A2B2A

From impulse to action

A programme of spoken word and piano devised and performed by Dr Martin Coath, Neuroscientist, and Lola Perrin: Composer and Pianist

In 2005 at the London Jazz Festival the iconic Norwegian pianist, composer, and author Ketil Bjørnstad read from his biography of Edvard Munch and discussed the book's background as well as performing compositions triggered by the artist's work. In this waythe audience was treated to a three part performance; explanation of a text, the text itself and new music inspired by the text.

Martin Coath and Lola Perrin have developed a concept inspired by Bjørnstad's format that integrates discussion of neuroscience and our understanding of obsession, compulsion, and consciousness with piano compositions constructed from the ideas being presented. In addition, the presentation will be located in its historical context by readings.

The musical, scientific, and historical components, sometimes solo and sometimes woven together, provide a unique opportunity for a challenging, creative experience in an entertaining setting.

We have little or no conscious control over the processes that produce our consciousness. We come in to the world, it seems, with only an basic, automatic toolkit to help us make sense of our lives and surroundings. The most important of these is reward.

The patterns that establish themselves most easily are those that gives us this reward, they start with reinforcement from outside but as we get older this is mixed with the rewards that come from meeting goals that are set internally. This mechanism is very powerful.

We will follow this riddle - of how we come to make sense of the world - from A to B, returning to A many times. It will be apparent to the audience each time the argument recommences that the distinction between detail and generalization, between precedent and antecedent becomes blurred. These repetitions, each placing the emphasis on different types of detail, inform both the scientific and musical content; a single theme is used which, at each appearance, clearly unfolds in increasingly macroscopic versions.

The shared experience of returning to A and travelling to B repeatedly builds a sense of compulsion. This device chimes with the core of Martin's premise: the closer you get to the nature of consciousness, the clearer it is that "we are our own obsessions"

.Martin Coath and Lola Perrin will be publishing a score of the music, the libretto, and the scientific discussion. Available soon.