A Phenomenology of Collaboration in Contemporary Composition and Performance

ABSTRACT A PHENOMENOLOGY OF COLLABORATION IN CONTEMPORARY COMPOSITION AND PERFORMANCE This thesis considers how collaboration between composer and performer affects the practice of these musicians. The established paradigm for the creation of new work in the context of contemporary classical music promotes separation between composers and performers. Typically the composer is seen as ‘creator’, the performer as ‘interpreter’, and the audience as the ‘recipient’ of the music. This inherent hegemony creates division between these musicians, creating expressive barriers in the development and the dissemination of new work. In this research, the creative processes of both composition and performance are assessed in the context of collaborative practice, in a continuum where both composers and performers are seen as integrated elements within music making. In order to evaluate collaborative practice between composer and performer I commissioned five Irish composers to write solo bass clarinet pieces for me to perform. These five individual cases provided an opportunity to examine collaboration in a practical framework. An integral part of each commission was the examination of collaboration through the careful documentation of the creative processes of interactive practice. Over the course of a year I worked collaboratively with the composers concerned in a series of practical sessions where the new works were discussed and tried out. A key part of these meetings was the investigation of various elements relating to collaboration, including notation, improvisation and transmission. A significant amount of data was collected in the course of this examination including audio recordings and transcripts of meetings. The findings from this research indicate that collaboration between composers and performers can have significant beneficial effects on musicians’ practice. These benefits include increased motivation, creative stimulation, multiple communication modes and notational clarification. These represent some of the practical findings from this investigation of the effect collaboration has on the practice of composers and performers

A phenomenology of collaboration in contemporary composition and performance

This thesis considers how collaboration between composer and performer affects the practice of these musicians. The established paradigm for the creation of new work in the context of contemporary classical music promotes separation between composers and performers. Typically the composer is seen as 'creator', the performer as 'interpreter', and the audience as the 'recipient' of the music. This inherent hegemony creates division between these musicians, creating expre~si~e barriers in the development and the dissemination of new work. In this research, the creative processes of both composition and performance are assessed in the context of collaborative practice,in a continuum where both composers and performers are seen as integrated elements within music making. IIi order to evaluate collaborative practice between composer and performer I commissioned five Irish composers to write solo bass clarinet pieces for me to perform.. These five individual cases provided an opportunity to examine collaboration in a practical framework. An integral part of each commission was the examination of collaboration through the careful documentation of the creative processes of interactive practice. Over the course of a year I worked collaboratively with the composers concerned in a series of practical sessions where the new works were discussed. and tried out. A key part of these meetings was the investigation of various elements relating to collaboration, including. notation, improvisation and transmission. A significant amount of data was collected in the course of this examination including audio recordings and transcripts ofmeetings. The fmdings from this research 'indicate that collaboration between composers and performers can have significant beneficial effects on musicians' practice. These benefits include increased motivation, creative stimulation, multiple communication modes and notational clarification. These represent some of the practical fmdings from this investigation of the effect collaboration has on the practice of composers and performers

ANALYTICAL EXPLORATIONS OF CREATIVE INTERACTION AND COLLABORATIVE PROCESS THROUGH COMPOSITION, REHEARSAL AND PERFORMANCE: A COMPOSER-COMPOSER CASE STUDY OF ACOUSTIC MUSIC WITH LIVE ELECTRONICS

A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Wolverhampton for the degree of Doctor of PhilosophyThis thesis explores both the creative process and the creative product behind a unique and complex collaboration between two composers, called Endings (2012): firstly Jeremy Peyton Jones and secondly Kaffe Matthews. It interrogates the behavioural aspects and negotiations between the two composers in the compositional and rehearsal processes, in the run-up to three performances. Using ethnomusicological methodologies towards data collection (rehearsal recordings, interviews, studio work) and analysis (discourse in compositional discussion, rehearsal), the thesis offers new understandings on collaboration, specifically the fluidity and complexity of the interaction between composers who work in two very different ways: Peyton Jones, who composes with scored, conventional notation, rehearsing with his ensemble Regular Music II; and Matthews, who works improvisationally with live electronics and electroacoustics, both with her surrounding sonic material and pre-existing samples. The thesis finds two core important conclusions, which contribute to our current knowledge and understanding of music and collaboration. Firstly, pre-existing models of collaboration segregate behaviours into ‘types’. Endings offers an example where such types cannot always be applied so exclusively. And secondly, collaboration in the rehearsal of Endings contradicts conventional rehearsal models which state talking should be kept to a minimum. The majority of the collaborative process between Peyton Jones and Matthews rests heavily on conversation.Research Dean’s Studentship (University of Wolverhampton