RADIESTHÉSIE by Bertrand Gauguet

RADIESTHÉSIE

Bertrand Gauguet : alto & baryton saxophones
Jean-Luc Petit : contrabass clarinet & sopranino saxophone

Le pendule de Thot – 13:39
L’effet idéomoteur – 06:04
L’antenne de Lecher – 15:26
L’effet Barnum – 10:11
Sonusmancie – 13:59


Total time : 59:19



Recorded and masterised by Pierre-Henry Thiebaut
,
2024 June 22, 23 – Saint Martin chapel, Bignac (Fr)

CD – Unrec records – UNREC 251
, 2025


>>>>> Selected Reviews <<<<<<

La profonde délicatesse de Radiesthésie et la gravité générale de son propos, qui n’excluent pas le surgissement de saillies humoristiques ni de subites montées d’adrénaline, fouillent avec la plus grande sensibilité des matières émouvantes car éminemment organiques. Sans doute est-ce la raison pour laquelle les premiers mots qui nous viennent relèvent d’un lexique tout à fait concret. (Joël Pagier, Revue & corrigée)

Dall'ironia comunque Gauguet e Petit ottengono un esperimento sonoro avanguardista, che per un'ora crea la sensazione che sia tutto vero. Gli strumenti sono tramutati in emettitori e ricevitori di segnali, per dirla con i Kraftwerk: “I'm the Antenna, catching vibration, you're the transmitter, give information”. (Gilberto Ongaro, Musicmap)

Deftly avoiding the clichés of subterraneant-pitch singularity, the two use the sopranino’s and alto’s shrilling yelps and altissimo cries to fragment the low-pitched billows and rumbles that expose interludes of almost pure lyricism. Here and throughout the constant murmur of note bending undulations means that a patina of extended reed timbres continue to hang in the air even as upfront improvising fades. This also reflects the spatial properties of the Chapelle Saint Martin where the CD was recorded. Most prominently n the concluding “Sonusmancie”, the ghostly reflections bouncing from the walls create the faint impression of a third reed voice. (Ken Waxman, Jazzword)

Radiesthésie is the French word for divining or dowsing; not only the use of objects to search for water but also the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of ritual or practice. That quest for insight aligns with the methods the two deploy to probe the timbral intersections of their respective horns in the warm resonances of the stone chapel. This is patient music, with each of the players doling out their sounds with contemplative exactitude. Also key are the choices they make from their arsenals for each of the improvisations. With Gauguet on alto and baritone saxophones and Petit on contrabass clarinet and sopranino saxophone, their choice of instruments provides a rich palette, from dusky low end to the expansive range of alto to trilling, high-end sopranino harmonics. (Michael Rosenstein, Point of Departure)

Each track presents a unique interplay of timbres and moods, reflecting the spontaneous nature of their improvisations. The chapel’s resonant space becomes an integral participant, its stone walls amplifying and enriching the organic textures produced by the instruments.
The album’s titles, such as “Le pendule de Thöt” and “L’antenne de Lecher”, evoke a sense of mysticism and exploration, perhaps alluding to the ancient art of dowsing – ‘radiesthésie’ in French. This thematic choice mirrors the musicians’ quest to unearth hidden sonic landscapes, much like dowsers seeking unseen sources beneath the earth’s surface. (Vito Camarretta, ChainDLK)

Les titres se succèdent et voient les musiciens alterner les densités, à l’image des très nocturnes L’Antenne de Lecher et Sonusmancie, incursions dans la lenteur et l’étrangeté, le suspense et le mystère. Un album habité d’entente et d’écoute, de communion et de connexion. Excellent.
(Roland Torres, Silence and sound)

Bertrand Gauguet plays the alto and baryton saxophone in contexts of improvisation of new music. Also a composer of electronic music, he has produced many original pieces and soundtracks for dance, cinema and radio. His interests explore the interplay of frequencies, multiphony, sounds at the thresholds of audibility, breath and more broadly sound as a medium for meditation.

bertrandgauguet.com