Album: Thierry Pécou, Symphonie Du Jaguar (Harmonia Mundi)

French composer Thierry Pécou's group, Ensemble Zellig, was named after the chameleonic hero of Woody Allen's 'Zelig', a derivation which suits his eclecticism.

In 'Symphonie Du Jaguar', South American animist myths are brought to life with startling shifts and clashing tonal colouration, including shrill, declamatory vocals, blaring horns, and a dense, thunderous barrage of percussion, while a sustained hypnotic stammer of strings performs the rhythmic duties. In the "Vague De Pierre" (Shi Tao, or Stone Wave), his attention turns to the literary painting tradition of ancient Chinese civilisation, and the results are even more clangorous.

Download this Symphonie Du Jaguar