Debussy: Syrinx for solo flute

Young flautist Katherine Bryan is rapidly establishing her place as one of Britain’s bright musical stars of the future.

For her second recording on Linn, the in-demand concerto soloist performs a selection of 20th century concertos plus Debussy’s Syrinx and Frank Martin’s Ballade.

The Flute Concerto by American composer Christopher Rouse is among his most successful and widely performed works since its debut in 1994. Rouse’s concerto calls for astonishing pyrotechnics for both the flute and the orchestra; Katherine is able to showcase the sheer quality of her technique and her playing.

French composer Jacques Ibert’s Concerto for Flute and Orchestra is one of the best-loved and most frequently performed concertos in the flute repertoire. Full of humour, virtuosity and intense technical challenges for the soloist, it is characteristic of Ibert’s eclectic, versatile compositional style.

Despite being only a little over three minutes long, Debussy’s Syrinx has achieved iconic status and is regarded as an essential piece in any serious flautist’s repertoire.

Martin’s Ballade features wide harmonic leaps and tests the full range of the instrument, not least with a memorable section for the low register which sees Katherine relish the challenge.

Katherine Bryan is a rising star having appearing as concerto soloist with leading orchestras worldwide, as well as being principal flautist with the RSNO.

Katherine has appeared at major international festivals as both concerto soloist and recitalist. She has given live broadcasts on Classic FM, BBC Radio 3 and BBC television.

Katherine was a prize-winner at the Royal Overseas League Music Competition in London, the Young Concert Artists International Competition in New York and was a finalist in the BBC Young Musician of the Year for three consecutive competitions. She was also awarded the Julius Isserlis Scholarship by the Royal Philharmonic Society.

'The great twin reed on which we lay beneath the sky.'

Stéphane Mallarmé was very impressed by the way in which Debussy had expanded on the moods of his poem, L'Après-midi d'un faune. The flute is not the most widely used instrument in Debussy's music, but he wrote one or two masterpieces for it. With the exception of his famous last Sonata for flute, viola and harp, all of the pieces on this recording were associated with theatrical or literary performances - an opportunity to put Syrinx back in context (Gabriel Mourey's drama, Psyché) and to hear Pierre Louÿs' Chansons de Bilitis as they were performed (with a small instrumental ensemble and reciter) on a day in February 1901. This title was released for the first time in 1998.

‘Juliette Hurel performs them with technical assurance and a fine sense of style, in which sparing use of vibrato is only one of the positive elements.’ Gramophone

‘Transparency, light, colours, tenderness, melancholy: all these come to mind when I try to pin down what I mean by “French impressions”. With its gentle, rich, sensuous and vivid sound, the flute is for me the perfect instrument for this repertoire. I have long wanted to record the works assembled here in the company of my dear friends. I am delighted to present them to you now.’ Juliette Hurel

For her third recording on Zig-Zag Territoires, Juliette Hurel offers us a journey through the French masterpieces for flute of the first half of the twentieth century, including Poulenc’s Flute Sonata, Debussy’s Sonata for flute, viola and harp, Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune and Syrinx, and Fauré’s Sicilienne and Berceuse.