MMus Projects 2023/24

ELECTRONIC DHARMA

Archie John

My research investigates the influence of Tibetan Buddhism on the aesthetics of Western contemporary music, with a particular focus on the electronic and electroacoustic music of Eliane Radigue and Jonathan Harvey. Since the annexation of Tibet by the Chinese Communist Party in 1951, Tibetan Buddhism has gained an increasing influence on Western society, particularly growing during the countercultural movements of the 1960s and 70s. This coincides with the flourishing use of electronics in contemporary music, with composers such as Radigue and Harvey engaging in extensive exploration of the possibilities provided by new technology, in conjunction with developing their own individual Buddhist practices. There is almost no scholarly work exploring the Tibetan influence on 20th century European contemporary music as the focus on the development of (and reactions against) serial composition has tended to dominate the intellectual landscape. However, for me, the influence of Tibetan Buddhism on contemporary music is a key thread in understanding the musical landscape of the 20th and 21st centuries. Through my MMus project, I will explore this narrative thread and present my findings in writing and my own portfolio of compositions reflecting upon these aesthetic developments.

Miniatures For Minor Orchestral Instruments

Shin Kim

Even without the music of other cultures and eras, there are still dozens of different instruments that are normally used in modern Western orchestras. If we include the whole range of extended instruments as well, the number arguably becomes almost innumerable. However, not all of these instruments are typically utilized as solo instruments. For example, we can easily think of compositions for solo violin or clarinet, whereas it is relatively difficult to find and list those for, amongst others, piccolo, contrabassoon or bass trombone.

For my MMus project, I would like to compose miniature solo pieces for these ‘neglected’ instruments to contribute to the broadening and enriching of their repertoires, and to explore musical and compositional possibilities for myself and for other composers. This is a step toward my ultimate goal: to discover new ways to approach orchestration and instrumentation.

Finding creativity in a creative artform: An exploration through J.S. Bach’s Overture in the French Style

Alexia Eleftheriadou

In this research project, I will attempt to challenge what is, in my experience, a tendency toward ‘correctness’ and ‘perfection’ in classical music practice. The impact of this on learning methods, while effective in certain respects, can risk hindering creativity and imagination and may not necessarily nurture a deep understanding of the music.

The project will focus on exploring alternative approaches by infusing my practice with improvisational techniques and nurturing an overtly creative approach, using J. S. Bach’s French Overture as a vehicle. The aim is to deepen my connection with the piece, foster a profound understanding of its harmony, structure, and other musical elements, and find greater freedom in my playing by inspiring a more imaginative and mindful approach to interpretation.

I hope that this project will be just the start of a practice that enriches my musical experience and paves the way for a more innovative and explorative mindset in my learning.

A DYSTOPIAN ANTHEM, FOR TWO DRUMS, AN ALTO SAXOPHONE AND AN ELECTRIC GUITAR

Ashkan Layegh

I wanted to explore the idea of duality in a 40-minute composition/performance, on the following three levels:

1. Improvisational/Compositional: Investigating the relation between a highly detailed score and live-action music making, their boundaries, and the possibility of blurring them, to the extent where distinguishing them becomes almost impossible; can improvisation and composition be doppelgängers?
2. Instrument/Performer: The presence of two similar instruments on the stage, with semi-improvised/semi-notated material, leading to exploration of the characteristics of the performers, through various means of composition and collective music making.
3. Individual/Collective: Questioning the essence of anthem as a form of ritual, in the age of mass media— and the annihilation of the individual and the collective— which brings the question of identity, and an abstract representation of doppelgänger, and vice versa.

Listen to a recording here.

Try The Grey Stuff: Writing Dramatic Vocal Music Between Opera and Musical Theatre

Ben Hoppe

Musical works written for the stage have fascinated me for as long as I can remember. I’d even cite early experiences performing in opera and musical theatre as the reason I’m a composer today. From Die Zauberflöte to Cabaret, Elektra to A Chorus Line, the pieces I hold most dear come from very different musical areas. Or is that not entirely the case?

Through my Master’s project, I’m hoping to shed some light on musical commonality between opera and musical theatre. To me, these two artforms exist on a spectrum rather than as separate entities. My own vocal music has (albeit subconsciously) begun to take this idea into account, so I’m looking to pinpoint specific qualities that allude to this connection.

I’m also hoping to do this as a means of breaking down the artificial boundaries we hold between opera and musical theatre. Certain stigmas exist, and through my project I wish to decipher how we got to this point of polarization and how we can get past it.

Writing the Unthinkable

Toby Anderson

In April of last year, the international classical community was gripped by the news story of a woman allegedly having a ‘loud and full body orgasm’ during an L.A. Philharmonic performance of Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Beneath the various conflicting eye-witness accounts and twitter arguments lay the fundamental question of why. Is classical music, in fact, sexy? Deeper inspection of this question points to a whole series of contradictions that lay at the heart of the ways in which we relate music to our own bodies and the bodies of others. Drawing on queer theory, feminist new materialism, and the philosophy of Gilles Deleuze, I hope to analyse the ways in which concert etiquette, musical pedagogy, grant application forms, composition competitions, auditions, and other material institutional artefacts define and control how we engage with music at the somatic level. As a composer, however, the heart of this project lies in channelling this analysis into an exploration of the ways in which one could cultivate a way of writing music that directly confronts the fleshy materiality of the body. In short, what would a ‘somatic composition’ look, feel, taste, smell, and sound like?

Owning a piece of ‘Mount Everest’ - A transcription of the D minor Violin Partita of Bach for an oboe trio

Alex Wong

The world-wide lockdown during the COVID years has disrupted the artistic scene in unimaginable ways. Although musicians lost the chance to perform on their precious stage, many of them ‘re-invented’ chamber music with the help of technology – people were able to take part in music making across spatial and temporal boundaries and share their performances with a virtual audience.

Some chamber music repertoire was written for a combination of instrumentalists that happened to be available at the time – I immediately think of Schubert’s ‘Trout’ quintet. This was how I felt when I was on my own in lockdown, where the only available instruments were those from the oboe family. Chamber music for oboes and cor anglais has not been popular among composers, and we oboists have to make our own arrangements.

However, when I transcribe an existing piece for oboists, do I add or remove ideas and materials from it? Would it still be regarded as the original composition? Or is it damaged? Or ‘de’-composed? Or ‘re’-composed? Can new insights be created? Can we oboists truly own the new piece? I am planning to embark on this journey with the ‘Mount Everest’ of the solo violin repertoire, the D minor Partita by J. S. Bach.

Shadowy Music and Storytelling

Fang-Lin Liu

My project will explore the relationship between music and storytelling. I have chosen Gaspard de la Nuit by Maurice Ravel as the repertoire for my research. It is based on three poems by Aloysius Bertrand which set up a background for the music, providing an inspiration for storytelling. Gaspard de la Nuit is built on a ‘night’ theme. I decided that shadow puppetry could provide an evocative way of enhancing the story of the music. The shadow puppetry team I found is a group of primary students in Taiwan. I like the idea of not working with professional puppeteers, as children have an innate creativity and imagination that adults often lose, and I thought they could therefore add a surprising new dimension to the project. My parents are going to help with the production, filming and editing the shadow puppetry.

The outcome of my project will be a live event – I will perform the piece alongside a shadow puppetry video. To develop the project, I am going to create a web post, containing my process, the thoughts of the primary school children, a snippet of the video as a teaser, and a space where the audience can leave their feedback. I hope this project will encourage participation from the audience, and that it will successfully blend music and storytelling.