MANDORLA 2
Agustí Fernández – piano
Jane Rigler – flautas
Liner notes by Pauline Oliveros, Miya Masaoka and Agustí Fernández.
Recorded in 2002 at Estudi 84, Barcelona, Spain
Recorded by David Casamitjana.
Mixed and Mastered in 2014 by Mike Yach at Immersive Studios, Boulder, CO, USA Pre-mixed by Jody Elff, Brooklyn, New York, 2004.
https://bruitcollage.bandcamp.com/album/mandorla-2
About Mandorla 2
Here is a rare recording by flautist Jane Rigler and Catalan pianist Agustí Fernández. This recording is a fine opportunity to experience extended flute and piano sounds performed with beautiful concentration and clarity. The performers complement each other magically.
—Pauline Oliveros (August 2014)
Mandorla 2 references a dovetailing of confluences. Expressive improvisation meets a more sonically static environs, where sound objects of contemplation are blended with sonic actions.
Extending these ideas, an object, as in the Varesian context, is inspired by “physical objects and natural phenomena.” (Edgar Varèse’s words). Ms. Rigler’s manipulations of lip and breath airflow to an exact degree create a kind of discreet sound object. Sometimes, the flute takes the character of an abstract wind machine, other times the key clicks become pistons, or the breaths evoke a flapping caged bird, as in Mandorla II. For his part, Fernández’s creative approach and knowledge of the metal strings, locations of specific resonances in specific areas of the body of the piano results in a finely honed practice that is his own. Together, Mandorla 2’s curious palette of sounds and nuanced relationships will intrigue the listener, sometimes coaxing one to decipher the sounds and guess which musician is making which sound, and sometimes leading one to luxuriate in the pure act of listening and consuming, while these creators hit, scrape, blow and strike with great precision and centered artistry.
—Miya Masaoka (New York City 2014)
Creo que la música de Mandorla es una cosa única, una destilación, un fértil cruce de caminos en la música contemporánea. En esta grabación se puede escuchar perfectamente que nos entendemos muy bien, que nos compenetramos a la perfección, que compartimos un mundo sonoro, unas maneras de hacer música, unas experiencias en la creación actual. Y sobre todo, una manera de escuchar muy parecida, con mucha atención al detalle y mucho respeto mútuo. Cada uno de los temas abre la puerta a una dimensión riquísima, plena y misteriosa a la vez. Mandorla es la casa que alberga todas estas dimensiones.
—Agustí Fernández (Barcelona, Agosto, 2014)
