Between Fidelity and Invention: The Performer as Transcriber
In music-making, the practice of transcription is ubiquitous and brings tremendous possibilities. However, preconceptions that govern, or at least influence, our relationship to music problematize transcription because societal values of originality and ownership focus attention on musical works, and on fidelity to them. Drawing from reader-response theory as developed from literature, I propose a paradigm of transcription wherein the meaning lies in musical interpretation and its relationship with the audience (analogous to the “reader”) rather than in an abstract score, reducing the emphasis on fidelity. Approaching this subject from my perspective as a performing violist, I propose that when an appropriate balance of fidelity and invention in relation to the original is achieved, transcription is an invaluable tool of interpretation and a meaningful way to engage with and share music. I explore and highlight various aspects of transcription’s creative possibilities through investigating transcription in general, studying transcriptions of others, and discussing my own transcriptions. In this document, I present ten original transcriptions that demonstrate how both the act of and the results of transcription offers various possibilities for the piece, for the performer, and for audiences. This artistic work includes two transcriptions-of-transcriptions; three romantic-period sonata; four transcriptions from unexpected sources, including from electronic music, from performance, from aural tradition, and from painting; and a complete transcription of the 24 Preludes of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier Book 1 to violin and viola. These transcriptions highlighted the benefits of increased intimacy with a piece for performance, deepened my understanding of the creative value of collaboration, offered technical contributions such as novel techniques on the viola, and provided more academic contributions such as specificity of tuning. Throughout, the proximity of transcription to other musical processes including performance, composition and improvisation is evident, demonstrating that transcription can dissolve boundaries among artistic disciplines, and promote creativity in approaching the music we play.
Roxanne Dykstra
Viola
Roxanne Dykstra earned the highest performance diploma in piano at the Royal Conservatory of Music (Canada) and a Masters of viola performance at the Université de Montréal. She studied chamber music at the Conservatorio di Milano and earned the Prix de Master (viola) at the Conservatoire National Supérieur of Lyon. In Roxanne's work as solo, chamber and orchestral violist, she performed regularly across Canada and Europe, occasionally to Australia, Russia and Turkey, including in positions with the National Opera of Portugal's Portuguese Symphony Orchestra, the Prince George Symphony, and Divino Sospiro Baroque Orchestra. Roxanne is now a tenured member of the Vancouver Opera Orchestra where she continues work as chamber musician.
Over her 20-year career as performer, teacher and director, Roxanne has focussed on exploring musical engagement as a means to promote meaningful interactions, strength of communities, and social justice. She founded and directs the Orchestra North Summer Program, a project unprecedented in Canada for its rural focus and demographic reach, and artistic director of the Spirit of the North Classical Music Festival, which explores the artistic and musical expression of the Canadian public.
As a doctoral student, Roxanne is interested in transcription and the opportunities it presents for the performing artist. From 2018-2020, Roxanne was employed by the KUG doctoral school of Artistic Research as assistant to the doctoral school assistant and its research, and was co-founder and coordinator of the inaugural 2019 SONify! festival, which showcases the artistic quality of the research happening at the KUG. Several of her doctoral projects, ‘UnTempering the Well-Tempered Clavier’ and ‘Variations on a Line’ have received critical acclaim and multiple performances in Canada.