Dutch sax whiz Arno Bornkamp has finally recorded a disc that reflects the true restlessness in his approach to the instrument. For years, Bornkamp has faithfully played a repertoire that consisted of the few canonical works for saxophone by the likes of Claude Debussy, Alexander Glazunov, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Darius Milhaud, and a few others. Also, Bornkamp has sought works composed in the latter half of the 20th century, and these are the subject of this CD. There are readings of well-known composers such as Karlheinz Stockhausen and Luciano Berio, as well as by lesser-known mavericks like Paul Méfano, Japanese saxophonist and composer Ryo Noda, and the young lion of the bunch, Christian Lauba. While the latter three's works were written specifically for tenor saxophone, Berio's and Stockhausen's were not. "Sequenza IX," the Berio work here, so gorgeously played and intimately articulated, was originally written for clarinet in the 1970s as part of the enormous series that explored the tonal implications and physical limits of various instruments. In 1981, Berio revisited the work and recomposed it for saxophone, which he admitted came closer to the mark than his original idea. The result is a nearly lyrical work for ghost tones, bent notes, and shifting timbral contrasts in all three registers. It floats rather than flies, hovers rather than soars, and is by turns meditative and chant-like in its execution. The Stockhausen work consists of his massive "In Freundschaft," from the opera Licht und Blindheit, for his life partner, clarinetist Suzanne Stephens. Bornkamp adapts the work for saxophone and highlights the microtonal aspects of Stockhausen's particular investigation -- getting the sound from inside the tube to out, while realizing each vibrational force in the transaction. Notes are sounded and trail off, leaving only breath for a moment before perhaps an entire phrase is articulated as counterpoint, using a different tonality or register, all the while making the listener aware of the force used to push air through to the bell of the horn. It's a haunting work, one of Stockhausen's most restrained, but it offers a glimpse into the vast array of colors in his sound world. The other standout piece here is renegade Lauba's "Hard," written in 1988. It is saved for last here because of its alternating obsession with free jazz, hard rock, and funk; sometimes all three music styles are expressed within a single long phrase or sequence of notes. At other times, the three are placed in juxtaposition to one another, with only register and overtone to unite them as one work. There is a certain amount of improvisation in the work, which allows for it to swing -- if you can call it that -- with a verve that embraces contradiction and harmonic convergences while completely welcoming into the fray atonal articulation. In sum, Bornkamp has tipped his hand at where he intends to go with his pursuit of the saxophone's complete songbook.
by Thom Jurek
Tracklist:
1
Sequenza Ixb 13:24
Luciano Berio
2
Improvisation I 3:49
Ryo Noda
3
In Freundschaft 18:23
Karlheinz Stockhausen
4
Improvisation II 3:15
Ryo Noda
5
Périple 7:18
Paul Métano
6
Improvisation III 4:25
Ryo Noda
7
Hard 10:42
Christian Lauba
ARNO BORNKAMP - Reed my Mind [Contemporary Music for Saxophone]
[1993] BVHAAST / FLAC (tracks), lossless
O Púbis da Rosa
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