Shop Now

Pan British Flute Society Journal

This CD brings together Irish composer John Buckley’s works for flute. It’s an impressive collection of repertoire that deserves to be known. Buckley studied flute with Doris Keogh at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, and his compositions reveal the influences of a range of the baroque and twentieth century
composers who produced core repertoire for our instrument. Emma Coulthard, the key performer on this album, was also a student of Doris Keogh and her long-standing knowledge of Buckley’s music clearly comes through in the communication of his musical ideas in this recording.

It’s interesting to see a compositional evolution in the works collected here, which span from 1973 to 2022. The more recent works seem to have a greater sense of angularity and harmonic complexity; for example the most recent work, In Memoriam Doris Keogh, was composed specially for this album and has a distinct compositional voice. The Five Etudes for Two Flutes, also written in 2022, combines singing, lyrical lines and moving textures, and enables the two flute parts (played here by Emma
Coulthard and Emma Halnan) to interweave in a combination of lyricism and textural interest. In both pieces there’s a highly effective sense of contrast between angularity and lyricism; these elements appear in all of the earlier works as hallmarks of Buckley’s style, but it’s interesting to hear how the relationship between the two has developed over time.

The disc’s title track, and second flute and piano piece, Boireann, dates from 1983 and is an expansive work lasting nearly 11 minutes. The piece features a good range of colouristic effects and textural changes, and a sense of narrative develops through the five sections.

I very much enjoyed the Three Etudes for Piano, both in terms of their compositional interest and in the variety they provide in sound. Composed in 2018, these pieces are evocative soundscapes which provide rhythmic energy, drive and a sense of spaciousness as the movements unfold. David Appleton’s playing is highly engaging throughout.

There are several works for solo flute on the disc, which mostly come from earlier eras. The Zivo Fantasias for Alto Flute from 2004 were originally written for treble recorder but suit the alto
flute’s tone well. The first of the two pieces is sow and languid, while the second is largely energetic and bubbly. Airflow, for solo C flute, is written in companion with a bronze sculpture by Vivienne Roche: it’s a shame the two elements are necessarily separated within a CD recording, but the music has much to
offer on its own as it explores line and shape. The oldest works on the disc are the Three Pieces for Solo Flute of 1973, written when Buckley was sill a student. The first movement covers the whole range of the flute and features flutter-tonguing and pitch bends. The second piece features bird-like fragments and
a strong sense of agility, with Coulthard creating an effective sense of layers and space in her performance. The third returns to a more lyrical style, but there’s a large amount of high register towards the end, which is performed here with an impressive sense of controlled fragility. One more solo work appears here, which is the impressive and highly engaging Sea Echoes. Written for William Dowdall in 2008, this makes effective musical use of the Glissando Headjoint. This piece is one of the highlights
of the disc for me, and this recording is well executed and clearly communicated throughout. There’s a real sense that Emma Coulthard is in her element here and the passion in her playing comes through loud and clear.

This disc serves as a dual portrait of Buckley and of Coulthard, and provides an enjoyable introduction to their work, both individually and together. The repertoire is a significant collection which is deserves to be better known; Buckley writes instinctively for the flute and provides worthwhile technical challenges for players to negotiate while communicating scrong musical ideas. For Emma Coulthard, this debut disc is an important step in her career development and it’s wonderful to hear contemporary music performed with such dedication, care and passion. Highly recommended.