The music on this disc centers around the flute (the soloist is Susan Glaser) though it is not, per se, standard sonata repertoire for accompanied flute. Instead, what we have here are several non-standard pieces employing the flute, the harp (Emily Mitchell), the viola (Stephanie Griffin), and various percussion instruments (Matthew Gold) taken from mostly contemporary sources. Most approachable (in Western terms) is Stella Sung’s Dance of the White Lotus Under the Silver Moon which combines melodious flute passages that move in and out of Japanese atonal constructions (these are provided by the harp). The work is quite beautiful, and beautifully done. Zhou Long’s simple Su is a duo for flute and harp and makes more extreme use of the flute as it melds both Western and Chinese modalities. Oddly, it sounds neither particularly Chinese nor specifically Western. Su, though, is definitely postmodern and segues nicely into Tan Dun’s harrowing In Distance, with its rigorous atonal elongations on the flute and stark silences punctuated by the harp and percussion. More than any other work on this disc, In Distance demands patience and an appreciation for the unusual tonal elements Dun is trying to sustain. Korean composer Jacqueline Jeeyoung Kim’s Tiger Chasing the Wind is a bit more melodic with its occasional nod to Korean folk elements, here making strong use of the viola. Hwang Yoon Hee’s dharma-Dharma also weaves hints of Korean folk melodies, but seems a bit more conscious of the importance of melody to Western ears. Altogether, this is an excellent collection of post-modern works for flute, but it is not for the squeamish.
