Today I worked in London together with Helena Gaunt (Deputy Head of Wind, Brass and Percussion) Sean Gregory (musician, Head of the Centre for Creative and Professional Practice, Head of Professional Development), Christian Burgess (Head of Acting). We only had a small hour with the four of us. We came together to discuss the research application in the ‘beyond text’ programme Helena made and where we all take part in. Instead of speaking we would however in line with the idea ‘beyond text’ play together. Sean and Gregory seemed surprised to see us really with instruments. With a minimum of exchange in words we prepared a simple set with the piano and chairs for the musicians. We played for about half an hour and recorded the session on video. Then we had another half hour for a conversation about what we experienced.
From the opening words ‘we cannot go on like this’ and ‘I really want to move on’ there was a group of three men and a woman with an unidentified history going through several sometimes intense episodes and interactions with a new brotherhood, a confession, a punishment, an almost murder, a happy marriage with a baby, the dark side of the big city and a strong plea for the truth in the end. I’m not going into the narrative right now however the material is interesting to interpret later.
I just write down eleven remarks that were made and add a concluding 12th one.
1. We all felt fear in doing this although we all are trained professionals. The most fearful moment was however just before the playing when we told Christian and Sean that we really wanted to play. On such a moment, passing a regular border, you are confronted with ‘expected resistance’. This expectation is so strong that you produce resistance yourself that you have to struggle.
2. Some of us felt strongly confronted with the third eye. You see yourself doing things and are judging yourself and others right on the spot. It is difficult to put the judge- switch off. Even worse is being pleased by yourself: ‘see how nice I did that!’.
3. In such a free improvisation you feel sometimes foolish. Realise however that foolishness is close to innocence, like in a children’s play.
4. Looking in the eyes of the counterpart appears to be difficult for musicians. This look touches all kind of things inside. Musicians are shy in doing this.
5. The number of people involved makes a big difference. There is the specific ‘cosiness’ of a duo and the whole duo-repertoire. The trio mirrors immediately all kinds of human relationships.
6. We were with four. Unintended and without thinking about it you see develop specific gender patterns of three men and one woman.
7. The images that pass are like archetypal situations that come out remarkably spontaneously as if they were waiting under the surface all the time, just waiting for an opening to become manifest.
8. The music gives immediately energy to the situation and opens the space to perform, to associate, to get something going. Music has the transitional power to change from the real world to the world of imagination.
9. Although there were only a few words spoken the impact was strong. Words give immediate focus to the more abstract sounding world of the music.
10. In a dramatic or theatrical situation musical instruments become objects or even personages. There seems to be a kind o basic repertoire of giving, showing, receiving, denying, accepting, threatening, caressing and so on.
11. Remarkable was the incredible speed and clearness of changes. As if we took part in an Ovidian Metamorphosis the perspective could shift completely in some split seconds.
12. We explore improvisation and its relation to artistry. The words in italics could serve as starting points for further research within the existing material or in new focussed sessions. That is how different aspects and topics within improvisation can grow and get shape. That is how we want to explore, how we try to catch, the usually tacit knowledge that is inherent to artistry.
I enjoyed this informal kick off of the ‘beyond text’ programme very much and felt it as a major step forward as well as a good start for things to follow in collaboration between Guildhall and Royal Conservatoire.
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