We’ve all heard of Chris Abell, right? His wooden whistles are greatly prized. And as players of Irish tunes, some of you may have noticed the close relationship of these dance tunes to Baroque forms. The CD I’d like to recommend is a just-released 2-CD set of the complete flute concertos by Carl Philip Emmanuel Bach. I’ve had it about a month.
Patrick Gallois is the soloist. A French player, he’s clearly past the point of worrying about the (many) notes, and has imbued his part with a great deal of elan.
A description of his instrument (from the excellent liner notes): “The flute that Mr. Gallois uses in this recording is one made from the collaboration of two fine flute-makers: Chris Abell, specializing in the manufacture of Boehm system flutes in African Blackwood and Sterling silver, and Leonard Lopatin of The Lopatin Flute Company, specializing in the manufacture of Boehm system flutes with either square tone-holes or round tone-holes in precious metals. Mr. Gallois’ flute is manufactured from African Blackwood and Sterling silver and has square tone-holes and keywork cups instead of the usual round ones. Mr. Lopatin’s initial design for the square tone-hole flute came from inspirations earlier in his career as a player for the Metropolitan Opera in New York. By using a straight line across the bore to change the air column length, a square tonehole defines the tube lenght very precisely. This change in the acoustic design of the air column within the tube coupled with the tube being manufactured from dense, hard wood gives the flute unprecedented ease of articulation and tonal power without sacrificing any of the usual qualities of sonority and timbre associated with the flute.”
Carl Philip Emanuel Bach was one of the most exciting composers of his time, and we woodwind players are lucky to have the five concertos, plus a solo sonata for flute. His writing is a combination of the joyfully ornate baroque style in the fast movements and the direct power of the classicists in the slow movements. I think this music is worth a lifetime of listening.
As whistle players, you will hear some familiar techniques employed by Mr. Gallois (pron: gahl-WAH), including the bending of notes for emotional affect and the use of finger vibrato instead of breath vibrato.
In short, this addition to your CD collection will only enhance your understanding of what it is to be a wind player! Enjoy.
Here’s the info:
Label: Naxos
Series: The 18th Century Concerto
Composer: C.P.E. Bach
Title: Complete Flute Concertos
Soloist: Patrick Gallois
Ensemble: Toronto Camerata
Conductor: Kevin Mallon
Cat. #: 8.555715-16
BONUS: Because it’s a Naxos recording, the price is EXTREMELY reasonable. The cost at Amazon.com is $13.98 for the 2-CD set.
I found the listing by plugging in “Gallois” and “Bach” into the classical cd search.
Cara
[ This Message was edited by: thurlowe on 2003-02-10 13:43 ]
[ This Message was edited by: thurlowe on 2003-02-10 13:43 ]
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