Lingua Franca: The Use of Labanotation in the Gestural-Based Compositions of Waye Siegel, Mark Applebaum, and Casey Cangelosi

Abstract

Over the last four decades of contemporary percussion literature, the inclusion of somatic gesture in solo and chamber percussion compositions has experienced significant growth. The addition of these deliberate physical movements often challenges the performer(s) in the interpretation of the gestural-based notation. The variety of schemes and notation systems employed by composers to document the precise instruction for these visual elements are numerous and growing. In this research, the compositions of Wayne Siegel, Mark Applebaum, and Casey Cangelosi will be studied, and when decidedly specific instructions for performer's physical movements are required, it will be demonstrated that Labanotation can facilitate the notation, interpretation, and performance of these specific gestural-based compositions. Labanotation was created to document the movement of dancers and its principal function is to archive the entirety of a choreographer's choreography: from the movement of each individual dancer, the relationship of one dancer to another on stage, to the somatic movements connection to the scored music. In its most basic form, a Labanotation score is the written record of artistic human movement. The use of Labanotation in these three compositions demonstrate its great potential to serve as a clarifying notation in the body of highly specific gestural-based literature. In addition to creating an archival platform for somatic performance, Labanotation allows scholars to approach gestural-based compositions in objective and quantitative ways. It has the ability to illuminate composer's themes, aids in pattern recognition, and highlights the intention behind physical movement. Through the notation of Wayne Siegel's Two Hands (not clapping) (2009), the re-notating of Mark Applebaum's Aphasia (2010) and Casey Cangelosi's Bad Touch (2013), Labanotation has the potential to encourage creative and innovative new works through the use of interdisciplinary collaboration and shared artistic language.