Bonneau, Paul : Suite pour saxophone alto et piano
The Suite has a lovely variety of movements, from an Improvisation which has a yearning quality, before the music bursts forth in exhilaration. Here is a dichotomy of wide-eyed excitement and soul-searching meandering. The menacing turmoil of the Demon Dance contains bold piano writing with a dangerous undercurrent. The third movement is a strange, ethereal chant presented as some kind of hypnotic meditation. Bonneau's writing here seems far more daring and exploratory than the material found in the Caprice en Forme de Valse and the Pièce Concertante Dans L'esprit 'Jazz'. Bonneau mainly composed light music, but the writing here is light only because it is brief, the content is as deep and poignant as parts of Messiaen. The 'mischief' (Espièglerie) of the final movement is terribly exciting, but again, over all too quickly.