Chapter 2 - 'Librettising' Astrophysics to create The Flowering Desert
2.1 Introduction
2.4.c The Measurer
In this work one of the two timelines is entirely dedicated to the voice and thoughts of The Measurer, or the astrophysicist. For this element I focused largely on the conversation Daniel and I had with Dr Amaury Triaud in January 2020, before we began work on the whole piece. One key theme that emerged from this discussion, and researching the practice of astrophysics before and after the discovery of TRAPPIST-1, was the conscious shift away from thinking about the universe in anthropocentric terms. The discovery of this system encouraged astrophysicists to interrogate the development and structure of planetary systems different to that of our solar system, and to imagine worlds that might exist with a very different kind of physics guiding them. Dr Amaury Triaud was particularly excited about this change in perspective in our search for life. Throughout the mélodrames and overture the Measurer makes frequent references to vision and eyes. This was to highlight the change in perception across the piece, alongside referencing the tools we use to observe exoplanetary systems.
Another element I was keen to explore in these sections was the spoken voice of a narrator as a result of the production of Entanglement! An Entropic Tale8 in Leicester 2019 with an added narrator (see appendix AP 3.1). I learnt from this production that including a narrator-type figure helps to break the barrier between the audience and the physics even further. It can put them at ease with their fears or prejudices around the subject matter, providing an ally through which to experience the world of physics. After learning more about historical trends in writing libretti, I decided to make use of the French concept of mélodrames to develop this use of the narrator. Mélodrame itself (as opposed to the Victorian style of ‘melodrama’) has been defined by Anne Dhu McLucas as:
The technique of using short passages of music in alternation with or accompanying the spoken word to heighten its dramatic effect, often found within opera, or as an independent genre, or as a sporadic effect in spoken drama. (1992: online)
In particular this would be the added voice of the Measurer (the only directly human character in this work). It would be a mostly descriptive voice: the drama in this narrative coming through the dramatically shifting mindset as the Measurer moves between opposing thoughts towards a mindset that is transformed through experiencing the discovery of the TRAPPIST-1 system. I decided to name the sections of this narrative the mélodrames to provide the composer with a clear direction towards a different type of vocal and dramatic sound world.
Mélodrames were most commonly used in French theatre in the nineteenth century and subsequently became notably enhanced and adapted towards a sprechgesang by composers such as Berg and Schoenberg in Wozzeck and the cycle Pierrot Lunaire. As you can see in the final work the direction of vocal style was blended and extended beyond the purely operatic or spoken voice, to make better use of the technical potential of the planetarium, and also represent the text as an internal dialogue based on thoughts rather than recited language. Mélodrame is used in this sense in its formal and structural capacity, and less as a tool towards the melodrama. It is distinctly different from the operatic voices of the anthropomorphised elements of the TRAPPIST-1 system, yet not fully spoken. The half-whispered sound aims to bring the audience into the mind of the Measurer, to experience their fleeting thoughts, the subconscious and personal world, rather than the outward persona of the character. The vocal character for the Measurer was developed through an exchange of recordings between myself and Daniel, with freedom then being given to Daniel to refine the exact use of the different vocal techniques at certain points in the script.
Readings around Hindu mythology also played a key role in my archetypal exploration of this character, in particular Prajapati, whose origin has been interpreted as a Thought and as Form. These gods provide a deep connection between thought and creation, showing that this is an archetypal association. The name Prajapati was initially applied to many gods associated with creation. Later it was used to signify one deity. The collective deities given the title Prajapati are the “mind born” children of Brahma (Graves & Guirand, 1968).9
If we look at the Measurer through the lens of these gods, we can see that their subconscious thought, which has been embodied in the timeline of the TRAPPIST-1 system and the creation of the characters of Pantele, Xoe and the Mother Star, has undergone the kind of anthropomorphic process referred to by Latour, where not only has the subject been converted into human but the subject itself has also converted the human into its form (2009). The Measurer’s subconscious holds clues to the possible reality of the TRAPPIST-1 system and the discovery of the TRAPPIST-1 system changes the mindset of the Measurer. The Measurer is a conduit between the TRAPPIST-1 system, the scientific research around its discovery, and the audience. Through the Measurer’s thoughts the audience is also shaped by the existence of the TRAPPIST-1 system, just as our projected human grounded presumptions shape it in our minds.
2.4.c.ii Reflections and Response to Performance and Feedback
In respect to the Measurer and the mélodrames, our main feedback after the first performances from the audience, Alexander Kaniewski and Leon Trimble, was that the projections for the overture did not work, it was hard to understand what was being said sometimes, and the projections created for the mélodrames in the second cycle were a bit repetitive (See appendix AP 1.5.d for further details).
In our recreation of the overture, we decided to present the visual motifs of all the characters in the system, alongside their dictated poems. The Mother Star would be generated using the text from the first libretto that had not made it into the final score. Xoe had been represented using various tools in the previous production and for this one we decided to focus on just using the animation I had created, but playing with it through Leon’s synthesiser to develop and present it in various forms throughout the work. We also decided to develop the image of Pantele by including the video of the desert that Tadas had taken in the first cycle as a textural layer for the surface of the planet. All of this served to deeply enhance the projections for the overture, and the rest of the piece, giving them a more cohesive progression during the opera. We also developed the projections in the Mélodrames.
Initially the Mélodrames projections had been very sparse, allowing the audience to focus on the music; however, with the lack of subtitling this probably became tiresome as they would have been aware they were missing out on some key elements of the story due to the vocal techniques used for the Measurer. Therefore, we added subtitles which worked well as these sections are performed to a click track. We also updated the projections to better reflect the mood of the Measurer in each moment.
2.4.c.i The Arc of the Measure
The Measurer’s journey was designed by the semiotic square10 above, to take them through a series of nuanced ponderings which begin with an anthropocentric tendency which is highly negative in the way it views the importance of the TRAPPIST-1 system. The voice here veers between a gentler whisper to a pompous sprechgesang, as the arrogance of this positionality is portrayed through performance. This can be seen in this excerpt from the libretto in the overture: Please go to timecode 00:07:10 (first half) to view the Overture (below p. 1, lines 14-20).
It is
Nothing like our sun.
Turbulent and destructive enough
To create an active world - the desierto florido I lie on.
A red dwarf could never make a world like ours.
There is little hope for life.
The next Mélodrame (1) sees the Measurer begin to lose faith in the importance and meaning of life on Earth. This is the negative, anti-biocentric, state. They begin with their eyes closed, not even acknowledging their environment and mentioning the material non-natural objects around them. As they breathe in they open their eyes in a kind of frustrated nihilism and despondency. Please go to timecode 00:21:45 (first half) to view this Mélodrame (below p. 4-5 lines 93-100).
My eyes now closed
Covered by an atacameñan blanket
. . .
do we search for life at all?
Is that all the universe is there for?
Then, as the Measurer becomes aware that there is an excitement and activity coming from the observatory, they start to feel more optimistic about TRAPPIST-1. They lose the anthropocentrism of their first statements, as they begin to focus on the beauty of the flowers and the earth around them. In acknowledging the beauty of the flora and landscape the Measurer is pulled out of their anti-biocentric state to a merely anti-anthropocentric one. The very earth and ground itself is able to remind the Measurer that the search for life is not so futile. We decided to embed this idea in the projections by having a representation of the earth throughout this mélodrame. Please go to 00:00:00 (second half) to view this Mélodrame (below p. 7, lines 157-159).
This desert smells nostalgic.
Millennia of worlds who stood here before.
We humans are small - the flowers showed me that.
The following Mélodrame (3) is part of the journey to complete the arc of the Measurer but does not directly reference any of the anthropocentric or biocentric ideas. It is about the moment of discovery of the TRAPPIST-1a system. All the planets were not discovered in one reading, as suggested by the libretto; however, it provides the audience with more information and greater drama to describe the whole system at this point. Later with Daniel we decided to add in extra lines where the Measurer sings the names of the three planets which were discovered in this initial reading (c, e and f). The Measurer also mentions blinking in Mélodrame 3 which leads directly into the start of Mélodrame 4, despite the scene which occurs in between. Please go to timecode 00:16:20 (second half) to view this Mélodrame (below p. 9, lines 211-213).
Transits
I don’t dare to blink
A system and planets b to g
In mélodrame 4 we pick up at the moment we had left the Measurer, transitioning to a viewpoint which is biocentric, positive about life and positive about TRAPPIST-1. In the blink they realise the potential for life and the importance of the discovery. They see the story that the audience has also experienced unfolding before their eyes in the parallel timeline. At this point the Measurer represents the whole self, and the TRAPPIST-1 system in the story represents the different parts of the Measurer’s self which are then able to contextualise the importance of this discovery.Please go to timecode 0:31:30 (second half) view this Mélodrame (below p. 11, lines 248-254).
Through smarting eyes, I have to blink
I think I’ve seen it all.
My mind has found how life could be so strange and full in other worlds.
Thank you Xoe
You reminded me - I believe
In life after all.
