LABYRINTHUS. HIC HABITAT MUSICA

The phenomenon of "graphic" scores has been a subject of fascination, controversy, and a flourishing of artistic talent since its inception in the aftermath of the Second World War. The scores of that age, despite their compelling visual presence, nevertheless remain elusive: the means of performance are obscure, and they resist conventional analysis.This study reconsiders graphic scores from the perspective of Information Theory, derived from studies of "ergodic" texts: the ergodic score requires non-trivial effort from the participants in its realization, becoming a cybernetic object that challenges our beliefs about what music is, how it works, and where to find its meaning. The sounds of a musical performance are the field in which a larger metamorphosis takes place: like the labyrinth, the journey to the heart of ergodic scores entails both risk and transcendence.This study illuminates ergodic scores from their theoretical foundations: the abstract theory of how they work, the history of exemplary figures from the postwar avant-garde-including such luminaries of the art as Yoko Ono, Roman Haubenstock-Ramati, Anestis Logothetis, Pauline Oliveros, and John Cage-and concrete analysis of selected repertoire.Using pioneering theoretical insights-and with the benefit of original archival research, interviews with the artists themselves, and decades of experience as a composer and performer of graphic scores-the author establishes one of the great attainments of the twentieth century as a living art.