Samuel Beckett's Radio Plays  

Music of the Absurd

by Stefan-Brook Grant

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|title| |contents| |intro| |chapter.1| |chapter.2| |chapter.3| |chapter.4| |conclusion| |bibliography|
|Samuel Beckett Resources|

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . 1


CHAPTER ONE: BACKGROUND

The BBC: Channels and Changes . . . . 6

Technological Development . . . . . 10

The Historical Development: Setting, Sound and Themes 16

Voice and Dialogue . . . . . . 21

Sounds vs. Words . . . . . . 24

Trends in Radio Broadcasting . . . . . 26

Comedy, Madness and the Absurd . . . . 32


CHAPTER TWO: ALL THAT FALL

Pain and Suffering . . . . . . 40

Implications of Sound and Motion . . . . 44

The Build up of Sound Effects and the Musical Climax . 49

The Three Movements . . . . . . 51

The Emotional Beats . . . . . . 58

Sonority, Silence and the Contrast . . . . 62


CHAPTER THREE: EMBERS

The Scaffolding and Audio-Visual Backdrop . . 68

Expressionism . . . . . . . 76

The Contrast in the Foreground . . . . 79

Impressionism . . . . . . . 81

The Depth of Mind . . . . . . 88


CHAPTER FOUR: WORDS AND MUSIC & CASCANDO

Parodying the Creative Process in Words and Music . 95

The Prelude, the Fugues, the Arias and the Postlude . 102

The Interplay and Expression of Themes . . . 107

Cascando: Moving Towards an End . . . . 110


CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . 118


BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . 121