CD
1 disc
Not in catalogue
1 October 2000
By François Couture in All-Music Guide (USA), October 1, 2000

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After the more jazz and rock-inflicted Le corps de l’ouvrage, René Lussier came back to sound art closer to Le trésor de la langue with Trois histoires (Three Stories). This CD collects three works from 1990-1992. One of them (Art Brut) was previously available on an obscure compilation, while Roche noire was included on Tim Brady’s Imaginary Guitars. Les mains moites is kind of a flute concerto with the orchestra being Martin Tétreault’s turntables, Tenko’s voice, Claude Beaugrand’s ambient sounds, Lussier’s guitar and a flute repairman explaining flute maintenance. Written immediately after completion of Le trésor de la langue, this is Lussier’s final statement of his speech-to-instrument technique, where the natural inflections of speech are translated into a melody. Less crowded than Le trésor de la langue, this piece also has less emotional impact, but it remains a strong exercise and a must-have for the fan, as are the other two works included. Art brut is a quiet sound art piece, something rare in Lussier’s book: delicate and dreamy. Roche noire is a tribute to Irish immigrants in Canada and a documentary on their arrival. Trois histoires showcases Lussier’s years of work in film music: these pieces (Art Brut apart) are built like documentaries and the listener really gets the feeling he is being told stories. This is not one of Lussier’s most influential albums, but it is definitely worth the fan’s attention.

blogue@press-1892 press@1892
1 February 1997
By John L Walters in The Wire #156 (UK), February 1, 1997

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“Lussier’s musical generosity and originality shine through every segment and the pieces whizz by in a flash.”

The flute can have a hard I time in new music. So it’s a pleasure to discover Les mains moites (Clammy Hands), an interesting, clever and musical piece that flutist Jean Derome commissioned from Canadian guitarist composer René Lussier and which is included on Trois histoires. This work bursts with ideas and shows off Derome’s skills while keeping up the interest. There are synthesizers and turntables and strange, beguiling sonics detalis in additon to the more obviously identifable flutes, speech ana guitars. I guess we should call it an electroacoustic work, for it’s unequivocally the product of a recording studio, but the 18 minute piece sounds a lot more fun than the tag often implies.

René Lussier is best known as a guitarist, one of those indefatigable characters who turn up all over the place-improvising with Fred Frith, Tom Cora or Chris Cutler; playing with electroacoustic composer Gilles Gobeil (who helped out with Clammy Hands ), writing theatre music; fronting groups. It’s hard not to be impressed by his talent and energy. He reminds me a bit of Billy Jenkins. Like Jenkins, Lussier manages to keep serious musical intent, musical humour and plain silliness in a nicely tuned equlibrium. Trois histoires is a collection of three biggish ’concert’ pieces. In addition to’Clammy Hands’there’s another epic,Art Brut, a’sort of homage to an unknown artist’, which includes some dazzling acoustic guitar playing among all the dramantic’radiogenic’ noises and spatial transformations. The third piece,Black Rock commissioned by fellow Canadian guitarist Tim Brady (it has already turned up on one of Brady’s own albums), has a strong documentary thread which ends with a stadium snatch of ’When Irish Eyes Are Smiling~ sung by Brian Mulroney and Ronald Reagan, while Brady comes over all Jimi Hendrix. Yet guitar histrionics never dominate the sound world of Trois histoires. Lussier’s musical generosity and originality shine through every segment and the pieces whizz by in a flash.

blogue@press-1438_001 press@1438_001
1 January 1997
in Rubberneck (UK), January 1, 1997

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“Lussier’s rampant polystylism reveals a shrewd awareness of compositional structure.… a thouroughly enjoyable collection.”

Lussier is a hard man to pin down, active in all sorts of experimental areas, such as avant-rock, improv, studio tapework and contemporary chamber. Yet, his work is always more than the sum of these various ingredients. And, unlike the largely superficial, short-attention-span-eclectisism of the Japanese underground, René Lussier’s rampant polystylism reveals a shrewd awareness of compositional structure. He’s a lot like Heiner Goebbels in this respect. While the three commissions from 1990-92 ( Les mains moites, Art brut and Roche noire) which comprise Trois histoires undergo many, often rapid, transformations, he avoids a feeling of fragmentariness by careful use of motivic threack which loosely bind the disparate elements —Derome’s sparkling flute on the first piece, the romantic chamber strings on the second. Lussier’s light touch and unobtrusive humour mask the complexity of his textural juxtapositions, making this a thoroughly enjoyable collection.

blogue@press-1111 press@1111
1 January 1997
By FM in Le Musicien #9:1 (Québec), January 1, 1997

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“Une musique insolite à découvrir.”

Le compositeur et musicien, René Lussier, vient de lancer son tout nouvel album Trois histoires et de rééditer deux autres albums produits en 1983 et 1984. René Lussier explore le monde de la musique actuelle sous plusieurs formes thématiques construites et improvisées. Une musique organique de l’insolence et de l’instinct. Une musique d’expression contemporaine faite de brusques altérations, d’enchamements et de ruptures, de tensions et de douceurs, d’urgence et d’humour, de rigueur et de plaisir. Une musique insolite à découvrir.

blogue@press-1437 press@1437
1 December 1996
By Pierre Durr in Revue & Corrigée #30 (France), December 1, 1996

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Roche noire est parmi ces récits sonores, la pièce qui se rapproche le plus du Trésor de la langue, non seulement formellement, mais aussi par son concept sociologique, après les avatars de la langue française, une autre réalité, parfois douloureuse, parfois ironique, quelques fois grinçante, toujours argumentée de l’immigration irlandaise en Amérique du Nord. Les mains moites, la pièce la plus longue et la vraie nouveauté de ce recueil (quoique crée en 1990) peut cependant apparaître comme une autre version du Trésor de la langue, dans la mesure ou le son «étudié» est, à défaut de ne pas être celui de la langue française, celui d’un instrument de musique, la flûte, sous toutes ses coutures.

blogue@press-1112 press@1112
1 December 1996
By Rafa Dorado in Margen #8 (Spain), December 1, 1996

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Trois histoires, es el novísimo trabajo de René Lussier, un álbum, como su titulo indica, concebido en torno a tres historias encargadas al autor para diferentes proyectos. La primera, Clammy Hands, retoma, en sus primeros compases, al entorno de Le Trésor de la langue para más tarde conceptualizarse en torno al mundo de la flauta -interpretada por Jean Derome-. Art Brut, la segunda de las piezas, se inspira en la vida de Marcel Landreau mientras Black Rose, por su parte, se dedica a los miles de inmigrantes irlandeses que murieron de cólera y tiPus entre 1840 y 1860 en Québec. Musicalmente hablando estamos ante un tipico y, por consiguiente, dificilmente definible producto Lussier. Partes compuestas junto a fragmentos totalmente espontaneos, para crear un estilo único a medio camino entre el rock, el jazz, la improvisación y la música de cámara contemporánea.

blogue@press-1434_003 press@1434_003

Other texts in

  • Musiche #18 (Italy), June 1, 1997
  • Informator “Ars” 2 #20 (Poland), January 1, 1997

Some Recommended Items

Available via renelussier.com.

  • UCC 771028104123