Teratoma, Odradek

flute and piano

Teratoma /ter·a·to·ma/ Gr. teraton, or monster] n. A tumor made up of different types of tissue, none of which is native to the area in which it occurs. Teratomas have been reported to contain hair, teeth, bone, and, very rarely, more complex organs or processes such as eyes, torso, and hands, feet, or other limbs. Early beliefs explained the growth as a punishment for cannibalism or adultery with the devil.

Odradek /Od·ra·dek/ At first glance it looks like a flat star-shaped spool for thread, wound with old, broken-off bits of thread, knotted and tangled together. He lurks by turns in the garret, the stairway, the lobbies, the entrance hall. "Well, what's your name?" you ask him. "Odradek," he says. "And where do you live?" "No fixed abode," he says and laughs; but it is only the kind of laughter that has no lungs behind it. (Kafka)

Performers: Chelsea Komschlies (flute), Geoffrey Wilson (piano)
photo: Paul Nougé, from "Subversion des images"