Aural setting in works by Rambert

Robert North:

• Diverse range of genres:

  • Classical (DATM- Schubert, Priboutki- Stravinsky)

  • Pop (LTLS- blues, Bill Withers)

  • Cultural (Entre dos aquas- Paco de Lucia)

• Lonely Town, Lonely Street:

  • Uses music by Bill Withers, who is a highly popular artist

  • Different style than traditional classical scores

  • Songs have the same name as the sections

  • Rob/pop music

  • Pre-recorded

  • The use of popular music would have attracted a wider audience, which would spread the message the piece was trying to portray- allowing the audience to easily understand the themes

  • Would have attracted a young audience, who would have been inspired

  • Work relies on music visualisation to highlight themes

  • Themes:

    • Loneliness

    • Overwhelm

    • Social exclusion

    • Isolation

    • Drug abuse

    • Relationships

  • Music to dance relationships:

    • Section one- mood and atmosphere

      • Deep undertone chords which are repeated throughout

      • Instruments- bass, electric guitar, drums and vocalist. Gives a layered effect

      • The seep undertones create a depressive atmosphere, suggesting the mood of the people in this town. The fact that it repeats throughout could suggest that the people are caught in a repetitive depressive state

      • The layering of the instruments creates a busy atmosphere which links to the lyrics of it being a “crowded city”

    • Section two- music visualisation

      • “Fill up your arm with dope”

      • A group of four dancers, two male and two female step to the left, throwing their hands to the left. They then steep their foot, repeating the movement with their hands, but to the other side

      • The lyrics “fill up your arm” suggests the injection of drugs (also insinuated through the use of the word dope), which is mirrored by the movements, as the hands stop towards the inner elbow (arm)

• Death and the Maiden

  • Uses music by Schubert- string quartet in D minor

  • Two movements- premonitions and conversations

  • Classical

  • The piece did not use a large orchestra, as Rambert could not afford it

  • D minor- depressive

  • The second section was taken from a song Schubert composed, and shows the conversations between Death and the Maiden

  • Used Schubert music as he was one of his favorite composers, and it used a smaller ensemble

  • Themes:

    • Death

    • Fear

    • Resistance

    • Acceptance

  • Music to dance relationships:

    • Section 2, duet two- mood atmosphere

      • As she walks towards death, she bows her head in acceptance as we hear the leitmotif, a single violin playing a short, slow 4-bar melody which rises in pitch and volume to create a highlight in the music, before subtly falling down slightly

      • This short melody is often heard when the maiden accepts death by bowing or holding out her hand, providing a repeated musical motif that enables the audience to understand and follow the repeated gestures of accepting death

    • Section 2, duet five- direct correlation

      • The music is fast, and the movements match this speed initially. The tempo of the music then slows to a more cinematic setting, and the dancers change from their fast movements to a slow walk, which mirrors the speed of the music at this point. The dancers continue to walk at this speed to the left, until almost all of them are offstage

Richard Alston:

• Wildlife

  • Emphasis on collaboration

  • For wildlife, Richard Osbourne has written for a small ensemble of wind, percussion and strings, with a sounds projectionist adding dramatic stereophonic effects.

  • Horns and trumpets dominate the aggressively challenging fanfares on which the entire first movement is based

  • Wind also plays a lively part in the dance rhythms that predominate later.

  • When a string quartet provides the main content of a quieter, slow section, it remains eerily sharp.

  • The music confirms the implication of the title, that it is not meant to be a comfortable ballet

  • Osbourne wanted to incorporate influences from different cultures into the music in order to provide “ethnic encounters” within music that would however still be recognisably western

  • He had sought for musical qualities that were universal

  • The music incorporates western instruments such as violin, viola, electric bass and brass with the African mbira as well as a variety of percussion instruments including a flea tone, which provides an eerie shivering sound

  • Osbourne has created a sonorous world envoking an African and Asian environment but also reflects rhythmic phrases and underlying pulse.

  • The score contains ideas including:

    • Inuit singing

    • Sharp stuttering trumpets from New Guinea used to bring tribal leaders together

    • African dance music

    • A bird-catching song used by children from Chad

  • The music from wildlife varies between passages of tonal and atonal music, alongside abrupt, staccato tones which mirror movements

  • Music to dance relationships:

    • Section one- direction correlation

      • Pink dancer stood centre stage, green dancer stood upstage right, both perform a triple pirouette very fast centre stage, coinciding with the tempo of the trill or stutter played by horns/trumpets

      • The quick tempo of the trill or stutter by the horns/trumpets creates a tense atmosphere which has a sense of urgency. This is further emphasised by the quick pirouetteS

    • Ending

      • Complex west African timeline- the music brings together wind, brass, percussion and electric bass

      • Fast paced, repetitive beats heard throughout

      • Silence falls on the stage in the final moments of the piece

      • Dancers are mimicking/reflecting the shape of the kites in an abstract manner as the final tableau

• Soda lake

  • Soda lake is performed in silence, however it was originally intended that Nigel Osborne (who composed wildlife) create music for this piece. However Osbourne felt the music would detract from the dance and therefore rejected the offer, saying the dance would be more effective in silence

  • The only audible sounds are those of the dancer’s feet on the stage surface.

  • The silence could also reflect the large expanse of the desert, as it is mostly empty, and very few sounds could be heard other than the animals (reflected by the dancers) that live there (hence, the dancer’s breath and footsteps can be heard)

Cristopher Bruce

• It was the strong ideas of Marie Rambert that influenced his belief that dance should be independent of music

• Since the early 1980s Bruce has choreographed to more popular songs, including John Lennon, Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones

  • Rooster

    1. Rooster continued a trend of choreographing to cycles of songs

    2. Some examples of works that follow this trend include Ghost Dances and Sergeant Early’s dream

    3. Bruce often choreographed to songs he grew up with

    4. Bruce frequently draws choreographic motifs from lyrics

    5. Themes:

       • Swinging 60s

       • Male chauvinism

       • The Rolling Stones

       • Courting rituals

  • features eight songs by The Rolling Stones. These songs were hits between 1964 and 1969, during Bruce’s youth, and create an episodic structure for the piece.

  • The tracks used are:

    •     1    Little Red Rooster

    •     2    Lady Jane

    •     3    Not Fade Away

    •     4    As Tears Go By

    •     5    Paint It Black

    •     6    Ruby Tuesday

    •     7    Play with Fire

    •     8    Sympathy for the Devil

  •   Bruce chose music from the 1960s to reflect the era he was exploring.

  •     Each song introduces a new section in the piece, and their rhythmic and lyrical content guides the choreography and characterisation.

  •  “Not Fade Away” provides rhythmic cues and sets up transitions, while “Little Red Rooster” features movements that match the lyrics literally.

  • Dancers embody characters, such as a rooster, through movement, costume, and mood.

  • Specific movements (like jolting head actions or tie holding) emphasize and interpret the lyrics and musical rhythm

  • Movement to dance relationship

    • Little red rooster- music visualisation

      • On the lyrics “I am the little red rooster”, the male dancer stood centre stage quickly brings his right leg into an attitude position. He then slowly brings both his hands up to the side of his mouth, elbows at shoulder height and his mouth open wide

      • This movement emulates how a rooster would behave- the movement of the arms looks like a Rooster’s wings, and the bringing of the hands to the mouth is reminiscent of a roosters call being mimed

      • The lifting of the leg could show the rooster is trying to fly

      • Therefore this shows the audience that the male solo dancer is playing the role of the rooster in this section

    • Playing with fire- music visualisation

      • “Don’t play with me because you’re playing with fire” (0.36,1.01) The male dancer swings his arms to the side and turns to face the back. He then points at himself using the thumb of his right hand. He then swings his arms to the front so his body is facing the audience now and performs a muscle pose, arms bent flexing his muscles looking at his right arm. He then quickly turns to the left where the female is stood and points his finger at her and stares into her eyes. Material changes on the 3rd time this lyric is sang. The male dancer is stood in front of the female facing outwards. The female dancer places her left leg through the middle of the males legs and wiggles her foot from side to side. The male looks at the females leg and knocks his knees in and out whilst bringing his shoulders up towards his ears

      • The male dancer pointing to himself shows the lyric “don’t play with me”, and demonstrates that he is confident and cocky

      • The muscle-flexing pose shows that he is arrogant, but also shows his strength, further portraying the music

      • The pointing and staring at the female dancer seems threatening and challenging, showing the lyric as it seems almost like a warning to the female dancer not to mess with him

      • When the material changes, it shows the female dancer gaining confidence, as she is able to tease him back

      • The male dancer’s response is awkward, showing a loss of control