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Striking a Chord - Magicians and Musicians
by Lee Alex
Last Tuesday (21st November) was “No Music Day”,
an event held for the second year on the same date (22nd November being St.
Cecilia’s Day – the patron saint of music). The concept of “No Music Day” comes
from South African born Scot Bill Drummond (of K.L.F. fame). The idea of the
concept can be viewed on the website:
www.nomusicday.com/about.htm
In Drummond's words the idea of “No Music Day” is to create some space in your
listening so that you can "do nothing but think what it is you want from music,
and develop ideas of how that could be achieved."
I consider myself lucky to have been invited to participate in an event for “No
Music Day” here in Istanbul, staged at the “Yeni Melek” (New Angel) theatre and
gallery with different artists taking part: video artists, disc jockeys, a rock
group, a modern artist and myself, contributing with a short illusion
performance.
Performing illusion without any music took some courage, and was a strange
experience. I am so used to performing the illusions according to the music. The
choreography is all planned to the music; actions and cues are made in
accordance with the music; the audience takes applause cues from highlights in
the music. During a normal performance of illusion, the music somehow justifies
the fantasy of the happenings on the stage by working in harmony with the
performance.
I wonder would you be just as frightened if you were to watch the scariest
horror film without any background sounds? Would that car chase scene be as
exciting, or appear as fast if there was no score to accompany it? How do you
feel the romanticism between two lovers without the theme of “Love Story”
playing in the background?
A patter magician most probably does not use any music in a performance, but
instead relies upon the intonation of the voice to create the required
atmosphere. The voice is the patter magician’s tool to put across the
personality that the audience will perceive, and through this perception the
artist will be accepted or rejected. If the patter magician is working in a
theatre, it is the overture that brings him on to the stage that sows the seeds
of his character in the audience’s mind (i.e. There would be a huge difference
between a performing stepping on to the stage to the tune of “Carmina Burana”
and the opening tune from “The Muppet Show”!!).
A close-up magician or restaurant worker works almost in the same way, relying
upon the voice to portray a character. Whilst strolling, the magician may be
unaware of the background music playing in the restaurant which will assist to
cover any gaps in the performance, whether consciously or inadvertently.
So-called “piped music” is one of the things taken for granted in our modern
lives. It is everywhere; in the supermarket; in the waiting room; in the
restaurant. Take it away and feel the silence. Only then do we realize the
existence of such music.
The weekend before “No Music Day” also saw the Fifth Balkan Magic Festival here
in Istanbul. A mini-convention drawing magicians from Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia
and Turkey together for two days of competition. Nothing like the grand scale of
FISM of course, but most of the competitors tried their best.
I noticed a trend in the “Close-up” and “Card Magic” sections of the competition
(both performed in close range to the audience on a table top). The majority of
performers did not patter, but instead chose to use music of some kind or
another to accompany their act. I use the word “accompany” lightly as some
seemed to get the formula correct, whilst others were way off with their choice
of music.
Whichever way, I could see a cause for the music performing for an international
audience where language was a problem (the majority of performers and audience
only spoke their mother tongue and there was no common language, not even
English). At the same time however I felt a great loss of intimacy between the
performers and the audience. I noticed a couple of “frightened rabbits” who
stealthily took their seat at the performance table, without so much as an
acknowledgement to the audience and burst into a performance of
self-satisfaction. There was no contact, no glance, no sympathy and no rapport –
simply put, no magic.
Likewise there were many acts in the stage competition that simply had music
playing in the background. One of the most memorable performances (but
unfortunately not for positive reasons) had to be a rendition of the Fan
Illusion. This middle-aged magician complete with obsolete poses had chosen
“Can-can” and the theme of “Cabaret” to perform this single illusion, a far cry
from the show that we are used to see Hans Klok perform.
With the right costuming, staging and décor there may actually be an argument
for using the above pieces of music for the Fan Illusion – at present I can’t
actually think of any, however my point is that the music is just as important
as anything else in your show. Creating a harmony gives a greater pleasure for
the audience and makes it easier to relate to and comprehend what is happening
on the stage. “Can-can” only conjures up images of a chorus-line of girls in
frilly knickers kicking their legs up and doing the splits. If I were to say
“slow-motion”, you would most probably think of the title score from “Chariots
of Fire”, “Mission Impossible” likewise has almost become an anthem for some
illusionists. Certain music creates certain perceptions of visuals, and if the
one does not work in coordination with the other, then the music becomes
irrelevant. I guess that is why a score of a film is always synchronised after
the film has been edited.
Getting back to my own performance at “No Music Day”…Thankfully I was performing
with an assistant who has been with me for a good number of years. As if by
magic, we were able to get into the atmosphere of the performance and moved at
the same speed as if the music were playing. We performed a routine which comes
as second nature to us. During the performance however I felt extremely empty,
and was unsure of the reaction of the audience: stunned silence.
Performing without music was like losing one of the five senses for both the
performer and the audience. As a performer I felt handicapped without the
back-up of the music; my enthusiasm seemed challenged. For the audience it
seemed the absence of the music made them look upon the illusion with a
different point of view – no longer was this a conventional piece of
entertainment, but a piece of action that could be witnessed first-hand as it
happened without any frills.
During other events spectators were chatting, laughing and enjoying a drink
together. I was faced with a motionless, entranced sea of people and an eternal
silence. I was relieved when various cues throughout the performance still
bought the applause with them - it was only then that I felt that I had achieved
my goal. The audience was affected by the show, and not by the "padding" that
accompanies a stage performance. There was also no lighting, the only light
source coming from various video apparatus and projections. All in all a great
experience that I am pleased to have lived through, and some fantastic
reactions!
© Lee Alex, November 2006