The variety of style
in this journey through the melodic
realms of flute music makes for a pleasing
balance. Alone in the rain is
a breathy rainy-day dream and the Lauf
diptych is as vivacious and sharp as
a new pin. It is perfectly in keeping
with the soul of flute with the lovely
chime of the two flutes recalling idyllic
playing in Basil Poledouris's Conan
score and de Hartmann's oriental miniatures.
Arantes' Brazilian
fantasy is a jeu d'esprit with a cheeky
appearance put in by the Girl from
Ipanema. Grady's Soaring
is a dewy idyll for two flutes. It is
typical of McKay that his Lyric Poem
for four flutes should be the most
substantial piece here - chiming and
kindly music.
There are two multi-movement
pieces from Catherine McMichael. The
Academie sequence takes a tour
through antique plainchant, an impudent
ecossaise, a Fauré-like Pavane
and a free-flying heart's-ease of a
galliarde. The Baikal Journey is
a further suite. The title refers to
Lake Baikal in the one-time USSR. It
contains one fifth of the world's fresh
water and is a stretch of water 400
miles long. Folk and original music
are woven together. The names of the
movement follow the local names for
the lake. This is all strangeness and
inwardness. Ancient Friend sounds
like a Geordie folk ballad. Pearl
of Siberia is magical and mysterious.
The finale uses a simple 'Bobby Shaftoe'-type
tune with harpsichord figuration in
the piano. This develops into an accelerating
'Katinka' Cossack dance.
If there is to be a
Tonescapes 2 Rebecca Jeffreys
could consider including another four
flute work; Alan Hovhaness's Spirit
of Ink. We know that McKay and Hovhaness
were friends. Perhaps the McKay Lyric
Poem (also for four flutes) was
the inspiration for the Hovhaness work.
If Jeffreys and her colleagues do tackle
this piece of fantasy-exotica theirs
will be the first 'natural' recording.
Although Spirit of Ink is included
on Crystal CD809 the four flute parts
had been multi-tracked with each line
played by Samuel Baron (1925-1997).
Rob Barnett
Rebecca Jeffreys (flute/piccolo)