A General Theory Of Composition: Cross-modal Perception, Sound, Synergy and Meaning in contemporary composition practice.

Abstract

Music extends beyond audibility. We perceive a performance – the work-on-stage – not only sonically but also visually and physically. Bridging science, phenomenology, eastern philosophy and music, A General Theory of Composition explores cross-modal perception and new synergies between musical and non-musical modes of creative expression through the media of sound, composition as a whole, and interdisciplinary research by posing the key-questions: What is SOUND? Where does SOUND begin, and where does it end? A General Theory of Composition, as a phenomenological investigation, reconfirms that the nature of both artistic practice and our sensory perception is holistic and reciprocally cross-modal. ‘Multi-sensory fluidity’ (Coessens), ‘sonic sensibility’ (Voegelin), ‘sensory substitution’ (McGann), naturally embedded in our modes of perception, suggest that our perception is always ‘embodied’ (Johnson) within its complex interdisciplinary Gestalt – composition as a whole. From this perspective the multisensory human body can be seen to engage meaningfully with the world via cross-modal listening, that promotes multi-sensory, psychosomatic reciprocal exchange between audible-visual-physical modes of perception. From the observation of my own artistic praxis, the holistic perspective of my theory brings forward the view on musical and/or any practice as a ‘lived experience’ (Stein) through theories of The Empathy Theory (Stein), Spheres of Human Essence (Walther), and The Speech Act Theory (Austin). It shares insights that: 1) sound/music, as language, is a phenomenon rooted in the philosophical domain; 2) there is no pure medium – all media are multi-modal, inter-subjective and reciprocally interconnected; 3) through the mode of ‘active listening’, as a means of communication, sound naturally crosses into other domains; 4) our perceptual modes intertwine, synthesise, and co-exist in a synergetic relationship within the complex chamber of our multi-sensory, psychosomatic, physical bodies. The exegesis is accompanied by two creative works, LIBERATO and SKETCHES, presented in three contextual subdivisions that collectively illustrate the workings of my theory and creative practice: the work-on-stage; cross-modal perception; expanded musical notation.