?Corporel - Vinko Globokar
Composer: Vinko Globokar (b.1934)
Performer: Niek KleinJan
Video: N&H Videos
?Corporel (1985) was written as part of Laboratorium, a large collection of solo and chamber works for an ensemble of ten players including two percussionists. In Laboratorium, Globokar wrote one piece for ten players, two pieces for nine players, three pieces for eight players, and so on, including two percussion solos: Toucher (1973) for Jean-Pierre Drouet and ?Corporel for Gaston Sylvestre. In Laboratorium, Globokar studied and focussed on a single issue in each piece, and in ?Corporel, he examined the issue of sound by using the body as the instrument. Original sound sources were mapped out using a male body. Globokar speaks about how he found his sound sources:
''I first determined the different ways to produce the sound: finger, fist, flat hand, hitting, caressing, sliding, etc. I then explored the places on the body where to produce the sounds, considering areas where the bones are just under the skin like in the head, or if there are muscles separating bones and skin like in the stomach or thigh. Later, I added vocal sounds with the idea to imitate percussion sounds produced on the body using the voice. Finally, I introduced a spoken verse written by the French poet Reneé Char.''
From: The Cambridge Companion to Percussion