Note

Never Seen is an experiment that investigates how “repetition” can change the audience’s experience with music and language. It explores how speech and words can be used as a musical input, and how such interwork can provide a foundation for a non-narrative, dramatic musical performance.

Cantonese is to be chosen as the language of this experiment. One of the most intrinsic characters of this language is its melodic intonation and inflection. Such character when combined with traditional compositional technique, will provide a solid platform to explore the usage of Cantonese language in a western musical context.

Background

The French term Jamais Vu, loosely translated to English as "never seen," is a psychological and cognitive phenomenon. Contrary to Deja Vu, the Jamais Vu effect takes place when one senses a puzzlement of unaccountable unfamiliarity, usually when a person can vaguely recognize some changes without being able to characterize the nature of the change more closely.

Semantic satiation, while closely related to Jamais Vu, describes the sensation of the desensitization or involuntary connotative metamorphoses to the original meaning of words, characters, and other auditory triggers when exposed to it repeatedly over a period of time.

The transformation of meaning over time and the sense of amazement one feels during a Jamais Vu episode is the basis of this project. Such occurrences are artistically intriguing but it also provides a glimpse into how the mind works. n for a non-narrative, dramatic musical performance.

Details

Audiences are invited to explore a musical reincarnation of a language – of which they may not be capable to understand. Instead of using Cantonese language solely as a way to deliver meaning and emotions, the “speech” of the vocal / actor is used as a musical input by examining closely its inflections and pronunciation nuances.

Never Seen features violin, percussions, piano (with audio processes) and acting. Music is transcribed based on the pitches and rhythm of the speaker’s monologue, while live electronics manipulate the sound through looping, echoing and amplification. Dramatic elements take shape as the music and speech unfolds thus creating a multifaceted, sonic-drama-driven performance.

Artistically, performers are to neglect the normative “react and respond” tendency that is often practiced in performing arts. Instead, they are instructed to focus on executing pre-determined “tasks” within a specific timeframe.