The Spiral Self: creative pathways in composition

Abstract

This thesis articulates pathways through a compositional process for an evolving journey that I have termed the ‘Spiral Self’. Experiences of walking and path-making in the ‘real’ world activate and inform my understanding of creative ‘making’. I have developed tools (the ‘Spiral Path') to facilitate compositional procedures defined as modes of attending, of corresponding, and of map-making. These core processes are deeply relational and concerned with ways for ‘self to meet world’. They take the form of rituals for paying attention, particularly whilst moving through natural environments; acts of transcription and drawing by hand; and collaboration through shared vocabularies, whether linguistic or gestural, generated through conversation or improvisation. I discuss the role and development of these iterative or spiralling pathways in my portfolio of works: Śūnyatā (2021) for orchestra; Circumstance 2020 (2020) a film score for string quintet, piano and electronics; Springtime Again (2021) a collaborative, interactive dance work for French horn, violoncello and electronics; Lost in the Darkness (2021) for bass recorder and live electronics; Palynopholy (2023) for mixed instrumental ensemble; Energetic Force (2022) a collaborative dance work involving recorded interviews and electronics; and In:Flux (2021) for piano accordion and live electronics. I draw upon a series of my own journal entries and sketches, as well as a range of citations from anthropological, religious-sacred and musical sources to illustrate how processes of paying attention, correspondence and map-making build embodied knowledge. These compositional tools are propositions that creative acts of doing are inextricably entwined within the growth of the self: the Spiral Self.