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The project „The Five Elements – Electroacoustic meets Bön“ can be regarded as typical of a common way of composing which in Europe has been known and developed for centauries. I am talking about the artistic engagement with differing compositional systems, musical languages and their cultural contexts.
In its individual focus „The Five Elements“ has its own specific characteristics, of course – the search for a possible fusion of Bön views on music and sound with methods of composing electroacoustic music.
But the framework in which it is embedded is one of the best known approaches to composing European music in general.
Evidence for this is easy to find and can be traced back through the centuries of European music history among composers from various countries. To briefly name just the most commonly known:
Bach (J.S.) dealt with Italian styles of composing. Dvořák, when he arrived in the New World, started his engagement with elements of the afroamerican music scene. Debussy waas highly aware of the compositional possibilities he found in Indonesian Gamelan music.
Though this way of composing has obviously been well known for centuries it has not lost any of its complexity. In his article „Transkulturalität als musikgeschichtliches Problem“ („transculturality as an issue of musical history“ – translation by Strothmann) Martin Jäger mentions aspects of the complex processes underlying this form of composing music. Referring to the structuralist approach of Ferdinand de Saussure he particularly points to the process of „musical translation“ from an unknown musical „parole“ to one’s own musical „langue“:
„Der Versuch einer translatio der fremden parole in die eigene musikalische langue erfolgt unmittelbar bei der Rezeption; zugleich werden kontextuelle Wahrnehmungen, nach einer Zeit der Reflexion auch soziokulturelle Parameter – ebenfalls in kultureller Übersetzung – beigeordnet. Sofern dieser Prozess zu einer Aneignung führt, setzt eine Synthese ein, die durch stetige translatio und re-translatio etwas musikalisch Neuartiges zu entwickeln vermag. Transkulturalität (vielleicht auch kulturelle Identität) in der musikhistorischen Dimension erweist sich somit auch als Produkt komplexer kultureller Übersetzungen.“[2]
There is (and probably has been) another group of composers who are not so much concerned with „translation“ as described above but who from childhood on have been socialized in two or more different cultures and musical languages. Robert von Zahn gives examples for this in his descriptions about the ensemble „Kapversaz“ [3].
Furthermore there are those who have acquired a second musical language as an adult due to migration or free will. Many of them try to integrate the new musical system with their native musical language. Since these composers are highly aware of the „langue“ underlying their newly acquired language they have to be differentiated from those who according to Jäger „translate“ their sense of the foreign parole into their own native langue.
Most importantly we should name here composers like Franghiz Ali-Zadeh [4] who had been profoundly influenced by the music of the Second Viennese School during her study years as a pianist and a composer. Since then she has been trying to merge the Viennese approach with the systematics of Azerbaijani muğam composition, thus presenting most impressive compositions like „Muğam Sayagi“ [8], written for Kronos Quartet in 1994.
Also there is Zad Moultaka [5] who as a composer and visual artist does not only work on a fusion of different musical languages but brings together different artistic disciplines as a whole.
Zad Moultaka as well as Samir Odeh-Tamimi [6] follow similar paths in respect to a possible fusion of Western Avantgarde and the musical systematics and possibilities of expression of Arabian music.
Furthermore one of those who goes the geographically opposite way is Klaus Huber who has been profoundly engaged for decades with the compositional techniques in the area of Levante [7]. Bijan Tavili is currently doing studies on the artistic research carried out by Huber throughout his life.
But actually one need not travel great distances in space or time in order to find examples of compositional works which bring along the same challenges and principal aims as they also underly the project „The Five Elements“. A major part of Western society participates in various subcultural scenes in parallel, thus considering different musical and cultural systems their home. Very often they do this independently from any personal migration background or from being grown up as a child of bicultural parents.
Last but not least interdisciplinary artistic thinking and working is another manifestation of the same compositional approach that underlies the examples given above. All constellations engage with bringing different artistic approaches, systems, and/or forms of expression together. Doing this it does not matter at all if this fusion takes place within one single composer alone or between artists. Nor does it matter if the „foreign“ exists outside the composer or can be located within.
Hence I think the engagement with what is perceived as „foreign“, the search for possibilities of bringing together different artistic languages and systems can be considered as one of the most fundamental skills of being a composer.
„The Five Elements – Electroacoustic meets Bön“ would like to contribute its part to the research and performance of this fundamental form of composing.
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[1] Jäger, Martin: „Transkulturalität als musikgeschichtliches Problem.“ In: Jacob, Andreas; Kampe, Gordon (Eds.) (2014): „Kulturelles Handeln im transkulturellen Raum. Symposiumsbericht Kulturhauptstadt RUHR 2010.“ Olms. Hildesheim, 2014.
[2] ibid. p. 178
[3] von Zahn, Robert: „Heimat und ihre Weltmusik-Imagination in NRW.“ In: Jacob, Andreas; Kampe, Gordon (Eds.) (2014): „Kulturelles Handeln im transkulturellen Raum. Symposiumsbericht Kulturhauptstadt RUHR 2010.“ Olms. Hildesheim, 2014. S. 151 ff.
[4] Homepage of Franghiz Ali-Zadeh: http://ali-sade.narod.ru/
[5] Homepage of Zad Moultaka: http://zadmoultaka.com/musique/
[6] cf. https://de.karstenwitt.com/samir-odeh-tamimi
[7] cf. Keller, Kjell (2004): „Klaus Huber und die arabische Musik. Begegnungen, Entgrenzungen, Berührungen.“ In: Dissonanz. #88. Dezember 04. sowie Kunkel, Michael (2004): „Figuren des Widerspruchs. Klaus Hubers „Zwei Sätze für sieben Blechbläser“ (1957/58). In: Dissonanz. #88. Dezember 04.
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musical examples
[8] Franghiz Ali-Zadeh (1994): „Mugam Sayagi“
My special thanks goes to Birrell Walsh for his kind support, helpful discussion, and proof-reading of the English versions of these texts.