Multiplicity – Fragmentation – Simultaneity: Sound-Space as a Conveyor of Meaning, and Theatrical Roots in Luigi Nono's Early Spatial Practice

Abstract

ABSTRACTLuigi Nono's early spatial works with tape are characterized by strong political commitment as well as by compositional devices and performance solutions that reflect the composer's involvement with technology and theatrical practices after his detachment from Darmstadt in the late 1950s. Looking at the tape works composed between 1961 and 1969, the article outlines the development of Luigi Nono's unique spatial practice, its theatrical influences and the dramaturgical implications. The analysis is centred on the composer's use of acoustic space as a conveyor of meaning designed to stimulate active and critical audience engagement. Particular emphasis is thus placed on the use of tape and amplification in performance, introducing notions such as ‘doubling’, ‘con-fusion’, fragmentation, non-linearity, simultaneity and multiplicity, which inform Nono's vision of space and are essential for a serious understanding of the composer's engaged spatial aesthetic.