Reviewer One
Very interesting piece of work. Enjoyable and intricate compositional effort. The connection with the theme was not immediately clear, but it became so after reading the description of the piece. Listening to the work prior to reading about it was intriguing and sparked a lot of curiosity regarding the compositional and performance process. In the case of the Broken Starling, the author’s description is necessary to understand its connections to the theme of Restrictions/ Affordances.
Reviewer Two
This is an interesting piece of work with some obvious restrictions that fit the symposium theme. The use of loops, the washing machine recording, the repetitive motifs and melodic lines are constraints that serve as a stimulus. The songwriter created different sections where the lyrics follow a specific structure and he freed himself in the rhyme scheme. Nevertheless, the song feels balanced.
The description is very lengthy, but justifies the relevance of the piece to the theme. Curiously, the washing machine is used as a metaphor for daily family life. Although, the mood and style, in combination with the scalar choices may present the mundane activity more successfully, in comparison to the contrasting personal transformation.
The visual works perfectly with the piece. More specifically, the rotation of the washing machine tub supports the audiovisual experience and can draw the audience’s attention throughout the performance. The representation of the melodic and rhythmic elements in the dials and lights of the washing machine is a nice addition, however I had to focus on them during a second play to confirm my initial assumption about what each of them represents.