{"id":4160,"date":"2016-12-28T14:14:31","date_gmt":"2016-12-28T13:14:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/icem-www.folkwang-uni.de\/icem-web\/?page_id=4160"},"modified":"2018-12-13T14:23:52","modified_gmt":"2018-12-13T13:23:52","slug":"the-familiar-and-the-foreign-one-of-the-basic-ways-in-composing-music","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/icem-www.folkwang-uni.de\/icem-web\/artist-in-progress\/dokumentation-electroacoustics-meets-boen-uebersicht\/projektziel\/the-familiar-and-the-foreign-one-of-the-basic-ways-in-composing-music\/","title":{"rendered":"The Familiar and the Foreign – one of the Basic Ways in Composing Music"},"content":{"rendered":"

(zur deutschen Version hier klicken<\/strong><\/a>…)<\/em><\/p>\n

The project \u201eThe Five Elements – Electroacoustic meets B\u00f6n\u201c 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.
\nIn its individual focus \u201eThe Five Elements\u201c has its own specific characteristics, of course – the search for a possible fusion of B\u00f6n views on music and sound with methods of composing electroacoustic music.
\nBut the framework in which it is embedded is one of the best known approaches to composing European music in general.<\/p>\n

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:
\nBach (J.S.) dealt with Italian styles of composing. Dvo\u0159\u00e1k, 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.<\/p>\n

Though this way of composing has obviously been well known for centuries it has not lost any of its complexity. In his article \u201eTranskulturalit\u00e4t als musikgeschichtliches Problem\u201c (\u201etransculturality as an issue of musical history\u201c – translation by Strothmann<\/em>) Martin J\u00e4ger 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 \u201emusical translation\u201c from an unknown musical \u201eparole\u201c to one\u2019s own musical \u201elangue\u201c:<\/p>\n

\u201eDer 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 \u2013 ebenfalls in kultureller \u00dcbersetzung \u2013 beigeordnet. Sofern dieser Prozess zu einer Aneignung f\u00fchrt, setzt eine Synthese ein, die durch stetige translatio und re-translatio etwas musikalisch Neuartiges zu entwickeln vermag. Transkulturalit\u00e4t (vielleicht auch kulturelle Identit\u00e4t) in der musikhistorischen Dimension erweist sich somit auch als Produkt komplexer kultureller \u00dcbersetzungen.\u201c<\/em>[2]<\/p>\n

There is (and probably has been) another group of composers who are not so much concerned with \u201etranslation\u201c 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 \u201eKapversaz\u201c [3].<\/p>\n

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 \u201elangue\u201c underlying their newly acquired language they have to be differentiated from those who according to J\u00e4ger \u201etranslate\u201c their sense of the foreign parole into their own native langue.
\nMost 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 mu\u011fam composition, thus presenting most impressive compositions like \u201eMu\u011fam Sayagi\u201c [8], written for Kronos Quartet in 1994.
\nAlso 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.
\nZad 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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 \u201eThe Five Elements\u201c. 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.<\/p>\n

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 \u201eforeign\u201c exists outside the composer or can be located within.<\/p>\n

Hence I think the engagement with what is perceived as \u201eforeign\u201c, 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.<\/p>\n

\u201eThe Five Elements – Electroacoustic meets B\u00f6n\u201c would like to contribute its part to the research and performance of this fundamental form of composing.<\/p>\n

\u2014<\/p>\n

[1] J\u00e4ger, Martin: \u201eTranskulturalit\u00e4t als musikgeschichtliches Problem.\u201c In: Jacob, Andreas; Kampe, Gordon (Eds.) (2014): \u201eKulturelles Handeln im transkulturellen Raum. Symposiumsbericht Kulturhauptstadt RUHR 2010.\u201c Olms. Hildesheim, 2014.<\/p>\n

[2] ibid. p. 178<\/p>\n

[3] von Zahn, Robert: \u201eHeimat und ihre Weltmusik-Imagination in NRW.\u201c In: Jacob, Andreas; Kampe, Gordon (Eds.) (2014): \u201eKulturelles Handeln im transkulturellen Raum. Symposiumsbericht Kulturhauptstadt RUHR 2010.\u201c Olms. Hildesheim, 2014. S. 151 ff.<\/p>\n

[4] Homepage of Franghiz Ali-Zadeh: http:\/\/ali-sade.narod.ru\/<\/p>\n

[5] Homepage of Zad Moultaka: http:\/\/zadmoultaka.com\/musique\/<\/p>\n

[6] cf. https:\/\/de.karstenwitt.com\/samir-odeh-tamimi<\/p>\n

[7] cf. Keller, Kjell (2004): \u201eKlaus Huber und die arabische Musik. Begegnungen, Entgrenzungen, Ber\u00fchrungen.\u201c In: Dissonanz. #88. Dezember 04. sowie Kunkel, Michael (2004): \u201eFiguren des Widerspruchs. Klaus Hubers \u201eZwei S\u00e4tze f\u00fcr sieben Blechbl\u00e4ser\u201c (1957\/58). In: Dissonanz. #88. Dezember 04.<\/p>\n

\u2014-<\/p>\n

musical examples<\/strong><\/p>\n

[8] Franghiz Ali-Zadeh (1994): \u201eMugam Sayagi\u201c<\/p>\n