The ‘Elsewhereness’ of Post-Genre: Utilising Playfulness of Cross-Genre References as a Compositional Device
- Submitting institution
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Birmingham City University
- Unit of assessment
- 33 - Music, Drama, Dance, Performing Arts, Film and Screen Studies
- Output identifier
- 33Z_OP_J2089
- Type
- J - Composition
- Month
- -
- Year
- 2020
- URL
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https://www.researchcatalogue.net/view/1079599/1079600
- Supplementary information
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- Request cross-referral to
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- Output has been delayed by COVID-19
- No
- COVID-19 affected output statement
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- Forensic science
- No
- Criminology
- No
- Interdisciplinary
- No
- Number of additional authors
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- Research group(s)
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- Proposed double-weighted
- No
- Reserve for an output with double weighting
- No
- Additional information
- This research catalogue exposition consists of a set of three musical works, presented as scores with supporting recordings. The exposition additionally provides contextual information to support the three creative outcomes. These works individually and collectively examine the ‘elsewhereness’ of post-genre composition. The three works in this portfolio are: _Elsewhereness_ for symphony orchestra (9 minutes, 2018); _McNulty_ for piano trio (10 minutes, 2016); _Chords on the Shore_ for electric guitar quartet (12 minutes, 2014).
Through practice-based research in music composition Cutler had the following two research aims:
1. Develop a hybrid compositional aesthetic through the absorption, integration and referencing of a highly personal set of ‘influences’, many from outside the sphere of classical music.
2. Examine the role of ‘compositional play’ or ‘playfulness’ in unifying a multi-faceted compositional language. This is often manifested through intertextuality and the juxtaposition of diverse elements that are made to function at a structural or conceptual level.
Cutler obfuscates notions of genre, performance practice and content. Using the referencing of other musics as a compositional tool, he identifies playfulness as a filter through which models of influence are transformed into something personal in an attempt to define what post-genre means to a 21st century composer. On a meta-structural level, reference becomes a parameter in its own right.
The research embedded within these compositions has been disseminated through publication (Composers Edition and Chester Music), multiple international performances (e.g Beijing Modern Music Festival, National Concert Hall Dublin, Sounds Festival Scotland), broadcasts on BBC Radio 3 and other international networks, CD release (NMC Recordings), and reviews in national broadsheets and specialist press press (e.g. _The Telegraph_, _The Sunday Times_, _Scotsman_, _Gramophone_, _BBC Music Magazine_, _Fanfare_, _BBC Radio 3 Record Review_).
- Author contribution statement
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- Non-English
- No
- English abstract
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