Today I was glad to read that my application to present a paper during a conference in Birmingham in January 2014 was accepted. To write a maximum of 200 words for the application was a good exercise to be as specific as possible and sharpen the thoughts. Therefore I put the text as I sent it in this blog post:
Re-vitalizing
a performance practise of the eighteenth and nineteenth century
through contemporary improvisation
Willem
Tanke
Mainly
known for his CD recordings of the complete organ works by Messiaen,
Tanke investigates new ways of improvisation, using his expertise in
playing with musicians from other traditions. He carries out a
doctoral artistic research called Combining
the avant-garde and the historical in improvisation, composition and
interpretation at
Leiden
University.
Can
a certain performance practice of the eighteenth and nineteenth
century, in which improvisation, composition and interpretation were
fully integrated, be re-vitalized in a contemporary context? The
research aims at restoring improvisation as a missing link between
composition and interpretation in contemporary performance practices.
With
the help of analysis and the following video, a passage from
Messiaen's Livre
du Saint Sacrement will
serve
as
a starting-point for improvisation:
A
parallel will be drawn with an eighteenth century harpsichordist, who
takes a passage from a piece by Scarlatti as as a basis for
improvisation. Accordingly, it will be suggested that a contemporary
flutist improvises on a fragment from a score by Isang Yun.
Consequently, the research may generate new insights into
improvisation and interpretation and provide new possibilities for
performances.
(end of application)
Hopefully the discussion that follows after presenting the paper will provide me with the opportunity to comment on the subtitle of the piece: "When Olivier Messiaen meets James Brown", as I feel a connection between griot's story-telling/Afro-American music and Messiaen's bird song licks.
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