Volumes by François B. Mâche, written for magnetic tape, seven trombones, two pianos, marimbas and percussion, begins with vague electronic noises that gradually take shape and are contrasted with the instruments until a paroxysm is reached, where mechanical and 'human' sounds are closely united. The work has been enthusiastically received.
                                                            New-York Herald tribune, July 1960

The closing concert shows the possible influence of certain modern techniques on today's instrumental writing and even on interpretation. In this respect, two of the works performed were particularly convincing. These were Visage IV by Luc Ferrari and Volumes by François-Bernard Mâche... the second of these works strikingly blends the sounds of seven trombones, three vibraphones, two pianos and percussion, with a score of musique concrète recorded on four tracks. At no point is it a question of opposition, but of complementary action, striving to expand and compress space in turn with the sound material. The result is indescribable, absolutely new and undeniably beautiful. 
                                                  Jacques Bourgeois Arts, July '60

 It was only in Volumes, for magnetic tape and orchestra, by F-B. Mâche...that I, for my part, regardless of the musical content...experienced aural pleasure, the impression of something genuinely new, obtained above all by using the instruments in their proper register. 
                                   Marc Pincherle Les Nouvelles littéraires July 1960

Volumes by François-Bernard Mâche, which gave the audience one of the strongest sensations of the evening, is a work conceived for 12 magnetic tracks and a small orchestra comprising 7 trombones, 2 pianos and 2 drums. The research here focuses more on form and on the contractions and dilations of the space in which this material moves (hence the title Volumes).                             
                                R.Blanchard La semaine radio, Sunday 24 July 1960

Volumes by François-Bernard Mâche is written for 12 magnetic tapes and a chamber orchestra. The title is justified by research that focused more on sound material than on form, and on variations in the virtual or real space that this material occupies. An uninformed listener caught off guard, listening at home in front of the radio, would no doubt find it hard to distinguish between electronic and instrumental sounds. The orchestra has been subjected to a new way of working, of organising, of confronting, finally freeing the material and integrating it into structures by subjecting it to musical thought... François Mâche's work seems particularly homogeneous, well-constructed and powerful. But listening to this work teaches us a new lesson: that of the future position of the conductor. In front of the musicians, in front of his orchestra, he conducts... but he is only responsible for part of the music... so it's a lesson in submission for him... This work also gives an impression of exceptional power and is conducted with a vast imagination, open to discovery, sensitive to exploration.
                                              Dr Brigitte Schiffer, Radio-Monde 3.9.1960
 In May 1960, F-B. Mâche received a special mention at the festival organised by the Service de la Recherche in Paris, where his work Volumes was premiered; it was also presented on Swedish radio. 
                                            John Weissmann, Nutida Musik 18.1.1965

 Mâche, Cage and Xenakis by the Simonovitch Ensemble
The first concert, at the Athénée, repeated exactly the works performed at Sigma in Bordeaux under the title 'Sons en mouvement'. Volumes (for magnetic tape, seven brass instruments, two pianos and percussion), which dates from 1959-1960, gave only an imperfect idea of François-Bernard Mâche's talent, which has matured considerably since then. Here, the orchestra is treated as musique concrète, albeit unnecessarily and experimentally; on the other hand, the tape demonstrates great skill in composing its 'concrete' material in the spirit of instrumental play. But we move through impressions and atmospheres rather than through a work of art. At least that's better than the long John Cage interlude, with its three titles...
Jacques Longchampt, Le Monde 28.11.1967 Des sons et des mouvements 

Francis-Bernard Mâche's Volumes seemed to me an oration, a plea, complex, dense, massive, betrayed last night by the performance of the Ensemble Instrumental de Musique Contemporaine de Paris, but from which one sometimes draws strangely impressionistic motifs. 
                                                   Florence Mothe Sud-Ouest 15.11.1967