Peyton Jones, Jeremy. 2015. 'Hierarchies of creative interaction – the political aspects of collaboration between composer and improvising musicians in Against Oblivion, Part 3'. In: COMPOSITIONAL AESTHETICS AND THE POLITICAL. Goldsmiths, University of London, United Kingdom 20-22 Feb 2015. [Conference or Workshop Item]

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Abstract or Description

This presentation explores the political aspects of the relationship between composer and improvising musicians through an examination of their creative input both during the devising process and the resulting performances of a recent work for voice, narration and improvising musicians, Against Oblivion Part 3

The work was devised during a residency in March/April 2014 at the Cantieri Culturali alla Zisa in Palermo, Sicily with the Sicilian Improvisers Orchestra culminating in two public performances in Palermo.

This 13-piece orchestra is a group of professional musicians based in Palermo. The particular focus of the project was the collaborative and devising processes involved in working with a group of improvising acoustic/electric musicians: in particular how the interaction works when combining pre-composed fixed material with improvisation outside of a jazz context particularly in relation to my research aim to explore the creative possibilities involved in collaboration, both between composers and between composers and performers.

Against Oblivion Part 3 incorporates more improvisation than any of my work to date, and I was struck by the political aspects of the interaction between myself as composer and ‘director’ and the orchestra members as performers and improvisers. The piece combined improvisation and pre-composed material in several different ways ranging from free to structured with different implications as to the creative roles and hierarchies of the collaborators. It was interesting, and significant, that the orchestra had just finished a project focused on the music and political ideas of jazz saxophonist/composer Albert Ayler. That experience for the players, and the effect on me of seeing their performances had an effect on the way we worked together.

This presentation will illustrate, with examples from a recording of the performance of Against Oblivion, the various ways in which the improvised elements combined with the pre-composed, and extrapolated from that the various ways in which the collaborators exercised creative influence.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Departments, Centres and Research Units:	Music > Contemporary Music Research Unit
Dates:	Date Event 21 September 2015 Published
Event Location:	Goldsmiths, University of London, United Kingdom
Date range:	20-22 Feb 2015
Item ID:	20320
Date Deposited:	21 Apr 2017 14:24
Last Modified:	29 Apr 2020 16:27
URI:	https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/20320

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