metaraga

Melody in time, explored across spatial dimensions

soft environmentn, matrix of directional speakers, computer and custom hardware
In development, 2020

* * * UNDER CONSTRUCTION * * *

Metaraga maps the development in time of an Indian raga to a development across two axes of space.

In ‘Music and Performance (1969–74), Steve Reich explicitly identifies music (and dance, theatre, video and film) as an art in time. ‘Artists in those fields who keep this in mind seem to go further than those mainly concerned with psychology or personality.’ Metaraga maps the development in time of an Indian raga to a development across two axes of space. Evident in Reich’s early process works is a democratisation of authority – in time, a listener becomes aware of the structure of the work and comes to know as much about it as composer or performer. In the highly improvised art music of India, an initiated listener also shares authority with the performer, and could theoretically challenge the correctness of a phrase.