Gliding Slowly into the Body of Origin

Gliding Slowly into the Body of Origin is an interactive work for live voice improvisation, prerecorded soundfiles, software environment created in MAX, the SOMoO controller, narrated text and 12 speaker spatlization. It was commissioned by New Adventures in Sound Art (NAISA) through the Ontario Arts Council, and was performed on August 22, 2015 as part of NAISA's Sound Travels concert. Through the performance process, the piece becomes a rewilding of self as a response to the patriarchal agenda of socializing the body out of its own knowledge of itself. Performers include: Wendalyn Bartley (improvised vocalizations and digital processing on the SOMO controller); Ruth Danziger (spoken texts); Ian Jarvis (Max interactive environment; Darren Copeland (live spatialization). The spoken texts juxtapose two sources, with editorial assistance from Ruth Danziger: Gliding Slowly phrases written and compiled by Wendalyn Bartley; excerpts from the journals of Annie Raison Parry (1928-29). Annie is Wendalyn's great grandmother. SPOKEN TEXTS: Gliding Slowly to the Body of Origin Gliding Slowly 1: And she began to move To move in a new way Gliding slowly Slowly gliding Listening to her flesh, the pulse within, her cells, her breath, her lips, her tongue, her mouth, her throat Annie Journals 1: Weather hot and sultry Canned 5 quart peas. Stan finished drawing in wheat - started cutting more oats Fine harvest weather Dorothy started vocal lessons again. $1.00 per lesson Went to Dee's and spent the afternoon listening over the radio Pa died this morning about 6 o'clock Poured down rain most all day Picked what apples there was and a tree of pears Cliff Eichenburg brought up a Westinghouse radio and set it up on trial Weather cold as greenland sharp high wind We worked at quilts today - too cold to wash Grand winter day Gliding Slowly 2: Listening and gliding Listening to the pulse within the terrain of her body. Memories returning Voices rising Gliding wild and free Dreaming of distant grandmothers Listening gliding Slowly Slowly gliding Gliding Slowly 3a: Watery sirens calling Calling her into form She becomes the pulse The bone, blood, sinew, cells, skin, new being Annie Journals 2: Roads are terrible. Cars getting stuck in mud holes all day. Dorothy drove Topsy to town and got the Radio Battery Pretty good sap day. Linus is tapping this week. Stanley sowed the first piece of oats this afternoon Weather seems more settled and fair for seeding Elsie finished working her quilt blocks today Our batteries are running down can't get much music tonight Dorothy went to choir practice at the church Cora's Birthday 34 years old Stanley and Dorothy milked the cows alone Fine, clear and moonlight Gliding Slowly 3b: Dark serpent Lilith rising Returned from exile She opens her mouth and draws them in Fiery tongues and slippery tails Bringing her back to her body of birth Body of origin, Body of voice Annie Journals 3: Very hot day rains going around Radio on the blink again Cora has a fat baby girl born around 1 o'clock this morning. The girls done another wash and they dried lovely Labour Day holiday - first trip for the new baby girl, coming to Grandma's. Hot dry and dusty Myrt fixed up our Radio so it's working fine. Stanley got the milk cheque We heard Howard Ferguson, the Ontarios Prime Minister speak over the radio tonight Stan dug the rest of the potatoes and got them in after milking The black sow had 13 pigs this morning Thunderstorms Gliding Slowly 4: Listening Sounding cellular intelligence within Skin, cells... Gliding slowly she comes back To her body of birth Body of origin Back to the one who is Laden with Voice Slowly gliding A pulse beneath her feet Gliding slowly Back to her body Her body of origin Magna Mater, Prima Materia, MA

Added 26 Jun 2026