The Variations sur un thème de Frescobaldi (1937) exist in two versions: the original for full orchestra and – following its successful reception – an alternative for strings, the version given here. It is a delightful, untroubled score, its pre-classical atmosphere reminiscent of Respighi’s Ancient Airs and Dances as much as Stravinsky, whose shadow lies heavy on so much of Tansman’s output. The Four Polish Dances show a brassier, folksier side to his character, the orchestration here closer to Parisian Martin≤ and Roussel, and would make a bright overture to any concert. Unexpectedly uplifting is the concluding Que le Saveur des païens vienne maintenant, a setting of a Bach chorale which would not seem out of place in one of the straighter Bachianas brasileiras. Nice performances, too, from the former Podlasie Philharmonic Orchestra.

Where the disc disappoints is in the Fourth Symphony. For all his prolific output (there are nine), Tansman was often unable to sustain the symphonic structures he erected from some fairly unmemorable material, as Arnold Whittall noted of the Chandos disc listed. It is a problem even in good accounts, but this recording’s lack of impulsion is a fatal flaw. Where Caetani took 21'13", Nalecz-Niesiolowski dawdles to well past 27 minutes. Where Caetani’s first movement – the bulk of which is marked Allegro deciso, after all – has tension and thrust, the newcomer tub-thumps and irritates. The Adagio tranquillo is better, even though much slower than its rival, but the concluding Hindemithian Allegro giocoso sounds trite. Not the committed advocacy Tansman’s cause needs, alas.