Xelís de Toro is a Galician writer, performer and musician based in Brighton. In this transmission he presents his second talk on Sound Poetry as part of his ongoing ‘Poets without Words’ project. In this talk, Xelís looks at the work of Hugo Ball, the Cabaret Voltaire and the origins of Dada in Zurich, around 1916.
The talk is accompanied by a mix of archive recordings of voices and sounds emerging from the birth of Dada. In this mix you can hear original Dada artists: Richard Huelsenbeck, Hans Richter, Tristan Tzara, Jean Arp and Marcel Janco reciting poetry and discussing their time at the Cabaret Voltaire alongside Emmy Hennings, Hugo Ball, Sophie Tauber, Viking Eggerling and Walter Serner. The mix includes several recitals of sound poems by Hugo Ball.
Poets Without Words is supported using public finding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England
Tracklisting
Xelís de Toro presents a talk on Hugo Ball
Simultaneous poetry in Galician, English and French by Xelís de Toro
Bruitist poem by Xelís de Toro
Gadij Beri Bimba – written by Hugo Ball, performed by Xelís de Toro
I Zimbra by Talking Heads, 1980
Karawane x 3 – written by Hugo Ball, performed by Xelís de Toro
The archive mix includes:
Interview with Richard Huelsenbeck (1959)
Wolken, Katzen Und Pfauen and Karawane by Trio Exvoco from ‘Dada For Now (A Collection Of Futurist And Dada Sound Works), 1985
Dada-Sprüche by Hans Arp (1955) from ‘Dada > Antidada > Merz’
Pour Compte by Tristan Tzara from ‘Voices Of Dada’
Phantastische Gebeté by Richard Huelsenbeck, 1967 from ‘Lunapark 0,10’
Seepferdchen Und Flugfishche by Trio Exvoco from ‘Dada For Now (A Collection Of Futurist And Dada Sound Works), 1985
Souvenirs by Marcel Janco from ‘Dadascope’, 1957
Gadij Beri Bimba by Trio Exvoco from ‘Dada For Now (A Collection Of Futurist And Dada Sound Works), 1985
Reading from Fantastic Prayerbook by Richard Huelsenbeck
Totenklage by Trio Exvoco from ‘Dada For Now (A Collection Of Futurist And Dada Sound Works), 1985
Seepferdchen Und Flugfishche by Jaap Blonk from ‘Flux De Bouche’, 2003
A Chanson Dada by Tristan Tzara & George Auric from ‘Dadascope’, 1957
Din Daa Daa (Trommeltanz + Dub Version) by George Kranz, 1983
Throughout the mix you can hear excerpts from the following documentary films:
Dadascope by Hans Richter 1961
Germany –Dada: An Alphabet of German Dada, 1968
The voices and poetry are accompanied by a mix of musical recordings from cassettes by Soundless Mind Eraser including excerpts from: ‘Berlin’, ‘Compressed Stylus’, ‘Derric Funes’, ‘Dunes’, ‘Harmonium’, ‘Hummuh’, ‘Loopinalowdrone’, ‘Lost Hours’, ‘Omno’, ‘Suture’, ‘XmasDayXstatic15’ and ‘Polka Ittegil’.
First broadcast on 5th June 2022 on Radio Reverb 97.2FM & DAB, Brighton, UK, streaming online at www.radioreverb.com
To find out more about the work of Xelís de Toro visit: xelisdetoro.net