I used this transformation as the main harmonic material to compose the Overture and the four Mélodrame sections5 of the opera The Flowering Desert. These showcase the point of view of the Measurer, a character that represents a scientist witnessing the discovery of TRAPPIST-1. With this decision I wanted to embed an important feature of the system for the scientific community (its harmonicity) to the character and the sections that represents them and the process of the discovery.
II - How can interdisciplinary collaboration with science-based disciplines develop composition strategies and techniques for creating new music theatre?
Composition strategies for the creation of science-based interdisciplinary and collaborative music-theatre
EXAMPLE #1 – Score follower video
The Flowering Desert - Mélodrame 1: Bars 37-53.
Use of harmonic material generated with orbital period ratios (marked in blue colour in the score). Chord B-H (transposed).
EXAMPLE #2 – Score follower video
The Flowering Desert - Mélodrame 4: Bars 54-66.
Use of harmonic material generated with orbital period ratios (marked in blue colour in the score). Chord H-B (transposed).
In this chapter I will present a series of key strategies and techniques derived from interdisciplinary collaboration used in the composition of the four works included in the portfolio. I divided this chapter in two main strategic approaches: the integration of data and the representation of ideas.
1. Integration of data
A direct manner to engage with science-based disciplines is to work with data derived from research. This data, be quantitative (expressed in numerical form) or qualitative (expressed non-numerically), can be used to inform composition decisions in dialogue with the other practices involved in the creation of a music-theatre work. By using data these composition decisions would be closely linked to a subject matter, instead of being solely dependent on the musical taste of the composer.
1.1 Quantitative or numerical data
The use of scientific numerical data in music composition is a practice present in much music nowadays. One example is the numerous sonification1 projects to represent sonically black holes or gravitational waves, many of them used in the context of sci-art or science dissemination. This is possible thanks to the mathematical nature of music, which allows to transform numerical data easily into musical parameters such as frequencies or patterns of rhythm.
In the music-theatre context we can see the use of quantitative data, for example, in Jennifer Walshe’s opera Time, Time, Time (2020), in which live data from the audience, measuring the entropy level in the room, informs performance decisions. Or also in Michael Wolters’ radio opera Kathryn und Peter durchqueren die Antarktis (2004), which features his Antarctica Duet (2003), a work for two recorders informed by “a cross-section diagram of Antarctica” that follows the ice and bedrock lines “in eight tone steps” (Wolters, 2003).
In this practice research portfolio’s compositions I engaged with the quantitative data mainly in two manners: the transformation of numerical data into musical parameters, and the embodiment of data.
1.1.1 Transformation of numerical data into musical parameters
I explored this strategy in the two pieces that engage with the discovery of the planetary system TRAPPIST-1: the chamber opera for planetariums The Flowering Desert, and the music-theatre piece for flute and electronics TRAPPIST-1. I worked in collaboration with one of the leading experts in the topic, Dr. Amaury Triaud, who described this system to me as “really musical by its physical parameters”2. With his guidance through the data and the process of the discovery, I developed different transformations of the most relevant data into musical parameters to generate blocks of musical material to be used in the composition of these two pieces.
1.1.1.1 Harmonic material
I generated harmonic material using mainly two different sets of data: the orbital period ratios and the distance of the planets to the star. A general idea from the beginning of composition of these two pieces was to engage with the concept of “music of the spheres”3, aiming to create a harmonic sound-world unique to the TRAPPIST-1 system.
1.1.1.1.1 Orbital period ratios
One of the most striking features of the planetary system TRAPPIST-1 is its harmonicity. The orbital periods of the seven planets are locked in a chain of resonances. This means that the relation of the orbits between neighbouring planets can be expressed as simple ratios. For example, while planet H rotates twice around the star, planet G rotates three times. These ratios can be expressed musically as intervals as follows:
With this transformation4 I generated two chords: one built using the series from the planet B to H, and the second from the planet H to B:
List of contents
- Cover Page
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 How can interdisciplinary collaboration with science-based disciplines develop composition strategies and techniques for creating new music theatre?
- Chapter 2 How can you communicate a subject matter on many compositional levels on a piece of music theatre?
- Conclusion
- Appendices
- Bibliography / Discography
- References
3 The “music of the spheres” is a philosophical concept that relates the movement of the celestial bodies with music. This idea, from a Pithagorean origin, was later developed by Johannes Kepler in his work Harmonices Mundi (1619).
4 This same transformation also appears in sci-art sonification projects such as TRAPPIST Sounds, by System Sounds. Accessible here: https://www.system-sounds.com/trappist-sounds/ [last accessed 1 Sep. 2023]