As a composer, I am increasingly aware of the crucial importance (and pleasure) of collaboration between myself and performers in preparation for any performances of my work. In contrast to a recent tradition which places a burden on the score to carry all the information necessary to establish authority of meaning, I now deliberately leave creative spaces for performers to find their own voice. The actual process of collaboration is defined by many factors, not least the disposition and imagination of those involved.

In instrumental music, this often occurs in my music by the deliberate element of theatrical performance. My scores carry stage directions, but these must be translated into the contextual environment of the specific performance – a traditional dramatic technique. Only through the theatricality of a performance, performers become aware of the full extent of options which informs audience communication and individualises every performance uniquely. Rehearsals also reflect a need to experiment with all possibilities which are subsequently refined, but are subject to change. The score is often changed or adapted to reflect those factors.

In vocal music I have for some years been dispensing with text, allowing singers to create their own language and meaning; I invent the (non-semantic) sounds within a given context, to which the performer brings the detail. I am convinced that this allows character and plot full emphasis when required but removes linguistic and cultural barriers. Rehearsals are where the detail of the meaning or action is refined, where each performer creates their ownership of material, authority of the language and meaning through collaboration and synthesis. Inter-cultural audiences are able to view drama and music without the refraction of linguistics.

As a composer concerned with live performance, the individuality of the performer, their voice and the context in which it is presented are inimitably bound together. And my challenge is to find the balance between authoritative control and individual expression that enables a performer to breathe unique life into a composition, the performances of which might differ radically, while remaining recognisable.

Such notions of collaboration are not dependent upon the presence of the composer; if performers accept this creative ability as crucial, it becomes embedded int he process of working with a score, which is not an icon but more a film script.

This lecture-recital, with performer Frances M. Lynch, explores and demonstrates these issues.