Divinities at Dawn from Celestial Dancers for Flute and Piano

This is an atmospheric work which captures both the dawn and the divinities of its title. Ewazen uses the instrument to colour his portrayal of the ancient caves with use of the low register and a improvisatory style. As the music becomes more alive, the flute is allowed to sparkle in the upper reaches before returning to the calm of the opening. As a contrast in a recital this is worth a look - it's lovely!

This is a version for flute and piano of the earlier work for violin (which can be heard on a 2011 Centaur Records recording), and also appears as the 3rd movement of Celestial Dancers, a work for wind ensemble. Inspired by the Angkor Wat temples in Cambodia, the music reflects the early morning atmosphere of calm, before gaining energy as the sun rises.

Suitable for intermediate players, the music is typical of much contemporary American tonal repertoire; the lushly consonant melodies have a somewhat ambient feel, long singing phrases and perhaps even a hint of a celtic influence. The piano part develops to become a texture of accompanying semiquavers. While there are some enjoyable ideas, I found myself losing interest, both while playing and while listening to the recording, around six minutes into the piece’s nine-minute duration. The slow material from the opening makes a brief reappearance at the end, almost wistfully.

This is unassuming, lyrical music which allows for the expres-sion of a cantabile tone, as well as giving some opportunities for faster moving, dance-like material (even though the suggested metronome mark of crotchet = 96 is a little pedestrian for its allegro molto description). The material is well suited to the flute and uses both the low register and the upper range effectively. I spotted one low Cb, within a particularly awkward semiquaver cluster for the right hand little finger, which makes a B foot a necessity, but this could probably be omitted or adapted to make it suitable for C foot. The score is typically well presented in Presser’s house style.