Paula Matthusen · Composer

Glass Meets Water is a very simple, short piece for fixed media that exists as a companion piece to Lullaby for Dead Horse Bay. The piece was written following an invitation to participate in a series curated for performance at the MC Gallery, and utilized a series of field recordings made at Dead Horse Bay.

The beach of Dead Horse Bay became a particular focal point. Numerous shards of glass, bottles, and other unusual containers line the beach left over from when a landfill burst in the 1950s and filled the beach with “historic” trash, causing the destination to be referred to as “Bottle Beach”. As a result, the ebb and flow of water on the beach is rich with percolating high frequencies as water gurgles in and out of these vessels. A hydrophone was also utilized to record the same environment underwater.

These sounds are placed in combination with feedback sounds generated on the beach, made by placing microphones inside bottles found in this glass-rich environment. This very short piece, comprised of four movements, creates a series of very short oscillations between the patterns of feedback and against the backdrop of the water-based recordings.

The piece was subsequently featured as part of the Vu2 Conference and New Music Miami.