Of The Body

The 1500s heralded a new fascination with the human figure when dissection transformed our understanding of anatomy, and the body became the subject of scientific and artistic fixation. Of The Body couples 16th-century inspiration with 21st-century interpretation, performed as a major new song cycle by composer Dan Walker, alongside rarely heard Renaissance repertoire. Drawing on Buxtehude’s masterpiece, Membra Jesu Nostri, each movement of Dan Walker’s composition is devoted to an anatomical part of the body: the eyes, the hands, the mouth, the feet, the blood, and finally, the heart. A musical dissection of sorts, Of the Body traverses sex, sensuality, the senses and more, exploring what it means to be embodied in a digital age, our relationship to our corporeal form, our flesh and blood. A pre-concert talk by Roland Peelman AM, Artistic Director, will take place in the Ian Potter Recital Hall at 7.20 pm. This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through Music Australia and Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory body.