The new release Faisceaux-Diffractions – Macles – Boucle et Séquence offers an illuminating portrait of Jean-Claude Éloy, a composer whose work has quietly shaped the landscape of postwar French music. This album brings together three significant pieces that showcase Éloy’s inventive orchestration, his sensitivity to timbre, and his close relationship with the world of cinema. At the heart of the album is Faisceaux-Diffractions (1970), a striking composition for 28 instrumentalists that includes the unusual presence of a Hammond organ and two electric guitars. The work, recorded live at its world premiere in Washington D.C. by the New York Contemporary Chamber Ensemble under the baton of Arthur Weisberg, demonstrates Éloy’s fascination with sonic color, spatial relationships, and the interplay of acoustic and electric textures. The performance, released with the permission of the Library of Congress, captures the energy and ambition of a composer unafraid to experiment on a grand scale.
Macles (1966, short version) offers a different perspective on Éloy’s creativity. Originally conceived as extracts for Jacques Rivette’s film La Religieuse, this version features a distinctive instrumentation that includes a solo Zarb (performed by Jean-Pierre Drouet) and Cymbalum, alongside various instrumental groups. The recording, made by Ensemble Musique Vivante under Boris de Vinogradov, is a rare document produced specifically for the film and later featured in a 1967 ORTF television portrait dedicated to Éloy. Here, the composer’s nuanced approach to timbre and atmosphere comes to the fore, blending the worlds of concert music and cinema with subtlety and precision.
The album concludes with Boucle et Séquence (1968), a series of concise musical sequences written for Rivette’s film L’Amour fou. Performed by soloists from Ensemble Musique Vivante and conducted by Jean-Claude Éloy himself, these pieces were recorded in Paris during the film’s production. They reveal Éloy’s talent for crafting evocative, miniature sound worlds that serve both the needs of the screen and the demands of contemporary composition.
Taken together, these three works provide a window into Jean-Claude Éloy’s artistic vision—a vision marked by curiosity, technical mastery, and a willingness to blur the boundaries between genres. This release is not only a valuable historical document, but also a vivid listening experience that highlights Éloy’s enduring influence on both the concert stage and the cinema.
