23 November 2012
A unique performance of part of a lost Monteverdi opera dating back to 1608 and an analysis of video game music are among the highlights of a music research colloquium being hosted by the University of South Australia’s Hawke Research Institute in December.
The inaugural Colloquium is aimed at presenting the latest research into performativity (expressive action) in music and will include a varied range of presentations by leading Australians performers and academics.
From research involving re-creating early opera, vocal music to music criticism, and even an investigation into the art of teaching Persian classical music via Skype, the event will consider how performativity can provide new insights into music conception, production and reception.
Event organiser and presenter, Dr Daniela Kaleva, says the way music is performed has significantly influenced the way music is studied in recent decades.
“Music performance research brings to the forefront the dynamic processes of music creativity and the significant power of both performer and audience in these processes,” she says.
“This approach is especially potent in the study of theatrical genres such as opera where the visual aspects have a crucial part to play.
“Through the use of collaborative environments including Skype, or interactive environments such as video games where the music that is played depends on the actions of the individual game player, it is evident just how dynamic the relation between audience and creator can be.”
The Colloquium boasts of a staged world premiere of Monteverdi’s ‘Lamento d’Arianna’ re-created with period gesture and costume in an extended version with three more verses, as found in two of the surviving manuscripts discovered in 1999.
“The purpose of gesture is to endow the chosen words with visual clues so that an audience can be persuaded of the ideas and emotions that these words aim to transmit,” Dr Kaleva says.
“The famous lament of Ariadne after Theseus abandons her on the island of Naxos is packed with intense emotions which come to life through the gestures, facial expressions and body movements that have been neglected in recent mainly recorded and concertized performances.”
A filmed performance of the recording is expected to be published online in 2013, and the journal Musicology Australia is expected to feature highlights of the Colloquium in 2014.
Performative Voices: Multidisciplinary Approaches to Music Research will take place on December 1-2.
Contact: Daniele Kaleva office (08) 8302 4521 Mob 04310 28363 email daniela.kaleva@unisa.edu.au
Media contact: Will Venn office 8302 0965 email Will.Venn@unisa.edu.au
