Beau Soir

This is mellow in the extreme, practically New Age. As a mood album, it's unbeatable--the combination of flute and harp is ethereal and light, yet also oddly warm. Much of the music is familiar and sounds right in this context. Satie's first Gymnopedie and the Debussy selections take to these instruments easily; indeed, it becomes clear that French music has something about it--and it's not just its "sweetness"--that lends it to these translucent, some might say "wispy," transpositions. The Meditation from Thais, originally for violin, at first sounds a bit anemic, but then one begins to note how simply beautiful the melody is when stripped absolutely bare. The non-French pieces are effective as well, and the CD closes with a piece by Takemitsu, which is wonderfully evocative of similar feelings, but with a Japanese Garden in the moonlight. Flutist Emmanuel Pahud and harpist Mariku Anraku are thoroughly committed to this music and this project, and it comes across. Perhaps not a CD for all times, but when the mood for meditation strikes, this would be nice to have around. --Robert Levine