Luc Ferrari – Tuchan-Chantal (Room 40)

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A download only archival recording from legendary French musique concrete composer Luc Ferrari, Tuchan-Chantal is a single forty two minute piece exploring the essence of conversation and Ferrari’ burgeoning interest in society until his death in 2005. Recorded in 1976 whilst Ferrari was ensconced on a holiday in Tuchan, a small southwestern French village, The recording finds Luc and Brunhild Ferrari in a series of conversations with local resident Chantal. Performed one year after it’s creation at a concert at a local Tuchan vineyard, it has since remained in the vaults until this release.

Whilst arguably not as engaging as some of his more classic works, Tuchan Chantal yet is not without it’s charms. The piece flows quite smoothly, a result of restrained editing and an sensible application of space on Ferrari’ behalf. The carefully placed musical interludes located throughout it accentuate the recorded conversations, and add extra layers of depth to the recording.

The dialogues were conducted entirely in French, and without the ability to comprehend the language there is a near inevitable inability to understand the true context of the piece. Tuchan-Chantal neatly sidesteps the potential risk of a lack of engagement through the aforementioned instrumental interludes, with the short bursts of acoustic instrumentation and percussion providing familiar respite. Providing a unique insight into the working process for one of avant-garde’ pioneers, this recording finds Ferrari straddling the boundaries between creative process and personal enjoyment with surprising results.

Andrew Tuttle

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