Anthony Galinier - Open Mind (2022)

Anthony Galinier continues to explore elegant new musical vistas for the tenor horn.

However, the Frenchman's latest CD is a marked detour from the impressive path laid by his first two releases – ones that established his reputation as a soloist of cultured stylistic appreciation.

‘Open Mind’ is in essence a 55-minute recital. It is however a particularly adroit spotlight; the soloist deftly creating performances of finesse drawn on a canvas provided by a palette of foundation textures and pigments formed by piano, accordion, strings, woodwind, brass and voice.

Enhanced with a wonderfully intimate acoustic by producer Adam Goldsmith, it encompasses works by Ewazen, Brandt, Dvorak, Tchaikovsky, Ichard, Ciesla, Caens, Kamin and Sparke – each played with an intuitive understanding to bring boldness, panache, wit and pathos to the fore.

Galinier’s generosity of spirit is echoed by fellow performers who are the classiest of accomplices in the music making - from the octet of clarinettists on Ciesla’s evocative ‘Rhapsody’ to the percussive fun-packed jazz-infused complexities of ‘Danses Exotiques’.

The suave cool of ‘Selaouit’ - led by Youn Kamm’s evocative vocals is a delight, as is the little gem of drawing-room wit in Dvorak’s famous ‘Humoreske’.

The cleverly realised duet re-created for the horn and violin on Tchaikovsky’s ‘Melodia’ from his ‘Souvenir d’un Lieu Cher’ sits neatly alongside Ichard’s ‘Romantic Night’ which evokes a sense of tender affection - like two aged Parisians walking home hand in hand on a star-lit night through the city.

The cleverly realised duet re-created for the horn and violin on Tchaikovsky’s ‘Melodia’ from his ‘Souvenir d’un Lieu Cher’ sits neatly alongside Ichard’s ‘Romantic Night’ which evokes a sense of tender affection - like two aged Parisians walking home hand in hand on a star-lit night through the city.

The measured balance of the opening ‘Concert Fanfare’ horn sextet is rich in tonality, as is ‘Ländliche Bilder’ by Wilhelm Brandt - originally written for four trumpets over 100 years ago, but here expertly transcribed for a modern day brass band quartet of tenor horns who play off each other with nonchalant musicality.

The only disappointment is the soft-vaseline focus makeover of Philip Sparke’s ‘Flowerdale’, which sounds like it’s been hoiked from one of those execrable 1980s Richard Clayderman albums, whilst the lack of a sleeve note insert is a real pity on a release of musical interest and excellence.