Pastorale. Music/Theatre by Trevor Wishart - ACE124.5

A small stage (Georgian Theatre, Richmond). Wishart’s ideas of transferring visual effects from performance theatre to musical theatre, and trying to emulate elaborate seventeenth century theatrical effects. God as deus ex machina; he explains its original theatrical use as a restorer of harmony. Wishart points out that this assumes that there is a natural order. Adam and Eve in bad weather. More food. A rat. Rat in Skinner box. Wishart’s VO describing how this works. He explains why he wanted to put musicians into a similar box. Skinner on metaphysics. He explains to four Observers the theory of "positive reinforcement" – correct performance is rewarded, tells them that, in Walden Two, the problems of the human condition have thus been solved. Wishart criticises Skinner as taking a scientific idea to extremes – that because consciousness cannot be observed, it doesn’t exist. Skinner tells Observers that human suffering has been eliminated in Walden Two. Skinner takes Observers to listen to music, including an organ solo from Bach’s B Minor Mass; Wishart says Skinner doesn’t see the irony in liking Bach whose inspiration comes from the idea of human suffering. Wishart playing the organ. He says that his version of the Mass comments on Skinner’s theories by changing the structure of the music, and that music. He emphasises the importance of metaphysics and of being able to criticise it. Skinner argues with God, saying that he assumes that the universe is ordered in some way.