From werktreue to prototyping : reimagining the act of practicing in the Western Art Music tradition.

Abstract

Biographical Information: From werktreue to Prototyping : reimagining the act of practicing in the Western Art Music tradition is the result of artistic research carried out by Debi Wong at the University Of The Arts Helsinki – Sibelius Academy between the years of 2012 to 2023 (year of publication of this work). As a classically-trained singer, she came to her doctoral studies questioning the culture of Classical Singing and how it has shaped her artistic practice and her understanding of how musicians engage with one another and with the world.

Content: The world of Western Art Music encompasses myriad cultures that have been defined and continue to be molded by longstanding performance traditions. These traditions carry a sense of gravitas within the culture of Classical Singing, and for individual artists it can be difficult to look beyond the practices inherited from esteemed teachers, performers and composers past and historical treatises. This paper aims to put forward new tools and exercises that can be integrated into existing practices in order to expand a performer’s artistic range, hone their expressive capacities and deepen their connections to their collaborators and communities. To distill these tools and exercises, core concepts from Design Theory, Devised Theatre and Intertextuality were used as devices for disrupting habitual ways of curating, preparing and presenting performances within Classical Singing culture. These devices were examined and tested within the context of a five-project concert series carried out by Debi Wong and further examined in a series of interviews with practicing artists from different Western Art Musical practices. The results put forward a broad cross section of creative practices and processes that all performers can use to innovate the ways in which they can engage with their unique artistic practices within existing Classical Singing traditions and culture.

Keywords: Design thinking, work concept, musicking, improvisation, collaboration, practice, Classical Singing, Western European Art Music, prototyping.