Matthieu Prual Shares ‘Fragment II’ from Forthcoming Album ‘Les Marches étendues’
French composer and musician Matthieu Prual has shared ‘Fragment II’, taken from his forthcoming album ‘Les Marches étendues’, out December 11 through Ormo Records and Pagans.
Prual has been interested in the relationship between walking and music for years. Back when he was studying at the conservatoire, he began practising outdoors when he couldn’t find a free room, eventually developing the habit of playing while walking. That grew into ‘La Démesure du pas’, a series of musical walks in which the musicians and audience move together through the landscape. We featured the project in 2024, when ‘Musique Migratoire – Enregistrements Nomades’ was released.
For ‘Les Marches étendues’, Prual has taken the idea into a different setting. He’s joined by cellist Gaspar Claus, violist Yurie Hu and fellow bass clarinettist Aurélie Pichon. All four musicians also play xylophone bars with their feet, keeping a pulse that follows the rhythm of walking.
On ‘Fragment II’, the cello and viola play off one another in short, lively phrases, while the two bass clarinets move around them. The arrangement allows the rhythms and melodies to shift without losing that underlying sense of movement.
The twelve-piece album follows more than seventy performances of ‘La Démesure du pas’ in France and elsewhere. The new work was developed with CNCM Athénor and Pannonica, and is due to receive its official stage premiere on December 19 at the Instants Fertiles festival.
‘Les Marches étendues’ will be released on December 11, 2026, on CD and digitally through Ormo Records and Pagans.
Matthieu Prual Website
Ormo Records Bandcamp
Pagans Bandcamp
Les Mouflons Website / Instagram
