This is a past event
Entering the Woods: anlytical approaches to Brian Ferneyhough's Time and Motion Study II
Abstract:
Brian Ferneyhough’s musical scores are famous for their often impenetrable appearance. His specific approach to music notation not only challenges the audacious performer, who has to come up with solutions for the dazzling amount of instructions in the score, but also the music analyst, who is confronted with an overload of information. The score of Time and Motion Study II could be compared with a dense forest to which no easy access is guaranteed. When attempting an analysis of such a score, where can one begin? I will illustrate two different strategies that I have adopted in the analysis of this piece. The first approach is a rather general approach to one specific aspect of the composition. The pages of the score are filled with verbal indications, ranging from the more or less neutral “Adagio” to more poetic expressions as “in cabaret spotlight”. What can these expressions tell us about the piece as a whole? The second approach follows a more traditional analytical route and is based on a close examination of the original sketches. Although these sources are rather fragmented, I was able to discover at least some clues as to how Ferneyhough constructed the dense woods of Time and Motion Study II. In the end, a comprehensive analysis of a composition of this scale and complexity is not possible, nor desirable. However, specific analytical approaches may contribute to our understanding of this repertoire, and hopefully inspire other analysts in their engagement with contemporary music.
Bio:
Klaas Coulembier currently works at the University of Leuven as a post-doctoral research fellow of the Research Foundation Flanders. The title of his dissertation, which he defended in 2013, was “Multi-temporality. Analysing simultaneous time layers in selected compositions by Elliott Carter and Claus-Steffen Mahnkopf”. He wrote a chapter in Die Musik von Claus-Steffen Mahnkopf, has published in Tempo, Music Theory and Analysis, and the Revue Belge de Musicologie, and has an article forthcoming in the journal Music Analysis. His current research is focused on developing analytical strategies for the music of Ferneyhough, Aperghis and Carter. Beside his academic activities, he regularly writes programme notes and gives pre-concert talks at all major venues in Flanders.
- Speaker
- Dr Klaas Coulembier
- Hosted by
- Music Department
- Venue
- MacRobert Building, MR055
- Contact
-
Free and open to the public