Search - Tomasi, Caplet, Absil :: French Saxophone 20th Ctry Music Saxophone & Orch

Quality Performances

Ralphus | Goyang, Gynggi-Do Korea (South) | 05/22/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Despite having never heard of Dominique Tassot, I purchased this disc out of curiosity; curiosity about the soloist and for the Absil "Fantaisie-Caprice". The fact that Marius Constant's rarely recorded "Musique de Concert" is featured also, was a bonus.



This CD from 2003 claims that the Tomasi Concerto, the Caplet "Legende", and the Absil and Constant works are premiere recordings. This seems odd as Daniel Gauthier released a disc featuring both the Constant and the Caplet on the Sne label in 1997. Perhaps the arrangements are different; I don't own the Gauthier to compare. Marcel Mule recorded at least the "Giration" section of the Tomasi long ago. Arno Bornkamp recorded the Caplet for Vanguard Classics (now available on a two-fer from Brilliant Classics) back in 1994; comparing Tassot's and Bornkamp's the difference is that Bornkamp recorded the original chamber instrumentation while Tassot has used a full compliment of strings.



Well, regardless of possible errors by the people at Audite, this is a surprisingly fine disc. Tassot's tone is warm and rich with a smokey, almost bluesy feel to it. Comparing his Tomasi to Delangle's (from 2007) is an interesting exercise. While Delangle is more incisive, Tassot is more languid. Delangle's articulation is cleaner (and better, in my opinion) while Tassot's is somewhat fuzzier. However, Tassot's performance is still quite fine and I find myself a little torn between their different approaches. (Delangle does have the edge in the more technically difficult faster passages, though Tassot's technique is not lacking.) Comparing Tassot to Bornkamp in the Caplet is interesting also.

Once again, while Bornkamp is a player who can do no wrong to my ears, Tassot doesn't lose out at all: his performance is warm, polished and very appealing. His intonation is spot on throughout as well.



I find myself quite surprised that this unvaunted disc by a player I've never heard of, actually stands up to close comparison with two of the doyens of the classical saxophone world, Bornkamp and Delangle!



The remaining works are the obligatory Debussy "Rapsodie" (original version) and the previously mentioned Absil and Constant. The Constant has never really appealed to me, but I intend to give it further listening. The Absil, perhaps unsurprisingly, is a pleasant enough ear-tickler that probably won't have too many saxophonists rushing out to buy the sheet music.



I should mention that the Munich Radio Symphony under Manfred Neuman play splendidly--certainly a match for Delangle's Singapore Symphony and probably a touch finer than Bornkamp's Camerata Amsterdam. The recorded sound is excellent also and booklet notes are ample.



A very worthy purchase that will probably be a pleasant surprise to many saxophonists.



(Delangle/Tomasi: Under the Sign of the Sun; Bornkamp/Caplet: The Classical Saxophone & The Elisa Hall Collection)



TT = 63'19""