Phonemes (1956/57)

Title of the album: Poèmes Phonétiques Complètes
Title: Phonemes (Seite 1)
Publisher: S Press Tonbandverlag, Düsseldorf / München
Date 1956/57, publ. 1978
Medium: audio-cassette, 60 minutes

"Ladies, gentlemen, the Dadasoph will speak for you some historical sound poems from 1918". This is how Raoul Hausmann welcomes his audience - in French, English and German. Henri Chopin recorded the poems in the mid-1950s. They were published by S Press Tonbandverlag in 1978 on cassette and in 1997, published by the Musée Departemental d'Art Contemporain, Rochechouart on CD.

Phonemes is a repertoire of poems consisting not of words but syllables and sounds. Making virtuoso use of the possibilities of vocal performance in all its facets, Hausmann creates rhythmic sound images beyond a conventional "meaning", which evoke the most diverse associations.

The performance is sometimes reminiscent of a demagogic speech, sometimes of harmless babbling, sometimes gruntingly aggressive, sometimes purring with amusement, sometimes breathlessly anxious, sometimes monotonously repetitive or almost singing - each with a variety of overtones.

BB