Compositional elements

1. materials
At the moment ASJ will be scored for each of the following soloists:
- sax (sop maybe tnr): Jonathan Eato
- 'cello: Audrey Riley (TBC)
- accordion: Janie Amour (TBC)
- Kyma: Craig Vear
- Voice: Craig Parkinson (TBC)
Each musician will also be required to use their voice, using either speech, song, chant, loops, or sprechstimme, or a mixture or combination of these.

The elements for the soundscape will be:
- field recordings from places mentioned in the book (but in 2010 - see post on past-present-future)
- sounds mentioned in the book
- recitation of the book - possibly by an older man such as Donald Sinden, who would be revisiting the book after 30 years, reflecting the real life Sterne revisiting youth in ASJ) - not convinced of this element .. TBD
- ev2 cameos recorded at the places mentioned in the book
- recordings of people laughing, singing, enjoying life at places mentioned in the book
- field recordings of macro and micro - delicate phonography
- historical recordings of folk music from geographic areas mentioned in the book
- silence

The visual score will be:
- black page
- the book
- illustrations from various publication of the book
- manuscripts of Giovanni Battista Martini (1706-86)
- found manuscripts from Shandy Hall

2. musician embodyment
It is proposed that each performer will be required to embody a sense of the piece through their music - similarly the book is embedded in the music score. It is this notion - "a philosophy of the emotions of the heart, and of pleasure, fun and wholehearted joy". The performers will therefore be required to "pirouette about the world, peeping and peering, enjoying a flirtation here, bestowing a few coppers there, and sitting in whatever little patch of sunshine one can find."

To this end they have been chosen for what musical credentials each of them bring with them in addition to being assigned meta-characters to focus their embodiment. E.g.
- 'cello: can at times take on a role of Eliza - a character within the book - or she can take on the role of a viol da gamba improvising accompanist from the 18th century, in the style of, say, Susanne Heinrich re-working the music of Abel/ Sterne.
- saxophone: can at times take on the role of Le fleur, or can take on the role pipes-man in village band
- accordion: can take on the role of Maria any of the 'other' female fancies, or can be a chanteuse - as such the performer will need to feel comfortable singing and accompanying herself
- voice - this is perhaps the most important part, in so much as the "narrator" audio will not be utilized in this piece. The actor/musician that performs will need to embody the character of Yorick through voice and persona, and to feel happy, as Yorick, bursting into song, or extemporizing with the text, or the unfolding music. I also suggest that it is a young man, with a comedy background.
- Kyma: this will provide the macro structuring with the quality of each 'act' dictated by the live processing. In this sense Kyma's character is that of Strene. The audio for processing will be only the live elements of voice and instruments, and will be the "glue" inbetween the soloists (above)

3. instructions
The musicians will be given a similar instruction to that with CJA:
I describe this piece as a ‘play’ for musicians, in so much as each musician has a responsibility to a narrative exposition – however abstract this may be – and approaches the performance embracing any of the definitions for the word play (noun or verb). The role of the musician is to contribute to a sense of place – in this case the reality within the book. Although it is not imperative that the musicians read the original text, it is however important that they read the abstract and programme notes. Of paramount importance is that each musician enters into the spirit of the piece.

Each musician auralises a response through improvisation using their voice or their instrument.

At any given moment for any given duration this improvisation can be positioned between literal and abstract associations to the visual and/ or aural stimulus. This response can move freely across this range, it can identify with individual elements within the collective sound or fragments of visual information; it can be proactive or reactive; it can be dependent or independent. Alternatively the musician can choose to do nothing.

Exceptions:
- No “free” association improvisation; however, this does not exclude extended or avant-garde instrumental techniques
- The recital of the text can involve speech, song, chant, or Sprechstimme, or a mixture or combination of these. This can include vocal sounds, emotional utterance or language
- The texts can be read in their original syntax and context, or as abstract poetry, graphical score, libretto, material for loop, or as a mixture or combination of these.

4. Staging
If this work is to be a digital opera and presented on a stage then the visual elements will need to be considered with, or as part, of the compositional process. In my mind there is no point in having a completed musical score and then slapping on another phenomenological experience for the audience to consider.
Whilst I don't intend to exclude the director as authority on such visual matters, and not wanting to appear beyond my talent, it is imperative that the visual is scored.

I suggest using two elements from the CJA research: 1) peripheral lighting to effect mood, or construct confusion, 2) abstract movement in the visuals to evoke a sense of travel.

ASJ piece should also be set in the round, with the musicians/ operators in the centre - each embodying the central premise of the book, that of the philosophy of pleasure. This could manifest itself in engaging, as a member of the might, in a illuminating duet between two other musicians - a piece of spontaneous magic - or being wholly present in their own unfolding creative act.

Initial thoughts have the audience surrounding the musicians looking at them/ across them through the audience on the opposite side and onto a projection gauze whiich will envelop the whole in 360˚ tapestry. There are some significant problems of air current suck. An alternative solution might be to have this 360˚ gauze above the heads. This will give a peripheral experience; and an option for the oculars in the audience to "watch something".

4. surround diffusion
ASJ will be in quad. The instruments/ voices will be diffused centrally. But the evolving soundscape will have a diffusion algorithm to decide which of 4 quadrants to be projected.