In the 18th and 19th centuries the combination of flute and harp was an extremely popular one. Many households rang to the dulcet tones of the two instruments, usually played by young male and female performers in the family. This was especially true of French households, and many French composers have written for the flute; three of them represented in this program. Japanese label Camerata has a reputation for the highest quality sonics in all their recordings, and this CD is no exception.
The big interest for me was the 14 pieces by Charles Koechlin, composed in 1936. They have a quality of transparency and lightness found in much French music, and are full of fine melody. Other composers at that time were been trying to be experimental and different, but Koechlin has his very own way of writing supremely accessible music that was still uniquely his own style. Jean-Michel Damase’s music is even more accessible, in a style that has been compared to that of Ravel, Poulenc, Prokofiev and Ibert. He also composed some film scores. His four-movement sonata is a work of some depth. Bringing the program to a close with the familiar melody-laden Mozart Concerto is a good move. It always reminds me of the announcer’s blooper making it the “Concerto for Hoot and Flarp.”
– John Sunier
