MINIMAL is the Percussions de Strasbourg’s next recital creation.
Recorded on our own label in April 2025, the album will be released on September 19th, 2025.
Camille Pépin (1990, France) – Avant, pendant, et pourtant*, 15′
Nik Bärtsch (1971, Switzerland) – Seven Eleven, 11′
Shelley Washington (1991, USA) – Sunday, 9′
Steve Reich (1936, USA) – Mallet Quartet, 15′
*Commission by Percussions de Strasbourg
Principal performer: Les Percussions de Strasbourg
Musicians: Minh-Tâm Nguyen, Lou Renaud-Bailly, Thibaut Weber, Hsin Hsuan Wu, Lou Renaud-Bailly
Artistic director of the album Vincent Peirani
Sound recording and mixing: Tony Paeleman
Production: Minh-Tâm Nguyen, Vincent Peirani, Tony Paeleman – Studio des Bruères
Mastering: Simon Lancelot
Stage manager: Claude Mathia
Administration: Lucie Andrès, Héloïse Cao, Pauline Hyron, Maud Repiquet
Photos: Bartosch Salmanski
Texts: Vincent Théval
Translation: Jean-Charles Ladurelle
Graphic design: Le Futur
Printing: OTT
Commissioned and produced by Les Percussions de Strasbourg
MINIMAL has received support from the CNM for phonographic production, and from SACEM for concert commissioning and production.
MINIMAL marks the Percussions de Strasbourg’s first foray into the world of minimalist music. Faithful to their legendary history, yet open to other sonic horizons, the ensemble asserts a plural identity, nourished by a sensitive dialogue between heritage, aesthetic diversity, and creative freedom. This recording, centered on Steve Reich’s famous Mallet Quartet, brings together works such as Avant, pendant, et pourtant by Camille Pépin, where formal rigor and emotion intertwine, and Sunday by Shelley Washington, imbued with a gentle melancholy. Nik Bärtsch adds his rhythmic textures and “ritual groove”. Conceived by Minh-Tâm Nguyen and shaped by the inspired ear of Vincent Peirani, MINIMAL reflects an openness to jazz, pop, and classical influences. It marks a turning point: a record conceived before the stage, envisioned as a living manifesto of contemporary creation.
Tracklist
1 Steve Reich – Mallet Quartet : I. Fast – 06:22
2 Steve Reich – Mallet Quartet : II. Slow – 03:13
3 Steve Reich – Mallet Quartet : III. Fast – 04:54
4 Nik Bärtsch – Seven Eleven – 10:25
5 Camille Pépin – Avant, pendant, et pourtant : I. Avant – 03:50
6 Camille Pépin – Avant, pendant, et pourtant : II. Pendant – 03:16
7 Camille Pépin – Avant, pendant, et pourtant : III. Et pourtant – 07:47
8 Shelley Washington – Sunday – 09:04