English Recorder Concertos : Michala Petri(Rec)Jean Thorel / Hong Kong City Chamber Orchestra (Hybrid)

The recorder has always 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 music here showcases three generations of English composers who have all made significant contributions to the repertoire in the process: Gordon Jacob, Sir Malcolm Arnold, and the youngest, recorder-player composer Richard Harvey. The result? Pure musical enchantment! Jacob's delightful Suite has been a mainstay for recorder players (and an audience favourite) since it's premiere, while Arnold's rarely performed concerto makes a most welcome return to the catalogue, a late masterwork truly deserving of a wider audience. The program is capped off by Harvey's magical Concerto Incantato, composed especially for Michala Petri, 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... 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.