HENRI TOMASI (1901-1971): 6 mélodies popularies corses, 4 Chants corses, Cantu di Malincunia, 2 mélodies sur des poèmes de Paul Fort, 2 Clairières dans le ciel, Cyrnos for 2 Pianos.

Description: Although the ten harmonizations of popular Corsican songs and the one "art song" in Corsican written in 1930, 1932 and 1933 (there are also four songs to French poetry from 1932) are the raison d'être of this disc and are full of the flavor of that island's folk music style, the main event for most RI collectors will the the two-piano version of the 1929 Cyrnos (the original Greek name for Corsica), a 19-minute tone-poem which also exists in a version for piano and orchestra. Based solely on two Corsican song-types, the fast tarantella and the melancholy vocero, it's a brilliantly elaborated piece, dashing and mournful by turns which will leave you desiring to hear its full orchestral version (like that will ever happen...). Corsican, French-English texts. Johanne Cassar (soprano), Laurent Wagschal (piano), Sodi Braide (piano 2).