Sea Wrack : a chamber opera written for three soloists (mezzo-soprano, tenor, boy soprano), chorus (ten singers) and small orchestra

Abstract

During the last few years many composers have turned to Oriental and Eastern music for inspiration, writing for exotic instruments and experimenting with new compositional techniques or new sonorities. So far, little of this music has been convincing, probably because it seems to be always a compromise between two irreconcilable styles which seemingly cancels out the innate qualities of each. However, there is one possibility of great potentiality which has as yet had little attention from European musicians; this is the adaption of basic underlying concepts, philosophical or literary rather than musical, transmuting these into a new art form understandable to a European audience.

This chamber opera is such an attempt. The work takes its initial impetue from the Japanese Noh drama, but is not based on a Noh play, as the Noh play, in my opinion, is too permeated with Japanese custom, imagery and allusion to be separated from its authentic music. Such a writer as Yeats, however, has proved that it is possible to successfully transfer the form of the Noh play into a non - oriental setting in such a work as Fighting the Waves, which is deeply imbued with Irish allusion.

In this chamber opera, words, music, dancing and lighting are integrated elements, although each is a complete dramatic entity in its own right, with its own rhythm and sense of organic growth.