Track Listing

1. I hear the water dreaming
2. Toward the sea I
3. Le fils des etoiles
4. Toward the sea II
5. And then I Knew 'twas wind
6. Toward the sea III
7. Air
8. 3. Cape Cod - Patrick Gallois, Fabrice Pierre, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Davis
9. And Then I Knew 't Was Wind - Patrick Gallois, Pierre-Henri Xuéreb, Fabrice Pierre
10. 1. The Night - Patrick Gallois, Fabrice Pierre
11. 2. Moby Dick - Patrick Gallois, Fabrice Pierre
12. 3. Cape Cod - Patrick Gallois, Fabrice Pierre
13. Air for flute solo - Patrick Gallois

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #79419 in Music
• Released on: 2000-06-26
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 66 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Deutsche Grammophon's follow-up to its award-winning release of 1999 is based around the "flautistry" of Patrick Gallois. Takemitsu was drawn to the sound and imagery of the flute, and its plaintive timbre is to the fore in the three versions of Toward the Sea, around which the programme is based. Originally for flute and guitar, this triptych of impressions--of the night, Moby Dick and Cape Cod--was reconceived for flute, harp and strings, then for flute and harp, each time leaving the music's evocative nature unaltered. The title track is typical of Takemitsu's later work, in which a solo instrument wanders through the tranquil scenescape of the orchestra. Music of strong atmosphere, but even finer is And then I knew 'twas wind, one of the composer's most Japanese-sounding later pieces, despite its intricate scoring for the very Debussian combination of flute, viola and harp. Le Fils des étoiles is a whimsical arrangement of, and homage to, Eric Satie, while Air is a tranquil miniature which captures the essence of the whole disc and rounds it off ideally. Gallois's wooden flute makes a distinctive impression, as does Fabrice Pierre's fastidious harp-playing. Well worth investigating, whatever your knowledge of this singular and much-missed composer. --Richard Whitehouse