Free as a Bird

Artist: Rhonda Larson
Label: Intersound Records
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 015095373229
EAN: 0015095373229
ASIN: B00000I6ND

Release Date: 1999-03-23

Related Categories:

General

| New Age | Styles | Music

Meditation

| New Age | Styles | Music

General

| Pop | Styles | Music

Listmania:

My "Deserted Island" List of Classical Music

Tracks:

Peregrine
Loner Song
Maskell's Harbor
Lament
Rhuah Returns
Movin' On
Adoro Te
Ekkaleo
Vocalise
Bach in a Minute
Alleluias

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Customer Reviews:

Simply amazing.......2006-01-28

I picked up this CD at the National Flute Association convention in 1997, and to this day it continues to inspire and rejuvenate me. As a flute performance major, I sometimes had moments when I was down about my playing or wondered why I was pursuing a career in music. Rhonda Larson's heartfelt album always reminded me--and continues to remind me--why I loved music and playing the flute so much. Her playing is organic and seems to speak directly from her soul. One can tell from the first hearing that Rhonda is in love with making beautiful music, and even through this recorded medium, that love is infectious.

Listening to this album never gets old. Perhaps the album's longevity is due in part to its interesting and diverse programming. There are original compositions as well as arrangements of standard flute repertoire and folk music. Rhonda's playing is technically unbelievable throughout, and she does not hesitate showing it off. She plays flute, alto flute, and even tin whistle, and on each instrument she has an intimate, glowing, beautiful sound. Wonderful audio engineering presents her warm tone and subtle changes in color clearly and without distractions.

I really can't find enough great things to say about this album. It has been in my six-disc changer for nine years. If you are a flautist, musician, or music lover, you need to pick up this disc. I guarantee you'll love it.

Great Flute Variety.......2004-02-16

Larson shows her capability and capacity to play all types of music on different instruments exceptionally well.

This spirited collection by Larson and collaborater pianist Halley provides entertaining new music on what is becoming quite a virtuoso instrument, the flute.

Especially fond of "Bach In A Minute" and ""Maskell's Harbor."

Astounding! Inspiring!.......2002-12-19

As a flautist myself of 14+ years, albeit with no degrees or teaching credentials, I find Larson's expression and dexterity to be positively astounding. I am also quite delighted with the breadth of her musical style. So often one finds musicians who bind themselves within the confines of percieved parameters of what "should" be a certain style of music. While it is true that specific styles are characterized by specific forms of expression and technical and artistic interpretation, I find it positively refreshing to come across someone so incredibly talented who is also enlightened enough to realise that all music is music, and that a multitude of what we call "styles" can be combined to create new and inventive aural experiences. My own flute sits in my locker on campus, in need of new pads and spring adjustments; my skills are in need of refreshing. Having listened to Larson's album, I am inspired to affect the repairs, and to hit the books, the stand, the lessons, afresh.

From a flutist.......2002-02-10

I do like it that Ms. Larson plays on a great deal of different flutes. I wish more people would do that. But the down thing is that on her "Vocalise" her playing so much of the time sounds like A Sax! How does she do that?! I would not want my flute students to get that kind of sound in their ear. I have them pick up Elaine Shaffer, Paula Robison, Alexa Still and Katherine Kemler. That is real flute playing! I don't mean to be insulting, but this is what I hear.

from Wind and Wire, Issue 11.......2000-02-06

The flute seems to really be coming into its own as a lead instrument, and Rhonda Larson's first solo album should rightly put her at the forefront of the movement. Formerly with the Paul Winter Consort, Larson was named as one of James Galway's favorite flutists. Defying categorization, Larson combines her classical roots with jazz, Celtic, ethnic, and sacred music. Eight of the eleven tracks were written or arranged by Paul Halley, who also accompanies Larson on piano, organ, and vocals; they obviously really understand each other musically. Larson also debuts her first two original compositions, "Lament" and "Movin' On" (presented without accompaniment) as well as her arrangement of Rachmaninoff's haunting "Vocalise". Larson plays a variety of flutes, including the Indian Bansuri flute, crystal flute, penny whistle, and alto flute, and the styles of playing vary widely from piece to piece. "Peregrine" (my favorite track) and "Ekkaleo" positively soar, while "Loner Song" and "Lament" are more somber and quiet. "Maskell's Harbor" combines the sweet melody from a traditional Irish hymn with a whimsical jig, and then the crystal flute slows it's frantic pace to softly describe the fog skimming over the surface of the water at the Harbor; other melodies flow in and out, and then the jig is revisited, ending on a sprightly note. "Rhuah Returns" is a tribute to a mountain wind in Israel - freedom and beauty flow through this piece of inspiration. "Movin' On" and "Bach in a Minute" clearly demonstrate Larson's virtuosity. "Adoro Te" and "Alleluias" are very spiritual and sacred in feel. Drawing from such a variety of musical styles and influences, Rhonda Larson brings a real richness to this CD that is often missing from the more "homogenized" recordings that stick to one mood or theme. This is one outstanding CD, and I highly recommend it.

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