Commissioned by Decibel New Music Ensemble for Sound Drawing in Space Concert as part of the European Research Council’s Digi Score Project
Premiered December 13, 2023, The Rechabites Hall, Perth, WA, Australia
Program Note
Facial expressions are a silent universal language that conveys a wealth of information and emotion. They hold a profound significance within the realm of music, theatre and visual media as a powerful tool for artists and semiotic for audiences. The nuanced interplay of emotions and the technical challenges faced by musicians during their performance are intricately interwoven into the delicate fabric of these expressions. Similarly, musicians glean vital cues from the conductor or choir master’s expressions reading the unspoken instructions etched upon their faces, which serve as an interpretive lens for their musical performance. Sum of the Parts utilises facial expressions as the artefact of a musical score for the performers. The composition draws its inspiration from the language of the human face to communicate intricate and specific musical messages.
Videographer – John Montgomery
EVENT Link to Event Here
REVIEW
Sum (some) of the Parts exploited facial expressions as the artefact of its musical score. Four improvised screens, two drum skins, and two squares of cardboard captured videographer John Montgomery’s deconstructed images of the composer, Donna Hewitt’s face. Her squinting and blinking eyes, twitching nose, and pouting mouth, rearranged Picasso-like (left eye right of the left, etc.), created a complex and all-too-human emotional landscape. The cello, viola, bass flute, and bass clarinet each followed a different screen, with the sotto voce shimmering viola and the detuning cello grounded by the winds. Ethereal, choral-like, in the middle, the images froze, then swapped to the negative. The music, wavering, quavering, and quivering, moved to a high pitch, then stopped. Paul Doughty 1 Sept, 2024
FULL REVIEW LINK HERE
Donna Hewitt 