Glossa
We breathe and we live. We exhale air and at the moment the Physiology of the vocal apparatus is positioned in such a way that vital air produces sound, the voice acts and we appear in life; the word is the sound of man. It is in the word where man establishes in reality, and by doing so, appraises reality.
At what point and through what neurological mechanisms the human begins to communicate and develop concepts through the voice? In relatively recent linguistic studies on the nature and origin of language one of the most generally accepted theories is one that posits the principle that the power of speech is innate and unique to humans. However, in the end this capability is controlled by the brain, and since we still know so little about the workings of the mind, it is still, ultimately, an unknown phenomenon full of "mystery" if you will. No wonder then that many cultures throughout history have chosen to give a source that goes beyond man, a hidden and mystical source.
The work presented here is intended to reflect briefly on some of these ideas (Glossa, means language in Greek). The starting point, are two quotes in Hebrew from the Bible about the origin of speech, and on the other hand, recitations in a dozen Mesoamerican languages of the General Law of Linguistic Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
This time Glossa has the sound of the language as musical material for speculation. The semantic content of indigenous languages is abstracted to turn them into pure musical sign. By analyzing the phonetic sound it makes sound the true protagonist of the play and, with its immense and inexhaustible richness of sound, the work invites the listener to become aware of the music hidden there, the linguistic sound in pure state. Note also that the only material used in the sound piece is the sound of the voice, and this is processed through various techniques of digital signal processing.
Artist: Antonio Fernández Ros (Mexico, 1961)
