Instruments & Bodies by Rachel Stott
uses musicians to represent the experience of endoscopy from three points of view: that of patient (flautist), doctor (viol-player), and observer (harpsichordist). The piece is in three sections entitled Anticipation, Execution and Retrospection, the third revealing the extent to which perceptions of the first two differ, in particular the patient’s drug-induced loss of memory for the period of the operation, a phenomenon which intrigues me greatly. Curiously, I find this a parallel experience to that of composing a piece of music. The title refers to the fact that the various parts of stringed instruments are named after parts of the body: in the second section of the piece the viol represents the body of the patient, being ‘played upon’ by the doctor, while the head joint of the flute is used to represent the consciousness of the patient being ‘separated’ from the body through sedation/anaesthetic.

The above photograph is by Jane Wildgoose by kind permission of The Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret, 9a St Thomas St, Southwark, London SE1