Analysing Daphne Oram's 'Still Point' (1948)

ABSTRACT In 1948, whilst working as a radio programme engineer at the BBC, the British composer Daphne Oram created a highly innovative piece for double orchestra, turntable and live electronics, entitled 'Still Point'. The final score, dated April 1950, details ‘pre-recordings to be mixed in at varying speeds, backwards & with filterings plus reverberation.’ Oram submitted it to the BBC but it was turned down on the basis that it could only be judged as a ‘straight score’ and the adjudicators wouldn’t understand the ‘acoustic variants and pre-recording techniques’ utilised. As a result, the work was never performed in Oram’s lifetime. 'Still Point' is now thought to be the earliest example of a composition specifying real-time electronic transformation of instrumental sounds (Davies 1994). In retrospect it can be seen to be decades ahead of its time in its use of recording technologies and acoustics. In the work, one ‘dry’ and one ‘wet’ orchestra are effected live in performance whilst a solo turntablist manipulates 78rpm discs of pre-recorded scored material using reverse, pitch shift and echo. Until 2016 the completed score for 'Still Point' was considered lost, with only draft pages remaining from which to create a realisation from. However, in December 2016 the author discovered the final score for 'Still Point' amongst the personal belongings of composer Hugh Davies. This body of research conveys the eight-year period (2010–2018) where the author utilised archival, collaborative and practice research methodologies to achieve the world premiere of Oram’s 'Still Point', working with turntablist Shiva Feshareki and the London Contemporary Orchestra to perform the work at the Royal Albert Hall on 23 July 2018, as part of the BBC Proms. CONTEXTUAL INFORMATION The conductor scores for both the 2016 and 2018 version of Still Point alongside the live electronics part for the 2018 BBC Proms performance are included within this project item. Both scores contain detailed prefaces that explain the research that underpins the presentation and realisation of the work. The BBC Prom 13 premiere of Still Point was broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and on BBC 2 and BBC 4 with the addition of a documentary about the realisation of the premiere including interviews with the author (these items are included as supplemental material within this Project Item). PRESS AND REVIEWS Further information about the performance can be found in the reviews and interviews included below: Guardian review of BBC Proms performance: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/jul/24/lco-ames-pioneers-of-sound-review-royal-albert-hall-london-prom-13 FACT magazine article on Still Point at Deep Minimalism: http://www.factmag.com/2016/07/13/daphne-oram-still-point-turntables-orchestra-performance/ Financial Times review of Still Point performance at Deep Minimalism festival: https://www.ft.com/content/4ca76a2c-3c4c-11e6-8716-a4a71e8140b0 BBC Prom 13 broadcast and documentary on BBC4: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06fykhk BBC Prom 13 live broadcast on BBC Radio 3 including interviews: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bcmbws