Composition strategies for the creation of science-based interdisciplinary and collaborative music-theatre

Daniel Blanco Albert

The practice-based PhD research project comprises the development and application of composition strategies and techniques generated through interdisciplinary collaboration to integrate elements and ideas from non-sonic disciplines into the musical discourse of new music-theatre works, specifically opera. I explore mechanisms of mapping and association that engage with both the specific subject matter of each piece and the creative collaborative environment in which they are created, thus generating different compositional resources that I use to inform the creative process. By using mapping techniques, I can deeply engage and communicate a subject matter on different levels in the musical composition. The framework for this research is the intertwining of art and science on a variety of levels from a music compositional perspective. Within this framework, I explored the integration of knowledge and data from the natural and social sciences to inform the composition of four science-based music-theatre works: In response to Naum Gabo: Linear Construction in Space No. 1 (2020), Autohoodening: The Rise of Captain Swing (2021), The Flowering Desert (2022), and TRAPPIST-1 (2023). With this approach, I aim to closely link these works with their particular subject matter instead of being composed based just on my personal musical taste. By consistently and cohesively applying the strategies and techniques explored in this research, the outcome is not creating music about science or music inspired by science, but, instead, music embedded with science in which the scientific data and knowledge inform the composition decisions. The subject matter is therefore intertwined within the musical discourse, its performativity and theatricality, and its relationship with the other disciplines and collaborators involved in the creation of these music-theatre works.

This transformation showcases the system more directly than with the orbital period ratios, as the distance between planets can be easily associated with the distance between pitches (rather than with a concept such as the harmonic relation between orbits). I took the distance in km from each planet to the star[6] and used these numbers as frequencies, adapting them to the human audible register, resulting in the following pitches[7]:

In TRAPPIST-1 (for flautist and electronics), this transformation becomes the main harmonic material for the electronics part (representing the planetary system), exploring its microtonality and how the different pitches (each representing a planet of the system) interact between them (Example #3).

In The Flowering Desert, this transformation is used as the harmonic material for the moments that focus on the Mother Star. This character (sung by a chorus) represents the Star as the entity governing the planetary system. In this case, I adjusted the pitches to their nearest semitone to facilitate its performance[8] (Example #4).

With the distance between planets as a data source, we can also generate a 7-note musical scale (one note per planet) if we encapsulate the planetary system into an octave. Several transformations are possible, depending on the parameters you decide to play with. For example, a TRAPPIST-1 science dissemination article from the Spitzer Space Telescope assigns one note to each planet using a diatonic scale[9]. For both The Flowering Desert and TRAPPIST-1, I used the star as the first note of a chromatic scale (C) and planet H as the last note (B for an ascending scale, or C# for a descending scale). Within that frame, I calculated the other notes, which correspond approximately to the distance between planets.

In the case of The Flowering Desert, I approximated the result to the nearest semitone, creating the following scale and its inversion:

In TRAPPIST-1, due to its focus on microtonality, I approximated the results of the same transformation to cents:

In both works, the resultant scales and chords are not necessarily fixed[10] and can be transposed using any other pitch as the fundamental note. For example, in TRAPPIST-1, I transposed the scales presented in Figure 4 to have D+32 cents[11] as the note representing the star (Example #5). This transposition is used by the flautist during the piece to represent the scientist in relation to the planetary system (discussed further in 3.1.1.2 TRAPPIST-1). In The Flowering Desert, the harmonic material based on orbital ratios (Figure 1) appears transposed in different moments to structure the Mélodrame sections (Figure 6)[12].

Table 2

Figure 2

Distance from the planets to the star

Example #5

Melodic use of the musical scale generated with distances (Figure 5) in TRAPPIST-1.

Example #3

Use of the harmonic material generated with the distance from the planets to the star (Table 2) in the electronics part of TRAPPIST-1.

Example #4

Use of the harmonic material generated with the distance from the planets to the star (Figure 2) in The Flowering Desert (marked in blue in the score).

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