1. Johann Nepomuk Hummel; Chamber Music at Schönbrunn. A CD featuring flutist Jan Boland with John Dowdall on guitar, Theresa Bogard,
fortepiano, Timothy Shiu, violin and Loretta O’Sullivan, cello. Released on Fleur de Son Classics FDS 5798. P.O Box 132 Buffalo, New York 14225.
Price: $15. Available on-line at: http://www.fleurdeson.com/
Once again, Jan Boland and the Red Cedar Chamber Music ensemble have unearthed some long buried treasures from this contemporary of Beethoven. This disk includes
Hummel’s Grande Sérénades en Potpourri, Op. 66, Nos. 1 and 2 for fortepiano, guitar, violin, flute and cello; Trio, Op. 78 for flute, cello &
fortepiano; and Potpouri, Op. 53 for fortepiano and guitar.
These pieces are light entertainment of the type often played in the 19th century at musical soirees. Performed on authentic instruments of the period,
in the hands of the Red Cedar ensemble these works have a warmth and an intimate nature that draws in the listener. Hummel spins out endless and seamless
variations of well-known tunes that must have been the equivalent of the Top 40 playlist of the early 1800s. The themes developed and varied are tuneful
melodies (often based on popular opera arias by Mozart, Cherubini, Paisello, etc.), that are charming in style and full of dramatic interludes that feature
adventurous harmonies and fiery virtuosoic display. As always, flutist Boland’s sure technique and sweet tone are perfection itself, and her pure
intonation on the wooden 11-keyed “simple system” flute of the time is just remarkable. She makes her musical expression with a subtly of
dynamics and shading of tone; she does not need the cloying and continuous vibrato used today to gain the audience’s attention. The color and clarity
of the higher tuning of the terz guitar gives Dowdall’s tone a quiet yet balanced brilliance that matches the fortepiano nicely and is never lost in the
thicker textures. Throughout, fortepianist Bogard holds the works firmly together with great rhythmic vitality, a steadying hand, and flowing and well-directed
melodic lines. All the members of the ensemble have grand technique and a cantabile style that allows the listener to set back and bask in this sunny
and romantic performance. (J.E.P.)
2. Catherine’s Musings, news and views and on-line resources for flutists hosted by Catherine Le Grand. See her weblog online at
url: http://catherinelegrand.blogspot.com/ - and her on-line teaching
site,: http://www.catherinelegrand.com/index.htm - LeGrand Virtual Studio.
North Carolina flutist LeGrand has developed her homepage and blog as a “platform for sharing information, ideas, and resources on breathing,
music performance and pedagogy, creativity, the flute and flute-playing.” She posts messages regularly and is constantly adding useful features;
the site is well-indexed and it is worth the time to read back to the beginnings of this venture. In recent weeks, she has been putting up videos of a
series of interviews she did in the last year with the remarkable pedagogue and freelance flutist Keith Underwood, whose stimulating and exploratory ideas
and approaches to making the flutist’s embouchure and breathing more efficient and controlled are gaining more and more followers. (His demonstrations
of “tongue controlled” embouchure and the use of “buzzing” as a means of gaining control of the air speed, pressure and direction have
caused a lot of discussion on the Internet chat groups, but for those who practice these concepts diligently they are brilliant illustrations of a thoughtful
and exploratory way of making the flute more responsive, more resonant, and less stressful.)
Catherine has a humorous approach to teaching the flute; and she is not afraid to try unusual techniques and illustrations to get her points across.
She is very serious, however, about sharing her insights and showing flutists at a distance how to improve their playing. Since 2002 she has been gradually
developing a method of on-line instruction via her terrifically helpful and interesting website, with articles, video tutorials, phone consultations, and
even lessons via teleconferencing. You can see the main features at the LeGrand Studio homepage; then explore the library of free materials, audio and
video files, and, if interested in probing deeper, you can subscribe to her service at: http://catherinelegrand.mobi/amember/signup.php for either three
month or annual subscriptions. She even has a free introductory one-week trial offer for NFA members. While you are at her site, take time to look at her
fine gallery of beautiful photographs interspersed with inspirational quotations to ponder.
J.E.P.
3. Dedicated to Barrere, Vol. 2. A CD with Leone Buyse, flute, Martin Amlin, piano, Paula Paige, Harp.
Available on Crystal Records CD 716. Price: $16.95. Purchase on-line at: http://www.crystalrecords.com/flute.html
Following on the success of her first CD of works dedicated to Georges Barrere, the distinguished flutist Leone Buyse, once again showers us with very high
quality performances that bring out the characteristic charm, nuance, and richness of color inherent in the flute. Buyse is one of our finest flutists and
flute teachers in the U.S. and currently is Professor of Flute at Rice University after a long career as a soloist and flutist in the Boston, San Francisco
and Rochester symphonies. Her technique is flawless, her tone is smooth, rich, and consistent in all registers, and her musicianship keen. She is at her
best in impassioned rubato interpretations of the French works of Gaubert and Roussel, but her performances of modernistic works by Varese, Riegger, DeLorenzo,
and Bauer are never less than compelling. Duo partners Amlin and Paige are amiable and supportive throughout and match her brilliance. The very informative
program notes by Barrere’s biographer, Nancy Toff, are an added feature of this CD and provide an excellent framework for appreciating the history and
context of these especially composed works.
Some of the pieces on this recording are familiar favorites, but Buyse also treats the listener to some rarely heard gems: Edgard Varèse, Density 21.5;
Charles Griffes, Poem; Wallingford Riegger, Suite for flute alone; Albert Roussel, Andante and Scherzo; Philippe Gaubert, Sonatine quasi Fantasia, and
Invocation; Leonardo De Lorenzo, Sogno Futuristico; Christiaan Kriens, La Nymphe Bocagère; H. Maurice Jacquet, Nocturne for flute and harp;
Marion Bauer,
Forgotten Modes, Op. 29; and Richard Franko Goldman, Two Monochromes. The lovely Jacquet Nocturne, based on J.S. Bach’s piano Prelude in Eb minor ,
is a revelation, and Buyse’s impassioned delivery of Griffes’ Poem is the cleanest and most rhythmic version I have ever heard of this work
that is often muddled in texture and clarity. This album leaves you saying “More, more, con amore.”
4. Early Recordings and the Flute Repertoire, an article by Susan Nelson. Published in the December 2007 issue of Pan, the journal of
the British Flute Society. Website: http://www.bfs.org.uk/earlyfluterecordings.htm
This article, based on Nelson’s recent book publication, The Flute on Record—the 78rpm Era published by Scarecrow Press in 2006, is currently
available for you to read on the BFS website. She includes a number of links to free downloads of sound recordings made by famous flutist in the early 20th century,
such as Frank Badollet, John Amadio, Adolphe Hennebains, Clement Barone, Sr., George Madsen, Emil Prill, Gaston Crunelle, Lucien Lavaillotte, Marcel Moyse, René Le
Roy and Gustav Scheck. Her encyclopedic knowledge and the depth of her investigations into the early history of recorded sound are impressive; and the quick
reference to recordings illustrating the style of flute playing nearly 100 years ago is both interesting and thought provoking. Styles and concepts of tone,
vibrato, and interpretation certainly have changed. The technical feats of these historic flutist gives one pause and humbles our modern view of limits of
virtuosity.
From the January 2008 issue
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