Global InformationAlfred Wolfsohn Voice Research Centre information
The Alfred Wolfsohn Voice Research Centre was a project established to investigate the therapeutic and artistic potential of vocal expression. The Centre was founded by Alfred Wolfsohn in Berlin during 1935 and re-situated in London during 1943, where he and his contemporaries and successors developed principles and practices that provided the foundations for the use of an extended vocal technique. This technique allows vocalists to extend their vocal range and flexibility beyond that usually heard in speech or song.[1][2]
The Centre inspired, precipitated, and influenced a number of developments within the arts, the expressive therapies, and psychotherapy, including the Roy Hart Theatre, founded by Roy Hart, the psychotherapeutic approach to song, prayer, and guided meditation evolved by Paul Newham, the clinical application of singing and nonverbal vocalization in music therapy and drama therapy, and the use of spontaneous vocal expression in dance movement therapy.[3][4][5][6][7]
In addition, the extended vocal technique developed at the Centre has been used by performers in avant garde theatre, experimental music, and postmodern dance including: Eight Songs for a Mad King composed by Peter Maxwell Davies and performed by Roy Hart, Akropolis (1962) directed by Jerzy Grotowski, Orghast (1971) directed by Peter Brook, and House of Bones (1991) by Motionhouse with vocal music composed and performed using extended vocal technique by Paul Newham.[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]
- ^ Hart, R., et al., 'An Outline of the Work of the Alfred Wolfsohn Voice Research Centre', subsequently published in 'The Roy Hart Theatre: Documentation and Interviews', Dartington Theatre Papers, ed. David Williams, Fifth Series, No. 14, pp2–7. Series ed. Peter Hulton. Dartington College of Arts, 1985.
- ^ Newham, P. 'The Psychology of Voice and the Founding of the Roy Hart Theatre'. New Theatre Quarterly IX No. 33. February 1993 pp59-65.
- ^ Martin, J., Voice in Modern Theatre. London. Routledge 1991.
- ^ Roose-Evans J., Experimental Theatre: From Stanislavski to Peter Brook. 4th edn. London. Routledge 1989.
- ^ Sharon Hall, 'An Exploration of the Therapeutic Potential of Song in Dramatherapy'. Dramatherapy Vol. 27 (1) 2005 pp13-18.
- ^ Barbara Houseman, Voice and the Release and Exploration of Emotion and Thought from a Theatre Perspective. Dramatherapy. Vol. 16. (2–3) 1994 pp25-27.
- ^ Anne Rust-D'Eye, 'The Sounds of the Self: Voice and Emotion in Dance Movement Therapy'. Body, Movement and Dance in Psychotherapy: An International Journal for Theory, Research and Practice Volume 8. (2) 2013 pp95-107.
- ^ Curtin, A., 'Alternative Vocalities: Listening Awry to Peter Maxwell Davies's Eight Songs for a Mad King'. Mosaic: A Journal for the Interdisciplinary Study of Literature. Vol. 42, No. 2. June 2009. pp101-117.
- ^ Joachim, H., Die Welt. 20 October 1969.
- ^ Flaszen, L., 'Akropolis – Treatment of the Text.' In Grotowski, J. (ed), Towards a Poor Theatre. London. Simon & Schuster 1970.
- ^ Smith, A. C. H., 'Orghast at Persepolis. The Complete Review'. London. Viking Adult 1973.
- ^ Ashley, L., Essential Guide to Dance. 3rd edn. London. Hachette 2012.
- ^ Gorguin, I., Fifth Festival of Arts. Shiraz-Persepolis. Tehran. Public Relations Bureau of the Festival of Arts. Shiraz-Persepolis 1971.
- ^ Brook, P., The Shifting Point: Forty Years of Theatrical Exploration. London Methuen 1987.
- ^ Helfer, R. & Loney, G. M., 'Peter Brook: Oxford to Orghast'. Contemporary Theatre Studies 27. Harwood Academic Publishers 1998.