This is a sweet, but never insipid disc. While you might suspect the former of a recording entitled The Feminine Flute, you might also fear the latter, but flutist
Christine Hankin and pianist Timothy Murray have chosen the repertoire too wisely and played it too well for those fears to be realized. On the one side, there are three perfectly adorable French works: Claude Arrieu's Sonatine,
Cécile Chaminade's Sérénade aux Étoiles, and Lili Boulanger's D'un matin de printemps. On the other side they have exotic works: Anne Boyd's Bali Moods No. 1, Cecilia McDowall's Not Just a Place, and Amanda Jane Fox's Infinity. And in deep left field, they have hard-edged modernist works: Elizabeth Maconchy's Colloquy, Elisabeth Lutyens' Variations for solo flute, and Sofia Gubaidulina's Sounds of the Forest. And yet, the program is arranged so cunningly that each piece refreshes and stimulates the ear without exhausting it. But, of course,
Hankin and Murray can only accomplish this because of their superb playing and superlative collaboration. Although
Hankin can deploy a sweet and tender tone when it's called for, she can also play the heck out of the most virtuosic works here with her strong technique, plus she can drive the most austere works here with her dynamic sense of rhythm. Through every piece, pianist Murray accompanies her with steady hands, yielding results that are as lovely and challenging as
Hankin's playing. Dutton's 2007 digital recording is rich, full, and very present.