Peter Sheridan has for some years now been a leading worldwide ambassador
for low flutes, with previous recordings on the Move Records label including
Below, and
Monologues and Dialogues. Sheridan is also a
tireless pursuer of new music, though given the unusual instruments with
which he performs this is as much a necessity as a desire to seek out and
collaborate with the vast resource of composer talent which is all too
frequently ignored by more conventional soloists.
Sonorous Sonatas is a fascinating selection of recently composed
works for flutes ranging from piccolo to subcontrabass. The range of
instruments may by dizzying but the music is entirely approachable and
indeed highly attractive. Gary Schocker's
Music for a Lost Planet
has four movements, the opening
Above having a playfully French
feel to it, the mellowness of the alto flute entirely suited to the lyrical
nature of this and the following
Below. More punchy and virtuoso,
Burn reveals a side of the alto you don't hear often, the
final
Float returning to more gentle moods with some nicely
understated syncopation.
Jane Hammond's Song without Words is a short piece arranged for contrabass
flute, exploring the expressive nature of its upper range as well as using
its human cello-like lower sounds. In this piece can hear where the lower
the instrument, the less defined the projection. Peter Sheridan's
sound mixes with the piano in the lower register but almost vanishes at
times, showing that these instruments demand sensitive handling in
conventional combinations. Taran Carter's
Owl Sfutel introduces the
bass flute, giving it some potent nocturnal atmospheres as well as pitting
it against some energetically sustained but always transparently and
sympathetically scored piano writing. This is one of the most substantial
and successful pieces on this disc, not compromising in terms of
inventiveness and equality in material for both instruments, but creating
something new and naturally flowing for an uncommon combination.
Jelle Hogenhuis deserves credit as builder of the lowest flutes in Peter
Sheridan's collection, and his
Elegia gives the piano a break,
blending bass and alto flutes in a "dark brooding poem-like piece" which
expresses a sense of sorrow and regret, as well as anger and defiance.
Andrew Downes's
Sonata for contrabass flute and piano is the
first such work for this combination. Downes gives the low flute plenty of
breathing space, as well as moments where the two instruments complement
each other and add colour and dynamism to their respective sounds. His idiom
is effective if not one which makes huge demands on our emotions - the
technical proficiency of the composition and beauty of these musicians'
playing making up for a work which I have to admit not finding particularly
memorable.
Carolyn Morris's
Forest Over Sea brings alto and bass flutes
together with the piano to create what is another unusual if not unique
combination. This piece is "inspired by nature and in particular the Great
Ocean Road in Victoria" where the composer "spent many summers, enjoying the
crystal clear ocean overlooked by lush forest." This is music which wears
its heart on its sleeve, and is illustrative of vast and beautiful views as
well as birds at play and moods of the ocean both serene and undulating:
nature through rose-tinted and sentimental lenses.
The programme is capped by perhaps the least likely but most fun
combination of all - piccolo and subcontrabass flute. Houston Dunleavy's
Clumsy Dances (Dance No. 6) - Clumsy Gigue is "a parody on a
bi-polar relationship between the two outer extremes of the flute family."
This is a fun piece but works remarkably well, the subcontrabass flute
providing a deep but bouncy springboard over which the piccolo flies like
something happy and feathered, and in the hands of Andrew Macleod, anything
but clumsy.
Very well recorded and expertly performed, this is a very fine addition to
Peter Sheridan's discography and a superb demonstration of the rich legacy
of his generous and pro-active commissioning of a wide variety of composers.
Long may his musical voyages continue.
Dominy Clements
Availability link:
http://www.buywell.com
