Personal stories to play with

A plain, thick cardboard cover on the front and back, with the simple title in wonderfully minimalist yet lavish calligraphy Music for two melody instruments with chord symbols respectively for the second edition Jazz Manouche by Franz Winteler. What is hidden between these covers are two very special music books - a composition for the eye, high-quality and pleasant to touch, and melodies for the ears that invite you to play and improvise.

The Zurich multi-instrumentalist, composer and instrumental teacher Franz Winteler has compiled 60 pieces from his life as a musician. Each individual composition tells a small, personal story, usually only through the title, as in Samschtigznacht, Schipfigoggeli or Belle - Ile en Merpartly also via short comments by the composer, as in the pieces Waiting for Paulinawhich was apparently created while waiting for a pupil, or For Hedyan, as we learn, impressive chef in Piedmont.

Both the notes and the text elements are handwritten - and yet their precision makes them look like printed music. Like the graphic design, Winteler's music lives from clear forms and structures with playful details. The pieces, which were written over a period of 35 years, incorporate a wide variety of musical influences and styles, from classical music and jazz to various folk and world music.

The composer expressly invites the performers to deal freely with his works and to improvise. Studying Franz Winteler's music feels a bit like reading someone else's diary and gaining insights into private everyday moments or exploring strange worlds. All the better that these can then be experienced in sound!

Franz Winteler: Music for two melody instruments with chord symbols, self-published, available at Notenpunkt, Art.No. 1026356, Fr. 29.80

Id.: Jazz Manouche (Gypsyjazz), Art. No. 1026357