April 2010
Not that you’d guess that when quaking at the dissonant brass chords. It does all make sense though, and the moments where Pécou relaxes are arresting.
Thierry Pécou: Symphonie du Jaguar; Vague de Pierre
In wonderfully fresh and off-beat music, Thierry Pécou (born in 1965) avoids any western classical influences in these two works. Symphonie du Jaguar (2002) is inspired by Mayan ideas concerning time and the passage of the sun. Five female voices sing and declaim texts drawn from ancient Mayan prophecies, over richly coloured orchestral textures that sound decidedly French despite their astringency. It’s quirky, thrilling and visceral stuff, and what a pleasure to hear new music which sounds this bold. Vague de Pierre (2007) is scored for a massive orchestra and was inspired by Pécou’s interest in 17th-century Chinese art. Not that you’d guess that when quaking at the dissonant brass chords. It does all make sense though, and the moments where Pécou relaxes are arresting. Try the final "Return to Silence" in the fourth movement, or the swirling woodwind writing in the third section. Exuberant, virtuosic performances, aided in the first work by the splendidly named Ensemble Zellig.