Marbles

Composed by Sam Harrold

With words by Nicholas Royle

This piece was composed during a thinking and writing process in response to a set of words written by Professor Nicholas Royle. This process has now taken place and the following is what remains. Think of it as a doodle. 

Performance Notes

(These may or may not be helpful. Use/read/think on them as you please).

General notes on score and performance

My key instruction to all performers is that the piece is to be played very tenderly. 

In places where spoken words are used, the placement of the words upon the staff bear no indication to pitch or rhythm, and the performer should aim to speak the words with a natural fluency. As such, the use of a metronome is not advised (even when recording the piece), with an internalised sense of pulse preferred.

This is a waltz and should sound as such in performance. The binary nature of much of the music works in juxtaposition to the waltz time signature and this should be emphasised throughout the piece to produce a sense of passing, movement and play that is not altogether uncomplicated. 

There are moments in the instrumental parts where notes have been grouped slightly unconventionally. This is to remind the performer to emphasise the three clear beats in the bar. 

In performance, it may be necessary to use a musical director. If this is not an option (or not preferable), the leader of the performance must be the performer playing Me. If this is the case, all performers should play particular attention to the performer of Me and will need to play with rubato when necessary, in order for the part of Me to remain human. 

Me

This part is written for a male voice, and, whilst much of the performance of this piece is flexible depending upon the will of the performers and/or the director, the maleness of this part is essential. It is the responsibility of the performer of Me to deliver their words respectfully, and with tenderness. The performer need not be a trained musician but should be comfortable with leading all performers (including instrumentalists) during a live performance. The performer playing Me must be no younger than the age of thirty.

Within Me

Just as with Me, the performer playing Within Me must be male. This is non-negotiable. However, the performer can be of any age, and it may be interesting to experiment with voices of different ages. In a recording of the piece, it is possible for the same performer to play both Me and Within Me, although this is not essential. In a live performance, performers playing Me and Within Me should be located within close proximity to one another. 

Magical and Unbearable 

These parts began life separately with the intention of producing the environmental sound world of the piece. However, during the composition process, Magical and Unbearable have knitted themselves together in a way that hints at a maybe-maybe-not third voice. To me, my feeling is that these hands and voices are female (as I write this, I am unsure why this is), but they could be played by male performers if this is deemed to be preferable. Towards the end of the piece, the performers playing Magical and Unbearable are asked to improvise, if they so wish. The improvisations may take any form (vocal, environmental, instrumental) and I seek no control of this. As such, the performers of both parts should feel comfortable with the possibility of the improvisatory passages. The performers playing the parts of Magical and Unbearable should look upon the score as a set of timed instructions. The score does not instruct them what to say or play, it tells them what to do and think. 

Neck and Arms and Hands 

These two parts are something and something else to one another, and just as with the parts of Magical and Unbearable, the score does not instruct them what to say or play, it tells them what to do and think. Neck and Arms and Hands can be played by either one or two performers. If one performer chooses to take on the challenge of playing both parts, the score must be memorised, and the performer must be open to the possibility of a feeling of disconnect and otherness within their own body. If two performers are used, they must work together during the rehearsal process and also in performance. 

The performer playing Hands has a choice to make for the sustained period of thirty minutes prior to a performance or recording of the piece. Either they should sit on both hands (or allow someone else sit on their hands), or they should place their right hand in a bowl of hot water and their left hand in a bowl of cold water. In both cases, caution should be used; hot water should not be too hot, and a third hand holding a glass of water should be available for either option should the performer become thirsty or lightheaded. 

In a recording, the performer(s) playing Neck and Arms and Hands will be invisible. In a live performance, a choice must be made between the musical director (or the performer playing Me) and the performer(s) of Neck and Arms and Hands about where the performer(s) should feature on the scale of visibility to invisibility. I play no part in this decision. Toss a coin if you cannot decide. 

Marbles

The part of Marbles is played using the unpredictable and semi-tuned percussion instrument of a marble run. Any marble run will suffice, although wooden would be preferable. If a marble run is not available, the performer may choose to build their own. The only requirement of this is that the design of the instrument must afford the ability to offer a <CLICK> (the higher pitch) as well as a <CLACK> (the lower pitch), and it should be made with sustainable materials. Before a performance, the performer should establish how to produce a clear <CLICK> and a <CLACK> from the instrument. In a live performance, it is preferable that the performer is able to position themselves so that the sound of rolling between <CLICKS> and <CLACKS> is audible, but this is not essential. It will not be possible to control the instrument. This is the very nature of the marble run. 

Violin 1, Violin 2, Viola and Piano

Play these parts with musicality and tenderness, please.