Field Notes: theatricality, technology and folk music in composition

这项研究将英国和爱尔兰的民间音乐与当代音乐戏剧联系起来，以回应音乐戏剧项目的需要，即“对……地区传统[和]文化-政治条件给予更彻底的系统关注”(Matthias Rebstock，2017)。我将研究如何在音乐戏剧流派中重新想象特定地点的声源，同时在实验作品中提供有形的文化参照点。传统音乐和日常语音的现场录音将构成我的作品的基础。一个8-9个作品的组合将包括注释音乐、录音、电影和现场表演；大量的评论将评估这些作品如何回应我的研究问题(见下文)，并建立在其他从业者和学者工作的基础上。该项目推进了研究在我的MA中建立的理论和方法基础。尽管没有询问戏剧/民间关系的既定惯例，但一些关键从业者已经开创了先例。7：84剧团的作品建立在贝尔托尔特·布莱希特史诗戏剧的基础上，而特雷弗·威沙特(Trevor Wishart)(《天国邂逅》)、哈里·帕奇(Harry Partch)(《巴斯托》)、阮清翠(Nguyen Thanh Thuy)和斯特凡·奥斯特斯约尔(StefanÖstersjö)(《抵达河内》)则展示了不同的方法将当地常见的来源(特别是声音和方言)融入作曲中。这是三个研究问题(RQ)中的第一个。RQ1：白话可以被解读为一种表演行为。这释放了什么样的音乐和戏剧潜力，使其成为作曲的基础？现场录音是我作曲方法的重要组成部分。除了捕捉录音，我还将参考重要的档案，特别是那些存放在www.tobarandualchais.co.uk上的档案。米歇尔·范德·AA、乔安娜·贝利和珍妮特·卡迪夫等从业者会告诉我在戏剧作品中使用电子产品的情况。为了提供一个理论框架，我将研究关于活动性的学术(Peggy Phelan)和技术中介，特别是菲利普·奥斯兰德关于空间和时间共存的研究。RQ2：现场录音可以在表演中进行戏剧性的部署，激活活泼和技术调解的概念。这如何说明民间素材与其所处的戏剧环境之间的动态关系？由于它的协作性，知识交流嵌入了这个项目的过程中。我将与合唱团、戏剧团体、遗产和社区组织合作，扩大我以前在民间音乐方面的经验，指导戏剧，并与合唱团、音乐/心理健康和成人学习团体合作。我将为非专业参与者举办协作性研讨会，根据当地历史创作录音：这些研讨会将促进我研究所植根的当代音乐流派与我创作作品所依据的民间来源之间的对话。我将与总部设在约克的团体Amok和Arc Project、Velophonic交响乐团(格拉斯哥)和设得兰档案馆建立现有的联系。RQ3：与活的民间传统和跨艺术从业者对话工作如何挑战作曲家在跨学科合作中的角色？这项研究的结果将对上述团体和当代作曲家很重要。民间音乐独特的音色、调式和和声特征-再加上语音录音-将创造出当代古典音乐中很少探索的独特调色板。在第一年，我将写5-6篇关于独奏声乐/乐器和电子学的简短研究，然后进行表演或在线展览。这将成为在接下来的两年里创作的三个重要作品的基础。

This research places British and Irish folk music in relationship with contemporary music theatre, so responding to the need for projects in music theatre to 'devote more thorough systematic attention to...regional traditions [and] cultural-political conditions' (Matthias Rebstock, 2017). I will examine ways in which site-specific sound sources can be re-imagined in the music theatre genre, whilst simultaneously providing tangible cultural reference points within experimental works. Field recordings of traditional music and quotidian speech sounds will form the basis of my compositions. A portfolio of 8-9 pieces will comprise notated music, audio recording, film and live performance; a substantial commentary will assess how these respond to my research questions (below), and build on the work of other practitioners and scholars. The project advances the theoretical and methodological foundations established in my MA by Research.Although there is no established practice for interrogating the theatre/folk relationship, precedent has been set by some key practitioners. The work of 7:84 Theatre Company builds on Bertolt Brecht's epic theatre, while Trevor Wishart ('Encounters in the Republic of Heaven'), Harry Partch ('Barstow') and Nguyen Thanh Thuy and Stefan Östersjö ('Arrival Cities Hanoi') show varying approaches to integrating local, commonplace sources (particularly voice and dialect sounds) into composition. This informs the first of three research questions (RQs).RQ1: Vernacular speech can be read as a performance act. What musical and theatrical potential does this unlock, enabling it to form the basis of composition?Field recordings are an essential part of my compositional method. As well as capturing recordings, I will refer to significant archives, particularly those housed at www.tobarandualchais.co.uk. My use of electronics in theatrical pieces will be informed by practitioners such as Michel van der Aa, Joanna Bailie and Janet Cardiff. To provide a theoretical framework, I will investigate scholarship on liveness (Peggy Phelan) and technological mediation, especially Philip Auslander on spatial and temporal co-presence. RQ2: Field recordings can be theatrically deployed in performance, activating concepts of liveness and technological mediation. In what ways does this illuminate the dynamic relationship between folk material and the theatrical context in which it is situated?Due to its collaborative nature, knowledge exchange is embedded in the process of this project. I will work with ensembles, theatre groups, and heritage and community organisations, expanding on my prior experience in folk music, directing theatre and working with choirs and music/mental health and adult learning groups. I will run collaborative workshops for non-specialist participants to create recordings based on local history: these will foster dialogue between the contemporary music genres in which my research is rooted and the folk sources on which my compositions draw. I will build on existing connections with York-based groups AMOK and Arc Project, The Velophonic Orchestra (Glasgow) and Shetland Archives.RQ3: How does working in dialogue with living folk traditions, and with practitioners across the arts, challenge the composer's role in interdisciplinary collaborations?The outcomes of this research will be important to the above groups and to contemporary composers. Folk music's distinctive timbral, modal and harmonic features - coupled with recordings of speech - will create a unique tonal palette seldom explored in contemporary classical music. In year 1 I will write 5-6 short studies for solo voice/instruments and electronics, followed by performances or online exhibitions of these. This will inform three substantial pieces composed over the following two years.