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Musicology, Discourse, and the Performer's Body: Understanding

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Musicology, Discourse, and the Performer's Body: Understanding Musicology, Discourse, and the Performer’s Body: Understanding Music From the Inside By Krystal Morrison Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral studies In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the Master of Arts degree in Musicology Supervised by Dr. Dillon Parmer Department of Music Faculty of Arts University of Ottawa © Krystal Morrison, Ottawa, Canada, 2018 ii Abstract Current research in music scholarship appears to be trending towards the “embodied” yet from the vantage point of the performer this progression seems to be lacking a key component of such an embodied discourse: their voice. In this thesis I argue that the oversight of the performing body and its importance to the field of musicology is a result of conceptual dualities that attempt to conceal the body in its role within thought, culture, and meaning. Illustrating this oversight with the gaps in the current academic discourse, I show how many in the field either consider the body only in a metaphorical sense, or see the performer as an object of study. An examination of the contributions of three performer-scholars to this field demonstrates ways in which the gap can be filled, and lack addressed. Their approaches are then combined in an embodied analysis of Messiaen’s “Abîme des Oiseaux” from Quatour pour la Fin du Temps which reveals the potentialities of depth and breadth that can be considered when the performer’s body is permitted to be a site from which a musical analysis might originate. This thesis concludes that the performing body must be reintroduced into musicological discourse with a new understanding of its value, and that this can best be accomplished by addressing the “embodied” within the academic music curriculum, alongside traditional tonal and formal analyses. iii Acknowledgements “The language had no simile.” —E.J. Pratt There are no words adequate enough to thank the wonderful people I keep close to me, and without whom this thesis could not have happened. Please know my feelings of gratitude are far greater than I could ever contain on this page. The sincerest of appreciation to my amazing cheer squad: Carolyn, for your help in seeing the forest through the trees and incredible ability to be present; Megan, my head cheerleader, your enthusiasm was rocket fuel when I needed it most, and your opinions on all things musical are ones I’ll always value; Lynn, for the libraries of knowledge you contain on research, and popular songs; and Elysia and Dominique, for your uncanny ability to always call at the perfect moment. Thank-you all from the depths of my heart. I am also grateful to the University for the scholarship which allowed me to pursue this degree, and my supervisor, Professor Parmer. Thank-you for putting the spark of this idea in my awareness, as well as your work, without which this thesis would be two dimensional, and have far too many commas. Also to Professor Comeau and Dr. Kaastra, I greatly appreciate your inspiring ideas, and the time you made for me to pick your brains during this process. I must also include a thank-you to my many clarinet teachers, as their work as pedagogues permeates these pages. While pursuing this degree I was furthermore supported tremendously by my Alexander Technique family, who have always indulged my questions, but Brigitte, Gaby and Marta, you deserve extra credit as you answered all the hard ones. iv To my dear family, Kelly, for your support and smiles from across the sea; Katey for the motivation, and teaching me that academia funds the café culture, and of course Mom and Dad. Beyond your support and encouragement that means so much to me, I must thank-you for the qualities that were integral to the process of this thesis: Dad for the sense of curiosity you encouraged in me from childhood, and Mom for your amazing fighting spirit. v Table of Contents Abstract................................................................................................................................ii Acknowledgements............................................................................................................iii List of Figures.....................................................................................................................vi Introduction .........................................................................................................................1 Chapter One: Understanding the Embodied......................................................................11 1.1 Why the Body?........................................................................................................12 1.1.1 Embodied Cognition and Metaphor................................................................13 1.1.2 A Paradigm of Embodiment............................................................................18 1.1.3 Embodied Theory of Meaning........................................................................23 1.2 Why the Performer..................................................................................................25 1.3 Embodiment............................................................................................................28 Chapter Two: Literature Review.......................................................................................32 2.1 Music as Process.....................................................................................................34 2.2 Embodiment in Music and Identity Studies............................................................41 2.3 Empirical Musicology.............................................................................................48 2.3.1 Psychology and Cognitive Embodiment.........................................................51 2.3.2 Gesture.............................................................................................................52 2.4 Performance Studies................................................................................................54 2.4.1 Advocates of Performance Studies..................................................................56 2.4.2 Ethnomusicology.............................................................................................59 2.4.3 Music Pedagogy..............................................................................................64 2.4.4 Performer-Scholars..........................................................................................68 Chapter Three: Performance Scholars...............................................................................70 3.1 Dillon Parmer..........................................................................................................72 3.2 Elisabeth Le Guin....................................................................................................79 3.3 Linda Kaastra..........................................................................................................85 Chapter Four: Embodied Analysis of Messiaen’s “Abîme des Oiseaux.........................102 4.1 The Movement......................................................................................................103 4.2 Embodied Analysis...............................................................................................107 Chapter Five: Music Performance as a Process of Understanding..................................126 Bibliography....................................................................................................................133 vi List of Figures Fig. 1: “Abîme des Oiseaux” m. 25-26........................................................................... 104 Fig. 2: “Abîme des Oiseaux” m. 1-5............................................................................... 109 Fig. 3: Excerpt from “A Semiotic Investigation of Messiaen’s ‘Abîme des Oiseaux’”. 114 Fig. 4: “Abîme des Oiseaux” m. 24................................................................................ 115 Fig. 5: Registers of the Clarinet...................................................................................... 117 Fig. 6: Pople’s Rhythmic Simplification........................................................................ 122 1 Introduction “I wonder if I should interfere with the process by analyzing the music?”1 –Linda Kaastra As a student I was always interested in understanding the differences in learning experiences I would have between my private studio teachers and my classes in music theory. We could be working on the same repertoire, but the approach was so markedly different: in one I would learn how to create elements of musical style on my instrument, with my body, while in the other I would learn how to spot these elements in the score. I assumed “these disparate approaches must somehow combine to form a well rounded musician,” and so I worked away at both, exclusive of each other. However, I started realizing that undertaking a traditional analysis of the music I was playing was not actually helping me play it better. In fact, such an analysis gave me a false confidence that I truly understood the piece, a fallacy that would be revealed in master class situations where such a disembodied understanding was unable to convey the meaning demanded by the music. This experience brought to the surface an awareness that I was not only unable to subjugate my body to my thoughts, but also, and more importantly, that my body had its own understanding of the music, an understanding that I was failing to nurture. At this time in my education
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