Search - Rampal, Laskine :: Japanese Melodies for Flute & Harp

Ethereal

Mark Kolakowski | Fair Haven, NJ United States | 03/21/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This collection is a must, even if you previously thought you had no
particular taste for traditional Japanese music. The melodies are
placid and contemplative. Ideal for reflective moments, or to
relax. I'm motivated to try more of Rampal's Japanese
recordings.While Rampal gets top billing, Laskine on the harp is
just as prominent, and as excellent, in performing these works. The
playing time of the CD (sadly, only a modest 44 minutes) is about
equal measures solo flute, solo harp and harp/flute duet. The same
performances on this CD also are available on Sony catalogue #34568,
"Japanese Melodies for Flute and Harp." The tradeoff is that
this Denon CD costs ... less, but the Sony-labelled product has one
more track, Haru No Umi (track 1 thereon, for an extra 7
minutes).As many readers will know, CBS sold its record labels to
Sony back in the '90s, I believe when they were acquired by
Westinghouse. While the vast majority of the old CBS/Columbia
recordings have been repackaged under the Sony label (see especially
the budget priced Sony Essential Classics series that's chock full of
gems), the CBS and Columbia marques also are still used by
Sony. Sometimes the same recordings are sold simultaneously under
these various labels, albeit with different pairings and cover
art. Most confusing. Here's more. The Denon label, under which this CD
is published, is an alias of Columbia Records Japan. Whether this
ultimately is owned by Sony as well these days, I do not know. The
point is that you should find a number of the same performances
packaged under Denon that you can get under Sony, CBS or Columbia.
"