About the Album

Brandon Patrick George’s second solo album Twofold explores musical dialogues that transcend space, time, and identity, pairing canonical works for solo flute with new compositions. He was inspired by Saad Haddad’s piece Tasalsul I, which was written in response to the slow movement from C.P.E. Bach’s Sonata in A minor, WQ. 132, H. 562. Three extraordinary lyrical works – Claude Debussy’s Syrinx, Tōru Takemitsu’s Air, and Reena Esmail’s Zinfandel – provide Twofold’s core, plumbing the interplay between European, Hindustani, and Japanese musical traditions. The final pairing comes from two American composers, both Chicago-based but working at a distance of 90 years from one another. Ruth Crawford Seeger’s Diaphonic Suite from 1930 is written in a conversational style, with the flutist providing both halves of a dialogue. Likewise, Shawn E. Okpebholo’s On a Painting by Henry Ossawa Tanner - The Thankful Poor from 2021 imagines a soulful dialogue between a boy and his grandfather, depicted in Tanner’s painting.

Engaging in his own colloquy with all of these exceptional composers, Brandon Patrick George takes listeners on an adventurous journey and invites them to join the conversation themselves.

Program

C.P.E. Bach: Sonata in A minor, WQ. 132, H. 562 (1747)
Saad Haddad: Tasalsul I (2022)
Reena Esmail: Zinfandel (2010)
Shawn E. Okpebholo: On a Painting by Henry Ossawa Tanner - The Thankful Poor (2021)
Ruth Crawford Seeger: Diaphonic Suite (1930)
Claude Debussy: Syrinx (1913)
Toru Takemitsu: Air (1995)

Album Details

Brandon Patrick George, flute
In a Circle Records ICR029 

Available on September 15, 2023. Click HERE to order.

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