| And so to synthesisers. The digital and MIDI revolutions have delivered powerful, compact instruments which are
amenable to sophisticated computer control, as well as
innovative performance controllers to harness this power. And yet, "synthesiser" and "electronic music"
are terms which are still, in most people's minds, associated with
conventional keyboard performance.
Rather than embracing the academic music culture, CASSIEL scores are generally harmonic and orchestrated. But as in
the dance, imagery is everything, and our experience is that this is
best achieved by timbral design and control.
There are various reasons why CASSIEL is dedicated to live performance
of synthesised scores. Firstly, the UK scene has no shortage of
native electronic composers who are recording albums; live performance is more unusual. Secondly,
the potential for interesting interaction between dance performance
and live electronic music is huge, and we wish to tap that potential.
Thirdly, live performance is hard work, and provides experience and
a useful discipline; the CASSIEL music rig benefits from lessons learned through various live projects.
I would highlight again that the artistic content and imagery of
the performance is central; there is always a temptation with
innovation (and specifically technological innovation)
of emphasising style or form over content, which is artistically
stifling. This is one reason
why I refer to CASSIEL as a "dance company" rather than "innovative"
or "hi-tech" performance company. On the other hand, excessive
conservatism can be equally stifling. In the British arts scene,
dance companies are run by choreographers, and the dance officials
of funding bodies are
unable to understand the viewpoint of a musician, sound designer and
technologist who wishes to create dance work. Then again, the music
people can sniffy about any kind of project which is not pure
composition or performance in a classical or academic vein. It
is possible to create collaborative performance art of several
media without any kitchen sinks being present, but it requires
vision, and vision can be threatening.
Our projects are listed here.
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