Lark [markings]
Chagas-Matthies Duets
Paulo Chagas: Lark (graphic score), wind instruments, mixing advice
Wilhelm Matthies: Lark, too, for two (graphic score), mosesa 2, mixing
Spectropol Records, 2012
[SpecT 13]

Album notes from Wilhelm Matthies:

It was a great pleasure working on Lark [markings] with Paulo!

Paulo created a graphic score for my birthday, March 8, 2012. I took a look at the score and I was thrilled! Just looking at the score I could see that it had crescendos, decrescendos, extended parts and isolated parts all distributed in a very beautiful, balanced way.

I enjoyed the score, Lark, so much that I immediately pulled out my new instrument, the mosesa 2, and began exploring. Being a graphic score, I felt challenged to create different versions of the same score. Each interpretation was meant to be a unique interpretation of the graphic score. It allowed me to greatly expand on my bowing techniques, and, at the same time to do extensive experiments with various resonators for the mosesa 2.

When I had recorded many versions, I sent a few samples to Paulo Chagas. Paulo’s response was to make recordings with them, and the duet was on its way.

We agreed to intersperse Lark interpretations with free improvisations, I continuing to experiment with resonators, bowing, and interpreting the graphic score; Paulo exploring with various wind instruments. The free improvs are meant, in part, to show that listening to a recording is like reading and interpreting a score. We look at the waveforms on our DAW screens, we hear it in our headphones, we make decisions on how to respond.

For the second half of the album, we decided to switch roles. I created the graphic score “Lark, too, for two” for Paulo, and he kicked off the duet by interpreting the score first, also interspersed with free improvisations.

I am very thankful to Paulo Chagas for the opportunity to learn so much about my instrument the mosesa 2 and about interpreting and writing a graphic score!

I am also very thankful to Jurgen Heckel for giving me permission to use his photos for this and the other Lark album (Lark [markings] Matthies-Solo mosesa 2, released on Bandcamp).

It just so happened that the photo for the album cover was made on my birthday! The photo, to me, matched what the album was about: marking out new fields...
Please visit Jurgen Heckel’s site and leave comments for his fantastic photography: www.facebook.com/HerrHeckel

Finally, thank you Bruce Hamilton for noticing Paulo Chagas’ and my activity and asking us to release an album on Spectropol.

Thanks to all who listen to our work!
Wilhelm Matthies
www.facebook.com/wilhelm.matthies
soundcloud.com/wilhelm-matthies

[more info & photos included in the PDF download]