Andromède by François-Bernard Mâche, for orchestra, double choir and three pianos (1979), is ... a work full of sensory pleasure. Right from the start, the sound of an oboe that sounds primitive over the muffled rolling of the three pianos is palpable. The music is alternately treated as a mass, as Xenakis taught us to recognize, making admirable use of space and echo, or bursting into nebula, diversified to the extreme, telluric or aerial. In this large-scale work, dramatic and scenic in its perception, overflowing with sonic imagination, it is perhaps the form that I found least convincing. The plot is in fact distended between the multiplication of brief episodes, and I would have preferred it to be even tighter on itself. Gilbert Amy, the three solo pianists (Frémy, Heisser, Kœrner), the Nouvel Orchestre Philharmonique and the Radio-France Chorus gave a fine performance of Mâche's work, commissioned by Radio France.

                         Brigitte Massin Le Matin de Paris, June 7, 1980

With Andromède, composed in 19790, François-Bernard Mâche adds a third woman to his Hellenistic gallery. Danaé (1970) and Kassandra (1977) already belonged to this universe which, according to the author, "gives more place to archetypes and intuition than to conscious formal research". Musically speaking, as he told us here (La Croix, April 4, 1980), this means not separating instrumental sounds from those of nature.
With his roots in electroacoustic music, F-B. Mâche has always been concerned with restoring man's total dimension in the much larger world of the biological and the psychic. This is why he often combines recordings of concrete sounds with instrumental parts, and human voices with the sounds of matter.
We may therefore wonder whether he was at ease with the very classical formation offered by Radio-France: three pianos, double choir and full orchestra.
Such a nineteenth-century ensemble, and thus also from another age, could certainly seduce, by its archetypal aspect, a musician sensitive to the powers of myth. However, this "symphony", which lasts only half an hour, is pale in comparison with the composer's previous successes.
Despite its exacting rhythms and skilful plan, blending the symbolism of the 3 with that of the 2, the orchestral treatment remains somewhat lax, as if nothing was fully exploited. Such a display of singers and instrumentalists seemed unnecessary.
Gilbert Amy's particularly analytical conducting accentuated the score's uncertainties, insofar as it expressed the exact antithesis of François-Bernard Mâche's aspirations. This often fruitful clash of sensibilities acted as an eye-opener here.

                                      J.-M. M. La Croix June 11, 1980

François-Bernard Mâche (born 1935) has successfully pursued two careers simultaneously. One was an academic career in classics, ending as director of studies at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (but he also translated Elytis). The other came through the Conservatoire (Messiaen) and the Groupe de recherche musicale; today, his catalog of opuses is as extensive as that of a full-time composer... The CD closes with Andromède (1979), all instrumental - and with the big guns: three pianos, double choir and full orchestra. The theme is romantic (the deliverance of the pretty princess), as is the concertante treatment. But the great machine is unleashed to welcome long stretches of calm. The NOP is conducted by Gilbert Amy.

                           Gérard Dupuy, Libération March 18-19, 2000

The earliest work here dispenses with any electronic or extra-musical devices. Andromède is scored for three pianos, double chorus and large orchestra, although the latter is rarely used in its massive whole. The title inevitably hints at the myth of Andromeda as well as at the eponymous constellation. The titles of many works by Mâche, however, do not mean that the music is either programmatic or descriptive. They rather give some indication as to the extra-musical idea lurking behind the music, and much is left to the listener's imagination. Of course, many passages from Andromède suggest vast empty spaces, turbulent nebulae and unfathomable mysteries. This substantial tone poem opens with a powerfully arresting gesture: the three pianos' cascades superimposed onto slowly revolving long soft chords in the orchestra. The music then goes through a mighty kaleidoscope of quickly varying moods, in turn tranquil or agitated, appeased or ominous; and unfolds in waves until it reaches a mighty climax quickly dissolving into nothingness. The music overflows with imaginative orchestral touches in which the wordless choruses are yet another layer. This is an imposing and often impressive piece but its complexity and the large forces involved preclude regular live performances, which makes this recording of the first performance all the more welcome.

This generous release is most welcome in that it offers a fine survey of Mâche's acoustic music. I am sure that it will come as a surprise to many who know Mâche chiefly as a composer of electro-acoustic music. These substantial pieces are remarkable for the sonic imagination they display and for their powerfully expressive strength. These excellent (first?) performances are really very convincing, and well recorded. Strong stuff, for sure, but well worth investigating.

                                       Hubert Culot CD review on Musicweb International