Sonata in G Major Pietro Locatelli (1695-1764) Locatelli was an Italian composer and virtuoso violinist. His career was established in Rome where it is likely a young Locatelli was influenced by the compositional style of the great Arcangelo Corelli. The 12 Flute Sonatas were published in 1732 shortly after Locatelli moved to Amsterdam, where he settled after years of travelling throughout Europe giving concerts. Living in Amsterdam offered Locatelli the opportunity to focus primarily on composition and publish many of his works. Sarabande Op.179 Francis Poulenc (1899-1963) While in New York in 1959 Poulenc wrote the hauntingly beautiful Sarabande for solo guitar which he dedicated to the French guitarist Ida Presti. The melody is melancholic and intimate using a simple three part polyphony and exploiting the natural resonance of the guitar by sustaining many open strings. The final notes of the piece are the six open strings played slowly, softly and in ascending order of pitch, each note dying away to nothing. Un Joueur de flûte berce les ruines Francis Poulenc (1899-1963) There is little information known about this piece other than it was dedicated to Madame Paul Vincent-Vallette. The manuscript of the piece was discovered in 1997 by the American flautist Ransom Wilson in an archive at Yale University’s Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. Like the Sarabande for guitar the work is short and melancholic in style and undoubtedly an important addition to the solo flute repertoire. Krynica & Un ange Sébastien Vachez (b.1973) Krynica is part of a trilogy for solo guitar called Trois pièces brèves. This atmospheric piece was inspired by a white and peaceful scene in Krynica, a small town in the mountains of Poland, totally covered by snow. In this recording, Krynica is played as an introduction to a piece for flute and guitar called Un ange which is the second movement of La ballade d'Irina written in a style close to the French impressionism. © Sébastien Vachez 2015 Wens Véronique Vella (b.1979) Wens, which from Maltese loosely translates as the word comfort, was commissioned by Aisling Agnew, who gave the première of the work in September 2009 at St Paul’s Cathedral, Dundee, Scotland. Wens showcases the agile, versatile nature of the flute through the use of extended techniques which create interesting textures and percussive sounds. Following the première Garry Fraser in a review for The Courier wrote that the work " ...both entranced and excited, for it to stand out in a programme of music that included works by Bach, Debussy and Telemann speaks volumes for its immediate attraction." © Véronique Vella 2015 Bidla Véronique Vella (b.1979) Bidla, the Maltese word for change, was commissioned by the Agnew McAllister Duo in 2011 and has been performed extensively by the duo since it's première in Scotland. Aisling and Véronique had previously collaborated with the earlier works, Gelsomina, for flute and string quartet and Wens for solo flute, the latter becoming a staple in Aisling’s solo repertoire. Like many of Vella’s works Bidla features varying changes in mood and tempo. It is the first and only piece she has written for guitar. Pianist and composer Veronique Vella obtained her PhD from Edinburgh Napier University in 2008 and is the first Maltese woman to be awarded a doctorate in music composition. © Véronique Vella 2015 Air Toru Takemitsu (1930-1996) Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu achieved worldwide renown for works that combined the tradition of Western classical music and the sounds of traditional Eastern instruments, especially the biwa (a short-necked lute) and the shakuhachi (a bamboo flute). Air for solo flute is Takemitsu's last completed work. The piece contains few contemporary techniques but is marked by a four-note theme which echoes throughout the work, creating a haunting impression and a feeling of timelessness. The Uses of Not Greg Caffrey (b.1963) This piece is the third of four works I have completed for flute and guitar. The first two pieces were characterised by a traditional virtuosity. By that I mean that they often were comprised of relentless and perpetual rhythmic movement, lots of notes and little space. This piece attempts to inhabit a more spacious musical landscape, the key components being a flexibility of line, an emphasis on colour and texture and an accommodation with a more relaxed approach to the unfolding of the work’s musical materials. Unfashionable musical adjectives such as beautiful and romantic that, for some people perhaps, conjure feelings of the music of the late 19th century, I would hope could be appropriately applied to this piece, horrendously shocking as that may sound to an audience of 21st century music. © Greg Caffrey 2012 Sivi Grivi Alan Thomas (b.1967) The Balkan region is blessed with an incredibly rich musical culture. Though of course the music varies greatly from country to country (and within individual countries), common traits emerge in the use of complex asymmetrically structured meters and modally-based scales and harmonies. Some years ago I became fascinated by the music of the region, and began a project I call my Balkan Songbook. While some of the pieces in the series are more or less straightforward arrangements, others draw on Balkan source melodies and rhythms in a more abstract way, using their musical material more compositionally. Sivi grivi (Gray mane) is based on a dance from the Pirin region of Bulgaria, and falls more into the latter category. Typical of the region, the piece employs an asymmetrical meter (7/8 in this case), and has a largely stepwise diatonic melody featuring the exotic sounding augmented 2nd interval. © Alan Thomas 2015 Recorded at the Cathedral of the Isles 20th to 23rd January 2013 Recording Engineer Douglas Whates Guitar Bert Kwakkel Strings D'Addario Flutes Chris Abell, Altus and J.R Lafin head joint, Sankyo Alto