L' ou 'L

For the 1989 edition of the Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville, guitarist André Duchesne (Conventum, Les 4 Guitaristes de l'Apocalypso-Bar) put together the most ambitious project of his career: L' Ou 'L, subtitled "Concerto for a Solitary Composer." The conceptual work (dealing with dream and reality in the life of a composer-pilot and set in a science fiction frame) called for a string quartet, a saxophone quartet, an electric guitar quartet (including Claude Fradette and Roger Boudreault of Les 4 Guitaristes de l'Apocalypso-Bar), electric bass, piano, and three percussionists. Duchesne conducted the ensemble and recited narratives that held the show together (percussionist Michel F. Côté recited also). The ten-part, 70-minute work used any of the quartets or the whole ensemble and included a solo for virtuoso cellist Claude Lamothe, who would launch a career as a rock cellist in the 1990s. The music is a lot more open than what Duchesne usually does: his contrapuntal writing is still featured (mainly on "Riffs" and "5/8 Pour Guitares Électriques et Basse," but he also draws from the chamber rock stylings of Art Zoyd and Univers Zero ("Quatuor à Cordes No. 1," parts of "Rigby") — although not as bleak — and free improvisation. The project lacks cohesion, as the pieces don't relate much to each other, but L' Ou 'L remains an impressive exercise (if only for its separate parts) and proved Duchesne's ability to write for a large-scale ensemble (which he would do it again for the collective Ambiances Magnétiques on Une Théorie des Ensembles). Duchesne served a treat to his fans: the last piece, "Épilogue," is actually a completely rewritten version of "Le Piège," a piece from Conventum's first LP À l'Affut d'un Complot. ~ François Couture, Rovi