Composing anti-acousmatically: an autoethnography

Abstract

This autoethnographic study introduces the process of composing anti-acousmatically, as exemplified in the creation of a music-theatre work, Žižek Says!, for a speaking accordionist and a singing saxophone player. Composing anti-acousmatically acknowledges and simultaneously challenges the acousmatic aesthetic, intentionally guiding the audience’s awareness toward the sound source. It can be seen as one of the so-called post-acousmatic practices, but it extends the possibilities outside digital media. In Žižek Says!, anti-acousmatic composition is present in numerous analogical techniques: ventriloquism-like theatrical acts inspired by Slavoj Žižek, a music-theatre derivative of the children’s game “Simon Says”, a challenging vocal part performed by the saxophonist, and the performers’ bodies positioned almost intimately close to each other.

The autoethnography reveals how using self-imposed constraints stimulated creativity and questioned established compositional conventions and hierarchies, ultimately making the performer’s agency more evident. Part of the creative reflection also involved asking how the crucial role of acousmatic aesthetics has affected composers’ ideas of voice and performer, which is evident even in the rehearsal process. Thus, anti-acousmatic composition can help explore new creative pathways and address social questions in contemporary classical music.