Gestural Song Form in Experimental Vocal Music

Abstract

This article explores an unconventional form of song that is not defined by pitch, rhythm, melody, or lyrics. Instead gestural songs are defined by sonic gestures like glissandi or portamento, timbre, physical movements or choreography, and/or an engagement with particular objects, technologies or architectural features. The article investigates gestural song form using examples from American experimental vocal music and performance art, first tracing the emergence of new methods of songwriting in the mid-twentieth century, particularly in the work of Joan La Barbara, Meredith Monk, and Charlemagne Palestine, with additional examples in the work of Marina Abramović, Robert Ashley, Alvin Lucier, and Yoko Ono. Then the article briefly focuses on more recent examples from composer-performers Gelsey Bell and Odeya Nini. The use of extended vocal techniques and alternate forms of notation, such as graphic or prose scores, are recurrent themes. Recent interviews with La Barbara, Monk, and Nini supplement the investigation.