Files
Abstract
With so much attention given to pitch space in contemporary analytic discourse, theorists have largely ignored the important relationships unfolding within the physical space of musical performance. I propose an analytic methodology for identifying, classifying, and interpreting spatial gestures. A spatial gesture emerges from the consecutive activity of multipleperformers within an ensemble. Various gestures are differentiated by the specific orderings, in time, of sonic events occurring at separate points in ensemble space. Employing integer notation derived from contour theory, gestures may be assigned SG-labels. These labels assist in identifying structural relations between different gestures and in assigning a gesture to one of several gestural categories. The classification of spatial gestures is based on theories of form perception taken from Gestalt psychology. As a unified whole comprising ordered parts (gestalt structure), a spatial gesture is directed motion through an ensemble that often serves a motivic function: a gesture may be developed and transformed, and the profusion of related gestures imparts spatial coherence to a work of music. Furthermore, the specific directionality and kinetic shape of a spatial gesture is rich in interpretive potential. Image-schema theory and the theory of conceptual metaphor are evoked to construct a hermeneutic account of spatio-gestural activity. Many composersparticularly those active in the twentieth centurydeliberately spatialize their musical works. However, irrespective of a composers intentionality (documented or surmised), spatial gestures are often readily perceived during performance, and a spatial analysis can unveil the gestures full capacity for structural unification and the conveyance of meaning. Gestural motions and shapes vary depending upon the performing ensembles onstage configuration. Since ensemble seating plans are variable and often inconsistent, spatial analysis holds significance for performance practice: the manner in which an ensemble elects to arrange itself (if left unspecified by the composer) becomes a matter ofinterpretation. Ensemble members may organize themselves in an effort to enhance the perceptual salience of spatial gestures and enliven the spatial construct of a musical performance.