Hypnosis

This Texas-based flute and harp duo have been playing together since back in 2017 and recently released their debut album, Hypnosis, with Albany Records. Flutist Don Bailey and harpist Laura Logan Brandenburg work together to bring out a host of staples from the flute repertoire, while also including several newer pieces. With all the living composers’ permissions, Brandenburg transcribes and interprets the piano accompaniment for harp into multiple new transcendental arrangements. These new renditions provide the transition from piano to harp, automatically creating a significantly lighter timbre and hypnotic flow.…The included repertoire alternates between newer works and standard repertoire. The album opens with the well-known Entr’acte of Jacques Ibert; while it is not a new arrangement, it is still a vibrant and relevant recording. Brandenburg’s arrangement of Herman Beeftink’s Seasons for harp accompaniment embraces each season with hypnotic transcendental vibes of what listeners have come to expect. This is a personal favorite on the album.… The very well-known Suite de trois morceaux of Benjamin Godard is an entrancing and fluid presentation, creating a beautiful wave that provides the push and pull of the melody.…Ian Clarke’s Hypnosis, while typically performed with piano accompaniment, offers an even more hypnotic experience than in the past with this harp arrangement. The flute dances and sings a simple and expanding melody over the angelic gliding harp arpeggiations. There is so much to love and melt into with this short four-and-a-half-minute work. The album quickly progresses through a very sumptuous and relevant interpretation of Claude Debussy’s La fille aux cheveux de lin. The next two works feature arrangements for harp completed by Brandenburg. The first piece is Rhonda Larson’s Sweet Simplicity, which includes the bodhrán and is a high-energy Irish jig that is sure to lift anyone’s spirits. The second work, Prélude et danse by Pascal Proust, features a lamenting drag-yourself-through-the-dirt cry alternating with an uplifting melancholy dance…The album closes out with two final pieces. First comes a presentation of Alan Hovhaness’s entire seven-movement work, The Garden of Adonis, op. 245. This is a stunning presentation of the piece, showcasing the magical things that happen when such well-seasoned flutists and harpists perform together. Bailey and Brandenburg have a great musical connection and are able to flawlessly communicate while exuding refinement in technique and phrasing ability throughout their performances. The album closes with John Marson’s Suite for Flute and Harp, which leaves the listener refreshed, rejuvenated, energized, and ready to reenter society. As a serious reviewer I listened to this album in multiple states of mind. This album can be used anywhere from calming and soothing an anxious driver in gridlocked traffic to providing an energizing backdrop for meditation.

We have the 7-movement Garden of Adonis by Alan Hovhaness and four Seasons by Herman Beeftink. The rest of the program is short pieces by Godard, Faure, Debussy, Jongen, Ibert, Proust, Rutter, Marson, Larson, and Clarke. Several of these were written for flute and piano, so this harpist has adapted them. Beeftink, a Dutch-American keyboard player and composer born in 1953, writes in a neo-Celtic style easy on the ears.…The 1994 `Hypnosis’ by English flutist-composer Ian Clarke (b 1964) serves as the title for the album.… The flute and harp sounds are overall very pleasant. Bailey plays with a well-centered tone and fluent technique.…