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ANDRÉ ALMURÓ



ANDRÉ ALMURÓ: DÉPLI (Elica MPO-3330) CD

The first compact-disc release of music by André Almuró, a very creative and independent French composer whose artistic experiences started in the mid-40's with the creation of the Mouvement Sentationniste and have since embraced poetry, literature, visual arts, film, performance and music, as well as a 35-year activity as producer at the French Radio working with the likes of Breton, Cocteau, Genet, Casares, Clementi and others. His studio musical researches go back to the early 50's together with Bernard Parmegiani and separately from Pierre Schaeffer and Pierre Henry, before joining the former's G.R.M. at its start in 1958, then returning independent again after a few years. All his electro-acoustic compositions (some of those dating from the 60's were at the time released on record by Adès and BAM) show an intensely emotional and sensual approach which makes them stand apart from most of the other more experiment-oriented music created in the French studios and they produce a very intense listening experience.

The three pieces on this album span a fourteen-year period of Almuró's recent musical production: Le troisème oeil (1991) is a 28-minute dynamic and deceivingly cosmic piece for clashing and screeching electronic bodies which was made as soundtrack to the very beautiful, sensual and visionary 'underground' film with the same title in collaboration with Jean-Luc Guionnet; Terrae incognitae (1978) is a 36-minute eerie and ritualistic tour-de-force for sixty-member chorus and tape recorded live at its animated and scandal-stirring première in the Notre-Dame Church in Caen; Boomerang, prelude (1979) is a dark and brooding 12-minute electronic composition also performed live surrounded by iron fences and road cones, big standing mattresses and a whole tree hanging upside down.

Digi-pack type cover with 12-page insert containing texts in French and English (short essay by Fabrizio Alloero and detailed biographical notes) and photographs from the films and performances, as well as a small full-color reproduction of a drawing by Hans Hartung (which was very influential to the music) on a separate piece of paper.

PRICE € 12