weaving Voices 01.04.2025 issuu - Flipbook - Page 26
Collective composing as a form of musical
weaving
Judit Biksz, Sarolta Eörsi, Dóra Halas, Vera Jónás, Endre Kertész
(members of Soharóza)
Together we are a monster
A group of 20 or so amateur singers are stacked in a close bundle in a
vacant, run-down apartment. They are standing tightly in a knot, quietly
breathing. Then their breathing starts to get heavier and louder, each
person inhaling and exhaling in their own tempo. It now sounds like there
is an enormous sleeping monster in the room. Then some of the singers
begin to give voice to their breath and slowly musical tones appear in the
air as others follow their lead, taking up their pitches or adding new ones.
It is a slow and unnoticeable transition from simple breath to music. As
the sound evolves, so does the movement: the participants begin to shift
their body parts first, and then change their position to the point where
everyone is wandering around the room like molecules of melting ice and
evaporating water, with their majestic musical tones freely intertwining as
they pass one another during their walk. There is a peak in the process,
both in sound and movement, after which the members eventually step out
to the wall and allow their voices to die down. The monster has vanished
into thin air.
This was an example of collective composing, which we like to call
the KOMP method, one of our very first experiences, originating from
choral improvisation practices. Dóra Halas, founder of experimental
choir Soharóza (based in Budapest, Hungary) has been developing
the KOMP method for the past 20 years, since her first meeting with
Swedish conductor Gunnar Eriksson, all the way to her DLA (Doctor of
Liberal Arts) dissertation topic on choral improvisation, and further on
to her experimental work with Soharóza, in both performative art and
music education.45 All of Soharóza’s performances are based on this
method, creating the music and all other segments of the piece together
45 The KOMP method has been developed partly from the following inspirations: Kör ad lib by Swedish
conductor Gunnar Eriksson; Soundpainting by American composer Walter Thompson; The Kokas Method by
Hungarian music pedagogue Klára Kokas; Creative Musical Games by Hungarian composer László Sáry; The
Intelligent Choir and Vocal Painting by Danish professor Jim Daus Hjernøe; further voicework and extended
vocal techniques from courses by Katalin Ladik, Meredith Monk, David Moss, Ernő Zoltán Rubik, Jean-Michel
Van Schouwburg and many more.
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