Nuage

Among Sylvain Chauveau's many other musical pursuits are his soundtracks, with Nuage being a compilation of two of them, both for fellow Frenchman Sebastian Betbeder's work -- Nuage itself and a shorter film, Les Mains d'Andrea. Both are logical extensions of his exploratory work with extremely minimal (but not minimalist) string and piano arrangements, along with guitar from Chauveau himself, though his direct contributions appear even more sparingly in comparison to the other instruments. While the instrumentation may suggest the work of Michael Nyman, in intent and end result Chauveau has a much different goal than that noted British composer's {film scores} with its mix of track lengths and often quicker, more dramatic tempos. The many selections on the short disc are all swift themselves -- many only just making it past a minute long -- and as a result, the effect of Nuage is not entirely removed from his regular work, with the pieces suggesting larger or more developed melodies but leaving them, tantalizingly enough, in encapsulated form. To hear the strings and piano start to swell just a touch on Nuage II and then cease suddenly is to know that Chauveau has both a good eye as well as a good ear. In combination with the distinctly calm pace of nearly every selection -- all the string parts are slow, with piano providing melody as it occurs -- the effect is mesmerizing. In intentional contrast to nearly all the selections is a piece towards the end of the Nuage tracks, Fly Like a Horse, which is both the longest at nearly five minutes and the most distinctly different, thanks to Chauveau's guitar work fully coming to the fore with a gentle figure also acting as rhythm, while electronic horns provide a soft fanfare in the background. ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide