...empty spun-sugar shibboleth... Performative Impossibility as a Compositional Device
Carraher, Ryan.
2019
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In …empty spun-sugar shibboleth… the unique, identity crafting,
physical system of the performer and the web-like relationships intertwining the
embodied mind, the mechanical instrument, the musical notation and the dynamic
environment coalesce to form a singular meta-performer. An unstable multiplicity
no longer driven by a quantitative, measuring consciousness and performative
... read moreabsolutes, but rather a reflexive, indeterminate, haptic, qualitative feedback
loop where gesture (and its raw material, physical movement) and the natural
responsive modification of felt physical states are given primacy as expressive
and formal devices. This work uses graphic notation to present the performers with
grandiose, physically impossible tasks. The performer's mind, mouth, tongue,
fingers, vocal chords, appendages and throat are de-coupled and pitted against
each other culminating in an informational overload unavoidably leading to "system
failure." The formal and temporal aspects of this work hinge on the idea of
inevitable failure. Often times the information presented is physically impossible
or uncomfortable, resulting in strained, fragile sounds. Other times the physical
tasks notated have no audible effect on the sonic result but rather influence the
psychology of the performer. All of these complex, paradoxical, physical gestures
are writhing under the skin folding into each other and manifesting through a
single voice.
Thesis (M.A.)--Tufts University, 2019.
Submitted to the Dept. of Music.
Advisor: John McDonald.
Committee: John McDonald, Alessandra Campana, and Michael McLaughlin.
Keyword: Musical composition.read less - ID:
- 0c483x53d
- To Cite:
- TARC Citation Guide EndNote
