She travelled through what has been and what is, in search of that which has not yet come to pass...

"The storyteller never forgets the music.

Many of us, when we tell stories, when we hear stories, look for lessons - obvious and simple Aesop's fable-type morals. But stories are not preachments, didacticisms. They are moral, but they are not morals. [...] What they are is music, song, dance." Harold Scheub, preface to The Poem in the Story: Music, Poetry, and Narrative, (Wisconsin: Univ. of Wisconsin Press, 2002), xi.

Musical narrative or narrative music is by no means a new idea, the two art forms having been interdependent since the early days of mankind, from the rhapsodes of Ancient Greece, the minstrels of Medieval times, programmatic classical music to modern popular music such as country, rock or pop. Not to mention situations, such as opera, symphonic poems or musicals where text and music are fused together into a concrete genre of music. Journeying closer to modern times, I would also like to mention the 70s Swedish phenomenon sound-poetry or text-sound, which took this relationship even further, to where it is a literal representation of its name: "an attempt at, for a moment and partly, recreate the unity between poem and song that got lost with writing.", as Ilmar Laaban is quoted on bergmark.org as of 25th of April 2023.

Even the briefest of research into the topic will reveal an abundance of works, either scientific articles or musical compositions, that touch upon the subject. There isn't enough space to mention even a brief percentage of works in the current exposition, but I would like to name a few scientific texts to help make my case (musical and other artistic examples I will list at a later time):

1.     Gregory, A. H. "The roles of music in society: The ethnomusicological perspective". In D. J. Hargreaves & A. C. North (Eds.), The social psychology of music (1997): 123–140. Oxford University Press.

2.     Walzer, Daniel. " Digital Storytelling in Music and Audio Education: Inspiring Modern Reflective Practice with Relevant Technology". In TOPICS for Music Education Praxis, no. 3 (2016): 46 - 74. Accessed 30th of April 2023. http://topics.maydaygroup.org/2016/Walzer16.pdf

3.     Abebe, Tatek. "Storytelling through Popular Music: Social Memory, Reconciliation, and Intergenerational Healing in Oromia/Ethiopia". In Humanities 10, no2 (2021): 2 - 20. Accessed 20th of April. https://doi.org/10.3390/h10020070

4.     Appleton, Jon. "Musical Storytelling". In Contemporary Music Review, vol. 15, part 1 (1996): 67-71. Accessed 3rd of March 2023. DOI: 10.1080/07494469608629689

5.     Maus, Fred Everett. “Music As Narrative.” Indiana Theory Review 12 (1991): 1–34. Accessed 2nd of May 2023. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24045349.

6.     Scheub, Harold. "The Poem in the Story: Music, Poetry, and Narrative". Wisconsin: Univ. of Wisconsin Press, 2002.

Before we dive deeper into musical storytelling and my perspectives on the matter, I believe it is important to first provide a definition for the noun that refers to telling a story. According to the National Storytelling Network (a USA based organization whose mission is to promote "all forms of storytelling in the community"), storytelling is "the interactive art of using words and actions to reveal the elements and images of a story while encouraging the listener’s imagination". Looking further into their description of what is storytelling, one will notice the presence of familiar terms, ones that you will encounter throughout my presentation in a musical context. As such, according to the cited source, "storytelling is interactive, [in the sense that] it involves a two-way interaction between a storyteller and one or more listeners. The responses of the listeners influence the telling of the story. In fact, storytelling emerges from the interaction and cooperative, coordinated efforts of teller and audience.[...] At its best, storytelling can directly and tightly connect the teller and audience." Its interactive nature, as it is presented on the website, is particularly interesting to my research subject since it speaks directly to my secondary aim for this project, which is communicating with an audience. They go on to express that "storytelling uses words", but then clarify by saying that their meaning refers to language, which I will go on to explain in detail a bit further down in this text but I will briefly mention the obvious connection with music, which is due to the fact that we refer to stylistic particularities of a certain piece in terms of musical language. The third characteristic of storytelling, as it is defined by the National Storytelling Network, is that it uses "actions such as vocalization, physical movement and/or gesture" to help facilitate the "telling of the story", that being the main purpose of storytelling, obviously, "always involves the presentation of a story—a narrative. Many other art forms also present story, but storytelling presents it with the other four components."  To make a quick parallel to my art and understanding of the term, by exploring the pages of this exposition, you will find that I have always concerned myself with audience interaction, vocalization, physical movement and staging, as well as efficiently using language in order to clearly convey my message. As an ending, the website mentions that the "storytelling listener’s role is to actively create the vivid, multi-sensory images, actions, characters, and events—the reality—of the story in his or her mind, based on the performance by the teller and on the listener’s own past experiences, beliefs, and understandings. The completed story happens in the mind of the listener, a unique and personalized individual. The listener becomes, therefore, a co-creator of the story as experienced."["What is storytelling". National Storytelling Network. Accessed on the 1st of May 2023. https://storynet.org/what-is-storytelling/]

Upon conversing with specialists in the field of ethnomusicology, it has become apparent, or for lack of a better word, underlined, that traditional music, regardless of geographic positioning, is highly dependent on narratology, song being one of the most common ways of passing on information between generations. I will not delve deeper into this topic, since there are much more qualified people than myself who have, but I must briefly mention ritual music (in this case, Romanian ritual music), which, even if it does not use words or text, is in itself a means of conveying a very strong message. As you will be able to hear in the interview that I conducted with ethnomusicologist Andra Pătraș, Romanian traditional music is split into two categories: occasional (ritual) music and non-occasional music. Occasional music, as the name suggests, is intended for specific times of the year and is tied to either personal events (weddings, funerals, baptisms, being drafted in the military) or seasonal events (Christmas, Easter, agricultural holidays). While in most cases Romanian ritual music does use words, in some cases, such as funeral rites, the emotion is conveyed through a series of vocalizations that suggest deep sorrow and emotional distress. You will be able to hear a version of this type of singing, for instance, in my composition "Odă cesiului și celor de pe urmă".

Furthermore, there is, of course, the issue of linguistics, as it applies to music. We speak about musical language when analysing a piece and use concepts such as phrasing and syntax, we speak about flow and rhythm, we translate expression and emotion and talk about the narrative, descriptive aspects, form, structure, consonance and dissonance. All these terms are extremely familiar to us from the many reports we had to write on lyrical texts for literature and language classes in middle school. In the words of Burton Raffel, "Both music and poetry are, in a sense, languages within languages." Burton Raffel, “Music, Poetry, and Translation.” The Antioch Review, vol. 24, no. 4 (1964): 453, accessed 20 January, 2023. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/4610629.

With the technological evolution and means available to us, a fascination with stories and folktales can be observed across streaming platforms in the form of art, audio books, films and tv series, but also music and sound art installations. I think we can all agree that there has been a recent (by that I mean in the past 20 years or so) increase in films, games and TV series that tell their version of folk tales or reinterpretation of folk tales such as The Lord of the Rings series (based loosely on Norse mythology), Harry Potter (inspired by British tales and events) or the Witcher (which derives inspiration from Polish folk tales), not to mention the many versions of Brothers Grimm, Snow White, Red Riding Hood or Cinderella. Furthermore, looking at the Broadway or West End scheduling, we read titles such as Phantom of The Opera, The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Into the Woods, Les Miserables or Wicked, all drawing upon stories that we have heard as children. Of course, classical music is filled with such examples, from historical works such as Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade, Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, The Nutcracker or Romeo and Juliet, the former being also set to music by Prokofiev, Bizet's Carmen and so on, to more recent pieces such as Ian Clarke's Mad Hatter, Unsuk Chin's Alice, Louise Alenius's Manualen; not to mention the movie scores that became equally as famous as the films they were created for, such as John Williams's Harry Potter, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Fiddler on the Roof and Jaws or Hans Zimmer's Gladiator, Pearl Harbour or The Da Vinci Code. When it comes to art, Ferren Gibson gives a beautiful overview of "The magic of fairy tales in art" in his "Art Matters" podcast which can be found here, accompanied by visual representations of the works mentioned. Another beautiful collection of works that are inspired by fairy tales, though from a different perspective, that of the darkness lying beneath the surface and the, sometimes, gruesome subtext of popular children's story, can be found under Narrated By Contemporary Art:
The Darkness Of The Fairytale Reimagined, an article in Artland Magazine that can be read at the following link. Upon researching contemporary artists and art installations, I stumbled upon two visual artists that I have found particularly inspiring in their take on storytelling: either a way of expressing their emotions, as is the case of Jee Young Lee's Stage of Mind , or a social commentary tool, in Aung Myat Htay's Folk Tales: Once upon a time there was a country, Myanmar.

In this day and age, when digital nomadism and work migration is a fact of life, particularly among artists, another reason for people rediscovering childhood stories is their need to recommune with their roots. I had a number of fascinating conversations with musicians who have had a similar professional journey as mine, which are the basis for a socio-musicological exploration that I hope to translate into an article in the near future. Shortly, the artists in question have all benefitted from a strict classical training and, later in their career, moved on to improvisation and composition as a way of enjoying musical freedom. At the same time, as is in general the case with musicians, all of them moved around from country to country, first as a way of working with the best teachers and then following job opportunities. Perhaps it is not surprising, but an interesting phenomenon nonetheless, that all the people in question, myself included, began looking to their native countries, mother tongues or folklore for inspiration, and have since dedicated the entirety of their artistic practice to promoting the songs of their ancestors.

Once upon a time .... there was a little girl who wanted to play the flute

All fairytales start like this, mine being no exception. As with any good story, this one tells of a journey of self-discovery, with its ups and downs, challenges and rewards, magical mentors and wonderful friends met along the way.

There was a time, in what now seems like the very distant past, when music was a beautiful game to me; I would make up songs and perform them for my family and my kindergarten friends and spent my days discovering melodies on the 1 octave keyboard that I got as a gift from Santa Claus. There was nothing serious or scary about this, no anxiousness or rules, just fun and games. [I promise you, dear reader, that this prologue will make sense in the "grand scheme" of this project].

When I was 11, I finally managed to convince my parents to let me transfer to the music school, where I wanted to study flute. I think it is imperative that I explain a couple of things here: first of all, in Romania, where I was born, vocational education institutions work differently than general theoretical schools, in the sense that most of the teaching hours are dedicated to music-related subjects, students only receiving a very basic general knowledge education, so this decision is a big commitment, as it will greatly limit your choices upon graduation; secondly, I was dead set on learning how to play the flute because I was a fan of the British progressive rock band Jethro Tull, singer and flautist Ian Anderson, the band's leader, being my idol. I was fascinated by what he was doing with the flute and how interesting it was to see the instrument in a different context than during my visits to the Philharmonic.

I loved playing the flute and spent hours practicing, even when I could only produce 3 tones on my instrument. And then came the rules: music theory and classical performance practices, but also curriculum requirements, exams and obligatory repertoire. Suddenly, it was no longer a game, but a competition where only the best and most diligent "make it in the industry", as I was constantly being reminded by our professors. Despite feeling more and more claustrophobic within the classical flute performance world, I kept going and followed the traditional route of studying for a Bachelor and a Master in instrumental performance at the "Gheorghe Dima" National Music Academy, while participating in competitions, teaching and playing in orchestras and chamber music ensembles. While the rehearsal room was my happy place and I did thoroughly enjoy discovering the deepest secrets of the Mozart Concertos or Bach Sonatas, I missed the time when I felt free in/with music.

In high school, being a rock/metal fan, I started playing, as a hobby, with a few local bands, whose members taught me about improvisation, typical chord progressions, but also how to bend (musical) rules. Suddenly, I felt like a child again, exploring soundscapes and electronic devices (such as pedals, loop stations, processors, etc.), letting go of expectations and anxiety about "playing the wrong note", and generally building a space for myself where both my training and my need to create could coexist. Since there aren't many flute players who have adopted this genre of music, I was soon playing with a number of European bands, either as a full member or as a guest recording artist. One such band I still work with today, Haggard, a symphonic metal band from Germany, became my main source of income and I spent the past 15 years touring the world with them.

Being passionate about artistic research, but also about the interaction of flute with electronics, I decided to pursue a PhD where I could study ways in which to fuse the two genres that were currently occupying my time: classical and rock/electronic music. Since I was accepted at the performing doctorate program, I was expected to perform music written by other people, my contribution to the field being repertoire analysis, performative reflections and pedagogical implications. I spent the 5 years of doctoral studies collaborating with composers who wrote pieces for me based upon the examples of my artistic practice that I provided them and the electronic equipment I had sourced and found a way to use on the flute (such as a distortion pedal that I designed and built myself).

The reason for this long introduction is to underline why I chose to apply for the NoCoM program and what I aimed to achieve during my Master studies at the Academy of Music and Drama in Gothenburg. I wanted a space that was only mine. A space where I could create what I wanted with the tools at my disposal, play the music I felt like and, generally, a place where I could find my own voice. I came in thinking that I would focus on composing electronic music and curating performances with flute and live electronics, but that thoroughly changed once I started working with some of myamazing colleagues and realized that what I really wanted to do was tell stories! I wanted my music to mean something to the audience and to the people performing it, since it is an honest part of myself that I am offering up. As such, while I still used electronic means in my works, it became a tool rather than a purpose in itself.

The first time I sat down to compose something, without any expectations or guidelines or even deadlines, I was flooded by memories of stories that I heard as a child, and once that door was open, it would not close again. I believe that I have so many tales to tell, the only problem being choosing which ones to work with next.

The girl knew there would be rewards at the end and she could almost see where the path ahead would lead...but that did not make the journey any less arduous...

When I first applied for this education, I thought my goal was to create music for flute and electronics, however, the more I worked on developing my craft and the more I played with others, the clearer it got that there were other things in my soul that needed to surface. Electronics are still part of my artistic practice but they are a means to an end rather than the purpose itself.

The aim of this artistic research has shifted and refocused during my time at the Academy towards something more profound and abstract. I realized that my goal with this project is to hone any existing skills and develop new ones towards achieving a better level of communication with the audience and settling within my newly established role as a/the storyteller. Thus, the present work will focus on answering the main and secondary research questions, as found in the original Plan/Mind Map: 

• Main Question:

How do I use the musical tools available to me (previous knowledge, education and experience with different types of music - classical, rock, electronic) in order to facilitate storytelling through music and communication with an audience?

• Secondary Questions:

1. What do the sounds that I create on the flute express to me and how do they fit within the atmosphere I am trying to create?
2. How much should I rely on text or other sources of inspiration?
3. How can I communicate my intentions clearly and effectively?
4. Why do I choose specific instrumentation and what does it mean in the context of my work?
5. Do my electronic music and video production skills serve the performative outcomes and if so, how?
6. How important is staging in the context of storytelling?

Besides the obvious expected results, such as compositions, performances and recordings, all the information accumulated during this research period provided a glossary of words, sounds, themes, ideas, scores, methods and/or means of musical expression that will inform future theoretical and artistic productions. Furthermore, the artistic relationships formed during my study time will, hopefully, result into fruitful future collaborations.  

On her long and harrowing journey, she fashioned new tools necessary to her advancement; when those were not enough, she met people who helped her along the way...

Given that we are talking about practice-based research, its aim being to create new artistic content and perform it for an audience (research through performance), the methods employed are borrowed from the field of artistic research and tweaked to fit the requirements of my own musical goals.

In simple words, my focus has been on conceptualizing new material, composing music, rehearsing it with other musicians, performing it for people, analyzing the feedback received from all parties involved (mentors, colleagues, audience) and inputting this new information into subsequent projects.

As is the case with any discovery endeavor, one may not start the process without knowing what they are looking for and hope to achieve. Thus, one of the main focuses of my activities has been collecting information (what you would call literature review or data collection in other fields of study) regarding both inspiration sources but also historical and musicological context. In this sense I spent a lot of time reading old Romanian folklore, listening to traditional music and going through ethnomusicological works describing musical language particularities. Furthermore, I looked for artists who employed different methods of storytelling, not specifically musicians, and tried to identify the most effective means in communicating a narrative (contextualization).

Once I had decided to question how to make use of the artistic tools at my disposal in order to tell stories and to better communicate my own emotional input to an audience, it was a matter of assimilating the gathered information and experimenting. Trying different ideas can take many forms, from short improvisational tasks in the rehearsal room based upon flute and vocal techniques, to jam sessions with other musicians (collaboration), discussions with fellow composers and musicologists but also playing around with themes, characters, atmospheres, genres, soundscapes and musical citations.

After a period of theoretical and practical trial and error (reflexivity), certain musical ideas and concepts began to emerge and eventually developed into compositions and performance art pieces. Due to the nature of my artistic enquiry, it has become apparent that the kinds of stories I want to tell better lend themselves to a full conceptual concert where everything is interconnected, it has a beginning and an end, similar to a theater play, the performance needing to be experienced as a whole.

As concrete works began to take shape and performances were on their way, the next necessary steps in the process involved content and interpretative analysis, specifically, investigating the resulting musical products from both a theoretical perspective (musical language: melodic, harmonic, rhythmic and performative considerations) and external perception. Since one of my main goals is to better communicate my ideas to an audience, it was important to receive feedback from the people who experienced my works in the form of short interviews where the questions revolved around meaning and their interpretation of what had just occurred.