René Aubry & Jean Schwarz – Five Women
Still Waters: Ballet De Carolyn Carlson
Released on Celia Records, 1986, France

Carolyn Carlson is a major choreographer in France who worked with some of the most important figures from the experimental and « musique concrète » scenes including Philippe Besombes, Jean Schwarz and her husband, René Aubry, whose music is well-known in France for being used in various TV shows’ opening credits (such as the opening credits of  Mireille Dumas‘s famous « Bas Les Masques«  show).

Composed in 1986 for a Carolyn Carlson‘s ballet, Still Waters features the work of Jean Schwarz and René Aubry. Five Women is the only track composed by the two men. We can clearly attribute the melancholic melody played by the guitar to René Aubry, while the field recording and the sound design seem to be the work of Jean Schwarz.

The combination of these two major elements, the guitar part and the field recording of a tempest, works so well, setting a mood for nostalgic contemplations. Though the record is filled with great emotional tunes, it really reaches its highest degree of sophistication with this simple song, partly because the field recording is so evocative and meaningful, letting us reach some long forgotten childhood memories.