Roger Redgate's Grammatology: Structure and Process in +R

Abstract

This article explores the complex and multifaceted nature of Roger Redgate's compositional methods, examining both his approach to musical notation and his compositional systems and processes. Redgate's work challenges the conventional understanding of notation as a transparent medium for communicating musical ideas, arguing that it actively shapes the compositional process. Drawing on theories of complex systems and the post-structuralist concepts of différance, trace, and exscription, the first part of the article suggests that Redgate's scores result from intricate generative processes that give rise to ``emergent material" - musical elements that cannot be fully anticipated or controlled. The second part puts forward an analysis of Redgate's +R (1990/94), a composition for solo clarinet, focusing on the distribution of musical material in relation to constantly changing time signatures, a characteristic feature of the work. Employing the concept of entropy, this analysis aims to highlight the structure and processes that underlie Redgate's compositional approach and the expressive potential of his music.