A Sound not Wholly for the Ear: De-centering Listening in 20th/21st Century Composition

A Sound not Wholly for the Ear explores de-centred listening. The thesis presents an analysis of 20th and 21st century compositions that transformed the act of listening prior to situating my creative portfolio, an original composition for artist Agatha Gothe-Snape’s Rhetorical Chorus, within this lineage of ideas. I propose methodological categories of conceptualism and affect as strategies to de-centre listening. I define de-centered listening as a non-linear engagement with sound that incorporates and or critiques the context, temporality, physicality and environment in the listening experience. Conceptualism, defined here as a preoccupation with ideas as opposed to materials (or a conversation between the two) and often concerned with the political and social implications of creating and viewing art/music, and affect, defined as a predominantly physiological energy that has the potential to transform engaged entities at various levels of attention, are examples of how de-centered listening can be achieved. The first chapter provides a definition and theoretical framework for de-centered listening by outlining several critical and philosophical theories on listening. Following this, the two key areas of de-centering listening, conceptualism and affect, are investigated via an analysis of key works in 20th and 21st century composition. Works such as John Cage’s 4’33”, La Monte Young’s Composition 1960, Hanne Darboven’s Wende 80, and Johannes Kreidler’s Fremdarbeit are used to illustrate conceptualism as a strategy for de-centered listening, providing varied practical examples of how this can be done. In the following chapter, Furniture Music by Eric Satie, Ambient 1: Music for Airports by Brian Eno, Deep Listening Pieces by Pauline Oliveros and Sound Characters by Maryanne Amacher illustrate the use of affect to de-centre listening by incorporating the physiology of hearing into the composition, and drawing upon the environment in which the work is heard. Finally, the creative portfolio is situated within this lineage. The process of creating the composition for artist Agatha Gothe-Snape’s Rhetorical Chorus is summarized before further analysis that positions the work in line with the compositions and theoretical frameworks analysed