Soundscape, theatre and myth: An exploration of R. Murray Schafer’s ‘The Crown of Ariadne’ for solo harp with percussion

In 2016, the Canadian Music Centre released a double CD recording on their Centrediscs label entitled ‘Ariadne’s Legacy: R. Murray Schafer's Complete Works for Harp’, which also marked Canadian harpist Judy Loman’s 80th birthday. Loman was the commissioner of several of the works, including Schafer’s first major work for harp, ‘The Crown of Ariadne’, which is the focus of this lecture-recital. The work was quickly embraced by harpists after its premiere and subsequent recording, and Schafer was the featured composer at the World Harp Congress in Vancouver in 2011.

‘The Crown of Ariadne’ is a set of dances for solo harp with percussion written in 1978 with an additional movement added in 1995. Schafer envisioned it as part of his larger music theatre Patria cycle and in this case the fifth part conceived as a dance drama around the myth of Ariadne and Theseus. The harp is Ariadne’s instrument and Schafer requires the harpist to engage with aspects of gesture and choreography in playing an array of percussion instruments.

The work will be contextualised through consideration of Schafer’s philosophy on music, sound and the natural environment in interviews and his writings including 'The Tuning of the World', first published in 1977. The reception of the work and the performer’s role will also be explored, and excerpts of the work will be performed throughout the presentation.