Musical portraits from France

There is no doubt that the French trumpet school, with its driving force Maurice André, has influenced many generations of trumpeters like no other. Even in my youth, the grand seigneur de la trompette was omnipresent: he dominated the classical trumpet world almost single-handedly, just as Miles Davis shaped jazz.

It is therefore not surprising that Jean-François Dion felt the time was ripe to dedicate a tribute to the exponents of this French trumpet school. In 15 smaller individual pieces, he paints a musical picture of the dedicatees (from Roger Delmotte to Bernard Soustrot and Antoine Curé). And anyone who knows the masters well can hardly help but smile as they play through these sometimes somewhat etude-like gems. The baroque quotations in Maurice André on the one hand, the aleatory elements and damper changes for Antoine Curé on the other hand, are probably a bit bold - the beginning of Guy Touvron on the other hand, is subtly reminiscent of the rattling of the mill in front of his house - a nice proof of the composer's familiarity with his colleagues. It is also nice that each maître is briefly introduced in the appendix with a photo and biography - but it is a pity that greats such as Pierre Thibaud or Eric Aubier are missing, who would have deserved no less adulation.

Jean-François Dion : La trompette française - 15 portraits musicaux, for trumpet solo, TP 348, Fr. 20.00, Editions Bim, Vuarmarens