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Environmental Sound Composition, the Phonograph and Intentionality

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Environmental Sound Composition, the Phonograph and Intentionality Do I Get a Say In This? Environmental Sound Composition, the Phonograph and Intentionality By Thomas Edward Voyce A thesis suBmitted to the Victoria University of Wellington in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Victoria University of Wellington 2016 2 Abstract Environmental sound composition, a term I employ to descriBe all forms of electroacoustic works in which the core materials are aBstracted from real environments through technology, has Been practiced in a variety of forms for more than 50 years. A tension exists Between environmental sound composition and western art music, one that continues to make this marriage uncomfortaBle. In short, the use of mimetic materials in environmental sound composition does not fit the prescriptions of formalism, an ideology that electroacoustic composition inherited from western art music. Though attempts have been made to lessen this tension (Emmerson, 1986 and Smalley, 1996), an underlying anxiety persists in environmental sound composition, as the twin legacy of Pierre Schaeffer’s ideas concerning musique concrète and the concerns of acoustic ecology, a movement championed By soundscape composers (Westerkamp, 2002), continues to influence the genre. Recently there has emerged an increasing resistance to the didactic ideology of soundscape theory in particular, as exemplified By Lopez (1997), Ingold (2007) and Kelman (2010). However, soundscape theory continues to influence the production of environmental sound composition, as composers seek to align themselves with such concerns, or place themselves in opposition to them. In my view, the tension Between formalism and mimesis has resulted in a widespread fixation on poietic intent in environmental sound composition. As a result, composers have tried to dictate how their works should Be heard, while ignoring the complexity of listener response. While a number of fresh perspectives have arisen in recent years looking at environmental sound composition methodology and the role of esthetic analysis in such works, including Voegelin (2010) and Lane and Carlyle (2013), a rigorous investigation into the roles of intentionality, technology and hermeneutic analysis in the production and reception of environmental sound composition remains aBsent. 3 My thesis explores the nature of the phonograph (an audio recording) and phonography (the act of recording) in Broad terms, and then with specific attention to environmental sound composition. Various recording genres and phonograph types associated with these genres are identified, while the attitudes of composers towards technology and the ontological nature of their works are investigated. This approach is applied in making a critical assessment of environmental sound composition, exposing the specificity of the rift Between poietic intention and esthetic reception. I argue for a hermeneutic evaluation of the phonograph on similar terms as those set out By Roland Barthes in Camera Lucida (1981). In examining the temporal dimensions of the phonograph, along with its formal and affective traits, my research aims to elevate the phonograph from the role of a passive Bearer of composer intentionality, to that of a primary contributor to the listening experience. With this aim in mind, I present a portfolio of creative works as a second volume to this thesis, born of the ideas discussed herein, which explore the nature of the phonograph, its temporalities, the site specific aspects of phonography and compositional intervention with the phonograph. I will refer to my works throughout this thesis, detailing how I have incorporated my theoretical concerns into my compositional practice, especially in chapter four, five and six. 4 Acknowledgements As so many PhD candidates are quick to recognise, focused research can only be made possiBle through the generous support of many people, a number of whom may Be unaware of the impact their contriBution has made. This particular research project has Been supported, directly and indirectly, By more people than I can name, But I would like to take this opportunity to thank the ones whose support has allowed this research to happen at all. To Begin, I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Dugal McKinnon, who has guided me at postgraduate level for almost 10 years. Without his attention, ear, and inexhaustiBle knowledge for all things sound art, this project simply would not have happened. To my fiancée Jina, whose patience, encouragement and Belief in my aBility to multitask has known no Bounds, thank you. To my parents, whose cries of “is it finished yet?” have spurred me on, especially in these last six months, thank you. To my mother-in-law Me Li, who allowed me to finish this thesis By looking after my daughter during the final months, thank you. I would also like to thank my friends and colleagues at Rhombus Productions Limited, especially Koa Williams and Simon Rycroft, for their ongoing support throughout this PhD, as time dedicated to this research has meant time away from our collaborative projects. I am also greatly indeBted to the wider community known as the New Zealand School of Music, especially the composition administration staff (fiona Steedman in particular), who have assisted me along the way Both as a postgraduate student and as a teacher. To my students, thank you for your interest in my research, it has Been very encouraging to know that others (some of you anyway) are interested in these ideas as much as I am. Finally, I would like to dedicate this thesis to my daughter, Maya. She has watched her father disappear to work after dinner for many years, and the 5 conclusion of this project means a few less nights away from home, and a Bit more time spent on her homework, not mine. 6 Contents Volume I ABSTRACT 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 5 CONTENTS 7 INTRODUCTION 9 CHAPTER 1: 17 FROM THE PHONOGRAPH-AS-DOCUMENT TO THE PHONOGRAPH-AS-WORK CHAPTER 2: 63 THE PHONOGRAPH-AS-WORK CHAPTER 3: 92 INTENTIONALITY, ENVIRONMENTAL LISTENING AND FIELD RECORDING CHAPTER 4: 132 SOUNDSCAPE COMPOSITION, SEMIOLOGY, INTENTION AND RECEPTION CHAPTER 5: 176 AURAL AND VISUAL EXPERIENCE: PHONOGRAPHY, FILM AND PHOTOGRAPHY 7 CHAPTER 6: 205 STUDIUM, PUNCTUM, ANAMNESIS: TOWARD AN ONTOLOGY OF THE PHONOGRAPH Volume II PORTfOLIO Of WORKS 238 FILMOGRAPHY 284 DISCOGRAPHY 286 REfERENCES 291 8 Introduction Environmental sound composition is a genre of acousmatic music that has captured my imagination for more than 20 years, though it was not until I reached university that I discovered it had a name, and that it was part of Broader genre of music. As a teenager, I would record just aBout anything with my father’s Sony Dictaphone: conversations, crowds at sports games, my friends and I drumming on our knees in the empty WWII gun emplacements that overlook Wellington HarBour. I have Boxes of such recordings, some on cassette, some on DAT, a few on minidisc. I now have hard drives full of recordings. I have taken my recorder with me on many international excursions. My desire to seek out new environments to record has not waned at all and is something I have practiced with enthusiasm for many years, though initially I did not give much consideration as to why. It has always seemed a natural activity, alBeit an uncommon one. I simply enjoyed the process of recording and playing Back events. When I was 17, I went to university to study composition. Sometime over the next year, I Became aware of the term soundscape composition. I immediately thought I had discovered something significant – this was a genre that related directly to the kind of recordings I had Been making for a number of years. I felt that soundscape composition provided a framework within which I could legitimately and comfortaBly extend the activity I had long been practicing. Or was it? Acoustic ecology seemed to Be a central concern of the genre, and while I could empathise with such concerns, it occurred to me that my engagement with environmental sound was not Born of a desire to fix it, to teach others about it, or to connect with others through it on any level whatsoever. My engagement with the environment was deeply personal, and my use of field recording in acousmatic works equally so. Nevertheless, I persevered with some electroacoustic composition papers. Where digital processing was concerned, I was as much fascinated By the 9 potential for processed field recordings as I was By the recordings themselves, and my electroacoustic works during this time reflected that. I would layer processed recordings with unprocessed ones to create interesting hybrid environments that were part ‘real’ and part fantasy. I would sometimes move from processed recordings to unprocessed recordings within a piece to explore narrative ideas, But mostly I was just content to hear environmental sound recorded, as I always had. The grades I received for my work were not fantastic. Not only did my works not fit with the concerns of soundscape composition, But apparently they did not fit with the formal concerns of electroacoustic composition either. I found myself caught Between two theoretical perspectives without understanding how I got to be in that place, or why I felt a pressure to accommodate the concerns of one or other ideology. I left university without Becoming a soundscape composer, or an electroacoustic composer. I also left feeling Bemused as to why my experience of the combination of technology and environmental sound, a mix with which I had always felt comfortaBle, had failed to find a home
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