"It was decided that the rest of the broadcast [recording of 13.2.1969, not broadcast] devoted to François-Bernard Mâche's Canzone III would follow the principle of alternating between the spoken word and Ars Nova's repetition of difficult passages. This second part is particularly interesting: the exchanges between Mâche and Constant, dealing with technical problems (the work uses intervals of ¾ of a tone. The performance of a Flatterzunge on a half-sharp, 2 bars before the number 2, was the subject of a question from François-Bernard Mâche to Marius Constant) linked to the performance of the work and the corrections requested, the sound examples given to illustrate Mâche's remarks, and above all the explanations given 'on the spot' by the composer on the way in which Canzone III was conceived justify the conservation of this document, which has not been edited. It would also be useful to compare Mâche's statements with the developments he would later give, with the necessary critical distance, in his work Musique, mythe, nature, on the use of the linguistic model common to Canzone III for three trumpets and four trombones and Canzone IV for five mixed voices. To conclude this digression, we might add that the premiere of Canzone III by Ars Nova was a resounding success, despite the confusion that marked the beginning of the concert-reading. The debate between Maurice Fleuret and François-Bernard Mâche before the complete performance of the work was very clear, as was the brief exchange between the composer and the audience that followed the premiere.

  François Madurell, in L'ensemble Ars nova, L'Harmattan 2003, p.256-257