condition (record/cover): NM / EX-  Quatuor II / Herma / Archipel 1 on La Voce Del Padrone brings together Betsy Jolas, Iannis Xenakis, and André Boucourechliev in chamber program that spans the postwar French avant-garde's full range. Jolas, American-born but Paris-trained under Darius Milhaud and Olivier Messiaen, contributes a string quartet of nervous intensity.

Xenakis's Herma we've already encountered: Boolean algebra at the keyboard, logic made audible through pianistic violence. Boucourechliev's Archipel 1 inaugurates his series of open-form works, those sonic islands that performers navigate in different orders. Three composers, three approaches to composition's fundamental problems: how to organize time, how to distribute sound, how to leave room for interpretation without abandoning authorial responsibility.

La Voce Del Padrone's compilation serves pedagogical function: one disc introduces three major figures, providing overview that monographic releases cannot. For listeners unfamiliar with French contemporary music, this LP offers entry point; for specialists, it offers convenient access to scattered repertoire.