There is something undeniably fascinating in being able to see things that are normally inside the body and invisible, says composer Dan Walker.

“A while ago, I had a slightly horrific injury while rock climbing. I broke my lower leg in a fall and the bones were sticking out of the skin. I remember looking at it thinking, ‘Wow, that’s just crazy. That shouldn’t be there.’ I must have been pretty out of it at the time.”

Walker is better now, but his interest in matters visceral remains and will be apparent in Of the Body, presented by the Canberra-based vocal ensemble Luminescence Chamber Singers.

Dan Walker (left) and Luminescence Chamber Singers. Photo © Hilary Wardhaugh

The concept for the concert sprang from conversations with AJ America, mezzo soprano and Artistic Director of Luminescence.

“In the 16th and 17th centuries, there was a drive to understand the human body and how it worked and that all found its way into the polyphony of the time,” says Walker. “This was also the era of dissection theatres and enormous advances in science. I thought we could do something musically to show that groundswell of change...