One-Page Score Project – Janet Oxley (score), Robyn Jacob (music)

One-Page Score Project – Janet Oxley (score), Robyn Jacob (music)

Start

Premiered 12 March 2021 as part of Painting Music – One-Page Score Project presented by Vancouver New Music and Laboratorio.

ACCOMPANYING TEXT FOR “START” – Janet Oxley
Start” is conceived as a non-competitive board game. There are four quadrants with
transitions in between and at the centre, as well as a few necessary rules and nonrules:

1. Start anywhere on the Score and move in any direction, including diagonals. Please
do not backtrack or repeat any quadrant.

2. The Player may choose from an infinite range of possible instrumentation and
dynamics. Sparse words have been added as possible suggestions for interpretation of
other qualities like emotion, energy, etc., which reflect the composer’s associations
with the images in each quadrant.

3. The Score can be interpreted by one to four players. A solo interpretation will have
less dimension that one with two or three players, creating many possible aural
palimpsests. Four (or more?) concurrent players would probably result in increasing
cacophony.
Players should attempt to move from one quadrant to the next at more or less the
same time, listening closely to each other and trying to figure out which quadrant they
are playing in or which transition they choose. Thus they can end the piece as a group.
4. The End of the piece, or game, is entirely ups to the player or players and will likely
coincide with the players having played through each quadrant and transitions with no
repeats.

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This composition would seem to have many different possible results. However, if the
same players play it too many times, they will likely become too familiar with it and the
results will become more and more fixed and predictable.

Here is a short questionnaire which hopefully will render some discussion of the
experience of the players, the listeners and the composer:

1. Was the experience interesting for you and what made it so?

2. Was the experience challenging for you and what made it so?

3. Can you describe any of the motivations behind your choices of sequence,
direction, etc.?

If there is only one player, do you think more players would be more interesting?
Why?
If there are more than one player, can you discuss any of the spontaneous choices
and their motivations.?