He is perhaps the best documented of the British composer-inventors but sadly even this is underdeveloped. Hugh Davies (1943-2005), a pioneer in the field and creator of over a hundred instruments, has inspired The Hugh Davies Project led by Dr James Mooney of the University of Leeds, UK, which broadly encourages composers to think about the creation of their own instruments, using Davies as a source of inspiration, whilst reflecting on his work. Invented instruments are not a new idea and yet limited study has been undertaken on them, meaning that countless numbers are being lost along with the technological and musical possibilities they contain. They offer a different relationship between the composer, the instrument, the music and indeed the audience, and escape the entrenched bonds and histories native to traditional instruments. These instruments are able to transcend and augment the usual cultural and musical associations that more traditional ones are inevitably imbued with, and to create their own or borrow from other non-traditional sources. The idea of the composer-built instrument, a device created for perhaps just a single composition, or maybe with the intention of expanding beyond that initial piece, is one that has permeated my own research and compositional activities for over a decade.
0 kommentar(er)
