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Scope of Composition
Topic Started: Feb 22 2015, 04:26 PM (400 Views)
David Greenhorne
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Given that the ultimate aim (if one wins) is to produce a 15-17 minute piece, is it acceptable for the 3-5minute piece, called for in the first stage of the composition, to be a sample of, or section(s) from the projected bigger 17 minute structure. Or must it be a stand-alone piece.
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Emma Hornby
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It's crucial that the initial short piece must work as a stand-alone piece. My aspiration is that several of them will get taken into the regular repertoire of the cathedral choirs, and perhaps some of the instrumental ones might capture the imagination of Kokoro and become a regular part of their repertoire too.

It would be perfect, however, if that initial short piece is then in some way the departure point for the longer piece for the winners. It might form a section of it, or otherwise provide concepts and material for the longer piece.

I think it would be a great idea for the composers to be thinking in terms of a short self-contained piece that will scale up one way or another. But if some of you don't work like that - and need to write a short piece to show what you are capable of and what your musical language is, and then a separate long piece if you are one of the winners - then that is ok too. We (the judges) won't know your preference until after we've told you you've won, anyway, so it will make no difference to our decision making!
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Emma Hornby
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Here is a question I recently received by email about the sort of response we are looking for from the composers:

Quote:
 
I am particularly interested in the figure you quote of melismas with over 200 notes per syllable (much more than in Gregorian chant, I suppose), and in the idea of non-defined intervallic content; there are perhaps possibilities of structuring a piece around melismatic or intervallic ‘growth’.

i’m just slightly concerned that these influences are to do with the 'nuts and bolts' of Old Hispanic chant, rather than to do with your project’s research. Is this a problem? Should I be looking to tie in more with some specifics?


It would be a really good idea to look at some of the pages of the Leon antiphonary and see if you can work out how the melismas are working. I've attached one example here. There are often repetition patterns that go AABBCC or AA'BB'CC'. This one in the example is more like AA'BB'A''C. If you wanted, you might think about the potential of these sorts of repetition patterns, and the impact they have on the aesthetic substance of a piece of composed music (and then that would go into your commentary). If you wanted to go a step further, you could be inspired by the contour of one or more particular Old Hispanic melismas, and recreate that somehow in your own work, but actually, just making music that incorporates this style of repetition would be interesting on its own.

The intervallic content isn't defined in the notation, but they will have known what intervals they expected to hear. It's just that that part of the musical substance was carried by memory so there was no need to notate it. Unfixed pitch notation is something that our PhD composer Litha has played around with in some of her pieces. My impression at the moment is that it is something that looks a bit like the Old Hispanic notation looks (i.e. without specific pitch content) but actually the implications of that notation for those performing the music are totally different in the two cultures. We see unfixed pitch and think "do what you want, be creative" and they saw unfixed pitch and thought, "oh yes, this melodic shape I know how that goes dum dee dum dee dee". So that's something you'd need to think about carefully.

We are totally happy for composers to engage with this repertoire on any level - some might be inspired by the shapes of the notation, or what we have managed to communicate about the musical style. Others will be trying to recreate something of the theological or devotional impact of this sort of music, but with the actual musical substance being completely freely chosen. We are happy to encounter either approach, or a combination of both, or something else I forgot and did not mention here!
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Attachments: melisma_snippet_from_39r.jpg (16.9 KB)
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Emma Hornby
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Quote:
 
About the aesthetics, I've read the work should recreate something of old hispanic chant aesthetic.
Is it correct to think that the chant should be done in close relationship to an old hispanic chant, but it can be written with a contemporary writing way?

I ask this because in the paths of the composition of the conservatory, there was an examination of organ, organ composition and Gregorian chant and a written exam required to transcribe a Gregorian chant (with notation in neumes) and harmonize it with an organ accompaniment.
I always thought about this examination as something forced .. because of course the chants were monophonic and nothing is known of any accompaniments with other instruments.

While in this case, it would be really interesting to study a chant at a starting material and build on a contemporary work. Is it correct as an approach?


You can take this approach if you like, but you don't have to!

Some people might be inspired by the musical language of the Old HIspanic chants, and try to create something that uses patterns in a similar way.

Some people might be inspired by the buildings in which these chants were sung, and try to create something that responds to that sort of sacred space.

Some people might be inspired by the way in which these melodies pace and punctuate the text - more words and fewer words on syllables; cadences to help you follow the meaning.

Some people might be inspired by the shape of a particular Old Hispanic chant, and recreate that in their own idiom in some way.

Some people might be inspired by what we know of medieval tone systems - the patterns of tones and semitones that made up their sound world - and see what they can do to create something for our own time, but in something like that sound world.

Some people might be inspired by the theology of medieval Iberia, and want to create something that responds to that (and if you read around the forum you should find some posts about how biblical texts get altered to become chant texts, and then how lots of the chants have a prayer that goes with them, that make explicit what the liturgical participants' devotional response should be.

That's just the first thing I thought of. The important thing is for you to be truly inspired by these aspects in creating your music, and also able to articulate what you were inspired by, in writing, to go with it. Remember, we are totally happy for that commentary to be in: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian or Portuguese (and sorry we don't know any other languages well enough to be able to invite you to write in them!)
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Gymnopedist
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Hi,

Thank you for a wonderful challenge! It feels like I am finally making friends with those mysterious neumes! I am currently writing a piece for submission - and I've already planned the way in which I would eventually expand it, by adding more movements. My problem is, the movement I would like to submit will probably end up being about 6-7 minutes in length - I realize this transcends the set boundaries, but would it be a big problem? I would of course prefer not to shorten my piece unnecessarily :S
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Emma Hornby
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It really does need to be 3-5 minutes. We won't be able to accept longer pieces. There are various reasons, both practical and to do with being fair to all the entrants.
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