Artist: Joséphine Olech
Album: Reconnect (Nature and the Modern Man)
Genre: Classical
Release Date: 2020
Audio Format:: FLAC (tracks) 24 bit, 48 kHz
Duration: 01:09:29
Total Tracks: 20
Total Size: 615 MB

Tracklist:

1. Joséphine Olech – Six Épigraphes antiques: I. Pour invoquer Pan, dieu du vent d’été (1914) (02:26)
2. Joséphine Olech – Six Épigraphes antiques: II. Pour un tombeau sans nom (1914) (03:14)
3. Joséphine Olech – Six Épigraphes antiques: III. Pour que la nuit soit propice (1914) (02:10)
4. Joséphine Olech – Six Épigraphes antiques: IV. Pour la danseuse aux crotales (1914) (02:29)
5. Joséphine Olech – Six Épigraphes antiques: V. Pour l’Égyptienne (1914) (03:05)
6. Joséphine Olech – Six Épigraphes antiques: VI. Pour remercier la pluie au matin (1914) (02:09)
7. Joséphine Olech – Rekindle for Flute and Soundtrack (2009) (07:38)
8. Joséphine Olech – Toward the Sea III for Alto Flute and Harp: I. The Night (1989) (03:27)
9. Joséphine Olech – Toward the Sea III for Alto Flute and Harp: II. Moby Dick (1989) (04:05)
10. Joséphine Olech – Toward the Sea III for Alto Flute and Harp: III. Cape Cod (1989) (03:44)
11. Joséphine Olech – Vox Balaenae for Three masked Players: I. Vocalise for the Beginning of Time (1971) (04:05)
12. Joséphine Olech – Vox Balaenae for Three masked Players: II. Variations on Sea-Time – Sea Theme (1971) (01:20)
13. Joséphine Olech – Vox Balaenae for Three masked Players: III. Variations on Sea-Time – Archeozoic (1971) (01:25)
14. Joséphine Olech – Vox Balaenae for Three masked Players: IV. Variations on Sea-Time – Proterozoic (1971) (02:37)
15. Joséphine Olech – Vox Balaenae for Three masked Players: V. Variations on Sea-Time – Paleozoic (1971) (01:11)
16. Joséphine Olech – Vox Balaenae for Three masked Players: VI. Variations on Sea-Time – Mesozoic (1971) (01:21)
17. Joséphine Olech – Vox Balaenae for Three masked Players: VII. Variations on Sea-Time – Cenozoic (1971) (02:27)
18. Joséphine Olech – Vox Balaenae for Three masked Players: VIII. Sea-Nocturne for the End of Time (1971) (06:20)
19. Joséphine Olech – Vermont Counterpoint for Flute and Tape (1982) (09:39)
20. Joséphine Olech – Les Fils des Étoiles for Flute and Harp (1975) (04:28)

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In her debut album, the flutist emphasizes this contrast between the mystical, at times even religious connection to nature and the modern age, which is characterized by technology. For Joséphine Olech, the musical sounds of nature are depicted in the works of Debussy, Takemitsu, and Crumb. Introduced by the mystical dimension of Claude Debussy’s Six Épigraphes antiques, her debut album features Toru Takemitsu’s Toward the Sea III, commissioned by Greenpeace in 1981 for a campaign to protect whales, and Vox Balaenae, inspired by George Crumb’s recordings of humpback whale songs. Both works are masterpieces of the 20th century.

At the other end of the sound spectrum lies man-made modernism and technology, represented by two pieces that use electronic or minimal music processes. With Rekindle by Michel von der Aa, Joséphine Olech dares to make the first recording of a flute’s combative dialogue with a playback. Steve Reich’s Vermont Counterpoint also presents a special challenge: It is a typical work of minimal music, which overlays a total of 12 voices, all played by the French flutist. At the end of the contrasting program, Toru Takemitsu’s Le fils des étoiles, based on the music of Eric Satie, is a thoughtful-meditative piece that serves as a question mark: Is man becoming aware of the need to reconnect with nature?