"Why don't you just write an article?":
Reflecting on Composing Complex Music with Socially Engaged Texts

The question I want to explore in different ways through my works is how we function together. What strategies do we have for interaction in a time the sociologist Richard Sennett describes as characterized by a late capitalism that, rather than building character, reduces our ability to solve things together? His books Corrosion of Character and Together examine how social structures influence the individual’s ability to see and be with others, questioning whether the marketplace’s portrayal of us as sovereign, individual consumers and “experiencers” of the world prevents us from developing our capacities for interaction and togetherness.

This forms the background for the works Together, Public Behaviour and Social Behaviour. In these pieces, semantic meaning and musical material are brought together through mélange, contradiction, polyphony, mimesis and instrumentation. Reflections on attention, togetherness, cooperation, listening, aggression and mimetic envy are articulated through both musical forms and theatrical outcries.

But does this really work? Can sociological and philosophical concepts be perceived when translated into musical works with complex instrumental structures and vocal expression? Does this combination communicate, and if so, what does it communicate? Can musical expression and emotion coexist meaningfully with rational and analytical semantic content, or do their layers become too dense? These questions are explored through audio recordings and videos of the three works.