Output details

Sublimation

The research aspects of the composition are evidenced by this portfolio of material: A) the score; B) electronic sound cues; C) performance videos; D) libretto, by Zoë Strachan; E) programmes.

Collaboratively, Sublimation is straightforward: Strachan wrote the libretto, I composed the music, with critical discussion of dramaturgical aspects taking place throughout the process.

It was commissioned by Scottish Opera in 2009 for their series Five:15 - Operas Made in Scotland. It premiered in May 2010 at Elphinstone Hall, Aberdeen, followed by performances at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh and Òran Mór, Glasgow.

Cape Town Opera selected the work to represent Scotland in their series Five:20, inspired by Five:15, celebrating new South African operas. It was the only work chosen, running for a week at the Baxter Theatre, Cape Town, November 2010.

Five:15 aimed to engage new audiences in opera, limiting the duration of each commission to fifteen minutes. /Sublimation/'s compositional aims therefore included:

Developing a musical style suited to formal conciseness. Repetition of libretto fragments is exploited to create a 'memory loop' device; this comprises the opening material, and is restated and varied throughout (e.g. at section D, differently at F, expanded at K).

Incorporating unashamedly lyrical writing, with a harmonic scheme derived from the main melodic line. Simple intervallic extension of a core melody generates both vocal lines and harmonic fields (e.g. at A and O).

Using electronic sound to enhance dramatic/sonic 'presence'. This is exemplified at K for instance (electronic cue 5), with the addition of oppressive low frequency rumble to the high 'fluttering' sound, amplifying the Woman's distress.

Articulating clearly the opposition of materials, to facilitate perception of musical-dramatic shape within this short duration. The stark opening 'memory loop' material cuts directly to lighter material at A; a synthesis occurs through the piece, e.g. to sections L/M.