
English Recorder Concertos
The recorder has been part of Western music for more than seven hundred years, during which time it has enjoyed a particularly special relationship with the composers and musicians of England. The present recording showcases the music of three generations of English composers who have embraced the recorder, making significant contributions to the repertoire in the process. Gordon Jacob, the eldest, composed numerous works for the recorder from the 1950s up until his last year.
Sir Malcolm Arnold was to follow Jacob’s example contributing his Concerto for Recorder, originally written for and premiered by Michala Petri. Arnold’s amphibious existence as a composer for both film and the concert hall is echoed in the career of our youngest contributor, the BAFTA award-winning composer and recorder player Richard Harvey. The result? Pure musical enchantment! Jacob's delightful Suite has been a mainstay for recorder players (and an audience favourite…) since its premiere, while Arnold's rarely performed concerto is a late masterwork truly deserving a wider audience makes a most welcome return to the catalogue. The program is capped off by Harvey's magical Concerto Incantato (composed especially for Michala) - a true concert piece for the Harry Potter generation.
“The highlight of the evening came... with the world premiere of Richard Harvey’s Concerto Incantato, a work written specifically for this concert and for Michala Petri and five (or perhaps it was six?) of her recorders... Harvey’s work brings together a broad range of musical influences... oozing walls of warm string harmony and a distinct story-telling quality – a highly consumable work commandingly performed.” - Mark Tjhung, Time Out Hong Kong


Reviews
June 17, 2014
Classical Blog jcklassisk:(DK) - Der er ikke en takt for meget og ikke en takt for lidt
John Christiansen
April 30, 2013
The Recorder Magazine (UK) - Michala Petri`s playing, it goes without saying, is impeccable and her music interpretation vivid.
Andrew Mayes
November 30, 2012
"Scene"-English Magazine "- From the dramatic opening of Harvey’s Concerto Incanto through the pastoral meanderings of Jacob’s Suite for Recorder and Strings, this is the music of European myth and history. Recommended.
Chris Morgan
August 31, 2012
Fanfare Magazine (US) -This is one of the best CDs of recorder music that I have ever heard.
James A. Altena
July 14, 2012
International Record Review (IRR) (UK) - Michala Petri is a phenomenon, seemingly unstoppable in her pursuit of new territory for her chosen instrument.
Piers Burton-Page
June 14, 2012
Music Web International (UK)This is one of the best CDs of recorder music that I have ever heard. Full stop.
John France
May 31, 2012
Magazine All Music Guide:(US) - Petri is icily superb throughout, but the real pleasure here is in the music, not simply the mechanics
James Manheim