Expansion of musical gesture in the exploration of symbolism in Ferneyhoug's Cassandra's Dream Song

Abstract

"Cassandra's Dream Song" by Brian Ferneyhoug for solo flute was composed in 1970 and premiered only four years later by Pierre-Yves Artaud. It has the peculiarity of not having a fixed order for its various sections spread over two pages, giving the performer the freedom to choose which line of the second page to intersperse between the lines of the first page. By indication of the composer the order is to be decided spontaneously during the performance and not previously determined. In the lecture recital I am submitting I propose an interpretative approach based on the expansion of the musical gesture, which had as a reference the work of the flutist and researcher Ine Vanoeveren (2018), but which is mainly inspired by the myth of Cassandra in its most common version, namely the one that narrates that Apollo will have granted Cassandra the gift of prophecy in exchange for yielding to his sexual advances, but having she did not yield, "Apollo, irritated, spat into her mouth [. ...] [casting a spell on her that caused her that] even if she prophesied accurately, no one would believe it." (Martínez & Galiano & Melero, 1997). In this approach, I seek to mitigate the abstract relationship that the general public tends to establish with performances of highly complex compositions that fall within a so-called erudite contemporary aesthetic. I propose to explore and recreate the symbolic charge of the works in order to intrigue and challenge the audience, to make them react more empathetically, and, therefore, to participate, also in their turn, in the creation of meaning. In a methodology based on laboratory experimentation focused on the expansion of the musical gesture, I simultaneously tried to prolong and bring more visibility to the musical gesture in terms of movement and scenic representation. In order to dynamize the dramatic movement and the scenic intervention, it was fundamental to interpret each of the pages as characters - Apollo and Cassandra - and to make them enter into dialogue. I established that Apollo would be represented by the sections on the first page and Cassandra would be represented by the sections on the second page. However, echoing a feminist interpretation, I felt that the work should end with Cassandra's voice giving her the last word, so the last sections were assigned to Cassandra's character. The characterization of the characters expanded to all dimensions of the performance defining specificities for each one in terms of sound (timbre, articulation, character), in terms of costume and make-up and in terms of movement and other scenic resources (lighting, projection, etc.). The laboratorial work of experimentation was refined with the critical feedback from restricted audiences, obtained in the scope of several 'try-outs' carried out for that purpose. The present submission consists of a full performance of Brian Ferneyhoug's 'Cassandra's dream song' and an oral presentation that will focus on the creative process, the performative options and the relevance of the artistic intervention as well as the potential of this matrix for future interpretations/performances.