MFIIT is a New Music Theater work that incorporates a piano, percussion, dance, and lighting. Inspired by African witch doctors' healing rituals, it consists of five movements: Fire, Water, Wind, Mine, and Spirit. Drawing on the concept of divination from the rituals, the composition process incorporates John Cage's chance music by using dice to determine different rhythmic patterns and graphic symbols to define pitch, arranging various combinations of rhythm and pitch for each section. The style of each movement is established based on the symbolic representation of the respective elements. In this work, the piano instrument symbolizes the skeletal structure of the human body, with the piano (instrument) being the recipient of the treatment. Three performers (pianist, percussionist, and dancer) act as shamans, administering the treatment to the piano. The creation concept is based on the traditional rituals of the Dagara tribe, an indigenous African group, transforming them into a reinvented new world through modern society and technology, resulting in a ritualistic theatrical performance.
The instrumentation of the piece includes piano, percussion, and dance. The percussionist employs a technique of striking the piano strings with drumsticks, while the dance serves as the third voice, embodying prearranged rhythmic patterns with bodily movements visually representing the sounds. Additionally, self-made instruments are used to convert the dynamics of the body into sounds, and the dancers contribute to the visualization of the music.
This thesis is divided into four chapters: Chapter 1 serves as the introduction; Chapter 2 discusses the creative background of the work, including the creative motivations and relevant literature review; Chapter 3 analyzes the musical structure of the work and explains the use of musical elements; Chapter 4 provides design explanations for the self-made instruments, bodily movements, and lighting techniques; and finally, Chapter 5 concludes the thesis.