Corpo Do Som

CORPO DO SOM

is a body percussion work. It is also the recording of an artistic and pedagogical language in full development. This CD includes various people who have been with me in the search to widen the possibilities of musical expression using the body. Also present are our main discoveries: rhythms, improvisation methods, techniques to combine sound and the diversity of timbres that we have within us.

I will tell you a little of this story: my first discovery, still an adolescent, was to find out that the body was a toy with sound. When I walked I enjoyed my musical daydreaming, imagining melodies and putting rhythm to my steps. Without noticing, the hands followed, looking for a drumming sound, mixing sounds on my chest, hands and snapping. Of course it had started in the kitchen, the shower, and the childish sound delirium. It was a new game then.

The first meetings were the result of the contagion that this mania had in other people, and thus some small groups appear, using the body as a drum. Naturally, variations and rhythms came from this game. Very soon I already had a repertoire large enough to teach and, at the invitation of some friends, the body of sound became a teaching body.

This research continued during my musical studies. In my course of Popular Music at College (Unicamp), I had the pleasure of studying with José Eduardo Gramani, who opened my eyes to new ways of feeling the rhythm and developing movement coordination.

The great turnaround happened later when I was developing a body percussion course and I got in touch with the work of Stênio Mendes. I signed up for his class and already our first class ended with a vocal improvisation session lead by him. The exercise was done with the lights turned off and while improvising I started to explore a world of internal images and sensations suggested by the sounds. A new dimension of dialogues, dynamic and sonority started to open up, what he called spontaneous music. From then on I got to know new sounds and games and both our work became definitely complementary.

At that time, I used so much my body as a drum that this received the nickname of 'Barbatuque' suggested by Lu Horta. Also the group "Barbatuques" was born, including my friends who followed this research and who also wanted to present this work on stage. With the incentive of Luiz Gayotto to participate in his shows, the group started to enjoy it and we never stopped.

Ever since, 'Barbatuques' has been developing its musical work based on the exploration of numerous sounds that may be produced by the human body. Hands, finger snapping, hitting the chest, tap-dancing, voice effects, vacuum, among many other sounds are connected in the production of rhythms and melodies. The result is a "circle orchestra" where everyone plays and improvises on the same instrument: the body.

This CD includes tracks ranging from live presentations to the use of "human synthesizer". Low volume rubbing hands sounds are amplified, voices and effects of the same person are added and in some instances we dared a technical and esthetic dialogue with electronic music. Also present are fragments of improvisations that are forever part of our musical practice.

I wish you good listening, knowing that some sonorities may seem strange or new. I hope also that this will make you wish to play together, as for me this work has always evoked the idea of being contagious and playful.

Fernando Barba.