Reception and Structure
Daphne Leong · 2020
Abstract This chapter discusses the results of an experiment testing audience response to Robert Morris’s Clear Sounds among Hills and Waters (1989, revised 2013), for solo piano, under five different preparatory conditions: simple identification (ID), program note (PN), aesthetic/visual introduction by the composer on video (AES), structural/aural introduction by the composer on video (STR), and the combination of all of the preceding (CMB). Qualitative analysis of responses suggested that preparations ID, STR, PN, AES, and CMB, in that order, were increasingly beneficial for audience appreciation and understanding. The piece’s context and meaning needed to be explained before structural information could be employed effectively. The combination of aesthetic with structural information was more helpful than either alone. Indirect knowledge about the piece must translate into direct knowledge for greater impact. The chapter then explores broader issues implicated in audience reception of new music: characteristics of the listener, social and cultural factors, and features of the musical language, described by analogy to phonetics, morphology, syntax, and semantics. Stimuli for the experiment, including Leong’s performance of Clear Sounds on video, may be found online.