MUSIC TRIPOS PART IB

EXAMINATIONS 2016
Paper 6, Dissertation submission of title and abstract
This form must be submitted to the Faculty Office
before 2.00 pm on Monday 9 November 2015

Date:

____06/11/15____________________________________

Candidate name:

______Carl Wikeley_________________________

College:

________Trinity Hall____________________

Signature of Candidate: ________________________________________

Supervisor:

Sign:

________________________________________

Print name:

________________________________________

MUSIC TRIPOS PART IB

EXAMINATIONS 2016
Paper 6, Dissertation

Title (typed, not handwritten)

Is Orlando Goughs musical characterisation of Ariel too subversive of the
power dynamics in the text in his score for James Macdonalds RSC production of
The Tempest (2000)?

Abstract (of c. 150 words)

(typed, not handwritten)
NB: Minor changes to your abstract later will be acceptable, if approved by your supervisor and Director of Studies.
Major changes must be submitted to the Chair of the Examination Board for approval at least one week before the
submission of the dissertation.

The relationship between words and song, sound and music is pivotal to the sense of
power and authority in Shakespeares play The Tempest. In his music for James Macdonalds
production at the 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 Lindleys view
that the music of the island is not Prosperos but Ariels. This re-balancing of power
between the characters is further explored in Macdonalds production, where the magicians
manipulations do not transcend an aboriginal power which Ariel achieves through his songs.
This dissertation examines the subversiveness of Goughs music through close reference
to the original vocal scores and sound recordings, made available exclusively by the composer.
References will also be made to an interview with Orlando Gough. The effects of Goughs
music will be related to the power balance between Ariel and Prospero, how the musical
characterisation correlates with critical readings of the text itself, in connection with
renaissance neoplatonist ideas and treatises on music. Goughs Ariel, and the interpretation of
control in the text, will also be contextualised with other productions and music, including that
of The Globe (2013) and Robert Johnsons settings, which are considered to be original by
Duffin, in Shakespeares Songbook.