Nothing new? Understanding newness in medieval and contemporary music

The Plainsong and Medieval Music Society (PMMS) and the Centre for Research in New Music (CeReNeM) invite abstracts for papers, and proposals for new works, for an exciting two-day conference at the University of Huddersfield from 25–26 April 2009.
Since antiquity, writers and musicians have responded to innovation in ways that have sought to encourage it and condemn it in equal measure. From the commonly-encountered musical illustrations of the psalm Cantate Domino canticum novum (‘Sing unto the Lord a new song’)  in medieval manuscripts, to the terms used to theorise the music of the time both then and now (‘ars antiqua/nova’, ‘new song’), the medieval mind was captivated by the possibilities of developing notations and musical styles. In the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, the term ‘new music’ has come to serve as a catch-all for a proliferation of current musical practices, from the avant-garde to the popular. Yet composers of both ages have produced works that have blended old and new, and that were knowingly ‘intertextual’. Nothing new? Understanding newness in medieval and contemporary music offers musicologists and composers the opportunity to explore common ground between the medieval and digital ages, through a stimulating mixture of conference papers, lectures, performances and composition workshops. A composition competition, culminating in the workshop and performance of new works exploring concepts of newness, is being generously funded by the Plainsong and Medieval Music Society.

Call for Papers

Proposals are invited for papers on any element of medieval or contemporary music that deals with issues of ‘newness’ (or ‘oldness’). Papers that deal with the use of medieval compositional techniques within contemporary musical styles, or that consider individual works, are particularly welcome. Other topics might include:
–        New notations
–        The new in Ars nova, the old in Ars antiqua
–        New song
–        Plainchant repertories
–        The use of pre-existent materials in new contexts
–        Sampling techniques
–        Liturgies old and new
–        The use of popular music in religious ritual
–        Theorising newness in music
–        Creating ‘new’ ideas in the 21st century
–        Reinventing the past in music
–        Musical borrowing
–        Old/new approaches to performing medieval music
–        Copyright in contemporary music
–        Innovation and originality

Papers should last 20 minutes, to allow time for questions. Proposals for themed sessions and roundtable discussions, especially those that include discussion of both eras, are encouraged. Please email all abstracts (200 words) to Dr Lisa Colton to arrive no later than 1 September 2008. Include details of any technical equipment that you will require for your presentation. Proposals will be selected, and the decision conveyed, by the end of December 2008.

Compositions: Call for works

Compositions based on the conference theme of ‘newness’ are invited for a workshop and competition, for which a prize will be offered by the Plainsong and Medieval Music Society. Works can be of any duration. Instrumentation should include some or all of the following: piano, clarinet, saxophone, guitar / electric guitar, percussion, electronics. Composers are encouraged to write for ‘open’ / indeterminate instrumentation. Compositions should be submitted no later than 12 January 2009, when they will be considered by a panel. A selection of pieces will be workshopped during the conference, and some will be performed in the conference concert, as part of a programme performed by edges ensemble. Applicants whose works have been selected by the panel for inclusion in the workshop or concert will be notified by the end of January 2009. The workshop will take place in St Paul’s Hall, a converted Victorian church with a 3.5 second reverberation. Composers using electronics are welcome to discuss their technical requirements with Dr Pierre Alexandre Tremblay.  Scores (three copies), one copy of any technical requirements and all relevant electronic parts/patches/plans, and a 200 word programme note that explains how the music engages with, or reflects, the theme of the conference, should be sent to Dr Bryn Harrison, Creative Arts Building, University of Huddersfield, Queensgate, Huddersfield HD1 3DH. Materials are submitted at the sender’s risk and will not be returned unless a suitable SAE is included.
edges ensemble is a flexible group of performers committed to exploring a variety of new musics, from entirely improvised music through to complex scores. Experimental classics are rehearsed alongside new works by undergraduate and postgraduate composers, as well as works by emerging composers from across the globe. Recent concerts have featured music by Fred Frith (performed with the composer as part of hcmf 2007) and English experimental composers, both concerts combining graphic and indeterminate scores with more fully notated pieces.

Proposals are welcome from musicians at any stage in their professional career, including postgraduate students. For further information and advice on your proposal, please email the conference organiser, Dr Lisa Colton ( l.m.colton@hud.ac.uk ). It is hoped that some of the conference papers will be suitable for publication as a volume of essays in the future.

‘There is nothing new under the sun but there are lots of old things we don’t know.’ (Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary, 1911)

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