Output details

"Lads in their Hundreds"

The research imperative prompting the creation of "Lads in their Hundreds" was based on the question of whether a single, large-scale coherent artistic entity could be formed from a disparate range of discrete and brief art works originally conceived as independent entities. The medium for this investigation was a staged group of songs linked only by their subject matter: war.

Several research processes were employed to test the theory that a form of coherence could indeed be achieved. These ranged in scale from the local, to the dimension of the entire work. Examples of the former included the careful organization of tonal relationships between songs – requiring the transposition of some – and the selection of cognate pieces that revealed textual links forming a temporary narrative spanning a range of songs. On a somewhat larger scale it was discovered that certain text-based themes emerged that drew together a number of songs into a group analogous to a structural section within a sonata form movement. At the largest scale, that of the entire work, thematic repetition was employed to bring a further sense of unity and return.

The processes described so far suggest that the researcher considered that coherence can be achieved only through emphasizing unifying features and common threads of thought. This is not the case, for just as in a visual collage, the deliberate juxtaposition of conflicting ideas and practices can create forward momentum – and thus continuity – from an internal dissonant dialogue rather than a smooth procession of linked ideas and images. "Lads in their Hundreds" exploits this opportunity, sometimes using technical means such as unrelated keys, and sometimes by deploying dramatic visual contrasts using lighting, costume and movement.