What a lovely disc this is! This is a collection of three English recorder concertos by Malcolm Arnold, Gordon Jacob, and Richard Harvey…Petri is asked to play several different recorders throughout, from tenor to sopranino. The recorders are accompanied by a delicate orchestra, consisting of strings, flutes, clarinets, harp, celesta, and percussion. As the movement titles suggest, this is elfin, magical music.I have to confess it: I’ve loved every Michala Petri CD that has come my way, and it is too late to turn back now. She offers proof—if proof were needed—that the recorder transcends its schoolhouse associations by producing sounds that are both uncommonly plangent and sweet. Her many fans might be reluctant to duplicate the Arnold and Jacob works, but Harvey’s concerto is a most enjoyable discovery, and so there’s really nothing to do but to go out and purchase this CD as well! © 2012 Fanfare
Raymond Tuttle
Fanfare, September 2012