complete guide to the new music-theatre composition by Zachàr Laskewicz for 5 performers and tape
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The first complete performance of Zaum took place in
November 1993
a local theatre group.
Performance details are included below:
direction: Zachar Laskewicz
performers: Anouk De Clercq, Tine Hens, Linde Tilley,
Trui
Vereecke &
choreographic assistance: Kristina Neirynck
production assistance: Herman De Roover & Jan De Pauw
lighting & sound: Piet Depoortere
Photos used in this document were
taken by Kurt Van de Elst during the ‘Stekelbees Festival’ performances.
INTRODUCTION
“In the theatre, a
line is a sound, a movement is music and the gesture which emerges from a sound
is like a key word in a sentence.”[1]
Ñ Antonin Artaud
Zaum is the name for a music-theatre
composition derived from radical language based concepts introduced during a
little understood period of art history close by the turn of the century: Russian Futurism. This composition takes the futurist theory and
extends it through various sources of influence that seem in their own way to
find connection with the work of these artists, particularly through their
interest in the East. The intention is
to create a theatrical composition based on an alternative attitude to language
where all theatrical and musical elements have the potential to be
meaning-bearing vehicles in a type of
‘music-language’ that is formed within the progress of the
composition. A theatrical structure is
presented in which five performers move, speak and react to musical and vocal
sounds coming from a prerecorded tape. Here the Russian futurist texts are used
as the structural basis for the creation of this ‘language’, the ultimate aim
being to present various levels of ambiguity that can provide other
possibilities for signification in the theatre.
BACKGROUND
Russian futurism contrasted considerably to avant-garde art
movements occurring around the same time in different parts of
A group of artists recognised for the extremity of their
experimental work became known as the ‘cubo-futurists’. The name of this composition is taken from
one of the primary theoretical innovations introduced by members of this group:
Zaumni Yazyk (abbreviated zaum), meaning ‘trans-sense
language.’ This is basically a form of
poetic communication that redefined language itself, but not in terms of
‘meaning’ in the translatable sense: according
to the cubo-futurists, poetry using language restricted by strict referential
meaning and grammatical structures was no longer a valid form of artistic
communication. Poetry was extended to include non-referential sounds that could
nevertheless be enjoyed ‘by themselves,’ an attitude that had previously been
confined to music. These linguistic
innovations certainly extended beyond merely the meaningless stringing together
of Russian sounds and into areas of communication that had rarely been seriously considered. This included the theatre: Alexei Kruchenykh (1886-1969), one of the
primary theoreticians of zaum language, said that he saw zaum as
the only possibility for use in the new theatre and cinema. According to
Jindrich Honzl, a member of the
The purpose of this composition is to rediscover the theory of zaum
language, and through this to dynamically present through performance an array
of gradually transforming musical, theatrical and visual elements; a collage of
sound, movement and action that can be interpreted on a number of different
levels. In this ‘rediscovery’ of the
work of the Russian futurists, the poetry of three of the primary supporters of
zaum has been integrated: Velimir
Khlebnikov (1885-1922), Alexei Kruchenykh and Vasily Kamensky (1884-1961). Each had their own individual attitude to the
use of zaum, presenting contrasting but equally valid concepts which
resulted in the production of different poetic styles. The zaum texts taken from these poets
are presented in the performance in a manner that seems at first to be
illogical or absurd, remaining faithful to cubo-futurist theatre. On a deeper level, the more complex nature of
zaum language is explored, the seeming illogicality giving way to a broader discussion of the relationship
between language, sound and music; something that concerned all the zaum poets,
no matter how different the results were.
Velimir Khlebnikov was a dreamer and had a truly unusual
vision; his poetry deals with language
as an infinitely redefinable medium, and historical fact on a constantly
occurring time continuum. In his poetry,
he yearned for the past and antiquity, and was almost religiously devoted to
the East. For Khlebnikov, poetry was not
an end in itself or a ‘realistic’ description of reality, but a means of
exploration and discovery of language and new forms: “he showed us aspects of language whose
existence we did not even suspect.”[3] Knowing the power of the
word as manifested in charms and incantations, Khlebnikov dreamed of taming
this power and of turning transrational language into a rational one, but with
a difference. Unlike the languages we
use, this one would be a universal language of pure concepts clearly expressed
by speech sounds.
Alexei Kruchenykh and Khlebnikov were the first poets to adopt zaum
as a creative medium and they shared a close working relationship and friendship.
Kruchenykh was to become the primary supporter and theoretician of zaum,
which he saw as a leading mode of expression.
He believed that “trans-sense language was demanded by the confused
character of contemporary life and served as an antidote to the paralysis of
common language.”[4] This was a reaction
against the obsession with meaning, reason, psychology and philosophy presented
by the conservative literary traditions.
The absurdity of Kruchenykh’s most experimental works was a very specific
behaviour; it was different from the seemingly absurd with a hidden message,
different also from a surrealistic suggestion of meaning through subconscious
associations. This absurdity was a
totally undefinable combination of sounds and visual elements designed only to
suggest new possibilities for experiencing language.[5] Although Kruchenykh’s zaum
seems to be taking an extremist stance on language deconstruction, on closer
examination an interesting duality is presented: Kornei Chukovsky, a literary critic,
commented on the primeval nature of this poetry. He said that trans-sense language was not a
‘language’, but a “pre-language, pre-cultural, pre-historical, when there was
no discourse, conversation, only cries and screams.” The strange irony of the situation was that
in their passion for the future, the futurists had “selected for their poetry
the most ancient of the very ancient languages.”[6]
Vasily Kamensky presented an alternative emphasis through his use of zaum: after
postulating the ‘musical’ orientation of the word, Kamensky asserted the poet’s
right to his own unique understanding and vision of poetic beauty so as to
discover new poetic paths. A Russian
futurist critic wrote that “perhaps none has felt the sound as an aim in
itself, as a unique joy as Vasily Kamensky.”[7]
The Russian futurists in their adoption of zaum language
certainly caught more than a glimpse of what was to become the obsession of
Antonin Artaud: the creation of a new
language unique to the theatre, where the word is broken away from its
traditionally accepted meaning and discovered in a completely new form. From his famous volume of theoretical essays The
Theatre and its Double a clear image of this language can be found:
“The language of
the theatre is, in effect, the language of the stage, which is dynamic and
objective. It is the sum of everything
which can be put on a stage
in terms of
objects, shapes, attitudes, and meanings.
But only to the extent
where all these
elements arrange themselves in the process and are cut off
from their
immediate meaning, and endeavour, indeed, to create a true
language based on
the sign, rather than based on the word.
That is where the
notion of
symbolism based on the changing of meanings comes in. Things will
be stripped of
their immediate meaning and will be given a new one.”[8]
STRUCTURE
The complete Zaum composition is a full scale
three-movement work for five performers and tape. The tape part is for electronic sounds as well
as recordings of the performers themselves,[9] reflecting a connecting
series of parallel structures that unite the three movements. These structures connect in a system of
sounds and movements that are linked together by musical principles. During the course of the work various
ensemble pieces form and unform on stage, sometimes simultaneously, sometimes
solo, in order to present different aspects of zaum communication where
language is rethought as a musical system.
Choreographed movement and interaction between the tape and the live
performance plays an important role. The
complete duration of the composition is around one hour, each of the three
movements lasting about twenty minutes.
The zaum texts form the structural basis for the composition,
uniting both the gestural, the vocal and the musical communicative forms.
The most important thematic element underlying Zaum is the
use of texts that at first glance appear to be ‘meaningless’ in that they can
not be translated into another language system.
This gives the composition freedom to explore alternative ways of
looking at ‘meaning’ and more particularly to explore the relationship between
sound, meaning and music: can music be considered a language? It also opens the discussion of extending
musical discourse by relating the musical structures to movements and spoken
vocal patterns. Although the texts seem
to be to a large extent ‘meaningless’, there is actually nothing in this
composition without ‘meaning’ or ‘purpose’.
The texts are used in contrasting ways to present different aspects of
meaning-bearing performance in the theatre, beginning with story-telling and
pantomime; through the questioning of language itself expressed by the creation
of a new ‘meta-language’ defined completely through movement; finishing with a
section based on the exploration of the semiotic possibilities of movement in
musical performance. Because the Russian
texts adopted have no translatable ‘meaning’, the opportunity has been taken to
fragment the words and restructure them musically into a mathematical whole,
sometimes providing or suggesting new meanings where there previously was none.
This is intended to play with notions of theatrical logic by forming this
‘language’ from elements of performance that would not normally be combined;
words, movements and musical sounds.
Formed from elements that would appear at first glance to be entirely
illogical, the composition creates its own ‘logical’ environment and becomes entirely
coherent in its own context.
The composition involves the use of five characters who grow and
develop within an artificial theatrical reality, only able to perform certain
gestures and react to certain sounds which are ‘learnt’ as the work develops.[10] Sometimes the regimented
nature of the language systems presented within the composition are designed to
emphasize the artificiality of our own concept of language, where our
signification systems limit us to perceiving ourselves as beings within defined
human environments.[11] At the same time, however, these smaller systems are revealed to
form part of a larger entirety beyond the control of the performers, one which
could form a model for our own predicament:
perhaps as perpetually involved actors we are also unable to perceive
the presence of a larger system of significance. Could the apparently
unexplainable, chaotic and intangible elements of our lives have further
relevance than we are equipped to realize?
Are we in fact, in turn, observed by a malevolent and impassive
audience?
The composition has no ‘set’; place and absence of place are
simultaneously created and destroyed by the performers who move within a
central performance area. The use of
lighting and sound also plays a role in creating the space in which the
performers move. Costume design is
relatively simple: the performers are
called on to wear a black costume that facilitates movement, each with a
different coloured dress jacket.[12] The performers are also
required to wear the same type of hat, united both by colour and form. The
purpose of this costume is to standardise the performers so that they can be
used during the composition as an ‘instrument’ for the development. Stage decor is restricted to the use of five
matching chairs, preferably painted black to emphasize their neutrality. At different times the composition calls for
certain of these stage elements to be
used in ways that are not necessarily related to their traditional meaning-bearing
function: for example, the hats become objects of great mystical significance
at the beginning of the composition when they form the boundaries for a magic
pentagon. Another example is the
gradual ‘dressing’ of the performers in the first part of the work, being
symbolic of the learning of a language system and the acceptance of this system
as a means of perceiving ‘reality’ within the composition. The multi-functionary nature of these stage
objects stretches the economy of means in the theatre, standing against the
tradition of realistic dramatic representation in which the mobility of the
sign relationship is limited: in
traditional Western theatre we generally expect the object being signified to
be represented by a vehicle that has the direct characteristics of that object. This is not the case, however, in the oriental
theatre where far more semantic scope is permitted to each stage item. The
theatre is in fact ‘stripped’ of unnecessary elements that have no direct
significance. Theatre worlds are created
by use of lighting, interaction with the limited amount of stage props and
especially the prerecorded musical compositions; all elements that in the
context of this composition are given extended meaning-bearing possibilities.
The letters of the Russian language have been adopted as the major
tools of musical development within the composition. Adopting the Russian texts alienates the
vocal sounds from their existing function in a meaning-bearing system because
the sounds of every letter have to be learnt again and are thus distanced from
the everyday spoken language of the performers.[13] Also the Russian letters form an interesting phonetic vocabulary
where individual letters form complete sound groups rather than forming
together into diphthongs as is common in many other European languages. The
Russian words can therefore be easily fragmented and discovered for their sound
value. As such, sound ‘vocabularies’ are
created through the deconstruction of zaum poems.
NOTATION
The notation of Zaum into text form was quite an important process
because written systems generally used in the Western theatrical and musical
worlds were fragmented and restructured into a usable form for a composition
that does not conform to the traditional conception in either field. The notation itself is quite simple to
interpret once a number of notation ‘conventions’ have been learnt. The
conventions relating to the notation of movement are worthy of mention. Based on a semiotic model for language, three
contrasting systems are adopted in order to present a more cogent and
understandable performance text. The
trichotomy of sign-functions suggested by Charles Pierce (the American logician
and founding father of modern semiotic theory) are represented.[14] The first method is iconic
or diagrammatic. According to Peirce, an
icon is “a sign which refers to the object that it denotes merely by
virtue of characters of its own, and which it possesses.”[15] The icon is
represented in the score by diagrams that demonstrate the position of
performers and objects by situating performers in relation to these objects or
each other on an imagined performance space.
Below are examples taken from each of the three movements:
The second method is indexical. Indexical signs are casually connected
with their objects, in other words an index is a sign which refers to the
object that it denotes by virtue of being affected by that object.[16] In the case of its use in
the notation, the performers must learn a system of sounds that must appear to
have a direct connection with the movements, suggesting some kind of natural
coherence between the sounds and the movements or gestures emerging from
them. For example, the Russian sound
‘vzzz’ is used as a verb prefix to signify an upward direction, thus the sound
itself carries this connotation and in the composition this sound signifies a
raising of the hand. The illustration
overleaf demonstrates a number of these sounds as notated in the score and a
description of the movements that must be learnt.
The last is symbolic. A symbol is a sign which
refers to the object that it denotes by virtue of another symbolic sign system
that has little or no relationship with the object that is being represented.
Here the relationship between sign-vehicle and signified is conventional and
unmotivated.[17] In the score artificial
symbolic sign systems are used where numbers surrounded by shapes come to
represent individual gestures.[18] The illustrations below
demonstrate examples of these symbolic systems.
These three notation forms are very important both in
demonstrating a relationship between language and movement and in extending the
possibilities of a notation system into alternative areas of language
communication; in this case non-verbal.
SCENARIO
The work has been composed in a three movement form and it is
possible for each of the movements to be performed separately. However, in order to demonstrate the complete
‘sound-language’ narrative that binds the composition into a whole it is
necessary to play the three movements successively. The complete narrative concerns the creation
and questioning of a meaning-based language:
language is born from a state of pure meaning, becomes in the process of
its artificialization estranged, resulting in the proposal of a new language
system based on musical structures. Zaum-1,the first movement, begins in
a state without language, only sounds.
Through a developmental process a connection is made between certain
movements and vocalisations that grow from within the chaotic sound pool. From
these initial movements and sounds, the performers present a number of
different language systems: ritual-based movement languages, story-telling
languages, gesture languages and so forth.
By the end of the first movement, words and sounds, initially steeped in
primordial and ritual significance, are stripped of meaning and are presented
as obsessive gestures. The development
is from a state of no language, through various levels of signification, to a
state of language without apparent meaning.
In Zaum-2, the second movement sitting comfortably in the middle
of the composition, an ambiguity between language and music is demonstrated by
the continual adoption of potentially ‘meaningful’ elements (movements and
sounds) in ‘meaningless’ musical structures.
The movement ends with a parody of Western theatrical conventions, highlighting the restrictions of this coding
system. Zaum-3, the final movement, attempts to move beyond the binds of
traditional theatre language. After an exploration of the physicality of music
making, presenting thus an essential coherence between sound and movement, a
rhythmic ‘dance’ language is created that in the process of the development
becomes gradually redundant, leaving finally the music and the movement to
communicate alone. This divides the
composition into three major divisions concerning the work of a specific
cubo-futurist poet, and each of these movements is described in detail further
on in this document.
ZAUM-1
Section
1: Oproeping
Section 2: Bezwering ZAUM-3
Section 3: Afbreking Section
1: Ensemble
Section 2: Chorus
ZAUM-2 Section 3: Finale
Section
1: Beginning Time
Section
2: Vertolk Middel
Section
3: End Play
Khlebnikov
Xlebnikov
The first movement presents an exploration of Khlebnikov’s
attitude to zaum poetry. Khlebnikov had an extended attitude to
language as a communicative form, believing strongly in the almost ‘magical’
power of vocal sounds both to signify and even affect the world in a way beyond
signification. This certainly connects
with an ancient attitude to language where the vocal sounds were believed to
have deep mythical significance.
According to Julia Kristeva the work of Khlebnikov “threaded through
metaphor and metonymy a network of phonemes or phonic groups charged with
instinctual drives and meaning, constituting what for the author was a
numerical code, a ciphering, underlying the verbal sign.”[19] Characteristic of
Khlebnikov’s work is an attempt to construct a language of hieroglyphs from
abstract concepts, sometimes called the ‘stellar’ or ‘universal’ language. Here the Khlebnikovian zaum attains
its highest point of rarefaction, and only conventionally can one speak of its
possible decipherment.[20] Antonin Artaud’s [21] concept of stage language is certainly significant here, an
attitude where signification freely germinates from a variety of different
sources:
“Gestures will be
equivalent to signs, signs to words. The
spoken word, when psychological circumstances permit, will be performed in an
incantory way.[...] Movements, poses,
bodies of characters will form or dissolve like hieroglyphs. This language will spread from one organ to
another, establishing analogies, unforeseen associations between series of
objects, series of sounds, series of intonations.”
Zaum-1 is divided into three section: (i)
Oproeping, (ii) Bezwering, (iii) Afbreking.
A flowing structure is adopted between these sections in which the
expression of different language systems is created through relating certain
sounds to certain physical movements.
Through this connection between sound and movement a notion of ‘meaning’
is presented that goes beyond simply a literal translation of vocal sounds into
cogent concepts.
Section 1: Oproeping
This section begins in silence and darkness, a state before sound
or language. A long, deep, earthy sound
emerges gradually from the silence and five hats are revealed centre stage
forming the shape of a pentagon. Through
the calling of ‘name fragments’ (prerecorded) the performers are one by one
revealed surrounding the ring of hats, and the entrance of each performer
introduces a new sound element, creating a chaotic sound pool. From the sounds on tape emerge word fragments
or ur-sounds which bring about the performance of a series of stylized
movements. These movements form the raw
material for later development within the composition.
Section 2: Bezwering
One by one the performers form a line towards the back of the
stage and are facing in the direction of the audience. Here they begin to
slowly chant a text taken from Zangezi (one of Khlebnikov’s most famous zaum
works), and from the sound of the chanting develops a slow and cyclical movement
series formed by linking together some of the movements from the first
section. In this excerpt from Zangezi
a ritual-like state is evoked by the use of the “oom” sound group, translatable
as ‘mind’ or ‘sense’ from Russian.
Khlebnikov formed his own vocabulary by combining this sound with
various other syllable groups, assigning his own ‘state of meaning’ where the
new words have a natural connection with universal concepts. This is represented on stage by the
inevitability of the movement series that evolved out of the ur-sounds
beginning the composition, and the cyclical recurrence of the music as the text
is chanted.
Goum. Goum.
Oum. Oum.
Uum. Uum.
Paum. Paum.
Soum of me Soum
menh
And of those I
don’t know I
Moum. Moum.
Boum. Boum.
Laum. Laum.
The musical material used here is a gradually developing chord
series that returns further developed in Zaum-3. In both cases the way the material is treated
is based on an Indonesian attitude to the structuring of music where
development is presented not by constant change through the introduction of new
material but by an inevitable repetition and subtle variation of the same
material.
The internal rhythm uniting the performers gradually falls away as
the actions of the players seem to become independent of the music and the
chanted word series - escaping the cyclical recurrence. The following
development in the composition uses another famous poem from Khlebnikov, whose
title can be translated as “Incantation by Laughter.” This poem is structured around the Russian
word for ‘laugh’ (smyech) by using many possible variations that, through the
affixing of new prefixes and the use of unusual conjugations, have essentially
no meaning in official Russian. A sense
of meaning is provided, however, through the use of already existing word
fragments. Particularly interesting is
the rhythmic, incantation-like adoption of sounds within this ‘vocal
composition’. The words of this poem are performed as if a mysterious and magical
story is being told in an ancient and lost language. These words are accompanied by ‘magical’
gestures that seem to provide significance in relation to the untranslatable
story. It appears as if all the
meaning-bearing elements of this section (the text, the gestures and the
music), combine to form a significant, meaningful whole, although the ‘meaning’
itself is only significant in the context of the musical development: in Zaum-1
through the gradual formation and deconstruction of a language system, and in
the complete Zaum composition through the return of movement and
sound-based elements.
O, rassmŽjtes>, smexac’!
O, zasmŽjtes>, smexac’!
Cto sme«]tsh smex‡mi, cto sme«hnstvu]t
sme«hl>no,
O, zasmŽjtes> usme«hl>no!
O, rassmŽwi` nadsme«hl>nyx Ñ smex
usmŽjnyx smexacŽj!
O, issmŽjsh rassme«hl>no, smex
nadsmŽjnyx smehcŽj!
SmŽjvo, SmŽjvo,
UsmŽj, osmŽj, smŽwiki, smŽwiki,
Sme«]nciki, sme«]nciki.
O, rassmŽjtes>, smexac’!
O, zasmŽjtes>, smexac’!
Oh, rasmeytyes’
smyexachi!
Oh, zasmeytyes’ smyexachi!
Shto cmyeyoutsa
cmyexami, shto smyeyanstvooyoot smyeyalno,
Oh, zasmeytyes’
ysmyeyalno!
Oh rasmyeshish
nadsmyeyalnix Ñ smyex ysmyaynix smyexachay!
Oh ismyaysa
rassmyeyalno, smyex nadsmeynix smyeyachay!
Smyayeva,
smyayeva,
Oosmyay, osmyay,
smyeshiki, smyeshiki,
Smyeyounchiki,
smyeyounchiki.
Oh, rasmeytyes’
smyexachi!
Oh, zasmeytyes’
smyexachi![24]
Section 3: Afbreking
The last section begins when two of the performers move into the
centre of the performance space, one of whom takes a chair. This section involves the performance of five
brief dramatic scenes that are each time followed by a short explanation in a
sort of gesture language based on the sign language for the deaf. The sentences
are spoken by prerecorded voices on tape, and are at the same time acted out by
one of the two performers highlighted centre stage. It seems initially that the
sign language sentences are descriptive of the actions, but the sentences and
the actions become each time a little more absurd, and a little less to do with
one another. This reflects the
development within the first movement - the creation of a language and its
gradual alienation from meaning. The
signs adopted in this pseudo gesture language were found in a Flemish ‘sign
language dictionary’, a book evidently so old that most of the ‘signs’ or
gestures are no longer recognized in contemporary sign language forms.[25] These gesture words are
spoken by performers on the tape and are simultaneously performed as movements
on stage. The sentences spoken on the
tape were actually deliberately ‘composed’ with the movements in mind, and are
designed to sound like old Flemish ‘sayings’ which are usually moralistic
metaphors with an imprinted meaning.
This collection of sayings are deliberately meaningless, and are
designed to set up points of ambiguity between the gesticulations on stage,
which are in turn set against the absurd motions of the performer with the
chair. The transmission of meaning is
the important structural element for this division, although the notion of
‘meaning’-based exchanges is brought into question because the absurdity of the
language is finally recognizable, although still ambiguous. Below is a description of the movements and
the texts involved.
Action 1: Sits behind the chair which is facing the audience
and places hand through the bars as if sitting in a prison pleading for
something from a passer-by.
Sign language text: De beschaamde man wil met de engel dansen.
(“the
ashamed man wants to dance with the angel”)
Action 2: Puts chair on
its back with the legs facing the audience.
Sits on knees on the back of the chair and appears to pull a container
from between the chair legs. Offers this
imaginary object towards the heavens.
Sign language text: Voor
de arme vrouw is de honing de pijnbelasting.
(“for
the poor woman the honey is the pain tax”)
Action 3: Rests jacket
on the back of the chair then crawls underneath so that the face of the performer can be seen by the public. Performs gesture with arms while smiling.
Sign language Text: De glimlach van de tovenaar
is een leeg gebaar.
(“the
smile of the magician is an empty gesture”)
Action 4: Puts the chair onto its
back with the legs facing the audience.
Lies next to the chair on the left
side, with legs facing in the same direction as those of the chair and knees
raised as if in a seated position.
Sign language text: Gebruik de zwarte borstel als
je de duivel wil dopen.
(“use
the black brush if you want to bless the devil”)
Action 5: Walks in a circle around
the chair becoming gradually lower as if climbing down a spiral staircase. Then when a position behind the chair is
reached, sits and lifts the chair above head.
Sign language text: In de aardbeituin mocht niemand van chocolade dromen.
(“in the strawberry garden no one was allowed to dream of
chocolate”)
These sentences are repeated by the prerecorded voices, but begin
to be gradually fragmented. Each repetition introduces another level of deconstruction,
until all that is left is the constitutient particles of speech, totally
without the structuring context of the language from which they were
taken. While this has happened the
performers that introduced the sentences have moved away and the lighting is
dimmed. Two new performers under the dim
lighting move across the performance space, each holding a chair. With the sudden entrance of lighting from
stage left and right, they begin to perform absurd obsessive gestures that are
comparable to the deconstructed vocal sounds only through their short and
fragmented nature. The composition has
moved into a phase of liminoid action, somewhere between sound and meaning, but
where the generally accepted conception of language has been estranged. The stage has been set for the second
movement which grows from this ambiguity between language, sound and music.
“De beschaamde man wil met de
engel dansen”
ZAUM-1: Afbreking
Kruchenykh
Kruc‘nyx
Kruchenykh played a particularly significant role with regard to
the theory and use of zaum language. He thought that the conservative
literary traditions placed serious limitations on poetic imagination,
invention, verbal play and spontaneous intuition. Kruchenykh suggested that the ‘emptier’ the
poetic imagination, the more creative and fruitful the poetic result: the
penetration of the mysteries beyond the rational world.[26] These anarchic attitudes
to language form the basis for the second movement, the emphasis being on the
rejection of a Western model for theatre where signification predominantly and
primarily occurs through the interpretation of a word-based vocabulary (the
dramatic text): in Zaum-2 traditional meanings are stripped from already
existing gestural and vocal models and new and ridiculous ‘meaning systems’ are
presented in their place. Vocal material taken from a fragmentation of one of
Kruchenykh’s zaum poems sets the boundaries for the language invented
for the prerecorded voices. The names of
the five characters on stage are actually formed from this sound pool, and
these characters are constantly referred to by five voices on tape who are
using a nonsense language based similarly on the Kruchenykh fragments. The names become primary signifiers for the
five performers involved: at various times in the composition, the characters
are called upon by these names resulting in some important developmental change
within the composition. Overleaf is the
poem itself in the form that it appeared
when it was published, followed by a translation into Russian letters, a
phonetic transcription, and then the ‘names’ of the performers which were taken
from the fragmentations.
ser[amelepeta
senhl ok
rizum
meleva
alik a levamax
li li l]b b]l
cerzhamelepyeta
cenyal ock
rizoom
melyeva
alik a levamax
li li lyoub byoul[27]
Performer 1: Ser[,
Ser[ok Serjh,
Serzhok
Performer 2: Peta, Petax Pjeta, Pjetax
Performer 3: Mel, Melok Mjel, Mjelok
Performer 4: Alik,
Alikom Alik, Alikom
Performer 5: Zum,
Zumok Zoom, Zoomok[28]
Development in this part of the composition is presented by a
constant transformation between ‘theatrical’ and ‘musical’ states that is
brought about by contrasting performance situations that allude to theatrical
‘meaning’ with totally ‘meaningless’ gestures/sounds: the composition begins with performers
adopting potentially ‘meaningful’ gestures which form into an amusing musical
pattern (almost without sound), just as the composition ends after a musical
vocal composition develops into a performance that alludes to Russian
‘slapstick’ theatre. The purpose is to
explore points of ambiguity between ‘musical’ and ‘theatrical’
communication. The central section of Zaum-2
uses this ambiguity to create an absurd ‘performance’ language. A simple series
of movements taken from Zaum-1 are brought to life by prerecorded vocal
sounds. After a number of repetitions the movements become associated with
these vocal sounds, and therefore a new ‘performance’ language is created
before the eyes of the audience.
Zaum-2 is divided into three
sections; (i) Beginning Time,
(ii) Vertolk Middel,
(iii) End Play.
Section 1: Beginning Time
Lighting emerges on the five performers, who stand side-by-side centre
stage close by the audience, staring blankly as if entirely disinterested in
the performance event. It begins first
with the performers using certain gestures seemingly at random: coughing, checking watch, clearing throat,
sighing etc. At first the pauses between
the gestures are excruciatingly long, and it appears as if the performers are
waiting for something to happen. The
audience is directly confronted with ‘out of frame’ activity, material that is
both non-musical and non-theatrical, but which is obviously impossible to
disattend because the performers have already been recognised as such and are
standing in the centre of the stage.[29] These gestures are soon
rendered absurd when they are repeated and patterns begin to form, revealing
that there is actually more at work than simply the presentation of impatient
performers. This soon forms into a
musical structure when the gestures form part of a simple repeated rhythmic
series, changing completely the interpretative possibilities.
Section 2: Vertolk Middel
The tape part emerges around the live performance ensemble with
whispered conversational vocal sounds that appear to come from nowhere. A
sudden loud sibilant sound (Shh!) stills the ensemble who were previously
performing the absurd rhythmic gestures.
The five voices on tape are speaking a language that seems to resemble
Russian. The first reaction from the
performance ensemble is to be seemingly shocked, causing them to look in all
directions to see exactly from where the sounds emerge. A number of whispered sounds on the tape lead
to a shouted command which brings the ensemble to attention. Then vocal commands are shouted causing
individual performers to move to different positions on the stage, until all
members of the ensemble are positioned in specified places around the
performance space. Simple syllabic
vocal sounds[30] become represented on the
stage by simple movements from the performers (the raising of an arm, turning
of the head etc.); the voices appear to be commanding the performers to
move. The same vocal sound comes to
represent the same movement for a certain performer, and a number of the vocal
sounds are shared by all the performers.
In other words, a ‘semiotic code’ is created on the stage, where the
audience is deliberately directed into recognising an entirely
new, be it limited, ‘stage language.’
Ambiguity is presented by the contrast between the symbolic nature of
the language when it appears that the sounds act as movement commands, and the
indexical nature of the sounds on tape which set up an intrinsic relationship
between certain sounds and certain movements.
The sound in itself becomes the movement, and a sound-based movement
composition is performed. This absurd presentation of a language system is theoretically
provocative, parodying theatre forms which use always the same form of preset
language conventions to communicate in the theatre.
The vocal/movement sounds on tape become more frequent until
finally all the performers are moving in reaction to the cassette. A point of development is reached where
‘movement words’ are formed by the syllabic Russian fragments, and each
performer has a specific ‘word’ which he must perform. After a climactic point where all the
voices are reading these performance words simultaneously, the voices one by
one stop and the ensemble on stage is still.
Then the names of the performers are called and one by one they move
into specified positions surrounding the performance space.
Section 3: End Play
The lighting fades out and the sound of voices in whispered
conversation can be heard from the tape.
This develops into a musical structure based on the transferal of
whispered words that allude to some sort of conspiratorial conversation into
sibilant sounds stooped of theatrical ‘meaning’. After further development ending with the
chanting of Russian syllables, the climax is reached: a loud declamation from
voice three results in the lights being brought up suddenly. Two performers are
spotlighted centre stage presenting a theatrical fragment almost in slow motion
in which one of the two appears to punch the other in the face. The three remaining performers surrounding
the spotlight are revealed applauding wildly.
A number of short scenes are presented by the same two performers,
separated by changing the colour of the lighting to differentiate the
divisions. The others introduce these scenes by reading sections from the
complete zaum poem by Kruchenykh that was fragmented to form the
nonsense language used previously.
Performer three, evidently dissatisfied with this short performance,
stands suddenly and shouts a text fragment in Russian taken from a different
Kruchenykh text: “Lets quickly put an end to this worthless comic act.”[31] The entrance of this text
brings about recorded animal sounds which quickly throw the performance into
chaos. The Kruchenykh text spreads from
one performer to the other (in a number of different languages) as the farmyard
animals become louder and louder, resulting finally in the recorded voices
screaming the work ‘nyet’. The five
performers are suddenly silent and shrug their shoulders slowly and
simultaneously in the direction of an unseen observer beyond the stage. The performance space is then quickly brought
into darkness.
Kamensky
Kamenskij
Vasily Kamensky (1884-1961) played an important role as a Russian
futurist, being responsible for the development and elaboration of certain
avant-garde poetic techniques. Following
the premises of Russian cubo-futurism, he attempted to break down language and
reconstruct it in a totally new form. He
became interested in phonic instrumentation, and in particular with the
possibilities offered by onomatopoeic procedures: here a melodic line came increasingly to
prevail. The structure of the third movement, in adopting some of the attitudes
to language characteristic of Kamensky, uses the structures and rhythms behind
text to structure the musical development within the composition, reminiscent
of Indian dance ‘spoken’ through the rhythmic nature of the words: musical
structures continually result in the formation of the text just as the reciting
of the text results in the creation of musical structures and movement patterns.
There is also an emphasis in this section on exploring more
completely the role that ‘movement’ plays in the creation of music; the natural
physicality of music expressed through playing an instrument or
conducting. This can be related to a
relatively new form of Balinese dance called Kebyar Duduk that uses the
‘physicality’ of instrument-playing to structure the dance. The dance itself evolved from the physical
process required to play the trompong, where the length of the
instrument itself necessitated the player to move from one end to the other,
and as such was usually played by two performers. The originator of Kebyar Duduk wanted
to play this instrument alone and thus invented a large number of stylized
movements that would allow him to reach from one end to the other. This performance became independent of the
instrument and recognised as a dance in its own right, although the dancer in Kebyar
Duduk can still be seen as “an instrument, not as a person.”[32] The physicality of instrument
playing is also suggested by musical teaching methods adopted in
Zaum-3 is divided into three
sections; (i) Ensemble,
(ii) Chorus,
(iii)
Finale.
Section 1: Ensemble
This section begins with a ‘phantom’ ensemble that forms on stage
where the existence of large and grotesque musical instruments is suggested by the exaggerated
movements of the performers. The sounds
themselves are heard from a recording, and are actually vocal sounds of the
same five performers. Movements and
sounds emerging from these invisible ‘instruments’ are echoed at all times by a
performer standing before the ensemble and taking the role of a conductor:
he/she gives stylized gestures that seem to have some controlling connection
with the sounds and movements.
Section 2: Chorus
The ‘musicians’ vacate the central space leaving the conductor
alone who is facing away from the audience.
This performer moves under a spotlight which comes up in the centre of
the stage, turns around, bows to the audience, and then begins to ‘perform’
movement-texts which are spoken by the chorus now surrounding the performance
area. The function of this section is
to introduce and develop the basic elements of the ‘dance-language’ that will
structure the finale. The texts
used are based on a completely ‘meaningless’ (translatable only as sounds) but
rhythmically and texturally exciting sound poem by Kamensky. Here the zaum words are brought to
life by performing the rhythmic passages as flowing movement patterns and the
sounds of single syllables as sharp gestures.
Much of this movement material has already appeared in Zaum-1 and
Zaum-2, although it is presented here in a further developed form. A recitation of the poem is followed by a
number of developments of the same text suggesting alternative ways of
presenting dance languages, leading finally to the performance of two ‘dance
sentences’ growing directly from Kamensky’s poem. These dance sentences are used as the basis
for the concluding section. Comparable
to forms of Indian temple dance, this small vocabulary of rhythmic vocal sounds
structures time in such a way that the movement and musical compositions can simultaneously
develop, inseparably intertwined.
Overleaf is the original poem by Kamensky followed by the dance
sentences.
Sound
Poem from Vasily Kamensky:
Zgara-amba Zgara-amba
Zgara-amba Zgara-amba
Zgara-amba Zgara-amba
Amb. Amb.
Amb-zgara-amba Amb-zgara-amba
Amb-zgara-amba Amb-zgara-amba
Amb-zgara-amba Amb-zgara-amba
Amb. Amb.
qar-qor-qur-qir tsar-tsor-tsur-tsir
Cin-drax-tam-dzzz. Chin-drax-tam-dzzz. [34]
Rhythmic/Dance Language:
mu-ska-ra-am-ba qar!
moo-ska-ra-am-ba tsar!
zga-ra-am-ba zga-ra-am-ba
dza-ma qor!
wa-ma-ka dza-ma
tsor! sha-ma-ka
qi-ma-ka-wa-ma tsi-ma-ka-sha-ma
lu-ci-da-ci qir!
loo-chi-da-chi tsir!
da-moc-ka-za-ku da-moch-ka-za-koo
m‘-ka cin!
za-ma-ku myo-ka chin!
za-ma-ky
xa-ma-[o-ku xa-ma-zho-koo
xa-ma-za-ma-ka drax! xa-ma-za-ma-ka drax!
qu-ra-fu-ma-ci tsoo-ra-foo-ma-chi
fu-ma-ra-ci tam! foo-ma-ra-chi tam!
wu-ska-ma-ra-ca shoo-ska-ma-ra-cha
Section 3: Finale
When a prerecorded voice on tape begins to recite the text, the
composition has entered its concluding stage.
The musical structure of the conclusion can be divided into five shorter
sections. The first three of these
divisions involve a doubling of the tempo at which the text is recited: the first division is very slow, the second
twice as fast and the third twice as fast again, and these speed changes are
reflected both by the movement of the performers and the melodic and rhythmic
development within the musical composition.
1: The first division involves a
single recorded voice and a single performer.
Here the dance sentences as previously introduced can be found hidden
among rhythmic syllables. This
technique of extending a dance text by the insertion of syllables is also used
in Indian dance exercises. These rhythmic syllables have no meaning-based
connection with the dance text, but the dance text is actually being read very
slowly and if the syllables were not included it would be difficult to hold the
rhythm: here the performer must express very slowly the dance text in movement
as first introduced during the chorus.
Musical sounds in the form of percussion instruments gradually
impose.
2:
After one complete repetition of the dance sentences, the second
division begins and the speed of the text doubles resulting in two more
performers joining the soloist. The
music continues to grow in complexity beneath the words. The text/movement composition is performed
simultaneously twice by the three performers standing centre stage.
3: The speed doubles again, leading to
the third division and also signifying the entrance of the last two
performers. At this point however, one
of the recorded voices reads the text at the faster tempo, and the other two
voices stay at the same tempo, meaning that while the complete text is read
four times by one of the voices (and performed quickly by the solo performer),
the text is read only two times at the slower speed and thus performed at the
slower tempo. The new performers that
have joined the dance composition are reacting to the sound of two new voices
that have started reciting text on the tape: they are adopting a slow and
regular rhythmic repetition of the syllabic gestures first introduced in the chorus,
contrasting with the flowing movements texts now being spoken/danced. The ‘music-language’ is now at its most
complex, involving simultaneously three different dance speeds and musical
levels. In the fourth repetition of the
solo dance-text, the music and thus the movement of all the performers begins
to accelerate.
4:
The fourth division of the finale begins after a point of climax
is reached and all the players suddenly change from the complex polyphonic
movement patterns to a simplified more
rhythmical movement series. These
movements are based on the rhythms of a simplified text taken from the dance
sentences, and the music (structured around the words) is based on the
repeating patterns of the Indonesian gamelan.
This pattern repeats a number of times, and then the rhythm begins to
slow.
5:
Division five begins when a new slower tempo is reached. Suddenly more complex musical, vocal and
physical elements are brought in within the existing structure. Like in Indonesian gamelan, the musical
structure remains the same, but when the slower tempo is reached more complex
rhythmic patterns can occur. Just as the
melody behind the spoken text keeps playing at the slower tempo, the solo
performer stays performing the slow rhythmic movements while two of the other
performers are performing a more complex rhythmic pattern. The purpose here is to demonstrate something
which is unique in Indonesian musical performance: when a slower tempo is reached and the resulting
sound from the performance becomes complex because of the entrance of new
rhythmic passages, simple melodic instruments stay holding the same melodic
pattern that is actually no longer recognizable as a melody because the speed
is so slow. The motions of the
performers who are playing these instruments have also slowed, and it appears
almost as if the musicians playing the slower tempo are performing in slow
motion despite the complex rhythms that have developed around them.[35] All the performers play
together in an entirety that allows for simultaneous performance of different
rhythmic levels, which despite their differences are bonded together by the
larger repeating musical structures.
This binds the performance together in a way that is not readily
perceived in Western culture, reflecting in a unique way an ‘unspoken’ cultural
unity, one that is expressed through the music.
As mentioned an important element of Zaum-3 is the intimate and inseparable
relationship that exists between the words and the music, comparable
particularly to forms of Indian dance where the rhythms of the words dictate
structures both to the musicians and the dancers. In Zaum-3 a
‘dance/movement language’ develops from which musical textures are allowed to
grow that relate directly to the structures of the spoken texts. Through the development of these musical textures beneath the vocal
sounds the words themselves become gradually redundant, leaving only the music
and dance. A state is now presented
where the composition has moved beyond the necessity for the binding structures
of ‘language’ to communicate, resulting finally in the silence which begun the
composition.
EPILOGUE
As can be demonstrated in the work of the Russian futurists, the
extreme avant-garde tends to link up with the archaic; as a reaction against
the conventions of contemporary society artists have looked back to ancient
forms of ritual and performance that surpass conventional forms of
communication. Kruchenykh himself wrote
poetry consisting entirely of vowels, which can compare to the Egyptian priests
who chose a name composed of vowels for the gods in the most solemn of
religious ceremonies.[36] The classical tradition obliterated from language the
unexplainable, mystical properties of sound as recognizable in much Eastern
religion, and it can be said that it has fallen to the avant-garde to
rediscover and appropriate it: “We have
charged the word with forces and energies which made it possible for us to
rediscover the evangelical concept of the ‘word’ as a magical complex of
images”[37] wrote the dadaist Hugo
Ball; “we must withdraw into the deepest alchemy of words, reserving to poetry
its most sacred ground.” This programme
would have appealed to Velimir Khlebnikov who wanted to create a mythical
‘pan-slavonic’ language “whose shoots must grow through the thicknesses of
modern Russian.”[38] Perhaps the greatest
tribute left by the Russian futurists was zaum. Zaum looked like the outer limit of
poetry, where sounds can create meaning but are not subordinated to it. The two major proponents of zaum,
Khlebnikov and Kruchenykh, certainly shared a vision for new ways of dealing
with language, even if their methods were decidedly different. In both cases, the ‘absurdity’ of zaum
had a purpose and was never completely anarchic: for Khlebnikov that purpose was connected
with new ways of harnessing language as a means of communication, whereas
Kruchenykh totally abandoned rational interpretation wanting to connect on a
level that went beyond rational processes and deep into the psyche. Even Kamensky was to develop the concept of zaum
through his interest in the musical nature of nonsense verse. For the Russian futurists this was “an appeal
to a higher sense, one that is implicit only in the form of the work
itself. The spatial temporal universe,
one that is stable and pervasive.”[39] This interpretation of Russian futurism as a transcendent
movement is comparable to Zen Buddhism, which treats alogical language as the
key to enlightenment and a complete understanding of the world. This also connects to the ‘ritual’ languages
used in some Eastern performances, where untranslatable vocal and gestural sign
systems are adopted to communicate concepts essentially alien to language. The intention in the Zaum composition
is to explore this connection between the ancient and the contemporary by
adopting certain attitudes to performance and linguistic theory in the
‘musical’ structure: a context for the interpretation of seemingly absurd
actions and sounds is created during the performance itself, and traditional
theatre which is structured around the interpretation of word based texts is
brought into question. By questioning
the sometimes exceedingly rational nature of Western theatre through the
influence of both the Russian futurists and various forms of Eastern
performance, a contrasting vision for signification is presented for use in the
theatre.
“It is not new objects
which should be used in art, but a new and fantastic light should be thrown upon the old ones.”
Ñ Alexei Kruchenykh
Zaum-2
Introduction
Zaum-2 is a music-theatre composition for five performers and
tape, and is envisaged as the central movement in a three movement work. The name for this composition is derived from
radical theoretical concepts presenting an entirely new attitude to language
and communication - ‘Zaum language’ - introduced during the Russian futurist
era, a particularly unique period of history close by the turn of the century. This is basically a form of poetic
communication that redefined language itself, but not in terms of ‘meaning’ in
the translatable sense: According to the
Russian futurists, poetry using language restricted by strict referential meaning
and grammatical structures was no longer a valid form of artistic
communication. Poetry was extended to include non-referential sounds that could
nevertheless be enjoyed ‘by themselves,’ an attitude that had previously been
confined to music. This composition takes the futurist theory and extends it
through various contrasting theoretical concepts. The intention is to create a theatrical
composition based on this new attitude to language, but to escape from the
bonds of Western conventions by adopting alternative communicative forms. The Russian futurists in their adoption of
zaum language certainly caught more than a glimpse of what was to become the
obsession of Antonin Artaud: The
creation of a new language unique to the theatre, where the word is broken from
its strict meaning and discovered in a completely new form. From his famous volume of theoretical essays The
Theatre and its Double a clear image of this language can be found.
“In the theatre, a line is a sound, a movement is music and
the gesture which emerges from a sound is like a key word in a sentence.”
This is an attempt to explore the possibilities of discovering
text through music and of music communicating through text presenting various
levels of ambiguity that can provide many possible ways for ‘meaning’ to be
rendered in the theatre
Background
Russian futurism had a totally contrasting set of influences to
other movements in art primarily because of the isolated position of
A group of artists recognised for the extremity of their
experimental work, became known as the ‘cubo-futurists’. The name of this composition is taken from
one the primary theoretical innovations introduced by members of this group:
Zaumni Yazyk (abbreviated zaum), meaning ‘trans-sense language.’ These linguistic innovations certainly
extended beyond merely the meaningless stringing together of Russian sounds and
into areas of communication that had rarely
been seriously considered. This
included the theatre: Alexei Kruchenykh
(1886-1969), one of the primary theoreticians of zaum language, said that he
saw zaum as the only possibility for use in the new theatre and cinema. According to Jindrich Honzl, a member of the
Alexei Kruchenykh was to become the primary supporter and
theoretician of zaum, which he saw as a leading mode of expression because he
believed that trans-sense language was demanded by the confused character of
contemporary life and served as an antidote to the paralysis of common
language. This was a reaction against
the obsession with meaning, reason, psychology and philosophy presented by the
conservative literary traditions. The
absurdity of Kruchenykh’s most experimental works was a very specific
behaviour; it was different from the seemingly absurd with a hidden message,
different even from the surreal type of subconscious associations. This absurdity was a pointless, mindless,
stubbornly senseless, irresolvable condition meant only to reveal new and
previously invisible realms of the psyche.
The work of Alexei Kruchenykh was particularly influential to this
composition. Most of the vocal sound
material adopted is taken from deconstructed Kruchenykh poems, poems that in
any case has no ‘meaning’ in the traditional Western sense. In this composition the sounds are
reconstructed in an apparently impossible theatrical reality in order to create
a new concept of language.
Scenario
Kruchenykh thought that the conservative literary traditions
placed serious limitations on poetic imagination, and suggested that the
‘emptier’ the poetic imagination, the more creative and fruitful the poetic
result. These attitudes are presented by
a constant transformation between ‘theatrical’ and ‘musical’ form, but where
essentially non-musical and non-theatrical means are used creating deliberate
ambiguity. Performance events that
allude to theatrical ‘meaning’ (but are actually have no significative
function) are combined with totally ‘meaningless’ gestures/sounds that are
revealed to have some sort of ‘significance’ but only in the context of the
performance. The purpose is to explore
points of ambiguity between ‘musical’ and ‘theatrical’ communication.
The composition begins with performers adopting potentially
‘meaningful’ gestures which forms into an amusing rhythmically structured
movement piece, just as the composition ends after a vocal composition develops
into a performance that alludes to Russian ‘slapstick’ theatre. The central section uses a series of
gestures that become directly representative of vocal sounds from tape: A new ‘performance’ language is in fact
created before the eyes of the audience.
Lighting emerges on the five performers, who stand side-by-side
centre stage close by the audience, staring blankly as if entirely
disinterested in the performance event.
These five figures are actually’ characters’ who live in an incredibly
limited theatrical world, only able to perform certain gestures and react to
certain sounds. Every move and action
from these characters within the composition is prefigured and forms the basis
of their communicative ‘language’, a vocabulary consisting of only a small
number of gestures and sounds. Each of
the characters has a name, and this is one of the primary signifiers for the
five involved. At various times in the
composition, the characters are called on by their names resulting in some
important developmental change within the composition. The names actually exist in two forms, a long
and a shorter form, typical of the Russian convention, and both are adopted
during the composition.
The composition begins first with the performers using certain
gestures seemingly at random: Coughing,
checking their watch, clearing their throat, sighing etc. The pauses between the gestures are
excruciatingly long, and it appears as if the performers are waiting for
something to happen. This is soon
rendered absurd when these gestures are
repeated and patterns form between the
performers; it is revealed that their is actually more at work than a simple
random presentation of movement. This
soon forms into simple musical structures, where the gestures form part of
simple repeated rhythms changing completely the interpretative possibilities. The audience is directly confronted with this
‘out of frame’ activity, material that is both non-musical and non-theatrical,
but which is obviously impossible to disattend because the performers have
already been recognised as such and are standing in the centre of the stage.
The tape part emerges from beneath the sound of the live
performance ensemble with whispered conversational vocal sounds that appear to
come from nowhere, and a sudden loud sibilant sound (Shh!) stills the ensemble
who were previously performing the absurd rhythmic gestures. Five voices can be heard on tape speaking in
a language that sounds a little like Russian, and each of these voices commands
one of the five performers on stage. The
text that is used on the recording is taken from a Kruchenykh zaum poem that
alludes to Russian, but has actually no translation into any language; the poem
was fragmented and a conversational vocabulary formed from this source
material. The first reaction from the
performance ensemble is to be seemingly shocked, causing them to look in all
directions to see exactly from where the sound emerged. A number of whispered sounds on the tape lead
to a shouted command which brings the ensemble to attention. Then another vocal command is uttered causing
performer 2 to move to a certain
position and face in a certain direction.
This happens a number of times until all the performers are named and
positioned in specified places around the performance space. Then simple syllabic vocal sounds which have been freely adopted from
another Kruchenykh poem and the Russian language itself become represented on
the stage by simple movements from the performers (the raising of an arm,
turning of the head etc.); the voices appear to be commanding the performers to
move. The same vocal sound comes to
represent the same movement for a certain performer, and a number of the vocal
sounds are shared by all the performers.
In other words, a ‘semiotic code’ is created on the stage, where the
audience is deliberately directed into recognising an entirely
new, be it limited, ‘stage language.’
Ambiguity is presented by the contrast between the indexical nature of
the voices on tape who appear to be ‘commanding’ the performers to move, and
the symbolic nature of the language itself.
The vocal/movement sounds on tape become more frequent until
finally all the performers are moving in reaction to the cassette. A point of development is reached where
‘movement words’ are formed by the syllabic Russian fragments, and each performer
has a specific ‘word’ which he must perform.
After a climactic point where all the voices are reading these
performance words simultaneously, the voices one by one stop and the ensemble
on the stage is still. Then the names of
the performers are called and one by one they move into specified positions
surrounding the performance space. The
lighting fades out, and the sound of voices in whispered conversation can be
heard from the cassette. This develops
gradually into a musical structure based on the transferal of whispered words
that alludes to some sort of conspiratorial conversation into whispered sounds
without meaning, and then the insertion of syllabic sounds ending with the
chanting of Russian syllables. Finally
the vocal composition reaches its climax after a loud declamation from
performer 3, resulting in the lights being brought up suddenly, spotlighting
two performers centre stage performing an absurd action; presenting an almost
slow motion theatrical fragment: One of
the performers appears to punch one of the other performers. A number of different fragments are
presented by the same two performers, separated by changing the colour of the
lighting to differentiate the small sections, and the players still surrounding
the performance space read sections from a complete zaum poem by Kruchenykh -
the same zaum poem that was fragmented to form the theatrical ‘vocabulary’
adopted earlier. A final text also from
Kruchenykh is adopted by the performers on stage in multiple languages when the
short pantomime is over, beginning with one player, and then spreading to the
others: “Lets quickly put an end to this worthless comic act.” When all the
players are saying the phrase (in a number of different languages) as if trying
to convince one another of the urgency, a loud reverberant sound from the tape
(‘nyet’) results in the performers stopping and then performing a simultaneous
gesture (a finger to the lips to indicate quietness), after which the
performance space is quickly brought into darkness. This is the end of the composition.
Notation
The notation in Zaum-2 has been written in the clearest possible
form, and is basically a combination of musical and theatrical ‘events’. The score divides the composition into specified
time divisions where ‘time’ is considered as a forwardly moving continuum
represented by moving from the left to the right sight of the page. The exact position in time that the
composition has reached is represented by the Time Track positioned above all other parts (see
illustration 1). Straight lines or
arrows make divisions in the score and will hereby be known as Time
signifying Lines. The length of each
of these time divisions is determined by a marker beneath an arrow by the time
signifying line, or otherwise by the logical interpretation of instructions.
Within these divisions occur the musical or performance ‘events’. The beginning of a certain section brings
about the performance of one or a number of events. The events themselves are constructed from
simple instructions, illustrations, symbols and musical excerpts. The understanding of a number of simple
notation conventions are necessary however to understand these events.
Any action or sound is performed directly after the time specified
by the signifying line, and is performed once or as many times as specified in
the instruction. If any sound or action
is somewhere within the segment then it must be performed in approximately that
position in time. The way in which a text fragment in the score is read is also dependent on its graphic
position on the page and within the time division (see illustration 3). However, if an event is surrounded in an enclosed
shape with an arrow emerging, the event is repeated or continues to occur until
the arrow reaches a time signifying line (or possibly another event), in which
case the player stops and changes to the new event directly following the line
(see illustration 4). Instructions can
sit above the arrow itself which will change the manner in which the contents
of the box is repeated, e.g getting louder or faster. If a performance event is surrounded by a box
but has no arrow emerging, this means that the single event is actually
stretched out to fill completely the time division (see illustration 5).
The presence of a dotted line joining performance events during a
time division signifies that a particular event is related to another event in
some way. If the line is straight and
one of the events occurs after the first then the event situated further on in
the score occurs directly after the first is completed(see illustration
6). However if the line is on an angle,
there is a short pause between the events which is sometimes specified (see illustration
7). If the time division is not
specified in some way on the score, then it is considered as equal to a ‘breath
mark’ - a short pause. If a straight
dotted line joins the beginning of two performance events then this means that
the two events must begin at the same time (see illustration 8). Sometimes the dotted line form is used simply
to link performance events that are in some way related to one another, such as
performers interacting, and is elucidated by instructions.
Interpretation of the contents of text-based performance events is
particularly important in the composition.
An understanding of the sounds of the Russian Cyrillic alphabet is
obviously necessary, because some sounds are used that simply do not exist in
the English language. Instructions not
printed in the Cyrillic alphabet are included to guide the performer to a
correct reading of the text, and a certain number of symbols are used that are
also necessary when interpreting the text.
A horizontal line emerging from a letter-group represents unbroken sound
which may be accompanied by further instructions as to what type of sound is to
be made - sibilant, emotive, violent etc. (see example 9i). A longer line can be replaced by simply a
dash but is representative of the same thing - a long sound (see example 9ii). A curving line signifies that the pitch of
the sound is increased over the time that the sound is made (see example
9iii). If a difference in pitch is to be
specified, it is related to the central dotted line which is considered a
mid-range pitch. Beneath the line is a
low range pitch and above is a high range, so logically a line that moves from
beneath the line to a point above it specifies a rising pitch. Illustration 10 demonstrates the notation of
a syllabic insertion. An exclamation
mark following the syllable signifies that the syllabic fragment is extroverted
and almost violent (10i). Without
exclamation mark a pitch (high, low or mid-range) is specified and the sound
itself is detached (10ii). These act
often as loud and sudden insertions in an already adopted text event and in
these cases the performer performs the rest of the text in the box as specified
previously (see illustration 11).
Notation of movement in performance events is particularly
important in the structure of the composition, and a number of different
methods are used. The first is
linguistic, or descriptive, where the movement is described within a
performance event as an instruction, and is performed within the time specified
(see illustration 12). The second is
indexical where some form of non-connected symbol is used as an index to
represent movements. The third is
symbolic or diagrammatic where diagrams are used to represent the movement of
performers on stage. the last two
methods need to be described in a little more detail. The indexical form uses two contrasting
methods to notate movement. The first is
represented simply by numbers in circles, and the exact movements are listed
overleaf. From bar 27 a number of sounds
are made that are heard on a recording in the performance and are literally
‘brought to life’ by the performers on stage as movements and are performed at
the same time as the sounds. These
sounds are notated in the score, and the specified movements that they come to
be represent by in a performance of the work are also listed overleaf. In all cases the same movements are used
every time they are repeated. The
symbolic or diagrammatic form is represented in the score by diagrams related
to positions on the score by large letters.
These letters are positioned above the time track and thus are logically
performed when this time on the track is reached during the composition. The symbols in the diagram are very easily
interpreted, each of the circles being representative for one of the five performers. The arrow merging from the symbol specifies
exactly the direction in which the performer should move and the arrow head
represents his final stopping place. The
arrow head at one side of the performer-representing circle demonstrates the
direction in which the performer is facing.
Tape
The tape part performs a very important role in the performance of
this composition, interacting directly with the performance in a number of
different and often ambiguous ways. It
is therefore essential that it be recorded at the highest possible quality to
provide a crispness in the reproduction without distortion. No special tape effects are required until
right at the end of the composition and a single word (Russian ‘Nyet!’) is
spoken by the third voice. This is
designed to present some kind of omnipotent observer who brings the composition
to a close, and can be recorded with an artificial reverb effect.
If it is possible the same
five performers should perform in the live performance as in the prerecorded,
among other things making it necessary for the performers to listen and react
to the sound of their own voice. The
tape part should be recorded in stereo and the voices should be positioned in a
stereo soundscape as illustrated below:
Important notes
No stage properties are required for a performance of Zaum-2,
although the costumes worn by each of the five performers has been
specified. In an ideal situation each of
the five performers should wear a different coloured dress suit, each
preferably characterised by a single striking colour. The one feature that needs to unite the five
performers is a hat, which each of the performers adopts during the opening
section of the work.
Resource material that has been used by the composer to write this
introduction can be found in two recent theoretical papers: “The Russian
Futurist Connection: Rediscovering language through music-theatre” and “The
Significative Potential of Music in the Theatre.” Copies are available from the composer who
can be contacted through Evos music, GPO Box N1051 Perth 6001
Zaum-2 was first presented in an
incomplete form on Wednesday 17th February 1993 as part of contemporary music
week in
The first complete performance of Zaum-2 took place also in
Introduction
“It is not new objects which should be used in art, but a new
and fantastic
light should be thrown upon the old ones.”
Ñ Alexei Kruchenykh
Zaum-2 is a music-theatre composition for
five performers and tape, and is envisaged as the central movement in a three
movement work. Zaum-1 and Zaum-3
form respectively the first and the last sections of the complete ZAUM
composition, although the three individual movements can be performed
separately.
The name for this composition is derived from radical language based
concepts presenting an entirely new attitude to language and
communication - ‘Zaum language’ - introduced during the Russian futurist era, a
particularly unique period of history in art close by the turn of the
century. This is basically a form of poetic
communication that redefined language itself, but not in terms of ‘meaning’ in
the translatable sense; according to the Russian futurists, poetry using
language restricted by strict referential meaning and grammatical structures
was no longer a valid form of artistic communication. Poetry was extended to
include non-referential sounds that could nevertheless be enjoyed ‘by
themselves,’ an attitude that had previously been confined to music. This
composition takes the futurist theory and extends it through various
contrasting theoretical concepts. The
intention is to create a theatrical composition based on this new attitude to
language, but to escape from the bonds of Western musical and theatrical
conventions by adopting alternative communicative forms. The Russian futurists in their adoption of zaum
language certainly caught more than a glimpse of what was to become the
obsession of Antonin Artaud: the
creation of a new language unique to the theatre, where the word is broken from
its traditionally accepted meaning and discovered in a completely new
form. From his famous volume of
theoretical essays The Theatre and its Double a clear image of this
language can be found:
“In the theatre, a
line is a sound, a movement is
music
and the gesture which emerges from a
sound
is like a key word in a sentence.”
This composition explores the possibilities of discovering music
as a theatrical text and of music communicating in the form of a language
presenting various levels of ambiguity that can provide alternative ways for
‘meaning’ to be rendered in the theatre.
Background
Russian futurism contrasted considerably to avant-garde
art movements occurring around the same time in different parts of
A group of artists recognised for the extremity of their
experimental work became known as the ‘cubo-futurists’. The name of this composition is taken from
one of the primary theoretical innovations introduced by members of this group:
Zaumni Yazyk (abbreviated zaum), meaning ‘trans-sense
language.’ This is basically a form of
poetic communication that redefined language itself, but not in terms of
‘meaning’ in the translatable sense:
according to the cubo-futurists, poetry using language restricted by
strict referential meaning and grammatical structures was no longer a valid
form of artistic communication. Poetry was extended to include non-referential
sounds that could nevertheless be enjoyed ‘by themselves,’ an attitude that had
previously been confined to music. These
linguistic innovations certainly extended beyond merely the meaningless
stringing together of Russian sounds and into areas of communication that had
rarely been seriously considered. This included the theatre: Alexei Kruchenykh (1886-1969), one of the
primary theoreticians of zaum language, said that he saw zaum as
the only possibility for use in the new theatre and cinema. According to
Jindrich Honzl, a member of the
Alexei Kruchenykh was to become the primary supporter and
theoretician of zaum, which he saw as a leading mode of expression. He believed that trans-sense language was
demanded by the confused character of contemporary life and served as an
antidote to the paralysis of common language.
This was a reaction against the obsession with meaning, reason,
psychology and philosophy presented by the conservative literary
traditions. The absurdity of
Kruchenykh’s most experimental works was a very specific behaviour; it was
different from the seemingly absurd with a hidden message, different even from
the surreal type of subconscious associations.
This absurdity was a totally meaningless combination of sounds and
visual elements designed only to present new ways of experiencing
language. The work of Alexei Kruchenykh
was particularly influential to this composition. Most of the vocal sound material adopted is
taken from deconstructed Kruchenykh poems, poems that in any case have no
‘meaning’ in the traditional Western sense.
In this composition the sounds are reconstructed in an apparently
impossible theatrical reality in order to present alternative language systems
that have ‘meaning’ only within the context of the composition.
Scenario
Kruchenykh played a particularly significant role with regard to
the theory and use of zaum language. He thought that the conservative
literary traditions placed serious limitations on poetic imagination, invention,
verbal play and spontaneous intuition.
Kruchenykh suggested that the ‘emptier’ the poetic imagination, the more
creative and fruitful the poetic result: the penetration of the mysteries
beyond the rational world. These
anarchic attitudes to language form the basis for this composition, and the
emphasis is on the rejection of the idea of any ‘sense’ or ‘meaning’ in the
Western sense in order for some kind of signification to occur: traditional
meanings are stripped from already existing gestural and vocal models, and new
and ridiculous ‘meaning systems’ are presented in their place. Vocal material
taken from a complete fragmentation of one of Kruchenykh’s ‘meaningless’ zaum
poems forms the structural element. The
performers are given names formed from the fragmented sound pool and are
constantly referred to by five voices on tape who are using a nonsense language
based similarly on the zaum fragments.
The names become primary signifiers for the five involved: at various
times in the composition, the characters are called on by these names resulting
in some important developmental change within the composition. The names actually exist in two forms, the
standard and the familiar (typical of the Russian convention) and both are
adopted during the composition. Below is
the poem itself in the form that it appeared
when it was published, followed by a translation into Russian letters, a
phonetic transcription, and then the ‘names’ of the performers which were taken
from the fragmentations.
ser[amelepeta
senhl ok
rizum
meleva
alik
a levamax
li li lub b]l
cerzhamyelyepyeta
cyenyal ock
rezoom
myelyeva
alik a levamax
le le lyoub byoul
Kruchenykh, Explodity
(1914): Lithographed page of zaum
writing illustrated by Kulbin.
Performer 1: Ser[, Ser[ok Serjh, Serzhok
Performer 2: Peta,
Petax Peta, Petax
Performer 3: Mel,
Melok Mjel,
Mjelok
Performer 4: Alik, Alikom Alik,
Alikom
Performer 5: Zum,
Zumok Zoom,
Zoomok
Development in this part of the composition is presented
by a constant transformation between ‘theatrical’ and ‘musical’ states that is
brought about by contrasting performance situations that allude to theatrical
‘meaning’ with totally ‘meaningless’ gestures/sounds: the composition begins with performers
adopting potentially ‘meaningful’ gestures which form into an amusing musical
pattern (almost without sound), just as the composition ends after a musical
vocal composition develops into a performance that alludes to Russian
‘slapstick’ theatre. The purpose is to
explore points of ambiguity between ‘musical’ and ‘theatrical’
communication. The central section of Zaum-2
uses this ambiguity to create an absurd ‘performance’ language. A simple series
of movements taken from Zaum-1 are brought to life by prerecorded vocal sounds.
After a number of repetitions the movements become associated with these vocal
sounds, and therefore a new ‘performance’ language is created before the eyes
of the audience.
Zaum-2 is divided into three
sections; (i) Beginning Time,
(ii) Vertolk Middel,
(iii) End Play.
Section One: Beginning Time
Lighting emerges on the five performers, who stand
side-by-side centre stage close by the audience, staring blankly as if entirely
disinterested in the performance event.
It begins first with the performers using certain gestures seemingly at
random: coughing, checking watch,
clearing throat, sighing etc. At first
the pauses between the gestures are excruciatingly long, and it appears as if
the performers are waiting for something to happen. The audience is directly confronted with ‘out
of frame’ activity, material that is both non-musical and non-theatrical, but
which is obviously impossible to disattend because the performers have already
been recognised as such and are standing in the centre of the stage. These
gestures are soon rendered absurd when they are repeated and patterns begin to
form, revealing that there is actually more at work than simply the
presentation of impatient performers.
This soon forms into a musical structure when the gestures form part of
a simple repeated rhythmic series, changing completely the interpretative
possibilities.
Section Two: Vertolk Middel
The tape part emerges around the live performance
ensemble with whispered conversational vocal sounds that appear to come from
nowhere. A sudden loud sibilant sound (Shh!) stills the ensemble who were
previously performing the absurd rhythmic gestures. The five voices on tape are speaking a
language that seems to resemble Russian.
The first reaction from the performance ensemble is to be seemingly
shocked, causing them to look in all directions to see exactly from where the
sounds emerge. A number of whispered
sounds on the tape lead to a shouted command which brings the ensemble to
attention. Then vocal commands are
shouted causing individual performers to move to different positions on the
stage, until all members of the ensemble are positioned in specified places
around the performance space. Simple
syllabic vocal sounds become represented
on the stage by simple movements from the performers (the raising of an arm,
turning of the head etc.); the voices appear to be commanding the performers to
move. The same vocal sound comes to
represent the same movement for a certain performer, and a number of the vocal
sounds are shared by all the performers.
In other words, a ‘semiotic code’ is created on the stage, where the
audience is deliberately directed into recognising an entirely
new, be it limited, ‘stage language.’
Ambiguity is presented by the contrast between the symbolic nature of
the language when it appears that the sounds act as movement commands, and the
indexical nature of the sounds on tape which set up an intrinsic relationship
between certain sounds and certain movements.
The sound in itself becomes the movement, and a sound-based movement
composition is performed. This absurd presentation of a language system is theoretically
provocative, parodying theatre forms which use always the same form of preset
language conventions to communicate in the theatre.
The vocal/movement sounds on tape become more frequent
until finally all the performers are moving in reaction to the cassette. A point of development is reached where
‘movement words’ are formed by the syllabic Russian fragments, and each
performer has a specific ‘word’ which he must perform. After a climactic point where all the
voices are reading these performance words simultaneously, the voices one by
one stop and the ensemble on stage is still.
Then the names of the performers are called and one by one they move
into specified positions surrounding the performance space.
Section Three: End Play
The lighting fades out and the sound of voices in
whispered conversation can be heard from the tape. This develops into a musical structure based
on the transferal of whispered words that allude to some sort of conspiratorial
conversation into sibilant sounds stooped of theatrical ‘meaning’. After further development ending with the
chanting of Russian syllables, the climax is reached: a loud declamation from
voice three results in the lights being brought up suddenly. Two performers are
spotlighted centre stage presenting a theatrical fragment almost in slow motion
in which one of the two appears to punch the other in the face. The three remaining performers surrounding
the spotlight are revealed applauding wildly.
A number of short scenes are presented by the same two performers,
separated by changing the colour of the lighting to differentiate the
divisions. The others introduce these scenes by reading sections from the
complete zaum poem by Kruchenykh that was fragmented to form the
nonsense language used previously.
Performer three, evidently dissatisfied with this short performance,
stands suddenly and shouts a text fragment in Russian taken from a different
Kruchenykh text: “Lets quickly put an end to this worthless comic act.”(Alexei Kruchenykh, Slovo
Kak Takovoe [Moscow 1913]: pg. 11). The entrance of this text brings about
recorded animal sounds which quickly throw the performance into chaos. The Kruchenykh text spreads from one
performer to the other (in a number of different languages) as the farmyard
animals become louder and louder, resulting finally in the recorded voices screaming
the work ‘nyet’. The five performers are
suddenly silent and shrug their shoulders slowly and simultaneously in the
direction of an unseen observer beyond the stage. The performance space is then quickly brought
into darkness.
Characters
A performance of Zaum-2 requires the use of five actors to
play the roles of five individual ‘characters’.
These characters are not representative of individual human figures and
have no predefined characteristics. As
such, being genderless and ageless, the actors can be freely chosen for the
different roles depending on who is suited best to which role.
The characters are distinguished firstly by a number and a
name. In the score, the numbers 1 to 5
refer to the recorded voices, and the names (written in the Cyrillic alphabet)
refer to the live performers on stage.
The five prerecorded voices always refer and affect (in a number of
different ways) the actions of the same performer on stage, and it is therefore
assumed that the voices of an actor will read/perform the corresponding vocal
line to his/her chosen role. The numbers
are sometimes used to refer to the live performers on stage especially in
diagrams demonstrating movement across the stage. In any case, the numbers and the names refer
always to the same performer/voice as listed below:
1 Ser[ Blue Jacket
2 Peta Yellow Jacket
3 Mel Grey Jacket
4 Alik Green Jacket
5 Zum Red Jacket
Requirements
The costume requirements for Zaum-2 are very simple. The performers are required to wear a black
costume that facilitates movement. This can
take the form of a black dress shirt and a pair of loose trousers. The clothing
should in any case not be skin tight.
Each of the performers requires a different coloured dress jacket. These jackets are relatively important
because the only way the characters can be distinguished on stage is through
the colour of the jacket which he/she wears.
The identity of any actor has little significance, and thus an actor
could change roles during the performance simply by changing jackets. The list above includes the colour of the
jackets required by the performers. The
colours should be as striking as possible to assist in distinguishing the
characters. Five matching hats are also
required during the performance and act both to recall the period of the Russian
futurists as well as to perform various functions during the progress of the
composition. These hat should resemble
detective hats typical for the period of the futurists and the colour is
preferably black.
The only stage items necessary are matching chairs. If a performance of this work follows a
performance of Zaum-1 five chairs will be necessary, but if Zaum-2
is performed alone only three chairs are needed. These chairs should be sturdy and made of
wood, preferably painted black and not too heavy. At the beginning of the performance the
chairs should be lined up in a row facing the audience along the back of the
stage and are required for use only in the third section of the composition: End Play.
Notation
The notation in Zaum-2 can be simply defined as a
convention system that presents graphically musical and theatrical events. The score divides the composition into
specified time divisions where ‘time’ is considered as a forwardly moving
continuum represented by moving from the left to the right side of the page.
The actions of five performers on stage, as well as the prerecorded vocal
sounds that must be played while the live performance takes place, are
represented in the score by divisions listed on the left-hand side of the page. Numbers 1-5 specify the recorded voices,
whereas the names of the ‘characters’ (listed previously) are used to represent
the live performers.
The exact position in time that the composition has reached is
represented by the Time Track
positioned above the other parts.
Time is represented here by specifying the duration of certain time
divisions. These time divisions are
presented in two different forms. The
first is demonstrated in illustration 1a where a distinct time interval
is specified (or suggested by the presence of instructions or musical
notation). The second is demonstrated by
illustration 1b where the division is divided into regular time
intervals (usually seconds), and is used for more complex performance events .
The length of these regular divisions is given above the time track in
the form of a metronome marking. If
purely musical notation is used, no time track is necessary because the
division of time is naturally signified by the tempo.
Straight lines or arrows proceeding in a vertical direction across
the score and thus dividing it into these time divisions will hereby be
known as time signifying lines.
The beginning of a certain time division can bring about the performance
of one or a number of events.
These performance events are formed by the use of written texts
(mostly using the Russian alphabet) that are read in a style suggested by
instructions, musical excerpts if the performance involves rhythm or some kind
of melodic line, and notation systems to signify the performance of movement.
The presence of time signifying lines usually means a new
performance event must take place, and the performance event closest to the
line is performed directly after the time signifying line. If any other sound or action is somewhere else
within the division, and there are no other instructions in the time division
which could suggest when the event should occur (such as written instructions,
the presence of every second on the time track or notated rhythms) then it must be performed in approximately
that position in time, dependent on its graphic position on the page and within
the time division (see illustration 2). However, if an event is
surrounded in an enclosed shape with a line emerging that continues through the
following time signifying line, the event is repeated or continues to
occur until the arrow reaches a time signifying line (or possibly
another event) in which case the player stops and changes to the new event
directly following the line (see illustration 3a). If an event is to end in a position in the
middle of a time division, a short line is used to demonstrate precisely where
the event stops (see illustration 3b). Instructions can sit above the
arrow itself which will change the manner in which the contents of the box is
repeated, e.g. getting louder or faster.
If a performance event is surrounded by a box that has no line emerging,
this means that the single event is actually stretched out to fill completely
the time division, therefore is only performed once (see illustration 3c).
An event with a line emerging without an arrow head can help to demonstrate how
long the performance of a single action/sound lasts, usually used within a time
division (see illustration 3d).
The presence of a dotted line joining performance events during a
time division signifies that a particular event is related to another event in
some way. If the line is straight and
one of the events occurs after the first then the event situated further on in
the score occurs directly after the first
is completed (see illustration 4).
However if the line is on an angle there is a short pause between the
events which is sometimes specified (see illustration 5). If the time is not specified in some way on
the score, then it is considered as equal to a ‘breath mark’ - a short pause (a
small comma is also used within performance events to demonstrate such a
pause). If a straight dotted line joins
the beginning of two performance events then this means that the two events
must begin at the same time (see illustration 6a). Sometimes the dotted line form is used simply
to link performance events that are in some way related to one another, such as
performers interacting, and are elucidated by instructions (see illustration
11). A dotted line can be also
related to the time track to signify precisely at which position an event
begins or ends (see illustration 6b).
Interpretation of the contents of text-based performance events is
particularly important in the composition.
An understanding of the sounds of the Russian Cyrillic alphabet is
obviously necessary, because some sounds are used that simply do not exist in
the English language. Instructions are
often printed above and/or below the Cyrillic letters to guide the performer to
a correct reading of the text. If
Cyrillic letters are not used, the text that must be read is printed in
noticeably different form in order for them to be differentiated from the
instructions.
In addition to the Russian alphabet, a certain number of symbols
are used that are also necessary when interpreting the text. A horizontal line emerging from a
letter-group represents unbroken sound which may be accompanied by further
instructions as to what type of sound is to be made - sibilant, emotive,
violent etc. (see illustration 7a). A longer line can be replaced by simply a
dash but is representative of the same thing - a long vocal sound (see illustration
7b). A curving line signifies
that the pitch of the sound is increased (or decreased) over the time that the
sound is made (see illustration 7c). If a difference in pitch is to be specified,
it is related to a central line which is considered a mid-range pitch. Beneath the line is a low range pitch and
above is a high range, so logically a line that moves from beneath the line to
a point above it specifies a rising pitch.
The presence of a letter group below or above a musical note signifies a
syllabic sound. The notation convention
is considered the same: if the note is positioned above the line, it is high
pitched and so forth. An exclamation
mark following the syllable signifies that the syllabic fragment is extroverted
and almost violent. Without an
exclamation mark, unless otherwise specified, the sound is detached and without
emotion.
All of these simple conventional symbols for sounds which are not
easily notated by the use of letters alone can be used in combination with
standard text symbols in the form of text insertions. In illustration 8a
long whispered sounds are inserted in the reciting of a whispered text. In illustration 8b the
insertion of a syllabic sound into an
event is demonstrated. In addition to
these conventions standard musical notation is also used in the second section Vertolk Middel from bar
30. A musical ‘measure’ or ‘bar’ can be
considered to be a rhythmically structured time division. Sometimes musical notation is also adopted as
part of performance events, but this is described clearly on the score. Musical symbols are used freely in time
divisions to dictate certain rhythmic and melodic parameters to performers.
Notation of movement in performance events is particularly
important in the structure of the composition, and a number of different
methods are used. Based on a semiotic
model for language, three contrasting systems are adopted in order to present a
more cogent and understandable performance text. The first method is iconic, where
symbols are used that have a connection with the object being represented by
virtue of characters of its own. The icon
is represented in the score by diagrams that show where a performer must move
on the stage, demonstrated in illustration 9. These diagrams are positioned below the
score, and are related to positions on the time track by large letters (see
illustration 11). Unless otherwise
specified it is assumed that the movements specified within the box cannot last
longer than the time division in which the reference letter stands. The icons in the diagram are very
easily interpreted, each of the circles being representative for one of the
five performers, and the arrow head that forms a part of the circle signifies
the direction in which the performer should be facing. The arrow emerging from the symbol specifies
exactly the direction in which the performer should move and also the path that
must be covered. The performer circle by
the arrow head represents his final stopping place. Instructions give suggestions about the
manner in which the performers should move, or other actions that should take
lace while they are moving. Symbols are
also included in the score to demonstrate the position of chairs. An arrowhead pointing out of the chair shows
in which direction chair is facing, and if a performer circle is positioned
over the chair it is assumed that he/she is sitting on the chair. These boxes can also be used to show
important adjustments to the lighting plan.
The second method is indexical. Indexical signs are casually connected
with their objects, in other words an index is a sign which refers to the
object that it denotes by virtue of being affected by that object. In the case of its use in the notation, the
performers must learn a system of sounds that must appear to have a direct
connection with the movements, suggesting some kind of natural coherence
between the sounds and the movements or gestures emerging from them. For example, in Russian the sound ‘Vzzz’ is
used as a verb prefix to signify an upward direction, thus the sound itself
carries this connotation and in the composition this sound signifies a raising
of the hand. From bar 27 a number of
sounds are made that are heard on a recording in the performance and are
literally ‘brought to life’ by the performers on stage as movements by being
performed at the same time as the sounds.
These sounds are notated in the score, and the specified movements that
they come to be represented by in a performance of the work are also listed
overleaf.
Regarding the recording, it is important for the performers to be
aware of the importance of the sounds they are making. From bar 84-90 movement ‘words’ are are
spoken which must be brought to life on stage.
An example of a word is as follows: br Ñ uz! uz! uz! go! go! go! uz! uz! uz! ob: Performer 4 lifts first
left leg, then takes three small jumps forward (hops), moves head three
times,three more jumps, then the leg returns suddenly to the floor. Performers reading the words should make sure
they are able to 'move' the words first - and are very careful that they do not
read the text too fast making it impossible to completely 'express' the sounds.
The third method is symbolic. A symbol is a sign which refers to the
object that it denotes by virtue of another symbolic sign system that has
little or no relationship with the object that is being represented. Here the
relationship between sign-vehicle and signified is conventional and
unmotivated. In the score artificial symbolic sign systems are used where
numbers surrounded by shapes come to represent individual gestures. The
illustrations overleaf demonstrates the simple sign system adopted along with
the movements brought about by the symbols.
Tape
The tape part performs a very important role in the performance of
this composition, interacting directly with the performance in a number of different
and often ambiguous ways. It is therefore essential that it be recorded at the
highest possible quality to provide a crispness in the reproduction without
distortion. The tape part should be
recorded n stereo and the voices should be position in a stereo soundscape as
illustrated below. Otherwise the only
other specifications necessary relate to the farmyard animal sounds. Here five different farmyard animal sounds are
required , and the five voices stay in the same panning position. The performers can choose their own animal
sounds, the intention being simply to provide an amusing way to bring the
composition to a climactic conclusion.
For the premiere performance of Zaum-2 the first three farmyard
animals were chickens!
Notes
“ZAUM: New Music-Theatre for five performers and tape”
A more detailed description of this composition is available in
the form of a book describing the complete ZAUM composition. Copies are
available and enquiries should be sent to the following address:
Night Shades Press
c/o Zachar Laskewicz
Fratersplein 7
b-9000
[1] Antonin Artaud , ÒTheatre and PoetryÓ, Artaud and Theatre
(ed.) Claude Schumacher
(Methuen Drama London 1989): 5. The Theatre and its Double.
[2] Jindrich Honzl, ÒDynamics of the Sign in the TheatreÓ, Semiotics of Art (MIT Press 1976).
[3] Osip Brik, ÒOn KhlebnikovÓ, The Ardis Anthology of Russian Futurism (Ardis Lakeland Press 1980).
[4] Vahan D. Barooshian, Russian
Cubo-futurism (mouton
[5] Charlotte Douglas, ÒViews from the New
World,Ó Ardis Anthology of Russian
Futurism (
[6] Kornej Chukovsky, Futuristy (Peterburg 1922).
[7] Vahan D. Barooshian, Russian
Cubo-Futurism (Mouton
[8] Antonin Artaud , ÒTheatre and PoetryÓ, Artaud
and Theatre (ed.) Claude Schumacher
(Methuen Drama London 1989): 5. The Theatre and its Double.
[9] Five voices on tape directly represent the actions of the same five characters on stage.
[10] The characters can only be distinguished by their names and the colours
of their jackets:1 - Ser[ Serge
(blue), 2 - Peta Pyeta (yellow), 3 - Mel Mjel (grey), 4 - Alik Alik (green), 5 - Zum Zoom (red).
[11] This could be
taken to refer to the sometimes regimented social systems in which we live or
to the
language systems that are presented most commonly in the theatre.
[12] The jackets function to distinguish the
characters in the performance. The
identity of the performer here
has no significance, and thus an actor can change roles in the performance simply by changing jackets.
[13] This is of course assuming that the performers are not Russian speaking.
[14] Kier
[15] Charles Pierce, Collected Papers 1931-58 (
[16] Kier
[17] Kier
[18] It could also be said that the descriptive
use of instructions is also the adoption of a standard symbolic
system: the English language.
[19] Julia Kristeva, Desire in Language (CUP New York 1980): 1. The Ethics of Linguistics.
[20]
[21] Antonin Artaud , ÒTo AndrŽ GideÓ, Artaud
and Theatre (ed.) Claude Schumacher
(Methuen Drama London 1989): 5. The NRF Project.
[22] Khlebnikov, ÒZangezi,Ó The Ardis Anthology of Russian Futurism (Ardis Lakeland Press 1980).
[23] Khlebnikov, Tvoreniya (Sovyetski PisatelÕ Moscow 1986): pg. 482.
[24] Khlebnikov, Tvoreniya (Sovyetski PisatelÕ Moscow 1986): pg. 54.
[25] Woordenboek der Gebarentaal had evidently
been produced independently, as no publication details
were included. The address of the author is as
follows: J. Van Doren, A. Kennisplein17,
2100
[26] Vahan D. Barooshian, Russian Cubo-Futurism (Ardis Lakeland Press 1980): pg. 83.
[27] Kruchenykh Explodity (1914): Lithographed page of zaum writing illustrated by Kulbin.
[28] These names also form the name
fragments which result in the incantation of the performers at the
beginning of Zaum-1.
[29] Non-standard material was also readily adopted in Russian futurist performance.
[30] These vocal sounds have been taken freely from the Russian alphabet.
[31] Alexei Kruchenykh, Slovo Kak Takovoe
(
[32] Beryl De Zoete and Walter Spies, ÒDance
and Drama in BaliÓ Traditional Balinese Culture(ed.) Jane Belo
(Columbia University Press 1970).
[33] Gerhard Kubik, ÒPattern Perception and
Recognition in African MusicÓ The Performing Arts (ed.) John
Blacking (Mouton 1979).
[34] Vasily Kamensky, Sto Poetov (
[35] In Zaum-3
an Indonesian musical technique is used called ÔImbahlÕ. Here two contrasting melodies (one
playing on the beat and the other on the off-beat) are united and form together a new melody.
[36]
[37] Annabelle Melzer, Latest Rage the Big Drum (UMI Resesarch Press 1980).
[38]
[39] Charlotte Douglas, ÒView from the New WorldÓ Ardis Anthology of Russian Futurism (Ardis Press 1980).
© May 2008 Nachtschimmen
Music-Theatre-Language Night Shades,
Ghent (Belgium)*
Send mail to zachar@nachtschimmen.eu with questions or
comments about this website.
*LAST MODIFIED: September 27 2013.
Major Writings
