Silencio, certain decisions in the creative, reflective performance practice were not always dependent on intellectual decisions. What works in theory does not always reflect on what works onstage. Therefore, I have tried to reflect on the occurrences of the creative process that took place in the rehearsals by narrating these episodes in detail. This not only assists to better understand the creative process, but also to give insights in the incorporation of the material and the extra music tasks. What follows is a summarization of the most notable occurrences in the last rehearsal processes in July and September in the Netherlands.

Rehearsal sessions: July 2017

During this last rehearsal process the gathered material seemed like a puzzle, in which you hope that you have all the pieces, but none of it quite fits. Furthermore, we still had doubts about the material and the dramatic arc of the piece. Would the connected material reflect upon and complement each other? By going through the settings and rehearsing the various components in meticulous detail, we tried to hone the pieces to fit. We were inspired by Goebbels who noted:

Cannetti’s a purist. ‘The different art forms should coexist in the most chaste relationship’. This is well said. Because what I like to call the ‘balance of means’ can never exist en détail – only ever in succession or a complex interlacing. There are only a few moments where a balanced putting side by side of the theatrical means make sense, if they are not to eclipse each other; rather it is about creating mutual, unforeseeable displacements of priorities. (Goebbels, 2015, p. 19)

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During the first rehearsal, we started by arranging the material we had produced into 3 main section connectors, see Figure 39. These were comprised of the main musical studies and the text of Remainders. In this setting, we divided the Silencio in 3 main dramatically staged scenes and two connectors to deviate from one dramatic setting to another. The differences in scenes reflect the development of the character in Silencio, section 1, expose; section 2, development/peak; and section 3, downfall/reflection.

Section 1 No hay banda! Silencio Study #1 Remainders #1

Connector 1 Study #310 with text insertions of Remainders #2

Section 2 Study #4 (Base groove) City sculpture (Minimal trumpet soundscape)

Connector 2 Figure 39: arranging the material Remainders #3 Study #5 (Stuttering) Combination building/speaking/recording (TP and Video)

Section 3 Remainders #511 Study #6 (Heavy metal) Choreographed breakdown Exhausted deliverance of Remainders #6 Fuego mudo Installation end

The rehearsal began with a run through of Section 1 and Connector 1. We began setting the first scene of the Expose, No hay banda. During the run-throughs, we decided that the text was too long, consequently we split the text into two sections and inserted the first two musical phrases of Study #1. When the monologue finishes, the rest of the Study is played followed by Remainders #1. We discussed the way of recitation and I decided to present it as if giving a lecture. Because of the repetition and changes of the Remainders text, we want to convey the content as clearly as possible, as a base for the audience to catch the nuances later on. We then continued to do Study #3 and agreed that the musical material needed to be

10 Study #2 was shelved until further notice 11 Remainders #4 was not yet placed. 135

expanded. Then, Remainders #2 was performed. During the rehearsal, we repeated these two blocks a number of times, fine-tuning the timing between the movements. Grotowski says about this:

The question is this: how to begin by improvising only the order of the details, by improvising the rhythm of the fixed details, and then to change the order and the rhythm, and even the composition of the details, not in a premeditated fashion, but with the flow dedicated by our own bodies? (1971a, p. 7)

After these run-throughs of the written parts, we looked at the pieces that needed more musical development. Study #1, #3 and #6 (Heavy metal) was to be lengthened and further developed.

The next rehearsal started with a full run-through of the musical studies with the soundscapes. Critical points were especially encountered in Study #6, where the rhythmical nature and non- stop playing of repetitive 16th notes make the study delicate.

The first block was again run-through at the end of the rehearsal. Extra time was spent on the delivery of Remainders #1 and #2, since the theatrical concept of the text was different from the No hay banda monologue. After incorporating the second verse into the music of Study #3, we tried to convey the delivery of that text in the same colour and intention as the music material. It seemed to lift the spirit of the text, but the clarity and understandability of the meaning words and text was not correct. The co-ordination was problematic at the beginning, because the musical lines and the textual lines were getting cut. In order not to lose the direction and meaning of the text and the music, exact timing and clearness in articulation of the musical and textual line was a necessity.

We discussed changing the reciting of Remainders #3 into a monotonous tone that interacts with the soundtrack of Study #4. We experimented with the delivery of the text Remainders scene, from the lecture like first verse, to alternately spoken and played verse 2. This study is accompanied by a base groove that increases during the development of the study, until the groove has the colour of a signaler creating Morse code. We tried out the study a number of times and, progressively, I managed to interact with the monotonous soundscape and managed to integrate the spoken text within the soundscape. The result is something that Lehmann describes as an “textscape”: “I have chosen the term ‘textscape’ because it

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designates at the same time the connection of postdramatic theatre language with the new dramaturgies of the visual and retains the reference to the landscape play. Text, voice and noise merge in the idea of a soundscape” (2006, p. 148).

At the end of the rehearsal, we discussed our doubts that the theatrical tension was not strong enough. I opted to close the theatrical circle by returning again to our original starting point of David Lynch’s Silencio scene in Mulholland Drive, and we decided to watch the scene itself again. Immediately, we wanted to leave the audience with the idea that any given scene is a staged illusion, not knowing what is happening and what is pre-recorded/pre-planned. The idea was to enlarge the meaning of the soundscapes and rely on prerecorded musical scenes.

In the last rehearsal of the July sessions, we decide to do a run-through of the first and third section without the connectors. The second section was not rehearsed due to the lack of technical equipment. Furthermore, the soundscape and live video images still needed extra development. The fine-tuning of the text in combination with the musical studies played are starting to work together, and the red line we were afraid we had lost became obvious again, due to the nature and repetitiveness of the Remainders text. Although throughout the rest of the rehearsal period the overarching aim of the performance was always on our mind, it still constituted a great point of debate until the last rehearsals. We ended the rehearsal working on the soundscape of Fuego Mudo. Since Falk had finalised the vocal melody since the last rehearsals through improvising at the piano while I sang the melody, we further developed a soundscape to accompany the song.

Editing and fine-tuning, September 2017

After a break during August were Falk worked on the latest alterations and expansion of the musical sketches, and developed the soundscapes as discussed in the previous sections, I continued to practice the music, and learnt the text by heart. During the first rehearsal at the Hoge School voor de kunsten Utrecht, see Figure 41, we proceeded to do a run-through of the opening of the piece. A number of alterations were made to the staging of the last rehearsal session. We set the stage with 7 music stands. Figure 40

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Figure 40: Rehearsal with stage setup, HKU, 2017

Next rehearsal we positioned a trombone and a clarinet on stage, purely for referential visualization of the text12. We modulated the opening to have me walking on stage and setting up the mutes while breathing (audibly), and after having put down a number of mutes, I began reciting the text. We wanted to create an ambiguous setting for the start of the piece.

As conveyed in our first concept of Silencio13 the performer is all alone in the theatre. We want to re-create this concept by placing a number of rows of chairs without audience, see Figure 41. The fourth wall was well in place, and so the audience was not to be acknowledged. The text was performed a bit slower and more articulated. I worked across the rehearsal session performing as much as possible by heart, thus to incorporate the text and connect it to my motor skills, learning from the Oberlippentanz experience (see chaper 4.4 for more detail).

We rehearsed the 3rd block and experimented with the delivery of the text in a more rushed way. This was in order to prepare for the mental breakdown that followed after the “heavy- metal study”. For that scene, I walked around in an erratic and anxious way. After a number of tries in which Falk gave me dramatic directions, and predominantly minimised my gestures and movements, we found the tone and emotional charge we were after, by not playing

12 Text opening of the Silencio scene: if we want to hear a clarinet, listen. 13 See excerpt from the first concept, 2015 138

exhaustion but simply being exhausted, also when reciting the verse of remainders. Even if it goes at the expense of the understandability of the text. The threat of over-acting is most present when we want to emulate strong emotions, such as anger, pain and exhaustion (Grotowski, 1968). Therefore, I tried to do nothing more than being exhausted. Goebbels remarks that new aesthetics of the New Realities of theatre are developed by: “In interrogating gestures and imagines while trying to leave out all the things you ‘ve already seen a thousand times; in ceasing to feed and perpetuate the clichés, which film, television and theatre hurl at us, in the attempt not to impose and/ or hurl at us, to not make text ‘accessible’, but to retain their distance” (Goebels, 2015, p. 103). This is the reason we try to stay away from dramatic-theatre conceptions of emotions.

The soundscape for the “heavy metal study”, “the baseline study” and the song Fuego Mudo were largely developed during the break in August. Because the accompaniment in the studies kept changing, I had to re-learning the music over and over again. In a number of segments the soundscapes are in unison with the trumpet part14. This only occurs in the middle of the parts, making any mistake in miscounting is painfully obvious, and the spots to recover are very few.

5.4.7 Rehearsal with actress and theatre director, Klavertje Patijn

Silencio is heavily dependent on reciting text. The Poem “Remainders” in the opening scene Silencio and the song Fuego Mudo really formed the theatrical pillars of the musical structure. They formed the base on which the musical studies were composed. Unlike the opening Silencio scene which has a clear theatrical form and direction – i.e., the text is self-exploratory and the words carry their own theatrical context and direction – Remainders is more ambiguous in form and theatrical direction. The difficulties that I kept encountering while trying to learn the text by heart revolved around the similarities in the text, and the lack of performance cues for me to develop coherency.

When reciting Remainders for Falk, the spectrum of the delivery of the text was between reciting poetry (Remainders #1) to it being acted out as if in a state of mental break down

14 In similar fashion as in Icarus Wept, by James Mobberley 139

(Remainders #5). Thus, I went for some external direction to assist in finessing the trajectory from confidence to loss of control. I performed the text to Klavertjes as if it was during the performance. Her principal feedback was to imagine more the subject and shapes of the things I was talking about. “See them, hear them, feel them, then speak of them”, even of the more ambiguous subjects. This was in line with what Grotowski remarks:

There are many associations that can be used, but they should always be directed to towards the space and each should be formulated to set free the impulses of the body memory[…] you can’t work with the voice without working with the body-memory. (1971b, p. 124)

In a sense, this was reminiscent of the acting coaching I had received during my preparation for the performance of Oberlippentantz. There should be a strong personal association with the spoken words (“That cat you are stroking is not an abstract cat – his name is Napoleon,” was Grotowski’s maxim, see chapter 4.4). In the case of Remainders, the textual incoherency makes it challenging but not impossible to memorise. In order to connect them to my body memory or motor skills, I recite my association while attempting to juggle two (owing to my lack of skill) ping-pong balls.

Another re-occurring theme (as discussed in chapter 4.4) included the awareness of my body while speaking. One can become highly aware of the awkwardness of one’s arms when you are reciting a text. In the performance of Superstars (2009) by German director Frank Abt, the musician Torsten Kindermann comes on stage with a microphone stand at the front. As he stands at the microphone, his hands in the pockets of his trousers, and starts to tell his character’s life story - a young woman. In this case, the hands in the pocket were a conscious decision by the director Abt to help the performer with his performativity, as Torsten Kindermann is not a trained actor. Standing still holding them by your side can be a directional choice, but in my own performance of this text these movements or non-movements were not to distract the audience. We worked to achieve a fine balance between the subtle movement that can outline the subject of wat I was talking about, without it becoming unnaturally obvious. I certainly learned that you do not have to mime a tree when you are speaking of one!

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One of the most obvious problems I faced is that when I was focused on phrasing and intonation, direction of my bodily movement became extremely difficult, also to think ahead for the text or the next phrase to say. In order to counter these difficulties, just as the music of Oberlippentanz, I needed my text to be completely automated during the performance. Grotowski opts the idea to sing the text as a range of possibilities to integrate text with self- awareness:

Working with a song in this manner is like stalking the song – and it involves a shift from what might be called self-consciousness (related to our identity, our personality, ego, and constructed, social I) to what might be called self-awareness. Self-awareness brings attention to structure, to continuity, to basic nature, to the source from which authentic behavior arises. The separation of between body and mind heals. (Grotowski, 1995, p129)

As a musician, this idea of text treatment worked surprisingly well. A natural flow was created and the incorporation of text and physical movement was better. The only downfall was to then go back to the normal spoken text without sticking with the intonation of the melody; or, on the other extreme; to fall back to the old bad habits. The singing of the text had another positive side-effect, that my speaking voice became closer to the play-form when I played the trumpet. Especially Grotowski’s suggestion to speak as if your mouth was on top of your head (1971b, p. 124) helped me to keep my soft palate up while speaking, making the transition to the play-form much easier. Grotowski calls these points the resonators:

Most voice teachers [in theatre] speak about only two resonators. Grotowski however identified at least twenty-four different resonators in the body. [..] He observed that different languages engage different resonators The high-pitched sound in certain Chinese dialects emanates from the occipital joint in the nape of the neck. Certain Slavic languages use the stomach as a resonator. [..] Sound can be directed to the larynx itself as in Louis Armstrong’s way of singing. Once the actor has learned to engage all of these different resonators separately he can search for the vibration of the entire body. (Slowiak & Cuesta 2007, p.148-149)

This was reminiscent to how I change my resonance when speaking different languages and colour notes when playing trumpet. By being more aware of this notion, I tried to colour all

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the spoken text to resonators in the body that closely resembled my play-form, thus incorporating both, while giving the text more theatrical charge and directions.

5.4.8 Rehearsals in Dance Studio Rotterdam

We started these rehearsals with the focus on the visual performance of the piece. Even having worked on this part of the piece a number of times during the last sessions, we had not yet had a conclusive version for the performance, nor an exact Idea how it would fit into the general structure of the performance. The shape and setting of it were clear, but we started looking for imagines and interesting shapes and form within our material as well as the photos and documentation that we had already made. After some discussion, we decided that for the ease of the recording, it was best to pre- plan a number of images we wanted to show. A number of settings of the gantry are chosen and we rehearse the breaking down and building up of these set-ups.

In practice, it turned out to be quite tricky to get all the mutes and accessories to be planted in such a manner that the images could be made quickly without moving around and searching too much. A clear image and goal needs to be preconceived and we make a planning for me to memorise the situating of the mutes

The next rehearsal, we focused on the development of the third section of Silencio. We had yet to do and set the transition from the audiovisual part to the mental breakdown of the part. The transition was proving difficult and we were still trying out a number of versions. Indeed, after repeating the transition a number of times, we opted to perform Remainder 3 during the audiovisual, in order to keep an organic flow in the overall dramatic arc of the piece. We worked on the delivery and the deliberate use of the camera in order to make the transitions of the images and the image set-up of the mutes and mouth pieces clear. Remainders 4 was performed after leading to the Heavy Metal Study and Nervous Breakdown. This was the last rehearsal before the recording sessions on the 26th and 27th September. Falk finished the soundscape of the Fuego Mudo song, and we set scene 4, containing Remainders verse 5 and 6 and Fuego Mudo. The transition from scene 3 and 4 will be the Mental Breakdown.

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We spent the first part of the rehearsal talking about the ending. Even though we have had a number of possible scenarios for this including a duet for a pre-recorded trumpet part to be played by myself, also for the ending to be more serene and more intimate. The idea is to end in total darkness to create a reflective and minimalistic atmosphere. A major theme in Silencio is the solitude of the performer. Therefore, we tried out the various endings to see what captured the atmosphere best.

In the end, we decided to go for an option where, after having sung Fuego Mudo, I disappear from the stage (into darkness, depending of the venue of the performance) and play the improvisation out of sight of the audience, creating the question if it is live or pre-recorded. Falk says about this:

By creating “empty spaces” the audience is invited to bridge distances between what is expected and what is made absent and create their own interpretation. The absence of a specific element be it performative, musical or narrative, can evoke a specific tension as well as an increased awareness in the audience: they must fill in the empty space, the blank spot, in order to connect and to make sense of what is happening on stage, and therefore each audience member creates an individual story or interpretation of what the event onstage could mean. (Hübner, 2014, p.246)

During the earlier stages in the development of Silencio, we always played with similar ideas of the absence of instruments but high physicality in the onstage action. During the main development period, we slowly moved away from this idea, although we both suddenly felt the need to re-introduce it in this last rehearsal. It is interesting to see that even in the final stages of the development of Silencio, we still came up with drastic alterations and ideas. However, given the fact that the recordings were only two days away, we decided not to pursue the idea for now but to write it down and put it on hold.

Thus, the piece was structured as follows in its setting before the recording:

Opening: Soundscape heavy breathing

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Scene 1 “Silencio” No hay banda! First part First segment Study #1 No hay banda! Second part Second segment Study #1 Remainders #1 Combination Study#3 + Remainders #2 Connector Soundscape Study #4 Scene 2 “Visual art” Study #4 Build up audio visual set up (continued soundscape #4) Remainders #3 (continued soundscape #4) Visual imagines (continued soundscape #4) Remainders #4 Connector Study #5 Stutter Scene 3 Remainders #5 Study #6 “heavy metal” Nervous breakdown Scene 4 Remainders #6 Fuego mudo Offstage improvisation Fadeout

5.4.9 Narrative account of the recording session Due to the endless process of reflection and alteration over the past 4 years, the piece was now complete, and very different from the ideas discussed at our first meeting in Rotterdam in the winter of 2013. The piece was to be shot chronologically to preserve the dramatic arc

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of tension and release as much as possible. Falk had scheduled a timetable for each scene to be recorded.

We started building the scenery in the theatre, The Boulevard, in the center of Breda, the Netherlands. After the careful scouting out a number of theatres, I decided that the small hall in the attic of the theatre was suitable for our work, due to its Avant-Garde 1930’s look, and its resemblance of the theatre in David Lynch’s original Silencio scene in the movie Mulholland Drive. It was a vast improvement over the dull black theatre where we had recorded the initial trailer. The situation and the presence of large windows on both sides of the length of the hall, immediately had its effect on the performance. Because the initial idea of the piece was to centralise all theatricality around the center staged light, the open nature of the hall and the day light penetrating to the core, made us decide to let go of the stage light idea and focus attention around the music stands and the illusion of an orchestra even though there was none present.

The planning and gathering together the technical equipment, cameras and lights as well as figuring out the final setting for them took up much more time than we expected. The entire buildup, working with 3 people, Falk Hübner, recording technician Martijn Rondel and myself took over 2 hours, 1 hour more than calculated.

We started the recording with Scene 1: Scene silencio. I recommend that you watch the finally edited recording shown in Recordings II Under Silencio.

5.4.10 Diary

I walked onto stage from stage left. I felt that this scene was embedded in my motor memory.

After the first run of the entire first scene, Falk gave me a number of small but important pieces of director’s advice: I was still speaking too quickly when reciting the first couple of lines, even though I had the feeling that I delivered them slowly. The perceived speed of delivery by the performer and the actual effect on clarity and understandability of the spoken lines to the audience was proving to be to tricky. The fact that the scene is in three languages, Spanish, French and English and the audience needs a few seconds to process what exactly is going on and what they are looking at, this means that the delivery of the text needs to be

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slow and delivered with clear thought, in order to find the balance in delivery and understandability to the audience. While changing between the idioms, I paid extra attention to alter my accent of the spoken text, in order to let the audience know that the different phrases are in different languages.

In total, we did four run-throughs of the opening scene in order to get the desired effect. Once again, playing the musical phrases with the use of spoken text showed its difficulty, and I needed to be extra aware of the shifting between my play form and my speaking voice. This was particularly acute when entering on the pianissimo high A of the Study 1. Luckily, I felt that the rehearsal of this moment paid off and I made the transition flawlessly a number of times. I did feel that it was tiring to hold the theatrical direction for a number of takes. Before every recording, it took a little time to focus on the theatrical tension, and after the take was completed, it felt as if this focus was followed by full release of tension, which had to be re- engaged as soon as the director said: ‘Take 2’!

I was satisfied with the delivery of Remainders 1 at the end of the first scene. Once again Falk had to tell me to speak more slowly, and take more time between phrases. Memorisation at this point was no problem. The simple task of taking off my jacket and walking around the stage without distracting myself from the delivery of the text or disrupting the flow of the spoken words proved more challenging. After a number of takes, I got the feel for the set and was able to move about it in an organic way.

After recording the opening 4 times, we proceeded into the recording of Transition 2. This included the spoken text of Remainders 2 in combination with Study 2. This was, in terms of playing and speaking, by far the most challenging part of the recording. We had to do two additional takes in order to get the connection and flow between the first scene and the second scene, which included filling the music stand with mutes in order to create the visual scene in which I filmed and projected the images of the mutes and trumpet parts.

The visual scene was the last scene that we shoot on this day. Because we did not want to disturb the recording and scenery and due to the fact that recording projected images was not the aesthetically best way for recording, we decided to cut the images taken during the session and edit them afterwards in order to get the best quality of image and flow for the recording.

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During a live performance, these imagines would be projected behind the performer by a projector. During the live performance, this scene would therefore take more time in order to let the audience take a clear look at the projected image. The scene is accompanied by a soundscape and during the making and showing of the images, the third verse of Remainders is to recited. During the recording, it proved to be tricky to make a clear delivery of Remainders 3 while focusing on the images that I was making. It took a number of takes before I finally felt that the extra action of the making of the video images and delivering the text with appropriate theatrical direction became satisfactory.

After recording from 10am until 5pm I felt completely exhausted, much more so than after recording a music piece. The physical and mental concentration demanded of the multidisciplinary nature of the piece took a toll on me. Especially, maintaining the theatrical flow and the tension of the dramatic arc is demanding. The combination of the high difficulty in the music combined with the demanding text and the delivery of the theatrical action, made for a challenging but in the end satisfactory recording day. It is interesting to note that again in this new theatrical setting and under the circumstances of recording it, the work changed yet again. The rehearsals made me able to have confidence in my motor skills, but still it took me a while to balance these skills. It was as if every time I had to call upon these multi skills, a new and more profound layer was demanded of me as a performer, leading to an increasingly deeper understanding of the material, and the function of my motor skills and memory.

The next day we continue shooting at 10 am. We continued where we left off the day before. We started recording Study #6 Heavy Metal. Due to changes in the soundscape that occurred only in the previous week, Falk conducted some of the entrances to ensure I was synchronous to the sounds scape. From there on we continued with the mental break down. Due to the setting in the previous scenes it was best to do the entire breakdown in one take by using the free came, the cameraman Martijn Rondel was able to follow my movements up close, creating a sensation that the spectator is there with the performer during his moment of despair. The mental breakdown leads to the collapse and the moment of surrender or epiphany. The camera keeps following the performer. The song Fuego Mudo is a reflection of the main character, fully understanding his loneliness and surrendering to it. During the last rehearsals changes were made to the soundscape of Fuego Mudo. A base line that gave me harmonic reference is taken out. This resulted in me having to pay more attention to my

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intonation of the intervals. I feel in hindsight that this deteriorated the fluidity of the musical line, and now feels more like an interval training. After recording the song two times we continued with the improvisation. By prerecording a number of trumpet intervals to be part of the soundscape of Fuego Mudo, and the prominent presence of my trumpet onstage on top of the music stand, we wanted to create the illusion of a recorded trumpet, even though I am playing on another c-trumpet that is placed backstage (with mic).

During the second day of recoding we managed to end two hours in advance of schedule. For me it was much easier to maintain the theatrical tension span the previous day and the transformation into character took notable less time. It is interesting to note that the growing in to character was also apparent to both Falk and Martijn. During this recording session, it felt that we entered in a performative flow that carried the recordings without having to do to many re-takes or repair mistakes.

5.5 Reflecting on the creation of Silencio

In the creation of Silencio through the emerging field of artistic research, the frontiers of ‘research’ and ‘artistic production’ were ambiguous and challenging. “A fundamental aspect of this challenge was the notion that some of the knowledge can only be communicated by means of exterior to verbal discourse, and that, for this reason, artworks should be understood not merely as legitimate object of study but also as a valid outcome of research. But does this also imply that a written thesis merely becomes a confirmation in another language of the same result as are presented by the artwork”? (Cobussen, in Östersjö, 2008, p.318).

During the first meeting between Falk Hübner and myself during the summer of 2014 we set out to co-devise a substantial work for solo actor-musician, in a way to define theatrical and physical boundaries for me personally as a performer, and see through research-through- practice how these boundaries could be overcome and morphed into a refined and complete performance. It was also as to put it in a broader framework, a test case to see to what extend and capacity the performer’s performative skillsets contribute in a co-devised New Music Theatre production.

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By co-devising the theatrical frame-work into the ingredient model based on the model for directing-onstage by Moosmann, we were able to contextualise the ingredients that either of us brought to the creative process of conception. By studying the timelines of the past four years since June 2013, and holding this ingredient model of the different reoccurring stages of development against the timeline of the creation of Silencio, an important insight into the nature of the collaborative process and the non-linear sequence of the development is created. Through these timelines the fuzzy edges between the creative phases become clear visually, and it is easy to understand what stages were gone through in what particular time- setting. There is a clear sense of the diffraction between the artistic work, the analytic work and the reflective work. The project gives us a clear insight to when the corpus of work became more stable and embedded into the creative process. In particular, it shows us that the working process was at its peak during 2016, with most of the shaping in the creative process happening then. On the other hand, with the reoccurrence of the pre-phase and the late creative phase, there are strong indications of the never-ending search for new and alternative material, even until the final stages of creation.

Interestingly, when Falk and I were reflective on our research, the clarity of an important characteristic emerged: the possibility to shift between the reflection on one’s own practice and observing the collaboration at work. During the rehearsal sessions and the skype meetings it was possible to see how the roles shifted, between composer, researcher, instrumentalist and creative-co-deviser. At one time Falk could take the lead through the initiative of the material he had gathered, and another time, I would take the creative lead by implementing text or improvisation to the rehearsal. The shift between the co-development the responsibility for each person’s own tasks, combined with the inclusion of literary research or research-through-performances, meant that there was always a balanced tendency between these roles, leading to a dynamic creative process.

During the co-creation of Silencio, my performance capacity evolved greatly, and I was able to grow into the role of actor-musician through the directive incentives of Falk as well as expert coaching by actors and directors Klemens and Klavertje Patijn. Through this process, the notion of one specific acting methodology was relinquished a little. The piece connected well to Grotowski’s philosophy on acting, but this was more an incentive as a clear guide such as Stanislavski’s methodology was for the actualization of Oberlippentanz. However, the

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understanding and also the experience of already having to have worked with the Stanislavski’s methodology proved to be vital for the realisation of the theatrical charge of the performance. Body awareness, precision in movement and expert planning of the acting tasks were in complete coherences with the Grotowskian way of performance. In this respect, his methodology was a complete match to the performance of Silencio. However, the need for an external eye to reflect on one’s movements and theatrical direction remained the key to the success of the performance.

5.6 Critical reflection with Falk Hübner

There are also a number of critical notes to be placed in the development of Silencio through our experience of collaboration. The fact that the piece was being developed as part of a PhD in performance gives the development a clear timeframe of completion. Yet Falk states that he is not in favor of creating a piece with a set timeline. For him, in order to create the space and distance for self-reflection, he needs time to be able to disconnect and distance himself from the written and set music. He feels it is difficult to be able to judge the quality of his own written work as he is able to do with music and performances written and created by other artists. His ability to find and acknowledge weaknesses in other performances and have a professional performative opinion of the piece does not persist when it comes to his own work, owing to his proximity with the material.

Our creative development was different to his other productions, due to the sheer distance between our living places. Our rehearsal were set in pre-arranged periods of rehearsals. In other productions the rehearsals were set on times when there was new material. Due to the proximity with those musicians, it was fairly easy to meet and have rehearsals at short notice. This is one of the reasons that the development of Silencio was different and dependent on the preset planning. This in turn meant that the development of new material had to be done alongside periods of other preexisting work and commitments. For Falk, this was harder to plan and sometimes interfered with his creative timelines and reflection periods.

The continuous alteration of the music material was not ideal from my point of view, especially since we set my goal of performing all the music by memory. Even though the majority of music was played from memory, I felt I was not completely free and the music was not

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‘grounded into’ my motor memory, especially owing to the demands of the microtonality. It was interesting to note that during the recording of Silencio, a number of times while in character, my motor memory fell back to the motor skill setting of the music I learned on my c-trumpet without the quarter-tone customisation. This lead me to unintentionally use alternate-fingerings positions during the recording on a number of occasions, instead of using the quarter tone valve.

5.7 Reflection on the outcome

To reflect on the outcome of this body of artistic research-through-practice, is to provide a clear methodological reference from the artists point of view. Even after having done a recording included in this thesis, Silencio is still a work in process. The piece could still undergo alterations towards it optimal form and shape until its official premier on March 3rd 2018 at the Museo de Navarra, in Pamplona, Spain. The piece will then be performed at a number of New Music Festivals, before coming to Australia for the 2018 Bendigo International Festival of Exploratory Music. It would be interesting to see the development of both the content of the piece, as well as my performativity and the development as an actor-musician. The practice- through-performance aspect of this investigation will supersede this PhD investigation and will be continued, deepening this investigation until the last concert has been performed.

During our rehearsal period in June 2016, we came to the analogy that working on this piece is like carving a statue of out of a piece of clay that is never finished. The continuous process of adding and cutting of material, introducing and dropping of new ideas hopefully will give this New Music Theatre piece a profound balance once it has come full cycle. One of the most intriguing givens is that during this intensive co-production, we already had to discard and rephrase a number of ideas that were initiated. These ideas are now waiting to be developed into our next New Music Theatre Production.

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Chapter 6: CONCLUSION

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The conclusion reexamines the initial questions of my research, and recaptures the course of my self-reflective case studies and analysis of the literature. It also contextualises my findings within the endeavours of the self-reflective case study of Oberlippentanz and the co-devised creation of Silencio. The later New Music Production was done in collaboration with Dr. Falk Hübner and has its origins in a broad creative spectrum and reflects not only Falk’s but also my own artistic work processes, and the issues we encountered while co-devising this vast and lengthy project. As a theatrical performer in New Music Theatre, the main research questions were:

• What was the value of the theatrical for the development of the onstage musician • What new skill set has been created • What are the advantages on a broader performative spectrum • How does it relate to the development of new music theatre productions

By merging the artistic practices of music and theatre with qualitative research methods and critical analysis of these two demanding New Music Theatre pieces I was able to find new approaches, solutions and skillsets for the performative difficulties that were presented by the performance of these multidisciplinary pieces.

To conceptualise, both Stanislavski and Grotowski’s theatrical methodologies provided me with different but equally helpful concepts for the performative tasks of the respective theatrical styles. Stanislavski’s involvement acting methodology proved helpful to portray the dramatic intension and directions of a character with a historical context and complex personal development.

By doing the historical and contextual research, I was able to answer Stanislavski’s questions for dramatic direction and purpose, and this made it possible for me to perform Oberlippentanz as Michael, with clear direction and meaning to the extra music tasks. On the other hand Silencio and the approach of GrotwskI and self-expressive acting to search for new theatrical and personal barriers without the loss of purpose or direction. Grotowski’s style is less bound by clear rules, but by looking for theatrical meaning in your own personality and

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skill sets, and developing these to perfection, it gives you the ability to theatricalise and emphasis e your personal qualities, while confronting and developing your personal weaknesses. The onstage development approach of this methodology meant that a big part of the personal growth was due to the feedback and instructions of my director and co-producer Falk Hübner, and personal acting coaches Jane Davidson, Saphida Kahn, Klemens Patijn and Klavertje Patijn.

The knowledge, practice and training in these acting styles gave me skills in the execution of extra music tasks outside my comfort-zone as a musician. During previous New Music Productions, even though aware of the styles, the lack of training meant that the execution of the extra music tasks was always joined by the feeling of incapability or awkwardness. This had an effect on my performance as a performer as a whole. In music practice, it is best to eliminate aspects that can enforce doubt or even fear, especially when the level and difficulty of the music that is being performed demands mastery of the mind and body, in the broadest sense of the word.

By approaching these works through the conceptualisation of the theatrical that the mainstream acting methodologies provided me, I was able to distance myself from my normal practice approaches to learning and understanding the multidisciplinary aspects of the music genre. The theatrical development did not only reflected on my deeper understanding of phrases and phrasing by connecting certain musical figures and the memorisation of these pieces to theatricalised concepts and storylines, but also in a broader spectrum helped me connect these phrases to physical movement. This made my movements more directed and helpful to the phrasing of the music, while also heightening my self-awareness on stage. My body was no longer something that was just present during my performance, but became in its own right a new instrument, or even better, part of a whole instrument.

The creation of Silencio was one of the hardest and confronting projects I have ever been involved in. This piece pushed me to my musical, physical and psychological limits. Tailoring the score and the physical acting tasks to the musician’s strengths and then challenging and extending these aspects to outside of the comfort zone, made it a constant challenge to develop already present skills. Another major challenge was the concentration and focus necessary to sustain a 45-minute long solo performance. Also, the sheer amount of music and

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text that has to be memorised as well as the quarter-tone nature of the music made the piece a daunting challenge. Playing quartertones resulted in the loss of a tonic, creating a sensation of timelessness and lack of orientation, which during rehearsals was disastrous for my energy management. It also made me lose orientation of the pitches and basically made me question every interval I played.

However, as the performer, the idea of always being taken out of your comfort zone has vastly helped me in developing myself. The way this project was structured and the gapes in time that were in between working sessions also made the discussed material had time to be incorporated into the long term cognitive and motor-skill memory. This meant that in every new session the old material was incorporated, fine-tuned and then rebalanced until the final setting was formed. The personal involvement and therefore the emotional involvement has been greater than any other project that I have been involved with.

My general theatrical ability has improved immensely, and I have become less restless during the performance. In part, this restlessness was a result of lack of profound empathetic contact with my body while “acting out” my character. Through the use of the acting methodologies and the feedback of Falk and the other acting coaches, I have been able to heighten this contact, leading to more theatrical direction and a better connection of the theatrical and the bodily contact while performing.

All these reflective points together with a micro level of engagement with creative process mean that the content of this thesis can give other insights to the creation of a New Music Theatre Piece than just a reflection on the performance. It is therefore a hope to have given a broad insight into the performative problems and possible solutions that arise during the co- creation of such a complicated and long stretched work-process.

Due to wide range and ever-expanding boundaries in the New Music Theatre genre, it is hard to present definitive conclusions on the best concept of preparation. The interdisciplinary nature of the genre and fact that it is always expanding its boundaries of conceptualisation means that there will always be grey area to explore. It is here where the various art forms meet, intertwine and evolve.

As an example, the Belgian New Music Theatre group Needcompany lets their musicians and dancers perform dance geographies to the point where it is hard to define which performer is

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trained in what. Such specialised and cultivated concepts do not necessarily mean that it would be justifiable to incorporate dance into the education or skillset of the instrumentalist. However, the value of knowledge and training in the acting methodologies and heightening stage presence is unmistakably an important and often overlooked aspect of the development of a complete 21st century musician. This research shows that detailed reflective engagement and new skills acquisition offer a valid solution to a number of performative problems and can even be applied to the conventional music practice to heighten the quality of an overall performance/concert by creating theatrical direction, and awareness.

By offering these skill sets as part of a broader musical education, for instance at an undergraduate level, the development of the aspiring musician can be benefitted. By creating body-awareness, character-awareness and developing the connectivity of music through character, the aspiring musician will already benefit from a higher developed skillset and be more adaptable to the ever-changing demands of the performance practice. Furthermore, this approach has proven itself a valuable tool to aid in the memorisation and performance of complex music, and adding a new and fresh perspective to musical phrasing.

What is clear is that the performance field is expanding its boundaries with the incorporation of theatricality, new technology, and the implementation of multimedia. In order to keep up, instrumentalists will demand more theatrical knowledge and experience. The training and experience received in undergoing multidisciplinary projects such as Silencio also resulted in a wider understanding of the creative process, its difficulties and benefits to the personal development of the instrumentalist and performer. By constructing and de-constructing creative ideas an insight of the functionality of concepts and their value is created. All these experiences reflect as to one’s qualities as a performer, artist, musician and aid in the diversity and employability of an individual musician.

Through this research through practice, I have been able to investigate a number of solutions for problems I personally encountered in the performance of a number of technically and theatrically demanding Post-Dramatic, avant-garde or New Music Theatre pieces, and through its reflection I have tried to contribute to the ongoing discussion on the identity of the professional musician of the 21st century.

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Rost, K. (2011) Intrusive Noises: The Performative Power of Theatre Sounds. In: L. Kendrick & D. Roesner (ed.), Theatre Noise: The Sound of Performance (p. 44 -56). Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

Salzman, E., & Desi, T. (2008). The New Music Theatre: Seeing the Voice, Hearing the Body. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Savona, G. (1991). Brecht, politics, cinema. Theatre studies, 36, 3-17.

Schoenmakers, H. (1986). The pleasure of sorrow [Die Freude am Kummer]. Tijdschrift voor Theatrewetenschap, 16-17, 117-150.

Sloviak, J. & Cuesta, J. (2007). Jerzy Grotowski. USA/Canada: Routledge.

Stanislavski, K. (1985). Lessen voor acteurs, deel 1. (A. van den Tempel, Trans.). Amsterdam: International Theatre Bookshop. (Original work published 1936)

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Stanislavski, K. (1989). Lessen voor acteurs, deel 2. (A. van den Tempel & L. van Omme, Trans.). Amsterdam: International Theatre Bookshop. (Original work published 1949)

Stanislavski, K. (1991). Lessen voor acteurs, deel 3. (L. van Omme, Trans.). Amsterdam: International Theatre Bookshop. (Original work published 1961)

Stanislavski, K. (2008). An Actors Work. (J. Benedetti, Trans.). London: Routledge. (Original work published 1938)

Stanislavski, K. (2013) An Actor Prepares (E. Reynolds Hapgood, Trans.). London: Bloomsbury. (Original work published 1937)

Stockhausen, K. (1983). Oberlippentanz (Protest) Vom: Samstag aus Licht. Music score. West- Germay: Stockhausen-Verlag.

Stockhausen, K. (1984). Samstags-Gruss (Luzifer-Gruss) für 26 Blechbläser und 2 Schlagzeuger, 1984, Werk Nr. 53 1/2. Kürten, West Germany: Stockhausen-Verlag.

Stockhausen, K. and J. Haydn (1985). Kadenzen für Haydn's Trompetenkonzert : 1983/85. Kürten, West Germany: Stockhausen-Verlag. Stockhausen, K., et al. (1986). Stimmung. London: Hyperion.

Stockhausen, K. (1989). Towards a cosmic music. Longmead, Shaftesbury, Dorset, Element. West Germany: Stockhausen-Verlag.

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Strasberg, L. (1988). A dream of passion: The development of the method. E. Morphos (Ed.) London: Bloomsbury, Davada Enterprises.

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SUPPORTING REFERENCES

Balk, H. W. (1977). The complete Singer-Actor, Training for Music Theatre. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Brook, P. (1968/1995). The Empty Space: A Book About the Theatre: Deadly, Holy, Rough, Immediate. New York, NY: Touchstone.

Hicks, A. E. (2011). Singer and actor, acting technique and the operatic performer. Milwaukee, WI: Amadeus Press.

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Oswald, D. F. (2005). Acting for singers, creating believable singing characters. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Pavis, P. (1997). Applied Semiotics/ Sémiotique appliquée. The State of current research, 1 (No. 3), 203-230 http://french.chass.utoronto.ca/as-sa/ASSA-No3/Vol1.No3.Pavis.pdf

Pavis, P. (2003). Analyzing Performance: Theatre, Dance, and Film. (D. A. Williams, Trans.). Michigan: University of Michigan Press. (Original work published 1996)

Rink, J. (Ed.). (2002). Musical performance: a guide to understanding. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

Rink, J. (Ed.). (2005). The Practice of performance: studies in musical interpretation. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

Scrivener, S. A. R. (2009). The roles of art and design process and objects in research. In N. Nimkulrat & T. O’Rileys (Eds.), Reflections and Connections: On the Relationship between Academic Research and Creative Production (pp. 69-80). Helsinki: University of Art and Design Helsinki.

Verstraeten, P. (2009). De slag om muziek in het theatre: Omtrent definities tussen cultuurbeleid en artistieke vorm, Courant, 89, Vlaams Theatre Instituut.

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Verstraeten, P. (2009). Claiming Music for the Theatre, in Music Theatre in Flanders: Perspectives on the Landscape. Brussels: Vlaams Theatre Instituut & Flanders Music Centre

Williamon, A. (Ed.). (2004). Musical Excellence, Strategies and Techniques to Enhance Performance. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

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APPENDIX I EXTRA REFLECTIONS ON OBERLIPPENTANZ

This Appendix includes a second series of reflective practice sessions held and recorded in 2015. They occurred between the first reflective case study and the directed theatrical sessions with Jane Davidson and Sapidah Kian. They are included to give an extra detailed insight in the process to prepare for the performance at the Bendigo Festival Of Exploratory Music, but did not result in extra or new strategies in the approach to the practice sessions.

Session 1: 04-05-2015

This was the first session working together with Jane Davidson on Oberlippentanz. I started by narrating Oberlippentanz with the dramaturgy by association I had written to illustrate the musical phrases and lines of Oberlippentanz. Followed by trying to play it by heart while acting out the dramaturgy that I had written. Because I had noticed that the parameters change when playing from memory – to when playing from memory with a theatrical intention, a score was ever present during this practice session.

- Her first comments are that I am moving too much while playing the opening notes. While trying to actuate the pieces, I can see and hear that I am losing the connection with my playing form. Too many notes are missed and the articulation is suffering. Therefore it is, important to use the movement effectively and efficiently.

- From the start it is obvious that I need to focus more on the direction of the movements. At first they seem to be rhythmically bases, as in the movements are on the pulse of the piece. Even though the entire piece has a 3 against 2 rhythm imbedded into it, it makes the moving seem even more restless and nervous.

- Because of the directions Jane is giving me the movements are getting a higher dramatic quality but this goes at the expense of playing by memory. It is clear that the

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movements are not integrated and/or connected to the play-form, or to the playing from memory.

- Little by little the movements are getting more controlled. One of the questions that arises is how can the dramatic movements help the trumpet player to connect the play- form to the technical difficulty while incorporating them into the dramatic associations?

- By getting more aware of the movements it becomes obvious that, they can help giving the musical phrasing direction.

- Jane makes the suggestion that I could make a choreography or floor-plan of the movements.

- The movements are made in the same cadenza of the playing, this should not be the case otherwise it looks too animated. One of the biggest problems is that I am Keeping the rhythm while walking.

- Trying to create the internal turmoil/anger while playing the part leading up to the cadenza is costing a lot of extra energy. I would be interesting to see how this could help directing the energy and focus in this technically demanding part of the piece.

- During this practice session or rehearsal, my play-form is getting back and more balanced while the restlessness is getting less.

- I’m not able to play the entire page by heart while trying to play Oberlippentanz in a dramatic setting. It is interesting yet frustrating to see the playing from memory changes dramatically when combining it with theatricality of the extra musical tasks. It almost seems like another part of our brain get activated when these two skills/challenges get combined, completely throwing off my motor skills.

- One of the problems that keeps arising is that the tonlos rauschen is not yet well integrated. It will be interesting to see if this can be made easier by assigning a dramatic charge or storyline to it.

- It is proving to be very hard to play from memory while keeping the direction and doing these movements while not walking in a certain rhythm.

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- During this practice session we discuss how walking backwards gives a nice theatrical charge to the movements of the Rausch notes.

- It is very noticeable that I can’t stand still for a moment. I seem to be very restless during the entire practice session.

- Jane and I discuss making associations between dancing and performing the piece, and discuss the possibility of almost dancing out the parts. Then, I could settle into a structure to automate the movements to such a degree that I would be more free to be in the moment of the performance expression, rather than worrying about moving from one point to another.

- Third page is getting more aggressive. Precession of the execution of the octave intervals suffer from the moving around.

- During the practice session the full extent of the physical nature of Oberlippentanz becomes evident. It is proving to be a hard piece, to play consistently during a large practice session, while keeping the focus and attention associated with a large rehearsal.

- We discuss taking a stand in Bar 141. The technical difficulty of this segment would suffer from making big movements. Making large movements impossible. It would also distract from the dramatic effect that the liptrills have on their own.

- It is obvious that the start of the cadenza (153) already has a theatrical charge, it lends itself very well for theatrical performance. In a way the movements of the tonlos rauschen have a dramatic charge by itself. More is less in this case.

- When falling on my knees in the cadenza, this needs to be an integrated part of the theatrical movements of the opening of the cadenza. We agreed that we can make this a resting point in the piece.

- We agree that Oberlippentanz can be divided into three parts. Part 1 being up to the cadenza, Part 2 the cadenza and part 3 being the ending of the cadenza to the end. We have just worked on part 1 and the first run through has been completed. We set as a goal memorizing part one, with dramatic intentions.

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- The rest of the time is spent looking into the emotional charge and diversity of the three parts. We talk about the schizophrenic nature of the piece and its character Michael, and about the fight that a person has with the world only to find out he is battling himself. We finish the rehearsal making a plan to work on the second and third sections.

Session 2: 09-05-2015

- I started this practice session with recreating the theatrical awareness discussed with Jane in the previous section. Very quickly the focus is back on the technical cleaning up of the first couple of musical phrasing. The playing is done by heart and no score is situated in the practice room. While trying to play by heart and focusing on the theatrical setting and intensions it is extremely difficult to play the hard technical passages by heart.

- Especially not walking in the tempo of the piece is costing me a lot of attention leading me to forget the difficult passages. This quickly leads to frustration. When I focus on the notes I walk in rhythm, when I focus on the theatrical intention of walking I forget the notes.

- Second part of the session I start with the beginning of the cadenza. This is a part I don’t fully feel comfortable playing by heart, mainly due to the playing by heart of the Rausch notes. When playing this by heart I lose the theatrical focus. After some time for the sake of the theatrical content I do put a score on a chair. Only trying to look at it when it is absolutely necessary. The memorisation of this part of Oberlippentanz continuous to give me trouble. Lying on my back, the theatrical moving around is making me play many wrong notes. The arpeggios are giving me little problems. The ending of the cadenza however still is giving me play-form problems.

- I feel fatigue setting in earlier than normal. The attention and energy necessary to maintain the playing from memory in relation to the theatrical movements is costing a lot of concentration. This is going at the expense of my technical play-form. At the end I play through to the end. Parts of it at least are while looking at the score.

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- In the last part of this practice session I go back to playing the cadenza from memory. I seem very restless and obviously frustrated by the progress or non-progress I have been making.

- Oberlippentanz is a hard piece to practice constructively. It is technically difficult, but furthermore demands a high level of energy and focus sustained over a longer period of time. This is especially true when trying to incorporate the playing from memory together with the execution of the extra musical tasks.

Session 3: 15-05-2015

I start the practice session with theatrically executing the beginning from memory. Playing from memory is going much better than the last recorded session. Yet the movements seem to be repetitive and always in the cadenza of the piece. It seems to be hard to correct your own movements when there is no external source to give you feedback. Especially if the playing from memory, it still takes up a large amounts of energy and focus. While performing, I keep shifting my weight from one leg to the other. It seems that I am not grounded and that I am searching for kinaesthetic awareness of my body while performing. In other words, the movements strike me as being very nervous and without proper direction. This behaviour was also noticed by Jane Davidson during our first working session. Yet once alone I seem to be completely unaware of this phenomenon. What in my mind, I perceive as theatrical, seems like a series of erratic, uncontrolled movements. Even though it has presence, this is actually not the type of theatricality I am looking for.

• This is also the first time I am incorporating the mutes into my practicing adding yet another aspect into the equation. • Play-form and precision is much better than with the previous practice session. • Restlessness seems to be an ever present problem during the practice sessions. Also maintaining the focus on the execution of the extra musical tasks suffers as a result. • As the practice session continues I seem to experience tunnel –vison. I end up focusing on the technical performance rather than on the theatrical performance aspects.

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In the second part of the practice session I resume working on the end of the cadenza by memory –focusing on the technical difficulty of the ending and the optimisation of the play- form in order to make the two-octave jumps.

Session 4: 16-05-2015

I start this practice session again, working on the staging of the beginning. The theatrical movements are starting to look much more organic. Also the movements are no longer on the beats of the rhythm but contain more dramatic direction. Yet it is still lacking the technical precision and security while playing from memory. I can see that there is still not a 100% confidence neither in my motor nor cognitive memory. I only need the slightest doubt or wrong /missed note to throw me off, losing all sense of theatricality in the process. Even though I knew most of Oberlippentanz by heart before starting these practice sessions. The extra musical tasks and the theatrical presentation of the music have had a negative effect on the playing from memory, almost feeling like I have to start all over again. I notice that this is frustrating me during the practice sessions resulting in over focus and tunnel vision.

In this practice session I am trying to give theatrical meaning to the Rausch notes thus helping with their memorisation. This is however going at expense of my play-form and technical precision. At bar number 129 there is a line that keeps giving me trouble memorising it. It is a technically challenging with a series of quick changing intervals. Whenever I miss notes in the series of intervals it throws me off in such a way that I am lost completely. I try to resolve this by practicing this section first on my regular Bb-trumpet to get the intervals in my memory by audiating them, playing them numerous times and really getting them into my ears. I play all the intervals slowly and repeat them as often as necessary before doing the same on piccolo, stopping some times to sing the intervals. Then I try to play them from memory. I can see when looking back at this practice session that I am frustrated with the slow process. It feels like I take one-step forward one and five steps back. Yet after drinking a sip of coffee and calming down a little, I play this part perfectly.

I start the second part of the practicing session playing the cadenza. I notice that a sense of frustration is ever present during this practice session. This is inevitably not helping my concentration and I make mistakes playing fragments in the wrong order. I feel now that 173

practicing the piece and working on its memorisation, by cutting it up into small segments is now working against me and the learning of the piece in broader lines is now a necessity. It may very well be better to connect the memorisation more to the extra musical emotions and dramaturgy than to the individual musical lines and phrases. When looking back on this practice session I can see where the fragmented nature of my previous studying is now actually working against me in creating a dramaturgical tension arc from beginning to the end.

Session 5: 17-05-2015

I start this practicing session working on the opening of the cadenza. The theatricality of the movements that I am making is still too much in service of the technical demands of the notes that I am playing. The technical and physical difficulty that the Rausch notes at the opening of the cadenza blurs my theatrical perception of the extra musical tasks. In order to find meaning and theatricality to these notes, a balance of technical precision and confidence in my play- form is necessary. While playing through the rest of the cadenza it is noticeable that little by little there is more awareness of the theatrical content, yet again the missing of notes in the arpeggios to high F# make me lose my focus, resulting in me having to stop and start over again. What I notice while looking at the recordings is a slight sense of frustration. Instead of going over the part where I made a mistake, I decide to continue. Playing the fragment by memory but not in theatrical setting.

One of the major problems while rehearsing the theatrical staging while playing from memory is the lack of an external source to correct my movements and keeping me focused on the theatrical. In hindsight a more systematic form of practice is necessary. Focussing on a small framed segment, first playing it from memory then slowly working the theatrical intension into the movement.

The second part of the practicing session, I start playing the part leading up the cadenza (high C-low C intervals) in order to save a little of my energy, I practice this part on my Bb-trumpet, since being an octave down, it is less physically tiring. I repeat playing a series of intervals that

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have been giving me problems for a while. The problem is that when playing this series of intervals by memory, missing one of the notes leads me to being thrown off in such a way that recuperation is proving to be hard. This phrase should be so embedded into my motor memory that the missing of a note or interval will not affect the continuity of the playing from memory. After having practiced these on Bb-flat I go back to piccolo trumpet in order to play them in the wright octave.

The third part of the practice session I revise the ending of Oberlippentanz. Given that the biggest technical and theatrical difficulties lie in the part moving up to the cadenza and the cadenza itself, I feel that the last part is being somewhat neglected. The repetitive nature from the third part of Oberlippentanz to the beginning means that there are less technically difficult passages. Yet the danger lies in its variation. Even though the musical idiom is very similar, it is a variation, with every musical figure being slightly different from the opening. Also a slight shift in rhythmical patterns and the mirroring of rhythmical figures are not to be underestimated.

I do notice that in every practicing session, what starts out as a valiant attempt to work on theatrical setting and the theatrical intentions of the extra musical tasks, it very quickly changes in a quest to play the technically difficult passages perfect, while preforming Oberlippentanz from memory. Unfortunately this is going at the expense of attempting to practice it in a theatrical setting or with theatrical intention. After having analysed my practice sessions the best analogy I can make is that I seem to be juggling 4 balls, theatrical intention, perfect musical execution, playing it from memory and keeping and maintaining my technical play form. Every time I focus on one or two, the other balls indivertible fall.

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APPENDIX II TEXT REMAINDERS BY LYNLEY EDMEADES

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APPENDIX III FUEGO MUDO, MARIO BENEDETTI

MARIO BENEDETTI- FUEGO MUDO

FUEGO MUDO SILENT FIRE

A veces el silencio Sometimes silence convoca algarabías convenes rejoice parodias de coraje parodies of courage espejismos de duende magic mirages

tangos a contrapelo tangos against the grain

desconsoladas rabias disconsolate rage

pregones de la muerte announcements of death

sed y hambre de vos thirst and hunger of you

Pero otras veces es But other times it is

solamente silencio just silence

soledad como un roble solitude like an oak

desierto sin oasis desert without oasis

nave desarbolada dismasted vessel tristeza que gotea sorrow that drips alrededor de escombros around rubble fuego mudo a silent fire

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Minerva Access is the Institutional Repository of The University of Melbourne

Author/s: Hermans, Sef

Title: ‘The Trumpeter Re-Conceived’: An investigation of the creative and performative skills required in New Music Theatre works

Date: 2017

Persistent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11343/213540

File Description: ‘The Trumpeter Re-Conceived’: An investigation of the creative and performative skills required in New Music Theatre works

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