BBC - Cut and Splice 2005

Jaap Blonk

Jaap Blonk (born 1953 in the Netherlands) is a self-taught composer and voice performer. His unfinished studies in physics, mathematics and musicology mainly created a penchant for activities in the Dada vein, as did several unsuccessful jobs in offices and other well organised systems. In reciting poetry, he discovered the directness and flexibility of human utterance, whether using meaningful words or not. He developed into a specialist in the performance of sound poetry, supported by a powerful stage presence and an almost childlike freedom of improvisation.

In 1979, Blonk first heard Kurt Schwitters' Ursonate as read by Dutch actor Hans Hausdörfer. Over the following years he took to learning the piece by heart, bit by bit, in such a way that each segment acquired an individual meaning for him. Meanwhile, he started reciting parts of the sonata in various improbable locations: pasture, train stations, the insurance office where he was employed, the Amsterdam zoo, streets and shopping malls, eventually expanding his territory to the more plausible surroundings of bars, rock clubs, theatres, literary salons and concert halls. He also did hundreds of performances of the piece as part of educational projects in primary schools.

By deliberately ignoring some of the reciting instructions in a few places, Jaap Blonk believes to act in Schwitters' own spirit. The piece was very important for his artistic development as his discovery of the Ursonate marked the beginning of his career as a sound poetry recitalist, and also as a vocal improviser.

Jaap Blonk is currently active as a prolific composer/performer who uses his voice sounds, pure as well as processed, in a variety of contexts: from solo performances to small group improvisations and electroacoustic works to jazz ensembles and the symphony orchestra.

More on Kurt Schwitters' Ursonate