Inscriptions

Inscriptions 1:

Cristina Grifone, soprano; David Ryan, zither, lyre, clarinets, percussion; ………………Joe Zeitlin, ‘cello; Dave Fowler, drums/percussion; Simon Allen, ‘hyper- bass zither’

Inscriptions 2:

Kelcy Davenport, speaker; William Crosby, guitar; Klara Łucznik, dance/movement

Introduction

‘Inscriptions’(2021 -) is a work-in-progress and part of ‘Inscriptions-Echo-Metamorphoses’, a larger project with ‘Opera Povera’ (Czech Republic) slated for a performance in 2022.  The latter’s starting point, as a joint collaborative project, is around the use of texts within the development of early opera in the late Renaissance.  Originally, these libretti drew heavily on Ovid’s ‘Metamorphoses’.  The complex history of early opera and its intellectual background in attempting a modern realization of Greek drama according to historical principles, remains a fascinating conundrum for contemporary practices.  For this project, rather than the grand mythological themes that preoccupied the early Italian composers of opera, I have chosen a series of epigrams from the famous ‘Greek Anthology’: a remarkable document that was current in Papyrus editions throughout the period from the 7^th century BCE through to the Roman Empire, with poems constantly added, and substantially so as time went on, the prerequisite being that they were composed in Greek.  The epigrams themselves give us huge insight into the development of poetry and its intertwining with memory and time.  A literal translation of epigram is ‘inscription’ and the texts from the archaic period of the anthology are taken from the Greek stele (grave inscriptions) – functioning literally as reflective prompts for the wayside traveller.  This mode then transformed and enlarged its emotional scope – with aphoristic statements on life in general reflecting on the human condition, musings on loss,  documentation of desire and sexual antics, plays with words and concepts, but above all the play and trickery of time itself.  It functions as a strange quotidian snapshot onto that period (though we must remember it is more a mosaic of periods)  with all its distorted encapsulations of beauty, power and both religious and anti-religious feeling; the grand myths remain very present throughout the anthology, but refracted through the concerns and demands of the everyday. In the present they operate like found objects – the subject matter often both distant and repellent but also possessing a strange proximity. 

The project

These ideas around the nature of early opera, as a means of inventing something new from the ancient past, find resonance in the present work-in-progress.   This always requires a strange double alienation – from the present but also from the past (in its current contemporary ‘reification’).   As with most of my work with Opera Aperta, the text is a generator and not something to be ‘set’ in a traditional way, necessarily (although sometimes it approaches this).  One of the surprising things about this project has been the possibility of moving across different procedures, especially musically. So the texts can be sung straight, fragmented, spoken etc.  Instrumental contexts are fixed or improvised or a mixture of both.  My research into Greek and Roman music has, again surprisingly, resulted in an examination of melody, inventing simple scalic devices.  But these are often featured in more improvisational ‘environments’; it explores the possibility of something quite ‘elemental’, ‘elementary’ even – as still having the possibility to yield new possibilities, engage, move, even, those who approach these pieces.  

Two strands

At the moment the piece exists as a series of fragments that can be freely combined.  These fragments include instrumental parts and melodic song-like fragments,  videos of readings and videos of dance/movement.  The scope of the piece is worked out through the materials themselves.  At present it forms two strands which I will refer to as ‘Inscriptions 1’ and ‘Inscriptions 2’.

‘Inscriptions 1’ was originally conceived as a piece for solo voice – this has expanded to include the voice in various instrumental contexts – I’ve favoured here basic string, wind and percussion.  ‘Inscriptions 2’ is a series of video readings of the texts sometimes with musical sounds, or at other times, additional footage or dance/movement.  The possibility, here, is for two discrete projects or a combining of the two creating a mis-en-scene out of the materials, which will be attempted soon.  

A note on the recordings

These work-in-progress recordings have all been produced during lockdown.  They embrace the imperfections of the situation; the sound recordings have been produced in environments with strong leakage of environmental sounds.  These have become part of the piece, with birdsong, cars, car horns, trams etc. all audible throughout.