Composing (in) contemporary South Africatheoretical and musical responses to complexity

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis explicates a perception of music as complex phenomenon and, accordingly, the comprehension,creation and performance of music as complex tasks. While its immediate field of investigation is thecomposition of music, it proposes an understanding of musical composition that exceeds the conventionallyconfined acts of conceiving and notating music, by effectively including the acts of performing and perceivingmusic as inherent to the process of creating music and, in fact, as crucial to complete this creative process. Thisinclusion does not suggest an attenuation of the specialized skill of musical composition but, to the contrary,advocates the necessity of a heightened awareness for the complexity of this task, which will following from anunderstanding of music as systemically interrelated and principally inseverable set of (inter)actions encompassingits conception, performance and reception.In support of this approach an extensive introduction to complexity thinking is presented. For reasons of theintrinsic complexity of this topic and taking into account that complexity thinking has not yet formally beenrelated to music studies, this section exceeds the scope of a preliminary preamble. Instead it constitutes one offour equally weighted sections of the dissertation. It offers to the musically trained reader not familiar with thetopic an overview of historical developments leading to the theory of general complexity (Chapter 1) and asubsequent characterization of general complexity traits (Chapter 2). From here a link to musical considerationsis established by means of a thorough reassessment of four terms – difference, identity, contexts and novelty –all of which are central to discourses in complexity, as well as in music studies (Chapter 3). From this basis aninitial set of musical consequences arising from a complexity perspective is proposed (Chapter 4).One of the hallmarks of complex phenomena is the permeability of their boundaries. Following this insightthe second section is dedicated to reflections on specific environments and circumstances acting as musicalcontexts, as well as a reading of musical responses with regard to the emergence of external contexts asinternal subtexts. The first chapter in this section focuses on HIP (historically informed performances) as acomplex methodology of transforming intangible historical evidence into tangibly different musicalinterpretations (Chapter 5). The second and third chapters are assessments of the effects of local circumstanceson compositional activity in South Africa; one is based on empirical data obtained from a survey (Chapter 6),the other is of a very personal nature and reflects my own recent experiences from working as musician in thiscountry (Chapter 7). The final chapter in this section expounds the core tenets of my personal compositionalapproach, framed as musical response to a subjective reading of South African circumstances perceived asequally challenging and enabling musical contexts (Chapter 8).Complementing the purely 'theoretical considerations' of these eight chapters, sections 3 and 4 contain'practical responses', thereby fulfilling a requirement of the format of an integrated practical Ph.D. The practicalresearch outputs are contained in a portfolio of four compositions (submitted both as scores and CDrecordings in a separate volume), which represent my recent work of deliberate musical engagement withspecific contexts framed from a South African perspective (Section 4). Preceding the portfolio, Section 3contains a discussion of each of the respective works, linking the compositions to the theoretical reflections ofPart One, thereby integrating practical and theoretical work and demonstrating the reciprocal influence andinteraction between both sets of interventions.The discussion of The Songs of Madosini revolves mainly around the question of musical differences thatemanate from intercultural collaborations (Chapter 9). The reflections on the Proteus Variations hinge on theissue of diversity, perceived not quantitatively, but as quality principally elevating the notion of variation toreplace that of single dominance (Chapter 10). EisTau affords the opportunity to reflect on a musical responseto the global crisis of climate change, as well as an engagement with the complex of music's communicative,narrative and even semantic propensities (Chapter 11). Finally, the question of relational identity (determined bybiographical, geographical and musical relations and thereby implying reflections on place, presence, absence andthe 'other'), are central to the elaborations on the Concerto for an African Cellist (Chapter 12).Interspersed between the twelve chapters are fourteen 'Parentheses'. These are relatively short sections(distinguished from the ordinary text by grey background shadings) providing additional and somewhatindependent reflections on topics that pertain to the main text. The preface to the thesis offers a briefintroduction to PBR (practice-based research), which informs the integrated structure of this work.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University