A Sound not Wholly for the Ear: De-centering Listening in 20th/21st Century Composition Megan Alice Clune A Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Master of Music Composition Sydney Conservatorium of Music University of Sydney 2019 Declaration I, Megan Alice Clune hereby declare that this submission is my own work and that it contains no material previously published or written by another person except for the included programme notes which are acknowledged in the text. This thesis contains no material that has been accepted for the award of a higher degree. Signed: ______________________________________________Date: ___________ 2 Acknowledgements I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr Damien Ricketson, for his ongoing support throughout my MMus(Composition) candidature and, additionally, my auxiliary supervisor Dr Benjamin Carey. Many thanks also to my father, Dr David Clune, for his assistance in proof reading and Dr Brent Keogh (Lecturer, School of Communication UTS), for his assistance in both editing and proof reading the first draft of this thesis. I would also like to thank Agatha Gothe-Snape for inviting me to create the musical composition for Rhetorical Chorus, and vocalists Rainbow Chan, Eugene Choi, Adam Connelly, Alyx Dennison, Sonya Holowell and Marcus Whale for their generosity and enthusiasm in engaging with both my score and the work as whole. Many thanks also to Dr Benjamin Carey again for his work as sound designer on this project, as well as performers Joan La Barbara, Lizzie Thompson, Brooke Stamp, Brian Fuata, dramaturg Sarah Rodigari, and the Performance Space 2017 team, Tulleah Pearce and Jeff Kahn. Rhetorical Chorus was recorded, mixed and mastered by David Trumpmanis with production stills by Document Photography (courtesy of Performance Space). The creative portfolio includes programme notes written by Agatha Gothe-Snape and I which were originally published alongside the performance. 3 Abstract A Sound not Wholly for the Ear explores de-centred listening. The thesis presents an analysis of 20th and 21st century compositions that transformed the act of listening prior to situating my creative portfolio, an original composition for artist Agatha Gothe-Snape’s Rhetorical Chorus, within this lineage of ideas. I propose methodological categories of conceptualism and affect as strategies to de-centre listening. I define de-centered listening as a non-linear engagement with sound that incorporates and or critiques the context, temporality, physicality and environment in the listening experience. Conceptualism, defined here as a preoccupation with ideas as opposed to materials (or a conversation between the two) and often concerned with the political and social implications of creating and viewing art/music, and affect, defined as a predominantly physiological energy that has the potential to transform engaged entities at various levels of attention, are examples of how de-centered listening can be achieved. The first chapter provides a definition and theoretical framework for de-centered listening by outlining several critical and philosophical theories on listening. Following this, the two key areas of de-centering listening, conceptualism and affect, are investigated via an analysis of key works in 20th and 21st century composition. Works such as John Cage’s 4’33”, La Monte Young’s Composition 1960, Hanne Darboven’s Wende 80, and Johannes Kreidler’s Fremdarbeit are used to illustrate conceptualism as a strategy for de-centered listening, providing varied practical examples of how this can be done. In the following chapter, Furniture Music by Eric Satie, Ambient 1: Music for Airports by Brian Eno, Deep Listening Pieces by Pauline Oliveros and Sound Characters by Maryanne Amacher illustrate the use of 4 affect to de-centre listening by incorporating the physiology of hearing into the composition, and drawing upon the environment in which the work is heard. Finally, the creative portfolio is situated within this lineage. The process of creating the composition for artist Agatha Gothe-Snape’s Rhetorical Chorus is summarized before further analysis that positions the work in line with the compositions and theoretical frameworks analysed. 5 Table of Contents Figures................................................................................................................................ 8 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 9 Chapter 1: Theoretical Listening, De-centred Listening.................................................. 13 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 13 Centred vs. de-centred listening ................................................................................... 17 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 20 Chapter 2: Conceptualism ................................................................................................ 22 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 22 Conceptual music: a definition .................................................................................... 22 John Cage 4’33” (1952)........................................................................................... 24 La Monte Young Compositions 1960 (1960) .......................................................... 25 Hanne Darboven Wende 80 (1980-81) .................................................................... 27 Johannes Kreidler Fremdarbeit (2009) .................................................................... 29 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 31 Chapter 3: Affect.............................................................................................................. 32 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 32 Affect: a definition ....................................................................................................... 32 Eric Satie Furniture Music (1917) ........................................................................... 33 Brian Eno Ambient 1: Music for Airports (1978) .................................................... 35 Pauline Oliveros Deep Listening Pieces (1975-2016) ............................................. 36 6 Maryanne Amacher Sound Characters: The Third Ear (1999) ............................... 38 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 39 Chapter 4: Rhetorical Chorus........................................................................................... 41 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 41 Background .............................................................................................................. 41 Process ..................................................................................................................... 42 Reception and reflection .......................................................................................... 48 Analysis.................................................................................................................... 50 Chapter 5: Conclusion...................................................................................................... 55 Creative Portfolio ............................................................................................................. 60 Programme notes ......................................................................................................... 61 Credits .......................................................................................................................... 60 Production stills ........................................................................................................... 65 Bibliography .................................................................................................................... 58 7 Figures Figure 1: La Monte Young, Composition 1960 #7 (Sun 2006, 37) ................................... 9 Figure 2: Hanne Darboven Wende 80, 1980-81. Portfolio of 416 lithographs, offset printed and eleven long play vinyl records, 34.9 x 24.8 cm. Centre du Georges Pompidou Paris. .................................................................................................................................................. 26 Figure 4: Eric Satie, Carrelage phonique from Furniture Music (Potter 2016, 147) ....... 34 Figure 5: Agatha Gothe-Snape and Megan Alice Clune, example of source material used in Rhetorical Chorus ................................................................................................................ 43 Figure 6: Megan Alice Clune, Rhetorical Chorus draft score for work in progress showing. .................................................................................................................................................. 45 8 … Well, shall we think or listen? Is there a sound addressed not wholly to the ear? We half close our eyes. We do not hear it through our eyes. It is not a flute-note