Musical Robots and the Serbian Kolo: A Narrative Analysis of Ana Sokolović’s Géométrie sentimentale (1997)
Composer Ana Sokolović divided her instrumental work Géométrie sentimentale into large sections inspired by pure geometric shapes — Triangle, Cercle and Carré — describing these sections as three contrasting perspectives of the same musical materials. This article uses a narrative analytical approach as a lens through which to understand these distinct sections and the materials populating them. Inspired by Sokolović’s employment of musical objects in her compositions and by the extra-musical concepts inspiring many of her works, this analysis uses a collection of colourful robot toys as metaphors for the work’s materials. Three unique perspectives of these toys are described: in Triangle, the robots interact as characters on a dramatic stage; in Cercle, they peacefully coexist in slow motion; and in Carré new combinations of robot elements are abruptly juxtaposed against each other. The characteristics and interactions between these toys, as well as the various harmonic ‘masks’ that the composer has them wear, are helpful in understanding Sokolović’s harmonic structure, variation/transformation techniques, formal organization and rhythmic characteristics. The Serbian kolo is also shown as influential on the work, relating directly to the physicality and kinetics of the metaphorical robots.