François-Bernard Mâche (born 1935) has had two successful careers. The first is an academic career in classics, which he completed as director of studies at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (although he has also translated Elytis). The other went through the Conservatoire (Messiaen) and the Groupe de recherche musicale; today his catalogue of opuses is as extensive as that of a full-time composer... In Braises, which is a kind of concerto, the electronics only intervene in a simplified form, amplifying the harpsichord and giving it the body necessary for its confrontation with the orchestra. Elisabeth Chojnacka, a benchmark harpsichordist, launches into this elegant trance with a complex rhythmic pattern, which is intended as a sonic translation of a fire.

                             Gérard Dupuy, Libération 18-19 March 2000

The first part of the programme, with harpsichordist Elisabeth Chojnacka as soloist, contrasts the 'eighteenth-century' pastiche of Poulenc's Concerto champêtre (1929) with François-Bernard Mâche's incredibly sonorous incandescence in Braises (1995).

                            J-G.Lebrun, La Terrasse n°141, October 2006

François-Bernard Mâche's diptych Braises (1995) has a title that could not be more in harmony with the flamboyant mane of the high priestess of contemporary harpsichord, the creator of the work, who moves with as much ease in the wanderings of the first movement as in the destabilising rhythms of the second, a perpetual movement reminiscent of the latest Ligeti or the best Reich, but whose ethnic abundance could also be traced back to Jolivet.

Simon Corley, ConcertoNet.com, The classical Music Network, October 2006

... Braises, by François-Bernard Mâche, illustrates the ongoing quest for sonority. The Concerto champêtre and Braises, written for harpsichord, undoubtedly suffered from an over-zealous performance by Élisabeth Chojnacka, who was far removed from the bucolic and parodic character of Poulenc's work and drowned in the academic pulse of Mâche's concerto, which, twelve years after its premiere, already seems very dated.

                        Jean-Louis Validire, Le Figaro, 12 October 2006

...François-Bernard Mâche (Braises, his very fine harpsichord concerto)...

        Joseph Nossan, La lettre du musicien 334, November 2006

If Elisabeth Chojnacka's arid, rhythmic playing was perfectly suited to Braises (by Mâche), Poulenc's work, on the other hand, calls for a little more madness and excitement.

             Rodolphe Bruneau-Boulmier, Classica No. 87, November 2006

Written for Elisabeth Chojnacka - who else? - Braises is a concerto for harpsichord and orchestra in two movements. Both brilliantly suggest the fire still present in embers ("braises" in French), which is why the music is on the whole rather restrained, although one clearly feels that the fire could catch again quite easily. The first movement is rhapsodic, whereas the second is a perpetuum mobile, almost minimalist but driven by irrepressible energy, again unfolding as a long crescendo towards a final resonating harpsichord chord.

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     Musicweb International, january 2008 (review of the CD)

L'estuaire du temps - Braises - Andromède 

François-Bernard Mâche captivates because his projects are ambitious. Take "Andromède", its multiple bursts, its grandiose flights of fancy, its swirls of voices, its great fleeting booms, more than thirty minutes of a journey twenty thousand leagues under the earth, something from the belly of this Earth, how can you not make yourself very small?
 
François-Bernard Mâche's universe is marvellous. L'estuaire du temps", perhaps his most accomplished work, pushes open the door to our dreams. The sound is clear and sublime: like a sparkling puppeteer, Mâche favours candour over fright.

The ancestral percussive accents hint at a certain filiation with Martin Saint-Pierre and his 'global vibration'. Although seemingly random, François-Bernard Mâche's rhythms reveal a mature vision of the relationship between movement and instant, atmosphere and brevity. The percussionist's ear delights in the purity of his sonorities. 

While Braises is undoubtedly a sweet treat to be nibbled on without a second thought, its more ramshackle essence is less transporting. More commonly known as free music, Braises is a bit like a raucous romp combining trance rhythms and medieval sounds. This unlikely alliance is worth the diversions, firing in all directions but leaving a slight taste of unfinished business. 

In spite of creations that sometimes drag on a little, François-Bernard Mâche's smart and colourful album is a fatal fleetingness.   
                         
                            Sefronia blog.   Hugo Catherine on 2.3.2007