Navona Records release flautist Lindsey Goodman’s Etereo, a multi-composer album featuring the internationally acclaimed performer in solo, duo, and trio settings. Goodman’s virtuosic performances unleash the breadth of dynamic and tonal possibilities the flute offers, making for a riveting listener experience...

While I'm not usually a fan of contemporary classical music, where the composer puts the musicians through the pain of playing their instruments like a drunk individual who is picking up the instrument for the first time... The pieces on Etereo do have a semblance of tunefulness... at times. Lindsey Goodman's performances help to breathe life into what might otherwise be just a collection of quirky pieces.

The album opens with Josh OXford’s 'Bluez...' in which Goodman’s breath accompanies frantic jazzy melodies, rife with overblown harmonics and vocal harmonizations akin to throat singing.

Bruce Babcock’s 'Soliloquy' witnesses Goodman perform a series of arrhythmic dances, punctuated by instrumental bends and shrieking cries. In Steven Block’s 'Sweet Soulless Solstice' the physical limits of the flute are explored. Mara Helmuth’s 'Butterfly Within' is a four-movement work in which Goodman tackles a new sonic landscape, full of extra-musical sounds and aural sensations. In 'Watercolors of the Master Who is Accustomed to Paint With Oils' by Alla Elana Cohen, Goodman is joined by Robert Frankenberry on piano.

'In memoriam' from 'Three Duos for Alto Flute and Cello' by Peter Castine is marked by soft, droning chord clusters, with the interjection of a toy piano midway. Lastly, in 'Flight 710 to Cabo San Lucas' by Jennifer Jolley, the rapid stabs of the trio give way to an explosive repartee, making for an upbeat conclusion to the album.

To be perfectly honest, I couldn't tell one composer's work from the next. Contemporary classical music is, to my mind, an opportunity for the composer to be a little self indulgent. The end result is that there's usually little to no emotional response for the listener and so it all ends up sounding very similar. The one saving grace here is Goodman's devotion to adding a soul to each soulless piece.

This is ideal for those that like modern, almost tuneless classical music... but more importantly this is perfect for the novice flautist. Hearing the unconventional sounds that Goodman manages to get her instrument to "sing" is truly magical.

Track listing:

Josh OXford
01 - Bluez... (4:57)
Solo flute

Bruce Babcock
02 - Soliloquy (4:24)
Lindsey Goodman (Solo flute)

Jason Taurins
03 - Marsyas (3:11)
Lindsey Goodman (Solo alto flute)

Jason Taurins
04 - Gadfly (3:11)
Lindsey Goodman (Solo flute)

Steven Block
05 - Sweet Soulless Solstice (5:59)
Lindsey Goodman (Solo flute)

Mara Helmuth
Butterfly Within
Solo flute and fixed media
06 - I. Serenity (3:34)
07 - II. I Am Radioactive (1:01)
08 - III. From Inside (2:01)
09 - IV. Seeing Within (1:31)

Alla Elana Cohen
Watercolors of the Master Who is Accustomed to Paint Oils
The Chrysalis Duo  |  Lindsey Goodman (flute)
Robert Frankenberry (piano)
10 - I. Andante mesto (1:53)
11 - II. Con moto, triste (1:08)
12 - III. Commodo (1:27)
13 - IV. Allegro impetuoso (0:45)

Peter Castine
14 - In Memoriam (GH & FMB) (6:54)
from Three Duos for Alto Flute and Cello
Lindsey Goodman (flute), Hannah Pressley (cello), Joseph Dangerfield (toy piano) and Chris Carmean (crotales)

Jennifer Jolley
15 - Flight 710 to Cabo San Lucas (9:02)
The Leviathan Trio  |  Lindsey Goodman (flute)
Hannah Pressley (cello) and Joseph Dangerfield (piano)

8

Darren Rea