Transcribing: between listening, memory, and invention

Abstract

Giuliano Bracci’s research investigates the process and implications of transcribing a musical work from the past and aims to expand knowledge and understanding of this creative practice. Bracci views the practice of transcribing as a form of listening, as a means of reflecting on the theme of otherness and the relationship between self and other. Following Jacques Derrida’s ideas, he argues that truly respecting a musical work means operating in “absolute ingratitude,” accepting the “always threatening risk of betrayal” and of contaminating the original while, at the same time, being contaminated by it. This approach opens up the invention of new possibilities, in contrast to the musealization and sacralization of works from the past. Integrating contemporary artistic expression with one’s cultural legacy holds the potential to transform one’s relationship with history into a dynamic and creative practice.

The thesis narrates a journey in which Bracci progressively sought to create more openings, allowing the selected original musical works to influence, contaminate, and transform his language as a transcriber. Bracci also situates his research within a broader context by engaging with the work and ideas of other composers, performers, musicologists, philosophers, writers, and poets.

Bracci’s research offers both theoretical and artistic contributions that may encourage new ways of thinking about transcribing, enriching the discourse on the presence of the past in contemporary music and revealing how transcriptions can enable musical works to be virtually present in contemporary music, reappearing from the past like ghosts.