The symposium will be on 20th and 21st February 2025 at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, UK
Contact: FrenchMusic@bcu.ac.uk
Supported by the New Berlioz Edition Trust
The French Music Research Hub at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire invites proposals for a two-day symposium on Timbre and Colour in French Music.
Deadline: Tuesday 19th November 2024.
« Je suis bien obligé de croire que je suis musicien ; mais, du moins, j'ai au-dessus des autres la connaissance des couleurs et des nuances » (Jean-Philippe Rameau, 1727)
« [La musique] est de couleurs et de temps rythmés… » (Claude Debussy, 1907)
« J’ai utilisé dans mes œuvres un très grand nombre de complexes de sons qui sont en même temps des complexes de couleur » (Olivier Messiaen, 1985)
« J’adore mêler les timbres, rechercher toujours la couleur la plus adéquate à l’expression de mon univers intérieur » (Camille Pépin, 2020)
The related traits of ‘timbre’ and ‘couleur’ are readily apparent in much French music. They join other terms, such as lumière, clarté, classicisme and goût, widely used to encapsulate the characteristics common to French music. Timbre and Colour speak to the notion that French composers are interested in the quality of sounds themselves at least as much as the ways in which they are put together.
The symposium seeks to explore:
- exemplars of timbre and colour in francophone music from any historical period;
- the nature of engagement with timbre and colour by composers, musicians and writers on music operating in or associated with France;
- the role of text(s) in relationship to musical timbre and colour;
- the relationship between French music and the visual arts;
- the role and resonance of relationships between keys, colours and instruments in the baroque era;
- which repertoire, figures or groups are excluded by using timbre and colour as signifiers of Frenchness;
- how far back francophone interest in the quality of sound extends;
- organology, the role of instruments and technology in cultivating French perspectives on timbre and colour;
- the implications for performance of exploring francophone notions of timbre and colour.
Papers in English or French are welcomed.
Proposals are accepted for the following presentation formats:
- Individual papers (20 minutes, plus 10 minutes for discussion)
- Themed sessions (3 papers of 20 minutes each, plus 10 minutes per paper for discussion)
- Performance-based presentations (45 minutes including questions)
Each proposal should include:
- Paper and/or session title(s)
- The author’s name and affiliation (if any)
- The author’s/convenor’s email address
- Paper abstract(s) of no more than 250 words
- Short biographical text(s) of the presenters/participants involved (no more than 150 words each)
- Any technical requirements
- For themed sessions, an additional panel description of max. 200 words is required.
- For performance-based presentations, the word limit of the abstract is 350 words. Please include the name of participants, the repertoire to be performed and a sample recording.
Proposals, and any queries, should be emailed to FrenchMusic@bcu.ac.uk by 11.59pm (GMT) on Tuesday 19th November 2024. Outcomes should be known by early December.
Thanks to generous support from the New Berlioz Edition Trust, we can offer up to 10 bursaries for students, early career and independent scholars lacking institutional support. The bursaries shall cover the registration fee for the symposium along with a contribution of up to £160 towards travel and accommodation.
The symposium forms the academic centrepiece to RBC’s year-long French Season and will include two concerts of French music in RBC’s Bradshaw Hall:
- an orchestra concert on the Thursday evening (20th February) including the UK première of Berlioz’s orchestration of Meyer’s Marche marocaine.
- a rare opportunity to hear Boulez’s scintillating Sur incises on the Friday lunchtime
Conference committee:
- Christopher Dingle
- Deborah Mawer
- Caroline Potter
- Graham Sadler
- Shirley Thompson
- John Thwaites