Du rôle de l'interprète-chercheur en création et re-création musicale : théories, modèles et réalisations d'après les cas de Kathinkas Gesang (1983-1984) de Karlheinz Stockhausen et de La Machi (2007-2011) d'Analía Llugdar

This dissertation is based on a hybrid methodological approach belonging to research-creation in music and musicology applied to performance. It explores the following central question : “What roles are occupied by the performer-researcher in a context of musical creation or re-creation (or performance)” ? In response, the author examines and relates the creative and re-creative process for two significant works in her practice as a performer : Kathinkas Gesang als Luzifers Requiem (1983- 1984) by Karlheinz Stockhausen and La Machi, rituel pour flûtes, électronique et regards (2007-2011) by Analía Llugdar. The work on these mixed electroacoustic music pieces that both include a theatrical dimension and the staging of instrumental characters also leads her to consider issues of appropriation of the piece by a performer-researcher and their freedom when faced with pieces involving a high level of notational determinism. The first part lays out the discipline-based and theoretical contexts of the author’s research. Chapter 1 provides insight into how a performer’s research is carried out in music and situates the different ways in which this type of research is undertaken. Chapter 2 explains the notions of performance, improvisation and composition, and it positions the performer in relation to these three fields of activity. The author also compares creative approaches in theatre to those in music, while exploring different types of authenticity inherent in the interpretive process. Chapter 3 presents the principal angle of investigation and analysis adopted in this dissertation, that of instrumental timbre. The second part focusses on Kathinkas Gesang by Stockhausen. Chapter 4 presents a recapitulative chronology of the different major periods of the author’s performance. Chapter 5 presents and contextualizes the symbolism of the cycle Licht, die sieben Tage der Woche (1977-2003), from which Kathinkas Gesang is taken. Chapter 6 is devoted to the analysis of the symbolism attributed to the timbre of Licht’s main instruments. Chapter 7 evaluates the impact of the performer’s presence during the compositional process for Stockhausen, while exploring the question of casting in Licht. Chapter 8 is articulated around a lexicon of timbre presenting an exegesis of the playing techniques used in Kathinkas Gesang to produce various types of timbres. The third part focusses on La Machi by Analía Llugdar. In Chapter 9, the author presents the general structure of the piece and its synopsis, and she explores the role she played in the creative process of this piece. Chapter 10 takes the form of a lexicon of timbre presenting an exegesis of playing techniques used in the piece to produce various types of timbres. In the conclusion, three spheres of action and six archetypal roles of the performer-researcher in musical creation and re-creation are identified. Furthermore, answers to the issues of appropriation of the piece and the performer’s freedom are proposed. The author also suggests reflections for research-creation in music and she presents the main outcomes of the dissertation.

Keyphrases: timbre, Stockhausen, Llugdar, research-creation, performance, instrumental theatre, mixed electroacoustic music, Licht, symbolism