Engaging with my compositional portfolio as whole, Sedemus, Sedere Audire, and Day Born represent music that is in dialogue with philosophy in an analytical way, whereas Struck, Discern, and Reduce represent music that is in dialogue with philosophy intuitively.
The knowledge gained from entering a dialogue between music and philosophy has informed the creation of my compositional portfolio. The portfolio reflects both research through practice in the form of Sedemus, Sedere Audire, and
Day Born, and practice-based research through Struck, Discern, and Reduce
wherein the knowledge accrued through the course of this thesis is manifest within composition. Engaging with Bergson and Husserl has enabled me to knowingly innovate my praxis through the composition of music. Throughout the course of my research I have discussed how these philosophical ideas have influenced and informed my creative, technical, and theoretical approaches to music. It is anticipated that the dialogue between music and philosophy that is articulated within this thesis and embedded in my practice, will be of potential benefit to other practitioners seeking to embed their music practice within philosophy, and philosophy within music practice. The philosophical discussions articulated within this thesis are of significance to my research, and through positioning them in dialogue with my compositional practice, I have gained new insights. I have found that engaging with music as a qualitative duration from compositional, listening, and philosophical viewpoints has enabled me to create music that expresses my interpretation of philosophy musically. I am satisfied that I have been able to embed my philosophical knowledge within my music and my musical knowledge within my interpretation of philosophy. I feel I have done so in a way that resists undermining both the rigor of my investigations and my personal aesthetic standards. Achieving this has been of personal significance.
music, I found significance in the observation that music has a distinct relationship with time wherein it unfolds through its duration. Upon observing this, I began engaging with the philosophy of Henri Bergson and sought to create further practice with the intention of understanding the commonality between Bergson’s philosophy of pure duration and music.
Sedemus and Sedere Audire are compositions that are representative of
differences between audio and non-audio entities. With my research questioning how music is temporally distinct, it was essential to the enquiry to compare music and sound. Through Day Born, I was able to differentiate music from sound, music being “heard” whereas sound being “audible”. As composition, Day Born evidenced the complexities of analysis, and paradoxically it is an a-music composition that demonstrated what music is not, through musical means. This enabled me to confidently speculate that time is not merely essential to music but it is accountable for music’s qualities beyond its physical manifestation as sound. The analytical phase of my research was concluded through practical sonification experiments that were informed by what I had learnt. I sought to create sound from and as an object and then to set the object in motion. At this point, I had succeeded in narrowing my line of enquiry to extreme analytical specificity. My analysis revealed that change affords potential for music and that pure duration is essential to music. Reflecting upon that knowledge, I understood it for its specificity. The analytical knowledge I have gained has been of substantial benefit and it has informed my music and research practices both within and beyond this professional doctorate.
Reaching an acute level of specificity through analysis has informed my approach to composition as a musician. Struck, Discern, and Reduce embody my interpretation of Bergson’s philosophy and demonstrate the knowledge I have gained through music. If the first stage of my research is thought of as the dialogue between music and philosophy wherein philosophical thought is subjected to the rigors of practice, the second stage involves informing music
Reflection
In addition to the compositions presented within this thesis, this research has served to enhance my music in several other ways. Sedemus and Sedere
Audire have enabled me to appreciate artistic disciplines that are lesser
explored through music. This appreciation has accumulated in 2 paper presentations wherein I have discussed the relationship between physical sculpture and music, in addition to the compositions themselves being performed internationally. Sonification practices have enabled me to appreciate how sound and musical practices can be significantly valuable within scientific studies. Appreciation of this has resulted in an interdisciplinary research project wherein a protocol for the address of freezing of gate in Parkinson’s disease sufferers was developed in collaboration with researchers from the fields of biomechanics, neuroscience, and psychology. Through Day Born I engaged with music as a form of visual art and Fluxus practice leading to the notation being published and exhibited within a number of group exhibitions. Day Born has also served to establish collaborative relationships with artists working within fine art contexts.
My doctoral research has had a significant influence upon how I view myself as a musician. I have typically practiced my music in 2 ways - as a musician who is demonstrably research active and as a musician who is not. I have previously separated these 2 ways of practicing. As a research active musician, I seek to communicate my practice within the academy wherein the rigor and integrity of the work is paramount. At times this has been at the expense of engaging wider audiences. As a musician outside of academic contexts, my work is simply influenced by my research. It benefits from the knowledge and ideas I have gained through my research but does not attempt to formalize them within the practice or explicitly communicate them to an audience. Aesthetics are of primacy within that work. However, in producing the pieces within my compositional portfolio those two separate strands are beginning to find unification.
of durational change. I released /pr!ˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃ!n-s/ (Pronunciations), a 4 track EP on Concrète Records under the pseudonym “yehoshua” with relative success. Tracks from the record are played on national and international radio stations including broadcast on BBC Radio 3’s Late Junction - here it was noted how Bergson inspired the content of the release. Other musical reflections upon the distinctions between physical object, sound, and music include
Catharsis, a composition that has been performed at both Ingmar Bergman’s
cinema (Uppsala, Sweden), and Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall (London, UK). I feel that these works represent a meeting of my music that had previously been separated into 2 audiences, an endeavor I intend to continue beyond my doctoral studies.
APPENDICES
APPENDIX 1: SEDEMUS DESIGN SCHEMATIC AND SCORE