📚 Emancipation of Expressionism — 6c.8
Aural Setting
Four sections · three composers · one emotional journey
📚 What you'll learn on this page
- Describe the aural setting in each section — including composers, titles and sound qualities
- Link the music to Kenrick's intent and the choreographic approach
- Interpret the aural setting in more than one way — the drum, the violin, the fusion
- Evaluate the impact of the aural setting on the audience
6c.8.1 Description
A musical journey through four sections
The aural setting shifts from urban electronic (Sections 1–2) to modern classical violin (Section 3) to a fusion of classical strings and urban drums (Section 4). Kenrick notates every count and sound type in his choreographic notes — using symbols to ensure each movement complements a specific musical accent.
Section 1
Genesis
Eerie electronic + pulsating drum beat
Section 2
Growth & Struggle
Loud driving urban hip hop beat
Section 3
Flow & Connection
November — Max Richter (classical violin)
Section 4
Empowerment
Til Enda — Olafur Arnalds (fusion)
Section 1 — Genesis Mikey J Asante
Composed by Mikey J Asante · Boy Blue Entertainment co-founder
Eerie swirling electronic sounds and zapping noises, building to a deep pulsating drum beat — almost primal. The texture is atmospheric and unsettling, suggesting something being born.
This could suggest a heartbeat — the pulsating drum is womb-like, representing the very beginning of life. The zapping sounds could suggest electrical impulses kickstarting existence — the moment of creation before it has a shape.
This creates impact because the eerie, unsettling atmosphere draws the audience in before they understand what they are watching — the music creates unease and intrigue that makes the audience lean forward into the work from the very first moment.
▶ Watch Section 1 — Genesis (0:00–1:30)
🔑 Exam word: pulsating drum beat — not just "drum beat"
Section 2 — Growth & Struggle Mikey J Asante
Composed by Mikey J Asante · Boy Blue Entertainment co-founder
A sudden, dramatic shift to a loud, driving urban hip hop beat with heavy bass. The contrast with Section 1 is immediate and shocking — the calm and eerie becomes explosive.
This could suggest the moment life encounters struggle — the comfortable world of Genesis is shattered by something forceful and unavoidable. The driving beat could represent the external pressures that push against the desire to express freely.
This creates impact because the sudden shift is exhilarating — the audience feel the power and energy of hip hop culture hit them without warning. The contrast makes both sections more effective: the eerie feels more unsettling in retrospect, and the urban beat feels even more explosive for having been preceded by silence.
▶ Watch Section 2 — Growth & Struggle (1:30–3:21)
🔑 Exam word: sudden shift — the contrast is part of the technique
Section 3 — Flow & Connection Max Richter
November by Max Richter · modern classical composer
Rapid cascading violin melodies that flow up and down the scale — creating an ebb and flow quality. A high-pitched violin plays long, piercing notes over the top. Staccato notes during the animation section match the precise, robotic gestures exactly. Two counter melodies weave together throughout.
This could suggest a conversation between two people — the weaving counter melodies represent ideas and feelings passing between the dancers. The staccato could represent the precise, controlled side of expression; the smooth melody the fluid, free side — showing that expression has more than one form.
This creates impact because the unexpected use of classical violin with hip hop movement challenges the audience's expectations — and convinces them. It proves that hip hop can carry any music, and that hip hop movement can be just as expressive and subtle as ballet or contemporary dance. The audience are moved without knowing quite why.
▶ Watch Section 3 — Flow & Connection (3:21–6:30)
🔑 Exam words: cascading, counter melodies, staccato
Section 4 — Empowerment Olafur Arnalds
Til Enda by Olafur Arnalds · Icelandic composer · THE STIMULUS
Begins with soft, delicate piano notes, then builds — adding beautiful violin, then powerful urban drum beats, then a driving rhythm that builds to an overwhelming fusion of orchestra and drums. The only piece Kenrick did not commission — he built the whole work towards it.
This could suggest two sides of a person finally coming together — the classical strings and the urban drums do not compete but merge, just as individual expression and collective identity are both possible at once. The building structure could represent someone finding their inner strength — starting uncertain, ending fully empowered.
This creates impact because the music builds alongside the movement to create an overwhelming climax — the audience are swept up in the intensity and feel a genuine sense of release and freedom when the cyclorama opens. The fact that this was the original stimulus means the whole work has been building to this moment; when it arrives, it feels earned.
▶ Watch Section 4 — Empowerment (6:30–end)
🔑 Exam words: stimulus, fusion, builds to climax
Examiner's Eye — five details that unlock top marks
(1) Sections 1 and 2 are composed by Mikey J Asante — a Boy Blue co-founder, not an outside composer. (2) Section 3 is November by Max Richter — not just "classical violin." (3) Section 4 is Til Enda by Olafur Arnalds — and it is the stimulus. (4) The two counter melodies in November matter — the staccato notes match the animation, the smooth violin matches the waving. (5) Kenrick uses symbols in his notes to notate every count and accent.
Kenrick's notation method
Kenrick writes out every count and uses symbols in his choreographic notes — a horizontal line represents the bass beat, a triangle represents a high accent. This ensures every movement in EoE is choreographed to complement a specific sound. The result is a work where music and movement feel inseparable — not dance with music playing over it, but dance built from music upwards.
6c.8.2 Appreciation DLIE Panel
Sort these four statements about the aural setting into the correct DLIE category. Click a statement to select it, then click the slot where it belongs.
💡 D and L are facts and explanations. I and E are opinions and judgements.
Sections 1 and 2 use urban electronic music composed by Mikey J Asante — eerie electronic sounds and a pulsating drum beat in Section 1, shifting suddenly to a loud driving urban hip hop beat in Section 2. Section 3 uses November by Max Richter — rapid cascading violin with two counter melodies and staccato notes. Section 4 uses Til Enda by Olafur Arnalds — beginning with soft piano, building to an aggressive driving rhythm.
The pulsating drum beat in Genesis links to the theme of birth — a heartbeat at the beginning of life. The violin in Section 3 cascades up and down, mirroring the waving technique that flows between dancers. Til Enda links to the original stimulus — Kenrick spent two years choreographing to this piece before creating the rest of the work. Kenrick's symbol-based notation ensures every movement complements a specific musical accent.
The pulsating drum could symbolise a heartbeat — womb-like, representing the very beginning of life. The zapping electronic sounds could suggest electrical impulses kickstarting existence — the moment of creation. The two counter melodies in November could represent two sides of a person — sharp accents matched by elbow jabs, smooth violin matched by fluid arm ripples — showing how expression has many forms.
The sudden shift from eerie to urban beat is effective because the change in energy is exhilarating — the audience feel the power and excitement of hip hop. The unexpected use of classical violin with hip hop movement challenges the audience's expectations and proves hip hop can express anything. The building intensity of Til Enda creates an overwhelming climax — the audience are swept up and released when the cyclorama opens.
D Describe✓
Click to place here
L Link✓
Click to place here
I Interpret✓
Click to place here
E Evaluate✓
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6c.8.3 💜 What Does the Aural Setting Make You Think or Feel?
💜 Your Personal Response
These prompts ask for your genuine reaction. There are no wrong answers — but always anchor your response in what you actually hear.
Prompt 1 — The shift in Section 2
The eerie, atmospheric Section 1 suddenly becomes a loud, driving urban beat. How does this moment feel to you? Does the shift feel exhilarating, shocking, violent, or something else? Does the contrast help you understand what 'Growth and Struggle' means in this context?
Prompt 2 — November (classical violin with hip hop movement)
Kenrick uses a modern classical violin piece to accompany hip hop movement in Section 3. Does this combination feel surprising, natural, or intentional? Does it change how you see the hip hop movement — or how you hear the music? What does it communicate to you about what hip hop is capable of?
Prompt 3 — Til Enda as the stimulus
Kenrick spent two years choreographing to Til Enda before creating the rest of EoE. Knowing that the work was built backwards — that everything in Sections 1–3 was made to lead to this piece — does Section 4 feel different to you? Does it feel like an arrival? A climax? Something else?
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6c.8.4 💜 Could the Aural Setting Be Interpreted in More Than One Way?
💜 More Than One Way of Hearing
Strong exam answers show you can consider more than one interpretation. Tap each reading and decide which resonates most.
🥁 The pulsating drum beat and eerie sounds in Genesis
AA heartbeat — the beginning of life, womb-like and primal
A pulsating drum beat sounds like a heartbeat — regular, deep, beneath everything else. In the context of a section called Genesis, this could suggest we are hearing life begin. The eerie electronic sounds surrounding the drum could be the chaos of creation — before anything is formed or defined. This connects directly to the visual of dancers wriggling on the floor in a circle, the central dancer giving direction: something is being born.
BElectrical impulses — the spark of expression being charged into life
The zapping electronic sounds in Section 1 have a specific quality: they suggest something being switched on, charged, activated. This could represent the first impulses of expression — the moment when the potential to express becomes actual movement. The DLIE link: when the central dancer points to each floor dancer and they respond with an impulse, the zapping sounds could literally be that electrical signal passing between bodies. Expression as electricity.
🎻 November by Max Richter (Section 3)
AHip hop claiming classical music — a statement about belonging
Using classical violin for hip hop movement is not accidental — it's a statement. Hip hop is usually associated with urban electronic music. By placing hip hop movement within a modern classical score, Kenrick asserts that hip hop belongs in dialogue with all music forms, not just those traditionally associated with it. This is the 'emancipation' in action: freeing hip hop from genre expectations. The audience may be surprised, then convinced — which is exactly the effect Kenrick wants.
BTwo sides of expression — the staccato and the smooth tell different stories
November has two distinct melodic layers: a staccato, clipped line and a smooth, flowing melody. These two layers correspond to two different movement qualities in Section 3 — the robotic, precise animation gestures (matched by staccato) and the fluid waving technique (matched by smooth violin). This could suggest that expression has two sides: controlled and precise, but also fluid and free. The music doesn't just accompany the movement — it articulates its two natures.
CConnection as conversation — the weaving melodies show ideas passing between people
The two counter melodies in November weave around each other — never quite the same, but always responding. This could represent two people in conversation: the section is called 'Flow and Connection', and it begins with a duet. The DLIE link: the music models the theme. Just as the melodies pass energy between them, the dancers pass ripples and waves between their bodies. The music is not just accompanying connection — it is enacting it.
🎹 Til Enda by Olafur Arnalds (Section 4 — the stimulus)
AThe argument completed — classical and urban prove they belong together
Til Enda is a fusion: classical strings with urban drum beats. This is Kenrick's central argument made audible. He has been exploring hip hop in a contemporary way throughout the work — placing it alongside electronic music, then classical violin, then fusing both worlds completely. The music of Section 4 doesn't choose between classical and urban: it says both can coexist at full power. The DLIE link: the fusion in the music mirrors the fusion of hip hop and concert dance performance that the whole work represents.
BHomecoming — the work was built to arrive here
Kenrick spent two years choreographing Section 4 to Til Enda before creating any other section. Everything in EoE — Genesis, Growth and Struggle, Flow and Connection — was built to lead to this piece. When Section 4 arrives, the audience doesn't know this, but the choreography carries a different quality: this is not an ending that was added, it is the origin from which everything else grew. Til Enda means 'to the end' in Icelandic — and it is both the destination and the beginning.
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📌 Revisit This — Key Points
Sections 1 & 2Urban electronic music composed by Mikey J Asante (Boy Blue co-founder). Eerie + pulsating drum → sudden shift to loud urban hip hop beat.
Section 3November by Max Richter. Rapid cascading violin, two counter melodies, staccato notes matching animation gestures.
Section 4 — the stimulusTil Enda by Olafur Arnalds. Soft piano builds to aggressive fusion of orchestra and urban drums. This was the original stimulus — Kenrick choreographed Section 4 first.
Kenrick's notationWrites symbols for every count — horizontal line = bass beat, triangle = high accent. Music and movement are inseparable by design.
Link to intentThe musical journey (urban → classical → fusion) mirrors the work's argument: hip hop can do anything and belongs anywhere.
Exam key wordsPulsating, cascading, staccato, counter melodies, sudden shift, fusion, stimulus, builds to climax.
🧠 Revision Check
10 questions · aural setting · select one answer per question then submit
1. Who composed the music for Sections 1 and 2?
2. What is the title and composer of the Section 3 music?
3. What makes Til Enda by Olafur Arnalds especially significant in EoE?
4. How does the aural setting shift between Sections 1 and 2?
5. What two distinct musical layers does November have, and what movements do they match?
6. How does Kenrick notate his choreography in relation to the music?
7. What could the pulsating drum beat in Section 1 symbolise?
8. Why is the use of classical violin in Section 3 considered effective?
9. What style of music does Til Enda represent?
10. How does the building intensity of Til Enda affect the audience?
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