Glossolalia
"Every limb of my body would, as a result, be set a fire. At such moments my tongue recited what no man could bear to hear."
The performnace contains texts describing ecstatic experiences from twelve religions. Each text was translated into three separate languages, with twelve languages in total used amongst all the texts. The vocal material is based on these translations, the authors' names, and a variety of isolated speech sounds (glottal fricatives, plosives, alveolar trills, etc.). During the performance the vocalist moves toward more complex passages of utterance creating a simulacrum for speaking in tongues. Electronic sound accompanies the performance and uses live processing of the voice and recordings made with twelve different woman. The audio is played from loudspeakers surrounding the performer. The work ends with a modified Brion Gysin Dreamachine that uses noise from a phonograph needle rubbing against the empty plate of a record player sent to a small loudspeaker covered by three bowls, which the vocalist slowly removes.
It was written for and performed by Marie Guilleray.
[audio excerpt on Audition Records] [score]