<<<  <<  -- 3 --  Mike Wheeler    FINESSE AND SUBTLETY

Finally comes one of Takemitsu's most frequently played works, A flock descends into the pentagonal garden. This was prompted by a dream, and so the dream and garden threads are pulled together (this disc is more artfully planned than it first appears). While there is less emphasis on solo melodic lines than in, say, Spirit Garden, and more on shifting blocks of sonority, the same finely-tuned sensibility is at work [listen -- track 7, 5:10-6:51].

Marin Alsop and her Bournemouth players treat this music with meticulous care for detail, shaping the solo lines with finesse and subtlety, while Naxos' rich, spacious recording allows us to savour every last fleck and glint of these exquisitely worked scores. Thoroughly recommendable, especially to anyone exploring Takemitsu's work for the first time, which I would very much encourage them to do.

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