All instruments amplified

  • cl(bcl), perc, pf(perc), kbd(live electronics), vn, vc; video
  • cl(bcl), perc, pf(kbd,perc), vn, vc; fixed electronics; video
  • 59 min

Programme Note

Note:
Daniel Wohl's Corps Exquis shares its unexpected juxtapositions with the early twentieth-century surrealist collaboration cadavre exquis created by André Breton and his Paris friends. In turn, their wordplay was modeled after the Victorian parlor game Consequences.

The album’s striking electronic elements are derived directly from Wohl’s processing of the virtuosic ensemble’s acoustic instruments (piano, violin, cello, clarinet and percussion). On the track “Ouverture”, Wohl processes the resonance from a bell hit and extends it to form the underlying electronic texture; on “Limbs”, the original acoustic piano plays in perfect unison with an electrified and transformed version of itself. The result is a dynamic and emotionally charged work in which the acoustic and electronic sounds seamlessly intertwine to the point of becoming one.

Ensemble:
clarinet (doubling bass clarinet, vocals, percussion)
percussion (doubling melodica)
piano (doubling melodica, vocals, percussion)
violin
cello
keyboard (doubling keyboard, melodica, vocals, percussion) and electronics: fixed media, live processing, sampler

Movements:
1. Neighborhood
2. 323
3. Cantus
4. Ouverture
5. Plus ou Moins
6. Limbs
7. Insext
8. Fluctuations
9. Corpus

Individual movements available separately.

Media

Neighborhood
323
Cantus
Ouverture
Plus ou moins
Limbs
Insext
Fluctuations
Corpus

Scores

Reviews

Aided by Julia Holter's vaporous vocalise, Corpus floats in crepuscular world where electronic and acoustic instruments dwell in fearless equilibrium.
100 Favorite Songs Of 2013, NPR Music
11th December 2013
Perhaps the best compliment I can pay Corps Exquis is that I couldn’t stop listening to it. The tracks are a parade of bright lights and glimpses of secret corridors, all passing by long before they wear out their welcome.
Molly Sheridan, NewMusicBox.org
23rd July 2013
…beautiful and maze-like…
Jayson Greene, Pitchfork.com
8th July 2013
…vivid, detailed and engaging compositions…
Steve Smith, New York Times
21st June 2013

Discography

Corps Exquis

Corps Exquis
  • Label
    New Amsterdam
  • Catalogue Number
    048
  • Ensemble
    So Percussion / Wohl / Holter / TRANSIT / Roche
  • Released
    25th June 2013