In the commentary, I examine how a process of signification with extra-musical elements like physical gestures as explicit material for composition could take place in chamber music. The extra-musical aspect of composition with physical gestures in my works pushes my compositional concerns towards interdisciplinarity, thus challenging the ontological boundaries of the musical work.
This field embraces not only notated music but also electronics, and has a strong focus on physical gesture. This thesis comprises a body of works, and a written commentary, which can be anchored within an expanded field of chamber music. The commentary concludes with a discussion of possible further artistic and pedagogic outcomes of Seaton Snook.
A creative approach to the exegesis is taken, in order to further demonstrate and explore the parafictional character of the main project. There follows an explanation of my methodology and an exegesis of my own compositions, drawing on language and frameworks established in earlier parts of the commentary. This section is completed with in-depth discussion of a number of noteworthy parafictional artworks – including case studies of works by artist Damien Hirst, composer Jennifer Walshe and filmmaker Peter Greenaway – and an assessment of the cultural and economic neglect of the North East of England. The commentary first reviews a range of related artworks, to situate the work and to introduce the key concepts and frameworks. More broadly, this project investigates how listener experience can be shaped by the stories we tell about musical works, the compositional process, and social and biographical aspects surrounding the work. The project draws on Carrie Lambert-Beatty’s notion of parafiction (artistic practices that play in the overlap between fact and fiction) and Peter Cusack’s practice of sonic journalism, to investigate aspects of twentieth century and contemporary North Eastern English culture. It also includes interviews and transcriptions, photographs of handwritten scores, and accompanying explanatory information. The archive features a wide range of individual sound pieces across a range of materialities, including artistic compositions, pedagogic compositions, recorded musical performances and field recordings. This practice-based PhD takes the form of a web-based archive of sounds and music from a parafictional seaside town in North East England called Seaton Snook, and an accompanying commentary.
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