Below : Music for Low Flutes
Garry SCHOKER (b.1959)
A Small Sonata for a Large Flute [9:36]
Sheridon STOKES
Irish in the Lowlands [6:18] ¹
Hilary TAGGART
Winter Sun [1:08]
Jules DEMERSSEMANN (1833-1866)
Allegro Vivace Op.4 No.18 [0:53]
Ernesto KOHLER (1849-1907)
Allegretto Vivo Op.33 No.8 [2:01]
Philippe GAUBERT (1879-1941)
Madrigal [4:05]²
Patrick NEHER
City Vignettes (2008) [14:44] ³
Gary SCHOKER
Adventures Under a Leaf (2007) º [8:07]
Bruce LAWRENCE
Elegy [3:02]
Viny GOLIA (b.1946)
There is a Difference Between Apples and Men* [7:52]
Peter SHERIDAN
And the Giant began to Dance [3:26]
Alex SHAPIRO (b.1962)
Below (2008) [10:21]
Peter Sheridan (flutes)
Sheridan Stokes (flutes¹)
Lisa-Maree Amos (fluteº)
Peter Neville (vibraphone*)
Heather Price (double bass³)
Claire Cooper (piano)
John Sawoski (piano²)
rec. Move Records studio, Melbourne Australia, 2008-2009; Music Forever Studios,
Encino, California USA. 2007-08
MOVE RECORDS MD 3330 [73:00]
It’s a well known fact of life that if you take up playing one or other
weird and wonderful musical instrument, sooner or later you will encounter
other people who play the same or similar weird and wonderful instruments.
I’ve been performing on sub-contrabass flute #8 built by Dutch flute
maker Jelle Hogenhuis since 2001, and Peter Sheridan’s later model of
the same instrument is illustrated on the cover of this CD, which is dedicated
to ‘low flutes’ in all their manifestations, including contrabass,
bass, and alto flutes. I had the good fortune to meet New York City native
and current Australian resident Peter Sheridan and had the privilege of performing
a spontaneous sub-contrabass duet with him in a concert at the Badhuis in
Amsterdam organised by another low flute specialist Ned McGowan. Don’t
be told that the sub-contrabass flute is the biggest in the world however.
The aforementioned concert event occurred when Peter came over from Australia
to take delivery of an improbably large hyperbass flute also made by
Jelle Hogenhuis, which from what I’ve seen looks to be the equivalent
of playing a large chunk of the Pompidou Centre.
The title of this disc could have been ‘Bellows’, such is the
volume of air required to play the largest of flutes. Whenever I do that health
check thing to test lung capacity through exhalation the nurse or doctor always
give me a raised eyebrow look over their spectacles, and probably make a note;
‘tuba player’ or ‘Wagnerian vocalist’. To get an idea
of the scale of these instruments, the contrabass flute has the same range
as a cello, the sub-contrabass
flute is the equivalent of a 5-string double-bass; the kind which reach
a bottom C, three octaves below middle C on a piano. Strictly speaking, the
whole flute family needs re-naming to fit more accurately with the strings;
the ‘normal’ bass flute being far more of a tenor instrument in
comparison to the true basses. I doubt this will happen any time soon though.
Weird and wonderful instruments do not necessarily have to lead to strange
and difficult sounds, and all of the works on this recording show one or other
expressive side to the flute. What is unusual is how many of the pieces here
are written specially for the instruments on which they are performed. One
of the disadvantages of playing an instrument which has only been around for
a relatively few years is that most of what you end up playing is arrangements,
though thanks to pioneers like Peter Sheridan this situation is gradually
being remedied.
Gary Schocker is a renowned flautist as well as composer, and his piece A
Small Sonata for a Large Flute shows how mellifluous and beautiful the
bass flute can sound, presented in a melodic and rather romantic three movement
setting. American composer and flautist Sheridon Stokes takes the sonorities
of the bass and contrabass flutes, adding in an Irish flute-piccolo to enhance
the folk-like nature of his piece Irish in the Lowlands which is like
a set of variations on a simple, pastoral theme.
Arrangements and transcriptions do have their place on this programme, and
Peter Sheridan shows the virtuoso side of the alto, bass and contrabass flutes
in adapting a set of three etudes. His technical chops are pretty remarkable,
and making an effective performance of these pieces, especially on the bass
and contrabass flutes is no mean feat. I think all of us would be in agreement
in drawing the line at attempting this kind of material on the sub-contrabass
instrument - the notes are that less easy to define, and in my case at least
the noise of the keys also counts against success. The contrabass flute does
show its remarkable qualities in the study by Ernesto Kohler, and the quality
of the tone easily outweighs any occasional mechanical noises. Another transcription
is that of Philippe Gaubert’s Madrigal, which is likely to be
the only piece known even to most flautists from this album. Here played on
the wide-ranging alto flute, the piece gains a softer quality and a different
kind of depth, but isn’t so very far from the original.
Patrick Neher is a music academic and double-bass player, and the logic of
coupling the contrabass flute with the string bass is a clear one for his
piece City Vignettes. This three movement work starts with a gently
swinging jazz feel in a movement called Corner Encounter. Hard-boiled
street gives way to slow lyricism in a movement called Lunacite, and
the piece concludes with a fun blast called Block Party. This is a
great work, partnering flute and bass both in complementary and contrasting
ways with the piano adding a touch of subtle harmony and rhythmic colour.
Gary Schocker’s Adventures Under a Leaf is a set of five duets
played on the normal C flute by Lisa-Maree Amos, and Peter Sheridan’s
bass flute. These are finely crafted pieces with a good deal of thematic logic
to go along with the “wonderfully quirky, lyrical and exciting”
nature of the music. Putting two flutes of different sizes together isn’t
as common as you might imagine, and the difference in character between the
instruments is expertly demonstrated in a set of pieces which have plenty
of technical content and musical substance.
Australian composer Bruce Lawrence’s Elegy sets the contrabass
flute against a gentle piano accompaniment in a moving piece which was originally
written for cello and piano.
One of the only really ‘modern’ pieces on this disc, There
is a Difference Between Apples and Men is a movement taken from a bigger
work for contrabass and percussion. Sonority and improvisatory exploration
of both instruments results in a piece with a good deal of mystery and atmosphere
in a context of ambiguous tonality. Peter Sheridan’s own piece for subcontrabass
flute, And the Giant began to Dance, is described as a “spontaneous
composition inspired by the dancing pulsations of air emerging from the elephant-like
pipe.” The low resonances are well recorded, and give a good impression
of the sheer physical nature of playing and hearing this kind of instrument
in a piece which demonstrates some of the rhythmic effects which come naturally
when exploring its qualities.
Below by American composer Alex Shapiro is a stunning electronic soundtrack
based on undersea noises, including the song of the Pacific humpback whale.
This acts as a partner to the contrabass flute, whose deep tones blend superbly
with the vastness of the sounds and effects. There is rhythm and energy in
this piece as well as a welcoming bath of resonant electronic soundscapes,
and the results are an appealing blend of sonic anthropomorphism and attractive
melodic contours.
This CD is a highly professional production, with fine recordings and a marvelous
set of performances by all concerned. The booklet is nicely documented and
illustrated if a little short on dates. There is pretty much something for
everyone here, and I can imagine most people being pleasantly surprised by
the variety of timbre and breadth of expressive qualities which can be obtained
by blowing across a bit of old tube. You can find out more about bits of this
kind of tube on Peter Sheridan’s excellent website.
Sheridan’s crusade for his impressive collection of huge flutes continues
apace, and we can expect more in the near future.
Dominy Clements
Amazing what you can do with a bit of old tube.