Still listening to this for fun, and this album just totally sounds like summer to me...
Rota: Chamber Music for Flute
Rota: Chamber Music for Flute
with Mario Carbotta, flute
Dynamic©2012
Composer Nino Rota was born in Milan in 1911, studied in
Milan under Gioseffo Zarlino and in Rome under Alfred Casella, all preceding
World War II. He was best known as a
film composer, including many collaborations with Fellini until his death in
1979. Despite this background, his
harmonic language, at least on this album, is quite conservative and traditional, favoring simple stepwise
melodies and neo-Romantic chord progressions.
The repertoire included on this CD was all written between 1935 and
1972, and any sense of musical tension or strife in these works is quickly
glossed over and replaced by pastoral scenes and light, French-influenced
melodies.
Three Duets for flute and oboe (1972) employs simple, clean
lines with an equal interchange of ideas.
The flute stays mostly in the middle and beginning of the high register
and the oboe is generally in the same range, creating a sparkling, playful
sound. Rhythmical integrity is key in
the fast outer movements, when the flute and oboe rapidly exchange fragments
and finish each others’ sentences.
Five Pieces for flute and piano (1972) is clearly influenced
by Satie’s simplicity and diatonic language with perhaps a touch of Debussy’s sense
of ambling, uneven phrases and cool, aloof chord structure. Likewise, the Sonata for flute and harp
(1937) evokes Ravel in its elegant simplicity.
The Quintet for flute, oboe, viola, cello, and harp (1935) also fits
into this category, marked by gentle, undulating melodies. The choice of instruments in this piece works
very well, and voicing is well-written to highlight each instrument’s
strengths.
The Trio for flute, violin, and piano (1958) is a rousing,
technical fanfare right out of the gate.
The playful exchange between voices reminds one of similar chamber works
by Bohuslav Martinu, and there is a great energy present in all three
parts. The harmonic language is still
very accessible, but it does wander a bit more into atonal territory than the
aforementioned pieces, adding some welcome variety to the program and allowing
listeners to enjoy flutist Mario Cabotta‘s excellent technique.
The performance quality on this album is stellar; each
musician plays incredibly well as individuals and as chamber musicians. Ensemble is solid on each track. Mario Carbotta plays beautifully in a rich,
sonorous lyrical style.
Sound quality is just fine on the majority of the CD: the
atmosphere is warm and intimate without sacrificing clarity of sound. The Trio for flute, violin, and piano is an
exception; the violin and piano often overbalance the flute, which suddenly
sounds far away, unlike any of the other tracks.
Nino Rota’s repertoire highlights the flute’s lyricism and
clean simplicity of sound, and it is beautifully wrought by all of the
musicians on this album.
Nicole Riner ©2016
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