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Singing the Law: The Musicality of Legal Performance

journal contribution
posted on 2021-10-20, 02:06 authored by Sean MulcahySean Mulcahy
https://ro.uow.edu.au/ltc/vol24/iss1/19

Abstract: What would the law sound like if it was sung? Whilst scholars have explored the relation between music and law, focus on the acoustic and musical dimensions of legal speech is relatively new. Exploring musical adaptations and remixes of legal transcripts, the paper argues that there is a latent musicality to legal speech. Using as case studies Opera Australia’s production of ‘Lindy’ and Donmar Warehouse’s production of ‘Committee’, where legal speech was adapted verbatim from legal transcripts into musical score, the paper investigates what these composers have to say about their jurisprudential source material. Through advancing this notion of latent musicality within legal speech, this paper suggests that legal speech works best when it appeals to its audience in the way that music appeals to its listener in terms of rhythm, pitch, and tone.

History

Publication Date

2021-09-29

Journal

Law Text Culture

Volume

24

Article Number

19

Pagination

35p. (p. 480-514)

Publisher

Legal Intersections Research Centre, University of Wollongong

ISSN

1322-9060

Rights Statement

© Law Text Culture and contributors

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