Leaf Music and award-winning ensemble the Charke-Cormier Duo are proud to present The Equation of Time, the duo’s third full-length album and their second to feature a medley of different genres and styles. Recorded on opposite sides of the country, the Charke-Cormier duo recorded all tracks in Wolfville, NS, with Brazilian multi-instrumentalist Celso Machado recording percussion in Gibsons, B.C.
The Equation of Time begins with Brazilian-Canadian guitarist and percussionist Celso Machado’s second book of music for flute and guitar; six dance and groove-based pieces on which the Charke-Cormier duo float effortlessly over the top. The versatility of bass flute and guitar is showcased again in Derek and Eugene’s more conventional performance of Wilhelmine von Bayreuth’s Sonata in A minor. Although the bass flute would be unknown to the work’s original performers in the mid-18th century, the bass flute’s warm and airy tone is reminiscent of the wooden transverse instruments that would have been in use at that time.
The group follows this opening piece with renditions of pieces from 17th century Italian composers Girolamo Frescobaldi and 18th century German composer Wilhelmine Von Bayreuth before closing the album with Derek Charka’s “The Equation of Time”, a piece exploring the relationship between the passage of time and the listener’s experience of music. The piece sees Charke and Cormier oscillate between changing tempos and shifting perspectives. “The Equation of Time” is the second work that Derek has written for bass flute and guitar. With many improvisatory figures woven throughout the score, it was composed with the Charke-Cormier Duo’s skills as improvisers in mind.
Derek Charke (flutes) and Eugene Cormier (guitar) formed the Charke~Cormier Duo several years ago culminating in a debut recital at the KC Irving Centre in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. This sonorous union of flute and guitar continues to charm audiences across the Maritimes. Their repertoire includes many of the most important works for this pairing of instruments, and creates a sonic journey for audiences from the street corners of Argentina to the halls of Europe, as well as introducing fresh new works created today. Both performers are highly accomplished musicians who are on the teaching faculty at Acadia University’s School of Music.
