Output details

Danel, Marc. Malone: Opus opera. Prima facie PFCD015 [2012].

Opus opera was commissioned by Quatuor Danel to investigate how the discipline of theatre -- especially opera -- could engage with the discipline of the concert platform string quartet. In particular, the main points of research became balancing the needs between characterisation within the four players with an unspecified, imagined narrative while avoiding a purely concert-level string quartet drama/narrative. The composer spent hundreds of hours of listening, workshopping and talking with the Quatuor since its appointment, noting their particular interests and characteristics, and consequently designed psychological and emotional musical territories which came to form "scenes". The collaboration resulted in each Act having its own sense of expression: Act I - speaking voices (shouting, pleading, arguing); Act II - physicality (skirmishes, battles); Act III - singing (laments, drunken songs, arietta duets). For example, in Act II, the physicality of Zappa-esque fast-paced asymmetrical cellular structures and composed-through improvisations was a result of discussions with Vlad Bogdanas who is an active rock bass guitarist as well as the violist. The Quatuor explored additional colours and nuances to clarify counterpoint and characterisation. The music “speaks” as much as actors speak, and it is intended that the musicians also point at acting, but never attempt to perform staged action; hence, the entr'actes were devised. Each entr'acte has the concert hall lights come up, doors open, musicians putting their instruments down while pre-recorded music with no live physical production offers a contrast to -- and anticipation for -- the moment the instruments are picked up again for live music-making. In lieu of an overt narrative, single-word titles embossed on each scene work best: easy to translate and yet leaving much to the imagination. This output is duplicate to the one submitted by Malone. Here it is assessed as performance research.