7/23/2019 Abstract Carl Wike Ley

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Does Orlando Gough create a musical characterisation of Ariel

which is disproportionately subversive of the power dynamics in

Shakespeare’s text in his score for James Macdonald’s RSC  production of

 The Tempest (2000)?

The relationship between words and song, sound and music is pivotal to the sense of powerand authority in Shakespeare’s play The Tempest  . In his music for James Macdonald’s production atthe RSC in 2000, Orlando Gough empowers the spirit Ariel. ‘Where the bee sucks’ is crucial in the

power dynamics of the play, corresponding with David Lindley’s view that “the music of the island isnot Prospero’s but Ariel’s”. This re-balancing of power between the characters is further explored inMacdonald’s production, where the magician’s manipulations do not transcend an aboriginal powerwhich Ariel achieves through his songs.

This dissertation examines the subversiveness of Gough’s music through close reference to the original vocal scores and sound recordings, made available exclusively by the composer. References will also bemade to an interview with Orlando Gough. The effects of Gough’s music will be related to the powerbalance between Ariel and Prospero, how the musical characterisation correlates with critical readings

of the text itself, in connection with renaissance neoplatonic notions of music’s influential capabilities,themselves originating in Thomas Boethius’ Late-Antiquity treatise, De Institutione musica  (publishedbetween 1491-1492) . Gough’s Ariel, and the interpretation of control in the text, will also becontextualised with other productions and music, including that of The Globe (2013) and Robert Johnson’s settings, which are considered to be original by Duffin, in Shakespeare’s Songbook .